PAPCIM: programa d'acompanyament professional del centre CIM adreçat a estudiants de la UPC

Donada la importànci que estant donant les empreses al fet que els candidats a incorporar-se a les seves plantilles hagin realitzat pràctiques per completar la formació universitària, els recents titulats han de compaginar els últims anys d’estudi amb estades pràctiques a empreses i/o institucions que els donin la oportunitat de participar en proyectes reals i en proyectes de recerca i investigació, pera conseguir millorar les seves habilitats interpersonals. Amb aquesta finalitat es planteja el projecta “Programa d’Acompanyament Professional del Centre CIM (PAPCIM)” que té com a objectiu, capcitar als participants amb els coneixements, habilitats i experiencia per disminuir les barreres d’entrada al mercat laboral, mitjançant el suport d’un tutor i d’un itinerari formatiu personalitzat. Amb el desenvolupament del projecte s’ha posat a prova mitjançant una promoció pilot, la gestió de pràctiques d’estudiants de la UPC, que s’ha consolidat i materialitzat al centre CIM en el programa PAPCIM, amb la participació activa de tot el personal implicat: coordinadors, tècnics de depertament, tutors i participants, i amb una alta satisfacció per part de tots els involucrats. També s’ha consolidat una metodología de treball i uns procediments, amb el programa i els documents associats a les pràctiques dels estudiants, adequats per portar una gestió i un seguiment eficaz dels participants, i s’anirà fent una revisió i una actualització d’aquest, per anar fent una millota contínua en el procés

Social networks and performance in distributed learning communities

Social networks play an essential role in learning environments as a key channel for knowledge sharing and students' support. In distributed learning communities, knowledge sharing does not occur as spontaneously as when a working group shares the same physical space; knowledge sharing depends even more on student informal connections. In this study we analyse two distributed learning communities' social networks in order to understand how characteristics of the social structure can enhance students' success and performance. We used a monitoring system for social network data gathering. Results from correlation analyses showed that students' social network characteristics are related to their performancePostprint (published version

PLEs from virtual ethnography of social web

This article presents an exploratory research based on the virtual ethnography from an environment of research and learning including new technologies. The ethnography is a method of qualitative research of social sciences that is mainly used in the socio-cultural anthropology, where it has its theoretical basis. The target was to explore the web 2.0 and its tools. The process of participant observation is by means of a blog, other tools and virtual communities. The result is a descriptive model of the web 2.0 based on a Personal Learning Environment which developed in the ethnographic experience.Postprint (published version

Sensors: elaboració d'un curs de sensors en suport digital per desenvolupament de formació a distància i/o semipresencial

La finalitat del projecte de Sensors, ha estat dissenyar un material docent que permeti capacitar als participants del curs en el funcionament i característiques de diferents tipologies de sensors, facilitant el desenvolupament mitjançant activitats pedagògiques no presencials. El projecte Sensor és un projecte Leonardo on han participat entitats de diferents països. Es va iniciar a l’any 2001 amb la recerca i identificació de fonts d’informació que van servir com a punt de partida per al desenvolupament dels mòduls educatius sobre sensors. Es va elaborar i redactar el contingut del material docent en format multimedia, estructurat en mòduls educatius i activitats pedagògiques no presencials i en diferents idiomes. Per a avaluar l’efectivitat i qualitat dels mòduls educatius es van realitzar nombroses sessions de prova entre grups d’estudiants de diferents branques de l’enginyeria, professionals i professors universitaris qui avaluaven els mòduls per mitjà de proves escrites i enquestes de satisfizo, posteriorment, els resultats de aquestes eren analitzats per a extreure conclusions i realitzar suggerimets. El resultat obtingut es va preparar en un CDROM i es va publicar la informació sobre el projecte en la pàgina web de cadascuna de les institucions participants, així com la pàgina web dedicada completament a haches

El paisaje portuario en viñetas

The term “comic” is used to refer to a strip or sequence of cartoons/vignettes with or without text that tell a story (however short it might be) in which at least one character appears in more than one vignette. The comic is recognised as the ninth art form, and there are a great variety of types and names, depending on the source and the format: historieta, tebeo, manga, bande dessinée, banda desenhado, fumetti or comic-book, amongst others. Virtually every country has its own characters and collections, and those that deal with universal subject matter or historical questions transcend frontiers and gradually become known the world over, the following being such examples: Tintin, Asterix, Mortadelo and Filemón, Corto Maltés, Superman, Spiderman or Flash Gordon, which have now become real classics. Comics undoubtedly have the ability to convey knowledge and feelings. Their educational value enables children and adults alike to gain insight into different areas of reality, in the past and present, dealing with almost every aspect of life: nature, mankind, technology, legends, cultures, history, adventures, etc., allowing the reader to explore the boundaries between fiction and reality, even heralding a future that can prove to be most unexpected and surprising. Comics make learning easier and stimulate the imagination, and they are an excellent resource for developing creative thinking and artistic sensitivity, while at the same time encouraging the reader to adopt a critical stance. They can be suitable instruments for creatively and intelligently explaining the world of ports and the sea, and to make this accessible to all types of potential reader. This is particularly the case where the port landscape is concerned, because of the nature of the artistic discipline that is deeply rooted in the way cartoons or vignettes are illustrated.Postprint (published version

Multi-objective allocation of multi-function workers with lower bounded capacity

This paper deals with the assignment of a type of task to each member of a multi-function staff (each worker is able to perform a given subset of types of tasks, possibly with a priority index associated to each element of the subset). The resulting number of workers for each type of task must be not less than a given lower bound and as close as possible to another given value. The objectives are to minimise a function of the slacks and the surpluses of capacity, to distribute the slacks and the surpluses homogeneously among the types of task and to maximise the sum of priority indexes of the assignments. The problem is modelled as a nonlinear mixed integer program and is transformed and solved as a minimum cost flow problem.Peer Reviewe

Quanto custa a não formação em feridas crónicas?

Elevadas taxas de prevalência e incidência de feridas crónicas representam elevados custos económicos para doentes, famílias, serviços de saúde e sociedade em geral. A formação adequada dos profissionais de saúde pode ter impacto muito positivo na redução dos custos. As Tecnologias da Informação e da Comunicação desempenham papel de grande relevo neste desígnio

Impacto da formação profissional contínua nos custos do tratamento de feridas crónicas

Nos contextos da prestação de cuidados de saúde, os avanços da ciência e da tecnologia rapidamente desactualizam as competências específicas adquiridas nas escolas. Os erros clínicos, más práticas e performances deficientes, frequentemente associadas ao défice de formação, para além dos prejuízos clínicos, imputam enorme carga económica aos custos da saúde. No investimento em formação, mais do que saber quanto se gasta, importa saber quanto se pode poupar tornando mais competentes os profissionais de saúde. Com o objectivo geral de desenvolver um modelo de estimação dos custos da não formação, construímos e validamos (1) casos clínicos virtuais de pessoas com feridas crónicas, (2) modelo matemático para estimação dos Custos Óptimos (baseados nas decisões clínicas óptimas) e (3) simulador de tomada de decisão para construir as matrizes de Custos da Acção (baseados nas decisões terapêuticas registadas no simulador). Desenvolvemos um estudo analítico transversal numa amostra não aleatória de 78 enfermeiros com diferentes níveis de formação e experiência no tratamento de feridas crónicas. Nos resultados reunimos evidência empírica de que os custos do tratamento são mais elevados entre os profissionais que não frequentaram formação acreditada específica, e de que os custos tendem a baixar à medida que o número de horas de formação sobe

Extracellular vesicles secretion by Lenvatinib and Sorafenib in HepG2 cells and their effect on cell death and proliferation

Motivation: Sorafenib, which acts on the RAF / MEK / ERK pathways through the inhibition of Raf kinase and different tyrosine kinases (VEGFR2, PDGFR, c-Kit receptors), is the drug currently used as a first-line treatment in hepatocellular carcinomas of advanced stage. It has recently been shown that Lenvatinib, another multi-kinase inhibitor, also improves mean progression-free survival and mean time to cancer progression. This finding motivated us to study the possible antiproliferative effects of Lenvatinib compared to Sorafenib, in addition to the secretion profile of extracellular vesicles in HepG2 cultures due to its recognized role in tumor progression and metastasis.Methods: To determine the percentage of proliferating cells in culture, the incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was used as a marker, while the analysis of the apoptotic activity was done through a colorimetric test that allows detecting the amount of caspase 3/7 existing in culture. It is well known that there is a connection between apoptosis and autophagy, so we decided to study the changes that occurred in the latter process after treatment. For this, the level of expression of LC3-II was determined through an SDS-PAGE coupled to a Western-Blot analysis. The changes produced in the expression of VEGFR-2 and EGFR were also monitored and, finally, the secretion profile of extracellular vesicles was studied through the analysis of the expression of different markers (Lamp1, E-Selectin, CD63, TSG101, Grp78, GM130, Annexin V and Prohibitin) in fractions enriched in exosomes, extracellular vesicles and apoptotic bodies.Results and Conclusions: The results for the group treated with Sorafenib reproduced what has been described so far in the literature referring to hepatocellular carcinoma: decrease in cell proliferation caused by the downregulation of the expression of different growth factors (EGFR and VEGFR-2) and increase of cell death by apoptosis. However, Lenvatinib did not reproduce the pattern we expected for an antineoplastic drug, since it increased cell proliferation. With respect to the secretion profile of extracellular vesicles, no convincing results were obtained. We think that this could be due to the capacity of separation of the different fractions of the protocol used or to the difficulty of obtaining, from them, high amounts of proteins to proceed to its analysis by WB

Improving social capital: a social network monitoring system

To increase communication and collaboration opportunities, members of a community must be aware of the social networks that exist within that community. This paper describes a social network monitoring system that enables users to register their interactions and visualize their social networks. The system was implemented in two distributed learning communities and the results have shown that this system facilitates collecting information about social interactions. Furthermore, the visualization of the social networks, given as feedback, appeared to have a positive impact on users, augmenting their social network awareness.Postprint (published version