Geometric Hermite interpolation by rational curves of constant width

A constructive characterization of the support function for a rationally parameterized curve of constant width is given. In addition, a Hermite interpolation problem for such kind of curves is solved, which yields a method to determine a rational curve of constant width that passes through a set of free points with the corresponding tangent directions. Finally, the case of piecewise rational support functions is considered, which increases the design freedom. The procedure is presented in the general case of hedgehogs of constant width taking the advantage of projective hedgehogs, so that some constraints must be taken to ensure convexity of the desired curve.Funding for the other authors not affiliated with BCAM: Grant PID2021-124577NBI00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. Project PID2019-104927GB-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. Project UJI-B2022-19 funded by Universitat Jaume I. Project CIAICO/2021/180 funded by Generalitat Valenciana

Maritime antarctic lakes as sentinels of climate change

Remote lakes, such as lakes from the Maritime Antarctica, can be used as sentinels of climate change, because they are mostly free of direct anthropogenic pressures, and they experience climate change as a main stressor capable of modifying the ecosystem structure and function. In this paper, the content of a lecture that has been presented at the First Conference of Lake Sustainability, which has been centred in our studies on lakes from Byers Peninsula (Maritime Antarctica), are summarized. These included physical, chemical and biological studies of these lakes and other freshwater ecosystems, which highlighted the relevance of biotic interactions for these ecosystems and its sensibility to temperature variations and to biological invasions, which is of rel- evance given the acute regional warming occurring during the last decades in the area, concomitant with the enhancement of dispersion of alien species linked to the increased presence of humans

Preliminary results of a vaginal constraint for reducing G2 late vaginal complications after postoperative brachytherapy in endometrial cancer: A proepective analysis

Purpose: To evaluate the preliminary results of the use of 68 Gy EQD2(α/β=3 Gy) as a dose limit to the lowest dose in the most exposed 2 cm3 of the vagina in order to reduce G2 late vaginal problems in postoperative endometrial carcinoma (EC). Methods: From November 2016 to October 2019, 69 postoperative EC patients receiving vaginal brachytherapy (VBT) ± external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) were prospectively analyzed. The median EBRT dose was 45 Gy (range: 44-50.4 Gy), 1.8-2 Gy/day, 5 fractions(Fr)/week. VBT was administered with the following schedule: 1Fr of 7 Gy after EBRT and 2 daily Fr × 7.5 Gy in exclusive VBT. The dose was prescribed at 0.5 cm from the applicator surface with an active length of 2.5 cm; 56 patients were treated with vaginal cylinders (49-3.5 cm, 6-3 cm, and 1-2.5 cm) and 13 with the colpostat technique. The overall VBT dose was adjusted to meet the vaginal restriction of < 68 Gy EQD2(α/β=3 Gy) at 2 cm3. Late toxicity was prospectively assessed using RTOG scores for bladder and rectum, and the objective LENT-SOMA criteria for vagina. Results: With a median follow-up of 31.0 months, no vaginal-cuff recurrences were found. Late toxicity: only 1G1(1.4%) rectal toxicity; 21G1(30.4%) and 3G2(4.3%) vaginal complications. Only one (1.4%) of 3 G2 manifested as vaginal shortening. Conclusions: In postoperative EC patients treated with VBT, only one developed G2 vaginal stenosis with the use of 68 Gy EQD2(α/β=3 Gy) as a dose constraint. These preliminary results seem to indicate the value of this dose limit for reducing G2 vaginal stenosis. Nonetheless, these findings should be confirmed in a larger number of patients with longer follow-up. Keywords: Brachytherapy; Postoperative endometrial cancer; Vaginal complications; Vaginal constraint

Defining complementary tools to the IVI. The Infrastructure Degradation Index (IDI) and the Infrastructure Histogram (HI)

[EN] The Infrastructure Value Index (IVI) is quickly becoming a standard as a valuable tool to quickly assess the state of urban water infrastructure. However, its simple nature (as a single metric) can mask some valuable information and lead to erroneous conclusions. This paper introduces two complementary tools to IVI: The Infrastructure Degradation Index (IDI) and the Infrastructure Histogram (HI). The IDI is focused on time (compared to the IVI, focused on value), represents an intuitive concept and behaves in a linear way. The joint analysis of IVI and IDI provides results in a more complete understanding of the state of the assets, while maintaining the simplicity of the tools. The Infrastructure Histogram allows for a full evaluation of the infrastructure state and provides a detailed picture of network age compared to its expected life, as well as an order of magnitude of the required investments in the following years.Cabrera Rochera, E.; Estruch-Juan, ME.; Gomez Selles, E.; Del Teso-March, R. (2019). Defining complementary tools to the IVI. The Infrastructure Degradation Index (IDI) and the Infrastructure Histogram (HI). Urban Water Journal. 16(5):343-352. https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2019.1669195S343352165Alegre, H., Vitorino, D., & Coelho, S. (2014). Infrastructure Value Index: A Powerful Modelling Tool for Combined Long-term Planning of Linear and Vertical Assets. Procedia Engineering, 89, 1428-1436. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2014.11.469Amaral, R., Alegre, H., & Matos, J. S. (2016). A service-oriented approach to assessing the infrastructure value index. Water Science and Technology, 74(2), 542-548. doi:10.2166/wst.2016.250Aware-p.org. 2014. “AWARE-P/Software.” Accessed 25 November 2018. http://www.aware-p.org/np4/software/Baseform. 2018. “Baseform.” Accessed 24 November 2018. https://baseform.com/np4/productCanal de Isabel II Gestión. 2012. Normas Para Redes de Abastecimiento. [Standards for Water Supply Networks.]. https://www.canalgestion.es/es/galeria_ficheros/pie/normativa/normativa/Normas_redes_abastecimiento2012_CYIIG.pdfFrost, and Sullivan. 2011. “Western European Water and Wastewater Utilities Market.” https://store.frost.com/western-european-water-and-wastewater-utilities-market.html#section1Leitão, J. P., Coelho, S. T., Alegre, H., Cardoso, M. A., Silva, M. S., Ramalho, P., … Carriço, N. (2014). Moving urban water infrastructure asset management from science into practice. Urban Water Journal, 13(2), 133-141. doi:10.1080/1573062x.2014.939092Marchionni, V., Cabral, M., Amado, C., & Covas, D. (2016). Estimating Water Supply Infrastructure Cost Using Regression Techniques. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 142(4), 04016003. doi:10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0000627Marchionni, V., Lopes, N., Mamouros, L., & Covas, D. (2014). Modelling Sewer Systems Costs with Multiple Linear Regression. Water Resources Management, 28(13), 4415-4431. doi:10.1007/s11269-014-0759-zPulido-Velazquez, M., Cabrera Marcet, E., & Garrido Colmenero, A. (2014). Economía del agua y gestión de recursos hídricos. Ingeniería del agua, 18(1), 95. doi:10.4995/ia.2014.3160Rokstad, M. M., Ugarelli, R. M., & Sægrov, S. (2015). Improving data collection strategies and infrastructure asset management tool utilisation through cost benefit considerations. Urban Water Journal, 13(7), 710-726. doi:10.1080/1573062x.2015.102469

Data Descriptor : A European Multi Lake Survey dataset of environmental variables, phytoplankton pigments and cyanotoxins

Under ongoing climate change and increasing anthropogenic activity, which continuously challenge ecosystem resilience, an in-depth understanding of ecological processes is urgently needed. Lakes, as providers of numerous ecosystem services, face multiple stressors that threaten their functioning. Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are a persistent problem resulting from nutrient pollution and climate-change induced stressors, like poor transparency, increased water temperature and enhanced stratification. Consistency in data collection and analysis methods is necessary to achieve fully comparable datasets and for statistical validity, avoiding issues linked to disparate data sources. The European Multi Lake Survey (EMLS) in summer 2015 was an initiative among scientists from 27 countries to collect and analyse lake physical, chemical and biological variables in a fully standardized manner. This database includes in-situ lake variables along with nutrient, pigment and cyanotoxin data of 369 lakes in Europe, which were centrally analysed in dedicated laboratories. Publishing the EMLS methods and dataset might inspire similar initiatives to study across large geographic areas that will contribute to better understanding lake responses in a changing environment.Peer reviewe

Stratification strength and light climate explain variation in chlorophyll a at the continental scale in a European multilake survey in a heatwave summer

To determine the drivers of phytoplankton biomass, we collected standardized morphometric, physical, and biological data in 230 lakes across the Mediterranean, Continental, and Boreal climatic zones of the European continent. Multilinear regression models tested on this snapshot of mostly eutrophic lakes (median total phosphorus [TP] = 0.06 and total nitrogen [TN] = 0.7 mg L−1), and its subsets (2 depth types and 3 climatic zones), show that light climate and stratification strength were the most significant explanatory variables for chlorophyll a (Chl a) variance. TN was a significant predictor for phytoplankton biomass for shallow and continental lakes, while TP never appeared as an explanatory variable, suggesting that under high TP, light, which partially controls stratification strength, becomes limiting for phytoplankton development. Mediterranean lakes were the warmest yet most weakly stratified and had significantly less Chl a than Boreal lakes, where the temperature anomaly from the long-term average, during a summer heatwave was the highest (+4°C) and showed a significant, exponential relationship with stratification strength. This European survey represents a summer snapshot of phytoplankton biomass and its drivers, and lends support that light and stratification metrics, which are both affected by climate change, are better predictors for phytoplankton biomass in nutrient-rich lakes than nutrient concentrations and surface temperature

La utilización de un material didáctico autosuficiente en un proceso de aprendizaje autodirigido

Este artículo tiene como objetivo el análisis de las actividades de enseñanza-aprendizaje previstas en el diseño de un material didáctico autosuficiente, que ha sido creado para ser utilizado en un proceso autodirigido de aprendizaje, para compararlo con el desarrollo de este proceso de aprendizaje autodirigido enmarcado en una secuencia didáctica real. Los resultados obtenidos en el estudio nos aportan evidencias empíricas que proporcionan una mayor comprensión de los procesos de aprendizaje de los alumnos con este tipo de materiales, a la vez que nos que permiten extraer algunas implicaciones para el diseño tecnológico y pedagógico de este tipo de materiales didácticos

Efectos de la retroalimentación del profesor: un estudio de caso de un foro de discusión en línea en Educación Superior

Despite its importance, the effects of feedback in online environments has not been widely assessed; nor is there any consensus on how it should be measured. The aim of this exploratory study is to analyse the effects of teacher feedback during the development of an online discussion forum. Over a three-week period, the participants (14 university students and their tutor) engaged in a virtual debate on the use of Wikipedia for academic purposes, using the Knowledge Forum platform (participants made 328 posts in total). Based on characteristics of online learning environments, we developed a multidimensional model to study feedback and its effects during online interaction. The results show the main effects of the teacher's feedback both on the students' discussion about learning topics –chain effect and cluster effect– and on the rules of participation in the debate. The paper concludes with a discussion on the theoretical and practical implications of these resultsA pesar de su importancia, los efectos de la retroalimentación en entornos en línea no han sido ampliamente evaluados; tampoco hay consenso sobre cómo deben medirse. El objetivo de este estudio exploratorio es analizar los efectos de la retroalimentación del profesorado durante el desarrollo de un foro de discusión en línea. Durante un período de tres semanas, los participantes (14 estudiantes universitarios y su tutor) participaron en un debate virtual sobre el uso de Wikipedia con fines académicos, utilizando la plataforma Knowledge Forum (los participantes realizaron 328 publicaciones en total). Sobre la base de las características de los entornos de aprendizaje en línea, desarrollamos un modelo multidimensional para estudiar los comentarios del profesor y sus efectos durante la interacción en línea. Los resultados muestran los principales efectos de la retroalimentación tanto en la discusión de los estudiantes sobre los temas de aprendizaje -efecto en cadena y efecto en racimo-, como en las reglas de participación en el debate. El documento concluye con una discusión sobre las implicaciones teóricas y prácticas de estos resultado

The utilization of a self-sufficient didactic material in a selfdirected learning process

Este artículo tiene como objetivo el análisis de las actividades de enseñanza-aprendizaje previstas en el diseño de un material didáctico autosuficiente, que ha sido creado para ser utilizado en un proceso autodirigido de aprendizaje, para compararlo con el desarrollo de este proceso de aprendizaje autodirigido enmarcado en una secuencia didáctica real. Los resultados obtenidos en el estudio nos aportan evidencias empíricas que proporcionan una mayor comprensión de los procesos de aprendizaje de los alumnos con este tipo de materiales, a la vez que nos que permiten extraer algunas implicaciones para el diseño tecnológico y pedagógico de este tipo de materiales didácticosThis paper has as objective the analysis of the teaching activities -learning anticipated in the design of a self-sufficient didactic material, that it has been created to be used in a selfdirected of learning, to compare it with the development of this self-directed learning process framed in a real didactic sequence. The results obtained in the study provide us empirical evidence that provide a greater comprehension of the learning processes of the pupils with this type of materials, at the same time that us that permit to extract some implications for the technological and pedagogic design of this type of didactic material