¿Estás on line, amiguito?

El presente texto pretende aportar algunos puntos de reflexión acerca del fenómeno de las comunidades virtuales que han generado algunos problemas en colegios, en este caso en el contexto sueco. Suecia es uno de los países con autopistas de la información más avanzado del mundo donde prácticamente cada niño y adolescente tiene acceso a Internet tanto en el hogar como en los colegios e institutos. Las comunidades virtuales son muy populares entre los adolescentes y en muchos colegios se ha prohibido su uso, sin embargo los alumnos desarrollan rápidamente estrategias para estar on line y poder comunicarse con sus amigos. ¿ Cuál es el atractivo de estos sitios web o comunidades virtuales? ¿De qué manera cumplen un rol social? ¿ Qué opinan los usuarios? Son algunas preguntas que la autora tratará de responder en este texto.______________________________________ The present text intends to contribute some points of reflection about the phenomenon of the virtual communities that have generated some problems in schools, in this case in the Swedish context. Sweden is one of the most advanced countries regarding Internet of the world where practically each child and adolescent has access to Internet at home and in the schools. The virtual communities are very popular among the adolescents and in many schools its use has been forbidden, however the students develop quickly strategies to be on line and to be able to be communicated with its friends. Which is the attractive characteristic of these web sites or virtual communities? How do they comply with a social role? What do the users think? They are some questions that the author will try to respond in this text

Una Experiencia Internacional con eRúbricas: una aproximación a la evaluación formativa en dos cursos en la carrera de Educación Infantil.

[EN] The present project aims at assessing the eRubric tool [1, 2] within a teacher education programme in Early Childhood Education. The eRubric is a tool and a method for teacher training and educational assessment. eRubrics can create collaborative learning environments, raise awareness in students about their own learning process and promote active participation in class in order to ensure learning quality. The planned methods were interwoven with the tool and with the control groups that were involved in the institutional platform at the University of Stockholm. In order to provide an international angle, the university is activelycooperating with the University of Malaga through the Gtea [3] group. The project started during the academic year 2012 and was divided into three stages: Implementation, development and evaluation. According to the teachers, the obtained results prove that eRubrics offer educational benefits in terms of competences and proof of learning, students’ active participation in their tasks and peer feedback; even though teachers still show some reluctance in implementing this tool and methodology. On the other hand, students also undertake a process of reflection and collaborative learning and obtain positive results, while experiencing nonetheless some difficulties and limitations.[ES] El proyecto que presentamos consistió en una experimentación y evaluación de la herramienta eRubrica[1,2] dentro del programa de formación de docentes de Educación Infantil. eRubrica es una herramienta pero tambien un método para formación didáctica y evaluación formativa. Como principios posee la creación de ambientes de aprendizaje colaborativo, facilitar la consciencia en los estudiantes sobre su propio proceso de aprendizaje y la participación activa en los cursos para asegurar su calidad. Los métodos planteados se entrelazaron con la herramienta y los grupos de control inmersos en la plataforma institucional de la universidad de Estocolmo. En una perspectiva internacional se coopera activamente con la universidad de Málaga a través del grupo Gtea[3]. El proyecto se inicia en el curso año académico 2012 y se planificó en tres fases: Implementación, desarrollo y evaluación. Los resultados muestran ventajas pedagógicas de la herramienta en lo que respecta a la reflexión del profesor sobre las competencias y evidencias de aprendizaje, la participación activa del estudiante en sus tareas y el feedback con sus compañeros; al tiempo que se vislumbran resistencias en el docente a la hora de implementar e innovar con la herramienta y su metodología. Por su parte, los estudiantes también realizan un proceso de reflexión y aprendizaje colaborativo obteniendo resultados positivos, mostrando dificultades y limitaciones.Bergman, ME. (2014). An International Experiment with eRubrics: An Approach to Educational Assessment in Two Courses of the Early Childhood Education Degree. REDU. Revista de Docencia Universitaria. 12(1):99-110. https://doi.org/10.4995/redu.2014.6409OJS99110121Brown, S. and Glaser, A. (2003). Evaluar en la universidad. Problemas y nuevos enfoques. Madrid: Narcea.Brown, Ph. (2001). High skills: Globalization, competitiveness, and skill formation. Oxford: University Press.Cebrián de la Serna, M. (2009). Formative and Peer-to-Peer Evaluation Using a Rubric Tool. Edited by A. Méndez-Vilas, A. Solano Martín, J.A. Mesa González and J. Mesa González. Research, Reflections and Innovations in Integrating ICT in Education. pp.60-64. Published by FORMATEX.Falchikov, N. and Goldfinch, J. (2000). Student Peer Assessment in Higher Education: A Meta-Analysis Comparing Peer and Teacher Marks. Review of Educational Research, Vol. 70, No. 3, pp. 287-322.Fullan, M. (2011). Whole System Reform for Innovative Teaching and Learning. In Langworthy, M. (2011). Innovative Teaching and Learning Research: Findings and Implications. pp. 32-40. SRI Internacional.Hamrahan,S. & Isaacs, G. (2001). Assessing Self- and Peer-Assessment: The Students' Views. Higher Education Research & Development. 20: 1. pp. 53-70.López Pastor, V. (2009). Evaluación Formativa y Compartida en educación superior. Propuestas, técnicas, instrumentos y experiencias. Madrid: Narcea.Luxton-Reilly, A. (2009). A Systematic Review of Tools that Support Peer Assessment. Computer Science Education. Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 209-232.Orsmond, P., Merry, S. & Reiling, K. (2000). The Use of Student Derived Marking Criteria in Peer and Self Assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. 2000; 25-1, pp. 23-38.Donal, H. (2012). La enseñanza universitaria en la era digital. Barcelona: Octaedro-EUB.Serrano Angulo, J. and Cebrián de la Serna, M. (2011). Study of the Impact on Student Learning Using the eRubric Tool and Peer Assessment. In A. Méndez- Vilas (Eds.). Education in a Technological World: Communicating Current and Emerging Research and Technological Efforts. Edit Formatex Research Center. http://www.for matex.info/ict/book/421-427.pdfTejada, J. (2012). Evaluación de competencias en educación superior: retos e implicaciones. Conferencia inaugural 2º Congreso internacional sobre eRúbrica para la evaluación de los aprendizajes. Celebrado los días 24-26 de octubre 2012. Universidad de Málaga

Formative Assessment with eRubrics: an Approach to the State of the Art

Today there is no longer any doubt about the benefits of technology for university teaching, especially in relation to the socialisation of knowledge, communication and partnerships, among other important goals. Clearly, technology increasingly represents equipment and services that are crucial for teaching. However, despite the current general impact of technology, there are certain teaching areas, such as the evaluation of learning, where teachers cannot be replaced by technology (e.g. evaluating texts). The role of teachers in creating quality-learning environments, together with the students’ commitment in every stage of their learning process, is essential in order to make the most of technology. The present case study aims to promote the use of technology in general assessment and sets the following specific objective: to share successful practice and research on the use of eRubrics (i.e. electronic rubrics) in the field of assessment of university learning. The starting point is the need to strengthen certain skills among teachers and students, while building communities of practice on their use.RED

EC-Earth3-AerChem: a global climate model with interactive aerosols and atmospheric chemistry participating in CMIP6

This paper documents the global climate model EC-Earth3-AerChem, one of the members of the EC-Earth3 family of models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). EC-Earth3-AerChem has interactive aerosols and atmospheric chemistry and contributes to the Aerosols and Chemistry Model Intercomparison Project (AerChemMIP). In this paper, we give an overview of the model, describe in detail how it differs from the other EC-Earth3 configurations, and outline the new features compared with the previously documented version of the model (EC-Earth 2.4). We explain how the model was tuned and spun up under preindustrial conditions and characterize the model's general performance on the basis of a selection of coupled simulations conducted for CMIP6. The net energy imbalance at the top of the atmosphere in the preindustrial control simulation is on average −0.09 W m−2 with a standard deviation due to interannual variability of 0.25 W m−2, showing no significant drift. The global surface air temperature in the simulation is on average 14.08 ∘C with an interannual standard deviation of 0.17 ∘C, exhibiting a small drift of 0.015 ± 0.005 ∘C per century. The model's effective equilibrium climate sensitivity is estimated at 3.9 ∘C, and its transient climate response is estimated at 2.1 ∘C. The CMIP6 historical simulation displays spurious interdecadal variability in Northern Hemisphere temperatures, resulting in a large spread across ensemble members and a tendency to underestimate observed annual surface temperature anomalies from the early 20th century onwards. The observed warming of the Southern Hemisphere is well reproduced by the model. Compared with the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) Reanalysis version 5 (ERA5), the surface air temperature climatology for 1995–2014 has an average bias of −0.86 ± 0.05 ∘C with a standard deviation across ensemble members of 0.35 ∘C in the Northern Hemisphere and 1.29 ± 0.02 ∘C with a corresponding standard deviation of 0.05 ∘C in the Southern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere warm bias is largely caused by errors in shortwave cloud radiative effects over the Southern Ocean, a deficiency of many climate models. Changes in the emissions of near-term climate forcers (NTCFs) have significant effects on the global climate from the second half of the 20th century onwards. For the SSP3-7.0 Shared Socioeconomic Pathway, the model gives a global warming at the end of the 21st century (2091–2100) of 4.9 ∘C above the preindustrial mean. A 0.5 ∘C stronger warming is obtained for the AerChemMIP scenario with reduced emissions of NTCFs. With concurrent reductions of future methane concentrations, the warming is projected to be reduced by 0.5 ∘C

Circulating Zonulin, a Marker of Intestinal Permeability, Is Increased in Association with Obesity-Associated Insulin Resistance

Zonulin is the only physiological mediator known to regulate intestinal permeability reversibly by modulating intercellular tight junctions. To investigate the relationship between intestinal permeability and obesity-associated metabolic disturbances in humans, we aimed to study circulating zonulin according to obesity and insulin resistance. Circulating zonulin (ELISA) was measured in 123 caucasian men in association with inflammatory and metabolic parameters (including minimal model-measured insulin sensitivity). Circulating zonulin increased with body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR), fasting insulin, fasting triglycerides, uric acid and IL-6, and negatively correlated with HDL-cholesterol and insulin sensitivity. In multiple regression analysis, insulin sensitivity (p = 0.002) contributed independently to circulating zonulin variance, after controlling for the effects of BMI, fasting triglycerides and age. When circulating IL-6 was added to this model, only BMI (p = 0.01) contributed independently to circulating zonulin variance. In conclusion, the relationship between insulin sensitivity and circulating zonulin might be mediated through the obesity-related circulating IL-6 increase

New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk.

Levels of circulating glucose are tightly regulated. To identify new loci influencing glycemic traits, we performed meta-analyses of 21 genome-wide association studies informative for fasting glucose, fasting insulin and indices of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in up to 46,186 nondiabetic participants. Follow-up of 25 loci in up to 76,558 additional subjects identified 16 loci associated with fasting glucose and HOMA-B and two loci associated with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. These include nine loci newly associated with fasting glucose (in or near ADCY5, MADD, ADRA2A, CRY2, FADS1, GLIS3, SLC2A2, PROX1 and C2CD4B) and one influencing fasting insulin and HOMA-IR (near IGF1). We also demonstrated association of ADCY5, PROX1, GCK, GCKR and DGKB-TMEM195 with type 2 diabetes. Within these loci, likely biological candidate genes influence signal transduction, cell proliferation, development, glucose-sensing and circadian regulation. Our results demonstrate that genetic studies of glycemic traits can identify type 2 diabetes risk loci, as well as loci containing gene variants that are associated with a modest elevation in glucose levels but are not associated with overt diabetes

Goal-directed and habitual control in the basal ganglia: implications for Parkinson's disease

Progressive loss of the ascending dopaminergic projection in the basal ganglia is a fundamental pathological feature of Parkinson's disease. Studies in animals and humans have identified spatially segregated functional territories in the basal ganglia for the control of goal-directed and habitual actions. In patients with Parkinson's disease the loss of dopamine is predominantly in the posterior putamen, a region of the basal ganglia associated with the control of habitual behaviour. These patients may therefore be forced into a progressive reliance on the goal-directed mode of action control that is mediated by comparatively preserved processing in the rostromedial striatum. Thus, many of their behavioural difficulties may reflect a loss of normal automatic control owing to distorting output signals from habitual control circuits, which impede the expression of goal-directed action

A global analysis of the impact of COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions on crime

The implementation of COVID-19 stay-at-home policies was associated with a considerable drop in urban crime in 27 cities across 23 countries. More stringent restrictions over movement in public space were predictive of larger declines in crime. The stay-at-home restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 led to unparalleled sudden change in daily life, but it is unclear how they affected urban crime globally. We collected data on daily counts of crime in 27 cities across 23 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. We conducted interrupted time series analyses to assess the impact of stay-at-home restrictions on different types of crime in each city. Our findings show that the stay-at-home policies were associated with a considerable drop in urban crime, but with substantial variation across cities and types of crime. Meta-regression results showed that more stringent restrictions over movement in public space were predictive of larger declines in crime.Peer reviewe

From Inception to ConcePTION: Genesis of a Network to Support Better Monitoring and Communication of Medication Safety During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

In 2019, the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) funded the ConcePTION project—Building an ecosystem for better monitoring and communicating safety of medicines use in pregnancy and breastfeeding: validated and regulatory endorsed workflows for fast, optimised evidence generation—with the vision that there is a societal obligation to rapidly reduce uncertainty about the safety of medication use in pregnancy and breastfeeding. The present paper introduces the set of concepts used to describe the European data sources involved in the ConcePTION project and illustrates the ConcePTION Common Data Model (CDM), which serves as the keystone of the federated ConcePTION network. Based on data availability and content analysis of 21 European data sources, the ConcePTION CDM has been structured with six tables designed to capture data from routine healthcare, three tables for data from public health surveillance activities, three curated tables for derived data on population (e.g., observation time and mother-child linkage), plus four metadata tables. By its first anniversary, the ConcePTION CDM has enabled 13 data sources to run common scripts to contribute to major European projects, demonstrating its capacity to facilitate effective and transparent deployment of distributed analytics, and its potential to address questions about utilization, effectiveness, and safety of medicines in special populations, including during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and, more broadly, in the general population

Allylic Oxidation of Alkenes Catalyzed by a Copper−Aluminum Mixed Oxide

A strategy for the allylic oxidation of cyclic alkenes with a copper−aluminum mixed oxide as catalyst is presented. The reaction involves the treatment of an alkene with a carboxylic acid employing tert-butyl hydroperoxide as the oxidant. In all cases, the corresponding allylic esters are obtained. When L-proline is employed, the allylic alcohol or ketone is obtained. The oxidation of cyclohexene and valencene has been optimized by design of experiments (DoE) statistical methodology