Strategic implementation of education for sustainable development within the industrial engineer curriculum

The main objective of this presentation is to validate a methodology to address education for sustainable development within the industrial engineer curriculum that will define the content, skills and learning methods in a process of continuous improvement and compatible with the national curriculum regulations for the Bachelor and Master of the IQS School of Engineering. In order to validate the teaching methods and their implementation the stakeholders, industry, public authorities and academia has been asked. A previous research has set the survey content. The results had determined the main skills to develop their work, to what extent have these skills the new graduates, and the areas we should consider now to move towards a sustainable development. The questions to the experts were set in three groups. In the first group of questions they asked to assign the order of relevance to the categories: Environmental aspects, Resources scarcity, Social Impact, Cultural & Values aspects, Future generations, Unbalances, Technology, Economical aspects, Educational aspects, Actors and stakeholders to advance towards sustainable development. In the second part of the survey the experts had decided the relevance of related competencies, to prepare graduated people to the demands of the professional market and the level the graduate achieve on these competencies. The third question group was related to the curriculum and how must be the sustainability criteria be included within the engineering curriculum (degree + master). There are defined three options: 1) embedded the sustainable concepts in the subjects, 2) show recent real cases, 3) develop projects. The panel of experts has been composed by public authorities of the administration and professional institutions, senior Engineers, IQS engineers and multidisciplinary experts. Finally, the survey’s conclusions have been applied in the curriculum in concordance with the Project P-15 Environmental Sustainability IQS of 2017-2020 Strategic Plan and the ABET Program accreditation

Metodologia “learning by doing” aplicada a l’ensenyament pràctic de les màquines elèctriques com a eina de suport al procés d'adaptació al nou model docent vinculat a l'Espai Europeu d'Ensenyament Superior

En l’àrea de màquines elèctriques de l’Escola Universitària d’Enginyeria Tècnica Industrial de Barcelona (EUETIB) s’ha dut a terme un projecte de millora i innovació docent amb el finançament de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) i l’ajut del Departament d’Enginyeria Elèctrica. Un dels eixos principals dins del projecte de millora i innovació en l’àrea de màquines elèctriques ha estat el disseny d’una nova metodologia activa de pràctiques. La nova metodologia neix com a resultat de l’adaptació de la metodologia “learning by doing” a les especificitats del treball pràctic de les assignatures de màquines elèctriques. El desenvolupament i implantació d’aquesta metodologia activa centrada en l’estudiant ha obtingut uns resultats excel·lents i ha estat una eina que ha permès adaptar les assignatures de màquines elèctriques als nous models docents establerts per la UPC en el context de l’EEES fent possible que els estudiants tinguin un paper més actiu dins del procés d’ensenyament i aprenentatge

Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.: a rich source of lipophilic phytochemicals

The lipophilic extracts from the storage root of 13 cultivars of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) were evaluated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with the aim to valorize them and offer information on their nutritional properties and potential health benefits. The amount of lipophilic extractives ranged from 0.87 to 1.32% dry weight. Fatty acids and sterols were the major families of compounds identified. The most abundant saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were hexadecanoic acid (182-428 mg/kg) and octadeca-9,12-dienoic acid (133-554 mg/kg), respectively. β-Sitosterol was the principal phytosterol, representing 55.2-77.6% of this family, followed by campesterol. Long-chain aliphatic alcohols and α-tocopherol were also detected but in smaller amounts. The results suggest that sweet potato should be considered as an important dietary source of lipophilic phytochemicals.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The influence of antidiabetic medications on the development and progression of prostate cancer

AbstractBackgroundThe development of prostate tumors has been linked to co-morbid diabetes mellitus (DM) in several studies, potentially through the stimulation of insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGFR). This study evaluates the effect of anti-diabetic medication use on the development of high grade tumors and time to tumor progression compared to non-diabetics.MethodsThis retrospective, nested case control study identified patients with prostate cancer (PCa) from the Kentucky Medicaid Database. Cases were diagnosed with PCa and DM and using at least one of the following antidiabetic medications; sulfonylureas, insulin, metformin or TZDs. Cases were further stratified on their insulin exposure resulting from therapy. Controls were those with PCa without DM or any anti-diabetic medications.ResultsThe use of metformin or TZDs trended toward decreased odds of high-grade tumors and decreased risk of progression, while sulfonylureas and high-dose insulin tended toward an increased odds of high-grade tumors and increase the risk of progression compared to non-diabetics.ConclusionsFuture studies should be conducted to further evaluate the effects of anti-diabetic medications on tumor grade and time to prostate cancer progression

Absence of an adipogenic effect of rosiglitazone on mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes: increase of lipid catabolism and reduction of adipokine expression

Aims/hypothesis: The thiazolidinedione (TZD) rosiglitazone is a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-¿ agonist that induces adipocyte differentiation and, hence, lipid accumulation. This is in apparent contrast to the long-term glucose-lowering, insulin-sensitising effect of rosiglitazone. We tested whether the action of rosiglitazone involves specific effects on mature adipocytes, which are different from those on preadipocytes. Materials and methods: Differentiated mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes were used as an in vitro model. Transcriptomics, proteomics and assays of metabolism were applied to assess the effect of rosiglitazone in different insulin and glucose conditions. Results: Rosiglitazone does not induce an increase, but rather a decrease in the lipid content of mature adipocytes. Analysis of transcriptome data, confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR and measurements of lipolysis, indicates that an altered energy metabolism may underlie this change. The pathway analysis shows a consistent picture dominated by lipid catabolism. In addition, we confirmed at both mRNA level and protein level that rosiglitazone represses adipokine expression and production, except for genes encoding adiponectin and apolipoprotein E. Moreover, transcriptome changes indicate that a general repression of genes encoding secreted proteins occurs. Conclusions/ interpretation: Our findings suggest that the change of adiposity as seen in vivo reflects a shift in balance between the different effects of TZDs on preadipocytes and on mature adipocytes, while the changes in circulating adipokine levels primarily result from an effect on mature adipocyte