Soft Skills: A Comparative Analysis Between Online and Classroom Teaching

Currently the Spanish universities are making a great effort to effectively incorporate the development and assessment of generic skills in their training programs. Information and communications technologies (ICT) offer a wide range of possibilities but create uncertainty among teachers about the process and results. It is considered of interest to conduct a study to analyze the extent to which social skills like commitment, communication and teamwork are acquired by students and teachers. It seeks to ascertain the influence of the learning context, online or classroom training, in the development of these personal skills among the participants in the sample. For this study two universities have been chosen, Universidad a Distancia de Madrid (UDIMA) offering online training environment, and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) with classroom training modality. A total of 257 individuals, 230 students and 27 teachers have answered the survey called Evalsoft. This instrument was designed in the project with the same name by a research team from Universidad Complutense of Madrid (UCM). Some interesting conclusions can be highlighted: it is in the online context where there are higher levels of commitment and teamwork than in the classroom modality; teachers have higher social skills that students and these improve with age. Sex and the training program appear to influence these social skills

A New Approach to Sonification of Astrophysical Data: The User Centred Design of SonoUno

Even when actual technologies present the potential to augment inclusion and the United Nations has been stablished the digital access to information as a human right, people with disabilities continuously faced barriers in their profession. In many cases, in sciences, the lack of accessible and user centred tools left behind researches with disabilities and not facilitate them to conduct front-line research by using their respective strengths. In this contribution, we discuss some hurdles and solutions relevant for using new technology for data analysis, analysing the barriers found by final users. A focus group session was conducted with nine people with and without visual impairment, using the tool sonoUno with one linear function and an astronomical data set downloaded from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. As a result of the focus group study, incorporating data analysis using sonification, we conclude that functionally diverse people require tools to be autonomous, thereby enabling precision, certainty, effectiveness and efficiency in their work, resulting in enhanced equity. This can be achieved by pursuing a user-centred design approach as integral to software development, and by adapting resources according to the research objectives. Development of tools that empower people with wide-ranging abilities to not only access data using multi-sensorial techniques, but also address the current lack of inclusion, is sorely needed.Fil: Casado, Johanna Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto de Tecnologia En Deteccion y Astroparticulas. Itedam - Subsede del Instituto de Tec. En Deteccion y Astroparticulas Mendoza | Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica. Instituto de Tecnologia En Deteccion y Astroparticulas. Itedam - Subsede del Instituto de Tec. En Deteccion y Astroparticulas Mendoza | Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Instituto de Tecnologia En Deteccion y Astroparticulas. Itedam - Subsede del Instituto de Tec. En Deteccion y Astroparticulas Mendoza. ; Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Beatriz Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto de Tecnologia En Deteccion y Astroparticulas. Itedam - Subsede del Instituto de Tec. En Deteccion y Astroparticulas Mendoza | Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica. Instituto de Tecnologia En Deteccion y Astroparticulas. Itedam - Subsede del Instituto de Tec. En Deteccion y Astroparticulas Mendoza | Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Instituto de Tecnologia En Deteccion y Astroparticulas. Itedam - Subsede del Instituto de Tec. En Deteccion y Astroparticulas Mendoza. ; Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Gandhi, Poshak. University of Southampton; Reino UnidoFil: Diaz Merced, Wanda. European Gravitational Observatory; Itali

Assessing Creativity In Engineering Students: A Comparative Between Degrees and Sudents In First And Last Year

An online open access test (CREAX self-assessment) has been used in this work so that students from degrees in engineering in the Universidad Polite¿cnica of Madrid (UPM) could self-assess their creative competence after several classroom activities. Different groups from the first year course have been statistically compared using data from their assessment. These first year students had different professors in the subject ?Technical Drawing? and belonged to several degrees in the UPM. They were as well compared regarding sex and a group of first year students was also compared to another last year group of the degree so as to observe possible differences in the achievement of this competence. Only one difference was detected concerning sex in one of the degrees. Among degrees, the higher marks obtained by students who had done specific exercises for the development of creativity in class is highlighted. Finally, a significantly high mark was observed in students during their last year of degree with respect to first year students. The tool CREAX has become very useful in the assessment of this competence in the UPM degrees in which it has been implemented

A method for scintillation characterization using geodetic receivers operating at 1 Hz

Ionospheric scintillation produces strong disruptive effects on global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals, ranging from degrading performances to rendering these signals useless for accurate navigation. The current paper presents a novel approach to detect scintillation on the GNSS signals based on its effect on the ionospheric-free combination of carrier phases, i.e. the standard combination of measurements used in precise point positioning (PPP). The method is implemented using actual data, thereby having both its feasibility and its usefulness assessed at the same time. The results identify the main effects of scintillation, which consist of an increased level of noise in the ionospheric-free combination of measurements and the introduction of cycle-slips into the signals. Also discussed is how mis-detected cycle-slips contaminate the rate of change of the total electron content index (ROTI) values, which is especially important for low-latitude receivers. By considering the effect of single jumps in the individual frequencies, the proposed method is able to isolate, over the combined signal, the frequency experiencing the cycle-slip. Moreover, because of the use of the ionospheric-free combination, the method captures the diffractive nature of the scintillation phenomena that, in the end, is the relevant effect on PPP. Finally, a new scintillation index is introduced that is associated with the degradation of the performance in navigation.Postprint (author's final draft

Floppy closing door epiglottis treated successfully with an mhealth application based on myofunctional therapy: a case report

We introduce the first case reported to date of a floppy closing door epiglottis in an OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) patient treated successfully with an Mhealth smartphone application based on myofunctional therapy

Treatment of Dyspareunia with Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A: Clinical Improvement and Influence of Patients' Characteristics

[EN] The treatment of chronic pelvic pain (CPP) with botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) has increased lately, but more studies assessing its effect are needed. This study aimed to evaluate the evolution of patients after BoNT/A infiltration and identify potential responders to treatment. Twenty-four women with CPP associated with dyspareunia were treated with 90 units of BoNT/A injected into their pelvic floor muscle (PFM). Clinical status and PFM activity were monitored in a previous visit (PV) and 12 and 24 weeks after the infiltration (W12, W24) by validated clinical questionnaires and surface electromyography (sEMG). The influence of patients' characteristics on the reduction in pain at W12 and W24 was also assessed. After treatment, pain scores and the impact of symptoms on quality of life dropped significantly, sexual function improved and sEMG signal amplitude decreased on both sides of the PFM with no adverse events. Headaches and bilateral pelvic pain were risk factors for a smaller pain improvement at W24, while lower back pain was a protective factor. Apart from reporting a significant clinical improvement of patients with CPP associated with dyspareunia after BoNT/A infiltration, this study shows that clinical characteristics should be analyzed in detail to identify potential responders to treatment.This study was funded by Universitat Politecnica de Valencia in Programa de Ayudas de Investigacion y Desarrollo (PAID-01-20), ISCIII, MCIU, VLC Campus in Convocatoria Ayudas: UPV-La Fe (INBIO): 2016 SPEHG (ID:C18), 2019 sEMG_BONTAv (ID:C06) and funds from private contracts with Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH S.L.Tarazona-Motes, M.; Albaladejo-Belmonte, M.; Nohales-Alfonso, FJ.; De-Arriba, M.; Garcia-Casado, J.; Alberola-Rubio, J. (2021). Treatment of Dyspareunia with Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A: Clinical Improvement and Influence of Patients' Characteristics. International Journal of Environmental research and Public Health. 18(16):1-12. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168783S112181

Characterization of Pelvic Floor Activity in Healthy Subjects and with Chronic Pelvic Pain: Diagnostic Potential of Surface Electromyography

[EN] Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a highly disabling disorder in women usually associated with hypertonic dysfunction of the pelvic floor musculature (PFM). The literature on the subject is not conclusive about the diagnostic potential of surface electromyography (sEMG), which could be due to poor signal characterization. In this study, we characterized the PFM activity of three groups of 24 subjects each: CPP patients with deep dyspareunia associated with a myofascial syndrome (CPP group), healthy women over 35 and/or parous (>35/P group, i.e., CPP counterparts) and under 35 and nulliparous (RMS), a predominance of low-frequency components (DI), greater complexity (>SampEn) and lower synchronization on the same side (35/P group. The same trend in differences was found between healthy women (35/P) associated with aging and parity. These results show that sEMG can reveal alterations in PFM electrophysiology and provide clinicians with objective information for CPP diagnosis.This study was funded by Universitat Politecnica de Valencia in Programa de Ayudas de Investigacion y Desarrollo (PAID-01-20), ISCIII, MCIU, VLC Campus in Convocatoria Ayudas: UPV-La Fe (INBIO): 2016 SPEHG (ID:C18), 2019 sEMG_BONTAv (ID:C06) and funds from private contracts with Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH S.Albaladejo-Belmonte, M.; Tarazona-Motes, M.; Nohales-Alfonso, FJ.; De-Arriba, M.; Alberola-Rubio, J.; Garcia-Casado, J. (2021). Characterization of Pelvic Floor Activity in Healthy Subjects and with Chronic Pelvic Pain: Diagnostic Potential of Surface Electromyography. Sensors. 21(6):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21062225S11721

Electrochemical and bioelectrocatalytical properties of novel block-copolymers containing interacting ferrocenyl units

The electrochemical characterization of three different polystyrene-b-polybutadiene block copolymers functionalized with ferrocenyl units electronically communicated, PSm-PBn(HSiMeFc2)p where m=615, n=53, p=39 (1), m=375, n=92, p=76 (2) and m=455, n=204, p=170 (3), has been carried out both in solution and electrochemically deposited onto platinum electrodes. The bioelectrocatalytical properties of electrodes modified with the polymers in the nicotinamide dinucleotide (NADH) and glucose oxidase (GOx) oxidations have been investigated as a function of the constitution and structure of the polymers. The analytical properties of electrodes modified with these polymers as sensors of NADH and GOx are described. In addition, an amperometric biosensor for glucose, prepared by electrostatic immobilization of glucose oxidase onto a platinum electrode modified with one of the ferrocenyl block copolymers as an example, has been developed. The results confirm that electrodes modified with the examined copolymers act as efficient redox mediators for the electrocatalytic oxidation of both reduced nicotinamide dinucleotide cofactor and glucose oxidase. The reaction with NADH proceeds via formation of a charge-transfer intermediate before yielding the reaction products. This is a novel example of electrodes modified with ferrocene derivatives that can be applied to the determination of NADH without the use of diaphorase. The redox copolymers co-immobilized with glucose-oxidase have been successfully used as amperometric biosensors for glucose determinations. As expected these compounds allow using lower working potentials. The sensitivities and detection limits obtained are comparable or even better than those of other ferrocene-modified polymers mediator electrodes

QUALIDADE DO COLOSTRO DE VACAS JERSEY E TRANSFERÊNCIA DE IMUNIDADE PASSIVA AOS NASCIDOS

The transfer of immunoglobulins from the serum to the mammary gland begins weeks before delivery, reaching its peak between the first and third day of the newborn birth. Colostrum is the first milk secreted by the sows. The fluid is rich in proteins and immunoglobulins, which makes it vital for the survival of neonates, as the pups are born with agammaglobulinemic. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of colostrum from primiparous and multiparous Jersey cows and the transfer of passive immunity to newborns born in Munhoz de Mello, Paraná. Three primiparous cows and thirteen multiparous cows were used. The calves were fed with the mother's own colostrum, 2 liters, and the concentration was previously evaluated using a Brix refractometer. Serum from calves was collected 24 hours after birth and the levels of total protein (PT) and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) were measured to assess the passive transfer of immunity. Analysis of variance was used to compare primiparous and multiparous cows. The results demonstrated that there is no difference between the colostrum of primiparous and multiparous cows and that there was no failure in the transfer of passive immunity (FTIP). Thus, it was possible to conclude that there was a good transfer of passive immunity in calves; however, a study with a larger number of primiparous is recommended.A transferência de imunoglobulinas do soro para a glândula mamária começa semanas antes de ocorrer o parto, atingindo seu pico entre o primeiro e terceiro dia de nascimento do recém-nascido. O colostro é o primeiro leite secretado pelas matrizes. O fluido é rico em proteínas e imunoglobulinas, o que o torna vital para a sobrevivência dos neonatos, pois os filhotes nascem agamaglobulinêmicos. Desta forma, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a qualidade do colostro de vacas primíparas e multíparas da raça Jersey e a transferência de imunidade passiva aos neonatos nascidos em Munhoz de Mello, Paraná. Foram utilizadas três vacas primíparas e treze vacas multíparas. Os bezerros eram alimentados com o colostro da própria mãe, 2 litros, e previamente a concentração era avaliada usando um refratrômetro de Brix. O soro dos bezerros foi colhido após 24 horas de nascimento e os teores de proteína total (PT) e gama glutamiltransferase (GGT) foram mensurados para avaliar a transferência de imunidade passiva. A análise de variância foi empregada para comparação entre as vacas primíparas e multíparas. Os resultados demonstraram que não há diferença entre o colostro de vacas primíparas e multíparas e que não houve falha na transferência de imunidade passiva (FTIP). Desta forma, foi possível concluir que houve uma boa transferência de imunidade passiva nos bezerros, porém, um estudo com número maior de primíparas é recomendado