Decision-Making Mechanism to Organize the Agenda of a Guide-Robot

One of the major challenges in evolutionary robotics is constituted by the need of the robot being able to make decisions on its own, in accordance with the multiple tasks programmed, optimizing its timings and power. In this paper, we present a new automatic decision making mechanism for a robot guide that allows the robot to make the best choice in order to reach its aims, performing its tasks in an optimal way. The election of which is the best alternative is based on a series of criteria and restrictions of the tasks to perform. The software developed in the project has been verified on the tour-guide robot Urbano. The most important aspect of this proposal is that the design uses learning as the means to optimize the quality in the decision making. The modeling of the quality index of the best choice to perform is made using fuzzy logic and it represents the beliefs of the robot, which continue to evolve in order to match the "external reality”. This fuzzy system is used to select the most appropriate set of tasks to perform during the day. With this tool, the tour guide-robot prepares its agenda daily, which satisfies the objectives and restrictions, and it identifies the best task to perform at each moment. This work is part of the ARABOT project of the Intelligent Control Research Group at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid to create "awareness" in a robot guide

A Proposal for Brand Analysis with Opinion Mining

The popularity of e‐commerce sites has increased the availability of product reviews, most of which are overlooked by customers because of their large number. Opinion mining, a discipline that aims to extract people\u27s opinions regarding some topic from reviews, was developed to address this situation. However, the individual interpretation of the reviews is not enough to take advantage of the massive datasets available on the web; a meaningful summary of the set of opinions is necessary to give users an overall insight into the opinions. We propose a system to extract information from Amazon product reviews, which focuses on a time‐varying comparison among different brands in a given Amazon product department. In this system, the results are summarized so that users can get a representative and detailed overview of the opinions of (possibly) hundreds of other users regarding the strong and weak points of several brands. This information can be used by customers who want to find high‐quality products, or by the enterprises themselves, which could find the aspects with a higher impact in the public perception

Calidad en el sector financiero-banca del Perú

El sector financiero del Perú es crítico para el desarrollo económico nacional, ya que cumple con la función vital de traspasar fondos de las unidades superavitarias o ahorradoras a las unidades deficitarias. Sector del cual actualmente se desconoce su nivel de calidad, siendo esencial brindar servicios a clientes que cada año son más exigentes y mejor informados. En esto radica la importancia de esta investigación, que no solo permitió conocer cuál es el nivel de calidad que tienen las instituciones financieras del Perú, sino también identificar si existe diferencias significativas en el nivel de calidad entre las empresas del sector financiero que tienen un SGC con ISO 9001 y las que no cuentan con este estándar de calidad. Se presenta una investigación con un alcance descriptivo y explicativo, y un enfoque cuantitativo, al buscar establecer si hay o no relación entre la variable independiente y la dependiente. Donde la calidad se está midiendo a través de nueve factores, que fueron definidos por Benzaquen (2013): (a) Alta Gerencia, (b) Planeamiento de la Calidad, (c) Auditoría y Evaluación de la Calidad, (d) Diseño de Productos, (e) Gestión de la Calidad de los Proveedores, (f) Control y Mejoramiento de Procesos, (g) Educación y Entrenamiento, (h) Círculos de Calidad y (i) Enfoque hacia la Satisfacción del Cliente. Utilizando el cuestionario TQM se encuestó a una muestra de 185 agencias que pertenecen a 37 instituciones financieras, a partir de una población de 3,203 agencias, entre las que se incluye a la banca múltiple, las cajas municipales y las cajas rurales de ahorro. Se concluye que en este sector sí hay relación entre la implementación de las normas ISO 9001, como Sistema de Gestión de Calidad y el nivel obtenido en los nueve factores de éxito de la calidad. Pero dicha relación es negativa, ya que las empresas con SGC sin ISO 9001 obtuvieron un mejor desempeño. En términos generales, se encontró que la calidad del sector financiero es elevada y que probablemente esto se deba a que es un sector con procesos v altamente estandarizado y muy supervisado por diversas entidades, donde se implementan diversos SGCThe Financial Sector of Peru is critical for national economic development as it meets the vital role of transferring funds or saving surplus to deficit units. Sector which currently its quality is unknown, being essential to provide services to clients each year are more demanding and better informed. Herein lies the importance of this research, which not only allowed to know what level of quality they have the financial institutions of Peru, but also identify whether there is a relationship between the implementation of the ISO 9001 standards and quality level. An investigation of descriptive and explanatory approach is presented, to seek to establish whether there is relationship between an independent variable and a dependent. Where quality is being measured through nine factors, which were defined by Benzaquén (2013): (a) Senior Management, (b) Quality Planning, (c) Audit and Quality Assessment, (d) Design products, (e) Quality Management Providers (f) Control and Process Improvement, (g) Education and Training, (h) and Quality Circles (i) Approach to Customer Satisfaction. The questionnaire TQM has been used to interview a sample of 185 agencies, in 37 financial institutions from a population of 3,203 offices including banks, as well as municipal or rural saving entities. Conclusions reveal that for these companies there is a negative relationship between the implementation of the ISO 9001 standards and the level on the nine success quality factors. It was also found that the quality in the financial sector is high and that this is probably due to it being a sector with highly standardized processes and highly supervised by various entities, which have implemented TQM through different systems.Tesi

Sex-Related Disparities in the Prevalence of Depression among Patients Hospitalized with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Spain, 2011–2020

(1) Background: Recent reports suggest a decrease in the prevalence of depression among people with diabetes and important sex-differences in the association between these conditions, however data from Spain is sparse. We aim to assess trends in the prevalence of depression and in-hospital outcomes among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) hospitalized (2011–2020) identifying sex-differences. (2) Methods: Using the Spanish national hospital discharge database we analysed the prevalence of depression globally, by sex, and according to the conditions included in the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). We tested factors associated with the presence of depression and with in-hospital mortality (IHM). Time trends in the prevalence of depression and variables independently associated with IHM were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. (3) Results: From 2011 to 2020, we identified 5,971,917 hospitalizations of patients with T2DM (5.7% involved depression). The prevalence of depression decreased significantly between 2011 and 2020. The adjusted prevalence of depression was 3.32-fold higher in women than in men (OR 3.32; 95%CI 3.3–3.35). The highest prevalence of depression among men and women with T2DM was found among those who also had a diagnosis of obesity, liver disease, and COPD. Older age, higher CCI, pneumonia, and having been hospitalized in 2020 increased the risk of IHM in patients with T2DM and depression. Obesity was a protective factor for IHM in both sexes, with no differences detected for IHM between men and women. Among patients hospitalized with T2DM, concomitant depression was associated with lower IHM than among patients without depression (depression paradox). (4) Conclusions: The prevalence of depression decreased over time in both sexes. The prevalence of depression was over three-fold higher in women. Female sex and depression were not associated with higher IHM. Based on our results we recommend that clinicians screen regularly for depression in patients with T2DM, particularly women, younger patients, and those with multiple comorbidities.Depto. de Salud Pública y Materno - InfantilFac. de MedicinaTRUEUnión EuropeaComunidad de MadridInstituto de Salud Carlos IIIUniversidad Complutense de MadridUniversidad Complutense de Madrid. Grupo de Investigación en Epidemiología de las Enfermedades Crónicas de Alta Prevalencia en España (970970)pu

Trends in prevalence and the effects on hospital outcomes of dementia in patients hospitalized with acute COPD exacerbation

Aims: To assess changes in prevalence and the effects on hospital outcomes of dementia among patients hospitalized with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD); and to evaluate sexdifferences, as well as the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in this relationship. Methods: We used a nationwide discharge database to select patients admitted with AE-COPD in Spain from 2011 to 2020. We identified those with any type of dementia, vascular dementia (VaD) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Results: We identified 658,429 hospitalizations with AE-COPD (4.45% had any type of dementia, 0.79% VaD and 1.57% AD). The presence of any type of dementia remained stable from 2011 to 2015, and increased significantly between 2016 and 2020. For VaD, the time trend showed no change until 2020, when a significant increment was found. The probability of AD decreased significantly overtime. The in-hospital mortality (IHM) among patients with any type of dementia remained stable overtime until 2020, when it increased significantly. Older age, higher comorbidity, COVID-19, and use of mechanical ventilation were variables associated to IHM. Women had lower risk of dying in the hospital than men in all subgroups. Conclusions: After a previous period of stability, the prevalence of any type of dementia increased over the last 5 years of the study, although we identified different trends depending on the specific cause of dementia. The IHM remained stable overtime until 2020, when it increased, probably related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is remarkable the protective effect of female sex for IHM.Depto. de Salud Pública y Materno - InfantilFac. de MedicinaTRUEResearch Aid 2022Sociedad Madrileña de Neumología y Cirugía de Tórax (NEUMOMADRID)Comunidad de MadridUniversidad Complutense de Madrid. Grupo de Investigación en Epidemiología de las Enfermedades Crónicas de Alta Prevalencia en EspañaSociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía de Tórax (SEPAR)pu

Use of Cardiac Procedures in People with Diabetes during the COVID Pandemic in Spain: Effects on the In-Hospital Mortality

We aimed to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain on people with diabetes undergoing cardiac procedures, such as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), open surgical valve replacement (OSVR), and transcatheter valve implantation (TCVI). We compared the year 2019 with the year 2020. We conducted an observational study using data from the Spanish National Hospital Discharge Database from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2020. In 2020, a total of 21,067 cardiac procedures were performed on people with diabetes compared with 24,675 in the previous year. The use of CABG, PCI, OSVR and TCVI decreased from 2019 to 2020 by 13.9%, 14.8%, 21.4% and 2.9%, respectively. In 2020, patients had a significantly higher mean Charlson Comorbidity Index than in 2019 for all the cardiac procedures analyzed. In-hospital mortality (IHM) was higher (p > 0.05) for all the procedures in the year 2020. Over the entire period, female sex was a significant risk factor for IHM among those who underwent CABG, PCI and OSVR (OR 1.94, 95%CI 1.41–2.66; OR 1.19, 95%CI 1.05–1.35; and OR 1.79, 95%CI 1.38–2.32, respectively). The sensitivity analysis including two more years, 2017 and 2018, confirmed that female patients and comorbidity were risk factors for IHM in patients with diabetes regardless of whether it was during the pandemic era or before. We conclude that the frequency of cardiac procedures among people with diabetes declined in 2020. IHM did not change significantly in the COVID-19 era.Depto. de Salud Pública y Materno - InfantilFac. de MedicinaTRUEUnión EuropeaInstituto de Salud Carlos IIIComunidad de MadridUniversidad Complutense de MadridUniversidad Complutense de Madrid. Grupo de Investigación en Epidemiología de las Enfermedades Crónicas de Alta Prevalencia en España (970970)pu

Correlación de sobrepeso y obesidad con la presión arterial en adultos mayores en una unidad de primer nivel en Tabasco

Objetivo. Determinar la prevalencia de sobrepeso y obesidad en adultos mayores en la Unidad de Medicina Familiar (UMF) del Instituto de Seguridad Social del Estado de Tabasco (ISSET) y su correlación con la presión arterial. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional, retrospectivo, analítico, transversal en 7322 adultos de 60 años o más. Se obtuvieron las mediciones de peso, talla, presiones arteriales sistólica, diastólica y media, además de diagnósticos registrados en los expedientes clínicos. Se utilizaron estadísticas descriptivas de tendencia central y se calculó el coefiiente de correlación de Pearson (r) para el índice de masa corporal con las mediciones de presión arterial y se consideraron signifiativas aquellas con una