Multiarquitectura distribuida para el desarrollo de misiones multi-robot

[ES] La Robótica Autónoma es un campo en rápido crecimiento relacionado con un extenso grupo de líneas de investigación, como localización, tracking, mapping, planificación de caminos, algoritmos IA, flujo óptico, etc. e interesantes retos para la industria, como nuevas plataformas robóticas, sensores y actuadores. Todos estos progresos están enfocado a la realización de tareas cada vez más complejas (búsqueda y destrucción de explosivos, localización de víctimas de catástrofes, asistencia a personas, ...) por medio de robots, o grupos de robots, trabajando de forma coordinada. El desarrollo y la implementación de robots autónomos capaces de realizar estas tareas entraña una gran complejidad para investigadores y desarrolladores, por lo que se necesitan Entornos de Desarrollo de Robots (RDE - Robot Development Environments) que nos faciliten su implementación. Aunque existen varios RDEs de código abierto bastante conocidos: ROS, MissionLab, CARMEN, Player / Stage, OROCOS y otros, todos ellos presentan importantes inconvenientes de cara a la implementación de tareas complejas. La implementación de este tipo de tareas requiere, por un lado, un sistema capaz de abstraer toda esa complejidad, permitiendo incluso a personas sin conocimientos de programación el desarrollo rápido de misiones mediante herramientas gráficas y, por otro lado, un sistema que cuente con una gran cantidad funcionalidades ya implementadas (localización, mapping, planificación de caminos...). MissionLab es especialmente fuerte en el primer punto, ROS es especialmente fuerte en el segundo y CARMEN destaca en sus soluciones para construcción de mapas y algoritmos de localización y navegación. Sin embargo, ninguno de los RDEs existentes cuenta con ambas características. En esta Tesis Doctoral se desarrolla la integración completa de MissionLab con CARMEN, con el fin de solucionar sus carencias y obtener un entorno de desarrollo de robots realmente potente. Puesto que ninguno de los dos entornos proporciona una solución satisfactoria para la localización global en interiores, se ha desarrollado, además, un nuevo algoritmo de localización global basado en un doble filtro de partículas, un Sistema de Información Geográfica, la odometría del robot, y un algoritmo de detección de puertas desarrollado recientemente. El algoritmo resultante es capaz de funcionar en tiempo real en entornos extensos, con una tasa de acierto muy elevada y sin necesidad de introducir marcas en el entorno. Se presentan los resultados de la integración entre MissionLab y CARMEN mediante una serie de casos de estudio, incluyendo misiones multi-robot y la navegación autónoma de una carretilla industrial automatizada durante más de 20 minutos. Los resultados del algoritmo de localización se basan en el análisis de las pruebas de uso en un entorno de más de 5000 metros cuadrados

Relationship between posture and temporomandibular disorders. Systematic review and meta-analysis

Introducción: La relación entre la postura y los trastornos temporomandibulares (TTM) ha sido abordada desde hace décadas, sin que se haya podido aportar fuerte evidencia en ningún sentido. El objetivo de este estudio fue revisar sistemáticamente y sintetizar de forma cuantitativa (vía metaanálisis) la evidencia existente sobre la relación entre postura y TTM. Material y método: Se realizó una búsqueda en los recursos electrónicos Pubmed, Lilacs, Sciencedirect, Scielo, Pedro y The Cochrane Library de estudios analíticos observacionales de cohortes, de casos y controles y/o transversales de asociación cruzada, que evaluaran la relación entre postura y TTM, publicados a partir de 2012, en inglés, español, portugués y francés. Dos revisores analizaron la calidad metodológica de los artículos incluidos. Resultados: Ocho artículos fueron seleccionados finalmente y evaluados. Cinco encontraron relación, mientras tres no la hallaron. El metanálisis tampoco arrojó resultados esclarecedores, aunque parece indicar que pueden existir diferencias en el ángulo “ojo-trago”-“plano horizontal”, siendo ligeramente menor este ángulo en sujetos sanos en comparación con los sujetos con TTM. Conclusiones: no se puede establecer que haya una fuerte evidencia científica favorable a que exista relación entre postura y TTM, debido a la paridad del número de estudios con resultados en ambos sentidos y a la calidad metodológica que presentan los artículos incluidos

Helicobacter Species and Hepato-Biliary Tract Malignancies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Helicobacter species may cause chronic inflammation of the biliary tract, but its relationship with cancer is controversial. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the association between Helicobacter species and hepatobiliary tract malignancies. Twenty-six studies (4083 patients) were included in qualitative synthesis, and 18 studies (n = 1895 qualified for meta-analysis. All studies were at high-intermediate risk of bias. Most studies combined several direct microbiological methods, mostly PCR (23 studies), culture (8 studies), and/or CLOtest (5 studies). Different specimens alone or in combination were investigated, most frequently bile (16 studies), serum (7 studies), liver/biliary tissue (8 studies), and gastric tissue (3 studies). Patients with Helicobacter species infection had an increased risk of hepatobiliary tract malignancies (OR = 3.61 [95% CI 2.18–6.00]; p < 0.0001), with high heterogeneity in the analysis (I2 = 61%; p = 0.0003). This effect was consistent when Helicobacter was assessed in bile (OR = 3.57 [95% CI 1.73–7.39]; p = 0.0006), gastric tissue (OR = 42.63 [95% CI 5.25–346.24]; p = 0.0004), liver/biliary tissue (OR = 4.92 [95% CI 1.90–12.76]; p = 0.001) and serum (OR = 1.38 [95% CI 1.00–1.90]; p = 0.05). Heterogeneity was reduced in these sub-analyses (I2 = 0–27%; p = ns), except for liver/biliary tissue (I2 = 57%; p = 0.02). In conclusion, based on low-certainty data, Helicobacter species chronic infection is associated with a tripled risk of hepatobiliary tract malignancy. Prospective studies are required to delineate public health interventions

A double safety lock tumor-specific device for suicide gene therapy in breast cancer

Producción CientíficaThe complexity and continuous evolution of cancer make the design of novel strategies of treatment a constant challenge in biomedicine. Moreover, most of cancer treatments are still not tumor-specific and provoke high systemic toxicity. Herein we have developed a novel selective nanodevice to eliminate tumor cells while leaving healthy ones intact. To achieve this objective, a polyplex carrier, comprising an elastin like-recombinamer covalently conjugated to an aptamer and complexed with therapeutic DNA, was tested. This carrier forms a double-lock multifunctional device due to specific binding to a tumor cell marker and the selective expression of therapeutic DNA inside human breast-cancer cells. Due to the stability provided by ELRs, the homogeneous population of polyplexes obtained showed selective toxicity against cancer cells in in vitro and in vivo assay. Inhibition of tumor progression was detected early being very significant at the end point, with a dose-dependent reduction in tumor mass. Histological studies revealed a specific reduction in tumor parenchyma and in specific tumor cell markers. These results represent an important step toward the rational development of an efficient, safe and more specialized gene-delivery device for tumor therapy.Fondo Social Europeo - FEDER- Unión Europea (project MP-2014-646075Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (project PCIN-2015-010 / MAT2015-68901-R / MAT2016-78903-R)Junta de Castilla y León (project VA317P18

El discurso de los objetos. Museos y comunicación pública de la ciencia

Reality is eminently symbolic. But that feature is not only exclusive of textual and discursive realms. There are more practices beyond that dimension which produce sense and meaning. Meaning has to do with objects and things, as well. In this text we argue that to introduce materiality and objects' semiotic action in our concerns a1low us to explain social reality in richer and more complex ways than those related onlly with a discursive linguistic dimension. If there is a paradigmatic example of those regards, that is what concerns the named object's collections and their inclusion ni the spaces what we call museums. Those constitute complex machine wich produces social laces. So as to get that goal we focus on some data collected,for loger than one year, in El Museu de la Ciencia de la Fundació "La Caixa" de Barcelona. The text will argue inside the science museum. the objects and material realms play a crucial role in scientific knowledge production and in the social order prodUtion, as well

Behavioral traits predicting cocaine-conditioned place reference in mice: role of anxiety adn the basolateral amygdala

Aims. The individual susceptibility to cocaine addiction, a factor of interest in the understanding and prevention of this disorder, may be predicted by certain behavioral traits. However, these are not usually taken into account in research, making it difficult to identify whether they are a cause or a consequence of drug use. Methods. Male C57BL/6J mice underwent a battery of behavioral tests (elevated plus maze, hole-board, novelty preference in the Y maze, episodic-like object recognition memory and forced swimming test), followed by a cocaine-conditioned place preference (CPP) training to assess the reinforcing effect of the drug. In a second study, we aimed to determine the existence of neurobiological differences between the mice expressing high or low CPP by studying the number of neurons in certain addiction-related structures: the medial prefrontal cortex, the basolateral amygdala and the ventral tegmental area. Results. Anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze successfully predicted the cocaine-CPP behavior, so that the most anxious mice were also more likely to search for cocaine in a CPP paradigm. In addition, these mice exhibited an increased number of neurons in the basolateral amygdala, a key structure in emotional response including anxiety expression, without differences in the others regions analyzed. Conclusions. Our results suggest a relevant role of anxiety as a psychological risk factor for cocaine vulnerability, with the basolateral amygdala as potential common neural center for both anxiety and addiction.Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. PSI2013-44901-P, FPU13/04819, CD12/00455, Red de Trastornos Adictivo

Enhancing adult hippocampal neurogenesis with lysophosphatidic acid: a proposal for erasing cocaine contextual memory

Stimulating adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) has been uncovered as a promising approach in the manipulation of retrograde memories. This work aims to study whether increasing AHN with lysophosphatidic acid (LPA, an endogenous lysophospholipid with proneurogenic actions) promotes the forgetting of previously established cocaine-contextual associations. C57BL/6J mice previously trained in a cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm were submitted to 23 days of withdrawal, during which they received repeated intracerebroventricular infusions of LPA, ki16425 (a selective LPA1/3 receptors antagonist), or vehicle solution. Then, CPP maintenance was assessed, and the causal role of AHN in this process was evaluated using a mediation analysis. In a complementary experiment, wild-type and LPA1-null mice were acutely infused with LPA or ki16425 to determine the involvement of the LPA1 receptor in the in vivo proneurogenic actions of LPA. The chronic LPA treatment significantly weakened the long-term retention of a previously acquired cocaine-CPP memory, an effect clearly mediated by a LPA-induced increase in the number of adult-born dentate granule cells. In contrast, the ki16425-treated mice displayed aberrant responses of initially decreased CPP retention that progressively increased CPP across the extinction sessions, in absence of effects on AHN. The histological studies suggested that the proneurogenic actions of LPA were related to the enhancement of cell proliferation and critically depended on the LPA1 receptor function. Our results suggest that the LPA/LPA1-pathway acts as a potent in vivo modulator of AHN, and highlight the usefulness of a post-learning increase of adult-born hippocampal neurons as a strategy to promote the forgetting of cocaine-context associations.Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Agencia Estatal de Investigación), co‐funded by the European Research Development Fund (AEI/FEDER, UE) (PSI2013‐44901‐P and PSI2017‐82604‐R to L.J.S. and PSI2015‐73156‐JIN to E.C.O.); by the National System of Health‐Instituto de Salud Carlos III, which is co‐funded by AEI/FEDER, UE (Red de Trastornos Adictivos; RD16/0017/0001 to F.R.d.F.); and by the Andalusian R&D&I Programme, Regional Ministry of Economy and Knowledge (PAIDI CTS643 to G.E.T.). D.L.G.M. hold a FPU grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (FPU13/04819 ). F.R.d.F. and G.E.T. are supported by Nicolas Monardes Programme, from the Andalusian Regional Ministry of Health. E.C.O. holds a ‘Jóvenes Investigadores’ grant (code: PSI2015‐73156‐JIN) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Agencia Estatal de Investigación), which is co‐funded by the AEI/FEDER, UE

The field of Foucaultian discourse analysis : structures, developments and perspectives

The article outlines the field of FOUCAULTian discourse analysis. The FOUCAULTian concept of discourse is introduced, and methodological positions and methodological developments are sketched. Compared to other qualitative social research approaches, the different researchers and research groups that have adopted the FOUCAULTian concept of discourse are not linked by a fully integrated common research paradigm. However, they share common methodological problems and areas of methodological research resulting from various references to FOUCAULTian positions. In the last decade, different research groups have become aware of these shared commonalities, so that one can speak of an emerging field of FOUCAULTian discourse analysis rather than an emerging paradigm. The article gives insight into the discourse analytic research in selected countries, discusses the internationalisation of FOUCAULTian discourse analysis and highlights current trends and perspectivesEl texto revisa el campo del análisis del discurso FOUCAULTiano. En ese sentido, se presenta el concepto de discurso propuesto por FOUCAULT y se esbozan tanto posiciones como desarrollos metodológicos. A diferencia de lo que ocurre con otras aproximaciones de la investigación social cualitativa, los diferentes investigadores y grupos de investigación que trabajan con el mencionado concepto no aparecen integrados gracias a un paradigma de investigación común. Esto no quiere decir que no compartan problemas y áreas de investigación metodológica como resultado de su referencia a las posiciones de FOUCAULT. En las últimas décadas, diferentes grupos de investigación han ido tomando conciencia del mencionado denominador común, esto permite afirmar que en lugar de la emergencia de un paradigma estamos, más bien, ante la irrupción de un campo de trabajo relacionado con el análisis del discurso FOUCAULTiano. El texto proporciona indicaciones sobre la investigación analítica del discurso en una selección de países, discute la internalización del análisis del discurso de corte FOUCAULTiano y subraya algunas de sus características y perspectivas más reciente

Diásporas y transiciones en la Teoría del Actor-Red

Este texto es una presentación del monográfico Diásporas y transiciones en la teoría del actor-red. Sus páginas presentan las principales características de esta teoría, una manera de entender sus orígenes y una descripción de su presente estableciendo un paralelismo con la etnometodología. El texto finaliza con una valoración del estado de la teoría del actor-red en España y un comentario sobre un congreso que llevó el título de Presente y futuro de la teoría del actor-red y que constituye el embrión del presente monográfico. En el texto se defiende una tesis muy simple: la teoría del actor-red nace con cierta relevancia para el pensamiento social en el momento en que se difracta en una miríada de usos y aplicaciones diferentes. El principal corolario de este hecho también es muy sencillo: la gran diferencia entre la teoría del actor-red y otras propuestas del pensamiento social es su permanente estado de diáspora y transiciónThis paper is an introduction to the monograph titled Diasporas and Transitions in the Actor-Network Theory. Drawing a parallel with ethnomethodology, its pages present the main features of this theory, a way to figure out its origins and a description of its present. The text ends with a brief look at the state of art of actor-network theory in Spain and an appraisal of a meeting titled Present and Future of Actor-Network Theory, which is the origin of our monograph. In this paper we put forward a very simple idea: Actor-Network Theory was born with certain relevance in Social Sciences when it diffracted in a myriad of different uses and applications. The main corollary of such an idea is also straightforward: the very difference between Actor- Network Theory and other perspectives in Social Sciences resides in the permanent diaspora and transition of the forme

Oleoylethanolamide restores alcohol-induced inhibition of neuronal proliferation and microglial activity in striatum

Previous findings demonstrate a homeostatic role for oleoylethanolamide (OEA) signaling in the ethanol-related neuroinflammation and behavior. However, extensive research is still required in order to unveil the effects of OEA on a number of neurobiological functions such as adult neurogenesis, cell survival and resident neuroimmunity that become notably altered by alcohol. Daily consumption of ethanol (10%) for 2 weeks (6.3& #x202F;± 1.1 g/kg/day during last 5 days) caused hypolocomotor activity in rats. This effect appears to rely on central signaling mechanisms given that alcohol increased the OEA levels, the gene expression of OEA-synthesizing enzyme Nape-pld and the number of PPARα-immunoreactive neurons in the striatum. Ethanol-related neurobiological alterations such as a reduction in the number of microglial cells expressing iNOS (a cytokine-inducible immune defense) and in adult neural stem/progenitor cell (NSPC) proliferation (phospho-H3 and BrdU) and maturation (BrdU/β3-tubulin), as well as an increase in damage cell activity (FosB) and apoptosis (cleaved caspase 3) were also observed in the rat striatum. Pharmacological administration of OEA (10 mg/kg) for 5 days during ethanol exposure exacerbated ethanol-induced hypolocomotion and cell apoptosis in the striatum. Interestingly, OEA abrogated the impaired effects of ethanol on PPARα-positive cell population and NSPC proliferation and maturation. OEA also decreased astrocyte-related vimentin immunoreactivity and increased microglial cell population (Iba-1, iNOS) in the striatum. These results suggest that OEA-PPARα signaling modulates glial activation, cell apoptosis and NSPC proliferation and maturation in response to striatal-specific neurobiological alterations induced by prolonged ethanol intake in rats.This work was supported by RETICS Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and European Regional Development Funds-European Union (ERDF-EU) (RD16/0017/0001); ISCIII, MINECO, ERDF-EU (JS: PI16/01374; FRF: PI16/01698; FJP: PI16/01953; AS: PI17/02026); Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad and Plan Nacional sobre Drogas (JS: PNSD2015/047; AS: PND2017/043); Consejería de Economía, Innovación y Ciencia, Junta de Andalucía, ERDF-EU (FRF: CTS-8221); Consejería de Salud, Junta de Andalucía, ERDF-EU (FRF: SAS111224); German Research Foundation DFG (BL: FOR926, project CP1). FJP (CP14/00212) and AS (CP14/00173) are recipients of a research contract from “Miguel Servet” Program of ISCIII, ERDF-EU. JS holds a “Miguel Servet II” research contract from the National System of Health, ISCIII, ERDF-EU, FIMABIS (CPII17/00024). PR holds a “Sara Borrel” research contract from ISCIII, ERDF-EU (CD16/00067)