Modelling Dependency Structures Produced by the Introduction of a Flipped Classroom

Teaching processes have been changing in the lasts few decades from a traditional lecture-example-homework format to more active strategies to engage the students in the learning process. One of the most popular methodologies is the flipped classroom, where traditional structure of the course is turned over by moving out of the classroom, most basic knowledge acquisition. However, due to the workload involved in this kind of methodology, an objective analysis of the results should be carried out to assess whether the lecturer’s workload is worth the effort or not. In this paper, we compare the results obtained from two different methodologies: traditional lecturing and flipped classroom methodology, in terms of some performance indicators and an attitudinal survey, in an introductory statistics course for engineering students. Finally, we analysed the changes in the relationships among variables of interest when the traditional teaching was moved to a flipped classroom by using Bayesian networks

Indirect ELISA for Detection of Fascioliasis IgG Antibodies in Human Sera

Currently, coprological examination based on egg detection in stool samples is used as the most ideal standard for the diagnosis of human fascioliasis. However, this method has been proven not to be adequate when being employed in the acute phase of the disease, and presents a poor sensitivity during the chronic phase. Serodiagnosis has become an excellent alternative to coprological examination in efforts to combat the effects of fascioliasis on human and animal health. Human fascioliasis is usually recognized as an infection of the bile ducts and liver caused by Fasciola hepatica, known to affect over 2 million humans. In this research, Indirect Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was performed to discern between positive and negative IgG antibody titers in sera in collaboration with a lab in Peru. A batch of approximately 325 samples of human sera of endemic Fasciola hepatica from regions in Peru was gathered and sent to the laboratory in order to be examined with the method explained in the following paragraph. In the search for a test for the diagnosis of fascioliasis on humans, indirect ELISA started to be employed in order to determine positive and negative values. In the indirect ELISA test, the sample antibody is sandwiched between the antigen coated on the plate and an enzyme-labeled, anti-species globulin conjugate. The addition of an enzyme substrate-chromogen reagent causes color to develop. This color is directly proportional to the amount of bound sample antibody. The more antibody present in the sample, the stronger the color development in the test wells. Positive samples presented a very strong optical density value, while negative samples were clear or low optical density value, measured with the aid of a spectrophotometer

A Comparison of Machine-Learning Methods to Select Socioeconomic Indicators in Cultural Landscapes

Cultural landscapes are regarded to be complex socioecological systems that originated as a result of the interaction between humanity and nature across time. Cultural landscapes present complex-system properties, including nonlinear dynamics among their components. There is a close relationship between socioeconomy and landscape in cultural landscapes, so that changes in the socioeconomic dynamic have an effect on the structure and functionality of the landscape. Several numerical analyses have been carried out to study this relationship, with linear regression models being widely used. However, cultural landscapes comprise a considerable amount of elements and processes, whose interactions might not be properly captured by a linear model. In recent years, machine-learning techniques have increasingly been applied to the field of ecology to solve regression tasks. These techniques provide sound methods and algorithms for dealing with complex systems under uncertainty. The term ‘machine learning’ includes a wide variety of methods to learn models from data. In this paper, we study the relationship between socioeconomy and cultural landscape (in Andalusia, Spain) at two different spatial scales aiming at comparing different regression models from a predictive-accuracy point of view, including model trees and neural or Bayesian networks

The Role of Cultural Landscapes in the Delivery of Provisioning Ecosystem Services in Protected Areas

The aim of this paper is to assess and highlight the significance of cultural landscapes in protected areas, considering both biodiversity and the delivery of provisioning ecosystem services. In order to do that, we analyzed 26 protected areas in Andalusia (Spain), all of them Natural or National Parks, regarding some of their ecosystem services (agriculture, livestock grazing, microclimate regulation, environmental education and tourism) and diversity of the four terrestrial vertebrate classes: amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. A cluster analysis was also run in order to group the 26 protected areas according to their dominant landscape. The results show that protected areas dominated by dehesa (a heterogeneous system containing different states of ecological maturity), or having strong presence of olive groves, present a larger area of delivery of provisioning ecosystem services, on average. These cultural landscapes play an essential role not only for biodiversity conservation but also as providers of provisioning ecosystem services

Protección del medio ambiente del Municipio de Ciudad Sandino en el período comprendido del año 2013

El presente trabajo de investigación presenta un marco conceptual sólido sobre el Derecho Municipal y el Derecho ambiental, enfatizando las característiocas de estas dos ramas del derecho, sus fuentes, elementos,sus relaciones con otras ciencias y elementos de interés de estos tópicos de sumo interés en el desarrollo del análisis planteado en este documento. Se describen a continuación las bases de la herramienta situacional FODA ( Fortalezas, oportunidades, debilidades y amenazas), que permitirá identificar la problemática del ordenamiento ambiental en el territorio de Ciudad Sandini. Finalmente, el lector podrá encontrar la forma en que aplocó la herramienta FODA en el análisis del Municipio de Ciudad Sandino, Desde una perspectiva legal, sin menoscabar los elementos sociológicos y económicos que se deriva de ñla relación ser humano-medio ambient

Les telecomunicacions en les ciutats d'Amèrica Llatina

Peer Reviewe

Reproduction in the phylum Porifera: a synoptic overview

Les esponges són organismes importants des del punt de vista ecològic, evolutiu i biotecnològic: a) tenen un paper ecològic rellevant en moltes comunitats marines i participen en passos crucials en els cicles dels nutrients solubles i la matèria orgànica, b) els seus trets cel·lulars i genètics encara reflecteixen i proporcionen informació sobre la transició entre la condició unicel·lular i l'organització multicel·lular dels animals i c) les esponges i els seus simbionts són prometedores fonts de compostos amb interès per a la biomedicina i diversos processos industrials. Per aquestes raons, enginyers, químics, microbiòlegs, ecòlegs, genètics i biòlegs evolutius, generalment amb escassa formació en esponges, necessiten apropar-se professionalment a la complexa i distintiva biologia reproductiva d'aquest grup. Aquest repàs sinòptic, que no pretén ser una revisió total, intenta respondre les necessitats d'aquesta audiència heterogènia. Es resumeix el procés general de reproducció sexual i asexual en el fílum, combinant dades tant ecològiques com citològiques. Es fa èmfasi en els processos d'espermatogènesi, oogènesi i fecundació. A més de l'esquematització dels processos generals, es mencionen les excepcions més destacables, així com els punts febles en el coneixement actual amb intenció de promoure investigacions futures.Sponges (phylum Porifera) are important organisms from an ecological, evolutionary and biotechnological point of view: i) they play relevant ecological roles in many marine communities and participate in crucial steps of the cycle of dissolved nutrients and organic matter; ii) their cellular and genetic traits still reflect and inform about the ancient transition between the unicellular condition and the multicellular organization of animals, and iii) they and/or their symbionts are a promising source of compounds of interest in biomedicine and some industrial processes. For these reasons, engineers, chemists, microbiologists, general ecologists, geneticists, and evolutionary biologists, who usually have little expertise with sponges, need to professionally approach the complex, unique reproductive biology of this group. This synoptic overview, which does not intend to be a comprehensive review, attempts to fulfill the needs of such a heterogeneous potential audience. It summarizes the general process of sexual and asexual reproduction in the phylum, combining both ecological and cytological data. Emphasis is made on the processes of spermatogenesis, oogenesis, and fertilization. In addition to outlining general processes, a brief mention of exceptions, recent relevant findings and the weak points in current knowledge is provided with the aim of encouraging future research

The law of God, the law of the State and the law of Crime: an anthropological account of the consolidation of multiple normative regimes in Brazilian urban margins

In Brazil's poor urban areas, the state is not the sole producer of 'law and order' or monopoliser of the legitimate use of force. A multiplicity of authorities coexist and interact, and much of the dynamics of violence and urban order emerge from this tense interplay. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Brazilian urban peripheries, this article proposes a theoretical reflection on normative multiplicities and their relations to the dynamics of violence in contexts of sharp conflict. Two main arguments are presented: 1 - that the processes of Brazil's recent history have culminated in a specific social configuration of normative pluralism in the country's urban peripheries, where the state, religion and crime act as coexisting authorities; and 2 - that this plurality is sustained by a triple paradigm: respectability, material bases and the capacity and will to use violence. Theoretically, therefore, we have sought to develop the concept of 'normative regimes' and the triple paradigm that underpins their formation. In doing so, we hope to contribute to the social science debate on plural governance