Animación, usabilidad y experiencia de usuario en el ámbito del diseño de interfaces : una nueva propuesta taxonómica

El diseño visual de una aplicación tiene como principal objetivo configurar una interfaz que resulte atractiva, fácil de usar y que permita utilizar el dispositivo eficazmente. Para conseguirlo, el diseñador selecciona tipografías y elementos gráficos, define sus atributos visuales y los dispone en la pantalla de manera que la interfaz funciona como un mensaje en el que el diseñador le hace llegar al usuario la información necesaria para que pueda utilizar el dispositivo de forma satisfactoria. Durante la interacción se establece un proceso de comunicación basado en un lenguaje visual que está compuesto por estos elementos gráficos y las animaciones que controlan cómo evoluciona su apariencia a lo largo del tiempo. El objetivo general del presente trabajo es establecer cuáles son las funciones que puede desempeñar la animación como parte de ese lenguaje visual y analizar cómo ha evolucionado su uso desde las primeras interfaces gráficas de usuario hasta el momento actual..

Códigos QR personalizados y creación de marca: un estudio etnográfico pospandemia

QR codes, originally seen as an ephemeral fad with a certain aura of modernity, have undergone a remarkable transformation in their function, becoming a popular marketing and advertising tool, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The visual appearance of these codes and the ability to establish a meaningful connection with the brand being promoted are important factors that directly influence the public's willingness to scan. In order to shed light on the nature of this trend, this ethnographic study has revealed a limited degree of personalisation in QR codes. This limitation results in a missed opportunity to incorporate distinctive brand elements into the design of the codes, which would allow for more persuasive visual communication and a more harmonious and appealing aesthetic presentation.Los códigos QR, originalmente considerados como una moda efímera y con una cierta aura de modernidad, han experimentado una notable transformación en su función, convirtiéndose en una apreciada herramienta de marketing y publicidad, especialmente a raíz de la pandemia de COVID-19. La apariencia visual de estos códigos y la capacidad de establecer una conexión significativa con la marca que se promociona constituyen factores de relevancia que inciden directamente en la disposición del público a realizar el escaneo. En aras de arrojar luz sobre la naturaleza de esta tendencia, se ha llevado a cabo este estudio de carácter etnográfico, que ha puesto de manifiesto un grado limitado de personalización en los códigos QR. Esta limitación resulta en un desaprovechamiento de la oportunidad de incorporar elementos distintivos de la marca en el diseño de los códigos, que permitiría una comunicación visual más persuasiva y una presentación estética más armoniosa y atractiva

Flash : 99%...What???

A finales de 2020 Flash dejará de funcionar en Chrome. Planteamos la posibilidad de que esta herramienta, que marcó toda una época, pase a la historia recordada con los tintes negativos de la frase "Flash: 99% bad" de Nielsen y las 6 razones de Jobs para no utilizar esta tecnología en sus dispositivos móviles. Presentamos la información recabada para definir una investigación online que permita dar respuesta a esta cuestión. La consulta, activada con motivo de Symposium grafica, utilizará una estrategia de muestreo de "bola de nieve" y permanecerá activa hasta la desactivación del plugin en el buscador de Google.Google Chrome will stop supporting Flash by the end of 2020. We consider the possibility that this tool, which defined an entire era of web design, will go down in history remembered in negative terms like those in Nielsen's "Flash: 99% bad" and Jobs' reasons for avoiding this technology on Apple's mobile devices. We present the information gathered to define an online research designed to answer this question. The query, triggered during Symposium grafica, will use a "snowball" sampling strategy, and will remain active until the deactivation of the plugin on the Google search engine

Clinical and Laboratory Features in Anti-NF155 Autoimmune Nodopathy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical and laboratory features of antineurofascin-155 (NF155)-positive autoimmune nodopathy (AN). METHODS: Patients with anti-NF155 antibodies detected on routine immunologic testing were included. Clinical characteristics, treatment response, and functional scales (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] and Inflammatory Rasch-built Overall Disability Scale [I-RODS]) were retrospectively collected at baseline and at the follow-up. Autoantibody and neurofilament light (NfL) chain levels were analyzed at baseline and at the follow-up. RESULTS: Forty NF155+ patients with AN were included. Mean age at onset was 42.4 years. Patients presented with a progressive (75%), sensory motor (87.5%), and symmetric distal-predominant weakness in upper (97.2%) and lower extremities (94.5%), with tremor and ataxia (75%). Patients received a median of 3 (2-4) different treatments in 46 months of median follow-up. Response to IV immunoglobulin (86.8%) or steroids (72.2%) was poor in most patients, whereas 77.3% responded to rituximab. HLA-DRB1*15 was detected in 91.3% of patients. IgG4 anti-NF155 antibodies were predominant in all patients; anti-NF155 titers correlated with mRS within the same patient (r = 0.41, p = 0.004). Serum NfL (sNfL) levels were higher in anti-NF155+ AN than in healthy controls (36.47 vs 7.56 pg/mL, p < 0.001) and correlated with anti-NF155 titers (r = 0.43, p = 0.001), with I-RODS at baseline (r = -0.88, p < 0.001) and with maximum I-RODS achieved (r = -0.58, p = 0.01). Anti-NF155 titers and sNfL levels decreased in all rituximab-treated patients. DISCUSSION: Anti-NF155 AN presents a distinct clinical profile and good response to rituximab. Autoantibody titers and sNfL are useful to monitor disease status in these patients. The use of untagged-NF155 plasmids minimizes the detection of false anti-NF155+ cases. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class IV evidence that anti-NF155 antibodies associate with a specific phenotype and response to rituximab

Diseño y preparación de un laboratorio virtual de Química Analítica: Técnicas instrumentales de análisis

La reciente pandemia del COVID-19 ha supuesto un cambio excepcional y drástico de la concepción tradicional del aprendizaje, tanto para los estudiantes como para los docentes. Ante esta situación se requiere no sólo acciones que faciliten la adaptación de los estudiantes y profesores a las plataformas educativas en línea, sino también a que éstas se conviertan en auténticas herramientas para potenciar y mejorar de forma significativa el aprendizaje del alumno. El presente proyecto de Innovación Educativa y Mejora de la Calidad Docente pretende mejorar la calidad del aprendizaje de varias asignaturas de los Grados de Química e Ingeniería Química que llevan asociado un Laboratorio de Técnicas Instrumentales. Tradicionalmente esa docencia práctica ha sido presencial, pero la situación excepcional surgida con la pandemia en el curso 2019/2020, ha demostrado que disponer de unas prácticas virtualizadas es de gran ayuda para facilitar el aprendizaje de los alumnos y facilitar una transferencia del conocimiento constructivo y colaborativo. Desde hace años, el personal docente e investigador (PDI), personal de administración y servicios (PAS) y los estudiantes de la UCM, disponemos de la plataforma de enseñanza online Moodle (Campus Virtual, CV). Sin embargo, la pandemia que vivimos ha evidenciado la brecha digital en lo referente a cómo usar Moodle y, por ende, la utilización de las Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación (TICs) como facilitadoras didácticas. A pesar de nuestras limitaciones, tanto profesores como estudiantes, hemos desarrollado una enorme capacidad resiliente, lo que permitió, durante el pasado mes de mayo, la puesta en marcha de los primeros laboratorios en línea en el Departamento de Química Analítica de la UCM. Fruto de esta experiencia, así como de la situación actual de incertidumbre para el curso próximo, algunos profesores, estudiantes y PAS del departamento hemos decidido adelantarnos a un escenario futuro en el que se contemple nuevamente la impartición de Docencia Experimental en línea y solicitar el presente proyecto de Innovación Educativa y Mejora de la Calidad Docente

Effect of viral storm in patients admitted to intensive care units with severe COVID-19 in Spain: a multicentre, prospective, cohort study

Background: The contribution of the virus to the pathogenesis of severe COVID-19 is still unclear. We aimed to evaluate associations between viral RNA load in plasma and host response, complications, and deaths in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Methods: We did a prospective cohort study across 23 hospitals in Spain. We included patients aged 18 years or older with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who were admitted to an intensive care unit between March 16, 2020, and Feb 27, 2021. RNA of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid region 1 (N1) was quantified in plasma samples collected from patients in the first 48 h following admission, using digital PCR. Patients were grouped on the basis of N1 quantity: VIR-N1-Zero ([removed]2747 N1 copies per mL). The primary outcome was all-cause death within 90 days after admission. We evaluated odds ratios (ORs) for the primary outcome between groups using a logistic regression analysis. Findings: 1068 patients met the inclusion criteria, of whom 117 had insufficient plasma samples and 115 had key information missing. 836 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 403 (48%) were in the VIR-N1-Low group, 283 (34%) were in the VIR-N1-Storm group, and 150 (18%) were in the VIR-N1-Zero group. Overall, patients in the VIR-N1-Storm group had the most severe disease: 266 (94%) of 283 patients received invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), 116 (41%) developed acute kidney injury, 180 (65%) had secondary infections, and 148 (52%) died within 90 days. Patients in the VIR-N1-Zero group had the least severe disease: 81 (54%) of 150 received IMV, 34 (23%) developed acute kidney injury, 47 (32%) had secondary infections, and 26 (17%) died within 90 days (OR for death 0·30, 95% CI 0·16–0·55; p<0·0001, compared with the VIR-N1-Storm group). 106 (26%) of 403 patients in the VIR-N1-Low group died within 90 days (OR for death 0·39, 95% CI 0·26–0·57; p[removed]11 página

Novel Spike-stabilized trimers with improved production protect K18-hACE2 mice and golden Syrian hamsters from the highly pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant

Most COVID-19 vaccines are based on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein (S) or their subunits. However, S shows some structural instability that limits its immunogenicity and production, hampering the development of recombinant S-based vaccines. The introduction of the K986P and V987P (S-2P) mutations increases the production and immunogenicity of the recombinant S trimer, suggesting that these two parameters are related. Nevertheless, S-2P still shows some molecular instability and it is produced with low yield. Here we described a novel set of mutations identified by molecular modeling and located in the S2 region of the S-2P that increase its production up to five-fold. Besides their immunogenicity, the efficacy of two representative S-2P-based mutants, S-29 and S-21, protecting from a heterologous SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant challenge was assayed in K18-hACE2 mice (an animal model of severe SARS-CoV-2 disease) and golden Syrian hamsters (GSH) (a moderate disease model). S-21 induced higher level of WH1 and Delta variants neutralizing antibodies than S-2P in K18-hACE2 mice three days after challenge. Viral load in nasal turbinate and oropharyngeal samples were reduced in S-21 and S-29 vaccinated mice. Despite that, only the S-29 protein protected 100% of K18-hACE2 mice from severe disease. When GSH were analyzed, all immunized animals were protected from disease development irrespectively of the immunogen they received. Therefore, the higher yield of S-29, as well as its improved immunogenicity and efficacy protecting from the highly pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant, pinpoint the S-29 mutant as an alternative to the S-2P protein for future SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development

Maternal dietary patterns and acute leukemia in infants: results from a case control study in Mexico

BackgroundChildhood cancer is the leading cause of disease-related mortality among children aged 5–14 years in Mexico, with acute leukemia being the most common cancer among infants. Examining the overall dietary patterns allows for a comprehensive assessment of food and nutrient consumption, providing a more predictive measure of disease risk than individual foods or nutrients. This study aims to evaluate the association between maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy and the risk of acute leukemia in Mexican infants.MethodsA hospital-based case–control study was conducted, comparing 109 confirmed acute leukemia cases with 152 age-matched controls. All participants (≤24 months) were identified at hospitals in Mexico City between 2010 and 2019. Data on a posteriori dietary patterns and other relevant variables were collected through structured interviews and dietary questionnaires. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to estimate the association between maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy and the risk of acute leukemia in infants.ResultsThe “Balanced &amp; Vegetable-Rich” pattern, characterized by a balanced consumption of various food groups and higher vegetable intake, exhibited a negative association with acute leukemia when compared to the “High Dairy &amp; Cereals” Pattern (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.51; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.29, 0.90). We observed that mothers who gave birth to girls and adhered to a healthy dietary pattern during pregnancy exhibited significantly lower odds of their children developing AL compared to those who gave birth to boys [OR = 0.32 (95% CI 0.11, 0.97)]. Our results underscore the significance of maternal nutrition as a modifiable factor in disease prevention and the importance of prenatal health education

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio