Publicaciones cientificas

Background Prolonged preshock pauses are associated with negative effects on patient outcomes and survival. A greater understanding of these pauses may help to improve the quality of advanced life support (ALS) and clinical outcomes. Objective The objective of this study was to identify the pauses that occur during ALS situations in high-fidelity simulation scenarios and the frequency and duration of these pauses. Methods One hundred forty-two nursing students participated in this cross-sectional study, involving high-fidelity simulation scenario of cardiorespiratory arrest in a simulated hospital room. Pauses were assessed using an observation checklist. Results Students performed the scenario in an average time of 8.32 (standard deviation = 1.13) minutes. Pauses between chest compressions were longer than recommended (mean = 0.36, standard deviation = 1.14). A strong positive correlation was found between the identification of the arrhythmia and the initiation of countershock (rs = 0.613, p < 0.001). Conclusions Nursing students generally performed ALS within the time limits recommended by resuscitation guidelines. Early identification of shockable rhythms may lead to early nurse-initiated defibrillation. Strategies to speed up the identification of arrhythmias should be put in place to minimise preshock pauses and improve ALS outcomes.

In this article we propose a novel methodology for obtaining Schumann Resonances’ relevant parameters from ELF transient register. Using this methodology, it is possible to extract a large amount of data and characterize individual transient events and their more relevant features. To use this methodology a new narrow band sensor is presented, centered in the 1st Schumann Resonance mode and specialized in capturing with high precision the associated transient events. The new methodology based on Hilbert transform and Heidler function is presented and used to segment and characterize each transient event. This method is validated first with an automatic classifier algorithm and then an extensive statistical analysis is performed. The validation process is shown as one of the possible applications of the methodology. The introduced set of narrow band hardware and software tools represents an important milestone for the study of transient events focused on a high amount of data.

The stability of the power grid’s frequency is crucial for industrial, commercial, and domestic applications. The standard frequency in Europe’s grid is 50 Hz and it must be as stable as possible; therefore, reliable measurement is essential to ensure that the frequency is within the limits defined in the standard EN 50160:2010. In this article, a method has been introduced for the measurement of the grid frequency through a power line harmonics radiation analysis. An extremely low-frequency magnetometer was developed with the specific purpose of monitoring, in real time, the electromagnetic field produced by electrical installations in the range from 0 to 2.2 kHz. Zero-crossing and Fast Fourier transform algorithms were applied to the output signal to calculate the grid frequency as a non-invasive method. As a final step, data for a complete month (May 2021) were compared with a commercial power quality analyzer connected to the main line to validate the results. The zero-crossing algorithm gave the best result on 3 May 2021, with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.9801. Therefore, the indirect measurement of the grid frequency obtained through this analysis satisfactorily fits the grid frequency.

Establishing new models of health care and new forms of professional health-patient communication are lines of development in the field of health care. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the evolution of information systems and communication platforms to guarantee continuity of care and compliance with social distancing measures. Our objective in this article was, firstly, to know the expectations of patients treated in the healthcare processes “cervical cancer” and “pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium” regarding online access to their clinical history and follow-up in the care process. Secondly, we analyzed times involved in the cervical cancer process to find points of improvement in waiting times when digital tools were used for communication with the patient. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on 120 women included in any of the aforementioned processes using a hetero-administered questionnaire. The analysis of times was carried out using the Business Intelligence tool Biwer Analytics®. Patients showed interest in knowing their results before the appointment with the doctor and would avoid appointments with their doctor if the right conditions were met. Most recognized that this action would relieve their restlessness and anxiety. They were highly interested in receiving recommendations to improve their health status. It was estimated that there was room for improvement in the times involved in the care process, which could be shortened by 34.48 days if communication of results were through digital information access technologies. This would favor the optimization of time, resources and user perception.

Sustainability is becoming of vital importance in project management, and a life cycle assessment (LCA) can ensure a body of knowledge to bear in mind the environmental burdens the project involves. In this study, two different ways of supplying energy to a sensor network are an-alyzed. Firstly, we analyze the environmental impact of the devices connected to the public grid. Secondly, we analyze the completely full off-grid system, with the sensor connected to a photovol-taic (PV) panel. Our findings show that the off-grid option has a greater number of benefits than the grid-connected option in terms of environmental impacts, although it is less economically advanta-geous. In a detailed analysis of the off-grid scenario, it can be observed that the battery is the com-ponent with the highest impact, so actions to try to reduce consumption, and, therefore, the battery size and its negative impact are taken. After reducing the battery size, the break-even point was reached, providing a net economic benefit of EUR 0.23 sensor/year. However, this analysis refers to a single sensor, and although the environmental and economic benefits seem low, in an economy of scale, this could result in large savings if these types of sensors are massively installed.

Conventional energy resources are not climate sustainable. Currently, engineers and scientists are looking for sustainable energy solutions influenced by climate change. A wide variety of sustainable natural energy resources are available, but they require technical solutions for their implementation. The general trend in energy research is based on renewable resources, amongst which solar energy stands out, being the most mature and widely accepted. In this paper, the current state of the sustainable energy system has been analysed. The main purpose is to provide additional context to assess future scenarios. The study of past contributions allows sustainability planning and increasing the welfare of future society. The aim is to highlight global trends in research on sustainable solar energy from 1995 to 2020 through a bibliometric analysis of 4260 publications. According to their linkages, the analysed articles are distributed in nine clusters: Sustainability assessment, Sustainable energy solutions, Environmental payback time analysis, Sustainability of solar energy in different scenarios, Environmental sustainability, Solar energy applications, Sustainable energy optimisation, Energy transition and Energy and sustainable scenarios. The most repeated keywords are Sustainability, Renewable energy, and Solar energy. Energy research and the exploration of new renewable solar resources are still necessary to meet sustainable energy’s future challenges.

The problem of finding an analytical solution for the circuit formed by a diode with series resistance (D-R circuit) has been investigated for a long time and several authors have proposed approximate solutions. Most solutions use the Lambert function and numerical methods. However, an analytical solution independent of experimental parameters is still missing to replace the D-R circuit with an analytical expression, in which only the diode and circuit parameters appear. In this paper, using a Taylor series expansion of the equation VD = f (VS, R, ID), we propose a new analytical solution that fits the exact solution with more accuracy than all known approximations. The average of the absolute error vector is the best, with an order of magnitude of difference compared to the other 3 approximations studied. This new function can be expressed by voltage analysis, which allows analytical solutions. Our solution may have many applications, such as a simple and accurate way, in circuit simulation programs or numerical calculation programs. In particular, it can be used as well in circuits with D-R branches, exponential amplifiers, logarithmic amplifiers and waveform shapers. On another level, a comparison with other state of the art approximations is presented.

The objective of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of nursing students after applying advanced life support techniques on a hospitalised patient in cardiac arrest in a simulated setting. A qualitative descriptive phenomenological study was conducted. Fifty-four nursing students from the University of Almería (Spain) participated. Three main themes and six subthemes were identified, which illustrate the experiences and perceptions of nursing students about performing advanced life support. The main themes were: (1) Analysing practice as part of the learning process, with the subthemes “working in an unknown environment” and “acquiring knowledge as the key to success”; (2) Facing reality: nursing students’ perceptions of an emergency situation, with the subthemes “facing stressful elements” and “emotional impact in emergency situations”; (3) Experience as a key element to integrating advanced life support into the healthcare setting, with the subthemes “discovering and facing the experience as a team” and “linking and transferring the situation to a real clinical setting”. The nursing students reported that the process of practising for an emergency situation through simulation was a fundamental part of their train-ing, as it allowed them to acquire skills necessary for emergency situations and improve their clinical performance in advanced life support. In addition, they considered the experience a key element in integrating advanced life support into the healthcare setting. The results of this study highlight the need to develop and implement training programs focused on clinical and teamwork skills in nursing programs. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Smartphones have become an indispensable item for nursing students. The use of these devices in the clinical setting could have various effects on the clinical work of nursing students. This study was to explore nursing students’ perceptions of their lived experiences of smartphone use in the clinical setting, in regard to patient safety. A descriptive phenomenological study was carried out. A total of 24 nursing students from a university in the southeast of Spain participated in this study. There were 10 in-depth interviews and two focal groups from January to May 2020. The data analysis was performed using ATLAS.TI software to identify the emergent topics. The COREQ Checklist was used to prepare the manuscript. Three principal topics were identified that illustrated the nursing students’ experiences and perceptions of smartphone use in the clinical setting (1): Using smartphones in the clinical setting as a personal resource, (2) smartphones as a support mechanism for making clinical decisions, (3) impact of smartphones on patient care. The nursing students perceived smartphones as a support mechanism for making clinical decisions and for patient care. Smartphone use during clinical practicums may influence the quality of patient-centred communication and threaten clinical safety. The results of this study provide knowledge on the use of smartphones by nursing students in the clinical setting, which could help to establish measures that guarantee adequate patient care and responsible use of these devices.

Energy efficiency and management is certainly one of the key drivers of human progress. Thus, the trends in the energy research are a topic of interest for the scientific community. The aim of this study is to highlight global research trends in this field through the analysis of a scientific journal indexed exclusively in the energy and fuels category. For this purpose, a journal has been selected that is in the center of the category considering its impact factor, which is only indexed in this category and of open access, Energies of the publisher MDPI. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis of all the contents of the journal between 2008 and 2020, 13,740 documents published, has been carried out. Analyzing the articles that are linked to each other by their citations, 14 clusters or research topics have been detected: smart grids; climate change-electric energy community; energy storage; bioenergy sources; prediction algorithms applied to power; optimization of the grid link for renewable energy; wind power; sustainability of power systems; hydrocarbon improvements; conversion of thermal/electrical energy; electric motor advancements; marine renewable energy; hydropower and energy storage; and preventive techniques in power transformers. The main keywords found were electric vehicle, renewable energy, microgrid, smart grid, and energy efficiency. In short, energy research remains necessary to meet the future challenge of sustainable energy with high efficiency and the exploration of new renewable resources, all for increasingly sustainable cities.

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of nomophobia and/or problematic mobile phone use on decision-making in nursing students. A cross-sectional study was carried out. The sample consisted of 124 nursing students. The Nomophobia Questionnaire, Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale and Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire were used for data collection. Regarding the results, the average total score of the Nomophobia Questionnaire was 69.50 ± 21.08, and the average total score of the Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale was 83.60 ± 19.90 points. Positive correlations were found between the dimensions of nomophobia and the Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale. Additionally, positive correlations were found between nomophobia and the dimensions of “buck-passing” (rs = 0.263; p = 0.017), procrastination (rs = 0.307; p = 0.011) and hypervigilance (rs = 0.284; p = 0.002) in regards to decision-making. As for the Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale, a positive correlation was found between this scale and the procrastination dimension (rs = 0.128; p = 0.015). Problematic mobile phone use and/or nomophobia may have an influence on decision-making in nursing students. Levels of procrastination, hypervigilance and “buck-passing” in nursing students are affected by mobile phone use throughout their training. These factors may affect their academic performance, as well as their relationships with patients and other colleagues.

Aim The objective of this study was to explore interpersonal communication, empathy, and stress perceived by nursing students who use social networks. Design A cross-sectional study was performed. Methods A convenience sample of 135 nursing students. For data collection, the following instruments were used: The WhatsApp Negative Impact Scale, The Perceived Stress Scale, The Interpersonal Communication Competence Inventory, and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. Data collection took place in February 2020. Results A negative correlation was found between the WhatsApp Negative Impact and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (rs = −0.204; p = .019). Conversely, a positive correlation was also observed between the Interpersonal Communication Competence Inventory and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (rs = 0.212; p = .014). Conclusion Nursing students’ use of new technology could be problematic and interfere with their therapeutic communication skills. Impact This study addresses the problem of social network use in the clinical setting and how this can influence nursing students’ therapeutic communication skills with patients. The results of this study have showed that, among nursing students, social network use has a negative impact, showing decreased empathy. Likewise, students who show a greater level of empathy have better interpersonal communication skills. However, significant results were not found between psychological distress and problematic social network use. Therefore, it is necessary to perform additional studies that would further explore this aspect. This study allows us to explore the negative impact of social networks on therapeutic communication, with the aim of developing prevention strategies at university institutions.

Modern agriculture has a growing level of technification, through the incorporation of new technologies of great utility in other disciplines different from the agricultural sector. The use of remote sensing systems to monitor the physiological state of crops by observing the volume and appearance of the roots is another example of its application. These systems are based on the detection and recording of spectral variations of crops both in the range of visible radiation and within the electromagnetic spectrum in the infrared range. Thermography is a visual tool that has found applications in agriculture. The monitoring of water status through the observation of crop roots is essential to optimize the use of water in agriculture, as well as its development and final production. The efficiency of root growth in basil crops has been analysed in a chamber with controlled humidity and temperature. The aim of this work was to demonstrate a better efficiency of root analysis with a first non-invasive and environmentally friendly method, visually, using thermal imaging and digital processing in the evaluation of radical growth versus two other conventional methods: traditional standard analysis and invasive analysis with digital image treatment. The results also showed advantages in the use of thermographic images compared to the use of RGB images for roots smaller than 1 mm.

The contributions of researchers at a global level in the journal Electronics in the period 2012–2020 are analyzed. The objective of this work is to establish a global vision of the issues published in the Electronic magazine and their importance, advances and developments that have been particularly relevant for subsequent research. The magazine has 15 thematic sections and a general one, with the programming of 385 special issues for 2020–2021. Using the Scopus database and bibliometric techniques, 2310 documents are obtained and distributed in 14 thematic communities. The communities that contribute to the greatest number of works are Power Electronics (20.13%), Embedded Computer Systems (13.59%) and Internet of Things and Machine Learning Systems (8.11%). A study of the publications by authors, affiliations, countries as well as the H index was undertaken. The 7561 authors analyzed are distributed in 87 countries, with China being the country of the majority (2407 authors), followed by South Korea (763 authors). The H‐ index of most authors (75.89%) ranges from 0 to 9, where the authors with the highest H‐Index are from the United States, Denmark, Italy and India. The main publication format is the article (92.16%) and the review (5.84%) The magazine publishes topics in continuous development that will be further investigated and published in the near future in fields as varied as the transport sector, energy systems, the development of new broadband semiconductors, new modulation and control techniques, and more.

This paper describes the characteristics of contributions made by researchers worldwide in the field of ELF (extremely low frequency) waves from 1957 to 2019. The data were collected through the Scopus database and processed with analytical and bibliometric techniques. The selection of the keywords is an essential step, because ELF has a very different meaning in some areas of medicine, where it is associated with a gene. A total of 12,436 documents were worked on in 12 thematic communities according to their collaborative relationships between authors and documents. Studies included authors publishing in the different thematic areas and the country where the USA stands first with more researchers in this theme than China and Japan. Documents were analyzed from the temporal perspective, their overall contribution, means of publication, and the language of the publication. Research requires extra effort and multidisciplinary collaboration to improve the knowledge, the application, and influence of these fields.

Introduction: Nursing students establish therapeutic relationships with their patients and as future nursing professionals, they should be trained to be effective communicators. The objective of this systematic review was to know the impact of educational interventions on nursing students to develop their communication skills with patients. Methods: A systematic review of literature was carried out. The following databases were consulted: CINAHL, PubMed (Ovid Medline), SCOPUS and Web of Science. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guided this review. As for inclusion criteria, published articles in English from 2000 to 2020 were included. The methodological rigor of the included articles was evaluated with the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Randomized Controlled Trial or Quasi-Experimental Studies. Changes in communication skills with the patient after the implementation of an intervention were analyzed. Results: Of the included studies in this systematic review (N = 19), two studies were randomized controlled trials, others were single group quasi-experimental studies (N = 11) and two group quasi-experimental studies (n = 6). The majority of the studies were carried out in the USA (n = 7). The most frequent educational intervention was simulation (n = 11). As for the improvement of communication skills, 13 of the 19 articles found statistically significant differences in patient-centered communication skills of nursing students. Conclusions: This systematic review provides preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of interventions used to train nursing students in patient-centered communication. Although all the interventions obtained significant results in communication skills, it has not yet been determined which methodology is more effective.

Renewable energy today is no longer just an affordable alternative, but a requirement for mitigating global environmental problems such as climate change. Among renewable energies, the use of solar energy is one of the most widespread. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems, however, is not yet fully widespread despite having demonstrated great efficiency, mainly thanks to parabolic-trough collector (PTC) technology, both on a large scale and on a small scale for heating water in industry. One of the main drawbacks to this energy solution is the large size of the facilities. For this purpose, several models have been developed to avoid shadowing between the PTC lines as much as possible. In this study, the classic shadowing models between the PTC rows are reviewed. One of the major challenges is that they are studied geometrically as a fixed installation, while they are moving facilities, as they have a tracking movement of the sun. In this work, a new model is proposed to avoid shadowing by taking into account the movement of the facilities depending on their latitude. Secondly, the model is tested to an existing facility as a real case study located in southern Spain. The model is applied to the main existing installations in the northern hemisphere, thus showing the usefulness of the model for any PTC installation in the world. The shadow projected by a standard, the PTC (S) has been obtained by means of a polynomial approximation as a function of the latitude (Lat) given by S = 0.001-Lat2 + 0.0121-Lat + 10.9 with R2 of 99.8%. Finally, the model has been simplified to obtain in the standard case the shadows in the running time of a PTC facility.

This study explores online sexual activities and analyzes the relationship between these activities and sexual satisfaction. A total of 236 university students completed self-reported scales. The results indicated that the most frequent online sexual activities were: searching for sexual issues, flirting via chat rooms and viewing erotic or pornographic videos. With regards to the relationship between online sexual activities and sexual satisfaction, it was found that participants who reported not seeking sexual information as well as not using chatrooms for sexual conversations, obtained a higher score in sexual satisfaction. In conclusion, although engaging in activities online for sexual purposes has a high prevalence, its influence on obtaining greater sexual satisfaction is not sufficiently proven.

This paper describes the characteristics of contributions that were made by researchers worldwide in the field of Solar Coating in the period 1957-2019. Scopus is used as a database and the results are processed while using bibliometric and analytical techniques. All of the documents registered in Scopus, a total of 6440 documents, have been analyzed and distributed according to thematic subcategories. Publications are analyzed from the type of publication, field of use, language, subcategory, type of newspaper, and the frequency of the keyword perspectives. English (96.8%) is the language that is most used for publications, followed by Chinese (2.6%), and the rest of the languages have a less than < 1% representation. Publications are studied by authors, affiliations, countries of origin of the authors, and H-index, which it stands out that the authors of China contribute with 3345 researchers, closely followed by the United States with 2634 and Germany with 1156. The Asian continent contributes the most, with 65% of the top 20 affiliations, and Taiwan having the most authors publishing in this subject, closely followed by Switzerland. It can be stated that research in this area is still evolving with a great international scientific contribution in improving the efficiency of solar cells.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is increasingly important in the architecture and engineering fields, and especially in the field of sustainability through the study of energy. This study performs a bibliometric study analysis of BIM publications based on the Scopus database during the whole period from 2003 to 2018. The aim was to establish a comparison of bibliometric maps of the building information model and BIM in universities. The analyzed data included 4307 records produced by a total of 10,636 distinct authors from 314 institutions. Engineering and computer science were found to be the main scientific fields involved in BIM research. Architectural design are the central theme keywords, followed by information theory and construction industry. The final stage of the study focuses on the detection of clusters in which global research in this field is grouped. The main clusters found were those related to the BIM cycle, including construction management, documentation and analysis, architecture and design, construction/fabrication, and operation and maintenance (related to energy or sustainability). However, the clusters of the last phases such as demolition and renovation are not present, which indicates that this field suntil needs to be further developed and researched. With regard to the evolution of research, it has been observed how information technologies have been integrated over the entire spectrum of internet of things (IoT). A final key factor in the implementation of the BIM is its inclusion in the curriculum of technical careers related to areas of construction such as civil engineering or architecture.

Depending on their type and variety, horticultural products are injured by cold when this follows a period of exposure to a range of temperatures above their freezing point. These lesions are a result of tissues having been weakened rendering them unable to conduct normal metabolic processes. Cold stress produces physiological and biochemical alterations and cellular dysfunctions in response to cooling that negatively affect their quality and frequently result in products unsuitable for sale. Currently, evaluation of cold damage is usually carried out qualitatively by experts. This is not particularly accurate and, above all, depends on the observer and is therefore subjective. This study developed an application for a smartphone that automates this process and applied it to one of the most sensitive vegetables, zucchini or courgette. The results provide qualitative values and avoid all subjectivity. To demonstrate their validity, the results were compared to those of the standard method. They were also compared among distinct varieties allowing thresholds of hue and saturation settings to be adapted to these different varieties. These settings allow users to calculate damage in a more reliable manner depending on the specific variety analysed. This application allows for new perspectives in the field of evaluation of cold damage to fruits and vegetables in general and in particular zucchini.

The integration of an off-grid solar-assisted heat pump (SHP) and a sequencing batch biofilter granular reactor (SBBGR) for thermal energy recovery from wastewater was assessed by means of a prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC), by theoretically scaling up a pilot installation in Bari, Italy, to a full-scale unit designed for 5000 person-equivalents. The LCA and LCC included all activities in the life cycle of the SHP and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), namely construction, operation and end-of-life. The thermal energy produced by the SHP was assessed as supplying heating and cooling for an air-conditioning system, displacing a conventional air-source heat pump powered by electricity from the grid. This integrated system was compared to a reference situation where wastewater is treated in a conventional WWTP applying activated sludge with no thermal energy recovery system, showing clear environmental benefits in all impact indicators, such as a 42% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions and a cost reduction of 53%. Several sensitivity analyses confirmed these findings, with the exception of the price rebound effect, which showed that the lower cost of the integrated system could lead to overturning the environmental benefits. As a limitation of the study, the distribution of the supplied air-conditioning to meet a demand off-site the WWTP premises, such as in residential buildings or hotels, was not included. Therefore, our results constitute only a preliminary positive outcome that should be validated in a real-life application.

Background Assessing the clinical ability of nursing students continues to be a fundamental challenge within the nursing degree. Designing innovative teaching strategies while ensuring an educational experience that results in safe nursing practices is an additional challenge for all educators. Objectives To design, develop and implement a tool to evaluate the clinical skills of nursing students. Design A two-phase study. In the second phase, a pre-experimental study was conducted. Settings Health Sciences Department of the University of Almería, Spain. Participants 250 Nursing students in the second year of their degree. Methods The study was divided into 2 phases: 1st) Web-based tool design and development and 2nd) Usability testing. In the second phase, a pre-experimental study was conducted both with an experimental group and a control group. Results In the first phase, a panel of 15 experts confirmed that the content and technical aspects of the tool were adequate (scores of 4–5/5). In the second phase, the participants of the experimental group showed higher final scores in the evaluated skills section, as well as shorter evaluation time and a greater number of observations and registered incidents than the participants in the control group. Finally, the students of the experimental group indicated a greater degree of satisfaction with the evaluation system used. Conclusions The web-based tool designed is an effective strategy to evaluate clinical skills. It is important to have strategies and instruments that allow us to demonstrate the development and acquisition of the skills required for future nursing professionals.

Nomophobia is the fear of leaving the house without a mobile and being out of mobile phone contact and affects different areas of a persons life, especially in terms of social, work and academic relationships due to a dependence on the use of smartphones. Discovering the prevalence of nomophobia among nursing students is very important, as the misuse of smartphones in clinical practice may cause distractions, affecting the quality of care and putting patient safety at risk. Furthermore, it can lead to poorer academic performance during class. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of nomophobia experienced by nursing students at the University of Almeria, Spain and the Polytechnic Institute of Braganza, Portugal. A comparative descriptive observational study was carried out. A nomophobia questionnaire adapted to the Spanish and Portuguese sociolinguistic context was employed; 258 participants comprised the subjects of study. The main results showed both Spanish and Portuguese nursing students scored higher than average regarding levels of nomophobia. However, the scores gathered from items on the questionnaire were generally higher among the Portuguese population than the Spanish one. The Portuguese students (54.7%) felt more anxious than the Spanish students (35.4%) if their battery ran out. Similarly, the Portuguese population showed a greater need for instant communication with their family and friends. In conclusion, the dimensions explored indicate significant levels of nomophobia among both nursing student populations, with higher levels among the Portuguese population than the Spanish.

It is essential to establish a pattern to detect the strengths and weaknesses of working groups publishing on malaria, to promote coordination to facilitate the eradication of the disease. Given the complexity of the scientific network of groups and institutions studying malaria, it is necessary to use a mathematical algorithm that allows us to know the real structure of research on the disease in the world. In this work, articles with the word “malaria” in the title or author keywords gathered from Elsevier Scopus database were analyzed. By means of specific software, graphs were created. The analysis of the data allowed established different scientific communities, among which two were very diverse: one formed by those groups concerned about the vector transmission and control, and another one focused on the drug resistance of the parasite. Basic, applied, and operational research to eradicate malaria is an ambitious goal of the international institutions and the scientific community. The combination of effort and the establishment of a worldwide-scientific network that allows an effective interconnection (exchange) of knowledge, infrastructure technology, collaborators, financial resources, and datasets will contribute more effectively to end the disease.

Background The increasing concern about the adverse effects of overuse of smartphones during clinical practicum implies the need for policies restricting smartphone use while attending to patients. It is important to educate health personnel about the potential risks that can arise from the associated distraction. Objective The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the level of nomophobia and the distraction associated with smartphone use among nursing students during their clinical practicum. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out on 304 nursing students. The nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q) and a questionnaire about smartphone use, the distraction associated with it, and opinions about phone restriction policies in hospitals were used. Results A positive correlation between the use of smartphones and the total score of nomophobia was found. In the same way, there was a positive correlation between opinion about smartphone restriction polices with each of the dimensions of nomophobia and the total score of the questionnaire. Conclusions Nursing students who show high levels of nomophobia also regularly use their smartphones during their clinical practicum, although they also believe that the implementation of policies restricting smartphone use while working is necessary.

Microwave material processing is a novel energy efficient technology with improved mechanical properties, minimized defects and economical and environmental advantages making it a convenient application for various types of materials. Although, microwave interaction with matter has been largely investigated and published in food processing, ceramics and chemistry, no particular work has been involved in collecting the interactions of microwaves with metals and placing a special emphasis on their interaction with metals and metal-based formulations, and here resides the aim of the review: consolidating the fundamentals of microwave heating applications as a time and energy saving application and addressing its various applications and mechanisms with metal interactions seeking a more sustainable environment. This review reports the latest literature findings on microwave processing fundamentals and highlights the advanced technological improvement applied on metals in this field. It focuses on the relevant industrial applications related to the development of microwave technology on metals and its possible future processing in this specific scope of investigation.

This work describes theworldwide applications of dielectric and bioimpedancemeasurements techniques in various fields. Dielectric and bioimpedance spectroscopy are major non-destructive measurement systems with great potential in the technology field. All results produced by the Scopus database were used as the core of the study in hand, with different items from journals, papers and conference proceedings being taken into account. The results of this analysis show that the interest in electrical properties has risen in the last years due to the advanced technological measurements offered on the scientific level. Results show that bioimpedance studies are considerably more recent compared to dielectric studies, and are more directed towards medical purposes while dielectric spectroscopy focuses on physical aspects, and is used mostly in engineering and material science. It can be stated that bioimpendance and dielectric spectroscopy are being increasingly applied and that they have the capacity to deepen and enhance research investigation.

The objective of this study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Self-Ecacy Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables Scale among the Spanish population. The sample was made up of 506 subjects who were selected through a convenience sample. The original version was translated from English to Spanish and later was translated back into English, by dierent translators. Upon translating, not only did the translators keep in mind the grammatical and linguistic aspects of the text, but also the cultural aspects. In order to validate the content of the Scales, the adapted and agreed-upon version of the scale was evaluated by a panel of experts, in order to obtain the nal version. Data collection took place between March and September 2017.The internal consistency was tested using Chronbach’s alpha. For the analysis of the structural validity, a factor analysis was carried out on the Self-Ecacy Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables Scale-Spanish version. Kaiser-Meyer Olkin and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (0.90) conrmed that the analysis was suitable. A two-factor structure was conrmed, as in the original scale. The value of Chronbach’s α for the total questionnaire was 0.877, which shows a good internal consistency. In the analysis of the reliability test-retest, a correlation value of 0.79 (p<0.05) was found, demonstrating its temporal stability. The Self-Ecacy Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables questionnaire is a reliable tool to measure selfecacy in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in the Spanish context. © 2018 Archivos Latinoamericanos Nutricion. All rights reserved.

One of the adverse effects arising among young people who engage in various social practices is the phenomenon of sexting. Sexting involves the production and delivery of sexual content voluntarily and freely and, in many cases, without the consent of the recipient. The aim of this study was to describe the presence of sexting in undergraduate students at the College of Nursing of the University of Almeria in Spain. It is a descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study. A total of 105 undergraduate nursing students completed the sexuality and technology questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of seven dimensions with 59 items. Depending on size, statistically significant differences between the use of social networks and the dimension “sexting actions completed” and the dimension “position on statements about sexting” were found. No statistically significant differences between gender and the practice of sexting were found. The three main reasons for sexting match in both genders, these being “to draw attention,” “as a sexy gift,” and “to feel sexy.” Nursing students associated behaviors to show sexting, being a standard practice, common in both genders. Future research should consider the possible influence of this behavior on future professionals and on the field of nursing.

The insufficiency of current energy sources, elevated costs and global climate worriment are distinctive factors making of renewable energy an issue of boosting consideration. In this concern, solar energy is viewed as being indefinitely environmental friendly, carbon-free, beneficial nature with appreciated cost potentials and is witnessing fast progressing. Following the Horizon 2020 climate and energy package, the volume of gases emitted by greenhouses has to be cut down by 20% by all the European Union (EU) member countries in order to enhance energy performance by 20% and raise the renewable energy rate to 20% by 2020. Solar energy on building roofs plays a crucial aspect in renewable and sustainable energy consumption of high-density human habitats. A merest energy should be allocated to provide hot water service from solar sources, as other European norms for new buildings by the Spanish Technical Building Code, similarly to other European regulation on achievement objectives. The climate zone and the overall demand of hot water in the building regulate this minimal amount needed. This manuscript use a new methodology for automatic detection of geometric patterns from aerial or space images using a Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM) algorithm. In this way, an automatic method for the identification of building roofs in order to assess the opportunities available to install solar thermal systems in small urban areas has been developed. As case of study: a village with 7000 inhabitants was analyzed in the South of Spain. The maximum overall accuracy obtained among the different classifications made was 98.05%, avoiding problems related to the use of images with high spatial resolution, as in the salt-and-pepper noise effect. This approach contributes reducing the generated carbon and GHG emissions and open new perspectives for energy savings strategies to optimize the energy efficiency of buildings. In the case study, implementing the solar thermal systems would come out with a saving of 1.4 tons of CO2 per inhabitant.

The sexual dimension is part of a person's functionality. Patients with mental disorders have the same sexual needs as any other person, although they may not always be recognized. This is a retrospective observational study to describe the information on sexuality of patients with mental disorders, admitted to an acute short-stay inpatient unit between 2011 and 2015. We analyzed 293 clinical histories of patients, comprising diagnoses in the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) between F20 and F29, inclusively. The information collected corresponded to the beginning of hospitalization, its duration and discharge. The results showed that 24% of the patients had sexual delusions. These delusions were more frequent in women, who in turn had more emotional symptoms, persecutory deception being the most common. There were few reports found on sexual dysfunction. In conclusion, the lack of data in the reports shows little recognition of sexuality in hospitalized patients with mental disorder, highlighting the need to promote the training of health personnel.

Oils, pure alcohols and alcohols mixtures have a complicated dielectric behavior. The strong electric field of the ions affects intensively the molecular interaction of solvents. Microwave heating resides in the characterization of dielectric properties. Classified as biodiesel precursors, advances in microwave technology of alcohols have a significant potential in improving the biodiesel production. In this context, this review provides basic knowledge on the dielectric properties theory and the heating phenomenon in the microwave fields. The main goal of the paper is to provide an organized summary of the main chemical and physical properties of alcohols and links them to their corresponding research studies dealing with dielectric properties measurements. The review covers the dielectric constant and loss factor variations observed with temperature and frequency, the relaxation time and the tangent loss of various mixtures found in the literature. Moreover, the review provides an updated database for organic solvents and alcohols to account for their abilities to couple in microwave radiation. The aim of the work is building a rigid bridge between chemico-physical and dielectric properties so it can make an essential step towards improving biofuels production. This review opens new perspectives for further investigation of dielectric properties that are interesting for microwave heating studies.

Being dependent on temperature and frequency, dielectric properties are related to various types of food. Predicting multiple physical characteristics of agri-food products has been the main objective of non-destructive assessment possibilities executed in many studies on horticultural products and food materials. This review manipulates the basic fundamentals of dielectric properties with their concepts and principles. The different factors affecting the behavior of dielectric properties have been dissected, and applications executed on different products seeking the characterization of a diversity of chemical and physical properties are all pointed out and referenced with their conclusions. Throughout the review, a detailed description of the various adopted measurement techniques and the mostly popular equipment are presented. This compiled review serves in coming out with an updated reference for the dielectric properties of spectroscopy that are applied in the agrophysics field.

The use of vehicles to control pests and crop diseases is needed to maintain agricultural production. This paper describes how to design and implement a low cost intelligent telecontrol system applied for agricultural machinery that are designed for use in places where human presence is not adequate, such as pesticide spraying tasks in farming environments as greenhouses. The intelligent system designed basically consists of these parts: States Encoding, Console Automaton, Vehicle Automaton, Communication System and Security of Communications. This system has been developed with a special-purpose UHF narrow band modem that interchanges digital operative commands/states from the console to the vehicle. The intelligent telecontrol system acts as a security system to protect against outsiders, and loss of communications due to fading or others interference. The originality of this system is based on the fact that it is 10 times cheaper than autonomous systems; those systems need electronic systems, GPS, a complex sensorial system, and a beforehand mapping performed on the new work environment. Related to classic remote control, our system protects from potential oversights of the operator. In addition, in the proposed system, the vehicle state is shown in the console, due the bidirectional communications. The system was successfully applied in prototype vehicle used for spraying tasks, and the result shows that the system operated stably and has confirmed the effectiveness of this intelligent telecontrol system. The proposed technology will help providing solutions for humans and robots working together in agricultural environments considered to be harmful to humans.

The frequencies between the ELF, ULF and VLF bands are widely used as indicators of the electrical activity in the atmosphere, as precursors of seismic activity and are of interest in the study of geophysical phenomena. These signal methods of analysis are varied, and among them, we find a method of averaged periodograms, which is based on the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). In this type of analysis, the optimal number of segments to be averaged must be determined; however, there seems to be no satisfactory method for choosing them. In this paper, we provide a method that will allow us to select the optimal number of segments to be averaged.

The demand for improved food quality has been accompanied by a technological boost. This fact enhances the possibility of improving the quality of horticultural products, leading towards healthier consumption of fruits and vegetables. A better electrical characterization of the dielectric properties of fruits and vegetables is required for this purpose. Moreover, a focused study of dielectric spectroscopy and advanced dielectric sensing is a highly interesting topic. This review explains the dielectric property basics and classifies the dielectric spectroscopy measurement techniques. It comprehensively and chronologically covers the dielectric experiments explored for fruits and vegetables, along with their appropriate sensing instrumentation, analytical modelling methods and conclusions. An in-depth definition of dielectric spectroscopy and its usefulness in the electric characterization of food materials is presented, along with the various sensor techniques used for dielectric measurements. The collective data are tabulated in a summary of the dielectric findings in horticultural field investigations, which will facilitate more advanced and focused explorations in the future.

Schumann resonances are very weak natural electromagnetic signals produced in the earth-ionosphere cavity located in the extremely low frequency (ELF) band (7-60 Hz), and the sensors that measure them produce amplitudes of few microvolts. Strong signals from power lines (50-60 Hz) occur in the same frequency range. Amplification techniques play a key role in acquiring resonance modes with the best signal-To-noise (S/N) ratio. This paper presents a study of the various structures of amplification systems that optimize the S/N ratio for the signal of interest. The aim of this paper is to measure all possible resonance modes with low time acquisition. To this end, we compare four instrumentation amplifiers and design a new indirect method for obtaining the noise floor of the system with sensors manufactured on magnetic cores that are several meters long. We present the measurements of the Schumann resonance achieved using these techniques at the ELF electromagnetic wave observatory at Calar Alto (Spain). The solutions adopted allow measurement of seven resonance modes with an acquisition time of 30 min, where the S/N ratio in the fundamental mode was 39 dB.

Cadastre is essential for the sustainable development of modern society. As well, mapping and surveying is one of the most important tasks for surveyors worldwide in order to maintain the Cadastre. This article summarises a recent study conducted by the authors on overall student assessment of learning Cadastre and Remote Sensing. The goal is to highlight which teaching method has better success rate for students. This paper studies the academic outcomes for a total of 286 students divided into two optional courses of Cadastre at higher education for eight academic years. They are analysed through three different educational modalities: face-to-face (FTF), blended and online for one course, and FTF and online for another. In order to deepen the analysis, a model using classification trees (Classification and regression trees, CART) was created. It has been observed that the blended modality is the one that offers worst results in terms of success rate. If we compare exclusively the FTF method to the online one, we can conclude that the latter shows better results in all respects, improving the success rate and increasing the percentage of students who obtain highest marks.

The cucumber is one of the most important crops worldwide and, because it is generally consumed fresh, it must be classified into quality categories. The European classification system includes a parameter that relates the degree of curvature relative to the length. Until now, this classification could not been be achieved with an automatic system due to the difficulty associated with correctly calculating the axis of a cucumber. This article describes a computer algorithm that uses active contours or " snakes" to classify cucumbers by length and curvature. This algorithm demonstrates an advantage in the determination of the central line of each cucumber, based on an iterative process that is quick and carries out the classification process efficiently. The method was validated against human classification for 360. cucumbers and was also compared with an ellipsoid approximation method. The active contour method reduced the classification error by 15% points, compared with the ellipsoid approximation method, to 1%, with no serious errors (i.e., misclassification of Class Extra and I into Class II or vice versa). Meanwhile, the ellipsoid approximation method led to a 16% error rate, of which 2% were serious errors (an error of two classes). The developed approach is applicable to fresh cucumber commercial classification lines to meet the requirements of the European regulations for cucumber classification.

Characterization and modeling of high-value inductors (hundreds to thousands of henrys) are complex problems, exacerbated when working in the extremely low frequency (ELF) range. This paper details the measurement and characterization of inductors using a vector network analyzer that has a bottom operating frequency of 5 Hz. Using this device, we establish a strategy for measuring the impedance of high-inductance coils - with or without a high-permeability core - and propose a mathematical model that can explain the behavior of these high-inductance coils, which incorporate long lengths of winding wire, as a function of working frequency. These inductors were constructed as part of a research project on ELF electromagnetic fields. The importance of making a complete characterization derives from the need to exploit the largest possible amount of energy captured by the coil, which acts as a sensor. We propose a mixed model of concentrated and distributed parameters that fits the experimental results with an error of about 2% for the frequency range of 5-500 Hz, as part of the characterization process. The effects of the magnetic core on inductance and winding resistance, as a function of frequency, have been characterized in terms of concentration of the magnetic field.

At present most horticultural products are classified and marketed according to quality standards, which provide a common language for growers, packers, buyers and consumers. The standardisation of both product and packaging enables greater speed and efficiency in management and marketing. Of all the vegetables grown in greenhouses, tomatoes are predominant in both surface area and tons produced. This paper will present the development and evaluation of a low investment classification system of tomatoes with these objectives: to put it at the service of producing farms and to classify for trading standards. An intelligent classifier of tomatoes has been developed by weight, diameter and colour. This system has optimised the necessary algorithms for data processing in the case of tomatoes, so that productivity is greatly increased, with the use of less expensive and lower performance electronics. The prototype is able to achieve very high speed classification, 12.5 ratings per second, using accessible and low cost commercial equipment for this. It decreases fourfold the manual sorting time and is not sensitive to the variety of tomato classified. This system facilitates the processes of standardisation and quality control, increases the competitiveness of tomato farms and impacts positively on profitability. The automatic classification system described in this work represents a contribution from the economic point of view, as it is profitable for a farm in the short term (less than six months), while the existing systems, can only be used in large trading centers.

Currently the transfer of critically patients is carried out through a coordination center for outpatient care and hospital care. Modern wireless communications technologies offer the possibility of improving some systems in the context of critical care emergency; under these situations are many occasions requiring additional examinations. The telemetry system developed in this paper provides real-time communication of patient's blood biochemistry that with a clinical suspicion based on an adequate history taking and physical examination, require this kind of diagnostic tests to better assess the patient's condition. This allows improving attendance at all times and the preparation of all necessary resources for the rapid, and effective patient reception in the hospital without additional cost, since these tests also would be required in the hospital. This allows early detection of conditions that endanger imminent the life of a patient. The results verify the interest of this new service.

We present the results of a statistical rescaled range (R/S) analysis of natural electromagnetic noise in the extremely low frequency (ELF) band. The Hurst exponent was derived from the records of two horizontal magnetic antennas taken in Antarctica with a sample frequency of 512 Hz, to guarantee enough resolution with the small number of samples in the analysis. The study shows that ELF radio noise is a persistent random process, maintaining its value between 0.75 and 0.85 for the different series analyzed. A numerical simulation was performed, in which each discharge was modeled by the radiated field of a wire antenna excited by a Gaussian pulse, demonstrating a way of inferring lightning rates from R/S analysis.