Ending Homelessness: Progress in Santa Cruz County

The homeless rates in Santa Cruz County are too high, with 2,249 homeless individuals reported in 2017, from the Point-In-Time count (Applied Survey Research, 2017, p. 11). The Homeless Services Coordinator, placed in Santa Cruz County’s Administrative Office, facilitated the implementation of this project. This project is purposed to be an evaluation tool to assist in tracking annual progress made throughout the county on homelessness and is expected to assist in assessing further need, program planning, and funding proposals. In order to begin implementing this project, collection and deciphering data that was readily available was critical in establishing a plan, while collaboration with numerous other homeless service providers assisted in the collection of more data and a wealth of information. Not every measurable indicator can be quantified to assess progress yet this project is able to depict visual strides made and deliver information to a vast array of populaces. The Homeless Service Coordinator is recommended to continue implementation of the Progress Report along with further collaboration with other homeless service providers to establish set baselines for the outlined measurable indicators within the All In - Towards a Home for Every County Residents

Firms'' capabilities management for waste patents in a circular economy

Purpose This study aims to define and measure the capabilities applied by firms to waste-related patents and their relations with the businesses economic performance to support decision-making towards a circular economy (CE). Design/methodology/approach A model of cause-and-effect relationships between firms'' waste-related patents and the firm'' capabilities was defined within the dynamic capabilities'' theoretical framework. Empirical results were obtained by applying partial least squares structural equation modelling to a sample of 2, 216 Spanish firms that hold 120, 406 patents. Findings Results revealed the importance of the innovation capabilities of firms related to patenting, such as collaborative innovation, persistence in patenting or the capabilities to collaborate with research institutes, as drivers of level of waste patents to improve the businesses economic performance. Research limitations/implications The systemic nature of the CE at the firm level suggests future research focused on the environmental divergence that appears when the innovation on waste fall outside the regular domain of its industry. Another topic to be investigated is related to the full text of patents that could improve the results of this study. Practical implications The definition of indicators to measure investments in the CE is complex, but it is necessary to assess progress in the closing of material loops at a micro level and to report the investments in waste-related patents in a circular model to the stakeholders involved in the economic management of the company. Originality/value Measuring CE-related patents and the specific capabilities needed for patenting in a circular framework is an understudied topic, and this study opens a specific line of inquiry enhancing the knowledge of CE within the dynamic capabilities'' theoretical framework

Influence of Pr6O11 addition on structural and magnetic properties of mechanically alloyed Fe65Co35 nanoparticles

This work focuses on the synthesize of nanostructured (Fe65Co35)100-x (Pr6O11)x (x = 0, 5) powders using high energy ball milling. The influence of Pr6O11 on structural, morphological and magnetic properties of Fe65Co35 nanoparticles were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with a dispersive energy analyzer (EDS), vibratory sample magnetometer (VSM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results show that the praseodymium oxide addition increased the decrement rate of the crystallite size with milling time of about 27 % and decreased the increment rate of the internal micro-strain of 50 %. Moreover, because of its high grain fragmentation tendency, Pr6O11 increases the hardness and brittleness of Fe-Co powders. Moreover, it minimized the cold welding between Fe-Co ductile particles leading to a significant decrease in the average particle size (~1µm). The magnetic measurements conducted at room temperature show that the saturation magnetisation (Ms) and the coercivity (Hc) increased with milling time in both compositions. A low Ms and high Hc values were detected in (Fe65Co35)95 (Pr6O11)5 nanoparticles. The results demonstrated a soft ferromagnetic nature in all of the synthesized nanoparticles with Ms in the range 207 – 216 emu/g and Hc is found to be 113 Oe

Enhancing On-line Blended Learning Systems Using a New Human-Computer Interaction Educational Methodology

Non

Elaboración de un diagnóstico sobre la situación actual de salud sexual y reproductiva de los adolescentes que estudian en los colegios públicos del municipio de Envigado, 2016

1 documento en PDF de 85 páginasObjetivo Establecer un diagnóstico de las condiciones actuales de salud sexual y reproductiva de los adolescentes escolarizados en bachillerato del municipio de Envigado mediante una encuesta para la medición de los parámetros de interés. Métodos Se realizó un estudio descriptivo de tipo transversal. La muestra de 2429 adolescentes estudiantes de Instituciones Educativas del sector oficial del Municipio de Envigado fue seleccionada mediante un muestreo aleatorio estratificado de las cuales se elimina un registro por inconsistencia de los datos. Se exploraron variables de tipo demográficas, de conocimiento y de hábitos sexuales

Operador económico autorizado y la competitividad de la empresa Ausa Aduanas S.A. en el año 2019

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo general: Determinar la influencia del operador económico autorizado en la competitividad de la agencia de aduana AUSA S.A. en el año 2019. El método utilizado fue hipotético deductivo con un enfoque cuantitativo, de tipo aplicada, de nivel explicativo causal y diseño no experimental transversal. La muestra de estudio estuvo conformada por 89 clientes entre los cuales hay exportadores e importadores de la empresa AUSA ADUANAS S.A, la técnica utilizada fue la encuesta, y el instrumento, un cuestionario de 18 preguntas en escala de Likert, posteriormente, se procedió a analizar los datos mediantes el software estadístico SPSS V. 23. Asimismo, se utilizó la prueba estadística de regresión lineal para establecer el porcentaje de influencia de la variable independiente sobre la variable dependiente. Finalmente, se comprobó a través de la variable de la prueba inferencial de Pearson un índice de correlación 0.914 con un nivel de significancia de 0.000; por lo que la hipótesis de investigación es aceptada

Factores de riesgo de estancia hospitalaria prolongada en neonatos del Hospital Eleazar Guzmán Barrón, 2018

La estancia hospitalaria es un indicador de eficiencia hospitalaria, y siendo el Hospital Eleazar Guzmán Barrón uno de los que cuentan con mayor número de hospitalizaciones a comparación con otros de la localidad, es de mayor interés contar con mucha más información sobre dicha problemática. El presente estudio tiene por finalidad determinar los factores de riesgo tanto maternos, del parto y del recién nacido, que predisponen a una hospitalización prolongada, de los pacientes en el Área de Neonatología del Hospital Eleazar Guzmán Barrón, durante el año 2018, el cual es de tipo analítico observacional, correlacional, retrospectivo de corte transversal, con diseño de casos y controles. El diseño muestral consideró como población a todos los pacientes en el Área de Neonatología del Hospital Eleazar Guzmán Barrón en el año 2018, teniendo como casos a los neonatos con 9 días o más de hospitalización y que cumplan los criterios de inclusión y exclusión, y como controles a los neonatos con menos de 9 días de hospitalización y que cumplan los criterios de inclusión y exclusión, cuyos datos han sido registrados en las historias clínicas de la base de datos de la institución los cuáles han sido atendidos. Se concluyó que los factores de riesgo que predominan para una estancia hospitalaria son prematuridad, Pequeño para la Edad Gestacional (PEG) y sepsis neonatal. Demostrando que los factores neonatales se sobreponen a los maternos y del parto.Tesi

Applying Value Stream Mapping to Improve the Delivery of Patient Care in the Oncology Day Hospital

[EN] Improving the delivery of patient care is an ongoing challenge in the National Health Service (NHS). This challenge is not insignificant in the process of chemotherapy administration for oncology patients. The present research is motivated by a public Spanish hospital in which oncology patients receive medical care in the Oncology Day Hospital (ODH). At the ODH, oncology patients receive different health services by different specialists on a single day. Any discoordination in patient flow will contribute to longer waiting times and stays in the ODH. As oncology patients tend to have special health conditions, any extra time in the hospital is a source of risk and discomfort. This study applies value stream mapping methodology in a Spanish ODH to improve this situation, reducing hospital waiting times and shorting the length of stay. For that purpose, the path of the oncology patients is mapped and the current state of the system is analyzed. Working at takt time and levelling the workload are proposed for improving the working conditions for healthcare personnel. As a result, the quality of service for oncology patients who need a well-defined care profile is improved. The singular characteristics of the Spanish NHS make it challenging to implement new ways of working, so this study has significant theoretical and managerial implications offering directions in which improvement is possible.Vidal-Carreras, PI.; García Sabater, JJ.; Marin-Garcia, JA. (2022). Applying Value Stream Mapping to Improve the Delivery of Patient Care in the Oncology Day Hospital. International Journal of Environmental research and Public Health. 19(7):1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph1907426511819

The Role of Value Stream Mapping in Healthcare Services: A Scoping Review

[EN] Lean healthcare aims to manage and improve the processes in the healthcare sector by eliminating everything that adds no value by improving quality of services, ensuring patient safety and facilitating health professionals' work to achieve a flexible and reliable organization. Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is considered the starting point of any lean implementation. Some papers report applications of VSM in healthcare services, but there has been less attention paid to their contribution on sustainability indicators. The purpose of this work is to analyze the role of VSM in this context. To do so, a scoping review of works from recent years (2015 to 2019) was done. The results show that most applications of VSM reported are in the tertiary level of care, and the United States of America (USA) is the country which leads most of the applications published. In relation with the development of VSM, a heterogeneity in the maps and the sustainability indicators is remarkable. Moreover, only operational and social sustainability indicators are commonly included. We can conclude that more standardization is required in the development of the VSM in the healthcare sector, also including the environmental indicators.Marin-Garcia, JA.; Vidal-Carreras, PI.; García Sabater, JJ. (2021). The Role of Value Stream Mapping in Healthcare Services: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Environmental research and Public Health (Online). 18(3):1-25. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18030951S12518

Antibacterial Activity of Some Molecules Added to Rabbit Semen Extender as Alternative to Antibiotics

[EN] This study was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial activity of two aminopeptidase inhibitors and chitosan-based nanoparticles in liquid-stored rabbit semen. This study reports that the aminopeptidase inhibitors used to prevent bacterial growth could be used in semen extender as a suitable alternative to antibiotics. Although great attention is paid to hygiene during semen collection and processing, bacteria are commonly found in the semen of healthy fertile males of different species. As the storage of extended semen might facilitate bacterial growth, extenders are commonly supplemented with antibiotics. This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), bestatin and chitosan-based nanoparticles added to rabbit semen extender and their effect on reproductive performance under field conditions. Four different extenders were tested, supplemented with antibiotics (TCG+AB), with EDTA and bestatin (EB), with EDTA, bestatin and chitosan-based nanoparticles (QEB) or without antibiotics (TCG-AB). Extended semen was cooled at 15 degrees C for three days. Cooled samples were examined for bacterial growth and semen quality every 24 h for 3 days. The enterobacteria count increased considerably during storage at 72 h in semen extended with TCG+AB and TCG-AB, while extenders EB and QEB showed a bacteriostatic effect over time. After 24, 48 and 72 h, quality characteristics were retained in all groups, with no significant motility differences, either in acrosome integrity, membrane functionality or the viability of spermatozoa. Additionally, bacterial concentration present in fresh semen did not affect reproductive performance. In conclusion, EDTA and bestatin exerted a potent bacteriostatic effect over time and could be used as an alternative to conventional antibiotics in rabbit semen extenders.Funding from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (Research project: AGL2017-85162-C2-1-R) is acknowledged.Viudes-De-Castro, MP.; Marco-Jiménez, F.; Vicente Antón, JS.; Marin, C. (2021). Antibacterial Activity of Some Molecules Added to Rabbit Semen Extender as Alternative to Antibiotics. Animals. 11(4):1-10. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11041178S11011