How do autoimmune diseases cluster in families? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: A primary characteristic of complex genetic diseases is that affected individuals tend to cluster in families (that is, familial aggregation). Aggregation of the same autoimmune condition, also referred to as familial autoimmune disease, has been extensively evaluated. However, aggregation of diverse autoimmune diseases, also known as familial autoimmunity, has been overlooked. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed aimed at gathering evidence about this topic. Methods: Familial autoimmunity was investigated in five major autoimmune diseases, namely, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune thyroid disease, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes mellitus. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Articles were searched in Pubmed and Embase databases. Results: Out of a total of 61 articles, 44 were selected for final analysis. Familial autoimmunity was found in all the autoimmune diseases investigated. Aggregation of autoimmune thyroid disease, followed by systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, was the most encountered. Conclusions: Familial autoimmunity is a frequently seen condition. Further study of familial autoimmunity will help to decipher the common mechanisms of autoimmunity.

Conceptuals Mentefactos as a Didactic-Pedagogical Strategy of the Basic Concepts in the Sampling Theory Applyed to the Health Research

In populational sampling it is vitally important to clarify and discern: first, the design or sampling method used to solve the research problem; second, the sampling size, taking into account different components (precision, reliability, variance); third, random selection and fourth, the precision estimate (sampling errors), so as to determine if it is possible to infer the obtained estimates from the target population. The existing difficulty to use concepts from the sampling theory is to understand them with absolute clarity and, to achieve it, the help from didactic-pedagogical strategies arranged as conceptual “mentefactos” (simple hierarchic diagrams organized from propositions) may prove useful. This paper presents the conceptual definition, through conceptual “mentefactos”, of the most important populational probabilistic sampling concepts, in order to obtain representative samples from populations in health research.

Los cluster tecnológicos en México y Argentina: una estrategia para el desarrollo local

El objetivo de este trabajo es, por una parte, darle continuidad a la línea de trabajo anterior sobre la industria de software y servicios informáticos, pero en esta oportunidad centrada en el estudio de la dinámica de los cluster tecnológicos en experiencias locales. Para ello se indagará esta dinámica en dos ciudades:Mérida (Yucatán-México) y Rosario (Santa Fe-Argentina). El objetivo de enfocar estos dos casos de estudio se fundamenta en el interés por estas dos ciudades, ya que presentan un perfil productivo innovador, con tasas de crecimiento importante y que además esta estrategia se suma a otras actividades de alto valor agregado. En este sentido la producción de software y de nuevas tecnologías, están creando un clima propicio de desarrollo local. En este trabajo se analiza el contexto socio económico de cada ciudad, los antecedentes de la creación del cluster tecnológico, la cooperación inter empresarial e inter institucional, las políticas públicas territorializadas en el cluster, el perfil y las actividades de las empresas que conforman el mismo, así como las características de sus recursos humanos. The aim of this paper is to give continuity to my previous work about the software industry and information technology services, but this time focused on the study of the dynamics of the cluster technology in local experiences. So the paper inquires this dynamic in two cities: Merida (Yucatan, Mexico) and Rosario (Santa Fe, Argentina).The aim of approaching these two case studies is based on the interest in these two cities, since they have a innovative productive profile, with significant growth rates and that this strategy is  added to other activities of high added value. In this sense the production of software and new technologies, are creating a climate conducive to local development. This paper examines the socio-economic context of each city, the background to the creation of the cluster technology, international cooperation and international institutional business, public policy in the territorial cluster, the profile and activities of the companies in there, and the characteristics of their human resources.  

Fuzzy cluster analysis on Spanish public universities. 'Análisis de agrupaciones difusas en las universidades públicas españolas'.

Resumen basado en el de la publicación

Cluster A maladaptive personality patterns in a non-clinical adolescent population

Resumen tomado de la publicación

Cómo aplicar un cluster jerárquico en SPSS

Resumen basado en el de la publicación

Medical image registration based on random line sampling

One of the key aspects in 3D-image registration is the computation of the joint intensity histogram. We propose a new approach to compute this histogram using uniformly distributed random lines to sample stochastically the overlapping volume between two 3D-images. The intensity values are captured from the lines at evenly spaced positions, taking an initial random offset different for each line. This method provides us with an accurate, robust and fast mutual information-based registration. The interpolation effects are drastically reduced, due to the stochastic nature of the line generation, and the alignment process is also accelerated. The results obtained show a better performance of the introduced method than the classic computation of the joint histogram

View-dependent information theory quality measures for pixel sampling and scene discretization in flatland

In this paper, we present view-dependent information theory quality measures for pixel sampling and scene discretization in flatland. The measures are based on a definition for the mutual information of a line, and have a purely geometrical basis. Several algorithms exploiting them are presented and compare well with an existing one based on depth differences

Point sampling with uniformly distributed lines

In this paper we address the problem of extracting representative point samples from polygonal models. The goal of such a sampling algorithm is to find points that are evenly distributed. We propose star-discrepancy as a measure for sampling quality and propose new sampling methods based on global line distributions. We investigate several line generation algorithms including an efficient hardware-based sampling method. Our method contributes to the area of point-based graphics by extracting points that are more evenly distributed than by sampling with current algorithms

Estrategias empresariales para afrontar la competencia internacional: el caso del cluster de confecciones de la industria textil de Atuntaqui

El comercio mundial tiene múltiples actores que está sumamente bien posicionados y otros que buscan nuevas estrategias para mejorar su posicionamiento. Asimismo, las diferencias entre los mercados internacionales, nacionales y/o locales son notables, mientras los unos se expanden a pasos agigantados, los otros lo hacen paso a paso. Por lo tanto, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo fundamental determinar las estrategias que las empresas del sector de las confecciones del cluster textil de Atuntaqui pueden implementar para hacer frente a la competencia internacional. Con esta referencia, el trabajo se ha dividido en tres capítulos. El primer capítulo, está conformado por un análisis de los principales elementos conceptuales (cadena global de valor, managment dentro de la CGV y cluster industriales); seguido, se presenta un breve recuento de la industria, el comercio mundial y los principales importadores y exportadores. Luego, se analiza las tendencias globales utilizadas por los países de América Latina y el Caribe, entre los que están: plataforma de exportación, clusters y logística internacional. En el segundo capítulo, se analizan las principales estadísticas sobre el comportamiento histórico de las importaciones y exportaciones, la caracterización de las empresas, el ámbito tecnológico, los costos y gastos en los que se ha incurrido en algunos cantones y sobre el mercado laboral. Para finalizar, el tercer capítulo, cuenta con una perspectiva local de la industria en Atuntaqui, con temas, como: el “cluster” de la industria, la caracterización de las empresas, el clima de negocios, el diagnostico FODA y las principales estrategias.

Land Cover Sampling Biases Associated with Roadside Bird Surveys

Roadside surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) are widely used to assess the relative abundance of bird populations. The accuracy of roadside surveys depends on the extent to which surveys from roads represent the entire region under study. We quantified roadside land cover sampling bias in Tennessee, USA, by comparing land cover proportions near roads to proportions of the surrounding region. Roadside surveys gave a biased estimate of patterns across the region because some land cover types were over- or underrepresented near roads. These biases changed over time, introducing varying levels of distortion into the data. We constructed simulated population trends for five bird species of management interest based on these measured roadside sampling biases and on field data on bird abundance. These simulations indicated that roadside surveys may give overly negative assessments of the population trends of early successional birds and of synanthropic birds, but not of late-successional birds. Because roadside surveys are the primary source of avian population trend information in North America, we conclude that these surveys should be corrected for roadside land cover sampling bias. In addition, current recommendations about the need to create more early successional habitat for birds may need reassessment in the light of the undersampling of this habitat by roads.

Off-road sampling reveals a different grassland bird community than roadside sampling: implications for survey design and estimates to guide conservation

Grassland bird species continue to decline steeply across North America. Road-based surveys such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) are often used to estimate trends and population sizes and to build species distribution models for grassland birds, although roadside survey counts may introduce bias in estimates because of differences in habitats along roadsides and in off-road surveys. We tested for differences in land cover composition and in the avian community on 21 roadside-based survey routes and in an equal number of adjacent off-road walking routes in the grasslands of southern Alberta, Canada. Off-road routes (n = 225 point counts) had more native grassland and short shrubs and less fallow land and road area than the roadside routes (n = 225 point counts). Consequently, 17 of the 39 bird species differed between the two route types in frequency of occurrence and relative abundance, measured using an indicator species analysis. Six species, including five obligate grassland species, were more prevalent at off-road sites; they included four species listed under the Canadian federal Species At Risk Act or listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada: Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii), Baird’s Sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii), the Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus), and McCown’s Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii). The six species were as much as four times more abundant on off-road sites. Species more prevalent along roadside routes included common species and those typical of farmland and other human-modified habitats, e.g., the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), the Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia), and the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). Differences in avian community composition between roadside and off-road surveys suggest that the use of BBS data when generating population estimates or distribution models may overestimate certain common species and underestimate others of conservation concern. Our results highlight the need to develop appropriate corrections for bias in estimates derived from roadside sampling, and the need to design surveys that sample bird communities across a more representative cross-section of the landscape, both near and far from roads.