Kinematic and kinetic patterns related to free-walking in parkinson’s disease

The aim of this study is to compare the properties of free-walking at a natural pace between mild Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients during the ON-clinical status and two control groups. In-shoe pressure-sensitive insoles were used to quantify the temporal and force characteristics of a 5-min free-walking in 11 PD patients, in 16 young healthy controls, and in 12 age-matched healthy controls. Inferential statistics analyses were performed on the kinematic and kinetic parameters to compare groups’ performances, whereas feature selection analyses and automatic classification were used to identify the signature of parkinsonian gait and to assess the performance of group classification, respectively. Compared to healthy subjects, the PD patients’ gait pattern presented significant differences in kinematic parameters associated with bilateral coordination but not in kinetics. Specifically, patients showed an increased variability in double support time, greater gait asymmetry and phase deviation, and also poorer phase coordination. Feature selection analyses based on the ReliefF algorithm on the differential parameters in PD patients revealed an effect of the clinical status, especially true in double support time variability and gait asymmetry. Automatic classification of PD patients, young and senior subjects confirmed that kinematic predictors produced a slightly better classification performance than kinetic predictors. Overall, classification accuracy of groups with a linear discriminant model which included the whole set of features (i.e., demographics and parameters extracted from the sensors) was 64.1%

Feasibility study of a wearable system based on a wireless body area network for gait assessment in Parkinson's disease patients

Parkinson’s disease (PD) alters the motor performance of affected individuals. The dopaminergic denervation of the striatum, due to substantia nigra neuronal loss, compromises the speed, the automatism and smoothness of movements of PD patients. The development of a reliable tool for long-term monitoring of PD symptoms would allow the accurate assessment of the clinical status during the different PD stages and the evaluation of motor complications. Furthermore, it would be very useful both for routine clinical care as well as for testing novel therapies. Within this context we have validated the feasibility of using a Body Network Area (BAN) of wireless accelerometers to perform continuous at home gait monitoring of PD patients. The analysis addresses the assessment of the system performance working in real environments

Cursos sobre objetivos de desarrollo sostenible y adquisición de competencias de sostenibilidad en los grados universitarios españoles

PósterDesde los estratos superiores de gobierno de las Universidades se han apoyado, aprobado y publicado los compromisos para la implantación de Competencias en Sostenibilidad en el ámbito universitario, actor clave en la consecución de los logros que persigue la Agenda 2030. En este contexto, en el que se establece la necesidad de integrar en mayor medida estas Competencias para ser desarrolladas en el futuro profesional de los estudiantes Universitarios, y a fin de encontrar nuevas vías de progreso, se ha hecho un mapeo y revisión actualizada de contenidos y usos de los cursos sobre los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), dirigidos al alumnado universitario, como medio empleado para la integración de dicha capacitación en la enseñanza universitaria española. Como resultado se ha encontrando que dichos mecanismos aún necesitan mayor impulso en la puesta en práctica para lograr una realización notoriamente visible y generalizada, o bien tienen un carácter marcadamente sectorial o incompleto. La descripción y análisis de la situación de este análisis permite poner en valor actuaciones llevadas a cabo actualmente, así como realizar propuestas de mejora y brindar alternativas para la implementación de acciones en espacios con un claro déficit en este aspecto.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

GAM9: Gamificación de Asignaturas del Módulo 9 "Conocimientos y técnicas aplicadas a la comunicación publicitaria”

La gamificación consiste en la aplicación de conceptos que encontramos habitualmente en los juegos en general y en los videojuegos en concreto. Estos elementos son: reglas, retos progresivos con un camino definido para alcanzarlos, feedback continuo sobre la progresión, y compromiso por parte del jugador. Aunque el concepto es una herramienta muy utilizada en marketing, también se empieza a trasladar lo positivo de las mecánicas del juego a la docencia. Dado que gran parte del alumnado dedica su tiempo libre a los videojuegos, es de esperar que esta dinámica sea incluso más positiva que en otros campos. Gamificar una asignatura puede motivar al estudiante, guiarlo en el proceso de aprendizaje y fomentar una sana competitividad. Por esta razón, nos proponemos concretar para el curso 2014/15 propuestas de gamificación en tres asignaturas del grado en Publicidad y Relaciones Públicas, pertenecientes al módulo “Conocimientos y Técnicas aplicadas a la comunicación publicitaria” con el objetivo de motivar el aprendizaje de nuestro alumnado

LES of a pressurized sooting aero-engine model burner using a computationally efficient discrete sectional method coupled to tabulated chemistry

This work is focused on the modeling and analysis of soot formation and oxidation in the pressurized ethylene-based model burner investigated at DLR. This burner features a dual swirler configuration for the primary air supply and includes secondary dilution jets inside the combustion chamber, showing reacting flow characteristics representative of the RQL combustor technology. Large-eddy simulations (LES) of the DLR burner are conduced here to assess a coupling approach between flamelet generated manifold (FGM) chemistry and discrete sectional method (DSM) based soot model with clustering method. First, a validation of the numerical results is conducted for the gas velocity and temperature fields, and good agreement is obtained for both mean and fluctuating quantities. The Soot Volume Fraction (SVF) computed from LES shows a satisfactory agreement with the experimental data in both SVF distribution and magnitude. The analysis also includes a numerical investigation of the soot production and the Particle Size Distributions (PSD). Finally, the configuration without secondary air is evaluated and an accurate prediction of the SVF field is also obtained. In this case, the absence of dilution air strongly influences the central region of the combustion chamber, and soot distribution and PSD are mainly affected by transport and dilution, not oxidation. It is finally concluded the proposed modeling framework is capable of predicting the soot field and particle size distributions inside the combustor for both operating conditions.</p

LES of a pressurized sooting aero-engine model burner using a computationally efficient discrete sectional method coupled to tabulated chemistry

This work is focused on the modeling and analysis of soot formation and oxidation in the pressurized ethylene-based model burner investigated at DLR. This burner features a dual swirler configuration for the primary air supply and includes secondary dilution jets inside the combustion chamber, showing reacting flow characteristics representative of the RQL combustor technology. Large-eddy simulations (LES) of the DLR burner are conduced here to assess a coupling approach between flamelet generated manifold (FGM) chemistry and discrete sectional method (DSM) based soot model with clustering method. First, a validation of the numerical results is conducted for the gas velocity and temperature fields, and good agreement is obtained for both mean and fluctuating quantities. The Soot Volume Fraction (SVF) computed from LES shows a satisfactory agreement with the experimental data in both SVF distribution and magnitude. The analysis also includes a numerical investigation of the soot production and the Particle Size Distributions (PSD). Finally, the configuration without secondary air is evaluated and an accurate prediction of the SVF field is also obtained. In this case, the absence of dilution air strongly influences the central region of the combustion chamber, and soot distribution and PSD are mainly affected by transport and dilution, not oxidation. It is finally concluded the proposed modeling framework is capable of predicting the soot field and particle size distributions inside the combustor for both operating conditions.</p

Adaptación de asignaturas del módulo 9 de Publicidad y RR.PP a los Estilos de Aprendizaje del alumnado para mejorar su rendimiento académico

El rendimiento académico de los estudiantes universitarios constituye un factor fundamental para la valoración de la calidad educativa en la enseñanza superior. En esta investigación preliminar, se busca si existe una relación entre rendimiento académico, estilos de aprendizaje y regulación emocional. Para ello se utilizan tres cuestionarios y los datos se cruzan con la nota final obtenida en una asignatura de tercero del grado en Publicidad y Relaciones Públicas. Los resultados indican que existe una posible correlación inversa entre canal de información auditivo y nota, una correlación inversa entre aprendizaje dirigido a la reproducción y nota, y una correlación directa entre aprendizaje no dirigido y nota. Posteriores investigaciones con un mayor número de asignaturas y estudiantes podrán corroborar estos indicios

Mast cell repopulation of the peritoneal cavity: contribution of mast cell progenitors versus bone marrow derived committed mast cell precursors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mast cells have recently gained new importance as immunoregulatory cells that are involved in numerous pathological processes. One result of these processes is an increase in mast cell numbers at peripheral sites. This study was undertaken to determine the mast cell response in the peritoneal cavity and bone marrow during repopulation of the peritoneal cavity in rats.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two mast cell specific antibodies, mAb AA4 and mAb BGD6, were used to distinguish the committed mast cell precursor from more mature mast cells. The peritoneal cavity was depleted of mast cells using distilled water. Twelve hours after distilled water injection, very immature mast cells could be isolated from the blood and by 48 hours were present in the peritoneal cavity. At this same time the percentage of mast cells in mitosis increased fourfold. Mast cell depletion of the peritoneal cavity also reduced the total number of mast cells in the bone marrow, but increased the number of mast cell committed precursors.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In response to mast cell depletion of the peritoneal cavity, a mast cell progenitor is released into the circulation and participates in repopulation of the peritoneal cavity, while the committed mast cell precursor is retained in the bone marrow.</p