Construcció d'una base de dades històrica de projectes Informàtics

El tema del treball de final de carrera se centra en el disseny d'una base de dades històrica de projectes informàtics, concretament especialitzada en projectes informàtics relacionats amb el disseny, la construcció i la posada en marxa i el posterior manteniment de programari.

How to foster sharing of educational resources?

The future of OER is highly dependent on the future of education in general. A future that will be determined by major changes in society that demand more people with a higher education and life long learning. Each vision for the long term future needs to take the qualitative and quantitative demands into account. Backcasting from a vision we arrive at useful steps to take, some of which we managed to start up in the form of pilots as part of the European research project Share.TEC.

On-pump beating heart coronary surgery for high risk patients requiring emergency multiple coronary artery bypass grafting.

BACKGROUND: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) with aortic cross-clamping and cardioplegic arrest remains the method of choice for patients requiring standard myocardial revascularization. Therefore, very high-risk patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome, unstable angina, onset of cardiac decompensation and requiring emergency multiple myocardial revascularization, can have a poor outcome. The on-pump beating heart technique can reduce the mortality and the morbidity in such a selected group of patients and this report describes our clinical experience. METHODS: Out of 290 patients operated for CABG from January 2005 to January 2006, 25 (8.6%) selected high-risk patients suffering from life threatening coronary syndrome (mean age 69 +/- 7 years) and requiring emergency multiple myocardial revascularization, underwent on-pump beating heart surgery. The mean pre-operative left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) was 27 +/- 8%. The majority of them (88%) suffered of tri-vessel coronary disease and 6 (24%) had a left main stump disease. Nine patients (35%) were on severe cardiac failure and seven among them (28%) received a pre-operative intra-aortic balloon pump. The pre-operative EuroScore rate was equal or above 8 in 18 patients (73%). RESULTS: All patients underwent on-pump-beating heart coronary revascularization. The mean number of graft/patient was 2.9 +/- 0.6 and the internal mammary artery was used in 23 patients (92%). The mean CPB time was 84 +/- 19 minutes. Two patients died during the recovery stay in the intensive care unit, and there were no postoperative myocardial infarctions between the survivors. Eight patients suffered of transitorily renal failure and 1 patient developed a sternal wound infection. The mean hospital stay was 12 +/- 7 days. The follow-up was complete for all 23 patients survived at surgery and the mean follow-up time was 14 +/- 5 months. One patient died during the follow-up for cardiac arrest and 2 patients required an implantable cardiac defibrillator. One year after surgery they all had a standard trans-thoracic echocardiogram showing a mean LVEF rate of 36 +/- 11.8%. CONCLUSION: Standard on-pump arrested heart coronary surgery has higher mortality and morbidity in emergencies. The on-pump beating heart myocardial revascularization seems to be a valid alternative for the restricted and selected cohort of patients suffering from life threatening coronary syndrome and requiring multiple emergency CABG.

Controlador de protocol Zigbee amb Servei de monitarització de dades (Dashboar) via web

Aquest projecte es desenvolupa a l'empresa DsetSolutions S.L “spin-off” de la Universitat de Gironanascuda l’any 2004 a iniciativa del grup de visió per Computador i Robòtica (VICOROB) de laUniversitat de Girona.Els objectius d'aquest projecte consisteixen en el disseny i desenvolupament d'un sistema demonitorització i anàlisi de dades de consum d'una instal•lació de monitorització (consum energètic,temperatura , etc.). Aquesta informació està recopilada i mesurada per dispositius que disposin delprotocol de comunicacions de baix consum i sense fils Zigbee, entre d'altres.Aquest projecte s'implementarà sobre el dispositiu tipus “gateway”, en concret el “ConnectPortX2Smart Energy” de l'empresa Digi.Com a punt i final, les dades s'envien a una passarel•la intermediària, que mitjançant “web service”viatgen a un servidor de DsetSolutions S.L, on es tracten i es mostren mitjançant un aplicatiu webd'una manera agradable al client. En aquest aplicatiu web hi ha una sèrie de gadgets que és on esdesenvolupa la segona part del projecte, una nova opció de visualització d'aquests.Un dels punts principals de la creació del projecte per part de l'empresa DsetSolutions S.L és lamillora econòmica d'una solució pròpia de l'empresa ja existent

The automatic selection of ventilation parameters during the initial phase of mechanical ventilation.

OBJECTIVE: To test a method that allows automatic set-up of the ventilator controls at the onset of ventilation. DESIGN: Prospective randomized crossover study. SETTING: ICUs in one adult and one children's hospital in Switzerland. PATIENTS: Thirty intubated stable, critically ill patients (20 adults and 10 children). INTERVENTIONS: The patients were ventilated during two 20-min periods using a modified Hamilton AMADEUS ventilator. During the control period the ventilator settings were chosen immediately prior to the study. During the other period individual settings were automatically determined by the ventilatior (AutoInit). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Pressure, flow, and instantaneous CO2 concentration were measured at the airway opening. From these measurements, series dead space (V(DS)), expiratory time constant (RC), tidal volume (VT, total respiratory frequency (f(tot), minute ventilation (MV), and maximal and mean airway pressure (Paw, max and Paw, mean) were calculated. Arterial blood gases were analyzed at the end of each period. Paw, max was significantly less with the AutoInit ventilator settings while f(tot) was significantly greater (P < 0.05). The other values were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The AutoInit ventilator settings, which were automatically derived, were acceptable for all patients for a period of 20 min and were not found to be inferior to the control ventilator settings. This makes the AutoInit method potentially useful as an automatic start-up procedure for mechanical ventilation.

Organizational Choice and Environmental Change

We explain the choice between franchising and vertical integration by estimating a model of relative performance in a sample of 250 Spanish car distributors, controlling for self-selection and including environmental factors. The method allows us to estimate performance counterfactuals. Organizational choice seemingly aims to contain moral hazard for both distributors and manufacturers but it is subject to start-up constraints and switching costs. While the market for franchises remained underdeveloped, information asymmetries led to the opening of integrated outlets. Their subsequent conversion into franchised outlets probably involved prohibitive transaction costs. Consequently, they performed worse than would have been expected had they been independent, as confirmed by the systematic improvement observed when they were in fact converted. The timing of such conversions suggests that switching costs were prohibitive until firms developed a substantial cushion of temporary contracts, previously forbidden by regulation.

A importância do sector microcrédito e o perfil do microempresário: Ilha de Santo Antão Cabo Verde

As microempresas desempenham um papel fundamental na promoção do emprego, na inovação, na criação de rendimentos e no desenvolvimento económico e social. Para os países em vias de desenvolvimento, crê-se que a dinamização das microempresas pode ser um instrumento privilegiado de promoção e combate à pobreza, na medida em que esta poderá ser a via para incentivar as camadas mais pobres das populações rurais e urbanas a criarem os seus próprios negócios e a providenciarem os seus próprios rendimentos. A criação e o crescimento das microempresas estão, todavia, condicionados por vários constrangimentos. A inexistência de capital inicial (Start-Up Capital) é apontada na literatura financeira como uma das mais relevantes. O recurso ao capital externo, como fonte de financiamento, dependerá, por sua vez, de vários factores. O presente estudo foi realizado em Santo Antão, a ilha mais a norte e a mais montanhosa do Arquipélago de Cabo Verde. O sector micro crédito chama atenção pelo facto de ser um instrumento de importância primordial para Cabo Verde e, particularmente, para a ilha de Santo Antão que possui uma estrutura económica e social muito vulnerável o que nos leva a compreender melhor, o funcionamento das microempresas, instaladas nos três municípios da Ilha (Paul, Ribeira Grande e Porto Novo). Ao longo do estudo definimos o perfil sócio económico do micro empresário Santantonense, com o objectivo de compreender e quantificar o contributo do sector para o desenvolvimento empresarial da ilha, sem esquecer os constrangimentos e dificuldades que se colocam aos micros empresários na procura de financiamento. O processo de recolha de informação foi efectuado com recurso a pesquisas de campo, a partir da elaboração e aplicação de entrevistas de uma forma semi-estruturada, no sentido de identificar as principais características/perfil do empresário. Os dados recolhidos pelas entrevistas têm por base uma apreciação crítica da gestão para melhor compreender e comparar as fragilidades existentes e analisar a capacidade de sucesso dos micros empresários. A configuração da actividade económica foi feita com base na análise quantitativa e qualitativa, dos dados obtidos na aplicação dos questionários. De igual modo, analisamos e comparamos os casos de sucesso e insucesso nas microempresas em estudo, casos de sucesso no que diz respeito aos benefícios de micro créditos para a redução da pobreza e do desemprego, de criação do auto-emprego, e da formação/informação aos micros empresários santantonenses. Nos casos de insucesso analisamos as causas que estiveram na sua origem assim como as consequências daí advenientes. Uma das constatações do estudo, como se verá pela análise dos dados, é que o micro empresário Santantonense, possui um baixo nível de escolaridade e que na sua maioria são mulheres. Um outro resultado evidenciado pelo estudo, é que há uma necessidade da política pública de desenvolvimento no sentido de definição de incentivos à criação e à promoção de micro negócios, atendendo às características demográficas e às necessidades específicas dos beneficiários. Micro enterprises perform a fundamental component in promoting employment, innovation, and earnings-generation and in socio-economic development. For countries en route to development, the belief is that the dynamic engine of the micro enterprises could be a privileged instrument to promote in the battle against poverty, in the hope that this could be the venue to incentivize the poorest of the rural and urban populations to create their own businesses and forecast their own earnings. The creation and the growth of micro enterprises is, however, conditional upon various constraints. The inexistence of initial capital is cited in financial literature as one of the more important. To resort to external capital as a financing source, is itself dependent on various factors. The current study was conducted in Santo Antão, the most northern and mountainous island in the Archipelago of Cape Verde. The micro credit´s sector calls attention to the fact that it is an essential instrument in Cape Verde, particularly in the island of Santo Antão which has an economic and social structure extremely vulnerable, leading us to a better understanding of how micro enterprises operate in the three municipalities of the Island (Paul, Ribeira Grande and Porto Novo). During the course of the study we defined the socio-economic character of the micro entrepreneur Santantonense, with the goal of understanding and quantifying the sector´s contribution to the Island´s entrepreneurial development, keeping in mind the contraints and difficulties that confront the entrepreneurs when seeking financing. The process for gathering the information was performed through field research, beginning with elaboration and application of interviews, designed to identify the entrepreneur´s major characteristics and the importance of micro credit for the island of Santo Antão. The data gathered through the interviews have un underlying basic and critic appreciation of management for a better understanding and comparing the existing fragilities and for analyzing the micro entrepreneurs´ capacity to succeed. The configuration of economic activities was designed based on quantitative and qualitative analysis from data obtained from the questionnaires. Likewise, we analyzed and compared the success and non-success cases of the micro enterprises in the study, success cases with respect to the benefits of micro credit in reducing poverty and unemployment, creation of self-employment, and the education/information for the micro entrepreneurs of Santo Antão. In the non-success cases we analyzed the original causes as well as the impending consequences. One of the study´s contentions, as the data analysis shows, is that micro entrepreneur of Santo Antão has a low level of education with the majority of them being women. In addition the study shows that there is a need for a public discourse in terms of defining and developing incentives for creating and promoting micro businesses given the demographic characteristics and the specific necessities of the beneficiaries.

Midwest Regional Rail Passenger Initiative Status Report December 2006

This report is submitted as required per Code of Iowa section 327J.3(5), "The director shall report annually to the general assembly concerning the development and operation of the midwest regional rail system and the state's passenger rail service." The Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI) is a nine-state effort to develop an implementation plan for a 3,000-mile, high-speed rail system hubbed in Chicago. Studies done since 1996 have concluded that such a regional system, including a line from Chicago to Omaha through Davenport, Iowa City and Des Moines, is viable. Most of the system would be upgraded to allow 110 mile-per-hour service. Some low volume lines, including the Iowa portions, would be upgraded for 79 mile-per-hour service. The nine-state coalition released an updated 2004 executive report for the system. As reported, the updated cost estimate for the Chicago to Omaha corridor, which includes a branch to Quincy, Ill., is $638 million for infrastructure and $167 million for rolling stock. These costs are higher than first estimated in 1998 and are given in 2002 dollars, (not adjusted for the cost of inflation). Operating subsidies would be required during an extended start-up phase. The allocation of these subsidy costs among the various states has not been determined, and is still a subject for analysis and negotiation. Little progress on implementation is expected unless a federal funding package is passed for passenger rail initiatives. Continued congressional discussion on policy directions relative to Amtrak clouds the issue of passenger rail funding. However, Congress is expected to address passenger rail issues and funding in 2007. Participation of the Iowa Department of Transportation in the MWRRI is authorized under Iowa Code section 327J.3.

Competition, innovation and growth with limited commitment

We study how barriers to business start-up affect the investment in knowledge capital when contracts are not enforceable. Barriers to business start-up lower the competition for knowledge capital and, in absence of commitment, reduce the incentive to accumulate knowledge. As a result, countries with large barriers experience lower income and growth. Our results are consistent with cross-country evidence showing that the cost of business start-up is negatively correlated with the level and growth of income.

Bank versus venture capital

Why do some start-up firms raise funds from banks andothers from venture capitalists? To answer this question,I develop a model of start-up financing when intellectualproperty rights are not well protected. The upside of VCfinancing is that the VC understands the business betterthan a bank. The downside, however, is that the VC maysteal the idea and use it himself. The results of themodel are consistent with empirical regularities onstart-up financing. The model implies that thecharacteristics of the firms financing from venturecapitalists are low-collateral, high-growth and high-profitability. The model also suggests that thetighter protection of intellectual property rightscontributes to the recent dramatic growth of the USventure capital industry.

Tidibi

Tidibi es una nueva comunidad digital que permite a sus miembros hacer pujas por ofertas de ocio exclusivas al precio que ellos decidan. En este momento estas ofertas de ocio se centran en hoteles de cuatro y cinco estrellas, pero está previsto lanzar pronto packs de esquí, cruceros y, más adelante, espectáculos. El usuario ganador de la oferta es aquel queha ofrecido un precio más alto (apéndices 1, 2 y 3) cuando el cronómetro que cuenta atrás llega a cero, y puede decidir cuántas noches quiere pasar en ese hotel (hasta un máximo de tres) a ese precio.La sociedad gestora de Tidibi, “Dragon Deal”, se constituyó jurídicamente como una S.L. el 6 de julio de 2012, pero el lanzamiento oficial de la página web www.tidibi.com no ocurrió hasta el 4 de octubre de este año. Sus creadores son un grupo de cuatro emprendedores (apéndice 4) que se conocieron en el curso de sus estudios MBA en la escuela de negocios IESE de Barcelona.Tidibi es un concepto innovador, basado en los nuevos usos de las tecnologías y en la línea de las nuevas tendencias del mercado, en el que existe una relación participativa por partede los clientes, en vez del tradicional rol del agente pasivo que espera que le hagan llegar la información. Dado que el precio es la principal barrera para que los compradores cibernéticos hagan sus compras on-line (iPerceptions “Hospitality and Tourism Industryreport” para Q4 2011), parece que Tidibi puede ofrecer una solución a esta problemática y hacer "business" con ello.Por lo que respecta a la inversión requerida, los emprendedores estiman una cantidad total de 450.000€, que se desglosa de la siguiente manera: 60.000€ fondos iniciales de la start-up, 140.000€ necesidades de capital circulante y 250.000€ de marketing y esfuerzo de ventas.Sin embargo, también reconocen que podrían funcionar con una inversión inferior, dadoque podrían adaptar y reducir la última de las partidas arriba mencionadas. A pesar de ello, creemos que una reducción significativa de esfuerzos en marketing podría comprometer eléxito de la empresa. Por ahora han conseguido cerca de la mitad del presupuesto en una ronda de financiación interna y un préstamo participativo de un fondo de capital riesgo. No podemos proveer más datos por razones de confidencialidad.

Tree and Brush Control For County Road Right-of-Way, Ocotober 2002

This manual summarizes the roadside tree and brush control methods used by all of Iowa's 99 counties. It is based on interviews conducted in Spring 2002 with county engineers, roadside managers and others. The target audience of this manual is the novice county engineer or roadside manager. Iowa law is nearly silent on roadside tree and brush control, so individual counties have been left to decide on the level of control they want to achieve and maintain. Different solutions have been developed but the goal of every county remains the same: to provide safe roads for the traveling public. Counties in eastern and southern Iowa appear to face the greatest brush control challenge. Most control efforts can be divided into two categories: mechanical and chemical. Mechanical control includes cutting tools and supporting equipment. A chain saw is the most widely used cutting tool. Tractor mounted boom mowers and brush cutters are used to prune miles of brush but have significant safety and aesthetic limitations and boom mowers are easily broken by inexperienced operators. The advent of tree shears and hydraulic thumbs offer unprecedented versatility. Bulldozers are often considered a method of last resort since they reduce large areas to bare ground. Any chipper that violently grabs brush should not be used. Chemical control is the application of herbicide to different parts of a plant: foliar spray is applied to leaves; basal bark spray is applied to the tree trunk; a cut stump treatment is applied to the cambium ring of a cut surface. There is reluctance by many to apply herbicide into the air due to drift concerns. One-third of Iowa counties do not use foliar spray. By contrast, several accepted control methods are directed toward the ground. Freshly cut stumps should be treated to prevent resprouting. Basal bark spray is highly effective in sensitive areas such as near houses. Interest in chemical control is slowly increasing as herbicides and application methods are refined. Fall burning, a third, distinctly separate technique is underused as a brush control method and can be effective if timed correctly. In all, control methods tend to reflect agricultural patterns in a county. The use of chain saws and foliar sprays tends to increase in counties where row crops predominate, and boom mowing tends to increase in counties where grassland predominates. For counties with light to moderate roadside brush, rotational maintenance is the key to effective control. The most comprehensive approach to control is to implement an integrated roadside vegetation management (IRVM) program. An IRVM program is usually directed by a Roadside Manager whose duties may be shared with another position. Funding for control programs comes from the Rural Services Basic portion of a county's budget. The average annual county brush control budget is about $76,000. That figure is thought not to include shared expenses such as fuel and buildings. Start up costs for an IRVM program are less if an existing control program is converted. In addition, IRVM budgets from three different northeastern Iowa counties are offered for comparison in this manual. The manual also includes a chapter on temporary traffic control in rural work zones, a summary of the Iowa Code as it relates to brush control, and rules on avoiding seasonal disturbance of the endangered Indiana bat. Appendices summarize survey and forest cover data, an equipment inventory, sample forms for record keeping, a sample brush control policy, a few legal opinions, a literature search, and a glossary.

Midwest Transportation Consortium Annual Program Report, October 2000

The MTC’s main focus is on education and human capital. This focus is in recognition of the fact that the transportation industry, both public and private, in the region served by the MTC faces a serious shortage of well-trained human capital. For this reason, the MTC is in volved in creating totally new transportation education programs at two of its member universities. The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in Cedar Falls Iowa had no courses or students in transportation when the MTC grant began. During the first year of the grant, UNI’s Geography Department took the lead in developing courses, attracting students, an getting involved a a partner in transportation activities in its service region. A similar start-up effort is now underway at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. The MTC has also been able to strengthen and add quality to transportation education efforts at universities in the region that were already leaders in transportation.

Midwest Transportation Consortium Annual Program Report, October 2002

The MTC’s main focus is on education and human capital. This focus is in recognition of the fact that the transportation industry, both public and private, in the region served by the MTC faces a serious shortage of well-trained human capital. For this reason, the MTC is in volved in creating totally new transportation education programs at two of its member universities. The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in Cedar Falls Iowa had no courses or students in transportation when the MTC grant began. During the first year of the grant, UNI’s Geography Department took the lead in developing courses, attracting students, an getting involved a a partner in transportation activities in its service region. A similar start-up effort is now underway at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. The MTC has also been able to strengthen and add quality to transportation education efforts at universities in the region that were already leaders in transportation.

Midwest Transportation Consortium Annual Program Report, October 2004

The MTC’s main focus is on education and human capital. This focus is in recognition of the fact that the transportation industry, both public and private, in the region served by the MTC faces a serious shortage of well-trained human capital. For this reason, the MTC is in volved in creating totally new transportation education programs at two of its member universities. The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in Cedar Falls Iowa had no courses or students in transportation when the MTC grant began. During the first year of the grant, UNI’s Geography Department took the lead in developing courses, attracting students, an getting involved a a partner in transportation activities in its service region. A similar start-up effort is now underway at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. The MTC has also been able to strengthen and add quality to transportation education efforts at universities in the region that were already leaders in transportation.