Leadership conceptualization: an approach from the educational practice

Este artículo profundiza en la conceptualización del liderazgo desde el discurso que se genera en la práctica educativa tanto por el profesorado como por equipos directivos en Aragón. El objetivo que se pretende es conocer qué entienden por liderazgo y las connotaciones qué encierra dicha percepción. La metodología en la que se fundamenta este estudio es mixta y el análisis que se ha llevado a cabo ha sido descriptivo. Los resultados nos muestran que el liderazgo es un concepto complejo que la mayoría lo define como capacidad para dirigir. Pero a pesar de esta visión general, los profesores y maestros tienen visiones distintas sobre lo que significa liderar –capacidad para dirigir– y este es un hecho que nos preocupa porque incide directamente en la puesta en práctica del liderazgo, reduciendo el ejercicio del mismo a una práctica intuitivaThis article deals with the conceptualization of leadership obtained from the discourse generated in educational practice by teachers and by management teams in Aragon. The objective is to know their understanding of leadership and the connotations it holds that perception. The methodology of this study is mixed and the analysis carried out in the research is descriptive. The results show that leadership is a complex concept and that most of the teachers defines it as the ability to lead. But despite this overview, teachers have different views on the meaning of leadership –ability to lead–, and we are concerned with this fact because it affects the implementation of leadership, reducing its exercise to an intuitive practic

The current and future role of visual question answering in eXplainable artificial intelligence.

Over the last few years, we have seen how the interest of the computer science research community on eXplainable Artificial Intelligence has grown in leaps and bounds. The reason behind this rise is the use of Artificial Intelligence in many daily life tasks, and the consequent necessity of people to understand the intelligent systems' behaviour. Computer vision-related tasks are not an exception, for example, Visual Question Answering tasks. The Artificial Intelligence models that carry out this specific task make an effort to answer questions about what we can watch in a particular image. In this work, we review the existing work about eXplainable Artificial Intelligence on Visual Question Answering which is a problem on which there is still much work to be done. Moreover, we open the discussion about the challenges to overcome regarding this topic, like the future role of Visual Question Answering to address eXplainable Artificial Intelligence issues or difficulties

La situació del notariat català a la ciutat de Tarragona, a les darreries del segle XVI

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Análisis financiero, fiscal y bursátil del bitcoin y otras criptomonedas en contexto de futuro sostenible de las monedas digitales públicas y privadas

Este trabajo recoge tanto el marco teórico básico en el que se desarrollan las diversas transacciones de los principales tipos de criptoactivos como un análisis del impacto de los mismos en la vertiente fiscal, financiera y bursátil. Todo ello con la finalidad de poder determinar su sostenibilidad en el futuro. En atención a las diferentes materias, se estudia: la tributación actual de las criptomonedas en España y las medidas existentes para luchar contra el fraude fiscal; la innovación que han supuesto las criptomonedas en el sistema financiero tradicional y sus riesgos; la evolución bursátil que presentan las principales criptomonedas sin respaldo (BTC y ETH) y las stable coins (Tether USD y USD COIN), junto a sus rentabilidades y riesgos históricos, estableciéndose además el efecto de la caída de la plataforma de intercambio de criptomonedas (FTX).<br /

Mediterranean diet and olive oil, microbiota, and obesity-related cancers. From mechanisms to prevention

Olive oil (OO) is the main source of added fat in the Mediterranean diet (MD). It is a mix of bioactive compounds, including monounsaturated fatty acids, phytosterols, simple phenols, secoiridoids, flavonoids, and terpenoids. There is a growing body of evidence that MD and OO improve obesity-related factors. In addition, obesity has been associated with an increased risk for several cancers: endometrial, oesophageal adenocarcinoma, renal, pancreatic, hepatocellular, gastric cardia, meningioma, multiple myeloma, colorectal, postmenopausal breast, ovarian, gallbladder, and thyroid cancer. However, the epidemiological evidence linking MD and OO with these obesity-related cancers, and their potential mechanisms of action, especially those involving the gut microbiota, are not clearly described or understood. The goals of this review are 1) to update the current epidemiological knowledge on the associations between MD and OO consumption and obesity-related cancers, 2) to identify the gut microbiota mechanisms involved in obesity-related cancers, and 3) to report the effects of MD and OO on these mechanisms

During gait with crutches

The goal of this study was to develop a three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic model of the right upper extremity and a Lofstrand crutch in order to analyze joint displacements and loads during crutch-assisted gait. A Lofstrand crutch was instrumented with a six-component load cell to measure forces and moments at the crutch tip. The crutch and the right upper extremity of a subject were instrumented with markers to obtain kinematic data. A biomechanical model based on rigid bodies was implemented in biomechanical analysis software. To demonstrate the functionality of the model, a pilot test was conducted on one healthy individual during Lofstrand crutch-assisted gait. The shoulder extended during the support phase and flexed in the swing phase, the elbow flexed during the swing, and the wrist remained in extension throughout the cycle. In the shoulder and elbow joints, the predominant reaction forces were upward, whereas the internal force moments were flexion and extension, respectively. This tool will be useful when it comes to identifying risk factors for joint pathology associated with pattern gait, aid design or crutch overuse.Peer Reviewe

Insights and future directions for the application of perinatal derivatives in eye diseases: A critical review of preclinical and clinical studies.

Perinatal derivatives (PnD) are gaining interest as a source for cell-based therapies. Since the eye is easily accessible to local administration, eye diseases may be excellent candidates to evaluate novel therapeutic approaches. With this work, we performed a systematic review of published preclinical and clinical studies addressing PnD in the treatment of ocular diseases. We have set two specific objectives: (i) to investigate the current level of standardization in applied technical procedures in preclinical studies and (ii) to assess clinical efficacy in clinical trials. Hereto, we selected studies that applied amniotic membrane (hAM) and mesenchymal stromal cells derived from amniotic membrane (hAMSC), placenta (hPMSC), umbilical cord (hUC-MSC) and Wharton's Jelly (hUC-WJ-MSC), excluding those where cells were not transplanted individually, following a systematic PubMed search for preclinical studies and consultation of clinical studies on https://clinicaltrials.gov and https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/. Our bibliographic search retrieved 26 pre-clinical studies and 27 clinical trials. There was a considerable overlap regarding targeted ocular structures. Another common feature is the marked tendency towards (i) locally administered treatments and (ii) the PnD type. In the cornea/ocular surface, hAM was preferred and usually applied directly covering the ocular surface. For neuroretinal disorders, intra-ocular injection of umbilical or placental-derived cells was preferred. In general, basic research reported favourable outcomes. However, due to lack of standardization between different studies, until now there is no clear consensus regarding the fate of administered PnD or their mode of action. This might be accountable for the low index of clinical translation. Regarding clinical trials, only a minority provided results and a considerable proportion is in "unknown status". Nevertheless, from the limited clinical evidence available, hAM proved beneficial in the symptomatic relief of bullous keratopathy, treating dry eye disease and preventing glaucoma drainage device tube exposure. Regarding neuroretinal diseases, application of Wharton's Jelly MSC seems to become a promising future approach. In conclusion, PnD-based therapies seem to be beneficial in the treatment of several ocular diseases. However, much is yet to be done both in the pre-clinical and in the clinical setting before they can be included in the daily ophthalmic practice

Early Events in Retinal Degeneration Caused by Rhodopsin Mutation or Pigment Epithelium Malfunction: Differences and Similarities

To study the course of photoreceptor cell death and macro and microglial reactivity in two rat models of retinal degeneration with different etiologies. Retinas from P23H-1 (rhodopsin mutation) and Royal College of Surgeon (RCS, pigment epithelium malfunction) rats and age-matched control animals (Sprague-Dawley and Pievald Viro Glaxo, respectively) were cross-sectioned at different postnatal ages (from P10 to P60) and rhodopsin, L/M- and S-opsin, ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1), glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) proteins were immunodetected. Photoreceptor nuclei rows and microglial cells in the different retinal layers were quantified. Photoreceptor degeneration starts earlier and progresses quicker in P23H-1 than in RCS rats. In both models, microglial cell activation occurs simultaneously with the initiation of photoreceptor death while GFAP over-expression starts later. As degeneration progresses, the numbers of microglial cells increase in the retina, but decreasing in the inner retina and increasing in the outer retina, more markedly in RCS rats. Interestingly, and in contrast with healthy animals, microglial cells reach the outer nuclei and outer segment layers. The higher number of microglial cells in dystrophic retinas cannot be fully accounted by intraretinal migration and PCNA immunodetection revealed microglial proliferation in both models but more importantly in RCS rats. The etiology of retinal degeneration determines the initiation and pattern of photoreceptor cell death and simultaneously there is microglial activation and migration, while the macroglial response is delayed. The actions of microglial cells in the degeneration cannot be explained only in the basis of photoreceptor death because they participate more actively in the RCS model. Thus, the retinal degeneration caused by pigment epithelium malfunction is more inflammatory and would probably respond better to interventions by inhibiting microglial cells.Fundación Séneca, Agencia de Ciencia y Tecnología Región de Murcia (19881/GERM/15) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional “Una Manera de Hacer Europa” ISCIII-FEDER PI16/00380, PI16/00031, RD16/0008/0026, RD16/0008/0016, SAF2015-67643