No abstract

The use of flipped‐classroom methodology (FC) has increased recently, however, there is a lack of quantitative data on students’ performance. A FC has been applied into a group (80 students) of an obligatory subject of the 2nd course in an Energetic Engineering Bachelor. A second group has been taught with the traditional methodology (72 students) to compare the results. The FC requires students to obtain background knowledge prior to a face‐to face class meeting, and reserves in‐class time for applying knowledge to solve problems. This is the opposite of the traditional lecture‐based classroom, in which students passively attend didactic lectures from the instructor, then study the content and complete assignments after class. The main objectives of this research were to measure the impact of learning (with special attention to really active students), reduce absenteeism, increase exam attendance, and analyze how participating students view their experience with this methodology. The results show that the flipped‐classroom model has a direct impact on student learning (or grades), especially in students with a high degree of involvement (with grades about 1.5 points higher). In addition, the grades standard deviation values were lower (in about one point), ensuring a better general students level. The students are a little reluctant to this new methodology, but thanks to it, they tend to work more (12% of the students work more hours per week), to attend more to class (at least 10% more), and to attend in a higher ratio to exams (around 20%).

No abstract

No abstract

Anthropogenic activities performed in the Ecuadorian Amazon have released potentially toxic elements (PTEs) into the rivers, causing severe environmental pollution and increasing the risk of exposure to the residents of the surrounding areas. This study aims to carry out a human health risk assessment using deterministic and probabilistic methods to estimate the hazard index (HI) and total cancer risk (TCR) related to multi-pathway human exposure to PTEs in polluted rivers. Concentrations of Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in surface water and sediment samples from rivers on the Ecuadorian Amazon were considered to assess the potential adverse human health effects. As a result, deterministic and probabilistic estimations of cancer and non-cancer risk through exposure to surface waters and sediments were above the safety limit. A sensitivity analysis identified the concentration of PTEs and the exposure duration (ED) as the two most important variables for probabilistic health risk assessment. The highest risk for receptors was related to exposure to polluted sediments through incidental ingestion and dermal contact routes. According to the deterministic estimation, the human health risk through ingestion of water was above the threshold in specific locations. This study reveals the potential health risk to which the population is exposed. This information can be used as a baseline to develop public strategies to reduce anthropogenic pollution and exposure to PTEs in Ecuadorian Amazon rivers.