Colaboración entre PAS y PDI para el desarrollo de competencias genéricas: primeros resultados y lecciones aprendidas

Este artículo presenta un proyecto, propuesto por un equipo de PDI y PAS de la Universidad de Málaga, para realizar algunas mejoras en el desarrollo de competencias genéricas en los grados de ingeniería. Para evaluar su viabilidad, el equipo comenzó planteando una experiencia piloto enfocada sobre un conjunto limitado de competencias y sobre un contexto académico reducido. La experiencia piloto, sus resultados y los retos para una futura ampliación se discuten también aquí.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Una experiencia para introducir la competencia de Planificación y Gestión del Tiempo en un grado de ingeniería

En este trabajo se presenta una experiencia de integración y desarrollo de la competencia de Planificación y Gestión del Tiempo a través de dos asignaturas consecutivas en alumnos de ingeniería. Para ello se ha desarrollado una variante simplificada de técnicas ya existentes, que permita a los alumnos un acercamiento al tema sin sobrecargas apreciables.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Red iberoamericana de intercambio académico en estudios ambientales (UMA-PIMA): seis años ampliando las oportunidades formativas de estudiantes de grado a ambos lados del Atlantico

PIMA es el Programa de Intercambio y Movilidad Académica para estudiantes de grado promovido por la Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos (OEI), que cuenta con el apoyo de la Secretaría General de Universidades, Investigación y Tecnología de la Junta de Andalucía. Este programa está estructurado en redes temáticas constituidas por instituciones de educación superior de al menos tres países integrantes del programa. Los objetivos principales del programa son el fortalecimiento de la relación interinstitucional en el campo de la enseñanza superior, dándole una dimensión iberoamericana, y el facilitar a los estudiantes de grado el conocimiento de otras realidades universitarias existentes mediante su incorporación durante cuatro meses a otra universidad iberoamericana, con la garantía del reconocimiento académico de los estudios cursados. Desde el curso 2013-2014, y de manera ininterrumpida hasta la actualidad, la Universidad de Málaga (UMA) coordina la red PIMA Red Iberoamericana de Intercambio Académico en Estudios Ambientales. Esta red ha estado formada desde sus inicios por la Universidad Federal da Bahía (UFBA) (Brasil), la Universidad Nacional Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo (UNASAM) (Perú) y la UMA, si bien sufrió la baja de la Universidad de Guadalajara (México) y la incorporación de la Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) (Ecuador) de manera reciente. Esta red PIMA se centra en movilidades de estudiantes que cursan grados de estudios ambientales, como los Grados en Biología y Ciencias Ambientales, e Ingeniería Ambiental. Hasta el momento más de veinte estudiantes de cuatro nacionalidades diferentes se han beneficiado de las ayudas económicas que aporta esta red PIMA, para que cursen un semestre en otra institución iberoamericana. El presente trabajo analiza los perfiles de los estudiantes y las características académicas de sus movilidades.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Looking for answers to food loss and waste management in Spain from a holistic nutritional and economic approach

The generation of food loss and waste (FLW) is a global problem for worldwide politics. About one-third of the food produced ends up in the rubbish before it is consumed. For this reason, it is essential to design and implement new strategies along the food supply chain (FSC) with the aim of reducing this FLW at each stage. However, not only mass quantification should be considered, but also economic and nutritional performance. The novelty of this study is the definition of a methodology based on the “distance to target” approach by means of multi-objective optimization to evaluate the economic and nutritional cost produced by this FLW. This methodology was applied to the Spanish food basket in 2015. The results revealed that 80% of the total FLW generated in economic and nutritional terms is concentrated in the agricultural production (53.3%) and consumption (26.3%) stages. In the first stages of the FSC, fruits (Dn eq.= 0.7), cereals (Dn eq.= 0.61), and vegetables (Dn eq.= 0.57) were the furthest from the distance target due to the great amount of FLW generated. Moreover, according to the normalized weighted distances obtained from the minimization of economic and nutritional cost, pulses (Dn eq. = 0.05–0.03) and eggs (Dn eq. = 0.02) were the more efficient food categories. The methodology described in this study proposes a single index to quantify the economic and nutritional cost of different food categories to facilitate the decision-making process. This index makes possible the definition of reduction strategies focused on specific food categories and depending on the FSC stage.This research was funded by Spanish Ministry of Science and Competitiveness, grant number CERES-PROCON Project CTM2016-76176 (AEI/FEDER, UE) and KAIROS-BIOCIR Project PID2019-104925RB (AEO/FEDER, UE)

Applied diagnostics in liver cancer. Efficient combinations of sorafenib with targeted inhibitors blocking AKT/mTOR

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. There is increasing interest in developing specific markers to serve as predictors of response to sorafenib and to guide targeted therapy. Using a sequencing platform designed to study somatic mutations in a selection of 112 genes (HepatoExome), we aimed to characterize lesions from HCC patients and cell lines, and to use the data to study the biological and mechanistic effects of case-specific targeted therapies used alone or in combination with sorafenib. We characterized 331 HCC cases in silico and 32 paired samples obtained prospectively from primary tumors of HCC patients. Each case was analyzed in a time compatible with the requirements of the clinic (within 15 days). In 53% of the discovery cohort cases, we detected unique mutational signatures, with up to 34% of them carrying mutated genes with the potential to guide therapy. In a panel of HCC cell lines, each characterized by a specific mutational signature, sorafenib elicited heterogeneous mechanistic and biological responses, whereas targeted therapy provoked the robust inhibition of cell proliferation and DNA synthesis along with the blockage of AKT/mTOR signaling. The combination of sorafenib with targeted therapies exhibited synergistic anti-HCC biological activity concomitantly with highly effective inhibition of MAPK and AKT/mTOR signaling. Thus, somatic mutations may lead to identify case-specific mechanisms of disease in HCC lesions arising from multiple etiologies. Moreover, targeted therapies guided by molecular characterization, used alone or in combination with sorafenib, can effectively block important HCC disease mechanisms.FUNDING: Grants from ISCIII, co-financed by the European Union (FEDER) (PI16/00156), Ramón and Cajal research program from MINECO (RYC-2013-14097) and FUNDACIÓN LUCHAMOS POR LA VIDA to JPV. Grants from ISCIII (RD06/0020/0107-RD012/0036/0060) to MAP. Grant from ISCIII (Ref. PIE15/00079) to JC & JPV. NGD is a recipient of a UC-IDIVAL pre-doctoral fellow. I.V. was also supported by the Ramón and Cajal research program

Shared Oncogenic Pathways Implicated in Both Virus-Positive and UV-Induced Merkel Cell Carcinomas

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a highly malignant neuroendocrine tumor of the skin whose molecular pathogenesis is not completely understood, despite the role that Merkel cell polyomavirus can play in 55e90% of cases. To study potential mechanisms driving this disease in clinically characterized cases, we searched for somatic mutations using whole-exome sequencing, and extrapolated our findings to study functional biomarkers reporting on the activity of the mutated pathways. Confirming previous results, Merkel cell polyomavirus-negative tumors had higher mutational loads with UV signatures and more frequent mutations in TP53 and RB compared with their Merkel cell polyomavirus-positive counterparts. Despite important genetic differences, the two Merkel cell carcinoma etiologies both exhibited nuclear accumulation of oncogenic transcription factors such as NFAT or nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT), P-CREB, and P-STAT3, indicating commonly deregulated pathogenic mechanisms with the potential to serve as targets for therapy. A multivariable analysis identified phosphorylated CRE-binding protein as an independent survival factor with respect to clinical variables and Merkel cell polyomavirus status in our cohort of Merkel cell carcinoma patients.This work was supported by grants from Instituto de Salud-Carlos III (ISCIII); cofinanced by the European Union; (FEDER) (PI12/00357), and a Ramón and Cajal research program (MINECO; RYC-2013-14097) to JPV, Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer and ISCIII grants (RD06/0020/0107, RD012/0036/0060) to MAP, and Coordinated Project of Excellence inter-Institutos de investigación acreditados institutes (ISCIII; PIE15/00081) to MAP. The Ramón and Cajal research program also supports IV. SD was supported by the Torres Quevedo subprogram (MICINN; PTQ-12-05391)

Effectiveness of a clinical practice guideline implementation strategy for patients with anxiety disorders in primary care: cluster randomized trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anxiety is a common mental health problem seen in primary care. However, its management in clinical practice varies greatly. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have the potential to reduce variations and improve the care received by patients by promoting interventions of proven benefit. However, uptake and adherence to their recommendations can be low.</p> <p>Method/design</p> <p>This study involves a community based on cluster randomized trial in primary healthcare centres in the Madrid Region (Spain). The project aims to determine whether the use of implementation strategy (including training session, information, opinion leader, reminders, audit, and feed-back) of CPG for patients with anxiety disorders in primary care is more effective than usual diffusion.</p> <p>The number of patients required is 296 (148 in each arm), all older than 18 years and diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and panic attacks by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV). They are chosen by consecutive sampling.</p> <p>The main outcome variable is the change in two or more points into Goldberg anxiety scale at six and twelve months. Secondary outcome variables include quality of life (EuroQol 5D), and degree of compliance with the CPG recommendations on treatment, information, and referrals to mental health services. Main effectiveness will be analyzed by comparing the patients percentage improvement on the Goldberg scale between the intervention group and the control group. Logistic regression with random effects will be used to adjust for prognostic factors. Confounding factors or factors that might alter the effect recorded will be taken into account in this analysis.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>There is a need to identify effective implementation strategies for CPG for the management of anxiety disorders present in primary care. Ensuring the appropriate uptake of guideline recommendations can reduce clinical variation and improve the care patients receive.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN: <a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN83365316">ISRCTN83365316</a></p

Sistema estatal de indicadores de la educación 2004 : proyecto

Resumen basado en el de la publicaciónContiene anexosTítulo de la cubierta: Sistema estatal de indicadores de la educación : proyecto 2004Se presenta el tercer proyecto del Sistema Estatal de Indicadores de la Educación. Este va acompañado de cuatro anexos: el primero presenta los indicadores propuestos en el proyecto acompañados de sus definiciones, las desagregaciones en que se presentarían los datos y las posibles fuentes de datos. El segundo contempla en paralelo los indicadores que se proponen para el 2004 y los que figuran en las ediciones de 2000 y 2002. El tercero contiene una selección de otros sistemas de indicadores educativos, bien internacionales o de otros países; los indicadores de que constan estos sistemas se distribuyen en los marcos de referencia en que están organizados. Aquellos indicadores comunes con los del Sistema Estatal de Endicadores de la Educación van seguidos de la sigla del indicador correspondiente en este sistema. Finalmente, el cuarto presenta para cada uno de los indicadores que se proponen en el proyecto, qué organizaciones, países y comunidades autónomas lo contienen en sus respectivos sistemas de indicadores.ES

Skilful forecasting of global fire activity using seasonal climate predictions

Societal exposure to large fires has been increasing in recent years. Estimating the expected fire activity a few months in advance would allow reducing environmental and socio-economic impacts through short-term adaptation and response to climate variability and change. However, seasonal prediction of climate-driven fires is still in its infancy. Here, we discuss a strategy for seasonally forecasting burned area anomalies linking seasonal climate predictions with parsimonious empirical climate-fire models using the standardized precipitation index as the climate predictor for burned area. Assuming near-perfect climate predictions, we obtained skilful predictions of fire activity over a substantial portion of the global burnable area (~60%). Using currently available operational seasonal climate predictions, the skill of fire seasonal forecasts remains high and significant in a large fraction of the burnable area (~40%). These findings reveal an untapped and useful burned area predictive ability using seasonal climate forecasts, which can play a crucial role in fire management strategies and minimise the impact of adverse climate conditions