Pixel Features for Self-organizing Map Based Detection of Foreground Objects in Dynamic Environments

Among current foreground detection algorithms for video sequences, methods based on self-organizing maps are obtaining a greater relevance. In this work we propose a probabilistic self-organising map based model, which uses a uniform distribution to represent the foreground. A suitable set of characteristic pixel features is chosen to train the probabilistic model. Our approach has been compared to some competing methods on a test set of benchmark videos, with favorable results.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Morbidity, outcomes and cost-benefit analysis of wildlife rehabilitation in Catalonia (Spain)

Background There are few studies of careful examination of wildlife casualties in Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers. These studies are essential for detecting menaces to wild species and providing objective criteria about cost-benefit of treatments in those centers. The release rate is considered the main outcome indicator, but other parameters such as length of stay at the center and a cost-benefit index expressed as number of released animals per euro and day, could be used as reliable estimators of the rehabilitation costs. Methodology A retrospective study based on 54772 admissions recorded from 1995-2013 in the database of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Torreferrussa (Catalonia, NW Spain) assessed the morbidity, outcomes and cost-benefits of the rehabilitation practices. Results Three hundred and two species were included: 232 birds (n = 48633), 37 mammals (n = 3293), 20 reptiles (n = 2705) and 13 amphibians (n = 141). The most frequent causes of admission were: 39.8% confiscation of protected species (89.4% passerines), 31.8% orphaned young animals (35.3% swifts, 21.7% diurnal raptors and owls) and 17.4% trauma casualties (46.7% raptors and owls). The highest proportion of releases was found in the captivity confiscation category [87.4% passerines (median time of stay: 12 days)], followed by the orphaned category [78% owls (66 days), 76.5% diurnal birds of prey (43 days), 75.6% hedgehogs (49 days), 52.7% swifts (19 days) and 52% bats (55 days)]. For the trauma group, 46.8% of releases were hedgehogs (44 days) and 25.6% owls (103 days). As regards the cost-benefit index, the trauma casualties and infectious diseases had the worse values with 1.3 and 1.4 released animals/euro/day respectively, and were particularly low in raptors, waders, marine birds and chiroptera. On the contrary, captivity (4.6) and misplacement (4.1) had the best index, particulary in amphibian, reptiles and passerines. Conclusions/significance Cost-benefit studies including the release rate, the time of stay at the center and the costbenefit index should be implemented for improving management efficiency of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers

Multiplex RNA-based detection of clinically relevant MET alterations in advanced non-small cell lung cancer

We studied MET alterations in 474 advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients by nCounter, an RNA-based technique. We identified 3% with MET Δex14 mRNA and 3.5% with very-high MET mRNA expression, a surrogate of MET amplification. MET alterations identified by nCounter correlated with clinical benefit from MET inhibitors. Quantitative mRNA-based techniques can improve the selection of patients for MET-targeted therapies. MET inhibitors have shown activity in non-small-cell lung cancer patients (NSCLC) with MET amplification and exon 14 skipping (METΔex14). However, patient stratification is imperfect, and thus, response rates have varied widely. Here, we studied MET alterations in 474 advanced NSCLC patients by nCounter, an RNA-based technique, together with next-generation sequencing (NGS), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), immunohistochemistry (IHC), and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), exploring correlation with clinical benefit. Of the 474 samples analyzed, 422 (89%) yielded valid results by nCounter, which identified 13 patients (3%) with MET Δex14 and 15 patients (3.5%) with very-high MET mRNA expression. These two subgroups were mutually exclusive, displayed distinct phenotypes and did not generally coexist with other drivers. For MET Δex14, 3/8 (37.5%) samples positive by nCounter tested negative by NGS. Regarding patients with very-high MET mRNA, 92% had MET amplification by FISH and/or NGS. However, FISH failed to identify three patients (30%) with very-high MET RNA expression, among which one received MET tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment deriving clinical benefit. Our results indicate that quantitative mRNA-based techniques can improve the selection of patients for MET-targeted therapies

Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1-Alpha (HIF-1 Alpha) Is Induced during Reperfusion after Renal Ischemia and Is Critical for Proximal Tubule Cell Survival

Acute tubular necrosis (ATN) caused by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) during renal transplantation delays allograft function. Identification of factors that mediate protection and/or epithelium recovery could help to improve graft outcome. We studied the expression, regulation and role of hypoxia inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1 α), using in vitro and in vivo experimental models of I/R as well as human post-transplant renal biopsies. We found that HIF-1 α is stabilized in proximal tubule cells during ischemia and unexpectedly in late reperfusion, when oxygen tension is normal. Both inductions lead to gene expression in vitro and in vivo. In vitro interference of HIF-1 α promoted cell death and in vivo interference exacerbated tissue damage and renal dysfunction. In pos-transplant human biopsies, HIF-1 α was expressed only in proximal tubules which exhibited normal renal structure with a significant negative correlation with ATN grade. In summary, using experimental models and human biopsies, we identified a novel HIF-1 α induction during reperfusion with a potential critical role in renal transplant

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

re-habitar El Carmen : Un proyecto sobre patrimonio contemporáneo

El proyecto _re-HABITAR suponía para el propio proceder de la institución un avance más allá del reconocimiento, registro, inventario o protección patrimonial de la arquitectura del siglo XX y del Movimiento Moderno para posicionarse en la acción preventiva y conservativa de ese legado contemporáneo. Para ello, la praxis patrimonial se aferraba a un modelo: el de la vivienda social en España en la segunda mitad del siglo XX; a un caso concreto: el de la barriada de Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Recasens Méndez-Queipo de Llano, 1958); y a un requisito fundamental: analizar un objeto vivo y en uso, aún con la presencia de quienes lo vivieron y usaron desde su origen

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues

Morbidity, outcomes and cost-benefit analysis of wildlife rehabilitation in Catalonia (Spain)

Background There are few studies of careful examination of wildlife casualties in Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers. These studies are essential for detecting menaces to wild species and providing objective criteria about cost-benefit of treatments in those centers. The release rate is considered the main outcome indicator, but other parameters such as length of stay at the center and a cost-benefit index expressed as number of released animals per euro and day, could be used as reliable estimators of the rehabilitation costs. Methodology A retrospective study based on 54772 admissions recorded from 1995-2013 in the database of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Torreferrussa (Catalonia, NW Spain) assessed the morbidity, outcomes and cost-benefits of the rehabilitation practices. Results Three hundred and two species were included: 232 birds (n = 48633), 37 mammals (n = 3293), 20 reptiles (n = 2705) and 13 amphibians (n = 141). The most frequent causes of admission were: 39.8% confiscation of protected species (89.4% passerines), 31.8% orphaned young animals (35.3% swifts, 21.7% diurnal raptors and owls) and 17.4% trauma casualties (46.7% raptors and owls). The highest proportion of releases was found in the captivity confiscation category [87.4% passerines (median time of stay: 12 days)], followed by the orphaned category [78% owls (66 days), 76.5% diurnal birds of prey (43 days), 75.6% hedgehogs (49 days), 52.7% swifts (19 days) and 52% bats (55 days)]. For the trauma group, 46.8% of releases were hedgehogs (44 days) and 25.6% owls (103 days). As regards the cost-benefit index, the trauma casualties and infectious diseases had the worse values with 1.3 and 1.4 released animals/euro/day respectively, and were particularly low in raptors, waders, marine birds and chiroptera. On the contrary, captivity (4.6) and misplacement (4.1) had the best index, particulary in amphibian, reptiles and passerines. Conclusions/significance Cost-benefit studies including the release rate, the time of stay at the center and the costbenefit index should be implemented for improving management efficiency of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers

Outcome rates in the different zoological groups.

<p>Outcome rates in the different zoological groups.</p

Outcome rates according to the zoological group in the different prognostic categories.

<p>Category description: 1, apparently healthy; 2, mild weakness or thinning, uncomplicated fractures; 3, severe (including dehydration, open fractures, deep wounds) and 4, very severe (major injuries, emaciation, paralysis, blindness, respiratory distress).</p