Enfoques historiográficos y representaciones sociales en los libros de texto. Un estudiocomparativo, España - Francia - Inglaterra = Historiographical approaches and social representations in textbooks. A comparative study, Spain - France - England

This paper analyzes the historiographical approaches and national, European and extra-European social representations on textbooks of Secondary Education in Spain, France and England. We have chosen for the sample 18 textbooks of the first two years of secondary education in the three countries. We have selected three publishers of big presence in classrooms in each of the territories (Anaya, Oxford and VicensVives for Spain; Belin, Bordas and Lelivrescolaire for France, and Collins, Heinemann and Hodder Education for England). The results show different historiographical approaches in textbooks analyzed, with a greater weight of structuralism and positivism in the Spanish case; a clear influence of the latest generations of Annales in the French case; and an important weight of social history and history from below in the English case. Also the three countries differ in social representations. French and Spanish textbooks raise the historical account within a European framework of which they feel participants. However the English textbooks present the construction of the English nation (especially in the centuries of the Middle Ages and Modern Age) from a very Anglocentric perspective

Los procedimientos de evaluación en la clase de Historia. Un análisis comparativo a través de las opiniones de los docentes en formación en España e Inglaterra = The assessment procedures when teaching history. A comparative analysis through the opinions of teachers in training in Spain and England

El objetivo principal de este trabajo ha sido realizar un estudio comparativo de las opiniones y percepciones de los docentes en formación de España e Inglaterra sobre los procedimientos, actividades y ejercicios más adecuados para evaluar los conocimientos y competencias históricas. Para conseguir este objetivo se ha elaborado un cuestionario cerrado con una escala de valoración tipo Likert (1-5). La muestra la componen 506 cuestionarios de estudiantes del Máster de Formación del Profesorado en la especialidad de Geografía e Historia en España (344) y del PGCE y el Teach First en Inglaterra (162). En la investigación participaron 22 universidades, 13 españolas y 9 inglesas con una amplia representación territorial. Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas entre los dos países, unos perfiles docentes bastante claros en el caso español, y unos perfiles más difusos en el caso inglés. / The main objective of this article is to do a comparative study of the opinions and perceptions of teachers in training in Spain and England on the most appropriate procedures, activities and exercises to assess historical knowledge. To achieve this objetive a closed questionnaire has been developed with a Likert-type rating scale (1-5). The sample is 506 questionnaires of students of the Master's Training Teacher in the specialty of Geography and History in Spain (344) and PGCE and Teach First in England (162). The research involved 22 universities, 13 from Spain and 9 from England with a wide territorial representation. The results show significant differences between the two countries, quite clear educational profiles in the Spanish case, and more diffuse profiles in the English case

Role of educational level in the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQL) among rural Spanish women

BACKGROUND: The impact of obesity on health-related quality of life (HRQL) has been little explored in rural areas. The goal of this study is to ascertain the association between obesity and HRQL among Spanish women living in a rural area, and the influence of their educational level. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with personal interview of 1298 women (aged 18 to 60) randomly selected from the electoral rolls of 14 towns in Galicia, a region in the north-west of Spain. HRQL was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. The association between body mass index (BMI) and suboptimal scores in the different HRQL dimensions was summarised using odds ratios (ORs), obtained from multivariate logistic regression models. Separate analyses were conducted for women who had finished their education younger than 16 years old and women with secondary education to assess differences in the relationship between BMI and HRQL according to educational level. RESULTS: Among women with primary or lower education, obesity was associated with a higher prevalence of suboptimal values in the following dimensions: Physical functioning (OR: 1.97; 95%CI: 1.22-3.18); Role-physical (OR: 1.81; 95%CI: 1.04-3.14); General health (OR: 1.76; 95%CI: 1.10-2.81); and Role-emotional (OR: 2.52; 95%CI: 1.27-5.03). In women with higher education, physical functioning was the only dimension associated with obesity (OR: 2.02: 95%CI 0.83-4.97). CONCLUSION: The impact of obesity on women's HRQL is greater among those with a lower educational level. This group registered higher prevalence of obesity and poorer self-perceived health.This study was funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant 001/05).S

RESEARCH ARTICLE Body-size structure of Central Iberian mammal fauna reveals semidesertic conditions during the middle Miocene Global Cooling Event

We developed new quantitative palaeoclimatic inference models based on the body-size structure of mammal faunas from the Old World tropics and applied them to the Somosaguas fossil site (middle Miocene, central Iberian Peninsula). Twenty-six mammal species have been described at this site, including proboscideans, ungulates, carnivores, insectivores, lagomorphs and rodents. Our analyses were based on multivariate and bivariate regression models correlating climatic data and body-size structure of 63 modern mammal assemblages from Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent. The results showed an average temperature of the coldest month higher than 26ÊC for the Somosaguas fossil site, a mean annual thermal amplitude around 10ÊC, a drought length of 10 months, and an annual total precipitation greater than 200 mm per year, which are climate conditions typical of an ecotonal zone between the savanna and desert biomes. These results are congruent with the aridity peaks described over the middle Aragonian of Spain and particularly in the local biozone E, which includes Somosaguas. The aridity increase detected in this biozone is associated with the Middle Miocene Global Cooling Event. The environment of Somosaguas around 14 Ma was similar to the current environment in the Sahel region of North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the boundary area between the Kalahari and the Namib in Southern Africa, south-central Arabia, or eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The distribution of modern vegetation in these regions follows a complex mosaic of plant communities, dominated by scattered xerophilous shrublands, semidesert grasslands, and vegetation linked to seasonal watercourses and ponds.Peer reviewe

Efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation on psychosocial functioning in Borderline Personality Disorder: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Follow-up studies revealed that subjects with borderline personality disorder (BPD) present high rates of clinical remission, although psychosocial functioning often remains impaired. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a cognitive rehabilitation intervention versus a psychoeducational program on psychosocial functioning in subjects with BPD. METHODS: A multicenter, randomized, and positive-controlled clinical trial was conducted. Seventy outpatients with BPD were randomized to cognitive rehabilitation or psychoeducational group interventions. Participants were evaluated after completion of the intervention period (16 weeks) and after the follow-up period (6 months). Psychosocial functioning, clinical and neuropsychological outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS: No main effects of group or group x time were observed on functionality but a significant effect of time was found. Post-hoc analyses showed that only cognitive rehabilitation increased psychosocial functioning significantly at endpoint. Psychoeducation showed a significant enhancement of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive rehabilitation and psychoeducational interventions appeared to show good efficacy in improving disabilities in daily life in subjects with BPD. These interventions are easily implemented in mental health settings and have the advantage of improving general functioning and clinical symptoms. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov:NCT02033044. Registered 9 January 2014 ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-015-0640-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Patients with Crohn's disease have longer post-operative in-hospital stay than patients with colon cancer but no difference in complications' rate

BACKGROUNDRight hemicolectomy or ileocecal resection are used to treat benign conditions like Crohn's disease (CD) and malignant ones like colon cancer (CC).AIMTo investigate differences in pre- and peri-operative factors and their impact on post-operative outcome in patients with CC and CD.METHODSThis is a sub-group analysis of the European Society of Coloproctology's prospective, multi-centre snapshot audit. Adult patients with CC and CD undergoing right hemicolectomy or ileocecal resection were included. Primary outcome measure was 30-d post-operative complications. Secondary outcome measures were post-operative length of stay (LOS) at and readmission.RESULTSThree hundred and seventy-five patients with CD and 2,515 patients with CC were included. Patients with CD were younger (median = 37 years for CD and 71 years for CC (P < 0.01), had lower American Society of Anesthesiology score (ASA) grade (P < 0.01) and less comorbidity (P < 0.01), but were more likely to be current smokers (P < 0.01). Patients with CD were more frequently operated on by colorectal surgeons (P < 0.01) and frequently underwent ileocecal resection (P < 0.01) with higher rate of de-functioning/primary stoma construction (P < 0.01). Thirty-day post-operative mortality occurred exclusively in the CC group (66/2515, 2.3%). In multivariate analyses, the risk of post-operative complications was similar in the two groups (OR 0.80, 95%CI: 0.54-1.17; P = 0.25). Patients with CD had a significantly longer LOS (Geometric mean 0.87, 95%CI: 0.79-0.95; P < 0.01). There was no difference in re-admission rates. The audit did not collect data on post-operative enhanced recovery protocols that are implemented in the different participating centers.CONCLUSIONPatients with CD were younger, with lower ASA grade, less comorbidity, operated on by experienced surgeons and underwent less radical resection but had a longer LOS than patients with CC although complication's rate was not different between the two groups