Modelling in Science Education: demarcation criteria and case study

This paper presents, first different characteristic elements based on the approach of educational modelling throughout a bibliography review. Secondly, a didactic proposal consisting of a total of 29 activities was analyzed. This proposal was proposed for the study of Sun and Earth but specially in the seasons phenomenon, with teachers in starting level from primary school. The experience tried to demonstrate, how the following design would be integrated in to the education by modelling, and in consequence extract the weaknesses and strength to improve the contents and its structure

Mexican radiation dermatitis management consensus

Abstract Background: Radiotherapy (RT) is an essential element in cancer treatment: 50–70% of cancer patients receive RT at some time of the course of their disease. Of these, almost 95% experience some grade of radiation dermatitis (RD). RD can affect patient’s quality of life during and after treatment. Consequently, the management of RD is important. There are few randomized controlled clinical trials on interventions used to prevent and treat RD and no standardized consensus on RD management. A panel of opinion leaders of the Mexican Society of Radiotherapy (SOMERA) took part in a study of oncologic practice in Mexico. The following clinical guide is referenced both by the national practice reality and international evidence. Materials and methods: This RD management guide is based on input provided by 25 Mexican radiation oncologists, whose criteria were gathered using the Delphi Method and article review. Results: Twenty-one questions about experience in RD treatment were voted. More than 80% of the panel agreed with: the use of dermocosmetics/medical device in prevention and in treatment of RD grades 1–2. As for grade 3, they recommend individualizing each case and dermatologist evaluation. Topical steroids should be used when there is skin itching or pain. Consider the use of natural soaking elements. Skin care must be continued to avoid or reduce severity of late radiation skin lesions. Conclusion: This consensus was developed as a supportive educational tool that can be adapted to individual clinical needs, useful for professionals involved in the treatment of RT patients.  

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

La modelización como enfoque didáctico y de investigación en torno a la educación científica

En este artículo se analizan, en primer lugar, algunas de las principales bases teóricas sobre las que se sustentan los enfoques de enseñanza de las ciencias centrados en los modelos, desde tres planos distintos: el epistemológico, el cognitivo y el didáctico. A partir de dichas bases, se caracterizan, en segundo lugar, los enfoques de enseñanza mediante modelización, los cuales vienen convirtiéndose hoy día en referentes importantes en la enseñanza de las ciencias, tanto desde el punto de vista del desarrollo de nuevas estrategias didácticas, como desde la perspectiva de líneas de investigación emergentes en didáctica de las ciencias.This article analyses in the first place, some of the main theoretical bases on which, approaches of science teaching focussed models, are sustained. These theoretical bases are considered from three different dimensions: epistemological, psychological and educational. From these bases, secondly, teaching approaches by modelling, which are becoming today in important reference in science teaching, are characterized not only as the point of view of the development of new didactic strategies, but also the perspective of emerging research lines in science education

Análisis de las vivencias de aprendizaje de las ciencias y de las concepciones sobre enseñanza de las ciencias de los maestros/as de infantil y primaria en formación inicial

Se presenta un análisis de las vivencias de aprendizaje y las concepciones sobre enseñanza de las ciencias, de futuros maestros/as de Educación Infantil y Primaria en formación inicial en la Universidad de Cádiz, llevado a cabo desde una aproximación cuanti-cualitativa, previo al inicio de su formación en didáctica de las ciencias experimentales. Por un lado, 207 estudiantes respondieron al Inventario de Creencias Pedagógicas y Científicas de los Profesores (INPECIP) (Porlán, Rivero, & Martín, 1997), del que se seleccionó la dimensión “Metodología de enseñanza de las ciencias”, constituida por un total de 14 declaraciones. Por otro, se obtuvieron relatos sobre sus experiencias de aprendizaje de las ciencias en y fuera de las instituciones educativas, de entre los que se analizaron 19, obtenidos aleatoriamente, mediante la definición de dimensiones y subdimensiones de contenido. Se observa cómo el modelo de enseñanza de las ciencias que han vivenciado los actuales alumnos/as en formación inicial de maestros/as es fundamentalmente tradicional, de transmisión-recepción, y está distante del que están interiorizando a lo largo de sus estudios de Grado y consideran adecuado, de corte constructivista. La perspectiva CTS no aparece en sus relatos, pues en sólo un 10,6% se aludió a la utilidad práctica que el aprendizaje de ciencias ha tenido para sus vidas diarias, y en ningún caso se hizo mención a aspectos como la formación de una actitud crítica y el desarrollo de una ética en relación con el progreso científico-tecnológico. En consecuencia, sigue siendo imprescindible fomentar este enfoque en todos los niveles educativos, incluyendo la universidad