Exploratory Data Analysis and Data Envelopment Analysis of Construction and Demolition Waste Management in the European Economic Area

This paper deals with the efficiency and sustainability of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) management in 30 Member States of the European Economic Area (EEA) (the 28 European Union countries plus Norway and Iceland) for the period 2010–2016 using Exploratory Data Analytics (EDA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The first stage of the proposed methodology is EDA with already available (the CDW recovery rate) and suggested indicators (e.g., building stock characterization, dwelling occupancy ratio, macroeconomic ratios and CDW breakdown) to characterize the efficiency and sustainability of CDW management. The second stage is to assess the efficiency of countries using DEA through two original CDW production models, one for sustainability, measuring the efficiency of the construction sector for reducing its CDW, and the second a model to score the efficiency of maximizing the CDW recovery rate. The main outcome of the paper is the proposed methodology, which is a candidate for replacing current indicators in order to evaluate the performance of CDW policy, due to is adaptive nature, promoting the continuous improvement and overcoming the limitations of the poor quality of metrics, data and parametric indicators. The methodology has been experimentally validated using Eurostat data for 30 Member States of EEA, ranking them according to the two DEA model scores, to point out the countries considered efficient among those of their scale, as a reference for sustainable and efficient practicesThis research was funded by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain, Project TIN2016-75845-P (AEI/FEDER/EU) and SNEO-20161147 (CDTI) and by Xunta de Galicia and FEDER funds of the EU (Centro de Investigación de Galicia accreditation 2019–2022, ref. ED431G2019/01, and Consolidation Programme of Competitive Reference Groups, ref. ED431C 2017/04)S

Agent Based Model and Simulation of MRSA Transmission in Emergency Departments

In healthcare environments we can find several microorganisms causing nosocomial infection, and of which one of the most common and most dangerous is Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. Its presence can lead to serious complications to the patient.Our work uses Agent Based Modeling and Simulation techniques to build the model and the simulation of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus contact transmission in emergency departments. The simulator allows us to build virtual scenarios with the aim of understanding the phenomenon of MRSA transmission and the potential impact of the implementation of different measures in propagation rates

The salting coefficient and size of alkylamines in saline media at different temperatures: estimation from Pitzer equations and the mean spherical approximation

The renewed theoretical interest in the proton transfer associated to the amino group together with the scarcity of acid-base studies of amines in moderate to concentrated saline media focussed our attention on the study of the basicities of some alkylamines, namely monomethyl, dimethyl and trimethylamine, in aqueous saline solutions of KCl at various temperatures. A non-conventional analysis of stoichiometric equilibrium constants versus ionic strength data is carried out. On one hand, Pitzer’s model is easily applied to calculate the salting coefficient and the thermodynamic equilibrium constant of the alkylamines. On the other hand, the mean spherical approximation has the advantage over the Debye–Hückel based theories that it can account for effects produced by species of different sizes. Here, it is applied to predict the dependence of the salting behavior on the size of the alkylamines.Xunta de Galicia; XUGA 10310B9

Sex-Specific Effects of Early Life Stress on Brain Mitochondrial Function, Monoamine Levels and Neuroinflammation

Sex differences have been reported in the susceptibility to early life stress and its neurobiological correlates in humans and experimental animals. However, most of the current research with animal models of early stress has been performed mainly in males. In the present study, prolonged maternal separation (MS) paradigm was applied as an animal model to resemble the effects of adverse early experiences in male and female rats. Regional brain mitochondrial function, monoaminergic activity, and neuroinflammation were evaluated as adults. Mitochondrial energy metabolism was greatly decreased in MS females as compared with MS males in the prefrontal cortex, dorsal hippocampus, and the nucleus accumbens shell. In addition, MS males had lower serotonin levels and increased serotonin turnover in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. However, MS females showed increased dopamine turnover in the prefrontal cortex and increased norepinephrine turnover in the striatum, but decreased dopamine turnover in the hippocampus. Sex differences were also found for pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, with increased levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of MS males, and increased IL-6 levels in the striatum of MS females. These results evidence the complex sex- and brain region-specific long-term consequences of early life stress.This work was supported by grants PSI 2017-83038-P to HGP and NC, PSI 2017-90806-REDT to JLA, PSI 2017-83893-R to JLA (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spain)

Red social Wattpad: Contribución de la plataforma digital en el incremento de hábitos de lectura

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo general analizar la contribución de la plataforma digital Wattpad en el incremento de hábitos de lectura en sus usuarios. Se realizó con la metodología de un enfoque cualitativo, de tipo aplicada y un diseño fenomenológico – hermenéutico. El escenario de estudio fue la plataforma digital Wattpad y los participantes fueron jóvenes de 15 a 24 años que leen y/o escriben en Wattpad, así como especialistas en plataformas digitales y/o hábitos de lectura, todos ellos pertenecientes a la ciudad de Trujillo. Se trabajó con una categoría, tres subcategorías y 6 indicadores, mismos que se analizaron utilizando la técnica de la entrevista y como instrumento la guía de entrevista. Gracias a toda la información y los resultados obtenidos de las entrevistas realizadas, se afirma que el uso de la plataforma digital Wattpad sí contribuye al incremento de hábitos de lectura en sus usuarios, debido a que se presentan de forma clara las características propias de esta aplicación como la interconexión, las comunidades virtuales y la inteligencia colectiva

Convivencia escolar: una revisión bibliográfica

The article reports a bibliographic review exercise of the concept of school coexistence in order to carry out an analysis of with respect to the study variable, in such a way that it helps to clarify it and, therefore, contribute to the development of good relationships. interpersonal as well as intrapersonal. For this, the authors conduct a documentary work aimed at identifying the main theoretical approaches in the literature on coexistence. The descriptive type of research was used, seven studies were analyzed with respect to the subject, in order to systematize these approaches or characteristics with respect to the variable under study. As a result, they propose a concept of coexistence from the perspective of truth, justice, family and social development, these elements serve to help strengthen the field of education and operationalize it in three areas of school life: pedagogical-curricular, organizational-administrative and socio-community. This notion of literary review with respect to the topic of school coexistence could support future research, educational proposals and evaluations of school coexistence where it will serve as a reference in terms of inferences of the topic and social exclusion that exists in the context itself.El presente artículo reporta un ejercicio de revisión bibliográfica del concepto de convivencia escolar con la finalidad de realizar un análisis de con respecto a la variable de estudio, de tal manera que ayude a su clarificación y, por tanto, contribuir al desarrollo de las buenas relaciones interpersonales como intrapersonales. Para ello las autoras conducen un trabajo documental orientado a identificar los principales enfoques teóricos en la literatura de convivencia. Se utilizó el tipo de investigación descriptivo, se analizaron siete estudios con respecto al tema, con la finalidad de sistematizar estos enfoques o características con respecto a la variable en estudio. Como resultado, proponen un concepto de convivencia desde la perspectiva de la verdad, justicia, desarrollo familiar y social, estos elementos sirve para contribuir a fortalecer en el campo de la educación y lo operacionalizan en tres ámbitos de la vida escolar: pedagógico-curricular, organizativo-administrativo y socio-comunitario. Esta noción de revisión literaria con respecto al tema de convivencia escolar podría apoyar la realización de investigaciones futuras, propuestas educativas y evaluaciones de convivencia escolar en donde servirá como referencia en cuanto inferencias del tema y exclusión social que existe en el contexto mismo

Syringeable Self-Organizing Gels that Trigger Gold Nanoparticle Formation for Localized Thermal Ablation

Block copolymer dispersions that form gels at body temperature and that additionally are able to reduce a gold salt to nanoparticles (AuNPs) directly in the final formulation under mild conditions were designed as hybrid depots for photothermal therapy. The in situ gelling systems may retain AuNPs in the application zone for a long time so that localized elevations of temperature can be achieved each time the zone is irradiated. To carry out the work, dispersions were prepared covering a wide range of poloxamine Tetronic 1307:gold salt molar ratios in NaCl media (also varying from pure water to hypertonic solution). Even at copolymer concentrations well above the critical micelle concentration, the reducing power of the copolymer was maintained, and AuNPs were formed in few hours without extra additives. Varying the copolymer and NaCl concentrations allowed a fine tuning of nanoparticles’ shape from spherical to triangular nanoplates, which determined that the surface plasmon resonance showed a maximum intensity at 540 nm or at 1000 nm, respectively. The information gathered on the effects of (i) the poloxamine concentration on AuNPs’ size and shape under isotonic conditions, (ii) the AuNPs on the temperature-induced gelling transition, and (iii) the gel properties on the photothermal responsiveness of the AuNPs during successive irradiation cycles may help the rational design of one-pot gels with built-in temperature and light responsiveness.This research was funded by MINECO (SAF2017-83118-R; MAT2016-80266-R), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) Spain, Xunta de Galicia (Grupo de Referencia Competitiva ED431C 2016/008; Agrupación Estratégica en Materiales-AEMAT ED431E 2018/08), and FEDER (Spain). S.C.-M. acknowledges a Xunta de Galicia predoctoral grantS

Aparición y crecimiento de los ETF en españa: una interesante inversión alternativa poco conocida en tiempos de crisis

A pesar de la reciente aparición de los fondos cotizados (Exchange Traded Funds, ETF) en España, estos han alcanzado una importancia considerable, con una inversión superior a los 44.560 millones de euros en junio de 2015. Los ETF son productos híbridos entre los fondos de inversión y los títulos de renta variable, que replican un índice y cotizan en mercados regulados. Se han convertido en una inversión estratégica en periodos de crisis dada su gran accesibilidad, por lo que analizamos sus características, principales magnitudes y evolución, así como las ventajas respecto a los fondos tradicionales de este prometedor producto de inversión