Annotation of Scientific Summaries for Information Retrieval.

International audienceWe present a methodology combining surface NLP and Machine Learning techniques for ranking asbtracts and generating summaries based on annotated corpora. The corpora were annotated with meta-semantic tags indicating the category of information a sentence is bearing (objective, findings, newthing, hypothesis, conclusion, future work, related work). The annotated corpus is fed into an automatic summarizer for query-oriented abstract ranking and multi- abstract summarization. To adapt the summarizer to these two tasks, two novel weighting functions were devised in order to take into account the distribution of the tags in the corpus. Results, although still preliminary, are encouraging us to pursue this line of work and find better ways of building IR systems that can take into account semantic annotations in a corpus

Go/rGo as reinforcing nanofiller in carbon fiber/epoxy resin composite systems

Interfacial interactions between matrix and reinforcement of composites influences greatly in final properties of the material. Carbon Fibers are characterized for to have low interactions with resins when forming a composite material. In the present study, 0.3 wt% of GO/rGO were incorporated in three systems of epoxy resin/carbon fiber as reinforcing fillers, trying to profit the chemical affinity between aromatics structures of GO/rGO and polar interactions with epoxy resin. GO/rGO were characterized by XPS, TGA was performed on carbon fiber, epoxy resins and composites obtained and SEM was utilized to observe composite samples in detail once mechanical tests were conducted. Composites experienced noticeable enhancements by employing Bisphenol Epoxy (BP) cured with methyl cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride (MCHDA) as matrix and carbon fiber of 300 g/cm2 as reinforcement; Youngs modulus, rupture stress and elongation to fail- ure increased almost twofold compared to non-modified composites by adding GO in the system and even superior boosts can be appreciated with rGO, which additionally improves the flexural stress from 14.6 to 30.1 GPa.Postprint (published version

Diseño y Evaluación de un Proceso de Formación en Habilidades Comunicativas para la Docencia

Este trabajo presenta los resultados de un proceso de investigación-acción centrado en el análisis y evaluación del diseño y los resultados de aprendizaje de la asignatura “Habilidades comunicativas para profesores”, que se imparte en el Máster en Profesorado de ESO, Bachillerato, FP y Enseñanzas de Idiomas, Artísticas y Deportivas en la Universidad de Zaragoza. La asignatura pretende capacitar a los futuros profesores para identificar, observar críticamente y poner en práctica habilidades de comunicación oral relacionadas con las principales formas discursivas de la actividad docente (expositivas, argumentativas y dialógicas), partiendo del presupuesto inicial de que determinadas estrategias comunicativas contribuyen a facilitar los aprendizajes. La fundamentación teórica adopta el paradigma de educación como una situación de comunicación entre profesor y alumnos. A partir de ello, se hace especial hincapié en el dominio de los diversos géneros discursivos docentes y las estrategias retóricas a través de diversas prácticas, algunas en el contexto real de los centros de Secundaria. Los resultados de aprendizaje y el grado de satisfacción de los estudiantes han sido objeto de evaluación mediante instrumentos cuantitativos y cualitativos. En conjunto, los resultados permiten afirmar que esta asignatura resulta altamente eficaz y relevante para la formación del profesorado de Secundaria. This paper presents the results of a process of action research focused on analysing and evaluating both the curriculum and the results of "Communicattvle Skills for Future Teachers", an optional course offered within the Teacher''s Training Master of the University of Zaragoza. One of the aims of this course is to train the future teachers in older to identify, recognize and critically valorise oral skills and genres that are used in classrooms in Middle Education. Therefore at the end of the course it is expected for the Students to be able to master the principal genres for teaching (exposition, argumentation, dialogue), inso-far as these communicative strategies can increase the quality of teaching. The theoretical framework of this work is based upon the idea that learning is essentially a communicate situation where teachers and students are involved. So the training is basically focused on mastering oral skills and rhetorical strategies through practical activities, some of them made in real Middle Education classrooms. Considering all that, through different tools, we evaluated the learning results and the satisfaction degree of the students. And, in brief, the results allow us to conclude that this course is highly useful for the training of future teachers

Improved culture enrichment broth for isolation of Arcobacter-like species from the marine environment

Arcobacter-like species are found associated with many matrices, including shellfish in marine environments. The culture media and conditions play a major role in the recovery of new Arcobacter-like species. This study was aimed to develop a culture media for isolation and enhanced growth of Arcobacter-like spp. from marine and shellfish matrices. For this purpose, 14 different Arcobacter-like spp. mostly isolated from shellfish, were grown in 24 different formulations of enrichment broths. The enrichment broths consisted of five main groups based on the organic contents (fresh oyster homogenate, lyophilized oyster either alone or in combination with other standard media), combined with artificial seawater (ASW) or 2.5% NaCl. Optical density (OD420nm) measurements after every 24 h were compared with the growth in control media (Arcobacter broth) in parallel. The mean and standard deviation were calculated for each species in each broth and statistical differences (p < 0.05) among broths were calculated by ANOVA. The results indicated that shellfish-associated Arcobacter-like species growth was significantly higher in Arcobacter broth + 50% ASW and the same media supplemented with lyophilized oysters. This is the first study to have used fresh or lyophilized oyster flesh in the enrichment broth for isolation of shellfish-associated Arcobacter-like spp.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chess Practice as a Protective Factor in Dementia

Background: dementia is one of the main causes of disability and dependency among the older population worldwide, producing physical, psychological, social and economic impact in those affected, caregivers, families and societies. However, little is known about dementia protective factors and their potential benefits against disease decline in the diagnosed population. Cognitive stimulating activities seem to be protective factors against dementia, though there is paucity in the scientific evidence confirming this, with most publications focusing on prevention in non-diagnosed people. A scoping review was conducted to explore whether chess practice could mitigate signs, deliver benefits, or improve cognitive capacities of individuals diagnosed with dementia through the available literature, and therefore act as a protective factor. Methods: twenty-one articles were selected after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: the overall findings stress that chess could lead to prevention in non-diagnosed populations, while little has been shown with respect to individuals already diagnosed. However, some authors suggest its capacity as a protective factor due to its benefits, and the evidence related to the cognitive functions associated with the game. Conclusion: although chess is indirectly assumed to be a protective factor due to its cognitive benefits, more studies are required to demonstrate, with strong evidence, whether chess could be a protective factor against dementia within the diagnosed population

Relationship Between Glucocerebrosidase Activity and Clinical Response to Enzyme Replacement Therapy in Patients With Gaucher Disease Type I

The quantification of enzyme activity in the patient treated with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) has been suggested as a tool for dosage individualization, so we conducted a study to evaluate the relationship between glucocerebrosidase activity and clinical response in patients with Gaucher disease type I (GD1) to ERT. The study included patients diagnosed with GD1, who were being treated with ERT, and healthy individuals. Markers based on glucocerebrosidase activity measurement in patients’ leucocytes were studied: enzyme activity at 15 min. post-infusion (Act75) reflects the amount of enzyme that is distributed in the body post-ERT infusion, and accumulated glucocerebrosidase activity during ERT infusion (Act75-0) indicates the total drug exposure during infusion. The clinical response was evaluated based on criteria established by Pastores et al. and Gaucher Severity Score Index. Statistical analysis included ROC analysis and area under the curve test. Act75 and Act75-0 were found to be moderate predictive markers of an optimal clinical response (area under the ROC of Act75 was 0.733 and Act75-0 was 0.817). Act75-0 showed statistical significance in its discriminative capacity (p &lt; 0.05) for obtaining an optimal response to ERT. The cut-off point was 58% (RR = 1.800; 95% CI: 1.003–3.229; p &lt; 0.05). Moreover, Act75 showed a significant and inverse correlation with the Gaucher Severity Score Index, and Act75 and Act75-0 presented a significant correlation with residual enzyme activity at diagnosis. Markers based on glucocerebrosidase activity have a good correlation with clinical response to ERT. Therefore, it could provide supporting clinical data for dose management in GD1 patients

Stellar populations of galaxies in the ALHAMBRA survey up to z∼1z \sim 1. I. MUFFIT: A Multi-Filter Fitting code for stellar population diagnostics

We present MUFFIT, a new generic code optimized to retrieve the main stellar population parameters of galaxies in photometric multi-filter surveys, and we check its reliability and feasibility with real galaxy data from the ALHAMBRA survey. Making use of an error-weighted $\chi^2$-test, we compare the multi-filter fluxes of galaxies with the synthetic photometry of mixtures of two single stellar populations at different redshifts and extinctions, to provide through a Monte Carlo method the most likely range of stellar population parameters (mainly ages and metallicities), extinctions, redshifts, and stellar masses. To improve the diagnostic reliability, MUFFIT identifies and removes from the analysis those bands that are significantly affected by emission lines. We highlight that the retrieved age-metallicity locus for a sample of $z \le 0.22$ early-type galaxies in ALHAMBRA at different stellar mass bins are in very good agreement with the ones from SDSS spectroscopic diagnostics. Moreover, a one-to-one comparison between the redshifts, ages, metallicities, and stellar masses derived spectroscopically for SDSS and by MUFFIT for ALHAMBRA reveals good qualitative agreements in all the parameters. In addition, and using as input the results from photometric-redshift codes, MUFFIT improves the photometric-redshift accuracy by $\sim 10$-$20\%$, and it also detects nebular emissions in galaxies, providing physical information about their strengths. Our results show the potential of multi-filter galaxy data to conduct reliable stellar population studies with the appropiate analysis techniques, as MUFFIT.Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in A&

The ALHAMBRA Survey: Bayesian Photometric Redshifts with 23 bands for 3 squared degrees

The ALHAMBRA (Advance Large Homogeneous Area Medium Band Redshift Astronomical) survey has observed 8 different regions of the sky, including sections of the COSMOS, DEEP2, ELAIS, GOODS-N, SDSS and Groth fields using a new photometric system with 20 contiguous ~ $300\AA$ filters covering the optical range, combining them with deep $JHKs$ imaging. The observations, carried out with the Calar Alto 3.5m telescope using the wide field (0.25 sq. deg FOV) optical camera LAICA and the NIR instrument Omega-2000, correspond to ~700hrs on-target science images. The photometric system was designed to maximize the effective depth of the survey in terms of accurate spectral-type and photo-zs estimation along with the capability of identification of relatively faint emission lines. Here we present multicolor photometry and photo-zs for ~438k galaxies, detected in synthetic F814W images, complete down to I~24.5 AB, taking into account realistic noise estimates, and correcting by PSF and aperture effects with the ColorPro software. The photometric ZP have been calibrated using stellar transformation equations and refined internally, using a new technique based on the highly robust photometric redshifts measured for emission line galaxies. We calculate photometric redshifts with the BPZ2 code, which includes new empirically calibrated templates and priors. Our photo-zs have a precision of $dz/(1+z_s)=1$ for I<22.5 and 1.4% for 22.5<I<24.5. Precisions of less than 0.5% are reached for the brighter spectroscopic sample, showing the potential of medium-band photometric surveys. The global $P(z)$ shows a mean redshift =0.56 for I=0.86 for I<24.5 AB. The data presented here covers an effective area of 2.79 sq. deg, split into 14 strips of 58.5'x15.5' and represents ~32 hrs of on-target.Comment: The catalog data and a full resolution version of this paper is available at https://cloud.iaa.csic.es/alhambra