Diseño e implementación de la metodología Flipped Classroom en la asignatura de “Estadística aplicada a la Biología”. Uso de dispositivos móviles para la evaluación del alumnado

Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y EvoluciónFac. de Ciencias BiológicasFALSEsubmitte

Benchmarking of tools for axon length measurement in individually-labeled projection neurons

Projection neurons are the commonest neuronal type in the mammalian forebrain and their individual characterization is a crucial step to understand how neural circuitry operates. These cells have an axon whose arborizations extend over long distances, branching in complex patterns and/or in multiple brain regions. Axon length is a principal estimate of the functional impact of the neuron, as it directly correlates with the number of synapses formed by the axon in its target regions; however, its measurement by direct 3D axonal tracing is a slow and labor-intensive method. On the contrary, axon length estimations have been recently proposed as an effective and accessible alternative, allowing a fast approach to the functional significance of the single neuron. Here, we analyze the accuracy and efficiency of the most used length estimation tools—design-based stereology by virtual planes or spheres, and mathematical correction of the 2D projected-axon length—in contrast with direct measurement, to quantify individual axon length. To this end, we computationally simulated each tool, applied them over a dataset of 951 3D-reconstructed axons (from NeuroMorpho.org), and compared the generated length values with their 3D reconstruction counterparts. The evaluated reliability of each axon length estimation method was then balanced with the required human effort, experience and know-how, and economic affordability. Subsequently, computational results were contrasted with measurements performed on actual brain tissue sections. We show that the plane-based stereological method balances acceptable errors (~5%) with robustness to biases, whereas the projection-based method, despite its accuracy, is prone to inherent biases when implemented in the laboratory. This work, therefore, aims to provide a constructive benchmark to help guide the selection of the most efficient method for measuring specific axonal morphologies according to the particular circumstances of the conducted research

Medidas de entropía para la caracterización de árboles dendríticos

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Anatomía, Histología y Neurociencia. Fecha de lectura: 18 de Diciembre de 200

Plate for facilitating the connection of coupling parts

Nº Solicitud: U201430063; Fecha presentación:; 18/01/2014 Nº publicación:ES1104405; Fecha publicación: 24/03/2014; Fecha concesión: 10/06/2014 Documentos de patente conexos: CN105900292 EP3096412 KR1020160108489 RU0002634691 WO/2015/107248Placa para facilitar la conexión de enchufes macho a enchufes hembra, que comprende: - Dos rebajes cónicos (1) alrededor de los dos orificios de conexión (2) del enchufe hembra por los que las patillas del enchufe macho resbalarán. 2. Placa para facilitar la conexión de enchufes macho a enchufes hembra según reivindicación 1 caracterizada porque: - Su contorno coincide con el del perímetro interior de un enchufe hembra "Tipo F" estándar, de modo que encaje en él. - Su grosor es tal que permite que los rebajes cónicos cumplan su función sin impedir que las patillas del enchufe macho realicen contacto con las conexiones del enchufe hembra. - Presenta dos orificios (2) para el paso de las clavijas del enchufe macho. - Presenta dos cajeados (4) en su eje vertical para que pasen a través de ellos las patillas de toma de tierra de los enchufes hembra "Tipo F". - Presenta dos resaltes (3) en su eje horizontal, necesarios para que el dispositivo encaje en los enchufes hembra "Tipo F". 3. Enchufe hembra para facilitar la conexión de enchufes macho según reivindicación 1 caracterizada porque: - Los rebajes cónicos forman parte inseparable del diseño de la base del enchufe hembra.Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y EvoluciónFac. de Óptica y Optometríapu

Placa para facilitar la conexión de enchufes tipo G

Nº Solicitud:U201500211; Fecha presentación:24/03/2015 Nº publicación:ES1138466; Fecha publicación:16/04/2015; Fecha concesión:01/07/2015Placa para facilitar la conexión de enchufes de Tipo G. La presente invención se encuadra en el sector de los mecanismos eléctricos domésticos.Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y EvoluciónFac. de Óptica y Optometríapu

Information coding by ensembles of resonant neurons

In the present paper, we propose a novel neu- ral procedure for signal processing and coding based on the subthreshold oscillations and resonance of the neural membrane potential that could be used by real neurons to perform frequency spectra analysis and information cod- ing of incoming signals. Taking into account the biophys- ical properties of the neural membranes, we note that the subthreshold resonant behaviour they exhibit can be used to analyse incoming signals and represent them in the fre- quency domain. We study the reliability of the representa- tion of signals depending on the biophysical parameters of the neurons, the fault-tolerance of this coding scheme and its robustness against noise and in the presence of spikes. The principal characteristics of our system are the use of the physical phenomenon of neural resonance (rarely con- sidered in the literature for signal coding); it fits well with the biophysical parameters of most neurons that exhibit subthreshold oscillations; it is compatible with experimen- tal data; and it can be easily integrated in a more general model of information processing and coding that includes communication between neurons based on spikes.Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y EvoluciónFac. de Óptica y OptometríaTRUEpu

Representation of dynamic situations in the Robot’s Mind for Human-like interaction with the environment: autonomous navigation

The Compact Internal Representation (CIR) the- ory has been recently proposed as a cognitive basis for robots and artificial agents which interact with dynamic complex environments. This paper discusses the conceptual basis of the CIR and the explanations provided by the theory for the way in which humans interact with the world. The conclusions have been tested in robot navigation experiments, proving the feasibility of autonomous robots capable to navigate by interacting with time-changing environments in a human-like manner.Depto. de Análisis Matemático y Matemática AplicadaDepto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y EvoluciónFac. de Ciencias MatemáticasTRUEpu

Neural network architecture for cognitive navigation in dynamic environments

Navigation in time-evolving environments with moving targets and obstacles requires cognitive abilities widely demonstrated by even simplest animals. However, it is a long-standing challenging problem for artificial agents. Cognitive autonomous robots coping with this problem must solve two essential tasks: 1) understand the environment in terms of what may happen and how I can deal with this and 2) learn successful experiences for their further use in an automatic subconscious way. The recently introduced concept of compact internal representation (CIR) provides the ground for both the tasks. CIR is a specific cognitive map that compacts time-evolving situations into static structures containing information necessary for navigation. It belongs to the class of global approaches, i.e., it finds trajectories to a target when they exist but also detects situations when no solution can be found. Here we extend the concept of situations with mobile targets. Then using CIR as a core, we propose a closed-loop neural network architecture consisting of conscious and subconscious pathways for efficient decision-making. The conscious pathway provides solutions to novel situations if the default subconscious pathway fails to guide the agent to a target. Employing experiments with roving robots and numerical simulations, we show that the proposed architecture provides the robot with cognitive abilities and enables reliable and flexible navigation in realistic time-evolving environments. We prove that the subconscious pathway is robust against uncertainty in the sensory information. Thus if a novel situation is similar but not identical to the previous experience (because of, e. g., noisy perception) then the subconscious pathway is able to provide an effective solution

Sistema de protección de enchufes adaptado a facilitadores enchufado

Modelo de utilidad U201500407 Nº Solicitud:U201500407; Fecha presentación:15/06/2015 Nº publicación:ES1153570; Fecha publicación:30/03/2016; Fecha concesión:04/07/20161. Protector de enchufes caracterizado porque comprende en una única pieza una placa (A) y dos patillas (B) solidarias a la base (C) de la placa (A), y donde la base (C) consta de unos conos truncados a los que van unidas de forma solidaria las patillas (B).Protector plugs characterized in that it comprises in a single piece a plate (a) and two lugs (b) integral with the base (c) of the plate (a), and where the base (c) consists of cones truncated to those that are united in a joint way the sideburns (b). (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y EvoluciónFac. de Óptica y Optometríapu