Analysis of the problems generated by the adaptation of teaching caused by Covid-19: Proposal for a new learning framework

[EN] After the pandemic crisis caused by Covid-19, we can affirm that the future will increasingly rely on remote methodologies and will most likely continue with hybrid or blended teaching, combining online and face-to-face classes. Article 9 of Spanish Royal Decree 463/2020 ordered the suspension of presential educational activity at all levels in Spanish territory, as it was recommended that distance and online teaching be used whenever possible. Due to these quarantines, education authorities have been forced to modify teaching methods and methodologies in a short period, using existing technological and human resources. Students and teachers have found themselves in a new educational scenario very quickly and traumatically, without being prepared on most occasions. This paper presents a systematic literature review of the main national and international journals in the Web of Sciences, with the aim of finding out the main problems that the academic community has faced with the rapid adaptation of presential teaching to online or blended teaching. We can conclude that this expeditious change has caused problems that can be derived from (1) technical or infraestructure, (2) psychological and/or (3) formative and normative aspects. We are talking about a new learning framework that involves changes in the knowledge to be applied -pedagogical and technological-, in the didactics used -more collaborative and active- and in the context in which it is carried out -virtualisation of the environment and use of social networks-.Alonso-Muñoz, S.; González-Sánchez, R.; Torrejón-Ramos, M. (2022). Analysis of the problems generated by the adaptation of teaching caused by Covid-19: Proposal for a new learning framework. En Proceedings INNODOCT/21. International Conference on Innovation, Documentation and Education. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 101-110. https://doi.org/10.4995/INN2021.2021.1339110111

La metodología del aprendizaje-servicio como herramienta facilitadora de la educación para el desarrollo sostenible (EDS)

INTRODUCCIÓ. Un entorn educatiu que faciliti la participació i el pensament crític dels estudiants és essencial per a l’èxit de l’educació per al desenvolupament sostenible (EDS) d’acord amb els disset objectius de desenvolupament sostenible (ODS). Per a això calen eines que afavoreixin l’aprenentatge des d’un nou enfocament, que requereixi un component social i consideri les habilitats suaus dels estudiants.METODOLOGIA. La proposta educativa de l’aprenentatge-servei (ApS) estableix relacions fructíferes amb la societat, en les quals les dues parts se’n beneficien. En aquest treball es proposa l’aplicació de la metodologia ApS per aconseguir una implementació reeixida de l’EDS.RESULTATS. D’acord amb l’objectiu 11 (ciutats i comunitats sostenibles), aquesta proposta pretén que els alumnes contribueixin a fer que les ciutats siguin més inclusives, segures, resilients i sostenibles. Per això, s’ha dut a terme una activitat d’ApS a la Universitat Rey Juan Carlos on van participar 140 alumnes de l’assignatura Transports Turístics.DISCUSSIÓ. Aquest treball demostra la utilitat de la metodologia ApS en la transmissió dels valors associats a la sostenibilitat mediambiental, social i econòmica. A través de la conferència, l’alumnat presta un servei de trasllat de valors a la societat alhora que perfecciona les habilitats de comunicació i treball en equip.INTRODUCTION. An educational environment that facilitates student engagement and critical thinking is essential for the success of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) according to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This requires that the tools favour learning from a new approach, which involves a social component and takes into account the students’ soft skills.METHODOLOGY. The Service-Learning (S-L) for educational proposal establishes fruitful relationships with society, in which both parties benefit. This paper proposes the application of the S-L methodology to achieve a successful implementation of ESD.RESULTS. In line with Goal 11 (SDGs) ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’, this proposal aims for students to contribute to making cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. To this end, a S-L activity was carried out at the Rey Juan Carlos University with the participation of 140 students of the subject “Tourist Transport”.DISCUSSION. This work demonstrates the usefulness of the Service-Learning methodology in the transmission of values associated with environmental, social and economic sustainability. In the activity, the students provide a service of transferring values to society while improving their communication and teamwork skills.INTRODUCCIÓN. De acuerdo con los 17 Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), un entorno educativo que posibilite el pensamiento crítico y la participación de los estudiantes resulta fundamental para el éxito de la Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible (EDS).METODOLOGÍA. El trabajo propone la aplicación de la metodología ApS para lograr una implementación exitosa de la EDS. Así, tanto los alumnos, trabajando en equipo, aplicando sus capacidades y conocimientos adquiridos, como la sociedad, a la cual se le presta un servicio a través de esta metodología, resultan beneficiados.RESULTADOS. Este estudio muestra un proyecto en el que se relaciona el Objetivo 11 de los ODS ‘Ciudades y Comunidades Sostenibles’ con un enfoque ApS en la asignatura ‘Transportes Turísticos’ de los Grados en Turismo de la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid. Por medio de este proyecto se implementa la EDS y los estudiantes tienen la oportunidad de contribuir a que las ciudades sean más seguras, inclusivas, sostenibles y resilientes.DISCUSIÓN. El trabajo proporciona evidencia práctica sobre la aplicación de los ODS en el ámbito universitario y la utilidad de la metodología ApS para transmitir valores vinculados con la sostenibilidad medioambiental, social y económica

Indoor air VOCs biofiltration by bioactive coating packed bed bioreactors

Producción CientíficaBioactive coatings are envisaged as a promising biotechnology to tackle the emerging problem of indoor air pollution. This solution could cope with the low concentrations, the wide range of compounds and the hydrophobicity of some indoor air VOCs, which are the most important bottlenecks regarding the implementation of conventional biotechnologies for indoor air treatment. A bioactive coating-based bioreactor was tested in this study for the abatement of different VOCs (n-hexane, toluene and α-pinene) at different empty bed residence times (EBRT) and inlet VOC concentrations. The performance of this reactor was compared with a conventional biofilm-based bioreactor operated with the same microbial inoculum. After an acclimation period, the bioactive coating-based bioreactor achieved abatements of over 50% for hexane, 80% for toluene and 70% for pinene at EBRTs of 112–56 s and inlet concentrations of 9–15 mg m−3. These results were about 25, 10 and 20% lower than the highest removals recorded in the biofilm-based bioreactor. Both bioreactors experienced a decrease in VOC abatement by ∼25% for hexane, 45% for toluene and 40% for pinene, after reducing the EBRT to 28 s. When inlet VOC concentrations were progressively reduced, VOC abatement efficiencies did not improve. This fact suggested that low EBRTs and low inlet VOCs concentration hindered indoor air pollutant abatement as a result of a limited mass transfer and bioavailability. Metagenomic analyses showed that process operation with toluene, hexane and pinene as the only carbon and energy sources favored an enriched bacterial community represented by the genera Devosia, Mesorhizobium, Sphingobacterium and Mycobacterium, regardless of the bioreactor configuration. Bioactive coatings were used in this work as packing material of a conventional bioreactor, achieving satisfactory VOC abatement similar to a conventional bioreactor.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Ministerio de Universidades [project RTI2018-0-096441-B-I00]Junta de Castilla y León - EU-FEDER [grant number CLU 2017–09, CL-EI-2021-07 y UIC 315]Junta de Castilla y León y Fondo Social Europeo (PhD grant BDNS 487971)Comisión Europea-H2020-MSCA–IF–2019 (ENHANCEMENT, ref. 897284

Reversión de la esterilidad en mutantes de la ruta de la insulina en Caenorhabditis elegans

Motivación: Las mujeres con Síndrome de Ovario Poliquístico presentan elevadas tasas de esterilidad. Actualmente no existe un tratamiento específico para este problema y el tratamiento consiste en medicación para diabéticos el cual no es eficaz. La ruta de la insulina se encuentra conservada en todos los animales y su inactivación no solo afecta la fertilidad en humanos sino también en el resto de organismos. Para poder entender los mecanismos por los que la ruta de la insulina genera infertilidad hemos utilizado C. elegans como organismo modelo ya que presentan numerosas herramientas metodológicas que permiten obtener conclusiones rápidamente. Previamente se ha descrito que la falta de actividad del facfor de transcripción DAF-16 (homólogo a FOXO en humanos) puede revertir  el efecto de esterilidad que presentan los mutantes de la ruta de la insulina. En este proyecto se pretende estudiar si es posible aumentar la progenie de los mutantes estériles mediante el silenciamiento de otros genes y si esta reversión puede producirse una vez el individio es adulto. Métodos: 1.Identificación y selección de los mutantes termosensibles de la ruta de la insulina con fenotipo de esterilidad 2.Estudio del efecto del ARN interferente para el gen daf-16 en estadío adulto 3.Estudio mediante microscopía confocal de la regeneración de las gónadas en los mutantes estériles tratados con daf-16(ARNi) 4.Generación de una colección de bacterias productoras de RNAi de C. elegans con genes ortólogos a humanos Resultados: 1.El tratamiento de ARNi de daf-16 exclusivamente desde adulto suprime la infertilidad de la ruta de la insulina 2.Se observan claras diferencias morfológicas en las gónadas entre los grupos control y los sometidos a daf-16(ARNi) 3.La deleción del gen ist-1 homologo al humano insulin receptor substrate (IRS) genera esterilidad en C. elegans. Conclusiones: Se demuestra que es posible aumentar la progenie y el tamaño de las gónadas de los mutantes afectados en la ruta de la insulina al tratarlos con daf-16(ARNi) desde estadío adulto y no solo desde el primer estadío de desarrollo como había sido demostrado anteriormente. Esto tiene una gran relevancia ya que esta enfermedad se detecta en mujeres una vez han llegado a la edad adulta. Si el efecto observado en C. elegans se conserva en humanos permitiría el desarrollo de compuestos que puedan revertir la esterilidad una vez detectada la enfermedad

Trends in Mentoring at Higher Education: A bibliometric analysis

[EN] Learning is a complex process that requires elements that favour its development.  In higher education this process can be complicated not only by the stage of education, also by the associated organisation and formalities. Universities, concerned to facilitate the inclusive participation of their members, have developed support systems. Mentoring is a reciprocal learning relationship development between the mentor whose expertise in a particular field allows him/her to guide and assist the mentee in his/her academic, professional and personal growth (Etzkorn and Braddock, 2020). In this framework, mentoring programmes have become particularly relevant as a tool to help facilitate the integration of both students and teachers. The importance of mentoring in higher education has attracted a significant amount of research. An analysis of the state of the art would therefore provide an insight into the most researched concepts associated with mentoring. This paper presents a hybrid methodology, using  a bibliometric approach and in-depth literature review of the most influential articles during the last period.  A co-occurrence analysis is carried out by VOSviewer software whose search formula was "mentoring" and (university or "higher education"), retrieving a sample of 232 articles from Web of Science. The thematic organization shows three main topics. Firstly, the benefits of mentoring on students' transitions in university by enhancing their experiences are analysed. Secondly, universities develop programmes related to psychological aspects such as increasing satisfaction or decreasing stress and programmes related to procedures that enable self-efficacy, protection, support and retention. Thirdly, programmes related to job training related to soft skills such as leadership are analysed. The research trends during 2020 and 2021 focus on new mentoring models oriented towards mentoring training and support actions (Etzkorn and Braddock, 2020), female mentoring (Hsieh and Nguyen, 2020) and disability support (Rillotta et al., 2020; Thompson et al., 2020).Alonso-Muñoz, S.; Torrejón-Ramos, M.; Medina-Salgado, M.; González Sánchez, R. (2023). Trends in Mentoring at Higher Education: A bibliometric analysis. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.4995/INN2022.2022.157041

Perception of risk in the use of technologies and social media. Implications for identity building during adolescence

[EN] Life for today’s adolescents generally involves spending a large part of their time in front of a screen, permanently connected to the internet. It is no surprise to learn that recent years have witnessed an increase in the number of studies on how adolescent identities are being affected by the phenomenon of hyperconnectivity. This article addresses the perception adolescents have of the uses and functions they encounter during the time they are online and their self-perceived risks, as well as the tools or strategies they use to tackle the threats of a hyperconnected society. This involved designing a qualitative study in which 130 adolescents took part in different focus groups. The results revealed that adolescents use technologies mainly as a means of communication and entertainment, and as they mature, they perceive greater risks associated with this use. The study also found that they deploy few tools and strategies to deal with the self-perceived risks

Decreased Water Use in a Super-Intensive Olive Orchard Mediates Arthropod Populations and Pest Damage

In Spain, water use in agriculture is expected to become limited by resources in the future. It is pertinent to study the effect of decreased irrigation on the presence of pests, plant damage, and arthropod communities in a super-intensive olive orchard examined from 2017 to 2019. Arthropods were studied with visual and vacuum sampling methods in two irrigation treatments (T1—control and T2—Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI)). Univariate analyses showed that the total arthropod abundance was significantly greater in T1 than in T2 in 2018 and 2019, mostly due to Diptera Nematocera. Visual sampling revealed that the feeding damage produced by Eriophyidae (Trombidiformes) was significantly lower in T2 in 2018 and 2019: 10–40% of shoots were affected in the late season compared with 50–60% affected for T1. The feeding symptoms caused by Palpita unionalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and Zelleria oleastrella (Milliere) (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) were significantly less for T2 than for T1. Multivariate principal response curves showed significant differences between irrigation strategies in the 2018 and 2019 data for both sampling methods. In conclusion, irrigation schemes with restricted water use (T2—RDI) help to reduce the abundance of several types of pests in olive crops, especially of those that feed on the plants’ new sprouts

Foetal Immune Response Activation and High Replication Rate during Generation of Classical Swine Fever Congenital Infection

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) induces trans-placental transmission and congenital viral persistence; however, the available information is not updated. Three groups of sows were infected at mid-gestation with either a high, moderate or low virulence CSFV strains. Foetuses from sows infected with high or low virulence strain were obtained before delivery and piglets from sows infected with the moderate virulence strain were studied for 32 days after birth. The low virulence strain generated lower CSFV RNA load and the lowest proportion of trans-placental transmission. Severe lesions and mummifications were observed in foetuses infected with the high virulence strain. Sows infected with the moderately virulence strain showed stillbirths and mummifications, one of them delivered live piglets, all CSFV persistently infected. Efficient trans-placental transmission was detected in sows infected with the high and moderate virulence strain. The trans-placental transmission occurred before the onset of antibody response, which started at 14 days after infection in these sows and was influenced by replication efficacy of the infecting strain. Fast and solid immunity after sow vaccination is required for prevention of congenital viral persistence. An increase in the CD8+ T-cell subset and IFN-alpha response was found in viremic foetuses, or in those that showed higher viral replication in tissue, showing the CSFV recognition capacity by the foetal immune system after trans-placental infection.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Technology development as a tool towards circularity: a research agenda

New technological development enables to implement circular economy (CE) practices. This phenomenon is taking particular interest for the Academy. The aim of this study is to analyse the cognitive and intellectual structure of the relationship between CE and technology. The proposed research questions seek to answer how the evolution of the number of publications per year, the main authors, journals, institutions and countries in this field, and the most relevant topics and papers in the research area are. It is used a bibliometric approach of co-word analysis of 996 articles published on Web of Science. In addition, it is proposed a research agenda after reviewing the most cited articles and points the research trend topics. There is a need to include topics associated with the social sphere, since most of the research is focused on environmental aspects and economic effects. In recent years, research has been polarised towards the blockchain, Big Data and biorefinery technologies. Although these technologies are in demand, it should not ignore other emerging technologies that could be key to circularity, such as those related to product redesign or changes in production infrastructures