Alejandro Pazos Sierra

Complex Network Spectral Moments for ATCUN Motif DNA Cleavage: First Predictive Study on Proteins of Human Pathogen Parasites

The development of methods that can predict the metal-mediated biological activity based only on the 3D structure of metal-unbound proteins has become a goal of major importance. This work is dedicated to the amino terminal Cu(II)- and Ni(II)-binding (ATCUN) motifs that participate in the DNA cleavage and have antitumor activity. We have calculated herein, for the first time, the 3D electrostatic spectral moments for 415 different proteins, including 133 potential ATCUN antitumor proteins. Using these parameters as input for Linear Discriminant Analysis, we have found a model that discriminates between ATCUN-DNA cleavage proteins and nonactive proteins with 91.32% Accuracy (379 out of 415 of proteins including both training and external validation series). Finally, the model has predicted for the first time the DNA cleavage function of proteins from the pathogen parasites. We have predicted possible ATCUN-like proteins with a probability higher than 99% in nine parasite families such as Trypanosoma, Plasmodium, Leishmania, or Toxoplasma. The distribution by biological function of the ATCUN proteins predicted has been the following: oxidoreductases 70.5%, signaling proteins 62.5%, lyases 58.2%, membrane proteins 45.5%, ligases 44.4%, hydrolases 41.3%, transferases 39.2%, cell adhesion proteins 34.5%, metal binders 33.5%, translation proteins 25.0%, transporters 16.7%, structural proteins 9.1%, and isomerases 8.2%. The model is implemented at http://miaja.tic.udc.es/Bio-AIMS/ATCUNPred.php.

Advancing Artificial Intelligence through Biological Process Applications

Medical Information Science Reference Hershey, New York ISBN-10: 1-599-04996-1 ISBN-13: 978-1-599-04996-0 460 pages July 2008 Advancing Artificial Intelligence through Biological Process Applications presents recent advances in the study of certain biological processes related to information processing that are applied to artificial intelligence (AI). Describing the benefits of recently discovered and existing techniques to adaptive AI and biology, this book will be a highly valued addition to libraries in the neuroscience, molecular biology, and behavioral science spheres.

The Use of Computers and Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices by Children and Young With Cerebral Palsy

The purpose of the study was to determine the use of computers and assistive devices amongst children with cerebral palsy (CP) and establish the satisfaction level of both users and educational staff. The study was carried out with 30 children with cerebral palsy. A questionnaire was designed to characterize the use of new technologies and assistive devices. Some of the questions were reserved for the teachers. Even though 29 users show some type of communication difficulty, only 4 users dispose of a computer-aided communication device, with the static symbolic board being the most widely used device (4). More than half of the participants (17) regularly use a computer, 16 of them requiring some type of assistive device. The perception of the teachers with regard to the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in the classrooms is positive in 5 out of 6 cases. ICTs only provide assistance if their application is accompanied by the involvement of professionals and the childs social environment. The low use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication techniques along with the absence of communication codes reveal the need to establish training protocols. The inclusion of social, physical, and personal factors is considered essential in order to evaluate the needs for assistive technology.The purpose of the study was to determine the use of computers and assistive devices amongst children with cerebral palsy (CP) and establish the satisfaction level of both users and educational staff. The study was carried out with 30 children with cerebral palsy. A questionnaire was designed to characterize the use of new technologies and assistive devices. Some of the questions were reserved for the teachers. Even though 29 users show some type of communication difficulty, only 4 users dispose of a computer-aided communication device, with the static symbolic board being the most widely used device (4). More than half of the participants (17) regularly use a computer, 16 of them requiring some type of assistive device. The perception of the teachers with regard to the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in the classrooms is positive in 5 out of 6 cases. ICTs only provide assistance if their application is accompanied by the involvement of professionals and the childs social enviro...

An Application Framework for Building Evolutionary Computer Systems in Music

The authors present a musical composition model that creates rhythmic patterns through a system based on genetic algorithms, involving the interaction of several artificial musicians. In this environment, various composer systems and human musicians may interact within a system based on artificial life.

Early warning in egg production curves from commercial hens

Display Omitted Support vector machines were used for early detection of problems in egg production.Farms egg production data were collected from 478,919 laying hens grouped in 21 flocks.Alerts from zero to three days in advance were achieved with data from test set.An accuracy of 0.9854 was performed for one day in advance alert.As forecasting interval was increased up to five, good performance metrics were achieved. Artificial Intelligence allows the improvement of our daily life, for instance, speech and handwritten text recognition, real time translation and weather forecasting are common used applications. In the livestock sector, machine learning algorithms have the potential for early detection and warning of problems, which represents a significant milestone in the poultry industry. Production problems generate economic loss that could be avoided by acting in a timely manner.In the current study, training and testing of support vector machines are addressed, for an early detection of problems in the production curve of commercial eggs, using farms egg production data of 478,919 laying hens grouped in 24 flocks.Experiments using support vector machines with a 5k-fold cross-validation were performed at different previous time intervals, to alert with up to 5days of forecasting interval, whether a flock will experience a problem in production curve. Performance metrics such as accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, and positive predictive value were evaluated, reaching 0-day values of 0.9874, 0.9876, 0.9783 and 0.6518 respectively on unseen data (test-set).The optimal forecasting interval was from zero to three days, performance metrics decreases as the forecasting interval is increased. It should be emphasized that this technique was able to issue an alert a day in advance, achieving an accuracy of 0.9854, a specificity of 0.9865, a sensitivity of 0.9333 and a positive predictive value of 0.6135. This novel application embedded in a computer system of poultry management is able to provide significant improvements in early detection and warning of problems related to the production curve.

Exploring the Psychosocial Impact of Wheelchair and Contextual Factors on Quality of Life of People with Neuromuscular Disorders.

Neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) are a group of heterogeneous diseases that show differences in incidence, hereditary, etiology, prognosis, or functional impairments. Wheelchair use (manual or powered) is influenced by several factors, including personal and contextual factors, and comprehensive evaluation of their impact is required in order to optimize prescription and provision of wheelchairs. The authors therefore assessed the influence of wheelchair use on the quality of life (QoL) of 60 participants with NMD using the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS). The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and a specially developed questionnaire were used to obtain information about contextual factors and participants’ activity profile of activities of the participants. The results showed that using a wheelchair has psychosocial benefits, with the main determinants of benefit being type of wheelchair (powered), non-ambulation ability, and independence in mobility. Ensuring a good match between user and assistive technology (AT; e.g., wheelchair), as well as the effectiveness of the particular device, will increase the likelihood that the user will adopt it and use it effectively in daily life. Clinical prescription of AT would be improved by making appropriate use of outcome measures.

MESTRIMAN: An expert system for medical triage and clinical management of patients in catastrophes

Abstract Providing appropriate medical assistance in catastrophes is not an easy problem to cope with. Some of the problems involved in the task are the diversity of catastrophes and medical emergencies, the insufficient number of experts usually available during a given catastrophe, the necessity of improving medical performace time, and the lack of coordination of the resources that may be used. In this respect, the application of both communication and computer technologies may provide important and useful support in most of the different phases involved in the management of catastrophes. In this paper we describe “MESTRIMAN,” an expert system designed to provide medical assistance in catastrophes. “MESTRIMAN” is a module of SIAC, a computer system designed to manage relevant information and data about a wide range of different catastrophes and capable of performing as the central coordinator of the available resources.

Actualización en el abordaje ortoprotésico en las Enfermedades de Charcot-Marie-Tooth

Objectives : This paper aims to provide to offer a synthesis about the specifications of the intervention and approach to treat the complications of the foot in people affected by Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Methods: A bibliographic search was performed in PubMed and Scopus databases, while relevant information about state of the art from guidelines for intervention in neuromuscular diseases was selected. Results: The main characteristics and consequences of the disease, the associated complications and the intervention’s techniques have been exposed. Splints, orthoses and footwear – orthopedic, are essential complements to offer a comprehensive treatment to the user, in order to achieve a greater degree of personal autonomy. Conclusions: All the professionals of the interdisciplinary team must to know the characteristics of the disease and the limitations that these cause in the activities of daily living, in order to offer an attention that has a favorable impact on the quality of life.