El paradigma de la complejidad como instrumento teórico y metodológico en la investigación didáctica sobre la contaminación y sobre la energía

En dos investigaciones recientes (Cano, 2008; García, Rodríguez y Solís, 2008; Rodríguez, 2008), hemos utilizado el Paradigma de la Complejidad como instrumento teórico que ha orientado el diseño y desarrollo de dichas investigaciones. En la primera investigación (Cano, 2008), se realizó un estudio pormenorizado del proceso de construcción de conocimiento relevante y significativo sobre la contaminación del agua con alumnos de cuarto de ESO. En la segunda (García, Rodríguez y Solís, 2008; Rodríguez, 2008), se realizó una descripción del desarrollo de una experiencia de Agenda 21 Escolar, centrada en el tratamiento didáctico del uso de la energía en Primaria y Secundaria

Improved Discrimination Between Healthy and Hypertensive Individuals Combining Photoplethysmography and Electrocardiography

[EN] Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death, with hypertension (HT) being its main risk factor. Its complications can be avoided with early treatment, but since these patients do not present any symptoms, HT is often detected at very advanced stages. This work presents a model for estimating blood pressure (BP) from electrocardiographic (ECG) and photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals, which can be easily obtained by means of wearable continuous monitoring devices. ECG, PPG and BP recordings from 86 patients were analyzed.A total of 34 standard and new features based on previous works were defined, such as pulse arrival times (PAT), and morphological characteristics of PPG signal. 37 classification models, ranging from Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machines (SVM), Nearest Neighbors, Naive Bayes or Coarse Trees were trained to compare discrimination results. The classifier that provided the highest performance when comparing normotensive patients with prehypertensive and hypertensive patients were Coarse Tree, providing an F1 score of 85.44% (Se of 86.27% and Sp of 77.14%). The use of PPG and ECG features has successfully discriminated between healthy and hypertensive individuals and, thus, could be used to detect HT by embedding these techniques in wearable devices.Research supported by grants DPI2017¿83952¿C3 from MINECO/AEI/FEDER UE, SBPLY/17/180501/000411 from JCCLM and AICO/2021/286 from GVA.Cano, J.; Hornero, F.; Quesada, A.; Martínez-Rodrigo, A.; Alcaraz, R.; Rieta, JJ. (2021). Improved Discrimination Between Healthy and Hypertensive Individuals Combining Photoplethysmography and Electrocardiography. 1-4. https://doi.org/10.22489/CinC.2021.0301

Adaptación de los métodos de enseñanza a los métodos de aprendizaje de los alumnos

El actual proceso de adaptación al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES) que estamos viviendo en la Universidad, y que tiene como objetivo favorecer la convergencia europea en materia de educación universitaria, ha destacado algunos aspectos que pueden ser cambiados por parte de los docentes en aras de mejorar el proceso de enseñanza/ aprendizaje. En el presente artículo, presentamos unas directrices que pueden ayudar a los docentes a adaptar los métodos de enseñanza, para que se adecúen al máximo a las capacidades de aprendizaje de los alumnos que cursan sus asignaturas.Peer Reviewe

Variations in the basic biokinematic pattern in three breeds of horses at the hand-led walk

In this study the lineal and temporal parameters of the stride of andalusian (n=10), angloarabian (n=6) and arabian (n=7) mature horses were compared at the walk. The speeds were similar in the three breeds (1.63±0.10 m/s), for what the Archivos de zootecnia vol. 48, núm. 183, p. 328. GALISTEO ET AL. statistical comparisons were carried out by an analysis of the variance, and a means comparison test (Tukey test). The stride lenght was shorter in arabians and andalusians than in angloarabians, while the overtracking lenght was bigger in the arabians. The duration of the forelimb cycle was bigger in angloarabians due to a bigger duration in this breed of the stance phase. The midstace position (expressed as a percentaje of the stride duration) differed among the three breeds, indicating that each one shows times of braking and propulsion of the forelimb different to the other ones; but not in the instant in which the hoof reaches the highest point in its trajectory. In the hind limb the differences were much less marked, since small differences were detected in the duration of the cycle between arabians and angloarabians, while the stride duration was longer in andalusians and angloarabians than in the Arabians; the braking and propulsion phases (determined by the position along the stride of the midstance position) didn’t differ among breeds, the same with the instant in which the hindhoof reach the highest point in its trajectory. It can be concluded that marked differences exist between equine breeds in the lineal parameters of the stride at the walk, and the temporal parameters of the forelimb, while in the hind limb are less marked, probably because this member is functionally committed in the propulsion of the horse.En este estudio se compararon los parámetros lineales y temporales del tranco de paso de caballos adultos de Pura Raza Española (n=10), Angloárabe (n=6) y Árabe (n=7). Las velocidades fueron similares en las tres razas (1,63±0,10 m/s), por lo que las comparaciones estadísticas se realizaron mediante un análisis de la varianza y un test de comparación de medias (Test de Tukey). La amplitud de tranco fue más corta en Árabes y Españoles que en Angloárabes, mientras que la longitud de sobrehuella fue mayor en los Árabes. La duración del ciclo del miembro torácico fue mayor en Angloárabes debido a una mayor duración en esta raza de la fase de apoyo. La posición de apoyo medio (expresada porcentualmente a la duración total del ciclo) difirió entre las tres razas, indicando que cada raza presenta tiempos de frenada y propulsión del miembro torácico diferentes a las demás; no así en el instante en el que el casco alcanza el punto más alto de su trayectoria. En el miembro pelviano las diferencias fueron mucho menos marcadas, ya que se detectaron pequeñas diferencias en la duración del ciclo entre Árabes y Angloárabes, mientras que la duración del tranco fue mayor en Españoles y Angloárabes que en los Árabes; los tiempos de frenada y propulsión (determinada por la posición a lo largo del tranco del apoyo medio) no difirió entre razas, lo mismo que el instante en que el casco pelviano se encuentra en el punto más alto de su trayectoria. Se puede concluir que existen marcadas diferencias entre razas equinas en los parámetros lineales del tranco al paso, al igual que sucede con los parámetros temporales del miembro torácico, mientras que en el pelviano son menos marcadas, probablemente porque este miembro está funcionalmente más comprometido que el torácico en la propulsión del caballo

Osteocalcin in serum, saliva and gingival crevicular fluid : their relation with periodontal treatment outcome in postmenopausal women

Antecedentes. Los niveles de osteocalcina se han propuesto como marcador de la inhibición de la formación ósea. El propósito de este trabajo es determinar las concentraciones de osteocalcina en plasma, saliva y fluido crevicular correlacionándolo con el resultado del tratamiento periodontal en mujeres postmenopáusicas. Pacientes y métodos. El estudio se realizó en treinta y nueve mujeres postmenopáusicas (57.8 ±8.5 años de edad). El examen periodontal incluyó el control de placa, el sangrado al sondaje, la profundidad de sondaje (PS) y la pérdida de inserción (CAL). Se determinaron los niveles de osteocalcina en suero, saliva y fluido crevicular. A continuación se llevó a cabo el tratamiento periodontal. Pasados seis meses tras la primera cita se llevó a cabo un segundo examen periodontal. Resultados. Las medias de la PS y del CAL disminuyeron significativamente en el segundo examen periodontal en el grupo de mujeres con osteocalcina en suero < 10 ng/ml (15.8± 15.8% y 15.3± 21.2%, respectivamente; p < 0.05). La PS media disminuyó significativamente en el segundo exámen en los grupos con concentraciones de osteocalcina en saliva < 3 ng/ml (17.1± 15.9%; p < 0.05) y 3 ? 7 ng/ml (16.2 ± 18.1%; p < 0.05). Conclusiones. Los niveles bajos de osteocalcina en suero se asocian significativamente a un mayor porcentaje de disminución de la PS y del CAL tras el tratamiento periodontal en mujeres postmenopáusicas. Las bajas concentraciones de osteocalcina en saliva se asociaron significativamente a un mayor porcentaje de disminución de la PS

Improvement of a functional method to determine the design thermal transmittance of building façades. Implementation in southern Spain

The thermo-hygrometric conditions to which construction materials are subjected cause their thermal performance to vary by location. These variations must be characterised in order to design building envelopes adjusted to the requirements of each situation, thus contributing to improve their energy efficiency under actual operating conditions. To this end, a functional calculation procedure that corrects the standardised thermal conductivity values of façade materials (¿-value) has been recently proposed; which considers the climatic characteristics of each location. This work proposes and validates improvements that, while preserving its functionality, overcome some limitations of the original procedure. To calculate more accurate corrections, the façade configuration and the climatic zones established by the building codes are also considered, allowing a more reliable characterisation of the design thermal transmittance of each building façade. By using climatic records gathered from 316 weather stations, a detailed isopleth map is also developed to present the applicable corrections for more than 250, 000 km2 of southern Spain. The largest ¿-value corrections are identified on the southeast coast and reach up to +6% in the summer months (with average annual corrections above +4%). This improved procedure can be extrapolated to any national building code that establishes constant values of thermal conductivity for façade materials and that defines thermal design requirements based on climatic zones

Epidemiology and spatio‐temporal analysis of West Nile virus in horses in Spain between 2010 and 2016

During the last decade, West Nile virus (WNV) outbreaks have increased sharply in both horses and human in Europe. The aims of this study were to evaluate characteristics and spatio‐temporal distribution of WNV outbreaks in horses in Spain between 2010 and 2016 in order to identify the environmental variables most associated with WNV occurrence and to generate high‐resolution WNV suitability maps to inform risk‐based surveillance strategies in this country. Between August 2010 and November 2016, a total of 403 WNV suspected cases were investigated, of which, 177 (43.9%) were laboratory confirmed. Mean values of morbidity, mortality and case fatality rates were 7.5%, 1.6% and 21.2%, respectively. The most common clinical symptoms were as follows: tiredness/apathy, recumbency, muscular tremor, ataxia, incoordination and hyperaesthesia. The outbreaks confirmed during the last 7 years, with detection of WNV RNA lineage 1 in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016, suggest an endemic circulation of the virus in Spain. The spatio‐temporal distribution of WNV outbreaks in Spain was not homogeneous, as most of them (92.7%) were concentrated in western part of Andalusia (southern Spain) and significant clusters were detected in this region in two non‐consecutive years. These findings were supported by the results of the space–time scan statistics permutation model. A presence‐only MaxEnt ecological niche model was used to generate a suitability map for WNV occurrence in Andalusia. The most important predictors selected by the Ecological Niche Modeling were as follows: mean annual temperature (49.5% contribution), presence of Culex pipiens (19.5% contribution), mean annual precipitation (16.1% contribution) and distance to Ramsar wetlands (14.9% contribution). Our results constitute an important step for understanding WNV emergence and spread in Spain and will provide valuable information for the development of more cost‐effective surveillance and control programmes and improve the protection of horse and human populations in WNV‐endemic areas.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Evaluating the impact of a novel message dissemination scheme for vehicular networks using real maps

[EN] In traffic safety applications for vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), some warning messages have to be urgently disseminated in order to increase the number of vehicles receiving the traffic warning information. In those cases, redundancy, contention, and packet collisions due to simultaneous forwarding (usually known as the broadcast storm problem) are prone to occur. In the past, several approaches have been proposed to solve the broadcast storm problem in multi-hop wireless networks such as Mobile ad hoc Networks (MANETs). Among them we can find counter-based, distance-based, locationbased, cluster-based, and probabilistic schemes, which have been mainly tested in non-realistic simulation environments. In this paper, we present the enhanced Message Dissemination based on Roadmaps (eMDR), a novel scheme specially designed to increase the percentage of informed vehicles and reduce the notification time; at the same time, it mitigates the broadcast storm problem in real urban scenarios. We evaluate the impact that our scheme has on performance when applied to VANET scenarios based on real city maps, and the results show that it outperforms previous schemes in all situations. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This work was partially supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, Spain, under Grant TIN2011-27543-C03-01, and by the Diputacion General de Aragon, under Grant "subvenciones destinadas a la formacion y contratacion de personal investigador".Fogue, M.; Garrido, P.; Martínez, FJ.; Cano Escribá, JC.; Calafate, CT.; Manzoni, P. (2012). Evaluating the impact of a novel message dissemination scheme for vehicular networks using real maps. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies. 25(80):61-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2012.04.017S6180258

Klebsiella pneumoniae Strains Producing Extended-Spectrum B-Lactamases in Spain: Microbiological and Clinical Features

Extended-spectrum B-lactamases (ESBL) of the CTX-M, SHV, and TEM families were recognized in 76 (67%), 31 (27%), and 6 (5%) isolates, respectively, among 162 ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBLKp) strains obtained in a multicenter study in Spain. Predisposing factors for ESBL-Kp acquisition included invasive procedures, mechanical ventilation, and previous antimicrobial use

Interdigitated μ-electrodes for development of an impedimetric immunosensor for atrazine detection.

This contribution describes the development of an impedimetric immunosensor for atrazine detection. This immunosensor is based on the use of interdigitated metallic μ-electrodes (IDμEs) The method described in this work does not use any redox mediator and relies on the direct detection of immunochemical competitive reaction between the pesticide and a haptenized-protein immobilized on interdigitated μ-electrodes for the specific antibody. The immunoreagents used were specifically developed to detect atrazine. The immunochemical detection of this pesticide is achieved without using any label. The immunosensor shows a limit of detection of 8.34±1.37 μg L-1, witch is lower than the Maximun Residue Level (MRL) (50μg L-1)established by EU (European Union)for residues of atrazine as herbicide in the wine grapes and other foodstuff products.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version