Planificación, comunicación y metodologías activas: Evaluación online de la asignatura ingeniería de software durante la crisis del COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has had a high impact worldwide. The health crisis has not only had an impact on people's own health and on health systems, but has also affected other areas. In the educational context, the lockdown measures implemented by different governments have challenged the learning ecosystem. In the case of higher education in Spain, with a strong attendance factor in most public universities, face-to-face classes were interrupted after a month in the second term, ending the academic year in the online mode. This change has meant a great effort on the teachers’ side to transform the face-to-face teaching into the online approach, which in many cases has meant quite a comprehensive new design of the subject, changing the evaluation process and the methodologies used. This work presents a success case of online assessment developed in the Software Engineering I subject of the Degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Salamanca. The objective is to show how the previous use of active methodologies and the integration of educational technologies in classroom-based teaching facilitates the transformation of assessment to an online or blended approach while maintaining a high degree of student involvement and satisfaction. After presenting a comparison between the face-to-face approach and the adaptation to the online approach, an analysis is made of the learning results and student satisfaction concerning previous academic years. The results show that the change of approach has not reduced the satisfaction results obtained in previous courses. In terms of learning outcomes, there is an overall increase in the grades obtained by students in all assessment items.La pandemia de coronavirus ha tenido un alto impacto a nivel mundial. La crisis sanitaria no solo ha tenido un impacto en la propia salud de las personas y en los sistemas de salud, sino que ha afectado a otros ámbitos. En el contexto educativo, las medidas de confinamiento implementadas por los diferentes gobiernos han supuesto un reto para el ecosistema de aprendizaje. En el caso de la educación superior en España, con un fuerte componente presencial en la mayoría de las universidades públicas, se interrumpieron las clases presenciales un mes después del inicio del segundo cuatrimestre, finalizando el curso académico en modalidad online. Este cambio ha supuesto un gran esfuerzo por parte de los docentes para transformar la enseñanza presencial al enfoque online, lo que en muchos casos ha supuesto un rediseño casi integral de la asignatura, cambiando el proceso de evaluación y las metodologías utilizadas. El presente trabajo presenta un caso de éxito de evaluación online desarrollado en la asignatura Ingeniería de Software I del Grado en Ingeniería Informática de la Universidad de Salamanca. El objetivo es sustentar cómo el uso previo de metodologías activas y la integración de tecnologías educativas en la docencia presencial facilita la transformación de la evaluación a un enfoque online o mixto, a la par que mantiene un alto grado de implicación y satisfacción por parte de los estudiantes. Para ello, tras presentar una comparativa entre el enfoque presencial y la adaptación al enfoque online, se realiza un análisis de los resultados de aprendizaje y la satisfacción de los estudiantes respecto a los cursos académicos previos. Los resultados muestran que el cambio de enfoque no ha mermado los resultados de satisfacción obtenidos en los cursos anteriores. En cuanto a los resultados de aprendizaje, hay un aumento general de las calificaciones obtenidas por los estudiantes en todos los ítems de evaluación

Actualización del modelo de riesgo crediticio, una necesidad para la banca revolvente en México

Com o objetivo de melhorar a gestão do risco de crédito rotativo na estimativa de provisões no México, especificamente em carteiras administradas por grandes instituições de crédito (bancos), nesta pesquisa, identificou-se um modelo logit alternativo que reflete níveis de risco mais precisos. Indicadores financeiros da banca como poupança, ativos e lucros apresentaram rendimentos de 2,20%, maior ao registrado pela banca mexicana. Essa situação confirma a necessidade de implementar um modelo mais capaz para medir o risco de crédito para essas entidades.Con el fin de mejorar la gestión del riesgo crediticio revolvente en la estimación de provisiones en México, específicamente en carteras administradas por grandes instituciones crediticias (bancos), en esta investigación se identificó un modelo logit alternativo que refleja niveles de riesgo más precisos. Indicadores financieros de la banca como el ahorro, los activos y las utilidades mostraron rendimientos del 2,20 %, mayor al registrado por la banca mexicana. Esta situación confirma la necesidad de implementar un modelo más capaz para medir el riesgo crediticio para dichas entidades.In order to improve the management of revolving credit risk when estimating provisions in Mexico ‒specifically in the case of portfolios administered by credit institutions (banks)‒ this research employs an alternative logit model to reflect levels of risk with greater precision than is customary. Financial indicators for the banking sector, such as savings, assets and profits showed returns 2.2 %, above the rates registered in the Mexican banking system as a whole. This confirms the need to implement a model that is capable of measuring the credit risk of these institutions

Effectiveness of a Psychosocial Therapy with SMS in Immigrant Women with Different Degrees of Depression

Immigrant women who are forced to adapt to a new cultural context often live in low income situations, have informal jobs, and experience social inclusion difficulties; these women frequently have mental health and social relationship problems. We conducted an experimental investigation with a group of vulnerable immigrant women who were receiving support from public social services. Our goal was to analyze the effectiveness of a bio-psychosocial therapy system with text messages to personal mobile phones. We grouped women by different degrees of depression. We studied psychosocial characteristics from personalized interviews and developed message banks to advise healthy habits and accompany moods. We programmed a remote delivery system, and for 26 days, each woman (n = 44) received four of our messages. We analyzed changes in mood and depression at the beginning and at the end of therapy and observed positive changes. The analysis of the initial and final (Personal Health Questionnaire) PHQ−9 quartile intervals shows that text messages significantly improve the mood and depression symptoms of immigrant women when the initial PHQ−9 value is greater than 5 (moderate depression)This research was funded by Autonomous Government of Galicia-Spain: General Directorate of Social Inclusion and the Postdoctoral Research ProgramS

Neurotransmitter signaling in the pathophysiology of microglia

Erratun publicado en Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 7 : (2013) // Article ID 107Microglial cells are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system. In the resting state, microglia are highly dynamic and control the environment by rapidly extending and retracting motile processes. Microglia are closely associated with astrocytes and neurons, particularly at the synapses, and more recent data indicate that neurotransmission plays a role in regulating the morphology and function of surveying/resting microglia, as they are endowed with receptors for most known neurotransmitters. In particular, microglia express receptors for ATP and glutamate, which regulate microglial motility. After local damage, the release of ATP induces microgliosis and activated microglial cells migrate to the site of injury, proliferate, and phagocytose cells, and cellular compartments. However, excessive activation of microglia could contribute to the progression of chronic neurodegenerative diseases, though the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Microglia have the capacity to release a large number of substances that can be detrimental to the surrounding neurons, including glutamate, ATP, and reactive oxygen species. However, how altered neurotransmission following acute insults or chronic neurodegenerative conditions modulates microglial functions is still poorly understood. This review summarizes the relevant data regarding the role of neurotransmitter receptors in microglial physiology and pathology.Our work is funded by Fundacion Mutua Madrilena, MINECO, ERANET-Neuron (Nanostroke), CIBERNED, Gobierno Vasco and Universidad del Pais Vasco. Nuria Vazquez-Villoldo holds a fellowship from Gobierno Vasco

Analysis of location and spatial distribution of elderly women victims of gender violence

Little is known about abuse and violence against elderly women, as well as prevention and intervention strategies. We present the results of an investigation that has as its objective the elaboration of the Location Map of elderly women victims of gender violence, analyzing their territorial distribution in the specific case of the Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain, and its relationship with environmental, social, and territorial variables. The results of our research on the location and distribution of the rates of elderly women victims of gender violence show its direct relationship with low demographic density, aging, and dependency, which is associated with disabled people. The mapping resulting can facilitate the territorial planning of social and health services aimed at elderly women in rural areas. The interquartile classification makes it possible to delimit areas of intervention at a spatial level, differentiating those municipalities with the highest and lowest prevalenceS

On the development of a MODEM for data transmission and control of electrical household appliances using the low-voltage power-line

This paper presents a CMOS 0,6μm mixed-signal MODEM ASIC for data transmission on the low-voltage power line. The circuit includes all the analog circuitry needed for input interfacing and modulation/demodulation (PLL-based frequency synthesis, slave filter banks with PLL master VCO for tuning, decision circuitry, etc.) plus the logic circuitry needed for control purposes. The circuit operates correctly in the whole industrial temperature range, from -45 to 80°C, under 5% variations of the 3.3V supply voltage.Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología FD97-1611(TIC)Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC200 1-092

CMOS mixed-signal MODEM for data transmission and control of electrical household appliances using the low-voltage power-line

This paper presents a CMOS 0.6μm mixed-signal MODEM ASIC for data transmission using the low-voltage power line. This circuit includes all the analog blocks needed for input interfacing and modulation/demodulation (PLL-based frequency synthesis, slave filter banks with PLL master VCO for tuning, and decision circuitry) plus the logic circuitry needed for control purposes. The circuit operates correctly within the industrial temperature range, from -45 to 80°C, under 5% variations of the 3.3V supply voltage.Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología 1FD97-1611(TIC)Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC2001-092

Global Optimization for Automatic Model Points Selection in Life Insurance Portfolios

[Abstract] Starting from an original portfolio of life insurance policies, in this article we propose a methodology to select model points portfolios that reproduce the original one, preserving its market risk under a certain measure. In order to achieve this goal, we first define an appropriate risk functional that measures the market risk associated to the interest rates evolution. Although other alternative interest rate models could be considered, we have chosen the LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) market model. Once we have selected the proper risk functional, the problem of finding the model points of the replicating portfolio is formulated as a problem of minimizing the distance between the original and the target model points portfolios, under the measure given by the proposed risk functional. In this way, a high-dimensional global optimization problem arises and a suitable hybrid global optimization algorithm is proposed for the efficient solution of this problem. Some examples illustrate the performance of a parallel multi-CPU implementation for the evaluation of the risk functional, as well as the efficiency of the hybrid Basin Hopping optimization algorithm to obtain the model points portfolio.This research has been partially funded by EU H2020 MSCA-ITN-EID-2014 (WAKEUPCALL Grant Agreement 643045), Spanish MINECO (Grant MTM2016-76497-R) and by Galician Government with the grant ED431C2018/033, both including FEDER financial support. A.F., J.G. and C.V. also acknowledge the support received from the Centro de Investigación de Galicia “CITIC”, funded by Xunta de Galicia and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund- Galicia 2014-2020 Program), by grant ED431G 2019/01Xunta de Galicia; ED431C2018/03Xunta de Galicia; ED431G 2019/0

Influence of Reynolds number on theoretical models for trailing vortices

We conduct direct numerical simulations for a NACA0012 airfoil at Reynolds numbers (Re) ranging from 300 to 7000 to determine the wake behavior behind this wing profile. We characterize the structure of the wing-tip vortex, finding a reasonable agreement with experimental results at Re=7000. In addition, we model the trailing vortex theoretically, thus obtaining the parameters for Batchelor’s and Moore and Saffman’s models. We compare the results of the best fitting for the axial vorticity and the azimuthal velocity, finding only small discrepancies. The main contribution of this research work is to study the evolution of these theoretical parameters as function of the Reynolds number. We observe that the wake becomes unstable at Re ≈1200, in agreement with previous results. These instabilities in the wake behind the wing produce a change in the trend of theoretical parameters (keywords: vortex dynamics, trailing vortices, theoretical models).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Performance Models for Frost Prediction in Public Cloud Infrastructures

Sensor Clouds have opened new opportunities for agricultural monitoring. These infrastructures use Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) to collect data on-field and Cloud Computing services to store and process them. Among other applications of Sensor Clouds, frost prevention is of special interest among grapevine producers in the Province of Mendoza - Argentina, since frost is one of the main causes of economic loss in the province. Currently, there is a wide offer of public cloud services that can be used in order to process data collected by Sensor Clouds. Therefore, there is a need for tools to determine which instance is the most appropriate in terms of execution time and economic costs for running frost prediction applications in an isolated or cluster way. In this paper, we develop models to estimate the performance of different Amazon EC2 instances for processing frosts prediction applications. Finally, we obtain results that show which is the best instance for processing these applications