CMOS-3D smart imager architectures for feature detection

This paper reports a multi-layered smart image sensor architecture for feature extraction based on detection of interest points. The architecture is conceived for 3-D integrated circuit technologies consisting of two layers (tiers) plus memory. The top tier includes sensing and processing circuitry aimed to perform Gaussian filtering and generate Gaussian pyramids in fully concurrent way. The circuitry in this tier operates in mixed-signal domain. It embeds in-pixel correlated double sampling, a switched-capacitor network for Gaussian pyramid generation, analog memories and a comparator for in-pixel analog-to-digital conversion. This tier can be further split into two for improved resolution; one containing the sensors and another containing a capacitor per sensor plus the mixed-signal processing circuitry. Regarding the bottom tier, it embeds digital circuitry entitled for the calculation of Harris, Hessian, and difference-of-Gaussian detectors. The overall system can hence be configured by the user to detect interest points by using the algorithm out of these three better suited to practical applications. The paper describes the different kind of algorithms featured and the circuitry employed at top and bottom tiers. The Gaussian pyramid is implemented with a switched-capacitor network in less than 50 μs, outperforming more conventional solutions.Xunta de Galicia 10PXIB206037PRMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2009-12686, IPT-2011-1625-430000Office of Naval Research N00014111031

Reimagining Spain in times of crisis: Articulating nation through the Latin American and African other in contemporary Spanish film (2005-2015)

This thesis explores shifts in Spanish cinematic expressions of the racialised (immigrant) other and considers the impact of the financial crisis (2008-2012) in these portrayals. It argues that the crisis heightened anxieties over globalisation, identity, and the standing of Spain in the world. It posits that these concerns are expressed in Spanish film with depictions of increased precarity in society, ambivalent portrayals of inclusion of the Latin American and African immigrant in Spanish society, and an articulation of power connected to international intervention and supranational collaboration. These cinematic trends contribute to redefinitions of the nation in terms of significance and Europeanness, where the previous markers of wealth and opportunity lose relevance against notions such as cooperation and conviviality. The financial crisis has incited discourses of solidarity that create points of affinity based on a shared precarious experience. The thesis engages with theoretical work on Spanish film and social sciences to reveal trends in contemporary Spanish cinema in relation to responses to the financial crisis and globalisation. It interrogates how the selected Spanish films express nation through the portrayals of its community, displays of power and influence, or notions of otherness that are challenged or encouraged through representation. A selection of fourteen films from the period 2005-2015 conforms the case studies, which illuminate changes in the depictions of the (immigrant) other and their contribution to notions of nation. While the thesis underscores trends in Spanish fiction film arising from a shift in anxieties derived from the financial crash (2008-2012), the period of study expands to 2005-2015 to better identify the transformations. This is the first study to illustrate a shift in anxieties from, on the one hand, the control of the border and Spain’s readiness to accept a multicultural society to, on the other hand, concerns derived from globalisation, increasing precarity, and Spain’s position in the world. The thesis contributes to scholarship on Spanish and European cinema, giving visibility to many films underrepresented in academic work. The thesis manifests that these films project ideas of nation that reassert Spain’s Europeanness and its value as a global ally, construct Spain as a place of multicultural co-existence, and present globalisation as the cause of precarity

The 2012 Nucleic Acids Research Database Issue and the online Molecular Biology Database Collection

The 19th annual Database Issue of Nucleic Acids Research features descriptions of 92 new online databases covering various areas of molecular biology and 100 papers describing recent updates to the databases previously described in NAR and other journals. The highlights of this issue include, among others, a description of neXtProt, a knowledgebase on human proteins; a detailed explanation of the principles behind the NCBI Taxonomy Database; NCBI and EBI papers on the recently launched BioSample databases that store sample information for a variety of database resources; descriptions of the recent developments in the Gene Ontology and UniProt Gene Ontology Annotation projects; updates on Pfam, SMART and InterPro domain databases; update papers on KEGG and TAIR, two universally acclaimed databases that face an uncertain future; and a separate section with 10 wiki-based databases, introduced in an accompanying editorial. The NAR online Molecular Biology Database Collection, available at http://www.oxfordjournals.org/nar/database/a/, has been updated and now lists 1380 databases. Brief machine-readable descriptions of the databases featured in this issue, according to the BioDBcore standards, will be provided at the http://biosharing.org/biodbcore web site. The full content of the Database Issue is freely available online on the Nucleic Acids Research web site (http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/)

Piranoantocianos vinilfenólicos en vinos tintos utilizando levaduras HCDC+.

Los piranoantocianos vinilfenólicos son aductos de elevada estabilidad, con interesantes propiedades para la mejora del color en vinos tintos, y que se forman por condensación entre ácidos hidroxicinámicos o sus respectivos vinilfenoles y antocianos procedentes de la uva. Inicialmente se pensaba que la única ruta de formación era exclusivamente química (Schwarz, 2003) en un lento proceso a partir de ácidos hidroxicinámicos, que inducía a cantidades muy pequeñas durante el periodo de envejecimiento de los vinos tintos y podían por tanto ser usadas como age-markers. Recientemente se ha demostrado (Morata et al, 2006 y 2007) que algunas cepas de Saccharomyces spp seleccionadas con alta actividad hidroxicinamato descarboxilasa (HCDC) pueden acelerar la formación de aductos vinilfenólicos durante la fermentación. Estas levaduras descarboxilan los ácidos fenólicos formando vinilfenoles de elevada reactividad que espontáneamente condensan con antocianos de la uva formando una gran variedad de aductos vinilfenólicos dependiendo del tipo de antociano y del ácido hidroxicinámico precursor. Cuantitativamente los derivados más importantes son los del malvidin-3-O-glucosido. Adicionando ácidos hidroxicinámicos a las muestras se verifica que el aducto que se forma en mayor cantidad es el malvidin-3-O-glucosido-4-vinilguaiacol, siendo además el que produce mayor incremento de la intensidad colorante reduciendo a su vez las tonalidades amarillas en vinos. La utilización de cepas de Saccharomyces HCDC+ con o sin adiciones de ácidos hidroxicinámicos, puede constituirse en una interesante herramienta para mejorar el color de vinos tintos

Titanium alloy microstructure fingerprint plots from in-process machining

Titanium alloy components require several machining stages of forged billets which are supplied in a range of annealing conditions. Generally, the machining performance is influenced by the heat treatment and changes in billet microstructures are often overlooked by tool manufacturers and machinists. Due to the non-linear strain path during primary forging, titanium alloy billets are anisotropic in nature and require ex-situ non-destructive evaluation (NDE) during the manufacturing stages to ensure excellent service performance, particularly in safety-critical aerospace components. In this study, the local analysis of the fluctuations presented in the force response during face-turning operations is directly linked to the billet heat treatment condition and presented as microstructure fingerprint plots. The evolution of cutting forces in four different billet conditions of the alpha + beta titanium alloy Ti–6Al–2Sn–4Zr–6Mo (Ti-6246) was measured. The magnitude and fluctuations in force were directly correlated to microstructural features derived from the heat treatments. In addition, local spatial high-resolution synchronization of the cutting forces was used to determine the effects of microstructure from the heterogeneous upstream forging process and subsequent heat treatment. These rapidly produced microstructure fingerprint plots are an important development step for providing manufacturers with an in-process machining NDE method: this will help to qualify material upstream prior to expensive secondary forging or finish machining stages

Donated human milk as a determinant factor for the gut bifidobacterial ecology in premature babies

Correct establishment of the gut microbiome is compromised in premature babies, with Bifidobacterium being one of the most affected genera. Prematurity often entails the inability to successfully breastfeed, therefore requiring the implementation of other feeding modes; breast milk expression from a donor mother is the recommended option when their own mother’s milk is not available. Some studies showed different gut microbial profiles in premature infants fed with breast milk and donor human milk, however, it is not known how this affects the species composition of the genus Bifidobacterium. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of donated human milk on shaping the gut bifidobacterial populations of premature babies during the first three months of life. We analyzed the gut bifidobacterial communities of 42 premature babies fed with human donor milk or own-mother milk by the 16S rRNA-23S rRNA internal transcriber spaces (ITS) region sequencing and q-PCR. Moreover, metabolic activity was assessed by gas chromatography. We observed a specific bifidobacterial profile based on feeding type, with higher bifidobacterial diversity in the human donor milk group. Differences in specific Bifidobacterium species composition may contribute to the development of specific new strategies or treatments aimed at mimicking the impact of own-mother milk feeding in neonatal units

Influence of sequential and mixed fermentations with non-Saccharomyces yeasts on the sensory profile of red wine

The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of S. pombe and T. delbrueckii species on the sensory quality of red wine when used in sequential and mixed fermentations with S. cerevisiae

Reducción de etilfenoles por formación de piranoantocianos vinilfenólicos

Los géneros Brettanomyces/Dekkera son responsables de la aparición de aromas fenólicos [Figura 1]. Dichos olores son resultado de la evolución de ácidos hidroxicinámicos hacia etilfenoles como consecuencia de las actividades hidroxicinamato descarboxilasa (HCDC) y vinilfenolreductasa (VphR) de estos géneros [Figura 2]. El objetivo del trabajo fue facilitar la formación de piranoantocianos vinilfenólicos usando cepas de Saccharomyces HCDC+ (pero VphR-) , con objeto de reducir el contenido inicial de ácidos hidroxicinámicos del vino durante la fermentación y prevenir de esta forma la formación de etilfenoles en caso de contaminación por Brettanomyces/Dekkera

Effect of intrapartum antibiotics prophylaxis on the bifidobacterial establishment within the neonatal gut

Antibiotics are important disruptors of the intestinal microbiota establishment, linked to immune and metabolic alterations. The intrapartum antibiotics prophylaxis (IAP) is a common clinical practice that is present in more than 30% of labours, and is known to negatively affect the gut microbiota composition. However, little is known about how it affects to Bifidobacterium (sub)species level, which is one of the most important intestinal microbial genera early in life. This study presents qualitative and quantitative analyses of the bifidobacterial (sub)species populations in faecal sam-ples, collected at 2, 10, 30 and 90 days of life, from 43 healthy full-term babies, sixteen of them delivered after IAP use. This study uses both 16S rRNA–23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequencing and q-PCR techniques for the analyses of the relative proportions and absolute levels, respectively, of the bifidobacterial populations. Our results show that the bifidobacterial populations establishment is affected by the IAP at both quantitative and qualitative levels. This practice can promote higher bifidobacterial diversity and several changes at a compositional level. This study underlines specific targets for developing gut microbiota-based products for favouring a proper bifidobacterial microbiota development when IAP is required