In search of international quality: The library experience with WASC

This research is based on the experience, changes and processes that the library system of CETYS Universidad has undergone from 2004 to 2014. In this period, CETYS has achieved international certification by the American organization named Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), making it the first university in Mexico to receive this accreditation. This work highlights the preparations, plans and changes that the library system was required to develop, in order to support the achievement of the accreditation in 2011 and the programmed adjustments that need to be taken into account to maintain such accreditation in 2016. The evidence and data collection method used was a survey; its preliminary results, may be of interest to similar universities working toward accreditations of the same kind

Ventricular Fibrillation detection using time-frequency and the KNN classifier without parameter extraction

[ES] Este trabajo propone la detección de FV y su discriminación de TV y otros ritmos cardiacos basándose en la representación tiempo-frecuencia del ECG y su conversión en imágen como entrada a un clasificador de vecinos más cercanos (KNN) sin necesidad de extracción de parámetros adicionales. Tres variantes de datos de entrada al clasificador son evaluados. Los resultados clasifican la señal en cuatro clases diferentes: ’Normal’ para latidos con ritmo sinusal, ’FV’ para fibrilación ventricular, ’TV’ para taquicardia ventricular y ’Otros’ para el resto de ritmos. Los resultados para detección de FV mostraron 88,27% de sensibilidad y 98,22% de especificidad para la entrada de imágen equivalente reducida que es la más rápida computacionalmente a pesar de obtener resultados de clasificación ligeramente inferiores a las representaciones no reducidas. En el caso de TV, se alcanzó un 88,31% de sensibilidad y 98,80% de especificidad, un 98,14% de sensibilidad y 96,82% de especificidad para ritmo sinusal normal y 96,91% de sensibilidad con 99,06% de especificidad para la clase ’Otros’. Finalmente, se realiza una comparación con otros algoritmos.[EN] This work describes new techniques to improve VF detection and its separation from Ventricular Tachycarida (VT) and other rhythms. It is based on time-frequency representation of the ECG and its use as input in an automatic classifier (K-nearest neighbours - KNN) without any further signal parameter extraction or additional characteristics. For comparison purposes, three time-frequency variants are analysed: pseudo Wigner-Ville representation (RTF), grey-scale image obtained from RTF (IRTF), and reduced image from IRTF (reduced IRTF). Four types of rhythms (classes) are defined: ’Normal’ for sinus rhythm, ’VT’ for ventricular tachycardia, ’VF’ for ventricular fibrillation and ’Others’ for the rest of rhythms. Classification results for VF detection in case of reduced IRTF are 88.27% sensitivity and 98.22% specificity. In case of VT, 88.31% sensitivity and 98.80% specificity is obtained, 98.14% sensitivity and 96.82% specificity for normal rhythms, and 96.91% sensitivity and 99.06% specificity for other rhythms. Finally, results are compared with other authors.Mjahad, A.; Rosado Muñoz, A.; Bataller Mompeán, M.; Francés Víllora, JV.; Guerrero Martínez, JF. (2017). Detección de Fibrilación Ventricular Mediante Tiempo-Frecuencia y Clasificador KNN sin Extracción de Parámetros. Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática industrial. 15(1):124-132. https://doi.org/10.4995/riai.2017.8833OJS124132151Classen, T. A. C. M., Mecklenbrauker, W. F. G., 1980. The Wigner Distribution: A Tool for Time-Frequency Signal Analysis - Part 2: Discrete-Time Signals. Philips Journal of Research 35, 276-350.Cohen, L., Jul 1989a. Time frequency distributions a review. Proceedings of the IEEE 77 (7), 941-981. https://doi.org/10.1109/5.30749Cohen, L., 1989b. Time-frequency distributions-a review. Proceeding of the IEEE 77 (7), 941-981. https://doi.org/10.1109/5.30749Elhaj, F. A., Salim, N., Harris, A. R., Swee, T. T., Ahmed, T., 2016. Arrhythmia recognition and classification using combined linear and nonlinear features of ECG signals. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine 127, 52- 63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2015.12.024Hlawatsch, F., Boudreaux-Bartels, G. F., April 1992. Linear and quadratic time-frequency signal representations. IEEE Signal Processing Magazine 9 (2), 21-67. https://doi.org/10.1109/79.127284Ibaida, A., Khalil, I., Aug 2010. Distinguishing between Ventricular Tachycardia and Ventricular Fibrillation from Compressed ECG Signal in Wireless body Sensor Networks. In: Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), 2010 Annual International Conference of the IEEE. pp. 2013-2016. https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMBS.2010.5627888Jekova, I., 2007a. Shock advisory tool: Detection of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias and shock success prediction by means of a common parameter set. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control 2 (1), 25 - 33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bspc.2007.01.002Jekova, I., 2007b. Shock advisory tool: Detection of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias and shock success prediction by means of a common parameter set. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control 2 (1), 25-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bspc.2007.01.002Jekova, I., Krasteva, V., 2004. Real time detection of ventricular fibrillation and tachycardia. Physiological measurement 25 (5), 1167. https://doi.org/10.1088/0967-3334/25/5/007Jin, D., Dai, C., Gong, Y., Lu, Y., Zhang, L., Quan, W., Li, Y., 2017. Does the choice of definition for defibrillation and CPR success impact the predictability of ventricular fibrillation waveform analysis? Resuscitation 111, 48 - 54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2016.11.022Kabir, M. A., Shahnaz, C., 2012. Denoising of ecg signals based on noise reduction algorithms in emd and wavelet domain. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control l 7 (5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bspc.2011.11.003Kao, T.-P., Wang, J.-S., Lin, C.-W., Yang, Y.-T., Juang, F.-C., June 2012. Using bootstrap adaboost with knn for ecg-based automated obstructive sleep apnea detection. In: The 2012 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN). pp. 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1109/IJCNN.2012.6252716Kaur, L., Singh, V., May 2013. Ventricular Fibrillation Detection using Empirical Mode Decomposition and Approximate Entropy. International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering 3 (5), 260-268.Kaur, M., Singh, B., Seema, 2011. Comparison of different approaches for removal of baseline wander from ecg signal. In: Proceedings of the International Conference &Workshop on Emerging Trends in Technology. ICWET'11. ACM, New York, NY, USA, pp. 1290-1294. https://doi.org/10.1145/1980022.1980307Labatut, V., Cherifi, H., May 2011. Accuracy measures for the comparison of classifiers. In: Ali, A.-D. (Ed.), The 5th International Conference on Information Technology. Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, amman, Jordan, pp.1,5.Li, Q., Rajagopalan, C., Clifford, G. D., 2014. Ventricular fibrillation and tachycardia classification using a machine learning approach. Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on 61 (6), 1607-1613.Mahmoud, S. S., Hussain, Z. M., Cosic, I., Fang, Q., 2006. Time-frequency analysis of normal and abnormal biological signals. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control 1 (1), 33 - 43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bspc.2006.02.001Martin, W., Flandrin, P., Dec 1985. Wigner-ville spectral analysis of nonstationary processes. IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing 33 (6), 1461-1470. https://doi.org/10.1109/TASSP.1985.1164760Mateo, J., Torres, A., Aparicio, A., Santos, J., 2016. An efficient method for ECG beat classification and correction of ectopic beats. Computers and Electrical Engineering 53, 219 - 229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compeleceng.2015.12.015Mjahad, A., Rosado-Mu-oz, A., Guerrero-Martinez, J., Bataller-Mompean, M., Frances-Villora, J. V., 2015. ECG Analysis for Ventricular Fibrillation Detection Using a Boltzmann Network. In: Braidot, A., Hadad, A. (Eds.), VI Latin American Congress on Biomedical Engineering CLAIB 2014, Parana, Argentina 29, 30, 31 October 2014. Vol. 49 of IFMBE Proceedings. Springer International Publishing, pp. 532-535. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13117-7Murakoshi, N., Aonuma, K., 2013. Epidemiology of arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in asia. Circulation Journal 77 (10), 2419-2431. https://doi.org/10.1253/circj.CJ-13-1129Othman, M. A., Safri, N. M., Ghani, I. A., Harun, F. K. C., Ariffin, I., 2013. A new semantic mining approach for detecting ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control 8 (2), 222 - 227.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bspc.2012.10.001Phong, P. A., Thien, K. Q., Oct 2009. Classification of Cardiac Arrhythmias Using Interval Type-2 TSK Fuzzy System. In: Knowledge and Systems Engineering, 2009. KSE '09. International Conference on. pp. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1109/KSE.2009.19Poularikas, A. D., 1999. The transforms and applications handbooks. ACRC Handbook published in cooperatio with IEEE Press, Depatment of electrical an computer engineering the univesity of Alabama in Huntsville.Rangayyan, R. M., 2002. Biomedical signal analysis: A case-study approach. In: IEEE Press Series in Biomedical Engineering.Ravindra Pratap Narwaria, S. V., Singhal, P. K., 2011. Removal of baseline wander and power line interference from ecg signal - a survey approach. International Journal of Electronics Engineering 3, 107-111.Rosado, A., Guerrero, J., Bataller, M., Chorro, J., 2001. Fast non-invasive ventricular fibrillation detection method using pseudo wigner-ville distribution. In: Computers in Cardiology 2001. pp. 237-240. https://doi.org/10.1109/CIC.2001.977635Saini, R., Bindal, N., Bansal, P., May 2015. Classification of heart diseases from ecg signals using wavelet transform and knn classifier. In: Computing, Communication Automation (ICCCA), 2015 International Conference on. pp. 1208-1215. https://doi.org/10.1109/CCAA.2015.7148561Sharma, L., Dandapat, S., Mahanta, A., 2010. Ecg signal denoising using higher order statistics in wavelet subbands. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control 5 (3), 214 - 222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bspc.2010.03.003Sornmo, L., Laguna, P., 2005. Bioelectrical signal processing in cardiac and neurological applications. In: Elsevier Academic Press.Tan, W., Foo, C. L., Chua, T. W., July 2007. Type-2 Fuzzy System for ECG Arrhythmic Classification. In: Fuzzy Systems Conference, 2007. FUZZIEEE 2007. IEEE International. pp. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1109/FUZZY.2007.4295478Valenzuela, J. V., 2008. Interpolacion de Formas en Imagenes Usando Morfologia Matematica. Ph.D. thesis, Departamento de Lenguajes, Sistemas Informaticos e Ingeniera de Software Facultad de Informatica Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Director de Tesis: Jose Crespo del Arco.Viitasalo, M., Karjalainen, J., 1992. Q T intervals at Heart rates From 50 to 120 Beats per Minute During 24 Hour Electrocardiographic Recordings in 100 Healthy Men Effects of Atenolol. American Heart Association 86 (5), 1439-1442. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.CIR.86.5.1439von Borries, R. F., Pierluissi, J. H., Nazeran, H., Jan 2005. Wavelet transformbased ecg baseline drift removal for body surface potential mapping. In: 2005 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology 27th Annual Conference. pp. 3891-3894. https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMBS.2005.1615311V.Oppenheim, A., Willsky, A. S., Nawab, S. H., 1998. Signals and systems. Prentice Hall Internationa,Inc, Massachusettes Intitue Technology with Boston Univeristy.Xia, D., Meng, Q., Chen, Y., Zhang, Z., 2014. Classification of Ventricular T achycardia and Fibrillation Based on the Lempel-Ziv Complexity and EMD 8590, 322-329. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09330-7_39Xie, H.-B., Zhong-Mei, G., Liu, H., 2011. Classification of Ventricular Tachycardia and Fibrillation Using Fuzzy Similarity-based Approximate entropy. Expert Systems with Applications 38 (4), 3973 - 3981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2010.09.058Yilmaz, B., Arikan, E., Asyali, M. H., April 2010. Use of knn and quadratic discriminant analysis methods for sleep staging from single lead ecg recordings. Biomedical Engineering Meeting (BIYOMUT), 2010 15th National, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1109/BIYOMUT.2010.5479833Yochum, M., Renaud, C., Jacquir, S., 2016. Automatic detection of p, QRS and t patterns in 12 leads ECG signal based on CWT. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control 25, 46 - 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bspc.2015.10.01

Malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery in a porcine model. A pilot study

Animal models; Central nervous system; InfarctionModels animals; Sistema nerviós central; InfartModelos animales; Sistema nervioso central; InfartoBackground and purpose Interspecies variability and poor clinical translation from rodent studies indicate that large gyrencephalic animal stroke models are urgently needed. We present a proof-of-principle study describing an alternative animal model of malignant infarction of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in the common pig and illustrate some of its potential applications. We report on metabolic patterns, ionic profile, brain partial pressure of oxygen (PtiO2), expression of sulfonylurea receptor 1 (SUR1), and the transient receptor potential melastatin 4 (TRPM4). Methods A 5-hour ischemic infarct of the MCA territory was performed in 5 2.5-to-3-month-old female hybrid pigs (Large White x Landrace) using a frontotemporal approach. The core and penumbra areas were intraoperatively monitored to determine the metabolic and ionic profiles. To determine the infarct volume, 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and immunohistochemistry analysis was performed to determine SUR1 and TRPM4 expression. Results PtiO2 monitoring showed an abrupt reduction in values close to 0 mmHg after MCA occlusion in the core area. Hourly cerebral microdialysis showed that the infarcted tissue was characterized by reduced concentrations of glucose (0.03 mM) and pyruvate (0.003 mM) and increases in lactate levels (8.87mM), lactate-pyruvate ratio (4202), glycerol levels (588 μM), and potassium concentration (27.9 mmol/L). Immunohistochemical analysis showed increased expression of SUR1-TRPM4 channels. Conclusions The aim of the present proof-of-principle study was to document the feasibility of a large animal model of malignant MCA infarction by performing transcranial occlusion of the MCA in the common pig, as an alternative to lisencephalic animals. This model may be useful for detailed studies of cerebral ischemia mechanisms and the development of neuroprotective strategies.The Neurotraumatology and Neurosurgery Research Unit is supported by a grant from the Departament d'Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació de la Generalitat de Catalunya (SGR 2014-844). This work has been supported in part by the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (Instituto de Salud Carlos III) with grant FIS PI11/00700, which was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and awarded to Dr. J. Sahuquillo. A. Sánchez-Guerrero is the recipient of a personal pre-doctoral grant from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant number grant number FI12/00074)

Effect of chronic exercise on myocardial electrophysiological heterogeneity and stability. Role of intrinsic cholinergic neurons: A study in the isolated rabbit heart

[EN] A study has been made of the effect of chronic exercise on myocardial electrophysiological heterogeneity and stability, as well as of the role of cholinergic neurons in these changes. Determinations in hearts from untrained and trained rabbits on a treadmill were performed. The hearts were isolated and perfused. A pacing electrode and a recording multielectrode were located in the left ventricle. The parameters determined during induced VF, before and after atropine (1 mu M), were: fibrillatory cycle length (VV), ventricular functional refractory period (FRPVF), normalized energy (NE) of the fibrillatory signal and its coefficient of variation (CV), and electrical ventricular activation complexity, as an approach to myocardial heterogeneity and stability. The VV interval was longer in the trained group than in the control group both prior to atropine (78 +/- 10 vs. 68 +/- 10 ms) and after atropine (76 +/- 8 vs. 67 +/- 10 ms). Likewise, FRPVF was longer in the trained group than in the control group both prior to and after atropine (53 +/- 8 vs. 42 +/- 7 ms and 50 +/- 6 vs. 40 +/- 6 ms, respectively), and atropine did not modify FRPVF. The CV of FRPVF was lower in the trained group than in the control group prior to atropine (12.5 +/- 1.5% vs. 15.1 +/- 3.8%) and, decreased after atropine (15.1 +/- 3.8% vs. 12.2 +/- 2.4%) in the control group. The trained group showed higher NE values before (0.40 +/- 0.04 vs. 0.36 +/- 0.05) and after atropine (0.37 +/- 0.04 vs. 0.34 +/- 0.06; p = 0.08). Training decreased the CV of NE both before (23.3 +/- 2% vs. 25.2 +/- 4%; p = 0.08) and after parasympathetic blockade (22.6 +/- 1% vs. 26.1 +/- 5%). Cholinergic blockade did not modify these parameters within the control and trained groups. Activation complexity was lower in the trained than in the control animals before atropine (34 +/- 8 vs. 41 +/- 5), and increased after atropine in the control group (41 +/- 5 vs. 48 +/- 9, respectively). Thus, training decreases the intrinsic heterogeneity of the myocardium, increases electrophysiological stability, and prevents some modifications due to muscarinic block.This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, (DEP2007-73234-C03-01 to AMA), http://www.mecd.gob.es/portada-mecd/; and the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO 2010/093 to FJC, and FPI/2008/003 to MZ), http://www.gva.es/va/inicio/presentacion; jsessionid=ydprbDQZTsCTz85W1Such-Miquel, L.; Brines-Ferrando, L.; Alberola, A.; Zarzoso Muñoz, M.; Chorro Gasco, FJ.; Guerrero-Martínez, JF.; Parra-Giraldo, G.... (2018). Effect of chronic exercise on myocardial electrophysiological heterogeneity and stability. Role of intrinsic cholinergic neurons: A study in the isolated rabbit heart. PLoS ONE. 13(12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209085S1312Billman, G. E. (2002). Aerobic exercise conditioning: a nonpharmacological antiarrhythmic intervention. Journal of Applied Physiology, 92(2), 446-454. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00874.2001Billman, G. E. (2006). A comprehensive review and analysis of 25 years of data from an in vivo canine model of sudden cardiac death: Implications for future anti-arrhythmic drug development. Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 111(3), 808-835. doi:10.1016/j.pharmthera.2006.01.002Dor-Haim, H., Berenfeld, O., Horowitz, M., Lotan, C., & Swissa, M. (2013). Reduced Ventricular Arrhythmogeneity and Increased Electrical Complexity in Normal Exercised Rats. PLoS ONE, 8(6), e66658. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0066658Hamer, M., & Stamatakis, E. (2008). Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Disease: Directions for Future Research. The Open Sports Sciences Journal, 1(1), 1-2. doi:10.2174/1875399x00801010001Powers, S. K., Smuder, A. J., Kavazis, A. N., & Quindry, J. C. (2014). Mechanisms of Exercise-Induced Cardioprotection. Physiology, 29(1), 27-38. doi:10.1152/physiol.00030.2013Hull, S. S., Vanoli, E., Adamson, P. B., Verrier, R. L., Foreman, R. D., & Schwartz, P. J. (1994). Exercise training confers anticipatory protection from sudden death during acute myocardial ischemia. Circulation, 89(2), 548-552. doi:10.1161/01.cir.89.2.548Hajnal, Á., Nagy, O., Litvai, Á., Papp, J., Parratt, J. R., & Végh, Á. (2005). Nitric oxide involvement in the delayed antiarrhythmic effect of treadmill exercise in dogs. Life Sciences, 77(16), 1960-1971. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2005.02.015Such, L., Alberola, A. M., Such-Miquel, L., López, L., Trapero, I., Pelechano, F., … Chorro, F. J. (2008). Effects of chronic exercise on myocardial refractoriness: a study on isolated rabbit heart. Acta Physiologica, 193(4), 331-339. doi:10.1111/j.1748-1716.2008.01851.xZarzoso, M., Such-Miquel, L., Parra, G., Brines-Ferrando, L., Such, L., Chorro, F. J., … Alberola, A. (2011). The training-induced changes on automatism, conduction and myocardial refractoriness are not mediated by parasympathetic postganglionic neurons activity. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 112(6), 2185-2193. doi:10.1007/s00421-011-2189-4Billman, G. E. (2009). Cardiac autonomic neural remodeling and susceptibility to sudden cardiac death: effect of endurance exercise training. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 297(4), H1171-H1193. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00534.2009HAN, J., & MOE, G. K. (1964). Nonuniform Recovery of Excitability in Ventricular Muscle. Circulation Research, 14(1), 44-60. doi:10.1161/01.res.14.1.44Beaumont, E., Salavatian, S., Southerland, E. M., Vinet, A., Jacquemet, V., Armour, J. A., & Ardell, J. L. (2013). Network interactions within the canine intrinsic cardiac nervous system: implications for reflex control of regional cardiac function. The Journal of Physiology, 591(18), 4515-4533. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2013.259382Armour, J. A. (2008). Potential clinical relevance of the ‘little brain’ on the mammalian heart. Experimental Physiology, 93(2), 165-176. doi:10.1113/expphysiol.2007.041178Abramochkin, D. V., Nurullin, L. F., Borodinova, A. A., Tarasova, N. V., Sukhova, G. S., Nikolsky, E. E., & Rosenshtraukh, L. V. (2009). Non-quantal release of acetylcholine from parasympathetic nerve terminals in the right atrium of rats. Experimental Physiology, 95(2), 265-273. doi:10.1113/expphysiol.2009.050302CHORRO, F. J., CANOVES, J., GUERRERO, J., MAINAR, L., SANCHIS, J., SORIA, E., … LOPEZ-MERINO, V. (2000). Opposite Effects of Myocardial Stretch and Verapamil on the Complexity of the Ventricular Fibrillatory Pattern: An Experimental Study. Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology, 23(11), 1594-1603. doi:10.1046/j.1460-9592.2000.01594.xSuch, L., Rodriguez, A., Alberola, A., Lopez, L., Ruiz, R., Artal, L., … Chorro, F. J. (2002). Intrinsic changes on automatism, conduction, and refractoriness by exercise in isolated rabbit heart. Journal of Applied Physiology, 92(1), 225-229. doi:10.1152/jappl.2002.92.1.225Duytschaever, M., Mast, F., Killian, M., Blaauw, Y., Wijffels, M., & Allessie, M. (2001). Methods for Determining the Refractory Period and Excitable Gap During Persistent Atrial Fibrillation in the Goat. Circulation, 104(8), 957-962. doi:10.1161/hc3401.093156Wijffels, M. C. E. F., Kirchhof, C. J. H. J., Dorland, R., & Allessie, M. A. (1995). Atrial Fibrillation Begets Atrial Fibrillation. Circulation, 92(7), 1954-1968. doi:10.1161/01.cir.92.7.1954Zaitsev, A. V., Berenfeld, O., Mironov, S. F., Jalife, J., & Pertsov, A. M. (2000). Distribution of Excitation Frequencies on the Epicardial and Endocardial Surfaces of Fibrillating Ventricular Wall of the Sheep Heart. Circulation Research, 86(4), 408-417. doi:10.1161/01.res.86.4.408Armour, J. A., Collier, K., Kember, G., & Ardell, J. L. (1998). Differential selectivity of cardiac neurons in separate intrathoracic autonomic ganglia. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 274(4), R939-R949. doi:10.1152/ajpregu.1998.274.4.r939Armour, J. A., & Hopkins, D. A. (1990). Activity of in vivo canine ventricular neurons. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 258(2), H326-H336. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.1990.258.2.h326D’Souza, A., Bucchi, A., Johnsen, A. B., Logantha, S. J. R. J., Monfredi, O., Yanni, J., … Boyett, M. R. (2014). Exercise training reduces resting heart rate via downregulation of the funny channel HCN4. Nature Communications, 5(1). doi:10.1038/ncomms4775Sartiani, L., Romanelli, M., Mugelli, A., & Cerbai, E. (2015). Updates on HCN Channels in the Heart: Function, Dysfunction and Pharmacology. Current Drug Targets, 16(8), 868-876. doi:10.2174/1389450116666150531152047Herrmann, S., Layh, B., & Ludwig, A. (2011). 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Importancia de las áreas naturales protegidas para la conservación de mamíferos terrestres en el sur de la sierra Madre oriental, San Luis Potosí, México

Objective: to determine the population status of land mammals in two natural protected areas of the Sierra Madre Oriental Ecological Corridor in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Design/methodology/approach: the field work was carried out in two sampling periods (from August 2014 to January 2015 and from August 2015 to February 2016) in which two non-invasive techniques were used (photo-traps and tracks identification). The Relative Abundance Index was obtained for each technique. The Mann-Whitney U nonparametric test was performed. Results: the most abundant species via photo-trapping were Sylvilagus floridanus and Sciurus aureogaster, and with tracks were Odocoileus virginianus and Mazama temama in the RBSAT and RFX, respectively. There were significant differences in the abundance of species between sites, being lower in the RBSAT by photo-trapping and higher by tracks. Twenty species were recorded by photo-trapping and 17 by tracks. Limitations on study/implications: the results of this study can be used in natural protected areas and their influence areas, however, the methodology can be applicable elsewhere.   Findings/conclusions: based on the information generated, it is suggested that carnivore abundance decreases southward, and that RFX eventually could not sustain a carnivore population in the long term. Species listed in some risk category were found in both areas, so these areas must be conserved to avoid the disappearance of these wildlife species.Objetivo. determinar el estado poblacional de los mamíferos terrestres en dos áreas naturales protegidas del Corredor Ecológico de la Sierra Madre Oriental en San Luis Potosí, México. Diseño/metodología/aproximación. el estudio de campo se realizó en dos temporadas de muestreo (agosto de 2014 a enero de 2015 y de agosto 2015 a febrero 2016) en las que se utilizaron dos técnicas no invasivas (foto trampas e identificación de rastros). Se obtuvo el Índice de Abundancia Relativa para cada método. Se realizó la prueba no paramétrica U de Mann-Whitney. Resultados. las especies más abundantes vía foto trampeo fueron Sylvilagus floridanus y Sciurus aureogaster y con rastros Odocoileus virginianus y Mazama temama en la RBSAT y la RFX, respectivamente. Hubo diferencias significativas en la abundancia de especies entre sitios, siendo menor en la RBSAT por foto trampeo y mayor por rastros. Se registraron 20 especies por foto trampeo y 17 con rastros. Limitaciones del estudio/implicaciones. los resultados de este estudio pueden usarse en áreas naturales protegidas y sus áreas de influencia, así como, en otros lugares. Hallazgos/conclusiones. con base a la información generada se sugiere que la abundancia de carnívoros decrece hacia el sur, y que la RFX eventualmente pudiese no sostener una población de carnívoros a largo plazo. En ambas áreas se encontraron especies listadas en alguna categoría de riesgo, por lo que estas áreas deben ser conservadas para evitar su desaparició

Monitoring of the Eyjafjalla volcanic plume at four lidar stations over the Iberian Peninsula: 6 to 8 May 2010

Lidar measurements were performed in the framework of the EARLINET and SPALINET networks during the eruption of Eyjafjalla volcano (Iceland) since 14 April 2010. The profiles of the aerosol optical properties, namely backscatter and extinction coefficients, lidar ratio and Angström exponent, show the presence of volcanic aerosol layers over all SPALINET stations since 5 May. The volcanic particles were monitored both within the planetary boundary layer and in decoupled layers up to 8 km agl over the Iberian Peninsula. This is the first time that the spatial and temporal distributions of volcanic aerosols have been studied with active remote sensing techniques over the Iberian Peninsula.Postprint (published version

Archeological patrimony spatial data infrastructure implementation: Tolmo de Minateda

En este artículo se presenta la solución desarrollada para una Infraestructura de Datos Espaciales Arqueológica incorporando productos geomáticos de muy alta resolución. El caso de estudio principal es el Parque Arqueológico del Tolmo de Minateda (Hellín, Albacete). Entre la información geográfica de alta resolución publicada se incluyen ortoimágenes, modelos digitales de superficie, nubes de puntos y el marco de referencia topográfico. En el artículo se describe el instrumental y la metodología empleadas en su producción. La IDE implementada intenta cumplir los estándares aplicables, integrando entre sus componentes un visualizador, un directorio de servicios, y un catálogo de metadatos de datos y servicios. Entre las características que diferencian al visualizador desarrollado de los convencionales en las IDE destaca la particularidad de permitir desplegar visualizadores 3D de algunos productos geomáticos, nubes de puntos y modelos texturizados. También se integra gestión de usuarios para controlar la información accesible en función de cada perfil. Finalmente, en el propio visor se incorporan herramientas de descarga de productos geomáticos. Para el proyecto se ha desarrollado un portal web a modo de gestor de contenidos disponible en: http://www.archaeo3dwebgis.com. Para la presentación del proyecto se ha preparado un vídeo accesible desde la propia web del proyecto o mediante el enlace: https://vimeo.com/242930977.In this article we present the solution developed for an Archeological SDI including very high resolution geomatic respurces. The main study case is the Archaeological Park of Tolmo de Minateda (Hellín, Albacete). High resolution published geographical information includes orthoimages, digital surface models, point clouds and the topographic reference frame. This article describes the instruments and methodology used in its production. The implemented SDI tries to be comnformant with applicable standards, integrating in its components a viewer, a services directory, and a catalog of data and services metadata. Among the characteristics that differentiate the developed visewer from the usual ones in other SDIs, it is remarkable the possibility of open 3D viewers for some geomatics products, point clouds and textured models. User management is also integrated to control the information accessible according to each profile. Finally, geomatic products download tools are incorporated into the viewer. For the project, a web portal has been developed as a content manager available at: http://www.archaeo3dwebgis.com. For the presentation of the project, a video has been prepared and it is accessible from the project website or through the link: https://vimeo.com/242930977

Atomic-scale confinement of optical fields

In the presence of matter there is no fundamental limit preventing confinement of visible light even down to atomic scales. Achieving such confinement and the corresponding intensity enhancement inevitably requires simultaneous control over atomic-scale details of material structures and over the optical modes that such structures support. By means of self-assembly we have obtained side-by-side aligned gold nanorod dimers with robust atomically-defined gaps reaching below 0.5 nm. The existence of atomically-confined light fields in these gaps is demonstrated by observing extreme Coulomb splitting of corresponding symmetric and anti-symmetric dimer eigenmodes of more than 800 meV in white-light scattering experiments. Our results open new perspectives for atomically-resolved spectroscopic imaging, deeply nonlinear optics, ultra-sensing, cavity optomechanics as well as for the realization of novel quantum-optical devices

Hilando generaciones y moda

En el proyecto PAP llamado Hilando Generaciones y Moda del cual se presenta este reporte del periodo otoño 2022, el propósito general fue el de crear espacios en los cuales se diera paso a la colaboración intergeneracional e intercultural a través de la capacitación en costura y diseño de modas. Un espacio en donde los participantes pudieran intercambiar conocimientos, diálogos y trabajar en equipo, pero, sobre todo, mostrando empatía, confianza e interactuando mientas se conocen los estudiantes y las personas mayores. En este periodo escolar se elaboraron prendas de vestir para el uso personal y familiar de las personas mayores, se llevó a cabo una sesión fotográfica con las personas mayores, una pasarela para la exposición de las prendas, un documental y una revistacatálogo con las prendas. Las primeras sesiones se dedicaron a la sensibilización de los alumnos para con la población de personas mayores y con esto se dio pie para la interacción y convivencia entre los estudiantes y personas mayores, principalmente en las instalaciones del Centro Tapatío de atención al Adulto Mayor (CETAM) y en uno de los centros de día del DIF. Los estudiantes estuvieron interactuando con las personas mayores, en los que se generó una relación profunda de comprensión y empatía, y se crearon importantes resultados como las prendas, una capa tejida por alumnos y personas mayores, revistacatálogo, pasarela y un visible entramado entre las dos generaciones: jóvenes y personas mayores.ITESO, A.C

Expression of Interest: The Canfranc Axion Detection Experiment (CADEx)

Trabajo presentado al 29th Meeting of the LSC Scientific Committee, celebrado online del 30 de noviembre al 1 de diciembre de 2021.Peer reviewe