Persistent homology for 3D reconstruction evaluation

Space or voxel carving is a non-invasive technique that is used to produce a 3D volume and can be used in particular for the reconstruction of a 3D human model from images captured from a set of cameras placed around the subject. In [1], the authors present a technique to quantitatively evaluate spatially carved volumetric representations of humans using a synthetic dataset of typical sports motion in a tennis court scenario, with regard to the number of cameras used. In this paper, we compute persistent homology over the sequence of chain complexes obtained from the 3D outcomes with increasing number of cameras. This allows us to analyze the topological evolution of the reconstruction process, something which as far as we are aware has not been investigated to date

Secuencias didácticas y transversalidad de género. Una estrategia de aprendizaje en la docencia de la Historia de la Medicina

Este trabajo muestra la propuesta didáctica que incorpora de manera transversal la perspectiva de género en la asignatura Historia de la Medicina y Documentación científica*, desde una reflexión sobre la "Sex- and gender-based medicine" (SGBM). La multiplicidad de contenidos de la asignatura se ha enfocado transversalmente desde la perspectiva de género ya que entendemos que, a pesar de los avances en materia de igualdad de género que han tenido lugar en las últimas décadas del siglo XX y primera del XXI, se mantienen niveles de desigualdad y discriminación en la actividad médico-sanitaria, a lo que se ha sumado la reciente problematización de la feminización de la medicina, por parte de algunos sectores de la profesión. Desde este enfoque, hemos diseñado una programación sistematizada que articula objetivos, competencias y resultados de aprendizaje, y se concreta en la propuesta metodológica de las secuencias didácticas.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Older adults and sport and physical activity professionals in Spain

Presence of monitors in physical activities and sports practiced by adults older than 64 years of age in Spain is analyzed in this research. The objective of this study is to determine the existence of monitors in relation to the sociodemographic features of older adults, the size of municipalities, the activities practiced, and the organizations where they are performed. The methodology used included a cross-sectional survey applied to a sample of older adults in Spain. The most relevant conclusions are that the presence of monitors in physical activities and sports practiced by older adults is dominant (63.8%), hence, their importance, and that the presence of monitors is higher for women (81.3%) than for men (37.5%). In addition, it is concluded that the bigger the municipality the higher the tendency to have more instructors. Regarding the type of activity, wide diversification is obtained; finally, there is a larger presence of monitors in sports entities (87.5%) and nursing homes (79.5%)

Learning Bayesian Networks for Student Modeling

In the last decade, there has been a growing interest in using Bayesian Networks (BN) in the student modelling problem. This increased interest is probably due to the fact that BNs provide a sound methodology for this difficult task. In order to develop a Bayesian student model, it is necessary to define the structure (nodes and links) and the parameters. Usually the structure can be elicited with the help of human experts (teachers), but the difficulty of the problem of parameter specification is widely recognized in this and other domains. In the work presented here we have performed a set of experiments to compare the performance of two Bayesian Student Models, whose parameters have been specified by experts and learnt from data respectively. Results show that both models are able to provide reasonable estimations for knowledge variables in the student model, in spite of the small size of the dataset available for learning the parametersUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Obesity as a risk factor in COVID-19: Possible mechanisms and implications

Varios artículos recientes sugieren que la obesidad es un factor de riesgo para una enfermedad más grave por coronavirus. En este artículo se resume la evidencia científica disponible sobre el papel de la obesidad en COVID-19, con especial atención en las personas más jóvenes y los mecanismos biológicos propuestos para explicar tanto el mayor riesgo observado como la posible mayor contagiosidad de esta población. Se consideran varias implicaciones de la pandemia sobre las personas con obesidad, en relación con las posibles dificultades en el manejo de los pacientes ingresados, las implicaciones del confinamiento sobre el control y tratamiento de la obesidad, y el estigma que sufren estas personas por su condición, y que puede verse aumentado si se confirma la relación de la obesidad con COVID-19. Comprender el papel de la obesidad en COVID-19 debería ser una prioridad de salud pública, dada la alta prevalencia de esta condición en nuestro país.Recent reports suggest that obesity is a risk factor for more severe coronavirus disease. This article summarizes the available scientific evidence on the role of obesity in COVID-19. We focus on implications for younger patients and the proposed biological mechanisms that could explain both the higher risk observed and the possible higher contagiousness of people with obesity. We consider implications of the pandemic for people with obesity in relation to: difficulties in managing hospitalized patients, implications of confinement for the control and treatment of obesity, and the stigma people with obesity suffer, that could increase should the relationship between obesity and COVID-19 be confirmed. Understanding the role of obesity in COVID-19 should be a public health priority, given the high prevalence of this condition in our country

Rett Syndrome Mutant Neural Cells Lacks MeCP2 Immunoreactive Bands.

Dysfunctions of MeCP2 protein lead to various neurological disorders such as Rett syndrome and Autism. The exact functions of MeCP2 protein is still far from clear. At a molecular level, there exist contradictory data. MeCP2 protein is considered a single immunoreactive band around 75 kDa by western-blot analysis but several reports have revealed the existence of multiple MeCP2 immunoreactive bands above and below the level where MeCP2 is expected. MeCP2 immunoreactive bands have been interpreted in different ways. Some researchers suggest that multiple MeCP2 immunoreactive bands are unidentified proteins that cross-react with the MeCP2 antibody or degradation product of MeCP2, while others suggest that MeCP2 post-transcriptional processing generates multiple molecular forms linked to cell signaling, but so far they have not been properly analyzed in relation to Rett syndrome experimental models. The purpose of this study is to advance understanding of multiple MeCP2 immunoreactive bands in control neural cells and p. T158M MeCP2e1 mutant cells. We have generated stable wild-type and p.T158M MeCP2e1-RFP mutant expressing cells. Application of N- and C- terminal MeCP2 antibodies, and also, RFP antibody minimized concerns about nonspecific cross-reactivity, since they react with the same antigen at different epitopes. We report the existence of multiple MeCP2 immunoreactive bands in control cells, stable wild-type and p.T158M MeCP2e1- RFP mutant expressing cells. Also, MeCP2 immunoreactive bands differences were found between wild-type and p.T158M MeCP2e1-RFP mutant expressing cells. Slower migration phosphorylated band around 70kDa disappeared in p.T158M MeCP2e1-RFP mutant expressing cells. These data suggest that threonine 158 could represent an important phosphorylation site potentially involved in protein function. Our results clearly indicate that MeCP2 antibodies have no cross-reactivity with similar epitopes on others proteins, supporting the idea that MeCP2 may exist in multiple different molecular forms and that molecular pattern variations derived from altered post-transcriptional processing may underlay Rett syndrome physiophatology

Actividades Físicas Practicadas por las Mujeres Mayores en España

Esta investigación persigue profundizar en el conocimiento sobre las actividades físicas practicadas por las mujeres mayores en España y las posibles diferencias con los varones. El método desarrollado ha consistido en aplicar un cuestionario a una muestra aleatoria y representativa de la población de mujeres y varones mayores. Gran parte de estas mujeres mayores parecen tender a concentrar su práctica en programas de ejercicio físico o de actividades en el medio acuático. Sin embargo en los varones hay una mayor diversificación de las actividades realizadas. This research chases to penetrate into the knowledge on the physical practised activities by the older women in Spain and the possible differences with the males. The developed method has consisted of applying a questionnaire to a random and representative sample of the population of women and older males. Great part of these older women they seem to tend to concentrate his practice in programs of physical exercise or activities in the aquatic way. Nevertheless in the males there is a major diversification of the realized activities

Actividades físicas y beneficios para la salud de las mujeres mayores en España

Esta investigación persigue profundizar en lel conocimiento de los benefícios perseguidos por las mujeres mayores en España y las posibles diferencias con los varones. El método desarrollado ha consistido en aplicar un cuestionario a una muestra aleatoria y representativa de la población de mujeres y varones mayores. El motivo o beneficio principal que buscan prácticamente todas estas mujeres es el de mantener o mejorar la salud, seguido en orden de importancia por los beneficios de mantener la salud y a los benefícios lúdicos y sociale

Mesoporous niobium oxide for dehydration of D-xylose into furfural

Se ha demostrado que el óxido de niobio mesoporoso es un catalizador eficaz para la deshidratación de D-xilosa a furfural, alcanzando una conversión del 92% y un rendimiento de furfural 49,3% a 170º C y 90 minutos. La lixiviación de Nb, determinada por ICP-MS, era inferior al 0,5% en peso de la concentración de Nb inicial, confirmando de este modo la estabilidad del catalizador ácido sólido.El furfural posee un gran potencial como molécula plataforma de origen renovable para la síntesis de una alta variedad de compuestos químicos. Se obtiene mediante la deshidratación de pentosas, principalmente a partir de D-xilosa, proceso catalizado por ácidos minerales en fase homogénea. Por tanto, dentro de la química verde y la búsqueda de sostenibilidad de los procesos catalíticos, es necesaria su sustitución por catalizadores sólidos ácidos que sean tolerantes al agua, ya que es el disolvente más utilizado para esta reacción. El óxido de niobio posee propiedades ácidas y es insoluble en agua, pero su superficie específica es muy baja. Por lo tanto, resulta muy interesante la síntesis de un óxido de niobio mesoporoso para emplearlo como catalizador en esta reacción. En este trabajo, se ha sintetizado un Nb2O5 mesoporoso y se ha evaluado su comportamiento catalítico en la obtención de furfural a partir de D-xilosa.Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (ENE2009-12743-C04-03 project)Junta de Andalucía (P09-FQM-5070).Ministry of Science and Innovation for the financial support under the Program Ramón y Cajal (RYC-2008-03387)