Radiotherapy CT-based contouring atlas for non-malignant skeletal and soft tissue disorders: a practical proposal from Spanish experience

Objective: Interest in low-dose radiotherapy (LD-RT) for the symptomatic treatment of nonmalignant conditions, including inflammatory and degenerative disorders of the joints and para-articular soft tissues, has increased substantially in recent years. In the present document, we provide a CT-based contouring atlas to help identify and delineate the most common osteoarticular regions susceptible to LD-RT. Methods: The clinical efficacy of LD-RT is supported by a large body of evidence. However, there is no consensus on the parameters for contouring the planning target volume (PTV). Moreover, 3D simulation and planning should be the standard of care even for nonmalignant disorders. For this reason, the present guidelines were prepared to help guide PTV contouring based on CT images, with the same quality criteria for patient immobilization, treatment simulation, planning and delivery as those routinely applied for cancer radiotherapy. Results: PTV for radiotherapy requires precise identification of the target areas based on CT and other imaging techniques. Using a series of cases treated at our institution, we have defined the PTVs for each location on the simulation CT to establish the relationship between the image and the anatomical structures to be treated. We also specify the immobilization systems used to ensure treatment accuracy and reproducibility. Conclusions: This comprehensive atlas based on CT images may be of value to radiation oncologists who wish to use LD-RT for the symptomatic treatment of degenerative or inflammatory osteoarticular diseases. Advances in knowledge: The recommendations and contouring atlas described in this article provide an eminently practical tool for LD-RT in non-malignant conditions, based on the same quality criteria recommended for all modern radiotherapy treatments in Spain.

Predicting COVID-19 in very large countries: The case of Brazil

This work presents a practical proposal for estimating health system utilization for COVID-19 cases. The novel methodology developed is based on the dynamic model known as Susceptible, Infected, Removed and Dead (SIRD). The model was modified to focus on the healthcare system dynamics, rather than modeling all cases of the disease. It was tuned using data available for each Brazilian state and updated with daily figures. A figure of merit that assesses the quality of the model fit to the data was defined and used to optimize the free parameters. The parameters of an epidemiological model for the whole of Brazil, comprising a linear combination of the models for each state, were estimated considering the data available for the 26 Brazilian states. The model was validated, and strong adherence was demonstrated in most cases.

Applying Knowledge Inference on Event-Conjunction for Automatic Control in Smart Building

Smart building, one of IoT-based emerging applications is where energy-efficiency, human comfort, automation, security could be managed even better. However, at the current stage, a unified and practical framework for knowledge inference inside the smart building is still lacking. In this paper, we present a practical proposal of knowledge extraction on event-conjunction for automatic control in smart buildings. The proposal consists of a unified API design, ontology model, inference engine for knowledge extraction. Two types of models: finite state machine(FSMs) and bayesian network (BN) have been used for capturing the state transition and sensor data fusion. In particular, to solve the problem that the size of time interval observations between two correlated events was too small to be approximated for estimation, we utilized the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling method to optimize the sampling on time intervals. The proposal has been put into use in a real smart building environment. 78-days data collection of the light states and elevator states has been conducted for evaluation. Several events have been inferred in the evaluation, such as room occupancy, elevator moving, as well as the event conjunction of both. The inference on the users’ waiting time of elevator-using revealed the potentials and effectiveness of the automatic control on the elevator.

Nuevas perspectivas en la superación de bibliotecarios de la Universidad de Oriente

Las bibliotecas universitarias dirigen sus esfuerzos hacia el desarrollo y la formación de profesionales que la sociedad necesita, con sentido de su identidad nacional, identificado con su cultura y su nación socialista. En este sentido, es oportuno significar cómo al bibliotecario universitario le corresponde este encargo social y para el cual debe estar preparado, a fin de cumplir con eficacia y efectividad las funciones inherentes al cargo que desempeña. De ahí, que la presente investigación responda a la necesidad de aportar una estrategia de superación técnico- pedagógica sustentada en un modelo de igual naturaleza, debido a la existencia de insuficiencias en su preparación limitando su desempeño profesional. En la búsqueda de alternativas de solución para revertir la situación descrita, se revela la necesidad de fundamentar una propuesta teórica y práctica asociada a la formación permanente de los bibliotecarios de la Universidad de Oriente, a partir de comprender sus particularidades, necesidades, limitaciones, ventajas e intereses. El modelo es contentivo de: conceptos, caracterización, componentes y relaciones que lo fundamentan. La estrategia se organiza y estructura en tres etapas. La viabilidad y pertinencia de los aportes se corroboran a partir de métodos y técnicas como el criterio de especialistas y talleres de sensibilización y socialización. Palabras clave: Biblioteca universitaria, superación de bibliotecarios, estrategia de superación, modelo pedagógico. ABSTRACT The university libraries direct their efforts towards the development and training of professionals that society needs, with a sense of their national identity, identified with their culture and their socialist nation. In this sense, it is opportune to mean how the university librarian is responsible for this social task and for which he must be prepared, in order to effectively and effectively fulfill the functions inherent to the position he holds. Hence, that this research responds to the need to provide a strategy of technical-pedagogical improvement supported by a model of the same nature, due to the existence of inadequacies in their preparation limiting their professional performance. In the search for alternative solutions to reverse the situation described, it reveals the need to base a theoretical and practical proposal associated with the permanent training of librarians of the Universidad de Oriente, from understanding their particularities, needs, limitations, advantages and interests. The model is content of: concepts, characterization, components and relationships that support it. The strategy is organized and structured in three stages. The viability and relevance of the contributions are corroborated from methods and techniques such as the criteria of specialists and awareness and socialization workshops. Keywords: University library, overcoming librarians, improvement strategy, pedagogical model.

Wartość kompetencji międzykulturowych

The aim of the article is to discuss the importance of intercultural competences in building a pluralistic society, open to cultural diversity. Based on the example and analysis of the new program of English language studies, i.e. Intercultural Communication in Education and the Workplace, which operates at the Faculty of Humanities of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, an attempt was made to identify the aspects and ways in which intercultural competences can be acquired and promoted. However, the author does not analyze intercultural education as such, as this has been the subject of research by many other investigators. In the first section, an attempt was be made to define the concept of <em>intercultural competences</em> taking into account cognitive, emotional and behavioral components. The answer to the question why it is important to acquire competences is discussed in the part where the author examines the factors (imperatives) indicating the indispensability of such competences in the contemporary globalized, spatially compressed and cross-linked world. In the final part of the article, the assumptions of the course and the program of intercultural studies are analyzed with a view of presenting a practical proposal of acquiring intercultural competences in Lublin’s international academic environment.

Strategic Management of Disease Covid-19

Introduction: Following the outbreak of Qovid-19, many studies have been published rapidly on research sites and scientific literature around the world. This study aimed to investigate the strategies of this epidemic. This study was conducted in a structured review method without statistical analysis that was conducted by searching related studies and resources in databases of Web of Science and Scopus. Finally, 16 qualified articles were analyzed and their texts were reviewed. Based on the obtained data, 19 medical strategies and 3 macro-management strategies were included, which were expressed in several tables, and at the end, a practical proposal of the article was presented. Conclusion: The main strategies in foreign studies are medical strategies and less attention has been paid to general management strategies. Based on the research results, the identification and application of macro-management strategies along with medical strategies are recommended to the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education of Iran in controlling the Covid-19 epidemic.