Hacia la construcción de un Tomógrafo de Impedancia Eléctrica (EIT) para la zona del antebrazo humano

Proyecto de Investigación (Código: VIE-180181) Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Extensión (VIE). Escuela de Física, Escuela de Ingeniería Electrónica, 2017La tomografía por impedancia eléctrica (EIT) es una técnica que permite crear imágenes de tejidos humanos a partir de mediciones de impedancia con arreglos de electrodos colocados sobre la superficie de la piel. Al ser un método no invasivo de costo relativamente bajo, importantes esfuerzos de investigación se han realizado con el fin de desarrollar esta técnica en diversas aplicaciones de diagnóstico médico. Tradicionalmente este sistema se aplica a tejidos cuya estructura de conductividades cambia en el tiempo, aplicaciones de esta tecnología son mediciones del volumen de sangre eyectado del corazón, monitorización del volumen de aire que entra y sale de los pulmones y la evolución de accidentes cerebro vasculares. En el caso específico donde la diferencia de conductividad eléctrica permite un alto contraste de los tejidos se ha aplicado como un método de seguimiento de evolución del paciente, pero no de forma exclusiva, este es el caso del cáncer mamario. Este estudio plantea estudiar la factibilidad de desarrollar un tomógrafo de impedancia eléctrica para la zona del antebrazo humano en el Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica (ITCR), en cooperación con la Universidad Técnica de Hamburgo (TUHH), y con el fin de complementar a futuro actividades de investigación paralelas en el campo de la estimulación eléctrica neuromuscular. El trabajo realizado muestra la posibilidad de construir un tomógrafo de impedancia eléctrica (EIT) en el Tecnológico, con aplicaciones en sistemas invariantes en el tiempo, como lo es el antebrazo humano; sin embargo, se requiere un refinamiento de las técnicas de reconstrucción de imágenes para lograr la resolución suficiente para localizar tejidos nerviosos, debido principalmente al bajo contraste que presenta este tejido con el medio que lo rode

How to Measure Socioemotional Ties in Workgroups? Validation of Workgroup Socioaffective Interdependence Scale

The main purpose of this study is the validation of the Workgroup Socioaffective Interdependence Scale – WSAIS developed by the authors in a preliminary study. The authors aim is to confirm the multidimensional structure of the measure and to analyse its psychometric properties in a sample of 488 employees from 92 teams. To test construct validity a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, and social network density of socioemotional ties were calculated to assess convergent and discriminant validity. The findings confirm the underlying factor structure of the scale and provide support for the adequacy of the instrument as a team multidimensional measure of socioaffective interdependence

Privatization Process and Talent Management in Angola

The problem of the privatization process began in the 1940s, even though it only really began to gain a prominent place in the entrepreneurial path, about 50 years later. The processes of privatization of the world economies, which led to the triggering of a set of cooperative strategies based on the State-owned enterprises privatization, and, of course, all these events, had repercussions also in Angola. Based on an investigation of a pragmatic or inductive nature, based on a non-probabilistic sample, due to the lack of studies and information about the phenomenon of Angola's privatization during the period from colonial independence to the present. This article aims to develop this subject by presenting, on the one hand, a set of causes that were the basis of the failure in the privatization processes taken place in Angola between 1989 and 2005 and which degenerated into the collapse of its corporate network. And, on the other hand, it presents an idea of the possible impact that these privatization processes failures had, and still have, on Talent Management by Angolan organizations. It also presents a set of suggestions which could be considered in future privatization processes that may occur by building a more consistent business structure in economic and business terms

The boundaries in the area of knowledge transfer in management consulting

In a historical retrospective, although the existing literature calls the management consulting industry an extraordinary sector and a unique phenomenon in the business context, in fact these statements are not accompanied by a number of academic studies that emphasize the importance of the effective work of the management consultants. To contest the lack of studies in this emerging area, this article aims to understand the implications of the border to the transfer of information and knowledge from management consultants to their client companies. The results of the empirical analysis in the form of semi-structured interviews and questionnaires applied to management consultants and SME managers in Portugal reveal that the competency factor must be based on the four knowledge families of business management - the know- know, the competence, know-how and know-how to be and it is only from this conjugation that any kind of constraints that can be found along the way (political, physical or cultural) are able to be unblocked.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Oxygen consumption and lipoxygenase activity in isolated tomato fruit chromoplasts

This Study using purified tomato fruit chromoplasts has shown significant rates of oxygen consumption even in the absence of external precursors. Oxygen consumption rates increased up to 7-fold when chromoplast samples were incubated for 24 h at room temperature. This increase in oxygen consumption is most likely due to the activation of lipoxygenase in the chromoplasts

O TEMPO E A COMUNICAÇÃO: Novos horizont

Este ensayo es el resultado de una reflexión sobre el impacto y efecto de la comunicación en los procesos de cambio de la cultura organizacional. La cultura y comunicación tradicional en las organizaciones ya no responde a las exigencias contemporáneas, lo que promueve la construcción de una nueva identidad ante la velocidad tecnológica y la preocupación por el tiempo. Así, el objetivo es analizar el papel de la comunicación en los procesos de cambio empresarial. Con base en la revisión bibliográfica como metodología, se analiza la función de la comunicación organizacional, la cultura organizacional y la disonancia entre modelos corporativos tradicionales y emergentes. Se concluye que la idea de tiempo, organización jerárquica, valores y hábitos caminan hacia nuevos horizontes donde los cambios innovadores en la cultura organizacional y comunicación son la llave del éxito y la supervivencia.   PALABRAS CLAVE: Comunicación organizacional; cultur

A Abordagem Geográfica Aplicada à Área da Saúde Pública: contribuições e reflexões

Este artigo busca, de forma não definitiva e conclusiva, fazer um breve resgate histórico acerca da origem e evolução da Geografia da Saúde, destacando as principais contribuições de pesquisadores — geógrafos, médicos, sociólogos, engenheiros sanitaristas, biólogos, entre outros — e ressaltando a importância da abordagem geográfica na área da saúde. Para isso, foi realizado um levantamento sistemático de estudos publicados no periódico Cadernos de Saúde Pública a partir de 1990. Dissertações de mestrado e teses de doutorado defendidas junto ao Programa de Pós- Graduação strictu sensu da Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Ensp/Fiocruz) também foram analisadas a partir de consultas ao acervo on-line da biblioteca virtual do referido programa. A abordagem geográfica, aplicada aos temas relacionados à Saúde Pública, é importante para complementar os estudos acerca dos fenômenos e processos patológicos e sóciomédicos a partir de uma dimensão espacial. Tais estudos contribuem para tornar mais precisa a análise dos fatores que norteiam e condicionam a definição das políticas públicas na área de Saúde, o que, somado à utilização dos Sistemas de Informação Geográfica (SIG), poderá reorientá-las de forma que atuem de maneira preventiva e não privilegiando as ações assistenciais e curativas

Evaluation of the correlation between oral infections and systemic complications in kidney transplant patients: a retrospective pilot study

BACKGROUND: Data regarding the efficacy of the dental clearance required prior to kidney transplantation (KT) for preventing post-transplant complications is controversial. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate a possible correlation between any untreated oral infectious foci and the onset of systemic complications in KT patients. METHODS: Patients scheduled for regular check-ups during the post-transplant period were visited at the C.I.R. Dental School in Turin, Italy. Patients were asked to bring orthopantomography (OPT) acquired prior to transplantation to compare the possible presence of untreated infectious foci at the time of transplantation with the time of their post-transplant visit. Patients were then divided, according to the evaluation of the OPT obtained prior to the transplantation, into two groups according to their dental status prior to the transplant. “Group Infected” was comprised of patients with no dental clearance, and “Group Clear” included patients with dental clearance. The medical records were then retrospectively reviewed for the evaluation of any systemic complications that occurred after transplantation. The following medical complications were considered: fever, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, systemic infections, kidney rejection, and death. Complications were divided in two groups: early complications, which occurred within 100 days of transplantation, and late complications, which occurred more than 100 days after transplantation. RESULTS: A total of 77 patients were enrolled in the study. Group Infected was composed of 19 subjects (25%), while Group Clear was composed of 58 patients (75%). In Group Infected, 13 (68%) patients developed complications within 100 days of transplantation, and 11 (58%) did so after 100 days. In Group Clear, 31 (53%) patients had complications within 100 days of the transplant, and 23 (40%) did after 100 days. Patients in Group Infected had a statistically significant increase in episodes of fever (p = 0.03), compared to Group Clear, with a higher relative risk (RR) of 3.66 in the first 100 days after transplantation. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of the present retrospective pilot study, and based on the results, a correlation between the absence of dental clearance prior to KT and a higher RR of developing a fever within the first 100 days post transplantation was highlighted. The present results encourage doctors to continue research on the topic, which remains controversial. Further prospective studies are required to confirm the results of the present study

Apresentação Atípica de uma Doença Muito Rara

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease typically presents as rapidly progressive dementia. We describe the case of a 59-year-old male patient presenting with sudden onset of central facial palsy and dysarthria, followed by myoclonus of his left upper and lower limbs. Initial brain magnetic resonance showed hyperintensity of the right caudate and putamen on diffusion-weighted imaging and T2 sequences. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed increased protein count. The workup to investigate autoimmune, infectious and paraneoplastic causes was negative. Symptoms progressively worsened, with left hemiplegia, dysphagia, urinary incontinence, and, later, akinetic mutism. The follow-up brain magnetic resonance scan revealed hyperintensity of bilateral basal ganglia as well as cerebral cortical abnormalities on diffusion-weighted imaging. Electroencephalography showed periodic activity and tau protein levels in the cerebrospinal fluid were elevated. Genetic analysis showed mutation c-598G > A. The patient died four months later. We report a case of familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with atypical clinical and radiological features, namely neurological focal signs with sudden onset, absence of significant cognitive impairment and unilateral radiological findings. With disease progression, characteristic clinical and radiological features led to the diagnosis.publishersversionpublishe