Depression Episodes Detection in Unipolar and Bipolar Patients: A Methodology with Feature Extraction and Feature Selection with Genetic Algorithms Using Activity Motion Signal …

Depression is a mental disorder which typically includes recurrent sadness and loss of interest in the enjoyment of the positive aspects of life, and in severe cases fatigue, causing inability to perform daily activities, leading to a progressive loss of quality of life. Monitoring depression (unipolar and bipolar patients) stats relays on traditional method reports from patients; however, bias is commonly present, given the patients’ interpretation of the experiences. Nevertheless, to overcome this problem, Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) reports have been proposed and widely used. These reports includes data of the behaviour, feelings, and other type of activities recorded almost in real time using different types of portable devices, which nowadays include smartphones and other wearables such as smartwatches. In this study is proposed a methodology to detect depressive patients with the motion data generated by patient activity, recorded with a smartband, obtained from the “Depresjon” database. Using this signal as information source, a feature extraction approach of statistical features, in time and spectral evolution of the signal, is done. Subsequently, a clever feature selection with a genetic algorithm approach is done to reduce the amount of information required to give a fast noninvasive diagnostic. Results show that the feature extraction approach can achieve a value of 0.734 of area under the curve (AUC), and after applying feature selection approach, a model comprised by two features from the motion signal can achieve a 0.647 AUC. These results allow us to conclude that using the activity signal from a smartband, it is possibl

Ametryn removal by Metarhizium brunneum: Biodegradation pathway proposal and metabolic background revealed

Ametryn is a representative of a class of s-triazine herbicides absorbed by plant roots and leaves and characterized as a photosynthesis inhibitor. It is still in use in some countries in the farming of pineapples, soybean, corn, cotton, sugar cane or bananas; however, due to the adverse effects of s-triazine herbicides on living organisms use of these pesticides in the European Union has been banned. In the current study, we characterized the biodegradation of ametryn (100 mg L-1) by entomopathogenic fungal cosmopolite Metarhizium brunneum. Ametryn significantly inhibited the growth and glucose uptake in fungal cultures. The concentration of the xenobiotic drops to 87.75 mg L-1 at the end of culturing and the biodegradation process leads to formation of four metabolites: 2-hydroxy atrazine, ethyl hydroxylated ametryn, S-demethylated ametryn and deethylametryn. Inhibited growth is reflected in the metabolomics data, where significant differences in concentrations of L-proline, gamma-aminobutyric acid, L-glutamine, 4-hydroxyproline, L-glutamic acid, ornithine and L-arginine were observed in the presence of the xenobiotic when compared to control cultures. The metabolomics data demonstrated that the presence of ametryn in the fungal culture induced oxidative stress and serious disruptions of the carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Our results provide deeper insights into the microorganism strategy for xenobiotic biodegradation which may result in future enhancements to ametryn removal by the tested strain.National Science Center, Poland (Project No. 2015/19/B/NZ9/00167

Generalized Regression Neural Networks with Application in Neutron Spectrometry

The aim of this research was to apply a generalized regression neural network (GRNN) to predict neutron spectrum using the rates count coming from a Bonner spheres system as the only piece of information. In the training and testing stages, a data set of 251 different types of neutron spectra, taken from the International Atomic Energy Agency compilation, were used. Fifty-one predicted spectra were analyzed at testing stage. Training and testing of GRNN were carried out in the MATLAB environment by means of a scientific and technological tool designed based on GRNN technology, which is capable of solving the neutron spectrometry problem with high performance and generalization capability. This computational tool automates the pre-processing of information, the training and testing stages, the statistical analysis, and the post-processing of the information. In this work, the performance of feed-forward backpropagation neural networks (FFBPNN) and GRNN was compared in the solution of the neutron spectrometry problem. From the results obtained, it can be observed that despite very similar results, GRNN performs better than FFBPNN because the former could be used as an alternative procedure in neutron spectrum unfolding methodologies with high performance and accuracy

Retos científicos, jurídicos y sociales relacionados con el envejecimiento en Cataluña y en España

La Edición Especial sobre Envejecimiento de la TransJus Working Papers Publications se abre con un trabajo de la Dra. Nina Gramunt, en el que se pone de relieve el gran incremento de las demencias en nuestras sociedades y, por tanto, el gran número de años vividos por los ancianos con dependencia, lo que es todo un reto, al que responde la Fundación Pasqual Maragall con una serie de interesantes iniciativas descritas en el estudio. A continuación, otro miembro de esa Fundación, la Sra. Cristina Maragall, desde la perspectiva de la arquitectura y el urbanismo, aborda la cuestión de la existencia de una demanda creciente de modelos de vivienda que permitan a las personas mayores vivir atendiendo a sus necesidades, reduciendo costes y simplificando los servicios, y a la vez manteniendo un cierto grado de autonomía personal, todo ello, si es posible, envejeciendo de la mejor manera posible en el hogar (aging in place) en comunidades que lo hagan posible (aging friendly). El estudio analiza algunas interesantes iniciativas españolas al respecto. El tercer análisis es realizado por la Dra. Elena Lauroba, quien expone el interesante proyecto europeo Ccentre: Towards citizen-centred active ageing and wellbeing, financiado por el EIT Health, el cual nació en 2016 con el fin de contribuir a poner a la ciudadanía en el centro de los sistemas de salud, con la participación de las Universidades de Barcelona (Gisme), Newcastle, Leiden, Copenhague y Róterdam, así como la aseguradora Achmea y la asociación E-Seniors. Finalmente, pero no menos importante, los investigadores Astier, Tejada y Errasti exponen como la conexión de ese proyecto europeo con la Fundació Carles Pi i Sunyer ha dado lugar al informe “Polítiques Municipals de gent gran. Reptes per a un model de gestió de l’envelliment actiu”. Este informe ha permitido identificar las necesidades de gestión del envejecimiento y, a partir de las mismas, se nos explica una nueva perspectiva para hacerles frente, basada en la aplicación de la metodología de formación en narrativas al ámbito sociosanitario

Efecto de niveles altos de melaza de caña en la alimentación y de su inversión enzimática sobre la actividad de invertasa intestinal en monogástricos

Se condujeron dos experimentos con el objeto de obtener información del efecto que niveles elevados de melaza de caña de azúcar en la dieta tienen sobre el comportamiento (ganancia de peso, consumo y conversión de alimento), la consistencia de las heces

Desarrollo de un Modelo 3D para un Sistema Infotainment

At present, we are witnessing the constant advance in the development of technologies for the automotive industry. Every day, there are significant advances and improvements to provide greater comfort to passengers. One of the vehicle technologies that are especially under development is designing specific user interfaces for infotainment systems and different types of interaction, for example, the implementation of 3D user interfaces to provide feedback to the user. These interfaces can be created from technologies available on the market, both free and private software for designing 3D models, and the development of Human Machine Interfaces used in the automotive industry. This article describes the process followed to develop a functional interface from technologies for 3D modeling and interface design. This interface provides visual feedback to the user that allows understanding of what is happening in the vehicle.En la actualidad somos testigos del constante avance en el desarrollo de tecnologías para la industria automotriz donde cada día hay avances y mejoras significativas para brindar mayor comodidad a los pasajeros. Una de las tecnologías del vehículo que está especialmente en desarrollo es el diseño de interfaces de usuario específicas para sistemas infotainment y diferentes tipos de interacción, por ejemplo, la implementación de interfaces de usuario 3D para proporcionar retroalimentación al usuario. Estas interfaces se pueden crear a partir de tecnologías disponibles en el mercado, tanto de software libre como privado para el diseño de modelos 3D y para el desarrollo de Interfaces Humano Máquina utilizados en la industria automotriz. Este artículo describe el proceso que se llevó a cabo para el desarrollo de una interfaz funcional a partir de tecnologías para el modelado 3D y diseño de interfaces. Dicha interfaz proporciona una retroalimentación visual al usuario que permite comprender lo que sucede en el vehículo

Genome wide association mapping of grain arsenic, copper, molybdenum and zinc in rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown at four international field sites

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Engineering coherent interactions in molecular nanomagnet dimers

Proposals for systems embodying condensed matter spin qubits cover a very wide range of length scales, from atomic defects in semiconductors all the way to micron-sized lithographically defined structures. Intermediate scale molecular components exhibit advantages of both limits: like atomic defects, large numbers of identical components can be fabricated; as for lithographically defined structures, each component can be tailored to optimise properties such as quantum coherence. Here we demonstrate what is perhaps the most potent advantage of molecular spin qubits, the scalability of quantum information processing structures using bottom-up chemical self-assembly. Using Cr7Ni spin qubit building blocks, we have constructed several families of two-qubit molecular structures with a range of linking strategies. For each family, long coherence times are preserved, and we demonstrate control over the inter-qubit quantum interactions that can be used to mediate two-qubit quantum gates

Role of Neural NO Synthase (nNOS) Uncoupling in the Dysfunctional Nitrergic Vasorelaxation of Penile Arteries from Insulin-Resistant Obese Zucker Rats

Objective: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is considered as an early sign of vascular disease due to its high prevalence in patients with cardiovascular risk factors. Endothelial and neural dysfunction involving nitric oxide (NO) are usually implicated in the pathophysiology of the diabetic ED, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The present study assessed the role of oxidative stress in the dysfunctional neural vasodilator responses of penile arteries in the obese Zucker rat (OZR), an experimental model of metabolic syndrome/prediabetes. Methods and Results: Electrical field stimulation (EFS) under non-adrenergic non-cholinergic (NANC) conditions evoked relaxations that were significantly reduced in penile arteries of OZR compared with those of lean Zucker rats (LZR). Blockade of NO synthase (NOS) inhibited neural relaxations in both LZR and OZR, while saturating concentrations of the NOS substrate L-arginine reversed the inhibition and restored relaxations in OZR to levels in arteries from LZR. nNOS expression was unchanged in arteries from OZR compared to LZR and nNOS selective inhibition decreased the EFS relaxations in LZR but not in OZR, while endothelium removal did not alter these responses in either strain. Superoxide anion production and nitro-tyrosine immunostaining were elevated in the erectile tissue from OZR. Treatment with the NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin or acute incubation with the NOS cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) restored neural relaxations in OZR to levels in control arteries, while inhibition of the enzyme of BH4 synthesis GTP-cyclohydrolase (GCH) reduced neural relaxations i