Rentabilidad contable y EVA de la empresa colombiana constructora de otras obras de ingeniería civil

El objetivo de la investigación es evaluar la rentabilidad contable y el valor económico agregado de la constructora colombiana de otras obras de ingeniería civil en el período 2016-2021, mediante un método de análisis estático y de tendencias de indicadores contables y de gestión de valor Se encuentra que las ventas, activos y utilidad neta de la constructora fluctúan; logra rentabilidades sobre el patrimonio en cuatro años y en promedio, donde sobresale la eficacia en el control de costos y gastos como factor determinante en su comportamiento. No obstante, esta rentabilidad es menor que la constructora de mayores ventas en Colombia y aún más baja que la de su homóloga en países emergentes. Pese a las rentabilidades contables positivas de la constructora colombiana de otras obras de ingeniería civil, esta destruye valor económico agregado en cinco años y el valor de mercado agregado en el sexenio es negativo. Este resultado difiere al de la constructora afín en economías emergentes que crea valor económico agregado en cuatro años y el valor de mercado agregado es positivo en el sexenio. CLASIFICACIÓN JEL G30, L74, M4I

The objective of the research is to evaluate the accounting profitability and added economic value of the Colombian construction company of other civil engineering works in the period 2016-2021, through a method of static analysis and trends of accounting indicators and value management. The construction company's sales, assets, and net income are found to fluctuate; It achieves returns on equity in four years and on average, where efficiency in cost and expense control stands out as a determining factor in its behavior However this profitability is lower than that of the construction company with the highest sales in Colombia and even lower than that of its counterpart in emerging countries. Despite the positive accounting returns of the Colombian construction company of other civil engineering works, it destroys added economic value in five years and the added market value in the six years is negative. This result differs from that of the similar construction company in emerging economies, which creates added economic value in four years and the added market value is positive in six years. JEL CLASSIFICATION G30, L74, M4I

O objetivo da pesquisa é avaliar a rentabilidade contabilística e o valor econômico agregado da construtora colombiana de outras obras de engenharia civil no período 2016-2021, através de um método de análise estática e tendências de indicadores contábeis e gestão de valor. As vendas, os ativos e o lucro líquido da construtora flutuam; Obtém rentabilidade sobre o patrimônio em quatro anos e em média, onde a eficiencia no controle de custos e despesas se destaca como fator determinante em seu comportamento. No entanto, essa rentabilidade é inferior à da construtora com maior faturamento na Colômbia e ainda inferior à de sua congênere nos países emergentes. Apesar dos retornos contábeis positivos da construtora colombiana de outras obras de engenharia civil, ela destrói valor econômico agregado em cinco anos e o valor agregado de mercado em seis anos é negativo. Esse resultado difere do da construtora similar nas economias emergentes, que cria valor econômico agregado em quatro anos e o valor agregado de mercado é positivo em seis anos. CLASSIFICAÇÃO JEL G30, L74, M41

Recent Developments on Drivable Area Estimation: A Survey and a Functional Analysis.

Most advanced autonomous driving systems (ADS) today rely on the prior creation of high-definition maps (HD maps). This process is expensive and needs to be performed frequently to keep up with the changing conditions of the road environment. Creating accurate navigation maps online is an alternative to reduce the cost and broaden the current operational design domains (ODD) of modern ADS. This paper offers a snapshot of the state of the art in drivable area estimation, which is an essential technology to deploy ADS in ODDs where HD maps are limited or unavailable. The proposed review introduces a novel architecture breakdown that fits learning-based and non-learning-based techniques and allows the analysis of a set of impactful and recent drivable area algorithms. In addition to that, complimentary information for practitioners is provided: (i) an assessment of the influence of modern sensing technologies on the task under study and (ii) a selection of relevant datasets for evaluation and benchmarking purposes.

Cenobamate and Clobazam Combination as Personalized Medicine in Autoimmune-Associated Epilepsy With Anti-Gad65 Antibodies.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Autoimmune-associated epilepsy (AAE) with antiglutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) antibodies is considered a T-cell-mediated encephalitis that evolves to drug-resistant epilepsy. We do not have an effective therapeutic strategy for these patients. Because the GAD enzyme is primarily responsible for the conversion of glutamate to GABA, the mechanism of epileptogenesis in this condition predicts decreased levels of GABA content in synaptic vesicles. Cenobamate (CNB) acts as a positive allosteric modulator at synaptic and extra synaptic GABAA receptors, producing increased inhibitory neurotransmission in the brain. This mechanism could be especially beneficial in AAE with anti-GAD65 antibodies because it would be able to correct the imbalance due to the GABAergic stimulation deficit in postsynaptic neurons. METHODS: We recruit a retrospective multicentric consecutive case series of AAE with anti-GAD65 antibodies from 5 epilepsy units in Spain who have received treatment with CNB. RESULTS: A total of 8 patients were recruited. This cohort of highly refractory patients have failed a mean of 9.50 (SD = 3.20) ASM without control of seizures for sustained periods of time. The average number of seizures per month during the previous 3 months before CNB treatment was 19.63 (SD = 17.03). After the introduction of CNB improvement was achieved in all our patients, with a median reduction in the number of seizures of 92.22% (interquartile range [IQR]: 57.25-98.75). The mean follow-up was 156.75 days (SD = 68.23). In patients with concomitant treatment with clobazam (CLB), the median percentage of seizure reduction was higher than those not taking CLB: 94.72% (IQR: 87.25-100) vs 41.50% (p = 0.044) and also higher than the control group of patients with refractory epilepsy not related to anti-GAD65 treated with the same combination: 94.72% (IQR: 87.25-100) vs 45.00% (IQR: 25.00-87.00) (p = 0.019). DISCUSSION: Treatment with the combination CNB + CLB could be a type of personalized medicine in patients with AAE with anti-GAD65. Our preliminary data will need to be endorsed with new prospective and controlled studies.

Desempeño financiero del sector de elaboración de productos lácteos en Colombia (2014-2019) / Financial performance of the dairy production sector in Colombia (2014-2019) / Desempenho financeiro do setor de processamento de laticínios na Colômbia (2014-2019)

RESUMEN La investigación presentada en este artículo tiene como objetivo evaluar el desempeño financiero del sector elaboración de productos lácteos en Colombia en el período 2014-2019, aplicando como metodología el análisis estático y de tendencias de indicadores contables y de gestión de valor que miden su crecimiento, eficiencia, eficacia, efectividad, valor económico agregado (EVA) y valor de mercado agregado (VMA). Se encuentra que este sector crece en ventas, activos y utilidad neta; y logra rendimientos fluctuantes sobre su patrimonio, siguiendo el comportamiento de la eficacia en el control de erogaciones, aumentada por el uso de un apalancamiento financiero positivo. No obstante, este sector destruye EVA en tres años, con una pérdida residual importante en el 2015, que hace que su VMA resulte negativo. El EVA sigue la dirección del rendimiento después de impuestos del activo neto operacional, que en promedio es inferior al costo de capital. Estos hallazgos pueden complementarse con estudios semejantes para grupos homogéneos en edad, tamaño, organización jurídica y zona geográfica. CLASIFICACIÓN JEL G10, M40, L66

ABSTRACT The objective of the research presented in this article is to evaluate the financial performance of the dairy production sector in Colombia in the 2014-2019 period, applying as a methodology the static and trend analysis of accounting and value management indicators that measure its growth, efficiency, efficacy effectiveness, economic value added (EVA) and market value added (MVA). It is found that this sector grows in sales, assets and net income; and achieves fluctuating returns on its equity, following the behavior of efficiency in the control of expenditures, increased by the use of positive financial leverage. However, this sector destroys EVA in three years, with a significant residual loss in 2015, which makes its MVA negative. The EVA follows the direction of the after-tax return on operating net assets, which on average is less than the cost of capital. These findings can be complemented with similar studies for homogeneous groups in age, size, legal organization and geographical area. JEL CLASSIFICATION GI0, M40, L66

RESUMO A pesquisa apresentada neste artigo visa avaliar o desempenho financeiro do setor de processamento de laticínios na Colômbia no período 2014-2019, aplicando como metodologia a análise estática e de tendências dos indicadores contábeis e de gestão de valor que medem seu crescimento, eficiência, eficácia, efetividade, valor agregado econômico (EVA) e valor agregado de mercado (MVA). Verifica-se que este setor cresce em vendas, ativos e lucro líquido; e atinge retornos flutuantes sobre o patrimônio líquido, seguindo o comportamento de eficiência no controle de despesas, ampliado pelo uso de alavancagem financeira positiva. Entretanto, este setor destrói o EVA em três anos, com uma perda residual significativa em 2015, o que torna seu AMV negativo. O EVA segue a direção do retorno após impostos sobre o ativo operacional líquido, que em média é inferior ao custo de capital.BEstas descobertas podem ser complementadas por estudos semelhantes para grupos homogêneos em idade, tamanho, organização legal e área geográfica. CLASSIFICAÇÃO JEL GI0, M40, L66

Merit-Based Motion Planning for Autonomous Vehicles in Urban Scenarios.

Safe and adaptable motion planning for autonomous vehicles remains an open problem in urban environments, where the variability of situations and behaviors may become intractable using rule-based approaches. This work proposes a use-case-independent motion planning algorithm that generates a set of possible trajectories and selects the best of them according to a merit function that combines longitudinal comfort, lateral comfort, safety and utility criteria. The system was tested in urban scenarios on simulated and real environments, and the results show that different driving styles can be achieved according to the priorities set in the merit function, always meeting safety and comfort parameters imposed by design.

Ramipril and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis: The ARCADIA Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with CKD. We evaluated the cardioprotective effects of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor ramipril in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: In this phase 3, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded end point, parallel, multicenter trial, we recruited patients on maintenance hemodialysis with hypertension and/or left ventricular hypertrophy from 28 Italian centers. Between July 2009 and February 2014, 140 participants were randomized to ramipril (1.25-10 mg/d) and 129 participants were allocated to non-RAS inhibition therapy, both titrated up to the maximally tolerated dose to achieve predefined target BP values. The primary efficacy end point was a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. Secondary end points included the single components of the primary end point, new-onset or recurrence of atrial fibrillation, hospitalizations for symptomatic fluid overload, thrombosis or stenosis of the arteriovenous fistula, and changes in cardiac mass index. All outcomes were evaluated up to 42 months after randomization. RESULTS: At comparable BP control, 23 participants on ramipril (16%) and 24 on non-RAS inhibitor therapy (19%) reached the primary composite end point (hazard ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.52 to 1.64; P=0.80). Ramipril reduced cardiac mass index at 1 year of follow-up (between-group difference in change from baseline: -16.3 g/m2; 95% confidence interval, -29.4 to -3.1), but did not significantly affect the other secondary outcomes. Hypotensive episodes were more frequent in participants allocated to ramipril than controls (41% versus 12%). Twenty participants on ramipril and nine controls developed cancer, including six gastrointestinal malignancies on ramipril (four were fatal), compared with none in controls. CONCLUSIONS: Ramipril did not reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY NAME AND REGISTRATION NUMBER: ARCADIA, NCT00985322 and European Union Drug Regulating Authorities Clinical Trials Database number 2008-003529-17.

A Grid-Based Framework for Collective Perception in Autonomous Vehicles.

Today, perception solutions for Automated Vehicles rely on sensors on board the vehicle, which are limited by the line of sight and occlusions caused by any other elements on the road. As an alternative, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications allow vehicles to cooperate and enhance their perception capabilities. Besides announcing its own presence and intentions, services such as Collective Perception (CPS) aim to share information about perceived objects as a high-level description. This work proposes a perception framework for fusing information from on-board sensors and data received via CPS messages (CPM). To that end, the environment is modeled using an occupancy grid where occupied, and free and uncertain space is considered. For each sensor, including V2X, independent grids are calculated from sensor measurements and uncertainties and then fused in terms of both occupancy and confidence. Moreover, the implementation of a Particle Filter allows the evolution of cell occupancy from one step to the next, allowing for object tracking. The proposed framework was validated on a set of experiments using real vehicles and infrastructure sensors for sensing static and dynamic objects. Results showed a good performance even under important uncertainties and delays, hence validating the viability of the proposed framework for Collective Perception.

Forced normalization: case series from a Spanish epilepsy unit.

INTRODUCTION: Forced normalization is a clinical situation of singular relationship betweenepilepsy and psychosis, in which a patient shows behavioural and psychiatric symptoms coinciding with a reduction or termination of seizures and a total or partial normalization ofelectroencephalogram. Behavioural symptoms (frequently psychosis) or mood disturbances may appear. More information about this phenomenon, risk factors and prognostic variables is needed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of allthe patients followed at the specific Epilepsy Office in Virgen de la Victoria hospital, in order todetect and analyse the cases of forced normalization and to describe the clinical variables relatedto it. RESULTS: We present a 10 patient case series, 6 women and 4 men with an average age of 51.5 years. Demographic data, neurological diagnosis, type of seizures, psychiatric comorbidity,related Antiepileptic Drugs (AEDs), pharmacoresistance, polytherapy, concomitant AEDs,therapeutic management and prognosis were analysed. CONCLUSION: This is a hospital-based studyabout the characteristics of forced normalization in patients with epilepsy. It is one of thelargest series reported in 30 years, to our knowledge. Psychiatric comorbidity and developmentaldelay seem to be strongly associated with forced normalization in our series, or this relationshipcould be biased by the special characteristics of an Epilepsy Office which proportionately assistsmore cases of refractory epilepsy, commonly associated with disabilities and comorbidity. Theprognosis is favourable. Our data could establish a starting point for the design of larger prospective and experimental studies.

Early Management of Esophageal Leak in Esophageal Atresia: Changing Paradigms.

Introduction: A leak at the esophageal anastomosis can occur in 10%-20% of cases of esophageal atresia (EA). Thoracoscopic repair is trans-pleural, with the potential development of an empyema. Standard treatment of an anastomotic leak in a stable patient is often nonoperative, which can lead to prolonged parenteral nutrition and hospitalization. Our objective is to show that early thoracoscopic redo anastomosis management is safe and feasible. Materials and Methods: Retrospective study of a case series of four infants, diagnosed with EA and treated with early thoracoscopic esophageal leak repair between 2013 and 2018. Variables analyzed included age, weight, type of EA, day of leak, surgical approach, time to start feeding, surgical complications, and follow-up. Results: Three patients were type III, and one was type I originally repaired with a thoracoscopic approach. Leaking of the anastomosis was found the second postoperative day in one patient, third day in two patients, and the fifth day in the last one. All were confirmed with an esophagogram. All patients were operated in the first 24 hours after diagnosis by the thoracoscopic approach. The site of leak was found and re-sutured. Patients started feeding between the third and fourth day through a transanastomotic tube, starting oral feeding at the seventh day after an esophagogram did not show a leak. No complications were found. Mean time to complete oral feeding was 10 days. Two patients needed esophageal dilations. Mean time of follow-up has been 33 months. Conclusion: Early thoracoscopic repair of an anastomotic leak can be considered an alternative to the standard nonsurgical management. The early re-suture of the area of leak is a change in paradigm, but it offers the benefits of preservation of the native esophagus, early resumption of enteral feedings, and a shorter length of parental nutrition and hospitalization. Level of Evidence: IV.

Guidance for clinical neurophysiology examination throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Latin American chapter of the IFCN task force - COVID-19.

On 31st December 2019, China notified the World Health Organization of an outbreak of atypical pneumonia from patients at a local seafood market in Wuhan, Hubei, China, responsible for a new coronavirus called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused COVID-19 disease, which spread rapidly around the world. WHO declared a state of pandemic (11th March, 2020), which has caused more than 1 million infected and more than 110,000 deaths; it was observed that up to 29% of those infected were health care personnel. The main route of transmission of SARS-CoV2 is through respiratory secretions and direct contact with contaminated surfaces and material. The pandemic induced an international saturation of health care services and a rupture in the supply chain of protective equipment for healthcare personnel, which poses a high occupational risk to all. Based on the different healthcare systems, human resources, infrastructure and medical emergencies that will warrant the conduct of clinical neurophysiology studies and the lack of a guide for the management of the situation, it was decided by an expert task force of the Latin American Chapter of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology to carry out these guidelines for the protection of patient and healthcare professionals conducting clinical neurophysiological studies.

Desempeño financiero de las empresas más innovadoras del sector real de Colombia / Financial performance of the most innovative companies of the real sector of Colombia / Desempenho financeiro das empresas mais inovadores do setor real da Colombia

Resumen Este artículo tiene como propósito examinar el desempeño financiero de veintiún empresas del sector real consideradas como las más innovadoras de Colombia al 2016. Para ello se realizó un estudio descriptivo de los indicadores contables de apalancamiento financiero total, rotación de activos operacionales, margen de utilidad neta y rendimiento del patrimonio, además de los indicadores financieros de valor económico agregado y valor de mercado agregado durante el período de 2012 al 2016. Los resultados evidencian que, de las veintiún empresas estudiadas, veinte generan un rendimiento sobre el patrimonio positivo, nueve empresas generan un valor de mercado agregado positivo y solo cuatro generan un valor económico agregado positivo cada año. Igualmente se estudian los efectos que tienen el activo neto operacional, el costo de capital y la utilidad operacional antes de impuestos para la generación de valor económico agregado en la muestra de empresas. Códigos JEL: M41, O30, L60, L80.

Abstract This article is aimed at examining the financial performance of twenty-one real sector companies considered the most innovative of Colombia in 2016. For this purpose, a descriptive study was made of the accounting indicators of leverage, asset turnover ratio, net income margin and return on equity in addition to the financial indicators of economic value added and market value added during the period from 2012 to 2016. The results show that, of the twenty-one companies studied, twenty generate a positive return on equity, nine companies generate a positive market value added and only four companies generate a positive economic value added every year The effects of the net operating assets, the cost of capital and the earnings before interest and taxes for the generation of economic value added are also studied in the sample of companies. JEL Classification: M41, O30, L60, L80.

Resumo Este trabalho tem por objetivo analisar o desempenho financeiro das empresas do setor real vinte considerado o mais inovador da Colômbia a 2016. Um estudo descritivo de indicadores financeiros de alavancagem financeira total, o volume de ativos operacionais, foi realizada margem de lucro líquido e retorno sobre o patrimônio, além dos indicadores financeiros de valor econômico agregado e valor agregado de mercado no período de 2012 a 2016. Os resultados mostram que, das vinte e uma empresas estudadas, vinte geram retorno sobre patrimônio líquido positivo, nove empresas geram um valor agregado de mercado positivo e apenas quatro geram um valor econômico agregado positivo a cada ano. Os efeitos dos ativos operacionais líquidos, custo de capital e resultado operacional antes dos impostos para a geração de valor econômico agregado na amostra de empresas também são estudados. Classificações JEL: M41, O30, L60, L80.

Conocimiento en higiene oral de cuidadores establecimientos geriátricos de larga estadía, Valparaíso / Caregivers knowledge on oral hygiene in elderly residents in geriatric establishments of longterm care, Valparaíso

RESUMEN: Los Adultos Mayores en Chile son el sector de la población con más daño en su salud oral, encontrándose un porcentaje de ellos institucionalizados y al resguardo de cuidadores, muchas veces sin capacitación. Propósito: Determinar el nivel de conocimientos sobre higiene oral en cuidadores de Adultos Mayores institucionalizados en ELEAM de Valparaíso. Materiales y Métodos: Estudio descriptivo transversal, con una muestra de 75 cuidadores voluntarios que cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. Se aplicó una encuesta validada para determinar su nivel de conocimiento. Se analizaron mediante frecuencias, prueba exacta de Fisher y coeficiente de correlación. Resultados: Los cuidadores presentan un nivel de conocimientos medio, sin relación con su edad, experiencia o capacitación. Muestran un alto nivel de conocimiento en frecuencia del cepillado y cuidados protésico dental, y un bajo nivel en la técnica y recambio del cepillo. No se aprecian diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre el nivel de conocimiento y años de experiencia, educación formal o capacitación. Conclusión: Los cuidadores requieren mayor conocimiento de las características del cepillo, uso de coadyuvantes y frecuencia de control odontológico. La mayoría del conocimiento es empírico, basado en su experiencia y percepción del tema. Es fundamental una capacitación formal y constantes actualizaciones sobre el tema.

ABSTRACT: Older adults are the age group with worst oral health in Chile, a large percentage of them being institutionalized and often under the care of untrained or unqualified personnel. Purpose: To determine the level of knowledge in caregivers on oral hygiene in elderly residents, institutionalized in the ELEAM of Valparaíso. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study with a sample of 75 volunteer caregivers who met the inclusion criteria. A validated survey was applied to determine their level of knowledge. They were analyzed using frequency measures, Fisher's exact test and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Caregivers have a mid-level of expertise, unrelated to age, experience or training. They have a high level of knowledge regarding brushing frequency, dental prosthesis care, and low level in technique and toothbrush replacement. No statistically significant differences were found between the level of knowledge and years of experience, formal education or training. Conclusion: Caregivers require greater knowledge on toothbrush characteristics, use of adjuvants and frequency of dental visits. Most of the knowledge demonstrated is empirical, based on their experience and perception on the subject. Training and constant updates on the topic are essential.

Smart Sensing of Pavement Temperature Based on Low-Cost Sensors and V2I Communications.

Nowadays, the preservation, maintenance, rehabilitation, and improvement of road networks are key issues. Pavement condition is highly affected by environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, hence the importance of building databases enriched with real-time information from monitoring systems that enable the analysis and modeling of the road properties. Information and communication technologies, and specifically wireless sensor networks and computational intelligence methods, are enabling the design of new monitoring systems. The main goal of this work is the design of a pavement monitoring system for measuring temperature at internal layers. The proposed solution is based on low-cost and robust temperature sensors, vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, allowing one to transmit information directly from probes to a moving auscultation vehicle, and a neural network-based model for prediction pavement temperature. User requirements drive probes’ design to a modular device, with easy installation, low cost, and reduced energy consumption. Results of the test and validation experiments show both the benefits and viability of the proposed system, which reflect in an accuracy improvement and reduction in routine test duration. Finally, data collected over a year is applied to assess the performance of BELLS3 models and the suggested neural network for predicting pavement temperature. The dynamic behavior of the predicted temperature and the mean absolute error of the neural network-based model are better than the BELL3 model, demonstrating the suitability of the proposed pavement monitoring system.

Evaluación financiera de la industria de fabricación de papel, cartón y derivados en Colombia 2010-2015 / Financial evaluation of the paper, cardboard and derivative manufacturing industry in Colombia 2010-2015 / Avaliação financeira da Indústria de fabricação de papel, cartão e produtos em Colombia 2010-2015

RESUMEN Este artículo tiene como propósito evaluar el desempeño financiero de la industria de fabricación de papel, cartón y derivados en Colombia en el período 2010-2015, mediante un análisis de los indicadores contables y de gestión del valor que miden su crecimiento, eficiencia, eficacia y efectividad. Se encuentra que esta industria genera rentabilidades contables en casi todos los años, menos en el 2014; y que el comportamiento de su efectividad depende en orden de importancia a la eficacia en el control de costos y gastos, a la eficiencia del uso de los recursos, quedando como tercer factor el apalancamiento financiero; no obstante, en cada año se destruye valor económico agregado (EVA), y su valor de mercado agregado (VMA) es negativo. Esta industria es destructora de valor porque la rentabilidad del activo neto operacional es inferior al costo de capital, donde la rentabilidad es creciente, con una caída considerable en el 2014, y el costo de capital oscilante. Esto contrasta con el sector homólogo en Estados Unidos de América donde se crea valor en cinco años, con rentabilidades del activo neto operacional superior y costo de capital inferior a la de Colombia. Los resultados encontrados podrían complementarse con estudios similares para grupos de empresas más homogéneos en cuanto a la edad, tamaño y ubicación geográfica. CÓDIGOS JEL G10, M40, L73

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the financial performance of the paper paperboard and derivatives industry in Colombia in the period 2010-2015, through an analysis of accounting and value management indicators that measure growth, efficiency, efficacy and effectiveness. It is found that this industry generates accounting returns in almost every year less in 2014; and that the behavior of its effectiveness depends in order of importance to the efficacy in the control of costs and expenses, to the efficiency of the use of resources, leaving as a third factor the financial leverage; however aggregate economic value (EVA) is destroyed each year and its aggregate market value (VMA) is negative. This industry is a value-destroyer because the profitability of net operating assets is lower than the cost of capital, where profitability is increasing, with a considerable drop in 20l4, and the cost of oscillating capital. This contrasts with the counterpart sector in the United States of America where value is created in five years, with higher net operating income and lower capital cost than Colombia. The results found could be complemented with similar studies for groups of companies more homogeneous in age, size and geographical location. JEL CLASSIFICATION G10, M40, L73

RESUMO O objetivo deste artigo é avaliar o desempenho financeiro da indústria de papel, papelão e derivados na Colômbia no período 2010-2015, através de uma análise dos indicadores contábeis e de gestão de valor que medem seu crescimento, eficiência, eficácia e efetividade Verifica-se que esta indústria gera retornos contábeis quase todos os anos, exceto em 2014; e que o comportamento de sua efetividade depende, por ordem de importância, da eficácia no controle de custos e despesas, na eficiência do uso de recursos, com alavancagem financeira como terceiro fator; no entanto, em cada ano, o valor econômico agregado (EVA) é destruído e seu valor agregado de mercado (VMA) é negativo. Essa indústria é uma destruidora de valor porque o retorno sobre os ativos operacionais líquidos é menor do que o custo de capital, onde a lucratividade está aumentando, com uma queda considerável em 2014, e o custo do capital flutua. Isso contrasta com o setor de contrapartida nos Estados Unidos da América, onde o valor é criado em cinco anos, com retornos sobre ativos operacionais líquidos e custos de capital inferiores aos da Colômbia. Os resultados encontrados poderiam ser complementados por estudos semelhantes para grupos de empresas que são mais homogêneas em termos de idade, tamanho e localização geográfica. CLASSIFICAÇÕES JEL G10, M40, L73

A Comparison of FPGA and GPGPU Designs for Bayesian Occupancy Filters.

Grid-based perception techniques in the automotive sector based on fusing information from different sensors and their robust perceptions of the environment are proliferating in the industry. However, one of the main drawbacks of these techniques is the traditionally prohibitive, high computing performance that is required for embedded automotive systems. In this work, the capabilities of new computing architectures that embed these algorithms are assessed in a real car. The paper compares two ad hoc optimized designs of the Bayesian Occupancy Filter; one for General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU) and the other for Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The resulting implementations are compared in terms of development effort, accuracy and performance, using datasets from a realistic simulator and from a real automated vehicle.

Características y evolución de los pacientes que ingresan a una Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos de un hospital público / Characteristics and evolution of patients admitted to a public hospital intensive care unit

Background: The epidemiology of critical patients in Chile could differ from that reported in international studies. Aim: To describe the causes of admission and evolution of patients who were admitted to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) of a general hospital in Chile in a two-year period (2012-2013). Patients and Methods: A retrospective study was carried out using the ICU database. The following variables were registered: admission diagnosis, APACHE II (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation), days of mechanical ventilation (MV), ICU length of stay and ICU and hospital survival. Results: We analyzed data from 1075 aged 54 ± 18 years (55% males), representing 75% of the admissions during the study period. The median ICU and MV lengths were 5 and 3 days respectively (92% of patients required MV). APACHE II was 20.5 ± 8.2. The ICU and hospital mortality rate were 19.4% and 31%, respectively. Critical neurological diseases were the most common diagnoses requiring ICU, representing 26.8% of the admissions. No differences were found between 2012 and 2013 in age, APACHE II, ICU or hospital survival. A longer post ICU length of stay was found during 2013, both for patients who survived and those who died at the hospital. Conclusions: This study highlights the high percentage of patients that required MV and the high percentage critical neurological conditions requiring ICU admission. The characteristics and evolution of patients admitted to the ICU did not differ during 2012 and 2013.