Learning-Based Adaptation for Personalized Mobility Assistance

Mobility assistance is of key importance for people with disabilities to remain autonomous in their preferred environments. In severe cases, assistance can be provided by robotized wheelchairs that can perform complex maneuvers and/or correct the user’s commands. User’s acceptance is of key importance, as some users do not like their commands to be modified. This work presents a solution to improve acceptance. It consists of making the robot learn how the user drives so corrections will not be so noticeable to the user. Case Based Reasoning (CBR) is used to acquire a user’s driving model reactive level. Experiments with volunteers at Fondazione Santa Lucia (FSL) have proven that, indeed, this customized approach at assistance increases acceptance by the user.This work has been partially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia (MEC), Project TEC2011-29106-C02-01. The authors would like to thank Santa Lucia Hospedale and all volunteers for their kind cooperation and Sauer Medica for providing the power wheelchair

Colloidal systems in bone regeneration. Is the size important

Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) is one of the most widely used synthetic polymers for development of delivery systems for drugs and therapeutic biomolecules. Its properties and versatility make it a reference polymer in the manufacturing of nano and microparticles to encapsulate and deliver a wide variety of hydrophobic and hydrophilic molecules, including biomolecules such as proteins or nucleic acids that must be released in a controlled way [1]. Delivery of growth factors such as bone morphogenetic proteins, and specially BMP-2, is an attractive therapeutic strategy for bone tissue engineering. However, their administration is problematic due to their short biological half-lives, localized action and rapid clearance. Consequently, its clinical use requires high doses far exceeding its physiological concentration which implies possible side effects and high costs. These barriers might be overcome by developing new delivery systems which allow a better control of the release rate in order to achieve the desired concentrations in specific site and time [2]. With this aim, in this preliminary study we have synthesized PLGA particles with different diameters, from nano (200 nm) to micro scale (12.5 μm) via double emulsion procedure, in order to study the influence of size in the release profile of lysozyme, which has been selected as an appropriate model for BMP2. A physico-chemical characterization of the particles was done, followed by a complete study on the encapsulation efficiency, cumulative protein release and bioactivity of the released enzyme with and without co-encapsulated bovine serum albumin, a protective biomolecule that can prevent protein instability during emulsification process. Additionally, fluorescently labeled lysozyme was used to study the protein distribution and the influence of particle size on the in vitro cellular uptake.Universidad de Málaga. Campus Internacional de Andalucía Tec

Interactive Graphical Simulations For Experimental Physics Learning

Se pesenta un material interactivo multimedia desarrollado para contribuir al aprendizaje del campo electrostático de cargas puntuales.Las simulaciones del campo electrostático de conjuntos de cargas eléctricas disponibles en Internet no tienen en cuenta, generalmente, el valor de las cargas. Suelen dibujar un número constante de líneas, lo que a veces genera figuras enmarañadas de difícil interpretación. Algunas simulaciones sí dibujan un número de líneas proporcional al valor de las cargas, pero sólo muestran unos pocos ejemplos y no permiten el desplazamiento de las cargas, es decir, son poco interactivos. El applet presentado aquí se diseñó intentando resolver todas estas limitaciones. La simulación permite al usuario introducir un número arbitrario de cargas eléctricas con los valores (en nC) que considere más oportuno, y visualizar tanto las líneas de campo eléctrico creadas por ese conjunto de cargas como, opcionalmente, las curvas isopotenciales. La simulación permite manipular la posición de las cargas y observar, en tiempo real, cómo se modifican las líneas de campo y de potencial. El número de líneas de campo que salen (positivas) o entran (negativas) de cada carga es proporcional al valor de la misma, lo que permite trabajar el concepto de proporcionalidad entre el flujo del campo electrostático y el número de líneas de campo que atraviesan una superficie cerrada (ley de Gauss). Finalmente, el simulador permite introducir una carga libre y observar la evolución de su trayectoria bajo la influencia del sistema de cargas que hayamos diseñado.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Live lecture screencast recording: a proposal to simplify the tasks associated with content production for video-teaching

Se trata de un resumen (Abstract) de la contribución. El acuerdo de transferencia de copyright del trabajo completo es incompatible con el depósito del mismo en RIUMA.Se describe la implementación inicial de un método simplificado de grabación en directo de sesiones de clase en asignaturas de las Escuelas de Ingeniería de la Universidad de Málaga. La simplificación se logra al incorporar en la actividad diaria del aula ciertas características típicas de la grabación en diferido de mini videos docentes. En una configuración mínima se graba únicamente el audio y el video en pantalla de la clase, evitando los desafíos técnicos y las dificultades que implica la grabación de otros elementos como la pizarra. Esto implica el uso de anotaciones en pantalla en tiempo real para reemplazar completamente las anotaciones en la pizarra.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. I Plan Propio Integral de Docencia. Universidad de Málaga. Universidad de Málaga. Vicerectorado de Personal Docente e Investigador, Proyectos de Innovación Educativa (PIE 17-018

The role of the lab tutor: a positive experience in the Physics Laboratory for incoming students in 1st year courses

This work is part of a study which main aim is to gain knowledge about students’ learning in a physics laboratory where we strive to use effective, interactive learning techniques to engage students in Physics. The present work was carried out during three consecutive academic years with students in their first year of Industrial Engineering degree (University of Málaga) and is based on the lab tutor role for helping students during the laboratory sessions scheduled for the Physics II subject. First year students tend to be particularly difficult to teach and the lack of experience in practical work and problem solving and a lack of mathematical skills are the greatest cause of difficulty for incoming students. This study highlights the importance of training tutors for the laboratory sessions to effectively deal with this unique cohort. Taking into account the survey results we have collected on the students’ perception of the value of laboratory work and the role of the lab tutor, we can conclude that the proposed activity was well received by the students and it has proved to be a valuable experience for both tutor and tutee. Furthermore, the lab tutoring approach can be implemented with a minimal financial cost or staff time, except for the initial training of the tutors.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec