Implementación de un agente conversacional mediante Microsoft Bot Framework y Azure Cognitive Services como herramienta de divulgación de la condición de la mujer en el contexto de la igualdad de género

La desigualdad y discriminación de género es un desafío a superar en las sociedades actuales, donde sus poblaciones, que aun contando con un acceso privilegiado a la información, a menudo sentencian este problema como inexistente o se niegan en reiteradas ocasiones a contrastar los datos a los que acceden para formar una opinión razonada. Con este proyecto pretende abordar la desinformación al respecto de la desigualdad y discriminación de género utilizando fuentes veraces y públicas para la difusión de información actualizada sobre esta problemática. Para lograr este objetivo, se hará uso de tecnologías de vanguardia como Microsoft Bot Framework y soluciones de inteligencia artficial como Microsoft LUIS. Estas herramientas permitirán generar experiencias de conversación naturales, facilitando discusiones relevantes sobre la temática. También se utilizarán herramientas que permitan el tratamiento y visualización de datos estadísticos, potenciando la presentación de los datos así como su asimilación. El proyecto se desarrolla siguiendo el marco de trabajo ágil Scrum, iniciado en la etapa de planificación del proyecto, seguido por el análisis del sistema, su diseño, implementación y realización de pruebas.Inequality and discrimination based on gender are challenges that current societies must overcome. Despite having privileged access to information, populations often dismiss this problem as non-existent or repeatedly refuse to contrast the data they have access to in order to form a reasoned opinion. This project aims to tackle the pervasive issue of misinformation surrounding gender inequality and discrimination by harnessing reliable and publicly available sources to disseminate accurate and up-to-date information to the public. To achieve this objective, the project will leverage cutting-edge technologies such as Microsoft Bot Framework and artificial intelligence solutions as Microsoft LUIS. These tools will enable the generation of natural conversation experiences, facilitating meaningful discussions on the topic. Additionally, the project will employ data processing and statistical visualization tools, empowering the presentation of relevant data. The project will adhere to the agile Scrum framework, starting with the project planning, followed by system analysis, design considerations, implementation and testing procedures.Departamento de Informática (Arquitectura y Tecnología de Computadores, Ciencias de la Computación e Inteligencia Artificial, Lenguajes y Sistemas Informáticos)Grado en Ingeniería Informátic

Produção orgânica de rabanete em plantio direto sobre cobertura morta e viva.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o uso de plantas espontâneas e cobertura viva de amendoim forrageiro(Arachis pintoi), associado à aplicação de composto orgânico na produção orgânica do rabanete em plantio direto. O experimento foi instalado na Universidade Federal do Acre, em Rio Branco-AC, de 15/06 a 14/07/2007. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos casualizados com parcelas subdivididas 4x3, em quatro repetições. As parcelas corresponderam ao sistema de plantio direto com cobertura viva de amendoim forrageiro, cobertura viva de planta espontânea, cobertura morta de planta espontânea e sistema de plantio em canteiro com solo descoberto. As subparcelas foram compostas pelas doses de composto orgânico de 5, 10 e 15 t ha-1 (base seca). O plantio direto na palha de plantas espontâneas teve desempenho semelhante ao preparo convencional do solo, ambos superiores ao plantio sobre as coberturas vivas. A produtividade do rabanete cv. Cometo, não foi afetada pelas doses crescentes de composto orgânico, podendo aplicar-se apenas 5 t ha-1, enquanto em preparo convencional do solo, o aumento da produtividade ultrapassa o plantio direto na palha apenas na dose maior de composto (15 t ha-1)

Revealing the clinical phenotype of atypical neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2 disease: Insights from the largest cohort in the world

Aim: Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2 (CLN2) disease is an autosomal recessive inherited neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder caused by deficient tripeptidyl peptidase 1 (TPP1) enzyme, leading to progressive deterioration of neurological functions commonly occurring in children aged 2–4 years and culminating in early death. Atypical cases associated with earlier or later symptom onset, or even protracted course, have already been reported. Such variable manifestations may constitute an additional challenge to early diagnosis and initiation of appropriate treatment. The present work aimed to analyse clinical data from a cohort of Latin American CLN2 patients with atypical phenotypes. Methods: Experts in inborn errors of metabolism from Latin America selected patients from their centres who were deemed by the clinicians to have atypical forms of CLN2, according to the current literature on this topic and their practical experience. Clinical and genetic data from the medical records were retrospectively revised. All cases were presented and analysed by these experts at an Advisory Board Meeting in S~ao Paulo, Brazil, in October 2018. Results: Seizures, language abnormalities and behavioural disorders were found as the first manifestations, appearing at the median age of 6 years, an older age than classically described for the late infantile form. Three novel mutations were also identified. Conclusion: Our findings reinforce the inclusion of CLN2 in the differential diagnosis of children presenting with seizures, behavioural disorders and language abnormalities. Early diagnosis will allow early initiation of specific therapy

Understanding Dwarf Galaxies in order to Understand Dark Matter

Much progress has been made in recent years by the galaxy simulation community in making realistic galaxies, mostly by more accurately capturing the effects of baryons on the structural evolution of dark matter halos at high resolutions. This progress has altered theoretical expectations for galaxy evolution within a Cold Dark Matter (CDM) model, reconciling many earlier discrepancies between theory and observations. Despite this reconciliation, CDM may not be an accurate model for our Universe. Much more work must be done to understand the predictions for galaxy formation within alternative dark matter models.Comment: Refereed contribution to the Proceedings of the Simons Symposium on Illuminating Dark Matter, to be published by Springe

Predictive validity of the CriSTAL tool for short-term mortality in older people presenting at Emergency Departments: a prospective study

© 2018, The Author(s). Abstract: To determine the validity of the Australian clinical prediction tool Criteria for Screening and Triaging to Appropriate aLternative care (CRISTAL) based on objective clinical criteria to accurately identify risk of death within 3 months of admission among older patients. Methods: Prospective study of ≥ 65 year-olds presenting at emergency departments in five Australian (Aus) and four Danish (DK) hospitals. Logistic regression analysis was used to model factors for death prediction; Sensitivity, specificity, area under the ROC curve and calibration with bootstrapping techniques were used to describe predictive accuracy. Results: 2493 patients, with median age 78–80 years (DK–Aus). The deceased had significantly higher mean CriSTAL with Australian mean of 8.1 (95% CI 7.7–8.6 vs. 5.8 95% CI 5.6–5.9) and Danish mean 7.1 (95% CI 6.6–7.5 vs. 5.5 95% CI 5.4–5.6). The model with Fried Frailty score was optimal for the Australian cohort but prediction with the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) was also good (AUROC 0.825 and 0.81, respectively). Values for the Danish cohort were AUROC 0.764 with Fried and 0.794 using CFS. The most significant independent predictors of short-term death in both cohorts were advanced malignancy, frailty, male gender and advanced age. CriSTAL’s accuracy was only modest for in-hospital death prediction in either setting. Conclusions: The modified CriSTAL tool (with CFS instead of Fried’s frailty instrument) has good discriminant power to improve prognostic certainty of short-term mortality for ED physicians in both health systems. This shows promise in enhancing clinician’s confidence in initiating earlier end-of-life discussions

Does the impact of a plant-based diet during pregnancy on birth weight differ by ethnicity? A dietary pattern analysis from a prospective Canadian birth cohort alliance

Objective: Birth weight is an indicator of newborn health and a strong predictor of health outcomes in later life. Signicant variation in diet during pregnancy between ethnic groups in high-income countries provides an ideal opportunity to investigate the influence of maternal diet on birth weight. Setting: Four multiethnic birth cohorts based in Canada (the NutriGen Alliance). Participants: 3997 full-term mother–infant pairs of diverse ethnic groups who had principal component analysis-derived diet pattern scores—plant-based, Western and health-conscious—and birth weight data. Results: No associations were identified between the Western and health-conscious diet patterns and birth weight; however, the plant-based dietary pattern was inversely associated with birth weight (β=−67.6 g per 1-unit increase; P<0.001), and an interaction with non-white ethnicity and birth weight was observed. Ethnically stratified analyses demonstrated that among white Europeans, maternal consumption of a plant-based diet associated with lower birth weight (β=−65.9 g per 1-unit increase; P<0.001), increased risk of small-for-gestational age (SGA; OR=1.46; 95% CI 1.08 to 1.54;P=0.005) and reduced risk of large-for-gestational age (LGA; OR=0.71; 95% CI 0.53 to 0.95;P=0.02). Among South Asians, maternal consumption of a plant-based diet associated with a higher birth weight (β=+40.5 g per 1-unit increase; P=0.01), partially explained by cooked vegetable consumption. Conclusions: Maternal consumption of a plant-based diet during pregnancy is associated with birth weight. Among white Europeans, a plant-based diet is associated with lower birth weight, reduced odds of an infant born LGA and increased odds of SGA, whereas among South Asians living in Canada, a plant-based diet is associated with increased birth weight

A Discrete Event Simulation model to evaluate the treatment pathways of patients with Cataract in the United Kingdom

Background The number of people affected by cataract in the United Kingdom (UK) is growing rapidly due to ageing population. As the only way to treat cataract is through surgery, there is a high demand for this type of surgery and figures indicate that it is the most performed type of surgery in the UK. The National Health Service (NHS), which provides free of charge care in the UK, is under huge financial pressure due to budget austerity in the last decade. As the number of people affected by the disease is expected to grow significantly in coming years, the aim of this study is to evaluate whether the introduction of new processes and medical technologies will enable cataract services to cope with the demand within the NHS funding constraints. Methods We developed a Discrete Event Simulation model representing the cataract services pathways at Leicester Royal Infirmary Hospital. The model was inputted with data from national and local sources as well as from a surgery demand forecasting model developed in the study. The model was verified and validated with the participation of the cataract services clinical and management teams. Results Four scenarios involving increased number of surgeries per half-day surgery theatre slot were simulated. Results indicate that the total number of surgeries per year could be increased by 40% at no extra cost. However, the rate of improvement decreases for increased number of surgeries per half-day surgery theatre slot due to a higher number of cancelled surgeries. Productivity is expected to improve as the total number of doctors and nurses hours will increase by 5 and 12% respectively. However, non-human resources such as pre-surgery rooms and post-surgery recovery chairs are under-utilized across all scenarios. Conclusions Using new processes and medical technologies for cataract surgery is a promising way to deal with the expected higher demand especially as this could be achieved with limited impact on costs. Non-human resources capacity need to be evenly levelled across the surgery pathway to improve their utilisation. The performance of cataract services could be improved by better communication with and proactive management of patients.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Geographic Coincidence of Increased Malaria Transmission Hazard and Vulnerability Occurring at the Periphery of two Tanzanian Villages.

The goal of malaria elimination necessitates an improved understanding of any fine-scale geographic variations in transmission risk so that complementary vector control tools can be integrated into current vector control programmes as supplementary measures that are spatially targeted to maximize impact upon residual transmission. This study examines the distribution of host-seeking malaria vectors at households within two villages in rural Tanzania. Host-seeking mosquitoes were sampled from 72 randomly selected households in two villages on a monthly basis throughout 2008 using CDC light-traps placed beside occupied nets. Spatial autocorrelation in the dataset was examined using the Moran's I statistic and the location of any clusters was identified using the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic. Statistical associations between the household characteristics and clusters of mosquitoes were assessed using a generalized linear model for each species. For both Anopheles gambiae sensu lato and Anopheles funestus, the density of host-seeking females was spatially autocorrelated, or clustered. For both species, houses with low densities were clustered in the semi-urban village centre while houses with high densities were clustered in the periphery of the villages. Clusters of houses with low or high densities of An. gambiae s.l. were influenced by the number of residents in nearby houses. The occurrence of high-density clusters of An. gambiae s.l. was associated with lower elevations while An. funestus was also associated with higher elevations. Distance from the village centre was also positively correlated with the number of household occupants and having houses constructed with open eaves. The results of the current study highlight that complementary vector control tools could be most effectively targeted to the periphery of villages where the households potentially have a higher hazard (mosquito densities) and vulnerability (open eaves and larger households) to malaria infection