75 research outputs found

    Past, current and future of fuel cell technologies: A bibliometric analysis of the research published during the 1968-2018 period

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    CONTEXT Fuel-Cell technologies have evolved from being an emerging topic to a growing research area in business, science and education fields. The Fuel-Cell technologies have a multidimensional approach. This research presents a comprehensive review of different fuel cell technologies with their working principle, evolution, relationship and suitability of applications for transportation. The professionals and researches involved in this area of knowledge are seeking to uncover the conceptual structure and define a roadmap to reduce the time of research, development, testing/validation and industrialization. OBJECTIVE The main aim of this contribution is to develop a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the performance and conceptual evolution of the Fuel-Cell technologies from 1968 to 2018. The analysis is developed using SciMAT

    Past, current and future of fuel cell technologies: A bibliometric analysis of the research published during the 1968-2018 period

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    CONTEXT Fuel-Cell technologies have evolved from being an emerging topic to a growing research area in business, science and education fields. The Fuel-Cell technologies have a multidimensional approach. This research presents a comprehensive review of different fuel cell technologies with their working principle, evolution, relationship and suitability of applications for transportation. The professionals and researches involved in this area of knowledge are seeking to uncover the conceptual structure and define a roadmap to reduce the time of research, development, testing/validation and industrialization. OBJECTIVE The main aim of this contribution is to develop a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the performance and conceptual evolution of the Fuel-Cell technologies from 1968 to 2018. The analysis is developed using SciMAT

    Gut microbial composition and functionality of school-age Mexican population with metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes mellitus using shotgun metagenomic sequencing

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    Gut metagenome in pediatric subjects with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been poorly studied, despite an alarming worldwide increase in the prevalence and incidence of obesity and MetS within this population. The objective of this study was to characterize the gut microbiome taxonomic composition of Mexican pediatric subjects with MetS and T2DM using shotgun metagenomics and analyze the potential relationship with metabolic changes and proinflammatory effects. Paired-end reads of fecal DNA samples were obtained through the Illumina HiSeq X Platform. Statistical analyses and correlational studies were conducted using gut microbiome data and metadata from all individuals. Gut microbial dysbiosis was observed in MetS and T2DM children compared to healthy subjects, which was characterized by an increase in facultative anaerobes (i.e., enteric and lactic acid bacteria) and a decrease in strict anaerobes (i.e., Erysipelatoclostridium, Shaalia, and Actinomyces genera). This may cause a loss of gut hypoxic environment, increased gut microbial nitrogen metabolism, and higher production of pathogen-associated molecular patterns. These metabolic changes may trigger the activation of proinflammatory activity and impair the host's intermediate metabolism, leading to a possible progression of the characteristic risk factors of MetS and T2DM, such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and an increased abdominal circumference. Furthermore, specific viruses (Jiaodavirus genus and Inoviridae family) showed positive correlations with proinflammatory cytokines involved in these metabolic diseases. This study provides novel evidence for the characterization of MetS and T2DM pediatric subjects in which the whole gut microbial composition has been characterized. Additionally, it describes specific gut microorganisms with functional changes that may influence the onset of relevant health risk factors

    Front-End Design Guidelines for Infotainment Systems

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    This paper presents a set of front-end design guidelines intended to provide a starting point to designers of user interfaces for infotainment systems. The proposed approach suggests guidance on four dimensions inferred from state of the art such as crucial to achieve well designed automotive interfaces: a) Design; b) Interaction; c) Security; and d) Connectivity. Guidelines were thought by integrating conceptual-insights from Graphic Design; User Centered Design; Human-Machine Interfaces; Usability; and Human-Computer interaction. Additionally, were specified and structured to be used also as a comparing tool (Like Heuristic- Evaluation technique) to analyze front-end of existent infotainment systems. Said duality allowed to revise the pertinence of the proposal through a case study where 30 participants (25 regular users and 5 technicalexperts) compared suggested guidelines’ specification against interactions provided by the front–end of Mazda Connect© infotainment System. Obtained results suggested that setting of proposed guidelines was compatible with participants’ perceptions facilitating to identify pain-points on current design; thus, proposed guidance could scaffold base-insights for new front-end designs

    A Methodological Process for the Design of Frameworks Oriented to Infotainment User Interfaces

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    The objective of this paper was to propose a methodological process for the design of frameworks oriented to infotainment user interfaces. Four stages comprise the proposed process, conceptualization, structuring, documentation, and evaluation; in addition, these stages include activities, tasks, and deliverables to guide a work team during the design of a framework. To determine the stages and their components, an analysis of 42 papers was carried out through a systematic literature review in search of similarities during the design process of frameworks related to user interfaces. The evaluation method by a panel of experts was used to determine the validity of the proposal; the conceptual proposal was provided to a panel of 10 experts for their analysis and later a questionnaire in the form of a Likert scale was used to collect the information on the validation of the proposal. The results of the evaluation indicated that the methodological process is valid to meet the objective of designing a framework oriented to infotainment user interfaces

    A Methodological Process for the Design of Frameworks Oriented to Infotainment User Interfaces

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    The objective of this paper was to propose a methodological process for the design of frameworks oriented to infotainment user interfaces. Four stages comprise the proposed process, conceptualization, structuring, documentation, and evaluation; in addition, these stages include activities, tasks, and deliverables to guide a work team during the design of a framework. To determine the stages and their components, an analysis of 42 papers was carried out through a systematic literature review in search of similarities during the design process of frameworks related to user interfaces. The evaluation method by a panel of experts was used to determine the validity of the proposal; the conceptual proposal was provided to a panel of 10 experts for their analysis and later a questionnaire in the form of a Likert scale was used to collect the information on the validation of the proposal. The results of the evaluation indicated that the methodological process is valid to meet the objective of designing a framework oriented to infotainment user interfaces

    Escritura : Un estudio de las habilidades de los estudiantes de América Latina y el Caribe

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    Este informe presenta los resultados alcanzados por los estudiantes en las pruebas de escritura del SERCE. Se trata de un reporte analítico, que ofrece datos sobre aspectos relevantes del proceso y el producto de la escritura, como lo que se transforma entre el borrador y el texto, la coherencia de las informaciones en la versión final, la adecuación del tema y el ajuste a la situación comunicativa, el uso del léxico y la corrección ortográfica, entre otros. Este tipo de información permitirá a los países participantes realizar análisis exhaustivos que apoyen las decisiones curriculares y didácticas encaminadas al mejoramiento de la enseñanza de la escritura, herramienta básica que la educación debe entregar de la mejor manera posible a cada ser humano

    Differences in clinical features and mortality in very old unvaccinated patients (≥ 80 years) hospitalized with COVID-19 during the first and successive waves from the multicenter SEMI-COVID-19 Registry (Spain)

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    Background: Old age is one of the most important risk factors for severe COVID-19. Few studies have analyzed changes in the clinical characteristics and prognosis of COVID-19 among older adults before the availability of vaccines. This work analyzes differences in clinical features and mortality in unvaccinated very old adults during the first and successive COVID-19 waves in Spain. Methods This nationwide, multicenter, retrospective cohort study analyzes unvaccinated patients >= 80 years hospitalized for COVID-19 in 150 Spanish hospitals (SEMI-COVID-19 Registry). Patients were classified according to whether they were admitted in the first wave (March 1-June 30, 2020) or successive waves (July 1-December 31, 2020). The endpoint was all-cause in-hospital mortality, expressed as the case fatality rate (CFR). Results Of the 21,461 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 5,953 (27.7%) were >= 80 years (mean age [IQR]: 85.6 [82.3-89.2] years). Of them, 4,545 (76.3%) were admitted during the first wave and 1,408 (23.7%) during successive waves. Patients hospitalized in successive waves were older, had a greater Charlson Comorbidity Index and dependency, less cough and fever, and met fewer severity criteria at admission (qSOFA index, PO2/FiO2 ratio, inflammatory parameters). Significant differences were observed in treatments used in the first (greater use of antimalarials, lopinavir, and macrolides) and successive waves (greater use of corticosteroids, tocilizumab and remdesivir). In-hospital complications, especially acute respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia, were less frequent in patients hospitalized in successive waves, except for heart failure. The CFR was significantly higher in the first wave (44.1% vs. 33.3%; -10.8%; p = 95 years (54.4% vs. 38.5%; -15.9%; p < 0.001). After adjustments to the model, the probability of death was 33% lower in successive waves (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.57-0.79). Conclusions Mortality declined significantly between the first and successive waves in very old unvaccinated patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Spain. This decline could be explained by a greater availability of hospital resources and more effective treatments as the pandemic progressed, although other factors such as changes in SARS-CoV-2 virulence cannot be ruled out

    Impact of Arterial Stiffness on All-Cause Mortality in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 in Spain

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    Older age and cardiovascular comorbidities are well-known risk factors for all-cause mortality in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Hypertension and age are the 2 principal determinants of arterial stiffness (AS). This study aimed to estimate AS in patients with COVID-19 requiring hospitalization and analyze its association with all-cause in-hospital mortality. This observational, retrospective, multicenter cohort study analyzed 12 170 patients admitted to 150 Spanish centers included in the SEMI-COVID-19 Network. We compared AS, defined as pulse pressure ≥60 mm Hg, and clinical characteristics between survivors and nonsurvivors. Mean age was 67.5 (±16.1) years and 42.5% were women. Overall, 2606 (21.4%) subjects died. Admission systolic blood pressure (BP) <120 and ≥140 mm Hg was a predictor of higher all-cause mortality (23.5% and 22.8%, respectively, P<0.001), compared with systolic BP between 120 and 140 mm Hg (18.6%). The 4379 patients with AS (36.0%) were older and had higher systolic and lower diastolic BP. Multivariate analysis showed that AS and systolic BP <120 mm Hg significantly and independently predicted all-cause in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio [ORadj]: 1.27, P=0.0001; ORadj: 1.48, P=0.0001, respectively) after adjusting for sex (males, ORadj: 1.6, P=0.0001), age tertiles (second and third tertiles, ORadj: 2.0 and 4.7, P=0.0001), Charlson Comorbidity Index (second and third tertiles, ORadj: 4.8 and 8.6, P=0.0001), heart failure, and previous and in-hospital antihypertensive treatment. Our data show that AS and admission systolic BP <120 mm Hg had independent prognostic value for all-cause mortality in patients with COVID-19 requiring hospitalization
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