Evaluation of the police operational tactical procedures for reducing officer injuries resulting from physical interventions in problematic arrests. The case of the Municipal Police of Cádiz (Spain)

Objectives: This paper describes some operational tactical procedures (OTP) and discusses the results of a 14-year-long study, spanning the period 2003-2016, conducted by the Municipal Police of Cadiz, Spain, which comprised 3 time periods: 2003-2006, when the officers were trained in traditional policing procedures; 2007-2013, when the officers were taught an innovative set of OTP in the form of a basic set of self-defense and arrest mechanisms, different from the traditional policing procedures that rely on martial arts and combat sports; and finally 2014-2016, when the OTP training was discontinued. The aim of this study was to improve policing and reduce officer injuries resulting from interventions in controversial or violent situations, such as problematic arrests. Material and Methods: The study involved 162 police officers and commanders of the Municipal Police of Cadiz, who were in street duty for their first time. There were 8 females and 154 males aged 24-55 years. Three OTP stages are shown as examples. Results: Based on the analysis of "training hours" and "physical interventions in problematic arrests," the results were: 1) the number of sick leaves in the police was identical according to the number of arrests, and 2) data on sick leaves show remarkable differences among the 3 periods under analysis. Conclusions: The OTP-based training substantially reduced officer sick leaves. The overall reduction in sick leaves in the period 2007-2013 was observed that cannot be ascribed to a decrease in criminal acts, and hence in police physical interventions

Vicisitudes de la implantación de la mediación en España

In this article I will try to give a brushstroke on the presence of mediation in our society and, above all, its implementation in our system, judicial and extrajudicial, of conflict resolution, on the occasion of the recent publication of the Draft Law on Measures of Procedural Efficiency of the Public Justice Service.En el presente artículo trataré de dar una pincelada sobre la presencia de la mediación en nuestra sociedad y, sobre todo, su implantación en nuestro sistema, judicial y extrajudicial, de resolución de conflictos, con ocasión de la reciente publicación del Anteproyecto de Ley de Medidas de Eficiencia Procesal del Servicio Público de Justicia

Variable-based multi-module data caches for clustered VLIW processors

Memory structures consume an important fraction of the total processor energy. One solution to reduce the energy consumed by cache memories consists of reducing their supply voltage and/or increase their threshold voltage at an expense in access time. We propose to divide the L1 data cache into two cache modules for a clustered VLIW processor consisting of two clusters. Such division is done on a variable basis so that the address of a datum determines its location. Each cache module is assigned to a cluster and can be set up as a fast power-hungry module or as a slow power-aware module. We also present compiler techniques in order to distribute variables between the two cache modules and generate code accordingly. We have explored several cache configurations using the Mediabench suite and we have observed that the best distributed cache organization outperforms traditional cache organizations by 19%-31% in energy-delay and by 11%-29% in energy-delay. In addition, we also explore a reconfigurable distributed cache, where the cache can be reconfigured on a context switch. This reconfigurable scheme further outperforms the best previous distributed organization by 3%-4%.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Effect of a short-term physical education-based flexibility program on hamstring and lumbar extensibility and its posterior reduction in primary schoolchildren

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a short-term flexibility program on hamstring and lumbar extensibility and its posterior reduction among primary schoolchildren in a physical education (PE) setting. Forty-five 10-to-11-year-old schoolchildren from two classes were clustered randomly to an experimental group (EG) (n=22) or a control group (CG) (n=23). During the PE classes, the students in EG performed a six-minute flexibility program twice a week for eight weeks. Subsequently, these students underwent a five-week detraining period. The results of the two-way ANOVA showed that the intervention program significantly increased the students’ hamstring and lumbar extensibility (pretest=15.7±7.0 cm; posttest=18.2±7.7 cm; p<.001). Although after the detraining period flexibility levels decreased statistically significantly (retest=17.1±7.9 cm; p<.001), the students from EG presented statistically higher values than in the baseline flexibility level (p=.006). For the CG no significant differences were found (pretest=13.4±8.5 cm; posttest=13.1±8.5 cm; retest=13.2±8.4 cm; p=1.000). Although children lose a significant part of the obtained flexibility gains over a five-week detraining period, they do not revert to their baseline flexibility level. Hence, the students might continue working on their flexibility within the next five weeks in order to maintain the gains obtained previously. These findings could help teachers to design programs that guarantee feasible improvement and maintenance of children’s flexibility in a physical education setting

Sinorhizobium fredii Strains HH103 and NGR234 Form Nitrogen Fixing Nodules With Diverse Wild Soybeans (Glycine soja) From Central China but Are Ineffective on Northern China Accessions

Sinorhizobium fredii indigenous populations are prevalent in provinces of Central China whereas Bradyrhizobium species (Bradyrhizobium japonicum, B. diazoefficiens, B. elkanii, and others) are more abundant in northern and southern provinces. The symbiotic properties of different soybean rhizobia have been investigated with 40 different wild soybean (Glycine soja) accessions from China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. Bradyrhizobial strains nodulated all the wild soybeans tested, albeit efficiency of nitrogen fixation varied considerably among accessions. The symbiotic capacity of S. fredii HH103 with wild soybeans from Central China was clearly better than with the accessions found elsewhere. S. fredii NGR234, the rhizobial strain showing the broadest host range ever described, also formed nitrogen-fixing nodules with different G. soja accessions from Central China. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing an effective symbiosis between S. fredii NGR234 and G. soja. Mobilization of the S. fredii HH103 symbiotic plasmid to a NGR234 pSym-cured derivative (strain NGR234C) yielded transconjugants that formed ineffective nodules with G. max cv. Williams 82 and G. soja accession CH4. By contrast, transfer of the symbiotic plasmid pNGR234a to a pSym-cured derivative of S. fredii USDA193 generated transconjugants that effectively nodulated G. soja accession CH4 but failed to nodulate with G. max cv. Williams 82. These results indicate that intra-specific transference of the S. fredii symbiotic plasmids generates new strains with unpredictable symbiotic properties, probably due to the occurrence of new combinations of symbiotic signals.España, Junta de Andalucía P11-CVI-7500España Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BIO2016-78409-

Intraocular Pressure as an Indicator of the Level of Induced Anxiety in Basketball

SIGNIFICANCE Our data demonstrate that intraocular pressure (IOP) is sensitive to anxiety manipulation in sport scenarios, specifically in a basketball free throw task. The present outcomes may be of special relevance because of its practical advantages for the objective control of athletes' anxiety levels. PURPOSE Athletes experience high levels of anxiety during sport competition, and IOP has demonstrated to reflect autonomous nervous system changes during mentally demanding situations. We tested whether different levels of induced anxiety during basketball free throw shooting alter IOP. METHODS We followed a repeated-measures design to test the effects of anxiety-induced manipulation during basketball free throw shooting on IOP, shooting performance, and perceived anxiety. Eighteen amateur basketball players performed three experimental sessions consisting of 100 free throws each. However, we gave three different instructions to participants regarding the score assigned to each free throw, allowing us to manipulate the level of induced anxiety (low, medium, and high). RESULTS Confirming a successful anxiety manipulation, basketball players reported more perceived anxiety with higher levels of induced anxiety (P < .001, η2 = 0.37). Our data show that higher levels of induced anxiety provoke an acute IOP rise (P < .001, η2 = 0.44), with the low-, medium-, and high-anxiety–induced conditions promoting an average IOP rise of 0.21, 1.63, and 18.46%, respectively. Also, there was a linear IOP rise over time in the high-anxiety–induced condition (r = 0.82). Nevertheless, we found no effect of anxiety-induced manipulation on basketball free throw performance (P = .93). CONCLUSIONS Intraocular pressure is sensitive to anxiety-induced manipulation during basketball free throw shooting, showing an increase in parallel with accumulated anxiety. Based on these findings, IOP may be considered a promising tool for the assessment of the level of anxiety in certain sport situations. Future studies are required to explore the generalizability of these results in other scenarios with different physical and mental demands.This work was supported in part by The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under grant DEP2017-89879-R

Satisfacción académica y competencias profesionales en estudiantes de maestría en ciencias militares en la escuela superior de guerra del ejército

La presente investigación buscó establecer la relación entre los niveles de satisfacción académica y el desarrollo de competencias profesionales en los estudiantes de la Maestría en Ciencias Militares en la Escuela Superior de Guerra del Ejército. El diseño de la investigación fue de tipo descriptiva correlacional, aplicada, no experimental y transversal. La muestra estuvo conformada por 240 estudiantes de la Maestría en Ciencias Militares de la Escuela Superior de Guerra del Ejército Escuela de Postgrado correspondientes al 2014. Los instrumentos aplicados para recoger información fueron, por un lado, la encuesta, el mismo que contenía un cuestionario para medir el nivel de satisfacción de los estudiantes y por otro, una ficha técnica de observación documental que permitió realizar el análisis de contenido y poder medir el desarrollo de capacidades y valores –. Los estadísticos empleados fueron: por un lado, el Alfa de Crombach para determinar la confiabilidad y consistencia interna de la encuesta de satisfacción, cuyo resultado obtenido fue de 0.989, constituyendo este valor de alta confiabilidad; y por otro lado para establecer la validación de los instrumentos se utilizó el procedimiento de validez de contenido a través de juicio de expertos calificados; así mismo para establecer la normalidad de las variables se empleó la prueba de Kolgorov-Smirnov, en base al cual determinamos que las distribuciones de las variables en estudio son normales y para establecer la correlación entre variables se utilizó el coeficiente de correlación de Spearman; respecto a este último en los resultados se halló que la mayoría de las correlaciones entre el nivel de satisfacción académica y el desarrollo de las capacidades y valores fueron positivas pero débiles y no significativas; es decir la satisfacción académica de los estudiantes no influye de manera significativa en el desarrollo de las capacidades y los valores, en ambos casos se observa que existen otros factores tanto externos como internos relacionados directamente con los estudiantes que tienen mayor influencia en el desarrollo de las capacidades así como de los valores y actitudes. Este estudio concluye en que el nivel de satisfacción académica de los estudiantes de la Maestría en Ciencias Militares de la Escuela de Guerra del Ejército influye de manera positiva y poco significativa en el desarrollo de sus competencias profesionales, distinta a nuestra hipótesis planteada.The present investigation sought to establish the relationship between the levels of academic satisfaction and the development of professional competences in the students of the master's degree in military sciences in the Superior Army War College. The design of the research was descriptive, correlational, applied, not experimental and transversal. The sample consisted of 240 students of the master's degree in military sciences of the Army War College corresponding to 2014. The instruments applied to collect information were, on the one hand, the survey, which contained a questionnaire for to measure the level of satisfaction of the students and, on the other hand, a technical document of documentary observation that allowed to carry out the content analysis and to be able to measure the development of capacities and values. The statistics used were: on the one hand, the Crombach's Alpha to determine the reliability and internal consistency of the satisfaction survey, whose result was 0.989, constituting this value of high reliability; and on the other hand, to establish the validation of the instruments, the content validity procedure was used through the judgment of qualified experts; Likewise, to establish the normality of the variables, the Kolgorov-Smirnov test was used, based on which we determined that the distributions of the variables under study are normal and to establish the correlation between variables the Spearman correlation coefficient was used; Regarding the latter in the results, it was found that most of the correlations between the level of academic satisfaction and the development of skills and values were positive but weak and not significant; that is, the academic satisfaction of the students does not significantly influence the development of skills and values, in both cases it is observed that there are other external and internal factors directly related to the students that have a greater influence on the development of the capacities as well as values and attitudes. This study concludes that the level of academic satisfaction of the students of the master's degree in military sciences of the Army War College influences positively and insignificantly in the development of their professional skills, different to our hypothesis.Tesi