Recommendations and guidelines for applied nutrition experiments in rabbits

[EN] The aim of this paper was to draw up a set of recommendations for applied nutrition and feeding trials with rabbits, in relation to certain aspects such as determining the nutritive value of raw materials or diets in growing or reproducing animals, studying digestive physiology and obtaining growth and reproduction parameters. We deal first with animals, size of the sample, housing conditions, diets, handling, measurements, and the data analyses relevant to the design of the experiment are described. Secondly, we give a list of recommended items and include some comments.This study was partly supported by the EUROPEAN COMMISSION (ERAFE program and the COST 848 Action).Fernández-Carmona, J.; Blas, E.; Pascual Amorós, JJ.; Maertens, L.; Gidenne, T.; Xiccato, G.; García, J. (2005). Recommendations and guidelines for applied nutrition experiments in rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 13. doi:10.4995/wrs.2005.516SWORD1

Sowing the seeds of educational leadership from the teacher training classroom

Este estudio se plantea identificar los modelos de liderazgo que los futuros docentes asocian a la función directiva. Se ha contado con la participación de 72 estudiantes de los Grados de Maestro en Educación Infantil y en Educación Primaria, de la Facultad de Educación (Universidad de Alicante). Se administró un cuestionario integrado por diez preguntas abiertas, con la intención de conocer su opinión sobre los modelos de liderazgo, la formación recibida al respecto y las motivaciones que les llevarían a ocupar este cargo en su futuro desempeño profesional. De éstas, en este estudio, se han considerado las referidas a los modelos de liderazgo. Se realizó un análisis de contenido inductivo, dentro del marco de la metodología cualitativa. Para el tratamiento de los datos se empleó el software Aquad 7. De los resultados se deduce que los participantes tienden a vincular al director/a con un modelo de liderazgo para la gestión, de carácter individual, al que otorgan una responsabilidad muy elevada. Estas opiniones podrían estar condicionadas por su experiencia educativa previa. Por tanto, se considera preciso trabajar en los centros de formación del profesorado para completar esta visión y alinearla con los modelos de liderazgo de carácter más social y distribuidoThis study aims to identify the leadership models that teachers in training associate with the principalship function. The participants were 72 students on the Degrees in Preschool Education and Primary Education at the Faculty of Education (University of Alicante), who were administered a questionnaire comprising ten open questions in order to find out their opinions on leadership models, the training given in this area and the motivations that would lead them to become principals in the course of their careers. Regarding these opinions, only those involving leadership models are considered in this study. An inductive content analysis within the framework of qualitative methodology was performed. Aquad 7 software was used to process the data. It can be deduced from the results that the participants tend to connect the principal with a managerial leadership model of an individualist character, which they associate with great responsibility. These opinions could be conditioned by their previous experience in education. It is essential, therefore, that teacher training centres should work to make this view more complete and bring it into line with more social, distributed leadership model

School management: A tightrope job?

Este estudio se llevó a cabo con el objetivo de reconocer las dificultades que plantea el desempeño de la función directiva. Para ello, se contó con la participación de 80 directores y directoras de centros educativos de la provincia de Alicante, a quienes se administró una escala tipo Likert sobre su experiencia en torno a la dirección escolar. Concretamente, se presentan los resultados referidos a las trabas e impedimentos que los líderes escolares han de afrontar en el cargo. Los datos aportados fueron procesados con el apoyo del software SPSS .21, con el que se realizó un estudio descriptivo básico. De los resultados se deduce que las tareas que les exigen un mayor esfuerzo están relacionadas con la gestión del tiempo y el impulso de la innovación educativa. Asimismo, subrayan la complejidad que supone la colaboración del equipo docente y del entorno familiar. Frente a ello, destacan que la relación con el personal no docente y la coordinación con el resto de miembros del equipo directivo son las funciones que entrañan una menor dificultad. Atender estos aspectos resulta crucial para mejorar el rendimiento de los líderes escolares y, en última instancia, superar la desafección que suele despertar la función directivaThis study was carried out in order to recognize the difficulties which the performance of the principalship function implies. To achieve this goal, 80 principals took part in the study, all of them from schools in the province of Alicante, who were administered a Likert scale about their experience in principalship. Specifically, the results refer to the obstacles and impediments that leaders must face in their position. The data provided were processed with the support of the SPSS. 21 software, with which a basic descriptive study was performed. From the results, it is deduced that the tasks which demand a greater effort are related to the management of time and the impulse of educational innovation. They also stress the complexity involved in the collaboration of the teaching team and the family environment. According to this, they emphasize that the relationship with the non-teaching staff and the coordination with the rest of the members of the management team are the functions that entail less difficulty. Addressing these aspects is crucial to improve the performance of school leaders and, ultimately, to overcome the disaffection that usually awakens the principalshi

The access to the principalship: A challenge aimed at improving the educational community

Este estudio se planteó con el propósito de conocer los motivos que animaron a un total de 80 directores/as de centros educativos públicos, de la provincia de Alicante, a presentarse al cargo, así como de valorar otros factores relevantes de dicho procedimiento. Todos ellos cumplimentaron un cuestionario, a partir de cuya información se realizó un análisis descriptivo con el apoyo del programa SPSS .21. De los resultados se deduce que la mayoría accedió – desde alguno de los cargos del equipo directivo y habiéndose presentado únicamente su candidatura – para contribuir a la mejora de los centros y para dar alcance a un reto profesional. Asimismo, a la hora de seleccionar a los miembros de su equipo, se decantaron por sus cualidades profesionales. Se concluye que resulta de interés considerar estos aspectos, que contribuyen a dibujar el perfil profesional de los directores/as, para: (1) reconocer el compromiso que adquieren con su tarea; y, (2) orientar el diseño y desarrollo de políticas educativas que incrementen la atracción por este cargoThis study aims to identify the reasons that encouraged 80 principals, from public educational centres at the region of Alicante, to access the post and to assess other relevant factors of this process. All of them completed a questionnaire which data served for doing a descriptive analysis with the support of the software SPSS .21. From the results, it can be deduced that the majority accessed to the post – from some of one of the positions of the principal team and having submitted only their candidacy – to contribute to the improvement of the educational community and to reach a professional challenge. Additionally, at the time to select the other members of the team, they clearly considered their professional skills. It is concluded that the results are relevant because they allow to draw the principals’ professional profile that serves to: (1) recognise the commitment that they acquire with their task; and, (2), guide the design and development of educational policies with capacity to increase the attraction for the principalshi

Relations at Order p6p^6 in Chiral Perturbation Theory

We report on a search of relations valid at order $p^6$ in Chiral Perturbation Theory. We have found relations between $\pi\pi$, $\pi K$ scattering, $K_{\ell4}$ decays, masses and decay constants and scalar and vector form factors. In this paper we give the relations and a first numerical check of them.Comment: 18 pages, numerical discussion extended including a new figur

The social support in kinship foster care: a way to enhance resilience.

This paper analyses how social support enhances family resilience in kinship foster families by involving the families in an educational group programme. Sixty-two kinship foster families from Spain participated in the research. The data were collected before the programme (interviews) and after the programme (interviews and focus groups), and it was analysed by content analysis with the program Atlas.ti. The results show that the factors that contribute most to the development of family resilience are (i) feeling able to look for solutions when faced with problems; (ii) an increase of their network of formal support; (iii) being able to offer support to other foster families; and (iv) feeling that the support they give to parents' foster children is socially recognized

Relaxation of ceramic tile stresses generated by fast drying: a kinetic model

[EN] Unfired tile mechanical properties are very important in the ceramic tile manufacturing process. Inadequate mechanical properties lead to rejects (both in unfired and fired tiles). Unfired tile mechanical strength changes significantly after the tiles exit the industrial dryer. This behaviour can be explained by assuming that the fast-drying process generates stresses in the tile, which subsequently relax. A kinetic model has been derived, based on Maxwell’s viscoelastic elements, which explains the development of dried tile mechanical strength. This increases asymptotically when the dried tiles are stored in dry conditions. However, if tiles adsorb humidity (upon exiting the dryer), tile mechanical strength rises and then decreases. This is the result of two opposing phenomena: stress relaxation raises mechanical strength while the concurrent rise in moisture content lowers mechanical strength. The developed model successfully describes this joint mechanical behaviour.Amorós, JL.; Cantavella, V.; Blasco, E. (2018). Relaxation of ceramic tile stresses generated by fast drying: a kinetic model. En IDS 2018. 21st International Drying Symposium Proceedings. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 773-780. https://doi.org/10.4995/IDS2018.2018.7449OCS77378

A new strategy to maximize organic matter valorization in municipalities: combination of urban wastewater with kitchen food waste and its treatment with AnMBR technology

[EN] The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of treating the kitchen food waste (FW) jointly with urban wastewater (WW) in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) by anaerobic membrane technology (AnMBR). The experience was carried out in six different periods in an AnMBR pilot-plant for a total of 536 days, varying the SRT, HRT and the food waste penetration factor (PF) of food waste disposers. The results showed increased methane production of up to 190% at 70 days SRT, 24 hours HRT and 80% PF, compared with WW treatment only. FW COD and biodegradability were higher than in WW, so that the incorporation of FW into the treatment increases the organic load and the methane production and reduces sludge production (0.142 vs 0.614 kg VSSkg removed COD-1, at 70 days SRT, 24 hours HRT and 80% PF, as compared to WW treatment only).This research work was possible thanks to financial support from Generalitat Valenciana (project PROMETE0/2012/029) which is gratefully acknowledged. Besides, support from FCC Aqualia participation in INNPRONTA 2011 IISIS IPT-20111023 project (partially funded by The Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) and from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness) is gratefully acknowledged.Moñino Amorós, P.; Aguado García, D.; Barat, R.; Jiménez, E.; Giménez, J.; Seco, A.; Ferrer, J. (2017). A new strategy to maximize organic matter valorization in municipalities: combination of urban wastewater with kitchen food waste and its treatment with AnMBR technology. Waste Management. 62:274-289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.02.006S2742896

Qualitative study in Loop Quantum Cosmology

This work contains a detailed qualitative analysis, in General Relativity and in Loop Quantum Cosmology, of the dynamics in the associated phase space of a scalar field minimally coupled with gravity, whose potential mimics the dynamics of a perfect fluid with a linear Equation of State (EoS). Dealing with the orbits (solutions) of the system, we will see that there are analytic ones, which lead to the same dynamics as the perfect fluid, and our goal is to check their stability, depending on the value of the EoS parameter, i.e., to show whether the other orbits converge or diverge to these analytic solutions at early and late times.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. Version accepted for publication in CQ

Low Cost Semi Automated Assembly Unit for Small Size Back Contact Modules and Low Cost Interconnection Approach

AbstractWe present our low cost assembly unit to manufacture back contact solar modules based on the conductive backsheet (CBS) approach. This in house developed apparatus was built to assemble test modules containing one up to four 6 inch back contact solar cells. The system is a retrofit of a commercially available CNC system which is equipped with a cell grabber and a manual dispensing system (by Nordson). The total cost of the setup was roughly 4000 € excluding the dispenser unit. Using this equipment we assembled several small size modules containing one and four Zebra cells, which are low cost 6 inch IBC solar cells developed at ISC Konstanz [1,2]. The contact between copper backsheet and back contact cell of the one cell modules we present here is formed by low temperature solder paste (LTSP). First cell to module (CTM) loss evaluations and reliability results suggest that this material could be a viable alternative to electrically conductive adhesive (ECA) which is currently the most commonly used material for this purpose