Transferència Tecnològica. Bones pràctiques en gestió de projectes col·laboratius d’R+D

Actualment, en la situació de crisis conjuntural en la que ens trobem, són molts els experts que parlen sobre la necessitat de realitzar recerca i desenvolupament (R+D) amb la finalitat de fer transferència tecnològica (TT) mitjançant acords de col·laboració, per assolir una millora sostenible en la productivitat i la competitivitat empresarial tecnològica ja que resulta fonamental per el desenvolupament econòmic d‟un país en forma de riquesa i ocupació. És per aquest motiu que es planteja el present projecte, en el qual es pretén elaborar un llistat de bones pràctiques que caldrà tenir en compte a l‟hora de plantejar-se l‟execució d‟un projecte col·laboratiu d‟R+D. Com a introducció, es definirà el terme transferència tecnològica i quins són els outputs que surten d‟ella. També s‟explicarà quin és el paper que adopta la universitat i quins són els agents més importants dels sistema ciència i innovació. A continuació es farà una anàlisi de la situació en la que Catalunya es troba en termes d‟R+D a nivell nacional, europeu i mundial per saber les fortaleses i les mancances actuals. El cos del projecte es basarà en l‟estudi de quins seran els factors que influiran positivament en la realització de projectes col·laboratius d‟R+D i es basarà en dues línies d‟actuació: en primer lloc, en la recerca i el tractament de la literatura especialitzada i , en segons lloc, en un anàlisis empíric a partir de la captació d‟informació a través d‟un qüestionari i posterior anàlisi estadístic descriptiu. Finalment es proposaran un llistat de bones pràctiques que haurien d‟ajudar a millorar l‟èxit dels projectes col·laboratius d‟R+D amb la finalitat de donar suport a la universitat en la realització d‟aquest tipus de projecte

Prediction model of alcohol intoxication from facial temperature dynamics based on K-means clustering driven by evolutionary computing

Alcohol intoxication is a significant phenomenon, affecting many social areas, including work procedures or car driving. Alcohol causes certain side effects including changing the facial thermal distribution, which may enable the contactless identification and classification of alcohol-intoxicated people. We adopted a multiregional segmentation procedure to identify and classify symmetrical facial features, which reliably reflects the facial-temperature variations while subjects are drinking alcohol. Such a model can objectively track alcohol intoxication in the form of a facial temperature map. In our paper, we propose the segmentation model based on the clustering algorithm, which is driven by the modified version of the Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) evolutionary optimization with the goal of facial temperature features extraction from the IR (infrared radiation) images. This model allows for a definition of symmetric clusters, identifying facial temperature structures corresponding with intoxication. The ABC algorithm serves as an optimization process for an optimal cluster's distribution to the clustering method the best approximate individual areas linked with gradual alcohol intoxication. In our analysis, we analyzed a set of twenty volunteers, who had IR images taken to reflect the process of alcohol intoxication. The proposed method was represented by multiregional segmentation, allowing for classification of the individual spatial temperature areas into segmentation classes. The proposed method, besides single IR image modelling, allows for dynamical tracking of the alcohol-temperature features within a process of intoxication, from the sober state up to the maximum observed intoxication level.Web of Science118art. no. 99

Monitoring hepatitis C virus treatment rates in an Opioid Treatment Program : A longitudinal study

Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are recommended for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients treated with methadone or buprenorphine. To assess HCV treatment rates in an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP). This longitudinal study included 501 patients (81.4% men, median age: 45 years; interquartile range: 39-50 years) enrolled in an OTP between October 2015 and September 2017. Patients were followed until September 2019. Data on socio-demographics, substance use, HCV infection, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and laboratory parameters were collected at entry. We analyzed medical records to evaluate HCV treatment. Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox regression models were used to analyze the DAA treatment uptake and to identify treatment predictors. Prevalence of HCV and HIV infection was 70% and 34%, respectively. Among anti-HCV-positive (n = 336) patients, 47.2%, 41.3%, and 31.9% used alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine, respectively. HCV-RNA tests were positive in 233 (69.3%) patients. Twentyeight patients (8.3%) cleared the infection, and 59/308 (19.1%) had received interferon-based treatment regimens before 2015. Among 249 patients eligible, 111 (44.6%) received DAAs. Treatment rates significantly increased over time from 7.8/100 person-years (p-y) (95%CI: 5.0-12.3) in 2015 to 18.9/100 p-y (95%CI: 11.7-30.3) in 2019. In a multivariate analysis, patients with HIV co-infection were twice as likely to receive DAAs (HR = 1.94, 95%CI: 1.21-3.12) than patients with HCV mono-infection. Current drug use was an independent risk factor for not receiving treatment against infection (HR = 0.48, 95%CI: 0.29-0.80). HCV treatment is evolving in patients with HCV-HIV co-infection. Ongoing drug use while in an OTP might negatively impact the readiness to treat infection

Sex-specific disease outcomes of HIV-positive and HIV-negative drug users admitted to an opioid substitution therapy program in Spain : a cohort study

Altres ajuts: We would like to thank the health care professionals working at CASDelta-Badalona, the mobile unit (Methadone Bus), and pharmaciesdispensing methadone in Badalona and Santa Coloma de Gramenet. This work has been made possible by the collaboration of the MortalityRegister, Institute of Health Studies, Department de Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya.Opioid substitution therapy has improved the survival of heroin users with and without HIV infection. We aimed to analyze sex differences in mortality rates and predictors of death among those admitted to a methadone treatment program (MTP). Longitudinal study of patients enrolled in a MTP from 1992 to 2010. Socio-demographic and drug use characteristics, and markers of viral infections were assessed at entry. Vital status was ascertained by clinical charts and the mortality register. Four calendar periods were defined according to the introduction of preventive and treatment interventions in Spain. Predictors of death were analyzed by Cox regression models. 1,678 patients (82.8% men) were included; age at first heroin use was 18.6 years (IQR: 16-23 years), and age at first entry into a MTP was 30.7 years (IQR: 26-36 years). A total of 441 (26.3%) deaths occurred during 15,124 person-years (p-y) of follow-up (median: 9.2 years, IQR: 4-13 years). HIV infection was the main predictor of death in men (HR = 3.5, 95% CI: 2.1-5.7) and women (HR = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.2-8.7) and main cause of death was HIV/AIDS. Overall mortality rate was 2.9 per 100 p-y (95% CI: 2.7-3.2 per 100 p-y) and death rates decreased over time: 7.4 per 100 p-y (95% CI: 6.3-8.8 per 100 p-y) for the 1992-1996 period to 1.9 per 100 p-y (95% CI: 1.6-2.4 per 100 p-y) for the 2007-2010 period. In women, a slightly increase in mortality was observed in recent periods specifically among HIV-positive women (3.7 per 100 p-y in period 2002-2006 and 4.5 per 100 p-y in 2007-2010). Significant reductions in mortality of patients in MTP are observed after nineteen years of observation. However, HIV infection shows a great impact on survival, particularly among HIV-infected women. The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2334-14-504) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Bovine tuberculosis in wildlife in France. Risk for cattle

Tuberculosis (TB) due to M. bovis has been described in wildlife species of many countries, albeit, depending on the situation, being considered as a sentinel or a reservoir of the infection for livestock and/or human. In France, TB has been discovered for the first time, in 2001, in wild ungulates of the Brotonne Forest (Normandy). Since then, passive and active surveillance for the disease has been implemented in several regions, and later expanded to the whole country through the Sylvatub surveillance program since 2011. Firstly described in wild boar and red deer, it has also been detected in 2009 in badgers of Côte d’Or, then in 2010 in Dordogne and Charente. The presence of high density populations of wild animals and some practices as artificial feeding, which lead to non-natural high concentrations of animals, are major factors of emergence and persistence of TB in wildlife. In several French regions, M. bovis would be circulating in a multi-host system including bovines (and pigs, in Corsica only), several wildlife species and their environment which thus complicates the epidemiology and sanitary management of the diseaseLa tuberculose à Mycobacterium bovis (TB) est décrite dans la faune sauvage de plusieurs pays, celle-ci pouvant être, selon les cas, sentinelle ou réservoir de l’infection pour les bovins et/ou l’homme. En France, la TB a été découverte en 2001 chez des ongulés sauvages en forêt de Brotonne (Normandie). Depuis cette date, une surveillance événementielle et programmée de la maladie a été mise en place dans plusieurs départements, puis étendue de façon harmonisée à tout le territoire français métropolitain grâce à la mise en place du dispositif Sylvatub depuis 2011. D’abord décrite chez les cerfs et les sangliers, la TB a été détectée chez le blaireau en 2009 en Côte d’Or, puis en 2010 en Dordogne et en Charente. La présence de fortes densités d’animaux sauvages et entre autres la pratique de l’agrainage, qui provoque des concentrations artificielles d’animaux, sont des facteurs majeurs d’émergence et de persistance de la TB dans les populations sauvages. Dans plusieurs régions de France, M. bovis semble circuler dans un système multi-hôtes comprenant les bovins (et les porcs en Corse uniquement), plusieurs espèces sauvages et leur environnement ce qui complique l’épidémiologie et la gestion sanitaire de la maladi

Ortho-to-para ratio of NH2. Herschel-HIFI observations of ortho- and para-NH2 rotational transitions towards W31C, W49N, W51 and G34.3+0.1

We have used the Herschel-HIFI instrument to observe both nuclear spin symmetries of amidogen (NH2) towards the high-mass star-forming regions W31C (G10.6-0.4), W49N (G43.2-0.1), W51 (G49.5-0.4) and G34.3+0.1. The aim is to investigate the ratio of nuclear spin types, the ortho-to-para ratio (OPR), of NH2. The excited NH2 transitions are used to construct radiative transfer models of the hot cores and surrounding envelopes in order to investigate the excitation and possible emission of the ground state rotational transitions of ortho-NH2 N_(K_a,K_c} J=1_(1,1) 3/2 - 0_(0,0) 1/2 and para-NH2 2_(1,2) 5/2 - 1_(0,1) 3/2$ used in the OPR calculations. Our best estimate of the average OPR in the envelopes lie above the high temperature limit of three for W49N, specifically 3.5 with formal errors of \pm0.1, but for W31C, W51, and G34.3+0.1 we find lower values of 2.5\pm0.1, 2.7\pm0.1, and 2.3\pm0.1, respectively. Such low values are strictly forbidden in thermodynamical equilibrium since the OPR is expected to increase above three at low temperatures. In the translucent interstellar gas towards W31C, where the excitation effects are low, we find similar values between 2.2\pm0.2 and 2.9\pm0.2. In contrast, we find an OPR of 3.4\pm0.1 in the dense and cold filament connected to W51, and also two lower limits of >4.2 and >5.0 in two other translucent gas components towards W31C and W49N. At low temperatures (T \lesssim 50 K) the OPR of H2 is <10^-1, far lower than the terrestrial laboratory normal value of three. In such a "para-enriched H2" gas, our astrochemical models can reproduce the variations of the observed OPR, both below and above the thermodynamical equilibrium value, by considering nuclear-spin gas-phase chemistry. The models suggest that values below three arise in regions with temperatures >20-25 K, depending on time, and values above three at lower temperatures