WID course enhancements in STEM: The impact of adding ‘writing circles’ and writing process pedagogy

This study reports on a quantitative assessment of enhancements to a Writing in the Disciplines course in Kinesiology. The assessment coded student writing produced in semesters before and after a Kinesiology course was enhanced with both iterated peer review groups and writing-process scaffolding. These enhancements were developed through a sustained partnership between WAC and disciplinary faculty. Analysis of the results revealed significantly higher scores in five Learning Outcomes developed to align with the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing (2011). These findings offer quantitative evidence that adding writing-process pedagogy and iterated peer review improves student outcomes in both writing and critical thinking

Some Curvature Problems in Semi-Riemannian Geometry

In this survey article we review several results on the curvature of semi-Riemannian metrics which are motivated by the positive mass theorem. The main themes are estimates of the Riemann tensor of an asymptotically flat manifold and the construction of Lorentzian metrics which satisfy the dominant energy condition.Comment: 25 pages, LaTeX, 4 figure

Synthesis and characterization of a Bio-MOF based on mixed adeninate/tricarboxylate ligands and zinc ions

Artículo científicoIn this work, we present a new metal organic framework Zn7(Ad)4(BTC)4(DMF)O·4DMA·3DMF·4H2O which was synthesized under hydrothermal conditions with adenine and trimesic acid (BTC) linkers. The structure was determined by single-crystal (XRD) and the compound was further characterized by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (IR), and thermogravimetric analysis. The 3D anionic framework includes adenine present in two-different coordination modes, with dimethylammonium balancing the framework charg

Glycemic Responses, Appetite Ratings and Gastrointestinal Hormone Responses of Most Common Breads Consumed in Spain. A Randomized Control Trial in Healthy Humans

The present study was carried out to determine the glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL), insulinemic index (InI), appetite ratings and postprandial plasma concentrations of gastrointestinal hormones related to the control of food intake after the ingestion of the five most common breads consumed in Spain with different compositions and manufacturing processes. Twenty-two healthy adults participated in a randomized crossover study. The breads tested were Ordinary, Precooked-Frozen, Candeal-flour, Alfacar whites and Wholemeal. All breads portions were calculated to supply 50 g of available carbohydrates. In addition, 50 g of glucose was used as a reference. A linear mixed-effects model was used to compare data calculated for all breads with glucose load. The GI value varied from 61 for the Wholemeal, to Alfacar 68, Ordinary 76, and 78 and 86 for the Precooked-Frozen and Candeal-flour breads, respectively. Wholemeal and Alfacar had lower GI than glucose. All tested breads had a lower GL (ranged 9 to 18) compared with glucose. Wholemeal GL was similar to Alfacar, but lower than the other white breads. InI were significantly lower for all breads (ranged 68 to 73) compared with glucose, and similar among them. The intake of the Wholemeal bread led to a higher release of gastric inhibitory polypeptide compared with the Ordinary and Precooked breads and to a higher release of pancreatic polypeptide compared with the Precooked-Frozen bread. All breads affected appetite ratings similarly. In conclusion, based on GL, the Wholemeal bread would be expected to exert a favorable glycemic response

A structure-guided approach for protein pocket modeling and affinity prediction

Binding affinity prediction is frequently addressed using computational models constructed solely with molecular structure and activity data. We present a hybrid structure-guided strategy that combines molecular similarity, docking, and multiple-instance learning such that information from protein structures can be used to inform models of structure–activity relationships. The Surflex-QMOD approach has been shown to produce accurate predictions of binding affinity by constructing an interpretable physical model of a binding site with no experimental binding site structural information. We introduce a method to integrate protein structure information into the model induction process in order to construct more robust physical models. The structure-guided models accurately predict binding affinities over a broad range of compounds while producing more accurate representations of the protein pockets and ligand binding modes. Structure-guidance for the QMOD method yielded significant performance improvements, both for affinity and pose prediction, especially in cases where predictions were made on ligands very different from those used for model induction

Long optical plateau in the afterglow of the short GRB 150424A with extended emission

Context. Short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with extended emission form a subclass of short GRBs, comprising about 15% of the short-duration sample. Afterglow detections of short GRBs are also rare (about 30%) because of their lower luminosity. Aims. We present a multiband data set of the short burst with extended emission, GRB 150424A, comprising of GROND observations, complemented with data from Swift/UVOT, Swift/XRT, HST, Keck/LRIS, and data points from the literature. The GRB 150424A afterglow shows an extended plateau phase, lasting about 8 h. The analysis of this unique GRB afterglow might shed light on the understanding of afterglow plateau emission, the nature of which is still under debate. Methods. We present a phenomenological analysis made by applying fireball closure relations and interpret the findings in the context of the fireball model. We discuss the plausibility of a magnetar as a central engine, which would be responsible for additional and prolonged energy injection into the fireball. Results. We find convincing evidence for energy injection into the afterglow of GRB 150424A. We find that a magnetar spin-down as the source for a prolonged energy injection requires that at least 4% of the spin-down energy is converted into radiation

High-performance hybrid oxide catalyst of manganese and cobalt for low-pressure methanol synthesis

Carbon dioxide capture and use as a carbon feedstock presents both environmental and industrial benefits. Here we report the discovery of a hybrid oxide catalyst comprising manganese oxide nanoparticles supported on mesoporous spinel cobalt oxide, which catalyses the conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol at high yields. In addition, carboncarbon bond formation is observed through the production of ethylene. We document the existence of an active interface between cobalt oxide surface layers and manganese oxide nanoparticles by using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy in the scanning transmission electron microscopy mode. Through control experiments, we find that the catalyst's chemical nature and architecture are the key factors in enabling the enhanced methanol synthesis and ethylene production. To demonstrate the industrial applicability, the catalyst is also run under high conversion regimes, showing its potential as a substitute for current methanol synthesis technologies.open2

Inundaciones 2022: Un evento meteorológico extremo en el partido de Patagones

El presente informe fue motivado por el evento meteorológico extremo ocurrido del 18 al 20 de enero 2022 en el partido de Patagones. En esos días se registraron lluvias torrenciales atípicas para la región semiárida que generaron, desde innumerables anegamientos de caminos rurales hasta la pérdida de infraestructura rural como galpones y casas de los cascos. Este trabajo incluye la descripción sinóptica del evento meteorológico, su análisis y conclusión, el resultado de una acción multidisciplinaria que abordó las dimensiones físicas y ambientales. Finalmente, se estimó la superficie con espejos de agua, teniendo como epicentro a la localidad Stroeder como el área más afectadaFil: Pezzola, Néstor Alejandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Hilario Ascasubi; ArgentinaFil: Viale, Maximiliano. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Zura, Gustavo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Hilario Ascasubi; ArgentinaFil: Flores, María. Asociación Rural Stroeder - Patagones, ArgentinaFil: Varela, Sonia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Hilario Ascasubi; ArgentinaFil: Gattinoni, Natalia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Clima y Agua; ArgentinaFil: Winschel, Cristina Ines. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Hilario Ascasubi; ArgentinaFil: Casella, Alejandra Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Clima y Agua; Argentin

A manifesto for future generation cloud computing: research directions for the next decade

The Cloud computing paradigm has revolutionised the computer science horizon during the past decade and has enabled the emergence of computing as the fifth utility. It has captured significant attention of academia, industries, and government bodies. Now, it has emerged as the backbone of modern economy by offering subscription-based services anytime, anywhere following a pay-as-you-go model. This has instigated (1) shorter establishment times for start-ups, (2) creation of scalable global enterprise applications, (3) better cost-to-value associativity for scientific and high performance computing applications, and (4) different invocation/execution models for pervasive and ubiquitous applications. The recent technological developments and paradigms such as serverless computing, software-defined networking, Internet of Things, and processing at network edge are creating new opportunities for Cloud computing. However, they are also posing several new challenges and creating the need for new approaches and research strategies, as well as the re-evaluation of the models that were developed to address issues such as scalability, elasticity, reliability, security, sustainability, and application models. The proposed manifesto addresses them by identifying the major open challenges in Cloud computing, emerging trends, and impact areas. It then offers research directions for the next decade, thus helping in the realisation of Future Generation Cloud Computing