Creació d’un complex dedicat a activitats dinàmiques amb automòbils

Premi al millor Projecte de Fi de Carrera presentat durant el curs 2003-2004 en l'àmbit d'Organització Industrial i Gestió que atorga ACCENTUREAquest projecte anomenat “Creació d’un complex dedicat a activitats dinàmiques amb automòbils” és en si mateix un pla d’empresa, que té com objectiu definir un concepte de negoci a partir d’una idea innovadora, i avaluar la seva viabilitat empresarial i financera. El complex es basa en una sèrie de circuits, pistes i edificacions que ocupen una superfície total de 29 hectàrees. Centra la seva activitat empresarial en els cursos de conducció per automòbils, tant per a particulars com per a empreses, oferint també serveis relacionats amb el lloguer d’instal·lacions i la realització d’esdeveniments. En aquests cursos s’ensenyen i exerciten tot tipus de tècniques de conducció mitjançant unes classes teòriques i uns exercicis pràctics, i per la correcte realització d’aquesta tasca es disposarà d’una flota total de 41 vehicles. La idea originària i element innovador que diferencia aquest complex, és el disseny d’un circuit que simula amb la màxima fidelitat les condicions d’una carretera de segon ordre, però amb totes les mesures de seguretat possibles. En base a la definició de les activitats a realitzar, s’ha elaborat una completa cartera de serveis organitzada en 4 grans àrees: cursos a particulars, lloguers i socis, cursos a empreses i esdeveniments. A partir dels serveis oferts, s’han elaborat els estudis propis d’un pla d’empresa com l’anàlisi del mercat, de la demanda i de la competència, així com de l’anàlisi dels consumidors i el seu comportament. S’han realitzat els corresponents plans de marketing i de compres, l’elecció de l’estructura legal i fiscal més adient, i la valoració de l’impacte que el complex i la seva activitat ocasionarà en el medi ambient. El càlcul de l’estructura de recursos humans necessària per a gestionar el centre, s’ha resolt amb la creació d’un equip pluridisciplinar format per un total de 15 persones entre personal fix i extern. Les conclusions obtingudes demostren l’existència d’una forta demanda d’aquest tipus de serveis no satisfeta actualment en la seva totalitat, amb la previsió que aquesta augmenti de forma considerable a mig i llarg termini. D’altra banda, es pot constatar que el centre tal com ha estat concebut és intrínsecament rentable, però la elevada despesa inicial, que ascendeix a 9 milions d’euros, suggereix l’estudi d’estratègies alternatives per aconseguir que el complex sigui més interessant des del punt de vista d’inversió financera, com la revalorització immobiliària o l’establiment d’acords amb les Administracions corresponents.Award-winnin

Cooperative effects between arginine and glutamic acid in the amino acid catalyzed aldol reaction

Catalysis of the aldol reaction between cyclohexanone and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde by mixtures of L-Arg and of L-Glu in wet DMSO takes place with higher enantioselectivity (up to a seven-fold enhancement in the anti- aldol for the 1:1 mixture) than that observed when either L-Glu or L-Arg alone are used as the catalysts. These results can be explained by the formation of a catalytically active hydrogen-bonded complex between both amino acids, and demonstrate the possibility of positive cooperative effects in catalysis by two different α-amino acids. Chiralit

Solvent-controlled diastereoselectivity in tryptophan-catalyzed Mannich reactions

Solvent effects in the L-tryptophan-catalyzed Mannich reaction between hydroxyacetone and glyoxylate imines have been examined. The use of a DMSO/1-butanol (4:1 v/v) mixture as solvent at rt provided the expected Mannich adducts in good yields, high anti-diastereoselectivity (up to 10.3:1 anti/syn ratio) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99.9% ee for the anti isomer

Topological Localized Molecular Orbitals of Huckel and Mobius Annulenes

A localization method in the framework of Ruckel MO theory which relies only on molecular topology, and which can be regarded to as the topological version of well established localization criteria, has been applied to the series of (n)annulenes. The calculations have been effected for both Ruckel and Mobius topologies, and several aspects of the resulting localized orbitals (homogeneity, equivalence, continuous degeneracy and localizability of degenerate levels) have been considered. It is thus seen that the parallelism between Ruckel and Mobius systems also holds for their localized molecular orbitals

On the Relationship. Between Localized Molecular Orbitals and Kekule Structures

Localized molecular orbitals for n-systems of conjugated polycyclic hydrocarbons have been calculated using both intrinsic and external localization criteria relying only on molecular topology. For benzenoid aromatic compounds the intrinsic localized molecular orbital arrangement can always be associated to the Kekule structure of maximal Kekule index value. However hydrocarbons containing four-membered rings show some exceptions to this correspondence, though the localized orbital array always corresponds to the most important Kekule structure as predicted by the extended Fries rule. External localization sums show a good linear correlation with the Kekule index, though different slopes are found for benzenoid and cyclobutadiene-containing systems. The results obtained for the canonical valence bond structures of naphthalene suggest that the external localization sum could be a good alternative to the Kekule index

Expedient organocatalytic syntheses of 4-substituted pyrazolidines and isoxazolidines

The efficient organocatalytic synthesis of heterocyclic systems of biological relevance is a subject of growing interest. We have found that the pyrrolidine/benzoic acid-catalyzed reaction of α-substituted propenals such as methacrolein, 2-benzylpropenal and 2-(n-hexyl)propenal with activated hydrazines takes place in very good yields (83%-99.6%) under very mild conditions to afford 4-substituted pyrazolidin-3-ols (as diastereomer mixtures); subsequent oxidation with PCC affords the corresponding-4-substituted-3-pyrazolidinones in essentially quantitative yields. In a similar way, 4-substituted isoxazolidinones are obtained with N-Cbz-hydroxylamine as a reagent. The use of chiral diarylprolinol trimethylsilyl ethers as catalysts allows the synthesis of several of these compounds in optically active form, in some cases with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 96:4 er). A preliminary evaluation of the biological activity shows that some of these compounds exhibit interesting antibacterial and antifungal activities

A review of opioid prescription in a teaching hospital in Colombia

Introduction: Review of opioid prescriptions in a hospital provides valuable information to health care professionals which may contribute to proper pain management; opioid utilization studies may help uncover factors that can be improved for better prescribing. To evaluate the use of opioid analgesics in a university hospital, a review of opioids prescribed in hospitalized patients was developed. Methods: Information was obtained from the pharmacy database and medical records. The study period was 1 month. Results: Medical records of 1156 patients admitted in July 2009 were analyzed. The most widely prescribed opioid was tramadol; the preferred administration route was intravenous; the main indication was severe pain; and major prescribers were from surgical departments. Discussion: Underutilization of potent opioids for acute and chronic pain seems to occur. Conclusion: Most prescribers prefer weak opioids, given intravenously to treat acute and chronic pain, while some patients may benefit from the prescription of more potent opioids