Fostering Student’s Engagement and Active Learning in Neuroscience Education

[EN] Neurophobia is a term coined to describe university students’ fear of neuroscience, which negatively affect learning. The implementation of new technologies in higher education, such as new response systems, provide an opportunity to improve neurosciences learning and teaching by engaging students. However, most response systems rely on student devices such as clickers. The aim of this study is to illustrate the application of a new digital application for collection of real-time formative assessment data in higher education. Results of this study support the utility paper-based response cards to foster engagement and active learning in higher education, even with complex neuroscience topics, providing real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices

New technologies in health education and research

The studies in this track provided an updated overview of different technological innovation procedures in distinct health science fields. Thus, technological applications from medical imaging treatment and three-dimensional visualization to simulation systems useful in clinical practice training (simulations with mannequins, training with manual control devices, virtual reality techniques with stereo vision helmets, amongst others) are presented. The main objective of these procedures is to improve the quality of university teaching and continuing education, using the latest resources, which are starting to be implemented in different universities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Technological innovations in biomedical training and practice

As we become more integrated into a global world, technological advances and teaching innovation that are grounded in Science have become crucial. Rapid advancements in science education and information technology provide promising resources that require many academic disciplines to work together. Developing new tools and defining new methodologies to share educational experiences, including empirical studies that support their efficiency, constitute a promising approach to improve Health Sciences. The aim of this session is to encourage and enable the exchange of information related with the advance and support of Health Science Education. In this paper the authors summarize the recent advances in technological innovations in biomedical training and practice. Most of the main trends in this field are reviewed, including: training in health sciences through a variety of resources such as computer simulations, stereoscopic visualization systems with augmented reality glasses, computer platforms for managing and using resources and documents; the generation of three-dimensional images developed with commercial software for 3D reconstruction; medical and surgical simulation using Virtual Reality (RV) and Augmented Reality (AR); the role of stereoscopic vision systems in the health sciences; and the use of teaching medical material reconstructed with 3D printers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A discrete-domain description of multiphase flow in porous media: rugged energy landscapes and the origin of hysteresis

We propose a discrete-domain model to describe mesoscale (many pore) immiscible displacements in porous media. We conceptualize the porous medium and fluid system as a set of weakly connected multistable compartments. The overall properties of the system emerge from the small-scale compartment dynamics. Our model aims at capturing the rugged energy landscape of multiphase porous media systems, emphasizing the role of metastability and local equilibria in the origin of hysteresis. Under two-phase displacements, the system behaves hysteretically, but our description does not rely on past saturations, turning points, or drainage/imbibition labels. We characterize the connection between micrometastability and overall system behavior, and elucidate the different nature of pressure-controlled and rate-controlled immiscible displacements in porous media

Carbon dioxide dissolution in structural and stratigraphic traps

The geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO[subscript 2]) in structural and stratigraphic traps is a viable option to reduce anthropogenic emissions. While dissolution of the CO[subscript 2] stored in these traps reduces the long-term leakage risk, the dissolution process remains poorly understood in systems that reflect the appropriate subsurface geometry. Here, we study dissolution in a porous layer that exhibits a feature relevant for CO[subscript 2] storage in structural and stratigraphic traps: a finite CO[subscript 2] source along the top boundary that extends only part way into the layer. This feature represents the finite extent of the interface between free-phase CO[subscript 2] pooled in a trap and the underlying brine. Using theory and simulations, we describe the dissolution mechanisms in this system for a wide range of times and Rayleigh numbers, and classify the behaviour into seven regimes. For each regime, we quantify the dissolution flux numerically and model it analytically, with the goal of providing simple expressions to estimate the dissolution rate in real systems. We find that, at late times, the dissolution flux decreases relative to early times as the flow of unsaturated water to the CO[subscript 2] source becomes constrained by a lateral exchange flow though the reservoir. Application of the models to several representative reservoirs indicates that dissolution is strongly affected by the reservoir properties; however, we find that reservoirs with high permeabilities (k ≥ 1 Darcy) that are tens of metres thick and several kilometres wide could potentially dissolve hundreds of megatons of CO[subscript 2] in tens of years.United States. Dept. of Energy (Grant DE-SC0003907)United States. Dept. of Energy (Grant DE-FE0002041)MIT Masdar ProgramMartin Family Fellowship for Sustainabilit

Influence of the Molecular Weight on PVA/GO Composite Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications

Composite polymer electrolyte membranes were prepared with poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA). Two different molecular weight (Mw), 67·103 and 130·103 g·mol−1 were selected, cross-linked with sulfosuccinic acid (SSA) and doped graphene oxide (GO). The effects on the membranes obtained from these polymers were characterized in order to evaluate the fuel cell performance. Electron microscopy showed a proper nanoparticle distribution in the polymer matrix. The chemical structure was evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The absence of a crystalline structure and the enhancement on the thermal stability with the addition of 1% of GO was demonstrated by thermal characterization. Total transference number and protonic conductivity were correlated to the performance of a hydrogen fuel cell. Overall, a power increase in the composite membranes with lower molecular weight was observed. Shorter polymer chains may improve protonic conductivity and consequently the fuel cell performance

Nested Socio-Ecological Maps as a Spatial Planning Instrument for Estuary Conservation and Ecosystem-Based Management

ABSTRACT: Estuaries are socio-ecological systems that can be represented as a holistic combination of biotic and abiotic conditions in spatially explicit units defined by: (i) the ecotope, as the integration of the physiotope (abiotic-homogeneous units) and the biotope (biotic-homogeneous units), and (ii) the anthrotope, synthesizing data on human drivers of ecological change. Nested physiotopes were identified in an estuary using a hierarchical approach that integrates information about eight abiotic, and biologically meaningful, variables. The biotope of Zostera noltei was delimited using a potential distribution model of species and overlapped with the physiotope map to characterize the ecotopes. The anthrotope was estimated as the cumulative impacts of anthropic activities over the ecotopes. The diversity of Z. noltei ecotopes was compared with the anthrotope map to estimate the potential impacts of human pressures on this species. The hierarchical methodology and resulting maps provide flexible and interdisciplinary tools for conservation, management, education and research.This research was part of the ECOTOPO project (RTI2018-096409-B-I00) financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the National Plan for Scientific Research

Effect of Dendritic Side Groups on the Mobility of Modified Poly(epichlorohydrin) Copolymers

[EN] The macromolecular dynamics of dendronized copolymer membranes (PECHs), obtained by chemical modification of poly(epichlorohydrin) with the dendron 3,4,5-tris[4-(n-dodecan-1-yloxy)benzyloxy] benzoate, was investigated. In response to a thermal treatment during membrane preparation, these copolymers show an ability to change their shape, achieve orientation, and slightly crystallize, which was also observed by CP-MAS NMR, XRD, and DSC. The phenomenon was deeply analyzed by dielectric thermal analysis. The dielectric spectra show the influence of several factors such as the number of dendritic side groups, the orientation, their self-assembling dendrons, and the molecular mobility. The dielectric spectra present a sub-Tg dielectric relaxation, labelled as gamma, associated with the mobility of the benzyloxy substituent of the dendritic group. This mobility is not related to the percentage of these lateral chains but is somewhat hindered by the orientation of the dendritic groups. Unlike other less complex polymers, the crystallization was dismantled before the appearance of the glass transition (alpha(Tg)). Only after that, clearing transition (alpha(Clear)) can be observed. The PECHs were flexible and offered a high free volume, despite presenting a high degree of modifications. However, the molecular mobility is not independent in each phase and the self-assembling dendrons can be eventually fine-tuned according to the percentage of grafted groups.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, grant POLYDECARBOCELL (ENE2017-86711-C3-1-R, ENE2017-86711-C3-3-R).Teruel Juanes, R.; Pascual-Jose, B.; Graf, R.; Reina, JA.; Giamberini, M.; Ribes-Greus, A. (2021). Effect of Dendritic Side Groups on the Mobility of Modified Poly(epichlorohydrin) Copolymers. Polymers. 13(12):1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13121961119131