Sistemas de evaluación flexibles como instrumento de mejora de los resultados académicos de los estudiantes

Esta comunicación continúa describiendo la experiencia de los firmantes en la aplicación de las nuevas metodologías docentes descritas en una comunicación anterior [1]. En primer lugar se recuerdan dichas nuevas metodologías y se resumen los resultados obtenidos con la aplicación de las mismas en los últimos cursos académicos. Se ha constatado en la práctica que, tanto el aprendizaje efectivo del alumno como sus resultados académicos alcanzados, dependen fuertemente del sistema de evaluación adoptado, condicionando incluso la estrategia de estudio y seguimiento de la asignatura por parte del alumno. En base a ello, y siguiendo las tendencias de autonomía del estudiante en su aprendizaje, auspiciadas por el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior, se ha propuesto en el curso académico actualmente vigente (2012-2013) un nuevo sistema de evaluación más flexible que, intentando medir objetivamente el rendimiento de los estudiantes, le motive a éste a configurar de forma voluntaria las distintas actividades valorables en los distintos componentes de la evaluación. El objetivo principal de este nuevo sistema es reducir la tasa de abandono prematuro de la asignatura por parte de los estudiantes y la consecuente mejora de sus resultados académicos en la misma. REFERENCIAS. [1] RODRÍGUEZ GARCÍA, E. A. CARRILLO ANDRÉS, A. SERRANO CASARES, F. DOMÍNGUEZ MUÑOZ, F. "La evaluación continua y la tutoría virtual como herramientas eficientes en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de los estudiantes”. En Actas VII Congreso Nacional de Ingeniería Termodinámica, (Bilbao 15, 16 y 17 de junio de 2011)

Enzymatic oxidation of oleuropein and 3-hydroxytyrosol by laccase, peroxidase and tyrosinase.

The oxidation of oleuropein and 3‐hydroxytyrosol by oxidases laccase, tyrosinase, and peroxidase has been studied. The use of a spectrophotometric method and another spectrophotometric chronometric method has made it possible to determine the kinetic parameters Vmax and KM for each enzyme. The highest binding affinity was shown by laccase. The antioxidant capacities of these two molecules have been characterized, finding a very similar primary antioxidant capacity between them. Docking studies revealed the optimal binding position, which was the same for the two molecules and was a catalytically active position. Practical applications: One of the biggest environmental problems in the food industry comes from olive oil mill wastewater with a quantity of approximately 30 million tons per year worldwide. In addition, olive pomace, the solid residue obtained from the olive oil production, is rich in hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein and the action of enzymatic oxidases can give rise to products in their reactions that can lead to polymerization. This polymerization can have beneficial effects because it can increase the antioxidant capacity with potential application on new functional foods or as feed ingredients. Tyrosinase, peroxidase, and laccase are the enzymes degrading these important polyphenols. The application of a spectrophotometric method for laccase and a chronometric method, for tyrosinase and peroxidase, allowed us to obtain the kinetic information of their reactions on hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein. The kinetic information obtained could advance in the understanding of the mechanism of these important industrial enzymes

Kinetic characterization of the oxidation of catecolamines and related compounds by laccase

The pathways of melanization and sclerotization of the cuticle in insects are carried out by the action of laccases on dopamine and related compounds. In this work, the laccase action of Trametes versicolor (TvL) on catecholamines and related compounds has been kinetically characterized. Among them, dopamine, L-dopa, L-epinephrine, L-norepinephrine, DL-isoprenaline, L-isoprenaline, DL-α-methyldopa, L-α-methyldopa and L-dopa methylester. A chronometric method has been used, which is based on measuring the lag period necessary to consume a small amount of ascorbic acid, added to the reaction medium. The use of TvL has allowed docking studies of these molecules to be carried out at the active site of this enzyme. The hydrogen bridge interaction between the hydroxyl oxygen at C-4 with His-458, and with the acid group of Asp-206, would make it possible to transfer the electron to the T1 Cu-(II) copper centre of the enzyme. Furthermore, Phe-265 would facilitate the adaptation of the substrate to the enzyme through Π-Π interactions. To kinetically characterize these compounds, we need to take into consideration that, excluding L-dopa, L-α-methyldopa and DL-α-methyldopa, all compounds are in hydrochloride form. Because of this, first we need to kinetically characterize the inhibition by chloride and, after that, calculate the kinetic parameters K M and V max S. From the kinetic data obtained, it appears that the best substrate is dopamine. The presence of an isopropyl group bound to nitrogen (isoprenaline) makes it especially difficult to catalyse. The formation of the ester (L-dopa methyl ester) practically does not affect catalysis. The addition of a methyl group (α-methyl dopa) increases the rate but decreases the affinity for catalysis. L-Epinephrine and L-norepinephrine have an affinity similar to isoprenaline, but faster catalysis, probably due to the greater nucleophilic power of their phenolic hydroxyl

Identificación de errores conceptuales comunes en estudiantes de Termodinámica Básica

Se investigan los preconceptos sobre calor y temperatura que tienen los alumnos de ingeniería antes de recibir formación en Termodinámica. El diagnóstico se realiza mediante un cuestionario, pasado a principios de curso. En esta comunicación se resumen los resultados de una prueba realizada con 206 estudiantes. Se cuantifica la frecuencia de diferentes tipos de error conceptual.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

A Human-Computer Duet System for Music Performance

Virtual musicians have become a remarkable phenomenon in the contemporary multimedia arts. However, most of the virtual musicians nowadays have not been endowed with abilities to create their own behaviors, or to perform music with human musicians. In this paper, we firstly create a virtual violinist, who can collaborate with a human pianist to perform chamber music automatically without any intervention. The system incorporates the techniques from various fields, including real-time music tracking, pose estimation, and body movement generation. In our system, the virtual musician's behavior is generated based on the given music audio alone, and such a system results in a low-cost, efficient and scalable way to produce human and virtual musicians' co-performance. The proposed system has been validated in public concerts. Objective quality assessment approaches and possible ways to systematically improve the system are also discussed

Experiencias en la tutorización de enseñanzas técnicas

El PAT en la Escuela Politécnica está abierto a todos aquellos tutores que deseen formar parte del plan y también a todos los alumnos, que, voluntariamente pueden marcar la opción de participar en el plan en la matrícula, y también a aquellos que, a pesar de no marcar la opción en la matrícula, finalmente han decidido seguir el plan de acción tutorial. Esta característica de participación e inscripción voluntaria permite que el trabajo se realice más satisfactoriamente tanto por parte de tutores como por parte de los alumnos, puesto que han decidido seguir el plan por ello mismos y no como una imposición. Con este trabajo nos proponemos presentar nuestras experiencias en el desarrollo de la tutorización de nuestros estudiantes así como la evolución en el desarrollo de la tutorización por pares

Coordinación del Plan de Acción Tutorial en la Escuela Politécnica Superior

Al igual que en cursos anteriores en la Escuela Politécnica se desarrolla, promovido por el Vicerrectorado de Estudios, Formación y Calidad, coordinado desde el Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación, el Plan de Acción Tutorial (PAT) el cual está abierto a todos aquellos tutores que deseen formar parte del plan y también a todos los estudiantes, que, voluntariamente pueden marcar la opción de participar en el plan en la matrícula, y también a aquellos que, a pesar de no marcar la opción en la matrícula, finalmente han decidido seguir el plan de acción tutorial. Esta característica de participación e inscripción voluntaria permite que el trabajo se realice más satisfactoriamente tanto por parte de tutores como por parte de los estudiantes, puesto que han decidido seguir el plan por ello mismos y no como una imposición. Con este resumen nos proponemos presentar nuestras experiencias en el desarrollo del PAT de nuestro centro

Evaluación formativa con feedback rápido mediante mandos interactivos en la docencia de Prótesis III

El objetivo es diseñar y elaborar un sistema de evaluación continuada mediante el empleo de mandos interactivos para la docencia de Prótesis III, que permitan mejorar la enseñanza clínica, y el aprendizaje tanto individual como en equipo

Circulating tumor cells criteria (CyCAR) versus standard RECIST criteria for treatment response assessment in metastatic colorectal cancer patients

The use of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as indicators of treatment response in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) needs to be clarified. The objective of this study is to compare the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) with the Cytologic Criteria Assessing Response (CyCAR), based on the presence and phenotypic characterization of CTCs, as indicators of FOLFOX–bevacizumab treatment response. We observed a decrease of CTCs (42.8 vs. 18.2%) and VEGFR positivity (69.7% vs. 41.7%) after treatment. According to RECIST, 6.45% of the patients did not show any clinical benefit, whereas 93.55% patients showed a favorable response at 12 weeks. According to CyCAR, 29% had a non-favorable response and 71% patients did not. No significant differences were found between the response assessment by RECIST and CyCAR at 12 or 24 weeks. However, in the multivariate analysis, RECIST at 12 weeks and CyCAR at 24 weeks were independent prognostic factors for OS (HR: 0.1, 95% CI 0.02–0.58 and HR: 0.35, 95% CI 0.12–0.99 respectively). CyCAR results were comparable to RECIST in evaluating the response in mCRC and can be used as an alternative when the limitation of RECIST requires additional response analysis techniques.This work was supported by Roche Spain and a Ph.D. grant from the University of Granada

Molecular phenomics of a high-calorie diet-induced porcine model of prepubertal obesity

As obesity incidence is alarmingly rising among young individuals, we aimed to characterize an experimental model of this situation, considering the similarity between human and porcine physiology. For this reason, we fed prepubertal (63 days-old) Duroc breed females (n=20) either with a standard growth diet (3800 KCal/day) or one with a high-calorie content (5200 KCal/day) during 70 days. Computerized tomography, mass-spectrometry based metabolomics, and lipidomics, as well as peripheral blood mononuclear cell transcriptomics, were applied to define traits linked to high-calorie intake. Samples from a human cohort confirmed potential lipidomic markers. Compared to those fed a standard growth diet, pigs fed a high-calorie diet showed an increased weight gain (13%), much higher adiposity (53%), hypertriacylglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia, in parallel to insulin resistance. This diet induced marked changes in the circulating lipidome, particularly in phosphatidylethanolamine-type molecules. Also, circulating specific diacylglycerol and monoacylglycerol contents correlated with visceral fat and intrahepatic triacylglycerol concentrations. Specific lipids associated with obesity in swine (mainly belonging to glycerophospholipid, triacylglyceride, and sterol classes) were also linked with obesity-traits in the human cohort, reinforcing the usefulness of the chosen approach. Interestingly, no overt inflammation in plasma or adipose tissue was evident in this model. The presented model is useful as a preclinical surrogate of prepubertal obesity in order to ascertain the pathophysiology interactions between energy intake and obesity development.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio