Talleres motivacionales en la enseñanza de Estadística Básica

En numerosas titulaciones encontramos que aparecen asignaturas de Estadística dentro del bloque de Materias Básicas. Se trata de asignaturas fundamentales para las diferentes titulaciones, ya que en ellas se proporcionan herramientas e instrumentos que serán de gran utilidad para el desarrollo profesional de los estudiantes, aunque se trate de diferentes grados, como Trabajo Social, Relaciones Laborales y Recursos Humanos o Turismo, donde el contenido es similar, aunque el ámbito sugiera distintas situaciones de aplicación. Dicha asignatura de Estadística básica supone generalmente un bloqueo para el alumnado, ya que al no poseer una base matemática demasiado fuerte, se enfrenta a dicha asignatura con temor. En este trabajo se expone la experiencia realizada para enfocar la asignatura de Estadística en titulaciones que no son de ciencias y tecnología, de una manera más amigable, mediante el desarrollo de talleres que se han realizado a lo largo del cuatrimestre en el que se imparte la asignatura, para favorecer la adquisición de las competencias asignadas a las asignaturas. En concreto, se exponen cinco talleres motivacionales realizados en la mayoría de los casos mediante el uso de objetos manipulables, con los que se han conseguido reducir el nivel de abstracción de algunos conceptos teóricos fundamentales, aplicados a la parte de Estadística Descriptiva, Probabilidad e Inferencia Estadística. Según el alumnado encuestado tras la aplicación de los talleres motivacionales, ha sido conseguido el objetivo de aumentar la motivación por la asignatura

Enrichment potential of HUFA-rich thraustochytrid Schizochytrium mangrovei for the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis

An enrichment experiment was performed to evaluate the changes in lipid and essential fatty acid contents of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis fed with freeze-dried cells of tropical thraustochytrid Schizochytrium mangrovei (Isolate IAo-1). Rotifers starved for 24 h were fed with S. mangrovei cells at 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 mg L−1. Enrichment was carried out at two periods (Short-term = 5 h; Long-term = 10 h) to determine the optimum time needed for the maximum enrichment of the rotifers. There was an overall significant increase in the total lipid, arachidonic acid (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) contents of rotifers after feeding with freeze-dried S. mangrovei indicating the successful uptake of these nutrients in the rotifer's biochemical composition. On the other hand, docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) did not change significantly in enriched rotifers. Results of the present study indicate that both factors, feeding concentrations and enrichment periods, significantly affected the lipid, AA and DHA contents of rotifers. Uptakes of lipid, AA and DHA significantly increased with increasing feeding concentrations except for those fed the highest feeding concentration of 700 mg L−1 for 10 h. Moreover, lipid and AA contents of enriched rotifers were significantly higher during the short-term enrichment period while DHA contents were significantly higher during the long-term enrichment period. Therefore, it is concluded that the feeding concentration of 700 mg L−1 at an enrichment period of 5 h is optimum in the AA and DHA enrichment of rotifers. The strategic scheme of combining the proper amount of enrichment product and the duration of enrichment in boosting the DHA contents of rotifers will effectively ensure a reliable production of nutritionally superior rotifers at a minimal cost. This will ultimately contribute to the success of rearing marine fish larvae in the hatchery.The authors thank Dr. Josephine Nocillado for her critical review of the manuscript. This study is funded by SEAFDEC/AQD under the Study Code: NR-05-F99T

User-centred design for developing e-Health system for renal patients at home (AppNephro)

Background Despite the promising benefits of the e-Health approaches (including provide technology-based healthcare services to anyone, anytime, and anywhere), few solutions are adopted in daily practice. User acceptance is one of the major obstacles that hinder the success of technology approaches. End-users often stress misalignments among their problems and the solutions that technology systems aim to solve. In other cases, systems developed are unfriendly or unadjusted to the daily practice of clinicians or patient’s life. To maximize user acceptance, the relevance of adopting user-centred design and development techniques is well-known. However, users are often assumed to be a homogeneous group with the same set of requirements, what leads to an ineffective identification and addressment of user requirements. Furthermore, usability and accessibility issues must be carefully addressed to guarantee also the right alignment of solutions with user needs. Objective to develop an e-Health system for renal patients at home by adopting user-centred design practices, usability and accessibility standards. Material and methods users were categorized in four different groups (i.e., digital patients/caregivers, non-digital patients/caregivers, clinicians and nurses) and a sample was included in the design and development team. Questionnaires and interviews were used to identify user requirements and assess prototypes. Results Requirements were considered for every kind of user, what resulted on a multi-faceted e-Health system implying different technologies and functionalities regarding to each target user. Conclusion Identification and continuous involvement of all kind of users allow their needs to be properly understood and addressed by technology, raising user acceptance of the final product

Maharlika Investment Fund: Still beyond repair

The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is pushing for the creation of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF). Originally proposed as a sovereign wealth fund, the MIF later on morphed into what can be called a sovereign investment fund (SIF): a state-owned investment fund that aims to reap returns from financial investments as well as economic returns from developmental projects like infrastructure. We find that the MIF violates fundamental principles of economics and finance and poses serious risks to the economy and the public sector - notwithstanding its proponents' good intentions. First, the raison d'être of the MIF remains unclear even as it has already hurdled both houses of Congress. Second, due to its confused goals, the MIF bill does not adequately articulate and take account of several implications of the fund's dual-bottom line objective. Third, the manner of funding the MIF poses huge risks to our already strained public coffers and is vulnerable to moral hazard. Fourth, red flags abound in the MIC's governance structure. Fifth, with elevated global economic headwinds and uncertainties, it is unlikely that MIF will be able to "crowd-in" investments and eke out returns that are large enough for the fund to grow substantially to finance development projects. Sixth, the preoccupation with this defective proposal has diverted attention from more vital and urgent national agenda that the administration itself has rightly identified, notably the need to reform the retirement and pension system for military and uniformed personnel. In view of the foregoing, we call upon President Marcos to seriously reconsider the final approval of the MIF bill, and present before the public a clear and solid rationale for setting it up in the first place. We also call on our former and present colleagues who are now part of the Marcos economic team to reconsider their position on the MIF and advise the President accordingly, in line with their best appreciation of their discipline and the reservations expressed by the rest of the economics profession of the country

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)