3,035 research outputs found
Planning a master's level curriculum according to career space recommendations using concept mapping techniques
Nowadays the European Universities are worried about how to adapt
higher education to the new European Higher Education Area, as proposed in the
Bologna Magna Charta Universitatum of 1998, and signed by 32 European Education
Ministers. One of the key points in this higher education reform was the introduction of
new Master’s level curricula. These Masters will look for the professional specialization
and they will have to be adapted to the specific skills demanded by the society. This
paper presents the results from a cooperation project – funded by the AECI (International
Cooperation Spanish Agency) and developed between the University of Seville
(Spain) and the Catholic University of Asuncion (Paraguay) – by about the planning of
a new master’s level curriculum in digital signal processing (DSP) area, taking into
account the Bologna principles and the conclusions obtained by the Career Space
Consortium. A scientific method from social science, known as concept mapping techniques,
was used to perform this planning. Basically, the idea of concept mapping
consists of compiling the opinion from actors belonging to different environments
(lecturers, researchers, workers, businessmen, etc.) related to DSP applications. The
compiled data were statistically computed to cluster the opinions of the different agents.
The result will be a master’s level curricula adapted to the environment requirements and
the social setting
Influence of Penile Spicules of Covies(Cavia porcellus)on their Sexual Behavior, Fertility and Sperm Quality
This research took place in canton Cuenca, province of Azuay, Ecuador, located on UTM 717386 x 9675751, 2 714 meters above sea level, with a mean temperature of 14°C. The study determined the influence of penile spicules on sexual behavior, fertility and sperm quality parameters in cavies (Cavia porcellus), raised on the Ecuadoran highlands. A number of 5 whole males (with penile spicules), and other 5 males with their spicules removedwere included in the study, along with 40 nulliparous females, type A, pelage type 1. The pregnancy percentage of females that copulated with extirpated males decreased 65% in relation to the control group (P<0.05). However, the sexual behavior pattern and sperm quality of the two groups in the study were similar (P>0.05). Therefore, the study concluded that extirpation of the penile spicules has effects on fertility, but not on sexual behavior and sperm quality
Characterizing the Cool KOIs II. The M Dwarf KOI-254 and its Hot Jupiter
We report the confirmation and characterization of a transiting gas giant
planet orbiting the M dwarf KOI-254 every 2.455239 days, which was originally
discovered by the Kepler mission. We use radial velocity measurements, adaptive
optics imaging and near infrared spectroscopy to confirm the planetary nature
of the transit events. KOI-254b is the first hot Jupiter discovered around an
M-type dwarf star. We also present a new model-independent method of using
broadband photometry to estimate the mass and metallicity of an M dwarf without
relying on a direct distance measurement. Included in this methodology is a new
photometric metallicity calibration based on J-K colors. We use this technique
to measure the physical properties of KOI-254 and its planet. We measure a
planet mass of Mp = 0.505 Mjup, radius Rp = 0.96 Rjup and semimajor axis a =
0.03 AU, based on our measured stellar mass Mstar = 0.59 Msun and radius Rstar
= 0.55 Rsun. We also find that the host star is metal-rich, which is consistent
with the sample of M-type stars known to harbor giant planets.Comment: AJ accepted (in press
Complete Genome Sequences of Mycobacterium smegmatis Phages Chewbacca, Reptar3000, and Riparian, Isolated in Las Vegas, Nevada
Here, we present the complete genome sequences of Mycobacterium smegmatis phages Chewbacca, Reptar3000, and Riparian, isolated from soil in Las Vegas, NV. The phages were isolated and annotated by undergraduate students enrolled in the Phage Discovery course offered by the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vega
Helicobacter pylori Membrane Vesicles Stimulate Innate Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Responses and Induce Apoptosis in Jurkat T Cells
Persistent Helicobacter pylori infection induces chronic inflammation in the human gastric mucosa, which is associated with development of peptic ulceration, gastric atrophy, and gastric adenocarcinoma. It has been postulated that secretion of immunomodulatory molecules by H. pylori facilitates bacterial persistence, and membrane vesicles (MV), which have the potential to cross the gastric epithelial barrier, may mediate delivery of these molecules to host immune cells. However, bacterial MV effects on human immune cells remain largely uncharacterized to date. In the present study, we investigated the immunomodulatory effects of H. pylori MV with and without the vacuolating cytotoxin, VacA, which inhibits human T cell activity. We show a high degree of variability in the toxin content of vesicles between two H. pylori strains (SS1 and 60190). Vesicles from the more toxigenic 60190 strain contain more VacA (s1i1 type) than vesicles from the SS1 strain (s2i2 VacA), but engineering the SS1 strain to produce s1i1 VacA did not increase the toxin content of its vesicles. Vesicles from all strains tested, including a 60190 isogenic mutant null for VacA, strongly induced interleukin-10 (IL-10) and IL-6 production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells independently of the infection status of the donor. Finally, we show that H. pylori MV induce T cell apoptosis and that this is enhanced by, but not completely dependent on, the carriage of VacA. Together, these findings suggest a role for H. pylori MV in the stimulation of innate pro- and anti-inflammatory responses and in the suppression of T cell immunity
The Revised TESS Input Catalog and Candidate Target List
We describe the catalogs assembled and the algorithms used to populate the
revised TESS Input Catalog (TIC), based on the incorporation of the Gaia second
data release. We also describe a revised ranking system for prioritizing stars
for 2-minute cadence observations, and assemble a revised Candidate Target List
(CTL) using that ranking. The TIC is available on the Mikulski Archive for
Space Telescopes (MAST) server, and an enhanced CTL is available through the
Filtergraph data visualization portal system at the URL
http://filtergraph.vanderbilt.edu/tess_ctl.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figures, submitted to AAS Journals; provided to the
community in advance of publication in conjunction with public release of the
TIC/CTL on 28 May 201
Stellar Diameters and Temperatures II. Main Sequence K & M Stars
We present interferometric diameter measurements of 21 K- and M- dwarfs made
with the CHARA Array. This sample is enhanced by literature radii measurements
to form a data set of 33 K-M dwarfs with diameters measured to better than 5%.
For all 33 stars, we compute absolute luminosities, linear radii, and effective
temperatures (Teff). We develop empirical relations for \simK0 to M4 main-
sequence stars between the stellar Teff, radius, and luminosity to broad-band
color indices and metallicity. These relations are valid for metallicities
between [Fe/H] = -0.5 and +0.1 dex, and are accurate to ~2%, ~5%, and ~4% for
Teff, radius, and luminosity, respectively. Our results show that it is
necessary to use metallicity dependent transformations to convert colors into
stellar Teffs, radii, and luminosities. We find no sensitivity to metallicity
on relations between global stellar properties, e.g., Teff-radius and
Teff-luminosity. Robust examinations of single star Teffs and radii compared to
evolutionary model predictions on the luminosity-Teff and luminosity-radius
planes reveals that models overestimate the Teffs of stars with Teff < 5000 K
by ~3%, and underestimate the radii of stars with radii < 0.7 R\odot by ~5%.
These conclusions additionally suggest that the models overestimate the effects
that the stellar metallicity may have on the astrophysical properties of an
object. By comparing the interferometrically measured radii for single stars to
those of eclipsing binaries, we find that single and binary star radii are
consistent. However, the literature Teffs for binary stars are systematically
lower compared to Teffs of single stars by ~ 200 to 300 K. Lastly, we present a
empirically determined HR diagram for a total of 74 nearby, main-sequence, A-
to M-type stars, and define regions of habitability for the potential existence
of sub-stellar mass companions in each system. [abridged]Comment: 73 pages, 12 Tables, 18 Figures. Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
Agua virtual en un marco insumo-producto para la cuenca del valle de MĂ©xico
La cuenca del valle de MĂ©xico (CVM) se ubica en la regiĂłn central de MĂ©xico, genera la cuarta parte de la producciĂłn total nacional y registra la mayor sobreexplotaciĂłn de sus acuĂferos en el paĂs. Este artĂculo introduce la metodologĂa para estimar los multiplicadores de agua virtual (MAV) de cada actividad econĂłmica de la cuenca a partir de la matriz insumo-producto de la cuenca del valle de MĂ©xico 2008. Los MAV contabilizan el agua virtual involucrada en las actividades econĂłmicas dentro de la regiĂłn, con el resto de la economĂa de MĂ©xico y el mundo. Los resultados identifican las actividades econĂłmicas de baja y alta intensidad en el uso del agua que predominan en la cuenca. Asimismo, haciendo el balance entre exportaciones e importaciones de agua virtual en la CVM, se concluye que se importan bienes con alto contenido de agua y se exportan bienes con bajo contenido del recurso. Dicho comportamiento describe a la cuenca como una regiĂłn importadora neta de agua virtual, lo cual es una caracterĂstica positiva que ayuda a compensar el estrĂ©s hĂdrico que sufre la cuenca. Este hallazgo parece confirmar el teorema de Heckscher-Ohlin del comercio internacional, sugiriendo la racionalidad econĂłmica de una regiĂłn que enfrenta el mayor estrĂ©s hĂdrico del paĂs
Caspase-8 binding to cardiolipin in giant unilamellar vesicles provides a functional docking platform for bid
Caspase-8 is involved in death receptor-mediated apoptosis in type II cells, the proapoptotic programme of which is triggered by truncated Bid. Indeed, caspase-8 and Bid are the known intermediates of this signalling pathway. Cardiolipin has been shown to provide an anchor and an essential activating platform for caspase-8 at the mitochondrial membrane surface. Destabilisation of this platform alters receptor-mediated apoptosis in diseases such as Barth Syndrome, which is characterised by the presence of immature cardiolipin which does not allow caspase-8 binding. We used a simplified in vitro system that mimics contact sites and/or cardiolipin-enriched microdomains at the outer mitochondrial surface in which the platform consisting of caspase-8, Bid and cardiolipin was reconstituted in giant unilamellar vesicles. We analysed these vesicles by flow cytometry and confirm previous results that demonstrate the requirement for intact mature cardiolipin for caspase-8 activation and Bid binding and cleavage. We also used confocal microscopy to visualise the rupture of the vesicles and their revesiculation at smaller sizes due to alteration of the curvature following caspase-8 and Bid binding. Biophysical approaches, including Laurdan fluorescence and rupture/tension measurements, were used to determine the ability of these three components (cardiolipin, caspase-8 and Bid) to fulfil the minimal requirements for the formation and function of the platform at the mitochondrial membrane. Our results shed light on the active functional role of cardiolipin, bridging the gap between death receptors and mitochondria
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