Aportaciones y Aplicaciones de Disciplinas Bioinspiradas a la Creatividad Computacional

¿Puede una computadora presentar comportamientos creativos? Esta compleja cuestión ha despertado un creciente interés en las últimas décadas. Es un hecho evidente que las computadoras han superado la capacidad humana en múltiples dominios. Sin embargo, alcanzar la creatividad humana sigue suponiendo un reto para las computadoras, siendo considerada como un factor clave en el éxito intelectual de los humanos que los diferencia del resto de seres. Esto permite plantear la cuestión acerca de si los humanos poseen un cierto sentido especial, del cual surge la creatividad, que no puede ser transcrito a un algoritmo y por lo tanto, no puede ser implementado por una computadora. Como respuesta a esto, la creatividad computacional surge como un campo dentro de la inteligencia artificial que se encarga del estudio y desarrollo de sistemas hardware y software que sean capaces de exhibir un comportamiento creativo propio del ser humano. Por otra parte, la observación de la naturaleza ha sido una de las principales fuentes de inspiración para la propuesta de novedosas soluciones creativas en diferentes áreas y contextos. En este sentido, dentro de la inteligencia artificial, el paradigma bioinspirado de la computación evolutiva aborda la resolución de problemas mediante la evolución de poblaciones de individuos. La evolución natural representa un ejemplo extremo de proceso creativo ya que durante millones de años, la evolución de los seres vivos ha hecho posible la emergencia de un número inimaginable de diseños biológicos. Por este motivo e inspirados por la evolución natural, los algoritmos evolutivos, una de las técnicas que conforman la computación evolutiva, han sido empleados ampliamente en procesos creativos. Por definición, la creatividad requiere amplias dosis de innovación y diversidad. En el campo de la biología, recientes hipótesis apuntan a que el proceso de desarrollo, en el que una sola célula se transforma en un organismo complejo, es un mecanismo fundamental en el surgimiento de innovación y diversidad en los seres vivos. Por este motivo, el campo de la biología evolutiva del desarrollo (evo-devo) ha emergido para reclamar su incorporación como componente clave en la evolución de una gran diversidad de comportamientos y diseños estructurales innovadores. En el campo de la computación, la biología evolutiva del desarrollo ha inspirado dos disciplinas: el desarrollo artificial, que incorpora el proceso de desarrollo en los algoritmos evolutivos mediante codificación indirecta del esquema genotipo-fenotipo; y la ingeniería embriomórfica, que, imitando el proceso de desarrollo biológico, persigue el desarrollo de morfologías y comportamientos complejos artificiales mediante la agregación descentralizada y la auto-organización de una gran cantidad de pequeños agentes. Entrelazando la compleja cuestión planteada inicialmente sobre la capacidad creativa de las computadoras y la inspiración de la naturaleza como fuente de creatividad e innovación, este trabajo de tesis explora la aplicación de diferentes disciplinas bioinspiradas, concretamente los algoritmos evolutivos, el desarrollo artificial y la ingeniería embriomórfica, de forma individual o combinada para la generación de productos creativos. Para ello se presentan modelos computacionales que actúan de soporte a la creatividad humana, o que exhiben comportamiento creativo de forma independiente, y cuyas soluciones son aplicables en contextos tan diversos como la composición algorítmica, la medicina, la robótica y la animación por computador

MELOMICS: Contributions of computer science and biology to receptive music therapy

It is surprising the fact that while the personalized medicine model is more and more accepted, receptive music therapy is still applied collectively. Although, in some hospitals the subject (patient or health-medical staff) is allowed to select the genre or artist, with most published clinical studies reporting on concrete types of music (eg, relaxing or classical) that are applied to groups of patients. Customizing songs to patient characteristics would make the study much more complex: on the one hand, a higher variability demands a larger sample and, on the other hand, it significantly increases the time and care dedicated to each patient. In any case, customization is a subjective element which strongly depends on individual preferences. MELOMICS integrates computer technology that adapts music to the condition of the patient, in an automatic and objective way. This enables the future design of biofeedback devices, which in the long run results in being favorable for the therapeutic response of the patient.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Aportaciones de la informática y la biología a la musicoterapia receptiva

Contrasta que mientras la medicina personalizada toma un mayor protagonismo, la terapia musical receptiva siga seleccionando la música de manera colectiva. Si bien la praxis en algunos hospitales permite al sujeto (paciente o personal médico-sanitario) seleccionar el género o el artista, la mayoría de los estudios publicados hablan de un tipo de música (por ejemplo, relajante o clásica) que se aplica a todos los pacientes que van a ser estimulados. Personalizar los temas a las características del paciente complicaría extraordinariamente la realización del estudio: por un lado, la variabilidad introducida exige un mayor número de probandos y, por otro, incrementa considerablemente el tiempo y la dedicación por paciente. Y en última instancia la personalización sería un elemento subjetivo, dependiente de las preferencias del sujeto. MELOMICS aglutina la tecnología informática necesaria para adecuar la reproducción de los temas al estado particular del paciente y a su evolución temporal, de manera automática y objetiva; permitiendo el diseño de dispositivos de biofeedback que optimizan la respuesta terapéutica.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Embryomorphic Engineering: Emergent innovation through evolutionary development

Embryomorphic Engineering, a particular instance of Morpho-genetic Engineering, takes its inspiration directly from biological development to create new hardware, software or network architectures by decentralized self-assembly of elementary agents. At its core, it combines three key principles of multicellular embryogenesis: chemical gradient di usion (providing positional information to the agents), gene regulatory networks (triggering their diferentiation into types, thus patterning), and cell division (creating structural constraints, thus reshaping). This chapter illustrates the potential of Embryomorphic Engineering in di erent spaces: 2D/3D physical swarms, which can nd applications in collective robotics, synthetic biology or nan- otechnology; and nD graph topologies, which can nd applications in dis- tributed software and peer-to-peer techno-social networks. In all cases, the speci c genotype shared by all the agents makes the phenotype's complex architecture and function modular, programmable and reproducible

Melomics: A Case-Study of AI in Spain

Traditionally focused on good old-fashioned AI and robotics, the Spanish AI community holds a vigorous computational intelligence substrate. Neuromorphic, evolutionary, or fuzzylike systems have been developed by many research groups in the Spanish computer sciences. It is no surprise, then, that these naturegrounded efforts start to emerge, enriching the AI catalogue of research projects and publications and, eventually, leading to new directions of basic or applied research. In this article, we review the contribution of Melomics in computational creativity.The work on Iamus was partially supported by grants IPT-300000-2010-010 from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and TSI-090302-2011-8 from the Spanish Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio. The first and fourth authors were supported by grant P09-TIC-5123 from the Consejería de Innovación y Ciencia, Junta de Andalucía

Propagación de plantas nativas para la recuperación de áreas degradadas: Opción para mejorar ecosistemas

La pérdida de la cubierta vegetal contribuye al deterioro de los ecosistemas. La reducción de la cubierta vegetal aumenta los escurrimientos del agua de lluvia y por lo tanto la erosión del suelo. Este deterioro causa una reducción en los servicios y productos de los ecosistemas. Si bien existe tecnología para recuperar la vegetación, generalmente es con especies introducidas que a largo plazo pueden causar problemas más complejos. Actualmente urgen paquetes tecnológicos que incluyan mayores opciones de especies nativas que puedan usarse como forrajeras, fitorremediadoras, estabilizadoras de suelo ó materia prima en industrias específicas, entre otros. La flora del estado de Chihuahua posee un gran número de especies nativas de importancia económica que pueden ser utilizados en la recuperación de la cobertura vegetal. Por éste motivo, diversas instituciones en el estado de Chihuahua han unido esfuerzos a través de diversos proyectos encaminados al desarrollo de paquetes tecnológicos para la propagación de plantas nativas. Una de las metas a largo plazo de éstos proyectos es el registro del genoma de plantas nativas. La aplicación de resultados de éstos esfuerzos ayudaran a mitigar el deterioro de los ecosistemas y contribuiran a sustentar sistemas de producción naturales y humanos en el estado. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54167/tecnociencia.v1i3.6

Olfactomedin‑like 2 A and B (OLFML2A and OLFML2B) expression profile in primates (human and baboon)

Background: The olfactomedin‑like domain (OLFML) is present in at least four families of proteins, including OLFML2A and OLFML2B, which are expressed in adult rat retina cells. However, no expression of their orthologous has ever been reported in human and baboon. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of OLFML2A and OLFML2B in ocular tissues of baboons (Papio hamadryas) and humans, as a key to elucidate OLFML function in eye physiology. Methods: OLFML2A and OLFML2B cDNA detection in ocular tissues of these species was performed by RT‑PCR. The amplicons were cloned and sequenced, phylogenetically analyzed and their proteins products were confirmed by immunofluorescence assays. Results: OLFML2A and OLFML2B transcripts were found in human cornea, lens and retina and in baboon cornea, lens, iris and retina. The baboon OLFML2A and OLFML2B ORF sequences have 96% similarity with their human’s orthologous. OLFML2A and OLFML2B evolution fits the hypothesis of purifying selection. Phylogenetic analysis shows clear orthology in OLFML2A genes, while OLFML2B orthology is not clear. Conclusions: Expression of OLFML2A and OLFML2B in human and baboon ocular tissues, including their high simi‑ larity, make the baboon a powerful model to deduce the physiological and/or metabolic function of these proteins in the eye

Immune and spermatogenesis-related loci are involved in the development of extreme patterns of male infertility

We conducted a genome-wide association study in a large population of infertile men due to unexplained spermatogenic failure (SPGF). More than seven million genetic variants were analysed in 1,274 SPGF cases and 1,951 unaffected controls from two independent European cohorts. Two genomic regions were associated with the most severe histological pattern of SPGF, defined by Sertoli cell-only (SCO) phenotype, namely the MHC class II gene HLA-DRB1 (rs1136759, P = 1.32E-08, OR = 1.80) and an upstream locus of VRK1 (rs115054029, P = 4.24E-08, OR = 3.14), which encodes a protein kinase involved in the regulation of spermatogenesis. The SCO-associated rs1136759 allele (G) determines a serine in the position 13 of the HLA-DR beta 1 molecule located in the antigen-binding pocket. Overall, our data support the notion of unexplained SPGF as a complex trait influenced by common variation in the genome, with the SCO phenotype likely representing an immune-mediated condition. A GWAS in a large case-control cohort of European ancestry identifies two genomic regions, the MHC class II gene HLA-DRB1 and an upstream locus of VRK1, that are associated with the most severe phenotype of spermatogenic failure

Effectiveness of an intervention for improving drug prescription in primary care patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy:Study protocol of a cluster randomized clinical trial (Multi-PAP project)

This study was funded by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias ISCIII (Grant Numbers PI15/00276, PI15/00572, PI15/00996), REDISSEC (Project Numbers RD12/0001/0012, RD16/0001/0005), and the European Regional Development Fund ("A way to build Europe").Background: Multimorbidity is associated with negative effects both on people's health and on healthcare systems. A key problem linked to multimorbidity is polypharmacy, which in turn is associated with increased risk of partly preventable adverse effects, including mortality. The Ariadne principles describe a model of care based on a thorough assessment of diseases, treatments (and potential interactions), clinical status, context and preferences of patients with multimorbidity, with the aim of prioritizing and sharing realistic treatment goals that guide an individualized management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a complex intervention that implements the Ariadne principles in a population of young-old patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. The intervention seeks to improve the appropriateness of prescribing in primary care (PC), as measured by the medication appropriateness index (MAI) score at 6 and 12months, as compared with usual care. Methods/Design: Design:pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial. Unit of randomization: family physician (FP). Unit of analysis: patient. Scope: PC health centres in three autonomous communities: Aragon, Madrid, and Andalusia (Spain). Population: patients aged 65-74years with multimorbidity (≥3 chronic diseases) and polypharmacy (≥5 drugs prescribed in ≥3months). Sample size: n=400 (200 per study arm). Intervention: complex intervention based on the implementation of the Ariadne principles with two components: (1) FP training and (2) FP-patient interview. Outcomes: MAI score, health services use, quality of life (Euroqol 5D-5L), pharmacotherapy and adherence to treatment (Morisky-Green, Haynes-Sackett), and clinical and socio-demographic variables. Statistical analysis: primary outcome is the difference in MAI score between T0 and T1 and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Adjustment for confounding factors will be performed by multilevel analysis. All analyses will be carried out in accordance with the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: It is essential to provide evidence concerning interventions on PC patients with polypharmacy and multimorbidity, conducted in the context of routine clinical practice, and involving young-old patients with significant potential for preventing negative health outcomes. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02866799Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group