Notch signaling in the pigmented epithelium of the anterior eye segment promotes ciliary body development at the expense of iris formation.

The ciliary body and iris are pigmented epithelial structures in the anterior eye segment that function to maintain correct intra-ocular pressure and regulate exposure of the internal eye structures to light, respectively. The cellular and molecular factors that mediate the development of the ciliary body and iris from the ocular pigmented epithelium remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we have investigated the role of Notch signaling during the development of the anterior pigmented epithelium by using genetic loss- and gain-of-function approaches. Loss of canonical Notch signaling results in normal iris development but absence of the ciliary body. This causes progressive hypotony and over time leads to phthisis bulbi, a condition characterized by shrinkage of the eye and loss of structure/function. Conversely, Notch gain-of-function results in aniridia and profound ciliary body hyperplasia, which causes ocular hypertension and glaucoma-like disease. Collectively, these data indicate that Notch signaling promotes ciliary body development at the expense of iris formation and reveals novel animal models of human ocular pathologies.

Attraction of Chagas disease vectors (Triatominae) to artificial light sources in the canopy of primary Amazon rainforest

Adult triatomines occasionally fly into artificially lit premises in Amazonia. This can result in Trypanosoma cruzi transmission to humans either by direct contact or via foodstuff contamination, but the frequency of such behaviour has not been quantified. To address this issue, a light-trap was set 45 m above ground in primary rainforest near Manaus, state of Amazonas, Brazil and operated monthly for three consecutive nights over the course of one year (432 trap-hours). The most commonly caught reduviids were triatomines, including 38 Panstrongylus geniculatus, nine Panstrongylus lignarius, three Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus, five Rhodnius robustus, two Rhodnius pictipes, one Rhodnius amazonicus and 17 Eratyrus mucronatus. Males were collected more frequently than females. The only month without any catches was May. Attraction of most of the known local T. cruzi vectors to artificial light sources is common and year-round in the Amazon rainforest, implying that they may often invade premises built near forest edges and thus become involved in disease transmission. Consequently, effective Chagas disease prevention in Amazonia will require integrating entomological surveillance with the currently used epidemiological surveillance.

Measurements of eye lens doses in interventional radiology and cardiology: Final results of the ORAMED project

Within the ORAMED project (Optimization of Radiation Protection of Medical Staff) a coordinated measurement program for occupationally exposed medical staff was performed in different hospitals in Europe (www.oramed-fp7.eu). The main objective was to obtain a set of standardized data on extremity and eye lens doses for staff involved in interventional radiology and cardiology and to optimize radiation protection. Special attention was given to the measurement of the doses to the eye lenses. In this paper an overview will be given of the measured eye lens doses and the main influence factors for these doses. The measured eye lens doses are extrapolated to annual doses. The extrapolations showed that monitoringof the eye lens should be performed on routine basis.

Relación técnica entre la evolución de la luz artificial y paramentos interiores : falsos techos, paredes y suelos

El proyecto trata de abordar la relación sinérgica actual que mantienen los paramentos verticales con la iluminación y la inclusión de nuevas funciones. La investigación se centra en locales comerciales de planta baja de distintas marcs y productos (tiendas de ropa, restaurantes, peluquerias, etc) que busquen destacarse de sus competidores directos en un gran ciudad, mediante la diferenciación que aporta el diseño interior y la gestión de sus paramentos y la relación de éstos con la iluminación.

Avenços en l'estudi de la litiasi renal: mètodes de chemical imaging i intel·ligencia artificial (ANN) per la caracterització de càlculs renals

La litiasi urinària és un trastorn que implica la formació de precipitats en qualsevol part del tracte urinari. Aquest és un desordre comú que afecta aproximadament a una desena part de la població de la Unió Europea al llarg de la seva vida. A més, durant els cinc anys posteriors a un episodi litiàsic el percentatge de recurrència dels pacients és del 45 al 75%. Aquest trastorn urinari està influït per una gran quantitat de variables, d’origen fisiològic, psicològic i ambiental. Els episodis litiàsics, es poden solucionar espontàniament, amb l’expulsió del càlcul renal, o bé a través de diverses intervencions mèdiques. Els tractaments mèdics derivats de la litiasi urinària; és a dir, la fragmentació del càlcul, intervencions quirúrgiques i tractaments posteriors generen unes grans despeses als sistemes mèdics. Pels motius exposats, la identificació del desordre que ha originat l’episodi litiàsic és de radical importància, per tal de minimitzar el risc de reincidència. Els mètodes més usuals per determinar les causes que desencadenen la formació del càlcul renal són les anàlisis d’orina i l’estudi del càlcul generat. La correcta descripció de la composició i, especialment, l’estructura del càlcul renal pot aportar informació clau sobre les possibles causes de la seva formació, tant de l’inici de nucleació del càlcul com de les successives etapes de creixement cristal·lí. Tenint en compte aquest darrer aspecte, el present estudi s’ha dirigit a la caracterització de càlculs urinaris mitjançant l’aplicació de metodologies d’imatge química (Hyperspectral Imaging), el que va contribuir a determinar les principals característiques espectrals de cada compost majoritari als càlculs renals. D’altra banda, la utilització de mostres de composició coneguda ha possibilitat la creació d’un model amb Xarxes Neuronals Artificials, que permet la classificació de noves mostres de composició desconeguda, de manera més ràpida que el procediment actual. Aquest treball constitueix una nova contribució a la comprensió de l’estructura de les pedres de ronyó, així com les condicions de la seva formació. Els resultats obtinguts destaquen les possibilitats que presenten les tècniques emprades al camp de la litiasi renal, que permeten complementar els coneixements existents enfocats a millorar la qualitat de vida dels pacients.

A male with unilateral microphthalmia reveals a role for TMX3 in eye development.

Anophthalmia and microphthalmia are important birth defects, but their pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. We studied a patient with severe unilateral microphthalmia who had a 2.7 Mb deletion at chromosome 18q22.1 that was inherited from his mother. In-situ hybridization showed that one of the deleted genes, TMX3, was expressed in the retinal neuroepithelium and lens epithelium in the developing murine eye. We re-sequenced TMX3 in 162 patients with anophthalmia or microphthalmia, and found two missense substitutions in unrelated patients: c.116G>A, predicting p.Arg39Gln, in a male with unilateral microphthalmia and retinal coloboma, and c.322G>A, predicting p.Asp108Asn, in a female with unilateral microphthalmia and severe micrognathia. We used two antisense morpholinos targeted against the zebrafish TMX3 orthologue, zgc:110025, to examine the effects of reduced gene expression in eye development. We noted that the morphant larvae resulting from both morpholinos had significantly smaller eye sizes and reduced labeling with islet-1 antibody directed against retinal ganglion cells at 2 days post fertilization. Co-injection of human wild type TMX3 mRNA rescued the small eye phenotype obtained with both morpholinos, whereas co-injection of human TMX3(p.Arg39Gln) mutant mRNA, analogous to the mutation in the patient with microphthalmia and coloboma, did not rescue the small eye phenotype. Our results show that haploinsufficiency for TMX3 results in a small eye phenotype and represents a novel genetic cause of microphthalmia and coloboma. Future experiments to determine if other thioredoxins are important in eye morphogenesis and to clarify the mechanism of function of TMX3 in eye development are warranted.

Seguiment d'objectes amb un sistema de visió artificial

Aquest projecte s’ha centrat en tractar la part de la Visió per Computador que s’encarrega del seguiment d’objectes dins d'una seqüència d’imatges. Concretament, s’ha fet una aproximació al seguiment d’objectes dins d’una escena qualsevol.

Estudi comparatiu de l'algorisme basat en una colònia artificial d'abelles

La finalitat d'aquest projecte és la realització d'un estudi comparatiu de l'algoritme basat en una colònia artificial d'abelles, Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), comparat amb un conjunt d'algoritmes fonamentats en el paradigma de la computació evolutiva. S'utilitzarà l'eficàcia a l'hora d'optimitzar diverses funcions com a mesura comparativa. Els algoritmes amb els quals es comparara l'algoritme ABC són: algoritmes genètics, evolució diferencial i optimització amb eixam de partícules.

Inteligencia artificial en vehiculo

Desarrollo de un robot seguidor de líneas, en el que se implementan diversas soluciones de las áreas de sistemas embebidos e inteligencia artificial.

Recommendations of the GARIN group for managing non-critically ill patients with diabetes or stress hyperglycaemia and artificial nutrition.

BACKGROUND & AIMS By means of this update, the GARIN working group aims to define its position regarding the treatment of patients with diabetes or stress hyperglycaemia and artificial nutrition. In this area there are many aspects of uncertainty, especially in non-critically ill patients. METHODS Bibliographical review, and specific questions in advance were discussed and answered at a meeting in the form of conclusions. RESULTS We propose a definition of stress hyperglycaemia. The indications and access routes for artificial nutrition are no different in patients with diabetes/stress hyperglycaemia than in non-diabetics. The objective must be to keep pre-prandial blood glucose levels between 100 and 140 mg/dl and post-prandial levels between 140 and 180 mg/dl. Hyperglycemia can be prevented through systematic monitoring of capillary glycaemias and adequately calculate energy-protein needs. We recommend using enteral formulas designed for patients with diabetes (high monounsaturated fat) to facilitate metabolic control. The best drug treatment for treating hyperglycaemia/diabetes in hospitalised patients is insulin and we make recommendations for adapt the theoretical insulin action to the nutrition infusion regimen. We also addressed recommendations for future investigation. CONCLUSIONS This recommendations about artificial nutrition in patients with diabetes or stress hyperglycaemia can add value to clinical work.

Nutrición parenteral domiciliaria en España 2011 y 2012: informe del grupo de nutrición artificial domiciliaria y ambulatoria NADYA

OBJETIVE: To report the data of the Home Parenteral Nutrition (HPN) registry of the NADYA-SENPE working group for the years 2011 and 2012. METHODOLOGY: We compiled the data from the on-line registry introduced by reviewers of NADYA group responsible for monitoring of NPD introduced by since January 1, 2011 to december 31, 2012. Included fields were: age, sex, diagnosis and reason for HPN, access path, complications, beginning and end dates, complementary oral or enteral nutrition, activity level, autonomy degree, product and fungible material supply, withdrawal reason and intestinal transplant indication. RESULTS: Year 2010: 184 patients from 29 hospitals , representing a rate of 3.98 patients/million inhabitants/ year 2011, with 186 episodes were recorded NPD . During 2012, 203 patients from 29 hospitals , representing a rate of 4.39 patients/million inhabitants/year 2012 , a total of 211 episodes were recorded NPD . CONCLUSIONS: We observe an increase in registered patients with respect to previous years.Neoplasia remains as the main pathology since 2003. Although NADYA is consolidated registry and has been indispensable source of information relevant to the understanding of the progress of Home Artificial Nutrition in our country, there is ample room for improvement. Especially that refers to the registration of pediatric patients and the registration of complications.

Volatility smile extrapolation with an artificial neural network

I use a multi-layer feedforward perceptron, with backpropagation learning implemented via stochastic gradient descent, to extrapolate the volatility smile of Euribor derivatives over low-strikes by training the network on parametric prices.

Effects of triamcinolone acetonide on vessels of the posterior segment of the eye.

PURPOSE: This study investigates the effects of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) on retinal endothelial cells in vitro and explores the potential vascular toxic effect of TA injected into the vitreous cavity of rats in vivo. METHODS: Subconfluent endothelial cells were treated with either 0.1 mg/ml or 1 mg/ml TA in 1% ethanol. Control cells were either untreated or exposed to 1% ethanol. Cell viability was evaluated at 24 h, 72 h, and five days using the tetrazolium 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 phenyltetrazolium bromide test (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. Cell proliferation was evaluated by 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) test. Apoptosis was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay (TUNEL assay), annexin-binding, and caspase 3 activation. Caspase-independent cell deaths were investigated by immunohistochemistry using antibodies against apoptosis inducing factor (AIF), cytochrome C, microtubule-associated protein (MAP)-light chain 3 (MAP-LC3), and Leukocyte Elastase Inhibitor/Leukocyte Elastase Inhibitor-derived DNase II (LEI/L-DNase II). In vivo, semithin and ultrathin structure analysis and vascular casts were performed to examine TA-induced changes of the choroidal vasculature. In addition, outer segments phagocytosis assay on primary retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells was performed to assess cyclooxygenase (COX-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNAs upregulation with or without TA. RESULTS: The inhibitory effect of TA on cell proliferation could not explain the significant reduction in cell viability. Indeed, TA induced a time-dependent reduction of bovine retinal endothelial cells viability. Annexin-binding positive cells were observed. Cytochrome C was not released from mitochondria. L-DNase II was found translocated to the nucleus, meaning that LEI was changed into L-DNase II. AIF was found nuclearized in some cells. LC3 labeling showed the absence of autophagic vesicles. No autophagy or caspase dependent apoptosis was identified. At 1 mg/ml TA induced necrosis while exposure to lower concentrations for 3 to 5 days induced caspase independent apoptosis involving AIF and LEI/L-DNase II. In vivo, semithin and ultrathin structure analysis and vascular casts revealed that TA mostly affected the choroidal vasculature with a reduction of choroidal thickness and increased the avascular areas of the choriocapillaries. Experiments performed on primary RPE cells showed that TA downregulates the basal expression of COX-2 and VEGF and inhibits the outer segments (OS)-dependent COX-2 induction but not the OS-dependent VEGF induction. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates for the first time that glucocorticoids exert direct toxic effect on endothelial cells through caspase-independent cell death mechanisms. The choroidal changes observed after TA intravitreous injection may have important implications regarding the safety profile of TA use in human eyes.