BIM: a technology acceptance model in Peru

The purpose of this paper is to empirically study factors that facilitate the adoption of building information modelling (BIM) among practitioners using the unified theory of technology acceptance model (TAM). The factors identified in the TAM were examined using a quantitative approach. The empirical investigation has been conducted using a survey questionnaire. The data set has been obtained from 73 architects and engineers in Peru. Results show that Perceived Usefulness (PU) is the most important determinant of Behavioural Intention (BI), while Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) is found to have no significant effect on BI. The findings provide an excellent backdrop in the development of policy and a roadmap for BIM implementation in Peru. The original contribution and value of the paper is the use of TAM to provide empirical evidence on factors that facilitate BIM adoption in Peru

Covid-19 y contrato

El 11 de marzo de 2020 la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) declaró el brote de corona virus como una pandemia. Se creó una situación de profunda incertidumbre científica, sanitaria y económica que se extendió por el mundo entero. Diversas medidas excepcionales debieron ser puestas en práctica para afrontar la emergencia, tales como el confinamiento de las personas -entre nosotros el “aislamiento social preventivo y obligatorio”-, el cierre de comercios, de industrias, y el cese de actividades económicas de diversa índole. Este estado de cosas repercute en el ámbito negocial, desde que el normal cumplimiento de los contratos se ve seriamente comprometido por el marasmo económico que las citadas medidas de excepción provoca. Se debe continuar con la gestión de la emergencia en que los mecanismos de la democracia participativa se ven invertidos. Decretos de necesidad urgencia, que deben contar con la aprobación del Congreso de la Nación, reemplazan a la ley. Y seguramente delegaciones de la autoridad Legislativa permitirán que la autoridad ejecutiva cuente con facultades suficientes para continuar con dicha gestión.Fil: Aparicio, Juan Manuel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Derecho; Argentina

Cerámica andalusí de reflejo dorado: 1195-1212

Se presentan materiales cerámicos de reflejo metálico de época almohade (1195-1212) producidos en Calatrava la Vieja que hasta la fecha no había sido documentado y que por medio de análisis físicos de lámina delgada han permitido conocer

Problematic use or addiction? A scoping review on conceptual and operational definitions of negative social networking sites use in adolescents

[EN] The aim of this study was to assess the conceptual and operational descriptions of negative social networking site (SNS) use in adolescents. A search was conducted among four databases, following the guidelines set forth in the PRISMA-ScR. The search resulted in 1503 articles, of which 112 met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that the negative use of SNS has been conceptualised from two approaches: (1) the component model of addiction and (2) a cognitive-behavioural problematic use paradigm. Thirty-seven instruments assessing this problem were found, with the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale and its adaptations being the most widely used ones. These instruments dimensions were vaguely defined and often overlapped with one another. In conclusion, no standardised theoretical framework exists to assess negative SNS use in adolescents. This lack of a theoretical definition makes it difficult to compare results among studies and determine the true extent of the problem.Open Access funding provided by University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

Inference in epidemiological agent-based models using ensemble-based data assimilation

To represent the complex individual interactions in the dynamics of disease spread informed by data, the coupling of an epidemiological agent-based model with the ensemble Kalman filter is proposed. The statistical inference of the propagation of a disease by means of ensemble-based data assimilation systems has been studied in previous work. The models used are mostly compartmental models representing the mean field evolution through ordinary differential equations. These techniques allow to monitor the propagation of the infections from data and to estimate several parameters of epidemiological interest. However, there are many important features which are based on the individual interactions that cannot be represented in the mean field equations, such as social network and bubbles, contact tracing, isolating individuals in risk, and social network-based distancing strategies. Agent-based models can describe contact networks at an individual level, including demographic attributes such as age, neighbourhood, household, workplaces, schools, entertainment places, among others. Nevertheless, these models have several unknown parameters which are thus difficult to estimate. In this work, we propose the use of ensemble-based data assimilation techniques to calibrate an agent-based model using daily epidemiological data. This raises the challenge of having to adapt the agent populations to incorporate the information provided by the coarse-grained data. To do this, two stochastic strategies to correct the model predictions are developed. The ensemble Kalman filter with perturbed observations is used for the joint estimation of the state and some key epidemiological parameters. We conduct experiments with an agent based-model designed for COVID-19 and assess the proposed methodology on synthetic data and on COVID-19 daily reports from Ciudad Aut\'onoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

Industrial requirements in high-power ultrasonic transducers for defoaming

Ponencia presentada en el XIX Congreso Internacional de Acústica (ICA2007), Madrid, 2-7 Sep 2007.-- PACS: 43.35.-c.Airborne stepped-plate focusing transducers have shown to be an efficient tool for breaking foams. The main characteristics of such transducers are their high efficiency and power capacity as well as their strong focusing effect. As a consequence, by using these power transducers it is possible to generate intensities in the focal area as high as 170 dB. However, for their application to industrial problems a special design has to be done covering specific requirements. The main requirements for industrial applications refer to efficiency, safety, durability and environmental resistance. This paper deals with the design and characterization of an industrial prototype of high power ultrasonic transducer for defoaming which is able to work in continuous operation under adverse environmental conditions, and high power excitation without the use of any cooling system. In addition, the transducer is designed to ensure the safe use of airborne high-power ultrasound according to the international recommendations for occupational exposure limits.The industrial use of the transducers is for defoaming in bottling and canning lines and in fermenting vessels and other reactors.The work has been carried out in the frame of the Project: “Adaptation to requirements and industrial standards of an ultrasonic system for foam elimination and control, (CSIC Intramural Programme PIE 2004-50E193).Peer reviewe

Ajuste preliminar de modelos de rendimiento para rodales del sauce ’Soveny Americano’ (Salix babylonica var. sacramenta) en el Delta del Paraná, Argentina

Las plantaciones de Salicáceas del Delta del Paraná están compuestas mayoritariamente por sauces (Salix spp.). Si bien su composición clonal está cambiando en forma paulatina, el sauce `Soveny Americano´ (Salix babylonica var. sacramenta) es todavía uno de los clones con mayor superficie cultivada. El objetivo de este trabajo es obtener en forma preliminar modelos empíricos para estimar el rendimiento del sauce Soveny Americano que sean de utilidad para productores y técnicos de la región.Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y ForestalesComisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la provincia de Buenos Aire

Review of SGLT2i for the Treatment of Renal Complications: Experience in Patients with and Without T2D

The management of type 2 diabetes (T2D) involves decreasing plasma glucose levels and reducing cardiovascular and microvascular complications. Diabetic kidney disease (DKD), defined as presence of albuminuria, impaired glomerular filtration, or both, is an insidious microvascular complication of diabetes that generates a substantial personal and clinical burden. The progressive reduction in renal function and increased albuminuria results in an increase of cardiovascular events. Thus, patients with DKD require exhaustive control of the associated cardiovascular risk factors. People with diabetes and renal impairment have fewer options of antidiabetic drugs because of contraindications, adverse effects, or altered pharmacokinetics. Sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) reduce blood glucose concentrations by blocking the uptake of sodium and glucose in the proximal tubule and promoting glycosuria, and these agents now have an important role in the management of T2D. The results of several cardiovascular outcomes trials suggested that SGLT2i are associated with improvements in renal endpoints in addition to their reduction in cardiovascular events and mortality, which represents a major advance in the care of this population. The dedicated kidney outcomes trials have confirmed the renoprotective action of SGLT2i across different glomerular filtration and albuminuria values, even in patients with non-diabetic chronic kidney disease. Notably, this improvement in kidney function may indirectly benefit cardiac function through multifaceted interorgan cross talk, which can break the cardiorenal vicious circle linked to T2D. In this article, we briefly review the different mechanisms of action that may explain the renal beneficial effects of SGLT2i and disclose the results of the key renal outcome trials and the subsequent update of related clinical guidelines