Parents Acquiring Learning Strategies (PALS): How Empowering Hispanic Parents Increases Parental Involvement and Student Achievement

Some Hispanic parents in Miami-Dade County show limited involvement in the educational process of their children. Currently, Miami-Dade County Public schools consists of an increasingly high number of language minority students who come from homes where parents are limited in their English proficiency. Consequently, these parents have difficulty assisting their children with schoolwork and often feel they lack adequate skills to involve themselves in school curricula. The lack of parental involvement by this population has a negative impact on students’ learning and their academic achievement. The purpose of this study is to impact the level of participation of these families and to study its ultimate effect on students’ academic achievement

Criterios de la iniciativa de liderazgo mundial sobre malnutrición para el diagnóstico de la malnutrición en pacientes ingresados en la unidad de cuidados intensivos: Una revisión sistemática y meta-análisis

Antecedentes La desnutrición se asocia a un alto riesgo de morbilidad y mortalidad en pacientes con enfermedades críticas. El estado nutricional de los pacientes en la unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI) es difícil de evaluar. La Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) es un novedoso marco utilizado para el diagnóstico de la desnutrición. Sin embargo, no se ha validado su eficacia en pacientes con enfermedades críticas en la UCI. Objetivo Investigar el uso y la validez de los criterios GLIM en pacientes adultos ingresados en la UCI. Métodos Se realizó una revisión sistemática y un metanálisis, y se buscaron estudios relevantes en siete bases de datos. Los criterios de selección incluyeron estudios que utilizaron los GLIM en pacientes adultos ingresados en la UCI. La evaluación de la calidad se realizó mediante la herramienta Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2). Resultados Se incluyeron cinco estudios en el análisis. Aproximadamente entre el 15% y el 68% de los pacientes fueron diagnosticados de desnutrición utilizando los criterios GLIM. Mientras tanto, entre el 48% y el 75% de los pacientes con desnutrición fueron identificados con la Evaluación Global Subjetiva (SGA). El criterio de inflamación se adjudicó fácilmente debido al estado crítico, y tres estudios compararon la GLIM y la SGA. Según la herramienta QUADAS-2, el proceso de evaluación nutricional no fue explícito en los estudios. El metaanálisis tuvo una sensibilidad global del 65,3% (IC 95%: 34,9%-86,9%) y una especificidad global del 88,8% (IC 95%: 58,1%-97,8%). En la validación prospectiva, la desnutrición evaluada según los criterios GLIM y la SGA se asoció con la mortalidad. Sin embargo, la asociación entre la duración de la estancia hospitalaria y la ventilación mecánica no estaba clara. Conclusiones El uso y la validez de los criterios GLIM entre los pacientes ingresados en la UCI son todavía limitados. Además, algunos estudios de validación concurrente y predictiva presentan limitaciones metodológicas. Deben realizarse más estudios para validar el uso de los criterios GLIM en la UCI.Background Malnutrition is associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality in patients with critical illness. The nutrition status of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) is challenging to assess. The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) is a novel framework used for the diagnosis of malnutrition. However, its efficacy in patients with critical illness in the ICU has not been validated. Aim To investigate the use and validity of the GLIM criteria in adult patients admitted to the ICU. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed, and seven databases were searched for relevant studies. The selection criteria included studies that used the GLIM in adult patients admitted to the ICU. Quality assessment was performed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. Results Five studies were included in the analysis. Approximately 15%–68% of patients were diagnosed with malnutrition using the GLIM criteria. Meanwhile, 48%–75% of patients with malnutrition were identified with the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). The inflammation criterion was easily adjudicated due to critical status, and three studies compared the GLIM and the SGA. According to the QUADAS-2 tool, the nutritional assessment process was not explicit in the studies. The meta-analysis had an overall sensitivity of 65.3% (95% CI: 34.9%–86.9%) and an overall specificity of 88.8% (95% CI: 58.1%–97.8%). In the prospective validation, malnutrition assessed by the GLIM criteria, and the SGA was associated with mortality. However, the association between length of hospital stay and mechanical ventilation was unclear. Conclusions The use and validity of the GLIM criteria among patients admitted to the ICU is still limited. Moreover, some concurrent and predictive validation studies have methodological limitations. Further studies must be performed to validate the use of the GLIM criteria in the ICU

Estratigrafía de las rocas metasedimentarias (Neoproterozoico-Cámbrico) de la sierra de Mojotoro, Cordillera oriental argentina

El presente trabajo consiste en un estudio geológico detallado de las metamorfitas (Fm Puncoviscana s.l. o Complejo Puncoviscana) que constituyen el núcleo estratigráfico de la sierra de Mojotoro, Cordillera Oriental Argentina. El análisis integrado de este conjunto de rocas permitió dividir la clásica Fm Puncoviscana s.l. o Complejo Puncoviscana en tres unidades estratigráficas, que de más antigua a joven son: las Formaciones Chachapoyas, Alto de la Sierra y Guachos. La Formación Chachapoyas aflora en el flanco occidental de la sierra; está compuesta por facies de metapelitas y metaareniscas verdosas de grano muy fino, con un clivaje dominante de plano axial. Las rocas están fuertemente plegadas y afectadas por un metamorfismo dentro del campo de la anquizona alta-epizona. La Formación Chachapoyas esta intruida por diques ácidos de una edad de 533 ± 2 Ma. La facies arenosas son del tipo cuarzosas de grano fino clasto-soportadas y las facies pelíticas están compuestas por illita y clorita. La Formación Alto de la Sierra es una unidad metaarenosa, compuesta por metavaques cuarzosas, líticas y feldespáticas, donde la característica más notable es la presencia de material volcaniclástico, claramente identificable a través de corte delgado. Las arcillas de esta unidad son del tipo illita y escasos interestratificados de illita/esmectita. Las rocas fueron afectadas en un grado metamórfico tipo anquizona débil a intensa. La Formación Guachos constituye una secuencia heterolítica de metaareniscametapelita de coloraciones parda, pardo verdosas, en la cual se identificaron trazas fósiles de la icnofacies de Nereites. Las metaareniscas son del tipo cuarzosas donde se reconocen algunos líticos volcánicos de textura felsítica y las metapelitas están compuestas por illita, illita/clorita y clorita. Las rocas se encuentran plegadas y afectadas por un evento de deformación reconocible a escala de campo y en corte delgado. El grado de metamorfismo al cual estuvieron sujetas las rocas es dentro del campo de la anquizona intensa-epizona.Fil: Aparicio Gonzalez, Pamela Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Consejo de Investigacion; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Facultad de Ingenieria. Departamento de Geologia y Petroleo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta; ArgentinaFil: Moya, Maria Cristina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Consejo de Investigacion; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta; ArgentinaFil: Impiccini, Agnes. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Facultad de Ingenieria. Departamento de Geologia y Petroleo; Argentin

Multi-stakeholder collaboration in urban transport: state-of-the-art and research opportunities

Transport systems are undergoing a change of paradigm that focuses on resource-sharing and collaboration of multiple and diverse stakeholders. This paper aims to present a state-of-the-art on the main research issues of multi-stakeholder collaboration in urban transport and address the main contributions of the Special Issue on Collaboration and Urban Transport to the field. To that end, it seems necessary to identify and address the complexity of the relations of the stakeholders in the field, beyond the traditional classification of private and public stakeholders. A functional classification of urban stakeholders related to the different land uses is proposed a refer to space users and space organizers, each with several sub-categories. Furthermore, the collaboration among those stakeholders can take different forms and can be developed at different levels: transactional, informational and decisional. Thus, the main research topics regarding multi-stakeholders' collaboration are defined as: partnerships, resource sharing, resource pooling and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) systems. A set of papers in this special issue focus on Urban Consolidation Centres (UCCs), partnerships in transport under a general perspective, multi-stakeholder cooperation and its barriers, collaborative decision-making, traffic prediction and urban congestion. In the papers, which deal with the field of multi-stakeholder collaboration in urban transport, there is a predominance on the use of surveys, but also a focus on data-driven techniques. As a result, this special issue contributes not only to the theoretical aspects, but adds value to technical and methodological issues

Air-cooled heat exchanger design using successive quadratic programming (SQP)

A nonlinear optimization algorithm is applied to the design of air-cooled heat exchangers. In such equipment, the cold fluid (air) is impelled across banks of finned tubes by means of fans in forced or induced draft. The hot stream flows inside the tubes in one or more passes, and the process that takes place may be cooling of either a gas or a liquid, or condensation of either a pure vapor or a mixture. The objective function is the minimum cost of the unit (investment and operation), subject to certain geometric and thermohydraulic constraints. The optimization algorithm used is that developed by Biegler and Cuthrell [1], and programmed by them in the OPT package. The problem posed in this case is made of 10 optimization variables, subject to five constraints related to geometric and operational parameters of the heat exchanger.Fil: Gonzalez, Maria Teresa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Petracci, Noemi Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Urbicain, Martin Juan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentin

Effects of performance management systems–strategy alignment on lecturers' engagement with knowledge transfer: a perspective from Spain

Growing competition among higher education institutions (HEIs) explains their increasing interest in reinforcing strategies by incorporating knowledge transfer (KT) objectives into their strategic plans. However, this strategic formulation must be aligned with the implementation of performance management systems (PMSs) to properly achieve KT objectives. Thus, the aim of this paper is to examine whether aligning PMSs with KT strategic objectives improves KT performance while misalignment worsens it. To that end, PMSs are measured with respect to planning; cybernetic control; policies and procedures and reward and compensation elements. KT is specified as R&D contracts, extended patents, patents and licences. With a sample of 3812 Spanish university lecturers, we test the theoretical positive and negative effects of PMS–KT strategy alignment and misalignment on KT performance respectively. The results show not only that this alignment is effective for KT strategy implementation but also that misalignment has unintended effects on the achievement of long‐term KT objectives. Therefore, lecturers' behaviour is influenced by how closely KT strategy and PMSs are aligned. The findings are useful for managers and academics to develop PMSs that effectively contribute to the achievement of universities' strategic goals.La creciente competencia entre universidades explica su interés cada vez mayor por reforzar sus estrategias incorporando objetivos de transferencia del conocimiento (TC) en sus planes estratégicos. Sin embargo, esta formulación estratégica debe alinearse con la implantación de sistemas de gestión del rendimiento (SGR) para alcanzar los objetivos de transferencia del conocimiento. Así pues, el objetivo de este artículo es examinar si la alineación de los PMS con los objetivos estratégicos de TC mejora el rendimiento de TC mientras que la no alineación lo empeora. Para ello, se consideran los SGR relacionados con la planificación, el control cibernético, las políticas y los procedimientos, así como los elementos de reconocimiento y recompensa. Las actividades de TC consideradas son contratos de I+D, patentes extendidas, patentes y licencias. Con una muestra de 3.812 profesores universitarios españoles, se comprueban los efectos teóricamente positivos y negativos de la alineación y la no alineación de la estrategia de TC en el rendimiento de TC, respectivamente. Los resultados muestran no sólo que esta alineación es eficaz para la aplicación de la estrategia de TC, sino también que la no alineación tiene efectos no deseados en la consecución de los objetivos de TC a largo plazo. Por lo tanto, el comportamiento de los profesores se ve influido por el grado de alineación entre la estrategia de TC y los SGR. Los resultados son útiles para que los gestores y los académicos desarrollen SGR que contribuyan eficazmente a la consecución de los objetivos estratégicos de las universidades.Universidade de Vigo/CISU

γ-Al2O3 as acid catalyst for dehydration of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

Currently, the search and development of sustainable feedstocks for chemicals derived from petrol have gained worldwide attraction because of the instability of the price of crude oil, the reduction of fossil oil reserves, and the environmental concerns associated to the greenhouse effect caused by CO2 emissions, being biomass one of the world’s most important renewable carbon sources. The major component of plant-derived biomass are carbohydrates, being of great importance to develop efficient and green approaches to their valorization by conversion into high value-added products. Thus, glucose can be transformed by dehydration into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which is a versatile and key intermediate for the production of a wide variety of biobased chemicals and it is attracting much attention in biofuels and chemical industry. Different catalytic systems have been evaluated for HMF production from C6 carbohydrates as glucose, mostly based on heterogeneous catalysis as alternative to the use of liquid mineral acids. On the other hand, the high surface area, large pore size and thermal and hydrothermal stabilities of some mesoporous solids make them suitable for many catalytic processes. In the present work, the dehydration of glucose to HMF has been evaluated by using different mesoporous γ-Al2O3 with acid, neutral or basic character, in a biphasic water–MIBK solvent system to avoid the HMF degradation and its possible reaction with the intermediates from glucose to give soluble polymers and humins or acetalization with glucose. Different experimental parameters, such as reaction temperature and time, as well as the addition of inorganic salts have been studied in order to reach the maximum HMF yield.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CTQ2012-38204-C04-02 project), Junta de Andalucía (RNM-1565) and FEDER fund

Designing and developing new VET curricula to address skills gaps in the aeronautics industry

The AIRVET project: “Aeronautic Industry Skills Resolution for a more Efficient VET Offer” is carried out by the AIRVET Alliance, which brings together bodies with Aeronautics specific expertise, Vocational Education Training (VET) providers and bodies involved in education and training systems from six European Countries: Portugal, France, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK. They share the goal of improving the adequacy and attractiveness of VET training offer addressed to this sector. AIRVET’s main aim is to design, develop, evaluate and disseminate adapted/new curricula and VET courses for the aeronautics sector, to help overcome gaps of qualified personnel in the aeronautics industry. The target users of the project’s results are, therefore: workers and future workers of the aeronautics industry (AI), bodies involved in education and training systems, schools and students (potential AI workers), VET providers and trainers, as well companies (SMEs and large companies) connected to the aeronautics industry