La Modernización de las Minas de Almadén en los inicios del siglo XX (1918-1928)

Premio extraordinario de Trabajo Fin de Máster curso 2018/2019. Máster en Representación y Diseño en Ingeniería y ArquitecturaEn los inicios del siglo XX, las condiciones en las minas de Almadén (Ciudad Real) eran tan deplorables que hicieron plantearse al Estado incluso la posibilidad de su venta. Finalmente, se acordó la creación de un nuevo órgano de gobierno de las minas, que sería el llamado Consejo de Administración de las Minas de Almadén, en el año 1918. Como primeros objetivos, el Consejo de Administración se fijó la modernización de la instalación minera y la elaboración de un reglamento para la reorganización del trabajo, así como la implementación de mejoras sociales y sanitarias para los obreros. Para lograr la modernización de las instalaciones, el eje central sería la sustitución de la energía del vapor que se había utilizado hasta esas fechas, y que nunca había dado buen resultado, por la energía eléctrica. Para el abastecimiento de energía eléctrica, se barajaron distintas opciones. Finalmente, se optó por la instalación de una central eléctrica denominada “de reserva” en tanto se conseguía la construcción de una línea eléctrica que dotase de suministro a las minas. El hecho de contar con suministro eléctrico supuso la posibilidad de llevar a cabo otras mejoras en las instalaciones. Se sentaron así las bases de una instalación acorde al siglo XX que culminó con el máximo apogeo de las minas en toda su historia.In the early twentieth century, working conditions in the mines of Almadén (Ciudad Real) were extremely deplorable that the State even considered the possibility of selling them. Finally, it was agreed to create the Administration Council of Almadén Mines, in 1918. The first objectives of the Administration Council of Almadén Mines were the modernization of the mine facilities and the elaboration of a new regulation framework for the organization of work duties as well as the implementation of social and health improvement for workers. To achieve the modernization of the facilities, the most important issue would be the replacement of the steam energy that had been used up to that date, and which had never been successful, by electric power. For the supply of electricity, different options were considered. Finally, a power plant was installed and named "substitute power plant" until a power line could be connected to supply electricity to the mines. The fact of having an electrical supply meant the possibility of carrying out other improvements in the facilities. Thus, an installation was achieved according to the 20th century regulations. This was the basis of a modern mine that reached the peak of its history in the fifties of the 20th century

¿Quién quiere ser millonario? El concurso como herramienta alternativa de evaluación

Los concursos son una técnica de gamificación que, a través de una dinámica generalmente incremental y competitiva, tratan de favorecer la motivación de los estudiantes y estimular su aprendizaje haciéndolo más atractivo. El contexto de los concursos permite no solo desarrollar competencias técnicas y transversales con su aplicación, sino también plantear formas alternativas de evaluación de contenidos que pueden ser de aplicación en asignaturas de distinta tipología. En este artículo se presenta una experiencia docente en la que el famoso concurso ¿Quién quiere ser millonario? ha sido utilizado como actividad de evaluación alternativa a los exámenes parciales en la asignatura Sistemas de Comunicación en Edificios del cuarto curso del grado en Ingeniería Eléctrica. Para ello, se han implementado dos versiones o modalidades de este concurso: una modalidad on-line donde los estudiantes participaban desde sus casas y una modalidad presencial, donde los estudiantes eran evaluados en el aula ordinaria. El desarrollo de esta actividad durante los dos últimos cursos académicos permite constatar que esta metodología es adecuada para la evaluación de contenidos fundamentales.Contests constitute a gaming technique which, by means of competitive and increasing dynamics, try to boost motivation in students and stimulate their learning progress by making it more attractive. The different types of contests would allow not only to develop technical and cross-curricular competences when applied but also to contemplate alternative ways of content assessment that might be applied in different subjects. This article presents a teaching experience where the famous contest Who wants to be a millionaire has been used as an assessment alternative tool to midterms tests in the subject Communications systems in buildings in the fourth year of the Electrical Engineering bachelor ´s degree. For this matter, two different versions of the contest have been implemented: the online version where students participate from home and the face-to-face version where all the students are assessed in the classroom. The development of this activity during the last two academic courses allows us to confirm that this methodology is suitable to assess essential contents

Risk factors and outcome of COVID-19 in patients with hematological malignancies

Background: Prognostic factors of poor outcome in patients with hematological malignancies and COVID-19 are poorly defned. Patients and methods: This was a Spanish transplant group and cell therapy (GETH) multicenter retrospective observational study, which included a large cohort of blood cancer patients with laboratory-confrmed SARS-CoV-2 infection through PCR assays from March 1st 2020 to May 15th 2020. Results: We included 367 pediatric and adult patients with hematological malignancies, including recipients of autologous (ASCT) (n=58) or allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) (n=65) from 41 hospitals in Spain. Median age of patients was 64 years (range 1-93.8). Recipients of ASCT and allo-SCT showed lower mortality rates (17% and 18%, respectively) compared to non-SCT patients (31%) (p=0.02). Prognostic factors identifed for day 45 overall mortality (OM) by logistic regression multivariate analysis included age>70 years [odds ratio (OR) 2.1, 95% con‑ fdence interval (CI) 1.2-3.8, p=0.011]; uncontrolled hematological malignancy (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.6-5.2, p20 mg/dL (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.7-6.4, p<0.0001). In multivariate analysis of 216 patients with very severe COVID-19, treatment with azithromycin or low dose corticosteroids was associated with lower OM (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.2-0.89 and OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.11-0.87, respectively, p=0.02) whereas the use of hidroxycloroquine did not show signifcant improvement in OM (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.37-1.1, P=0.1). Conclusions: In most patients with hematological malignancies COVID-19 mortality was directly driven by older age, disease status, performance status, as well as by immune (neutropenia) parameters and level of infammation (high CRP). Use of azithromycin and low dose corticosteroids may be of value in very severe COVID-19

The modernisation of the Almadén Mines at the beginning of the 20th century. Electrification of the facilities

En los últimos años se ha dado impulso a la valorización del patrimonio industrial y minero a nivel mundial, lo que ha supuesto que numerosas instalaciones mineras, lejos de ser desmanteladas al finalizar su vida útil, se hayan reconvertido en centros turísticos que contribuyen en gran medida a compensar la pérdida de puestos de trabajo en las comarcas que tradicionalmente dependían de estas explotaciones. Dentro de este proceso puede incluirse la reconversión de las minas de mercurio de Almadén en el llamado Parque Minero de Almadén, declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO en el año 2012, junto con otros bienes patrimoniales de la localidad todos ellos relacionados con la actividad minera. Esta declaración significa un reconocimiento a la importancia que las minas de Almadén han tenido durante su dilatada historia y las hace, por tanto, merecedoras de exhaustivos trabajos de investigación. Así, a lo largo de los años, se han abordado numerosas investigaciones existiendo, sin embargo, una importante laguna en lo que se refiere a las mejoras técnicas que se implementaron en las primeras décadas del siglo XX y que tuvieron como eje central la implementación del uso de la energía eléctrica. En el presente trabajo de investigación se aborda cómo se llevó a cabo la electrificación de las minas de Almadén, partiendo de un profundo análisis de la situación de las minas previa a esta electrificación. En este análisis se incluyen las causas que motivaron que se estableciese un nuevo órgano de gobierno de las minas, creándose el llamado Consejo de Administración, dependiente del Ministerio de Hacienda, que fue el responsable de la toma de decisiones finalmente adoptadas para sustituir la energía del vapor, que venía utilizándose en las minas, por la electricidad. En relación con ello, se analizan también las mejoras técnicas que pudieron incorporarse gracias a esta nueva forma de energía, así como las consecuencias que se produjeron en la producción y el rendimiento de las minas.In recent years, there has been a worldwide boost to enhance the value of industrial and mining heritage, which means that many mining facilities, far from being dismantled at the end of their useful life, have been reconverted into tourist centres that contribute to a large extent to compensate the loss of jobs in the areas that traditionally depended on these exploitations. We can include in this process the restructuring of the Almaden mercury mines in the so-called Almadén Mining Park, declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2012, together with other heritage assets in the municipality, all of which are related to the former mining activity. This declaration is a recognition of the importance that the Almaden mines had during their long history and, therefore, makes them worthy of exhaustive research work. Thus, over the years, a great deal of research has been carried out, although there is an important gap with regard to the technical improvements that were implemented in the first decades of the 20th century, the main focus of which was the implementation of the use of electrical energy. This research work deals with how the electrification of the Almaden mines was carried out, based on an in-depth analysis of the situation of the mines prior to this electrification. This research includes the causes that led to the establishment of a new governing body for the mines, the so-called Board of Directors, under the Ministry of Finance, which was responsible for making the decisions which were finally adopted to replace the steam power, which had been used in the mines, with electricity. In relation to this, the technical improvements that could be incorporated thanks to this new form of energy are also studied, as well as the consequences that were produced in the production and performance of the mines

Risk factors and outcome of COVID-19 in patients with hematological malignancies

Background: Prognostic factors of poor outcome in patients with hematological malignancies and COVID-19 are poorly defined. Patients and methods: This was a Spanish transplant group and cell therapy (GETH) multicenter retrospective observational study, which included a large cohort of blood cancer patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection through PCR assays from March 1st 2020 to May 15th 2020. Results: We included 367 pediatric and adult patients with hematological malignancies, including recipients of autologous (ASCT) (n = 58) or allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) (n = 65) from 41 hospitals in Spain. Median age of patients was 64 years (range 1-93.8). Recipients of ASCT and allo-SCT showed lower mortality rates (17% and 18%, respectively) compared to non-SCT patients (31%) (p = 0.02). Prognostic factors identified for day 45 overall mortality (OM) by logistic regression multivariate analysis included age > 70 years [odds ratio (OR) 2.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-3.8, p = 0.011]; uncontrolled hematological malignancy (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.6-5.2, p 20 mg/dL (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.7-6.4, p < 0.0001). In multivariate analysis of 216 patients with very severe COVID-19, treatment with azithromycin or low dose corticosteroids was associated with lower OM (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.2-0.89 and OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.11-0.87, respectively, p = 0.02) whereas the use of hidroxycloroquine did not show significant improvement in OM (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.37-1.1, P = 0.1). Conclusions: In most patients with hematological malignancies COVID-19 mortality was directly driven by older age, disease status, performance status, as well as by immune (neutropenia) parameters and level of inflammation (high CRP). Use of azithromycin and low dose corticosteroids may be of value in very severe COVID-19.Ye