El aprendizaje y la satisfacción del alumno en el contexto del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior

Adapting current university education to the European Space for Higher Education will mean considerable change. It will be essential to understand the deficiencies of the current system in order to be able to resolve them, with the goal being individuals with superior competences. Indeed, the objectives outlined in the Bologna Declaration, and reiterated with the communiqués of Prague, Berlin and Bergen, reflect the commitment of the various European countries to converting their university syllabuses into a European System for Higher Education capable of favouring and increasing employment. In this respect, the current work analyses the perceptions of students of two Spanish Universities about the educational methodology used, as well as their opinions about possible improvements in relation to their expectations for future employment. On the basis of the statistical data analysis carried out, the work offers guidelines for improving teaching methodologies. These should help overcome the current weaknesses and at the same time facilitate the preparation of professionals satisfied with the education they receive and confident that it will serve them well in the future

Analysis of PALB2 Gene in BRCA1/BRCA2 Negative Spanish Hereditary Breast/Ovarian Cancer Families with Pancreatic Cancer Cases

Background: The PALB2 gene, also known as FANCN, forms a bond and co-localizes with BRCA2 in DNA repair. Germline mutations in PALB2 have been identified in approximately 1% of familial breast cancer and 3-4% of familial pancreatic cancer. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of PALB2 mutations in a population of BRCA1/BRCA2 negative breast cancer patients selected from either a personal or family history of pancreatic cancer. Methods: 132 non-BRCA1/BRCA2 breast/ovarian cancer families with at least one pancreatic cancer case were included in the study. PALB2 mutational analysis was performed by direct sequencing of all coding exons and intron/exon boundaries, as well as multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Results: Two PALB2 truncating mutations, the c.1653T>A (p.Tyr551Stop) previously reported, and c.3362del (p.Gly1121ValfsX3) which is a novel frameshift mutation, were identified. Moreover, several PALB2 variants were detected; some of them were predicted as pathological by bioinformatic analysis. Considering truncating mutations, the prevalence rate of our population of BRCA1/2-negative breast cancer patients with pancreatic cancer is 1.5%. Conclusions: The prevalence rate of PALB2 mutations in non-BRCA1/BRCA2 breast/ovarian cancer families, selected from either a personal or family pancreatic cancer history, is similar to that previously described for unselected breast/ovarian cancer families. Future research directed towards identifying other gene(s) involved in the development of breast/pancreatic cancer families is required

Inclusion of Mechanical Dampers in the Multimodal Flutter Analysis of Slender Structures

[Abstract] Sometimes slender structures are reinforced with mechanical dampers to reduce the vibrations caused by aeroelastic phenomena like flutter. However the formulation of flutter analysis only considers the classical damping ratio to take into account the structural damping. This paper explains the procedure used for adding mechanical dampers with a known constant to the analysis software FLAS. This code was developed at Universidade da Coruña to calculate the critical wind speed for flutter instability. An example of a solar tracker with two rows of flat panels is shown. In this slender structure two mechanical dampers are used to reduce the vibrations caused by the wind in structure interaction. The solar tracker has been studied for five different positions of the angle of attack. Results of flutter speed for several values of the dampers constant and global structural damping ratio are presented.This work has been funded by the Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation with reference PID2019-110786GB-I00 and the Galician regional government with reference ED431C2017/72. The collaboration in the wind tunnel test of the Research Assistant Miguel Roca is recognizedXunta de Galicia; ED431C2017/7

Improving the Learning Experience and Outcomes in Entrepreneurial Courses

Abstract: Entrepreneurship has been gaining momentum is Europe over the last years as a way to reduce unemployment levels, and in line with the take-off of the digital economy in the world. Entrepreneurship education is still an open research area, with many courses being launched in almost all universities. We describe our experience in running a summer school and mentoring the teams created in the context of the EU-XCeL project, and ICT focused project funded by European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. From this experience, we extract some conclusions and recommendations for preparing better courses and learning experiences, and we also advocate for courses mixing students from different Degrees studies, mainly Engineering and Business, for improving the experience and the course outcomes, especially for students of Engineering Degrees.This work has been developed in the context of the EUXCeL project, funded by European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 644801. It has been partially supported by the “Research Programme for Groups of Scientific Excellence at Region of Murcia" of the Seneca Foundation (Agency for Science and Technology of the Region of Murcia – 19895/GERM/15). Diego Alonso thanks the Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, Subprograma Estatal de Movilidad, Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2013-2016 for grant CAS14/00238

Phenolic profiles, antioxidant activity and in vitro antiviral properties of apple pomace

Methanolic and acetonic extracts of apple pomace were evaluated for phenolic profiles, antioxidant properties and antiviral effect against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2). Acetone extraction yielded the higher amounts of phenolic compounds. The extraction method influenced the phenolic composition although antioxidant activity correlated weakly with phenols concentration. Among the polyphenols analysed, quercetin glycosides were the most important family, followed by dihydrochalcones. Apple pomace extracts were able to inhibit both HSV-1 and HSV-2 replication in Vero cells by more than 50%, at non-cytotoxic concentrations. Selectivity indexes (SI) ranged from 9.5 to 12.2

Determinantes del aprendizaje del alumno ante el reto de la convergencia europea.

A la hora de afrontar el cambio que supone la adaptación de los estudios universitarios actuales al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior, se perfila como clave conocer las deficiencias del sistema actual en aras a poner solución a las mismas para obtener como resultado individuos con mejores niveles de capacitación y especialización en diferentes áreas de conocimiento. No en vano, los objetivos recogidos en la Declaración de Bolonia, reforzados con los Comunicados de Praga, Berlín y Bergen, dejan patente el compromiso con la conversión de los planes de estudio de diferentes países del viejo continente en un Sistema Europeo de Formación Superior capaz de fomentar e incrementar el empleo. En este sentido, el presente trabajo lleva a cabo un análisis de las percepciones que los alumnos pertenecientes a dos universidades españolas tienen sobre la metodología docente empleada así como su opinión sobre los posibles aspectos de mejora vinculados a sus expectativas para el empleo futuro. De esta forma, el análisis estadístico de la información obtenida permite establecer pautas de mejora en la docencia, superando las debilidades actuales y, facilitando al mismo tiempo, la consecución de profesionales satisfechos con la formación proporcionada para su rentabilización futura