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Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are the infections which can be caught during all types of sexual intercourse. Althought, some of the infections can be transmitted without sexual contact: by sharing infected syringes and needles, through the infected blood and its products, during pregnancy and the perinatal period. Over 1 million people in the world are infected by STIs every day, most of them are young, sexually active men. The most wide spread infections are syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, hepatitis B, Herpes simplex, HIV, HPV. The main risk factors are: frequent change of sexual partners, unprotected sex, alcohol or drugs before sex. Around 90% of infections are asymptomatic or the symptoms are insignificant, the asymptomatic period of STIs is highly variable and depends on the specific agent. Untreated or unsuccessfully treated infections can cause serious complications. Objective. To evaluate the data of medical history, diagnostics, treatment and its effectiveness to the patients who have tested positive for the molecular testing of 7 sexually transmitted pathogens. Materials and methods. In Vilnius University Hospital Santariskiu clinic's Centre of Dermatovenerology (VUL SK DVC) 245 patients were diagnosed with an STI by molecular analysis. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated for 103 patients who came for a follow-up within 3 months. The statistical significance was calculated using the Chi-square test (p≤0.05). Results. 75% (n=184) studied patients were women, the average age was 36 years, men constituted 25% (n=61), average age – 33 years. 5.4% of women and 14.8% of men claimed having unprotected sex. Women mostly complained of joint pain (57.1%), excessive discharge (47.3%), men - joint pain (27.9%), rash. Most of the patients had complaints that have been lasting for more than 6 months. One pathogen was identified in 73.9% of patients and a few (two or three) – in 26.1% of patients. Most commonly identified pathogens or their combinations: U. parvum (53.5%) U. urealyticum (11%), U. parvum together with M. hominis (8.6%), C. trachomatis (4.9%), U. parvum together with U. urealyticum (4.5%). 75.5% of women and 83.6% men were treated. In 68% of women and 85.7% of men the treatment was successful. The efficiency of the treatment was measured in the U. parvum group: 46.8% of patients received a total of 2.8 g of doxycycline (77.3% cure rate) and 8.5% of patients received a total of 4.2 g of doxycycline (100% cure rate), (p=1.000). 12.8% of patients received a total of 1.5 g of azithromycin (66.7% cure rate) and 31.9% of patients received >1.5 g of azithromycin (66.7% cure rate), (p=0.065). Conclusions. Women with STIs present to doctors more often than men. The risk of getting infected by STIs for men is 3 times higher than that for women. More than half of women and one third of men complained of joint pain. Most patients delay seeking medical care. U. parvum infection was diagnosed for more than half of all the patients. 78% of patients were treated and three-quarters of them were cured. No statistically significant correlation was identified between the positive treatment effect, the chosen medicine (azithromycin or doxycycline) and the extended duration of its use.

International audience; This article proposes a novel approach that uses a mathematical model optimized by Genetic Algorithms harmonized with the Russian theory of problem solving and invention (TRIZ) to design an export packing of Persian Lime. The mathematical model (with functional elements of non-spatial type) optimizes the spaces of the Persian Lime Packing, maximizes the Resistance to Vertical Compression and minimizes the Amount of Material Used, according to the operation restrictions of the packing during the transport of the merchandise. This approach is developed in four phases: the identification of the solution space; the optimization of the conceptual design; the application of TRIZ; and the generation of the final proposal solution. The results show the proposed packing (with 28% less cardboard) supports at least the same vertical load with respect to the nearest competitor packing. However, with the same number of packings per pallet and pallets per container, the space used by the packing assembled and deployed in the container is greater by 10% and 38% respectively. Besides, TRIZ includes innovative non-spatial elements such as the airflow and the friction of the product inside the packing. The contribution of this approach can be replicable for the packing design of other horticultural products of the agri-food chain

This study addresses the transport of fresh fruit and vegetables from an independent transporter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Even though the main issue relies on the transport itself, an alternate objective function was proposed to maximize profits of the transporter by considering certain constraints. The main objective of this research is to determine the optimal amount of fruit and vegetables that should be purchased to be transported later to the different destinations to generate the maximum profitability that is possible. The problem is tackled by means of classical methods of problem solving. Moreover, the simplex method employed enables to identify the constraints and determine the optimal solution to the problem that satisfies transport requirements and generates the highest profitability. Finally, results demonstrate that the maximum profit that can be gained is $1,840.00 Mexican pesos during a single trip, satisfying demand of three different businesses.

The maintenance process plays a crucial role in any production process. Frequently, the common vision about the maintenance process takes only into account the probability of an event and the risk associated with some expected effects with the goal to reduce the effective cost. Nevertheless, maintenance is not a routine activity; it is a creative process that continually produces new knowledge. The traditional approaches to maintenance do not propose an explicit mechanism to preserve this knowledge. As a consequence, the experts managing the maintenance process face the problem to reinvent past solutions, instead of reusing their experiences to solve new problems. The lack of a learning process in the maintenance process produces the loss of knowledge, increases the dependency on some experts, but more important yet, it makes the evolution of the maintenance process more difficult. This chapter presents a Knowledge-Based Maintenance (KBM) approach that aims to create a framework to manage a maintenance program but also to preserve the valuable experience deployed in the maintenance activities.

The innovation process, seen as a set of problem-solving activities needs novel approaches to assist decision-making in the evaluation of different potential solutions. Typical perspective as the Analytic Hierarchy Process, similarity-based techniques, and essential performance indicators find their limits when it is necessary to take into account a crucial factor: emotions. The emotional response to unique product attributes is in fact, a determinant element to succeed in a market. The affective computing paradigm is a recent technology that allows knowing the person’s mood by using different strategies: the use of the camera to recognize an image, the tone voice of a person, and the use of different sensors and wearable devices. Some common features are the use of sensors that measure heart rate, the excitement of an individual, and the detection of the bioelectric activity of the brain at the instant of someone sees something specific. The affective computing has become more relevant in the past years. Emotions are fundamental to human experience, influencing cognition, perception, and everyday tasks such as learning, communication, and even rational decision-making. Industry asks for a different effective mechanism to select the best alternative during design and evaluation of products or services, particularly in the conceptual design stage. Decisions at this stage will determine the primary attributes of a product. The affective computing paradigm can show what characteristics of the product are more attractive to the design stakeholder and allow a review before launching a product.

International audience; The pressure of the market, the exigencies of the society, and the environmental restrictions ask for new problem-solving approaches. In this context, the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) offers several advantages: it is a knowledge-based approach for problem-solving that links the problem requirements with some engineering models to guide the solving process. However, the learning process of TRIZ and its use with a practical purpose reveal many drawbacks. A significant problem, while using TRIZ, emerges when the user needs to analyze and formulate an inventive problem. To deal with this issue, a combination of TRIZ with other tools seems the best strategy. The use of the Functional Analysis (FA) is one of the best examples. Despite the usefulness of the FA technique, a difficulty remains: it is a complex task to model the causal relationship between several parameters or conditions within a system. However, a tool used in the System Dynamics Modeling deals well with this situation. The System Dynamics (SD) analyzes the nonlinear behavior of complex systems over time. Congruent with recent TRIZ advances, the SD is a computer aided-approach with an extended application domain, practically in any complex system-social, managerial, economic or natural system defined by some relationships, a flow of information, and some effects of causality. Hence, SD can produce useful information when there are several conflicts in a system, also called a problem network. SD uses a graphical tool to model the variables and states of a system: The Causal-Loop Diagram. This tool is helpful to explain a conflict, the change of a system, or merely the interactions that take place to obtain an effect. This article presents a comparison between the Functional Analysis and the Causal-Loop Diagram to model inventive problems.

Handling systems for power wheelchairs are very useful for users who have di culty moving by themselves; however, most of the current models are designed exclusively for diplegic people and quadriplegics users with a speci c disability. But it doesn't exist yet a wheelchair that assist it properly and e ciently the di erent disabilities that may present a quadriplegic due to the level of the injury. Therefore, the main contribution for this paper was a performance evaluation for a multimodal interface system of a smart wheelchair with di erent control methods for patients with severe spinal cord injuries (SCI) through a software simulation to make more secure the movement of the wheelchair and thereby standardize the basics of wheelchairs for quadriplegics in a more natural way according to their disabilities.

Nowadays, companies are working in a globalized way and they buy components and raw materials from different supplier in other countries. The selection of the best supplier is a complex process because a lot of attributes must be integrated in the evaluation. Additionally, in the last years environmental attributes of suppliers are essentials to be considered increasing the difficulty of the process. Despite its importance, companies are not fully aware about the potential benefits that are gaining when environmental attributes and regulations are integrated in the supplier’s selection process, usually because environmental friendly products are more expensive. This research presents a structural equation model based on a survey applied to 206 purchasing managers or individuals with similar responsibilities in companies established in Mexico. The objective of this equation model is to generate a causal analysis useful to observe the relation between variables associated to environmental care from suppliers and the financial and corporative image gained. Finds indicate that companies are improving their profits and corporative image if environmental attributes are considered as additional supplier’s selection criteria, and usually these companies are also increasing the quality of their production process.

Hoy en día, el conocimiento es una poderosa herramienta para obtener beneficios en cualquier organización. Especialmente cuando las tecnologías de la Web semántica son adaptadas a los requerimientos de las empresas. En este sentido, el sistema simple de organización de conocimiento (SKOS) es un área de trabajo que ha desarrollado especificaciones y estándares para trabajar con sistemas de organización de conocimiento. Tomando esto en cuenta, en los últimos años SKOS se ha convertido en uno de los puntos clave en el ecosistema de Linked Data (LD). En este artículo, proponemos un enfoque basado en LD usando SKOS, con la finalidad de administrar el conocimiento en las cadenas de suministro. Adicionalmente este artículo cubre como SKOS puede ser enriquecido por ontologías y LD para mejorar la semántica en la administración del conocimiento. Esto se debe a que la literatura de cadenas de suministro se enfoca en los recursos, los datos y la información que se intercambian entre los socios de la cadena de suministro, a pesar del hecho que para mejorar la integración y colaboración entre socios requiere del desarrollo de características complejas de “saber-hacer” y conocimiento.

The process of selection of a supplier plays a fundamental role in the supply chain. With the emergence of the so-called green attributes this process has become more complicated. Besides, it is unknown if the attributes have an impact on the performance of the company. This chapter presents a structural equation model using four latent variables: green policy attributes, green attributes preproduction, green attributes in production processes, and green attributes postproduction to determine the dependence among them. The relationships define six hypotheses. To validate the model, a sample of 253 interviews to managers of firms located in Mexico was taken. To reduce dimensionality the partial least squares (PLS) method was used. The results indicate that there is a direct and positive impact among the variables analyzed. However, the most significant is the relationship between the green policy and the green attributes preproduction.

This paper uses System Dynamics modeling and process simulation to explore coordination in two logistic processes (procurement and production) of the supply chain of an ethanol plant. In that sense, three production scenarios are evaluated to identify: a) stock movement according to current inventory policies, and b) the critical variables affecting the coordination for these two processes. Since the main goal in the company is to meet customer demand, this research incorporates sales forecasting, and four performance indicators to evaluate the state of the processes: 1) average percentage of demand satisfaction, 2) maximum amount of ethanol in excess, 3) available ethanol at the end of the year, and 4) inventory costs. To model the case study, the change in production yield and specific constraints for the chain are considered. The simulation results show that System Dynamics modeling can be used to observe the effects of policies on inventory, and meeting the demand in a real system. It also can define the coordination for a supply chain and give information to improve it. The developed model uses STELLA® software to simulate the logistic processes and execute the evaluation employing the performance indicators.

Since ethanol is considered an essential additive for biofuel production, there may be the opportunity to employ it as such in Mexico. However, an analysis of the ethanol supply chain should be performed first. Therefore, in order to analyze the main variables of the ethanol supply chain, as well as the feasibility for its use, the present research developed a System Dynamics model based on an idea suggested by SENER (Secretariat of Energy in Mexico). The model explores five possible scenarios (between 2014 and 2030), and evaluates the availability of area for the sowing of sugarcane and grain sorghum crops, the production capacity for ethanol and fuel, as well as the possible reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The model considers the trends and parameters of the agricultural and energy industries, and produces valuable information about future conditions of the Mexican biofuel and fossil fuel production and supply. The obtained results predicted two situations. First, Mexico would face a fuel shortage in the future. Second, from the amount of fuel available by that time, the biofuel produced and accumulated would collaborate little to meet the domestic fuel demand. Also, as System Dynamics is concerned, it is demonstrated that it is a powerful methodology to simulate and understand the biofuel supply chains in emerging markets as Mexico.

The application of the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) to face complex problems in the current scientific and industrial environment is an active research field. The TRIZ capacity to produce valuable technological solutions is an attractive resource to impel the innovation process and technical performance. The intensification of the research effort has unveiled new paths for proposing more efficient problem-solving tools and techniques. Among these opportunities, two are crucial in this chapter: the TRIZ limitation to observe the progression of an inventive problem in time and the difficulty that any solver faces when the system under analysis contains several interrelated problems. Nonetheless, there is an approach that analyzes a system through time and that offers some tools for modeling and simulating the different system states: system dynamics modeling. The system dynamics (SD) approach analyzes the nonlinear behavior of complex systems over time. SD is a computer-aided approach with a large extent of application domains, practically in any complex system—social, managerial, economic, or natural—defined by a set of interdependence relationships, a flow of information, and effects of causality. Hence, SD can produce useful information within a problem network and create, in combination with TRIZ, a synergy to solve inventive problems.

Nowadays, traditional search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing facilitate the retrieval of information in the format of images, but the results are not always useful for the users. This is mainly due to two problems: (1) the semantic keywords are not taken into consideration and (2) it is not always possible to establish a query using the image features. This issue has been covered in different domains in order to develop content-based image retrieval (CBIR) systems. The expert community has focussed their attention on the healthcare domain, where a lot of visual information for medical analysis is available. This paper provides a solution called iPixel Visual Search Engine, which involves semantics and content issues in order to search for digitized mammograms. iPixel offers the possibility of retrieving mammogram features using collective intelligence and implementing a CBIR algorithm. Our proposal compares not only features with similar semantic meaning, but also visual features. In this sense, the comparisons are made in different ways: by the number of regions per image, by maximum and minimum size of regions per image and by average intensity level of each region. iPixel Visual Search Engine supports the medical community in differential diagnoses related to the diseases of the breast. The iPixel Visual Search Engine has been validated by experts in the healthcare domain, such as radiologists, in addition to experts in digital image analysis.

Nugaros smegenų pažeidimas dažnai sukelia negalią, sunkų stresą ir ilgalaikį adaptacijos procesą. Šio tyrimo tikslas – įvertinti asmenų, patyrusių nugaros smegenų pažeidimą, emocinę savijautą ir galimą psichikos sveikatos specialistų paslaugų poreikį po pirminės reabilitacijos. Apklausti 20 asmenų pakartotinės reabilitacijos metu. Tyrimui buvo naudojama Klinikinė nerimo ir depresijos skalė (angl. HAD‘s – Hospitalal Anxiety and Depression scale) ir anketiniai klausimai. Depresiškumo vidurkis tiriamųjų grupėje 4,9±3,13 balai, nerimo - 5,05±2,52. Padidėjusį nerimą ar/ir depresiškumą patiria 9 (45%) asmenys, tačiau klinikiniai požymiai yra saikingi (8-10 balų ribose). 11 (55%) pažymėjo patyrę ypač sunkių psichologinių sunkumų po nugaros smegenų pažeidimo. 14 (70%) dėl emocinių sunkumų konsultavosi su specialistais. Dažniausiai kreipiamasi į šeimos gydytoją (9), į neurologą (3), psichologą (3). Konsultacija atitiko 4 pacientų lūkesčius, 10 – iš dalies atitiko. 7 (35%) asmenys teigė vartojantys vaistus nuotaikos ar miego korekcijai. Visi apklaustieji emocinės paramos pirmiausia kreipiasi į artimuosius, 60% apklaustųjų nurodė, kad esant galimybei dalyvautų savitarpio pagalbos grupėje.

Evaluation and Selection of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) is a complex problem involving multiple attributes difficult to consider in their entirety. The Axiomatic Design Theory have been used successfully to solve this problem. This chapter presents a literature review for applications of Axiomatic Design Theory in decision making and develops an Ergonomic Compatibility Evaluation Perspective case study for the selection of two vertical CNC machining centers. A new Hierarchical Fuzzy Axiomatic Design methodology was used as a decision aid for evaluation of technology in a more complete manner, while considering human factors and ergonomics aspects neglected in actual AMT evaluation and selection models. Methodology for the data analysis is described. A group of three experts was conformed for the case study. 26 articles were organized in a data matrix. The alternative which best meet established Design Ranges in terms of Ergonomic Compatibility was selected among two alternatives, according to the Ergonomic Incompatibility Content (EIC) in a fuzzy environment.

The bioethanol industry is one of the growing sectors worldwide which is seeking for sustainability along its supply chain. The increasing demand for bioethanol makes this industry face a conflict: to increase productivity without compromising the future natural resources such as water. This work proposes to integrate the water footprint assessment methodology to the supply chain analysis using system dynamics. In this paper, the application of the synergy is to assess and simulate the water footprint of the bioethanol production stages using the system dynamics methodology. System dynamics could be a useful approach to model and simulate the water footprint of bioethanol supply chain and estimate its impact on water resources for the succeeding years.