Avances en Sistemas y Computación

Libro intitulado Avances en Sistemas y ComputaciónEl pasado mes de mayo en el Centro Universitario UAEM Valle de México, se convocó a diversos autores a que nos enviaran sus trabajos de investigación. Como resultado se creo este volumen, en el que se presentan avances en las áreas de ciencias de la Computación y de Sistemas de Comunicación. Se recopilan trabajos sobre: Electrónica, Inteligencia Artíficial, Procesamiento Digital de Imágenes, Minería de Datos, entre otras. El desarrollo e investigación tecnológica es primordial para el avance de una institución de educación superior, pues impulsa a estar actualizados y que los estudiantes tengan oportunidad de realizar investigación con el apoyo de expertos. El presente volumen es un ejemplo de un medio que busca concentrar los resultados de investigación, para hacerlos disponibles a la comunidad de expertos en el campo de las ciencias de la computación. La recopilación de los trabajos se realizó con apertura a las instituciones y grupos de investigación interesados en exponer su trabajo y así participar en el avance de la tecnología. Esta recopilación se presenta para dar espacio de divulgación a resultados de investigación que se relizan en diversas instituciones. Se buscó seleccionarlos para que cumplieran con requerimentos de calidad y profundidad que aportaran en sus distantas áreas. Se seleccionaron trabajos que tratan temas que son de interes actual. Como objetivo se planteó que todos los artículos dieran resultados o propuestas originales. Que den al lector un paranorama amplio y claro sobre los temas. Los compiladores de la obra somos miembros del cuerpo académico de "Inteligencia Computacional" que integra profesores-investigadores que estamos interesados en la divulgación y desarrollo del campo de las ciencias de la computación, y que con esta obra esperamos aportar en su desarrollo

Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Actual Versus Assumed Opioid Experience on the Regulation of Ventral Striatal Opioid Receptor Gene Expression

Rationale: We conducted experiments to assess the effect of prior opioid experience on gene expression changes. We compared the current experimenter-imposed short versus extended-access conditions of opioid self-administration and developed a new quantitative method to determine their effectiveness in identifying the role of opioid experience in regulating opioid receptor expression levels in the ventral striatum (VS) using an oxycodone self-administration/abstinence model. Methods: In this study, male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=36) were trained for 20 days to self-administer oxycodone at 0.1 mg/kg/infusion under short access (n=15, or saline as controls n=3, for 3h/day) or extended access (n=15, or saline as controls n=3, for up to 9h/day). After 31 days of abstinence, the animals were sacrificed, 8and PCR was used to evaluate mu- and kappa-opioid receptor (MOR and KOR) gene expression levels in the ventral striatum (VS). Biochemical/behavioral profiles of short versus extended access conditions were compared using current methods and a new quantitative model based on normal mixtures clustering analysis. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and regression analysis to explore the relationship between opioid experience and VS opioid receptor expression levels Results: Our study found that experimenter-determined grouping was inadequate in representing opioid experience and failed to identify distinct biochemical/behavioral groups. However, our quantitative model identified two distinct biochemical/behavioral types related to experience, revealing significant differences in the relationship between opioid experience and MOR/KOR expression and their interactions. Conclusion: The quantitative model is more sensitive than the current experimenter-determined approach in studying the effect of prior opioid experience on VS opioid receptor gene expression

Otevřené hranice a jejich nepřátelé? K současné diskusi v rámci teorie migrace

Autor se zabývá současnou diskusí, jež probíhá v rámci normativní teorie migrace, a problematikou otevřených hranic coby bytostně liberálním konceptem, v jehož pozadí se střetávají hodnoty univerzalistického liberalismu s požadavky členů zakotvených politických komunit. V první části článku nastiňuje revizi stěžejních normativních pozic v soudobém politicko-filosofickém diskursu o migraci a upozorňuje na liberální podstatu legitimizačních strategií proponentů i oponentů otevřených hranic. V návaznosti na podstatné kosmopolitní implikace, jež se s argumentací ve prospěch otevřených hranic pojí, pak ve druhé části článku představuje dva vzájemně komplementární návrhy zohledňující východiska liberálních univerzalistů i partikularistů. Tyto návrhy se týkají (i) podmínek úspěšné integrace migrantů a (ii) nápravy demokratického deficitu v kolektivním rozhodování o propustnosti hranic, v jejímž důsledku by došlo k zahrnutí migrantů do deliberativního procesu.The author examines the discussion currently taking place in the framework of the normative theory of migration, and the issue of open borders as a fundamentally liberal concept, one in whose background the values of universalist liberalism clash with the demands of members of bounded political communities. The first part of the article briefly reviews the key normative positions in the contemporary political-philosophical discourse regarding migration and draws attention to the liberal basis of the legitimizing strategies of proponents and opponents of open borders. In connection with the inherent cosmopolitan implications that are associated with arguments in favour of open borders, the author presents in the second part of the article two mutually complementary approaches that take into consideration the starting points of liberal universalists and particularists. These approaches concern (i) the conditions for the successful integration of migrants and (ii) the remedying of the democratic deficit in collective decision-making as regards border permeability, the result of which would be the inclusion of migrants in the deliberative process

DOC1-Dependent Recruitment of NURD Reveals Antagonism with SWI/SNF during Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition i

The Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase (NURD) complex is a key regulator of cell differentiation that has also been implicated in tumorigenesis. Loss of the NURD subunit Deleted in Oral Cancer 1 (DOC1) is associated with human oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). Here, we show that restoration of DOC1 expression in OSCC cells leads to a reversal of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This is caused by the DOC1-dependent targeting of NURD to repress key transcriptional regulators of EMT. NURD recruitment drives extensive epigenetic reprogramming, including eviction of the SWI/SNF remodeler, formation of inaccessible chromatin, H3K27 deacetylation, and binding of PRC2 and KDM1A, followed by H3K27 methylation and H3K4 demethylation. Strikingly, depletion of SWI/SNF mimics the effects of DOC1 re-expression. Our results suggest that SWI/SNF and NURD function antagonistically to control chromatin state and transcription. We propose that disturbance of this dynamic equilibrium may lead to defects in gene expression that promote oncogenesis

Cost-Effectiveness of Anticoagulation in Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation with Edoxaban Compared to Warfarin in Germany

We compared the cost-utility analysis for edoxaban at both doses with that of dabigatran at both doses, rivaroxaban, and apixaban (non vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants, NOAC) in a German population. Data of clinical outcome events were taken from edoxaban’s ENGAGE-AF, dabigatran’s RE-LY, rivaroxaban’s ROCKET, and apixaban’s ARISTOTLE trials. The base-case analyses of a 65-year-old person with a CHADS2 score &gt;1 gained 0.17 and 0.21 quality-adjusted life years over warfarin for 30 mg od and 60 mg od edoxaban, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was 50.000 and 68.000 euro per quality-adjusted life years for the higher and lower dose of edoxaban (Monte Carlo simulation). These findings were also similar to those for apixaban and more cost-effective than the other NOAC regimens. The current market costs for direct oral anticoagulants are high in relation to the quality of life gained from a German public health care insurance perspective. The willingness-to-pay threshold was lowest for 60 mg edoxaban compared to all direct oral anticoagulants and for 30 mg edoxaban compared to dabigatran and rivaroxaban.</jats:p

Avian influenza a virus in wild birds in highly urbanized areas

Avian influenza virus (AIV) surveillance studies in wild birds are usually conducted in rural areas and nature reserves. Less is known of avian influenza virus prevalence in wild birds located in densely populated urban areas, while these birds are more likely to be in close contact with humans. Influenza virus prevalence was investigated in 6059 wild birds sampled in cities in the Netherlands between 2006 and 2009, and compared with parallel AIV surveillance data from low urbanized areas in the Netherlands. Viral prevalence varied with the level of urbanization, with highest prevalence in low urbanized areas. Within cities virus was detected in 0.5% of birds, while seroprevalence exceeded 50%. Ring recoveries of urban wild birds sampled for virus detection demonstrated that most birds were sighted within the same city, while few were sighted in other cities or migrated up to 2659 km away from the sample location in the Netherlands. Here we show that urban birds were infected with AIVs and that urban birds were not separated completely from populations of long-distance migrants. The latter suggests that wild birds in cities may play a role in the introduction of AIVs into cities. Thus, urban bird populations should not be excluded as a human-animal interface for influenza viruses

System Engineering Paper

The Iowa State University team, Team LunaCY, is composed of the following sub-teams: the main student organization, the Lunabotics Club; a senior mechanical engineering design course, ME 415; a senior multidisciplinary design course, ENGR 466; and a senior design course from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Team LunaCY designed and fabricated ART-E III, Astra Robotic Tractor- Excavator the Third, for the team's third appearance in the NASA Lunabotic Mining competition. While designing ART-E III, the team had four main goals for this year's competition:to reduce the total weight of the robot, to increase the amount of regolith simulant mined, to reduce dust, and to make ART-E III autonomous. After many designs and research, a final robot design was chosen that obtained all four goals of Team LunaCY. A few changes Team LunaCY made this year was to go to the electrical, computer, and software engineering club fest at Iowa State University to recruit engineering students to accomplish the task of making ART-E III autonomous. Team LunaCY chose to use LabView to program the robot and various sensors were installed to measure the distance between the robot and the surroundings to allow ART-E III to maneuver autonomously. Team LunaCY also built a testing arena to test prototypes and ART-E III in. To best replicate the competition arena at the Kennedy Space Center, a regolith simulant was made from sand, QuickCrete, and fly ash to cover the floor of the arena. Team LunaCY also installed fans to allow ventilation in the arena and used proper safety attire when working in the arena . With the additional practice in the testing arena and innovative robot design, Team LunaCY expects to make a strong appearance at the 2012 NASA Lunabotic Mining Competition.