Modelación matemática en el aula clase: una producción de modelos lineales desde el contexto del cultivo de plátano

Este artículo presenta algunos resultados de investigación, que se viene desarrollando bajo el método de estudio de caso en una institución rural de la Región de Urabá, con el propósito de analizar un proceso de modelación matemática. Esto fue posible, al permitirles a los estudiantes generar modelos lineales desde una situación en el contexto del cultivo plátano. Y al final, se presentan algunos resultados, resaltando el papel del contexto cotidiano incluido en la enseñanza de las Matemáticas, para mediar el uso de las letras como variables, en correspondencia entre el contexto cotidiano y las matemáticas

Intensifying agricultural sustainability: an analysis of impacts and drivers in the development of ‘bright spots’

Food security / Farming systems / Sustainable agriculture / Productivity / Investment / Thailand / Palestine / Latin America / Africa

Search for Light Exotic Fermions in Double-Beta Decays

The Standard Model of Particle Physics predicts the double-β decay of certain nuclei with the emission of two active neutrinos. In this letter, we argue that double-β decay experiments could be used to probe models with light exotic fermions through the search for spectral distortions in the electron spectrum with respect to the Standard Model expectations. We consider two concrete examples: models with light sterile neutrinos, singly produced in the double-β decay, and models with a light -odd fermion, pair produced due to a symmetry. We estimate the discovery potential of a selection of double-β decay experiments and find that future searches will test for the first time a new part of the parameter space of interest at the MeV-mass scale

Water implications of foreign direct investment in Ethiopia's agricultural sector

Ethiopia is often highlighted as a country in which a lot of foreign land acquisition is occurring. The extent to which these investments also constitute significant acquisitions of water is the subject of this paper. It is apparent that water availability is a strong driver of the recent surge of investments in agricultural land globally, and in general the investments occur in countries with significant 'untapped' water resources. Ethiopia is no exception. We propose that the perception of unused and abundant water resources, as captured in dominant narratives, that drives and justifies both foreign and domestic investments, fails to reflect the more complex reality on the ground. Based on new collections of lease information and crop modelling, we estimate the potential additional water use associated with foreign investments at various scales. As a consequence of data limitations our analyses provide only crude estimates of consumptive water use and indicate a wide range of possible water consumption depending on exactly how foreign direct investment (FDI) development scenarios unfold. However, they do suggest that if all planned FDI schemes are implemented and expanded in the near future, additional water consumption is likely to be comparable with existing water use in non-FDI irrigation schemes, and a non-trivial proportion of the country's water resources will be effectively utilised by foreign entities. Hence, additional water use as well as local water scarcity ought to be strong considerations in regulating or pricing land leases. If new investments are to increase local food and water security without compromising local and downstream water availability they should be designed to improve often very low agricultural water productivity, and to safeguard access of local populations to water

Propiedades Psicométricas del Inventario Psicológico de Ejecución Deportiva (IPED) en deportistas peruanos de Alto Rendimiento

To measure athlete's success and his sports performance, it is required to quantify the maximum performance developed during seasons of trainings and championships; using a valid, reliable, and adapted to peruvian context instrument. However, caution is urged when considering there is no psychometric evidence to support the use of any scale related to peruvian high performance athletes' sample. The current study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Sports Performance Psychological Inventory (IPED) in the mentioned sample. Method: Participated 255 peruvian athletes with ages between 14 and 38 years (N:23; SD: 4.29); who actively represents the country and in sports modalities affiliated with the Peruvian Sports Institute (IPD). For the collection of information, a sociodemographic record, Sports Performance Psychological Inventory (IPED) and the Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ) were used. Results: IPED model demonstrated, that the seven-dimensional model had an acceptable fit (SBx2 = 2243.096 / df = 798; CFI=. 955; SRMR=. 095; RMSEA=. 084 [IC90%:. 080 -. 069] and reliability analyses revealed high internal consistency (ω =. 841 > ω =. 754). In addition, scores correlated positively between IPP and MTQ dimensions (AC=. 678; CAN=. 557; CAT=. 457; CVI=. 328; NM=. 425; CAP=. 641; CAC=. 662) and Control (AC=. 558; CAN=. 733; CAT=. 682; CVI=. 171; NM=. 272; CAP=. 432; CAC=. 563) Conclusion: The IPED provides adequate evidence of validity and reliability to measure sports performanc

Shortening of generation cycles in inbred lines of maize (Zea mays L.) through embryo rescue technique

Embryo rescue techniques have been used as an approach to raise hybrids from incompatible crosses. Thesetechniques have also proved to be valuable tools for maize improvement, since they allow reducing the durationof the generation cycles for speed breeding. The aim of this study was to identify an efficient embryo rescueprotocol to evaluate the response of maize (Zea mays L.) embryo culture and compare its generation time (seedto seed) with the generation time of plants obtained by mature seed germination. To this purpose, we evaluatedthe germination efficiency, in vitro protocol efficiency, and days to flowering of three advanced maize inbred linesdeveloped at the National Institute of Agricultural Technology of Argentina. A greenhouse traditional strategywas used as control. The embryo rescue technique allowed obtaining nearly four generations per year comparedto the two generations obtained in greenhouse. All the plants obtained by the embryo rescue technique weremorphologically normal and fertile. The results confirmed the possibility of using embryo rescue strategies tosignificantly reduce the duration of the generation cycles in maize

Micro- and Nanopatterned Silk Substrates for Antifouling Applications

A major problem of current biomedical implants is the bacterial colonization and subsequent biofilm formation, which seriously affects their functioning and can lead to serious post-surgical complications. Intensive efforts have been directed toward the development of novel technologies that can prevent bacterial colonization while requiring minimal antibiotics doses. To this end, biocompatible materials with intrinsic antifouling capabilities are in high demand. Silk fibroin, widely employed in biotechnology, represents an interesting candidate. Here, we employ a soft-lithography approach to realize micro- and nanostructured silk fibroin substrates, with different geometries. We show that patterned silk film substrates support mammal cells (HEK-293) adhesion and proliferation, and at the same time, they intrinsically display remarkable antifouling properties. We employ Escherichia coli as representative Gram-negative bacteria, and we observe an up to 66% decrease in the number of bacteria that adhere to patterned silk surfaces as compared to control, flat silk samples. The mechanism leading to the inhibition of biofilm formation critically depends on the microstructure geometry, involving both a steric and a hydrophobic effect. We also couple silk fibroin patterned films to a biocompatible, optically responsive organic semiconductor, and we verify that the antifouling properties are very well preserved. The technology described here is of interest for the next generation of biomedical implants, involving the use of materials with enhanced antibacterial capability, easy processability, high biocompatibility, and prompt availability for coupling with photoimaging and photodetection techniques

Assessment of Fear of COVID-19 in Older Adults: Validation of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale

There is no information in Peru on the prevalence of mental health problems associated with COVID-19 in older adults. In this sense, the aim of the study was to gather evidence on the factor structure, criterion-related validity, and reliability of the Spanish version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in this population. The participants were 400 older adults (mean age = 68.04, SD = 6.41), who were administered the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Revised Mental Health Inventory-5, Patient Health Questionnaire-2 items, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale 2 items. Structural equation models were estimated, specifically confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), bifactor CFA, and structural models with latent variables (SEM). Internal consistency was estimated with composite reliability indexes (CRI) and omega coefficients. A bifactor model with both a general factor underlying all items plus a specific factor underlying items 1, 2, 4, and 5 representing the emotional response to COVID better represents the factor structure of the scale. This structure had adequate fit and good reliability, and additionally fear of COVID had a large effect on mental health. In general, women had more fear than men, having more information on COVID was associated to more fear, while having family or friends affected by COVID did not related to fear of the virus. The Spanish version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale presents evidence of validity and reliability to assess fear of COVID-19 in the Peruvian older adult population

Real-Time Monitoring of Cellular Cultures with Electrolyte-Gated Carbon Nanotube Transistors

Cell-based biosensors constitute a fundamental tool in biotechnology, and their relevance has greatly increased in recent years as a result of a surging demand for reduced animal testing and for high-throughput and cost-effective in vitro screening platforms dedicated to environmental and biomedical diagnostics, drug development and toxicology. In this context, electrochemical/electronic cell-based biosensors represent a promising class of devices that enable long-term and real-time monitoring of cell physiology in a non-invasive and label-free fashion, with a remarkable potential for process automation and parallelization. Common limitations of this class of devices at large include the need for substrate surface modification strategies to ensure cell adhesion and immobilization, limited compatibility with complementary optical cell-probing techniques, and need for frequency-dependent measurements, which rely on elaborated equivalent electrical circuit models for data analysis and interpretation. We hereby demonstrate the monitoring of cell adhesion and detachment through the time-dependent variations in the quasi-static characteristic current curves of a highly stable electrolyte-gated transistor, based on an optically transparent network of printable polymer-wrapped semiconducting carbon-nanotubes

Long-Term Remission Achieved by Ponatinib and Donor Lymphocytes Infusion in a Ph+ Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Patient in Molecular Relapse After Allogenic Stem Cell Transplant and Dasatinib: A Case Report

Currently, the prognosis of Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) patients relapsing after an allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) remains poor, with few therapeutic options available. Here we present the case of a 32 years old patient with dasatinib-resistant post-transplant molecular relapse of ALL, who received, as second-line therapy, the combination of ponatinib and donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI). The therapy was safe and the patient achieved a sustained minimal residual disease negative disease, still ongoing after 22 months, which was accompanied by several changes in the immune populations distribution within the bone marrow (i.e., the increase in the CD8/CD4 lymphocytes ratio). Our report provides evidence of the efficacy of the third generation TKI inhibitor ponatinib in combination with DLI as second line therapy for Ph+ ALL relapsing after an allo-SCT