Development of a Low-Energy Monoenergetic Electron Separator

The aim of this project is to build a prototype device that can select electrons of certain energy in order to have a monoenergetic beam suitable for the characterization of radiation detectors. Current options for sources of electrons are either from radioisotopes or accelerator facilities. Radioisotope sources are not tunable in energy since they depend on the nuclear and atomic structures of the daughter nucleus. On the other hand, even though accelerators offer the feature of a variable energy beam, they have limited availability and are not typically run at low intensities. Therefore, the motivation for this thesis is the development of a “table top” device that can be used in the laboratory. Theoretical calculations were performed for the design of the vacuum chamber and the magnet array. Magnetic field mapping was performed between magnets to check for uniformity. The vacuum chamber is made of aluminum with four connections on the sides for different measurements and allowing for pumping. The permanent magnets are positioned above and below the chamber using a holder made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastic with threaded rods on the corners for height variation. The electron source chosen was a 113Sn sample with an activity of 1.0 ± 0.1 Ci. A silicon detector with three sensitive elements of 3 x 0.5 cm² each on a wafer of 1-mm thickness was used as a diagnostic detector after the device. The whole assembly was kept under vacuum of around 80 mTorr. Energy spectra were taken with a source in line without magnets, and at an angle with magnets for comparison. The results show a selection of electrons in the lower range of the spectrum rejecting the higher energy electrons. Preliminary performance of the prototype device is presented

The Labor Market Return to an Attractive Face: Evidence from a Field Experiment

We provide new evidence on the link between beauty and hiring practices in the labor market. Specifically, we study if people with less attractive faces are less likely to be contacted after submitting a resume. Our empirical strategy is based on an experimental approach. We sent fictitious resumes with pictures of attractive and unattractive faces to real job openings in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We find that attractive people receive 36 percent more responses (callbacks) than unattractive people. Given the experimental design, this difference can be attributed to the exogenous manipulation of facial attractiveness of our fake job applicants.facial attractiveness, callback rates, labor market discrimination

Endoplasmic Reticulum Export of GPI-Anchored Proteins

Protein export from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an essential process in all eukaryotes driven by the cytosolic coat complex COPII, which forms vesicles at ER exit sites for transport of correctly assembled secretory cargo to the Golgi apparatus. The COPII machinery must adapt to the existing wide variety of different types of cargo proteins and to different cellular needs for cargo secretion. The study of the ER export of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins (GPI-APs), a special glycolipid-linked class of cell surface proteins, is contributing to address these key issues. Due to their special biophysical properties, GPI-APs use a specialized COPII machinery to be exported from the ER and their processing and maturation has been recently shown to actively regulate COPII function. In this review, we discuss the regulatory mechanisms by which GPI-APs are assembled and selectively exported from the ER.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España (MINECO)-BFU2017-89700-

Bacteriófagos, virus aliados en la guerra bacteriana

El aumento de bacterias multirresistentes en los últimos años es un problema creciente para la salud pública, estimándose como primera causa de muerte en el mundo para 2050. Entre las posibles soluciones, los investigadores han puesto el foco en el tratamiento con bacteriófagos, virus que parasitan bacterias de manera muy específica provocando su lisis sin dañar las células del paciente. Los bacteriófagos han demostrado claras evidencias de su eficacia en la eliminación bacterias in vitro. En este trabajo revisaremos diversas investigaciones realizadas que han proporcionado datos esperanzadores referentes al uso de cócteles de fagos, fagos asociados con terapia antibiótica y tratamiento con fagos obtenidos mediante ingeniería genética como tratamientos frente a infecciones causadas por bacterias multirresistentes. Actualmente su uso clínico en humanos esta únicamente autorizado en Rusia, Georgia, Polonia y en casos de uso compasivo ya que a pesar de que existen diversos ensayos clínicos en curso, los rigurosos controles de calidad y seguridad suponen un obstáculo en su desarrollo. Para afrontar el salto hacia su aplicación segura en clínica es necesaria la participación de una nueva industria farmacéutica y cambios legislativos que impulsen la investigación de estas terapias, en la que ya es la era post-antibiótica

The labor market return to an attractive face: Evidence from a field experiment

We provide new evidence on the link between beauty and hiring practices in the labor market. Specifically, we study if people with less attractive faces are less likely to be contacted after submitting a resume. Our empirical strategy is based on an experimental approach. We sent fictitious resumes with pictures of attractive and unattractive faces to real job openings in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We find that attractive people receive 36 percent more responses (callbacks) than unattractive people. Given the experimental design, this difference can be attributed to the exogenous manipulation of facial attractiveness of our fake job applicants

RESTest: automated black-box testing of RESTful web APIs

Testing RESTful APIs thoroughly is critical due to their key role in software integration. Existing tools for the automated generation of test cases in this domain have shown great promise, but their applicability is limited as they mostly rely on random inputs, i.e., fuzzing. In this paper, we present RESTest, an open source black box testing framework for RESTful web APIs. Based on the API specification, RESTest supports the generation of test cases using different testing techniques such as fuzzing and constraint-based testing, among others. RESTest is developed as a framework and can be easily extended with new test case generators and test writers for different programming languages. We evaluate the tool in two scenarios: offline and online testing. In the former, we show how RESTest can efficiently generate realistic test cases (test inputs and test oracles) that uncover bugs in real-world APIs. In the latter, we show RESTest’s capabilities as a continuous testing and monitoring framework. Demo video: https://youtu.be/1f_tjdkaCKo.Junta de Andalucía APOLO (US-1264651)Junta de Andalucía EKIPMENT-PLUS (P18-FR-2895)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades RTI2018-101204-B-C21 (HORATIO)Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte FPU17/0407

Towards the Definition of Test Coverage Criteria for RESTful Web APIs

Web APIs following the REST architectural style (so-called RESTful Web APIs) have become the de-facto standard for software integration. As RESTful APIs gain momentum, so does the testing of them. However, there is a lack of mechanisms to assess the adequacy of testing approaches in this context, which makes it difficult to mea sure and compare the effectiveness of different testing techniques. In this work-in-progress paper, we take a step forward towards a framework for the assessment and comparison of testing approaches for RESTful Web APIs. To that end, we propose a preliminary catalogue of test coverage criteria. These criteria measure the adequacy of test suites based on the degree to which they exercise the different input and output elements of RESTful Web services. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first at tempt to measure the adequacy of testing approaches for RESTful Web APIs.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BELI (TIN2015-70560-R)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades RTI2018-101204-B-C21 (HORATIO)Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte FPU17/0407

Dietary fatty acids and lipoproteins on progression of age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a medical condition of central loss vision and blindness. Numerous studies have revealed that changes on certain dietary fatty acids (FAs) could have useful for AMD management. This review summarizes the effects of dietary omega-3 long-chain PUFAs, MUFAs, and SFAs, and lipoproteins on AMD. Findings are consistent with the beneficial role of dietary omega-3 long-chain PUFAs, while the effects of dietary MUFAs and SFAs appeared to be ambiguous with respect to the possible protection from MUFAs and to the possible adverse impact from SFAs on AMD. Some of the pathological mechanisms associated with lipoproteins on AMD share those observed previously in cardiovascular diseases. It was also noticed that the effects of FAs in the diet and lipoprotein on AMD could be modulated by genetic variants. From a population health perspective, the findings of this review are in favour of omega-3 long-chain FAs recommendations in a preventive and therapeutic regimen to attain lower AMD occurrence and progression rates. Additional long-term and short-term nutrigenomic studies are required to clearly establish the role and the relevance of interaction of dietary FAs, lipoproteins, and genes in the genesis and progression of AMD

Gamification and Controversial Heritage: Trainee Teachers' Conceptions

Heritage education is configured as an ideal framework for the treatment of socio-environmental problems relevant to modern society. To this end, it is essential that teachers can develop proposals in the classroom that promote critical thinking and the eco-social education of their students, based on innovative and experiential methodologies. For this reason, initial teacher training must ensure that future teachers acquire these innovative tools. Thus, the aim of this work is to identify the conceptions of student teachers in initial teacher training regarding gamification as a teaching methodology to address controversial heritage. To achieve this, a questionnaire has been designed with questions about heritage, controversy, and educational gamification, which was given to 235 students (M = 60; F = 175) taking their primary education degrees at different Spanish universities. To guide the design of the research instrument and analyze the results, a system of categories was developed and the SPSS data processing program was used. The first results show that, even though students in initial teacher training think that they do have a predisposition to use gamification to work around controversial heritage in class, they lack the knowledge of methodological strategies and gamified educational activities, which suggests a dearth of training on these issues in the primary education degree courses.This study is linked to the R&D+i project EPITEC2 “Controversial heritage for the eco-social formation of citizenship. An investigation of heritage education in formal education” (PID2020-116662GB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/50100011033/) which has made its preparation possible. The first author is the beneficiary of a Teacher Training Grant (FPU20/01886), granted by the Ministry of Universities (Spain). The second author is a beneficiary of a FPI (PRE2021-097822), granted by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the FSE+

Controversial heritage for eco-citizenship education in Social Science didactics Implications for initial teacher education

This chapter includes an approach to several concepts of current relevance, such as controversial issues, ecosocial education and citizenship education because heritage education is the ideal framework to develop educational experiences for the initial training of Social Sciences teachers, and specifically of History, that integrate controversial heritages for the education of a critical, participative and democratic eco-citizenship. Based on the review of these concepts, implications for teacher training are established, in the form of examples from the different perspectives of controversial heritages, as a proposal for the teaching of history. The review addresses the basic criteria that allow the design of didactic proposals which, through heritage and based on innovative, interactive, dynamic and participatory visions, link the experimentation of good educational practices with initial teacher training in order to approach eco-citizenship education through the analysis of socio-environmental problems and controversial issues of the past and present and their possible future projections.This publication is part of R+D+i Project EPITEC 2: PID2020–116662GB-I00, f inanced by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/. R+D+i project “Educación Patrimonial para la Inteligencia Territorial y Emocional de la Ciudadanía. Análisis de buenas prácticas, diseño e intervención en la enseñanza obligatoria” (EDU2015–67953-P). R+D+i project “Patrimonios controversiales para la formación ecosocial de la ciudadanía. Una investigación de educación patrimonial en la enseñanza reglada” (PID2020–116662GB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/)