Redes socio-técnicas y participación ciudadana : propuestas conceptuales y analíticas para el uso de las TICs

Contemporary society has the flows of information as one of it main characteristics and the information and communition technologies (ICTs) as one of its axes. In this context, the paradigm of networks has a special relevance, both for it qualities (the network society is a powerful metaphor) and as an analytical tool. It is the point we develop in this article, from a conceptual and methodological point of view, from what we discuss some study cases our group has develop on the use of ICTs and the construction of socio-technical networks.La sociedad contemporánea tiene en los flujos de la información una de sus características más destacadas, siendo las nuevas tecnologías de la información y comunicación uno de sus pilares. En este contexto, el paradigma de las redes adquiere fuerza, sea cualitativamente (sociedad en red), o sea como instrumento analítico. Este último es el punto que desarrollaremos en el artículo desde un punto de vista conceptual y metodológico, para acercanos a estudios de caso desarrollados sobre los principios de las redes sócio-técnicas y la utilización de las TICs

A practical approach to the guideline-directed pharmacological treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

Over the last 15–20 years, remarkable developments of heart failure (HF) pharmacotherapies have been achieved. However, HF remains a global healthcare challenge with more than 64 million patients worldwide. Optimization of guideline-directed chronic HF medical therapy is highly recommended with every patient visit to improve outcomes in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction. However, the majority of patients in real-world settings are treated with doses that are lower than those with proven efficacy in clinical trials, which might be due to concerns of adverse effects and inertia of physicians. Likewise, a significant proportion of patients still do not receive all drug classes that could improve their prognosis. The recent European Society of Cardiology guidelines do not provide detailed recommendations on how these drug classes should be implemented in the treatment of inpatients to allow for both safety and a high likelihood of efficacy. We therefore propose a practical approach algorithm to support physicians to treat HF patients in their daily practice

Redes socio-técnicas y participación ciudadana: propuestas conceptuales y analíticas para el uso de las TICS

Resumen La sociedad contemporánea tiene en los flujos de la información una de sus características más destacadas, siendo las nuevas tecnologías de la información y comunicación uno de sus pilares. En este contexto, el paradigma de las redes adquiere fuerza, sea cualitativamente (sociedad en red), o sea como instrumento analítico. Este último es el punto que desarrollaremos en el artículo desde un punto de vista conceptual y metodológico, para acercanos a estudios de caso desarrollados sobre los principios de las redes sócio-técnicas y la utilización de las TICs. Abstract Contemporary society has the flows of information as one of it main characteristics and the information and communition technologies (ICTs) as one of its axes. In this context, the paradigm of networks has a special relevance, both for it qualities (the network society is a powerful metaphor) and as an analytical tool. It is the point we develop in this article, from a conceptual and methodological point of view, from what we discuss some study cases our group has develop on the use of ICTs and the construction of socio-technical networks

The 'Survivorship Passport' for childhood cancer survivors

Background: Currently, there are between 300,000 and 500,000 childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) in Europe. A significant proportion is at high risk, and at least 60% of them develop adverse health-related outcomes that can appear several years after treatment completion. Many survivors are unaware of their personal risk, and there seems to be a general lack of information among healthcare providers about pathophysiology and natural history of treatment-related complications. This can generate incorrect or delayed diagnosis and treatments. Method: The Survivorship Passport (SurPass) consists of electronic documents, which summarise the clinical history of the childhood or adolescent cancer survivor. It was developed by paediatric oncologists of the PanCare and SIOPE networks and IT experts of Cineca, together with parents, patients, and survivors' organisations within the European Union–funded European Network for Cancer research in Children and Adolescents. It consists of a template of a web-based, simply written document, translatable in all European languages, to be given to each CCS. The SurPass provides a summary of each survivor's clinical history, with detailed information about the original cancer and of treatments received, together with personalised follow-up and screening recommendations based on guidelines published by the International Guidelines Harmonization Group and PanCareSurFup. Results: The SurPass data schema contains a maximum of 168 variables and uses internationally approved nomenclature, except for radiotherapy fields, where a new classification was defined by radiotherapy experts. The survivor-specific screening recommendations are mainly based on treatment received and are automatically suggested, thanks to built-in algorithms. These may be adapted and further individualised by the treating physician in case of special disease and survivor circumstances. The SurPass was tested at the Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Italy, and received positive feedback. It is now being integrated at the institutional, regional and national level. Conclusions: The SurPass is potentially an essential tool for improved and more harmonised follow-up of CCS. It also has the potential to be a useful tool for empowering CCSs to be responsible for their own well-being and preventing adverse events whenever possible. With sufficient commitment on the European level, this solution should increase the capacity to respond more effectively to the needs of European CCS

A comprehensive analysis of electron emission from a-Si:H/Al2O3 at low energies

Recently developed microchannel plates based on amorphous silicon offer potential advantages with respect to glass based ones. In this context, secondary electron emission at very low energies below 100 eV has been studied for relevant materials for these novel devices. The aim of this work was to quantify the low energy electron emission - secondary emission and elastic scattering - from amorphous silicon and alumina and the dependence of the emission energy distribution on the primary electron energy, which was previously unknown. Secondary emission and energy distribution were both modelled and measured using equipment particularly designed for this energy range. The effects of roughness, angle of incidence and surface composition were analysed. We show crossover energies as well as the angular dependence of electron emission from amorphous silicon and alumina, with a maximum experimental emission yield value of 2 and 2.8, respectively, at an incident angle of 75°. A parameterization for the energy dependence of the emission energy spectrum at low energies was derived. This extensive analysis is fundamental for a comprehensive understanding of the performance of amorphous silicon-based microchannel plate detectors. It provides a complete model for secondary electron emission for a detailed description of the detector operation. The present results thus set the basis for a simulation framework, which is an essential element to increase the performance of these detectors and enable further developments