Evaluation of CNN architectures for gait recognition based on optical flow maps

This work targets people identification in video based on the way they walk (\ie gait) by using deep learning architectures. We explore the use of convolutional neural networks (CNN) for learning high-level descriptors from low-level motion features (\ie optical flow components). The low number of training samples for each subject and the use of a test set containing subjects different from the training ones makes the search of a good CNN architecture a challenging task.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Quality of cherry ‘Sweetheart’ from different regions of Portugal and Spain (Cova da Beira, Portalegre and Valle del Jerte).

Sweet cherries (Prunus avium L.) ‘Sweetheart’ were harvested at different production regions from Portugal (Cova da Beira and Portalegre) and Spain (Valle de Jerte). Cherries were harvested at their commercial maturation according to the empirical knowledge of external color corresponding to good quality. Fruits were stored and evaluated in order to study their quality on the harvest day and during a period of 21 days, at cold storage (1 ºC, 95% RH). The sweet cherry ‘Sweetheart’ is a well known variety and a highly appreciated one but fruits present a short shelf life. On the other hand the effect of different “terroir” on cherry characteristics should be known and clarified. Fruits from day 0, considered without storage, were kept at 20ºC and analyzed. Every weak, 3 replicas were randomly picked up and 10 fruits from each one were submitted to several analyses after fruit temperature stabilized at 20ºC. Several quality parameters were evaluated: external color (L*, a*, b*), texture, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and the ratio between soluble solid contents (SSC) and tritratable acidity (TA). Fruits from different orchards and locations were significantly different according to these parameters. Fruits from Cova da Beira were less firm comparing with other two regions, Valle de Jerte and Portalegre, which may indicate a higher maturation rate at harvest in those fruits. This is in accordance with SSC/titratable acidity rate suggesting a late harvest in Cova da Beira comparing with other two orchards, however fruits from Cova da Beira exhibit a poor color at harvest. These results clearly showed a lower correlation between SSC and firmness considering fruits origin

The treatment with the probiotic Shewanella putrefaciens Pdp11 of sepecimens of Solea senegalensis exposed to high stocking densities to enhance their resistance to disease

Aquaculture industry exposes fish to acute stress events, such as high stocking density, and a link between stress and higher susceptibility to diseases has been concluded. Several studies have demonstrated increased stress tolerance of fish treated with probiotics, but the mechanisms involved have not been elucidated. Shewanella putrefaciens Pdp11 is a strain isolated from healthy gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) and it is considered as probiotics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the dietary administration of this probiotics on the stress tolerance of Solea senegalensis specimens farmed under high stocking density (PHD) compared to a group fed a commercial diet and farmed under the same conditions (CHD). In addition, during the experiment, a natural infectious outbreak due to Vibrio species affected fish farmed under crowding conditions. Changes in the microbiota and histology of intestine and in the transcription of immune response genes were evaluated at 19 and 30 days of the experiment. Mortality was observed after 9 days of the beginning of the experiment in CHD and PHD groups, it being higher in the CHD group. Fish farmed under crowding stress showed reduced expression of genes at 19 day probiotic feeding. On the contrary, a significant increase in immune related gene expression was detected in CHD fish at 30 day, whereas the gene expression in fish from PHD group was very similar to that showed in specimens fed and farmed with the conventional conditions. In addition, the dietary administration of S. putrefaciens Pdp11 produced an important modulation of the intestinal microbiota, which was significantly correlated with the high number of goblet cells detected in fish fed the probiotic diet.Postprin

Unleashing the Diagnostic, Prognostic and Therapeutic Potential of the Neuronostatin/GPR107 System in Prostate Cancer

Certain components of the somatostatin-system play relevant roles in Prostate Cancer (PCa), whose most aggressive phenotype (Castration-Resistant-PCa (CRPC)) remains lethal nowadays. However, neuronostatin and the G protein-coupled receptor 107 (GPR107), two novel members of the somatostatin-system, have not been explored yet in PCa. Consequently, we investigated the pathophysiological role of NST/GPR107-system in PCa. GPR107 expression was analyzed in well-characterized PCa patient′s cohorts, and functional/mechanistic assays were performed in response to GPR107-silencing and NST-treatment in PCa cells (androgen-dependent (AD: LNCaP) and androgen-independent (AI: 22Rv1/PC-3), which are cell models of hormone-sensitive and CRPC, respectively), and normal prostate cells (RWPE-1 cell-line). GPR107 was overexpressed in PCa and associated with key clinical parameters (e.g., advance stage of PCa, presence of vascular invasion and metastasis). Furthermore, GPR107-silencing inhibited proliferation/migration rates in AI-PCa-cells and altered key genes and oncogenic signaling-pathways involved in PCa aggressiveness (i.e., KI67/CDKN2D/MMP9/PRPF40A, SST5TMD4/AR-v7/In1-ghrelin/EZH2 splicing-variants and AKT-signaling). Interestingly, NST treatment inhibited proliferation/migration only in AI-PCa cells and evoked an identical molecular response than GPR107-silencing. Finally, NST decreased GPR107 expression exclusively in AI-PCa-cells, suggesting that part of the specific antitumor effects of NST could be mediated through a GPR107-downregulation. Altogether, NST/GPR107-system could represent a valuable diagnostic and prognostic tool and a promising novel therapeutic target for PCa and CRPC

Dendritic Cells From the Cervical Mucosa Capture and Transfer HIV-1 via Siglec-1

Altres ajuts: JM-P and NI-U are supported by the Spanish Secretariat of State of Research, Development and Innovation through grant SAF2016-80033-R. MG is supported by a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant (CIG) from the European Commission and by the Pla estratègic de recerca i innovació en salut (PERIS), from the Catalan government.Antigen presenting cells from the cervical mucosa are thought to amplify incoming HIV-1 and spread infection systemically without being productively infected. Yet, the molecular mechanism at the cervical mucosa underlying this viral transmission pathway remains unknown. Here we identified a subset of HLA-DR+ CD14+ CD11c+ cervical DCs at the lamina propria of the ectocervix and the endocervix that expressed the type-I interferon inducible lectin Siglec-1 (CD169), which promoted viral uptake. In the cervical biopsy of a viremic HIV-1+ patient, Siglec-1+ cells harbored HIV-1-containing compartments, demonstrating that in vivo, these cells trap viruses. Ex vivo, a type-I interferon antiviral environment enhanced viral capture and trans-infection via Siglec-1. Nonetheless, HIV-1 transfer via cervical DCs was effectively prevented with antibodies against Siglec-1. Our findings contribute to decipher how cervical DCs may boost HIV-1 replication and promote systemic viral spread from the cervical mucosa, and highlight the importance of including inhibitors against Siglec-1 in microbicidal strategies

Clinical Utility of Ghrelin-O-Acyltransferase (GOAT) Enzyme as a Diagnostic Tool and Potential Therapeutic Target in Prostate Cancer

Recent data suggested that plasma Ghrelin O-Acyl Transferase enzyme (GOAT) levels could represent a new diagnostic biomarker for prostate cancer (PCa). In this study, we aimed to explore the diagnostic and prognostic/aggressiveness capacity of GOAT in urine, as well as to interrogate its putative pathophysiological role in PCa. We analysed urine/plasma levels of GOAT in a cohort of 993 patients. In vitro (i.e., cell-proliferation) and in vivo (tumor-growth in a xenograft-model) approaches were performed in response to the modulation of GOAT expression/activity in PCa cells. Our results demonstrate that plasma and urine GOAT levels were significantly elevated in PCa patients compared to controls. Remarkably, GOAT significantly outperformed PSA in the diagnosis of PCa and significant PCa in patients with PSA levels ranging from 3 to 10 ng/mL (the so-called PSA grey-zone). Additionally, urine GOAT levels were associated to clinical (e.g., Gleason-score, PSA levels) and molecular (e.g., CDK2/CDK6/CDKN2A expression) aggressiveness parameters. Indeed, GOAT overexpression increased, while its silencing/blockade decreased cell-proliferation in PCa cells. Moreover, xenograft tumors derived from GOAT-overexpressing PCa (DU145) cells were significantly higher than those derived from the mock-overexpressing cells. Altogether, our results demonstrate that GOAT could be used as a diagnostic and aggressiveness marker in urine and a therapeutic target in PCa

Oncogenic Role of Secreted Engrailed Homeobox 2 (EN2) in Prostate Cancer

Engrailed variant-2 (EN2) has been suggested as a potential diagnostic biomarker; however, its presence and functional role in prostate cancer (PCa) cells is still controversial or unknown. Here, we analyzed 1) the expression/secretion profile of EN2 in five independent samples cohorts from PCa patients and controls (prostate tissues and/or urine) to determine its utility as a PCa biomarker; and 2) the functional role of EN2 in normal (RWPE1) and tumor (LNCaP/22Rv1/PC3) prostate cells to explore its potential value as therapeutic target. EN2 was overexpressed in our two cohorts of PCa tissues compared to control and in tumor cell lines compared with normal-like prostate cells. This profile was corroborated in silico in three independent data sets [The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC)/Grasso]. Consistently, urine EN2 levels were elevated and enabled discrimination between PCa and control patients. EN2 treatment increased cell proliferation in LNCaP/22Rv1/PC3 cells, migration in RWPE1/PC3 cells, and PSA secretion in LNCaP cells. These effects were associated, at least in the androgen-sensitive LNCaP cells, with increased AKT and androgen-receptor phosphorylation levels and with modulation of key cancer-associated genes. Consistently, EN2 treatment also regulated androgen-receptor activity (full-length and splicing variants) in androgen-sensitive 22Rv1 cells. Altogether, this study demonstrates the potential utility of EN2 as a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for PCa and provides novel and valuable information to further investigate its putative utility to develop new therapeutic tools in PCa

The exposure of the hybrid detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is a detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. It consists of a surface array to measure secondary particles at ground level and a fluorescence detector to measure the development of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The "hybrid" detection mode combines the information from the two subsystems. We describe the determination of the hybrid exposure for events observed by the fluorescence telescopes in coincidence with at least one water-Cherenkov detector of the surface array. A detailed knowledge of the time dependence of the detection operations is crucial for an accurate evaluation of the exposure. We discuss the relevance of monitoring data collected during operations, such as the status of the fluorescence detector, background light and atmospheric conditions, that are used in both simulation and reconstruction.Comment: Paper accepted by Astroparticle Physic

Evidence for a mixed mass composition at the `ankle' in the cosmic-ray spectrum

We report a first measurement for ultra-high energy cosmic rays of the correlation between the depth of shower maximum and the signal in the water Cherenkov stations of air-showers registered simultaneously by the fluorescence and the surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Such a correlation measurement is a unique feature of a hybrid air-shower observatory with sensitivity to both the electromagnetic and muonic components. It allows an accurate determination of the spread of primary masses in the cosmic-ray flux. Up till now, constraints on the spread of primary masses have been dominated by systematic uncertainties. The present correlation measurement is not affected by systematics in the measurement of the depth of shower maximum or the signal in the water Cherenkov stations. The analysis relies on general characteristics of air showers and is thus robust also with respect to uncertainties in hadronic event generators. The observed correlation in the energy range around the `ankle' at $\lg(E/{\rm eV})=18.5-19.0$ differs significantly from expectations for pure primary cosmic-ray compositions. A light composition made up of proton and helium only is equally inconsistent with observations. The data are explained well by a mixed composition including nuclei with mass $A > 4$. Scenarios such as the proton dip model, with almost pure compositions, are thus disfavoured as the sole explanation of the ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray flux at Earth.Comment: Published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Added Report Numbe