Disseny i desenvolupament d'un esquema criptogràfic per gestionar de forma segura els historials mèdics dels pacients a través d'una xarxa de comunicacions.

Desenvolupament d'un esquema criptogràfic per gestionar de forma segura els historials mèdics dels pacients através d'una xarxa de comunicacions. L'aplicació proporciona les propietatsbàsiques de seguretat que hem esmentat, a més de la propietat de no-repudique permet assegurar que una informació referent a una visita ha estat introduïda per un metge autoritzat i concret.

Validación chilena del cuestionario de evaluación de apego en el adulto CAMIR

El objetivo de esta investigación fue examinar la confiabilidad y validez del instrumento de evaluación de apego en el adulto, "Cartes: Modèles Individuels de Relation (CAMIR), en la realidad sociocultural chilena. Este instrumento, basado en la teoría del apego, es un cuestionario de auto-reporte que evalúa los modelos operativos internos en adultos y otras escalas relacionadas al apego. Los participantes fueron 578 sujetos, 204 hombres y 374 mujeres, con edades entre 14 y 80 años. Los sujetos completaron el CAMIR y medidas de vínculo y sintomatología actual, a través del Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and Outcome Questionnaire OQ-45.2. A través del análisis estadístico de los resultados se evaluaron las características psicométricas del test y de analiz ó la posibilidad de generar normas locales para la prueba. Los resultados confirmaron que el CAMIR es un instrumento confiable y válido en la evaluación de los modelos internos de relación en adultos. This study was designed to estimate the validity and reliability of the "Cartes: Modèles Individuels de Relation (CAMIR), in Chile. This inventory, based on attachment's theory, it's a auto-questionnaire evaluates the working models in adults and other scales relating to attachment. Participants were 578 individuals, 204 males and 374 females, 14 a 80 years old. Individuals completed the CAMIR and measures of bond and actual symptoms, with the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and Outcome Questionnaire OQ-45.2. The general norms were obtained according to a statistical analysis of the results and to an evaluation of the psychometric characteristics of the test. The results confirmed that the psychometric characteristics of the CAMIR make it a reliable and valid tool to assess working models in adults.

Personalized touristic routes implementing semantic web on GIS

Nowadays, when a user is planning a touristic route is very difficult to find out which are the best places to visit. The user has to choose considering his/her preferences due to the great quantity of information it is possible to find in the web and taking into account it is necessary to do a selection, within small time because there is a limited time to do a trip. In Itiner@ project, we aim to implement Semantic Web technology combined with Geographic Information Systems in order to offer personalized touristic routes around a region based on user preferences and time situation. Using ontologies it is possible to link, structure, share data and obtain the result more suitable for user's preferences and actual situation with less time and more precisely than without ontologies. To achieve these objectives we propose a web page combining a GIS server and a touristic ontology. As a step further, we also study how to extend this technology on mobile devices due to the raising interest and technological progress of these devices and location-based services, which allows the user to have all the route information on the hand when he/she does a touristic trip. We design a little application in order to apply the combination of GIS and Semantic Web in a mobile device.

Talking about sexuality with the physician: are patients receiving what they wish?

QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY/PRINCIPLES: Little is known concerning patients' expectations regarding sexual history taking by doctors: to ascertain expectations and actual experience of talking about sexuality among male patients attending outpatient clinics, and their sexual behaviour. METHODS: Patients consecutively recruited from two outpatient clinics in Lausanne, Switzerland were provided with an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Survey topics were: patients' expectations concerning sexual history taking, patients' lifetime experience of sexual history taking, and patients' sexual behaviour. RESULTS: The response rate was 53.0% (N = 1452). Among respondents, 90.9% would like their physician to ask them questions regarding their sexual history in order to receive advice on prevention (60.0% yes, 30.9% rather yes). Fifteen percent would be embarrassed or rather embarrassed if asked such questions. Nevertheless, 76.2% of these individuals would like their physician to do so. Despite these wishes, only 40.5% reported ever having a discussion "on their sexual life in general" with a doctor. Only one patient out of four to five was asked about previous sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the number of sexual partners and their sexual orientation. No feature of their sexual life distinguishes those who had discussed sexual issues with a doctor from those who had not, except a history of previous consultation for health problems related to sexuality. Conversely, being embarrassed about conducting this discussion was significantly associated with lack of discussion regarding sexuality. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the gap existing in the field of STI prevention in terms of doctors' advice and patients' wishes.

Short term impact of Tribulus terrestris intake on doping control analysis of endogenous steroids.

Tribulus terrestris is a nutritional supplement highly debated regarding its physiological and actual effects on the organism. The main claimed effect is an increase of testosterone anabolic and androgenic action through the activation of endogenous testosterone production. Even if this biological pathway is not entirely proven, T. terrestris is regularly used by athletes. Recently, the analysis of two female urine samples by GC/C/IRMS (gas chromatography/combustion/isotope-ratio-mass-spectrometry) conclusively revealed the administration of exogenous testosterone or its precursors, even if the testosterone glucuronide/epitestosterone glucuronide (T/E) ratio and steroid marker concentrations were below the cut-off values defined by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). To argue against this adverse analytical finding, the athletes recognized having used T. terrestris in their diet. In order to test this hypothesis, two female volunteers ingested 500 mg of T. terrestris, three times a day and for two consecutive days. All spot urines were collected during 48 h after the first intake. The (13)C/(12)C ratio of ketosteroids was determined by GC/C/IRMS, the T/E ratio and DHEA concentrations were measured by GC/MS and LH concentrations by radioimmunoassay. None of these parameters revealed a significant variation or increased above the WADA cut-off limits. Hence, the short-term treatment with T. terrestris showed no impact on the endogenous testosterone metabolism of the two subjects.

Predicting clinical scores from magnetic resonance scans in Alzheimer's disease.

Machine learning and pattern recognition methods have been used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from individual MRI scans. Another application of such methods is to predict clinical scores from individual scans. Using relevance vector regression (RVR), we predicted individuals' performances on established tests from their MRI T1 weighted image in two independent data sets. From Mayo Clinic, 73 probable AD patients and 91 cognitively normal (CN) controls completed the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Dementia Rating Scale (DRS), and Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) within 3months of their scan. Baseline MRI's from the Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) comprised the other data set; 113 AD, 351 MCI, and 122 CN subjects completed the MMSE and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subtest (ADAS-cog) and 39 AD, 92 MCI, and 32 CN ADNI subjects completed MMSE, ADAS-cog, and AVLT. Predicted and actual clinical scores were highly correlated for the MMSE, DRS, and ADAS-cog tests (P<0.0001). Training with one data set and testing with another demonstrated stability between data sets. DRS, MMSE, and ADAS-Cog correlated better than AVLT with whole brain grey matter changes associated with AD. This result underscores their utility for screening and tracking disease. RVR offers a novel way to measure interactions between structural changes and neuropsychological tests beyond that of univariate methods. In clinical practice, we envision using RVR to aid in diagnosis and predict clinical outcome.

Self-serving biases: Evidence from a simulated labor relationship

Previous studies have found evidence of a self-serving bias in bargaining and dispute resolution. We use experimental data to test for this effect in a simulated labor relatonship. We finda consistent discrepancy between employer beliefs and employee actions that can only be attributed to self-serving biases. This discrepancy is evident through stated beliefs, revealed satisfaction, and actual actions. We present evidenceand discuss implications.

English as a world language: its role as a lingua francaa sociolinguistic profile of students of secondary schools in Santiago Island, in the Archipelago of Cape Verde

Esta tese centra-se em aspectos relevantes do inglês como uma língua universal, no actual contexto globalizado e examina possíveis mudanças relacionadas com o seu uso, em especial no continente africano, particularmente no caso de Cabo Verde, no sentido de ponderar eventuais alternativas nas pedagogias linguísticas no ensino desta língua que impliquem uma adaptação à realidade contemporânea. Uma vez que, nos nossos tempos, o inglês é a língua de eleição para a comunicação intercultural entre povos com várias experiências culturais e linguísticas, o conhecimento deste idioma torna-se, a cada dia que passa, impreterível e indispensável, na interacção intercultural. Em África, as funções desempenhadas pelo inglês são complexas; além da língua inglesa ser usada para comunicação entre etnias, com o estatuto de língua franca, também tem o papel de preservar a identidade nacional e de estabelecer a unidade entre os povos da mesma nação. Por conseguinte, é de considerar talvez ainda com mais pertinência, a adopção de uma nova filosofia de pedagogia de ensino que permita dotar os seus cidadãos de capacidades que lhes possibilitem comunicar de forma inteligível com povos de outras culturas e línguas. O primeiro capítulo aborda aspectos teóricos relacionados com a expansão, comunicação e mudança associadas à língua inglesa e suas implicações no ensino em países onde esta não é língua nativa (L1). O segundo capítulo reflecte, em primeiro lugar, sobre a situação linguística em África e as línguas francas predominantes no continente, incluindo a língua inglesa. Considera também questões relacionadas com o multilinguismo e a identidade, bem como assuntos relacionados com as implicações da diversidade linguística para a educação dos povos africanos.

Factors influencing the adoption of an innovation: an examination of the uptake of the Canadian Heart Health Kit (HHK)

BACKGROUND: There is an emerging knowledge base on the effectiveness of strategies to close the knowledge-practice gap. However, less is known about how attributes of an innovation and other contextual and situational factors facilitate and impede an innovation's adoption. The Healthy Heart Kit (HHK) is a risk management and patient education resource for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and promotion of cardiovascular health. Although previous studies have demonstrated the HHK's content validity and practical utility, no published study has examined physicians' uptake of the HHK and factors that shape its adoption. OBJECTIVES: Conceptually informed by Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation theory, and Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study had two objectives: (1) to determine if specific attributes of the HHK as well as contextual and situational factors are associated with physicians' intention and actual usage of the HHK kit; and (2), to determine if any contextual and situational factors are associated with individual or environmental barriers that prevent the uptake of the HHK among those physicians who do not plan to use the kit. METHODS: A sample of 153 physicians who responded to an invitation letter sent to all family physicians in the province of Alberta, Canada were recruited for the study. Participating physicians were sent a HHK, and two months later a study questionnaire assessed primary factors on the physicians' clinical practice, attributes of the HHK (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, observability), confidence and control using the HHK, barriers to use, and individual attributes. All measures were used in path analysis, employing a causal model based on Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations Theory and Theory of Planned Behaviour. RESULTS: 115 physicians (follow up rate of 75%) completed the questionnaire. Use of the HHK was associated with intention to use the HHK, relative advantage, and years of experience. Relative advantage and the observability of the HHK benefits were also significantly associated with physicians' intention to use the HHK. Physicians working in solo medical practices reported experiencing more individual and environmental barriers to using the HHK. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that future information innovations must demonstrate an advantage over current resources and the research evidence supporting the innovation must be clearly visible. Findings also suggest that the innovation adoption process has a social element, and collegial interactions and discussions may facilitate that process. These results could be valuable for knowledge translation researchers and health promotion developers in future innovation adoption planning.

Performance of mechanical ventilators at the patient's home: a multicentric quality control study

Background: Quality control procedures vary considerably among the providers of equipment for home mechanical ventilation (HMV). Methods: A multicentre quality control survey of HMV was performed at the home of 300 patients included in the HMV programmes of four hospitals in Barcelona. It consisted of three steps: (1) the prescribed ventilation settings, the actual settings in the ventilator control panel, and the actual performance of the ventilator measured at home were compared; (2) the different ventilator alarms were tested; and (3) the effect of differences between the prescribed settings and the actual performance of the ventilator on non-programmed readmissions of the patient was determined. Results: Considerable differences were found between actual, set, and prescribed values of ventilator variables; these differences were similar in volume and pressure preset ventilators. The percentage of patients with a discrepancy between the prescribed and actual measured main ventilator variable (minute ventilation or inspiratory pressure) of more than 20% and 30% was 13% and 4%, respectively. The number of ventilators with built in alarms for power off, disconnection, or obstruction was 225, 280 and 157, respectively. These alarms did not work in two (0.9%), 52 (18.6%) and eight (5.1%) ventilators, respectively. The number of non-programmed hospital readmissions in the year before the study did not correlate with the index of ventilator error. Conclusions: This study illustrates the current limitations of the quality control of HMV and suggests that improvements should be made to ensure adequate ventilator settings and correct ventilator performance and ventilator alarm operation.

Predicting potential distribution of the jaguar (Panthera onca) in Mexico: identification of priority areas for conservation

Aim The jaguar, Panthera onca, is a species of global conservation concern. In Mexico, the northernmost part of its distribution range, its conservation status, is particularly critical, while its potential and actual distribution is poorly known. We propose an ensemble model (EM) of the potential distribution for the jaguar in Mexico and identify the priority areas for conservation.Location Mexico.Methods We generated our EM based on three presence-only methods (Ecological Niche Factor Analysis, Mahalanobis distance, Maxent) and considering environmental, biological and anthropogenic factors. We used this model to evaluate the efficacy of the existing Mexican protected areas (PAs), to evaluate the adequacy of the jaguar conservation units (JCUs) and to propose new areas that should be considered for conservation and management of the species in Mexico.Results Our results outline that 16% of Mexico (c. 312,000 km2) can be considered as suitable for the presence of the jaguar. Furthermore, 13% of the suitable areas are included in existing PAs and 14% are included in JCUs (Sanderson et al., 2002).Main conclusions Clearly much more should be carried out to establish a proactive conservation strategy. Based on our results, we propose here new jaguar conservation and management areas that are important for a nationwide conservation blueprint.

Genome-wide DNA polymorphism analyses using VariScan

BACKGROUND: DNA sequence polymorphisms analysis can provide valuable information on the evolutionary forces shaping nucleotide variation, and provides an insight into the functional significance of genomic regions. The recent ongoing genome projects will radically improve our capabilities to detect specific genomic regions shaped by natural selection. Current available methods and software, however, are unsatisfactory for such genome-wide analysis. RESULTS: We have developed methods for the analysis of DNA sequence polymorphisms at the genome-wide scale. These methods, which have been tested on a coalescent-simulated and actual data files from mouse and human, have been implemented in the VariScan software package version 2.0. Additionally, we have also incorporated a graphical-user interface. The main features of this software are: i) exhaustive population-genetic analyses including those based on the coalescent theory; ii) analysis adapted to the shallow data generated by the high-throughput genome projects; iii) use of genome annotations to conduct a comprehensive analyses separately for different functional regions; iv) identification of relevant genomic regions by the sliding-window and wavelet-multiresolution approaches; v) visualization of the results integrated with current genome annotations in commonly available genome browsers. CONCLUSION: VariScan is a powerful and flexible suite of software for the analysis of DNA polymorphisms. The current version implements new algorithms, methods, and capabilities, providing an important tool for an exhaustive exploratory analysis of genome-wide DNA polymorphism data.

Cambios en el uso y la concepción de las TIC, implementando el Mobile Learning.

This research analyses the actual use and conception of the ICT mobility that a life long learning group of students have. The students have participated in a Mobile Learning experience along an online postgraduate course, which was designed under a traditional e-learning perspective. The students received a tablet PC (iPad) in order to work at the course and also to use it in their personal and professional life. A complete and original pre-test / post-test questionnaire was applied before and after the course. This instrument was scientifically validated. Thru the questionnaire, uses tendency and students perceptions were studied. Frequencies, purposes, habits of use and valuation, as well as the device"s integration into their personal, social and professional life were studied. The analysis intents to apply the 'Social Technographics Profile" by Bernoff (2010) to classify, by profile groups, the users of the actual Internet. Finally a reflexion of the reasons and limits of the theory, in this study, and also the relation to reality is presented. The Inter-coding reliability and validity shows the possibility of applying the instrument on wider samples in order to get a closer look to the uses and actual conceptions of the ubiquitous ICTs.

A Mixed-method Social Networks Study Design for Research on Transnational Families

This paper advocates the adoption of a mixed-methods research design to describe and analyze ego-centered social networks in transnational family research. Drawing on the experience of the Social Networks Influences on Family Formation project (2004-2005), I show how the combined use of network generators and semistructured interviews (N = 116) produces unique data on family configurations and their impact on life course choices. A mixed-methods network approach presents specific advantages for research on children in transnational families. On the one hand, quantitative analyses are crucial for reconstructing and measuring the potential and actual relational support available to children in a context where kin interactions may be hindered by temporary and prolonged periods of separation. On the other hand, qualitative analyses can address strategies and practices employed by families to maintain relationships across international borders and geographic distance, as well as the implications of those strategies for children's well-being.

Dessalinització nuclear : estudi preliminar per l'aplicació a Catalunya

Aquest document pretén donar a conèixer el concepte de dessalinització nuclear, determinar els avantatges i inconvenients a nivell ambiental, així com els costos econòmics i energètics que poden suposar. Podem definir dessalinització nuclear com una planta de dessalinització d’aigua marina que és alimentada pel seu complet funcionament per un reactor nuclear. La planta utilitza tant l’energia elèctrica que es produeix com l’energia calorífica retinguda en l’aigua que surt del reactor. S’ha estructurat el treball en tres parts. La primera és una anàlisi de quin és l’ús que se’n fa a nivell mundial de la tecnologia de dessalinització. S’ofereixen dades de la producció mundial d’aigua dolça a partir d’aquesta tecnologia, en quins països se’n fa més ús i perquè. També es defineixen els tipus de plantes de dessalinització que es poden construir. El segon apartat és un anàlisi històric i d’actualitat de la dessalinització nuclear mundial. S’analitza el perquè del desenvolupament d’aquesta tecnologia i s’estudien les necessitats hídriques que es podran tenir en un futur. Es planteja si aquesta tecnologia pot satisfer-les. S’estudien les onze plantes de dessalinització nuclear que han funcionat. El tercer apartat és un estudi de la possible transformació de les dues plantes dessalinitzadores catalanes en dessalinitzadores nuclears. Es fa un anàlisi de costos energètics i de producció, sense tenir en compte els d’instal·lació. També s’investiga els possibles impactes per contaminació radiològica que podria generar l’aigua produïda amb aquesta tecnologia.