Ampliació i millora d'un vehicle teledirigit

En el projecte Ampliació i millora d’un vehicle teledirigit s’ha dut a terme l’ampliació d’un prototip de vehicle ràdio controlat fent servir dues plaques Arduino Duemilanove. Una es situa en el comandament i l’altra en el vehicle i controlen el comportament dels dos dispositius. Es transmet la informació necessària entre elles a través de dos mòduls XBee que posteriorment se’ls hi incorpora. Les plaques fetes servir en el prototip inicial eren unes SARD-13192 de Freescale i el primer que es fa en aquest sentit és una revisió del codi font utilitzat i l’adaptació a les plaques Arduino. Un acceleròmetre ADXL335 que s’incorpora a una de les plaques permet que el prototip es pugui controlar segons la posició del comandament. A més, un cop finalitzat el nou prototip és capaç de desplaçar-se endavant i endarrere, girar aturat i en moviment, i a diferents velocitats que es representen en tot moment en uns LEDs. També guarda l’últim circuit efectuat que es pot reproduir a voluntat de l’usuari, i emmagatzema les dades del recorregut de tota una sessió per exportar a l’ordinador. Per últim s’han dut a terme les proves necessàries per constatar que totes les millores s’han implementat amb èxit.

Geolocalitzáció en temps real sobre Google Maps

L’objectiu d’aquest projecte és crear un sistema de seguiment d’una flota de vehicles amb GPS en temps real. A partir d’un mòdul de captació, el servidor recull la informació geogràfica dels vehicles i l’emmagatzema. I amb un mòdul de processament, es mostra i controla els vehicles, els punts d’interès i els polígons del sistema de Geofencing. En primer lloc, faig una introducció a l’estat de l’art dels sistemes de seguiment de vehicles. A continuació, analitzo els requeriments, especifico el comportament desitjat del sistema, explico el disseny i la implementació. Per últim, faig un seguit de proves per extreure’n les conclusions.

Agents mòbils en emergències: iMABETT: triatge electrònic en iPhone

En situacions d’emergència, on hi ha en perill un gran nombre de vides humanes, és especialment important l’ús de triatge per a organitzar els recursos disponibles per tal de poder classificar i atendre el màxim nombre de pacients en un temps limitat. Aquest projecte presenta l’anàlisi, disseny i implementació d’un sistema de triatge electrònic mitjançant un iPhone que guarda en un agent mòbil les dades del pacient, els seus signes vitals, un tag RFID que es col·loca al pacient per a identificar-lo i seva ubicació. Després d’haver realitzat una sèrie de proves sobre l’iMABETT s’ha demostrat que funciona correctament i compleix els objectius proposats.

Defining secretion processes in astrocytes

During the last decade, evidence that release of chemical transmitters from astrocytes might modulate neuronal activity (the so-called "gliotransmission") occurs in situ has been extensively provided. Nevertheless, gliotransmission remains a highly debated topic because of the lack of direct morphological and functional evidence. Here we provided new information supporting gliotransmission, by i) deepen knowledge about specific properties of regulated secretion of glutamatergic SLMVs, and ii) investigating the involvement of astrocytes in the transmission of dopamine, a molecule whose interaction with astrocytes is likely to occur, but it's still not proven.¦VGLUT-expressing glutamatergic SLMVs have been previously identified both in situ and in vitro, but description of kinetics of release were still lacking. To elucidate this issue, we took advantage of fluorescent tools (styryl dyes and pHluorin) and adapted experimental paradigms and analysis methods previously developed to study exo-endocytosis and recycling of glutamatergic vesicles at synapses. Parallel use of EPIfluorescence and total internal reflection (TIRF) imaging allowed us to find that exo-endocytosis processes in astrocytes are extremely fast, with kinetics in the order of milliseconds, able to sustain and follow neuronal signalling at synapses. Also, exocytosis of SLMVs is under the control of fast, localized Ca2+ elevations in close proximity of SLMVs and endoplasmatic reticulum (ER) tubules, the intracellular calcium stores. Such complex organization supports the fast stimulus-secretion coupling we described; localized calcium elevations have been recently observed in astrocytes in situ, suggesting that these functional microdomains might be present in the intact tissue. In the second part of the work, we investigated whether astrocytes possess some of the benchmarks of brain dopaminergic cells. It's been known for years that astrocytes are able to metabolize monoamines by the enzymes MAO and COMT, but to date no clear information that glial cells are able to uptake and store monoamines have been provided. Here, we identified a whole apparatus for the storage, degradation and release of monoamines, at the ultrastructural level. Electron microscopy immunohistochemistry allowed us to visualize VMAT2- and dopamine-positive intracellular compartments within astrocytic processes, i.e. dense -core granules and cisterns. These organelles might be responsible for dopamine release and storage, respectively; interestingly, this intracellular distribution is reminiscent of VMAT2 expression in dendrites if neurons, where dopamine release is tonic and plays a role in the regulation of its a basal levels, suggesting that astrocytic VMAT2 is involved in the homeostasis of dopamine in healthy brains of adult mammals.¦Durant cette dernière décennie, de nombreux résultats sur le relâchement des transmetteurs par les astrocytes pouvant modulé l'activité synaptique (gliotransmission) ont été fournis. Néanmoins, la gliotransmission reste un processus encore très débattu, notamment à cause de l'absence de preuves directes, morphologique et fonctionnelle démontrant ce phénomène. Nous présentons dans nos travaux de nombreux résultats confortant l'hypothèse de la gliotransmission, dont i) une étude approfondie sur les propriétés spatiales et temporelles de la sécrétion régulée du glutamate dans les astrocytes, et ii) une étude sur la participation des astrocytes dans la transmission de la dopamine, une neuromodulateur dont l'interaction avec les astrocytes est fortement probable, mais qui n'a encore jamais été prouvée. L'expression des petites vésicules (SLMVs - Synaptic Like Micro Vesicles) glutamatergiques exprimant les transporteurs vésiculaires du glutamate (VGLUTs) dans les astrocytes a déjà été prouvé tant in situ qu'in vitro. Afin de mettre en évidence les propriétés précises de la sécrétion de ces organelles, nous avons adapté à nos études des méthodes expérimentales conçues pour observer les processus de exocytose et endocytose dans les neurones. Les résolutions spatiale et temporelle obtenues, grâce a l'utilisation en parallèle de l'épi fluorescence et de la fluorescence a onde évanescente (TIRF), nous ont permis de montrer que la sécrétion régulée dans les astrocytes est un processus extrêmement rapide (de l'ordre de la milliseconde) et qu'elle est capable de soutenir et de suivre la transmission de signaux entre neurones. Nous avons également découvert que cette sécrétion a lieu dans des compartiments subcellulaires particuliers où nous observons la présence du reticulum endoplasmique (ER) ainsi que des augmentations rapides de calcium. Cette organisation spatiale complexe pourrait être la base morphologique du couplage rapide entre le stimulus et la sécrétion. Par ailleurs, plusieurs études récentes in vivo semblent confirmer l'existence de ces compartiments. Depuis des années nous savons que les astrocytes sont capables de métaboliser les monoamines par les enzymes MAO et COMT. Nous avons donc fourni de nouvelles preuves concernant la présence d'un appareil de stockage dans les astrocytes participant à la dégradation et la libération de monoamines au niveau ultrastructurelle. Grâce à la microscopie électronique, nous avons découvert la présence de compartiments intracellulaires exprimant VMAT2 dans les processus astrocytaires, sous forme de granules et des citernes. Ces organelles pourraient donc être responsables à la fois du relâchement et du stockage de la dopamine. De manière surprenante, cette distribution intracellulaire est similaire aux dendrites des neurones exprimant VMAT2, où la dopamine est libérée de façon tonique permettant d'agir sur la régulation de ses niveaux de base. Ces résultats, suggèrent une certaine participation des VMAT2 présents dans les astrocytes dans le processus d'homéostase de la dopamine dans le cerveau.¦A de nombreuses reprises, dans des émissions scientifiques ou dans des films, il est avancé que les hommes n'utilisent que 10% du potentiel de leur cerveau. Cette légende provient probablement du fait que les premiers chercheurs ayant décrit les cellules du cerveau entre le XIXème et le XXeme siècle, ont montré que les neurones, les cellules les plus connues et étudiées de cet organe, ne représentent seulement que 10% de la totalité des cellules composant du cerveau. Parmi les 90% restantes, les astrocytes sont sans doute les plus nombreuses. Jusqu'au début des années 90, les astrocytes ont été plutôt considérés peu plus que du tissu conjonctif, ayant comme rôles principaux de maintenir certaines propriétés physiques du cerveau et de fournir un support métabolique (énergie, environnement propre) aux neurones. Grace à la découverte que les astrocytes ont la capacité de relâcher des substances neuro-actives, notamment le glutamate, le rôle des astrocytes dans le fonctionnement cérébral a été récemment reconsidérée.¦Le rôle du glutamate provenant des astrocytes et son impact sur la fonctionnalité des neurones n'a pas encore été totalement élucidé, malgré les nombreuses publications démontrant l'importance de ce phénomène en relation avec différentes fonctions cérébrales. Afin de mieux comprendre comment les astrocytes sont impliqués dans la transmission cérébrale, nous avons étudié les propriétés spatio-temporelles de cette libération grâce à l'utilisation des plusieurs marqueurs fluorescents combinée avec différentes techniques d'imagerie cellulaires. Nous avons découvert que la libération du glutamate par les astrocytes (un processus maintenant appelé "gliotransmission") était très rapide et contrôlée par des augmentations locales de calcium. Nous avons relié ces phénomènes à des domaines fonctionnels subcellulaires morphologiquement adaptés pour ce type de transmission. Plus récemment, nous avons concentré nos études sur un autre transmetteur très important dans le fonctionnement du cerveau : la dopamine. Nos résultats morphologiques semblent indiquer que les astrocytes ont la capacité d'interagir avec ce transmetteur, mais d'une manière différente comparée au glutamate, notamment en terme de rapidité de transmission. Ces résultats suggèrent que le astrocytes ont la capacité de modifier leurs caractéristiques et de s'adapter à leur environnement par rapport aux types de transmetteur avec lequel ils doivent interagir.

Trypanosoma cruzi-cardiomyocytes: new contributions regarding a better understanding of this interaction

The present paper summarizes new approaches regarding the progress done to the understanding of the interaction of Trypanosoma cruzi-cardiomyocytes. Mannose receptors localized at the surface of heart muscle cell are involved in binding and uptake of the parasite. One of the most striking events in the parasite-heart muscle cells interaction is the disruption of the actin cytoskeleton. We have investigated the regulation of the actin mRNA during the cytopathology induced in myocardial cells by the parasite. T. cruzi invasion increases calcium resting levels in cardiomyocytes. We have previously shown that Ca2+ ATPase of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SERCA) is involved in the invasion of T. cruzi in cardiomyocytes. Treating the cells with thapsigargin, a drug that binds to all SERCA ATPases and causes depletion of intracellular calcium stores, we found a 75% inhibition in the T. cruzi-cardiomyocytes invasion.

Community Education Needs to be Supported by Strong Public Policy to Tackle Food Poverty

Community education needs to be supported by strong public policy if it is to be fully effective at tackling food poverty and obesity, a project evaluation by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) has found. In its evaluation of Decent Food for All (DFfA) - a major project to improve community diet and health - IPH found that where people live and shop had a greater impact on their diet than their own individual awareness and attitudes. Access Tackling Food Poverty: lessons from the Decent Food for All intervention at www.publichealth.ie DFfA was funded by safefood (the Food Safety Promotion Board) and the Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland. The project lasted four years and included hundreds of community education activities designed to improve diet in poorer parts of Armagh and South Tyrone. safefood commissioned IPH to undertake the evaluation of DFfA. Dr. Kevin Balanda, IPH Associate Director, said 'The aim of the project was to reduce food poverty (this is defined as not being able to consume adequate healthy food) and improve health in the target communities. DFfA delivered over 370 core activities to 3,100 residents including local education talks on diet, cookery workshops, fresh fruit in schools, healthy food tastings and information stands. One in eight residents in the target areas participated in at least one of these activities.' The evaluation found that over 1 in 5 adults in the target areas reported they had cut their weekly food spending in the last six months to pay other household bills such as rent, electricity and gas. During the four years of the DFfA activities, this percentage had not changed significantly. There were mixed changes in the nature of food in local stores. While the overall availability and price of food increased, both ﾓhealthierﾔ food and ﾓunhealthierﾔ food were included in that increase. It was only in the larger ﾓmultiple/discount freezerﾔ type of shops that the overall price of food had decreased.

IPH Response to Dept of Justice and Equality Review of the Code of Practice on the Sale and Display of Alcohol in Mixed Trading Premises

IPH responded to the Department of Justice, Equality and Defence review of the voluntary Code of Practice for the display and sale of alcohol in supermarkets, convenience stores and similar mixed trading outlets. The voluntary Code was introduced in 2008 as an alternative to the statutory rules for structural separation of alcohol products in mixed trading outlets which are set out in section 9 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008. Interested bodies and individuals were invited to submit comments on the Compliance Report for 2011 and on the effectiveness of the voluntary approach to structural separation by 20th December 2011. The Minister said he intended to also seek the views of the Minister for Health and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality before reaching any decision on whether to bring the statutory rules in the 2008 Act into operation.

IPH response to DSD consultation on Marine Gardens, Bangor

A development has been proposed in Bangor, Co Down.  The Department of Social Development (DSD) consulted on the issue and IPH has responded as below.  IPH has also carried out a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) screening on the proposal which can be accessed below.  The proposed development is bounded by Main Street, King Street, Southwell Road, Queens Street and the Marine Gardens Car Park. The scheme includes a mix of retail units within a new covered street; office space and over 200 residential homes. The development proposal also contains multiple leisure aspects with plans to incorporate a 120-150 bed hotel; a 400 seat multi-use arts, performance and convention space; a family entertainment centre and restaurants, in addition to enhancing the public realm and civic uses of the waterfront area with the creation of a promenade, an outdoor performance space, public parks and tourist facilities.

Informatització d'una empresa tradicional

Aquest projecte consisteix en la informatització d'una empresa tradicional dedicada a la fabricació i venda de productes de pastisseria. El projecte es divideix en dos parts essencials: millora i dotació de la nova xarxa informàtica amb tots el serveis necessaris pels nous requeriments de creixement de l'empresa en l’obertura de nous punts de venda i la seva gestió, i proporcionar presència a Internet, a través d’una botiga on‐line.

Land use regulation and productivity - Land matters: Evidence from a UK Supermarket chain

We use store-specific data for a major UK supermarket chain to estimate the impact of planning on store output. Using the quasi-natural experiment of the variation in policies between England and other UK countries, we isolate the impact of Town Centre First policies. We find that space contributes directly to store productivity; and planning policies in England directly reduce output both by reducing store sizes and forcing stores onto less productive sites. We estimate that since the late 1980s planning policies have imposed a loss of output of at least 18.3 to 24.9% - more than a “lost decade’s” growth. JEL codes: D2, L51, L81, R32.

Isolation and identification of mycobacteria from livestock specimens and milk obtained in Brazil

The prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis and other mycobacterial species in livestock specimens and milk was evaluated. An emphasis was placed upon the distribution of these organisms in milk that is readily available to the public that was either untreated, pasteurized, or treated using ultra high temperature. Twenty-two pathologic specimens from livestock (bovine, swine and bubaline) in five Brazilian states and 128 bovine milk samples from retail markets in the State of São Paulo were examined for mycobacteria. Identification was made by classical biochemical tests, thin layer chromatography of mycolic acids and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. Mycobacteria were isolated from 15 (68.2%) caseous lesions and from 23 (18%) milk samples. Eleven isolates were identified as M. bovis, and the remaining 27 nontuberculous mycobacterial isolates were represented by five species and six unidentified rapidly growing mycobacterial strains. The data demonstrate that animal products in Brazil are frequent reservoirs of mycobacteria and may pose a risk to the public.

You, your child and alcohol

You, your child and alcohol is a booklet that offers parents advice and guidance on how to discuss alcohol with their child and encourages them to think about how their relationship with alcohol can influence their children. During June 2010 this booklet was distributed to GP surgeries, pharmacies and local Tesco stores. Community Safety Officers and Police are also distributing the booklet in many areas. You, your child and alcohol is part of campaign developed by the Public Health Agency, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Policing Board to tackle the issue of underage drinking.

Les délits commis par les employés dans les secteurs commercial et financier : certaines formes de la criminalité économique à la lumière d'une étude de victimisation et de prévention dans les entreprises du canton de Genève

Summary: Victims of crime are not only physical persons. Firms also experience some different forms of victimization either from outsiders or front employees. Crimes committed inside the firm are various: theft, embezzlement, fraud, fraudulent management, money laundering, vandalism etc. Assessed damage could be considerable. But in general, most of the criminological studies relating to victimization have been interested in individuals as victims. In Switzerland, to date, research on firms'victimization is simply rare and traditional research methods such as victimization survey, self-reported delinquency or controlled experiments are not very much utilized in Swiss white-collar crime studies. Thus, in order to improve the situation, we have decided to start a victimization study on white-collar crime committed in firms of the canton of Geneva. To narrow the field of research, our project seeks to apprehend white-collar crime as a series of offences committed by employees inside the firm, by fraud or deceit, aiming at an illegitimate enrichment. The phenomenon of white-collar crime perpetrated has been evaluated by examining the presence of risk factors and prevention strategies. Furthermore, the correlation between the victimization rate and some aspects of vulnerability has also been investigated. Using data collected from the victimization survey carried out in 2005, some of the key research questions are the following: - which are the types of offences committed? - Which types of measure of prevention are the most efficient to prevent such offences ? - Which type of business is more vulnerable? - Which are the risk factors? - Which is the profile of the authors? - Which are the motivations?, etc. Findings show that companies which valorize their employees and pursue a transparent management style suffer a lower victimization rate. Further, the retail sector seems to be more affected than the financial sector and big firms are more vulnerable.

Salmonella in pork on the island of Ireland

A study was carried out on the occurrence of Salmonella on pork on the island of Ireland and an assessment of the risk factors contributing to its transmission. It included microbiological studies to track the Salmonella status of individual pigs through the pork chain from farm to primal cuts. Studies on the Salmonella status of pork cuts in boning hall, and on raw pork cuts at retail were also undertaken. A quantitative microbial risk assessment model was developed for Salmonella on pork cuts covering the chain from slaughter to boned-out cuts.

Consumer Focused Review of the Pork Supply Chain

Pig meat production was valued at €290 (£198) million at farm gate in Republic of Ireland (ROI) in 2007. In Northern Ireland (NI) in 2006, pig meat was estimated to account for almost seven percent of gross turnover in the food and drinks processing sector at £190 (€280) million. Whilst researching for this report it emerged that comparable figures for the value of the pig meat industry on ROI and NI are not available. This report showed that pig production on the IOI has changed from a small-scale enterprise carried out by a large number of mixed farmers to a modern industry comprised of a small number of specialist producers operating large-scale units. Most products for retailers are prepared and packed in specialised cutting and processing units which may or may not be integrated in the slaughter plant. For some pork products, various additives such as salt, herbs and flavour enhancers are added. Pork products are then stored and transported, frozen or chilled to wholesale, retail and catering facilities for ultimate sale to consumers.