La simbiosis con endófitos del género Neotyphodium y su impacto en la interacción del pasto hospedante con otros hongos

En los pastizales naturales se encuentran muchas especies de gramíneas asociadas a endófitos asexuales del género Neotyphodium. La persistencia de la simbiosis en las comunidades ha sido asociada a los beneficios que el endófito le confiere al hospedante frente a situaciones de herbivoría y estrés abiótico. El objetivo general de esta tesis es evaluar el impacto de la presencia del endófito sobre el desarrollo de otros hongos que forman asociaciones patogénicas con el mismo pasto hospedante y estudiar de qué manera esta triple interacción se relaciona con el resto de la comunidad y el ambiente abiótico. Como sistema de estudio se utilizó a la gramínea anual Lolium multiflorum, su endófito Neotyphodium occultans y hongos con estrategias de vida contrastantes que colonizan distintos tejidos en distintos estadios del hospedante y generan cambios diversos en su demografía y ecología. La hipótesis general de esta tesis es que la presencia de endófitos altera tanto de manera directa como indirecta la interacción entre la planta hospedante y la comunidad de patógenos, y que estos cambios impactan sobre la permanencia de la simbiosis y su interacción con el resto de la comunidad vegetal. A través de un meta-análisis y experimentos manipulativos en laboratorio, invernáculo y a campo demostramos que el mutualismo reduce la infección por diversos hongos patógenos a través de mecanismos tanto fisiológicos como ecológicos, e impacta sobre otras especies de pastos. La conclusión general de esta tesis es que esta triple interacción está lejos de ser simple como fue planteado en sus inicios. Esta interacción es compleja e incluye a otros organismos de la comunidad, tanto como mediadores de la infección o como beneficiarios de los efectos de la simbiosis

Computer Based Production of Saffron (Crocus Sativus L.): From Mechanical Design to Electronic Control

[EN] The article describes the design and implementation of a computer based industrial system for production of saffron. The proposal is based on an automated greenhouse with temperature, light and irrigation control together with harvesting and stigma separation devices. The harvesting device has been specifically developed using scalability properties and computer vision. The greenhouse is designed to increase the crop density if required generating a more sustainable and continuous production. The main advantages of the proposed method are as follows: the harvesting of the saffron flower and the procedure to get the stigmas are carried out in the same process; the greenhouse allows to significantly extend the flowering time of the saffron plant; and higher productivity per worker and per planting area is achieved. In order to show the feasibility and applicability of the proposed approach, real experimentation has been carried out for the extension of the flowering time and for the harvesting and stigma separation devices and successful results have been obtained.This work has been partially supported by the European Commission under Grant No. 683987. The authors thank Enrique Gil Botella for helping with the machine design and drawings and Angel Flores Pérez for helping to generate the program for the cutting system.Perez-Vidal, C.; Gracia Calandin, LI. (2020). Computer Based Production of Saffron (Crocus Sativus L.): From Mechanical Design to Electronic Control. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 169:1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2019.105198S11116

Estudio de la vía adenosinérgica en células Estromales Mesenquimales y su efecto inmunosupresor sobre células T

Las células troncales/estromales mesenquimales (MSCs) tienen un potencial de aplicación en el tratamiento de diferentes enfermedades inmunológicas debido a su capacidad inmunoreguladora. En la actualidad, la médula ósea (MO) representa la fuente principal de MSCs. Sin embargo, nuestro grupo de investigación ha obtenido MSCs de fuentes alternativas como la pulpa dental (PD), placenta (PL) y sangre de cordón umbilical (SCU), con capacidad de inmunoregulación similar a las de la MO. Algunos grupos de trabajo han demostrado que las MSCs de la MO suprimen la proliferación de linfocitos T a través de la producción de adenosina (ADO) mediada por la coexpresión de las ectoenzimas CD39 y CD73. Sin embargo, se desconoce si las MSCs de otras fuentes recurren a esta vía. Con la finalidad de contribuir al conocimiento de las propiedades inmunosupresoras de las MSCs provenientes de fuentes alternativas a la MO, en este trabajo se determinó si éstas recurren a la vía adenosinérgica para modular la proliferación de las células T. Nuestros resultados muestran que las MSCs de PD, PL y SCU prácticamente no expresan CD39 en su membrana, sin embargo, si expresan altos porcentajes de CD73 a nivel poblacional y membranal. Esto indica que, a diferencia de las MSCs de la MO, aquellas provenientes de las fuentes alternativas analizadas, no producen ADO a partir de ATP. En contraparte, las MSCs de todas las fuentes producen de forma similar altas concentraciones de ADO a partir de AMP, siendo funcional dado que inhibe la proliferación de linfocitos CD3+. En conclusión, nuestros resultados sugieren que las MSCs de PD, PL y SCU contrario a aquellas de la MO, presentan diferencias en los mecanismos inmunosupresores en los que se involucra la vía adenosinérgica. Lo anterior, se debe considerar en la posible aplicación clínica de las MSCs provenientes de dichas fuentes alternativas, como terapia celular inmunosupresora.Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have an application potential in the treatment of different immunological diseases due to their immunoregulatory capacity. Currently, bone marrow (BM) represents the main source of MSCs, however, our research group has obtained MSC from alternative sources such as dental pulp (DP), placenta (PL) and umbilical cord blood (UCB), with immunoregulation capacity similar to those of BM. Some working groups have shown that MSCs of BM suppress the proliferation of T lymphocytes through the production of adenosine (ADO) mediated by the co expression of the ectoenzymes CD39 and CD73, however, it is unknown whether MSCs from other sources recur to this way. With the purpose of contributing to the knowledge of the immunosuppressive properties of MSCs from sources other than BM, in this work it was determined if you are recurrent to the adenosynergic pathway to modulate the proliferation of T cells. Our results show that the MSCs of DP, PL and UCB practically do not express CD39 in their membrane, however if they express high percentages of CD73 at a population and membrane level. This indicates that unlike the MSCs of BM, those from the alternative sources analyzed, not produces ADO from ATP. In contrast, MSCs from all sources similarly produce high concentrations of ADO from AMP, this being functional since it inhibits the proliferation of CD3+ lymphocytes. In conclusion, our results suggest that the MSCs of DP, PL and UCB contrary to those of BM, present differences in the immunosuppressive mechanisms in which the adenosinergic pathway is involved. The above should be considered in the possible clinical application of MSCs from these alternative sources, such as immunosuppressive cell therapy

Context-aware Assessment Using QR-codes

In this paper we present the implementation of a general mechanism to deliver tests based on mobile devices and matrix codes. The system is an extension of Siette, and has not been specifically developed for any subject matter. To evaluate the performance of the system and show some of its capabilities, we have developed a test for a second-year college course on Botany at the School of Forestry Engineering. Students were equipped with iPads and took an outdoor test on plant species identification. All students were able to take and complete the test in a reasonable time. Opinions expressed anonymously by the students in a survey about the usability of the system and the usefulness of the test were very favorable. We think that the application presented in this paper can broaden the applicability of automatic assessment techniques.The presentation of this work has been co-founded by the Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Representation of Robots in Matlab

Electronic versíon of an article published as International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering, Volume 29, issue 1, 2019, pp. 23-42. 10.1142/S0218194019500025 © World Scientific Publishing Company[EN] This paper presents a new software tool, namely RoboClass, to include and manage realistic robots and elements of the environment in Matlab simulations. These elements are loaded from CAD models using an STL-file and can be as detailed as desired. All the steps involved in the process are explained in detail. Furthermore, two illustrative examples are considered to show the effectiveness and versatility of the proposed approach: the ABB-IRB120 industrial robot and the CSA research robot. The developed tool is especially useful both for robotics research and teaching.Sanchez, A.; Gracia Calandin, LI.; Morales, R.; Perez-Vidal, C. (2019). Representation of Robots in Matlab. International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering. 29(1):23-42. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218194019500025S234229

Real-time detection of uncalibrated sensors using Neural Networks

Nowadays, sensors play a major role in several contexts like science, industry and daily life which benefit of their use. However, the retrieved information must be reliable. Anomalies in the behavior of sensors can give rise to critical consequences such as ruining a scientific project or jeopardizing the quality of the production in industrial production lines. One of the more subtle kind of anomalies are uncalibrations. An uncalibration is said to take place when the sensor is not adjusted or standardized by calibration according to a ground truth value. In this work, an online machine-learning based uncalibration detector for temperature, humidity and pressure sensors was developed. This solution integrates an Artificial Neural Network as main component which learns from the behavior of the sensors under calibrated conditions. Then, after trained and deployed, it detects uncalibrations once they take place. The obtained results show that the proposed solution is able to detect uncalibrations for deviation values of 0.25 degrees, 1% RH and 1.5 Pa, respectively. This solution can be adapted to different contexts by means of transfer learning, whose application allows for the addition of new sensors, the deployment into new environments and the retraining of the model with minimum amounts of data

A Systematic Review on the Effects of Epichloë Fungal Endophytes on Drought Tolerance in Cool-Season Grasses

Symptomless fungal endophytes in the genus Epichloë are repeatedly mentioned to increase tolerance of cool-season grasses to a wide range of environmental stress factors, mainly drought. However, the generality of this idea is challenged because (i) most studies have been conducted on two economically important forage grasses {tall fescue [Festuca arundinacea (Schreb.) Dumort] and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)}, (ii) endophyte-mediated mechanisms and effects on plant responses to drought have shown to be highly variable across species, and that (iii) symbiosis incidence in plant populations occurring in extremely arid environments is usually low. We question this idea by reviewing the existing information about Epichloë fungal endophyte effects on drought tolerance in cool-season grasses. We combined standard review, vote counting, and calculation of effect sizes to synthesize the literature, identify information gaps, and guide future research. The total number of studies was higher for domesticated than for wild species, a ratio that was balanced when papers with data quality for effect size calculus were considered. After the drought, endophyte-infected plants accumulated more aboveground and belowground biomass than non-infected counterparts, while no effect on tillering was observed. However, these effects remained significant for wild (even on tillering) but not for domesticated species. Interestingly, despite the continuous effort in determining physiological mechanisms behind the endophyte effects, no studies evaluated plant fecundity as a measure of ecological fitness nor vital rates (such as survival) as to escalate individual-level variables to population. Together with the high variability in results, our work shows that generalizing a positive effect of fungal endophytes in plant tolerance to drought may be misleading. Future studies combining field surveys with manipulative experiments would allow us to unravel the role of fungal endophytes in plant adaptation by considering the evolutionary history of species and populations to the different ecological contexts.Fil: Dedcunta, Facundo Alcides. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Luis Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Malinowski, Dariusz P.. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Molina Montenegro, Marco A.. Universidad de Talca; Chile. Universidad Católica del Norte; ChileFil: Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Universidad de Talca; Chil

Cooperative learning in a Engineering Teaching Framework: an introductory experience to Teamworking

Proyecto de Innovación Educativa PIE13-021: Aprendizaje Cooperativo/Colaborativo en el ámbito de la Ingeniería (ACAI)La enseñanza universitaria en el ámbito de la Ingeniería ha estado tradicionalmente orientada al trabajo individual del alumno, lo cual dificulta la adquisición de una de las aptitudes más valoradas en el mercado laboral, como es la competencia de trabajo en grupo. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo fomentar una componente de esta competencia, como es la interacción entre los estudiantes. Para ello se han diseñado y puesto en práctica una serie de actividades docentes en la asignatura “Microcontroladores“, asignatura de 2º curso común a los estudios de Grado en Ingeniería de Sistemas Electrónicos, Sistemas de Telecomunicación, Telemática, Tecnologías de Telecomunicación, y Sonido e Imagen, en la Universidad de Málaga. Asimismo, se ha establecido un conjunto de indicadores que permiten evaluar el grado de consecución de la meta planteada. Los resultados han puesto de manifiesto que la interacción entre los estudiantes se puede fomentar mediante el conjunto de acciones planificadas, aunque las mismas requieren un esfuerzo adicional por parte del profesorado. Finalmente, se han propuesto algunas mejoras en el diseño del procedimiento, para mejorar su eficacia. Este trabajo se enmarca en el proyecto ACAI, cuyo objetivo es implementar un diseño curricular para el desarrollo de la competencia de Trabajo en Grupo. Así, se propone continuar la experiencia aquí presentada fomentando, para los mismos estudiantes, otras componentes de la competencia en asignaturas de 3º y 4º de los grados mencionados.Proyecto de Innovación Educativa PIE13-021, concedido por el Vicerrectorado de Profesorado, Formación, y Coordinación de la Universidad de Málaga

Analysis of acoustic noise spectrum of domestic induction heating systems controlled by phase-accumulator modulators

In domestic induction heating (IH) applications, the modulation technique applied to the inverter has a high influence on the acoustic noise emissions. These noise emissions must be avoided since they may be audible and annoying to the final user. This paper analyzes the acoustic noise emissions that appear when a series half-bridge resonant inverter is operated with a phase-accumulator based modulator. This modulation technique has the advantage of operating in the frequency domain, and it is compared with the classical PWM modulator regarding the audible noise generated. The frequencies of the tones in the acoustic noise spectrum are theoretically calculated from the parameters of the phaseaccumulator based modulator. The SFM (Spectral Flatness Measure) is used to quantify the number of cases in which tones are generated by the modulation. Two techniques are applied to the phase-accumulator based modulator and their effect is tested. Theoretical results are experimentally verified

Advanced mathematical methods for collaborative robotics

Gracia Calandin, LI.; Perez-Vidal, C.; Valls-Miro, J. (2018). Advanced mathematical methods for collaborative robotics. Mathematical Problems in Engineering. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1605817S201