Resolución de operaciones de suma y resta en adolescentes sordos

Considerando el retraso escolar en el área de matemáticas en la población sorda, la investigación presentada estudia el desarrollo de estrategias de resolución de operaciones de adición y sustracción en siete adolescentes sordos profundos prelocutivos de edades entre 12:04 y 15:11, en situación de interacción entre iguales, y pretende elaborar algunas recomendaciones didácticas a fin de mejorar el rendimiento matemático de esta población. Las estrategias de resolución halladas se adecuan a las categorías previamente formuladas para niños oyentes. Algunos de los tipos de errores detectados presentan características específicas, diferentes de las previamente descritas en la literaturaConsidering deaf children's tendency to fall behind in mathematics, the research we present aims to study the addition and subtraction solving strategies development of seven deaf from birth adolescents (aged 12:04 and 15:11) in a peer interaction situation and to offer some educational suggestions to enhance their performance in mathematics. The students' strategies fit into previously formulated classical categories of solving strategies for hearing children. However, some of the types of errors found show specific features, different from the ones previously referred to in the literatur

Working Environment in Nursing: Needs Improvement?

Background: Knowing the quality of life of professionals is important because it is related to job performance, better results, and greater productivity, which results in better patient care. Objective: To know the Professional Quality of Life perceived by the nurses at the Geriatric Hospital of Toledo (Spain). Method: A descriptive cross-section study was employed to measure the Professional Quality of Life of all healthcare nurses (69 in total) at the Geriatric Hospital of Toledo. The questionnaire used as a measuring instrument was the Professional Quality of Life - 35. The data obtained was analyzed by means of: descriptive statistics, single-factor ANOVA variance analysis, T Student tests, and simple and multiple regression analysis. The study was approved by both the research commission and the ethics commission at the Hospital Complex of Toledo. Participation in the study on behalf of the nursing staff was voluntary. Results: In total, 45 responses were obtained (65.2%). The overall mean score measured the perceived Professional Quality of Life to be low. In relation to the three dimensions evaluated in the study, the highest average found was in “intrinsic motivation,” followed by “workload”, and then “management support.” In the multivariate analysis, “management support” was shown as the most influential factor in the Professional Quality of Life with a 23% influence (P<0.001), followed by workload with 9% (P = 0.01). Conclusions: The professionals at the participating center perceive their workplace as having an elevated degree of responsibility, a large quantity of work, a high occurrence of rushes and fatigue, and all this with little support on behalf of management. Promotions are scarce or the policies for receiving a promotion are inadequate. The perception of Professional Quality of Life in nursing is low. The obtained results indicate a need for an organizing cultural change based on participation, motivation, and increased management support

An Overview of Thirty Years in the Digital News

UIDB/05021/2020 UIDP/05021/2020Background: Resveratrol’s health benefits have received wide media coverage. Since resveratrol is usually associated with wine, informative texts about it should be prepared very carefully, since inaccurate website content could easily change people’s wine consumption behavior. This study aimed to assess the quality of informative texts related to resveratrol on science journalism websites. Methods: We analyzed 125 resveratrol posts on Science Daily, WebMD, and EurekAlert! published between 1990 and 2020. Results: A higher number of posts was published in the years in which the number of people looking for information on the internet also increased. The increase can also be related to David Sinclair’s notoriety, a fact that we called the “Sinclair effect”. Most of the posts are replications of universities’ press releases, mainly reporting resveratrol’s health benefits, which resulted from preclinical studies and cannot be translated to humans. Most of them mention wine in the text and some in the title. Conclusions: Wine is usually mentioned in headline resveratrol news, which could potentially influence wine consumption behavior. Scientists must intensify their efforts to communicate with the public to increase people’s health literacy. Online news portals should have science journalists skilled in exploring scientific data and their translation into a simple and accurate language.publishersversionpublishe

Eating related problems amongst Iberian female college students

The current survey descriptive study evaluates the prevalence of eating related problems amongst a sample of first-year female college students attending an university campus in one of two areas of the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. A total of 1079 students participated in the current study, 486 from a large university campus of the North of Portugal (Minho), and 595 from two large university campuses of the Northwest of Spain (Galicia). Participants responded to the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and to a questionnaire designed at assessing eating related habits and problems. Results showed that a significant number of students scored high on the EDI and showed considerable prevalence of eating related problems. Based on this self reported data, it is estimated that the prevalence of eating disorders on these peripheral areas of both countries is not significantly different than what is common in other European areas or countries.El presente estudio evalúa la prevalencia de los trastornos de la alimentación en una muestra de alumnas universitarias de primer año que frecuentaban una Universidad de una de dos áreas del Noroeste de la Península Ibérica. Se trata de un estudio descriptivo, mediante observación. Un total de 1079 mujeres participaron en este estudio, 486 de una Universidad del Norte de Portugal (Minho) y 595 de dos Universidades del Noroeste de España (Galicia). Las participantes respondieron al Inventario de Trastornos Alimentarios (EDI) y a un cuestionario desarrollado para evaluar problemas relacionados con la alimentación. Los resultados mostraron que un número significativo de estudiantes obtuvo un resultado elevado en el EDI, presentando una prevalencia considerable de problemas relacionados con la alimentación. Basándonos en los datos auto referidos se estimó que la prevalencia de trastornos en el comportamiento alimentario en estas áreas periféricas de ambos países no es significativamente diferente de lo que resulta común en otros países y áreas de Europa.O presente estudo avalia a a prevalência de problemas alimentares numa amostra de alunas universitárias do primeiro ano que frequentavam uma universidade de uma de duas áreas do noroeste da Península Ibérica. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, mediante observação. Um total de 1079 mulheres participaram neste estudo, 486 de uma universidade do Norte de Portugal (Minho) e 595 de duas universidades do Noroeste de Espanha (Galiza). Os participantes responderam ao Inventário de Perturbações Alimentares (EDI) e a um questionário desenvolvido para avaliar problemas relacionados com a alimentação. Os resultados mostraram que um número significativo de estudantes obtiveram um resultado elevado no EDI e apresentavam uma prevalência considerável de problemas relacionados com a alimentação. Com base nos dados de auto relato foi estimada que a prevalência de perturbações do comportamento alimentar nestas áreas periféricas de ambos os países não é significativamente diferente da que é comum noutros países e áreas da Europa.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PRAXIS/PCSH/P/PSI/85/96, Pograma Operacional "Ciência, Tecnologia, Inocação (POCTI) - POCTI/33252/PSI/2000

Impact of Design Parameters on the Ratio of Compressive to Split Tensile Strength of Self-Compacting Concrete with Recycled Aggregate

[EN] Most concrete studies are concentrated on mechanical properties especially strength properties either directly or indirectly (fresh and durability properties). Hence, the ratio of split tensile strength to compressive strength plays a vital role in defining the concrete properties. In this review, the impact of design parameters on the strength ratio of various grades of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) with recycled aggregate is assessed. The design parameters considered for the study are Water to Cement (W/C) ratio, Water to Binder (W/B) ratio, Total Aggregates to Cement (TA/C) ratio, Fine Aggregate to Coarse Aggregate (FA/CA) ratio, Water to Solid (W/S) ratio in percentage, superplasticizer (SP) content (kg/cu.m), replacement percentage of recycled coarse aggregates (RCA), replacement percentage of recycled fine aggregates (RFA), fresh density and loading area of the specimen. It is observed that the strength ratio of SCC with recycled aggregates is affected by design parameters.S

Efficient Implementation of Complementary Golay Sequences for PAR Reduction and Forward Error Correction in OFDM-based WLAN systems

In this paper the use of complementary Golay sequences (CGS) for peak-to-average power ratio (PAR) reduction and forward error correction (FEC) in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based wireless local area network (WLAN) system is explored; performance is examined and complexity issues are analyzed. We study their PAR reduction performance depending on sequence lengths and we have found that, for the case that the number of sub-carriers differs from the sequence length, some interesting relationships can still be stated. Regarding their error correction capabilities, these sequences are investigated considering M-PSK constellations applied to the OFDM signal specified in IEEE 802.11a standard. Computational load for both Golay encoding and decoding processes is addressed and we provide an exhaustive analysis of their complexity. In order to overcome memory restrictions and speed up algorithmic operations, a novel algorithm for real-time generation of the Golay Base Sequences is proposed and evaluated giving as a conclusion that these sequences can be real-time generated with actual Digital Signal Processors (DSP). Our proposal lies on an efficient permutation algorithm that obtains the current permutation without the need for generating previous ones. Its complexity is calculated and turns out to be significantly low; the advantages are specially appreciated at the decoding stage. We also introduce a hybrid solution to get a trade-off between complexity and memory requirements. Moreover, the whole system is also implemented in a DSP to validate the proposal in a prototype, where its feasibility has been confirmed.This work has been partly funded by the Spanish government with projects MACAWI (TEC 2005-07477-c02-02) and MAMBO (UC3M-TEC-05-027)

Effect of the mother tree age and acorn weight in the regenerative characteristics of Quercus faginea

[EN] The establishment of oak trees is often a slow and difficult process. Hence, it is necessary to determine the characteristics that can lead to improving their regeneration. In this genus, seed size is highly variable both at the interspecific and intraspecific levels, and the effects of intrapopulation variability are not well understood, being even less so for Quercus faginea. In this study, the effects of the age of the mother tree, seed weight and the interaction between these two factors on seed germination, emergence and growth (biomass) were analysed. For this purpose, 16 trees—8 young and 8 old—were selected with the intent to cover the entire range of acorn weights produced in this population. Among the main results, it should be noted that: (1) in older trees, it is easier to find larger acorns; (2) the percentage and the speed of germination of the acorns of young trees is greater than that of old trees; (3) the percentage and the speed of seedling emergence of young trees is greater than that of old trees; and (4) cotyledon weight is the variable that most influences biomass, quite often in a positive way. Therefore, maintaining intrapopulation variability seems to be an approach that most favours the persistence of these populations

Mild and short-term caloric restriction prevents obesity-induced cardiomyopathy in young zucker rats without changing in metabolites and fatty acids cardiac profile

Caloric restriction (CR) ameliorates cardiac dysfunction associated with obesity. However, most of the studies have been performed under severe CR (30-65% caloric intake decrease) for several months or even years in aged animals. Here, we investigated whether mild (20% food intake reduction) and short-term (2-weeks) CR prevented the obese cardiomyopathy phenotype and improved the metabolic profile of young (14 weeks of age) genetically obese Zucker fa/fa rats. Heart weight (HW) and HW/tibia length ratio was significantly lower in fa/fa rats after 2 weeks of CR than in counterparts fed ad libitum. Invasive pressure measurements showed that systolic blood pressure, maximal rate of positive left ventricle (LV) pressure, LV systolic pressure and LV end-diastolic pressure were all significantly higher in obese fa/fa rats than in lean counterparts, which were prevented by CR. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed that the increase in LV end-systolic volume, stroke volume and LV wall thickness observed in fa/fa rats was significantly lower in animals on CR diet. Histological analysis also revealed that CR blocked the significant increase in cardiomyocyte diameter in obese fa/fa rats. High resolution magic angle spinning magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis of the LV revealed a global decrease in metabolites such as taurine, creatine and phosphocreatine, glutamate, glutamine and glutathione, in obese fa/fa rats, whereas lactate concentration was increased. By contrast, fatty acid concentrations in LV tissue were significantly elevated in obese fa/fa rats. CR failed to restore the LV metabolomic profile of obese fa/fa rats. In conclusion, mild and short-term CR prevented an obesity-induced cardiomyopathy phenotype in young obese fa/fa rats independently of the cardiac metabolic profile.This study was supported by grants from Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (BFU2011-25303), Spanish Institute of Health Carlos III (CP15/00129), UCM groups (GR-921641), SESCAMET, Fundación Mutua Madrileña, Fundación Eugenio Rodríguez Pascual and Fondos FEDER.Peer Reviewe

Application of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) methodology in biological studies on marine resources: sex determination of Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816)

The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is usually used in biomedicine as an indicator of the accuracy of diagnostic tests. However, this measure of discrimination has been little used in other areas, such as animal biology or ecology. We present a novel application of an ROC analysis in which gonad colour was used to determine the sex of Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816), a sea urchin of considerable commercial interest. A better classifier than gonad colour was obtained by transforming these colours through flexible logistic generalized additive models.Peer Reviewe

Predictores del ajuste de los estudiantes durante la transición a la Universidad en España

Adjustment to university is a major life transition that not all emerging adults manage successfully. The Student University Adjustment Questionnaire is the instrument most commonly used to evaluate this multidimensional construct. Research in Spain on the predisposing factors for successful adjustment to university in emerging adults is scarce relative to the large number of studies carried out in North America. The objective of the present study was to analyze the association between students’ gender, family background, pre-university achievement and adjustment to university. Method: Participants were 300 Spanish fi rst-year students (198 women and 102 men) of mean age 18.02 years. Results: Pre-university achievement was the only signifi cant predictor of academic, social and institutional adjustment. Gender directly affected personal-emotional adjustment and indirectly affected academic adjustment mediated by entry grade. Conclusions: Students’ entry characteristics predict adjustment to university in the fi rst year. These fi ndings have important theoretical and practical implications.Antecedentes: la adaptación a la universidad es una de las principales transiciones vitales que no todos los adultos emergentes afrontan con éxito. El Cuestionario de Adaptación del Estudiante a la Universidad es el instrumento más empleado para evaluar este constructo multidimensional. En España no existen investigaciones sobre los factores que predisponen a los adultos emergentes a una adaptación exitosa a la universidad respecto al número de investigaciones llevadas a cabo con muestras norteamericanas. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar la relación entre el género, el background familiar, la nota de acceso y el ajuste a la universidad. Método: participaron 300 estudiantes españoles de primer año (198 mujeres y 102 hombres) con un promedio de edad de 18,02 años. Resultados: la nota de acceso fue el único predictor signifi cativo del ajuste académico, social e institucional. El género infl uye de una manera directa sobre el ajuste personal-emocional e indirecta sobre el ajuste académico, mediado por la nota de acceso. Conclusiones: las características de entrada del estudiante predicen su adaptación en el primer año de universidad. Estos resultados tienen importantes implicaciones teóricas y prácticas.This study is part of a wider project entitled “La Transición a la Universidad en el Contexto del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior: Infl uencia del Soporte Social y el Nivel de Integración en el Fracaso/Éxito Académico” [Transition to College in European Higher Education: The Influence of Social Support and Integration on Academic Failure/Success], supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PSI2011-24535). The author Alexandra M. Araújo received funding from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) awarded as a Post-Doctoral Grant, under grant agreement number SFRH/BPD/85856/2012