Planar waveguides obtained on commercial glass substrates by sol-gel and laser irradiation methods

The aim of the thesis is the fundamental study, design, fabrication and characterisation of photonic structures for spatial optic and, particulary, the interconnexion of optical devices. The research explored technologies and substrates for the fabrication of photonic structures based on the guided propogation of light and its application to research and development of integrated optical devices and improving the functionality of communication systems, which realises intelligent optical operations based on Fourier spatial transformed and image formation properties.At the same time, aims to explore new technologies for fabrication ofphotonic structures; which are repeatibility and not contaminants; and the product of well-defined charactericstics and low price

Microarrays de DNA en el cáncer oral

Uno de los principales objetivos en la investigación sobre el cáncer en la actualidad es el estudio de marcadores que puedan predecir el pronóstico o la respuesta al tratamiento de forma individual. El número de genes implicados en los distintos pasos de la carcinogénesis oral aumenta a medida que se investiga sobre el tema. Los microarrays de DNA permiten el análisis simultáneo de la expresión de cientos de genes de un tejido en un solo experimento. El formato paralelo del ensayo permite el estudio de diferencias en la expresión genética entre células normales y enfermas, puesto que la actividad de cada gen en el microarray puede ser comparada en dos poblaciones celulares distintas. El objetivo de este trabajo es hacer una breve revisión de los estudios realizados por diversos autores que han intentado identificar genes relacionados con el cáncer oral, así como clasificarlo en subgrupos según los patrones de expresión genética; lo que permitirá una precoz detección, mejor diagnóstico y pronóstico del cáncer oral.One of the principal aims of modern cancer research is to identify markers allowing individual prediction of prognosis or response to treatment. In this connection, the number of genes thought to be involved in the different stages of different types of oral cancer increases apace. DNA microarrays allow simultaneous evaluation of the expression of hundreds of genes in a single assay. The parallel format of microassay slides is designed to allow rapid comparison of gene expression between two samples, for example tumor cells and healthy cells. This article reviews studies that have aimed to identify genes related to oral cancer, and to classify these genes into groups that are commonly co-expressed. These studies suggest that DNA microarrays are set to become routine tools in the detection, diagnosis, characterization and treatment of oral cancers

Laser Floating Zone: General Overview Focusing on the Oxyorthosilicates Growth

This chapter reviews the laser floating zone (LFZ) technique, also known as the laser-heated pedestal growth (LHPG), focusing on the recently produced rare-earth-doped oxyorthosilicate fibers. LFZ has been revealed as a suitable prototyping technique since high-quality crystals can be developed in short time with low consumption of precursor materials in a crucible-free processing that ensures to practically avoid by-products. Moreover, additional advantages are the possibility to treat and melt highly refractory materials together with the easy way for tailoring the final microstructural characteristics and this way the macroscopic physical properties. Thus, refractory rare-earth (RE) doped oxyorthosilicates following the formula RE2SiO5 have been recently produced by the LFZ technique for tuning laser emission parameters. The oxyorthosilicates have high chemical stability and allow incorporation of many rare-earth ions yielding different applications, such as laser host materials, gamma ray detectors or scintillators, environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) and waveguides, among others. Thus, different kinds of oxyorthosilicates were produced by the LFZ technique, and the detailed effects of the main processing parameters on crystal’s characteristics are discussed in this chapter

Autonomous use of a computer algebra system for learning linear algebra

A Computer Algebra System (CAS) can be defined as mathematical software with numerical, graphic and symbolic capacities. Many studies have addressed the teaching of mathematics in a CAS environment. This paper describes a teaching experience carried out in a linear algebra course, for engineering students, with methodologies adapted to the European Higher Education Area. Generic competences such as self-learning, team work or use of technology have been enhanced through autonomous work of students, who had worked in small groups (2-3 students) using a CAS for solving proposal exercises. The experience was completed with a competition which was announced and promoted between the students with the best grades. They developed a project related to a real problem in science or engineering, where orthogonal transformations are used for modelling and solving the problem. A brief summary of the winner project is included in the paper. The experiment proves that technology provides the students with material for enhancing the apprenticeship and improving the motivation

La segregación vertical en las empresas editoras de periódicos: percepción de las directivas en seis diarios andaluces

Las facultades de comunicación de toda España están repletas de mujeres desde la década de los ochenta (el porcentaje medio está en torno al 70%), no obstante esta realidad no es la que encontramos en los cuadros directivos medios y altos de los diarios impresos, donde los porcentajes de mujeres son nimios. Esta ausencia femenina en dichos puestos repercute no sólo en los modos de gestión sino en las realidades representadas por dichos medios, es decir en su forma de contar el acontecer diario. Pretendemos desentrañar las claves que determinan que las mujeres no alcancen los puestos superiores del organigrama. Para ello hemos optado por entrevistar a aquellas mujeres que ocupan dichos cargos de gestión: doce mujeres de seis diarios impresos andaluces. De esta manera podremos conocer no sólo sus experiencias personales sino las percepciones que tienen sobre la incorporación de las mujeres a la vida profesional y la compatibilidad de ésta con la vida personal y familiar. El procesamiento de estas entrevistas se ha llevado a cabo con el apoyo del software de análisis de datos cualitativos ATLAS.TI

E-Assessment and mathematical learning: A Spanish overview

Assessment can be used to enhance student learning (formative assessment) or to control the apprenticeship (summative assessment). The two ways can be used according to the requirements or needs. Nowadays, the student must be the protagonist of his learning, and it is important that he receives immediate feedback of the learning process. The normal work or the real life for the current students includes the quick answers provided by technology. Therefore technology allows the development of new models of assessment easy to implement. Technology-supported assessments are already being used as a formative assessment and some influence in the summative sense of grading student achievement in some Spanish universities. After some general ideas concerning the learning process, this paper analyses the various ways in which technology is used in assessment activities of basic mathematical subjects in Spanish engineering degrees. The results are supported by the construction of a data base of Learning Guides (information provided by the universities to the students)

Science with Neutrino Telescopes in Spain

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding support from the following Spanish programs: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion, Investigacion y Universidades (MCIU): Programa Estatal de Generacion de Conocimiento (refs. PGC2018-096663-B-C41, -A-C42, -B-C43, -B-C44) (MCIU/FEDER); Generalitat Valenciana: Prometeo (PROMETEO/2020/019) and GenT (refs. CIDEGENT/2018/034, /2020/049, /2021/023); Junta de Andalucia (ref. A-FQM-053-UGR18).The primary scientific goal of neutrino telescopes is the detection and study of cosmic neutrino signals. However, the range of physics topics that these instruments can tackle is exceedingly wide and diverse. Neutrinos coming from outside the Earth, in association with othermessengers, can contribute to clarify the question of the mechanisms that power the astrophysical accelerators which are known to exist from the observation of high-energy cosmic and gamma rays. Cosmic neutrinos can also be used to bring relevant information about the nature of dark matter, to study the intrinsic properties of neutrinos and to look for physics beyond the Standard Model. Likewise, atmospheric neutrinos can be used to study an ample variety of particle physics issues, such as neutrino oscillation phenomena, the determination of the neutrino mass ordering, non-standard neutrino interactions, neutrino decays and a diversity of other physics topics. In this article, we review a selected number of these topics, chosen on the basis of their scientific relevance and the involvement in their study of the Spanish physics community working in the KM3NeT and ANTARES neutrino telescopes.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion, Investigacion y Universidades (MCIU) PGC2018-096663-B-C41 A-C42 B-C43 B-C44MCIU/FEDERGeneralitat Valenciana PROMETEO/2020/019GenT CIDEGENT/2018/034 2020/049 2021/023Junta de Andalucia A-FQM-053-UGR1

Biological control of Acanthoscelides obtectus and Zabrotes subfasciatus in stored dried beans

This study assesses the feasibility of using natural enemies for the control of Acanthoscelides obtectus Say and Zabrotes subfasciatus Boheman (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), key pests of stored dried beans, Phaseolus vulgaris L. (Fabales: Fabaceae). The predatory mites Blattisocius tarsalis Berlese (Acari: Ascidae) and Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) were able to prey on A. obtectus eggs, reducing the bruchid population by more than 60% under both controlled and warehouse conditions. Therefore, they show good potential as biological agents for controlling this pest. The larval parasitoids Anisopteromalus calandrae Howard and Lariophagus distinguendus Förster (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) were both moderately effective (34–38% reduction) at suppressing A. obtectus populations, but when A. calandrae was combined with B. tarsalis, a significant improvement in control efficacy (81% reduction in emergence) was observed. Therefore, the release of A. calandrae combined with B. tarsalis seems to be a promising strategy for controlling A. obtectus. Neither B. tarsalis nor A. swirskii were able to prey on Z. subfasciatus eggs. Only the parasitoid A. calandrae was moderately effective (39% reduction) at supressing Z. subfasciatus populations. Further testing is needed to identify other natural enemies that can complement the action of A. calandrae in reducing Z. subfasciatus populations.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Susceptibility of Rhyzopertha dominica to high CO2 modified atmospheres in packaged chickpeas

Three MAs with 50%, 70% and 90% CO2 in air was tested at different exposure times on all the developmental stages of R. dominica using chickpeas packed with 4% and 96% filling ratio in which there was excess of CO2. At 4% filling ratio the loss of the gas was negligible. The exposure time to reach 50% mortality (LT50) was estimated for each developmental stage and CO2 concentration, ranging from 7 h for larvae with 90% to 2 days for pupae with 50% CO2. At 96% filling ratio and for the intervals of the estimated exposure times (LT50) from the 4% filling ratio, mortality decreased significantly for eggs and adults at the three MAs tested, while for the internal developmental stages, larvae at 50% and 70% CO2 and pupae in all concentrations of CO2, the susceptibility remained the same as with a 4% filling ratio. This decline in mortality of the external developmental stages was possible due to the sorption of CO2 by the chickpeas, which caused a loss of intergranular levels of CO2 between 17% and 29%. This sorption ranged from 0.1955 to 0.3285 g of CO2 per kg of chickpeas and produced a negative pressure of 77.12 to 60.65 kPa. In conclusion, when chickpeas are packed with high CO2 MAs, a decrease in the mortality of eggs and adults of R. dominica could be expected due to pulse sorption.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Redes sociales y jóvenes en la era algorítmica

En un contexto de auténtica plétora de datos y de desarrollo de tecnologías avanzadas de big data, el registro de la participación de los jóvenes en las redes sociales, en un proceso global de sensorización de la realidad, puede representar tanto una oportunidad para la mejora de la experiencia de usuario como una amenaza para la intimidad y el control de los datos almacenados sobre su experiencia en la red.  The social context of big data and the development of advanced data analysis and data processing technologies facilitate new ways of recording the participation of young people in social networks. This may represent an opportunity for improving the user experience but could also be a threat to the privacy and control of stored data about their experience on the web