Network-based biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease: review and future directions

By 2050 it is estimated that the number of worldwide Alzheimer?s disease (AD) patients will quadruple from the current number of 36 million people. To date, no single test, prior to postmortem examination, can confirm that a person suffers from AD. Therefore, there is a strong need for accurate and sensitive tools for the early diagnoses of AD. The complex etiology and multiple pathogenesis of AD call for a system-level understanding of the currently available biomarkers and the study of new biomarkers via network-based modeling of heterogeneous data types. In this review, we summarize recent research on the study of AD as a connectivity syndrome. We argue that a network-based approach in biomarker discovery will provide key insights to fully understand the network degeneration hypothesis (disease starts in specific network areas and progressively spreads to connected areas of the initial loci-networks) with a potential impact for early diagnosis and disease-modifying treatments. We introduce a new framework for the quantitative study of biomarkers that can help shorten the transition between academic research and clinical diagnosis in AD

Don't blame the economists. It is an inverse problem!

The seriousness of the current crisis urgently demands new economic thinking that breaks the austerity vs. deficit spending circle in economic policy. The core tenet of the paper is that the most important problems that natural and social science are facing today are inverse problems, and that a new approach that goes beyond optimization is necessary. The approach presented here is radical in the sense that it identifies the roots in key assumptions in economic theory such as optimal behavior and stability to provide an inverse thinking perspective to economic modeling, of use in economic and financial stability policy. The inverse problem provides a truly multidisciplinary platform where related problems from different disciplines can be studied under a common approach with comparable results

A six-minute walking test: maximum oxygen consumption in physical education students

The Six-Minute Walking Test (SMWT) was completed just in few times in apparently healthy young individuals and university students, while the maximal volume of oxygen consumption (VO2max) prediction has not been taken into consideration. The aim of this study was to elaborate a prediction equation for VO2max from the heart rate recovery (HRR) after completion the SMWT. 127 young in the first stage completed the SMWT and Course Navette Test (CNT), 17 in the second stage (test-retest) completed the SMWT and CNT, and 20 subjects in the third stage completed the SMWT and Bruce test. All physical education students (PES) completions an informed consent. A significant correlation was observed between VO2max estimated trough the CNT and HRR after the SMWT (rho= -0.3; p= 0.001). The correlation between the same variables was r= -0.72 (p= 0.001) in the second stage, and a significant correlation (r= -0.65; p= 0.002) was observed between VO2max directly measured in Bruce test and HRR after the SMWT. From the correlation a prediction equation was elaborated is y= 92.468-(0.278*20-second-HRR) and the standard error of estimation (SEE) was 7.17 ml·kg-1·min-1. The HRR achieved after the SMWT may predict VO2max in PES

MatSWMM - An open-source toolbox for designing real-time control of urban drainage systems

This manuscript describes the MatSWMM toolbox, an open-source Matlab, Python, and LabVIEW-based software package for the analysis and design of real-time control (RTC) strategies in urban drainage systems (UDS). MatSWMM includes control-oriented models of UDS, and the storm water management model (SWMM) of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as systematic-system edition functionalities. Furthermore, MatSWMM is also provided with a population-dynamics-based controller for UDS with three of the fundamental dynamics, i.e., the Smith, projection, and replicator dynamics. The simulation algorithm, and a detailed description of the features of MatSWMM are presented in this manuscript in order to illustrate the capabilities that the tool has for educational and research purposes.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Automatic Presentations Generation Based on Patterns for Tour-Guide Robots

This paper proposes an automatic presentation generation for a tour-guide robot making use of natural language processing and patterns. To reach a suitable approximation in a believable presentation some parameters are identified and described in this paper. Automatic Presentations Generation is based on XML-patterns. The generation process selects information items and obtains the prone of the tree with fuzzy rules

Modelamiento Cinemático Aproximado de un Prototipo de Robot Equino de 6 Grados de Libertad Para un Simulador de Tiro

This article shows the design, analysis and manufacturing of one equine robot prototype with six degrees of freedom along with the development and implementation of control software. This software has the purpose to drive and to calculate the robot kinematics. All of this allows studding the elements necessaries to make a simulator of shots for riders that can be used in education areas as a tool of didactic support in the courses in the police national of Colombia, ensuring that the riders do not suffer physical and psychological injuries during their formation and avoiding hurting the horses in the training of that courses. In addition, the riders can interact and experiment of safety way every situation that they could find in real practice. The system is based on the kinematic study according to the Denavit-Hartenberg algorithm, approximate simulation using Kinematic-ARM® and the mathematic medeling in the Matlab® programming environment. All tecniques give aproximate results of location of the manipulator tool.    Finally, it is possible to validate and analising the results comparing the practical and theoric values to determine the TCP error estimated in each movement.Keywords: Direct kinematics, equine robot, Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H), Degrees of Freedom (DOF), Tool Center Point (TCP)

Necesidades de enfermería para establecer relaciones interpersonales armónicas con la familia del paciente en UCI

Introduction: The nature of nursing care is permeated by interpersonal relationships, therefore, the results of the act of caring depend directly on the quality of interpersonal relationships established with the subject of care. For an interpersonal relationship to represent mutual growth, it is necessary to recognize the needs of the subject of care and nursing. Objectives: To describe the needs of nursing professionals to establish harmonious interpersonal relationships with the family. Materials  and  methods: Qualitative-descriptive study with the content analysis technique. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 nursing professionals from Intensive Care Units (ICU) in Colombia and through open and axial coding, the relevant aspects associated with the objective of the study were extracted. Results: 39 categories represented in 13 themes were obtained: Being able to approach the family, empathy on the part of the family, teamwork with other ICU professionals, trust on the part of the family, sufficient information on the part of the family, family participation in patient care, enough time to be with the family, adequate spaces to interact with the family, recognition of the nurse as a professional independent of medical practice by health institutions and the family, assertive communication between the relatives, approach prior to admission to the ICU to the relatives and dignified treatment by the relatives. Conclusion: This work recognizes the most felt needs of nurses so that their relationships with the relatives of the patient in the ICU are harmonic, an aspect that has been scarcely addressed in the ICU context. This advance contributes to the construction of empirical indicators (measuring instruments), to diagnose and subsequently intervene this phenomenon in an assertive and comprehensive manner. Key words: Interpersonal relationships; Nursing; Family; Critical Care; Needs Assessment.Introducción: la naturaleza del cuidado de enfermería está permeada por las relaciones interpersonales; por ende, los resultados del acto de cuidar dependen directamente de la calidad de las relaciones interpersonales que se establezcan con el sujeto de cuidado. Para que una relación interpersonal represente un crecimiento mutuo, es necesario reconocer las necesidades del sujeto de cuidado y de enfermería. Objetivo: describir las necesidades de los profesionales de Enfermería para establecer relaciones interpersonales armónicas con la familia. Materiales y métodos: estudio cualitativo descriptivo con la técnica de análisis de contenido. Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a 21 profesionales de Enfermería de unidades de cuidado intensivo (UCI) en Colombia y a través de una codificación abierta y axial se realizó la extracción de los aspectos relevantes asociados con el objetivo del estudio. Resultados: se obtuvieron 39 categorías representadas en 13 temas: estar capacitada para abordar a la familia, empatía de parte de la familia, trabajo en equipo con los demás profesionales de la UCI, confianza de parte de la familia, información suficiente de parte de la familia, participación de la familia en el cuidado del paciente, tiempo suficiente para estar con la familia, espacios adecuados para interactuar con la familia, reconocimiento de la enfermera(o) como profesional independiente del ejercicio médico por parte de las instituciones de salud y de la familia, comunicación asertiva entre los familiares, abordaje a los familiares previo al ingreso a la UCI y trato digno de parte de los familiares. Conclusión: este trabajo reconoce las necesidades más sentidas de las enfermeras(os) para que sus relaciones con los familiares del paciente en la UCI sean armónicas, aspecto escasamente abordado en el contexto de la UCI. Este avance aporta a la construcción de indicadores empíricos (instrumentos de medición), para diagnosticar y posteriormente intervenir este fenómeno de manera asertiva e integral

Caracterización de estudiantes del Sistema de Educación Media Superior con riesgo de suicidio

El artículo forma parte del libro Perspectivas y paradigmas en psicología aplicada: Artículos seleccionados de la I Jornada de Investigación en Psicologí

Evolution of the energy consumed by street lighting in Spain estimated with DMSP-OLS data

© Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd. This research was supported by an FPU grant (Formación de Profesorado Universitario) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCINN) to Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel. This work has been partially funded by the Spanish MICINN (AYA2009-10368, AYA2012-30717, AYA2012-31277), by the Spanish program of International Campus of Excellence Moncloa (CEI) and by the Madrid Regional Government through the AstroMadrid Project (CAM S2009/ESP-1496, http://www.laeff.cabinta-csic.es/ projects/astromadrid/main/index.php). The support of the Spanish Network for Light Pollution Studies (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Acción Complementaria AYA2011-15808-E) is acknowledged. Thanks goes also to Francisco Ocaña and Jessica Starkey for the critical review of this text.We present the results of the analysis of satellite imagery to study light pollution in Spain. Both calibrated and non-calibrated DMSP-OLS images were used. We describe the method to scale the non-calibrated DMSP-OLS images which allows us to use differential photometry techniques in order to study the evolution of the light pollution. Population data and DMSP-OLS satellite calibrated images for the year 2006 were compared to test the reliability of official statistics in public lighting consumption. We found a relationship between the population and the energy consumption which is valid for several regions. Finally the true evolution of the electricity consumption for street lighting in Spain from 1992 to 2010 was derived; it has been doubled in the last 18 years in most of the provinces. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved,Depto. de Física de la Tierra y AstrofísicaFac. de Ciencias FísicasTRUEMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MICINN)Comunidad de MadridCampus de Excelencia Internacional (CEI) Moncloa, Españapu

Sweet syndrome presenting late after non Hodgkin’s lymphoma and dermatomyositis

Abstract Sweet syndrome is a rare neutrophilic dermatosis consisting in the onset of high fever, neutrophilia, and typical painful skin lesions including erythematous papules, nodules, and plaques on the face, trunk, and extremities, with a bilateral and asymmetrical pattern. Sweet syndrome is classiied as idiopathic, predominating in women; malignancy-associated, mainly with hematological cancer, and drug-induced. The diagnosis is based on clinical history and skin manifestations, being conirmed by a complete blood count showing neutrophilic leukocytosis, and speciic indings in the skin biopsy. We report the case of a 68 year-old man with a 10-year evolution of dermatomyositis complicated by lung ibrosis, followed 8 years later by non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) accompanied by worsening of his ibrosis. Two years after the successful treatment of NHL the patient developed an acute episode of severe dyspnea, multiple skin lesions, and 95% neutrophilia. At that time the patient had a severe lung function impairment complicated by nosocomial pneumonia that led to his death, a few days after the diagnosis of Sweet syndrome was established by histopathology examination. Sweet syndrome is a rare dermatologic entity that can appear several years after diseases characterized by immune dysfunction such as dermatomyositis and NHL