Uso de mapas conceptuales en Razonamiento Clínico como herramienta para favorecer el rendimiento académico / The Usage of Conceptual Maps in the Subject Clinical Reasoning as a Tool for Improving Academic Performance

Introducción: Las dificultades presentes en la educación en ciencias de la salud son experimentadas por docentes y estudiantes en las asignaturas disciplinares. Los profesores requieren entregar y evaluar gran volumen de contenidos y los alumnos deben asimilar estos rápidamente para obtener un adecuado rendimiento. Objetivo: Evaluar la efectividad de la creación de mapas conceptuales sobre el rendimiento, en la asignatura Razonamiento Clínico de la carrera de kinesiología de una universidad privada de la V región, Chile. Métodos: Estudio cuasi experimental, en el que participaron dos grupos: control y experimental. En el grupo experimental se aplicó la intervención con la incorporación de la herramienta de creación de mapas conceptuales en dos unidades temáticas. Se evaluó el rendimiento pre- y posintervención. La población de estudio estuvo constituida por dos grupos de estudiantes de Kinesiología (n = 55), que cursaron la asignatura Razonamiento Clínico del séptimo semestre, correspondiente al primer semestre de 2017 de la malla curricular en la carrera de kinesiología, en una universidad privada de la ciudad de la V región, Chile. Resultados: El rendimiento pre- y posintervención indicó una diferencia significativa en las calificaciones correspondientes a las unidades II y III en el grupo experimental (t-test pareado p < 0,0001). Al comparar el desempeño entre ambos grupos: control y experimental, este último obtuvo un promedio de notas significativamente superior al grupo control en las unidades II y III (t-test, p < 0,0001). La unidad I no presentó diferencias notables entre el grupo control con respecto al experimental (ANOVA/Bonferroni post hoc test, p > 0,05). Conclusiones: La estrategia de crear mapas conceptuales incrementa el rendimiento en la asignatura Razonamiento Crítico para abordar problemas clínicos. La creación de mapas conceptuales favorece el aprendizaje y permite identificar habilidades que denotan mayor dificultad en los estudiantes. Se propone la incorporación de estos mapas en formación sistemática como herramienta de enseñanza y evaluación(AU)

Introduction: The difficulties present in health sciences education are experienced by teachers and students in disciplinary subjects. Teachers need to deliver and evaluate large volumes of content and students must assimilate these quickly in order to obtain adequate performance. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of creating conceptual maps on performance, in the subject Clinical Reasoning of the Kinesiology major of a private university of the V Region, Chile. Methods: Quasiexperimental study with the participation of two groups, a control group and an experimental group. In the experimental group, the intervention was applied with the incorporation of the tool for creating conceptual maps in two thematic units. Pre- and post-intervention performance was evaluated. The study population consisted of two groups of students of Kinesiology (n=55), who attended the subject Clinical Reasoning of the seventh semester, corresponding to the first semester of 2017, of the curriculum in the Kinesiology major at a private university in the city of the V region, Chile. Results: The pre- and post-intervention performance indicated a significant difference in the qualifications corresponding to units II and III in the experimental group (paired t-test p<0.0001). When comparing the performance between both groups, control and experimental, the latter obtained an average of significantly higher scores than the control group in units II and III (t-test, p < 0.0001). Unit I did not show notable differences between the control group and the experimental group (ANOVA/Bonferroni post hoc test, p > 0.05). Conclusions: The strategy of creating conceptual maps increases the performance in the subject Critical Reasoning, for the addressing of clinical problems. The creation of conceptual maps favors learning and allows the identification of skills that denote greater difficulty in students. The incorporation of these maps in systematic training is proposed as a teaching and evaluation tool(AU)

Visible light enhances the antimicrobial effect of some essential oils.

The photodisinfection is a topical, broad spectrum antimicrobial technology, targeting bacteria, virus, fungi, and protozoa effective for single cells as for biofilms. Natural molecules have been studied less than synthetic agents in the process but they are currently receiving great interest. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate for the first time if non-coherent blue and red light enhances the antimicrobial activity of some essential oils when standard strains for antibiotic or fungicide tests are enlightened in vitro. Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans collection strains were irradiated with monochromatic visible light from light emitting diodes in the presence of 5% and 0.5% eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), clove (Eugenia caryophyllata), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) essential oils. Microbial levels were measured by plate count on culture media. In this preliminary report, the results differ according to the kind and concentration of antimicrobial oils, the wavelength of light, and the prokaryotic or eukaryotic microorganism. The results support the idea that mainly blue light enhances the innate antimicrobial activity of the essential oils, especially phenols, and could offer a very efficient and natural way to combat microorganisms in several industries and medical applications (cutaneous and oral infections, medical textiles, foodstuffs and fruit surface, etc.).

Modification of titanium surfaces by adding antibiotic-loaded PHB spheres and PEG for biomedical applications.

Novel researches are focused on the prevention and management of post-operative infections. To avoid this common complication of implant surgery, it is preferable to use new biomaterials with antibacterial properties. Therefore, the aim of this work is to develop a method of combining the antibacterial properties of antibiotic-loaded poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) nano- and micro-spheres and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as an antifouling agent, with titanium (Ti), as the base material for implants, in order to obtain surfaces with antibacterial activity. The Ti surfaces were linked to both PHB particles and PEG by a covalent bond. This attachment was carried out by firstly activating the surfaces with either Oxygen plasma or Sodium hydroxide. Further functionalization of the activated surfaces with different alkoxysilanes allows the reaction with PHB particles and PEG. The study confirms that the Ti surfaces achieved the antibacterial properties by combining the antibiotic-loaded PHB spheres, and PEG as an antifouling agent.

Poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] production under different salinity conditions by a novel Bacillus megaterium strain.

Bacillus megaterium uyuni S29, isolated from the Bolivian salt lake Uyuni, displays a high capability to produce poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (PHB) in industrial culture media. In order to analyze the influence of salt on biomass formation and PHB production, cultivations at different NaCl concentrations were carried out according to the salinity conditions of the habitats of the strain's original isolation. In this preliminary report, the strain showed considerable adaptability to media of different salinity, obtaining the best results for both cellular growth and PHB production in media containing 45 g/L NaCl. The strain grew at 100 g/L NaCl and PHB production was observed even at high salt levels of 250 g/L without unwanted concurrent spore formation. Its tolerance to high salt concentrations together with auspicious PHB productivity makes this strain appealing not only for PHB production, but also for other biotechnological applications such as the treatment of salty wastewater; additional studies will be needed to further increase PHB productivity.