bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
COMETTM – A New Ventilation Air Methane (VAM) Abatement Technology
Authors: Hinde By Peter , Mitchell Ian , Riddell Martin
Published: January 2017

Ventilation air methane (VAM) found in coal mines is a huge and global problem because it acts as a greenhouse gas (GHG) contributing to climate change. Methods for removing this methane and reducing its impact have to date been limited due to a lack of legislative drivers and a technological focus on reducing the emissions of higher hydrocarbons. Now a new technology, known as COMETTM, has been developed at Johnson Matthey in collaboration with Anglo Coal for abating this methane emission source. This article describes the development of the catalytic system and its engineering aspects to the point where the technology is ready for commercial launch.
Evaluación del impacto socioeconómico del microcrédito en la zona oriental de la provincia del Azuay
Authors: Moscoso Calle Juan , Calle Ramírez Diana
Published: January 2017

La presente investigación está ligada a un estudio sobre el impacto del microcrédito en la economía de la zona oriental de la provincia del Azuay, en el que se consideran factores y variables cuantitativas que permitan establecer información más consistente a través de diferentes modelos que nos retroalimenten sobre la eficiencia y eficacia de la entrega de esos recursos crediticios. Los diagnósticos realizados, las variables estudiadas y los modelos propuestos son producto de un análisis y/o estudio económico y estadístico que se realizó en un trabajo de campo con las instituciones financieras de la zona y los beneficiarios del microcrédito
Origen de los problemas administrativos estructurales empresariales, con enfoque sistémico
Authors: Vaca Aguirre Iván Patricio
Published: January 2017

Ideas about open systems biologist and Austrian philosopher Ludwig Von Bertalanffy, presented in 1950 in his General Theory of Systems have been applied to organizational theory, based on the notion that organizations are open systems. Under the systemic approach, it is understood that the company is an open system that interacts with its environment. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to understand that the company is an open system that interacts with its environment, to know what the constituent elements of the business system and to suggest that, in its systemic condition, inadequate interaction of its elements would cause problems in the structure of the system and not of dysfunctions of the parties considered in isolation.
Ecuador, microcrédito: ¿Negocio o inclusión financiera?
Authors: Salinas Vásquez Juanita
Published: January 2017

A  matched  difference  between  the  effective  rate  that  banks  and  other  not  government  institutions that work with microcredit charge and the effective rate charged by some saving and credit cooperative is presented here. Four basic criterions argument the situation: the possibility of reaching scale economies, high performance, the handle of operational costs and finally the need of credit risk protection.
Vendiendo felicidad: el nuevo paradigma de las marcas Selling happiness: The new paradigm of brands
Authors: Chicaiza Villalba Tania
Published: January 2017

No es difícil comprender que asociar felicidad con marca es estratégicamente un acierto, quizá lo que motive este análisis es encontrar las formas de interpretar y de vender masivamente la felicidad, tratando de entender lo que realmente desean las empresas que se han anclado en los discursos de las comunicaciones persuasivas para transmitirnos una promesa de supuesta felicidad en el momento en que consumimos. En Ecuador particularmente, en pleno auge y consolidación de una clase media, los niveles de consumo se han incrementado favorablemente para un conglomerado de marcas, preponderantemente extranjeras, que tienen impregnado en toda su simbología a la felicidad. Basados en los diferentes rankings de marcas que se difunden en nuestro país, se analiza el impacto y las estrategias para que los compradores asuman, y una vez adquiridas den un paso más hacia más a la búsqueda incansable de felicidad.
El dilema entre expansión económica y sostenibilidad ambiental. Estudio del caso ecuatoriano The quandary between economic expansion and environmental sustainability. An Ecuadorian case study
Authors: Bayolo Garay Andrés
Published: January 2017

Se establece un nexo entre política económica y crecimiento económico, los cuales apuntan a la selección de una estrategia. Es materia de política que hasta lo ambiental puede mejorar si es que se destinan recursos económicos a aquella, lo cual da origen a un círculo virtuoso. Se incorpora a este círculo el comercio internacional como generador y proveedor de recursos. Nos interesa medir en este sentido la equidad con la que los recursos son asignados, la apertura comercial, importándonos saber cuán grande es la demanda de recursos naturales por parte de las naciones industrializadas, que puedan soportar las naciones en vías de desarrollo ya que ésta afecta la relación de los términos de intercambio, el medio ambiente, originando un desequilibrio económico entre las naciones.
Desarrollo, educación y cosmovisión: una mirada desde la cosmovisión andina
Authors: Illicachi Guzñay Juan
Published: January 2017

Este ensayo trata de visualizar algunos debates sobre la cosmovisión y la manera de relacionarse con el runa (hombre) y la Pacha Mama. El hilo conductor del texto es el concepto de cosmovisión andinakay pacha; a través del cual giran las discusiones sobre el desarrollo y la educación como conceptos alternativos en con frontación e interrelación con los conceptos denominados hegemónicos y universales. También analizo cómo la Constitución del Ecuador de 2008, a pesar de contener algunos proyectos históricos de los pueblos indígenas como el sumak kawsay, Pacha Mama, se opera en la lógica ambigua y contradictoria, y en esta línea se presenta el campo educativo carente de planes y programas curriculares en temas de cosmovisión y kichwa.
La Tecnología y la inteligencia artificial como futuro en el área médica
Authors: Beltrán Ramírez Raúl , Maciel Arellano Rocío , Jiménez Arévalo José
Published: January 2017

La tecnología ha dado lugar al avance de la medicina, proporcionando mejores tratamientos y técnicas en los procedimientos quirúrgicos, permitiendo que sean menos invasivos y traumáticos, mejorando las técnicas, ya sea frente al paciente como dentro de los laboratorios. El desarrollo tecnológico ha mejorado la calidad de vida de los pacientes de forma directa, reduciendo los tiempos de recuperación y de diagnóstico, además con la disminución de costos que la asistencia médica genera en la población. La inteligencia artificial combinada con la robótica en el área médica, posibilita que algunas decisiones puedan ser obviadas de forma correcta. Los sistemas expertos proporcionan la facilidad de almacenar información y tomar decisiones gracias a sus algoritmos de trabajo, obteniendo diagnósticos de forma rápida y asertiva.
Reflexiones acerca de una acción colectiva juvenil: la “Marcha de la Gorra” y su multiplicidad
Authors: Bonvillani Andrea , Chaboux Melania Agustina
Published: January 2017

Desde 2007, la Marcha de la Gorra irrumpe en el centro de la ciudad de Córdoba (Argentina) demandando la transformación de la política de seguridad de la Provincia, por considerarla violatoria de los derechos humanos de los jóvenes de sectores populares. El enfoque metodológico de la investigación que originó este artículo se enmarca en la “Etnografía de eventos” (en el sentido propuesto por la antropóloga Borges). Nuestro propósito es analizar la Marcha en su diversidad y complejidad, evitando caer en cualquier tipo de esencialismo o pretensión unificadora.

Las líneas de sentido que permiten mostrar la cualidad de multiplicidad como clave analítica de la Marcha son varias. No obstante, en este artículo focalizaremos en la compleja diversidad de demandas y actores que se articulan en esta acción colectiva juvenil. Al mismo tiempo proponemos, a manera de hipótesis, una lectura sobre el impacto que esta multiplicidad tiene respecto de su potencialidad política. 
Olhares, pensamentos e ações de jovens indígenas Guarani Kaiowá da reserva indígena de Dourados, estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil
Authors: Stefanes Pacheco Rosely Aparecida , Ribeiro Fernandes Gilmar , Aquino Soares Tiago Fernando , Stefanes Pacheco Carlos Gabriel
Published: January 2017

O presente texto propõe uma reflexão  sobre o processo de participação política dos jovens indígenas Guarani Kaiowá da Reserva Indígena de Dourados, Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Um dos objetivos é descrever, refletir a partir da análise das iniciativas de ações deste “novo sujeito político” autodenominado de “adolescentes e jovens indígenas”, sobre o processo de articulação e mobilização, diante de uma situação de extrema violência a que foram submetidos. Estes sujeitos estão dialogando, sobretudo, com o espaço virtual, ilustrado pelas redes sociais na rede mundial de computadores. Utilizam, sobretudo, estas novas tecnologias em favor da luta de seu povo na busca pela efetivação de seus direitos fundamentais. Desta forma, as ações destes jovens e adolescentes indígenas, destacam-se em movimentos de resistência e passam a estabelecer seu protagonismo.
Characterization of the respiratory pattern in patients with chronic heart failure applying joint symbolic dynamics
Authors:   Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Instituto Tecnológico de Hermosillo, Molina Ramírez T. F. , Symonds Torres M. L. ,   Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Instituto Tecnológico de Hermosillo, Méndez Carranza D. F. ,   Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Instituto Tecnológico de Hermosillo, López Barreras J. D. ,   Instituto Tecnológico de Hermosillo
Published: January 2017

This work proposes a method to characterize the respiratory pattern of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) to determine non-periodic breathing (nPB), periodic breathing (PB) and Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) through non-linear, symbolic analysis of biological signals. A total of 43 patients were examined for their cardiorespiratory profiles, their ECG and respiratory pattern signals were processed, analyzed and studied for parameters that could be of potential use in clinical decision making, specifically in patient classification. Patients in the study were characterized through their cardiorespiratory signals, applying joint symbolic dynamics (JSD) analysis to cardiac beat and respiratory interval durations. The most statistically significant parameters across all groups were identified through a Kruskal-Wallis two tailed test (α = 0.05) and a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classification method based on such parameters was developed. The best result achieved with this classification method uses 10 features to discriminate patients with a 97.67% Accuracy (Acc). The best features to discriminate among groups are related to cardiorespiratory interaction rather than just respiration patterns alone. Results further support the idea that abnormal breathing patterns derive from physiological abnormalities in chronic heart failure.
Predicting the Cardioactivity of Tivela stultorum clam with Digoxin Using Artificial Neural Networks
Authors:   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Flores D. , Cervantes D. ,   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Abaroa A. ,   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Castro C. ,   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Castañeda Martínez R. ,   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Published: January 2017

Artificial neural networks (ANN) are a computational method that has been widely used to solve complex problems and carry out predictions on nonlinear systems. Multilayer perceptron artificial neural networks were used to predict the physiological response that would be obtained by adding a specific concentration of digoxin to Tivela stultorum hearts, this organism is a model for testing cardiac drugs that pretends to be used in humans. The MLPANN inputs were weight, volume, length, and width of the heart, digoxin concentration and volume used for diluting digoxin, and maximum contraction, minimum contraction, filling time, and heart rate before adding digoxin, and the outputs were the maximum contraction, minimum contraction, filling time, and heart rate that would be obtained after adding digoxin to the heart. ANNs were trained, validated, and tested with the results obtained from the in vivo experiments. To choose the optimal network, the smallest square mean error value was used. Perceptrons obtained a high performance and correlation between predicted and calculated values, except in the case of the filling time output. Accurate predictions of the T. stultorum clams cardioactivity were obtained when a specific concentration of digoxin was added using ANNs with one hidden layer; this could be useful as a tool to facilitate laboratory experiments to test digoxin effects.
Characterizing the hippocampal theta’s response to carbachol; using a complete septo-hippocampal preparation
Authors:   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, García Méndez K. M.
Published: January 2017

The present study describes the pharmacological analysis of the effects of carbachol, a cholinergic agonist, on hippocampal theta activity. Knowing that this activity is critically related to cognitive function and altered in patients with neurodegeneration, pharmacological efforts aiming to directly modulate hippocampal theta activity becomes of central importance. In a recently developed complete septo-hippocampal preparation, carbachol elicited significant theta power enhancement with 1 μM. Concentrations under 1 μM and over 2 μM carbachol caused significant reduction in the power of hippocampal theta activity. Carbachol effects were completely blocked with the cholinergic antagonist scopolamine. At the experimental level, it is the first time the direct action of a cholinergic agonist is evaluated in the septo-hippocampal pathway completely isolated. However, carbachol as a cholinergic agonist is a drug with a certain level of nonspecific response. That is why to correct this experimental limitation, we used scopolamine (cholinergic antagonist) which allowed us to corroborate the effects on the cholinergic pathway. In summary, electrophysiological assays demonstrated an effective concentration range of carbachol specifically modulating hippocampal theta activity.
Effect of Microemulsions of Essential Oils on Human Erythrocyte and Pathogens Bacteria
Authors:   Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, López-Mata M. A. , Valbuena-Gregorio E. ,   Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Quihui-Cota L. ,   Departamento de Nutrición Pública y Salud, Coordinación de Nutrición, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C., Morales-Figueroa G. G. ,   Departamento de Nutrición Pública y Salud, Coordinación de Nutrición,, Ruiz-Cruz S. ,   Departamento de Biotecnología y Ciencias Alimentarias, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Campos-García J. C. ,   Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Díaz-Meza E. ,   Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Pablos-Rodríguez D. E. ,   Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora
Published: January 2017

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of microemulsions of rosemary (AER) and tea tree (AET) essential oils on human erythrocyte and pathogen bacteria. Microemulsions of each oil were prepared at 8.0% (v/v), 5.0% (v/v) and 2.5% (v/v), and they were tested on human erythrocyte to determine the hemolysis percentage, hemolysis inhibition percentage and the antibacterial capacity against E. coli O157:H7 and S. aureus. All AER microemulsions showed no significant hemolytic activity. On the contrary, AET microemulsions showed hemolytic effect but those in concentrations of 8.0% (≈70%) and 5.0% (33%) showed the highest effect. In addition, AER microemulsions showed protective effect against free radicals in comparison with the AET microemulsions (p<0.05). On the other hand, the AET microemulsion at 8.0% showed antibacterial effect against E. coli O157:H7 and S. aureus, and the AER at 8.0% showed antibacterial effect against E. coli O157:H7. The limitation of this study was that nucleated cells were not used to observe the damage of the essential oils on nuclear material. However, the observed damage of erythrocyte’s membrane is depending on type and amount of used oil. Therefore, it can be concluded that the AER microemulsions showed better protective effect of erythrocytes, while AET microemulsions showed better antibacterial effect against the tested bacteria, although with toxic effect on the erythrocytes.
Relevant Tools for Tackling Interoperability Problems on Heterogeneous Electronic Health Record Systems: An Exploratory Research
Authors:   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ojeda-Carreño D. , Cosío-León M. ,   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Nieto-Hipólito J. I. ,   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Published: January 2017

Patients’ medical records have been originally based on paper and since 1865 the medical field recognized the need to improve the means for storing and retrieving disperse information. Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems face similar problems, with interoperability being one of them, it defined by IEEE standard glossary of software engineering terminology as: the ability among information systems to exchange data. Mainly, two perspectives of interoperability emerge: a) syntactic, which refers to the ability of an information system to import and validate grammar, as well as a set of construction rules utterances created by another system; and b) semantic, the ability to exchange data among systems and understand it in the same way, regardless of the source system, also called Semantic Interoperability on Information and Communication Technologies or SIICT. The use of standards, vocabularies and terminologies is a common practice for sharing data among heterogeneous EHR systems in order to face interoperability problems. This heterogeneity starts with the manner to collect and store data. This paper presents to e-health practitioners and researches relevant tools used to achieve interoperability in heterogeneous EHR systems, as well as challenges and future trends to manage EHRs with the intention to achieve SIICT.
Effect of the Conditioned Medium from H9C2 Cell Line Treated with Dehydroepiandrosterone and Exposed to Damage on the Motility of Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Authors:   Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Castro Santos G. X. , Salas Medina J. L. ,   Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, López Marure R. ,   Departamento de Fisiología, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez INCICH, Cáceres Cortés J. R. ,   Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Parra Barrera A. ,   Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mera Jiménez E. ,   Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Gutiérrez Iglesias G. ,   Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Politécnico Nacional
Published: January 2017

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide. Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) therapy is an alternative for patients who cannot recover with current treatments. Ensure movilization of MSC to the affected organs would represent an advantage for therapeutic management of CVD. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a hormone precursor whose levels decrease throughout life, which has been associated with the onset of CVD. Several studies have shown that DHEA consumption, prevents and improves heart condition, although it is not known if this is because an effect on cardiomyocytes is exercised on these cells and this, in turn, to CTM. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of conditioned medium from H9C2 cell line pretreated with DHEA and subjected to damage, on the motility of CTM, performing a wound healing assay. Pretreatment with DHEA and damage to H9C2 cell line, promotes motility of CTM. Stimulation of CTM motility by an indirect effect of DHEA could be a therapeutic strategy for heart damage.
Permeability Evaluation of 45S5 Bioglass Macroporous Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering
Authors:   Instituto de Investigación en Metalurgia y Materiales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Macías Andrés V. I. , Orozco Sixtos J. M. ,   Instituto Tecnológico Superior P’urhépecha, Maldonado Paleo J. ,   Instituto Tecnológico Superior P’urhépecha, Aguilar Reyes E. A. ,   Instituto de Investigación en Metalurgia y Materiales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Published: January 2017

Bioactive glass 45S5 foams were produced as an alternative to be used to fill and restore bone deffects. A crucial design factor of foams is permeability, since it is related to their capability for waste removal and nutrients/oxygen supply to cells. In the present work a study was carried out to analyze the bioactive glass 45S5 foams permeability by Darcy’s law. The measure average permeability value on foams of 69-74 % porosity was 4.19 × 10-10, 3.75 × 10-10 and 3.48 × 10-10 m2, which are in the range of permeability values for trabecular bone.
Comparison between Mesenchymal Stem Cells obtained from Bone Marrow, Adipose Tissue and Wharton Gelatin according to the ISCT Criteria
Authors:   Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Parra Barrera A. , Murúa Beltran García X. ,   Universidad del Valle de México - Campus Lomas, Calzada Mendoza C. C. ,   Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Cáceres Cortés J. R. ,   Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reyes Maldonado E. ,   Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Gutiérrez Iglesias G. ,   Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional
Published: January 2017

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) represent a heterogeneous population with the capacity to self-renew and differentiate into different cell types. At the middle of the last century these cells initially were described in bone marrow (BM), thence this tissue has become the gold standard for obtaining and characterization of MSC. It is known that these cells are housed in specific areas called niches distributed throughout all body, where they contribute to tissue regeneration processes of self-tissue were they are located. However, finding an alternative source of CTM with the same characteristics that have showed in MO, but its obtention no represent a risk since the donor is essential to their use for therapeutic purposes. In this study we isolated mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow, adipose tissue and Wharton’s jelly and they were compared in their characteristics in according to the standards of the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT). The results showed that the morphology as well as adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation and also the expression of surface antigens (CD90, CD73, and CD105) from all tissues accomplished the standards, although Wharton’s jelly represented the best option.
Adhesion and proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells ontopoli-Llactic acid (PLA) fiber scaffolds
Authors:   Laboratorio de Bioingeniería de Tejidos, Granados M. V. ,   DEPeI, Facultad de Odontología, UNAM 2 Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM, Montesinos Montesinos J. J. ,   Hospital de Oncología, Centro Médico Nacional, IMSS, Álvarez Pérez M. A. ,   Laboratorio de Bioingeniería de Tejidos; DEPeI, Facultad de Odontología, UNAM
Published: January 2017

Fiber scaffolds have received increasing interest as promising biomaterials for potential application in the field of tissue regeneration. In this sense, we optimized the parameters for the synthesis of different concentrations (6, 7, and 10 %) of poly-lactic acid (PLA) scaffolds by air jet spinning technology (AJS). The PLA scaffolds were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Our results by SEM micrographs showed that scaffolds have a fibrilar morphology with nanoscale diameter of fibers. Biocompatibility assay was observed through an in vitro experiment based on cell attachment, MTT and cell-material interaction assay when culturing bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells onto the PLA spun membrane scaffolds. Our data indicate that fiber membrane of PLA scaffold increase the cellular response, are not cytotoxic when compared to thin films of PLA. Thus; the proposed synthesis method has potential for easy processing of spun fibrilar scaffolds with good biocompatibility and could be a promising economical biomaterial with future potential applications in tissue regeneration.
Optical characterization of the Central Nervous System of Haementeria officinalis
Authors:   Escuela Superior de Física y Matemáticas-IPN, Díaz-Torres E. , Vargas-Sánchez J. ,   División de Neurociencias, INR, Lomelí-Mejía P. A. ,   División de Investigación, INR, Cruz-Orea A. ,   Departamento de Física, CINVESTAV-IPN
Published: January 2017

The failure in the neuron regeneration in the central nervous system (CNS) in higher vertebrates, is a not completely solved problem, this limits the rehabilitation of many motor conducts after an injury in the spinal cord. In neuronal regeneration multiple factors are involved, between them those that induce the neurite outgrowth which has been studied to try to encourage the extension and reconnection of the injury neurons with their blanks. The regeneration of the CNS of leeches has been intensely studied because allows to approach the problem at different levels with different techniques. In this study the optical absorption spectrum of the CNS and the tissue of the leech H. officinalis was obtained, by using photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS), in order to investigate the optimal wavelenghts for later irradiation of CNS cells and tissue of H. officinalis. The results of this study show that the CNS of these organisms absorbs in the region of 300 nm to 500 nm, and the tissue samples has a maximun of optical absorption near to 300 nm, besides were observed evident differences between the optical absorption spectra of CNS with injury and the control (without injury).
Power analysis of the basilar membrane in the cochlea by mechanical resonance
Authors:   Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Jimenéz Hernández M.
Published: January 2017

This paper presents the power analysis to the mechanical model of the basilar membrane in the cochlea as a system of forced damped harmonic oscillators without lateral coupling proposed by Lesser and Berkeley. The Lagrange’s equation for dissipative mechanical systems and the energy method are used to obtain the general equation of the system. Next a solution by complex exponential is proposed using the resonance analysis considering only excitations of pure tones to obtain the equation of displacement, and with its derived the equation of velocity. The power in the system is the multiplication between the equations of the velocity and the excitation force. Finally the equation of the average power in the system is obtained. This new solution has the advantage of determining the relationship between the excitation frequency of the system and the position along the basilar membrane where the average power is maximum. This implies that the distance where there is a maximum transfer of energy between the wave propagating in the perilymph and the mechanical displacement of the basilar membrane on the hair cells in the organ of Corti is known. The power analysis is successfully compared with the two-dimensional model of the cochlea developed by Neely using finite differences and with the experimental results of Békésy. In both experiments are used the same mechanical parameters of the basilar membrane and the same set of frequencies of evaluation proposed in the original papers in order to compare the different methodologies.
Analysis of the absorption spectra of EBT2 and EBT3 radiochromic films
Authors:   Laboratorio de Fotomedicina Biofotónica Láser de Pulsos Ultracortos, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, León-Marroquín E. Y. , Camacho-López M. A. ,   Laboratorio de Fotomedicina Biofotónica Láser de Pulsos Ultracortos, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, García-Garduño O. A. ,   Laboratorio de Física Médica y Unidad de Radiocirugía, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Herrera-González J. A. ,   Laboratorio de Física Médica y Unidad de Radiocirugía, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Villarreal-Barajas J. E. ,   Department of Oncology and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary, Calgary AB, and Department of Medical Physics, Tom Baker Cancer Center, Martínez-Quiroz C. A. ,   Laboratorio de Fotomedicina Biofotónica Láser de Pulsos Ultracortos, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, De la Cruz-Pérez D. ,   Laboratorio de Fotomedicina Biofotónica Láser de Pulsos Ultracortos, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Jiménez-Avilés G. ,   Laboratorio de Fotomedicina Biofotónica Láser de Pulsos Ultracortos, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
Published: January 2017

To analyze the net absorption spectra of EBT2 and EBT3 radiochromic films to describe their influenceon the behavior of dose-response curves. The films were irradiated in a linear accelerator of 6 MV. The net absorption spectra were obtained with a UV / VIS spectrophotometer. Dose-response curves were obtained with a scanner, a He-Ne laser and a spectrophotometer. The absorption spectrum of the EBT2 shows three focused absorption bands that retain position and increase their intensity as a function of dose, however, this behavior is not observed in EBT3 films. The dose-response curve shows maximum sensitivity using the spectrophotometer, but does not show a defined behavior. Generation of new knowledge for the creation of new optical systems capable of amplifying the responsiveness of the films. Show the correlation between net absorption spectra and their influence on dose-response curves in three different optical systems. The behavior of absorption spectra combined with the behavior of the dose-response curves helps to discard the use of optical systems that do not guarantee a reliable clinical use.
Physiological Data of Baja California: PhysioBC, Electrocardiographic Results 1
Authors:   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Avitia R. L. , Avena G. ,   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Flores N. ,   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Reyna M .A. ,   Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Nava M. L. ,   Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social
Published: January 2017

Currently, having a database that represents physiologically a region or state of the republic involves a joint effort among research and clinical institutions. Due to their non-existence, researchers normally use foreign international databases organized for research purposes. One example is the development of mathematical algorithms for detecting pathologies in individuals with a population who have a different way of living than ours. PhysioBC®, aims to freely disseminate physiological data acquired in the population of Baja California, in order to develop precise models of pathology detection according to the genetics and way of living of our community. Because the data reported by INEGI in 2012, out of the 14,756 deaths, 19% had cardiovascular origin problems, in this paper, we present the steps of creating PhysioBC® first section, called electrocardiographic data. Currently we have 50 records taken in the manufacturing industry of Mexicali and 64 taken in volunteers. The records are divided into standard 12-lead and high-resolution 3-lead. All of them are free for download in different formats at PhysioBC® website.
Effect of EEG pre-processing on Independent Component Analysis: reduction of cochlear implant artifact in Auditory Evoked Potentials
Authors:   Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Trejo-Alcantara G. , Castañeda-Villa N. ,   Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana
Published: January 2017

Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is an algorithm used to remove artifacts from the EEG. However, there is little current literature about the impact of preprocessing stages of this signal on the performance of ICA. In this paper the effect of applying two different digital filters - lowpass and bandpass -, in a pre-processing step to ICA, was compared. This to remove the cochlear implant artifact from the Auditory Evoked Potentials. Recordings from 10 cochlear implant users were analyzed. In 5 of these records using the pre-lowpass filtering, the highest Signal Interference Ratio (SIR) was obtained; this index was used to assess the quality of ICA separation. The greatest effect of removing the cochlear implant artifact is noted in both T4 and T6 electrodes, which correspond to the area where the subjects have placed their implants (right temporal area).
Development of magnetic nanoparticles Fe+32 X+21O4 (X= Fe, Co y Ni) coated by amino silane
Authors:   Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Instituto de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Flores-Urquizo I. A. , García-Casillas P. ,   Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Instituto de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Chapa-González C. ,   Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Instituto de Ingeniería y Tecnología
Published: January 2017

Magnetic nanoparticles are proposed as heat mediators in hyperthermia treatments. In this work, three core-shell materials of different composition and magnetic anisotropy were developed to determine their properties as crystal size, saturation magnetization and their coating with organic molecules. The magnetic core of these materials was made by means of the coprecipitation reaction, following the stoichiometric ratio X+2Fe2+3O4 where X is Fe, Co or Ni for each material. From the X-ray diffraction patterns the crystal size of each material was determined, these were 10.39 nm, 7.27 nm y 3.86 nm. In addition, magnetization was 55.84 emu/g, 36.56 emu/g y 16.21 emu/g for magnetite, cobalt ferrite and nickel respectively. Each material was coated with aminosilane and by FTIR the vibrational modes of the C-N, N-H, C-H and Si-O bonds involved in the coating were identified.
Health technology management: implementation and validation of an audit tool
Authors:   Universidad EIA, Camacho Cogollo J. E. , Torres Vélez D. M. ,   Universidad EIA, Chavarría T. ,   Universidad CES
Published: January 2017

Audit in health is a dynamic process and continuous advancement that permits to asses monitor and improve qual-ity standards in healthcare institutions; however, the lack of standardization and reliability of results remains a challenge to be overcome. This study presents the validation of a prototype of an audit tool to the management of medical equipment which took place in two phases: first during the implementation in three hospitals in the metro-politan area of Antioquia, Colombia, and subsequently through the statistical analysis of the trial of twelve selected experts. As results audit reports were generated with strengths and weaknesses points, which enabled us to build improvement measures suitable for hospitals. Measurements of coefficients of reliability (Cronbach α= 0.90) and correlation of experts (Spearman =0.88) indicated favorable results for the tool. In addition, the measurement of mean, standard deviations and coefficients of variation for each item of the validation set out the improvements required by the tool for a future version. This tool is limited to the health regulation in Colombia; nevertheless, the tool is an important step to find and transform the health audits in standardized process that can have an objective assessment. To can be concluded to integrate the biomedical engineer in the activities of audit quality on health with reliable tools offers an important benefit for accurate decision making and timely management of the medical equipment.
Biomechanical reference standards for early diagnosis of disturbances of balance: pilot study
Authors:   Facultad de medicina, Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo - UEES, Cifuentes De la Portilla C. , Perdomo Charry O. ,   Grupo de Investigación MindLab, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Argothy Bucheli R. ,   Centro de Ciencias del Deporte - CCD, Coldeportes Colombia
Published: January 2017

The posture instability and body balance alteration, are signs commonly observed in patients with diseases associated with the musculoskeletal, visual, vestibular and proprioceptive systems, being the stabilometry the main clinical assessment study. However, it has not been established a standard or a quantitative pattern to classify healthy and pathological subjects based on the impaired balance level. Objective: The main objective of this study was to conduct a preliminary stabilometric analysis in 38 healthy subjects (19 women and 19 men) in order to identify a characteristic pattern of the position displacement. Methodology: This study was based on the Rombergś test. Three measurements were performed to each patient with open eyes (OA) and closed eyes (OC) stand over a force platform. Results: A characteristic pattern of the medio-lateral X and anteroposterior Y movement was identified, and remarkable stability on the vertical axis Z around the center of pressure. Limitations: However, because of the small sample size there was not found conclusive results related to Body-Mass-Index, sex or age. Originality: Despite promising parameters were found for the evaluation of stabilometry in healthy young people, strengthening the objective tools of clinical assessment. Conclusion: This research identified common patient characteristics of normal movement, that could be considered as an objective standard for patient monitoring and treatment evaluation in patients with pathological balance disorders.
Recombinant Collagens for Tissue Engineering Scaffolds
Authors:   Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, Paredes-Puerto A. , Camacho-Villegas T. ,   Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, Vallejo-Cardona A. ,   Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, Esquivel-Solís H. ,   Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco
Published: January 2017

Due to its biocompatibility, handling and industrial production capacity, collagens have been increasingly attractive in the manufacture of scaffolds for Tissue Engineering. The aim of the present work was to present an analysis on the progress in research, development and production of human recombinant collagens, expression systems and their uses in Tissue Engineering. A review of the international scientific peer-reviewed literature in databases such as Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar was done and that relevant to our objective was employed. The development of human recombinant collagens was found to be significant, and currently the expression systems, like bacteria and plants, show advantages over structure quality and biocompatibility, albeit with still restricted yields. However, there is narrow information about its applications in Tissue Engineering, mostly studied for cartilage and bone, in animal models and clinical studies. We did not include patents in the study, thus our findings are limited to scholar data. The present work presents the most recent advances in the engineering of recombinant collagens and their biomedical applications in the manufacture of tissues with potential clinical applications. The potential of recombinant collagens in regenerative medicine is promising and more research is needed that might allow a broad application in the near future.
Detection of Human Sperm Tracks Using Video Processing Techniques
Authors:   Semillero de investigación KINESTASIS, Universidad de Cundinamarca, Roa Guerrero E. E. , Rodríguez Montaña D. F. ,   Grupo de investigación GITEINCO, Universidad de Cundinamarca
Published: January 2017

Sperm motility analysis is very important for human fertility assessment. It is often carried on manually, but this could be susceptible to mistakes due to the nature of procedure. In addition to being time-consuming, results are merely subjective and non-repeatable. In order to overcome this, we present a semi-automated algorithm that tracks accurately the sperm movements. Adaptive Gaussian models are implemented for detecting moving spermatozoa and segment them throughout video frames. Morphological operators and connected-components labeling are applied to reduce noise and calculate centroids, respectively. Then, the Munkres algorithm along with the Kalman filter are used for the purpose of assigning centroids to tracks. Finally, tracks are displayed on screen. Outcomes show a 90.91 % of accuracy regarding to manual analysis. This algorithm aims only to detect spermatozoa movement and trace its displacement in video for human sperm samples. Moreover, it allows andrology experts to perform a more exact analysis of the individual characteristics of spermatozoa, having so a low cost, accurate and repetitive technological support that will allow them to emit more precise diagnosis. Thus, this method will help specialists to reduce time periods and make more objective analysis of sperm motility. In this way, fertility diagnosis will be more reliable.
Second Order of Sexual Harassment - SOSH
Authors: Vidu Ana , Valls Rosa , Puigvert Lidia , Melgar Patricia , Joanpere Mar
Published: January 2017

Gender-based violence cannot be overcome without a wide social support for the victims, which is dramatically limited by the violence against those who take an active stand in favor of survivors. The struggle against sexual violence requires simultaneous actions to protect both the direct victims of sexual harassment and the victims of second order sexual harassment -SOSH-. Although the first definition of SOSH comes from 1990 (Dziech & Weiner, 1990) there has been a lack a research on the issue, despite its social and scientific importance. The objective of this article is two-fold: a) to provide a concept of SOSH useful to present developments for science and society, through identifying specific situations of persons and those with whom they work and have suffered SOSH; b) to disclose the main contributions to face these situations through several social aspects on legal, university, citizenship, media and political perspectives. Using a qualitative methodology we conclude by highlighting the need for developing joint actions of the whole society to identify and legislate the SOSH, while empowering survivors and the ones who support them, in an attempt of eradicating gender-based violence.
Efecto de la Escolarización en la Producción de Relaciones Causales y Contracausales: Evidencia Psicolingüística para el Ámbito Educativo
Authors: Zunino Gabriela Mariel
Published: January 2017

In order to promote the practical application of psycholinguistic data in educational fields and expecting that this transfer would enhance the development of both the pedagogical field and the investigation in experimental psycholinguistics, we present two experiments to analyse the production of semantic relations in discourse, especially the causality/countercausality dimension. We found that the pattern of causal advantage is cross-wise and consistent in subjects with different levels of formal education, so it could be a suitable scaffold to develop other aspects of discourse comprehension and production. We compare our results with previous findings about discourse comprehension and interpret the data in the framework of educational processes. To use of empirical evidence about language processing on educational fields allows not only to review specific issues such as the characteristics of teaching materials, but also to improve educational process in a comprehensive way, making possible to adapt different approaches to populations with different characteristics.
The Ideological Import of a Second Identity: A Critical Image Analysis to Global EFL Materials
Authors: Ahmadi Darani Parviz , Akbari Alireza
Published: January 2017

The critical analysis of images or visual texts, as an emerging and adapted version of critical discourse analysis (CDA), can contribute to distinguish bias or fair gender manifestation. The rationale behind this study is that little systematic and exhaustive studies have been conducted with an eye towards investigating images solely in EFL textbooks. To offset this imbalance, this paper adopted Fairclough’s (2001) critical discourse analysis (CDA) and social semiotic analysis (SSA) framework by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) to interrogate the extent and types of gender bias in the Four Corners series, the commercially-produced English language textbooks (Richards and Bohlke, 2012). By adopting a quantitative and qualitative design, image typologies were tallied, girded and tabulated to see how the probable and hidden portrayal image patterns had been rendered for both genders. The results revealed over-representation persists in all the textbook series in certain degrees for both genders and while a textbook series might over-represent one gender it does not necessarily imply that the individual textbook over-represents the same gender.
Spiral Flow Fube for Contrast Medium Reduction in Coronary CT Angiography
Authors: Tomizawa Nobuo , Hayakawa Yayoi , Inoh Shinichi , Nojo Takeshi , Uemura Satoshi , Nakamura Sunao
Published: January 2017

Objectives

To assess the diagnostic performance and enhancement of coronary CT with reduced contrast medium using the spiral flow tube compared with the T-shaped tube.

Methods

We retrospectively included 444 patients who underwent catheter examination within 2 months after coronary CT. The first 222 patients received 21.0 mgI/kg/s of contrast medium using the T-shaped tube and the injected contrast medium was reduced by 6% (19.8 mgI/kg/s) in the last 222 patients using the spiral flow tube. We compared the per vessel diagnostic performance for detecting obstructive stenosis (≥50%) by catheter examination and the enhancement of proximal coronary arteries.

Results

The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy was 96%, 84%, 72%, 98% and 87% using the spiral flow tube and 93%, 83%, 68%, 97% and 86% using the T-shaped tube, respectively, without significance. The enhancement of left main (spiral flow vs T-shape, 407 ± 53 vs 407 ± 62 HU, p = 0.95) and right coronary (419 ± 58 vs 415 ± 61 HU, p = 0.49) arteries did not show significant difference.

Conclusions

The spiral flow tube would maintain the diagnostic performance and coronary enhancement with reduced contrast medium compared with the T-shaped tube.