Economic feasibility of projects using triangular fuzzy numbers

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018. The feasibility analysis of projects is an indispensable process for software development organizations. The intangible nature of software and the multiple criteria considered, introduce uncertainty in this process. This article proposes a method that uses triangular fuzzy numbers to evaluate traditional economic criteria Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Period of Recovery of Investment; which provides higher flexibility and certainty in the prediction. The article also presents the definitions of fuzzy economic criteria and discusses some variants for different cash flows. The proposal allows treating the variations that may occur during the life cycle of the project. The final value of the criteria is obtained by considering three possible scenarios: pessimistic, more accurate and optimistic. The proposal was applied experimentally, in 30 finished software projects. The target was to determine if there were significant differences in the order of feasibility of the projects, comparing the results obtained by the fuzzy economic criteria with those obtained by the traditional economic criteria. Significant differences were found in favor of the fuzzy economic criteria Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return. Better results were achieved by fuzzy Period of Recovery of Investment, but, the difference was not statistically significant

Completion of the GOYA photometric survey

The Galaxy Origins and Young Assembly (goya) survey is designed to study the formation and evolution of 1 < z < 3 galaxies with the aim of learning on the epoch and the mechanisms by which galaxies assembled the bulk of their stars and acquired their present structure and dynamics. In 1998 goya proposed, and has since been guiding, the construction of the most ambitious of the common-user instruments for GranTeCan —the emir near-infrared multi-object spectrograph. In preparation for the exploitation of emir, we have conducted a deep near-infrared photometric survey, for sample selection and characterisation. Now that this research has reached its final stages, we provide here details on its current status and its finalisation plans. Overall, this survey has images of 0.5 square degrees of high-latitude sky to limiting ab magnitude Ks = 23.7 (5-¾, 100 aperture) and corresponding depths at U,B, V,R, I and J. The sample of sources obtained is being extended to include fields available to Gemini-S, since a recent collaboration with the Flamingos-2 Early Science Survey Team grants goya privileged access to this pioneering near-infrared multi-object spectrograph.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Wavelength calibration for OSIRIS/GTC* tunable filters

OSIRIS (Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy) is the first light instrument of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). It provides a flexible and competitive tunable filter (TF). Since it is based on a Fabry-Perot interferometer working in collimated beam, the TF transmission wavelength depends on the position of the target with respect to the optical axis. This effect is non-negligible and must be accounted for in the data reduction. Our paper establishes a wavelength calibration for OSIRIS TF with the accuracy required for spectrophotometric measurements using the full field of view (FOV) of the instrument. The variation of the transmission wavelength $\lambda(R)$ across the FOV is well described by $\lambda(R)=\lambda(0)/\sqrt{1+(R/f_2)^2}$, where $\lambda(0)$ is the central wavelength, $R$ represents the physical distance from the optical axis, and $f_2=185.70\pm0.17\,$mm is the effective focal length of the camera lens. This new empirical calibration yields an accuracy better than 1\,\AA\ across the entire OSIRIS FOV ($\sim$8\arcmin$\times$8\arcmin), provided that the position of the optical axis is known within 45 $\mu$m ($\equiv$ 1.5 binned pixels). We suggest a calibration protocol to grant such precision over long periods, upon re-alignment of OSIRIS optics, and in different wavelength ranges. This calibration differs from the calibration in OSIRIS manual which, nonetheless, provides an accuracy $\lesssim1$\AA\, for R\lesssim 2\arcmin.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

Impacto de la fisioterapia para la reeducación del suelo pélvico en la calidad de vida de pacientes con incontinencia urinaria.

La incontinencia urinaria tiene elevada prevalencia, preferentemente en mujeres, con efectos en la Calidad de Vida (CV). Estimamos la CV de pacientes con incontinencia urinaria y el impacto de la fisioterapia para reeducación del suelo pélvico sobre sus indicadores. Aplicamos a 21 pacientes el cuestionario de CV para incontinencia urinaria (I-QOL), al inicio del tratamiento, al tercero, sexto mes y al alta. Utilizamos terapia integral modificadora de estilos de vida, electroestimulación  superficial y/o intracavitaria, magnetoterapia, y kinesiología educativa-reeducativa del suelo pélvico. Valoramos mejoría física por uso de colectores, test de compresa y diario miccional. Los indicadores de continencia se transformaron positivamente. Los valores del I-QOL mejoraron desde el tercer mes; se duplicaron en algunos pacientes al sexto mes y al alta. El incremento total fue de 48.5 a  83 puntos al sexto mes del tratamiento, por lo que concluimos que los mejoraron los indicadores de la calidad de vida de pacientes incontinentes.  Palabras clave: Incontinencia urinaria, Calidad de Vida, Tratamiento rehabilitador

Alectinib after failure to crizotinib in patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer : results from the Spanish early access program

Altres ajuts: Roche Farma, S.A.This retrospective observational study analyzed the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns and outcomes of 120 patients with advanced ALK-positive nonsmall-cell lung cancer (ALK+ NSCLC) according to data collected between November 2019 and October 2020 in 38 Spanish hospitals. Patients had progressed after 1-5 prior treatment lines (which included crizotinib in any prior line) and received subsequent therapy with alectinib in a local expanded access program. Median age was 58.7 years, 50% of patients were female, 64.1% had ECOG PS of 0-1, 85% presented stage IV, 95% had adenocarcinoma histology and 20.8% had brain metastases. After a median 9.6 months of alectinib treatment, objective response rate (ORR) was 54.5%, disease control rate (DCR) was 80%, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 9.4 months and median overall survival (OS) was 24.1 months. Patients with brain metastases achieved an intracranial DCR of 71.4%. Adverse events (AEs) were reported in 35.8% of patients (14.2% of AEs were grade ≥3). Over 40% of patients received some treatment after alectinib, most frequently lorlatinib (65.2%) and brigatinib (32.6%). This study provides information on real-world treatment patterns and confirms the tolerability and prolonged PFS and OS observed with alectinib in clinical trials, in unselected pretreated patients with advanced ALK+ NSCLC

The intrinsic shape of galaxy bulges

The knowledge of the intrinsic three-dimensional (3D) structure of galaxy components provides crucial information about the physical processes driving their formation and evolution. In this paper I discuss the main developments and results in the quest to better understand the 3D shape of galaxy bulges. I start by establishing the basic geometrical description of the problem. Our understanding of the intrinsic shape of elliptical galaxies and galaxy discs is then presented in a historical context, in order to place the role that the 3D structure of bulges play in the broader picture of galaxy evolution. Our current view on the 3D shape of the Milky Way bulge and future prospects in the field are also depicted.Comment: Invited Review to appear in "Galactic Bulges" Editors: Laurikainen E., Peletier R., Gadotti D. Springer Publishing. 24 pages, 7 figure

Fossil Groups Origins: I. RX J105453.3+552102 a very massive and relaxed system at z~0.5

The most accepted scenario for the origin of fossil groups (FGs) is that they are galaxy associations in which the merging rate was fast and efficient. These systems have assembled half of their mass at early epoch of the Universe, subsequently growing by minor mergers. They could contain a fossil record of the galaxy structure formation. We have started a project in order to characterize a large sample of FGs. In this paper we present the analysis of the fossil system RX J105453.3+552102. Optical deep images were used for studying the properties of the brightest group galaxy and for computing the photometric luminosity function of the group. We have also performed a detail dynamical analysis of the system based on redshift data for 116 galaxies. This galaxy system is located at z=0.47, and shows a quite large line-of-sight velocity dispersion \sigma_{v}~1000 km/s. Assuming the dynamical equilibrium, we estimated a virial mass of M ~ 10^{15} h_{70} M_{\odot}. No evidence of substructure was found within 1.4 Mpc radius. We found a statistically significant departure from Gaussianity of the group members velocities in the most external regions of the group. This could indicate the presence of galaxies in radial orbits in the external region of the group. We also found that the photometrical luminosity function is bimodal, showing a lack of M_{r} ~ -19.5 galaxies. The brightest group galaxy shows low Sersic parameter (n~2) and a small peculiar velocity. Indeed, our accurate photometry shows that the difference between the brightest and the second brightest galaxies is 1.9 mag in the r-band, while the classical definition of FGs is based on a magnitude gap of 2. We conclude that this fossil system does not follow the empirical definition of FGs. Nevertheless, it is a massive, old and undisturbed galaxy system with little infall of L^{*} galaxies since its initial collapse.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication at A&

Systems-wide analysis of manganese deficiency-induced changes in gene activity of Arabidopsis roots

Manganese (Mn) is pivotal for plant growth and development, but little information is available regarding the strategies that evolved to improve Mn acquisition and cellular homeostasis of Mn. Using an integrated RNA-based transcriptomic and high-throughput shotgun proteomics approach, we generated a comprehensive inventory of transcripts and proteins that showed altered abundance in response to Mn deficiency in roots of the model plant Arabidopsis. A suite of 22,385 transcripts was consistently detected in three RNA-seq runs; LC-MS/MS-based iTRAQ proteomics allowed the unambiguous determination of 11,606 proteins. While high concordance between mRNA and protein expression (R = 0.87) was observed for transcript/protein pairs in which both gene products accumulated differentially upon Mn deficiency, only approximately 10% of the total alterations in the abundance of proteins could be attributed to transcription, indicating a large impact of protein-level regulation. Differentially expressed genes spanned a wide range of biological functions, including the maturation, translation, and transport of mRNAs, as well as primary and secondary metabolic processes. Metabolic analysis by UPLC-qTOF-MS revealed that the steady-state levels of several major glucosinolates were significantly altered upon Mn deficiency in both roots and leaves, possibly as a compensation for increased pathogen susceptibility under conditions of Mn deficiency

Evaluación del efecto de la magnetoterapia, la electroterapia y los ejercicios del suelo pélvico como tratamiento rehabilitador en la incontinencia urinaria.

La incontinencia urinaria tiene elevada prevalencia, preferentemente en mujeres, afectando la vida personal y social de los enfermos. Evaluamos el impacto del tratamiento rehabilitador del suelo pélvico sobre síntomas y signos de incontinencia en 28 pacientes, 25 mujeres y 3 hombres con edades promedio de 53.9 y 66.6 años En las mujeres predominó la incontinencia asociada a otras patologías del suelo pélvico, seguida por la mixta y en los hombres la secundaria a prostatectomía. Evaluamos la incontinencia al inicio y evolutivamente mediante historia clínica, necesidad de uso de colectores, prueba decompresa y diario miccional. Aplicamosmagnetoterapia en región pélvica, electroterapia estimuladora de musculatura perineal y ejercicios para fortalecimiento muscular pélvico sola o combinada. Once pacientes abandonaron el tratamiento, 53% curaron, 29% tuvieron mejoría notable y 18% mantienen el tratamiento. Concluimos que la rehabilitación del suelo pélvico constituye una terapia útil y definitiva para curar o mejorar la incontinencia urinaria.  Palabras clave: Incontinencia urinaria, Tratamiento rehabilitador