Identification and quantification of cell gas evolution in rigid polyurethane foams by novel GCMS methodology

Producción CientíficaThis paper presents a new methodology based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) in order to separate and quantify the gases presented inside the cells of rigid polyurethane (RPU) foams. To demonstrate this novel methodology, the gas composition along more than three years of aging is herein determined for two samples: a reference foam and foam with 1.5 wt% of talc. The GCMS method was applied, on one hand, for the accurate determination of C5H10 and CO2 cell gases used as blowing agents and, on the other hand, for N2 and O2 air gases that diffuse rapidly from the surrounding environment into foam cells. GCMS results showed that CO2 leaves foam after 2.5 month (from 21% to 0.03% for reference foam and from 17% to 0.03% for foam with 1.5% talc). C5H10 deviates during 3.5 months (from 28% up to 39% for reference foam and from 29% up to 36% for foam with talc), then it starts to leave the foam and after 3.5 year its content is 13% for reference and 10% for foam with talc. Air diffuses inside the cells faster for one year (from 51% up to 79% for reference and from 54% up to 81% for foam with talc) and then more slowly for 3.5 years (reaching 86% for reference and 90% for foam with talc). Thus, the fast and simple presented methodology provides valuable information to understand the long-term thermal conductivity of the RPU foams.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (grants MAT2015-69234-R and RTC-2016-5285-5)Junta de Castilla y Leon (grant VA275P18)Agencia austriaca para la promoción de la investigación (grant 850697

Hydrological soil behavior in areas with semi-arid vegetation (Beni Chougrane Mountains, Algeria)

Postprint (author's final draft

Prospect Theory: A bibliometric and systematic review in the categories of psychology in Web of Science

Prospect Theory (PT) is an alternative, dynamic explanation of the phenomenon of risky decision making. This research presents an overview of PT's history in health fields, including advancements, limitations, and bibliometric data. A systematic and bibliometric review of the scientific literature included in the psychological categories ofWeb of Science (WoS) was performed following the PRISMA 2020 statement for systematic reviews. A total of 37 studies (10 non-empirical and 27 empirical) were included in the sample. Bibliometric results showed thematic variability and heterogeneity regarding the production, researchers, and methodologies that are used to study PT. The systematic results highlight three main fields of PT research: preventive and screening behaviors, promotion of healthy habits, and COVID-related decision making. Personal and contextual factors which alter the usual pattern specified by PT are also described. To conclude, PT currently has an interdisciplinary character suitable for health promotion, with recent studies broadening its applicability

Why Citrate Shapes Tetrahedral and Octahedral Colloidal Platinum Nanoparticles in Water

[EN] The performance of many advanced catalytic systems depends not only on the size and composition but also on the specific shape of the metal nanoparticles (NPs) from which they are assembled. In turn, the shape of colloidal NPs depends on the specific capping agent involved in their synthesis, though the mechanism is still poorly understood. Here, supported by electrochemical experiments, Fourier transform infrared spectra, and density functional theory calculations, on well-defined surfaces, we show how a specific capping agent determines the shape of colloidal NPs. Solvated citrate can become simultaneously adsorbed on the Pt(111) surface through three dehydrogenated carboxylic groups, with each one of them in bidentate configuration. On the other two basal planes, citrate can be adsorbed through only two of them. For this reason, under the synthesis conditions, citrate is more favorably adsorbed on the Pt(111) than on the other two basal planes of platinum. This adsorption behavior explains why colloidal platinum NPs of tetrahedral and octahedral shape are produced when citrate is used as the capping agent in water. The mechanism for citrate would also determine the shape of other pure face-centered cubic metals and can inspire the engineering of future capping agents.This work has been financially supported by the MCINN-FEDER (Spain) through project CTQ2016-76221-P.Gisbert-González, J.; Feliu, J.; Ferre Vilaplana, A.; Herrero, E. (2018). Why Citrate Shapes Tetrahedral and Octahedral Colloidal Platinum Nanoparticles in Water. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 122(33):19004-19014. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b05195S19004190141223

Aprender lengua o no aprender lengua. La adquisición de la competencia comunicativa en Educación Secundaria en un entorno altamente tecnológico. Un estudio desde Cataluña (España)

In the last three years, Spain has implemented one-to-one educational models, based on a constant and permanent use of technology in classrooms, among the last years of primary education or the first years of secondary education. However, we still have not begun analyzing the effects of those changes. In this context, the aim of this paper is to analyze the pupils’ achievement expected within this technological environment in the subject of Spanish Language and Literature during the 1st secondary course in Catalonia (Spain). To do this, we have designed a pretest and a posttest and we have recorded those teaching-learning methods used during that course. The results bring up a discouraging picture: students poorly improved their communicative competence after a full school year. This leads us to two conclusions: the first is a curricular problem that exists, as most of the teaching-learning activities are not oriented to the communicative competence learning, instead they are oriented to grammatical or literary contents; the second one is about the current technology use, since it does not seem to contribute to improve textual skills in its current use.En los últimos tres años, España ha implementado un modelo educativo one-to-one, basado en una presencia constante y permanente de la tecnología en las aulas a lo largo de los últimos cursos de Educación Primaria o los primeros de Educación Secundaria. Sin embargo, todavía no hemos empezado a analizar los efectos de esos cambios. En ese contexto, el objetivo de este artículo es investigar que resultados de los estudiantes podemos esperar en este entorno tecnológico en la asignatura de Lengua Castellana y Literatura durante el 1.er curso de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria en Cataluña (España). Para ello, hemos diseñado una investigación quasi-experimental con un pretest y un postest de competencia comunicativa administrados al inicio y al final de un mismo curso académico, y hemos registrado las metodologías de enseñanza-aprendizaje utilizadas durante dicho curso. Los resultados nos ofrecen un panorama no muy alentador, pues el alumnado mejora poco su competencia comunicativa en español después de todo un curso. Todo ello nos lleva a dos conclusiones: la primera de ellas es la detección de un problema curricular, pues la mayoría de las actividades de enseñanza-aprendizaje no se orientan a la adquisición de la competencia comunicativa, sino a contenidos específicamente gramaticales o literarios; la segunda es acerca del uso de la tecnología, pues no esta no parece contribuir en exceso a mejorar esta destreza en su uso actual

Speak new words, speak new languages : a podcasting experience in multicultural settings

En el marco de la enseñanza y aprendizaje de las lenguas, numerosos estudios demuestran que el Podcasting y su uso educativo puede mejorar el proceso de aprendizaje a la vez que ejerce un gran impacto para la adquisición de la competencia oral por parte de un alumnado diverso y plurilingüe. Este artículo aborda el proyecto "X-press@’T: el uso educativo del sonido para la mejora y transferencia del aprendizaje de la lengua oral en contextos plurilingües" llevado a cabo durante el curso académico 2008-09 y liderado por la Universitat Rovira i Virgili.Within the framework of teaching and learning languages, numerous studies demonstrate that using Podcasting as a teaching and learning tool can improve the learning process at the same time as it exerts a great impact upon the acquisition of oral skills on the part of diverse and multilingual pupils. This article discusses the project “X-press@’ T: the educational use of sound for the improvement and transference of learning languages in plurilingual contexts” carried out during the academic course 2008-09 and led by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Simul@: una experiencia para el desarrollo de competencias transversales en la formación de docentes en Educación Física en mundos 3D

Este artículo muestra el uso de mundos virtuales en la formación de docentes en educación física en el ámbito universitario. Participaron un total de 11 estudiantes de la especialidad de educación física. Se utilizó un modelo de evaluación de eventos basado en tres elementos: los eventos, el referente y los criterios. Mediante un trabajo en grupo se tenía que desarrollar una propuesta docente para la organización de una olimpiada escolar en un entorno virtual. Los resultados muestran que se resolvieron muy satisfactoriamente todos los requisitos de dicha propuesta y, por tanto, la utilidad de las simulaciones en los mundos 3D en la formación de docentes en Educación Física

Establishing a Learning Network in a Blended Learning Experience

En el contexto de la implantación de los nuevos grados de Educación Infantil y Educación Primaria, adaptados al EEES, el presente estudio intenta determinar en qué medida se consolida una comunidad de aprendizaje en un modelo universitario de blended learning en desde los primeros momentos del curso y qué incidencia tienen en ello los recursos de los que dispone el alumnado y las diferentes metodologías que se utilizan en el diseño del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje.In the context of new degrees in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education, adapted to European University Programs, the aim of this investigation is determining if we can find a learning nerwork in our blended learning model since the early moments of the beginning of the course, and which is the effect the available resources and the different methodologies used when designing teaching-learning process have in it

El coordinador tic en los centros educativos: funciones para la dinamización e incorporación didáctica de las tic en las actividades de aprendizaje

La presente investigación analiza la figura del coordinador en Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación en los centros educativos. Particularmente en las escuelas públicas de infantil y primaria de la comarca del Baix Ebre (Tarragona). Tras realizar el estudio de los datos, se aportan unas sugerencias sobre las características que debería tener un/a CTIC, y un conjunto de orientaciones que pueden servir de base para concretar cuáles son las funciones que debería asumir para poder realizar una mejor función de orientación e impulso, en su proceso de dinamización, con el fin de alcanzar la inclusión de lasmTIC.This research analyzes the coordinator of the Information and Communication Technologies in public primary schools in the region of Baix Ebre, (Tarragona).The implementation level of the Information Technology and Communication (ICT) in schools has been analyzed. In conclusion, after the data analysis, this research provides a set of guidelines that can be useful as a basis to specify what functions it should be assumed by the ICT coordinator in order to improve the revitalization process of the Learning Technologies and Knowledge (TAC) in their schools, and to help the school team to include the ICT Keywords: information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Coordinator ICT, educational centers, Teacher Resource Centers, innovation

The coordinator ICT in schools: the dynamic functions and incorporation of ict in teaching learning activities

La presente investigación analiza la figura del coordinador en Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación en los centros educativos. Particularmente en las escuelas públicas de infantil y primaria de la comarca del Baix Ebre (Tarragona). Tras realizar el estudio de los datos, se aportan unas sugerencias sobre las características que debería tener un/a CTIC, y un conjunto de orientaciones que pueden servir de base para concretar cuáles son las funciones que debería asumir para poder realizar una mejor función de orientación e impulso, en su proceso de dinamización, con el fin de alcanzar la inclusión de las TIC.This research analyzes the coordinator of the Information and Communication Technologies in public primary schools in the region of Baix Ebre, (Tarragona).The implementation level of the Information Technology and Communication (ICT) in schools has been analyzed. In conclusion, after the data analysis, this research provides a set of guidelines that can be useful as a basis to specify what functions it should be assumed by the ICT coordinator in order to improve the revitalization process of the Learning Technologies and Knowledge (TAC) in their schools, and to help the school team to include the ICT Keywords: information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Coordinator ICT, educational centers