Coherence of the posterior predictive p-value based on the posterior odds.

^aIt is well-known that classical p-values sometimes behave incoherently for testing hypotheses in the sense that, when $\Theta_{0} \subset \Theta_{0}{'}$, the support given to $\Theta_{0}$ is greater than or equal to the support given to $\Theta_{0}^{'}$ . This problem is also found for posterior predictive p-values (a Bayesian-motivated alternative to classical p-values). In this paper, it is proved that, under some conditions, the posterior predictive p-value based on the posterior odds is coherent, showing that the choice of a suitable discrepancy variable is crucial

Avian eggshell biomineralization: an update on its structure, mineralogy and protein tool kit

The avian eggshell is a natural protective envelope that relies on the phenomenon of biomineralization for its formation. The shell is made of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite, which contains hundreds of proteins that interact with the mineral phase controlling its formation and structural organization, and thus determine the mechanical properties of the mature biomaterial. We describe its mineralogy, structure and the regulatory interactions that integrate the mineral and organic constituents. We underline recent evidence for vesicular transfer of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC), as a new pathway to ensure the active and continuous supply of the ions necessary for shell mineralization. Currently more than 900 proteins and thousands of upregulated transcripts have been identified during chicken eggshell formation. Bioinformatic predictions address their functionality during the biomineralization process. In addition, we describe matrix protein quantification to understand their role during the key spatially- and temporally- regulated events of shell mineralization. Finally, we propose an updated scheme with a global scenario encompassing the mechanisms of avian eggshell mineralization. With this large dataset at hand, it should now be possible to determine specific motifs, domains or proteins and peptide sequences that perform a critical function during avian eggshell biomineralization. The integration of this insight with genomic data (nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms) and precise phenotyping (shell biomechanical parameters) on pure selected lines will lead to consistently better-quality eggshell characteristics for improved food safety. This information will also address the question of how the evolutionary-optimized chicken eggshell matrix proteins affect and regulate calcium carbonate mineralization as a good example of biomimetic and bio-inspired material design.French National Research Agency (ANR) European Commission ANR-13-BSV-0007-01Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) RGPIN-2016-04410Le STUDIUMCentre Val de Loire, Nouzilly, France - University of Tour

Image quality eigenfunctions for the human eye

This work presents a compact statistical model of the retinal image quality in a large population of human eyes following two objectives. The first was to develop a general modal representation of the optical transfer function (OTF) in terms of orthogonal functions and construct a basis composed of cross-correlations between pairs of complex Zernike polynomials. That basis was not orthogonal and highly redundant, requiring the application of singular value decomposition (SVD) to obtain an orthogonal basis with a significantly lower dimensionality. The first mode is the OTF of the perfect system, and hence the modal representation, is highly compact for well-corrected optical systems, and vice-versa. The second objective is to apply this modal representation to the OTFs of a large population of human eyes for a pupil diameter of 5 mm. This permits an initial strong data compression. Next, principal component analysis (PCA) is applied to obtain further data compression, leading to a compact statistical model of the initial population. In this model each OTF is approximated by the sum of the population mean plus a linear combination of orthogonal eigenfunctions (eigen-OTF) accounting for a selected percentage (90%) of the population variance. This type of models can be useful for Monte Carlo simulations among other application

Administración pública y tercer sector. Propuesta analítica y estudio del caso de Andalucía

Suele argumentarse que la participación de entidades sin ánimo de lucro en la provisión de servicios públicos puede ser una vía para hacer frente a la crisis del Estado del bienestar. No obstante, son pocos los análisis que se centran en el estudio de la calidad de las relaciones que para ello establecen entidades del tercer sector y las agencias gubernamentales. Este artículo presenta una propuesta analítica y la aplica a un estudio de caso, partiendo del supuesto de que la calidad de tales relaciones depende de la información que las agencias gubernamentales poseen de las entidades con las que interactúan.It is a commonplace the argument about the benefits of non-profit inclusion in the provision of public services to reduce the welfare state crisis. Therefore, there are many few studies about the quality of relationships between non-profit sector and governmental agencies. This article presents an analytical proposal and its application by a case study. The main argument is that the quality of relations between non-profit sector and government depends of governmental agencies' information about non profit entities

Classroom communication skills: the need to fill a gap in the training of teachers of Spanish as a foreign language

This paper sets out the necessity of examining the communication skills of teachers of Spanish as a foreign language as conducted in other socio-educative contexts. According to this objective, the paper begins with a review of theoretical efforts that have been made during recent years referring to research methodology (such as instruments), and to their main results. This leads to a discussion of the training needs that teachers of Spanish as a foreign language presently face for the development of their communication s kills in the classroom and, in general terms, the paper discusses the different types of ideas and strategies that must be considered during teachers’ instruction. Finally, this brief proposal expects to be the seed of future research projects that impact positively on the improvement of teachers’ communication competence, whereby the ideas discussed here are taken as a nuclear component in the frame of future teaching competence

El esfuerzo público de desfamilización. Propuesta de medición y análisis descriptivo para la Unión Europea (1970-1999)

Este artículo presenta una propuesta metodológica para medir el esfuerzo público de desfamilización en quince países europeos. Junto a indicadores clásicos (como el gasto familiar o la escolarización de los menores), se incluyen medidas de conciliación entre vida doméstica y laboral para conocer la acción pública en relación con este nuevo riesgo familiar. Una vez validados los indicadores mediante análisis factorial, se utilizan para realizar un análisis descriptivo. Los resultados muestran la utilidad y la validez de los indicadores propuestos para realizar comparaciones entre países y/o en diferentes momentos del tiempo, así como la importancia del indicador de conciliación para conocer tanto la intensidad como las estrategias del esfuerzo público.This article presents a proposal to measure public effort of de-familization in 15 european countries. Together with others classical measures (public expenditure in family and child educational services) measures of conciliation between labour and family life is included as a dimension of de-familization in order to consider public actions related to new family risks. After a factorial analysis to validate the proposal, a comparative analysis is developed. The results seem to validate the proposal measurement and the importance of the conciliation index to capture the intensity of public effort as well as different strategies from cross-national and longitudinal perspectives

Attribution of risk factors for suicide in children and adolescents in the Latino immigrant community: a sample of Southern California

In the last years an alarming increase has taken place in the number of suicides in children and teenagers, being a daily reality in the panorama of the USA, especially in the case of Latino immigrants. In the current study, a survey about the perceived risk factors for suicide was established between risk population. The sample was composed of 593 children and adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years, most Latino ethnicity, belonging to "Latina Youth Program" (LYP), a program of suicide prevention in risk population, developed by Pacifics Clinics, an organization that operates in Los Angeles, California. They interviewed the participants about the factors they considered risk for suicidal behavior. Participants were randomly selected in 2003, 2005 and 2008. The factors most commonly identified risk were the regulation of emotions (96.57%), poor family communication, poor school performance, the influence of the peer group (89.67%, 82. 73% and 41.57% respectively). The found trend is towards an increase in the perception of risk factors detected in any case up to ten risk factors for suicide. The higher quantity of variables impede the precise determination of the (s) reason (s) that might end in this fatidical conclusion, being the most common a panorama in which converge multitude of variables, crucial to settling objectives in interventionsEn los últimos años se ha producido un incremento alarmante en el número de suicidios en niños y adolescentes, siendo una realidad cotidiana en el panorama de los EEUU, especialmente en el caso de inmigrantes latinos. En el presente estudio, se estableció un sondeo en población de riesgo acerca de los factores de riesgo de suicidio percibidos. La muestra quedó conformada por 593 niños y adolescentes de edades comprendidas entre los 11 y los 18 años, la mayoría de etnia latina, pertenecientes a “Latina Youth Program” (LYP), un programa de prevención del suicidio en población de riesgo, desarrollado por Pacifics Clinics, una organización que desarrolla su actividad en Los Ángeles, California. Se entrevistó a los participantes acerca de los factores que ellos consideraban de riesgo para la conducta suicida. Los participantes fueron seleccionados aleatoriamente en los años 2003, 2005 y 2008. Los factores de riesgo más comúnmente señalados fueron la regulación de emociones (96.57%), la pobre comunicación familiar, bajo rendimiento escolar, la influencia del grupo de iguales (89.67%, 82. 73% y 41.57% respectivamente). La tendencia encontrada apunta hacia un aumento en la percepción de factores de riesgo, detectándose en cualquier caso hasta diez factores de riesgo de suicidio. La cantidad de variables puestas en juego complejizan la determinación precisa de la(s) causa(s) que podrían desembocar en este fatídico desenlace, siendo lo más común un panorama en el que confluyen multitud de variables, cruciales para asentar objetivos en las intervencione

Regímenes cambiarios de iure y de facto. El caso de la peseta/dólar, 1965-1998

En este trabajo se aplican tres procedimientos estadísticos alternativos al tipo de cambio peseta/dólar norteamericano, con el objetivo de conocer el verdadero régimen cambiario al que estuvo sujeto durante el período 1965-1998. El estudio toma la perspectiva que señala la divergencia entre regímenes cambiario de facto y de iure. Los resultados indican que la peseta, al igual que otras monedas, no exhibió el régimen flotante que de iure tenía en relación al dólar durante las tres últimas décadas de su existencia. Por el contrario, el tipo de cambio peseta/dólar se movió dentro de un corredor más bien estrecho en dichos años.In this paper we apply three different statistical procedures to the peseta/dollar exchange rate with the aim of discovering the true foreign exchange regime followed by the monetary authorities during the 1965-1998 period. The study´s perspective emphasizes the divergence between de jure and de facto exchange regimes. The results seem to imply that the peseta, as well as other currencies, did not exhibit the floating regime that de jure had in relation to the US dollar in the last three decades of its existence. On the contrary, the peseta/dollar exchange rate moved within rather narrow fluctuation bands during those years.Apoyo financiero del Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Plan Nacional I+D: SEJ-2005 09094/ECON)Publicad

COHERENCE OF THE POSTERIOR PREDICTIVE P-VALUE BASED ON THE POSTERIOR ODDS.

It is well-known that classical p-values sometimes behave incoherently for testing hypotheses in the sense that, when '0 0 T .T , the support given to 0 T is greater than or equal to the support given to '0 T . This problem is also found for posterior predictive p-values (a Bayesian-motivated alternative to classical p-values). In this paper, it is proved that, under some conditions, the posterior predictive p-value based on theposterior odds is coherent, showing that the choice of a suitable discrepancy variable is crucial.

Effect of band-filling and structural distortions on the Curie temperature of Fe-Mo double perovkites

By means of high resolution neutron powder diffraction at low temperature we have characterized the structural details of $\rm La_{x}Sr_{2-x}FeMoO_6$ ($0\leq {\rm x}\leq 0.5$) and $\rm Ca_{x}Sr_{2-x}FeMoO_6$ ($0\leq {\rm x}\leq 0.6$) series of compounds. This study reveals a similar variation of the mean bond-angle \FeOMo in both series. In contrast, the mean bond-distance \FeMoO\ increases with La but not with Ca substitution. Both series also present a different evolution of the Curie temperature ($T_C$), which raises in the La series and slightly decreases in the Ca one. We thus conclude that the enhancement of $T_C$ in the La series is due to the electron filling of the conduction band and a concomitant rising of the density of states at the Fermi level.Comment: Revtex, 4 Journal pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl