Excellence and Quality in Andalusia University Library System

From 1996 onwards, then, the Quality Assessment National Plan and the adoption of its agenda by regional authorities and Universities alike has resulted in a growing acceptance by the Spanish academic community of the challenges and opportunities offered by evaluation and quality assurance activities. Academic librarians have been committed to this culture of quality from the very beginnings and in most cases have being leading the way in their own institutions. General tools like the Evaluation Guide referred to above developed to be applied in administration and services alike were of little use for libraries, so academic libraries have been the first units to develop their own evaluation guides at local and regional levels. University System in Andalusia (Spain) is formed by 10 Universities financed by regional government. The Quality Unit of Andalusia Universities convened in 2000 an Assessment University Libraries Pilot Plan to do a global analysis of the Library System. This Pilot Plan has had three steps: - During 2000-2002, a technical committee to draft a new evaluation guide for academic libraries. Based on the EFQM, because of its growing influence in the evaluation of the public sector and not-for-profit organizations across Europe. During the course of our work we were delighted to see that we concurred basically with the approach taken by LISIM. The Guide is divided into 5 parts, as follows: Analysis and Description of 9 criteria adapted to library scenario, 35 Tables for data collection, a set of 30 quality and performance Indicators, a Excellence-rating matrix, an objective tool, to determine the level of excellence achieved by the library on a scale from 0 to 10, and General guidelines for the Assessment Committees of University Departments (the basic unit of research assessment undertaken by the University) and of degree courses (the basic unit of assessment of teaching personnel). - In 2002-2004, a coordination committee drove the assessment process of 9 libraries and tested materials and evaluation methodology. The Pilot Plan has finalised with External Evaluation for 5 External Committee formed by librarians, faculties and EFQM methodology specialist. The aim of this paper is explain different parts and strong points of this process and how EFQM is suitable for all kind of librarie

AUTODDM: AUTOmatic characterization tool for the Delay Degradation Model

As delay models used in logic timing simulation become more and more complex, the problem of model parameter values extraction arise as an important issue, which is necessary to face in order to achieve a practical implementation of the model. In this way, this communication describes the characterization process associated to the previously developed Delay Degradation Model for CMOS logic gates (DDM) and the implementation of an automatic characterization tool that automates the process and allows an easy and fast model parameters extraction

Measurement of the Switching Activity of CMOS Digital Circuits at the Gate Level

Accurate estimation of switching activity is very important in digital circuits. In this paper we present a comparison between the evaluation of the switching activity calculated using logic (Verilog) and electrical (HSPICE) simulators. We also study how the variation on the delay model (min, typ, max) and parasitic effects affect the number of transitions in the circuit. Results show a variable and significant overestimation of this measurement using logic simulators even when including postlayout effects. Furthermore, we show the contribution of glitches to the overall switching activity, giving that the treatment of glitches in conventional logic simulators is the main cause of switching activity overestimation.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC 2000-1350Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC 2002-228

Disseminated tuberculosis and diagnosis delay during the COVID-19 era in a Western European country : a case series analysis

Disseminated tuberculosis is frequently associated with delayed diagnosis and a poorer prognosis. To describe case series of disseminated TB and diagnosis delay in a low TB burden country during the COVID-19 period. We consecutively included all patients with of disseminated TB reported from 2019 to 2021 in the reference hospital of the Northern Crown of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. We collected socio-demographic information, clinical, laboratory and radiological findings. We included all 30 patients reported during the study period-5, 9, and 16 in 2019, 2020, and 2021 respectively-20 (66.7%) of whom were male and whose mean age was 41 years. Twenty-five (83.3%) were of non-EU origin. The most frequent system involvement was central nervous system (N = 8; 26.7%) followed by visceral (N = 7; 23.3%), gastro-intestinal (N = 6, 20.0%), musculoskeletal (N = 5; 16.7%), and pulmonary (N = 4; 13.3%). Hypoalbuminemia and anemia were highly prevalent (72 and 77%). The median of diagnostic delay was 6.5 months (IQR 1.8-30), which was higher among women (36.0 vs. 3.5 months; p = 0.002). Central nervous system involvement and pulmonary involvement were associated with diagnostic delay among women. We recorded 24 cured patients, two deaths, three patients with post-treatment sequelae, and one lost-to-follow up. We observed a clustering effect of patients in low-income neighborhoods (p < 0.001). There was a substantial delay in the diagnosis of disseminated TB in our study region, which might impacted the prognosis with women affected more negatively. Our results suggest that an increase in the occurrence of disseminated TB set in motion by diagnosis delay may have been a secondary effect of the COVID-19 pandemic

Corrigendum : Disseminated tuberculosis and diagnosis delay during the COVID-19 era in a Western European country: a case series analysis

Disseminated tuberculosis is frequently associated with delayed diagnosis and a poorer prognosis. To describe case series of disseminated TB and diagnosis delay in a low TB burden country during the COVID-19 period. We consecutively included all patients with of disseminated TB reported from 2019 to 2021 in the reference hospital of the Northern Crown of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. We collected socio-demographic information, clinical, laboratory and radiological findings. We included all 30 patients reported during the study period-5, 9, and 16 in 2019, 2020, and 2021 respectively-20 (66.7%) of whom were male and whose mean age was 41 years. Twenty-five (83.3%) were of non-EU origin. The most frequent system involvement was central nervous system (N = 8; 26.7%) followed by visceral (N = 7; 23.3%), gastro-intestinal (N = 6, 20.0%), musculoskeletal (N = 5; 16.7%), and pulmonary (N = 4; 13.3%). Hypoalbuminemia and anemia were highly prevalent (72 and 77%). The median of diagnostic delay was 6.5 months (IQR 1.8-30), which was higher among women (36.0 vs. 3.5 months; p = 0.002). Central nervous system involvement and pulmonary involvement were associated with diagnostic delay among women. We recorded 24 cured patients, two deaths, three patients with post-treatment sequelae, and one lost-to-follow up. We observed a clustering effect of patients in low-income neighborhoods (p < 0.001). There was a substantial delay in the diagnosis of disseminated TB in our study region, which might impacted the prognosis with women affected more negatively. Our results suggest that an increase in the occurrence of disseminated TB set in motion by diagnosis delay may have been a secondary effect of the COVID-19 pandemic

Effectiveness of Fosfomycin for the Treatment of Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Bacteremic Urinary Tract Infections

IMPORTANCE The consumption of broad-spectrum drugs has increased as a consequence of the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli. Finding alternatives for these infections is critical, for which some neglected drugs may be an option. OBJECTIVE To determine whether fosfomycin is noninferior to ceftriaxone or meropenem in the targeted treatment of bacteremic urinary tract infections (bUTIs) due to MDR E coli. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This multicenter, randomized, pragmatic, open clinical trial was conducted at 22 Spanish hospitals from June 2014 to December 2018. Eligible participants were adult patients with bacteremic urinary tract infections due to MDR E coli; 161 of 1578 screened patients were randomized and followed up for 60 days. Data were analyzed in May 2021. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized 1 to 1 to receive intravenous fosfomycin disodium at 4 g every 6 hours (70 participants) or a comparator (ceftriaxone or meropenem if resistant; 73 participants) with the option to switch to oral fosfomycin trometamol for the fosfomycin group or an active oral drug or pa renteral ertapenem for the comparator group after 4 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was clinical and microbiological cure (CMC) 5 to 7 days after finalization of treatment; a noninferiority margin of 7% was considered. RESULTS Among 143 patients in the modified intention-to-treat population (median [IQR] age, 72 [62-81] years; 73 [51.0%] women), 48 of 70 patients (68.6%) treated with fosfomycin and 57 of 73 patients (78.1%) treated with comparators reached CMC (risk difference, -9.4 percentage points; 1-sided 95% CI, -21.5 to infinity percentage points; P = .10). While clinical or microbiological failure occurred among 10 patients (14.3%) treated with fosfomycin and 14 patients (19.7%) treated with comparators (risk difference, -5.4 percentage points; 1-sided 95% CI. -infinity to 4.9; percentage points; P = .19), an increased rate of adverse event-related discontinuations occurred with fosfomycin vs comparators (6 discontinuations [8.5%] vs 0 discontinuations; P = .006). In an exploratory analysis among a subset of 38 patients who underwent rectal colonization studies, patients treated with fosfomycin acquired a new ceftriaxone-resistant or meropenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria at a decreased rate compared with patients treated with comparators (0 of 21 patients vs 4 of 17 patients [23.5%]; 1-sided P = .01). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study found that fosfomycin did not demonstrate noninferiority to comparators as targeted treatment of bUTI from MDR E coli; this was due to an increased rate of adverse event-related discontinuations. This finding suggests that fosfomycin may be considered for selected patients with these infections

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

Desafíos actuales de la educación superior

El presente libro corresponde al trabajo investigativo realizado por sus autores frente a los desafíos que enfrenta y enfrentará la educación en tiempos actuales (provisional)

El conflicto entre cristianos y musulmanes en las relaciones de sucesos : la liberación de Buda

Este trabajo propone el análisis de una selección de textos escritos en romance sobre la derrota turca y la toma de la ciudad de Buda en 1686, que denuncian la exultante acogida popular de la noticia de las gestas cristianas en Centroeuropa, la percepción del eterno conflicto entre Oriente y Occidente y la proyección del imaginario colectivo del siglo xvii acerca de la lucha contra los infieles.This paper offers the analysis of a selection of texts, written in Romance languages, about the Turkish defeat and the conquest of the city of Buda in 1686, which provide evidence of the popular exultation at the news of the Christian achievements in Central Europe, the perception of the eternal conflict between East and West, and the projection of the seventeenth-century collective imagination regarding the struggle against the infidel