Abstract: Early diagnosis and accurate treatment of Left Ventricle (LV) dysfunction significantly increases the patient survival. Impairment of LV contractility due to cardiovascular diseases is reflected in its motion patterns. Recent advances in medical imaging, such as Magnetic Resonance (MR), have encouraged research on 3D simulation and modelling of the LV dynamics. Most of the existing 3D models [1] consider just the gross anatomy of the LV and restore a truncated ellipse which deforms along the cardiac cycle. The contraction mechanics of any muscle strongly depends on the spatial orientation of its muscular fibers since the motion that the muscle undergoes mainly takes place along the fibers. It follows that such simplified models do not allow evaluation of the heart electro-mechanical function and coupling, which has recently risen as the key point for understanding the LV functionality [2]. In order to thoroughly understand the LV mechanics it is necessary to consider the complete anatomy of the LV given by the orientation of the myocardial fibres in 3D space as described by Torrent Guasp [3].
We propose developing a 3D patient-sensitive model of the LV integrating, for the first time, the ven- tricular band anatomy (fibers orientation), the LV gross anatomy and its functionality. Such model will represent the LV function as a natural consequence of its own ventricular band anatomy. This might be decisive in restoring a proper LV contraction in patients undergoing pace marker treatment.
The LV function is defined as soon as the propagation of the contractile electromechanical pulse has been modelled. In our experiments we have used the wave equation for the propagation of the electric pulse. The electromechanical wave moves on the myocardial surface and should have a conductivity tensor oriented along the muscular fibers. Thus, whatever mathematical model for electric pulse propa- gation [4] we consider, the complete anatomy of the LV should be extracted.
The LV gross anatomy is obtained by processing multi slice MR images recorded for each patient. Information about the myocardial fibers distribution can only be extracted by Diffusion Tensor Imag- ing (DTI), which can not provide in vivo information for each patient. As a first approach, we have
Figure 1: Scheme for the Left Ventricle Patient-Sensitive Model.
computed an average model of fibers from several DTI studies of canine hearts. This rough anatomy is the input for our electro-mechanical propagation model simulating LV dynamics. The average fiber orientation is updated until the simulated LV motion agrees with the experimental evidence provided by the LV motion observed in tagged MR (TMR) sequences. Experimental LV motion is recovered by applying image processing, differential geometry and interpolation techniques to 2D TMR slices [5]. The pipeline in figure 1 outlines the interaction between simulations and experimental data leading to our patient-tailored model.

Abstract: Elena Valderrama

Abstract: Empirical and mechanistic models differ in their approaches to the analysis of pharmacological effect. Whereas the parameters of the former are not physical constants those of the latter embody the nature, often complex, of biology. Empirical models are exclusively used for curve fitting, merely to characterize the shape of the E/[A] curves. Mechanistic models, on the contrary, enable the examination of mechanistic hypotheses by parameter simulation. Regretfully, the many parameters that mechanistic models may include can represent a great difficulty for curve fitting, representing, thus, a challenge for computational method development. In the present study some empirical and mechanistic models are shown and the connections, which may appear in a number of cases between them, are analyzed from the curves they yield. It may be concluded that systematic and careful curve shape analysis can be extremely useful for the understanding of receptor function, ligand classification and drug discovery, thus providing a common language for the communication between pharmacologists and medicinal chemists.

Abstract: En esta comunicación presentamos una experiencia en Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos (Project
Based Learning – PBL) realizada los últimos cuatro años (cursos del 2004-05 al 2007-08) en Gráficos
por Computador 2, asignatura optativa de tercer curso de Ingeniería Informática, titulación impartida
en la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería (ETSE) de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
(UAB).
Fruto de la constante voluntad de mejora de la organización ABP de nuestra asignatura nos decidimos
a utilizar una herramienta LMS (Learning Management System) basada en Moodle y adaptada por
nosotros llamada Caronte para poder gestionar la documentación generada en ABP, y añadir una
componente semipresencial a la asignatura.
En primer lugar se presenta la organización de nuestra asignatura, basada proponer al alumno dos
itinerarios para cursarla: el itinerario ABP y el itinerario basado en clases magistrales i examen que
llamaremos TPPE (Teoría, Problemas, Prácticas, Examen). La dinámica ABP nos genera una cantidad
importante de documentación entre los grupos y el profesor, aparte de el feedback que el profesor
genera a los alumnos.
En la segunda parte del artículo presentamos los espacios docentes electrónicos de ambos itinerarios,
con los que trabajan los alumnos.
Finalmente, mostramos los resultados obtenidos de alumnos matriculados y de encuestas de valoración
realizados por los alumnos para finalmente exponer las conclusiones de estos cuatro años de
experiencia en ABP y en el uso de recursos virtuales en ABP, así como plantear mejoras y temas de
discusión sobre ABP.

Abstract: En este texto se presenta un estudio sobre las t’ecnicas y aplicaciones de an’alisis de documentos, y más concretamente abordando la problem’atica del an’alisis de de entidades gr’aficas. El ’area de an’alisis de documentos tiene como objetivo la interpretaci’on de documentos impresos sobre papel por m’etodos computacionales, para obtener una descripci’on con un alto nivel de abstracci’on, que permita su posterior tratamiento y archivo por m’etodos inform’aticos. Este objetivo, junto a los trabajos realizados hasta el momento, le otorgan a esta ’area un amplio ’ambito de aplicaciones para la manipulaci’on y archivo de documentos sobre papel, que puede llegar a significar un salto cualitativo importante (del papel al disco ’optico) en el uso de soportes de informaci’on, debido a las importantes prestaciones de acceso y capacidad de archivo que suponen los medios inform’aticos. Generalmente los documentos son introducidos en los sistemas de an’alisis de documentos mediante scanner, obt...