De la PYME emprendedora a la PYME profesional. Un estudio de caso

In this article, we analyze the change and professionalization process taking place in the management of an SME located in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Based on the trajectory of the owner and the members of a leather manufacturing company, the distinctive features of a process that took place between 2003 and 2006 are considered. In the first section, we define professionalization of an SME, in order to identify in the second section the dimensions used as indicators of the transformation. In the third section, we mention the references that enable us to understand the underlying logic of the processes of change and management professionalization, to show the most prominent aspects. The case analysis reports on the results of the intervention, and reflects the perspectives expressed by the actors who were part of the process.En el artículo se analiza el proceso de cambio y profesionalización de la gestión de una PYME localizada en la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. A partir de la trayectoria del propietario y de los integrantes de una empresa dedicada a la fabricación de artículos de marroquinería, se caracteriza la particularidad de un proceso que tuvo lugar entre los años 2003 y 2006. En la primera sección se define la profesionalización de una PYME, para identificar en la segunda sección las dimensiones utilizadas como indicadores de latransformación. En la tercera sección se mencionan las referencias que permiten comprender la lógica subyacente a los procesos de cambio y profesionalización de la gestión, para poner en evidencia los aspectos más destacados. El análisis de caso da cuenta del resultado de una intervención y refleja las perspectivas expresadas por los actores intervinientes en el proceso

Is there an easier way to differentiate phases of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnant women?

Background Precise detection of the moment of infection with Toxoplasma gondii in a pregnant woman plays a key role in determining the risk of transmission to the foetus. Diagnostic examination for toxoplasmosis performed in a pregnant woman should be performed as soon as possible, best before the planned pregnancy and in the beginning of the 1st trimester. Sometimes the first toxoplasma screening is only done later in pregnancy or close to term, when even the lack of specific IgM and high IgG avidity using traditional immunodiagnostic methods with native antigen does not allow to exclude early T. gondii infection with 100% certainty. Furthermore, diagnosis of acute toxoplasma infection often requires collection of two blood samples in 2-3 week period and demonstration of significant rise in IgG titres. The aim of the study was to show the possibilities of using recomLineToxoplasma test based on recombinant antigens and immunoblot technique in detection of the time of infection in pregnant women, incl. the risk of the transmission to the foetus, and differentiation of acute vs. chronic or past infection. Materials/methods Patients analysed consisted of women between ages 26-35, in whom IgG, IgM presence/titers and IgG avidity was tested using ELISA-VIDITEST Toxo IgG/IgM (Vidia) and ELISA Avidity-TOXO (EUROIMMUNE). In each patient, presence of IgG and IgM was tested additionally for recombinant T. gondii antigens: ROP1c, MIC3, GRA7, GRA8, p30, MAG1, GRA1, rSAG1 and IgG avidity for p30, MAG1, GRA1, and rSAG1 using recomLine Toxoplasma test (Mikrogen). Results were read automatically and interpreted with BLOTrix-Leader and phases of infection (I, II, III, IV) were determined according to test producer’s instructions. To show the usefulness of the test we selected 3 different patients. Results In the first patient in her 32 week of pregnancy, standard ELISA testing showed border values for IgM (1.0), positive IgG (192 IU/ml) and high IgG avidity (87%). recomLine test results were as follows: positive IgM for ROP1c, high IgG avidity to p30 and GRA1 and low to rSAG1, and pointed to II phase of infection (last 3-6 months), which correlated to acute toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, having in mind the 32 hbd. In the second patient (30 hbd), standard ELISA testing showed IgG of 198 IU/ml, no IgM and IgG avidity of 80%. recomLine test showed high IgG avidity to p30, MAG1, GRA1 and rSAG1 as well as IgM, which confirmed chronic infection (IV phase of infection; > 12 months) and excluded toxoplasma infection in pregnancy. In the third patient (17 hbd), standard ELISA showed specific IgM (1.7), IgG (187 IU/ml) and borderline avidity of 47%. recomLine test results showed: positive IgM for ROP1c and GRA8 and low IgG avidity to p30 and GRA1, which in fact pointed to the I phase of infection (0-3 months since examination), and confirmed the risk of possible foetal transmission. Results are shown in Fig.1. Conclusion recomLine Toxoplasma test, which is based on recombinant antigens, facilitates differentiation of acute from chronic T. gondii infection and allows to determine the time since infection and the risk of transmission to the foetus, without the need to collect consecutive blood samples. It may be useful especially in pregnant women, who only have their first diagnostic toxoplasma screening done in the II or III trimester of pregnancy. Figure 1. Results of standard ELISA vs. recombinant antigen testing for Toxoplasma gondii in 3 pregnant patients. Legend: hbd (hebdomas), i.e. week of pregnancy

The MobyDick Project: A Mobile Heterogeneous All-IP Architecture

Proceedings of Advanced Technologies, Applications and Market Strategies for 3G (ATAMS 2001). Cracow, Poland: 17-20 June, 2001.This paper presents the current stage of an IP-based architecture for heterogeneous environments, covering UMTS-like W-CDMA wireless access technology, wireless and wired LANs, that is being developed under the aegis of the IST Moby Dick project. This architecture treats all transmission capabilities as basic physical and data-link layers, and attempts to replace all higher-level tasks by IP-based strategies. The proposed architecture incorporates aspects of mobile-IPv6, fast handover, AAA-control, and Quality of Service. The architecture allows for an optimised control on the radio link layer resources. The Moby dick architecture is currently under refinement for implementation on field trials. The services planned for trials are data transfer and voice-over-IP.Publicad

High-Temperature Flow Behavior of Ceramic Suspensions

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65999/1/j.1151-2916.2000.tb01534.x.pd

Managing magnetic resonance imaging machines: support tools for scheduling and planning

We devise models and algorithms to estimate the impact of current and future patient demand for examinations on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines at a hospital radiology department. Our work helps improve scheduling decisions and supports MRI machine personnel and equipment planning decisions. Of particular novelty is our use of scheduling algorithms to compute the competing objectives of maximizing examination throughput and patient-magnet utilization. Using our algorithms retrospectively can help (1) assess prior scheduling decisions, (2) identify potential areas of efficiency improvement and (3) identify difficult examination types. Using a year of patient data and several years of MRI utilization data, we construct a simulation model to forecast MRI machine demand under a variety of scenarios. Under our predicted demand model, the throughput calculated by our algorithms acts as an estimate of the overtime MRI time required, and thus, can be used to help predict the impact of different trends in examination demand and to support MRI machine staffing and equipment planning

Analysis of Burst Ratio in Concatenated Channels, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2015, nr 4

Burst ratio is a parameter that quantifies packet loss patterns in transmission networks. It has been defined for an end-to-end scenario, therefore burst ratio can be determined only if the characteristics of the whole transmission path are known. In this paper, the burst ratio parameter applicability to cases when the transmission path consists of a series of transmission channels with known packet loss rate and burst ratio values is extended. The paper also presents the results of simulations performed with NS2 software, demonstrating the validity of the burst ratio analysis. Consequently, the research makes it possible to determine the value of the burst ratio parameter in concatenated packet networks, which in turn supports delivering higher quality VoIP services

The Design of an Objective Metric and Construction of a Prototype System for Monitoring Perceived Quality (QoE) of Video Sequences, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2011, nr 3

The paper presents different no reference (NR) objective metrics addressing the most important artefacts for raw (source) video sequences (noise, blur, exposure) and those introduced by compression (blocking, flickering) which can be used for assessing quality of experience. The validity of all metrics was verified under subjective tests

Study of No-Reference Video Quality Metrics for HEVC Compression, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2016, nr 1

The paper proposes a No-Reference (NR) quality assessment measurement originally developed for H.264, used for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). In particular, authors present an investigation of NR metrics to objectively estimate the perceptual quality of a set of processed video sequences. The authors take into account typical distortions introduced by the block-based coding approaches like HEVC codec. The underlying processing used for the quality assessment considers the blockiness caused by the boundaries of each coded block and the blurring as a lack of spatial details. The correlation between the NR quality metrics and the well-known and most widely used objective metric, the Video Quality Model (VQM), is performed to validate the quality prediction accuracy based on the provided scores. The Pearson correlation coefficients obtained stand for promising results for different types of videos

Pain Behavior Changes Following Disc Puncture Relate to Nucleus Pulposus Rather than to the Disc Injury Per Se: An Experimental Study in Rats

It has previously been demonstrated that disc puncture in the rat induced changes in grooming and wet dog shakes, two behavioral changes that may be linked to discomfort and neuropathic pain. In this study the aim was to separate the effects of disc injury and the epidural presence of nucleus pulposus. Following anesthesia, the L4-5 disc was exposed using a dorsal approach. Ten rats received a superficial disc injury without nucleus pulposus leakage and ten rats received nucleus pulposus from a donor rat without disc injury. In ten animals the L4-5 disc was punctured using a ventral approach, with 10 corresponding controls. Spontaneous behavior was assessed after surgery. The data was matched to historical control of dorsal sham surgery and disc puncture. The study showed that the effects of nucleus pulposus were more pronounced than the effects induced by the disc injury. Ventral disc puncture did not induce any behavioral changes different from sham exposure. In conclusion, the data from the study indicate that behavioral changes induced by disc puncture are more likely to relate to the epidural presence of nucleus pulposus than the disc injury per se