Effectiveness of Virtual Reality on Postoperative Pain, Disability and Range of Movement after Knee Replacement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Postoperative pain after knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a reality that continues to be experienced today. Recently, virtual reality (VR) has demonstrated effectiveness in the management of pain. Our aim was to review the original controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of VR for pain management and quality of life after TKA. Six databases were searched for articles published from inception to September 2023, following (PRISMA) guidelines. The methodological quality was assessed using the Risk of Bias tool for Randomized Trials (ROB2). Five RCTs were included in the systematic review, and four of them in the meta-analysis. The effectiveness of VR for short term pain relief was superior compared to the control (MD = −0.8 cm; CI 95%: −1.3 to −0.4; p < 0.001). VR showed a greater effect on the secondary outcomes of WOMAC (MD = −4.6 points; CI 95%: −6.5 to −2.6, p < 0.001) and the HSS scale (MD = 6.5 points; CI 95%: 0.04 to 13.0, p = 0.049). However, no differences were found in the effect on the ROM between groups (MD = 3.4 grades; CI 95%: −6.0 to 12.8, p = 0.48). Our findings suggest that the use of virtual reality during the postoperative period could be an effective non-pharmacological therapy in relieving acute pain, compared to a control intervention, with a very low degree of certainty according to the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). However, the low methodological quality of the articles limits our findings

Disseny i desenvolupament d’un robot delta didàctic

Curs 2024-2025Aquest Treball Final de Grau tracta del disseny, programació i construcció d’un robot delta, controlat per un microcontrolador ESP32, tres actuadors rotacionals tipus servomotors i governat per una aplicació desenvolupada en Visual Studio que utilitza el protocol Modbus TCP/IP. L’objectiu principal és crear un prototip funcional que pugui tenir un ús didàctic en centres educatius, ajudant a estudiants a aprendre sobre l’automatització i la robòtica. Durant el desenvolupament, s’han implementat mètodes de càlcul de cinemàtica inversa i directa, utilitzant matrius transformades homogènies i mètodes de resolució geomètrica basats en la intersecció de tres esferes. Tot i que el prototip encara es pot millorar, el seu funcionament ha set satisfactori i s’ha aconseguit la majoria dels objectius inicials. Aquest treball no només ha contribuït en el creixement tècnic del autor, sinó que també ha resultat una eina amb una gran potencial pedagògic, ideal per a introduir conceptes avançats de robòtica a futurs estudiantsThis Final Degree Project focuses on the design, programming, and construction of a delta robot, controlled by an ESP32 microcontroller, three rotational actuators of the servo motor type, and managed through an application developed in Visual Studio using the Modbus TCP/IP protocol. The main objective is to create a functional prototype with educational purposes for academic institutions, helping students learn about automation and robotics. During the development process, methods for calculating inverse and forward kinematics were implemented, utilizing homogeneous transformation matrices and geometric resolution techniques based on the intersection of three spheres. Although the prototype can be improved, its operation has been satisfactory and most of the initial objectives have been archived. This project has not only contributed to the technical growth of the author but has also resulted in a tool with significant pedagogical potential, making it ideal for introducing advanced robotics concepts to future student

El liderazgo político en la era digital: un análisis de uso de Twitter por el Papa Francisco (@Pontifex)

El uso de las redes sociales por personalidades y celebridades es un creciente interés para la ciencia. En este artículo se discute el uso de Twitter que hace que el Papa Francisco, elegido como Sumo Pontífice de la Iglesia Católica en 2013. El uso de una metodología de medición cualitativa y cuantitativa ad hoc se contaron y se analizaron los tweets publicados entre marzo de 2013 y abril de 2016 (1132 días). Hay un cambio en el estilo de comunicación del Papa en Twitter, ya que utiliza más frases cortas y directas siguiendo un estilo más innovador de liderazgo social y político, tratando de identificarse con sus seguidores.The use of social networks by personalities and celebrities is an area of growing interest in science. This article discusses the use of Twitter by Pope Francisco, chosen as supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church in 2013. Using an ad hoc qualitative and quantitative measurement method, the tweets published between March 2013 and April 2016 (1132 days) were counted and analysed. There has been a change in the communication style of the Pope on Twitter. Shorter and more direct sentences are used, following a more innovative style of social and political leadership, in which the Pope tries to empathize with his followers

Mobile software testing and evaluation on real devices in higher education: An Irish Open Device Lab Case Study

Testing and evaluation on real devices are a requisite for mobile development, but this is still not mainstream practice. Software testing is not well accepted among students, being perceived as a boring topic or useless, so, to teach software testing in an effective way it's necessary to use real-life experimentation to show their importance. This study is part of comprehensive research, which aims to explain Open Device Labs (ODLs); a grass-roots community movement from the Web development industry which later reached the game and academic sector. The movement aims to democratize tests on real devices offering access to mobile devices as a free service to local tech communities. Currently, there are 149 labs located in 34 countries. Educational institutions have also established ODLs, but there is little and superficial information about them. This study presents an intrinsic qualitative case study about the IT Tralee ODL, one of the few labs hosted by a higher education institution. We used an inductive approach for data analysis which was based on online documents, interviews, direct observation, participant observation, and field notes. The findings contribute to understanding how an ODL hosted by an educational institution works, as well as its main issues and benefits

Using artificial intelligence as a diagnostic decision support tool to help the diagnosis of skin disease in primary healthcare in Catalonia

Programa de Doctorat: Medicina i Ciències BiomèdiquesLa tesi analitza el potencial de la intel·ligència artificial (IA) en el diagnòstic de lesions cutànies a l’atenció primària (AP) mitjançant tres estudis. El primer és una revisió sistemàtica que inclou 15 estudis publicats entre 2019-2022, centrats en la precisió diagnòstica de la IA. El segon estudi detalla el protocol per validar una eina d’IA per la lectura d’imatges dermatològiques, anomenada Autoderm®, en un entorn clínic real. El tercer estudi constitueix la validació externa del model amb 100 pacients, comparant els resultats amb els diagnòstics dels metges de família i dermatòlegs. Els resultats indiquen que la precisió diagnòstica global del model (Top-1 39%, Top-3 61%, Top-5 72%) és inferior a la dels professionals mèdics, tot i que millora quan es consideren els 44 diagnòstics entrenats (Top-1 48%, Top-3 75%, Top-5 89%). A més, el 92% dels professionals van valorar positivament l’ús de la IA pel suport en el diagnòstic diferencial.The thesis explores the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in diagnosing skin diseases in primary care (PC) through three studies. The first is a systematic review of 15 studies published between 2019 and 2022, focusing on the diagnostic accuracy of AI. The second study outlines the protocol for validating an AI tool for analysing dermatological images, called Autoderm®, in a real clinical setting. The third study involves the external validation of the model with 100 patients, comparing its performance with diagnoses made by general practitioners and dermatologists. The results show that the model's overall diagnostic accuracy (Top-1 39%, Top-3 61%, Top-5 72%) is lower than that of medical professionals, although it improves when limited to the 44 diagnoses for which it was trained (Top-1 48%, Top-3 75%, Top-5 89%). Additionally, 92% of professionals positively evaluated the use of AI as a support tool for differential diagnosis

A Model of the Threats that Disreputable Behavior Present to Esports Sponsors

Both esports sponsors and academia are not aware of how disreputable behavior in the esports scene can negatively affect their brands. Hence, this research aimed at identifying which types of disreputable behavior in competitive gaming present the biggest threats to esports sponsors. In this quantitative and exploratory research, a non-probability, purposive, and heterogeneous sampling method was employed to gather a sample of 1,592 esports fans who filled a closed-ended online survey. Results showed that illegal and unregulated gambling was a high-risk threat to esports sponsors; toxic behavior, match-fixing, and cheating were labeled as medium-risk threats; and sexism, cyberattacks, and doping were found to be low-risk threats. Besides being one of the first studies on esports sponsorships, which serves as a basis for future research in this market, the findings contribute to the sustainability of the esports industry and its sponsors. Managerial implications are also discussed

The Relationship Between Ethical Leadership and Emotional Exhaustion in a VirtualWork Environment: A Moderated Mediation Model

The role of ethical leadership in virtual settings is not yet clearly defined, but it may be the key to addressing employees’ emotional exhaustion. In addition, to prevent emotional exhaustion, it is important to determine the role of work autonomy and teleworking intensity. The present research examined how and when ethical leadership influences emotional exhaustion through work autonomy and teleworking intensity. Data collected from 448 workers in the Colombian electrical sector were analyzed using a SEM moderated mediation model. The results indicate a positive relationship between ethical leadership and emotional exhaustion mediated by work autonomy. The results also show that teleworking intensity moderates the mediation process. Specifically, the positive impact of ethical leadership on emotional exhaustion stopped when teleworking intensity was high. Likewise, high teleworking intensity intensified the positive relationship between ethical leadership and work autonomy. Finally, high teleworking intensity dampened the positive relationship between work autonomy and emotional exhaustion. In conclusion, working virtually five days a week is a strategy that amplifies the leader-member relationship and becomes an advantage to effectively combat emotional exhaustion. The results obtained in this research are particularly relevant because they show for the first time that ethical leadership can have opposite effects on employees’ emotional exhaustion, both positive and negative, depending on the number of days teleworked, thus contributing to a new understanding of the characteristics of the ethical leader in a virtual environment

Transformational behaviors: Increasing work engagement in multinational environments

The role of a leader is fundamental to increase organizational culture and facilitate employee engagement. However, organizations are not providing clear guidance on how to do it. This study aims to determine the relationship between leadership styles and employee engagement as well as to understand whether there is a correlation between an engaged employee and extra effort. The study uses a Multi-Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x Rater Form) to measure employee perception of the leader styles and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-17) to determine employee engagement. The scope of the study is limited to a sample of 167 employees from 7 different multinational companies and 31 different nationalities. Results show that all the transformational behaviors and, concretely the idealized behavior, are significantly positively related to work engagement in multinational environments. Results also reveal a strong correlation between employee engagement and extra effort. The study concludes that leaders or managers should use transformational behaviors if they want to increase engagement and extra effort with their teams. They should increase transformational behaviors like being transparent, consistent, and having a strong sense of purpose to catalyze a collective engagement. These results expand previous studies of transformational leadership and work engagement in multinational environments

El protocolo y el ceremonial en la sociedad de la comunicación y la imagen

Es innegable, que hoy las labores de los profesionales de protocolo de ceremonial se ven envueltos en entorno diferente al que se producía hace no muchos años que ha hecho incluso que el sentido de la profesión sería visto entredicho. La sociedad actual en la que nos desenvolvemos esta fuertemente influida por la comunicación y la imagen. Esta influencia se ha filtrado poco a poco en la forma la que las organizaciones se plantean su presencia exterior e interior. El mundo empresarial es un ejemplo claro de este cambio, las diferentes formas de trasmitir mensajes se han adaptado a estas nuevas necesidades que la sociedad esté imponiendo. El protocolo y el ceremonial, no pueden ser ciegos a éste cambio y exigen un proceso de adaptación ante esta realidad, de forma que no sólo se conviertan en unas disciplinas con un gran pasado y un fuerte presente, sino también con un interesante futuro, en el que sean auténticas puntas de lanza para la transmisión de mensajes en las organizaciones. Las originarias funciones el protocolo se mantienen, pero poco a poco se adaptan e incorporan, para cumplir también ahora y de forma plena sus cometidos, nuevos aspectos. El diseño, la identidad corporativa, la imagen, los medios de comunicación son algunos, pero todos ellos debe ser vistos desde una concepción estratégica del acto del que protocolo y el ceremonial son la columna vertebral. La administración es un ejemplo claro de estos cambios que se están produciendo. La transferencia a las diferentes comunidades autónomas del control de las diferentes universidades ha modificado actos que tradicionalmente eran de una forma en otra forma diferente como el de la toma de posesión de los rectores. Veremos como se han afrontado este cambio en las diferentes universidades