Métodos de control en sistemas domóticos: últimas tendencias en sistemas distribuidos

Control systems lie amongst the most difficult issues to be tackled when it comes to designing home automation systems. Two classical tendencies may be considered to solve this problem. The first one consists of a centralised control system, whereas the second option advocates for a distributed network, where piece would take up certain responsibilities in the control of the whole system. In this paper we analyse some of the latest developments as regards programming distributed networks, focusing on home automation, specially Java and the latest Jini environments have dramatically improved the potential of such kind of distributed systems, thanks to them, it is possible to build a heterogeneous network including devices from different brands which work in collaborative systems, thus avoiding complex configurations.Uno de los aspectos más delicados a la hora de diseñar un sistema domótico es el que se refiere al modelo de control que deseamos establecer. Podemos considerar dos tendencias clásicas: la que trata de establecer un control centralizado del sistema y la que propone un control mucho más descentralizado, donde cada aparato seria responsable de cierta parte de la gestión del control ejercido sobre toda la red. En este articulo tratamos de profundizar en las últimas novedades aparecidas en el campo de la programación de los controladores asociados a una red domótica, en particular Java y el más reciente Jini, que aportan una serie de soluciones que facilitan la compatibilidad entre dispositivos de distintos fabricantes y apuestan claramente por una arquitectura de tipo distribuido, dotando a las redes domóticas de una flexibilidad y un potencial de crecimiento inusitados

Serum tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 levels are associated with mortality in patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarction

Background: In the last years, circulating matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-9 levels have been associated with functional outcome in ischemic stroke patients. However the prognostic value of circulating levels of tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1 and MMP-10 in functional outcome of ischemic stroke patients has been scarcely studied. In addition, to our knowledge, serum MMP-9, MMP-10 and TIMP-1 levels in patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarction (MMCAI) for mortality prediction have not been studied, and these were the objectives of this study. Methods: This was a multicenter, observational and prospective study carried out in six Spanish Intensive Care Units. We included patients with severe MMCAI defined as Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) lower than 9. We measured circulating levels of MMP-9, MMP-10, TIMP-1, in 50 patients with severe MMCAI at diagnosis and in 50 healthy subjects. Endpoint was 30-day mortality. Results: Patients with severe MMCAI showed higher serum levels of MMP-9 (p = 0.001), MMP-10 (p 239 ng/mL are associated with 30-day mortality (OR = 5.82; 95 % CI = 1.37-24.73; P = 0.02) controlling for GCS and age. The area under the curve for TIMP-1 as predictor of 30-day mortality was 0.81 (95 % CI = 0.67-0.91; P < 0.001). We found an association between circulating levels of TIMP-1 and MMP-10 (rho = 0.45; P = 0.001), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 (rho = 0.53; P < 0.001), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha (rho = 0.70; P < 0.001). Conclusions: The most relevant and new findings of our study, were that serum TIMP-1 levels in MMCAI patients were associated with mortality, and could be used as a prognostic biomarker of mortality in MMCAI patients