Un estudi de la selecció de llindar en el Forward Linear Threshold Rank per xarxes socials sintètiques

Fa poc s'han proposat mesures de centralitat per xarxes socials com el FLTR. Aquesta proposta continua l'estudi experimental de la selecció de llindar d'influència en aquesta mesura. En els estudis previs s'han obtingut resultats per algunes xarxes socials. Aquest treball ampliarà l'estudi analitzant diferents mecanismes de selecció de llindar en models de xarxes socials sintètiques.Centrality measures have recently been proposed for social networks, like the FLTR. This proposal continues the experimental study of the influence threshold selection in this measure. Previous studies have obtained results for some social network. This work will expand the study analyzing different threshold selection mechanisms in synthetic social network models

Definition of the on-time delivery indicator in rapid software development

Rapid software development (RSD) is an approach for developing software in rapid iterations. One of the critical success factors of an RSD project is to deliver the product releases on time and with the planned features. In this paper, we elaborate an exploratory definition of the On-Time Delivery strategic indicator in RSD based on the literature and interviews with four companies. This indicator supports decision-makers to detect development problems in order to avoid delays and to estimate the additional time needed when requirements, and specifically quality requirements, are considered.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Els contactes i l'entorn : eines essencials per a accedir al món laboral

Tenir una xarxa de contactes personals per buscar i aconseguir una ocupació és vital per accedir al món laboral; sobretot en persones joves amb dificultats d'inserció. Un estudi dut a terme pel Centre d'Estudis Sociològics sobre la Vida Quotidiana i el Treball - QUIT de la UAB, ha avaluat els entorns en els quals s'adquireixen els contactes útils. Els resultats mostren que els més importants són aquells que es generen en el món laboral, en el formatiu, i aquells que possibiliten accedir a contactes d'un nivell social més afavorit. Algunes de les conclusions destaquen la necessitat de fomentar polítiques de suport i la creació d'espais que transcendeixin l'entorn social més proper.Tener una red de contactos personales para buscar y conseguir un empleo es vital para acceder al mundo laboral; sobre todo en personas jóvenes con dificultades de inserción. Un estudio llevado a cabo por el Centro de Estudios Sociológicos sobre la Vida Cotidiana y el Trabajo - QUIT de la UAB, ha evaluado los entornos en los que se adquieren los contactos útiles. Los resultados muestran que los más importantes son aquellos que se generan en el mundo laboral, en el formativo, y aquellos que posibilitan acceder a contactos de un nivel social más favorecido. Algunas de las conclusiones destacan la necesidad de fomentar políticas de apoyo y la creación de espacios que trasciendan el entorno social más cercano

Dolor, sedación y delirium en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo el realizar una revisión acerca del tratamiento del dolor, la optimización de la sedación y la presencia del delirium en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos. Está basada tanto en la experiencia profesional de los autores como en la revisión de la literatura y las últimas guías de recomendaciones de práctica clínica. La finalidad última de esta revisión es dar a conocer la importancia que tiene la optimización del tratamiento del dolor y la sedación en el pronóstico y evolución del paciente crítico, así como sensibilizar en la importancia  de  la  identificación,  prevención  y  tratamiento  del  delirium  en  este  tipo  de pacientes. Palabras clave: Dolor, sedación, delirio, cuidados intensivo

Prognostic Value of Serum Paraprotein Response Kinetics in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma

Response kinetics is not well-established as a prognostic marker in multiple myeloma (MM). We developed a mathematical model to assess the prognostic value of serum monoclonal component (MC) response kinetics during 6 induction cycles in 373 newly diagnosed MM patients. The model calculated a resistance parameter that reflects the stagnation in the response after an initial descent, dividing the patients into two kinetics categories with significantly different progression-free survival (PFS). Introduction: Response kinetics is a well-established prognostic marker in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The situation is not clear in multiple myeloma (MM) despite having a biomarker for response monitoring (monoclonal component [MC]). Materials and Methods: We developed a mathematical model to assess the prognostic value of serum MC response kinetics during 6 induction cycles, in 373 NDMM transplanted patients treated in the GEM2012Menos65 clinical trial. The model calculated a resistance parameter that reflects the stagnation in the response after an initial descent. Results: Two patient subgroups were defined based on low and high resistance, that respectively captured sensitive and refractory kinetics, with progression-free survival (PFS) at 5 years of 72% and 59% (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.44-0.93; P =.02). Resistance significantly correlated with depth of response measured after consolidation (80.9% CR and 68.4% minimal residual disease negativity in patients with sensitive vs. 31% and 20% in those with refractory kinetics). Furthermore, it modulated the impact of reaching CR after consolidation; thus, within CR patients those with refractory kinetics had significantly shorter PFS than those with sensitive kinetics (median 54 months vs. NR; P =.02). Minimal residual disease negativity abrogated this effect. Our study also questions the benefit of rapid responders compared to late responders (5-year PFS 59.7% vs. 76.5%, respectively [P <.002]). Of note, 85% of patients considered as late responders were classified as having sensitive kinetics. Conclusion: This semi-mechanistic modeling of M-component kinetics could be of great value to identify patients at risk of early treatment failure, who may benefit from early rescue intervention strategies. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc

Rationale and design of the Concordance study between FFR and iFR for the assessment of lesions in the left main coronary artery. The ILITRO-EPIC-07 Trial

Introduction and objectives: Patients with left main coronary artery (LMCA) stenosis have been excluded from the trials that support the non-inferiority of the instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) compared to the fractional flow reserve (FFR) in the decision-making process of coronary revascularization. This study proposes to prospectively assess the concordance between the two indices in LMCA lesions and to validate the iFR cut-off value of 0.89 for clinical use. Methods: National, prospective, and observational multicenter registry of 300 consecutive patients with intermediate lesions in the LMCA (angiographic stenosis, 25% to 60%. A pressure gudiewire study and determination of the RFF and the iFR will be performed: in the event of a negative concordant result (FFR > 0.80/iFR > 0.89), no treatment will be performed; in case of a positive concordant result (FFR 0.80/iFR 0.89), an intravascular echocardiography will be performed and revascularization will be delayed if the minimum lumen area is > 6 mm(2). The primary clinical endpoint will be a composite of cardiovascular death, LMCA lesion-related non-fatal infarction or need for revascularization of the LMCA lesion at 12 months. Conclusions: Confirm that an iFR-guided decision-making process in patients with intermediate LMCA stenosis is clinically safe and would have a significant clinical impact. Also, justify its systematic use when prescribing treatment in these potentially high-risk patients

Non-motor symptom burden in patients with Parkinson's disease with impulse control disorders and compulsive behaviours : results from the COPPADIS cohort

The study was aimed at analysing the frequency of impulse control disorders (ICDs) and compulsive behaviours (CBs) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and in control subjects (CS) as well as the relationship between ICDs/CBs and motor, nonmotor features and dopaminergic treatment in PD patients. Data came from COPPADIS-2015, an observational, descriptive, nationwide (Spain) study. We used the validated Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson's Disease-Rating Scale (QUIP-RS) for ICD/CB screening. The association between demographic data and ICDs/CBs was analyzed in both groups. In PD, this relationship was evaluated using clinical features and treatment-related data. As result, 613 PD patients (mean age 62.47 ± 9.09 years, 59.87% men) and 179 CS (mean age 60.84 ± 8.33 years, 47.48% men) were included. ICDs and CBs were more frequent in PD (ICDs 12.7% vs. 1.6%, p < 0.001; CBs 7.18% vs. 1.67%, p = 0.01). PD patients had more frequent previous ICDs history, premorbid impulsive personality and antidepressant treatment (p < 0.05) compared with CS. In PD, patients with ICDs/CBs presented younger age at disease onset, more frequent history of previous ICDs and premorbid personality (p < 0.05), as well as higher comorbidity with nonmotor symptoms, including depression and poor quality of life. Treatment with dopamine agonists increased the risk of ICDs/CBs, being dose dependent (p < 0.05). As conclusions, ICDs and CBs were more frequent in patients with PD than in CS. More nonmotor symptoms were present in patients with PD who had ICDs/CBs compared with those without. Dopamine agonists have a prominent effect on ICDs/CBs, which could be influenced by dose

Prospective individual patient data meta-analysis of two randomized trials on convalescent plasma for COVID-19 outpatients

Data on convalescent plasma (CP) treatment in COVID-19 outpatients are scarce. We aimed to assess whether CP administered during the first week of symptoms reduced the disease progression or risk of hospitalization of outpatients. Two multicenter, double-blind randomized trials (NCT04621123, NCT04589949) were merged with data pooling starting when = 50 years and symptomatic for <= 7days were included. The intervention consisted of 200-300mL of CP with a predefined minimum level of antibodies. Primary endpoints were a 5-point disease severity scale and a composite of hospitalization or death by 28 days. Amongst the 797 patients included, 390 received CP and 392 placebo; they had a median age of 58 years, 1 comorbidity, 5 days symptoms and 93% had negative IgG antibody-test. Seventy-four patients were hospitalized, 6 required mechanical ventilation and 3 died. The odds ratio (OR) of CP for improved disease severity scale was 0.936 (credible interval (CI) 0.667-1.311); OR for hospitalization or death was 0.919 (CI 0.592-1.416). CP effect on hospital admission or death was largest in patients with <= 5 days of symptoms (OR 0.658, 95%CI 0.394-1.085). CP did not decrease the time to full symptom resolution

Imagen y (des)cortesía: interferencias sociopragmáticas y efectos en la comunicación en algunos manuales de ELE de Corea del Sur

El presente trabajo tiene por objetivo analizar las transferencias sociopragmáticas relativas a los sistemas de cortesía en español y coreano que se pueden encontrar en materiales didácticos empleados en Corea del Sur. Para ello, se parte de las bases teóricas que sustentan hoy en día los estudios de cortesía, así como el reflejo de estas en documentos de referencia para la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras como es el MCER (Consejo de Europa, 2002). Una vez establecidas estas bases, se analizarán algunos ejemplos extraídos de manuales que muestran estas transferencias y las consecuencias que las mismas acarrean en el acto comunicativo

Reclamation of urban pollution impacted groundwater by advanced treatment processes: Effect of prechlorination on the removal of metals, ammonium and NOM at pilot scale

The need for new water resources in water scarcity regions has driven the exploration of water reclamation through a variety of treatment technologies. The present study aims at reclaiming impacted urban groundwater through two different treatment routes: one based on adsorption and ion-exchange processes on consecutive pyrolusite, granular activated carbon, zeolite and Fe(oxy)hydroxide filters (route L1) and a second one relying on sorption (on pyrolusite) and RO-membrane filtration (route L2). Both routes were operated without and with prechlorination to ascertain whether NaClO, beyond inactivating undesired pathogens, affected the removal of target parameters (Mn, As, NH4+, DOC) and the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs). Results showed that route L1 was successful at removing Mn, As, pathogens and THMs at levels below those stipulated by the legislation on reuse and drinking water. Only NH4+ failed to decrease below its threshold limits for drinking water, but only in the absence of prechlorination. However, concentration of Cl− and Na+ increased during treatment due to the chemicals used, compromising reuse of the produced water in specific industrial sectors requiring low contents of these ions. Route L2 showed a consistent high removal of all targeted parameters (also NH4+) without and with prechlorination conditions, producing a finished water with high potential for reuse and production of drinking water. DOC and its fluorescent fulvic and humic-like fractions were moderately removed by route L1 but highly removed by route L2. The outperformance of route L2 in terms of produced water quality must be balanced by the associated treatment cost, as it was 8–10 % higher for route L2 than for route L1. This made evident that a trade-off between quality and cost must be faced. This study demonstrates that reclamation of urban groundwater through the proposed treatment routes has a huge potential for reuse for a wide diversity of final purposes (urban, agricultural, industrial, environmental and recreational uses) and, although it may need further exploration, likely for drinking water purposes.This study was funded by PECT Litoral Besòs: Territori Sostenible project partially funded by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) (grant number: GO03-003358). Financial support was also received from the Catalan AGAUR Agency through the Research Groups Support program (grant number: 2021-SGR-GRC-00596). B. Bellete from Consorci del Besòs is acknowledged for her support and cooperation during the project. Finally, authors also thank S.I. Lungu for her laboratory assistance and J.L. Beltrán for his help with the FEEM analysis.Peer reviewe