2,515 research outputs found
An exploratory social network analysis of academic research networks
For several decades, academics around the world have been collaborating with the view to support the development of their research domain. Having said that, the majority of scientific and technological policies try to encourage the creation of strong inter-related research groups in order to improve the efficiency of research outcomes and subsequently research funding allocation. In this paper, we attempt to highlight and thus, to demonstrate how these collaborative networks are developing in practice. To achieve this, we have developed an automated tool for extracting data about joint article publications and analyzing them from the perspective of social network analysis. In this case study, we have limited data from works published in 2010 by England academic and research institutions. The outcomes of this work can help policy makers in realising the current status of research collaborative networks in England
A technological acceptance of e-learning tools used in practical and laboratory teaching, according to the European higher education area
The application of scientific tools to analyse the use of Internet-based e-learning tools in academic settings is in
general an ignored area. E-learning tools are actually an emergent topic as a result of the new ideas introduced by the
European Higher Education Area. Lifelong learning, or the promotion of student initiative, is the new paradigm of a
learner-centred education. In this context, e-learning tools can represent an effective way of supporting this new
trend in education. Assuming the premise that successful use of these web-based tools depends primarily on a user’s
behaviour, the objective of this research is to examine the technology acceptance model (TAM) of web-based elearning
tools used in practical and laboratory teaching. The research hypotheses derived from this model have
empirically been validated using the responses to a survey on e-learning usage among 220 users. These responses
have been examined through partial least square. The obtained results strongly support the extended TAM in
predicting a student’s intention to use e-learning and define a set of external variables with a significant influence in
the original TAM variables. Surprisingly, perceived ease of use did not posit a significant impact on student attitude
or intention towards e-learning tool usage. Therefore, early evaluation of e-learning material is considered essential
to providing a framework for further improvements of the too
Addressing learner satisfaction outcomes in electronic instrumentation and measurement laboratory course organization
This paper proposes and details a course organization
methodology based on learner satisfaction achievement. The approach
follows the prevailing tendency in modern university reforms
which are primarily concerned about “how people learn.”
As a consequence, the learner has been placed as the main actor of
the teaching–learning process. Nevertheless, the current learning
literature has not addressed the measurement of learner satisfaction
within laboratory and practical subjects. This study develops
a general and comprehensive methodology for learner satisfaction
measurement in practical subjects. As a case example, the proposed
methodology has been applied to an electronic instrumentation
and measurement course, confirming the variables with a significant
influence on learner satisfaction and becoming the starting
point for curriculum redesign based on the learner satisfaction approach.
To assess the improvement of the proposed course organization
methodology, a comparison with previous academic years
has been performed showing the students’ rated score evolution.
Results fully confirm the validity of the technique and the novel
course organizatio
An electronic engineering curriculum design based on concept-mapping techniques
Curriculum design is a concern in European Universities as they face the
forthcoming European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This process can be eased by the
use of scientific tools such as Concept-Mapping Techniques (CMT) that extract and
organize the most relevant information from experts’ experience using statistics techniques,
and helps a working group to achieve conclusions. This paper presents an empirical
exploratory research study related to the application of the CMT to the design of the
Electronic Engineering (EE) Degree at the University of Seville, Spain. Considering the
Career-space conclusions as the initial point, the main relevant competences were identified
in a brainstorming technique. These competences are organized according to their
affinity using CMT, establishing and interpreting the main clusters and their relative
importance. Finally, a reliability analysis of the concept maps was carried out verifying the
correctness of the procedure and validating the results for the curricula adaptatio
Modeling learner satisfaction in an electronic instrumentation and measurement course using structural equation models
The prevailing tendency in modern university
reforms is towards “how people learn,” following a learner-centered
approach in which the learner is the main actor of the
teaching-learning process. As a consequence, one of the key indicators
of the teaching-learning process is the measurement of
learner satisfaction within the classroom. Learner satisfaction has
traditionally been measured using survey responses to a standard
learning survey. However, more scientific analysis should be
performed to assess adequately not only learner satisfaction but
also the main dimensions that have a positive impact on learner
satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to define a structural and
measurement model in which causal relationships among these
different dimensions are adequately established. The methodology
is based on a multivariate regression model (Structural
Equation Models) to establish scientifically a structural model
for learner satisfaction within a classroom, measuring its validity
and reliability. The proposed approach has been applied to model
learner satisfaction in an electronic instrumentation course at the
University of Seville, Spain. The results and implications of this
study will contribute to improve student satisfaction with respect
to the dimensions considere
A learning methodology using Matlab/Simulink for undergraduate electrical engineering courses attending to learner satisfaction outcomes
Learner-centred approaches follow the prevailing tendency in modern
University reforms which are primarily concerned about ‘‘how people learn’’. The
methodologies can be learner-centred in the sense of placing the student as the main
actor of the teaching–learning process by increasing his interactivity and participation,
but also considering what is relevant for the student by measuring the learner
satisfaction. In order to promote both aspects, this paper proposes a synchronous
software-based active methodology that makes use of the simulations to show a
virtual scenario to the students and challenge them to predict and discuss the evolution
of the scenario. The proposed methodology improves the visual interface,
promotes discussion both among students and with the teacher in a brainstorming
stage and shows real-world examples. This software-based methodology has been
implemented into an Electric Machinery course at the University of Seville (Spain),
and the evaluation has been carried out considering both the affective and cognitive
domains. Principal components analysis proves to be useful to highlight the
dimensions with a higher influence on learner satisfaction and the affective and
cognitive results confirm the successful implementation of the proposa
Carbon/montmorillonite hybrids with different activation methods: adsorption of norfloxacin
Within the group of emerging pollutants, antibiotics have raised scientific concern due to, among others, their negative influenceon the health of living beings. To investigate the adsorption capacity of the antibiotic norfloxacin (NFX), in this workcarbon/montmorillonite hybrid materials (MD) obtained by hydrothermal synthesis using dextrose as carbon source, withacid and thermal activation methods, as well as some precursor materials, were deeply characterized. The characterizationresults of MD showed the presence of carbon at both the interlayer and external surfaces of montmorillonite (M), with anincrease of more than three times in the specific surface area and also in the negative surface electrical charge with respectto M sample. The MD materials assayed were effective (around 40%) to remove NFX from aqueous medium at pH 7, theremoval efficiency being within that of the M (75?99%) and hydrothermal carbon (5%) samples. The XRD and zeta potentialvalues of NFX adsorbed products indicated that, while in M sample the interlayer is the preferential adsorbing surface, forthe MD material assayed (activated with higher acid concentration) the external surface would be the more active.Fil: Zelaya Soulé, María Emilia. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica; ArgentinaFil: Barraqué, Facundo. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica; ArgentinaFil: Flores, Federico Manuel. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica; ArgentinaFil: Torres Sánchez, Rosa M.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Mariela A.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Tecnología de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica; Argentin
Ensemble and Greedy Approach for the Reconstruction of Large Gene Co-Expression Networks
In the recent years, the vast amount of genetic information generated by high-throughput approaches, have led to the need of new methods for data handling. The integrative analysis of diverse-nature gene information could provide a much-sought overview to study complex biological systems and processes. In this sense, Co-expression Gene Networks (CGN) have become a powerful tool in the comprehensive analysis of gene expression. Such networks represent relationships between genes (or gene products) by means of a graph composed of nodes and edges, where nodes represent genes and edges the relationships among them. Amongst the main features of CGN, sparseness and scale-free topology may notably affect the latter network analysis. Within this framework, structure optimization techniques are also important in the reduction of the size of the networks, not only improving their topology but also keeping a positive prediction ratio. On the other hand, ensemble strategies have significantly improved the precision of results by combining different measures or methods.
In this work, we present Ensemble and Greedy networks (EnGNet), a novel two-step method for CGN inference. First, EnGNet uses an ensemble strategy for co-expression networks generation. Final score is estimated by major voting among three different methdos, i.e. Spearman and Kendall coefficients and Normalized Mutual Information. Second, a greedy algorithm optimizes both the size and the topological features of the network. Not only do achieved results show that this method is able to obtain reliable networks, but also that it significantly improves the topology of the networks.
Moreover, the usefulness of the method is proven by an application to a human dataset on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), revealing an innate immunity-mediated response to this pathology in accordance with previous studies. These results are indicative of the potential of CGN, and EnGNet in particular, in the unveiling of the genetic causes for complex diseases. Finally, the implications of CGN in biomarkers discovery, could lead research towards earlier detection and effective treatment of these diseases
Acercamiento a una metodología científica en cursos de energía eólica para ingenieros electrónicos
La docencia y la investigación son actividades que se realizan de manera simultánea en la práctica
universitaria, pero cuya conexión suele ser débil. Mientras que el método científico se basa en etapas bien
conocidas, ésta metodología y el know-how asociado raramente se integran en cursos a nivel de grado. Este
trabajo describe la integración de teoría, simulación, experimentación a escala de laboratorio y desarrollos
industriales dentro de cursos de energía eólica para ingenieros eléctricos. La metodología propuesta reutiliza el
conocimiento adquirido en la faceta investigadora y acerca al estudiante a los últimos desarrollos industriales y
tendencias científicas usando una metodología científica en cursos de multidisciplinares de energía eólic
Excess hospitalizations and mortality associated with seasonal influenza in Spain, 2008–2018
Hospitalization; Influenza; MortalityHospitalització; Grip; MortalitatHospitalización; Gripe; MortalidadBackground
Influenza may trigger complications, particularly in at-risk groups, potentially leading to hospitalization or death. However, due to lack of routine testing, influenza cases are infrequently coded with influenza-specific diagnosis. Statistical models using influenza activity as an explanatory variable can be used to estimate annual hospitalizations and deaths associated with influenza. Our study aimed to estimate the clinical and economic burden of severe influenza in Spain, considering such models.
Methods
The study comprised ten epidemic seasons (2008/2009–2017/2018) and used two approaches: (i) a direct method of estimating the seasonal influenza hospitalization, based on the number of National Health Service hospitalizations with influenza-specific International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes (ICD-9: 487–488; ICD-10: J09-J11), as primary or secondary diagnosis; (ii) an indirect method of estimating excess hospitalizations and deaths using broader groups of ICD codes in time-series models, computed for six age groups and four groups of diagnoses: pneumonia or influenza (ICD-9: 480–488, 517.1; ICD-10: J09–J18), respiratory (ICD-9: 460–519; ICD-10: J00–J99), respiratory or cardiovascular (C&R, ICD-9: 390–459, 460–519; ICD-10: I00–I99, J00–J99), and all-cause. Means, excluding the H1N1pdm09 pandemic (2009/2010), are reported in this study.
Results
The mean number of hospitalizations with a diagnosis of influenza per season was 13,063, corresponding to 28.1 cases per 100,000 people. The mean direct annual cost of these hospitalizations was €45.7 million, of which 65.7% was generated by patients with comorbidities. Mean annual influenza-associated C&R hospitalizations were estimated at 34,894 (min: 16,546; max: 52,861), corresponding to 75.0 cases per 100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 63.3–86.3) for all ages and 335.3 (95% CI: 293.2–377.5) in patients aged ≥ 65 years. We estimate 3.8 influenza-associated excess C&R hospitalizations for each hospitalization coded with an influenza-specific diagnosis in patients aged ≥ 65 years. The mean direct annual cost of the estimated excess C&R hospitalizations was €142.9 million for all ages and €115.9 million for patients aged ≥ 65 years. Mean annual influenza-associated all-cause mortality per 100,000 people was estimated at 27.7 for all ages.
Conclusions
Results suggest a relevant under-detected burden of influenza mostly in the elderly population, but not neglectable in younger people.The BARI study was funded by Sanofi. Martinón-Torres F has received support for the present work from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Proyecto de Investigación en Salud, Acción Estratégica en Salud): Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS; PI070069/PI1000540/PI1601569/PI1901090) del plan nacional de I + D + I and ‘fondos FEDER’ and Proyectos GAIN Rescata-Covid_IN845D 2020/23 (GAIN, Xunta de Galicia)
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