DarkCideS 1.0, a global database for bats in karsts and caves.

Understanding biodiversity patterns as well as drivers of population declines, and range losses provides crucial baselines for monitoring and conservation. However, the information needed to evaluate such trends remains unstandardised and sparsely available for many taxonomic groups and habitats, including the cave-dwelling bats and cave ecosystems. We developed the DarkCideS 1.0 ( https://darkcides.org/ ), a global database of bat caves and species synthesised from publicly available information and datasets. The DarkCideS 1.0 is by far the largest database for cave-dwelling bats, which contains information for geographical location, ecological status, species traits, and parasites and hyperparasites for 679 bat species are known to occur in caves or use caves in part of their life histories. The database currently contains 6746 georeferenced occurrences for 402 cave-dwelling bat species from 2002 cave sites in 46 countries and 12 terrestrial biomes. The database has been developed to be collaborative and open-access, allowing continuous data-sharing among the community of bat researchers and conservation biologists to advance bat research and comparative monitoring and prioritisation for conservation.

Detection of Cattle Using Drones and Convolutional Neural Networks.

Multirotor drones have been one of the most important technological advances of the last decade. Their mechanics are simple compared to other types of drones and their possibilities in flight are greater. For example, they can take-off vertically. Their capabilities have therefore brought progress to many professional activities. Moreover, advances in computing and telecommunications have also broadened the range of activities in which drones may be used. Currently, artificial intelligence and information analysis are the main areas of research in the field of computing. The case study presented in this article employed artificial intelligence techniques in the analysis of information captured by drones. More specifically, the camera installed in the drone took images which were later analyzed using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to identify the objects captured in the images. In this research, a CNN was trained to detect cattle, however the same training process could be followed to develop a CNN for the detection of any other object. This article describes the design of the platform for real-time analysis of information and its performance in the detection of cattle.

Social computing for image matching.

One of the main technological trends in the last five years is mass data analysis. This trend is due in part to the emergence of concepts such as social networks, which generate a large volume of data that can provide added value through their analysis. This article is focused on a business and employment-oriented social network. More specifically, it focuses on the analysis of information provided by different users in image form. The images are analyzed to detect whether other existing users have posted or talked about the same image, even if the image has undergone some type of modification such as watermarks or color filters. This makes it possible to establish new connections among unknown users by detecting what they are posting or whether they are talking about the same images. The proposed solution consists of an image matching algorithm, which is based on the rapid calculation and comparison of hashes. However, there is a computationally expensive aspect in charge of revoking possible image transformations. As a result, the image matching process is supported by a distributed forecasting system that enables or disables nodes to serve all the possible requests. The proposed system has shown promising results for matching modified images, especially when compared with other existing systems.

The Use of Drones in Spain: Towards a Platform for Controlling UAVs in Urban Environments.

Rapid advances in technology make it necessary to prepare our society in every aspect. Some of the most significant technological developments of the last decade are the UAVs (Unnamed Aerial Vehicles) or drones. UAVs provide a wide range of new possibilities and have become a tool that we now use on a daily basis. However, if their use is not controlled, it could entail several risks, which make it necessary to legislate and monitor UAV flights to ensure, inter alia, the security and privacy of all citizens. As a result of this problem, several laws have been passed which seek to regulate their use; however, no proposals have been made with regards to the control of airspace from a technological point of view. This is exactly what we propose in this article: a platform with different modes designed to control UAVs and monitor their status. The features of the proposed platform provide multiple advantages that make the use of UAVs more secure, such as prohibiting UAVs’ access to restricted areas or avoiding collisions between vehicles. The platform has been successfully tested in Salamanca, Spain.

Multivalent avimer proteins evolved by exon shuffling of a family of human receptor domains.

We have developed a class of binding proteins, called avimers, to overcome the limitations of antibodies and other immunoglobulin-based therapeutic proteins. Avimers are evolved from a large family of human extracellular receptor domains by in vitro exon shuffling and phage display, generating multidomain proteins with binding and inhibitory properties. Linking multiple independent binding domains creates avidity and results in improved affinity and specificity compared with conventional single-epitope binding proteins. Other potential advantages over immunoglobulin domains include simple and efficient production of multitarget-specific molecules in Escherichia coli, improved thermostability and resistance to proteases. Avimers with sub-nM affinities were obtained against five targets. An avimer that inhibits interleukin 6 with 0.8 pM IC50 in cell-based assays is biologically active in two animal models.

Exosomes as a tumor vaccine: enhancing potency through direct loading of antigenic peptides.

Exosomes secreted by dendritic cells (DCs) contain MHC-I, MHC-II, and other accessory molecules required for antigen presentation to T cells. Previous studies have shown that exosome MHC-I "indirectly" loaded by adding peptides to DC cultures are immunogenic. However, analysis of peptide binding was not performed to link T-cell-stimulating activity with the amount of MHC-I/peptide complexes on the exosomes. In this study, we measured peptide binding to MHC-I under different loading conditions and tested the exosomes' potencies in T-cell activation assays. We demonstrate that MHC-I on purified exosomes can be directly loaded with peptide at much greater levels than indirect loading. The direct loading method performed in mildly acidic conditions was effective even in the absence of exogenous beta2m. This increase in peptide binding greatly enhanced exosome potency, allowing us to further study the biologic activity of exosomes in vitro. In the presence of antigen-presenting cells (APC), exosomes directly loaded with the HLA-A2 restricted MART1 tumor peptide stimulated an HLA-A2/MART1 specific T-cell line. The T cells responded to exosomes using HLA-A2neg APC, demonstrating transfer of functional MHC-I/peptide complexes and not peptide alone to APC. MHC-II molecules, which are abundantly expressed on DC exosomes, were also functionally loaded under the same conditions as MHC-I. This feature allows for delivery of multiple peptide antigens that can stimulate both CD8+ cytotoxic T cells as well CD4+ T helper cells critical for an effective antitumor response. The optimized loading conditions and the ability to transfer both MHC-I and MHC-II antigens to APC have led to the development of exosomes as an "acellular" immunotherapy approach currently being tested in clinical trials.

Importancia de la toma de citología en la consulta externa sobre el programa de pesquisa de cáncer de cuello uterino y enfermedades de transmisión sexual del Ambulatorio Rural Tipo II San Pedro del Río: enero 1998 / The impact of the cytology as part of the program for oncology insight and sexual transmitted diseases of the Rural Ambulatory Type II San Pedro del Río: january 1998

Se llevo a cabo un estudio prospectivo para demostrar el impacto de la citología como parte de la consulta externa sobre el programa de pesquisa oncológica y enfermedades de transmisión sexual. Se realizaron 276 citologías a mujeres que acudieron diariamente a las consultas externa y preventivas (prenatal, post-natal y planificación familiar) del Ambulatorio Rural Tipo II San Pedro del Río. Fueron reportados solo 176 citologías donde se tomo en cuenta tipo de consulta, grupo etario e informe citológico (inflamación, metaplasia, infección) del total de citología estudiados el mayor porcentaje fue realizado por la consulta externa con un 40,34 por ciento. El grupo etario con mayor incidencia fue entre 21-30 años con un 46,66 por ciento. Se diagnóstico por consulta externa el 38,88 de ETS (44,44 por ciento para cándida) y 40,34 por ciento de las metaplasias. Se reportaron 151 citologia inflamatorias con un 39,44 por ciento para la consulta externa. El rendimiento global de citologías realizadas en el primer semestre de 1998 fue del 77,66 por ciento en comparación con solo el 26,11 por ciento en 1997. Recomendamos: asumir el actual modelo de prestación de servicio, divulgación a la comunidad, intrusión al personal de enfermería sobre el mismo y creación de un servicio de Anatomia patológica en los Hospitales Distritales

Crisis asmática como causa de hospitalización: comportamiento epidemiológico y manejo intrahospitalario en el Hospital General Tipo II "Dr. Ernesto Segundo Paolini" San Juan de Colon Estado Táchira: enero 1996-junio 1998 / Asthmatic crisis how cause of hospitalization: epidemiology behavior and intrahospitalary in the Hospital General Type II \"Dr. Ernesto Segundo Paolini\" San Juan of Colon State Tachira: january 1996-june 1998

Considerando el Asma Bronquial como problema de salud pública, hemos querido demostrar con la presente investigación que la "Crisis Asmática" es una de las principales causas de consulta por emergencia, además de causa importante de Hospitalización, indicando con ello su alta incidencia y prevalencia. A través de un estudio retrospectivo se analizaron 79 historias de pacientes hospitalizados en un lapso comprendido entre enero de 1996 a junio de 1998 en el Hospital general Tipo II "Dr. Ernesto Segundo Paolini" de San Juan de Colón. De los resultados el 58,23 por ciento correspondieron al sexo femenino el grupo etario más afectado fue en menores de 10 años con un 51,9 por ciento. El 64,56 por ciento procedían de la localidad; la disnea y la tos fue el motivo de consultarnos más frecuente con un 45,57 por ciento, el 74,68 por ciento de los pacientes presentaron antecedentes de enfermedad alérgicas. Las variaciones climáticas constituye el factor desencadenante mas frecuente con un 31,65 por ciento. El diagnóstico asociado fue la neumonía con 27,85 por ciento la terapia combinada de B-odrenergicos mas esteroidos fue la mas usada con un 46,84 por ciento. De tal manera que se hace prioritario una acción coordinada entre el cuerpo médico y la institución de salud, para la creación de un servicio apto donde se pueda implantar el "Programa de Atención y Control del Paciente Asmático del MSAS y lograr así, no solo disminuir la morbimortalidad, sino también reducir los gastos por atención médica en las salas de emergecia, y lo mas importante, mejorar la calidad de vida del paciente asmático

Tuberculosis: comportamiento epidemiológico Hospital General Tipo II "Dr. Ernesto Segundo Paolini" período 1988-1998 / Tuberculosis: epidemiologic bahavior Hospital General Type II \"Dr. Ernesto Segundo Paolini\" period 1988-1998

La presente investigación es un estudio descriptivo con el fin de determinar la distribución porcentual y las caraterísticas epidemiológicas de los casos de Tuberculosis en el Hospital General Tipo II "Dr. Ernesto Segundo Paolini" de Colón Edo. Táchira para el periodo de 1988-1998. Las variaciones estudiadas fueron: edad, sexo, procedencia, ocupación, contactos previos, clínica predominante, radiología, baciloscopia, PPD, diagnóstico y evaluación clínica. Se revisaron 187 historias clínicas de pacientes que acudían a la consulta de tisiología y los casos hospitalizados. La mayor incidencia de los casos se ubico en el sexo masculino 66,31 con predominio en etapas productivas de la vida (21-50 años) 57,76 por ciento. El 34,23 por ciento de los casos procedía del medio rural. Los obreros y agricultores presentaron mayor número de casos. El 84,49 por ciento no tuvieron contactos previos con TBC. En cuanto a la presentación clínica. En cuanto a la presentación clínica fue denominada por la tos y expectoración. Al 100 por ciento de los pacientes se le realizó baciloscopia como medio diagnóstico, resultado positivo en el 96,79 por ciento de los casos. Los patrones radiólogos típicos se hallaron en el 54,55 por ciento de los pacientes. Un 60,96 por ciento presentó una curación completa, sin embargo el 18,72 por ciento abandono el tratamiento y solo se hallo un 8,56 por ciento de defunciones (16) en los diez años del período de estudio se recomienda continuar los estudios e implementar con carácter urgente nuevas estrategias sobre el programa de control Tuberculosis, en cuanto a vacunación y tratamiento se refiere