La sedación paliativa como lex artis en el cuidado del final de la vida

La presencia de pacientes con síntomas refractarios e intensas crisis emocionales en la fase final de la vida irrumpen en la actividad diaria de los profesionales sanitarios. Esta eventualidad puede convertirse en una experiencia desconcertante por la escasez de recursos y habilidades adquiridas durante el periodo de formación. La medicina y sus profesionales son inculpados de prolongar el proceso de agonía y no aliviar el sufrimiento y la angustia. La dificultad de atender al paciente moribundo reside en las demandas psicológicas que produce y los conflictos internos que genera. ¿Qué se necesitaríamos nosotros en esa situación?. Es imprescindible disponer de una guía de actuación que oriente nuestro proceso terapéutico defendiendo siempre el mejor interés de la persona. En el presente trabajo se hacen algunas reflexiones sobre la muerte, el énfasis en curar y cuidar, sobre las necesidades y carencias de las personas en la fase final de sus vidas, las directivas anticipadas, los síntomas refractarios y la sedación paliativa y en como saber actuar en situaciones donde las fronteras éticas y legales están poco definidas o en debate permanente.All healthcare professionals are faced, at one time or another, with the need to attend patients during the final part of their lives. This can be a rather disconcerting experience owing to the general lack of resources and skills acquired in the course of their training. Science and medicine are often accused of prolonging death and therefore also prolonging suffering and anguish. The difficulty of treating patients who are dying resides in the fact that it imposes certain psychological demands that create inner conflict, which can only be understood and resolved through proper training and preparation. What would we need if we were in their place? It is essential provide guidelines to face end of life care. We must learn to convert ordinary events into meaningful experience. In this paper we think about needs of dying patients, refractory symptoms, palliative sedation and ethics problems, and promote the best end of life care

Emotion and Metacontrol

In the ICEA Project we are concerned with the extraction of general designs from rat brains. We are interested in designs that capture the core integrational aspects of emotion and cognition

Methodological Flaws in Cognitive Animat Research

In the field of convergence between research in autonomous machine construction and biological systems understanding it is usually argued that building robots for research on auton- omy by replicating extant animals is a valuable strategy for engineering autonomous intelligent systems. In this paper we will address the very issue of animat construction, the ratio- nale behind this, their current implementations and the value they are producing. It will be shown that current activity, as it is done today, is deeply flawed and useless as research in the science and engineering of autonomy

Against Animats

Animats are artificial animals, a contraction of anima-materials. The term includes physical robots and virtual simulations. Animat research, a subset of Artificial Life studies, has become rather popular since Rodney Brooks' seminal paper "Intelligence without representation". The word was coined by S.W. Wilson in 1991, in the first proceedings of the Simulation of Adaptive Behaviour, which was also called From Animals to Animats

Comparison of the crack pattern in accelerated corrosion tests and in finite elements simulations

In this work, the crack pattern obtained in accelerated corrosion tests is compared to the one obtained in numerical simulations for reinforced steel concrete samples. In the simulations, an expansive joint element is used to simulate the oxide layer behaviour together with finite elements with embedded adaptable cohesive crack to simulate the concrete fracture. In parallel, some samples are artificially corroded imposing constant current and after corrosion they are impregnated with resin containing fluorescein to improve the detection of the cracks. In the paper, the main features of the model and the experimental procedure are described and the crack pattern is analysed. A main crack across the concrete cover is easily seen in both cases, but also secondary cracks are observed after treating the concrete surface, in accordance with the model predictions, which gives further support to the ability of the numerical approach to simulate the real cracking processes

Oncología y psicología: un modelo de interacción

En el presente artículo se detalla una forma de incluir un psicólogo especialista en Oncología en un Servicio o en un hospital monográfico de cáncer. Se hace una introducción histórica de la Psico-Oncología en Estados Unidos y en España. Se contemplan los puntos de vista del oncólogo médico y el psicólogo ante las múltiples demandas del entorno familiar y del paciente con cáncer. Se describe el método de interacción actual Modelo de Interconsulta (MIC) del psicólogo en Oncología, desarrollando posteriormente el Modelo Fundacional (MFU) establecido en el MSKCC de Nueva York. Por último presentamos la experiencia de integración de un psico-oncólogo en un Servicio de Oncología Médica llevada a cabo en el Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla (HUMV). La integración del psico-oncólogo en los equipos de Oncología es posible, necesaria y beneficiosa.In this article we present how to include a psychologist specialist on Oncology in a Service or cancer centre. We begin by describing Psycho-Oncology historical introduction in the United States and in Spain. Afterwards we trace the oncologist and psycho-oncologist point of view facing the multiple requests due the special characteristics of the illness. We continue defining the current model of inclusion of a Psycho-Oncologist on Oncology, called the Consultation Model. We describe our proposed model called Foundational Model, born in the MSKCC, New York. To conclude we explain the integration experience of a Psycho-Oncologist in an Oncology Unit that we have carried out in the Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla. According to our experience, the integration of the Psycho-Oncologist on Oncology medical teams is not only possible but also necessary and beneficent

Reality as legitimate speech

El presente artículo indaga teóricamente en el sustento narrativo o discursivo de la realidad haciendo énfasis en cómo el lenguaje delimita y abstrae la realidad en un proceso de identificación referencial. Para comprender cómo evoluciona la realidad, es decir, cómo se transforma, uno/a puede observar cómo el lenguaje, al referenciar, identifica el mundo, proceso que, cuando se da entre seres humanos, genera sujetos que aprenden a referenciarse a sí mismos (es decir, a autoreferenciarse). El proceso de identificación del mundo es una parte inherente de la forma en la que se comunica el ser humano e implica generar un consenso legítimo sobre qué es aquello de lo que se habla, y que se denomina, generalmente, realidad. Comprender la capacidad de agencia que tiene el lenguaje y el uso del discurso en construir la realidad, delimitar los espacios y movilizar a los sujetos, puede abrirnos la puerta a entender el cambio social en función de la capacidad comunicativa del ser humano (que es humanizado en la interacción).The current article seeks to shed light from a theoretical perspective on the narrative and discursive framework from which reality is constructed. From this standpoint, emphasis is made on how language limits reality and shifts it from the concrete to the abstract in a process known as referential identification. To comprehend how reality evolves, that is, how it is transformed, one may observe how language, when in the act of referring, identifies the world; a process which, between human beings, generates self-referring subjects. The process of identifying the world is an essential element of human communication and it implies generating a legitimate consensus on what is that which is being talked about, and which is known, generally, as reality. Understanding language’s capacity for agency and the potential for discourses to shape reality, limit spaces and mobilise subjects, can enlighten us to further understand social change as a function of the human capacity for communication (the human being is humanized in interaction, after all)

Stakeholders, actores estratégicos en la construcción de marca

The stakeholders, also known as groups of interest, are increasingly important for brand building, especially because of the need to generate differentiated communication on the part of the company, which must demonstrate a solid identity that generates processes for the creation of a correct image and a strong corporate reputation. In this aspect, this article meets a priority need: to know the groups of interest for the creation of brand building strategies, even from current tools such as experiential marketing. For this, a theoretical review of recognized authors in the field of branding, corporate communication, and marketing was carried out through specialized databases: academic texts, research, and scientific articles were taken into account. After having these inputs, relevant topics for the study of the stakeholders and their relationship with the communication of the companies were developed. This allowed for a detailed analysis of the company's intangibles, which contributes to the generation of useful knowledge for the field of branding. The main conclusions revolve around the relevance that stakeholders have in the management of the identity of the brand, with a view to generating a correct image and corporate reputation. This issue is key in the communication of any company, because currently the proper management of intangibles is the key to business success, and a good link with different stakeholders.Os stakeholders ou grupos de interesse são cada dia mais importantes para construir uma marca, em especial, devido à necessidade de a empresa gerar uma comunicação diferenciada, a qual deve demonstrar uma identidade sólida, que gere processos de criação de uma correta imagem e de uma reputação corporativa forte. Nesse aspecto, este artigo responde a uma necessidade prioritária: conhecer os grupos de interesse para criar estratégias de construção de marca, inclusive a partir de ferramentas de atualidade como o marketing experiencial. Para isso, foi realizada uma revisão teórica de autores reconhecidos no campo da marca, da comunicação corporativa e do marketing por meio de bases de dados especializadas, em que foram considerados textos acadêmicos, pesquisas e artigos científicos. Em seguida, foram desenvolvidas temáticas relevantes para o estudo dos stakeholders e sua relação com a comunicação das empresas. Isso permitiu realizar uma análise detalhada dos intangíveis da empresa, o que contribui para gerar conhecimento útil para a área de branding. As principais conclusões giram em torno da relevância que os stakeholders têm na gestão da identidade da marca, com vistas à geração de uma correta imagem e reputação corporativa. Esse assunto é fundamental na comunicação de qualquer empresa devido a que, na atualidade, a gestão adequada dos intangíveis é a chave do sucesso empresarial e de um bom vínculo com os diferentes stakeholders.Los stakeholders, o grupos de interés, son cada día más importantes para la construcción de marca, especialmente por la necesidad de generar una comunicación diferenciada de parte de la empresa, la cual debe demostrar una identidad sólida, que genere procesos de creación de una correcta imagen y una reputación corporativa fuerte. En este aspecto, este artículo responde a una necesidad prioritaria: conocer los grupos de interés para la creación de estrategias de construcción de marca, incluso a partir de herramientas de actualidad como el marketing experiencial. Para esto se realizó una revisión teórica de autores reconocidos en el campo de la marca, la comunicación corporativa y el marketing, a través de bases de datos especializadas, donde se tuvieron en cuenta textos académicos, investigaciones y artículos científicos. Luego de tener estos insumos, se desarrollaron temáticas relevantes para el estudio de los stakeholders y su relación con la comunicación de las empresas. Esto permitió realizar un análisis detallado de los intangibles de la empresa, lo que aporta a la generación de conocimiento útil para el área del branding. Las principales conclusiones giran en torno a la relevancia que tienen los stakeholders en la gestión de la identidad de la marca, con miras a la generación de una correcta imagen y reputación corporativa. Este asunto es clave en la comunicación de cualquier empresa, debido a que en la actualidad el manejo adecuado de los intangibles es la clave del éxito empresarial y de un buen vínculo con los diferentes stakeholders.https://revistas.udem.edu.co/index.php/anagramas/article/view/198

The Unbearable Heaviness of Being in Phenomenologist AI

The aim of this paper is to pin down the misuse of Heidegger’s philosophal insights within the discipline of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. In this paper we argue that a central thesis of phenomenology, in Husserl’s words, “putting the world between brackets”, has led to a positioning in embodied AI that deeply neglects fundamental representational aspects that are totally necessary for the purpose of building a theory of cognition. The unification of representational and being-in-the-world aspects, are necesary for the explanation and realization of complex consciousness phenomenon in a cognizer, both animal and mechanic. The emphasis on the self (post-cognitivists), on the being (phenomenologists), as well as the Being by Heidegger’s followers, has contributed interesting insights concerning the puzzle of cognition and consciousness. However, has neglected the necessity and even denied the possibility to provide a scientific theory of cognition. On the other hand, the phenomenologist’s separation of the world into two different ones, the scientific and objective world, and that of our common and lived experience is untenable. The claim that any scientific-theoretical world must find its foundation in the so called live world is ill-founded. In this paper we will propose the basis of a theoretical framework where only one world —with entities and processes— exists and can be known to a certain degree by the cognitive system. This calls for a unified vision of both ontology and epistemology

A waypoint-based mission planner for a farmland coverage with an aerial robot - a precision farming tool

Remote sensing (RS) with aerial robots is becoming more usual in every day time in Precision Agriculture (PA) practices, do to their advantages over conventional methods. Usually, available commercial platforms providing off-the-shelf waypoint navigation are adopted to perform visual surveys over crop fields, with the purpose to acquire specific image samples. The way in which a waypoint list is computed and dispatched to the aerial robot when mapping non empty agricultural workspaces has not been yet discussed. In this paper we propose an offline mission planner approach that computes an efficient coverage path subject to some constraints by decomposing the environment approximately into cells. Therefore, the aim of this work is contributing with a feasible waypoints-based tool to support PA practice