The Content of the Basic/Required MIS Course in a Latin-American MBA

The panel is about the basic/required MIS course in Latin-American MBA programs. Given the current insufficiency of qualified MIS faculty in Latin-America this course is frequently taught by faculty from other areas and its content is often highly technical. The panel (introduced and moderated by Dr. Carlos Ferran) will discuss the current and the ideal content of this course as well as avenues to move forward. Two panelists are resident faculty in Latin-American universities (Dr. Aurora Sanchez –UCNA in Chile– and Dr. David Montesinos –INCAE in Costa Rica–), one visits Latin-America regularly to teach MIS in MBA programs (Dr. Enrique Mu), and one is completely unrelated to Latin-America (Dr. Janis Gogan) who will question why the course should be any different to the ones taught elsewhere. The panel is of interest to Latin-American academics but also for any academic interested on what should be included in the basic/required MIS course in MBA programs regardless of geography

Advantages offered by the double magnetic loops versus the conventional single ones

[EN] Due to their simplicity and operating mode, magnetic loops are one of the most used traffic sensors in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). However, at this moment, their potential is not being fully exploited, as neither the speed nor the length of the vehicles can be surely ascertained with the use of a single magnetic loop. In this way, nowadays the vast majority of them are only being used to measure traffic flow and count vehicles on urban and interurban roads. This is the reason why we presented in a previous paper the double magnetic loop, capable of improving the features and functionalities of the conventional single loop without increasing the cost or introducing additional complexity. In that paper, it was introduced their design and peculiarities, how to calculate their magnetic field and three different methods to calculate their inductance. Therefore, with the purpose of improving the existing infrastructure and providing it with greater potential and reliability, this paper will focus on justifying and demonstrating the advantages offered by these double loops versus the conventional ones. This will involve analyzing the magnetic profiles generated by the passage of vehicles over double loops and comparing them with those already known. Moreover, it will be shown how the vehicle speed, the traffic direction and many other data can be obtained more easily and with less margin of error by using these new inductance signatures.This research has been funded by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia through its internal project 'Equipos de deteccion, regulacion e informacion en el sector de los sistemas inteligentes de transporte (ITS). Nuevos modelos y ensayos de compatibilidad y verificacion de funcionamiento', which has been carried out at the ITACA InstituteMocholí-Belenguer, F.; Mocholí Salcedo, A.; Guill Ibáñez, A.; Milian Sanchez, V. (2019). Advantages offered by the double magnetic loops versus the conventional single ones. PLoS ONE. 14(2):1-24. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211626S12414

Ontogenetic Expression of Sonic Hedgehog in the Chicken Subpallium

Sonic hedgehog (SHH) is a secreted signaling factor that is implicated in the molecular patterning of the central nervous system (CNS), somites, and limbs in vertebrates. SHH has a crucial role in the generation of ventral cell types along the entire rostrocaudal axis of the neural tube. It is secreted early in development by the axial mesoderm (prechordal plate and notochord) and the overlying ventral neural tube. Recent studies clarified the impact of SHH signaling mechanisms on dorsoventral patterning of the spinal cord, but the corresponding phenomena in the rostral forebrain are slightly different and more complex. This notably involves separate Shh expression in the preoptic part of the forebrain alar plate, as well as in the hypothalamic floor and basal plates. The present work includes a detailed spatiotemporal description of the singular alar Shh expression pattern in the rostral preoptic forebrain of chick embryos, comparing it with FoxG1, Dlx5, Nkx2.1, and Nkx2.2 mRNA expression at diverse stages of development. As a result of this mapping, we report a subdivision of the preoptic region in dorsal and ventral zones; only the dorsal part shows Shh expression. The positive area impinges as well upon a median septocommissural preoptic domain. Our study strongly suggests tangential migration of Shh-positive cells from the preoptic region into other subpallial domains, particularly into the pallidal mantle and the intermediate septum

Efficacy of the filmarray blood culture identification panel for direct molecular diagnosis of infectious diseases from samples other than blood

Molecular-based techniques reduce the delay in diagnosing infectious diseases and therefore contribute to better patient outcomes. We assessed the FilmArray blood culture identification (BCID) panel (Biofire Diagnostics/bioMérieux) directly on clinical specimens other than blood: cerebrospinal, joint, pleural and ascitic fluids, bronchoscopy samples and abscesses. We compared the results from 88 samples obtained by culture-based techniques. The percentage of agreement between the two methods was 75 % with a Cohen K value of 0.51. Global sensitivity and specificity using the FilmArray BCID panel were 71 and 97 %, respectively. Sensitivity was poorer in samples with a low bacterial load, such as ascitic and pleural fluids (25 %), whereas the sensitivity for abscess samples was high (89 %). These findings suggest that the FilmArray BCID panel could be useful to perform microbiological diagnosis directly from samples other than positive blood cultures, as it offers acceptable sensitivity and moderate agreement with conventional microbiological methods. Nevertheless, cost-benefit studies should be performed before introducing this method into algorithms for microbiological diagnostics

BARRANCO DE TELDE [Material gráfico]

Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, 201

Back Pain in Adolescents and Young Adults with Idiopathic Scoliosis-Identifying Factors Associated with Significant Pain-A Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis

Idiopathic scoliosis; Pain; Psychological factorsEscoliosi idiopàtica; Dolor; Factors psicològicsEscoliosis idiopática; Dolor; Factores psicologicos(1) Background: Previous data show that patients with idiopathic scoliosis (IS) can be classified into two groups according to pain intensity. This paper aims to determine which factors can independently predict the likelihood of belonging to a high-level pain group. (2) Methods: The study used a prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional design. Two-hundred and seventy-two patients with IS (mean age 18.1 years) (females 83.5%) were included. The sample was divided into two groups. The PAIN group comprised 101 patients (37.1%) with an average NRS of 5.3. The NO-PAIN group consisted of 171 patients (62.9%) with an average NRS of 1.1. Data on various factors such as comorbidities, family history, curve magnitude, type of treatment, absenteeism, anxiety, depression, kinesiophobia, family environment, and social relationships were collected. Statistical analysis consisted of multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify independent predictors of high-level pain. (3) Results: In the final model, including modifiable and non-modifiable predictors, age (OR 1.07 (1.02–1.11)); Absenteeism (OR 3.87 (1.52–9.87)), HAD anxiety (OR 1.18 (1.09–1.29)) and an indication for surgery (OR 2.87 (1.28–6.43)) were associated with an increased risk of pain. The overall model is significant at p = 0.0001 level and correctly predicts 72.6% of the responses. (4) Conclusions: Age, an indication for surgery, anxiety, and work/school absenteeism are the variables that independently determine the risk of belonging to the high-level pain group (NRS > 3).This research was funded by the Spanish Spine Society (GEER) Research Grant (2019) and Eurospine Research Grant (2019_16)

La necròpoli bizantina de Tell es-Sin : un estudi antropològic

El jaciment Tell es-Sin (Muntanya de la dent), situat a la frontera del que avui coneixem com a Síria i l'Iraq, correspon a un assentament bizantí. El seu estudi ha de ser interpretat dins del context històric del Limes Diocletianus oriental entre el segle V dC i l'arribada dels àrabs en el 637 dC. Un període encara bastant desconegut a causa de l'escassetat de necròpoli d'aquesta època. En aquest article Investigadors de les Facultats de Biologia i de Biociències, donen compte de les característiques dels que van ser el seus habitants, a partir de les restes humanes recuperats durant les excavacions que es van dur a terme entre 2005 i 2008.El yacimiento Tell es-Sin (Monte del diente), situado en la frontera de lo que hoy conocemos como Siria e Irak, corresponde a un asentamiento bizantino cuyo estudio debe ser interpretado dentro del contexto histórico del Limes Diocletianus oriental, entre el siglo V dC y la llegada de los árabes en el 637 dC. Un periodo aún bastante desconocido debido a la escasez de necrópolis de esta época. En este artículo, investigadores de las Facultades de Biología y de Biociencia dan cuenta de las características antropológicas de quienes fueron sus moradores, a partir de los restos humanos recuperados durante las excavaciones realizadas entre 2005 y 2008.The Tell es-Sin (Mount of the Tooth) site, located on the border of what is now known as Syria and Iraq, corresponds to a Byzantine settlement, whose study must be interpreted within the historical context of the eastern Limes Diocletianus, between the 5th century AD, and the arrival of the Arabs in AD 637. A period still quite unknown due to the scarcity of necropolis of this time. In this article, researchers from the Faculties of Biology and Biosciences give an account of the anthropological characteristics of its inhabitants, based on the human remains recovered during excavations carried out between 2005 and 2008

Continuous integrated biologics manufacturing

Biosimilars and patent expiry are forcing the biopharma industry to find new ways to maintain competitiveness by ensuring affordability, quality, and delivery performance. Despite great improvements in upstream processing (USP) efficiency, higher titres create downstream processing (DSP) bottlenecks and facility fit issues: Equipment reaches its physical and capacity limits thereby increasing processing time, material consumption and overall cost. Continuous processes have been proposed as a solution to many of these issues as they offer higher productivity while reducing cycle times, buffer/resin usage and required footprint. A consortium of UK based biopharmaceutical companies, suppliers and not for profit research organisations, funded by an Innovate UK grant, has been created and will investigate how such an integrated, continuous downstream process system can be realised. The system has been constructed and is currently operating at the Centre for Process Innovation at Darlington, UK. The project combines and condenses multiple DSP unit operations to function as one uninterrupted system with integrated analytics and overarching automated control. The aim is to create an operationally-efficient, multi-product platform which replicates the functionality of a larger plant processing 100 L feedstock per day (independent of product titre). The integrated unit will be tested on several biologic processes demonstrating the system’s potential to enable product changeover, increased facility flexibility and productivity. Significant focus will be given to process validation procedures and the use of low level control to achieve process stability (steady state) and maintain acceptable product quality. This work will lay the foundation for real-time release strategies and replace drug substance release testing. This presentation will provide an overview of the project and show recently-acquired data from the automated purification of industry-relevant monoclonal antibodies. In doing so, this will highlight the applicability and demonstrate the real-world potential for integrated continuous processing to advance the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals

Predictive Models for Forecasting Public Health Scenarios: Practical Experiences Applied during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Forecasting the behavior of epidemic outbreaks is vital in public health. This makes it possible to anticipate the planning and organization of the health system, as well as possible restrictive or preventive measures. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this need for prediction has been crucial. This paper attempts to characterize the alternative models that were applied in the first wave of this pandemic context, trying to shed light that could help to understand them for future practical applications. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed in standardized bibliographic repertoires, using keywords and Boolean operators to refine the findings, and selecting articles according to the main PRISMA 2020 statement recommendations. Results: After identifying models used throughout the first wave of this pandemic (between March and June 2020), we begin by examining standard data-driven epidemiological models, including studies applying models such as SIR (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered), SQUIDER, SEIR, time-dependent SIR, and other alternatives. For data-driven methods, we identify experiences using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), evolutionary genetic programming machine learning, short-term memory (LSTM), and global epidemic and mobility models. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to intensive and evolving use of alternative infectious disease prediction models. At this point it is not easy to decide which prediction method is the best in a generic way. Moreover, although models such as the LSTM emerge as remarkably versatile and useful, the practical applicability of the alternatives depends on the specific context of the underlying variable and on the information of the target to be prioritized. In addition, the robustness of the assessment is conditioned by heterogeneity in the quality of information sources and differences in the characteristics of disease control interventions. Further comprehensive comparison of the performance of models in comparable situations, assessing their predictive validity, is needed. This will help determine the most reliable and practical methods for application in future outbreaks and eventual pandemics