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The objective of this article is to examine factors that affect the attitude to and use of tourist mobile applications. In line with previous studies, an empirical model that integrates variables of a technological nature and others related to the design and architecture of tourist apps was proposed. An online survey of 156 millennials in Spain was carried out and the data were analysed using the partial least squares methodology. The results validated the hypotheses proposed in the model, achieving a high level of statistical prediction. The results supported that, when choosing a tourist mobile application, tourists take into consideration design aspects, such as visual design and navigation design; personal aspects, such as perceived personal outcome expectations, perceived enjoyment and subjective norm; and operational aspects, such as effort expectations, performance expectations, and conversion rate.

[EN] This study analyses the factors that users of consumer-to-consumer (C2C) commerce value as direct influences in the intention to use and the acceptance of a marketplace. An empirical model is formulated, which integrates three variables that evaluate trust and, in turn, other variables that influence C2C intention and purchases, taking a sample of 686 surveys gathered using the Internet in Colombia. The results show that trust is a fundamental factor in this type of electronic commerce in Colombia, given that C2C users seek intermediation pages with third-party recognition (TPR) and high web quality; similarly, key variables in the adoption of this type of commercial platform include finding low prices and social influence. The perception of trust in this type of electronic commerce is a broader concept that requires the analysis of psychosocial factors. For companies that manage marketplaces, this study allows them to focus on key actions and tools in their websites. This study allows one to get to know the users of this transactional system, specifically for the Latin American region, highlighting the variables that they most consider when engaging in direct commerce between people. The results show that C2C requires marketplaces that guarantee the necessary conditions for a purchase/sale transaction with trust and quality. [ES] Este estudio, analiza los factores que los usuarios del comercio entre personas C2C valoran como influyentes directos en la intención de uso y adopción de un Marketplace. Se plantea un modelo empírico que integran tres variables que examinan la confianza y a su vez otras variables que inciden en la intención y compra C2C, tomando una muestra de 686 encuestas recogidas por internet en Colombia. Los resultados muestran que la confianza es un factor fundamental en este tipo de comercio electrónico en Colombia, teniendo que los usuarios del C2C buscaran páginas de intermediación que tengan third party recognition (TPR) y calidad en su web, así mismo, variables claves en la adopción de este canal comercial son encontrar precios bajos y la influencia social, la percepción de confianza en este tipo de comercio electrónico, es un concepto más amplio que requiere un análisis de factores psicosociales. Para las empresas que gestionan los Marketplace, este estudio les permite enfocarse en acciones y herramientas claves de sus sitios web. Este estudio permite conocer a los usuarios de este sistema transaccional, específicamente para la zona latinoamericana, resaltando cuáles son las variables que más tienen en cuenta para comercializar entre personas. Los resultados demuestran que el C2C requiere de Marketplace que garanticen las condiciones necesarias para una compra/venta en condiciones de confianza y calidad.

The number of caesarean sections performed worldwide is increasing, and with it, the need for the optimal analgesia strategies. Deficient postoperative analgesia increases the need for opioids, delays recovery, and is associated with chronic pain and postpartum depression. It is essential to find good postoperative pain control strategies that facilitate early mobility, early recovery, and early hospital discharge with minimal side effects on the mother and infant. Multimodal analgesia based on neuroaxial anaesthesia with morphine in combination with non-opioids such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and paracetamol, gives the best post-caesarean analgesia outcome, and allows anaesthesiologists to reserve opioids, corticoids, gabapentin, magnesium or ketamine for situations where neuroaxial anaesthesia cannot be performed, for high-risk patients, or when pain is difficult to control. Peripheral nerve block techniques can also be added, such as transverse abdominis plane block, erector spinae block, or continuous wound infiltration.

Resumen El numero de cesareas que se realizan en todo el mundo es cada vez mas frecuente. Por tanto, para estas pacientes resulta crucial ofrecer las medidas analgesicas mas optimas. Una deficiente analgesia durante el periodo postoperatorio esta asociada con altas necesidades de opioides, la recuperacion mas tardia, el dolor cronico y la depresion posparto. Es fundamental encontrar estrategias que faciliten un buen control del dolor postoperatorio para facilitar la movilidad, la recuperacion de la parturienta y el alta mas precoz, ocasionando minimos efectos secundarios sobre la madre y el recien nacido. La analgesia multimodal basada en anestesia neuroaxial con morfina, junto a farmacos no opioides como los antiinflamatorios no esteroideos y el paracetamol, forman la mejor combinacion analgesica tras la cesarea. Esto permite limitar el uso de opioides, corticoides, gabapentina, magnesio o ketamina para los casos donde la anestesia neuroaxial no sea posible, se incrementen los riesgos, o tambien cuando la mujer padezca un dolor de dificil control. Ademas, existe la posibilidad de anadir bloqueos perifericos, como por ejemplo el bloqueo transverso de la pared del abdomen, el bloqueo del plano erector del espinal o infiltraciones de la herida quirurgica.

In this study, we describe SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics in one cat and three dogs from households with confirmed human cases of COVID-19 living in the Madrid Community (Spain) at the time of expansion (December 2020 through June 2021) of the alpha variant (lineage B.1.1.7). A thorough physical exam and nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal, and rectal swabs were collected for real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) SARS-CoV-2 testing on day 0 and in successive samplings on days 7, 14, 21, and 47 during monitoring. Blood was also drawn to determine complete blood counts, biochemical profiles, and serology of the IgG response against SARS-CoV-2. On day 0, the cat case 1 presented with dyspnea and fever associated with a mild bronchoalveolar pattern. The dog cases 2, 3, and 4 were healthy, but case 2 presented with coughing, dyspnea, and weakness, and case 4 exhibited coughing and bilateral nasal discharge 3 and 6 days before the clinical exam. Case 3 (from the same household as case 2) remained asymptomatic. SARS-CoV-2 detection by RT-qPCR showed that the cat case 1 and the dog case 2 exhibited the lowest cycle threshold (Ct) (Ct < 30) when they presented clinical signs. Viral detection failed in successive samplings. Serological analyses revealed a positive IgG response in cat case 1 and dog cases 3 and 4 shortly after or simultaneously to virus shedding. Dog case 2 was seronegative, but seroconverted 21 days after SARS-CoV-2 detection. SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing was attempted, and genomes were classified as belonging to the B.1.1.7 lineage.

Despite the importance of the role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing and growing economies, little is known regarding the use of management control tools in them. In management control in SMEs, a holistic system needs to be modeled to enable a careful study of how each lever (belief systems, boundary systems, interactive control systems, and diagnostic control systems) affects the organizational performance of SMEs. In this article, a fuzzy logic approach is proposed for the decision-making system in management control in small and medium enterprises. C. Mamdani fuzzy inference system (MFIS) was applied as a decision-making technique to explore the influence of the use of management control tools on the organizational performance of SMEs. Perceptions data analysis is obtained through empirical research.

Resumen Introduccion Los paradigmas de la hemofiltracion para manejar pacientes criticos con una respuesta inflamatoria desregulada (RID) evaluan la funcion renal para su inicio, adaptacion y finalizacion. Presentamos la Hiperfiltracion Venosa Continua (Protocolo CONVEHY), en el cual una membrana de adsorcion inespecifica (AN69-ST-heparina anclada) se utiliza con citrato como liquido anticoagulante y de sustitucion. El protocolo CONVEHY utiliza herramientas facilmente disponibles para lograr objetivos renales y no renales, guiandose por las respuestas fisiopatologicas. Objetivos Comparar la respuesta a la membrana AN69-ST-HA cuando se utilizo heparina (He, n = 5: protocolo estandar) o citrato (Ci, n = 6: protocolo CONVEHY) para evaluar si fuera factible un estudio mayor sobre los beneficios de este protocolo. Materiales y metodos En un estudio retrospectivo, se evaluaron los beneficios del protocolo CONVEHY en pacientes con RID en una unidad de cuidados criticos quirurgicos (UCCq), evaluando las puntuaciones SOFA (He 11 ± 2,35; Ci 11 ± 3,63; p = 0,54) y APACHE II (He 28,60 ± 9,40; Ci 24 ± 8,46; p = 0,93). Resultados Hospitalizacion (He 35,2 ± 16,3 noches; Ci 9 ± 2,53; p = 0,004), hospitalizacion tras el alta de UCCq (He 40,25 ± 21,82; Ci 13,2 ± 4,09; p = 0,063), pacientes hospitalizados > 20 dias (He 80%; Ci 0%; p = 0,048), dias con ventilacion mecanica (He 16 ± 5,66; Ci 4 ± 1,72; p = 0,004) y la mortalidad predicha (55,39 ± 26,13%) frente a la real en ambos grupos (9,1%; p = 0,004). Conclusiones El protocolo CONVEHY mejora las respuestas clinicas de los pacientes con una RID, destacando el valor potencial de realizar estudios mas grandes y confirmatorios.

Introduction Haemofiltration paradigms used to manage critically ill patients with a dysregulated inflammatory response (DIR) assess kidney function to monitor its onset, adaptation, and completion. A Continuous Venous Hyperfiltration (CONVEHY) protocol is presented, in which a non-specific adsorption membrane (AN69-ST-Heparin Grafted) is used with citrate as an anticoagulant and substitution fluid. CONVEHY uses tools readily available to achieve kidney related and non-related objectives, and it is guided by the monitoring of pathophysiological responses. Objectives To compare the response to an AN69-ST-HG membrane when heparin (He, n = 5: standard protocol) or citrate (Ci, n = 6: CONVEHY protocol) was used to evaluate whether a larger study into the benefits of this protocol would be feasible. Materials and methods In a retrospective pilot study, the benefits of the CONVEHY protocol to manage patients with a DIR in a surgical critical care unit (CCUs) were assessed by evaluating the SOFA (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment) (He 11 ± 2.35; Ci 11 ± 3.63: p = 0.54) and APACHE II (He 28.60 ± 9.40; Ci 24 ± 8.46: p = 0.93) scores. Results Nights in hospital (He 35.2 ± 16.3 nights; Ci 9 ± 2.53: p = 0.004), hospital admission after discharge from the CCUs (He 40.25 ± 21.82; Ci 13.2 ± 4.09: p = 0.063), patients hospitalised >20 days (He 80%; Ci 0%: p = 0.048), days requiring mechanical ventilation (He 16 ± 5.66; Ci 4 ± 1.72: p = 0.004), and the predicted (55.39 ± 26.13%) versus real mortality in both groups (9.1%: p = 0.004). Conclusions The CONVEHY protocol improves the clinical responses of patients with DIR, highlighting the potential value of performing larger and confirmatory studies.

Hypoglycaemia is the more frequent complication of insulin therapy and the main barrier to tight glycaemic control. Injectable glucagon and oral intake of carbohydrates are the recommended treatments for severe and non-severe hypoglycaemia episodes, respectively. Nasal glucagon is currently being developed as a ready-to-use device, to simplify severe hypoglycaemia rescue. Stable forms of liquid glucagon could open the field for different approaches for mild to moderate hypoglycaemia treatment, such as mini-doses of glucagon or continuous subcutaneous glucagon infusion as a part of dual-hormone closed-loop systems. Pharmaceutical companies are developing stable forms of native glucagon or glucagon analogues for that purpose.

Background: Advanced hybrid closed-loop (AHCL) systems represent the next step of automation intended to maximize normoglycemia in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). In the AHCL MiniMed 780G system...

Blockchain technology has prompted new ways of governance and coordination. Such forms receive the name of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). DAOs typically implement decision-making systems to make possible for the community to reach agreements. As a result of the agreements the DAO automatically operates (e.g., hire people, payments, invest in financial products, etc.) by executing code on the blockchain. In the last few years, several platforms such as Aragon, DAOstack and DAOhaus, have emerged to facilitate the creation of DAOs. As a result, hundreds of this new organizations have appeared and are interacting in the blockchain. However, little is known about them. In this paper, we want to shed light on them. We will review the three main platforms (Aragon, DAOstack, DAOhaus) that make possible to create and manage a DAO. We introduce the main differences between these platforms, and we finally compare them numerically. For the comparison we retrieve data from both the main Ethereum network (mainnet) and a parallel Ethereum network (xDai). We analyze data from 72,320 users from 2,353 DAO communities to study the three ecosystems along four dimensions: growth, activity, voting system and funds. Our results show that there are notable differences among the DAO platforms in terms of growth and activity, but also interms of voting results. Still we consider that our work is only a first step and that further research is needed to better understand these communities and to help them to accomplish their aim of decentralized governance.

Blockchain technology has enabled a thriving emergent ecosystem of tools and communities actively using decentralized systems. However, most blockchain infrastructure (e.g. Ethereum) requires users to pay some fees to execute their desired actions in these novel online services. To which extent an increase in the price of such fees negatively affects user activity? Would significant price surges deter users from using blockchain-enabled online services? In this work, we study the 2020 surge of transaction fee price in the Ethereum network, and analyze how that affected user activities. Our use cases are the blockchain-enabled Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) from the platforms DAOstack and DAOhaus. Thus, we analyzed 5,580 transactions from 7,825 users grouped in 191 DAO communities, using a VAR model with a daily time series of the average fee value and the DAO operations. Our results show just a minor influence of the fee (gas) price and the activity of DAO users. The insensitivity of the activity to the fee price is an anomaly in a supposedly self-regulated market, and we consider this should be tackled in future implementations.

In the hotel sector, online reputation and customer satisfaction help measure the quality of service based on the opinions of the survey participants. This research takes information provided by TripAdvisor from a sample of 247 hotels in Barcelona in order to obtain users’ reaction to each establishment. A robust compositional regression is modelled to diagnose the score given to each hotel as a result of the customers’ profiles. Additionally, a principal component analysis is proposed to visualize customers’ behavioural patterns of scoring. The results let us detect a particular behaviour for the business travellers’ scale seen alongside other groups of tourists who also rated hotels with the top marks at this time. Furthermore, the score given by travellers who arrived during the summer is shown as not being significant to achieving a final high score. The proposed model can also be used to track the stability of score over time and to identify suspicious deviations from benchmark levels.

The objective of this study was to analyze how consumers adopt webrooming and showrooming purchasing processes for different products (textile-fashion, home electronics and groceries). A crossover study was carried out in two countries, Spain and Colombia, applying an exploratory model through the analysis of PLS ​​structural equations. The results showed differences in the adoption of this type of purchase depending on the type of product. The contributions of this study allow companies to choose and manage omnichannel processes depending on the type of products they sell.

Hyperglycaemia is a very common complication in post-cardiac surgical patients, and as such, it must be properly managed. For this purpose, the enhanced Model Predictive Control algorithm for glycaemia control has been implemented into a nurse-led device called Space GlucoseControl (SGC) that aims to achieve a safe and effective blood glucose control in a better way than the traditional "paper-based" protocols.The aim of the study was to know the effectiveness and safety of the SGC in glycaemia control in cardiosurgical adult patients in the immediate postoperative period in the intensive care unit.A prospective before-and-after intervention study was conducted. One hundred sixty cardiosurgical adult patients with hyperglycaemia were selected: 80 in the control group from May to November 2018 and 80 in the intervention group (use of the SGC device) from January to December 2019. The primary outcome was the percentage of time within the target range (140-180 mg/dL in the control group and 100-160 mg/dL in the intervention group).The percentage of time within the target range was significantly higher in the SGC group than in the control group (70.5% [58.25-80] vs 54.83% [36.09-75], p 0.001). The range was also achieved earlier with the SGC (5 [3-6.875] hours vs 7 [4-11] hours; p 0.05). The first blood glucose value after reaching the target range was higher in the control group, with statistical significance (p 0.05). There were no hypoglycaemia episodes in the control group. However, during SGC treatment, six episodes of hypoglycaemia occurred, and all of them were nonsevere (mean value = 61 mg/dL).The SGC is useful to achieve a faster tight glycaemic control, with a higher percentage of time within the target range, although episodes of nonsevere hypoglycaemia could be observed.

Blockchain technology has emerged as a new paradigm to build decentralized systems which do not require a central authority. It is most popular for enabling Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. However, blockchain applications span beyond Finance, and recently it has been applied to decentralized governance. Blockchain-enabled "Decentralized Autonomous Organizations" (DAOs) have emerged as a new form of collective governance, in which communities may organize themselves relying on decentralized infrastructure. In this article, we introduce the concept of DAO and review the main software platforms that offer DAO creation as a service, which simplifies the use of DAOs to non-blockchain experts; namely: Aragon, DAOstack, DAOhaus and Colony. These platforms will be compared by showing their key features. Finally, we will review the available visualisation tools for DAOs, and we will introduce our open-source tool to plot DAOs activity, DAO-Analyzer. We will illustrate its potential with the case of the DAO Genesis Alpha, which is the main DAO of the DAOstack project.

Background: Automatization of insulin delivery by closed-loop systems represents a major step in type 1 diabetes management. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of the commercialized hy...

Este artículo se presenta como una reflexión, a partir de una revisión de la literatura sobre la inserción laboral del graduado universitario en España y Latinoamérica; el panorama de globalización, volatilidad económica, aumento de graduados universitarios y otros fenómenos generan dificultad en el acceso al mercado laboral de quienes terminan su paso por la universidad, desde los estudios de segundo ciclo (carrera profesional) hasta tercer ciclo de formación (postgrados). Los resultados encontraron que existen pocos estudios en el área, a pesar de que es en los últimos años donde se han desarrollado, especialmente a finales de la década pasada, así mismo, se detectaron estudios respecto al egresado y a su empleabilidad, analizando básicamente datos estadísticos con los ingresos (tipo de empleo y salario) y, por otra parte, otros estudios que buscan relaciones con la reorganización y los cambios en la educación superior. Como una de las conclusiones más importantes, se tiene que los estudios sobre el tema han detectado las debilidades y fortalezas del recién graduado, así como otros han permitido conocer los requerimientos y puntos de atención en la formación específica que buscan las empresas.

Automation in diabetes technology is rapidly evolving. The aim was to evaluate the real-world glycemic outcomes and user acceptance after 3 months of using the Medtronic 780G Advanced Hybrid Closed-Loop (AHCL) system.A prospective analysis was performed. A glucose target of 100 mg/dl and an active insulin time of 2 h were set. Capillary HbA1c, 2-week of pump and sensor data and several satisfaction questionnaire scores were compared at baseline and after 3 months of using the AHCL system.52 subjects were selected (age: 43 ± 12 years, sex: 73% female, diabetes duration: 27 ± 11 years, higher education: 31%). Time in range (TIR) 70-180 mg/dl increased from 67.3 ± 13.6% to 80.1 ± 7.5% and time180 mg/dl and250 mg/dl were reduced (16.8 ± 8.4 vs 29.4 ± 15.1%, 2.7 ± 3.0% vs 6.9 ± 7.8%, respectively) (all p 0.001), while time in hypoglycaemia remained below recommended targets. Time in Auto-Mode and sensor use were 94 ± 10% and 90 ± 11%, respectively. Auto-correction boluses represented 29 ± 12% of bolus insulin. Fear of hypoglycaemia, diabetes quality of life, sleep quality and satisfaction with the monitoring system improved after 3 months.The real-world use of the AHCL system Medtronic 780G provides an 80.1% TIR 70-180 mg/dl with minimal hypoglycaemia and an increased level of patient satisfaction.

Purpose To describe the echographic characteristics of optic disk melanocytoma using a high resolution 10–20 MHz ophthalmic ultrasound. Methods We conducted a 10-year retrospective review finding 9 cases with optic disk melanocytoma. The echographic studies were performed by the same experienced ophthalmologist. The form and density of the tumors were evaluated with B-scan ultrasound. Internal reflectivity and vascularity of the tumors were assessed with a standardized A-scan. Base (vertical and horizontal) and height of the tumor were obtained by using both ultrasounds AB modes. Results The mean age at diagnosis was 43.88 years. There was no evidence of abnormal tumor vascularization in any of the cases. Mean (SD) vertical measurement of the base was 2.53 mm (±1.47). Mean (SD) horizontal measurement of the base was 2.49 mm (±1.03). Mean height (SD) was 1.52 mm (±0.88). Of the assessable cases, 78% had high internal reflectivity, the remaining 22% had medium-high internal reflectivity. All tumors’ internal structure was characteristically homogeneous. Mean follow-up was 33.6 months. Conclusion Melanocytomas are small, benign tumors that are highly assessable by ocular ultrasound when their elevation surpasses 0.5 mm. In our study, the internal reflectivity ranged from high to very high, unlike other malignancies such as choroidal melanoma which tend to present with low internal reflectivity. The avascularity of the tumor is a common finding. Ultrasound is a remarkable tool that helps detect benign characteristics in a pigmented optic disk tumor and helps establish a more reliable diagnosis.

The main objective of this study was to determine whether the adoption of e-commerce in Colombia presents problems of social massification; specifically, we wanted to verify whether the socioeconomic variables and level of education have a moderating effect on the adoption of electronic commerce. An empirical study was conducted, 936 surveys were collected through a form on the Web, the data were analyzed and a prediction was made of the model using the PLS technique. The results confirm in an exploratory way this moderating effect of the socioeconomic and educational level on the relationship between the variable conditions that facilitate electronic purchasing. The main contribution to the theory of these findings empirically validates that, in countries with high levels of social inequality, the use of e-commerce is conditioned by the socioeconomic and educational characteristics of those who can access it.

Commons-based peer production communities can be analyzed with the help of social network analysis. However, since they are fluid organizations that change over time, the time dimension needs to be taken into account. In this work we present a web application, WikiChron networks, to facilitate the study of the evolution of wiki communities over time. The tool displays three different community networks depending on the pages considered for the interactions: articles, talk pages of articles or talk pages of users. The consideration of these three networks offer complementary views of the same community, while the time dimension makes possible to observe how the network structures changes over time and the changes in the network role experimented by some editors. We illustrate the usefulness of our tool analyzing the evolution of a wiki community in different moments and showing network structures that can be seen in other wiki communities. WikiChron networks is open source and is publicly available. We hope that it will stimulate research on the evolution of collaboration and communication in wiki communities.

This article aims to describe the key e-government adoption factors for the citizens of Colombia to determine whether government policies aimed at the use of the internet as a tool for the use of e-government are effective. A comprehensive model based on the technology acceptance model theory is proposed, while also introducing the variable of government support. 445 surveys were collected across the country using the internet. The data analysis was conducted through structural equation modelling using PLS 3.0 software. The results show that performance expectations, as well as governmental support and trust, have a great influence on the adoption of e-government. The results confirm that citizens value the policies on virtual connectivity with their public institutions that are being implemented, though the construct of effort expectancy is not validated. This research is one of the first studies in Latin America on the adoption of e-government that proposes a model adapted from technology acceptance theories, and therefore, it is of an exploratory nature. This research is a contribution to public officials and politicians in helping understand the needs of citizens regarding the use of government internet platforms.

Image segmentation and classification in crops and soil.New method which provides good results for all the different conditions analyzed, including burned and saturated images.Design of a new strategy of segmentation for agricultural images using the k-Nearest Neighbors algorithm. We propose an instance-based learning approach for segmentation of crop images. The method proposed is able to automatically discriminate the green textures (crop and weeds) from the rest of the ground under different outdoor conditions, namely light conditions and stages of crop growth. For this purpose a set of images that reflects all the possible conditions to be faced is required and each images should have assigned its optimum threshold by an expert.The instance-based method proposed is a k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN) algorithm. Our k-NN is borrowed from the field of symbolic data analysis that is a paradigm for data representation where instances can be described by variables that account for observed variability, such as, in our case histogram variables.Our method is compared with the well-known automatic thresholding methods, such as the mean value and Otsu's. The method proposed provides good results for all the different conditions analyzed, including burned and saturated images.

The European Higher Education Area proposes a reformulation of the teaching methodologies based on the education–learning teaching methodologies, oriented to a continuous process of acquisition of competences that improve the professional profile. The great variety of courses and universities involved in the framework of the European Higher Education Area are concerned to know the satisfaction level of students and how it is possible to attend to their needs. The present work provides empirical evidence of how satisfaction improves the perception of acquired competences of the marketing students who had followed the methodology of the International Virtual Consulting Firm (IVCF). It is an innovative project about an international educational program designed to bring college students closer to the skills required by companies to facilitate their entry into the labour market. The universities can use these results to incorporate similar methodologies in their study plans and to improve the attractiveness of their marketing studies.

Today, it is common for software projects to collect measurement data through development processes. With these data, defect prediction software can try to estimate the defect proneness of a software module, with the objective of assisting and guiding software practitioners. With timely and accurate defect predictions, practitioners can focus their limited testing resources on higher risk areas. This paper reports the results of three empirical studies that uses an automated genetic defect prediction framework. This framework generates and compares different learning schemes (preprocessing + attribute selection + learning algorithms) and selects the best one using a genetic algorithm, with the objective to estimate the defect proneness of a software module. The first empirical study is a performance comparison of our framework with the most important framework of the literature. The second empirical study is a performance and runtime comparison between our framework and an exhaustive framework. The third empirical study is a sensitivity analysis. The last empirical study, is our main contribution in this paper. Performance of the software development defect prediction models (using AUC, Area Under the Curve) was validated using NASA-MDP and PROMISE data sets. Seventeen data sets from NASA-MDP (13) and PROMISE (4) projects were analyzed running a NxM-fold cross-validation. A genetic algorithm was used to select the components of the learning schemes automatically, and to assess and report the results. Our results reported similar performance between frameworks. Our framework reported better runtime than exhaustive framework. Finally, we reported the best configuration according to sensitivity analysis.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the impact of incentives on the behavioral intention to use electronic commerce through interactive television to enhance a deeper understanding of how television platforms can improve the attractiveness of television to enterprises as a channel of communication and distribution. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a questionnaire to collect empirical data on preferences related to perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, attitude toward the use of t-commerce and behavioral intention to use t-commerce and incentives. The measurement scales of the variables were tested using exploratory factor analysis. The hypotheses were tested using the results of forgotten effects analysis applied to the incidences of incentives on the precedents of the behavioral intention to use t-commerce. Findings The findings suggest that there are no significant direct incidences between incentives and the behavioral intention to use t-commerce, but the direct incidence is only part of the total incidence and on many occasions is only a small part, as the result of causal relationships between causes and effects. The results indicate indirect incidences between incentives and the behavioral intention to use t-commerce through its precedents. Practical Implications Marketing managers of television platforms may consider the use of incentives to encourage behavioral intention to use t-commerce to achieve the development of interactive television as a distribution channel. Originality/value Research on t-commerce acceptance, especially research that uses extrinsic variables, is scarce. This paper addresses that gap by exploring the use of incentives to attract users.

Uncontrolled global economic growth at any cost is having palpable and general consequences for SC (smart cities) environments and sustainability worldwide. The current economic growth model is, according to experts, decidedly unsustainable, and if urgent measures are not taken, the quality of life for future citizens will decline. In the search for solutions that would make cities sustainable, the deployment of the ICT factor is playing a decisive role. However, in its role as a driver, the ICT factor needs to increase the numbers of value endpoint connectors by incorporating citizens, corporations and institutions into city decision-making, thereby becoming a real integrative tool that achieves sustainability and is more than merely a tech flag. In this sense, the present paper proposes that the digital and programmable economy as an ecosystem should become a sustainability city driver because it facilitates the integration of different value endpoints in order to work in the same purpose, allowing, for example, increased sustainability levels in cities such as improving municipal recycling. This paper will apply ICT and digital concepts, the environment-social-economy model and fuzzy logic methodology.

The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of sensor-augmented pump therapy with predictive low-glucose suspend function (SAP-PLGS) in real-world use in children and adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D).Patients with T1D treated with the MiniMed 640GA total of 162 patients were included. Mean age was 32 ± 17 years, 28% were (n = 46) children, and 29% (n = 47) were with a history of severe hypoglycemia. Median follow-up was 12 months (6-18). HbSAP-PLGS reduces hypoglycemia frequency while maintaining glycemic control in adults and children under real-life conditions.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the adoption of e-banking in Colombia, including a comprehensive analysis of consumer trust in this type of transaction and of the impact of the current government policy to promote e-commerce. Design/methodology/approach An empirical investigation based on the UTAUT2 model collected data from throughout the country to develop 600 online questionnaires. Findings The proposed model was validated in that the factors hypothesised to build trust in the use of electronic banking were shown to be significant: trust, performance expectancy and effort expectancy had a positive impact on the use of financial websites in Colombia, while government support did not have a significant impact. Research limitations/implications The study explains the antecedents to trust, as well as the government support variable, and concludes by producing a model that is highly successful in predicting financial customers’ online behaviour. Practical implications The results can help Colombia’s Government and private banks to further develop trust and other conditions necessary for e-banking. Social implications Studies on the adoption of electronic banking provide users of these services solutions for their needs. Government policies to support the development of e-banking are not viewed favourably by Colombians. Originality/value This study is one of the first to present empirical findings on the acceptance of e-banking in Latin America; it further presents a model that integrates the most important variables needed for an analysis of the acceptance of e-banking.

It is widely accepted that peer production communities show a high level of inequality in the level of participation. Typically, we can observe a power law in the distribution of contributions. However, we argue that participation inequality, and specifically its evolution over time, has been understudied. Previous research has concentrated on large successful projects (e.g. Wikipedia), leaving a gap regarding small or mid-size communities. The wiki ecosystem is highly diverse, and so it may be the participation distribution in the communities and its evolution. The aim of this work is twofold: (1) To show a novel webtool, WikiChron, for the analysis of wiki evolution, with a focus on inequality metrics; (2) To provide relevant cases of comparative analysis that show the diversity of the wiki ecosystem, with examples that are counter-intuitive or contradict existing literature, while reflecting the limits of single-metric studies. We aim to open lines of wiki research which require the use of multiple metrics to study participation inequality.

In this work, we are proposing a trading system where fuzzy logic is applied not only for defining the trading rules, but also for managing the capital to invest. In fact, two fuzzy decision support systems are developed. The first one uses fuzzy logic to design the trading rules and to apply the stock market technical indicators. The second one enhances this fuzzy trading system adding a fuzzy strategy to manage the capital to trade. Additionally, a new technical market indicator that produces short and long entry signals is introduced. It is based on the moving average convergence divergence indicator. Its parameters have been optimized by genetic algorithms. The proposals are compared to a classical nonfuzzy version of the proposed trading systems and to the buy-and-hold strategy. Results favor our fuzzy trading system in the two markets considered, NASDAQ100 and EUROSTOXX. Conclusions suggest that the use of fuzzy logic for capital management is promising and deserves further exploration.

Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) VI is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder arising from deficient activity of N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase (arylsulfatase B) and subsequent intracellular accumulation of the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) dermatan sulfate and chondroitin-4-sulfate. Manifestations are multi-systemic and include skeletal abnormalities such as dysostosis multiplex and short stature. Reference height-for-age growth charts for treatment-naive MPS VI patients have been published for both the slowly and rapidly progressing populations. Categorization of disease progression for these charts was based on urinary GAG (uGAG) level; high (>200μg/mg creatinine) levels identified subjects as rapidly progressing. Height data for 141 patients who began galsulfase treatment by the age of 18years were collected and stratified by baseline uGAG level and age at ERT initiation in 3-year increments. The reference MPS VI growth charts were used to calculate change in Z-score from pre-treatment baseline to last follow-up. Among patients with high baseline uGAG levels, galsulfase ERT was associated with an increase in Z-score for those beginning treatment at 0-3, >3-6, >6-9, >9-12, and >12-15years of age (p

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to know if the loyalty of online purchasing is determined by the final perceptions of product quality and brand reputation in the online community of lingerie customers. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an exploratory model which aspects in previous studies have evaluated satisfaction, loyalty and trust in electronic shopping, in order to examine whether the customer’s perception of the quality and innovation of the final product sold through e-commerce and reputation in the examined was made “Virtual Community” are key factors in creating loyalty. The sample was obtained from a lingerie company which sells its products in Europe in the website leonisa.com, the data were analysed with the software SmartPLS, validating the proposed relationships between customer perceptions on the purchased product and loyalty to the brand. Findings The results demonstrate theoretical conceptions regarding product characteristics (Quality, Innovation and Satisfaction), and constructs brand (Virtual Community, Reputation and Trust). Research limitations/implications This paper presents a case study for a specific brand as exploratory research in the lingerie industry, this must be validated with this type of product for other companies. Practical implications This research has elements of support for management, companies will turn attention to the satisfaction of consumers and to maintain goods levels of reputation in the virtual community. Social implications This research shows a real case of the correct implementation of brand strategy, detailing how customers are valued and therefore provides valuable information for customers and companies. Originality/value This exploratory study provides a new analysis of product quality factors that were not directly related to the loyalty of electronic purchasing, also, it allows the fashion industry to have elements of support for management and quality control, and that hypotheses relating to the product quality and loyalty in the electronic shopping is confirmed.

Esophageal cancer is an important cause of death worldwide, with an increasing incidence in adenocarcinoma subtype in western countries. Although complete surgical resection remains the cornerstone of the treatment for resectable disease, long-term results are poor. Multimodal therapy improves survival, nevertheless the optimal therapeutic approach remains controversial. In this review, we will discuss the treatment of localized esophageal cancer, the evidence of the different multimodal approaches and finally we will propose a treatment algorithm.

There are few studies describing the adoption of electronic business-to-consumer (B2C) commerce in poor and developing countries, in that vein the purpose of this article is to examine which factors lead to electronic purchasing in Colombia. This study was conducted on a national level using an online survey, with a total of 941 responses from electronic commerce users. The results validated UTAUT2 model, with only the expected variables of effort and hedonistic motivations not being significant; additionally, online trust is positively affected by perceived security, information quality and perceived privacy. Finally, this analysis confirms that the relationships proposed in the theory of the adoption of online shopping in an emerging country are met, offering a detailed analysis of each of the variables that the online shopper considers; additionally, this article has validated that in Colombia, online shopping affects the search for low prices.

Today, it is common for software projects to collect measurement data through development processes. With these data, defect prediction software can try to estimate the defect proneness of a software module, with the objective of assisting and guiding software practitioners. With timely and accurate defect predictions, practitioners can focus their limited testing resources on higher risk areas. This paper reports a benchmarking study that uses a genetic algorithm that automatically generates and compares different learning schemes (preprocessing + attribute selection + learning algorithms). Performance of the software development defect prediction models (using AUC, Area Under the Curve) was validated using NASA-MDP and PROMISE data sets. Twelve data sets from NASA-MDP (8) and PROMISE (4) projects were analyzed running a \(M\times N\)-fold cross-validation. We used a genetic algorithm to select the components of the learning schemes automatically, and to evaluate and report those with the best performance. In all, 864 learning schemes were studied. The most common learning schemes were: data preprocessors: Log and CoxBox + attribute selectors: Backward Elimination, BestFirst and LinearForwardSelection + learning algorithms: NaiveBayes, NaiveBayesSimple, SimpleLogistic, MultilayerPerceptron, Logistic, LogitBoost, BayesNet, and OneR. The genetic algorithm reported steady performance and runtime among data sets, according to statistical analysis.

The development of MAS can be facilitated with the introduction of simulations into the development process. The integration of simulations has been addressed by some agent oriented methodologies, generally defining mappings from the original Multi-Agent specification to concrete simulators like Repast or Sesame. This paper contributes with a deeper integration where the methodology becomes a generator of ad hoc simulators for the MAS under development. This is possible with the aid of Model Driven Engineering principles which derives executable Multi-Agent Systems automatically from a Multi-Agent System specification.

The aim of this paper is to explore the differences between males and females in the acceptance of eWOM information. For this purpose, the Information Acceptance Model (IACM), which addresses the characteristics that are evaluated in the use and attitude towards the use of information and play a role in the purchase decision-making process, as demonstrated in the literature, has been used as a reference. An empirical model, which is expected to be validated from the information collected through an online questionnaire completed by 271 users of social networking sites in Spain, has been used. A structural equation model (SEM) is introduced to calculate the measurement structure of the variables and the relationships between them. This paper provides useful insights into the understanding of the differences in the behaviour of males and females regarding online eWOM, and therefore could imply differentiated online marketing and reputation management activities.

An interval time series (ITS) is a time series where each period is described by an interval. In finance, ITS can describe the temporal evolution of the high and low prices of an asset throughout time. These price intervals are related to the concept of volatility and are worth considering in order to place buy or sell orders. This article reviews two approaches to forecast ITS. On the one hand, the first approach consists of using univariate or multivariate forecasting methods. The possible cointegrating relation between the high and low values is analyzed for multivariate models and the equivalence of the VAR models is shown for the minimum and the maximum time series, as well as for the center and radius time series. On the other hand, the second approach adapts classic forecasting methods to deal with ITS using interval arithmetic. These methods include exponential smoothing, the k-NN algorithm and the multilayer perceptron. The performance of these approaches is studied in two financial ITS. As a result, evidences of the predictability of the ITS are found, especially in the interval range. This fact opens a new path in volatility forecasting.

FUNDAMENTO: Actualmente se considera al factor lipídico como el principal responsable del riesgo cardiovascular del individuo joven, factor ya presente en la infancia en proporciones preocupantes y crecientes como parecen mostrar diversos estudios nacionales. En el presente trabajo se analiza la prevalencia de hiperlipidemia en niños de la provincia de Cáceres según diversos criterios, describiendo los cambios según grupos de edad y sexo, y comparando los resultados globales con otros estudios autóctonos. MÉTODO: Estudio descriptivo transversal de una muestra representativa y proporcional de 2.150 niños (2 a 16 años) de la provincia de Cáceres (N=91.083). Se determina: colesterol total, fracciones, apolipoproteinas y cocientes de riesgo (técnica enzimática). RESULTADOS: El 27.9% de los niños presenta valores de colesterol total >200 mg/dl.; 7.5% de las mujeres y 4.7% de los varones muestran cifras superiores a 230 mg/dl. Niveles de C-LDL>130 mg/dl. aparecen en un 26.4%, de Apo-B>75 mg/dl en el 65.5% y de C-NO-HDL>165 en el 8.4%. Un C-HDL3.5 y LDL/HDL>2.2 se mostraron en el 36.1% y en el 39.8% respectivamente. La prevalencia de hiperlipidemia es superior en mujeres y etapas prepuberales. CONCLUSIONES: De forma global, e independientemente del criterio utilizado, la proporción de casos de hiperlipidemia es elevada y superior a la referida en otros estudios españoles. La prevalencia de hiperlipidemia es mayor en mujeres prepuberales, mostrándose los cocientes de riesgo mas discriminativos e identificando mejor el cambio del perfil lipídico puberal.

BACKGROUND Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) availability has allowed the treatment of a greater number of growth disorders. It is important to get an insight into the clinical characteristics of the paediatric population before rhGH treatment. METHODS An observational, retrospective and multicentre study was conducted to evaluate the patients' baseline characteristics prior to rhGH therapy. RESULTS A total of 1404 patients (53.8% males) aged 0.5-17.3 years were included. Clinical conditions were as follows: GH deficiency (GHD), 66.0%; small for gestational age (SGA), 29.7%; and Turner syndrome (TS), 4.3%. Male gender was predominant in most growth disorders; age at diagnosis was higher in GHD patients; therapy with rhGH started at lower chronological age in SGA and TS groups. CONCLUSION The baseline characteristics of the population to be treated with rhGH were similar to those reported in other growth databases. Delayed age at treatment initiation should increase the awareness of these disorders among general paediatricians and entice them to refer children suspected of having these disorders to a specialist.

The OSAM*.KBMS is a knowledge-base management system, or the so-called next-generation database management system, for non-traditional data/knowledge-intensive applications. In order to define, query, and manipulate a knowledge base, as well as to write codes to implement any application system, we have developed an object-oriented knowledge-base programming language called K to serve as the high-level interface of OSAM*.KBMS. This paper presents the design of K, its implementation, and its supporting KBMS developed at the Database Systems Research and Development Center of the University of Florida.

Fiber optic sensors have some advantages in subjects related with electrical current and magnetic field measurement. In spite of the optical fiber utilization advantages we have to take into account undesirable effects, which are present in real non-ideal optical fibers. In telecommunication and sensor application fields the presence of inherent and induced birefringence is crucial. The presence of birefringence may cause an undesirable change in the polarization state. In order to compensate the linear birefringence a promising method has been chosen. This method employs orthogonal polarization conjugation in the back propagation direction of the light wave in the fiber. A study and a simulation of an experimental setup are realized with the advantage of a significant sensitivity improvement.

U.S. and Mexican managerial attitudes concerning the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) process on the United States are explored. Over 1,500 managers, professionals, and upper-division business students in the United States and Mexico responded to a survey developed in both countries. Issues examined include general knowledge concerning NAFTA and perceived effect on a number of socioeconomic concerns. Differences in Mexican and U.S. attitudes concerning the issues are discussed.