Estudio de viabilidad para la creación de una empresa de tablones de madera plástica en la ciudad de Pereira Plastimader

El siguiente proyecto tuvo como finalidad la formulación de un plan de negocios para la creación de una empresa de madera plástica en la ciudad de Pereira, la cual busca aprovechar los residuos plásticos y reducir la tala de árboles por medio de la fabricación de tablones que permiten similar maleabilidad a la madera tradicional y además poseen mayor resistencia y durabilidad. El proyecto se dividió en diferentes pasos apoyándose de un análisis sistemático y acorde a lo aprendido dentro de la carrera de pregrado de ingeniería industrial; la información utilizada en su realización fue extraída de fuentes primarias, bibliografía disponible y encuestas en el sector

Análise da viabilidade financeira de investimento em ordenha robotizada Lely Astronaut A5

Ao se considerar a possibilidade de algum investimento, o ideal é que este seja analisado por meio de ferramentas da contabilidade que permitam apoiar o proprietário na tomada de decisão. Relativamente novo no mercado nacional, a ordenha robotizada Lely Astronaut A5 vem despertando a curiosidade de diversos produtores, originando a dúvida em relação a sua viabilidade em uma propriedade do município de Westfália/RS. Então, como objetivo geral, este estudo buscou analisar a viabilidade financeira de investimento no equipamento por uma propriedade rural deste município. A metodologia deste estudo de caso, exploratório, envolveu uma abordagem qualitativa, consistindo os procedimentos técnicos na pesquisa bibliográfica, documental, coletando os dados por meio de entrevistas, observação e análise de documentos. Após apuração dos custos da atividade leiteira entre os meses de abril de 2018 e março de 2019, e dos custos e despesas necessários para a realização do investimento, projeções foram realizadas em um período de dez anos. A partir destas, analisou-se a relação custo/volume/lucro, bem como se apurou o valor presente líquido, payback simples e descontado, ROI e TIR, obtendo, em todas elas, resultados satisfatórios, tornando o investimento viável

Follicular fluid content and oocyte quality: from single biochemical markers to metabolomics

The assessment of oocyte quality in human in vitro fertilization (IVF) is getting increasing attention from embryologists. Oocyte selection and the identification of the best oocytes, in fact, would help to limit embryo overproduction and to improve the results of oocyte cryostorage programs. Follicular fluid (FF) is easily available during oocyte pick-up and theorically represents an optimal source on non-invasive biochemical predictors of oocyte quality. Unfortunately, however, the studies aiming to find a good molecular predictor of oocyte quality in FF were not able to identify substances that could be used as reliable markers of oocyte competence to fertilization, embryo development and pregnancy. In the last years, a well definite trend toward passing from the research of single molecular markers to more complex techniques that study all metabolites of FF has been observed. The metabolomic approach is a powerful tool to study biochemical predictors of oocyte quality in FF, but its application in this area is still at the beginning. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge about the biochemical predictors of oocyte quality in FF, describing both the results coming from studies on single biochemical markers and those deriving from the most recent studies of metabolomic

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues