Control visual de robots manipuladores. Una herramienta para su diseño y aprendizaje

En este artículo se describe una nueva herramienta para la simulación y ejecución de sistemas de control basados en imagen en robots manipuladores. Esta herramienta, por un lado, permite ajustar de forma fácil e intuitiva los distintos parámetros implicados en una tarea de control visual y, por otro, puede aplicarse a tareas de docencia para facilitar el aprendizaje de este tipo de sistemas de control visual cada vez más extendidos y con un ámbito de aplicación creciente. Esta herramienta tiene implementados algoritmos clásicos de control basados en imagen así como otros más novedosos basados en momentos que confieren mayor flexibilidad al sistema, asimismo, el carácter docente de la misma permite la fácil integración de nuevos algoritmos de control visual para su evaluación.Este trabajo ha sido parcialmente financiado por OMRON tras la concesión del premio OMRON de “Iniciación a la investigación e innovación en automática” durante la convocatoria de 2003

Infant Responding to Joint Attention, Executive Processes, and Self-Regulation in Preschool Children

Infant joint attention is related to behavioral and social outcomes, as well as language in childhood. Recent research and theory suggests that the relations between joint attention and social–behavioral outcomes may reflect the role of executive self-regulatory processes in the development of joint attention. To test this hypothesis two studies were conducted. The first, cross-sectional study examined the development of responding to joint attention (RJA) skill in terms of increasing executive efficiency of responding between 9 and 18 months of age. The results indicated that development of RJA was characterized by a decreased latency to shift attention in following another person\u27s gaze and head turn, as well as an increase in the proportion of correct RJA responses exhibited by older infants. The second study examined the longitudinal relations between 12-month measures of responding to joint attention and 36-month attention regulation in a delay of gratification task. The results indicated that responding to joint attention at 12-months was significantly related to children\u27s use of three types of self-regulation behaviors while waiting for a snack reward at 36 months of age. These observations are discussed in light of a developmental theory of attention regulation and joint attention in infancy

La difusión tecnológica en la industria andaluza : un análisis a partir de las tablas input-output

El objeto del presento trabajo consiste en reflejar el nivel que alcanzo la difusión de la tecnología en la industria andaluza y dar respuesta al retraso que padece. Sobre lo base de las tablas input-output se señala el comportamiento que sigue la industrio en el ámbito tecnológico, diferenciando su conducta del resto de la economía, dedicando especial atención o determinados sectores clave. Los datos indican que los sectores más activos tecnológicamente o priori también lo son en Andalucía. Sin embargo, los esfuerzos por incorporar o difundir tecnologías de bolo, medio o alta intensidad presentan unos diferencias que ayudan o comprender el retraso al que hemos hecho mención

Selecting Negative Samples for PPI Prediction Using Hierarchical Clustering Methodology

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) play a crucial role in cellular processes. In the present work, a new approach is proposed to construct a PPI predictor training a support vector machine model through a mutual information filter-wrapper parallel feature selection algorithm and an iterative and hierarchical clustering to select a relevance negative training set. By means of a selected suboptimum set of features, the constructed support vector machine model is able to classify PPIs with high accuracy in any positive and negative datasets

Improving detection of surface discontinuities in visual-force control systms

In this paper, a new approach to detect surface discontinuities in a visual–force control task is described. A task which consists in tracking a surface using visual–force information is shown. In this task, in order to reposition the robot tool with respect to the surface it is necessary to determine the surface discontinuities. This paper describes a new method to detect surface discontinuities employing sensorial information obtained from a force sensor, a camera and structured light. This method has proved to be more robust than previous systems even in situations where high frictions occur

Validation of the Spanish version of the Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID-SP) Scale

This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID-SP) Scale. Data were collected from patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The findings suggested that the PAID-SP is a reliable and valid measure of diabetes-specific emotional problems

Neuropathic pain after thoracotomy: tracking signs and symptoms before and at monthly intervals following surgery

Background: Because the development of neuropathic symptoms contributes to pain severity and chronification after surgery, their early prediction is important to allow targeted treatment. Objectives: We longitudinally investigated trajectories of signs and symptoms in patients undergoing thoracotomy and assessed whether and at which time they were related to the development of neuropathic pain symptoms six months after surgery. Methods: Presurgical and six, monthly postsurgical assessments included questionnaires for mental and physical well-being (e.g. depression/anxiety, pain catastrophizing, sleep quality, neuropathic pain symptoms), and quantitative sensory testing (QST). Results: QST trajectories indicated nerve impairment of the surgery site with predominant loss of function. Signs of recovery towards the end of the assessment period were observed for some tests. Unsupervised cluster analysis with NPSI scores six months after surgery as clustering variable identified one group with no/low levels of neuropathic symptoms and one with moderate levels. The two groups differed w.r.t. several signs and symptoms already at early time points. Notably, neuropathic pain anywhere in the body differed already preoperatively and sleep impairment differentiated the two groups at all time points. Regression analysis revealed three factors that seemed particularly suited to predicted six months NPSI scores, namely preoperative neuropathic pain symptoms, with contributions from sleep impairment one month after surgery and the presence of dynamic mechanical allodynia three months after surgery. Conclusions: Clinical routine should focus on the individual’s physiological state, including pre-existing neuropathic pain and sleep quality to identify patients early who might be at risk to develop chronic post-surgical neuropathic pain