The New Era of Business Intelligence Applications: Buildingfrom a Collaborative Point of View

Collaborative business intelligence (BI) iswidely embraced by enterprises as a way of making themost of their business processes. However, decision mak-ers usually work in isolation without the knowledge or thetime needed to obtain and analyze all the available infor-mation for making decisions. Unfortunately, collaborativeBI is currently based on exchanging e-mails and documentsbetween participants. As a result, information may be lost,participants may become disoriented, and the decision-making task may not yield the needed results. The authorspropose a modeling language aimed at modeling andeliciting the goals and information needs of participants ofcollaborative BI systems. This approach is based on inno-vative methods to elicit and model collaborative systemsand BI requirements. A controlled experiment was per-formed to validate this language, assessing its under-standability, scalability, efficiency, and user satisfaction byanalyzing two collaborative BI systems. By using theframework proposed in this work, clear guideless can beprovided regarding: (1) collaborative tasks, (2) their par-ticipants, and (3) the information to be shared among them.By using the approach to design collaborative BI systems,practitioners may easily trace every element needed in thedecision processes, avoiding the loss of information andfacilitating the collaboration of the stakeholders of suchprocesses

Sourdough biotechnology applied to gluten-free baked goods: Rescuing the tradition

Recent studies suggest that the beneficial properties provided by sourdough fermentation may be translated to the development of new GF products that could improve their technological and nutritional properties. The main objective of this manuscript is to review the current evidence regarding the elaboration of GF baked goods, and to present the latest knowledge about the so-called sourdough biotechnology. A bibliographic search of articles published in the last 12 years has been carried out. It is common to use additives, such as hydrocolloids, proteins, enzymes, and emulsifiers, to technologically improve GF products. Sourdough is a mixture of flour and water fermented by an ecosystem of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts that provide technological and nutritional improvements to the bakery products. LAB-synthesized biopolymers can mimic gluten molecules. Sourdough biotechnology is an ecological and cost-effective technology with great potential in the field of GF products. Further research is necessary to optimize the process and select species of microorganisms robust enough to be competitive in any circumstance.The research leading to these results has received funding from “la Caixa” Foundation and Caja Burgos Foundation, grant number FUi1-PI001. The corresponding author wishes to acknowledge the financial support granted to the project FUi1-PI001 “Caracterización de la microbiota indígena de harinas sin gluten (Proyecto MADRE)” by these entities

Memorias de Resúmenes I Congreso de Apicultura y Meliponicultura en Ecuador

Resúmenes de Ponencias presentadas en el I Congreso de Apicultura y Meliponicultura en Ecuador, realizado del 21-22 Febrero 2015. Lugar: Machala (UTMACH; CCE-EO; GADPEO), Provincia El [email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@agrocalidad.gob.ec, [email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]

Delaying surgery for patients with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection

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Head and neck cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international, multicenter, observational cohort study

Background: The aims of this study were to provide data on the safety of head and neck cancer surgery currently being undertaken during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: This international, observational cohort study comprised 1137 consecutive patients with head and neck cancer undergoing primary surgery with curative intent in 26 countries. Factors associated with severe pulmonary complications in COVID-19–positive patients and infections in the surgical team were determined by univariate analysis. Results: Among the 1137 patients, the commonest sites were the oral cavity (38%) and the thyroid (21%). For oropharynx and larynx tumors, nonsurgical therapy was favored in most cases. There was evidence of surgical de-escalation of neck management and reconstruction. Overall 30-day mortality was 1.2%. Twenty-nine patients (3%) tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) within 30 days of surgery; 13 of these patients (44.8%) developed severe respiratory complications, and 3.51 (10.3%) died. There were significant correlations with an advanced tumor stage and admission to critical care. Members of the surgical team tested positive within 30 days of surgery in 40 cases (3%). There were significant associations with operations in which the patients also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 within 30 days, with a high community incidence of SARS-CoV-2, with screened patients, with oral tumor sites, and with tracheostomy. Conclusions: Head and neck cancer surgery in the COVID-19 era appears safe even when surgery is prolonged and complex. The overlap in COVID-19 between patients and members of the surgical team raises the suspicion of failures in cross-infection measures or the use of personal protective equipment. Lay Summary: Head and neck surgery is safe for patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic even when it is lengthy and complex. This is significant because concerns over patient safety raised in many guidelines appear not to be reflected by outcomes, even for those who have other serious illnesses or require complex reconstructions. Patients subjected to suboptimal or nonstandard treatments should be carefully followed up to optimize their cancer outcomes. The overlap between patients and surgeons testing positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is notable and emphasizes the need for fastidious cross-infection controls and effective personal protective equipment