Convalescent plasma (CP) has been widely used to treat COVID-19 and is under study. However, the variability in the current clinical trials has averted its wide use in the current pandemic. We aimed ...to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CP in severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the early stages of the disease. A randomized controlled clinical study was conducted on 101 patients admitted to the hospital with confirmed severe COVID-19. Most participants had less than 14 days from symptoms onset and less than seven days from hospitalization. Fifty patients were assigned to receive CP plus standard therapy (ST), and 51 were assigned to receive ST alone. Participants in the CP arm received two doses of 250 mL each, transfused 24 h apart. All transfused plasma was obtained from "super donors" that fulfilled the following criteria: titers of anti-SARS-CoV-2 S1 IgG greater than or equai to 1:3200 and IgA greater than or equai to 1:800 antibodies. The effect of transfused anti-IFN antibodies and the SARS-CoV-2 variants at the entry of the study on the overall CP efficacy was evaluated. The primary outcomes were the reduction in viral load and the increase in IgG and IgA antibodies at 28 days of follow-up. The per-protocol analysis included 91 patients. An early but transient increase in IgG anti-S1-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels at day 4 post-transfusion was observed (Estimated difference ED, - 1.36; 95% CI, - 2.33 to - 0.39; P = 0.04). However, CP was not associated with viral load reduction in any of the points evaluated. Analysis of secondary outcomes revealed that those patients in the CP arm disclosed a shorter time to discharge (ED adjusted for mortality, 3.1 days; 95% CI, 0.20 to 5.94; P = 0.0361) or a reduction of 2 points on the WHO scale when compared with the ST group (HR adjusted for mortality, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.5; P = 0.0376). There were no benefits from CP on the rates of intensive care unit admission (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.35 to 1.9; P = 0.6399), mechanical ventilation (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.25 to 1.7; P = 0.4039), or mortality (HR, 3.2; 95% CI, 0.64 to 16; P = 0.1584). Anti-IFN antibodies and SARS-CoV-2 variants did not influence these results. CP was not associated with viral load reduction, despite the early increase in IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. However, CP is safe and could be a therapeutic option to reduce the hospital length of stay.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
El presente estudio identifica y describe qué competencias se ejercen para un liderazgo efectivo en la transformación digital que les permiten a los líderes adaptarse a la volatilidad del mercado, ...los clientes y los avances en la tecnología en el sistema financiero peruano. En un contexto que se complejiza con la súbita aparición de la pandemia del COVID-19, los líderes deben contar con ciertas competencias clave para afrontar un entorno con mayores exigencias, que restringe el contacto físico y requiere distanciamiento social.Para ello, se realizó una investigación cualitativa de estudio de casos sobre el liderazgo efectivo en los cuatro bancos con mayor participación en el mercado y mayor madurez digital del sistema financiero peruano. Los resultados muestran que las competencias fundamentales son: experimentación y tolerancia al error, orientación al cliente, generación de compromiso, gestión del cambio, entre otras. Asimismo, se propone un marco conceptual que vincula las competencias identificadas con las dimensiones clave de la transformación digital en las organizaciones. Este marco conceptual puede servir para impulsar un liderazgo efectivo, que cumpla un rol articulador entre las fuerzas internas y externas de la organización con miras a lograr una transformación digital exitosa.
Thirty-four species of Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) are recorded in Mexico,
Laporte, 1832 the most speciose genus in this country. Here, we describe
sp. nov. from the Pacific coast of Jalisco ...(Mexico). The most similar species to
sp. nov. is
(Stål, 1868), but they differ in head longitude, the proportion of labial segments, coloration pattern of corium and connexivum, spiracles location, and male genitalia. To provide statistical support for the morphological distinctiveness of the new species, we performed a geometric morphometric analysis of
sp. nov.,
(Latreille, 1811),
(Stål, 1859), and
(Stål, 1868), considering head morphology. We also provide an updated key of the genus
for species recorded in Mexico.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•SVC-onGoing is the first on-going competition for on-line signature verification.•Researchers can easily benchmark their systems using public databases and platform.•Fair comparison of the state of ...the art: traditional vs deep learning approaches.•Analysis of popular scenarios (office/mobile) and writing inputs (stylus/finger).•Analysis of multiple types of attacks.
This article presents SVC-onGoing11https://competitions.codalab.org/competitions/27295., an on-going competition for on-line signature verification where researchers can easily benchmark their systems against the state of the art in an open common platform using large-scale public databases, such as DeepSignDB22https://github.com/BiDAlab/DeepSignDB. and SVC2021_EvalDB33https://github.com/BiDAlab/SVC2021_EvalDB., and standard experimental protocols. SVC-onGoing is based on the ICDAR 2021 Competition on On-Line Signature Verification (SVC 2021), which has been extended to allow participants anytime. The goal of SVC-onGoing is to evaluate the limits of on-line signature verification systems on popular scenarios (office/mobile) and writing inputs (stylus/finger) through large-scale public databases. Three different tasks are considered in the competition, simulating realistic scenarios as both random and skilled forgeries are simultaneously considered on each task. The results obtained in SVC-onGoing prove the high potential of deep learning methods in comparison with traditional methods. In particular, the best signature verification system has obtained Equal Error Rate (EER) values of 3.33% (Task 1), 7.41% (Task 2), and 6.04% (Task 3). Future studies in the field should be oriented to improve the performance of signature verification systems on the challenging mobile scenarios of SVC-onGoing in which several mobile devices and the finger are used during the signature acquisition.
Abstract
Objective
The immediate referral of patients with risk factors for placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) to specialized centers is recommended, thus favoring an early diagnosis and an ...interdisciplinary management. However, diagnostic errors are frequent, even in referral centers (RCs). We sought to evaluate the performance of the prenatal diagnosis for PAS in a Latin American hospital.
Methods
A retrospective descriptive study including patients referred due to the suspicion of PAS was conducted. Data from the prenatal imaging studies were compared with the final diagnoses (intraoperative and/or histological).
Results
A total of 162 patients were included in the present study. The median gestational age at the time of the first PAS suspicious ultrasound was 29 weeks, but patients arrived at the PAS RC at 34 weeks. The frequency of false-positive results at referring hospitals was 68.5%. Sixty-nine patients underwent surgery based on the suspicion of PAS at 35 weeks, and there was a 28.9% false-positive rate at the RC. In 93 patients, the diagnosis of PAS was ruled out at the RC, with a 2.1% false-negative frequency.
Conclusion
The prenatal diagnosis of PAS is better at the RC. However, even in these centers, false-positive results are common; therefore, the intraoperative confirmation of the diagnosis of PAS is essential.
INTRODUCTION: En a global context where technology is essential for the search of information and decision-making by tourists, the creation of digital platforms is a key strategy to promote ...sustainable tourism practices.OBJECTIVES: We aim to develop an informative web application aimed at promoting ecotourism in Lake Cuipari, using it as a case study.METHODS: The software development followed the phases established in the Agile methodology Extreme Programming: i) Exploration, ii) Planning, iii) Interactions, iv) Production, and v) Maintenance. To ensure the quality of the software product, we applied black-box testing.RESULTS: We successfully developed a functional informational web application with two panels, administrative and visitor. The web application allows users to learn about the location of Lake Cuipari, explains access conditions, and provides information about native species in and around the lake. These species are categorized into birds, amphibians, and fish, with academic, scientific, and tourist interest.CONCLUSION: The informational web application serves as a digital platform that enables the municipality and the local community to promote ecotourism in Lake Cuipari for the sake of its preservation and sustainability. This is achieved through the increased provision of information for potential tourists.
Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) bugs are considered species of medical relevance because they are vectors of Chagas disease. In Mexico, most species of the Triatoma genus are distributed in the ...lowlands of the west of Mexico, including the Mexican Pacific coast. Here, we describe Triatoma yelapensis sp. nov. from the Pacific coast of Jalisco (Mexico). We provide statistical support for the morphological distinctiveness of the new species and an updated key of the genus Triatoma for species recorded in Mexico. Thirty-four species of Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) are recorded in Mexico, Triatoma Laporte, 1832 the most speciose genus in this country. Here, we describe Triatoma yelapensis sp. nov. from the Pacific coast of Jalisco (Mexico). The most similar species to T. yelapensis sp. nov. is T. recurva (Stål, 1868), but they differ in head longitude, the proportion of labial segments, coloration pattern of corium and connexivum, spiracles location, and male genitalia. To provide statistical support for the morphological distinctiveness of the new species, we performed a geometric morphometric analysis of T. yelapensis sp. nov., T. dimidiata s.s. (Latreille, 1811), T. gerstaeckeri (Stål, 1859), and T. recurva (Stål, 1868), considering head morphology. We also provide an updated key of the genus Triatoma for species recorded in Mexico.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
To evaluate the association between Colombia's third wave when the Mu variant was predominant epidemiologically (until 75%) in Colombia and COVID-19 all-cause in-hospital mortality.
In this ...retrospective cohort, we included hospitalized patients ≥18 years with SARS-CoV-2 infection between March 2020 to September 2021 in ten hospitals from three cities in Colombia. Description analysis, survival, and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between the third epidemic wave and in-hospital mortality.
A total of 25,371 patients were included. The age-stratified time-to-mortality curves showed differences according to epidemic waves in patients ≥75 years (log-rank test p = 0.012). In the multivariate Cox analysis, the third wave was not associated with increased mortality relative to the first wave (aHR 0.95; 95%CI 0.84–1.08), but there was an interaction between age ≥75 years and the third wave finding a lower HR for mortality (aHR 0.56, 95%CI 0.36–0.86).
We did not find an increase in in-hospital mortality during the third epidemic wave in which the Mu variant was predominant in Colombia. The reduced hazard in mortality in patients ≥75 years hospitalized in the third wave could be explained by the high coverage of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in this population and patients with underlying conditions.
•A large Colombian COVID-19 patients' cohort studied among 3 epidemic waves.•Less hospitalization in ≥65 and comorbid patients for the 3rd epidemic wave.•No association between in-hospital-mortality and the 3rd epidemic wave.•Lower hazard for mortality in ≥75 in the 3rd epidemic probably due to vaccination.
El presente trabajo de investigación titulado "Desarrollo de un Sistema Integrado para Monitorización "in situ" de metales pesados", trata de la puesta en marcha de un nuevo sistema de medida ...potenciométrico portátil para la determinación cuantitativa de metales pesados tóxicos al medio ambiente para medidas en el campo.Comprende tres áreas disciplinarias: En la primera área, la electroquímica, se desarrollan sensores químicos que a su vez se dividen en tres etapas: En la primera etapa, se estudia la fabricación de electrodos convencionales de cabezal reemplazable selectivos a los cationes de cobre(II), cadmio(II) y plomo(II). En la segunda etapa, el estudio de nuevos electrodos selectivos a los mismos cationes del estudio anterior en configuración plana basado en tecnología "thick film", adaptada a nuestras necesidades de fabricación mediante la técnica de moldeo ("casting"). Por último, en la tercera etapa, se estudia la fabricación de electrodos de referencia de configuración plana con la misma tecnología.La segunda área es la informática, en la que se desarrolla un paquete de herramientas basado en "software" de LabVIEW versión 5.1, con el nombre de Instrumentación Virtual para el Control Potenciométrico de Sensores Químicos, (en inglés "VIPCCHES"). Este paquete está capacitado para el tratamiento de la información que contienen las señales analíticas procdentes de los sensores. Tiene tres funciones importantes. La primera función es la calibración de los electrodos por dos métodos: calibración externa continua y calibración externa discontinua, ambos en dos modos de operación, modo individual y modo "array" de electrodos.Una segunda función del paquete VIPCCHES es la adquisición de datos en modo continuo de un electrodo o un array de electrodos, permitiendo al usuario programar las medidas necesarias en tiempos de adquisición variables. La tercera función operativa del programa, es la realización de análisis de muestras de metales para un electrodo o un "array" de electrodos. El valor de la señal adquirida es promediado y éste es confrontado con una curva de calibración del electrodo plano de manera automática, presentando los resultados de manera gráfica y numérica. Finalmente, los resultados pueden ser tratados mediante programas estándar tipo Excel.En el área de la electrónica, se ha construido un dispositivo para procesar las señales que proceden de los electrodos planos de nombre "SPPAE" que permite la adecuación de las señales a la Tarjeta de Adquisición de Datos (TAD) en el ordenador. Está diseñado con filosofía de expansión, por medio de módulos de amplificación y filtrado (anti-aliasing) que se insertan en un Bus de alimentación.La integración de estos tres sistemas (electrodos de configuración plana, el SPPAE y el VIPCCHES) forman parte del Sistema Integrado para Monitorización Ambiental que conocemos como SIMA estando dicho sistema capacitado para realizar análisis "in situ" de metales pesados.
In this work, a Integrated System for monitoring in situ of heavy metals was developed. Include three disciplinary areas, the electronic, the information technology and the electrochemical. The first step was development now chemical sensors selective to cationes using thick film technology. The second task was the development of one virtual instrument (VI), which is the essential part of the system, using the graphical programming language LabVIEW which is capable of performing measurements functions, including data acquisition, display, analysis in the time and frequency domains, data archiving and read to file. Finally its build a signals processor, for the now plane and miniaturised electrodes. The installations of these elements in a portable computer consist in the Integrated System.Keywords: thick film, chemical sensors, integrated systems, virtual instrumentation, signals processor, in situ measurements, monitoring, heavy metals.
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