Interpretación crítica de gráficos estadísticos incorrectos en la sociedad de la comunicación : un desafío para futuros maestros

La formación de profesores para enseñar estadística en educación primaria debe estar orientada a capacitarlos para que desarrollen la cultura estadística en los alumnos de los primeros niveles educativos. La interpretación de gráficos estadísticos forma parte de la “cultura estadística” (statistical literacy) que cualquier ciudadano debe tener para poder desenvolverse plenamente en la actual sociedad de la información. El logro de este objetivo implica que los profesores de matemáticas deben tener dicha cultura y, además, estar capacitados para desarrollarla en sus alumnos. Esto requiere que los programas de formación de maestros contemplen de manera adecuada, tanto el desarrollo de los conocimientos, destrezas y disposiciones que caracterizan la cultura estadística como los conocimientos y competencias didácticas para diseñar procesos de educación estadística idóneos

The Focal plane Detector Package on the TUNL Split-pole Spectrograph

A focal plane detector for the Enge Split-pole Spectrograph at Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory has been designed. The detector package consists of two position sensitive gas avalanche counters, a gas proportionality energy loss section, and a residual energy scintillator. This setup allows both particle identification and focal plane reconstruction. In this paper we will detail the construction of each section along with their accompanying electronics and data acquisition. Effects of energy loss throughout the detector, ray tracing procedures, and resolution as a function of fill pressure and bias voltage are also investigated. A measurement of the $^{27}\!$Al$(d,p)$ reaction is used to demonstrate detector performance and to illustrate a Bayesian method of energy calibration

Targeted-pig trial on safety and immunogenicity of serum-derived extracellular vesicles enriched fractions obtained from Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive virus infections

The Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) is the etiological agent of one of the most important swine diseases with a significant economic burden worldwide. Unfortunately, available vaccines are partially effective highlighting the need of novel approaches. Previously, antigenic viral proteins were described in serum-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) from pigs previously infected with PRRSV. Here, a targeted-pig trial was designed to determine the safety and immunogenicity of such extracellular vesicles enriched fractions. Our results showed that immunizations with EV-enriched fractions from convalescence animals in combination with montanide is safe and free of virus as immunizations with up-to two milligrams of EV-enriched fractions did not induce clinical symptoms, adverse effects and detectable viral replication. In addition, this vaccine formulation was able to elicit specific humoral IgG immune response in vaccinated animals, albeit variably. Noticeably, sera from vaccinated animals was diagnosed negative when tested for PRRSV using a commercial ELISA test; thus, indicating that this new approach differentiates vaccinated from infected animals. Lastly, after priming animals with EV-enriched fractions from sera of convalescence animals and boosting them with synthetic viral peptides identified by mass spectrometry, a distinctive high and specific IFN-γ response was elicited. Altogether, our data strongly suggest the use of serum EV-enriched fractions as a novel vaccine strategy against PRRSV.Anti-CD9, Anti-CD63 and anti-CD81 antibodies were kindly donated by Francisco Sánchez-Madrid and Maria Yañez-Mo, Hospital de la Princesa, Madrid, Spain. The authors wish to particularly thank Glòria Abella for her collaboration in conducting the field study and to Marta Alcobé, Miriam Moron Font and Paula Crego Mendez for technical assistance. This study received support from Innovex Therapeutics S.L., Pinsos del Segre SA, Granja Casanyé, Grup de Sanejament Porci (GSP, Lleida, Spain) and the FEDER project (COMRDI16-1-0035-03). Sergio Montanter-Tarbes is an industrial doctorate awarded by the Government of Catalonia, Spain (No. 2014 DI 044). ISGlobal and IGTP are members of the CERCA Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya

Conventional Space-Vector Modulation Techniques versus the Single-Phase Modulator for Multilevel Converters

Space-vector modulation is a well-suited technique to be applied to multilevel converters and is an important research focus in the last 25 years. Recently, a single-phase multilevel modulator has been introduced showing its conceptual simplicity and its very low computational cost. In this paper, some of the most conventional multilevel space-vector modulation techniques have been chosen to compare their results with those obtained with single-phase multilevel modulators. The obtained results demonstrate that the single-phase multilevel modulators applied to each phase are equivalent with the chosen wellknown multilevel space-vector modulation techniques. In this way, single-phase multilevel modulators can be applied to a converter with any number of levels and phases avoiding the use of conceptually and mathematically complex space-vector modulation strategies. Analytical calculations and experimental results are shown validating the proposed concepts

The Compressibility of Minimal Lattice Knots

The (isothermic) compressibility of lattice knots can be examined as a model of the effects of topology and geometry on the compressibility of ring polymers. In this paper, the compressibility of minimal length lattice knots in the simple cubic, face centered cubic and body centered cubic lattices are determined. Our results show that the compressibility is generally not monotonic, but in some cases increases with pressure. Differences of the compressibility for different knot types show that topology is a factor determining the compressibility of a lattice knot, and differences between the three lattices show that compressibility is also a function of geometry.Comment: Submitted to J. Stat. Mec

Serum-derived exosomes from non-viremic animals previously exposed to the porcine respiratory and reproductive virus contain antigenic viral proteins

PRRSV is the etiological agent of one of the most important swine diseases with a significant economic burden worldwide and limitations in vaccinology. Exosomes are 30–100 nm vesicles of endocytic origin. Remarkably, immunizations with exosomes containing antigens from tumors or pathogens are capable of eliciting protective immune responses, albeit variably, in cancer and infectious diseases. Here we describe the isolation, molecular composition and immunogenicity of serum-derived exosomes from naïve animals, from PRRSV viremic animals and from animals previously PRRSV infected but already free of viruses (non viremic). Exosomes were isolated through size exclusion chromatography and characterized by different methodologies. Exosome-enriched fractions from naïve and natural infected animals contained classical tetraspanin exosomal markers (CD63 and CD81) and high concentrations of particles in the size-range of exosomes as detected by nanoparticle tracking analysis and cryo-TEM. NanoLC-MS/MS was used to identify viral antigens associated to exosomes. PRRSV-proteins were detected in serum samples from only viremic animals and from animals previously infected already free of viruses (non-viremic), but not in controls. Moreover, immune sera from pigs previously exposed to PRRSV specifically reacted against exosomes purified from non-viremic pig sera in a dose-dependent manner, a reactivity not detected when naïve sera was used in the assay. To facilitate future studies, a scaling-up process was implemented. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first molecular characterization of serum-derived exosomes from naïve pigs and pigs actively or previously infected with PRRSV. The presence of antigenic viral proteins in serum-derived exosomes free of virus, suggest their use as a novel vaccine approach against PRRSV.Anti‑ CD63 and anti‑ CD81 antibodies were kindly donated by Francisco Sánchez‑Madrid and Maria Yañez‑Mo, Hospital de la Princesa, Madrid, Spain. We thank Miriam Morón Font for technical assistance and Inés Lozano and Marta Monguió ‑Tortajada for valuable scientific discussions. SMT is supported by an Industrial PhD Fellowship from the government of Catalonia (AGAUR) as part of a collaborative agreement between INNOVEX THERAPEUTICS SL and the University of Lleida (Id No 2014 DI 044

Minimal knotted polygons in cubic lattices

An implementation of BFACF-style algorithms on knotted polygons in the simple cubic, face centered cubic and body centered cubic lattice is used to estimate the statistics and writhe of minimal length knotted polygons in each of the lattices. Data are collected and analysed on minimal length knotted polygons, their entropy, and their lattice curvature and writhe

TOF-Brho Mass Measurements of Very Exotic Nuclides for Astrophysical Calculations at the NSCL

Atomic masses play a crucial role in many nuclear astrophysics calculations. The lack of experimental values for relevant exotic nuclides triggered a rapid development of new mass measurement devices around the world. The Time-of-Flight (TOF) mass measurements offer a complementary technique to the most precise one, Penning trap measurements, the latter being limited by the rate and half-lives of the ions of interest. The NSCL facility provides a well-suited infrastructure for TOF mass measurements of very exotic nuclei. At this facility, we have recently implemented a TOF-Brho technique and performed mass measurements of neutron-rich nuclides in the Fe region, important for r-process calculations and for calculations of processes occurring in the crust of accreting neutron stars.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Journal of Physics G, proceedings of Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics II

Blame it on the goats? Desertification in the Near East during the Holocene

The degree to which desertification during the Holocene resulted from climatic deterioration or alternatively from overgrazing has puzzled Quaternary scientists in many arid regions of the world. In the research reported upon here, a multi-disciplinary investigation of a 5-m deep, ~11,000-year-old sediment column excavated in a dry lake bed in southern Jordan revealed an early interval in which proxies of plant cover and sheep/goat stocking rates co-varied directly with climatic cycles. Beginning ~5.6 kcal BP, however, this pattern changed with fecal spherulite and phytolith densities failing to co-vary and with spherulites often greatly exceeding phytolith densities, which we suggest is indicative of overgrazing. Moreover, the lack of agreement between the high phytolith densities and other indicators of a desert landscape (i.e. geomorphic and palynologic) suggests that phytolith densities were inflated by fodder subsidies and as such are not entirely reflective of plant cover for this later interval. Given the co-incidental emergence of overgrazing with archaeological evidence for a marked rise in regional population, emergence of widespread trade, and expansion of the Timnian pastoral complex during Chalcolithic–early Bronze times, we argue that desertification was a consequence of socio-economic factors (e.g. higher stocking rates) associated with a shift from a subsistence to a market economy. In addition, we contend that the signature lithic artifact variety (tabular scraper) that appeared in great abundance during this period was directly tied to the emergent market economy and its secondary products (wool) in having been used to shear sheep. Moreover, in that these changes took place largely concurrent with local and regionally recognized evidence of a moist interval, we conclude that the mid- to late-Holocene desertification of the southern Levant was induced more by anthropogenic than climatic factors