THE EFQM EXCELLENCE MODEL AS ENABLER OF E-PROCUREMENT ADOPTION AND THE EFFECT ON PERFORMANCE

The objective of this paper is to examine the EFQM Excellence Model as an enabler of E-procurement adoption and the effect on purchasing performance. The study utilized a cross-sectional telephone survey of a sample of Spanish manufacturing companies using multiple informants. A total of 200 firms responded making a total of 800 responses. Data was analyzed using structural equations modelling. The results indicate that the Business Excellence Enablers (Leadership, Strategy, People, Resources, and Processes) act as enablers of E-procurement and help to realize gains in purchasing performance

Histopatología de la Hepatitis Viral Crónica C, Pinar del Río, enero 2002-julio 2008 / Histopathology of Chronic Viral Hepatitis-C, Pinar del Rio. January 2002- July 2008

A pesar de ser la hepatitis por virus C (HCVC) un problema de salud en el mundo y ser la causa más frecuente de hepatitis crónica, cirrosis hepática y carcinoma hepatocelular no se dispone de un sistema de puntaje práctico para el diagnóstico histopatológico.Objetivos: Incrementar el desempeño de los patólogos en el diagnóstico de la HCVC en el Hospital "Abel Santamaría Cuadrado" desde enero 2002 hasta julio 2008.Diseño: Se realizó una innovación tecnológica con la confección de un libro de esquemas procesados electrónicamente y se estudiaron las biopsias con HCV mediante un diseño descriptivo y transversal. Sujetos y Método.Universo: 236 biopsias diagnosticadas como HCV. Muestra: 117 biopsias diagnosticadas como HCVC (el total en el período). Se determinó edad, sexo, tipo de lesión histológica y correspondencia diagnóstica entre el grado de lesión histológica y el estadio de fibrosis con la edad. Se usó la Estadística Descriptiva para resumir variables categóricas y cuantitativas continuas, cálculos de comprobación de frecuencias y/o asociaciones de variables X², OR al 95 % de certeza. Resultados. Se elaboró un sistema de dibujos histológicos representativos de la clasificación de las hepatitis virales crónicas. La HCVC fue más frecuente entre 35-54 años, sexo femenino, con actividad necroinflamatoria moderada que alcanzó el 60.6 %. La fibrosis severa se presentó preferentemente entre 35 y 44 años. Conclusión. Se comprobó que el sistema de dibujos confeccionados posibilita una mejor estandarización del diagnóstico en un colectivo y facilita el aprendizaje de la entidad. Palabras clave: hepatitis viral humana, fibrosis, aprendizaje.ABSTRACT Despite being hepatitis caused by C virus (HCV) a worldwide health problem and the most frequent cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocelular carcinoma, a practical score system to perform the histopathologic diagnosis does not exist. Objective: To increase the competence of pathologists in the diagnosis of HCV at "Abel Santamaria Cuadrado" University Hospital from January 2002 to July 2008. Design: A technological innovation was created writing a book with electronically- processed diagrams and the study of HCV-biopsies by means of a descriptive and cross-sectional design. Subjects and Method: Universe: 236 biopsies with the diagnosis of HCV. Sample: 117 biopsies having the diagnosis of Chronic- HCV (the total during the period). Age, sex, type of histological lesion; diagnostic correspondence, the degree of the lesion and stage of the fibrosis in respect of the age were considered. Descriptive Statistics was used to sum up the categorical and continuing quantitative variables and the verification of frequencies through calculation and/or association of variables X2, OR. Results: A system of representative histological draws for the classification of chronic viral hepatitis (Ishak, 1995) was created. Chronic-HCV was more frequent between ages 35-54, female sex, and moderate necro-inflammatory activityreached up to 60.6% between 35 and 44 years old. Conclusion: It was confirmed that the system of draws makes possible a better standardization of the diagnosis in teams and provides a more suitable learning of the disease.Key words: human viral hepatitis, fibrosis, learning

Histopatología de la Hepatitis Viral Crónica C, Pinar del Río, enero 2002-julio 2008 / Histopathology of Chronic Viral Hepatitis-C, Pinar del Rio. January 2002- July 2008

A pesar de ser la hepatitis por virus C (HCVC) un problema de salud en el mundo y ser la causa más frecuente de hepatitis crónica, cirrosis hepática y carcinoma hepatocelular no se dispone de un sistema de puntaje práctico para el diagnóstico histopatológico.Objetivos: Incrementar el desempeño de los patólogos en el diagnóstico de la HCVC en el Hospital "Abel Santamaría Cuadrado" desde enero 2002 hasta julio 2008.Diseño: Se realizó una innovación tecnológica con la confección de un libro de esquemas procesados electrónicamente y se estudiaron las biopsias con HCV mediante un diseño descriptivo y transversal. Sujetos y Método.Universo: 236 biopsias diagnosticadas como HCV. Muestra: 117 biopsias diagnosticadas como HCVC (el total en el período). Se determinó edad, sexo, tipo de lesión histológica y correspondencia diagnóstica entre el grado de lesión histológica y el estadio de fibrosis con la edad. Se usó la Estadística Descriptiva para resumir variables categóricas y cuantitativas continuas, cálculos de comprobación de frecuencias y/o asociaciones de variables X², OR al 95 % de certeza. Resultados. Se elaboró un sistema de dibujos histológicos representativos de la clasificación de las hepatitis virales crónicas. La HCVC fue más frecuente entre 35-54 años, sexo femenino, con actividad necroinflamatoria moderada que alcanzó el 60.6 %. La fibrosis severa se presentó preferentemente entre 35 y 44 años. Conclusión. Se comprobó que el sistema de dibujos confeccionados posibilita una mejor estandarización del diagnóstico en un colectivo y facilita el aprendizaje de la entidad. Palabras clave: hepatitis viral humana, fibrosis, aprendizaje.ABSTRACT Despite being hepatitis caused by C virus (HCV) a worldwide health problem and the most frequent cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocelular carcinoma, a practical score system to perform the histopathologic diagnosis does not exist. Objective: To increase the competence of pathologists in the diagnosis of HCV at "Abel Santamaria Cuadrado" University Hospital from January 2002 to July 2008. Design: A technological innovation was created writing a book with electronically- processed diagrams and the study of HCV-biopsies by means of a descriptive and cross-sectional design. Subjects and Method: Universe: 236 biopsies with the diagnosis of HCV. Sample: 117 biopsies having the diagnosis of Chronic- HCV (the total during the period). Age, sex, type of histological lesion; diagnostic correspondence, the degree of the lesion and stage of the fibrosis in respect of the age were considered. Descriptive Statistics was used to sum up the categorical and continuing quantitative variables and the verification of frequencies through calculation and/or association of variables X2, OR. Results: A system of representative histological draws for the classification of chronic viral hepatitis (Ishak, 1995) was created. Chronic-HCV was more frequent between ages 35-54, female sex, and moderate necro-inflammatory activityreached up to 60.6% between 35 and 44 years old. Conclusion: It was confirmed that the system of draws makes possible a better standardization of the diagnosis in teams and provides a more suitable learning of the disease.Key words: human viral hepatitis, fibrosis, learning

Monitoring the influence of marine aquaculture on wild fish communities: benefits and limitations of fatty acid profiles

Fatty acids (FA) have been applied as indicators of the influence of coastal sea-cage fish farming on wild fish communities in several recent scientific publications. Due to the relatively high conservation of FA composition throughout the food web, they are useful for characterizing trophic relationships. The increasing utilization of vegetable or alternative animal oils in the production of aquafeeds results in cultivated fish exhibiting higher levels of terrestrial FAs in their tissues. As previously reported, wild fish ubiquitously aggregate around fish farms as a consequence of the introduction of new habitat and the easy availability of food—fish farms act as enhanced fish aggregation devices (FADs). The influence of food pellets on the composition of wild fish has been detected in recent studies on salmon, sea bass and sea bream aquaculture, with increased levels of linoleic acid (18:2n-6) and a low n-3/n-6 ratio as clear indicators of the consumption of food pellets from the farms. The potential ecological and physiological effects on wild fish are presently unknown. In the present article, guidelines are proposed for the investigation and use of terrestrial FAs to track the effects of coastal aquaculture on wild fish communities and local fisheries, as well as the benefits or limitations of this technique

Incorporation of Eye-Tracking and Gaze Feedback to Characterize and Improve Radiologist Search Patterns of Chest X-rays: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Diagnostic errors in radiology often occur due to incomplete visual assessments by radiologists, despite their knowledge of predicting disease classes. This insufficiency is possibly linked to the absence of required training in search patterns. Additionally, radiologists lack consistent feedback on their visual search patterns, relying on ad-hoc strategies and peer input to minimize errors and enhance efficiency, leading to suboptimal patterns and potential false negatives. This study aimed to use eye-tracking technology to analyze radiologist search patterns, quantify performance using established metrics, and assess the impact of an automated feedback-driven educational framework on detection accuracy. Ten residents participated in a controlled trial focused on detecting suspicious pulmonary nodules. They were divided into an intervention group (received automated feedback) and a control group. Results showed that the intervention group exhibited a 38.89% absolute improvement in detecting suspicious-for-cancer nodules, surpassing the control group's improvement (5.56%, p-value=0.006). Improvement was more rapid over the four training sessions (p-value=0.0001). However, other metrics such as speed, search pattern heterogeneity, distractions, and coverage did not show significant changes. In conclusion, implementing an automated feedback-driven educational framework improved radiologist accuracy in detecting suspicious nodules. The study underscores the potential of such systems in enhancing diagnostic performance and reducing errors. Further research and broader implementation are needed to consolidate these promising results and develop effective training strategies for radiologists, ultimately benefiting patient outcomes.Comment: Submitted for Review in the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR

Dioxin Toxicity In Vivo Results from an Increase in the Dioxin-Independent Transcriptional Activity of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor

The Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) is the nuclear receptor mediating the toxicity of dioxins -widespread and persistent pollutants whose toxic effects include tumor promotion, teratogenesis, wasting syndrome and chloracne. Elimination of Ahr in mice eliminates dioxin toxicity but also produces adverse effects, some seemingly unrelated to dioxin. Thus the relationship between the toxic and dioxin-independent functions of Ahr is not clear, which hampers understanding and treatment of dioxin toxicity. Here we develop a Drosophila model to show that dioxin actually increases the in vivo dioxin-independent activity of Ahr. This hyperactivation resembles the effects caused by an increase in the amount of its dimerisation partner Ahr nuclear translocator (Arnt) and entails an increased transcriptional potency of Ahr, in addition to the previously described effect on nuclear translocation. Thus the two apparently different functions of Ahr, dioxin-mediated and dioxin-independent, are in fact two different levels (hyperactivated and basal, respectively) of a single function