Does the educational management model matter? New evidence from a quasiexperimental approach

A growing literature has appeared in the last 2 decades with the aim to explore if the way in which publicly funded private schools are managed (a very autonomous mode) is more effective, than that applied in public schools (where decisions are highly centralized), concerning the promotion of student’s educational skills. Our paper contributes to this literature providing new evidence from the Spanish experience. To this end, we use the Spanish Assessment named “Evaluación de Diagnóstico, ” a national yearly standardized test given to students in the fourth grade and administered by the Regional Educational Authorities. In particular, our data are those corresponding to the assessment conducted in the Spanish region of Aragón in 2010. Our methodological strategy is defined by the sequential application of two methods: propensity score matching and hierarchical linear models. Additionally, the sensitivity of our estimates is also tested with respect to unobserved heterogeneity. Our results underline the existence of a slight advantage of the private management model of schools in the promotion of scientific abilities of students and in the acquisition of foreign language (English) skills

Tratamiento de lesiones pélvicas conminutas inestables en niños, con fijadores externos: a propósito de un caso

A propósito de un caso de una fractura pélvica conminuta inestable en una ni- ña de 6 años, se señalan las características peculiares de este tipo de lesiones y se recuerda que pueden presentar las mismas complicaciones potenciales que en los adultos. Nuestra actitud terapéutica en este caso fue la misma que se preconiza para los adultos en cuanto a la estabilización inicial mediante fijación externa.A case of conminute unstable fracture of the pelvis in a 6-year-old girl is presented. The particularities of this type of lesions, including the potential complications like in adults, are commented. This case was treated following the same criteria preconized for adults regarding the initial stabilization using an external device

Utilización de fijadores externos circulares para la corrección de pies gravemente deformados

Se presentan 4 casos de deformidades graves de pie de diferente etiología y diferente combinación de deformidades tratados mediante el fijador externo circular de Ilizarov. Se procedió a la corrección progresiva y simultánea de las deformidades en los 3 planos espaciales. En 2 casos se realizó simultáneamente y con el mismo montaje un alargamiento tibial y en 1 un alargamiento del pie. En todos los casos se lograron pies plantígrados que no necesitaron el uso de ortcsis de contención posteriormente.Four cases with severe deformities of the foot caused by different etiology and treated by using Ilizarov's circular fixators are presented. The deformities were progressively corrected in a triplanar approach. Tibial lengthening was simultaneously performed in two cases using the same device. In one case forefoot lengthening was associated. In all case, the final result achieved was a plantigrade foot. Patients did not need any orthesis after correction

Comparing university performance by legal status: a Malmquist-type index approach for the case of the Spanish higher education system

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Tertiary Education and Management on 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13583883.2017.1296966New public management and increasing levels of competition driven by global rankings are bringing the managerial practices of public and private higher education institutions closer together. However, these two types of institutions still maintain different objectives and traditions and enjoy different degrees of autonomy that are reflected in their internal organisational structures. We study the relative efficiency and productivity performance of private and public universities in Spain through two adaptations of the Malmquist Index. Results show that, in 2009/2010, the greater flexibility of private universities meant a better adjustment between inputs and outputs in the private sector. However, in 2013/2014, public universities had caught up with private universities. Because of the economic crisis, the inputs of public universities have decreased, but this decrease had not fully impacted their results in 2013/201

The mechanism of photocatalytic CO2 reduction by graphene-supported Cu2O probed by sacrificial electron donors

[EN] Cu2O nanoparticles of 5 nm average size have been adsorbed (1.74 wt% loading) on defective graphene (Cu2O/G) previously obtained by the pyrolysis of alginic acid sodium salt. The Cu2O crystal phase was determined by XRD. XPS shows that the external layers of the Cu2O nanoparticles are constituted mainly of Cu+ although a certain percentage of CuII+ was also present. Cu2O/G is a photocatalyst for the CO2 reduction to methane in the presence of sacrificial agents, and the rate of CH4 production depends on the oxidation potential of the electron donor. This relationship supports a mechanism involving photo-induced charge separation with the generation of electrons and holes. The highest CH4 formation rate upon UV-Vis irradiation of Cu2O/G with a 300 W Xe lamp was achieved for dimethylaniline reaching 326 mu mol CH4 per g per h. The spectral response of the Cu2O photocatalyst shows, however, that the response of the photocatalyst is mainly due to UV irradiation, indicating that light absorption at the low Cu2O loading on the Cu2O/G photocatalyst occurs mainly on the graphene component.Financial support by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Severo Ochoa SEV2016-0683, GRAPAS, and CTQ2015-69563-CO2-R1) and the Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo 2015-083) is gratefully acknowledged. J. A. thanks the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for a postdoctoral scholarship. D. M. also thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science for the PhD scholarship.Mateo-Mateo, D.; Asiri, AM.; Albero-Sancho, J.; García Gómez, H. (2018). The mechanism of photocatalytic CO2 reduction by graphene-supported Cu2O probed by sacrificial electron donors. Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences. 17(6):829-834. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7pp00442gS82983417

Quiste óseo esencial: Resultados del tratamiento mediante punción intracavitaria con corticoides

Se presenta n los resultado s de l tratamient o de treint a quiste s óseo s esenciales mediante punción intracavitaria con acetato de metil-prednisolona. Se ha obtenido una respuesta favorable en el 93% de los casos con curación completa en el 77% de los casos. Estos resultados apoyan que debe ser el tratamiento inicial de elección en este tipo de lesiones.The results of 30 unicameral bone cyst treated by intracavitary injection of methylprednisolone acetate wer e reviewed. Satisfactory respons e was found in 93% of the cases. Complete restoration of bone architecture was observed in 77% of the cases. These results strongly support the local injection of steroids as the primary elective treatment for unicameral bone cyst

All-carbon microporous graphitic photocatalyst-promoted reduction of CO2 to CO in the absence of metals or dopant elements

[EN] Microporous graphitic carbon (mp-C) derived from the pyrolysis of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrins exhibited photocatalytic activity in CO2-saturated acetonitrile-water upon irradiation with UV-Vis light and in the presence of triethanolamine, forming H-2 (19 mu mol h(-1)) and CO (23 mu mol h(-1)) accompanied by a lesser proportion of CH4 (4 mu mol h(-1)). The most efficient was the mp-C material derived from alpha-cyclodextrin (mp-C-alpha) and having a pore dimension of 0.68 nm. The process also occured, although to a much lesser extent, under simulated sunlight or with UV-Vis irradiation in the absence of a sacrificial agent, with H2O being the electron donor. The origin of the CO was proved by isotopic C-13 labelling experiments. Photocurrent measurements proved the occurrence of charge separation and the increase in photocurrent intensity in the presence of CO2. Transient absorption spectroscopy was used to detect the charge separate state decay in the microsecond time scale and proved that a fraction of the photogenerated electrons were able to react with CO2.Financial support by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Severo Ochoa, PID-2021-12607OB-C21 and RTI2018-89237-CO2-1) and Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo 2021/083) are gratefully acknowledged. A. G.-M. thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for a postgraduate scholarship.Garcia-Mulero, A.; Asiri, AM.; Albero-Sancho, J.; Primo Arnau, AM.; García Gómez, H. (2022). All-carbon microporous graphitic photocatalyst-promoted reduction of CO2 to CO in the absence of metals or dopant elements. Nanoscale. 14(32):11575-11582. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2nr02655d1157511582143

One-Pot Synthesis of nickel-modified carbon nitride layers toward efficient photoelectrochemical cells

[EN] A new method to significantly enhance the photoelectrochemical properties of phenyl-modified carbon nitride layers via the insertion of nickel ions into carbon nitride layers is reported. The nickel ions: are embedded within the carbon nitride layers by manipulating the interaction of Ni ions and molten organic molecules at elevated temperature prior to their condensation. A detailed analysis of the chemical and photophysical properties suggests that the nickel ions dissolve in the molten molecules, leading to the homogeneous distribution of nickel atoms within the carbon nitride layers. We found that the nickel atoms can alter the growth mechanism of carbon nitride layers, resulting in extended light absorption, charge transfer properties, and the total photoelectrochemical performance. For the most photoactive electrode, the Ni ions have an oxidation state of 2.8, as confirmed by soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Furthermore, important parameters such as absorption coefficient, exciton lifetime, and diffusion length were studied in depth, providing substantial progress in our understanding of the photoelectrochemical properties of carbon nitride films. This work opens new opportunities for the growth of carbon nitride layers and similar materials on different surfaces and provides important progress in our understanding of the photophysical and photoelectrochemical properties of carbon nitride layers toward their implantation in photoelectronic and other devices.We thank the use Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology Ben Gurion University for HR-TEM measurements. M.S. thanks Dr. Laurent Chabanne for fruitful discussion. K.M.L. is grateful for the support by the Helmholtz Association (VH-NG-1140).Zhang, W.; Albero-Sancho, J.; Xi, L.; Lange, KM.; García Gómez, H.; Wang, X.; Shalom, M. (2017). One-Pot Synthesis of nickel-modified carbon nitride layers toward efficient photoelectrochemical cells. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 9(38):32667-32677. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b08022S326673267793