From Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) signals to brain temperature maps

A theoretical framework is presented for converting Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) images to temperature maps, based on the idea that disproportional local changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) as compared with cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO2) during functional brain activity, lead to both brain temperature changes and the BOLD effect. Using an oxygen limitation model and a BOLD signal model we obtain a transcendental equation relating CBF and CMRO2 changes with the corresponding BOLD signal, which is solved in terms of the Lambert W function. Inserting this result in the dynamic bio-heat equation describing the rate of temperature changes in the brain, we obtain a non autonomous ordinary differential equation that depends on the BOLD response, which is solved numerically for each brain voxel. In order to test the method, temperature maps obtained from a real BOLD dataset are calculated showing temperature variations in the range: (-0.15, 0.1) which is consistent with experimental results. The method could find potential clinical uses as it is an improvement over conventional methods which require invasive probes and can record only few locations simultaneously. Interestingly, the statistical analysis revealed that significant temperature variations are more localized than BOLD activations. This seems to exclude the use of temperature maps for mapping neuronal activity as areas where it is well known that electrical activity occurs (such as V5 bilaterally) are not activated in the obtained maps. But it also opens questions about the nature of the information processing and the underlying vascular network in visual areas that give rise to this result

Exploring the Essence of Participation of the Female Puerto Rican Basketball Athlete

In Puerto Rico, little is known regarding how female collegiate and professional basketball players perceive and experience their playing participation. The population of girls playing basketball has experienced recent increases. However, the culture in Puerto Rico has yet to embrace the participation of female basketball athletes. Attempting to address the void in scholarly literature, this study explored female athlete participation perceptions in competitive basketball within the Puerto Rican sport culture. The investigation implemented a qualitative approach using a phenomenological methodology to form descriptive themes. Data was obtained from 14 female basketball athletes, of which 10 were student-athletes, and four were professional players. Participants were purposefully selected, and the interviews were conducted via telephone. Findings revealed six themes relating to how female basketball athletes perceive and experience their participation in basketball in Puerto Rico. The themes established are the following: (a) Athlete Perception, (b) Benefits of Basketball, (c) Experiences in Basketball, (d) Motivation, (e) Puerto Rico’s Sports Culture, and (f) Puerto Rican’s Society’s view on Women’s Basketball. Recommendations for further research include: (a) investigate with other universities outside the metropolitan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico and adjacent municipalities, (b) investigate middle school and high school female basketball players to gather information about their social interactions and mindsets affect their participation in basketball, and (c) explore the perception of the general population of college-aged students and their views regarding women’s basketball

Optimal Decision Making For Temporally Extended Actions

Fundação Champalimaud"The application of the scientific method to the study of behavior has gone beyond the realm of philosophy and psychology, requiring modern neuroscientists to understand neurobiology, statistics, and even computer science. Neurobiology explains that neural systems in all animals, including humans, were evolved to meet specific environmental demands in order for the organism to survive, mate, and produce viable offspring. However, the complexity of studying behavior in natural environments has forced neuroscientists to construct reduced artificial environments where human and non-human animals alike can be trained to respond to calibrated stimuli. For example, a conventional approach to investigate thresholds for discrimination of 2 distinct stimuli has been to ask subjects to press one of two buttons according to the identity of the presented stimulus.(...)

Theoretical approaches in investigation for the integration digital technology in mathematics education

Esta contribución pretende dar a conocer una síntesis de algunos enfoques teóricos que se usan hoy en la investigación en educación matemática para la integración de la tecnología digital en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje. Se abordarán los antecedentes y los conceptos centrales de los cuatro enfoques que se presentan: Aproximación Instrumental, Mediación Semiótica, Orquestación Instrumental y Sereshumanos-con-medios.This contribution expects to provide an outline of some theoretical approaches that are used nowadays in research on mathematics education for the integration of digital technology in teaching and learning. Will address the background and the core concepts of the four approaches presented: Instrumental Approach, Semiotic Mediation, Instrumental Orchestration and Humans-with-media.Fil: Pérez Medina, Carlos Roberto. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Filosofia y Humanidades; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Multiculturalismo y literacidad visual: Análisis de las narrativas históricas del profesorado de Primaria en formación

Este estudio pertenece a una línea de investigación sobre literacidad visual y en él se analizan las narrativas históricas que estudiantes de tercero de Grado de Primaria de la Universidad de Córdoba construyen a partir del análisis de una fotografía de una calle de una ciudad de Nepal, teniendo en cuenta la perspectiva multicultural. El análisis muestra que este grupo de estudiantes arroja una visión eurocéntrica sobre la misma, fijándose en aspectos cotidianos en su día a día extrapolados a esa realidad distinta y realizando valoraciones sobre la situación socioeconómica del país. Resulta fundamental trabajar con los futuros docentes la empatía con otras sociedades y la idea de alteridad para que fomenten este tipo de actitudes en su práctica docenteThe framework of this study is the visual literacy. This text studies the narratives of a group of students of the Bachelor Degree in Primary Education in the University of Cordoba (Spain) who had to analyse a photograph of a street in a Nepalese city. The analysis of the 20 cases shows that the students have a eurocentric point of view and that they extrapolate their own lifestyle to the Nepalese society. As they will become teachers, it is vital to work now on these ideas in order to make them familiar with the empathy and multiculturalit

Análisis de los temarios derogados para el acceso al cuerpo de Profesores de Enseñanza Secundaria en España de 2011: La especialidad de Geografía e Historia.

En: Castillo, S. (coord.). (2013). Reflexiones, Análisis y Propuestas sobre la Formación del Profesorado de Educación Secundaria. Volumen II. ISBN: 978-84-695-8397-5. Pp. 231-233Análisis de los temarios para el acceso al cuerpo de Profesores de Enseñanza Secundaria en la especialidad de Geografía e Historia que fueron aprobados en 2011 y derogados poco después