Mathematical Simulators for the Study of the Integral Calculus of Engineering Students

Currently, technological tools have positioned themselves in the first places of human development, and higher education has not been the exception. This research aims to improve academic performance with the application of mathematical simulators (Wólfram Alpha, GeoGebra, Derive, and Matlab) as a didactic strategy for the study of integral calculus in engineering students. This research has a quantitative approach, which allows for the investigation of the data from academic activities; likewise, it includes an explanatory study with the purpose of verifying the relationship that exists between the dependent and independent variables. In addition, the method of the questionnaire technique with raised exercises was used, and then the qualification averages of the groups were taken. Similarly, the perspective provided a solid base to analyze the data objectively and establish statistical relationships between the variables involved. The methodology used in this study was to obtain precise and measurable information on the impact of mathematical simulators on learning integral calculus. The questionnaire technique with posed exercises made it possible to collect data directly from the participants, providing detailed information on their understanding and performance in relation to integral calculus. The exercises posed in the questionnaire served as a structured way to assess the knowledge and skills acquired by students. The design applied in the study is made up of two control and experimental groups, applying the pretest and posttest methods. For the analysis and interpretation of data, the parametric statistical student’s T-test was used for related samples, where the simulators significantly influenced the learning of integral calculus, at a significance level of 5%. The results of the analysis indicated that the mathematical simulators significantly influenced the learning of integral calculus. That is, statistically significant improvements were observed in the academic performance of the students after the intervention with the simulators. Briefly, the study used a two-group (control and experimental) design, applied pretest and posttest methods to assess academic performance, and used the Student’s T-test for related samples in data analysis. Therefore, the importance of the role of the teacher in the learning process of higher mathematics is exemplified. Keywords: mathematical simulators, integral calculus, Derive, GeoGebra, Wolfram, Matlab. Resumen Actualmente, las herramientas tecnológicas se han posicionado en los primeros lugares del desarrollo humano, y la Educación Superior no ha sido la excepción, el presente trabajo de investigación tiene como finalidad mejorar el rendimiento académico con la aplicación de los simuladores matemáticos (Wólfram Alpha, GeoGebra, Derive y Matlab), como estrategia didáctica del estudio del cálculo integral en los estudiantes de ingeniería. La investigación tiene un enfoque cuantitativo, el cual, permitió indagar los datos de actividades académicas, así mismo, comprende un estudio de tipo explicativo con el propósito de comprobar la relación que existe entre las variables dependiente e independiente. Además, se utilizó el método de la técnica del cuestionario con ejercicios planteados, luego, se tomó los promedios de calificación de los grupos. Así mismo, la perspectiva proporcionó una base sólida para analizar los datos de manera objetiva y establecer relaciones estadísticas entre las variables involucradas. En este estudio, se ha utilizado esta metodología para obtener información precisa y medible sobre el impacto de los simuladores matemáticos en el aprendizaje del cálculo integral. La técnica del cuestionario con ejercicios planteados ha permitido recopilar datos directamente de los participantes, brindando información detallada sobre su comprensión y desempeño en relación con el cálculo integral. Los ejercicios planteados en el cuestionario sirven como una forma estructurada de evaluar el conocimiento y las habilidades adquiridas por los estudiantes. El diseño aplicado en el estudio está constituido por dos grupos control y experimental, aplicando la prueba del pretest y postest. Para el análisis e interpretación de datos se utilizó la prueba estadística paramétrica T - Student para muestras relacionadas, donde, los simuladores influyeron de manera significativa en el aprendizaje del cálculo integral, a un nivel de significancia del 5%. Los resultados del análisis indicaron que los simuladores matemáticos influyeron de manera significativa en el aprendizaje del cálculo integral. Es decir, se observaron mejoras estadísticamente significativas en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes después de la intervención con los simuladores. En pocas palabras, el estudio utilizó un diseño con dos grupos (control y experimental), aplicó pruebas de pretest y postest para evaluar el rendimiento académico, y empleó la prueba estadística T-Student para muestras relacionadas en el análisis de los datos. Los resultados mostraron que los simuladores matemáticos tuvieron un impacto significativo en el aprendizaje del cálculo integral, demostrando mejoras estadísticamente significativas en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes. Por consiguiente, se ejemplifica la importancia del rol del docente en el proceso de aprendizaje de la matemática superior. Palabras Clave: simuladores matemáticos, Cálculo Integral, Derive, GeoGebra, Wólfram, Matlab

Survival Rate and Morphological Growth Patterns of Five Populations of \u3cem\u3eFestuca dolichophylla\u3c/em\u3e Under Similar Conditions

The majority of the natural grasslands of Perú are located in the Puna region; they are the only source of feed for raising animals in this area, and they also protect the soil from erosion. Festuca dolichophylla is a representative species with high productivity in this ecosystem. The aim of this study was to evaluate survival rate and morphological growth patterns of five populations of Festuca dolichophylla under similar conditions. Five accessions were obtained from each population: Pastales Huando Peasant Community - Huancavelica (CCPH), Lachocc South American Camelids Research and Development Center of the National University of Huancavelica (CIDCSL), Junin, Pasco, and Puno. Six cuttings were obtained from each accession. They were planted in a block design in a uniform soil in the CCPH. After twelve months of establishment all plants were cut to five cm in height and survival rate was estimated. Plant height, number of stems, and leaf number were monitored twice a month; growth rate, stem emergence rate, and leaf emergence rate were calculated and data was analyzed for each month. Accessions from Puno had a 96.67% survival rate, which was significantly higher (p\u3c0.05) than accessions from CIDCSL (43.33% survival) but similar to accessions from the other populations. The morphological growth patterns showed differences between populations and high variability along the evaluation period; this variability and differences are likely due to the genetic constitution of each accession since the environment was similar. This information is crucial for further genetic breeding programs; however, first a morphologic and genetic characterization is necessary. We also observed an orderly growth of this species; first, the plants grow in size, then they increase their stem number, and finally the number of leaves increases. To our knowledge this is the first study that compares morphological growth patterns in different populations of Festuca dolichophylla under similar conditions

Challenges in Chagas Disease Drug Discovery: a review

Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Although the number of infected individuals has decreased, about 6-7 million people are infected worldwide. The chemotherapy drugs currently used are limited to benznidazole and nifurtimox. They are effective in acute phase, congenital transmission and children with chronic infection; however, recent clinical trials have shown limitations in adults with chronic infection, presenting drawbacks during the treatment. Thus, there is an urgent need for new effective, safe and affordable drugs to fight against this complex disease. There were high expectations for azole derivatives as they appeared to be the most promising drugs for the treatment of Chagas disease during the last decade; however, the disappointing results obtained so far in clinical trials evidenced the lack of correlation between preclinical and clinical development. Therefore, the feedback obtained from these studies should define the starting point for addressing a roadmap for the drug discovery process in the fight against this disease. To tackle this challenge, it is important to keep in mind the drug target profile, already defined by panels of experts, and the coordinated work involving multi-disciplinary networks focusing not only on the discovery of new drugs but also on the standardization of the protocols that would allow acceleration in the Chagas disease drug discovery process

Soft situational strategic planning (SSSP): a method and case study of its application in a Brazilian municipality

Municipal government planning is challenging in the extreme being characterised by ill-structured and messy problems, the complexity of which is compounded by often conflicting views and priorities of multiple stakeholders. In South America, Situational Strategic Planning (SSP) is a wide spread method of such planning. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of a proposed multi-methodological approach, Soft Situational Strategic Planning (SSSP) in a South American municipal government. SSSP is a variant of SSP enhanced with elements of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and Strategic Choice Approach (SCA). Through an action research case study in a Brazilian municipality, we implemented SSSP through a strategic planning cycle. The findings suggest that SSSP complement the SSP process regarding the implementation and monitoring of strategy. The application also indicated that SSSP has the potential to make government planning processes more structured for policy makers

Influencia del tipo de dispersion mecanica en la sintesis de mullita cristalina

La dispersión mecánica de las materias primas, es una etapa primordial en el proceso de síntesis de mullita por la ruta química de los hidroxihidrogeles. Este trabajo pretendió evaluar dos métodos de dispersión mecánica; el primero usando un rotor-stator y el segundo un molino de perlas, buscando obtener mullita bien cristalizada a menores temperaturas y tiempos de los requeridos por la síntesis convencional. Ambos métodos de dispersión generan un efecto de alta cizalla logrando una excelente mezcla de los materiales de partida. Finalmente se caracterizó el producto mediante DRX, SEM, análisis químico y cono pirométrico equivalente para evaluar su refractariedad

"Why should I believe this?" Deciphering the qualities of credible online customer reviews

Online customer reviews have been shown to have a powerful impact on the sales of a given product or service. However, the qualities of a ‘credible’ online customer review are still subject to debate. Existing research has highlighted the potential influence of a range of factors on the credibility of an online customer review, but relies heavily on quantitative methods and a ‘top down’ approach. In turn, this can reduce our understanding of the influence of these factors into merely discerning whether one pre-determined factor is more influential than another is. This paper adopted a ‘bottom up’ thematic analysis of individual qualitative interviews with a purposeful sample of consumers who regularly utilised online customer reviews. The findings uncovered a range of factors that influenced the credibility of an online customer review that were attached to a reader’s personal experience and to the content of a specific review, and inferred the existence of a reciprocal relationship between the constructs of review helpfulness and review credibility

Comparación de la resistencia a la flexión entre una matriz de alumina nanométrica reforzada con un material amorfo tipo la2o3.al2o3.3sio2: con un producto dental de oxido de aluminio infiltrado

Los sistemas cerámicos han revolucionado los procedimientos de restauración dental debido a su gran estabilidad química, alta resistencia a la flexión y excelente estética. En este trabajo, se compara la resistencia a la flexión de un biomaterial compuesto obtenido mediante la infiltración de un vidrio del sistema (La2O3.Al2O3.3SiO2), en una matriz de alúmina nanométrica, con un material dental comercial del tipo cerámico. La resistencia se evaluó mediante el método ball-ring y el tipo de fractura obtenida fue analizado por SEM. Las diferencias encontradas pueden explicarse por factores como el grado de infiltración de las probetas y la porosidad remanent