Generador de funciones periódicas con controlador lógico-programable (PLC)

El análisis frecuencial de sistemas de control se basa en el conjunto de respuestas del proceso a señales senoidales que, en la mayoría de casos de los procesos habituales en la industria química, han de ser de muy baja frecuencia. Los generadores de señal comunes en los laboratorios deelectrónica no llegan a las bajas frecuencias necesarias, por tanto se ha considerado oportuno programar un controlador lógico-programable (PLC) para su generación y se ha ampliado a señales rectangulares, triangulares y en diente de sierra.La función programada se ha aplicado a la obtención dela respuesta frecuencial de un sistema de control de nivel

Simulación de procesos con controladores lógico-programables (PLC’s)

La realización de prácticas en el laboratorio de control de procesos presenta como mayor dificultad el coste asociado al funcionamiento del proceso, debido al consumo de reactivos, de energía o a la generación de residuos. Por tanto se propone trabajar con un proceso simulado en un controlador lógico- programable o PLC, con lo que se realiza una práctica de bajo coste y más cercana a la realidad que la pura simulación numérica

Intradermal and virosomal influenza vaccines for preventing influenza hospitalization in the elderly during the 2011–2012 influenza season: A comparative effectiveness study using the Valencia health care information system

AbstractBackgroundThe use of intradermal vaccination or virosomal vaccines could increase protection against influenza among the vulnerable population of older adults. Studies assessing the comparative effectiveness of these two influenza vaccine types in this age group are lacking.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study to estimate the comparative effectiveness of intradermal seasonal trivalent-influenza vaccine (TIV) delivered by a microneedle injection system and a virosomal-TIV intramuscularly delivered for prevention of influenza hospitalization in non-institutionalized adults aged ≥65 years. We obtained administrative data on immunization status and influenza hospitalization for the 2011–2012 influenza season, and used Cox regression models to assess comparative effectiveness. We estimated crude and adjusted (age, sex, comorbidity, pharmaceutical claims, recent pneumococcal vaccination and number of hospitalizations for all causes other than influenza between the previous and current influenza seasons) hazard ratios (HR).ResultsOverall, 164,021 vaccinated subjects were evaluated. There were 127 hospitalizations for influenza among 62,058 subjects, contributing 914,740 person-weeks at risk in the virosomal-TIV group, and 133 hospitalizations for influenza among 101,963 subjects, contributing 1,504,570 person-weeks at risk in the intradermal-TIV group. The crude HR of intradermal-TIV relative to virosomal-TIV was 0.64 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.50–0.81), and the adjusted Cox estimated HR was 0.67 (95% CI: 0.52–0.85).ConclusionsDuring the 2011–2012 influenza season the risk of hospitalization for influenza was reduced by 33% in non-institutionalized elderly adults who were vaccinated with intradermal-TIV compared with virosomal-TIV

Line-Up Elections: Parallel Voting with Shared Candidate Pool

We introduce the model of line-up elections which captures parallel or sequential single-winner elections with a shared candidate pool. The goal of a line-up election is to find a high-quality assignment of a set of candidates to a set of positions such that each position is filled by exactly one candidate and each candidate fills at most one position. A score for each candidate-position pair is given as part of the input, which expresses the qualification of the candidate to fill the position. We propose several voting rules for line-up elections and analyze them from an axiomatic and an empirical perspective using real-world data from the popular video game FIFA.Comment: Accepted to SAGT 202

Clinical outcomes stratified by baseline functional class after initial combination therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension

Background: Initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil reduced the risk of clinical failure events for treatment-naïve participants with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) as compared to monotherapy. Previous studies in PAH have demonstrated greater treatment benefits in more symptomatic participants. Methods: AMBITION was an event-driven, double-blind study in which participants were randomized 2:1:1 to oncedaily initial combination therapy with ambrisentan 10 mg plus tadalafil 40 mg, ambrisentan 10 mg plus placebo, or tadalafil 40 mg plus placebo. In this pre-specified subgroup analysis, we compared the efficacy data between those with functional class (FC) II vs. FC III symptoms at baseline. Results: This analysis included 500 participants in the previously defined primary analysis set (n = 155 FC II, n = 345 FC III). Comparing combination therapy to pooled monotherapy, the risk of clinical failure events was reduced by 79% (hazard ratio, 0.21 [95% confidence interval: 0.071, 0.63]) for FC II patients and 42 (hazard ratio, 0.58 [95% confidence interval: 0.39, 0.86]) for FC III patients. In a post-hoc analysis, the risk of first hospitalization for worsening PAH was also reduced by combination therapy, particularly for FC II patients (0 combination vs. 11 [14%] pooled monotherapy). Adverse events were frequent but comparable between the subgroups. Conclusions: Treatment benefit from initial combination therapy appeared at least as great for FC II as for FC III participants. Hospitalizations for worsening PAH were not observed in FC II participants assigned to combination. The present data support an initial combination strategy for newly diagnosed patients even when symptoms are less severe

Effectiveness of new tools to define an up-to-date patient safety risk map: A primary care study protocol

Background: Reducing incidents related to health care interventions to improve patient safety is a health policy priority. To strengthen a culture of safety, reporting incidents is essential. This study aims to define a patient safety risk map using the description and analysis of incidents within a primary care region with a prior patient safety improvement strategy organisationally developed and promoted. Methods: The study will be conducted in two phases: (1) a cross-sectional descriptive observational study to describe reported incidents; and (2) a quasi-experimental study to compare reported incidents. The study will take place in the Camp de Tarragona Primary Care Management (Catalan Institute of Health). In Phase 1, all reactive notifications collected within one year (2018) will be analysed; during Phase 2, all proactive notifications of the second and third weeks of June 2019 will be analysed. Adverse events will also be assessed. Phases 1 and 2 will use a digital platform and the proactive tool proSP to notify and analyse incidents related to patient safety. Expected Results: To obtain an up-to-date, primary care patient safety risk map to prioritise strategies that result in safer practices. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Atopic dermatitis incidence and risk factors in young adults in Castellon (Spain): A prospective cohort study

Introduction: There are few atopic dermatitis (AD) incidence cohort studies in young adults, the etiology of this disease remains obscure, and AD risk factors in adults are not well understood. The objective of this study was to estimate AD ten-year incidence and prevalence in a cohort of adolescent aged 14–16 at inception in Castellon province in Valencia Region, Spain and describe related risk factors. Material and methods: From 2002 to 2012, a population-based prospective cohort study was carried out. Questionnaires from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) were used with an additional questionnaire for related factors completed by participants and their parents, respectively, in 2002. In 2012 the same questionnaires were completed by the participants’ through a telephone interview, and incidence and prevalence of AD were estimated. Directed acyclic graphs, Poisson regression and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment were used. Results: The participation rate was 79.5% (1435/1805) with AD lifetime prevalence of 34.9% and AD incidence of 13.5 per 1000 person years. Females presented higher prevalence and incidence than males. After adjustment significant risk factors were being female, history of asthma or allergic rhinitis, family history of AD, history of respiratory infections, history of bronchitis, history of pneumonia, history of sinusitis, and birthplace outside Castellon province. The highest AD population attributable risks were female, 30.3%, and history of respiratory infections 15.3%. Differences with AD childhood risk factors were found. Conclusions: AD incidence in our cohort was high and several risks factors were related to AD

Initial combination therapy with ambrisentan + tadalafil on pulmonary arterial hypertension‒related hospitalization in the AMBITION trial

Background: In the randomized, double-blind, event-driven AMBITION study, initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil was associated with a 50% reduction in risk of clinical failure (first occurrence of all-cause death, hospitalization for worsening pulmonary arterial hypertension [PAH], disease progression, or unsatisfactory long-term clinical response) vs pooled monotherapy. These results were primarily driven by a reduction in PAH-related hospitalization in the combination therapy group, although a significant effect was not observed in a post-hoc analysis of all-cause hospitalization. Methods: The effect of initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil in AMBITION was further explored to study PAH-related hospitalization, which was not reported in the primary publication. Results: Initial combination therapy was associated with a 63% reduction in risk of PAH-related hospitalization when compared with pooled monotherapy (hazard ratio [HR] 0.372, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.217 to 0.639, p = 0.0002). For every 9 patients treated with combination therapy vs monotherapy, 1 PAH-related hospitalization could be prevented over a 1-year period. Serious adverse events leading to hospitalization, not necessarily PAH-related, occurred in 87 of 253 (34%) and 89 of 247 (36%) of patients on combination therapy and pooled monotherapy, respectively (post-hoc summary). Conclusions: Initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil was found to reduce the risk of PAH-related hospitalization by 63% compared with pooled monotherapy