Evaluation of a customer loyalty strategy with system dymamics

The customer loyalty programs are a tool of differentiation and high impact to create long term relationships with customers of a company, so as to achieve an improvement in the portfolio and collections, redu­ced costs of customer service, increased revenue from higher sales to the most profitable customers, cross selling, among many other benefits. Ac­cordingly, we present a system dynamic model to analyze the economic benefits, in terms of profitability, which would be to implement a customer loyalty strategy. To adjust and validate the proposed model, its implemen­tation is done in a real case of a marketer of agricultural products in the department of Valle del Cauca - Colombia. The simulation results show that indeed the model fulfills its purpose, and that the loyalty program achieved significant results in the finances of the organization.Los programas de fidelización de clientes son una herramienta de diferen­ciación y alto impacto para crear relaciones de largo plazo con los clientes de una empresa, de tal forma que se logre una mejora en cartera y recaudo, reducción de costos de atención a clientes, incremento en ingresos por mayores ventas a los clientes más rentables, ventas cruzadas, entre muchos otros beneficios. De acuerdo con esto, se presenta un modelo de dinámica de sistemas que permita analizar los beneficios económicos, en términos de rentabilidad, que se tendrían al implementar una estrategia de fideliza­ción de clientes. Para ajustar y validar el modelo propuesto, se aplica en un caso real de una empresa comercializadora de productos agrícolas de la región. Los resultados de la simulación muestran que efectivamente el modelo cumple con su objetivo, y que el programa de fidelización logra importantes resultados en las finanzas de la organización

Evaluación de una estrategia de fidelización de clientes con dinámica de sistemas

The customer loyalty programs are a tool of differentiation and high impact to create long term relationships with customers of a company, so as to achieve an improvement in the portfolio and collections, redu­ced costs of customer service, increased revenue from higher sales to the most profitable customers, cross selling, among many other benefits. Ac­cordingly, we present a system dynamic model to analyze the economic benefits, in terms of profitability, which would be to implement a customer loyalty strategy. To adjust and validate the proposed model, its implemen­tation is done in a real case of a marketer of agricultural products in the department of Valle del Cauca - Colombia. The simulation results show that indeed the model fulfills its purpose, and that the loyalty program achieved significant results in the finances of the organization. Los programas de fidelización de clientes son una herramienta de diferen­ciación y alto impacto para crear relaciones de largo plazo con los clientes de una empresa, de tal forma que se logre una mejora en cartera y recaudo, reducción de costos de atención a clientes, incremento en ingresos por mayores ventas a los clientes más rentables, ventas cruzadas, entre muchos otros beneficios. De acuerdo con esto, se presenta un modelo de dinámica de sistemas que permita analizar los beneficios económicos, en términos de rentabilidad, que se tendrían al implementar una estrategia de fideliza­ción de clientes. Para ajustar y validar el modelo propuesto, se aplica en un caso real de una empresa comercializadora de productos agrícolas de la región. Los resultados de la simulación muestran que efectivamente el modelo cumple con su objetivo, y que el programa de fidelización logra importantes resultados en las finanzas de la organización.

Determinación del grado de satisfacción ciudadana acerca del transporte público vehicular en Valledupar, Cesar

El  deterioro  en  los  vehículos  de  transporte público  y  el  mal  servicio  que  estos  prestan han ocasionado que la ciudadanía opte por utilizar servicios de transporte que están en contra de las leyes,  como el mototaxismo y el uso indebido de taxis tomados como rutas de colectivos. El objetivo general de esta in- vestigación fue determinar el grado de sa- tisfacción ciudadana acerca del transporte público vehicular en la ciudad de Valledupar, Cesar. Para lograr el objetivo general se utili- zó la investigación de tipo descriptiva con un enfoque mixto, la cual se basó en encuestas a la comunidad universitaria y a la población que transita frecuentemente por el centro de la ciudad. Dentro de los resultados obtenidos se destaca el hecho de que la socialización de las nuevas rutas establecidas es deficiente, además de que el 61% de los encuestados no está de acuerdo con el valor exigido por la empresa prestadora del servicio. Se concluyó que el grado de satisfacción de la población de Valledupar con respecto a los vehículos de transporte público es bajo, puesto que el servicio que se presta no suple totalmente las necesidades de los usuario

Simulación dinámica de una alternativa de generación de energía a partir de residuos

Both problems, the growing solid waste generation and electricity demand continually growing impact the environment by increasing emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere. In relation to the solid waste management, alternative as reuse, recycling or reuse have been raised. In addition, waste to energy appears as an alternative to generate energy from waste. In this paper a comparison of the environmental effects associated with waste incineration (waste to energy) versus alternative reuse or recycling is proposed. The model proposed by system dynamics is validated with information related to plastic packaging waste in Colombia. The model compares the effects on five environmental indicators, finding that such indicators are favored in some scenarios, but is necessary more research on the subject to will be conclusive and definitive results. The results and conclusions provide elements to improve decision-making processes in this area and encourage future researches in the subject.A nivel mundial, la creciente generación de residuos sólidos corre pareja con una demanda de energía eléctrica que aumenta continuamente. Estos dos problemas en conjunto impactan el ambiente incrementando las emisiones de CO2 a la atmósfera. Para manejar los residuos sólidos se han planteado alternativas como la reutilización, el reciclaje o el reúso. Adicionalmente, se ha propuesto el waste to energy como una alternativa para generar energía a partir de los residuos. En este documento se plantea la comparación de los efectos ambientales asociados a la incineración de residuos (waste to energy) con las alternativas de reúso o reciclaje. El modelo planteado mediante la dinámica de sistemas se valida confrontándolo con la información que se tiene en Colombia sobre los residuos de envases plásticos. El modelo de simulación compara los efectos en cinco indicadores ambientales, encontrándose que dichos indicadores se ven favorecidos en algunos escenarios, pero que es necesario continuar investigando en el tema para tener resultados concluyentes y definitivos. Los resultados y las conclusiones buscan aportar elementos para mejorar los procesos de toma de decisión en este aspecto y abren un camino para continuar la investigación en este tema

Data sources for drug utilization research in Latin American countries—A cross-national study: DASDUR-LATAM study

Purpose: Drug utilization research (DUR) contributes to inform policymaking and to strengthen health systems. The availability of data sources is the first step for conducting DUR. However, documents that systematize these data sources in Latin American (LatAm) countries are not known. We compiled the potential data sources for DUR in the LatAm region. Methods: A network of DUR experts from nine LatAm countries was assembled and experts conducted: (i) a website search of the government, academic, and private health institutions; (ii) screening of eligible data sources, and (iii) liaising with national experts in pharmacoepidemiology (via an online survey). The data sources were characterized by accessibility, geographic granularity, setting, sector of the data, sources and type of the data. Descriptive analyses were performed. Results: We identified 125 data sources for DUR in nine LatAm countries. Thirty-eight (30%) of them were publicly and conveniently available; 89 (71%) were accessible with limitations, and 18 (14%) were not accessible or lacked clear rules for data access. From the 125 data sources, 76 (61%) were from the public sector only; 46 (37%) were from pharmacy records; 43 (34%) came from ambulatory settings and; 85 (68%) gave access to individual patient-level data. Conclusions: Although multiple sources for DUR are available in LatAm countries, the accessibility is a major challenge. The procedures for accessing DUR data should be transparent, feasible, affordable, and protocol-driven. This inventory could permit a comparison of drug utilization between countries identifying potential medication-related problems that need further exploration.Fil: Lopes, Luciane C.. University Of Sorocaba; BrasilFil: Salas, Daiana Maribel. University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Osorio de Castro, Claudia Garcia Serpa. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Freitas Leal, Lisiane. McGill University; CanadáFil: Doubova, Svetlana V.. Mexican Institute of Social Security; MéxicoFil: Cañás, Martín. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; Argentina. Federación Médica de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Dreser, Anahi. Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública; MéxicoFil: Acosta, Angela. Universidad ICESI; ColombiaFil: Oliveira Baldoni, Andre. Federal University of São João Del-Rei; BrasilFil: de Cássia Bergamaschi, Cristiane. University of Sorocaba; BrasilFil: Marques Mota, Daniel. Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency; BrasilFil: Gómez Galicia, Diana L.. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos; MéxicoFil: Sepúlveda Viveros, Dino. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Narvaez Delgado, Edgard. No especifíca;Fil: da Costa Lima, Elisangela. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Chandia, Felipe Vera. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Ferre, Felipe. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Marin, Gustavo Horacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Olmos, Ismael. State Health Services Administration; UruguayFil: Zimmermann, Ivan R.. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Fulone, Izabela. University of Sorocaba; BrasilFil: Roldán Saelzer, Juan. Instituto de Salud Pública; ChileFil: Sánchez Salgado, Juan Carlos. No especifíca;Fil: Castro Pastrana, Lucila I.. Universidad de Las Américas de Puebla; MéxicoFil: de Souza, Luiz Jupiter Carneiro. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Machado Beltrán, Manuel. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; ColombiaFil: Tolentino Silva, Marcus. University of Sorocaba; BrasilFil: Mena, María Belén. Universidad Central del Ecuador; EcuadorFil: de França Fonteles, Marta Maria. Universidade Federal do Ceara; BrasilFil: Urtasun, Martín Alejandro. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; Argentina. Federación Médica de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Lovastatin delays infection and increases survival rates in AG129 mice infected with dengue virus serotype 2

ABSTARCT: It has been reported that treatment of DENV-infected cultures with Lovastatin (LOV), can affect viral assembly. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of LOV on the survival rate and viremia levels of DENV-2-infected AG129 mice. Methodology/Principal Findings: Mice were inoculated with 16106 plaque-forming units (PFU/ml) of DENV-2 and treated with LOV (200 mg/kg/day). Pre-treatment with one or three doses of LOV increased the survival rate compared to untreated mice (7.3 and 7.1 days, respectively, compared to 4.8 days). Viremia levels also decreased by 21.8% compared to untreated mice, but only in the group administered three doses prior to inoculation. When LOV was administered after viral inoculation, the survival rate increased (7.3 days in the group treated at 24 hpi, 6.8 days in the group treated at 48 hpi and 6.5 days in the group treated with two doses) compared to the untreated group (4.8 days). Interestingly, the serum viral titer increased by 24.6% in mice treated at 48 hpi with a single dose of LOV and by 21.7% in mice treated with two doses (at 24 and 48 hpi) of LOV compared to untreated mice. Finally histopathological changes in the liver and spleen in infected and untreated mice included massive extramedullary erythropoiesis foci and inflammatory filtration, and these characteristics were decreased or absent in LOV-treated mice. Conclusions/Significance: Our results suggest that the effect of LOV on viremia depends on the timing of treatment and on the number of doses administered. We observed a significant increase in the survival rate in both schemes due to a delay in the progression of the disease. However, the results obtained in the post-treatment scheme must be handled carefully because this treatment scheme increases viremia and we do not know how this increase could affect disease progression in humans

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

Guía de práctica clínica para la prevención, diagnóstico, tratamiento y rehabilitación de la falla cardiaca en población mayor de 18 años, clasificación B, C y D

La falla cardíaca es un síndrome clínico caracterizado por síntomas y signos típicos de insuficiencia cardíaca, adicional a la evidencia objetiva de una anomalía estructural o funcional del corazón. Guía completa 2016. Guía No. 53Población mayor de 18 añosN/

The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs High-resolution optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of 324 survey stars

The CARMENES radial velocity (RV) survey is observing 324 M dwarfs to search for any orbiting planets. In this paper, we present the survey sample by publishing one CARMENES spectrum for each M dwarf. These spectra cover the wavelength range 520–1710 nm at a resolution of at least R >80 000, and we measure its RV, Hα emission, and projected rotation velocity. We present an atlas of high-resolution M-dwarf spectra and compare the spectra to atmospheric models. To quantify the RV precision that can be achieved in low-mass stars over the CARMENES wavelength range, we analyze our empirical information on the RV precision from more than 6500 observations. We compare our high-resolution M-dwarf spectra to atmospheric models where we determine the spectroscopic RV information content, Q, and signal-to-noise ratio. We find that for all M-type dwarfs, the highest RV precision can be reached in the wavelength range 700–900 nm. Observations at longer wavelengths are equally precise only at the very latest spectral types (M8 and M9). We demonstrate that in this spectroscopic range, the large amount of absorption features compensates for the intrinsic faintness of an M7 star. To reach an RV precision of 1 m s−1 in very low mass M dwarfs at longer wavelengths likely requires the use of a 10 m class telescope. For spectral types M6 and earlier, the combination of a red visual and a near-infrared spectrograph is ideal to search for low-mass planets and to distinguish between planets and stellar variability. At a 4 m class telescope, an instrument like CARMENES has the potential to push the RV precision well below the typical jitter level of 3–4 m s−1

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research