Revisiting interval protection, a.k.a. partial cell suppression, for tabular data

The final publication is available at link.springer.comInterval protection or partial cell suppression was introduced in “M. Fischetti, J.-J. Salazar, Partial cell suppression: A new methodology for statistical disclosure control, Statistics and Computing, 13, 13–21, 2003” as a “linearization” of the difficult cell suppression problem. Interval protection replaces some cells by intervals containing the original cell value, unlike in cell suppression where the values are suppressed. Although the resulting optimization problem is still huge—as in cell suppression, it is linear, thus allowing the application of efficient procedures. In this work we present preliminary results with a prototype implementation of Benders decomposition for interval protection. Although the above seminal publication about partial cell suppression applied a similar methodology, our approach differs in two aspects: (i) the boundaries of the intervals are completely independent in our implementation, whereas the one of 2003 solved a simpler variant where boundaries must satisfy a certain ratio; (ii) our prototype is applied to a set of seven general and hierarchical tables, whereas only three two-dimensional tables were solved with the implementation of 2003.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Placa d’adquisició de dades USB portàtil

El present projecte realitza la creació d’una placa d’adquisició de dades portàtil de baix cost i mida reduïda, controlada a través del port USB o sèrie de l’ordinador o dispositius similars mitjançant una sèrie comandes. Aquesta és alimentada directament pel port USB o una font externa. La placa consta d’un port digital de 8 línies programables com a entrades o sortides, 2 sortides analògiques, i 5 entrades analògiques, que poden quedar en 3 si configurem dues d’elles com a tensió de referència d’aquestes. Totes elles estaran controlades per unes comandes que hi ha programades a la placa

Benchmarking density functional methods for calculation of state energies of first row spin-crossover molecules

A systematic study of the performance of several density functional methodologies to study spin-crossover (SCO) on first row transition metal complexes is reported. All functionals have been tested against several mononuclear systems containing first row transition metal complexes and exhibiting spin-crossover. Among the tested functionals, the hybrid meta-GGA functional TPSSh with a triple-ζ basis set including polarization functions on all atoms provides the best results across different metals and oxidation states, and its performance in both predicting the correct ground state and the right energy window for SCO to occur is quite satisfactory. The effect of some additional contributions,such as zero-point energies, relativistic effects, and intra-molecular dispersion interactions, has been analyzed. The reported strategy thus expands the use of the TPSSh functional to other metals and oxidation states other than FeII, making it the method of choice to study SCO in first row transition metal complexes. Additionally, the presented results validate the potential use of the TPSSh functional for virtual screening of new molecules with SCO, or its use in the study of the electronic structure of such systems

Using Moodle platform for the skills-oriented evaluation in Vocational Training

[cat] Els autors expliquen en aquest article l'ús de la plataforma virtual Moodle, en el nivell educatiu de Formació Professional, com a instrument per a l'avaluació orientada a competències. Moodle s’utilitza generalment només com a suport a la docència. Els autors aporten una metodologia per avaluar competències, concretament els Resultats d’Aprenentatge (RA) curriculars, usant les possibilitats que ofereix Moodle, de forma que el professorat pugui implementar la seva programació curricular del mòdul, que inclou els RA, els criteris d’avaluació (CA) i els seus indicadors en cada tasca, directament en Moodle, i possibilitant que es generi automàticament un butlletí de qualificacions on es mostra la qualificació de cada RA. Els autors inclouen les seves experiències en les diferents assignatures i titulacions en les quals han impartit classe. De l'estudi i anàlisi es conclou que Moodle ofereix eines que han provat ser útils per a l’avaluació de les competències dels alumnes.[eng] In this article the authors explain the usage of the virtual platform Moodle as a tool for skillsoriented learning and evaluation. Moodle is generally used only as an on line teaching support, with little or no use of the platform skills-oriented learning capabilities. The authors provide a methodology to assess skills, particularly learning outcomes (named in the context of the authors’ Learning Outcomes, abbreviated, in Spanish, RA). They use the possibilities offered by Moodle, so that teachers can implement their curriculum module -that includes learning outcomes, the criteria assessment and also their indicators in each task-, directly into Moodle, allowing it to an automatically generate gradebook which shows the status of each Learning Outcome (RA). The authors include their experiences in different subjects and courses where they have applied these capabilities. The study and analysis concludes that Moodle offers tools that have proven to be useful for assessing the students’ skills

Changes in air quality during the lockdown in Barcelona (Spain) one month into the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic

Lockdown measures came into force in Spain from March 14th, two weeks after the start of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, to reduce the epidemic curve. Our study aims to describe changes in air pollution levels during the lockdown measures in the city of Barcelona (NE Spain), by studying the time evolution of atmospheric pollutants recorded at the urban background and traffic air quality monitoring stations. After two weeks of lockdown, urban air pollution markedly decreased but with substantial differences among pollutants. The most significant reduction was estimated for BC and NO2 (−45 to −51%), pollutants mainly related to traffic emissions. A lower reduction was observed for PM10 (−28 to −31.0%). By contrast, O3 levels increased (+33 to +57% of the 8 h daily maxima), probably due to lower titration of O3 by NO and the decrease of NOx in a VOC-limited environment. Relevant differences in the meteorology of these two periods were also evidenced. The low reduction for PM10 is probably related to a significant regional contribution and the prevailing secondary origin of fine aerosols, but an in-depth evaluation has to be carried out to interpret this lower decrease. There is no defined trend for the low SO2 levels, probably due to the preferential reduction in emissions from the least polluting ships. A reduction of most pollutants to minimal concentrations are expected for the forthcoming weeks because of the more restrictive actions implemented for a total lockdown, which entered into force on March 30th. There are still open questions on why PM10 levels were much less reduced than BC and NO2 and on what is the proportion of the abatement of pollution directly related to the lockdown, without meteorological interferences.The present work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing, Food and Environment, Madrid City Council and Madrid Regional Government, by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and FEDER funds under the project HOUSE (CGL2016-78594-R), and by the Generalitat de Catalunya (AGAUR 2015 SGR33), and by the Spanish Ministry of Sciences, Innovation and Universities (EQC2018-004598-P).Peer reviewe

How Did the COVID-19 Lockdown Affect Children and Adolescent's Well-Being: Spanish Parents, Children, and Adolescents Respond.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown strategies have been widely used to contain SARS-CoV-2 virus spread. Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to suffering psychological effects as result of such measures. In Spain, children were enforced to a strict home lockdown for 42 days during the first wave. Here, we studied the effects of lockdown in children and adolescents through an online questionnaire. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain using an open online survey from July (after the lockdown resulting from the first pandemic wave) to November 2020 (second wave). We included families with children under 16 years-old living in Spain. Parents answered a survey regarding the lockdown effects on their children and were instructed to invite their children from 7 to 16 years-old (mandatory scholar age in Spain) to respond a specific set of questions. Answers were collected through an application programming interface system, and data analysis was performed using R. Results: We included 1,957 families who completed the questionnaires, covering a total of 3,347 children. The specific children's questionnaire was completed by 167 kids (7-11 years-old), and 100 adolescents (12-16 years-old). Children, in general, showed high resilience and capability to adapt to new situations. Sleeping problems were reported in more than half of the children (54%) and adolescents (59%), and these were strongly associated with less time doing sports and spending more than 5 h per day using electronic devices. Parents perceived their children to gain weight (41%), be more irritable and anxious (63%) and sadder (46%). Parents and children differed significantly when evaluating children's sleeping disturbances. Conclusions: Enforced lockdown measures and isolation can have a negative impact on children and adolescent's mental health and well-being. In future waves of the current pandemic, or in the light of potential epidemics of new emerging infections, lockdown measures targeting children, and adolescents should be reconsidered taking into account their infectiousness potential and their age-specific needs, especially to facilitate physical activity and to limit time spent on electronic devices. Keywords: COVID-19; adolescent; children; lockdown; mental health; well-being

How did the COVID-19 lockdown affect children and adolescent's well-being: Spanish parents, children, and adolescents respond

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown strategies have been widely used to contain SARS-CoV-2 virus spread. Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to suffering psychological effects as result of such measures. In Spain, children were enforced to a strict home lockdown for 42 days during the first wave. Here, we studied the effects of lockdown in children and adolescents through an online questionnaire. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain using an open online survey from July (after the lockdown resulting from the first pandemic wave) to November 2020 (second wave). We included families with children under 16 years-old living in Spain. Parents answered a survey regarding the lockdown effects on their children and were instructed to invite their children from 7 to 16 years-old (mandatory scholar age in Spain) to respond a specific set of questions. Answers were collected through an application programming interface system, and data analysis was performed using R. Results: We included 1,957 families who completed the questionnaires, covering a total of 3,347 children. The specific children’s questionnaire was completed by 167 kids (7–11 years-old), and 100 adolescents (12–16 years-old). Children, in general, showed high resilience and capability to adapt to new situations. Sleeping problems were reported in more than half of the children (54%) and adolescents (59%), and these were strongly associated with less time doing sports and spending more than 5 h per day using electronic devices. Parents perceived their children to gain weight (41%), be more irritable and anxious (63%) and sadder (46%). Parents and children differed significantly when evaluating children’s sleeping disturbances. Conclusions: Enforced lockdown measures and isolation can have a negative impact on children and adolescent’s mental health and well-being. In future waves of the current pandemic, or in the light of potential epidemics of new emerging infections, lockdown measures targeting children, and adolescents should be reconsidered taking into account their infectiousness potential and their age-specific needs, especially to facilitate physical activity and to limit time spent on electronic devices.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

1000 preguntes per 3 qüestionaris i 500 estudiants

Assignatura de Psicofisiologia, 2n semestre, Grau de Psicologia UB. 2013-2014Cada mes, els estudiants han de contestar un qüestionari amb preguntes relacionades amb els temes treballats fins el moment en l’assignatura. Respondre’l requereix la cerca informació específica en webs, llibres o articles científics. Disposen d’una setmana per contestar-lo, sense límit d’entrades

Espècies singulars del Jardí de la Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació

Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l'Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona. Ensenyament: Grau de Farmàcia , Assignatura: Plantes Medicinals, Etnobotànica i Bioprospecció , Curs: 2018-2019, Coordinadors: Joan Simon i Carles BenedíEl grup d’innovació GIBAF, ha dut a terme una activitat acadèmica amb els estudiants de l’assignatura de Plantes Medicinals, Etnobotànica i Bioprospecció que s’inscriu en un projecte d’innovació docent que pren com a base les espècies del campus de la Facultat i que s’orienta en l’àmbit de l’aprenentatge-servei (ApS). Aquesta activitat ha consistit en la redacció d’una vintena de fitxes d’espècies presents al jardí i, de manera especial, la redacció d’unes monografies sobre espècies que considerem com a singulars. Aquesta singularitat ve determinada per aspectes botànics, com en el cas del Ginkgo biloba i Dracaena drago, per ser plantes emblemàtiques, com ara l’exemplar d’olivera (Olea europaea) plantada amb motiu del 150è aniversari de la Facultat, o del grup de margallons (Chamaerops humilis) trasplantat amb motiu del centenari de la mort de Pius Font i Quer, o bé per ser espècies pròpies de la mediterrània, com ara en el cas del baladre (Nerium oleander), el garrofer (Ceratonia siliqua) i el llorer (Laurus nobilis) o per tenir una presència destacada en el campus, con ara el ficus de cautxú (Ficus elàstica)

Desenvolupament transversal de la competència informacional al segon semestre del Grau de Psicologia.

Podeu consultar la Vuitena trobada de professorat de Ciències de la Salut completa a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/66524Buscar, seleccionar i gestionar informació especialitzada de manera estratègica, fent ús de diferents tecnologies i fonts d'informació és una de les competències transversals de la UB. Cinc assignatures del segon semestre de Psicologia van elaborar un pla d’actuació per treballar-la coordinadament. Els estudiants que van seguir aquesta formació van obtenir notables resultats quan s'enfrontaven a exercicis pràctics específics (identificació de paraules clau o factors d'impacte), però van mostrar mancances a l’hora de resoldre tasques que requerien la cerca avançada, l’ús de l'estil APA, la identificació de títols de revistes científiques o el coneixement global dels usos i recursos d'informació. No obstant, els estudiants que van rebre la formació van ser lleugerament més competents que els seus companys de darrer curs del grau (que no havien rebut aquesta formació coordinada, però que se'ls hi suposa experiència en cerca documental, atesa les demandes de les diferents assignatures que han cursat). D’altra banda, l'avaluació de la competència informacional no va resultar independent de la resta de competències avaluades ja que va correlacionar positivament, tant en la tasca de defensa oral, com en la puntuació de l'examen final de continguts bàsics de l'assignatura (valors rxy entre 0,09 i 0,18).Buscar, seleccionar i gestionar informació especialitzada de manera estratègica, fent ús de diferents tecnologies i fonts d'informació és una de les competències transversals de la UB. Cinc assignatures del segon semestre de Psicologia van elaborar un pla d’actuació per treballar-la coordinadament. Els estudiants que van seguir aquesta formació van obtenir notables resultats quan s'enfrontaven a exercicis pràctics específics (identificació de paraules clau o factors d'impacte), però van mostrar mancances a l’hora de resoldre tasques que requerien la cerca avançada, l’ús de l'estil APA, la identificació de títols de revistes científiques o el coneixement global dels usos i recursos d'informació. No obstant, els estudiants que van rebre la formació van ser lleugerament més competents que els seus companys de darrer curs del grau (que no havien rebut aquesta formació coordinada, però que se'ls hi suposa experiència en cerca documental, atesa les demandes de les diferents assignatures que han cursat). D’altra banda, l'avaluació de la competència informacional no va resultar independent de la resta de competències avaluades ja que va correlacionar positivament, tant en la tasca de defensa oral, com en la puntuació de l'examen final de continguts bàsics de l'assignatura (valors rxy entre 0,09 i 0,18)