Dynamical estimates of chaotic systems from Poincar\'e recurrences

We show that the probability distribution function that best fits the distribution of return times between two consecutive visits of a chaotic trajectory to finite size regions in phase space deviates from the exponential statistics by a small power-law term, a term that represents the deterministic manifestation of the dynamics, which can be easily experimentally detected and theoretically estimated. We also provide simpler and faster ways to calculate the positive Lyapunov exponents and the short-term correlation function by either realizing observations of higher probable returns or by calculating the eigenvalues of only one very especial unstable periodic orbit of low-period. Finally, we discuss how our approaches can be used to treat data coming from complex systems.Comment: subm. for publication. Accepted fpr publication in Chao

A new surgical approach to improve gene transfer in liver using lentiviral vectors.

PURPOSE: Metabolic inherited liver diseases are attractive targets for gene therapy. Recombinant lentiviruses are very powerful viral vectors able to infect nonmitotic cells. We wanted to develop a new surgical approach to improve gene transfer in adult liver using low viral doses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult rats were injected with 2.108 infectious particles of lentiviral vectors encoding the green fluorescent protein marker gene under control of a liver-specific promoter transthyretin. In the control group (n = 5), gene delivery was performed by inflow intraportal injection. In the surgical group (n = 5), liver was completely excluded from systemic circulation before viral injection in infrahepatic vena cava with high pressure. RESULTS: At day 9, transduction efficiency was 14.35% in the surgical group 3 and 0.39% in the control group (P = .016). At month 2, the number of transduced hepatocytes decreased in the most part of rats, except in half of rats in the surgical group. Antibodies against green fluorescent protein were detected in all rats at month 2, except one in the surgical group. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a new surgical approach allowing an efficient transduction of hepatocytes in adult rats using lentivirus at low viral doses. We have now to control the immune response to permit long-term expression of transgene

Graduates Higher Education and Career Interlink of the College of Arts and Sciences of Central Bicol State University of Agriculture-Calabanga Campus

A purpose-driven and effective tertiary education and training system is basic to generating competent and essential high-level skills, values, and knowledge vital for the socio-economic development of a country. The study traced the Bachelor of Arts in English Language (ABEL) and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (BSM) of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBSUA)- Calabanga Campus who graduated between 2011 to 2015 in terms of their job placement profile and the usefulness, relevance, effectiveness and adequacy of the skills and competencies as well as work-related values to their job placement. A survey method using questionnaire was utilized to 188 respondents. Results revealed that most of the respondents landed on jobs which were related to their course, were employed in less than a month, but stayed on their job only for about 1-6 months. A large percentage were gainfully employed as office employees. The primary reason for some of their unemployment was that they did not actively seek work. Many were employed because of their area of specialization and acquired their employment thru the personnel office of hiring companies. Communication skills and love of God were the most useful and relevant and critical thinking skills was the most effective in finding their job. As to work-related values, there were adequate trainings on self-discipline and self-reliance; whereas, honesty and love for truth as well as the love of God had become the most effective to their current employment. Keywords. Tracer study, ABEL & BSM graduates, job placement, skills and competencies, work related values DOI: 10.7176/IKM/9-4-02 Publication date: April 30th 201

Novel multilayer designs for future hard x-ray missions

Current multilayer designs for 10-80 keV hard X-ray telescope missions have focused primarily on the proven properties of W and Pt based multilayer coatings. Recently a number of new material combinations and coating capabilities have emerged which allows for more elaborate designs that can further extend the energy band of current mission designs as well as avoid some of the unwanted absorption edge effects in the effective area near potentially important line emission energies. These new design possibilities are investigated for current hard X-ray mission designs. The new material combinations to be considered are recently proven capabilities of enhanced NiV/C coatings and NiV/SiC coatings in conjuction with the well-established W based coatings

Developing a digital learning version of a mentorship training programme

This article describes the experience of one university team in developing, delivering and evaluating an online Nursing and Midwifery Council-approved mentorship programme for nurses and midwives who support pre-registration students in practice. Although the authors are confident of the quality of the educational provision, this article does not discuss this programme as an exemplar of best practice, but aims to share the learning gained from the experience of introducing a digital learning version of a mentorship course

Stated and revealed inequality aversion in three subject pools

This paper reports data from three subject pools (n=717 subjects) using techniques based on those of Loewenstein, et al. (1989) and Blanco, et al. (2011) to obtain parameters, respectively, of stated and revealed inequality aversion. We provide a replication opportunity for those papers, with two innovations: (i) a design which allows stated and revealed preferences to be compared at the individual level; (ii) assessment of robustness of findings across subjects from a UK university, a Turkish university and Amazon Mechanical Turk. Our findings on stated aversion to inequality are qualitatively similar to those of Loewenstein, et al. in each of our subject pools, whereas there are notable differences between some of our findings on revealed preference and those of Blanco, et al. We find that revealed advantageous inequality aversion is often stronger than revealed dis-advantageous inequality aversion. In most subject pools, we find some (weak) correlation between corresponding parameters of stated and revealed inequality aversion

Evaluación de diferentes concentraciones del producto custom B5 y Custom GP en la elaboración de bioabono a base de estiércol de cerdo (cerdaza)

La presente investigación se realizó en el Programa Porcino del Centro de Enseñanza e Investigación Agropecuaria (CEIACHI), ubicado en la Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias de la Universidad de Panamá, en la Provincia de Chiriquí, con un período de duración de 21 días; cuyo objetivo principal del estudio fue evaluar los efectos biológicos del producto Custom B5 y Custom GP en el proceso de elaboración de bioabono a base de estiércol de cerdo (cerdaza). En donde se valoró la efectividad de los productos, en la producción de bioabono, el efecto de los mismos y la composición química, física y bacteriológica del producto tanto en fase inicial como terminal. Este estudio se sustentó en la búsqueda de opciones tecnológicas que incrementen la eficiencia en la utilización de recursos de finca, en armonía con el ambiente, las cuales deben ser imprescindibles para cualquier actividad agropecuaria, a fin de poner en práctica acciones de conservación dirigidas a recuperarlos y manejarlos adecuadamente y así asegurar su disponibilidad futura. La metodología empleada en esta investigación se basó en la aplicación de los productos en distintas concentraciones con sus respectivas repeticiones por tratamiento, se realizó la distribución del material en pilas en el suelo de 13.61 Kg. (11.34 Kg. de cerdaza + 2.27 Kg. de cascarilla de arroz), las pilas fueron cubiertas con una manta plástica de 3 x 10 m. para la realización del proceso microbiológico de compostaje, los productos se aplicaron a cada unidad experimental, una vez por semana. Los datos recopilados fueron procesados y analizados bajo un diseño experimental de bloques al azar; estos datos se agruparon según su naturaleza, para posteriormente evaluar los resultados obtenidos. De acuerdo a los mismos se logró deducir lo siguiente: Los análisis estadísticos de los minerales revelaron que no existen diferencias significativas entre los tratamientos con las dosis combinadas (0.0, 0.7 y 0.9 cc.) de los productos Custom B5 y Custom GP (Fc<F0.05) en el contenido de macro, micro minerales y pH en los 21 días de duración del ensayo. El análisis microbiológico indicó un cambio a nivel poblacional debido a la aplicación de los productos Custom B5 y GP a las pilas de compost; donde se consideró un nivel de sanitización más elevado en las pilas tratadas con los productos en relación al testigo

Reciprocal preferences and the unraveling of gift-exchange

We elicit reciprocal preferences in a firm-worker gift-exchange setting and relate them to actual behavior in a repeated gift-exchange game. We find that only a small minority of 10 percent of workers is materially selfish whereas 90 percent exhibit reciprocal preferences. However, the intensity of reciprocal preferences is weak in the sense that firms maximize profits by not relying on gift-exchange but by offering the lowest possible wage. Workers behavior in the repeated gift-exchange game is predicted by their elicited preferences, but the correlation between preferences and behavior is imperfect. Together with profit maximizing behavior of firms these observations can explain the observed unraveling of gift-exchange over time in our experiment and some recent field experiments

Evaluación de diferentes concentraciones del producto custom B5 y Custom GP en la elaboración de bioabono a base de estiércol de cerdo (cerdaza)

La presente investigación se realizó en el Programa Porcino del Centro de Enseñanza e Investigación Agropecuaria (CEIACHI), ubicado en la Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias de la Universidad de Panamá, en la Provincia de Chiriquí, con un período de duración de 21 días; cuyo objetivo principal del estudio fue evaluar los efectos biológicos del producto Custom B5 y Custom GP en el proceso de elaboración de bioabono a base de estiércol de cerdo (cerdaza). En donde se valoró la efectividad de los productos, en la producción de bioabono, el efecto de los mismos y la composición química, física y bacteriológica del producto tanto en fase inicial como terminal. Este estudio se sustentó en la búsqueda de opciones tecnológicas que incrementen la eficiencia en la utilización de recursos de finca, en armonía con el ambiente, las cuales deben ser imprescindibles para cualquier actividad agropecuaria, a fin de poner en práctica acciones de conservación dirigidas a recuperarlos y manejarlos adecuadamente y así asegurar su disponibilidad futura. La metodología empleada en esta investigación se basó en la aplicación de los productos en distintas concentraciones con sus respectivas repeticiones por tratamiento, se realizó la distribución del material en pilas en el suelo de 13.61 Kg. (11.34 Kg. de cerdaza + 2.27 Kg. de cascarilla de arroz), las pilas fueron cubiertas con una manta plástica de 3 x 10 m. para la realización del proceso microbiológico de compostaje, los productos se aplicaron a cada unidad experimental, una vez por semana. Los datos recopilados fueron procesados y analizados bajo un diseño experimental de bloques al azar; estos datos se agruparon según su naturaleza, para posteriormente evaluar los resultados obtenidos. De acuerdo a los mismos se logró deducir lo siguiente: Los análisis estadísticos de los minerales revelaron que no existen diferencias significativas entre los tratamientos con las dosis combinadas (0.0, 0.7 y 0.9 cc.) de los productos Custom B5 y Custom GP (Fc<F0.05) en el contenido de macro, micro minerales y pH en los 21 días de duración del ensayo. El análisis microbiológico indicó un cambio a nivel poblacional debido a la aplicación de los productos Custom B5 y GP a las pilas de compost; donde se consideró un nivel de sanitización más elevado en las pilas tratadas con los productos en relación al testigo