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Sex differences in cortisol levels and their relationship with memory and negative affectivity in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy
No full textDrug-resistant epilepsy can be considered a chronic stress condition characterized by uncontrollable seizures together with cognitive and affective alterations. Epilepsy and its treatments affect men and women differently, potentially due to interactions with sexual hormones that influence how they experience the condition. This study examines potential sex differences in cortisol levels (as the product of stress processes), affectivity, and memory in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, and the relationships among these variables. The sample was composed of 96 adult patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (M = 38.01 ± 11.12 years; 47 men and 49 women). Results show that men had higher evening cortisol levels and cortisol area under the curve (AUCi) than women (for both, p < .05), especially in those with a left hemisphere focus. Men also showed higher trait anxiety, higher DDD and poorer memory than women. In the total sample, trait anxiety and the DDD significantly predicted poor immediate and delayed memory, controlling for the side of seizure focus and effects of epilepsy type (p < .001). When analyses were stratified by sex, cortisol AUCi predicted poorer delayed memory in men but not in women, while DDD predicted memory performance only in women. These findings suggest that cortisol, trait anxiety and the DDD are reliable predictors of memory impairment in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, with a sex-differential pattern of relationships. Our results highlight the importance of considering sex differences and clinical variables when developing tailored treatment approaches for this population
Social perception of renewable energies: barriers and opportunities for an inclusive energy transition
No full textThe energy transition from an energy mix based on fossil fuel sources to one based on renewable energy is increasingly part of the public agenda in the European Union. The horizon is the fight against climate change and thus a paradigm shift for the progressive electrification and decarbonization of the social, productive and consumption systems. However, the transition to a sustainable development model must be fair and inclusive for present and future generations and accordingly depends on the social perception of this process. This research contributes to addressing the gap in the literature and aims to delve into the social perceptions of the population towards renewable energies in Spain. The results reveal that though renewable energies are largely supported by public opinion, along with environmental protection and health, this concern wanes when it affects the household energy bill. Furthermore, knowledge about technical and economic aspects of these renewable technologies is limited. This research also highlights the public's confidence in universities – thus in science – and the low level of trust in political parties regarding energy-related information. Finally, social acceptance of solar energy and biomass can be observed in rural areas, whereas there is lower approval in larger urban areas. The research has been carried out based on the Survey of Social Perception on Support for Renewable Energies, being the first representative survey at the national level in Spain. These findings contribute to policy design and performance regarding the transition to renewable energy technologies and its close relation to public opinion
Educational gamification in the adult population with intellectual disabilities: An exploratory qualitative analysis of an intervention program from the teacher's perspective
No full textThe adoption of programs based on gamification mediated by digital technology presents an intriguing option for enhancing education in the context of special education. The objective of this study was to comprehend the perspectives of teachers who designed, implemented and assessed a gamified intervention program for adults with disabilities and to examine how their teaching practices evolved following training in educational gamification. This research employed a qualitative approach to gather insights from 13 teachers. They received specialised training and implemented the educational program over an 8‐month period. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted. Results indicate that gamification can have a positive impact on the learning of individuals with intellectual disabilities. The primary change in teaching pedagogy was the increased and more diversified attention provided by teachers, along with heightened teacher feedback. Despite these advances, 4 of the 13 informants explicitly pointed out an aesthetic mismatch due to a certain infantilization as a major impediment to the students' self‐concept and autonomy. However, these outcomes arise from a convenience sample recruited from a single vocational centre; consequently, their generalisability remains tentative. The training program succeeded in increasing student participation and motivation, potentially leading to greater initiative and autonomy. Nevertheless, the present findings should be interpreted in light of the study's exclusive reliance on teacher‐reported data, a constraint that future mixed‐methods work will redress by integrating objective ClassDojo metrics and learner feedback
Acuerdos de movilidad de estudiantes ERASMUS y SICUE.Curso 2025-2026. Universidad de Zaragoza
No full textPlazas asignadas a los alumnos OUT recoge el número total de plazas de movilidad de acuerdos ERASMUS o SICUE que han sido asignadas a estudiantes de la UZ para realizar estancias en otras Universidades. El campo plazas ofertadas para alumnos tiene el número total de plazas de movilidad de entrada y/o de salida que se ofertan por acuerdo.
El campo centro permite clasificar los datos en función del centro de la UZ responsable del acuerdo de movilidad. Para los acuerdos que no tienen centro responsable, se indica el valor 021-Ámbito General.
Acuerdos de movilidad de estudiantes por área, centro, tipo, idioma, país, universidad y plazas
Unusual number of large tectonic earthquakes before and during the birth of the Paricutin monogenetic volcano. Did they trigger, maintain, and boost the volcanic long-lasting activity from 1943 to 1952?
No full textVolcanoes can be described as falling somewhere a large spectrum ranging from polygenetic systems, which are constructed through multiple, long-lived eruptive phases, to monogenetic systems, which usually form during a single eruptive event. Within this context, several decades of observations on Earth have shown that close and strong tectonic earthquakes can precede large eruptions of polygenetic volcanoes. In contrast, only a few close and large earthquakes have been reported before the birth of new monogenetic volcanoes, since the latter are rare. Here, we describe the unusually high number of large tectonic earthquakes that preceded the birth of the Paricutin monogenetic volcano in Mexico in 1943. Thirteen large tectonic earthquakes occurred in the near field during the 20-year period spanning the decade before the birth of Paricutin to the end of its eruption, whereas only one earthquake occurred within ten years after the eruption ended. This clustering of large tectonic earthquakes in space and time before and during the eruption of Paricutin is unusual for this region of Mexico. The significant difference in the number of tectonic earthquakes before, during, and after the eruption strongly suggests that Paricutin's birth and growth are related to these earthquakes. They may have changed the stress tensor near Paricutin's location, facilitating magma to migrate towards the surface and sustaining Paricutin's eruption for nine years - an unusually long period for a monogenetic volcano. We propose that changes in static and quasi-static stress fields, resulting from local faults, local tectonics, and static displacement fields generated by near-field earthquakes, may have triggered and boosted the Paricutin's eruption. In addition, we suggest that the dynamic stress field generated by the waves emitted by earthquakes may have altered magma pathways towards the surface prior to and during the Paricutin's eruption
Modeling Bridges in HEC-RAS 2D: Comparison with Flume Experiments
No full textA set of experimental measurements with a physical model in a flume, measuring the head loss generated by different bridge geometries in steady and unsteady conditions, is used to test the performance of HEC-RAS 2D in modeling bridge hydraulics, a fundamental component of any flood study. After upscaling the experimental results according to Froude similarity, the numerical tests have explored the effects of the choice of the options offered by the HEC-RAS 2D software with the default value of the parameters and the obtainable improvement when the geometry of the bridges suggested a customized value of parameters. The numerical results show a very good match with the measured water elevation upstream of the bridges for almost all tested cases. The mean absolute percentage error obtained pooling all the steady test cases is less than 5%
Transmodern Literatures in the 21st Century Of(f) Limits
No full textTransmodern Literatures in the 21st Century: Of(f) Limits offers an in-depth examination of how transmodern literatures in English over the last two decades have addressed the phenomenon of the limit. The 14 chapters that make up the volume examine how geographical, racial, ethnical, sociocultural, generical, ontological, epistemological, and other limits are articulated, transgressed, and reconfigured in recent narratives by authors writing in a wide variety of transmodern trends such as Afro- and Africanfuturism, Young Adult feminist science fiction, food fiction, air travel fiction, the networked novel, and future narratives amongst others. They thereby expose and challenge hierarchised binary dichotomies as Euro- and Anthropocentric exclusionary discursive constructs that have kept non-hegemonic voices off limits. To counter the detrimental effects of the neoliberal grand narrative of globalisation, the chapters as well as the narratives of the limit they analyse emphasise an urgent need for inclusiveness, relationality, and communality
Contribution of the ratio scale of expert judgments in the analytic hierarchy process
No full textThe pairwise comparison ratio scale that the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) acquires a central role because it allows the incorporation of intangible information through expert judgments. Existing literature has been shown that preference results are sensitive to the scale used in ratio judgments. This paper applies the Intentional Bounded Rationality Methodology (IBRM) to study the performance of the most used AHP ratio scales in the literature. By adapting the AHP ratio scales to the IBRM, several scenarios are proposed based on the distribution of the latent performance of the alternatives for two different problems. In problem 1, it is assumed that the AHP comparison judgements are numerical and known to the expert, while in problem 2, the AHP comparison judgements are described linguistically without the expert being aware of their transformation into numerical values. Problem 1 is used to answer the following research question (1) which among a set of seven different ratio scales used in literature favor AHP expected performance?, while Problem 2 is used to answer the following research question (2) how much the expected performance in AHP deteriorates when the expert is only guided by verbal judgments? The expected performance of each of the considered ratio scales is obtained in each scenario for different levels of expertise of a decision-maker. For the first problem, the balanced scale and the power scale show the best and worst expected performances, respectively. Problem 2 compares these two scales and the results show their performance differences are below 8%, which is interpreted as a stability property of AHP with respect to scale changes. Finally, it is also shown that no matter which ratio scale is used, the requirement of the consistency property in AHP contributes positively to the expected performance
Thermochromic textile sensors for temperature measurements
No full textThis study presents woollen textiles printed with thermochromic pigments by the screen-printing method for use as new sensors for temperature measurements. The sensors demonstrate reversible colour changes due to temperature variations, which were measured using reflectance spectrophotometry. The beginning of thermal activation of the pigment is registered below 23 °C, the main action takes place in the range of 30–45 °C, and its complete discolouration occurs at 50 °C. The uniformity of the print and pigment distribution on the fabric surface was confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, a comprehensive chemical analysis of the commercially available thermochromic pigment was performed using elemental analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. Based on this research, it was determined that the pigment has a spirobenzoxadiazine core structure with amide and imine functional groups. The paper also discusses potential applications of the developed sensors, highlighting their promise as temperature sensors, as well as security, marking, and decorative elements, usable independently or as a part of a composite. Additionally, their potential for two-dimensional temperature distribution measurements was indicated
Technical-tactical performance of Spanish female basketball players in first division (2013–2022): effects of match outcome, location, and playing position
No full textBasketball performance is influenced by technical-tactical factors, but their effects across different contexts are not well understood in women’s basketball. This study analyzed the influence of match outcome (win, lose), match location (home, away), and playing positions (guard, G; point-guard, PG; small-forward, SF; power forward, PF; center, C) on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in Spanish female basketball players. Data from 1786 games involving 897 players (33243 cases) across 10 consecutive seasons were analyzed (2013–2022). Sixteen normalized KPIs (standardized by minutes played) were evaluated using linear mixed modeling with individual player ID as a random factor, controlling for nested data structure (ICC > 0.10, p PF > SF > PG=G), and blocks (C > PF > SF=PG=G), while guards obtained higher 3-point shooting (G=PG > SF=PF=C), assists (G > PG > SF=PF=C), and steals (G=PG > SF=PF=C) with large effect sizes. Winning teams significantly outperformed losing teams, with the largest differences in points, assists, and reduced turnovers. Home teams demonstrated significant advantages in assists, blocks, and reduced turnovers. Interaction effects revealed that guards benefited most from playing at home in assists, while centers showed the greatest home-court advantage in blocks. Position-outcome interactions showed centers contributed most to winning through 2-point shooting and rebounding, while guards impacted success through playmaking and reduced turnovers. Technical-tactical performance varies substantially by position, match outcome, and location. Coaches should tailor training to leverage positionspecific strengths while developing strategies to overcome positional weaknesses, especially for away games