Relationship between physical fitness and mental heath in primary school children.

ABSTRACT There is scientific evidence that physical fitness is a biological marker of health. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between physical fitness and state weight with mental health in primary school children from the southeast of Span. An cross sectional design was implemented, evaluating handgrip strength, explosive lower body strength, aerobic capacity and speed-agility through ALPHA-fitness test battery of a sample of 214 students between 8 and 11 years. The analysis of simple variance showed that physical fitness and state weight is not associated significantly with the mental health. The results indicate that physical fitness and state weight is not a differentiator of mental health in school children from the southeast of Spain. Keywords: health, physical exercise, children.Existen evidencias científicas de que la condición física es un marcador biológico de la salud. El objetivo fue analizar la relación de la condición física y el estado de peso con la salud mental en escolares de primaria del sureste español. Diseño descriptivo transversal donde se evaluó la condición física mediante la Batería ALPHA-fitness, a una muestra de 214 escolares entre 8 y 11 años. El índice de masa corporal fue categorizado siguiendo criterios estándar. La salud mental fue medida a través del General Health Questionnaire. El análisis de la varianza simple mostró que la condición física y el estado de peso no se asocian significativamente con la salud mental. Los resultados indican que la condición física y el estado de peso no constituyen elementos diferenciadores de la salud mental en escolares de 8 a 11 años del sureste español

Winds from clu\sters with non-uniform stellar distributions

We present analytic and numerical models of the `cluster wind' resulting from the multiple interactions of the winds ejected by the stars of a dense cluster of massive stars. We consider the case in which the distribution of stars (i.e., the number of stars per unit volume) within the cluster is spherically symmetric, has a power-law radial dependence, and drops discontinuously to zero at the outer radius of the cluster. We carry out comparisons between an analytic model (in which the stars are considered in terms of a spatially continuous injection of mass and energy) and 3D gasdynamic simulations (in which we include 100 stars with identical winds, located in 3D space by statistically sampling the stellar distribution function). From the analytic model, we find that for stellar distributions with steep enough radial dependencies the cluster wind flow develops a very high central density and a non-zero central velocity, and for steeper dependencies it becomes fully supersonic throughout the volume of the cluster (these properties are partially reproduced by the 3D numerical simulations). Therefore, the wind solutions obtained for stratified clusters can differ dramatically from the case of a homogeneous stellar distribution (which produces a cluster wind with zero central velocity, and a fully subsonic flow within the cluster radius). Finally, from our numerical simulations we compute predictions of X-ray emission maps and luminosities, which can be directly compared with observations of cluster wind flows.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures. MNRAS - Accepted 2007 June 29. Received 2007 June 28; in original form 2007 May 2

Statistical Analysis of Water Masers in Star-Forming Regions: Cepheus A and W75 N

We have done a statistical analysis of Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) data of water masers in the star-forming regions (SFRs) Cepheus A and W75 N, using correlation functions to study the spatial clustering and Doppler-velocity distribution of these masers. Two-point spatial correlation functions show a characteristic scale size for clusters of water maser spots < or ~1 AU, similar to the values found in other SFRs. This suggests that the scale for water maser excitation tends to be < or ~1 AU. Velocity correlation functions show power-law dependences with indices that can be explained by regular velocity fields, such as expansion and/or rotation. These velocity fields are similar to those indicated by the water maser proper-motion measurements; therefore, the velocity correlation functions appear to reveal the organized motion of water maser spots on scales larger than 1 AU.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, and 3 tables. Accepted by The Astrophysical Journa

A latitude-dependent wind model for Mira's cometary head

We present a 3D numerical simulation of the recently discovered cometary structure produced as Mira travels through the galactic ISM. In our simulation, we consider that Mira ejects a steady, latitude-dependent wind, which interacts with a homogeneous, streaming environment. The axisymmetry of the problem is broken by the lack of alignment between the direction of the relative motion of the environment and the polar axis of the latitude-dependent wind. With this model, we are able to produce a cometary head with a ``double bow shock'' which agrees well with the structure of the head of Mira's comet. We therefore conclude that a time-dependence in the ejected wind is not required for reproducing the observed double bow shock.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

¿Qué resultados de aprendizaje alcanzan los futuros maestros de Infantil cuando planifican unidades didácticas de ciencias?

En este trabajo se analizan los resultados de aprendizaje respecto a las ciencias, que alcanzan los futuros maestros y maestras de educación infantil cuando preparan unidades didácticas. Para ello, se ha construido un instrumento de análisis a partir de los resultados de aprendizaje que cabría esperar teniendo en cuenta las competencias que, para nuestra área de conocimiento, aparecen en la memoria de título de Grado de Maestro/a en Educación Infantil de la Universidad de Valencia. Tres investigadores independientes, haciendo uso de dicho instrumento, han analizado 19 unidades didácticas elaboradas por 76 alumnos del 4º curso durante dos cursos académicos consecutivos, cuando cursan la materia propia de Didáctica de las Ciencias. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto que, según aumenta la especificidad de los resultados de aprendizaje en el área de didáctica de las ciencias, menos consolidados están, lo que plantea una necesaria revisión tanto de los contenidos didácticos planteados, como de su desarrollo en los planes de estudio universitarios, con el fin de mejorar la formación inicial de maestros de educación infantil en el ámbito de la enseñanza de las ciencias. In this paper we analyze the learning results with regard to science that future teachers of early childhood education hope to obtain when they prepare teaching units while studying 'Teaching Science Education' as part of their Pre-school Education degree at the Valencia University. In order to carry out this objective, an analytical tool has been created, based on expected learning results, as regards the professional competencies specified by the accredited degree program for our area of knowledge. This tool has been used by three independent researchers to analyze 19 teaching units, prepared by 76 students during the last year of their degree during two academic years, when they studied the subject of Teaching Science. The results show that, as the specificity of expected learning results in the area of science increases, they become the less consolidated, which raises the necessity for a revision of teaching contents and their development in university curricula to improve the training of early childhood teachers in the field of teaching of science