Geospatial Coverage Patterns of Banking Strategic Groups in Venezuela

The objective of this research is to determine the Patterns of Geospatial Coverage (PGC) of Strategic Groups (SGs) in the Venezuelan banking sector. In order to achieve this objective three years (2008-2010) characterized by financial instability were considered. Variables of the two dimensions: Scope of the Strategy and Committed Resources, already used by other authors, were considered in this research. The results indicate that, at least in Venezuela, banking sector SGs adopt a geographic coverage strategy consistent with their strategy of scope and commitment of resources

Graffiti Identification System Using Low-Cost Sensors

This article introduces the possibility of studying graffiti using a colorimeter developed with Arduino hardware technology according to the Do It Yourself (DIY) philosophy. Through the obtained Red Green Blue (RGB) data it is intended to study and compare the information extracted from each of the graffiti present on different walls. The same color can be found in different parts of a single graffiti, but also in other graffiti that could a priori be of different authorship. Nevertheless, graffiti may be related, and it may be possible to group graffiti artists and "gangs" that work together. The methodology followed for the construction of the colorimeter and its real application in a practical case are described in four case studies. The case studies describe how graffiti were identified and recognized and they provide a comparison of the collected color samples. The results show the added value of the colorimeter in the graffiti recognition process, demonstrating its usefulness on a functional level. Finally, the contributions of this research are outlined, and an analysis is carried out of the changes to be made to the proposed method in the future, for improved graffiti color identification

Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats Analysis for a Pediatric Anesthesia Program

Background: Risk management in healthcare institutions begins by first identifying the potential risks within a certain organization or specific area and then goes on to develop further strategies to reduce harm. The most common tool for this type of analysis is Strengths–Weaknesses–Opportunities–Threats (SWOT). Methods: We conducted a SWOT analysis in our pediatric anesthesia program: key factors were identified in a matrix, prioritized in a score table, represented in a graph, and finally analyzed. Results: Items obtained partial scores from 20 to 120. The item “lack of clinical protocols” was given greater weight (60) and received a lower value (1), resulting in the highest partial score (60) among the negative key factors and indicating a need for greater efforts to improve this specific aspect. Conclusion: The SWOT tool proved effective in identifying safety and quality key factors, and it provided information for initiating an improvement program

Laser functionalization of surfaces

The treatment of surfaces by physical or chemical methods is a very usual way to change their original properties. Although the most common use of a surface functionalization is for tribology aims, modifications of the topography that leads to changes in the surface roughness, its hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity, its light scattering behavior, biocompatibility or even aesthetic changes are possible. In this field, laser sources have proven to be a most versatile and useful tool, being a clean and fast way to achieve any of those objectives. In this work we show the results of functionalization by laser texturing of four different materials

A simple and effective 1D-element discrete-based method for computational bone remodeling

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering on 2022, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/10255842.2021.1943370.In-silico models applied to bone remodeling are widely used to investigate bone mechanics, bone diseases, bone-implant interactions, and also the effect of treatments of bone pathologies. This paper proposes a new methodology to solve the bone remodeling problem using one-dimensional (1D) elements to discretize trabecular structures more efficiently for 2D and 3D domains. An Euler integration scheme is coupled with the momentum equations to obtain the evolution of material density at each step. For the simulations, the equations were solved by using the finite element method, and two benchmark tests were solved varying mesh parameters. Proximal femur and calcaneus bone were selected as study cases given the vast research available on the topology of these bones, and compared with the anatomical features of trabecular bone reported in the literature. The presented methodology has proven to be efficient in optimizing topologies of lattice structures; It can predict the trend of formation patterns of the main trabecular groups from two different cancellous bones (femur and calcaneus) using domains set up by discrete elements as a starting point. Preliminary results confirm that the proposed approach is suitable and useful in bone remodeling problems leading to a considerable computational cost reduction. Characteristics similar to those encountered in topological optimization (TO) algorithms were identified in the benchmark tests as well, showing the viability of the proposed approach in other applications such as bio-inspired design.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Response‐adapted treatment with rituximab, bendamustine, mitoxantrone, and dexamethasone followed by rituximab maintenance in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after first‐line immunochemotherapy: Results of the RBMDGELTAMO08 phase II trial

Background: Consensus is lacking regarding the optimal salvage therapy for patients with follicular lymphoma who relapse after or are refractory to immunochemotherapy. Methods: This phase II trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of response‐adapted therapy with rituximab, bendamustine, mitoxantrone, and dexamethasone (RBMD) in follicular lymphoma patients who relapsed after or were refractory to first‐line immunochemotherapy. Sixty patients received three treatment cycles, and depending on their response received an additional one (complete/unconfirmed complete response) or three (partial response) cycles. Patients who responded to induction received rituximab maintenance therapy for 2 years. Results: Thirty‐three (55%) and 42 (70%) patients achieved complete/unconfirmed complete response after three cycles and on completing induction therapy (4‐6 cycles), respectively (final overall response rate, 88.3%). Median progression‐free survival was 56.4 months (median follow‐up, 28.3 months; 95% CI, 15.6‐51.2). Overall survival was not reached. Progression‐free survival did not differ between patients who received four vs six cycles (P = .6665), nor between patients who did/did not receive rituximab maintenance after first‐line therapy (P = .5790). Median progression‐ free survival in the 10 refractory patients was 25.5 months (95% CI, 0.6‐N/A) and was longer in patients who had shown progression of disease after 24 months of first‐line therapy (median, 56.4 months; 95% CI, 19.8‐56.4) than in those who showed early progression (median, 42.31 months; 95% CI, 24.41–NA) (P = .4258). Thirty‐six (60%) patients had grade 3/4 neutropenia. Grade 3/4 febrile neutropenia and infection were recorded during induction (4/60 [6.7%] and 5/60 [8.3%] patients, respectively) and maintenance (2/43 [4.5%] and 4/43 [9.1%] patients, respectively). Conclusions: This response‐adapted treatment with RBMD followed by rituximab maintenance is an effective and well‐tolerated salvage treatment for relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma following first‐line immunochemotherapy. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov # NCT01133158

Zinc-Assisted Microscale Granules Made of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Trigger Neutralizing, Antivirus Antibody Responses

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABThe development of new and more efficient vaccination approaches is a constant need, due to the pressure of historical and emerging infectious diseases and the limited efficacy and universality of the current vaccination technologies. Peptides and recombinant proteins have been explored for decades as subunit vaccines for bacterial and viral infections, presented either as soluble protein species or as virus-like assemblies. Recently, synthetic secretory protein-only microscale granules have been developed as dynamic depots for sustained protein release. They are based on the reversible coordination between ionic Zn and histidine residues, which promotes a fast formation of granular particles in vitro out of soluble protein and a slow release of such building block protein in vivo through the physiological chelation of the metal. Such an endocrine-like platform represents a new drug delivery system fully validated in oncology by which soluble and functional protein drugs are progressively released from the granules and made available for antitumor activities upon subcutaneous administration. By exploring such an approach for immunization here, microparticles made of a recombinant form of the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 were tested as an antigen delivery system for induction of antibody responses against the virus upon administration of the material in the absence of added adjuvants. Also, the comparison between protein materials produced in bacterial, mammalian, or insect cell factories has demonstrated a moderate impact of protein glycosylation on the final immunological performance of the system. Therefore, we propose the consideration of synthetic protein secretory granules as a new sustainable immunization platform based on fully manageable, self-organized, and self-formulated immunogens, aimed at reducing the dosage, costs, and complexity of vaccination regimens

CAR density influences antitumoral efficacy of BCMA CAR T cells and correlates with clinical outcome

Identification of new markers associated with long-term efficacy in patients treated with CAR T cells is a current medical need, particularly in diseases such as multiple myeloma. In this study, we address the impact of CAR density on the functionality of BCMA CAR T cells. Functional and transcriptional studies demonstrate that CAR T cells with high expression of the CAR construct show an increased tonic signaling with up-regulation of exhaustion markers and increased in vitro cytotoxicity but a decrease in in vivo BM infiltration. Characterization of gene regulatory networks using scRNA-seq identified regulons associated to activation and exhaustion up-regulated in CARHigh T cells, providing mechanistic insights behind differential functionality of these cells. Last, we demonstrate that patients treated with CAR T cell products enriched in CARHigh T cells show a significantly worse clinical response in several hematological malignancies. In summary, our work demonstrates that CAR density plays an important role in CAR T activity with notable impact on clinical response