El aprendizaje cooperativo en las aulas de educación secundaria: Un estudio de casos.

This research is part of a broader research developed in a religious school; this research is part of the research developed at ESO. The research methodology is qualitative, based on the instrumental analysis of cases, using the five components of cooperative learning as categories of analysis, adding a sixth category that allows to understand the deeper learning that is promoted and reached in the classroom. The results show some indications of higher-order thinking in one of the observed groups, although not predominant; and how the presence, or absence, of a cooperative structure task promotes better, or not, benefits in the rest of the categories. For this reason, the main proposals set out revolve around the structure of the task in order to enable cooperation to occupy a central place, in which students are the main protagonist; and need to introduce the different roles appropriately to enhance the commitment of the students with the group.La presente investigación es parte de una investigación más amplia desarrollada en un centro educativo concertado de carácter religioso, siendo esta parte de la desarrollada en Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. La metodología de investigación es de carácter cualitativo, basada en el análisis instrumental de casos, utilizando los cinco componentes del aprendizaje cooperativo como categorías de análisis, añadiendo una sexta categoría que permite comprender el nivel de aprendizaje que se promueve y se alcanza en las aulas. Los resultados apuntan algunos indicios de pensamiento de orden superior en uno de los grupos observados, aunque no predomina; y cómo la presencia, o la ausencia, de una tarea estructurada cooperativamente promueve mejor, o no, beneficios en el resto de categorías. Por ello, las principales propuestas establecidas giran en torno a la estructura de la tarea para permitir que la cooperación ocupe un lugar central, en el que el alumnado sea el principal protagonista; y la necesidad de introducir los diferentes roles adecuadamente para potenciar el compromiso del alumnado con el grupo

Robótica educativa: roboti ¿qué?

This paper attempts to determine the degree of development of an innovative tool in school that it begins to have significance, about amount of potential involved for students and teachers. To know the real state of implementation I´ve investigated the practices in public schools of Tenerife Island, emerging some needs that prevent their genuine implementation as a tool to work curriculum content. Needs that require an answer for teachers to opt decisively for it.El presente trabajo intenta conocer el grado de desarrollo de una herramienta innovadora de trabajo en la escuela, que empieza a tener calado, dada la cantidad de potencialidades que supone, tanto para el alumnado como para el profesorado. En un intento de conocer el estado real de la implantación de la misma, se han investigado las prácticas realizadas en centros educativos públicos de la isla de Tenerife, emergiendo una serie de necesidades que impiden su auténtica implantación como instrumento para trabajar los contenidos curriculares. Necesidades, a las que se trata de dar una respuesta, para que el profesorado termine apostando decididamente por ella

Recommender Systems in Serious Games

El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido conseguir un sistema inteligente que analice las acciones del usuario con el sistema y en función de su interacción y evolución recomiende las actividades a realizar con el mismo. Las principales aportaciones de este trabajo consisten en la creación de un sistema de recomendación de actividades basado en diferentes niveles de complejidad y un sistema de habilidades del usuario. El sistema recomendador por tanto, tiene la funcionalidad de proporcionar al usuario un modo de juego personalizado en base a la interacción que tenga con el sistema y la evolución de sus resultados. Este sistema de recomendación se ha aplicado a la plataforma Tango:H. En particular, se han modificado los dos módulos principales de esta plataforma, compuesto por: Tango:H y TangoH: Designer, además el módulo Tango:H SQilite, a través del cual, se controla el sistema de base de datos.The objective of this work has been to achieve an intelligent system that analyzes the user's actions with the system and, based on their interaction and evolution, recommend the activities to be carried out with it. The main contributions of this work consist of the creation of a recommendation system of activities based on different levels of complexity and a system of user skills. The recommender system therefore has the functionality of providing the user with a personalized game mode based on the interaction with the system and the evolution of its results. This recommendation system has been applied to the Tango platform: H. In particular, the two main modules of this platform have been modified, consisting of: Tango: H and TangoH: Designer, in addition to the Tango module: H SQilite, through which the database system is controlled

¿Qué comparten bisabuelos y bisnietos en contextos familiares? Análisis de una nueva relación intergeneracional.

The main aim of this study was to find out more about the role of great-grandparenthood. A group of participants with great-grandchildren (n=78) was interviewed using a questionnaire containing questions that had been put through a previous pilot study, covering participants’ sociodemographics, the activities that participants shared with their great-grandchildren, and their view of the role of great-grandparent and their related degree of satisfaction. The data were recorded and analyzed both with frequency tables and descriptive statistics and with the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test. The results showed several significant relationships between the shared activities and the sociodemographic variables, such as great-grandparents’ age (p ≤ .05), education (p ≤ .01), health status (p ≤ .05), the distance at which they live from their great-grandchildren (p ≤ .05). Also, it was found that participants generally consider the role of great-grandparent to be a continuation of their prior role as grandparent, albeit from the perspective of a formal intergenerational typology, distinct from the informal typology and, above all, opposed to the role of substitute/surrogate. Greater perceived satisfaction was associated with this typical interaction of the formal role (p ≤ .01). Great-grandparents may already be fulfilling a notable function in today’s four-generation families.El objetivo general de este trabajo es conocer mejor el rol de bisabuelidad. Se entrevistó a un grupo de voluntarios con bisnietos (n=78) mediante un cuestionario, cuyo contenido fue pilotado previamente, con preguntas sobre sus características sociodemográficas, las actividades que solían compartir con sus bisnietos y su opinión del rol de bisabuelidad, con la satisfacción asociada. Los datos fueron registrados y analizados tanto con tablas de frecuencia y estadísticos descriptivos, como con la prueba no-paramétrica de Kruskal-Wallis. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron numerosas relaciones significativas entre las actividades compartidas y aspectos socio-demográficos de los bisabuelos como la edad (p≤ .05), el nivel educativo (p≤ .01), la salud (p≤ .05), la distancia a la que viven de sus bisnietos (p≤ .05). Además, de mostrar que perciben su rol de bisabuelidad en general como una continuidad del rol anterior de abuelidad, aunque desde una tipología intergeneracional formal, distinta a la tipología informal y, sobre todo, opuesta a la del rol sustituto/subrogado. La mayor satisfacción percibida estaba asociada a esa interacción típica del rol formal (p ≤ .01). Los bisabuelos podrían estar cumpliendo ya alguna función destacable en las familias actuales de cuatro generaciones

The angiopoietin-like protein 4, apolipoprotein C3, and lipoprotein lipase axis is disrupted in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Background: Modulators of triglyceride metabolism include lipoprotein lipase (LPL), angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4), and apolipoprotein C-3 (ApoC3). There is evidence on the influence of this triangle of molecules on an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CV) in the general population. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) present changes in lipid profiles and accelerated CV disease. In the present study, we set out to study whether the ANGPTL4, ApoC3, and LPL axis differs in subjects with RA compared to controls. In a further step, we investigated the relationship of this axis with subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with RA. Methods: Cross-sectional study that included 569 individuals, 323 patients with RA and 246 age-matched controls. ANGPTL4, ApoC3 and LPL, and standard lipid profiles were analyzed in patients and controls. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and carotid plaques were assessed in RA patients. A multivariable analysis was performed to assess whether the ANGPTL4, ApoC3, and LPL axis was altered in RA and to study its relationship with RA dyslipidemia and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis. Results: Most lipid profile molecules did not differ between patients and controls. Despite this, and after fully multivariable analysis including CV risk factors, use of statins, and changes in the lipid profile caused by the disease itself, patients with RA showed higher serum levels of ANGPTL4 (beta coef. 295 [95% CI 213-376] ng/ml, p<0.001) and ApoC3 (beta coef. 2.9 [95% CI 1.7-4.0] mg/dl, p<0.001), but lower circulating LPL (beta coef. -174 [95% CI -213 to - 135] ng/ml, p<0.001). ANGPTL4 serum levels were positively and independently associated with a higher cIMT in patients with RA after fully multivariable adjustment. Conclusion: The axis consisting in ANGPTL4, ApoC3, and LPL is disrupted in patients with RA. ANGPTL4 serum levels are positively and independently associated with a higher cIMT in RA patients.Funding: This work was supported by a grant to IFA from the Spanish Ministry of Health, Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación, Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2013-2016 and by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional - FEDER - (Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, PI17/00083)

Improving Cognitive Visual-Motor Abilities in Individuals with Down Syndrome

Down syndrome causes a reduction in cognitive abilities, with visual-motor skills being particularly affected. In this work, we have focused on this skill in order to stimulate better learning. The proposal relies on stimulating the cognitive visual-motor skills of individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) using exercises with a gestural interaction platform based on the KINECT sensor named TANGO:H, the goal being to improve them. To validate the proposal, an experimental single-case study method was designed using two groups: a control group and an experimental one, with similar cognitive ages. Didactic exercises were provided to the experimental group using visual cognitive stimulation. These exercises were created on the TANGO:H Designer, a platform that was designed for gestural interaction using the KINECT sensor. As a result, TANGO:H allows for visual-motor cognitive stimulation through the movement of hands, arms, feet and head. The “Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA)” was applied to both groups as a pre-test and post-test in its four reference sections: visual comprehension, visual-motor sequential memory, visual association, and visual integration. Two checks were made, one using the longitudinal comparison of the pre-test/post-test of the experimental group, and another that relied on comparing the difference of the means of the pre-test/post-test. We also used an observational methodology for the working sessions from the experimental group. Although the statistical results do not show significant differences between the two groups, the results of the observations exhibited an improvement in visual-motor cognitive skills

Investigación de las mutaciones Leiden del factor V y G20210A de la protrombina en pacientes pediátricos con hemofilia A grave: informe preliminar

Introducción: Se ha descrito que las características clínicas de la hemofilia A grave se ven modificadas favorablemente por el efecto de factores protrombóticos, específicamente las mutaciones Leiden del factor V y la G20210A de la protrombina. Pacientes y métodos: Se estudiaron 13 pacientes con diagnóstico de hemofilia A grave en quienes se investigó la presencia de las mutaciones: Leiden del factor V y la G20210A de la protrombina por medio de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa en tiempo real. Resultados: Al investigar la presencia de las mutaciones todos los pacientes presentaron el genotipo homocigoto normal para las mutaciones Leiden del factor V y la G20210A de la protrombina. Conclusiones: estos 13 pacientes son el inicio de una línea de investigación que tiene como finalidad conocer los cambios que se producen en los pacientes con hemofilia A grave que son también portadores de factores protrombóticos, es necesario incrementar el número de pacientes para obtener la frecuencia de dichas mutaciones en los pacientes con hemofilia grave

Role of CXCL13 and CCL20 in the recruitment of B cells to inflammatory foci in chronic arthritis

Background: B cells exert their pathogenic action in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) locally in the synovium. This study was undertaken to elucidate the chemokines responsible for the recruitment of B cells in the inflamed synovium, taking into account that the rich chemokine milieu present in the synovial tissue can fine-tune modulate discrete chemokine receptors. Methods: Expression levels of chemokine receptors from the CC and CXC family, as well as CD27, were assessed by flow cytometry in CD20+ mononuclear cells isolated from the peripheral blood (PB) and synovial fluid (SF) of RA and psoriatic arthritis patients. Transwell experiments were used to study migration of B cells in response to a chemokine or in the presence of multiple chemokines. Results: B cells from the SF of arthritis patients showed a significant increase in the surface expression of CCR1, CCR2, CCR4, CCR5 and CXCR4 with respect to PB. Conversely, SF B cells expressed consistently lower amounts of CXCR5, CXCR7 and CCR6, independent of CD27 expression. Analysis of permeabilized B cells suggested internalization of CXCR5 and CCR6 in SF B cells. In Transwell experiments, CCL20 and CXCL13, ligands of CCR6 and CXCR5, respectively, caused a significantly higher migration of B cells from PB than of those from SF of RA patients. Together, these two chemokines synergistically increased B-cell migration from PB, but not from SF. Conclusions: These results suggest that CXCL13 and CCL20 might play major roles in RA pathogenesis by acting singly on their selective receptors and synergistically in the accumulation of B cells within the inflamed synovium

Predictors of positive (18) F-FDG PET/CT-scan for large vessel vasculitis in patients with persistent polymyalgia rheumatica

Objective: Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is often the presenting manifestation of giant cell arteritis (GCA). Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scan often discloses the presence of large vessel vasculitis (LVV) in PMR patients. We aimed to identify predictive factors of a positive PET/CT scan for LVV in patients classified as having isolated PMR according to well-established criteria. Methods: A set of consecutive patients with PMR from a single hospital were assessed. All of them underwent PET/CT scan between January 2010 and February 2018 based on clinical considerations. Patients with PMR associated to other diseases, including those with cranial features of GCA, were excluded. The remaining patients were categorized in classic PMR (if fulfilled the 2012 EULAR/ACR classification criteria at disease diagnosis; n=84) or atypical PMR (who did not fulfill these criteria; n=16). Only information on patients with classic PMR was assessed. Results: The mean age of the 84 patients (51 women) with classic PMR was 71.4±9.2 years. A PET/CT scan was positive in 51(60.7%). Persistence of classic PMR symptoms was the most common reason to perform a PET/CT scan. Nevertheless, patients with positive PET/CT scan often had unusual symptoms. The best set of predictors of a positive PET/CT scan were bilateral diffuse lower limb pain (OR=8.8, 95% CI 1.7-46.3; p=0.01), pelvic girdle pain (OR=4.9, 95% CI 1.50-16.53; p=0.01) and inflammatory low back pain (OR=4.7, 95% CI 1.03-21.5; p=0.04). Conclusion: Inflammatory low back pain, pelvic girdle and diffuse lower limb pain are predictors of positive PET/CT scan for LVV in PMR

Incidence of cardiovascular events and associated risk factors in kidney transplant patients: a competing risks survival analysis

[Abstract] Background: The high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among the renal transplant population accounts for increased mortality. The aim of this study is to determine the incidence of cardiovascular events and factors associated with cardiovascular events in these patients. Methods: An observational ambispective follow-up study of renal transplant recipients (n = 2029) in the health district of A Coruña (Spain) during the period 1981-2011 was completed. Competing risk survival analysis methods were applied to estimate the cumulative incidence of developing cardiovascular events over time and to identify which characteristics were associated with the risk of these events. Post-transplant cardiovascular events are defined as the presence of myocardial infarction, invasive coronary artery therapy, cerebral vascular events, new-onset angina, congestive heart failure, rhythm disturbances, peripheral vascular disease and cardiovascular disease and death. The cause of death was identified through the medical history and death certificate using ICD9 (390-459, except: 427.5, 435, 446, 459.0). Results: The mean age of patients at the time of transplantation was 47.0 ± 14.2 years; 62% were male. 16.5% had suffered some cardiovascular disease prior to transplantation and 9.7% had suffered a cardiovascular event. The mean follow-up period for the patients with cardiovascular event was 3.5 ± 4.3 years. Applying competing risk methodology, it was observed that the accumulated incidence of the event was 5.0% one year after transplantation, 8.1% after five years, and 11.9% after ten years. After applying multivariate models, the variables with an independent effect for predicting cardiovascular events are: male sex, age of recipient, previous cardiovascular disorders, pre-transplant smoking and post-transplant diabetes. Conclusions: This study makes it possible to determine in kidney transplant patients, taking into account competitive events, the incidence of post-transplant cardiovascular events and the risk factors of these events. Modifiable risk factors are identified, owing to which, changes in said factors would have a bearing of the incidence of events