Plataforma de Captura de Base de Datos Biométricos de acuerdo a LOPD

En los últimos años, la computación se ha introducido en ámbitos de la sociedad antes inimaginables. Hoy en día todos llevamos en nuestro bolsillo un dispositivo cientos de veces más potente que cualquier computadora de los años 80. No sólo eso, sino que podemos encontrar computadoras en nuestra muñeca, el coche o la nevera. El aumento del número de dispositivos móviles ha provocado el surgimiento de nuevas formas de identificación y autenticación. Como parte de esta expansión, se han llevado tecnologías más propias de gobiernos e instituciones de alta tecnología a la vida cotidiana de los usuarios. Un claro ejemplo son los sistemas de reconocimiento biométrico: desbloqueamos nuestro móvil con la huella dactilar, el iris o mediante reconocimiento facial, accedemos a zonas de acceso restringido o mostramos nuestra identidad en un aeropuerto. Estos avances han sido posibles en gran medida gracias al abandono del método tradicional de adquisición y comparación de huellas dactilares en papel para dejar paso al uso de dispositivos electrónicos, los sensores de huella dactilar. El presente documento tiene como objetivo la documentación de una plataforma de captura de muestras biométricas, concretamente huellas dactilares, capaz de recoger muestras a través de cinco sensores diferentes, analizando la calidad y procesando las muestras obtenidas. Este tipo de plataformas automatizan enormemente el proceso de recogida de muestras biométricas, y por ende la evaluación de sistemas de reconocimiento biométrico. La plataforma permite tanto realizar el registro del usuario en el sistema (almacenando sus datos personales) como capturar las muestras biométricas necesarias. La captura de muestras puede realizarse de dos modos: para reclutamiento, o para adquisición. Las muestras obtenidas durante el reclutamiento actuan como referencia del usuario en la plataforma, mientras que las muestras obtenidas durante la fase de adquisición serán comparadas con las referencias, determinando si pertenecen o no al mismo usuario. Este proyecto constituye el primer paso de un proyecto mayor, que busca realizar una evaluación de rendimiento de cinco sensores de captura de huella dactilar llevada a cabo por el Grupo Universitario de Tecnologías de Identificación (GUTI) de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Las muestras y estadísticas de uso recogidas con esta plataforma, serán posteriormente procesadas y comparadas, lo que nos permitirá conocer el rendimiento de cada uno de los sensores.In the last few years, computing has been introduced in environments of the society inconceivable before. Nowadays we all carry on our pockets devices much more powerful than the computers from the 80s. We can even find computers in our wrist, the car or the fridge. The increasing number of mobile devices has caused the raising of new ways of identification and authentication. As part of this expansion, new technologies have been taken to peoples’ daily life. For example, biometric recognition systems are now used to unlock our smartphone, using for example fingerprint, facial or iris recognition. Biometrics is a field that studies in a statistically way different biology parameters. Biometric recognition, more concretely, groups all those technologies that allow the identification and/or verification of the identity of a subject from its morphological or behaviour characteristics. To be considered to be used for biometric recognition, a biological characteristic has to achieve some conditions [1]: Universality: can be found in any person. Uniqueness: has to be different enough between two persons. Continuance: may stay invariable along the time. Measurable: may be measured in a quantitative way. A fingerprint is the representation of the morphological surface of the epidermis of a finger. It has a serie of lines that, globally, are distributed in a parallel way. However these lines intersects and sometimes ends roughly. These points are technically called characteristic points of a fingerprint. To conclude if two fingerprints belong to the same person, the characteristic points of both fingerprints are compared. Fingerprints can be used in a biometric recognition system because achieves the requirements stated previously: Are universal, as every person has fingerprints. Are unique: every fingerprint is different in any person; its generation is not a genetic process, but random. Are perennial: they are formed during the sixth month of pregnancy, and stay invariable during a person lifetime, growing proportionally to the finger size. Its acquisition can be done in a easy and fast way. Multiple different fingerprints can be obtained from the same person, because each fingerprint from each finger is different even for the same individual. In the field of fingerprints’ recognition systems, the improvement of the technology has been made by the abandonment of traditional methods of acquisition and comparison of samples in benefit of the use of fingerprint sensors. Biometric recognition is a booming technology in the field of access control. Its main benefit in relation to traditional access control systems (like passwords) is that the user doesn’t have to remember anything, or even carry an identity card. However, the implementation of biometric recognition systems can be more expensive, and requires a high technological component. Generally, a biometric system can be divided into two stages: the enrolment and the use of the samples obtained: Enrolment: A serie of samples are taken from the user, and are processed to extract a pattern. This pattern will be stored, and will be used as the reference of the user in the system. One of the characteristics of this process is that usually is supervised by an operator, who controls that the data capture is done in a proper way. In addition, usually a minium quality threshold is established. This threshold can be based on the operator criteria, or an algorithm can be used to quantify the quality of the sample. Use of the samples: Once the system has stored the user’s pattern, the user can use the system. The samples obtained during this stage will be compared against the pattern obtained in the enrolment process. This comparison will result in a similarity score between the patterns. If the comparison is done against one reference, to check if both samples belong to the same individual, the process is called verification. If a sample is taken and a search is performed along all the database to find to which user it belongs, the process is called identification. If the comparison success, the user can use the system (for example, access to a restricted area, or unlock its smartphone). However, if the comparison doesn’t succeed, it means that an error was produced during the identification process, and the task for what the identification was required can’t not be performed. The following figure shows the schema of fingerprint recognition systems.Ingeniería Informátic

Network intrusion detection system for DDoS attacks in ICS using deep autoencoders

Anomaly detection in industrial control and cyber-physical systems has gained much attention over the past years due to the increasing modernisation and exposure of industrial environments. Current dangers to the connected industry include the theft of industrial intellectual property, denial of service, or the compromise of cloud components; all of which might result in a cyber-attack across the operational network. However, most scientific work employs device logs, which necessitate substantial understanding and preprocessing before they can be used in anomaly detection. In this paper, we propose a network intrusion detection system (NIDS) architecture based on a deep autoencoder trained on network flow data, which has the advantage of not requiring prior knowledge of the network topology or its underlying architecture. Experimental results show that the proposed model can detect anomalies, caused by distributed denial of service attacks, providing a high detection rate and low false alarms, outperforming the state-of-the-art and a baseline model in an unsupervised learning environment. Furthermore, the deep autoencoder model can detect abnormal behaviour in legitimate devices after an attack. We also demonstrate the suitability of the proposed NIDS in a real industrial plant from the alimentary sector, analysing the false positive rate and the viability of the data generation, filtering and preprocessing procedure for a near real time scenario. The suggested NIDS architecture is a low-cost solution that uses only fifteen network-based features, requires minimal processing, operates in unsupervised mode, and is straightforward to deploy in real-world scenarios.Axencia Galega de Innovación | Ref. IN854A 2019/15Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial | Ref. CER-20191012Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. MTM2017-89422-PFinanciado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISU

How to implement EU data protection regulation for R&D in biometrics

Biometrics R&D has to deal with personal data. From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, privacy of a human being shall be protected, and this is addressed in different ways in each region of the world. In the case of the European Union, Data Protection Directives, Laws and Regulations have been established, and interpreted in different ways by each European Member State. Such a diversity has pushed the European Union to generate an improved regulation that will be mandatory from May 2018. Biometric R&D shall not only comply with the current Directive, but also has to adapt its work to the new Regulation. This work is intended to describe the situation and provide a recommended procedure when having to acquire personal data. The recommended procedure is illustrated by the implementation of a Biometric Data Acquisition Platform, used to acquire fingerprints from nearly 600 citizens using different sensors

Actualización y optimización del sistema de seguimiento de egresados de la Facultad de Ciencias Matemáticas y su aplicación en la mejora de la calidad de los títulos

Resumen del proyecto PIMCD 232 (2017) que presenta el diseño y uso de un sistema de seguimiento de egresados en la Facultad de Matemáticas para análisis de empleabilidad así como para información que valga para la mejora de las titulaciones

Transgenic Mouse Models of Alzheimer’s Disease: An Integrative Analysis

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) constitutes the most prominent form of dementia among elderly individuals worldwide. Disease modeling using murine transgenic mice was first initiated thanks to the discovery of heritable mutations in amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilins (PS) genes. However, due to the repeated failure of translational applications from animal models to human patients, along with the recent advances in genetic susceptibility and our current understanding on disease biology, these models have evolved over time in an attempt to better reproduce the complexity of this devastating disease and improve their applicability. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview about the major pathological elements of human AD (plaques, tauopathy, synaptic damage, neuronal death, neuroinflammation and glial dysfunction), discussing the knowledge that available mouse models have provided about the mechanisms underlying human disease. Moreover, we highlight the pros and cons of current models, and the revolution offered by the concomitant use of transgenic mice and omics technologies that may lead to a more rapid improvement of the present modeling batterThis research was funded by INSTITUTO DE SALUD CARLOS III (ISCiii) of Spain, cofinanced by FEDER funds from European Union, through grants PI21/00915 (to AG) and PI21/00914 (to JV); by JUNTA DE ANDALUCIA CONSEJERÍA DE ECONOMÍA Y CONOCIMIENTO through grants UMA18-FEDERJA-211 (to AG), UMA20-FEDERJA-104 (to IMG), P18-RT-2233 (to AG) and US-1262734 (to JV) co-financed by Programa Operativo FEDER 2014–2020 and CONSEJERIA DE SALUD grant PI-0276-2018 (to JAGL); by SPANISH MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND INNOVATION grant PID2019-108911RA-100 (to DBV), BEATRIZ GALINDO PROGRAM BAGAL18/00052 (to DBV), Alzheimer Association AARG-22-928219 (to DBV), grant PID2019-107090RA-100 (to IMG) and RAMON Y CAJAL PROGRAM RYC-2017-21879 (to IMG); and by MALAGA UNIVERSITY grant B1-2019_07 (to ESM), grant B1-2020_04 (to JAGL), grant B1-2019_06 (to IMG) and NASARD grant 27565 2018 (to IMG). M.M.-O. held a predoctoral contract from Malaga University, J.J.F.-V. held a postdoctoral contract from Malaga University, and E.S.-M. a postdoctoral contract (DOC_00251) from Junta de Andalucia. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga

Plaque-Associated Oligomeric Amyloid-Beta Drives Early Synaptotoxicity in APP/PS1 Mice Hippocampus: Ultrastructural Pathology Analysis

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by initial memory impairments that progress to dementia. In this sense, synaptic dysfunction and loss have been established as the pathological features that best correlate with the typical early cognitive decline in this disease. At the histopathological level, post mortem AD brains typically exhibit intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) along with the accumulation of amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptides in the form of extracellular deposits. Specifically, the oligomeric soluble forms of Abeta are considered the most synaptotoxic species. In addition, neuritic plaques are Abeta deposits surrounded by activated microglia and astroglia cells together with abnormal swellings of neuronal processes named dystrophic neurites. These periplaque aberrant neurites are mostly presynaptic elements and represent the first pathological indicator of synaptic dysfunction. In terms of losing synaptic proteins, the hippocampus is one of the brain regions most affected in AD patients. In this work, we report an early decline in spatial memory, along with hippocampal synaptic changes, in an amyloidogenic APP/PS1 transgenic model. Quantitative electron microscopy revealed a spatial synaptotoxic pattern around neuritic plaques with significant loss of periplaque synaptic terminals, showing rising synapse loss close to the border, especially in larger plaques. Moreover, dystrophic presynapses were filled with autophagic vesicles in detriment of the presynaptic vesicular density, probably interfering with synaptic function at very early synaptopathological disease stages. Electron immunogold labeling showed that the periphery of amyloid plaques, and the associated dystrophic neurites, was enriched in Abeta oligomers supporting an extracellular location of the synaptotoxins. Finally, the incubation of primary neurons with soluble fractions derived from 6-month-old APP/PS1 hippocampus induced significant loss of synaptic proteins, but not neuronal death. Indeed, this preclinical transgenic model could serve to investigate therapies targeted at initial stages of synaptic dysfunction relevant to the prodromal and early AD.This study was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCiii) of Spain, co-financed by the FEDER funds from European Union, through grants PI18/01557 (to AG) and PI18/01556 (to JV); by the Junta de Andalucia Consejería de Economía y Conocimiento through grants UMA18-FEDERJA-211 (to AG), P18-RT-2233 (to AG), and US-1262734 (to JV) co-financed by Programa Operativo FEDER 2014–2020; by the Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation grant PID2019-108911RA-100 (to DB-V), Beatriz Galindo program BAGAL18/00052 (to DB-V) grant PID2019-107090RA-I00 (to IM-G), and Ramon y Cajal Program RYC-2017-21879 (to IM-G); and by the Malaga University grants B1-2019_07 (to ES-M) and B1-2019_06 (to IM-G). MM-O held a predoctoral contract from Malaga University and ES-M a postdoctoral contract (DOC_00251) from Junta de Andalucia

Compromising between European and US allergen immunotherapy schools: Discussions from GUIMIT, the Mexican immunotherapy guidelines

Background: Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) has a longstanding history and still remains the only disease-changing treatment for allergic rhinitis and asthma. Over the years 2 different schools have developed their strategies: the United States (US) and the European. Allergen extracts available in these regions are adapted to local practice. In other parts of the world, extracts from both regions and local ones are commercialized, as in Mexico. Here, local experts developed a national AIT guideline (GUIMIT 2019) searching for compromises between both schools. Methods: Using ADAPTE methodology for transculturizing guidelines and AGREE-II for evaluating guideline quality, GUIMIT selected 3 high-quality Main Reference Guidelines (MRGs): the European Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (EAACI) guideines, the S2k guideline of various German-speaking medical societies (2014), and the US Practice Parameters on Allergen Immunotherapy 2011. We formulated clinical questions and based responses on the fused evidence available in the MRGs, combined with local possibilities, patient's preference, and costs. We came across several issues on which the MRGs disagreed. These are presented here along with arguments of GUIMIT members to resolve them. GUIMIT (for a complete English version, see Supplementary data) concluded the following: Results: Related to the diagnosis of IgE-mediated respiratory allergy, apart from skin prick testing complementary tests (challenges, in vitro testing and molecular such as species-specific allergens) might be useful in selected cases to inform AIT composition. AIT is indicated in allergic rhinitis and suggested in allergic asthma (once controlled) and IgE-mediated atopic dermatitis. Concerning the correct subcutaneous AIT dose for compounding vials according to the US school: dosing tables and formula are given; up to 4 non-related allergens can be mixed, refraining from mixing high with low protease extracts. When using European extracts: the manufacturer's indications should be followed; in multi-allergic patients 2 simultaneous injections can be given (100% consensus); mixing is discouraged. In Mexico only allergoid tablets are available; based on doses used in all sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) publications referenced in MRGs, GUIMIT suggests a probable effective dose related to subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) might be: 50–200% of the monthly SCIT dose given daily, maximum mixing 4 allergens. Also, a table with practical suggestions on non-evidence-existing issues, developed with a simplified Delphi method, is added. Finally, dissemination and implementation of guidelines is briefly discussed, explaining how we used online tools for this in Mexico. Conclusions: Countries where European and American AIT extracts are available should adjust AIT according to which school is followed

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation