Encouraging students’ motivation and Involvement in STEM degrees by the execution of real applications in mathematical subjects: the population migration problem

This paper presents a simplified model of the population migration problem, addressed to first-year engineering students in order to show them the use of linear algebra tools. The study consists of predicting the census in the city centre and in the suburbs, determining the city population equilibrium point, and making a sociological interpretation of population flows. This practical problem is part of the seminar “Applications of Linear Algebra in Engineering”, which is being held at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech (UPC). This seminar consists in the learning of linear algebra by the implementation of real applications where mathematical tools are required to resolve them. This paper presents an application of linear algebra to the population migration problem and analyses students’ appreciation through anonymous surveys and personal interviews. The surveys assessed students’ motivation towards the subject of linear algebra and their learning of mathematical concepts. Personal interviews were conducted for students in order to let them express in detail their opinion about the seminar. The results confirm that the introduction of real applications in the learning of mathematics increases students’ motivation and involvement, which implies an improvement in students’ performance in the first courses of STEM degrees.Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de QualitatPostprint (published version

Improving calculus curriculum in engineering degrees: implementation of technological applications

The teaching of mathematics has always concerned all the professionals involved in engineering degrees. Curently students have less interest in these studies, what has caused an increase of this concern. The lack of awareness of students about the significance of mathematics in their careers, provoke the decrease of undergraduate students’ motivation, which derives in a low interest in engineering degrees. The aim of this work is that engineering students achieve a greater motivation and involvement in first academic courses, through the implementation of real and technological applications related to their degrees in the learning of mathematical concepts. To this end, the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 academics years, the seminar “Applications of Multivariable Calculus in Engineering” has been held in Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech (UPC), based on the teaching of Multivariable Calculus by the execution of real problems where calculus concepts are necessary to solve them. With the aim of analyzing students’ motivation and assessment of the seminar, anonymous surveys and personal interviews have been conducted. The number of attending students to the sessions in each academic year has been 16 and all of them have been participants in the surveys and interviews. The results show that students’ responses were generally positive and they agree that their motivation to the subject Multivariable Calculus has increased with the use of real applications of mathematics. The execution of practical problems with engineering applications improves the acquirement of mathematical concepts, what could imply an increase of students’ performance and a decrease of the dropout in the first academic courses of engineering degrees.Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de QualitatPostprint (published version

Abordaje de la estigmatización laboral de las personas con diversidad funcional entre los jóvenes, desde la perspectiva de terapia ocupacional

Las personas con diversidad funcional pueden sufrir a lo largo de su vida procesos de estigmatización en muchos ámbitos de su vida que afectan directamente a la calidad de ésta y a su integración en la sociedad.No obstante, a lo largo del tiempo y en la actualidad, se están realizando intervenciones para acabar con el estigma en la sociedad y contra las personas con diversidad funcional.La realización de este trabajo contempla la recopilación de distintas estrategias de intervención para conseguir revertir los prejuicios sobre la inserción laboral de las personas con diversidad funcional y proponer un programa de intervención dirigido a los más jóvenes para mejorar la visibilidad de la empleabilidad del colectivo y mejorar su equilibrio ocupacional.<br /

A structural model of the relationships between optimism and perceived emotional intelligence on bullying victimization and health.

Bullying is a relationship in which an individual, or a group of individuals, intentionally and repeatedly perpetrates aggressive behaviors towards someone unable to defend himself/herself. Traditional forms of bullying consist of physical, verbal and covert forms of aggressive behaviors. Recently, the new phenomenon of cyberbullying has emerged. This relatively new form of bullying is defined as a behavior displayed through electronic or digital media. Multiple variables have been related to bullying victimization including perceived emotional intelligence (PEI) and optimism. Both variables have implications on the manner in which people cope with stressful experiences as could be bullying, which in turn could affect the level of perceived health. However, there are no studies that have considered all these variables simultaneously. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine, via structural equation modelling, the independent contribution of EI and optimism on bullying victimization and perceived physical health in adolescents. A total of 650 secondary school students (317 boys and 333 girls, with ages ranged from 11 to 18) participated in the study. The participants completed measures of PIE (TMMS-24; Fernández-Berrocal et al., 2004), optimism (General Mood Subscale of the Emotional Quotient Inventory-Youth Version; Bar-On and Parker, 2000), bullying (School Victimization Scale; Cava et al., 2010), cyberbullying (Cyber-Victimization Scale; Buelga et al., 2012), and physical health (KIDSCREEN-10 Index; Raven-Sieberer et al., 2004). Results gave partial empirical support to the hypothesized model, and shows significant relationships between the variables: optimism on clarity and repair dimensions of IE (but not on the attention subscale), optimism and attention (but not clarity and repair dimensions) on bullying, and bullying on health. Together these findings shed light on those factors that should be considered when developing prophylactic strategies within adolescents to become more resilient to the adverse effects of bullying behavior.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Estudio paleontológico en las cuencas terciarias de Galicia

Se ha realizado una prospección paleontológica en nueve cuencas terciarias gnllegas, con el fin dc prccisar su edad y condiciones pnleoombiclltales. Presentamos los resultados obtenidos en base a hallazgos de micromamíferos, grandes mamíferos, peces, macrorestos vegetales y moluscos en las cuencas de As Pontes (A Coruila) y Roupar (Lugo). Las arci llas de los niveles inferiores de As Pontes contienen roedores, cuya edad corresponde al principio del Oligoceno superior (MP 25-26). Los lignitos inferiores han proporcionado un Antracotérido que probablemente corresponde también al Oligoceno. Las plantas de los niveles superiores pueden ser del Oligoceno o del Mioceno inferior. Las condiciones climáticas, siempre tropicales, debieron variar de cálidas a húmedas. En las arcillas inferiores hay peces y moluscos tanto dulceacuícolas como eurihalinos, y moluscos marinos litorales. Se apoyan con estos datos las hipótesis de contemporaneidad entre las cuencas de As Pontes y Roupar, y su carácter parálic

Ready Access to Molecular Rotors Based on Boron Dipyrromethene Dyes-Coumarin Dyads Featuring Broadband Absorption

Herein we report on a straightforward access method for boron dipyrromethene dyes (BODIPYs)-coumarin hybrids linked through their respective 8- and 6- positions, with wide functionalization of the coumarin fragment, using salicylaldehyde as a versatile building block. The computationally-assisted photophysical study unveils broadband absorption upon proper functionalization of the coumarin, as well as the key role of the conformational freedom of the coumarin appended at the meso position of the BODIPY. Such free motion almost suppresses the fluorescence signal, but enables us to apply these dyads as molecular rotors to monitor the surrounding microviscosity.This research was funded by Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (project MAT2017-83856-C3-3-P), Gobierno Vasco (project IT912-16), CONACyT (grants 253623, 123732) and Dirección de Apoyo a la Investigación (DAIP-UG CIIC318/2019)

Innate and Adaptive Immunity Alterations in Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease and Its Implication in COVID-19 Severity

The coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has hit the world, affecting health, medical care, economies and our society as a whole. Furthermore, COVID-19 pandemic joins the increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome in western countries. Patients suffering from obesity, type II diabetes mellitus, cardiac involvement and metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) have enhanced risk of suffering severe COVID-19 and mortality. Importantly, up to 25% of the population in western countries is susceptible of suffering from both MAFLD and COVID-19, while none approved treatment is currently available for any of them. Moreover, it is well known that exacerbated innate immune responses are key in the development of the most severe stages of MAFLD and COVID-19. In this review, we focus on the role of the immune system in the establishment and progression of MAFLD and discuss its potential implication in the development of severe COVID-19 in MAFLD patients. As a result, we hope to clarify their common pathology, but also uncover new potential therapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers for further research.Funding: This research received funding by the ISCIII (COV20/0170 and PI19/01509) and Cantabria Goverment (2020 UIC22-PUB-0019) to ML-H

Mapeo y cuantificación de las infestaciones de Orobanche crenata en guisantes mediante teledetección

Póster presentado en el XIII Congreso Nacional de Malherbología celebrado en La Laguna (Tenerife) en noviembre de 2011.Los jopos (Orobanche crenata Forsk.) son especies parásitas de cultivos leguminosos, muy extendidas en el área mediterránea (García-Torres et al., 1994). La agricultura de precisión trata de determinar y manejar la distribución espacial de factores bióticos, tales como malas hierbas y patógenos, y de factores abióticos y así fundamentar la aplicación de inputs a dosis variables, ajustados a las necesidades de pequeñas aéreas o sub-parcelas. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir brevemente la discriminación de rodales de jopos en el cultivo de guisante (Pisum sativum L.) mediante imágenes remotas multiespectrales y su manejo de precisión mediante el software SARI® (Sectioning and Assessment of Remote Images) un módulo complementario de ENVI® que divide y cuantifica la imagen de una parcela en sub-parcelas.Esta investigación se ha financiado en parte a través de los proyectos AGL2007-60926 (FEDER) y AGL2010-15506 (FEDER).Peer reviewe

Effect of angiotensin II and small GTPase Ras signaling pathway inhibition on early renal changes in a murine model of obstructive nephropathy

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is a major feature of chronic kidney disease. Unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) in rodents leads to the development of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis consistent with histopathological changes observed in advanced chronic kidney disease in humans. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of inhibiting angiotensin II receptors or Ras activation on early renal fibrotic changes induced by UUO. Animals either received angiotensin II or underwent UUO. UUO animals received either losartan, atorvastatin, and farnesyl transferase inhibitor (FTI) L-744,832, or chaetomellic acid A (ChA). Levels of activated Ras, phospho-ERK1/2, phospho-Akt, fibronectin, and α-smooth muscle actin were subsequently quantified in renal tissue by ELISA, Western blot, and/or immunohistochemistry. Our results demonstrate that administration of angiotensin II induces activation of the small GTPase Ras/Erk/Akt signaling system, suggesting an involvement of angiotensin II in the early obstruction-induced activation of renal Ras. Furthermore, upstream inhibition of Ras signalling by blocking either angiotensin AT1 type receptor or by inhibiting Ras prenylation (atorvastatin, FTI o ChA) reduced the activation of the Ras/Erk/Akt signaling system and decreased the early fibrotic response in the obstructed kidney. This study points out that pharmacological inhibition of Ras activation may hold promise as a future strategy in the prevention of renal fibrosis.This study was supported by grants from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Grant SAF2010-15881 and Red de Investigacion Cooperativa en Enfermedades Renales REDINREN RD12/0021/0032), Junta de Castilla y León (Grant SA 001/C05 and Excellence Group GR100), and REDINREN which is an initiative of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III of Spain supported by FEDER funds. When performing the present study, Ana B. Rodríguez-Pena was a fellow of the Fundacion Renal “Iñigo Ávarez de Toledo” and Neil G. Docherty was a fellow ofThe Marie Curie Programme, EU.Peer Reviewe

PROPUESTA DE UN ÍNDICE SOCIAL ALIMENTARIO

Introduction: Some factors and social determinants can change patterns of food consumption. The information you provide social index food can be incorporated into other determinants to create food social policies. Material and methods: Cross-and descriptive study, National Institute of Geography, Statistics and National Population Council databases were analyzed. To construct the Food Social Index (FSI) were used social determinants, social factors and health damage. Results: Indicators, except equity and health, correlate with FSI (p&lt;0.005). Twenty eight percent of the Mexican states have very low FSI, 12.5% of the Mexican state have high FSI. Discussion: We used three step (physiological needs, safety, esteem and need for recognition) comprising five Maslow theory.  Use the FSI at the municipal level, make it possible to determine differences between neighbors, providing an opportunity to analyze time series and set down corridors focusing access to food aid in an appropriate manner.Introducción: Algunos factores y determinantes sociales pueden modificar los patrones de consumo alimentario. La información que aporte el índice social alimentario se puede incorporar a otros determinantes a fin de crear políticas sociales alimentarias. Material y métodos: Estudio transeccional, descriptivo, se analizaron bases de datos del Instituto Nacional de Geografía y Estadística, Consejo Nacional de Población. Para construir el Índice Social Alimentario (ISA) se utilizaron determinantes sociales, factores sociales, daños a la salud. Se utilizó la fórmula para el índice de Desarrollo Humano. Resultados: Los indicadores, excepto el de equidad y de salud, correlacionan con el ISA (p&lt;0.05). El mayor porcentaje de entidades federativas tienen ISA muy bajo. 75% de las entidades federativas con alto ISA son del norte y 25% de la costa del pacífico. Discusión y conclusiones: Se supone que abarcar tres peldaños (necesidades fisiológicas, seguridad, estimación y necesidad de reconocimiento) de cinco que consta la teoría de Maslow, son necesarios para construir el ISA.A nivel municipal, posibilitaría determinar disparidades entre vecinos, dando oportunidad de analizar series temporales y fijar corredores de baja accesibilidad a los alimentos focalizando de manera pertinente la ayuda. Palabras claves: Determinantes sociales, índice social, nutrición,  Social determinants, social index, nutrition