Assessment of the Socrative platform as an interactive and didactic tool in the performance improvement of STEM university students

This paper collects and analyzes students\u27 academic results related to the change in teaching methodologies used in different subjects of different science and engineering university courses between 2013 and 2016. This change means introducing active methodologies such as gamification and ICT instead of a traditional methodology. With this purpose the use of Socrative, a platform that has been designed for the educational field, was introduced during said period. Interaction with the Socrative platform took place in well prepared classrooms with computers and internet connections, including the use of personal mobile devices (laptops, smartphones and tablets) according to the BYOD methodology. The active methodology implemented allowed students to improve their academic results while learning and improving their passing rates

Learning based on a gamification project: connecting university education and Chilean geomorphology dissemination

Con el objetivo de promover el conocimiento de la geomorfología a través de una herramienta utilizable por el conjunto de la sociedad, en el curso de geomorfología de la carrera de geología se incorporó el aprendizaje basado en proyectos (ABP) y la gamificación como metodologías de enseñanza-aprendizaje innovadoras. El proyecto se basó en la creación de un juego de mesa al que se le suma la incorporación de la gamificación al momento de utilizar el juego creado, el cual mostró ser una herramienta de aprendizaje que favorece la adquisición de conocimientos geomorfológicos, la capacidad de análisis, creatividad y motivación en los estudiantes. Debido a la sencillez tecnológica y accesibilidad económica del juego creado, se espera que la sociedad tenga la posibilidad de acercarse a la geología, adquiriendo un mayor conocimiento de su entorno natural.With the aim of promoting knowledge of geomorphology through a tool that can be used by society as a whole, in a geomorphology course of geological degree project-based learning (PBL) and gamification were incorporated as an innovative teaching-learning methodology. The implementation of the project was based on the creation of a board which incorporated the gamification at the moment of using the created game which proved to be a viable learning tool which contributes to the acquisition of geomorphological knowledge, improves the analytical abilities, creativity and motivation in students. Due to the technological simplicity and economic accessibility of the game created, it is expected that society has the possibility of approaching geology, becoming in a better knowledge of its natural environment

Assessment of the Socrative platform as an interactive and didactic tool in the performance improvement of STEM university students

This paper collects and analyzes students' academic results related to the change in teaching methodologies used in different subjects of different science and engineering university courses between 2013 and 2016. This change means introducing active methodologies such as gamification and ICT instead of a traditional methodology. With this purpose the use of Socrative, a platform that has been designed for the educational field, was introduced during said period. Interaction with the Socrative platform took place in well prepared classrooms with computers and internet connections, including the use of personal mobile devices (laptops, smartphones and tablets) according to the BYOD methodology. The active methodology implemented allowed students to improve their academic results while learning and improving their passing rates

Generación coordinada e integración en la docencia de objetos y recursos virtuales de aprendizaje en las asignaturas de Didáctica de la Matemática del Grado en Educación Primaria

Tras la experiencia adquirida en el curso pasado en el uso de herramientas y recursos para la docencia online provocada por la suspensión de la actividad presencial debido a la pandemia, arrancamos este PID que buscaba el diseño, generación e integración en la docencia de objetos y recursos virtuales de aprendizaje, que fuesen útiles en cualquier modalidad de docencia (presencial, semipresencial u online) y con el objetivo de maximizar las oportunidades de aprendizaje de los estudiantes en dos asignaturas del grado en Educación Primaria. Por ello, mediante el presente PID se han desarrollado varios objetos de aprendizaje, a saber: cuestionarios de Moodle para la autoevaluación de los alumnos, que han sido muy bien aceptados y utilizados por los estudiantes, guiones de prácticas basados en materiales y recursos online, y varias píldoras en el formato “Saber, extender” que servirán tanto de material para varias asignaturas del área como de medio de difusión de conocimiento para la comunidad educativa. Aunque el objetivo inicial, además de desarrollar estos materiales, también incluía su implementación en el curso actual, solo se han podido implementar los cuestionarios de Moodle, pues los diferentes compromisos de los integrantes del equipo de trabajo han ralentizado el trabajo de diseño y generación. No obstante, gracias a la coordinación que se ha promovido entre el profesorado participante, creemos que este proyecto, inicialmente ambicioso, solo es el comienzo de futuras colaboraciones para el desarrollo de otros materiales y su implementación en los próximos cursos.Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales, Sociales y de la Matemátic

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues

The Gaia mission

Gaia is a cornerstone mission in the science programme of the EuropeanSpace Agency (ESA). The spacecraft construction was approved in 2006, following a study in which the original interferometric concept was changed to a direct-imaging approach. Both the spacecraft and the payload were built by European industry. The involvement of the scientific community focusses on data processing for which the international Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) was selected in 2007. Gaia was launched on 19 December 2013 and arrived at its operating point, the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth-Moon system, a few weeks later. The commissioning of the spacecraft and payload was completed on 19 July 2014. The nominal five-year mission started with four weeks of special, ecliptic-pole scanning and subsequently transferred into full-sky scanning mode. We recall the scientific goals of Gaia and give a description of the as-built spacecraft that is currently (mid-2016) being operated to achieve these goals. We pay special attention to the payload module, the performance of which is closely related to the scientific performance of the mission. We provide a summary of the commissioning activities and findings, followed by a description of the routine operational mode. We summarise scientific performance estimates on the basis of in-orbit operations. Several intermediate Gaia data releases are planned and the data can be retrieved from the Gaia Archive, which is available through the Gaia home page. http://www.cosmos.esa.int/gai

Review of Underground Mining Methods in World-Class Base Metal Deposits: Experiences from Poland and Chile

There are several massive deposits around the world with different geological characteristics. Thus, different mining methods and strategies are applied based on the particularity of each method and mine experience. Particularly, in this work, we review and summarize the underground exploitation of some world-class base metal deposits based on Poland and Chilean experiences. Here, the main geological and mining parameters of Poland and Chilean mines applied in massive deposits are reported and analyzed. In Poland, mainly room and pillar methods (and variants) have been applied in massive deposits. Here, back-filling is required to maintain the mine’s stability due to the large deposit size and open areas. In Chile, the block caving method is commonly used in massive underground deposits where less development is required. Here, the cave is naturally filled with broken material and a large subsidence zone is generated. In this review, it has been observed that different underground methods and strategies can be effectively used in massive deposits. Some parameters that influenced the method selection are mainly related to rock mechanics, ore recovery and dilution, subsidence zone, extraction rate, and mining experience. Here, key mining variables and parameters such as productivity, support, and equipment, as well as various issues related to the world-class deposit are studied. Additionally, a comparison between both experiences is presented, highlighting the main geological and mining parameters. This study can be used as a reference to evaluate the different option of underground mining methods to be applied in future massive mine projects with similar geological characteristics

Cambios mineralógicos en una bentonita tras 7,6 años de tratamiento termo-hidráulico

Depto. de Mineralogía y PetrologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu