Cross-cultural adaptation of children´s environmental health questionnaires for English nursing students

Objectives: Children are among the most vulnerable population groups with regard to environmental risks. Nursing students must be fully educated on children’s environmental health as they are in a key position to prevent and reduce the effects of environmental hazards. The main objective of this study was to adapt and validate an English language version of two questionnaires about children’s health and the environment, to assess the knowledge and skills of student nurses in England. Design: Observational cross-sectional study. Setting: A university in Southern England. Method: The study involves translating, adapting and validating the Children’s Environmental Health Knowledge Questionnaire (ChEHK-Q) and the Children’s Environmental Health Skills Questionnaire (ChEHS-Q) with nursing students in England (N = 232). Results: The psychometric characteristics of both questionnaires were strong. Infit and outfit values were close to 1. The reliability values for the items and people were 0.96 and 0.79 for ChEHK-Q and 0.98 and 0.89 for ChEHS-Q, respectively. Only 52 (22.41%) and 77 (33.62%) participants had at least good knowledge and skills, respectively. Higher knowledge and skills were found with respect to the vulnerability of children and identification of environmental risks in the home. Lower levels of knowledge and skills were found with respect to the effects of pesticides and the assessment of neoplastic pollutants. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate deficiencies in nursing competencies related to children’s environmental health. The use of these questionnaires will facilitate improvement in both knowledge and skills related to children’s environmental health among future nurses

Fresh and saline submarine groundwater discharge in a large coastal inlet affected by seasonal upwelling

Original research paperSubmarine groundwater discharge is recognized as a major source of chemicals to the global ocean, exerting large control over coastal water composition. Radon and 226Ra are used to evaluate, for the first time, the occur rence and magnitude of submarine groundwater discharge in the Ría de Vigo, a large, highly productive embay ment affected by seasonal, wind-driven upwelling. The system is naturally enriched in 222Rn due to the regional granitic basement geology: high 222Rn activities (up to 106 Bq m−3 ) are detected in wells and boreholes in the drainage basin of the embayment. High 222Rn activities (>400 Bq m−3 ) are also measured in certain areas of the embayment. Comparatively lower 226Ra activities (<4 103 Bq m−3 ) were measured in the freshwater sources to the bay. Mass balances obtained with a box model are used to perform a volumetric estimate of fresh and saline submarine groundwater discharge in the Ría de Vigo under contrasting circulation patterns. Fresh groundwater is shown to be a relevant hydrological component of the Ria de Vigo water balance, equivalent to 9% 4% and 23% 9% of the volume discharged by tributary rivers during winter and summer, respectively. On the other hand, recirculation of seawater through permeable sediments is capable of filtering the entire upper volume of the Ria de Vigo through its seafloor in <100 days and might thus be a previously overlooked major source of regenerated solutes to the system.Irish Research Council and European Union Commission Horizon 2020 research and innovation programmeVersión del editor3,38

Fluorescence: Absorption coefficient ratio — Tracing photochemical and microbial degradation processes affecting coloured dissolved organic matter in a coastal system

Original research paperThe optical properties of coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) – absorption coefficient, induced fluorescence, and fluorescence quantum yield – were determined in the coastal eutrophic system of the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain) under two contrasting situations: a downwelling event in September 2006 and an upwelling event in June 2007. Significantly different optical properties were recorded in the shelf surface (higher absorption coefficient and lower quantum yield) and bottom (lower absorption coefficient and higher quantum yield) waters that entered the embayment during downwelling and upwelling conditions, respectively. Continental waters presented distinctly high CDOM levels. The spatial and temporal variability of the induced fluorescence to absorption coefficient ratio during the mixing of shelf and continental waters was used to quantify the relative importance of photochemical and microbial processes under these contrasting hydrographic conditions. Photochemical processes were dominant during the downwelling episode: 86% of the variability of CDOM can be explained by photochemical degradation. On the contrary, microbial processes prevailed during the upwelling event: 77% of the total variability of CDOM was explained by microbial respiration.The Xunta de Galicia, grant number PGIDIT-05MA40201PR; the project SUMMER, grant number CTM2008-03309/MAR; a I3P-CSIC predoctoral fellowship and a Marie Curie I.O.F.Versión del editor2,75

Effectiveness of the e-NurSus Children Intervention in the Training of Nursing Students

The paediatric population is the most vulnerable to exposure to environmental risk factors. Institutions of higher education have to equip nursing students with the attitudes, knowledge, and skills to respond to this using blended learning. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of e-NurSus Children intervention on student nurses’ attitudes, knowledge, and skills. A quasi-experimental study of time series was designed using pre and post educational intervention evaluation in 2018. The participants were nursing students (N = 267) from Spain (n = 110) and the United Kingdom (n = 157). Three instruments were used: the Sustainability Attitudes in Nursing Survey, the Children’s Environmental Health Knowledge Questionnaire, and the Children’s Environmental Health Skills Questionnaire. The attitudes (15.81%), knowledge (39.02%), and skills (29.98%) of nursing students improved following the e-NurSus Children intervention. It is necessary to include topics on children’s environmental health in nurse education as students are aware of this issue but do not have the knowledge or skills required to manage problems or illness caused by the environment. The e-NurSus Children intervention is an effective tool to address this educational gap.</jats:p

Cross-cultural adaptation of children’s environmental health questionnaires for nursing students in England

Objectives: Children are among the most vulnerable population groups with regard to environmental risks. Nursing students must be fully educated on children’s environmental health as they are in a key position to prevent and reduce the effects of environmental hazards. The main objective of this study was to adapt and validate an English language version of two questionnaires about children’s health and the environment, to assess the knowledge and skills of student nurses in England. Design: Observational cross-sectional study. Setting: A university in Southern England. Method: The study involves translating, adapting and validating the Children’s Environmental Health Knowledge Questionnaire (ChEHK-Q) and the Children’s Environmental Health Skills Questionnaire (ChEHS-Q) with nursing students in England (N = 232). Results: The psychometric characteristics of both questionnaires were strong. Infit and outfit values were close to 1. The reliability values for the items and people were 0.96 and 0.79 for ChEHK-Q and 0.98 and 0.89 for ChEHS-Q, respectively. Only 52 (22.41%) and 77 (33.62%) participants had at least good knowledge and skills, respectively. Higher knowledge and skills were found with respect to the vulnerability of children and identification of environmental risks in the home. Lower levels of knowledge and skills were found with respect to the effects of pesticides and the assessment of neoplastic pollutants. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate deficiencies in nursing competencies related to children’s environmental health. The use of these questionnaires will facilitate improvement in both knowledge and skills related to children’s environmental health among future nurses

TERAPIAS COMPLEMENTARIAS EN LA ESCUELA DE ENFERMERÍA.

Introduction: The complementary therapies are acquiring bigger protagonism. The World Health Organization recommends them to the nurses like a strategy to reach the objective of “Health for everyone". The objective of our work is to study as the nursing students of the University of Jaén register and develop these therapies during its assistance practices. Methodology: A descriptive study. We extract the complementary therapies registered in 120 processes of the nursing students and we also study their execution in the clinical practices. Next we have included these performances inside the corresponding interventions of the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC). Results: 23 are the activities of the students that we could classify inside the complementary therapies. Discussion: we compare our work with the studies of two authors which have analyzed the level of the students' knowledge regarding these methods in two nursing schools in Sao Paulo and in the Faculty of Health Sciences in Zaragoza. Conclusion: the complementary therapies executed by the students are accessible, of intuitive character and they are not based in very specific techniques. The NIC includes interventions based on these methods, but many others could be included.Introducción: Las terapias complementarias están adquiriendo cada vez mayor protagonismo. La propia Organización Mundial de la Salud las recomienda a los enfermeros como una de las estrategias para alcanzar el objetivo de “Salud para todos”. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo es estudiar cómo los alumnos de enfermería de la Universidad de Jaén registran y desarrollan estas terapias durante sus prácticas asistenciales. Metodología: Estudio descriptivo en el que extraemos las terapias complementarias registradas en 120 procesos de enfermería de los alumnos y estudiamos también su ejecución en las prácticas clínicas. A continuación hemos englobado estas actuaciones dentro de las intervenciones de la Clasificación de Intervenciones de Enfermería (NIC) correspondientes. Resultados: 23 son las actividades de los alumnos que podríamos catalogar dentro de las terapias complementarias. Discusión: Comparamos nuestro trabajo con el de dos autores que analizaron el nivel de conocimiento de los alumnos respecto a estos métodos en dos escuelas de enfermería de Sao Paulo y en la Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud de Zaragoza. Conclusión: Las terapias complementarias ejecutadas por los alumnos son accesibles, de carácter intuitivo y no están basadas en técnicas muy específicas. La NIC incluye intervenciones basadas en estos métodos, pero se podrían incluir muchas otras nuevas

Turnover time of fluorescent dissolved organic matter in the dark global ocean

Research articleMarine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is one of the largest reservoirs of reduced carbon on Earth. In the dark ocean (4200 m), most of this carbon is refractory DOM. This refractory DOM, largely produced during microbial mineralization of organic matter, includes humic-like substances generated in situ and detectable by fluorescence spectroscopy. Here we show two ubiquitous humic-like fluorophores with turnover times of 435±41 and 610±55 years, which persist significantly longer than the B350 years that the dark global ocean takes to renew. In parallel, decay of a tyrosine-like fluorophore with a turnover time of 379±103 years is also detected. We propose the use of DOM fluorescence to study the cycling of resistant DOM that is preserved at centennial timescales and could represent a mechanism of carbon sequestration (humic-like fraction) and the decaying DOM injected into the dark global ocean, where it decreases at centennial timescales (tyrosine-like fraction).Versión del editor10,015

Análisis de persistencia en acciones financieras en el mercado colombiano a través de la metodología de Rango Reescalado (R/S)

El sistema financiero se ha vuelto un tema de estudio de gran relevancia para las áreas económicas y financieras, las cuales buscan nuevos métodos para obtener una visión acertada en la toma de decisiones por parte de los diferentes inversionistas. Por ello, el presente documento tiene como propósito mostrar cómo la aplicación de la metodología de rango reescalado y exponente de Hurst logra analizar y determinar la persistencia y las estructuras con fenómenos irregulares (autocorrelación) dentro del mercado colombiano. Para ello, se tomaron como muestra cinco de las acciones más representativas de la bolsa de valores de Colombia y del índice Colcap (grupo Aval, Ecopetrol, Bancolombia y el grupo Éxito), así como sus rendimientos, de acuerdo con sus oscilaciones durante un periodo de cinco años. Al implementar la metodología de Rango Reescalado, se encontró que los activos analizados presentan fenómenos de persistencia y antipersistencia en las series de tiempo, lo que muestra que ninguna de las acciones se encuentra bajo el supuesto de normalidad. Por lo tanto, es necesario implementar nuevas herramientas que permitan mayor firmeza en los análisis, como pueden ser el R/S modificado, expuesto por Lo (1991) o variables que permitan determinar procesos estocásticos dentro de las series, lo cual es fundamental para brindar una mayor rigurosidad al cálculo matemático para que este apoye de una forma más eficiente a los inversionistas

Análisis de persistencia en acciones financieras en el mercado colombiano a través de la metodología de Rango Reescalado (R/S)

El sistema financiero se ha vuelto un tema de estudio de gran relevancia para las áreas económicas y financieras, las cuales buscan nuevos métodos para obtener una visión acertada en la toma de decisiones por parte de los diferentes inversionistas. Por ello, el presente documento tiene como propósito mostrar cómo la aplicación de la metodología de rango reescalado y exponente de Hurst logra analizar y determinar la persistencia y las estructuras con fenómenos irregulares (autocorrelación) dentro del mercado colombiano. Para ello, se tomaron como muestra cinco de las acciones más representativas de la bolsa de valores de Colombia y del índice Colcap (grupo Aval, Ecopetrol, Bancolombia y el grupo Éxito), así como sus rendimientos, de acuerdo con sus oscilaciones durante un periodo de cinco años. Al implementar la metodología de Rango Reescalado, se encontró que los activos analizados presentan fenómenos de persistencia y antipersistencia en las series de tiempo, lo que muestra que ninguna de las acciones se encuentra bajo el supuesto de normalidad. Por lo tanto, es necesario implementar nuevas herramientas que permitan mayor firmeza en los análisis, como pueden ser el R/S modificado, expuesto por Lo (1991) o variables que permitan determinar procesos estocásticos dentro de las series, lo cual es fundamental para brindar una mayor rigurosidad al cálculo matemático para que este apoye de una forma más eficiente a los inversionistas