Simulation-based high-level synthesis of Nyquist-rate data converters using MATLAB/SIMULINK

This paper presents a toolbox for the simulation, optimization and high-level synthesis of Nyquist-rate Analog-to-Digital (A/D) and Digital-to-Analog (D/A) Converters in MATLAB®. The embedded simulator uses SIMULINK® C-coded S-functions to model all required subcircuits including their main error mechanisms. This approach allows to drastically speed up the simulation CPU-time up to 2 orders of magnitude as compared with previous approaches - based on the use of SIMULINK® elementary blocks. Moreover, S-functions are more suitable for implementing a more detailed description of the circuit. For all subcircuits, the accuracy of the behavioral models has been verified by electrical simulation using HSPICE. For synthesis purposes, the simulator is used for performance evaluation and combined with an hybrid optimizer for design parameter selection. The optimizer combines adaptive statistical optimization algorithm inspired in simulated annealing with a design-oriented formulation of the cost function. It has been integrated in the MATLAB/SIMULINK® platform by using the MATLAB® engine library, so that the optimization core runs in background while MATLAB® acts as a computation engine. The implementation on the MATLAB® platform brings numerous advantages in terms of signal processing, high flexibility for tool expansion and simulation with other electronic subsystems. Additionally, the presented toolbox comprises a friendly graphical user interface to allow the designer to browse through all steps of the simulation, synthesis and post-processing of results. In order to illustrate the capabilities of the toolbox, a 0.13)im CMOS 12bit@80MS/s analog front-end for broadband power line communications, made up of a pipeline ADC and a current steering DAC, is synthesized and high-level sized. Different experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC2003-02355RAICONI

La tradición del Santo Cristo de los Milagros de Bayaguana

Falta palabras claveNos proponemos en esta investigación describir y analizar la Tradición del Santo Cristo de Bayaguana, en la República Dominicana. Nos basaremos en fuentes documentales y, sobre todo, en los testimonios, historias de vida y narraciones de la gente devota del Santo Cristo. Queremos exponer, describir, interpretar y explicar con las herramientas de la fenomenología religiosa y de las ciencias sociales la Tradición en cuestión. Pretendemos personalizar este fenómeno de religiosidad popular, dejar expresarse a quienes son sus protagonistas sin violentar su integridad, abordándolo tal y como se manifiesta, contemplando con cuidado las vivencias de los devotos y teniendo en cuenta la diversidad de protagonistas; todo ello para descubrir los diversos rostros de la Tradición y poder describir esta de la forma científica adecuad

Behavioral Modeling, Simulation and High-Level Synthesis of Pipeline A/D Converters

This paper presents a MATLAB® toolbox for the time-domain simulation and high-level sizing of pipeline analog-to-digital converters. SIMULINK® C-coded S-functions are used to describe the behavioral models of all building blocks, including their main circuit errors. This approach significantly speeds up system-level simulations while keeping high accuracy −verified with HSPICE− and interoperability of different subcircuit models. Moreover, their combined use with an efficient optimizer makes the proposed toolbox a valuable CAD tool for the high-level design of broadband communication analog front-ends. As a case study, an embedded 0.13μm CMOS 12bit@80MS/s A/D interface for a PLC chipset is designed to show the capabilities of the presented tool

Diseño para una Empresa Familiar de un Sistema Acuapónico con Energía Solar en el Chad

This article describes the design of a single-family aquaponic system powered by solar energy. This technique called “aquaponics” is an activity that blends aquaculture (farming aquatic species) and hydroponics (growing plants in a water-based environment) into one integrated system. A description is given of the elements in the aquaponic circuit, which is sized to scale for a family business, in addition to the budget required for its implementation in Chad. The use of renewable energy offers the possibility of implementing sustainable farming in underdeveloped countries. The objective of this system is to maximize the production of fish and vegetables, taking into account their limitations (20 kg of fish can be produced for every 1,000 liters of water while 8 liters of water are necessary to grow each plant). The fish farmed in this case will be tilapia, as it is technically feasible and has a flavor that is acceptable to the inhabitants of Chad. The cultivated plants include all types of fruits and vegetables, as well as aromatic plants.Este artículo describe el diseño de un sistema acuapónico unifamiliar alimentado con energía solar. Esta técnica llamada “acuaponía”, es una actividad en la que convergen la acuicultura (cría de especies acuáticas) y la hidroponía (cultivo de plantas sobre el agua) en un mismo sistema integrado. Se hace una descripción de los elementos del circuito acuapónico, un dimensionamiento a nivel de empresa familiar así como el presupuesto que permita su implementación en el Chad. Al incluir el uso de energías renovables, nos da la posibilidad de implementar el cultivo sostenible en países subdesarrollados. El objetivo de esta instalación es maximizar la producción de pescados y vegetales, teniendo en cuenta sus limitaciones (se pueden producir 20 kg de peces por cada 1000 litros de agua y son necesarios 8 litros por planta cultivada). El pescado que se criará será la tilapia, ya que técnicamente es factible y su sabor es aceptado por los habitantes del Chad. En cuando al cultivo de plantas, serán todo tipo de frutas y verduras, así como plantas aromáticas

Tendencias de la fanerógama marina Cymodocea nodosa (Magnoliophyta) en las Islas Canarias: cambios poblacionales en las dos últimas décadas

Seagrass meadows perform essential ecosystem functions and services. Though the meadows are globally deteriorating, numerous regressions remain unreported as a result of data fragmentation. Cymodocea nodosa is the most important seagrass in shallow coastal waters of the Canary Islands. No study has so far investigated temporal population trends at the entire archipelago scale. Using data collected in the past 23 years by local companies, public authorities and research groups, the population trends of Cymodocea nodosa were analysed over the past two decades at the scales of islands, island sectors and meadows. During this period, a prevalence of negative trends was revealed for three seagrass demographic descriptors (seagrass shoot density, coverage and leaf length) at the three scales, evidencing an overall deterioration in seagrass meadow integrity. These results suggest the need to develop correct management strategies to guarantee the conservation of this seagrass and the meadows it creates.Las praderas de fanerógamas marinas suministran funciones y servicios esenciales para los ecosistemas. A pesar de que dichas praderas están globalmente deteriorándose, numerosas regresiones son aún desconocidas como resultado de la falta de datos. Cymodocea nodosa es la fanerógama marina más importante en aguas someras de las costas del Archipiélago Canario. No obstante, ningún estudio ha analizado las tendencias temporales de sus poblaciones a escala de todo el archipiélago. Utilizando datos recogidos durante los últimos 23 años por empresas, administraciones públicas y grupos de investigación, se analizaron las tendencias de las poblaciones de Cymodocea nodosa durante las últimas dos décadas en el Archipiélago Canario a la escala de islas, sectores insulares y praderas individuales. A lo largo de este periodo, se observa una prevalencia de tendencias negativas para tres descriptores demográficos (densidad de haces, cobertura y longitud de hoja), evidenciando un deterioro general en la integridad de las praderas. Estos resultados sugieren la necesidad de desarrollar estrategias de gestión correctas para garantizar la conservación de las praderas constituidas por esta planta marina

Así nos encontró : las juventudes peruanas ante la pandemia

Este documento tiene el objetivo de destacar las dificultades y vulnerabilidades que vivían las poblaciones jóvenes peruanas al momento de iniciarse la pandemia ocasionada por la expansión global del COVID-19, de acuerdo con los datos disponibles hasta el momento. Para ello, se ha sistematizado información disponible en seis áreas prioritarias establecidas en la Política Nacional de la Juventud (PNJ): educación, trabajo decente, salud y bienestar, criminalidad y victimización, discriminación a poblaciones vulnerables y participación ciudadana

Longitudinal trajectories in negative symptoms and changes in brain cortical thickness: 10-year follow-up study

Background Understanding the evolution of negative symptoms in first-episode psychosis (FEP) requires long-term longitudinal study designs that capture the progression of this condition and the associated brain changes. Aims To explore the factors underlying negative symptoms and their association with long-term abnormal brain trajectories. Method We followed up 357 people with FEP over a 10-year period. Factor analyses were conducted to explore negative symptom dimensionality. Latent growth mixture modelling (LGMM) was used to identify the latent classes. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to investigate developmental trajectories of cortical thickness. Finally, the resulting ANOVA maps were correlated with a wide set of regional molecular profiles derived from public databases. Results Three trajectories (stable, decreasing and increasing) were found in each of the three factors (expressivity, experiential and attention) identified by the factor analyses. Patients with an increasing trajectory in the expressivity factor showed cortical thinning in caudal middle frontal, pars triangularis, rostral middle frontal and superior frontal regions from the third to the tenth year after the onset of the psychotic disorder. The F-statistic map of cortical thickness expressivity differences was associated with a receptor density map derived from positron emission tomography data. Conclusions Stable and decreasing were the most common trajectories. Additionally, cortical thickness abnormalities found at relatively late stages of FEP onset could be exploited as a biomarker of poor symptom outcome in the expressivity dimension. Finally, the brain areas with less density of receptors spatially overlap areas that discriminate the trajectories of the expressivity dimension.Funding: This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI14/00639 and PI14/00918) and Fundación Instituto de Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (NCT0235832 and NCT02534363). M.C.-R. acknowledges funding support from the Consejería de Salud y Familias (Junta de Andalucía) 2020 grant, which covers his salary (RH-0081 2020). R.R.-G. is funded by the EMERGIA Junta de Andalucía programme (EMERGIA20_00139) and the Plan Propio of the University of Seville

NGS-Based Molecular Karyotyping of Multiple Myeloma: Results from the GEM12 Clinical Trial

Simple Summary Multiple Myeloma (MM) is considered an incurable chronic disease, which prognosis depends on the presence of different genomic alterations. To accomplish a complete molecular diagnosis in a single essay, we have designed and validated a capture-based NGS approach to reliably identify pathogenic mutations (SNVs and indels), genomic alterations (CNVs and chromosomic translocations), and IGH rearrangements. We have observed a good correlation of the results obtained using our capture panel with data obtained by both FISH and WES techniques. In this study, the molecular classification performed using our approach was significantly associated with the stratification and outcome of MM patients. Additionally, this panel has been proven to detect specific IGH rearrangements that could be used as biomarkers in patient follow-ups through minimal residual disease (MRD) assays. In conclusion, we think that MM patients could benefit from the use of this capture-based NGS approach with a more accurate, single-essay molecular diagnosis. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has greatly improved our ability to detect the genomic aberrations occurring in multiple myeloma (MM); however, its transfer to routine clinical labs and its validation in clinical trials remains to be established. We designed a capture-based NGS targeted panel to identify, in a single assay, known genetic alterations for the prognostic stratification of MM. The NGS panel was designed for the simultaneous study of single nucleotide and copy number variations, insertions and deletions, chromosomal translocations and V(D)J rearrangements. The panel was validated using a cohort of 149 MM patients enrolled in the GEM2012MENOS65 clinical trial. The results showed great global accuracy, with positive and negative predictive values close to 90% when compared with available data from fluorescence in situ hybridization and whole-exome sequencing. While the treatments used in the clinical trial showed high efficacy, patients defined as high-risk by the panel had shorter progression-free survival (p = 0.0015). As expected, the mutational status of TP53 was significant in predicting patient outcomes (p = 0.021). The NGS panel also efficiently detected clonal IGH rearrangements in 81% of patients. In conclusion, molecular karyotyping using a targeted NGS panel can identify relevant prognostic chromosomal abnormalities and translocations for the clinical management of MM patients

Propuesta de mejora del Sistema Interno de Garantía de Calidad de la Facultad de Medicina

La garantía de calidad en el ámbito universitario puede considerarse como la atención sistemática, estructurada y continua a las titulaciones ofertadas. La garantía de calidad se compromete a poner en marcha los medios que aseguren y demuestren la calidad de los programas formativos que se desarrollan en cada una de las titulaciones ofrecidas por la Universidad y así cumplir con la obligación que tiene con la sociedad. El presente proyecto nace como fruto de la responsabilidad adquirida para el cumplimiento de las funciones encomendadas y, con el objetivo de seguir adoptando una estrategia de mejora continua de la calidad de la docencia y satisfacción de los colectivos implicados en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje (Profesorado, Estudiantes y PAS)