• European Marine Science
• 2013-2022close
• Open Access close
• 4. Education close

© 2019 Palou, Muntaner-Mas, Cantallops, Borràs, Labayen, Jiménez-Pavón, Dorado García, Moliner-Urdiales, Rodríguez Pérez, Rojo-Tirado, Cadenas-Sanchez, Ortega and Vidal-Conti. Physical inactivity is recognized as a determinant of low physical fitness and body composition in preschool children, which in turn, are important markers of health through the lifespan. Objective methods to assess physical activity, physical fitness and body composition in preschool children are preferable; however, they have some practical limitations in the school context. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test whether a single question regarding physical activity level of preschool children, reported by their parents, could be used as an alternative screening tool of physical fitness and body composition. The information was obtained from 10 different cities throughout Spain, gathering a total of 3179 healthy preschool children (52.8% boys and 47.2% girls) aged 3-5 years. Physical activity levels of preschool children were reported by parents using a single question with five response options (very low, low, average, high, or very high). Physical fitness and body composition were assessed with the PREFIT fitness battery. The results showed that parents' perception of their children's physical activity was positively associated with all objectively measured physical fitness components (βrange = -0.094 to 0.113; all p < 0.020); and negatively with body composition indicators as measured (βrange = -0.113 to -0.058; all p < 0.001). The results showed significant differences in all physical fitness and body composition z-scores across the parent-reported physical activity levels (all p < 0.017 and all p < 0.001, respectively), as well as, for the fitness index (p < 0.001). Our study suggests that in school settings with insufficient resources to objectively assess fitness and body composition, parents-reported physical activity level by means of a single question might provide useful information about these important health markers in preschool children. ERIH PLUS 2067,0 0,914 SSCI Q1 Q2

In a trauma situation, it is essential that emergency room physicians are able to think clearly, make decisions quickly and manage patients in a way consistent with their injuries. In order for emergency medicine residents to adequately develop the skills to deal with trauma situations, it is imperative that they have the opportunity to experience such scenarios in a controlled environment with aptly timed feedback. In the case of infant trauma, sensitivities have to be taken that are specific to pediatric medicine. The following describes a simulation session in which trainees were tasked with managing an infantile patient who had experienced a major trauma as a result of a single vehicle accident. The described simulation session utilized human patient simulators and was tailored to junior (year 1 and 2) emergency medicine residents.

A concept for an interdisciplinary summer school for “multiscale processes in oceans and the atmosphere” is presented. It aims to deepen students’ understanding of scientific issues as well as their experience in multicultural communication. The theme covers climate evolution, which is partially dominated by far-reaching anthropogenic changes and their possible consequences on the Earth’s system. An integrated approach helps to change rigid subject-specific mindsets among faculties and students and across cultures, so as to broaden their horizons in both research and life. Research has shown, however, that the development of intercultural competence in students does not happen automatically but needs to be fostered and supported. Therefore, a primary goal is also to provide young researchers from several countries (mainly China and Germany) with the opportunity to gain more indepth knowledge on research in Germany, to be exposed to scientific culture, and thus to prepare for foreign research visits either during the PhD phase or as postdoctoral fellows, supporting the internationalization of education and opportunities in marine sciences. Finally, the students have the chance to further develop their scientific profiles by attending scientific talks, lab exercises, and excursions and by combining rigorous scientific disciplines with the awareness of multidisciplinary issues related to the topic of global climate change.

Universities and higher education institutions form an integral part of the national infrastructure and prestige. As academic research benefits increasingly from international exchange and cooperation, many universities have increased investment in improving and enabling their global connectivity. Yet, the relationship of university performance and its global physical connectedness has not been explored in detail. We conduct, to our knowledge, the first large-scale data-driven analysis into whether there is a correlation between university relative ranking performance and its global connectivity via the air transport network. The results show that local access to global hubs (as measured by air transport network betweenness ) strongly and positively correlates with the ranking growth (statistical significance in different models ranges between 5% and 1% level). We also found that the local airport’s aggregate flight paths ( degree ) and capacity ( weighted degree ) has no effect on university ranking, further showing that global connectivity distance is more important than the capacity of flight connections. We also examined the effect of local city economic development as a confounding variable and no effect was observed suggesting that access to global transportation hubs outweighs economic performance as a determinant of university ranking. The impact of this research is that we have determined the importance of the centrality of global connectivity and, hence, established initial evidence for further exploring potential connections between university ranking and regional investment policies on improving global connectivity.

Background Positive associations between motor competence and physical activity have been identified by means of variable-centered analyses. To expand the understanding of these associations, this study used a person-centered approach to investigate whether different combinations (i.e., profiles) of actual and perceived motor competence exist (aim 1); and to examine differences in physical activity levels (aim 2) and weight status (aim 3) among children with different motor competence-based profiles. Materials and Methods Children’s (N = 361; 180 boys = 50%; Mage = 9.50±1.24yrs) actual motor competence was measured with the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 and their perceived motor competence via the Self Perception Profile for Children. We assessed physical activity via accelerometers; height through stadiometers, and weight through scales. Cluster analyses (aim 1) and MANCOVAs (aim 2 & 3) were used to analyze the data. Results The analysis generated two predictable groups: one group displaying relatively high levels of both actual (M TGMD-2 percentile = 42.54, SD = 2.33) and perceived motor competence (M = 3.42, SD = .37; high-high), and one group with relatively low levels of both (M percentile = 9.71, SD = 3.21; M PMC = 2.52, SD = .35; low-low). One additional group was also identified as having relatively low levels of actual motor competence (M percentile = 4.22, SD = 2.85) but relatively high levels of perceived motor competence (M = 3.52, SD = .30; low-high). The high-high group demonstrated higher daily physical activity (M = 48.39±2.03) and lower BMI (M = 18.13±.43) than the low-low group (MMVPA = 37.93±2.01; MBMI = 20.22±.42). The low-high group had similar physical activity-levels as the low-low group (M = 36.21±2.18) and did not significantly differ in BMI (M = 19.49±.46) from the other two groups. Conclusions A combination of high actual and perceived motor competence is related to higher physical activity and lower weight status. It is thus recommended to expand health interventions in children with components that foster the development of both actual and perceived motor competence. Health professionals should furthermore pay sufficient attention to endorsing children’s actual and perceived motor competence.

Synthèse des questions méthodologiques soulevées lors de la formation EchoR donnée lors de la réunion conjointe des groupes CIEM WGACEGG et MEDIAS à Vigo, le 16/11/2014. A summary of methodological questions tackled during the EchoR training course given during the joint ICES WGACEGG/MEDIAS working group in Vigo on november, 16th 2014.