The meV mass frontier of axion physics

We explore consequences of the idea that the cooling speed of white dwarfs can be interpreted in terms of axion emission. In this case the Yukawa coupling to electrons has to be g_{ae} 10^-13, corresponding to an axion mass of a few meV. Axions then provide only a small fraction of the cosmic cold dark matter, whereas core-collapse supernovae release a large fraction of their energy in the form of axions. We estimate the diffuse supernova axion background (DSAB) in the universe, consisting of 30 MeV-range axions with a radiation density comparable to the extra-galactic background light. The DSAB would be challenging to detect. However, axions with white-dwarf inspired parameters can be accessible in a next generation axion helioscope.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Microbial community changes induced by Managed Aquifer Recharge activities: linking hydrogeological and biological processes

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is a technique used worldwide to increase the availability of water resources. We study how MAR modifies microbial ecosystems and its implications for enhancing biodegradation processes to eventually improve groundwater quality. We compare soil and groundwater samples taken from a MAR facility located in NE Spain during recharge (with the facility operating continuously for several months) and after 4 months of no recharge. The study demonstrates a strong correlation between soil and water microbial prints with respect to sampling location along the mapped infiltration path. In particular, managed recharge practices disrupt groundwater ecosystems by modifying diversity indices and the composition of microbial communities, indicating that infiltration favors the growth of certain populations. Analysis of the genetic profiles showed the presence of nine different bacterial phyla in the facility, revealing high biological diversity at the highest taxonomic range. In fact, the microbial population patterns under recharge conditions agree with the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH). Moreover, DNA sequence analysis of excised denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) band patterns revealed the existence of indicator species linked to MAR, most notably Dehalogenimonas sp., Nitrospira sp. and Vogesella sp.. Our real facility multidisciplinary study (hydrological, geochemical and microbial), involving soil and groundwater samples, indicates that MAR is a naturally based, passive and efficient technique with broad implications for the biodegradation of pollutants dissolved in water.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

LOS JUEGOS ECOLOGICOS COMO ESTRATEGIA PARA REFORZAR LA EDUCACIÓN AMBIENTAL DESDE EL PRAE: UN RETO PEDAGOGICO

          El presente artículo tiene como objetivo, mostrar diseñar una guía de juegos ecológicos como estrategia para reforzar la educación ambiental desde el PRAE de la Institución Educativa de “Juan Arias” del municipio de Magangué, Departamento de Bolívar, Colombia. La población involucrada en el estudio fue de treinta y dos 32) sujetos distribuidos de la siguiente manera: cinco (05) docentes, dos (2) directivos docentes y veinticinco (25) estudiantes del grado undécimo. La investigación se enmarco en un proyecto factible apoyado en un trabajo de campo de carácter descriptivo.  Las técnicas de recolección de datos fue la observación directa y la encuesta, como instrumento fue el cuestionario. La técnica de análisis de los datos fue la estadística descriptiva, los datos obtenidos fueron representados en cuadros, con el propósito de facilitar la interpretación de los resultados, relacionando los ítems con su respectivo análisis. El diagnóstico permitió diseñar una guía de juegos ecológicos como estrategia para reforzar la educación ambiental desde el PRAE

Las Tic en el desarrollo pedagógico y didáctico de los docentes de la Escuela General Básica "América".

The development of this research work was directly related to the use of ICT in the pedagogical and didactic development of teachers, exclusively the strengthening of the Mentimeter tool that favors the level of pedagogy in the classroom, for which the following objective: to develop a methodological proposal to strengthen the use of MENTIMETER by teachers of the General Basic America school to improve the learning of eighth-year students of basic education. This research was carried out under a descriptive research level, a mixed approach (quantitative - qualitative) was carried out, the population was 75 students and 3 teachers, theoretical, empirical and statistical methods were used. The results reflected that the management and use of digital tools is scarce due to the deficient knowledge that teachers have, stating that, if they know the importance of them because it allows them to obtain a better academic performance, in addition to through the proper use With these technological tools, it is possible to develop the educational skills and abilities of the students in a favorable way. It is inferred then that the use of the Mentimeter tool generates advantages for the teacher and the student, considering that technology offers us a wide variety of software, programs and apps for mobile platforms and this will allow progress in the teaching processes, this being a opportunity to learn and strengthen communication with the entire educational community.El desarrollo de este trabajo de investigación estuvo directamente relacionado con el uso de las Tic en el desarrollo pedagógico y didáctico de los docentes de manera exclusiva el fortalecimiento de la herramienta Mentimeter que favorece el nivel de la pedagogía en el aula, para ello se planteó el siguiente objetivo: elaborar una propuesta metodológica en el fortalecimiento del uso de MENTIMETER a los docentes de la Escuela General Básica “América” para mejorar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes de octavo año de educación básica. Esta investigación se realizó bajo un nivel de investigación de tipo descriptiva, se realizó un enfoque mixto (cuantitativa – cualitativa), la población fue de 75 estudiantes y 3 docentes, se utilizaron los métodos teóricos, empíricos y estadísticos. Los resultados reflejaron que el manejo y uso de herramientas digitales es escaso por el deficiente conocimiento que tienen los docentes, manifestando que si conocen de la importancia de las mismas porque les permite obtener un mejor desempeño académico, además de que por medio del uso adecuado de estas herramientas tecnológicas se logran desarrollar las habilidades y destrezas educativas en los estudiantes de una manera favorable. Se infiere entonces que el uso de la herramienta Mentimeter genera ventajas para el docente y el estudiante, considerando que la tecnología nos ofrece una amplia variedad de software, programas y app para plataformas móviles y esto permitirá avanzar en los procesos de enseñanza, siendo esta una oportunidad para aprender y fortalecer la comunicación con toda la comunidad educativa

La enseñanza-aprendizaje del inglés en un aula inclusiva de la Institución Educativa Distrital Alemania Solidaria

La importancia que ha adquirido el tema de la inclusión en el mundo de la educación ha superado fronteras y barreras culturales, sociales, idiomáticas, económicas, entre otras, a lo largo y ancho del mundo entero; pero a pesar de los avances logrados en las últimas décadas es menester saber que aún hay mucho trabajo por realizar y más obstáculos por superar. Este trabajo intenta dar a conocer con más profundidad cómo se desarrollan procesos de inclusión educativa en el contexto específico de una clase de inglés, que debe llevarse a cabo de una manera diferente y utilizando todo tipo de actividades para poder llegar a toda la población presente en el aula, tanto a los niños con necesidades educativas especiales como a quienes no las poseen. Luego de una contextualización del lugar en donde se llevó a cabo la investigación, se hace una aproximación tanto a nivel teórico, como desde el punto de vista normativo y legal, sobre el amplio tema de la enseñanza y aprendizaje del inglés, pero en particular de las NEE1 y la inclusión educativa. A continuación se hace una descripción del tipo de investigación a usar y las características especiales que debe poseer. Por último, se analizan datos recolectados que ponen en evidencia los resultados logrados en cuanto a sus objetivos generales y específicos. Finaliza con las conclusiones y recomendaciones para otros trabajos de este tipo y con la propuesta para llevar a cabo de una manera más optima la inclusión educativa dentro de una clase de inglés.The importance attached to the issue of inclusion in the world of education has overcome borders and cultural, social, linguistic, economic barriers, among others, throughout the world; but despite the progress made in recent decades it is necessary to know that there is still much work to be done and more obstacles to overcome. This paper tries to explain in more depth how processes of educational inclusion are developed in the specific context of a class of English, which must be done in a different way and using all kinds of activities in order to reach the entire present population the classroom, both children with special educational needs and those who do not possess them. After a contextualization of the place where they carried out the research, an approach both theoretical as well as from the normative and legally, on the broad topic of teaching and learning English, but in particular is the NEE1 and educational inclusion. A description of the type of research to use and special features that should have done. Finally, they collected data which demonstrate the results achieved in their general and specific objectives are analyzed. It ends with conclusions and recommendations for other work of this kind and with the proposal to carry out a more optimal educational inclusion in an English class manner

Are dominant microbial sub-surface communities affected by water quality and soil characteristics?

Subsurface microorganisms must deal with quite extreme environmental conditions. The lack of light, oxygen, and potentially nutrients are the main environmental stresses faced by subsurface microbial communities. Likewise, environmental disruptions providing an unbalanced positive input of nutrients force microorganisms to adapt to varying conditions, visible in the changes in microbial community diversity. In order to test microbial community adaptation to environmental changes, we performed a study in a surface Managed Aquifer Recharge facility, consisting of a settlement basin (two-day residence time) and an infiltration pond. Data on groundwater hydrochemistry, soil texture, and microbial characterization was compiled from surface water, groundwater, and soil samples at two distinct recharge operation conditions. Multivariate statistics by means of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was the technique used to map the relevant dimensionality reduced combinations of input variables that properly describe the system behavior. The methodology selected allows including variables of different nature and displaying very different range values. Strong differences in the microbial assemblage under recharge conditions were found, coupled to hydrochemistry and grain-size distribution variables. Also, some microbial groups displayed correlations with either carbon or nitrogen cycles, especially showing abundant populations of denitrifying bacteria in groundwater. A significant correlation was found between Methylotenera mobilis and the concentrations of NO3 and SO4, and also between Vogesella indigofera and the presence of DOC in the infiltrating water. Also, microbial communities present at the bottom of the pond correlated with representative descriptors of soil grain size distribution.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Evaluation of the prognostic value of the risk, injury, failure, loss and end-stage renal failure (RIFLE) criteria for acute kidney injury

AIM: The experts have argued about the use of the risk, injury, failure, loss and end-stage renal failure (RIFLE) criteria as a prognosis scoring system. We examined the association between in-hospital mortality and the RIFLE criteria, and discussed its accuracy as a prognosis factor. METHODS: In this prospective study, we analysed the data gathered from a cohort of 956 patients admitted in a Spanish tertiary hospital between January 1998 and April 2006. Hazard ratios for mortality, and survival curves within 60 days were calculated. Discrimination and calibration of the model were also assessed. RESULTS: Excluding 53 patients, 903 patients were finally analysed. We classified them into groups according to the maximum RIFLE class reached during their admission. The RIFLE class was assessed by the glomerular filtration rate criterion. We found an increase in the in-hospital mortality risk. Cox proportional hazard models showed that RIFLE classes risk, injury, and failure were significant predictive factors (hazard ratios were 2.77, 3.23 and 3.52, respectively; P for trend was 0.005). The multivariate analyses from the cross-classification of the participants according to Liano score values (severity of illness) and RIFLE classes showed additive effects of the exposures on in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSION: In this population, the risk of in-hospital mortality during the acute kidney injury (AKI) episode was positively associated with RIFLE classes. We showed that the RIFLE classification system had discriminative power in predicting hospital mortality within 60 days in AKI patients, but not better than a specific AKI predictive model. However, a combined use of both may give a more robust prognosis system

Ultra-processed foods and type-2 diabetes risk in the sun project: A prospective cohort study

The association between ultra-processed foods (UPF) consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) has not been much explored. We aimed to evaluate the association between consumption of UPF and the incidence of T2D

Karnofsky performance score in acute renal failure as a predictor of short-term survival

Karnofsky Performance Scale Index (KPS) is a measure of functional status that allows patients to be classified according to their functional impairment. We aim to assess if the prior KPS may predict the risk of death among patients with acute renal failure (ARF). METHODS: A cohort of 668 consecutive patients who had been admitted in an university-affiliated hospital between June 2000 and June 2006, and had been diagnosed with ARF, were studied. Three hundred and eighty-six patients with ARF who matched at least one of the RIFLE (Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss and End stage) criteria on increased serum creatinine were included for subsequent analysis. The group was divided into four categories, according to different Karnofsky scores measured by a nephrologist (>or=80, 70, 60 and <or=50). We used an adjusted logistic regression model to assess the relationship between the Karnofky score and mortality. RESULTS: A significant risk of in-hospital mortality within 90 days was observed when the other groups were compared with the >or=80 Karnofsky group. Adjusted odds ratios were 8.87 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.03-25.99), 6.78 (95% CI 2.61-17.58) and 2.83 (95% CI 1.04-7.68), for Karnofsky groups of <or=50, 60 and 70, respectively. An adjusted odds ratio of 1.75 (95% CI 1.37-2.23) was observed for every 10 point decrease in KPS score. CONCLUSION: Functional status as indicated by the KPS is an independent predictor of death in this cohort of patients with ARF. Patients who presented lower scores had increased mortality rate

Validación del índice de masa corporal auto-referido en la Encuesta Nacional de Salud

Objective. To assess the validity of self-reported body mass index in the National Health Survey. 120 participants were selected and questioned about their weight and height with exactly the same questions that the National Health Survey uses. Afterwards, and once informed consent was obtained, participants were weighed and measured, and this data was used as the gold standard. On average, participants underestimated their weight by 1.39 kg, overestimated their height by 0.55 cm and underestimated their body mass index by 0.71 kg/m2. The sensitivity of self-reported self reported body mass index (BMI) to detect overweight was 77%, the specificity was 97%, the positive predictive value was 0.95 and the negative predictive value was 0.86. The Kappa index was 0.76 and the quadratically weighted Kappa index was 0.85. The correlation coefficient between self-reported and measured BMI was 0.96 and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.97. Self-reported data is an efficient way of obtaining information about BMI, although with limitations, because self-reported data tends to underestimate weight and overestimate height, thus underestimating BMI and the proportion of participants with elevated BMI