Families and students satisfaction as an instrument of educational improvement: Illustration of a systematic measurement tool and a methodological approach for evaluation

Ejercer un liderazgo educativo responsable exige partir de un diagnóstico realista y objetivo de los puntos fuertes, con el fin de potenciarlos, y de los puntos débiles, con el fin de corregirlos. Para dicho diagnóstico, a nivel de centro, es importante medir la satisfacción que las familias y los alumnos tienen con diferentes aspectos del funcionamiento del mismo. En este estudio se ha empleado la herramienta validada de medida EducalNet, que consta de cuestionarios diferenciados para familias y alumnos, como guía sistemática para la elaboración y autoevaluación de los planes de mejora de un centro de enseñanza educativo. El análisis multivariado de los resultados obtenidos en los diferentes cursos, a través de árboles de decisión, se presenta como una metodología que complementa no sólo la evaluación de los posibles efectos de los cambios implementados, sino también, la evaluación global de la herramienta. Los resultados conseguidos avalan la adecuación de la técnica como instrumento de gestión y la idoneidad de esta metodología multivariada como instrumento de evaluación del cambioExercising a responsible educational leadership requires starting from a realistic and objective diagnosis of both, the strengths and weak points, in order to improve and correct them. For this diagnosis, at the center level, it is important to measure the satisfaction that families and students have with different aspects of the school functioning. In this study, the validated EducalNet tool has been used, which consists of differentiated questionnaires for families and students, as a systematic guide for the elaboration and self-evaluation of the improvement plans in an educational center. The multivariate analysis of the results obtained in the different courses, through decision trees, is presented as a methodology that complements not only the evaluation of the effects of the implemented changes but also the overall evaluation of the tool. The results obtained confirm the adequacy of the technique as a management tool and the suitability of this multivariate methodology as an evaluating tool for chang

Analysis of the dimensions for the measurement of the satisfaction of the families in secondary schools

En un entorno en el que la libertad de elección de centro se ha convertido en un paradigma en la política de la Administración que cada vez cala más en el ideario de las familias, se convierte en un recurso fundamental contar con información acerca de la satisfacción que las familias y los alumnos tienen con respecto a una serie de dimensiones y subdimensiones que abarquen la totalidad del servicio educativo. Para realizar este trabajo, se ha propuesto el modelo validado EducalNet, que consta de cuestionarios diferenciados para familias y alumnos, como guía sistemática para la evaluación de la satisfacción de la Comunidad Educativa. Se han obtenido evidencias de la validez y utilidad del modelo, mediante el uso de técnicas de análisis multivariadas para el análisis de los resultados obtenidos con la aplicación de los cuestionarios en diferentes centros y cursos. Además, resulta eficiente y ágil como instrumento de evaluaciónMeasuring both families and students, satisfaction regarding several dimensions and subdimensions that involve the entire educational service which is offered has become a fundamental resource in an environment where the freedom of school choice has become a paradigm in the administration policies, and it is increasingly catching on the family’s ideas. To carrying out this work, the EDUCALNET model has been proposed. This has been validated through differentiated questionnaires for families and students, as a systematic guide for evaluating the educational community satisfaction. Evidence has been obtained of the validity and usefulness of the model, using different techniques of multivariate analysis of the results obtained in the implementation of the questionnaires in different schools and years. The results guarantee the validity of the model and the usefulness of the questionnaires designed to collect information in an agile and efficient way. It is also efficient and agile as an assessment too

An Alternative Approach to Determine the Dynamic Stiffness of Resilient Materials under Low Prestatic Load

Dynamic stiffness is a parameter of great importance for the assessment of the sound insulation properties of resilient materials commonly used under floating floors in dwellings. This work proposes a simplified approach that relies on an electro-mechanical circuit model for the determination of this parameter using a two-degree-of-freedom system of masses and springs. Unlike the method described in the standard ISO 9052-1, the proposed approach uses a single electrodynamic actuator both as an impulser and vibration sensor, thus reducing the instrumental requirements and yielding a more stable arrangement. By measuring the input electrical impedance of the mass-loaded actuator when coupled to a slab–material system it was possible to retrieve the mechanical mobility function thereof and thus obtain the dynamic stiffness of the material. Several materials were tested following the proposed approach, with results showing good agreement when compared to those obtained following the standardized procedure. In general, the preliminary research encourages the use of the proposed approach for characterization purposes

On the structure and stability of novel cationic DPPC liposomes doped with gemini surfactants

A novel formulation of cationic liposomes was studied by mixing dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) with tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide gemini surfactants with different alkane spacer groups lengths attached to their ammonium head-groups. The physicochemical characterization of the cationic liposomes was obtained by combining experimental results from differential scanning microcalorimetry (DSC) with molecular dynamic simulations, in order to understand their structural configuration. An adapted Ising model was used to interpret the results in terms of cooperativity of the phase transitions. The gemini surfactants partition into the lipid bilayer of DPPC liposomes, and the induced changes in colloidal stability and phase transition were analyzed in detail. The DPPC liposomes became positively charged upon gemini surfactant partition, showing increased colloidal stability. Our results show significant differences in structural configuration between gemini surfactants with short and long spacer lengths. While gemini with shorter spacers allocate within the lipid bilayer with both headgroups in the same layer, geminis with longer spacers unexpectedly intercalate in the lipid membrane in a particular zig-zag configuration, with each headgroup located at a different side of the bilayer, altering the coupling degree parameters of the membrane’s phase transition. The extraordinary increase of colloidal stability of DPPC liposomes with gemini surfactants at very low molar ratio and the possibility to tune the physicochemical properties of the membrane by control de spacer length of the geminis opens new possibilities for cationic liposomal formulations with potential applications in vaccines, drug/gene delivery or biosensingThis work was supported by the Spanish Research Agency (AEI) under Project PID2019-109517RB-I00. ERDF funds are also acknowledged. Facilities provided by the Galician Supercomputing Centre (CESGA) are also acknowledgedS

The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury VI. The Ancient Star Forming disk of NGC 404

We present HST/WFPC2 observations across the disk of the nearby isolated dwarf S0 galaxy NGC 404, which hosts an extended gas disk. Our deepest field reaches the red clump and main-sequence stars with ages <500 Myr. Although we detect trace amounts of star formation at times more recent than 10 Gyr for all fields, the proportion of red giant stars to asymptotic giants and main sequence stars suggests that the disk is dominated by an ancient (>10 Gyr) population. Detailed modeling of the color-magnitude diagram suggests that ~70% of the stellar mass in the NGC 404 disk formed by z~2 (10 Gyr ago) and at least ~90% formed prior to z~1 (8 Gyr ago). These results indicate that the stellar populations of the NGC 404 disk are on average significantly older than those of other nearby disk galaxies, suggesting that early and late type disks may have different long-term evolutionary histories, not simply differences in their recent star formation rates. Comparisons of the spatial distribution of the young stellar mass and FUV emission in GALEX images show that the brightest FUV regions contain the youngest stars, but that some young stars (<160 Myr) lie outside of these regions. FUV luminosity appears to be strongly affected by both age and stellar mass within individual regions. Finally, we use our measurements to infer the relationship between the star formation rate and the gas density of the disk at previous epochs. We find that most of the history of the NGC 404 disk is consistent with star formation that has decreased with the gas density according to the Schmidt law. However, 0.5-1 Gyr ago, the star formation rate was unusually low for the inferred gas density, consistent with the possibility that there was a gas accretion event that reignited star formation ~0.5 Gyr ago. Such an event could explain why this S0 galaxy hosts an extended gas disk.Comment: 28 pages, 20 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Ap

Comparison of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, Slaughter Skinfold-Thickness Equations, and Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry for Estimating Body Fat Percentage in Colombian Children and Adolescents with Excess of Adiposity

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) has been considered a reference method for measuring body fat percentage (BF%) in children and adolescents with an excess of adiposity. However, given that the DXA technique is impractical for routine field use, there is a need to investigate other methods that can accurately determine BF%. We studied the accuracy of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) technology, including foot-to-foot and hand-to-foot impedance, and Slaughter skinfold-thickness equations in the measurement of BF%, compared with DXA, in a population of Latin American children and adolescents with an excess of adiposity. A total of 127 children and adolescents (11–17 years of age; 70% girls) from the HEPAFIT (Exercise Training and Hepatic Metabolism in Overweight/Obese Adolescent) study were included in the present work. BF% was measured on the same day using two BIA analysers (Seca® 206, Allers Hamburg, Germany and Model Tanita® BC-418®, TANITA Corporation, Sportlife Tokyo, Japan), skinfold measurements (Slaughter equation), and DXA (Hologic Horizon DXA System®, Quirugil, Bogotá, Columbia). Agreement between measurements was analysed using t-tests, Bland–Altman plots, and Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient (ρc). There was a significant correlation between DXA and the other BF% measurement methods (r > 0.430). According to paired t-tests, in both sexes, BF% assessed by BIA analysers or Slaughter equations differ from BF% assessed by DXA (ρ < 0.001). The lower and upper limits of the differences compared with DXA were 6.3–22.9, 2.2–2.8, and -3.2–21.3 (95% CI) in boys and 2.3–14.8, 2.4–20.1, and 3.9–18.3 (95% CI) in girls for Seca® mBCA, Tanita® BC 420MA, and Slaughter equations, respectively. Concordance was poor between DXA and the other methods of measuring BF% (ρc < 0.5). BIA analysers and Slaughter equations underestimated BF% measurements compared to DXA, so they are not interchangeable methods for assessing BF% in Latin American children and adolescents with excess of adiposity.The author C.A.A.S was given a doctoral scholarship from Brazilian government by CAPES (Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) (Proc: 9588-13-2). MM is supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport FPU14/03329 (predoctoral grant) and EST17/00210 (short stay grant). KG-R received a scholarship from Universidad del Rosario, Colombia, Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, to do a Doctorate. The HEPAFIT Study was carried out with the financial support of Instituto Colombiano para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y la Tecnología “Francisco José de Caldas” COLCIENCIAS (contract code 59700 and no. 122277757900). The content of this paper reflects the authors’ views alone, and the Colombian Community and COLCIENCIAS are not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained herein

Mapa de series, geoseries y geopermaseries de vegetación de España (Memoria del mapa de vegetación potencial de España). Parte II

Peer Reviewe

Proceso asistencial integrado de esclerosis lateral amiotrófica

O proceso asistencial integrado da esclerose lateral amiotrófica, elaborouse co obxectivo de crear un proceso de traballo común en todas as áreas para facilitar a asistencia sanitaria ás persoas diagnosticadas desta enfermidade. Establécense actuacións como o asesoramento continuo, as consultas en acto único, a coordinación asistencial, tanto entre especialidades como coa atención primaria e a coordinación administrativa do sistema socio sanitario. Neste proceso participaron profesionais das diferentes áreas sanitarias especialistas en neuroloxía, endocrinoloxía, neumoloxía, psicoloxía clínica, rehabilitación, traballo social e hospitalización a domicilioEl proceso asistencial integrado de la esclerosis lateral amiotrófica, se elaboró con el objetivo de crear un proceso de trabajo común en todas las áreas para facilitar la asistencia sanitaria a las personas diagnosticadas de esta enfermedad. Se establecen actuaciones como el asesoramiento continuo, las consultas en acto único, la coordinación asistencial, tanto entre especialidades como con la atención primaria y la coordinación administrativa del sistema socio sanitario. En este proceso participaron profesionales de las diferentes áreas sanitarias especialistas en neurología, endocrinología, neumología, psicología clínica, rehabilitación, trabajo social y hospitalización a domicili

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group