Almost automorphic delayed differential equations and Lasota-Wazewska model

Existence of almost automorphic solutions for abstract delayed differential equations is established. Using ergodicity, exponential dichotomy and Bi-almost automorphicity on the homogeneous part, sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of almost automorphic solutions are given.Comment: 16 page

Modelo para la adopción del comercio electrónico en el sector agroindustrial mexicano

En este trabajo se propone un modelo para la adopción del comercio electrónico en las pequeñas y medianas empresas (pyme´s) del sector agroindustrial mexicano. El modelo final consta de dieciocho variables, distribuidas en siete submodelos, que son: Factores organizacionales, características técnicas, comunicación, factores ambientales, factores psicológicos y culturales, apoyo gubernamental y adopción del comercio electrónico. Para la medición de las variables se aplicó un cuestionario a las empresas de una muestra representativa. En la validación del modelo, se usó la técnica de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS). Se validó la consistencia interna del modelo mediante las pruebas de unidimensionalidad, fiabilidad, validez convergente y validez discriminante; así como la validación del modelo estructural

Dynamic Security-aware Routing for Zone-based data Protection in Multi-Processor System-on-Chips

In this work, we propose a NoC which enforces the encapsulation of sensitive traffic inside the asymmetrical security zones while using minimal and non-minimal paths. The NoC routes guarantee that the sensitive traffic is communicated only through the trusted nodes which belong to the security zone. As the shape of the zones may change during operation, the sensitive traffic must be routed through low-risk paths. We test our proposal and we show that our solution can be an efficient and scalable alternative for enforce the data protection inside the MPSoC

Stress Injection Study on Hard Real-Time Operating Systems

The automotive software complexity has increased exponentially in the last 30 years. Nowadays, automotive applications are built on top of hard real-time operating system where many tasks are executed. Due to the automotive high integration levels and the time-to-market, software integration and robustness tests should be performed effectively and efficiently. Infineon Technologies for the AURIX 2G microcontroller has integrated a novel hardware architecture to support the Resource Usage Test and the Stress Test. Despite this hardware support, it has never been used before. Then, it is critical to propose a method to efficiently use this structure and to allow the evaluation of the performance and reliability of the chips. This thesis develops a method and a tool that uses stress injection to analyze the performance, robustness values and boundaries of hard real-time systems under different scenarios. The designer is able: i) to configure the embedded debugging hardware architecture to efficiently explore different stress scenarios; ii) to gather information; and to quantify different types of performance and robustness metrics. The method is automated and fully parameterizable. The developed tool in this thesis is called Galenus, it is integrated into the already existing internal debugging environment of Infineon Technologies for the AURIX microcontroller. The stress injection is based on the reduction of the effective performance of a SoC component (e.g., TriCore within AURIX). The stress injection allows to assess the sensitivity of the SoC under different stress scenarios. These scenarios are defined on the offline initial state using formal methods of scheduling theory. Using the stress injection method, the SoC designer can identify possible risk scenarios testing the performance and robustness of the system at runtime. This thesis is based on the stress injection by CPU suspension within two types of software application, RTOS and Bare-metal

Strategies Targeting the Innate Immune Response for the Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus-Associated Liver Fibrosis

Direct-acting antivirals eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) in more than 95% of treated individuals and may abolish liver injury, arrest fibrogenesis, and reverse fibrosis and cirrhosis. However, liver regeneration is usually a slow process that is less effective in the late stages of fibrosis. What is more, fibrogenesis may prevail in patients with advanced cirrhosis, where it can progress to liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, the development of antifibrotic drugs that halt and reverse fibrosis progression is urgently needed. Fibrosis occurs due to the repair process of damaged hepatic tissue, which eventually leads to scarring. The innate immune response against HCV is essential in the initiation and progression of liver fibrosis. HCV-infected hepatocytes and liver macrophages secrete proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines that promote the activation and differentiation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) to myofibroblasts that produce extracellular matrix (ECM) components. Prolonged ECM production by myofibroblasts due to chronic inflammation is essential to the development of fibrosis. While no antifibrotic therapy is approved to date, several drugs are being tested in phase 2 and phase 3 trials with promising results. This review discusses current state-of-the-art knowledge on treatments targeting the innate immune system to revert chronic hepatitis C-associated liver fibrosis. Agents that cause liver damage may vary (alcohol, virus infection, etc.), but fibrosis progression shows common patterns among them, including chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation, hepatocyte injury, HSC activation, and excessive ECM deposition. Therefore, mechanisms underlying these processes are promising targets for general antifibrotic therapies.This study was supported by Grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (Grant numbers PI17CIII/00003 and PI20CIII/00004 to SR, and PI19CIII/00009 to IM). The study was also funded by the RD16CIII/0002/0002 project as part of the Plan Nacional R+D+I and co-funded by ISCIII- Subdirección General de Evaluación and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). DSC is supported through Fundación SEIMC-GESIDA by a fellowship award from Fundación ONCE ‘Oportunidad al Talento, 2019/20’ co-fnanced by Fondo Social Europeo (202001FONCE1).S

Innate Immune Response against Hepatitis C Virus: Targets for Vaccine Adjuvants.

Despite successful treatments, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections continue to be a significant world health problem. High treatment costs, the high number of undiagnosed individuals, and the difficulty to access to treatment, particularly in marginalized susceptible populations, make it improbable to achieve the global control of the virus in the absence of an effective preventive vaccine. Current vaccine development is mostly focused on weakly immunogenic subunits, such as surface glycoproteins or non-structural proteins, in the case of HCV. Adjuvants are critical components of vaccine formulations that increase immunogenic performance. As we learn more information about how adjuvants work, it is becoming clear that proper stimulation of innate immunity is crucial to achieving a successful immunization. Several hepatic cell types participate in the early innate immune response and the subsequent inflammation and activation of the adaptive response, principally hepatocytes, and antigen-presenting cells (Kupffer cells, and dendritic cells). Innate pattern recognition receptors on these cells, mainly toll-like receptors, are targets for new promising adjuvants. Moreover, complex adjuvants that stimulate different components of the innate immunity are showing encouraging results and are being incorporated in current vaccines. Recent studies on HCV-vaccine adjuvants have shown that the induction of a strong T- and B-cell immune response might be enhanced by choosing the right adjuvant.PI17CIII/00003/Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI19CIII/00009/Instituto de Salud Carlos III RD16CIII/0002/0002/Plan Nacional R+D+IS

Efecto de la adicion de fluor barniz a cementos temporales en la microfiltracion marginal de restauraciones provisionales: Estudio In Vitro.

73 p.Introducción: La microfiltración marginal se considera una de las causas más importantes de falla durante la etapa de temporización, la que se define como el paso de bacterias, fluidos, moléculas o iones entre el margen de la restauración y el material restaurador. Debido a lo anterior, ha aumentado la necesidad de cementos temporales que no sólo mejoren la calidad del sellado marginal sino que además posean propiedades antibacterianas. Estudios han concluído que la incorporación de flúor barniz a estos cementos no sólo otorgaría propiedades antibacterianas sino que también disminuiría considerablemente la microfiltración marginal en este tipo de restauraciones. Objetivo: El objetivo de este estudio es determinar el efecto del barniz de flúor sobre la microfiltración marginal de un cemento temporal para restauraciones provisionales. Materiales y Métodos: Se seleccionaron para este estudio 30 piezas dentarias correspondientes a 13 molares maxilares y 17 molares mandibulares, libres de caries y de restauraciones. Se confeccionaron cavidades tipo Inlay ocluso mesial en cada pieza dentaria, en la cual se cementó una restauración provisional fabricada con acrílico de autopolimerización. Las piezas se dividieron en dos grupos según el tipo de cemento utilizado: Grupo A fueron cementadas con un cemento provisional en base a óxido de Zinc–Eugenol (Temp- Bond ®), y grupo B fueron cementadas con un cemento provisonal en base a óxido de Zinc- Eugenol mezclado con un Barniz de flúor (Temp-Bond ®/ Duraphat ®). Los dos grupos fueron sometidos a cargas axiales de 250 ciclos de 10 Kg por segundo y 300 ciclos de termociclado en agua (5°C y 55°C), en ciclos de 1 minuto. Posteriormente las muestras fueron sumergidas en azul de metileno al 0.2% por 7 días, tras lo cual se procedió a su corte en sentido mesio-distal analizando microscópicamente el nivel de penetración de la tinción a nivel del margen cervical. Resultados: Existe una significativa disminución del nivel de microfiltración marginal en el grupo B en comparación con el grupo A (p = 0,003). A nivel del margen cervical no existe diferencia significativa entre ambos grupos (P= 0,109), sin embargo, a nivel del margen oclusal esta diferencia sí es estadísticamente significativa a favor del grupo B (P= 0,109). Conclusión: Si bien se observa una tendencia por parte del cemento temporal mezclado con flúor barniz a disminuir los niveles de microfiltración marginal, se necesitan más estudios in vitro y clínicos que avalen la utilización de este tipo de cemento modificados, a fin de encontrar un recurso durante la etapa de temporización que ayude a mejorar el pronóstico del tratamiento rehabilitador definitivo