Diferencias en actitudes hacia las matemáticas y actitudes matemáticas en estudiantes universitarios de matemáticas e ingeniería

En educación matemática la preocupación y el interés por conocer los factores que obstaculizan o favorecen los procesos de aprendizaje de las matemáticas ha dado lugar a varios estudios. Aunque se reconoce que son muchas las variables que intervienen en el aprendizaje de las matemáticas, para Sánchez y Ursini (2010) "las actitudes han sido consideradas para estudiar este proceso porque… condicionan diversos procesos psicológicos, constituyen parte del sistema de valores del individuo y parecen estar relacionadas con el rendimiento escolar" (p.305). Precisamente en ello radica el interés e importancia de las actitudes. Las actitudes hacia un determinado tema suelen ser estables, ser positivas o negativas, se pueden graduar según su intensidad y expresan sentimientos vinculados a elementos que no son estrictamente parte de una asignatura sino al profesor o tipo de actividad (Estrada, Bazán & Aparicio, 2013)

Dissipative vortex solitons in 2D-lattices

We report the existence of stable symmetric vortex-type solutions for two-dimensional nonlinear discrete dissipative systems governed by a cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. We construct a whole family of vortex solitons with a topological charge S = 1. Surprisingly, the dynamical evolution of unstable solutions of this family does not alter significantly their profile, instead their phase distribution completely changes. They transform into two-charges swirl-vortex solitons. We dynamically excite this novel structure showing its experimental feasibility.Comment: 4 pages, 20 figure

Memory Effects in Nonequilibrium Transport for Deterministic Hamiltonian Systems

We consider nonequilibrium transport in a simple chain of identical mechanical cells in which particles move around. In each cell, there is a rotating disc, with which these particles interact, and this is the only interaction in the model. It was shown in \cite{eckmann-young} that when the cells are weakly coupled, to a good approximation, the jump rates of particles and the energy-exchange rates from cell to cell follow linear profiles. Here, we refine that study by analyzing higher-order effects which are induced by the presence of external gradients for situations in which memory effects, typical of Hamiltonian dynamics, cannot be neglected. For the steady state we propose a set of balance equations for the particle number and energy in terms of the reflection probabilities of the cell and solve it phenomenologically. Using this approximate theory we explain how these asymmetries affect various aspects of heat and particle transport in systems of the general type described above and obtain in the infinite volume limit the deviation from the theory in \cite{eckmann-young} to first-order. We verify our assumptions with extensive numerical simulations.Comment: Several change

Direct measurements of the magnetocaloric effect in pulsed magnetic fields: The example of the Heusler alloy Ni50_{50}Mn35_{35}In15_{15}

We have studied the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in the shape-memory Heusler alloy Ni$_{50}$Mn$_{35}$In$_{15}$ by direct measurements in pulsed magnetic fields up to 6 and 20 T. The results in 6 T are compared with data obtained from heat-capacity experiments. We find a saturation of the inverse MCE, related to the first-order martensitic transition, with a maximum adiabatic temperature change of $\Delta T_{ad} = -7$ K at 250 K and a conventional field-dependent MCE near the second-order ferromagnetic transition in the austenitic phase. The pulsed magnetic field data allow for an analysis of the temperature response of the sample to the magnetic field on a time scale of $\sim 10$ to 100 ms which is on the order of typical operation frequencies (10 to 100 Hz) of magnetocaloric cooling devices. Our results disclose that in shape-memory alloys the different contributions to the MCE and hysteresis effects around the martensitic transition have to be carefully considered for future cooling applications.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Isoprene oxidation by the gram-negative model bacterium variovorax sp. WS11

Plant-produced isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) represents a significant portion of global volatile organic compound production, equaled only by methane. A metabolic pathway for the degradation of isoprene was first described for the Gram-positive bacterium Rhodococcus sp. AD45, and an alternative model organism has yet to be characterised. Here, we report the characterisation of a novel Gram-negative isoprene-degrading bacterium, Variovorax sp. WS11. Isoprene metabolism in this bacterium involves a plasmid-encoded iso metabolic gene cluster which differs from that found in Rhodococcus sp. AD45 in terms of organisation and regulation. Expression of iso metabolic genes is significantly upregulated by both isoprene and epoxyisoprene. The enzyme responsible for the initial oxidation of isoprene, isoprene monooxygenase, oxidises a wide range of alkene substrates in a manner which is strongly influenced by the presence of alkyl side-chains and differs from other well-characterised soluble diiron monooxygenases according to its response to alkyne inhibitors. This study presents Variovorax sp. WS11 as both a comparative and contrasting model organism for the study of isoprene metabolism in bacteria, aiding our understanding of the conservation of this biochemical pathway across diverse ecological niches

Optimal estimates of the diffusion coefficient of a single Brownian trajectory

Modern developments in microscopy and image processing are revolutionizing areas of physics, chemistry and biology as nanoscale objects can be tracked with unprecedented accuracy. The goal of single particle tracking is to determine the interaction between the particle and its environment. The price paid for having a direct visualization of a single particle is a consequent lack of statistics. Here we address the optimal way of extracting diffusion constants from single trajectories for pure Brownian motion. It is shown that the maximum likelihood estimator is much more efficient than the commonly used least squares estimate. Furthermore we investigate the effect of disorder on the distribution of estimated diffusion constants and show that it increases the probability of observing estimates much smaller than the true (average) value.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure