Towards a comprehensive framework for the multidisciplinary evaluation of organizational maturity on business continuity program management: a systematic literature review

Organizational dependency on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) drives the preparedness challenge to cope with business process disruptions. Business Continuity Management (BCM) encompasses effective planning to enable business functions to resume to an acceptable state of operation within a defined timeframe. This paper presents a systematic literature review that communicates the strategic guidelines to streamline the organizational processes in the BCM program, culminating in the Business Continuity Plan design, according to the organization’s maturity. The systematic literature review methodology follows the Evidence- Based Software Engineering protocol assisted by the Parsifal tool, using the EbscoHost, ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases, ranging from 2000 to February 2021. International Standards and Frameworks guide the BCM program implementation, however, there is a gap in communicating metrics and what needs to be measured in the BCM program. The major paper result is the confirmation of the identified gap, through the analysis of the studies that, according to the BCM components, report strategic guidelines to streamline the BCM program. The analysis quantifies and discusses the contribution of the studies on each BCM component to design a framework supported by metrics, that allows assessing the organization’s preparedness in each BCM component, focusing on Information Systems and ICT strategies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Discursos securitizantes comparados : la relación entre Bolivia, los Estados Unidos y la hoja de coca (1961 - 2012)

La Escuela de Copenhague nos enseña que se puede elevar ciertos asuntos arriba de la política normal a través del proceso que denominaron securitización. Ya que desde la época colonial la hoja de coca, una planta autóctona a los países andinos, ha sido el objeto de varios procesos de securitización, sirve como una lente excelente para analizar este proceso. Por ende, con este fin en mente este trabajo comprara cómo la hoja de coca ha sido securitizada por los Estados Unidos y Bolivia para demostrar que el mismo tema puede llegar a ser securitizado de manera diferente por actores diferentes, subrayando en el proceso algunos de los principales problemas asociados con la securitización de la ayuda externa

Synchrony in psychotherapy: High physiological positive concordance predicts symptom reduction and negative concordance predicts symptom aggravation

Objective Therapeutic alliance is often considered as a predictor for therapeutic success. This study explored dyadic synchrony of skin conductance response (SCR) during naturalistic therapeutic interactions and investigated its potential as an objective biomarker for predicting therapy effectiveness. Methods In this proof-of-concept study, skin conductance from both dyad members was continuously measured via wristbands during psychotherapy. Patients and therapists completed post-session reports capturing their subjective appraisal of therapeutic alliance. Additionally, patients completed symptom questionnaires. Each therapeutic dyad was recorded twice in a follow-up design. The first session of the follow-up group was assessed for physiological synchrony (Single Session Index (SSI)). Therapy outcome was captured by the difference between symptom severity scores over time. Results SCR synchrony significantly predicted the outcome variable of change in patients' global severity index (GSI). High positive SCR concordance was linked to a reduction in patients' GSI, while negative or small positive SSI values were linked to an increase in patients' GSI. Conclusion The results demonstrate the presence of SCR synchrony in clinical interactions. Skin conductance response synchrony was a significant predictor for change in patients' symptom severity index, emphasizing its potential as an objective biomarker in the context of evidence-based psychotherapy

TOK: developing a tangible platform for storytelling

This paper describes a first study of a tangible interface, consisting of a platform and a set of picture cards that children can use to create stories. The handling of the picture cards has shown to be highly motivating and engaging, helping children to build a storyline creating logical relations among different characters and objects. The interface works like an experimental space where children can play with the language and simultaneously reflect over it, individually or in a collaborative process. We present the design of the first prototype and the data collected with two groups of five years old preschoolers and report our findings regarding the interaction design, as well as a reflection over future work.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - projeto PTDC/CPE-CED/110417/2009 "Developing the next Generation of Hybrid Learning Materials

Is it a book…is it a game? No, it is TOK

The interface presented here aims at helping children to create their own stories and to reflect over their narratives, in a process whereby they learn how to build logical sequences, enhancing their vocabulary and literacy. At the same time we wanted to make it easier for young children to interact with digital content, through the tangibility of the interface.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PTDC/CPECED/110417/2009, SFRH/BD/62531/200

Effects of Feeding of Two Potentially Probiotic Preparations from Lactic Acid Bacteria on the Performance and Faecal Microflora of Broiler Chickens

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of two probiotic preparations, containing live lactic acid bacteria (Lactococcus lactis CECT 539 and Lactobacillus casei CECT 4043) and their products of fermentation (organic acids and bacteriocins), as a replacement for antibiotics in stimulating health and growth of broiler chickens. The effects of the supplementation of both preparations (with proven probiotic effect in weaned piglets) and an antibiotic (avilamycin) on body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), feed consumption efficiency (FCE), relative intestinal weight, and intestinal microbiota counts were studied in 1-day posthatch chickens. The experiments were conducted with medium-growth Sasso X44 chickens housed in cages and with nutritional stressed Ross 308 broiler distributed in pens. Consumption of the different diets did not affect significantly the final coliform counts in Sasso X44 chickens. However, counts of lactic acid bacteria and mesophilic microorganisms were higher in the animals receiving the two probiotic preparations (P < 0.05). In the second experiment, although no differences in BWG were observed between treatments, Ross 308 broilers receiving the probiotic Lactobacillus preparation exhibited the lowest FCE values and were considered the most efficient at converting feed into live weight

Design of a molecular method for subspecies specific identification of Klebsiella pneumoniae by using the 16S ribosomal subunit gene

Introduction: Rhinoscleroma is caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae rhinoscleromatis and the ozena infections caused by K. pneumoniae ozaenae, both infections affect the upper respiratory tract. In the first clinical phases the symptoms are unspecific, and the disease can be misdiagnosed as a common cold, therefore antimicrobial therapy cannot reach effective results and patients must be following up for several years since the infection became chronic

Tocar, organizar e criar

O conceito subjacente a este trabalho é a criação de materiais pedagógicos inovadores que promovem um envolvimento experimental, participativo e ativo desde muito cedo (5-6 anos), reunindo jogos, materiais didáticos e atividades lúdicas tradicionalmente usadas no pré-escolar com as novas soluções tecnológicas interativas. O projeto visa desenvolver e avaliar uma próxima geração de materiais de aprendizagem híbridos - uma plataforma interativa de Manipulativos Digitais, também designados Interfaces Tangíveis, constituída por materiais de baixo custo, habitualmente utilizados no ensino pré-escolar, como sejam papel e cartão. Disponibilizar as ferramentas tecnológicas adequadas a esta faixa etária reforça a aprendizagem, proporcionando às crianças a oportunidade de desenvolverem as suas capacidades criativas. A flexibilidade dos materiais, permite conceber e realizar diferentes tipos de atividades pedagógicas, permitindo uma exploração individual, em pequenos grupos ou envolvendo toda a classe num projeto comum.Este trabalho foi financiado por Fundos FEDER através do Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade e da FCT– Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia no âmbito do projeto PTDC/CPE-CED/110417/200

Diseño de un método molecular para la identificación específica de Klebsiella pneumoniae a nivel de subespecie, usando el gen que codifica para la subunidad ribosomal 16S

Introduction: Rhinoscleroma is caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae rhinoscleromatis and the ozena infections caused by K. pneumoniae ozaenae, both infections affect the upper respiratory tract. In the first clinical phases the symptoms are unspecific, and the disease can be misdiagnosed as a common cold, therefore antimicrobial therapy cannot reach effective results and patients must be following up for several years since the infection became chronic. Objective: To identify Klebsiella subspecies using a specific assay based on amplicons restriction of a gene which encodes 16S subunit ribosomal (rDNA16S). Methodology: Specific restriction patterns were generated; using reported sequences from rDNA16S gene and bioinformatics programs MACAW, PFE, GENEDOC and GENE RUNNER. Amplification and restriction assays were standardized. Results: Predictions in silico allowed to propose an algorithm for Klebsiella species and subspecies identification. Two reference strains were included and two clinical isolates which were biotyped and identified by the proposed method. rDNA16S gene restriction patterns showed differences regarding the initially identified species for conventional methods. Additionally two patterns of bands were observed for K. pneumoniae rhinoscleromatis, indicating the polymorphisms presence in the rDNA16S gene. Conclusions: It was confirmed the difficulty to identify K. pneumoniae subspecies by conventional methods. Implementation of this technique could allow an accurate and rapid differentiation among K. pneumoniae ozaenae and K. pneumoniae rhinoscleromatis aetiological agents of two frequently misdiagnosed infections. Antimicrobial therapy usually could be ineffective, especially in chronic patients. Finally it is considered very important to enlarge the study by using more clinical and reference strains. Introducción: El rinoescleroma es causado por Klebsiella pneumoniae rhinoscleromatis y la ocena por Klebsiella pneumoniae ozaenae respectivamente. Estas infecciones se presentan sobre todo en el tracto respiratorio superior y tienen una sintomatología inespecífica en sus fases iniciales por lo cual se pueden confundir con el catarro común. Las dificultades de establecer un diagnóstico oportuno tienen repercusiones negativas en la terapia antimicrobiana, porque puede no ser efectiva y hacer que la enfermedad evolucione a una fase crónica cuyo seguimiento puede implicar muchos años. Objetivo: Diseñar un ensayo molecular para la identificación a nivel de subespecie de bacterias del género Klebsiella basado en restricción de amplicones del gen que codifica para la subunidad ribosomal 16S (ADNr 16S). Metodología: Se generaron patrones de restricción específicos, utilizando secuencias informadas del gen ADNr 16S y los programas bioinformáticos MACAW, PFE, GENEDOC y GENE RUNNER. Se estandarizaron las condiciones para la amplificación y restricción para el ensayo experimental. Resultados: Las predicciones in silico permitieron proponer un algoritmo para la identificación a nivel de especie y subespecie de las especies del género Klebsiella. Se incluyeron dos cepas de referencia y dos aislados clínicos, que se biotipificaron e identificaron por el método propuesto; los patrones de restricción obtenidos del gen ADNr 16S evidenciaron diferencias con respecto a la especie inicialmente identificada por métodos convencionales. Además se encontraron dos patrones de bandas en Klebsiella pneumoniae rhinoscleromatis, indicando la presencia de polimorfismos en el gen ADNr 16S para esta subespecie. Conclusiones: Se confirmó la dificultad para identificar Klebsiella pneumoniae a nivel de subespecie por métodos convencionales. La implementación de esta técnica podría permitir la diferenciación temprana entre Klebsiella pneumoniae ozaenae y Klebsiella pneumoniae rhinoscleromatis que causan dos infecciones tratadas por lo general de forma empírica y como consecuencia de esto, la terapia antimicrobiana suele no ser efectiva, en especial en pacientes crónicos. Se requiere ampliar los estudios con un número mayor de cepas de referencia y aislados clínicos

Influence of casein hydrolysates and yeast on the rheological properties of wheat dough

The influence of casein hydrolysates (CHs) and yeast on the viscoelasticity of wheat dough at 25 °C were analysed. Three wheat doughs were studied: the unyeasted dough (UYD), the unyeasted dough with CHs (UYD-C) and the yeasted dough (YD). The characteristic parameters in the linear viscoelastic range (LVER) were analysed by stress sweep at 6.3 rad/s: UYD-C dough exhibited higher values of stress (σmax) and strain (γmax) amplitudes, and softer gel network (lower complex modulus, G*) comparing with UYD dough. The oscillatory data suggest that CHs would work as (energy and time) stabilising-agents based on the greatest reticular energy (E parameter) and the lowest frequency dependence of phase angle (δ) at the low frequency range. The rotatory tests show that CHs may act as shear thinning agents in the gluten-starch network, facilitating the solid-fluid transition at the yield point (UYD-C dough). The yeasted dough (YD) exhibited a more shear sensitive structure, evidenced in the highest influence of frequency on the elastic (G′) and viscous (G″) parameters, and gel to sol transition at 0.23 rad/s was observed