Desarrollo de una aplicación de configuración para sistemas de navegación autónomos en UAV

Los UAV, más conocidos como drones, son vehículos aéreos no tripulados, equipados con sistemas de última generación como GPS, sensores, cámaras, control de radares, etc. capaces de enviar información en milisegundos, a la estación de tierra desde la que son controlados. En la actualidad, existen diversos proyectos en marcha sobre el uso de drones, por ejemplo, para la dispensación de productos comerciales, en el caso de Amazon; la vigilancia de grandes y peligrosas extensiones de tierra, como el volcán de Turrialba; o incluso en ataques contra blancos humanos, en el caso de los servicios de inteligencia de los Estados Unidos. Todas las misiones que incorporan estos dispositivos precisan de una rigurosa preparación y control de los mismos. En base a estos principios, como resultado de este Trabajo de Fin de Grado se presenta una aplicación que facilita la configuración de los UAV desde la estación de tierra, Visionair. Durante el proceso de desarrollo del proyecto, se han ido incorporando utilidades que ampliaban el abanico de parámetros del UAV que se podían configurar. Para el desarrollo de estas utilidades, se ha llevado a cabo un exhaustivo análisis de requisitos que albergaba todas las características y necesidades que debía cubrir la aplicación. A continuación, se ha realizado un diseño en el que se han creado distintos perfiles para los diferentes dispositivos. Estos perfiles contenían las utilidades que cada aparato precisaba para la configuración de sus componentes, para así poder ofrecer al usuario una aplicación orientada a la configuración de ese dispositivo concreto y, de esta manera, reducir al máximo la existencia de utilidades inservibles. El diseño ha superado con éxito el ATP al que se le ha sometido y, muy pronto, estará disponible para que tanto los clientes como los ingenieros de la empresa UAV Navigation puedan contar con una herramienta integrada en Visionair que les permitirá configurar sus dispositivos sin necesidad de aplicaciones externas.The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), commonly known as drones, are unmanned aerial vehicles, equipped with highly innovative systems like Global Positioning System (GPS), sensors, cameras, radar controls, etc. capable of sending data just in milliseconds to the earth station from where they are controlled. Now there are different current projects about the use of drones, for example, for the dispensing of traded goods, in Amazon case, the vigilance of big and dangerous tracts of land, like the Turrialba volcano, or even in attacks against human targets, in the case of USA intelligence services. All missions added in these devices need an accurate preparation and control of themselves. On the basis of these principles, and as a result of this End of Degree Project, it is given an application that makes easier the UAV’s configuration from the earth station, Visionair. During the project’s development process, there have been utilities incorporated that increased the UAV’s parameters range that could be configured. For these utilities development, it has been conducted a thorough requirement analysisthat covered all the characteristics the application needed. Then, it has been made a design in which it has been created different profiles for the different devices. These profiles contained the utilities that each device needed for them component configuration and, in this way, provide the user an application which is oriented to this particular device in order to minimize the existence of useless utilities. The design has overcome successfully the Acceptance Test Plan (ATP) it was tested and soon it will be available so the clients and the UAV Navigation Company engineers have an integrated tool in Visionair. This tool allows engineers to configure their devices so that they don’t have to use any kind of external applications

For a contemporary approach of document in Information Science

[Resumo] Um documento se define como tal quando faz sentido para alguém. Esse aspecto pragmático revela o caráter social e simbólico da informação em face aos diferentes ambientes e situações concretas de uso. O objetivo deste artigo é o de explorar diferentes facetas pelas quais se pode abordar o documento no processo de organização e recuperação da informação no contexto da Ciência da Informação na contemporaneidade. A metodologia compreende: a) a recuperação de referências na literatura da Documentação com destaque para a produção francesa e espanhola, e; b) a discussão dos aspectos que permitem caracterizar um documento nas pesquisas contemporâneas em Ciência da Informação a partir de aportes da linguística, da semiótica e da comunicação. Discute-se a noção de documento como construção que resulta de processos de significação levados a efeito na recepcão, apontando a articulação existente entre estes elementos. Para finalizar, realiza-se aproximação e distinção entre documentos de sistemas documentários convencionais e documentos de museus, deflagrando a ideia de que, ao abrir o tema, são fornecidas mais possibilidades à abordagem escolhida para o mesmo.[Abstract] A document is defined as such when it makes sense to someone. This pragmatic aspect reveals the social and symbolic character of information in relation to the different environments and concrete situations of use. The aim of this article is to explore different angles through which we can approach the document in the process of organizing and retrieving information in the context of Information Science today. The methodology comprises: a) retrieval of references in the literature of Documentation, especially the Spanish and French production; and, b) the analysis of aspects which enable us to characterize a document in contemporary researches in the area of Information Science with contributions from linguistics, semiotics and communication. It is also discussed about the notion of document as a construction which results from processes of significance carried out in the reception, pointing out the articulation which occurs among these elements. Finally, we contrast the similar and different aspects of documents of conventional documentary systems and museum documents, conveying the idea that, as we amplify the subject of the article to other contexts, we provide more possibilities to the approach chosen for this subject

Plan estratégico: PineApple Inc.

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo presentar el plan estratégico de la empresa PineApple Inc., empresa ficticia contextualizada dentro de una plataforma de simulación de negocios provista por la Universidad del Pacífico donde ha competido con 5 compañías que se dedican al mismo rubro. PineApple Inc. tiene sede en Estados Unidos y se dedica a la fabricación y comercialización de teléfonos celulares. Tiene varias fábricas tanto en Estados Unidos como en Asia y se posicionó como la empresa con mejor precio por acción entre sus competidores. Su cuota de mercado total también se posiciona como una de las mejores del sector. Su visión es ser líder en la innovación en el sector, con equipos móviles que brinden soluciones inteligentes, y reconocida por mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas. Su misión es sorprender al mundo con soluciones innovadoras con sus equipos móviles para hacer que el día a día de las personas sea más simple. Tiene como principales valores la responsabilidad con el medio ambiente y la sociedad, ser constante con el trabajo en equipo, ser retadora para poder mantenerse como líder en el mercado y mantener la transparencia con los clientes, colaboradores y proveedores. Este plan estratégico cubre las principales áreas de gestión de la empresa y tiene una proyección de 4 años en total, teniendo como objetivo incrementar el valor de mercado de la empresa y consolidar la marca como líder del sector

Low-Energy Pulsed-Laser Welding as a Root Pass in a GMAW Joint: An Investigation on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties

Root pass is a fundamental step in multi-pass welding. In gas metal arc welding (GMAW), the weld bead qualities depend on the process parameters, filler materials, and welder abilities. This work investigates the effect of a Nd: YAG pulsed laser as a first pass to reduce the welders' reliance on the AH36 low-alloy steel with 5.5 mm thickness. This autogenous automatable process delivers reduced thermal impact due to the concentrated high-energy source, pulse overlap, and higher penetration depth-to-power ratio than continuous lasers. The outcomes indicate that the PL as a root welding generated a small HAZ compared to the GMAW condition. In addition, the subsequent arc passes positively affected the microstructure, reducing the hardness from around 500 to 230 HV. The PL + GMAW achieved similar strength results to the GMAW, although its Charpy impact values at -50 degrees C were around 15% lower than the arc condition.This work was financial supported from the Program for the Promotion and Impulse of Research and Transfer of the University of Cadiz (Reference project: IRTP02_UCA)

Mechanical behaviour of double side high performance PSA adhesive applied to painted naval structures

The use of adhesives constitutes a well-established technology in the aeronautical and automotive industries. A rising interest in the use of these materials has appeared in naval industry, where using adhesives in non-structural areas implies the reduction of welding to fix low weight components, making the joining process cheaper and faster. Among the different families of available adhesives, double-sided Pressure Sensitive Adhesives (PSAs) are considered of great industrial interest. A high performance PSA has been employed to join specimens of carbon steel coated with an epoxy painting scheme approved by the naval sector. The present paper reports for the first time the influence of some experimental application variables of this PSA-coated naval steel system on its mechanical behaviour. Standard shear and tensile tests have shown that the curing conditions, surface preparation and paint roughness have considerable effects on the resistance of these adhesive joints

El Uso De La Técnica “Lo Que Sé, Lo Que Quiero Aprender, Y Lo Que Aprendí” Para Mejorar El Nivel Literal De Comprensión Lectora En Inglés

El objetivo de la presente investigación fue mejorar el nivel literal de comprensión lectora por medio del uso de la técnica “lo que sé, lo que quiero saber, y lo que aprendí”. Esta investigación cuali-cuantitativa de diseño cuasiexperimental estuvo conformada por dos grupos de trabajo, un grupo experimental y un grupo de control, ambos grupos con el mismo número de población, treinta estudiantes. Los estudiantes del grupo experimental participaron en una intervención de seis semanas, mientras que los estudiantes del grupo de control desarrollaron sus actividades de clase de manera tradicional, sin el uso de la técnica mencionada. Además, para la intervención se diseñaron doce planes de lección considerando temas incluidos en el Sílabo Institucional para Quinto Nivel, para lo cual se seleccionaron lecturas de diferentes fuentes considerando el nivel A1 del Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para Lenguas. Los instrumentos de evaluación y recolección de datos considerados fueron pre-test y post-test. Con los datos obtenidos de ambos grupos se pudieron analizar e interpretar los resultados mediante el estadístico puntaje Z, a fin de comprobar la hipótesis alternativa y rechazar la hipótesis nula. Finalmente, se concluyó que la implementación de la técnica “lo que sé, lo que quiero saber, y lo que aprendí” mejora el nivel literal de la comprensión lectora. The objective of this research was to improve the literal reading comprehension level by using the “what I know, what I want to know, and what I learned” technique. This quali-quantitative, quasi-experimental research considered two groups; an experimental and a control group, both with thirty students. The experimental group participated in a 6-week intervention, while the control group developed their class activities with the traditional method without the application of the mentioned technique. In addition, for the intervention twelve lessons were created with topics included in Level V institutional syllabus, adapting articles from different sources and considering the A1 level from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The evaluation and data collection instruments were pre-test and post-test. The obtained results of both groups were analyzed and interpreted by using the statistic ZTEST to prove the research hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis. In conclusion, the “what I know, what I want to know, and what I learned” technique improved the literal reading comprehension level

Hypoxia compromises the mitochondrial metabolism of Alzheimer’s disease microglia via HIF1

Genetic Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk factors associate with reduced defensive amyloid β plaque-associated microglia (AβAM), but the contribution of modifiable AD risk factors to microglial dysfunction is unknown. In AD mouse models, we observe con- comitant activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1) pathway and transcription of mitochondrial-related genes in AβAM, and elongation of mitochondria, a cellular response to maintain aerobic respiration under low nutrient and oxygen conditions. Overactivation of HIF1 induces microglial quiescence in cellulo, with lower mitochondrial respiration and proliferation. In vivo, overstabilization of HIF1, either genetically or by exposure to systemic hypoxia, reduces AβAM clustering and proliferation and increases Aβ neuropathology. In the human AD hippocampus, upregulation of HIF1α and HIF1 target genes correlates with reduced Aβ plaque microglial coverage and an increase of Aβ plaque-associated neuropathology. Thus, hypoxia (a modifiable AD risk factor) hijacks microglial mitochondrial metabolism and converges with genetic susceptibility to cause AD microglial dysfunction

Antiviral mode of action of bovine dialyzable leukocyte extract against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bovine dialyzable leukocyte extract (bDLE) is derived from immune leukocytes obtained from bovine spleen. DLE has demonstrated to reduce transcription of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) and inactivate the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling pathway. Therefore, we decided to clarify the mode of antiviral action of bDLE on the inhibition of HIV-1 infection through a panel of antiviral assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The cytotoxicity, HIV-1 inhibition activity, residual infectivity of bDLE in HIV-1, time of addition experiments, fusion inhibition of bDLE for fusogenic cells and the duration of cell protection even after the removal of bDLE were all assessed in order to discover more about the mode of the antiviral action.</p> <p>HIV-1 infectivity was inhibited by bDLE at doses that were not cytotoxic for HeLa-CD4-LTR-β-gal cells. Pretreatment of HIV-1 with bDLE did not decrease the infectivity of these viral particles. Cell-based fusion assays helped to determine if bDLE could inhibit fusion of Env cells against CD4 cells by membrane fusion and this cell-based fusion was inhibited only when CD4 cells were treated with bDLE. Infection was inhibited in 80% compared with the positive (without EDL) at all viral life cycle stages in the time of addition experiments when bDLE was added at different time points. Finally, a cell-protection assay against HIV-1 infection by bDLE was performed after treating host cells with bDLE for 30 minutes and then removing them from treatment. From 0 to 7 hours after the bDLE was completely removed from the extracellular compartment, HIV-1 was then added to the host cells. The bDLE was found to protect the cells from HIV-1 infection, an effect that was retained for several hours.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>bDLE acted as an antiviral compound and prevented host cell infection by HIV-1 at all viral life cycle stages. These cell protection effects lingered for hours after the bDLE was removed. Interestingly, bDLE inhibited fusion of fusogenic cells by acting only on CD4 cells. bDLE had no virucidal effect, but could retain its antiviral effect on target cells after it was removed from the extracellular compartment, protecting the cells from infection for hours.</p> <p>bDLE, which has no reported side effects or toxicity in clinical trials, should therefore be further studied to determine its potential use as a therapeutic agent in HIV-1 infection therapy, in combination with known antiretrovirals.</p

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Multiple Sclerosis

To understand COVID-19 characteristics in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and identify high-risk individuals due to their immunocompromised state resulting from the use of disease-modifying treatments. Retrospective and multicenter registry in patients with MS with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and available disease course (mild = ambulatory; severe = hospitalization; and critical = intensive care unit/death). Cases were analyzed for associations between MS characteristics and COVID-19 course and for identifying risk factors for a fatal outcome. Of the 326 patients analyzed, 120 were cases confirmed by real-time PCR, 34 by a serologic test, and 205 were suspected. Sixty-nine patients (21.3%) developed severe infection, 10 (3%) critical, and 7 (2.1%) died. Ambulatory patients were higher in relapsing MS forms, treated with injectables and oral first-line agents, whereas more severe cases were observed in patients on pulsed immunosuppressors and critical cases among patients with no therapy. Severe and critical infections were more likely to affect older males with comorbidities, with progressive MS forms, a longer disease course, and higher disability. Fifteen of 33 patients treated with rituximab were hospitalized. Four deceased patients have progressive MS, 5 were not receiving MS therapy, and 2 were treated (natalizumab and rituximab). Multivariate analysis showed age (OR 1.09, 95% CI, 1.04-1.17) as the only independent risk factor for a fatal outcome. This study has not demonstrated the presumed critical role of MS therapy in the course of COVID-19 but evidenced that people with MS with advanced age and disease, in progressive course, and those who are more disabled have a higher probability of severe and even fatal diseas

Systemic and Local Hypoxia Synergize Through HIF1 to Compromise the Mitochondrial Metabolism of Alzheimer's Disease Microglia

Microglial cells are key contributors to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), constituting the first cellular line against Aß plaques. Local hypoxia and hypoperfusion, which are typically present in peripheral inflammatory foci, are also common in the AD brain. We describe here that Aß deposits are hypoxic and hypoperfused and that Aß plaque-associated microglia (AßAM) are characterized by the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1)-regulated genes. Notably, AßAM simultaneously upregulate the expression of genes involved in anaerobic glycolysis and oxidative mitochondrial metabolism, show elongated mitochondria surrounded by rough endoplasmic reticulum, and blunt the HIF1-mediated exclusion of pyruvate from the mitochondria through the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1). Overstabilization of HIF1 –by genetic (von Hippel-Lindau deficient microglia) or systemic hypoxia (an AD risk factor)– induces PDK1 in microglia and reduces microglial clustering in AD mouse models. The human AD brain exhibits increased HIF1 activity and a hypoxic brain area shows reduced microglial clustering. The loss of the microglial barrier associates with augmented Aß neuropathology both in the chronic hypoxia AD mouse model and the human AD brain. Thus, the synergy between local and systemic AD risk factors converges with genetic susceptibility to cause microglial dysfunction.Peer reviewe