Training future engineers: Integrating Computational Thinking and effective learning methodologies into education

This article examines the effectiveness and interest generated among primary and secondary education students through activities aimed at developing Computational Thinking skills, in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The shift to online or hybrid learning models posed a significant challenge for educators, particularly those lacking digital skills. The study sought to answer several research questions, including the impact of online versus in-person teaching on preuniversity students and gender differences in Computer Science perception, and Computational Thinking skills performance. The study employed a four-phase methodology, consisting of pre- and posttraining measurements of Computer Science perception and Computational Thinking skills development through specific activities delivered in-person or online. The results indicate that in-person training is more effective for developing Computational Thinking skills, particularly at the secondary education level. Furthermore, there is a need to focus on maintaining girls' interest in Computer Science during primary school, as interest levels tend to decline significantly in secondary school. These findings have significant implications for Engineering Education in the context of digital transformation and the increasing importance of Computational Thinking skills in various fields of engineering. This study highlights the importance of developing Computational Thinking skills among preuniversity students and the need for effective training methods to achieve this goal and underscore the significance of investing in Engineering Education to prepare the next generation of engineers for the rapidly changing digital landscape

Experiencia de aprendizaje-servicio en una asignatura de programación del Grado en Ingeniería Informática

En este trabajo se presenta una actividad de aprendizaje-servicio para una asignatura del Grado en Ingeniería Informática en la que se estudian lenguajes y paradigmas de programación. La actividad, de carácter voluntario, consiste en diseñar y ejecutar un ejercicio que permita promocionar entre los jóvenes las Ciencias de la Computación mediante el desarrollo del Pensamiento Computacional, concretamente entre estudiantes no universitarios de las etapas de primaria y secundaria. Para primaria los ejercicios han de ser desenchufados, esto es, sin computadoras y utilizando material tangible de cualquier tipo. Mientras que para secundaria los ejercicios han de ser enchufados, es decir, usando un dispositivo electrónico, y se deben proponer retos que los participantes han de superar utilizando conceptos de programación. La ejecución de los ejercicios se lleva a cabo durante la celebración de la Olimpiada de Pensamiento Computacional, evento que se organiza anualmente en la Escuela Superior de Ingeniería y Tecnología de la Universidad de La Laguna. Además, las propuestas de ejercicios se presentan a los compañeros del Grado en un simposio organizado al efecto en el Congreso de Estudiantes de Ingeniería Informática de la institución. El total de los estudiantes que realizaron la actividad durante el presente curso académico obtuvo una calificación superior a cinco puntos sobre diez. Otorgando una valoración general a la misma de un 4,33 sobre 5,0.This paper presents a service-learning activity for a subject of the Degree in Computer Engineering, in which programming languages and paradigms are studied. The activity, of a voluntary nature, consists of designing and executing an exercise that allows promoting Computer Science among young people through the development of Computational Thinking, specifically among non-university students in primary and secondary stages. For primary, the exercises must be unplugged, that is, without computers and using any kind of tangible material. While for secondary the exercises have to be plugged in, that is, using an electronic device and they must propose challenges that participants have to overcome using programming concepts. The execution of the exercises is carried out during the celebration of the Computational Thinking Olympiad, an event that is organized annually at the Escuela Superior de Ingeniería y Tecnología of Universidad de La Laguna. In addition, the proposed exercises are presented to classmates in a symposium organized for this purpose at the Computer Engineering Student Congress of the institution. The total number of students who carried out the activity during this academic year obtained a grade of more than five points of ten. Giving a general assessment to it of 4,33 out of 5,0.El trabajo de Rafael Herrero-Álvarez ha sido financiado con la ayuda del programa predoctoral de formación del personal investigador dentro de programas oficiales de doctorado en Canarias, cofinanciadas con el Fondo Social Europeo con el expediente número TESIS2021010058. La organización y el material necesario para las actividades se han financiado parcialmente con el proyecto “Piensa ComputacionULLmente: Programa educativo para el fomento del pensamiento computacional a través de la realización de actividades que permitan su desarrollo y su inclusión en el currículo” (REF A22120132) del Cabildo Insular de Tenerife y la Fundación General de la Universidad de La Laguna. Este trabajo se ha financiado parcialmente con el proyecto “El pensamiento computacional en el sistema educativo canario: diagnóstico y hoja de ruta para su incorporación en el currículo” (2020EDU01) de la Fundación LaCaixa-Cajacanarias

Microtubule Destabilizing Sulfonamides as an Alternative to Taxane-Based Chemotherapy

Pan-Gyn cancers entail 1 in 5 cancer cases worldwide, breast cancer being the most commonly diagnosed and responsible for most cancer deaths in women. The high incidence and mortality of these malignancies, together with the handicaps of taxanes—first-line treatments—turn the development of alternative therapeutics into an urgency. Taxanes exhibit low water solubility that require formulations that involve side effects. These drugs are often associated with dose-limiting toxicities and with the appearance of multi-drug resistance (MDR). Here, we propose targeting tubulin with compounds directed to the colchicine site, as their smaller size offer pharmacokinetic advantages and make them less prone to MDR efflux. We have prepared 52 new Microtubule Destabilizing Sulfonamides (MDS) that mostly avoid MDR-mediated resistance and with improved aqueous solubility. The most potent compounds, N-methyl-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-4-methylaminobenzenesulfonamide 38, N-methyl-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-4-methoxy-3-aminobenzenesulfonamide 42, and N-benzyl-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-4-methoxy-3-aminobenzenesulfonamide 45 show nanomolar antiproliferative potencies against ovarian, breast, and cervix carcinoma cells, similar or even better than paclitaxel. Compounds behave as tubulin-binding agents, causing an evident disruption of the microtubule network, in vitro Tubulin Polymerization Inhibition (TPI), and mitotic catastrophe followed by apoptosis. Our results suggest that these novel MDS may be promising alternatives to taxane-based chemotherapy in chemoresistant Pan-Gyn cancers.We thank the people at Frigoríficos Salamanca S.A slaughterhouse for providing us with the calf brains, “Servicio General de NMR” and “Servicio General de Espectrofotometría de Masas” of the University of Salamanca for equipment. M.G. acknowledges a predoctoral fellowship from the Junta de Castilla y León (ORDEN EDU/529/2017 de 26 de junio). M.O.-S. acknowledges a predoctoral fellowship from the IBSAL (IBpredoc17/00010). A.V.-B. acknowledges a predoctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (FPU15/02457). This research was funded by the Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León (SA030U16, SA262P18 and SA116P20), co-funded by the EU’s European Regional Development Fund-FEDER, the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (RTI2018-099474-BI00) and the health research program of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, PI16/01920 and PI20/01569) co-funded with FEDER founds

A Red-Emitting, Multidimensional Sensor for the Simultaneous Cellular Imaging of Biothiols and Phosphate Ions

The development of new fluorescent probes for cellular imaging is currently a very active field because of the large potential in understanding cell physiology, especially targeting anomalous behaviours due to disease. In particular, red-emitting dyes are keenly sought, as the light in this spectral region presents lower interferences and a deeper depth of penetration in tissues. In this work, we have synthesized a red-emitting, dual probe for the multiplexed intracellular detection of biothiols and phosphate ions. We have prepared a fluorogenic construct involving a silicon-substituted fluorescein for red emission. The fluorogenic reaction is selectively started by the presence of biothiols. In addition, the released fluorescent moiety undergoes an excited-state proton transfer reaction promoted by the presence of phosphate ions, which modulates its fluorescence lifetime, τ, with the total phosphate concentration. Therefore, in a multidimensional approach, the intracellular levels of biothiols and phosphate can be detected simultaneously using a single fluorophore and with spectral clearing of cell autofluorescence interferences. We have applied this concept to different cell lines, including photoreceptor cells, whose levels of biothiols are importantly altered by light irradiation and other oxidants.This work was funded by grants CTQ2014-56370-R, CTQ2014-53598, and CTQ2014-55474-C2-2-R from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and grant FQM2012-790 from the Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa (Junta de Andalucı́a), including costs to publish in open access

Metodología para el desarrollo del pensamiento computacional en tiempos de COVID-19

En este trabajo se describe la metodología seguida con el proyecto ‘Piensa@ Computacion@ULLmente’ para desarrollar habilidades de pensamiento computacional en estudiantes de 4º de primaria y 2º de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria en tiempos de COVID-19, adaptando intervenciones en el aula y ejercicios a una modalidad sin presencialidad. La propuesta desarrollada se basa en dos vertientes. Por un lado, píldoras educativas en formato vídeo que permiten una realización asíncrona del proyecto, y por otro, intervenciones síncronas con los estudiantes en el aula mediante el uso de software de videoconferencia. Finalmente, se presenta como resultado una comparativa del interés generado en los participantes de este proyecto en anteriores ediciones con presencialidad y con la nueva metodología que se describe

What Emotions do Pre-university Students Feel when Engaged in Computational Thinking Activities?

Emotions affect how we acquire knowledge, being one of the causes of the demotivation generated at the time of studying a new field. Computer Science does not always pique the interest of young people, so we carry out an analysis of emotions that are present in primary and secondary school students, around 8-9 years old and 12-13 years old, who engage in Computational Thinking activities, considering the educational level, gender, and type of intervention, to understand why this lack of interest. The sessions were based on 1 hour of face-to-face class in which activities related to Computational Thinking were carried out. The instrument used to measure emotions was the Developmental Channels Questionnaire which includes 13 different emotions that students must answer using the Likert scale from 0 to 10. The emotions felt have been mostly positive and ambiguous, while negative emotions have a low intensity, particularly in primary education. Regarding the educational level, there are differences between girls and boys only in the secondary education, while in the primary they are no significant. Also, girls show an evolution when carrying out this type of activity, while boys do not change

Indicadores científicos de la producción de la producción andaluza en Biomedicina y Ciencias de la Salud: (ISI, Web of Science, 2003-2004)

The work reflects the scientific production of Andalusia in an area where research is reaching a very remarkable, and in a period when we wanted to enhance the role and presence in Andalusia in the scientific development of the Spanish state

Curriculum de Ciencias de la Computación en Canarias

En 2016, se puso en marcha el Aula Cultural de Pensamiento Computacional de la Universidad de La Laguna para dar respuesta social a la confusión que surge al integrar las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones en la educación. Es importante distinguir entre los términos “Alfabetización Digital”, “Pensamiento Computacional” y “Ciencias de la Computación”. Las habilidades digitales se centran en el uso de la tecnología, mientras que el Pensamiento Computacional implica comprender los fundamentos de las Ciencias de la Computación. Esta materia disuade especialmente a las mujeres de perseguir carreras tecnológicas. En 2021 se puso en marcha el “Proyecto C**4: Curriculum de Ciencias de la Computación en Canarias” para promover las Ciencias de la Computación en los estudios preuniversitarios a través del Pensamiento Computacional. El proyecto, en desarrollo hasta 2024, cuenta con dos acciones: un diagnóstico del sistema educativo en Canarias sobre recursos, formación docente y percepción de los estudiantes; y una hoja de ruta que analice cómo la recién aprobada reforma educativa se adapta a esta realidad. También busca impulsar el conocimiento y la participación de la minoría, abordando las barreras existentes y mejorando la educación en Ciencias de la Computación

Simple and non-charged long-lived fluorescent intracellular organelle trackers

In this work we evaluated by FLIM microscopy the preferential accumulation of long-lived acridone derivatives in mitochondria and lysosomes, based on a new concept of non-protonable and non-charged groups carriers. Thus, thiophene ring has been proved to act as mithocondria carrier whereas pyridine derivative is preferentially accumulated into lisosomes.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad for funding (CTQ2017-85454-C2-1-P and CTQ2017-85658-R).Junta de AndalucíaMinisterio de Economía y Competitivida

Recensiones [Revista de Historia Económica Año V Invierno 1987 n. 1 pp. 143-187]

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