Promoción de la ciencia, la tecnología, la ingeniería y las matemáticas (STEM). El Proyecto PreCampus [Promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The Precampus Project]

Resumen:Actualmente existe una disminución de los estudiantes de enseñanza secundaria que optan por cursar carreras universitarias relacionadas con las STEM. Este artículo describe una acción de promoción de estas disciplinas a través del Proyecto PreCampus, consistente en la oferta de talleres científico-técnicos a centros educativos de enseñanza secundaria. Por medio de encuestas a los alumnos participantes se han analizado los resultados de la actividad durante el curso académico 2017-18. En estos resultados, los estudiantes han valorado positivamente la asistencia a este tipo de actividades y se ha encontrado que las mujeres tienen menos interés en la ingeniería y arquitectura que los hombres. Este tipo de acciones motivan a los estudiantes, proporcionándoles una visión más cercana y aplicada de las STEM en general, y de la ingeniería y la arquitectura en particular.Palabras clave: Enseñanza ingeniería; divulgación científica; innovación educativa; promoción de la ingeniería Abstract:There is a reduction of high school students who choose to pursue university careers related to STEM. This article describes an action to promote these disciplines through the PreCampus Project, through the offer of scientific-technical workshops to schools and secondary schools. Using surveys to the participating students, the results of the activity during the academic year 2017-18 have been analyzed. The students value the attendance to this type of activities positively but it has been found that women have less interest in engineering and architecture than men. This type of actions motivates students, providing them with a closer and more applied vision of STEM in general, and of engineering and architecture in particular.Keywords: Engineering education; scientific dissemination; educational innovation; engineering promotio

Targeting class I histone deacetylases by the novel small molecule inhibitor 4SC-202 blocks oncogenic hedgehog-GLI signaling and overcomes smoothened inhibitor resistance

Aberrant activation of Hedgehog (HH)/GLI signaling is causally involved in numerous human malignancies, including basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and medulloblastoma. HH pathway antagonists targeting smoothened (SMO), an essential effector of canonical HH/GLI signaling, show significant clinical success in BCC patients and have recently been approved for the treatment of advanced and metastatic BCC. However, rapid and frequent development of drug resistance to SMO inhibitors (SMOi) together with severe side effects caused by prolonged SMOi treatment call for alternative treatment strategies targeting HH/GLI signaling downstream of SMO. In this study, we report that 4SC-202, a novel clinically validated inhibitor of class I histone deacetylases (HDACs), efficiently blocks HH/GLI signaling. Notably, 4SC-202 treatment abrogates GLI activation and HH target gene expression in both SMOi-sensitive and -resistant cells. Mechanistically, we propose that the inhibition of HDACs 1/2/3 is crucial for targeting oncogenic HH/GLI signaling, and that class I HDAC inhibitors either in combination with SMOi or as second-line therapy may improve the treatment options for HH-associated malignancies with SMOi resistance

Promotion of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (stem). The Precampus Project

There is a reduction of high school students who choose to pursue university careers related to STEM. This article describes an action to promote these disciplines through the PreCampus Project, through the offer of scientific-technical workshops to schools and secondary schools. Using surveys to the participating students, the results of the activity during the academic year 2017-18 have been analyzed. The students value the attendance to this type of activities positively but it has been found that women have less interest in engineering and architecture than men. This type of actions motivates students, providing them with a closer and more applied vision of STEM in general, and of engineering and architecture in particular. Actualmente existe una disminución de los estudiantes de enseñanza secundaria que optan por cursar carreras universitarias relacionadas con las STEM. Este artículo describe una acción de promoción de estas disciplinas a través del Proyecto PreCampus, consistente en la oferta de talleres científico-técnicos a centros educativos de enseñanza secundaria. Por medio de encuestas a los alumnos participantes se han analizado los resultados de la actividad durante el curso académico 2017-18. En estos resultados, los estudiantes han valorado positivamente la asistencia a este tipo de actividades y se ha encontrado que las mujeres tienen menos interés en la ingeniería y arquitectura que los hombres. Este tipo de acciones motivan a los estudiantes, proporcionándoles una visión más cercana y aplicada de las STEM en general, y de la ingeniería y la arquitectura en particular

Targeting class I histone deacetylases by the novel small molecule inhibitor 4SC-202 blocks oncogenic hedgehog-GLI signaling and overcomes smoothened inhibitor resistance

Aberrant activation of Hedgehog (HH)/GLI signaling is causally involved in numerous human malignancies, including basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and medulloblastoma. HH pathway antagonists targeting smoothened (SMO), an essential effector of canonical HH/GLI signaling, show significant clinical success in BCC patients and have recently been approved for the treatment of advanced and metastatic BCC. However, rapid and frequent development of drug resistance to SMO inhibitors (SMOi) together with severe side effects caused by prolonged SMOi treatment call for alternative treatment strategies targeting HH/GLI signaling downstream of SMO. In this study, we report that 4SC-202, a novel clinically validated inhibitor of class I histone deacetylases (HDACs), efficiently blocks HH/GLI signaling. Notably, 4SC-202 treatment abrogates GLI activation and HH target gene expression in both SMOi-sensitive and -resistant cells. Mechanistically, we propose that the inhibition of HDACs 1/2/3 is crucial for targeting oncogenic HH/GLI signaling, and that class I HDAC inhibitors either in combination with SMOi or as second-line therapy may improve the treatment options for HH-associated malignancies with SMOi resistance

Exploring the Potential of Integral Field Spectroscopy Observing Extrasolar Planet Transits: Ground Based Observations of the Atmospheric Na in HD209458b

We explore the use of Integral Field Spectroscopy (IFS) to observe extrasolar planet transits. Although this technique should find its full potential in space observations (e.g. JWST, TPF), we have tested its basics with ground based time series observations of HD209458b obtained with WHT+INTEGRAL during a transit. For this analysis we used 5550 spectra, obtained in 150 exposures during a period of >7 hours. We found that IFS offers 3 fundamental advantages with respect to previously used methods. (i) It improves the effective S/N in photon limited observations by distributing the light coming from the star into the 2 dimensions of the detector. (ii) This type of IFS data allows to 'auto-calibrate' instrumental and background effects. (iii) Since the star image characteristics as well as its photometric properties are extracted from the same data-cube, it is possible to decorrelate photometric instabilities induced by PSF variations. These data have also allowed us to explore the accuracy limits of ground based 'relative' spectrophotometry. This was done using a photometric index that probes the NaD lines, for which we obtained a nominal 1-sigma error of ~1.0x10^-4. This result, based on observations of only 1 transit, indicates that this type of ground observation can constrain the characterization of the transmission spectrum of extrasolar planets. The present observations are compatible with no extra NaD depression during the transit. Though this result seems to be inconsistent with the recently reported HST-STIS findings we point out its limited statistical meaning: the results disagree within 1-sigma, but agree within 2-sigma. We also give some recommenda-tions to instrument developers in order to enhance the efficiency of the method.Comment: 15 pages, 2 tables, 10 figures. To appear in PASP (January 2006

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum