Interpretation of Brain Abscess Through: A Systematic Review Using the Prism 2020 Methodology

A brain abscess is an accumulation of infected material, such as pus and necrotic tissue, in the brain. It can occur due to bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infections in the body that spread to the brain. Objective: The aim of the study was to interpret brain abscess using a systematic review with PRISMA 2020 methodology. The study was exploratory level, relying on hermeneutics to interpret the systematic review with the PRISMA 2020 methodology, carried out in the SCOPUS, Web Science, SciELO and PubMed Central databases, specifically, 53 results were achieved.  It was found that the analyses carried out in Latin America on the clinical, radiological, and pathological manifestations associated with brain abscess indicate that the predominant symptoms include fever, headache, altered level of consciousness and seizures, and that most abscesses are in the frontal and temporal lobe. Multiple risk factors for mortality and morbidity in patients with brain abscess were identified, including delay in diagnosis and treatment, presence of comorbidities, and abscess size. A higher mortality rate was observed in patients with brain abscess in Latin America compared to other regions of the world. It was concluded that early identification of underlying causes may help prevent recurrence of brain abscess. Several future studies are suggested including the use of fuzzy logic and neutrosophy associated with brain abscesses

Optimización de la eficiencia productiva a través de la metodología Kaizen en el proceso productivo de inyección de suelas para calzado en la empresa textiles industriales Ambateños S.A.

El presente proyecto técnico se orientó a optimizar la eficiencia productiva del proceso de inyección de suelas para calzado en la empresa “Textiles Industriales Ambateños S.A.”, a través de la estandarización del proceso segregando los productos estrella de acuerdo al nivel de participación por máquina inyectora y prensa, además de determinar la capacidad de producción en los puestos de trabajo. La Planta de Inyección en “Textiles Industriales Ambateños S.A.” con una alta capacidad de producción en pares de suelas para calzado por día, no contaba con un procedimiento estándar, es decir, cada operario trabajaba de acuerdo a su conocimiento empírico en el manejo de materiales. Cabe aclarar que también se incluyó el proceso de prensado en material Eva considerándose un puesto conflictivo debido al porcentaje de defectos manejados en un 24%, principalmente por: porosidades en la suela, contaminación del material y quemado. La problemática en la Prensa XFP 150-6 se resolvió a través de la metodología Kaizen de acuerdo al control estadístico del proceso con un diseño experimental 2^k que asoció factores y niveles como: temperatura, tiempos de prensado y peso del material. El análisis del diseño conllevó a establecer el nivel de participación que tiene la interacción de los tres factores en el porcentaje de defectos; también se manejó técnicas de gestión con la herramienta 5´s en el proceso de inyección para que los procedimientos y métodos realizados en cada estación de trabajo sean eficientes, incorporando todos los elementos y factores de producción, por ende, se evidenció el aumento de la producción y la eficiencia productiva al 20%, destacando la identificación de mudas como: cuellos de botella, demoras elevadas en el proceso, movimientos y exceso de inventarios. Se señaló que el proceso de mejora continua debe ser constante y disciplinado en la planta de inyección para evidenciar cambios sustanciales.The technical project aim was to optimize the production efficiency of the process of injection of soles for footwear in the company "Textiles Industriales Ambateños SA," through the standardization of the process, segregating the star products according to the level of participation by injection machine and press, in addition to determining the production capacity in the jobs. The Injection Plant at “Textiles Industriales Ambateños S.A.” With a high production capacity in pairs of shoe soles per day, it did not have a standard procedure; each operator worked according to his empirical knowledge in material handling. It is essential to mention the inclusion of the pressing process on Eva material, considering it a conflictive position due to the percentage of defects handled by 24%, mainly due to: porosities in the sole, contamination of the material, and burning. The Kaizen methodology solved the problem in the XFP 150-6 Press. According to the process's statistical control with a 2^k experimental design that associated factors and levels such as temperature, pressing times, and weight of the material. The design analysis led to establishing the level of participation that the three factors' interaction has in the percentage of defects. Management techniques were also managed with the 5's tool in the injection process so that the procedures and methods performed at each work station are efficient, incorporating all the elements and production factors, therefore, the increase in production and productive efficiency at 20%, highlighting the identification of changes such as bottlenecks, long delays in the process, movements and excess inventories. It established that the continuous improvement process must be constant and disciplined in the injection plant to show substantial changes

Thermal storage of nitrate salts as Phase Change Materials (PCMs)

This study presents the energy storage potential of nitrate salts for specific applications in energy systems that use renewable resources. For this, the thermal, chemical, and morphological characterization of 11 samples of nitrate salts as phase change materials (PCM) was conducted. Specifically, sodium nitrate (NaNO3), sodium nitrite (NaNO2), and potassium nitrate (KNO3) were considered as base materials; and various binary and ternary mixtures were evaluated. For the evaluation of the materials, differential Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to identify the temperature and enthalpy of phase change, thermal stability, microstructure, and the identification of functional groups were applied. Among the relevant results, sodium nitrite presented the highest phase change enthalpy of 220.7 J/g, and the mixture of 50% NaNO3 and 50% NaNO2 presented an enthalpy of 185.6 J/g with a phase change start and end temperature of 228.4 and 238.6 °C, respectively. This result indicates that sodium nitrite mixtures allow the thermal storage capacity of PCMs to increase. In conclusion, these materials are suitable for medium and high-temperature thermal energy storage systems due to their thermal and chemical stability, and high thermal storage capacity

Responsabilidad penal en relación a la conducta de la persona con síndrome del espectro alcohólico fetal

El trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la responsabilidad penal de la persona con síndrome del espectro alcohólico fetal. El trabajo presenta como problema la ineficaz adecuación o grados de las sanciones que pudiera tener la persona infractora en materia penal cuando tiene síndrome del espectro alcohólico fetal. Para el desarrollo de la investigación de tipo bibliográfico con nivel descriptivo, se utilizaron los métodos analítico y hermenéutico jurídico. A través de la fundamentación doctrinaria y jurídica de la responsabilidad penal de la persona con síndrome del espectro alcohólico fetal, continuando con la recolección de información a través de entrevistas, con objeto de alcanzar la meta investigativa planteada. En cuanto a los resultados más importantes se encuentra que las personas con síndrome del espectro alcohólico fetal tiene responsabilidad penal cuando son infractoras, sea como delitos o como contravenciones, pero al momento de establecer la sanción tal hecho no escogido o preferido sino derivado de manera congénita desde el vientre materno debe ser catalogado como una atenuación general, lo cual daría mayor espacio de actuación al juez en su tarea, equilibrando los derechos del infractor y de la víctimaPontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de JurisprudenciaAbogado/

Lignin-based Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage Devices Binders for LIBs

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells, rechargeable Li-/Na-ion batteries (LIBs), redox flow batteries, and supercapacitors are the most prominent energy conversion and storage devices that use electrochemistry to generate electricity in an eco-friendly manner. Rechargeable LIBs are currently dominating the market for powering electric vehicles, portable electronics, and smart grids. While poly(vinylidene fluoride)-based binders could not, with the phenolic groups, lignin acted like a free-radical scavenger and terminated the free-radical chain reaction which helped to suppress the oxidative decomposition of the electrolyte. With a lignin-based binder, this battery showed high capacity retention of 94.1% after 1,000 cycles. Lignocellulosic biomass or lignin can be beneficial as low-cost but efficient carbonaceous, and redox-active, materials for supercapacitors. This is apparent in the comparison of specific capacitance of lignin- and non-lignin-based electrodes

Ambulatory Sedation for Dental Procedures—Case of Cuenca, Ecuador

In recent years, the dental treatment of children under sedation and/or general anesthesia on an outpatient basis has been developed as a behavioral management model in pediatric dentistry. The objective of this study was to establish the percentage of pediatric patients who required deep sedation on an outpatient basis in dental offices in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. An observational study was conducted with a sample of 450 records of school- and preschool-age patients, where the variables were type and time of treatment, age, and sex. Statistical data were analyzed using the statistical program SPSS V.27 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). The highest percentage of children who received sedation were of preschool age. In general, there were three types of procedures per session, the most frequent being restorations (67%), followed by pulp treatment (49.8%) and, less frequently, minor surgery. The need for sedation for dental procedures is high in preschool patients, and ambulatory sedation has contributed to meeting this need. However, a regulation for its use is required at a national level

Cationic Lignin as an Efficient and Biorenewable Antimicrobial Material

In this work, we utilized an inexpensive and naturally abundant polymer lignin and functionalized it with quaternary ammonium groups to yield a cationic antimicrobial, QAL. As opposed to non-cationic alkali lignin (AL), a relatively low concentration of cationic QAL (∼25-150 μg/mL) exerted strong bacteriostatic and bacteriolytic effects against both wild-type and kanamycin (kan)-resistant E. coli (∼90% dead cells, ∼90-100% growth inhibition with a 1 h treatment). Treatment with 25 μg/mL QAL exposed lipid (Nile red staining) and roughened the bacterial cell envelope (from ∼4.9 to 12.9 nm). Inner membrane damage was also evident as an increased amount of leakage of the cytoplasmic enzyme was evidenced by the increase in treatment time and QAL concentration. Additionally, a Langmuir-like monolayer coverage of QAL onto bacteria was identified, which agreed with zeta potential measurements and suggested electrostatic binding as the major mechanism of antimicrobial action of QAL. Lastly, QAL showed no/minimal cytotoxicity against human embryonic kidney cells (90-100% cell viability) within the concentration range (0-300 μg/mL) in which QAL killed and completely inhibited the growth of bacteria. The development of such efficient, biorenewable antimicrobial materials from lignin can pave the way for effectively addressing antibiotic resistance and enabling biomass valorization simultaneously

Identidad, etnicidad y bienestar social en un contexto socialmente excluyente

El estudio analiza los estereotipos que una muestra de adultos de clase media de Lima (n=130) posee sobre distintos grupos étnicos en el Perú. Asimismo, se analizan las relaciones entre las identificaciones con los grupos étnicos referidos y el bienestar social. Las representaciones estereotípicas muestran la presencia de grupos percibidos como de alto y de bajo estatus, los cuales son diferenciados por sus posibilidades de acceso al poder. El alto estatus es atribuido a los peruanos blancos, quienes son percibidos como exitosos y no patriotas. Con este grupo hay una mayor identificación en la muestra y se observa un mayor nivel de bienestar social asociado a dicha identificación. Los afroperuanos, andinos y amazónicos son percibidos como grupos de bajo estatus, observándose además estereotipos de poca competencia y de alta expresividad asociados a los mismos. La identificación con estos grupos es menor y no se asocia al bienestar social