Forest Ecosystem Services: An Analysis of Worldwide Research

The relevance of forests to sustain human well-being and the serious threats they face have led to a notable increase of research works on forest ecosystem services during the last few years. This paper analyses the worldwide research dynamics on forest ecosystem services in the period from 1998 to 2017. A bibliometric analysis of 4284 articles was conducted. The results showed that the number of published research articles has especially increased during the last five years. In total, 68.63% of the articles were published in this period. This research line experiences a growing trend superior to the general publishing trend on forest research. In spite of this increase, its relative significance within the forest research is still limited. The most productive subject areas corresponded to Environmental Science, Agricultural and Biological Sciences and Social Sciences Economic topics are understudied. The scientific production is published in a wide range of journals. The three first publishing countries are United States, China and the United Kingdom. The most productive authors are attached to diverse research centres and their contributions are relatively recent. A high level of international cooperation has been observed between countries, institutions and authors. The findings of this study are useful for researchers since they give them an overview of the worldwide research trends on forest ecosystem services

Discovering Rehabilitation trends in Spain: A bibliometric analysis

The main purpose of this study is to offer an overview of the rehabilitation research area in Spain from 1970 to 2018 through a bibliometric analysis. Analysis of performance and a co-word science mapping analysis were conducted to highlight the topics covered. The software tool SciMAT was used to analyse the themes concerning their performance and impact measures. A total of 3,564 documents from the Web of Science were retrieved. Univ Deusto, Univ Rey Juan Carlos and Basque Foundation for Science are the institutions with highest relative priority. The most important research themes are IntellectualDisability, Neck-Pain and Pain

Teaching innovation in the reception days of Secondary Education and High School students to the Department of Physics

Este proyecto ha tratado de incorporar la participación de alumnos del Grado de Física, en concreto de 4º curso, en una de las actividades que se realizan en el Departamento de Física, las “Jornadas de recepción de alumnado de E.S.O. y Bachillerato al Departamento de Física”. Esta actividad consiste en recibir alumnado de E.S.O. y Bachillerato en las instalaciones del Departamento de Física para darles a conocer el estado actual del Grado de Física y mostrarles los laboratorios. El objetivo de esta actividad es fomentar su interés por la Ciencia en general y la Física en particular. La participación de los alumnos del Grado de Física en esta actividad les ha permitido trabajar una gran diversidad de competencias asociadas al Grado, tanto competencias básicas como algunas específicas del Título y de las que se han denominado competencias de Universidad.This project is based on the participation of students of the Physics Degree, in particular those who were in the final year of their studies, in one of the divulgation activities developed in the Department of Physics, “Reception days of Secondary and High School Students to the Department of Physics”. In this activity, Secondary and High School students are welcomed to the facilities of the Department of Physics to be informed about the Degree of Physics and to show them the laboratories. The objective of this activity is to stimulate their interest in science in general and physics in particular. The participation of the students of the Physics Degree in this activity has allowed them to work on a great variety of competences associated with their studies, including basic competences, some of their Degree specific competences as well as those categorized as University competences

Economía de la Salud: identificación de los principales productores, la especialización relativa de los países y temas

Health economics research area was a high evolution from the 1960s and it is constantly growing. Currently, the health expenditure is a key issue worldwide. Bibliometrics provides several methods to explore the impact and evolution of the research. Thus, the main aim of the present study is to understand the current status of the research in health economics for the period 2010-2019. Three different aspects were analyzed: countries production, relative priority index and main themes. The dataset was obtained from the documents indexed in the Web of Science database from 2010 to 2019. SciMAT software was used to obtain the thematic analysis by means of science mapping analysis. The journals Health economics, Value in Health, Journal of Health Economics, and European Journal of Health Economics are the main producers. USA, England and Germany are those with highest production; Netherlands, England and Australia are those with the highest relative priority index. Quality adjusted life years and Health inequality are the themes with the highest number of documents and impact measures. This study is a useful evidence-based framework on which to base future research actions

Study of the impact of an online self-assessment questionnaire for the treatment of measurement uncertainties

La correcta comprensión del origen de las incertidumbres experimentales, así como su tratamiento matemático, resulta fundamental en la formación de cualquier científico, pues permite determinar la precisión de los resultados experimentales. Por este motivo, estos conocimientos forman parte de las competencias relacionadas con las asignaturas de Física de los primeros cursos universitarios. Se ha desarrollado e implantado en la plataforma Moodle un cuestionario de autoevaluación online como actividad de autoaprendizaje enfocada al tratamiento de errores en las prácticas de laboratorio de las asignaturas de Física de primer curso en diferentes grados científico-técnicos. Concretamente, fueron puestos a disposición del alumnado de los Grados de Química y Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos. Para valorar el impacto percibido por el alumnado de estos cuestionarios de autoevaluación se realizaron encuestas previas y posteriores a las actividades, cuyos resultados muestran una alta correlación entre el uso de la actividad y la percepción de su utilidad. De igual forma, se han analizado las estadísticas de uso y las calificaciones proporcionadas por la plataforma Moodle, mostrando que, pese a la positiva percepción del impacto del cuestionario en su aprendizaje, es necesario perfilar la actividad para conseguir un mayor grado de uso.The correct understanding of the origin of the experimental uncertainties and their mathematical treatment is fundamental in the formation of any scientist, since it allows to determine the precision of the experimental results. For this reason, such knowledge is usually part of the competences related to the Physics subjects of the first university courses. An online self-assessment questionnaire was developed and implemented in the Moodle platform as a self-learning activity focused on the treatment of errors in the laboratory practices of the first year Physics subjects in different scientific-technical degrees. Specifically, it was available to students from Chemistry and Food Science and Technology degrees. To assess the impact perceived by students, surveys were conducted before and after the activities. The analysis of the answers given to those surveys, used as indicators of the perceived impact of the activity, show a high correlation between the use of the activity and the perception of its usefulness. Similarly, usage statistics and the ratings provided by the Moodle platform were analyzed, showing that, despite the positive perception of the impact of the questionnaire on their learning, it is necessary to improve the activity to achieve a greater degree of use

Recomendaciones del Grupo GARIN para el manejo de pacientes no críticos con diabetes o hiperglucemia de estrés y nutrición artificial

Background & aims: By means of this update, the GARIN working group aims to define its position regarding the treatment of patients with diabetes or stress hyperglycaemia and artificial nutrition. In this area there are many aspects of uncertainty, especially in non-critically ill patients. Methods: Bibliographical review, and specific questions in advance were discussed and answered at a meeting in the form of conclusions. Results: We propose a definition of stress hyperglycaemia. The indications and access routes for artificial nutrition are no different in patients with diabetes/stress hyperglycaemia than in non-diabetics. The objective must be to keep pre-prandial blood glucose levels between 100 and 140 mg/dl and post-prandial levels between 140 and 180 mg/dl. Hyperglycemia can be prevented through systematic monitoring of capillary glycaemias and adequately calculate energy-protein needs. We recommend using enteral formulas designed for patients with diabetes (high monounsaturated fat) to facilitate metabolic control. The best drug treatment for treating hyperglycaemia/diabetes in hospitalised patients is insulin and we make recommendations for adapt the theoretical insulin action to the nutrition infusion regimen. We also addressed recommendations for future investigation. Conclusions: This recommendations about artificial nutrition in patients with diabetes or stress hyperglycaemia can add value to clinical work.Introducción y objetivos: En el tratamiento de los pacientes con diabetes o hiperglucemia de estrés y la nutrición artificial existen muchas áreas de incertidumbre, sobre todo en pacientes no críticos. El grupo de trabajo GARIN tiene como objetivo definir su posición en este campo. Material y métodos: Revisión bibliográfica previa y reunión presencial en la que se discutieron y contestaron preguntas específicas sobre el tema. Resultados: Proponemos una definición de hiperglucemia de estrés. Las indicaciones y las rutas de acceso a la nutrición artificial no difieren en los pacientes con hiperglucemia de estrés o diabetes respecto a los no diabéticos. El objetivo debe ser mantener los niveles de glucemia preprandial entre 100 y 140 mg/dl y postprandial entre 140 y 180 mg/dl. La hiperglucemia puede prevenirse a través de una monitorización sistemática de las glucemias capilares y un cálculo adecuado de las necesidades energético-proteicas. Recomendamos el uso de fórmulas enterales diseñadas para pacientes con diabetes (alto contenido en grasas monoinsaturadas) para facilitar el control metabólico. El mejor tratamiento farmacológico para tratar la hiperglucemia/diabetes en pacientes hospitalizados es la insulina, aconsejando adaptar la acción teórica de la insulina al régimen de infusión de la nutrición. También realizamos recomendaciones para investigaciones futuras. Conclusiones: Estas recomendaciones aportan respuestas concretas sobre cuestiones comunes en la asistencia a pacientes con diabetes o hiperglucemia de estrés y nutrición artificial

Clasificación de registros de mapeado cardíaco en fibrilación ventricular

El presente trabajo estudia las modificaciones intrínsecas que el ejercicio físico produce en la respuesta cardíaca durante fibrilación ventricular (FV). Para ello se plantea el desarrollo de clasificadores (RL; regresión logística y ELM; Extreme Learning Machine) que diferencien entre el grupo control y los sujetos entrenados. Como parámetros de entrada a los clasificadores se han considerado dos relacionados con el espectro de la señal (FD: frecuencia dominante, y EN: energía normalizada), y otros relacionados con la regularidad y organización de las ondas de activación local, OAL, (IR: índice de regularidad y NO: número de ocurrencias). Se ha realizado un análisis de regiones de interés (ROI) de los tres primeros parámetros para valorar su uniformidad espacial. El trabajo tiene un doble objetivo: estudiar las capacidades de los distintos clasificadores y obtener información acerca de la importancia de las variables a la hora de realizar la clasificación. Se analizaron registros de mapeado cardíaco correspondientes a dos grupos: control (G1: sin entrenamiento, N=10) y entrenados (G2, N=9). Del estudio de las capacidades de ambos clasificadores, se puede observar cómo la ELM obtiene mejores índices de funcionamiento que la RL. Si se analiza el producto sensibilidad por especificidad en el conjunto de validación, se obtiene un 60.73% con la RL y un 72.37% con la ELM. En cuanto al análisis de variables, los resultados obtenidos sugieren que los cambios intrínsecos en FV debidos al ejercicio físico están relacionados con la regularidad morfológica y la uniformidad espectral de las señales de activación del tejido cardíaco

Angle transducer based on fiber Bragg gratings able for tunnel auscultation

In this paper an angle transducer based on Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) is presented. Two gratings are glued to a metallic platen, one in each side. It is insensitive to temperature changes, given that the temperature shifts affect equally to both FBG. When the platen is uniformly bent an uniform strain appears in both sides of the platen. It depends on the bend angle and the platen length and thickness. The transducer has been designed to be used in the auscultation of tunnels during their construction process and during their live time. The transducer design and its characterization are presented