The Use of Parametric and Non Parametric Frontier Methods to Measure the Productive Efficiency in the Industrial Sector. A Comparative Study

Parametric frontier models and non-parametric methods have monopolised the recent literature on productive efficiency measurement. Empirical applications have usually dealt with either one or the other group of techniques. This paper applies a range of both types of approaches to an industrial organisation setup. The joint use can improve the accuracy of both, although some methodological difficulties can arise. The robustness of different methods in ranking productive units allows us to make an comparative analysis of them. Empirical results concern productive and market demand structure, returns-to-scale, and productive inefficiency sources. The techniques are illustrated using data from the US electric power industry.Productive efficiency; parametric frontiers; DEA; industrial sector

Difusión de tecnología: aplicación al sector eléctrico español

En este trabajo se proponen evaluar las hipótesis schumpeterianas sobre el tamaño de las compañías, la estructura de propiedad y las características de la innovación seleccionada, sobre las decisiones de adopción de nueva tecnología utilizando datos del sector eléctrico español. Para el análisis econométrico, se utiliza un modelo Mcg, Probit y Logit, así como un modelo de tipo proporcional según una distribución de Weibull y un modelo log-logístico Hazard, añadiendo un modelo lineal equivalente a partir de distribuciones de valor extremo (tipo I). La estimación no paramétrica se realiza a través de funciones Kaplan-Meier y funciones log-log respecto de las funciones de supervivencia. Los resultados sugieren que son las empresas privadas y grandes las que adoptan tecnología más rapidamente, si bien, el hecho podría relacionarse con la rentabilidad y solvencia de las compañías según su estructura de propiedad, puesto que fueron las compañías públicas las que obtuvieron mayores niveles de rentabilidad que las privadas en el último trienio, o con la mayor aportación de las empresas más grandes a sus departamentos de investigación y desarrollo

Spanish guidelines for the use of targeted deep sequencing in myelodysplastic syndromes and chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia

The landscape of medical sequencing has rapidly changed with the evolution of next generation sequencing (NGS). These technologies have contributed to the molecular characterization of the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML), through the identification of recurrent gene mutations, which are present in >80% of patients. These mutations contribute to a better classification and risk stratification of the patients. Currently, clinical laboratories include NGS genomic analyses in their routine clinical practice, in an effort to personalize the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of MDS and CMML. NGS technologies have reduced the cost of large-scale sequencing, but there are additional challenges involving the clinical validation of these technologies, as continuous advances are constantly being made. In this context, it is of major importance to standardize the generation, analysis, clinical interpretation and reporting of NGS data. To that end, the Spanish MDS Group (GESMD) has expanded the present set of guidelines, aiming to establish common quality standards for the adequate implementation of NGS and clinical interpretation of the results, hoping that this effort will ultimately contribute to the benefit of patients with myeloid malignancies

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Revista de educación

Este artículo forma parte de un estudio más amplio que ha sido cofinanciado por el Fondo Social Europeo y la Junta de Extremadura en su Programa de Preparación al Plan Regional de Investigación de Extremadura bienio 1996-1998. Resumen tomado de la revistaEste trabajo se centra en ofrecer un modelo de análisis estadístico diferente de los tradicionales y usuales, hasta ahora utilizados, en el tratamiento de datos educativos. Nuestro trabajo se centra en el análisis de factores psicológicos, pedagógicos y sociales considerados como influyentes en el proceso lector, a la vez que, analiza el proceso de adopción y difusión de este tipo de conocimiento. Este enfoque analítico sobre la lectura sería tratado bajo la consideración de una variable muy comentada en educación pero muy poco considerada: el tiempo. Utilizamos un modelo de econometría avanzada, modelo hazard, que calcula la probabilidad de adopción de conocimiento de los individuos, teniendo en cuenta tanto el tiempo de adopción como un conjunto de variables explicativas. La conceptualización que realizamos es adecuada dado que en educación todo se mide en función del tiempo. La programación educativa es temporal y un suspenso no es más que la no-asimilación de unos conceptos en una temporalización determinada.MadridBiblioteca de Educación del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Calle San Agustín, 5 - 3 Planta; 28014 Madrid; Tel. +34917748000; [email protected]

Adapting the Servqual Scale to Primary Health Care Services in Spain

Patients' perceptions about health services seem to have been largely ignored by health care providers in developing countries. That such perceptions, especially about service quality, might shape confidence and subsequent behaviours with regard to choice and usage of the available health care facilities is reflected in the fact that many patients avoid the system or avail it only as a measure of last resort. Through the use of HEALTHQUAL scale adapted from SERVQUAL scale in the context of primary health care centers, we measure the perceptions service quality, both by the users and the health center managers in Spain. With this information, it was possible to calculate de size of Gap 6, proposed by Lewis, of discrepancy among the customers' perceptions and the perceptions of health center managers. Using factor analysis and multiple regressions, significant associations were found between the service quality dimensions and patient satisfaction. Implications and future research issues are discussed.Service quality; Patient perception; HEALTHQUAL; Health Services