Shannon entropy: an econophysical approach to cryptocurrency portfolios

Cryptocurrency markets have attracted many interest for global investors because of their novelty, wide online availability, increasing capitalization and potential profits. In the econophysics tradition we show that many of the most available cryptocurrencies have return statistics that do not follow Gaussian distributions but heavy--tailed distributions instead. Entropy measures are also applied showing that portfolio diversification is a reasonable practice for decreasing return uncertainty.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Entrop

Desarrollo de una solución de inteligencia de negocios para mejorar la toma de decisiones en el departamento de Gestión de Asociados de la Cámara de Comercio y Producción La Libertad

El autor no autoriza la publicación de la tesis

Critical reflection in practice: Generating Knowledge from the Interactions with Promotores for Engagement in Neurocognitive Disorders

Background: Colonias are underserved areas along the Texas-Mexico border, with high incidences of neurocognitive disorders, dementia, and Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD). Our goal is to build capacity to reduce risk, facilitate treatment for affected individuals, and provide caregiver support. Our aim was to construct an approach that was reflective and would reveal the rich and diverse ways in which people make meaning of their experiences and interactions with scientists, faculty, staff and students. Methods: We examined our work with local community health workers. (CHWs), promotores in Spanish, to establish contact with, engage, mobilize, and educate the Hispanic communities of the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV). Qualitative research methods were the principal way to approach this aim, including critical reflection. Results: We now have 347 certified promotores in LRGV: 174 in Cameron County, 169 in Hidalgo County, 3 in Starr County, and 1 in Willacy County. Most of the promotores in LRGV are female, Spanish-speakers (98%) although half of them are also fluent in English and more than half of the promotores have five years or more as a state-certified CHW. Assumptions about knowledge, power and reflexivity surfaced in the interactions with members of the academic world interacting with Colonia’s residents. Conclusions: Aspects of critical reflection, including deconstructing assumptions about knowledge, power and reflexivity, are useful to guide actions that facilitate capacity building in the Colonias, as well as action research methodology. The LRGV population’s characteristics make early detection of AD and dementia and support for patients and caregivers’ high priorities and clearly understanding the role of promotores as mediators is important

El Khan Academy en la resolución de problemas de cantidad de los estudiantes del 4 grado-I. E-Madre Teresa de Calcuta - VMT - 2022

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo determinar la influencia del Khan Academy en la resolución de problemas de cantidad de los estudiantes del 4 grado de la Institución Educativa Madre Teresa de Calcuta Villa María del Triunfo 2022. Con una metodología de tipo cuantitativo, nivel explicativo, diseño pre experimental, con una muestra aleatoria de 16 estudiantes, se logró probar la teoría conectivista de (Siemens, 2006) quien afirma que el conectivismo supera al constructivismo en medida que el aprendiz no siempre está construyendo, sin embargo, esta permanentemente conectado, por lo que supone que, en ocasiones se enriquece más navegando organizando o desorganizando lo organizado, construyéndolo, pero significativamente. En relación a los resultados se hallo que al comparar las medias del pre test y pos test existe una diferencia de los promedios (z= -3,526) con una Sig. (<0,05) con la prueba de Wilcoxon aceptando la hipótesis de la investigación y rechazando la hipótesis nula

A novel plant cell culture platform for semicontinous production of recombinant proteins: Butyrylcholinesterase as a case study

In this paper we describe a novel biomanufacturing production platform that utilizes transgenic rice cell suspension cultures for efficient semicontinuous cell culture (SCC) production of recombinant proteins. The production platform utilizes a metabolically regulated promoter, a secretion signal peptide that enables secretion out of the cell for ease of recovery/purification, coupled with an efficient semicontinuous operational strategy that allows independent optimization of growth and production phases. In addition, long term operation (up several months1) is possible by maintaining viable biomass within the bioreactor, thereby reducing the need for long seed trains, as well as minimizing turn-around time, CIP and SIP operations, chemicals and energy. This platform offers a number of advantages over traditional methods for production of recombinant therapeutic proteins that use E. coli, yeast or mammalian cell cultures, while still retaining the ability to meet cGMP regulatory requirements under well-controlled, reproducible production conditions. Traditional methods for production of biologics use genetically modified E. coli, yeast, insect or mammalian cell cultures in bioreactor systems. For applications where a human therapeutic protein (monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, bioscavengers, replacement biologics) produced under strict cGMP conditions are required, plant cell cultures offer a number of advantages over currently used bioreactor-based systems, including low risk of contamination by mammalian viruses, blood-borne pathogens, prions or bacterial endotoxins or mycoplasma, the ability to perform complex glycosylation, ease of culturing compared with other higher eukaryotic hosts, the ability to target the product to the extracellular medium, and the ability to grow in simple, low cost, chemically defined and animal component-free medium. In this paper we describe the specific characteristics of the rice cell suspension culture that make them particularly useful for continuous operation and superior to other hosts including their slow death rates, growth in small aggregates, limited secretome, and robustness under culture conditions. In addition, the regulatory pathway for plant-based recombinant biologics for human therapeutic use has now been established. ElelysoTM, produced in carrot cell suspension in batch culture by Protalix Biotherapeutics and Pfizer, Inc. for treatment of Gaucher disease was approved by the FDA in May 20122, 3. The transgenic rice cell culture system is operated in a cyclical, semicontinuous operation as shown in Figure 1. Note that gravity sedimentation within the bioreactor can be used to separate the plant cell aggregates from the liquid phase in Steps 3 and 6, and that the product collected in Step 6 can be purified either using a batch downstream strategy or collected to feed a continuous downstream process. Results will be presented for semicontinuous production of butyrylcholinesterase, a bioscavenger for organophosphorus nerve agents such as sarin, using the metabolically regulated transgenic rice cell culture in 5 L bioreactors

Semicontinuous Bioreactor Production of Recombinant Butyrylcholinesterase in Transgenic Rice Cell Suspension Cultures.

An active and tetrameric form of recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), a large and complex human enzyme, was produced via semicontinuous operation in a transgenic rice cell suspension culture. After transformation of rice callus and screening of transformants, the cultures were scaled up from culture flask to a lab scale bioreactor. The bioreactor was operated through two phases each of growth and expression. The cells were able to produce BChE during both expression phases, with a maximum yield of 1.6 mg BChE/L of culture during the second expression phase. Cells successfully regrew during a 5-day growth phase. A combination of activity assays and Western blot analysis indicated production of an active and fully assembled tetramer of BChE

Diseño de la red de alcantarillado sanitario del Barrio Monte Sinaí de la Ciudad de Estelí para un período de 20 años (2009-2029)

Realizar un diseño de un sistema de alcantarillados sanitarios que funcione en optimas condiciones, con eficiencia hidráulica y con una gestión en la facturación y operatividad del sistema durante los 20 años de funcionamiento, para abastecer a 876 habitantes del barrio Monte Sinaí y así mejorar las condiciones de vida de los pobladores del barrio en mención, es la finalidad del presente trabajo. Para efectuar el cumplimiento de este se requiere diseñar un sistema de alcantarillado con todos sus elementos hidráulicos que garantice la evacuación completa de las aguas servidas durante su periodo de diseño, incluyendo obras complementarias como es el caso de las conexiones domiciliares, utilizando los medios tecnológicos para el trazado de la red con sus dimensiones, sintetizadas en una tabla de cálculos hidráulicos y planos resumen y cumpliendo con lo establecido en las normas técnicas de ENACAL. Para tal fin se han incluido en el diseño 666 habitantes de los barrios aledaños, Miguel Alonso y lotificación las Palmas, con lo cual se beneficiara un total de 1542 pobladores (estos datos se detallan en la IV unidad diseño hidráulico de la red). En aras de garantizar la finalidad de este trabajo, se plantea cumplir los siguientes componentes que ayudaran a la ejecución del presente trabajo, como es el de realizar una recopilación de datos básicos generales de las condiciones físicas y socioeconómicos del barrio, en los que se logra obtener la vital información de que el 86% de la población plantea la necesidad de la instalación del sistema de alcantarillado estos indicadores son verificables en la información general del área de estudio mediante las encuestas realizadas a los diferentes estamentos del barrio, reflejadas en los diagramas realizados en el programa Microsoft Excel . Realizar un levantamiento topográfico para determinar y evaluar los parámetros del terreno de la zona de estudio, estableciendo el sentido direccional del flujo de la red, la ubicación de los 23 PVS dibujados en planos completos y cuantificaciones detalladas en las que se incluye memoria de cálculo y especificaciones técnicas del sistema. Estimar el costo total de la obra, el cual asciende a C$1,985,150.06 (un millón novecientos ochenta y cinco mil, ciento cincuenta con seis centavos ) equivalente a$ 95,439.91 (noventa y cinco mil, cuatrocientos treinta nueve con 91/100 centavos ), trabajando con una tasa de cambio de C$20.80 ( veinte córdobas con 80 / 100 centavos ) por$ 1 (un dólar americano). Y finalmente realizar la evaluación del impacto ambiental del proyecto, correspondiente a una valoración, mediante la asignación de 2 componentes ambientales con 11 sub componentes ambientales y 27 factores ambientales para evaluar las actividades del proyecto positiva y negativamente tanto en la etapa de construcción como en la de operación, y luego se proponen las medidas de mitigación y el plan de gestión para reducir el efecto que puedan causar los impactos negativos al medio ambiente y al ser humano

A malaria vaccine candidate based on an epitope of the Plasmodium falciparum RH5 protein

BACKGROUND: The Plasmodium falciparum protein RH5 is an adhesin molecule essential for parasite invasion of erythrocytes. Recent studies show that anti-PfRH5 sera have potent invasion-inhibiting activities, supporting the idea that the PfRH5 antigen could form the basis of a vaccine. Therefore, epitopes recognized by neutralizing anti-PfRH5 antibodies could themselves be effective vaccine immunogens if presented in a sufficiently immunogenic fashion. However, the exact regions within PfRH5 that are targets of this invasion-inhibitory activity have yet to be identified. METHODS: A battery of anti-RH5 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were produced and screened for their potency by inhibition of invasion assays in vitro. Using an anti-RH5 mAb that completely inhibited invasion as the selecting mAb, affinity-selection using random sequence peptide libraries displayed on virus-like particles of bacteriophage MS2 (MS2 VLPs) was performed. VLPs were sequenced to identify the specific peptide epitopes they encoded and used to raise specific antisera that was in turn tested for inhibition of invasion. RESULTS: Three anti-RH5 monoclonals (0.1 mg/mL) were able to inhibit invasion in vitro by >95%. Affinity-selection with one of these mAbs yielded a VLP which yielded a peptide whose sequence is identical to a portion of PfRH5 itself. The VLP displaying the peptide binds strongly to the antibody, and in immunized animals elicits an anti-PfRH5 antibody response. The resulting antisera against the specific VLP inhibit parasite invasion of erythrocytes more than 90% in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: Here, data is presented from an anti-PfRH5 mAb that completely inhibits erythrocyte invasion by parasites in vitro, one of the few anti-malarial monoclonal antibodies reported to date that completely inhibits invasion with such potency, adding to other studies that highlight the potential of PfRH5 as a vaccine antigen. The specific neutralization sensitive epitope within RH5 has been identified, and antibodies against this epitope also elicit high anti-invasion activity, suggesting this epitope could form the basis of an effective vaccine against malaria

Online Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Extreme Learning Machine Applied to 3D Path Following for Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicles

In marine missions that involve 3D path following tasks, the overall goal of Underwater Vehicles (UVs) is the successful completion of a path previously specified by the operator. This implies that the path must be followed by the UV as closely as possible and arrive at a location for collection by a vessel. In this paper, an Online Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Extreme Learning Machine (OIT2-FELM) is suggested to achieve a robust following behaviour along a predefined 3D path using a Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV). The proposed machine is a fast sequential learning scheme to the training of a more generalised model of TSK Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Inference Systems (TSK IT2 FISs) equivalent to Single Layer Feedforward Neural Networks (SLFNs). Learning new input data in the OIT2-FELM can be done one-by-one or chunk-by-chunk with a fixed or varying size. The OIT2-FELM is implemented in a hierarchical navigation strategy (HNS) as the main guidance mechanism to infer local control motions and to provide the ROV with the necessary autonomy to complete a predefined 3D path. For local path-planning, the OIT2-FELM performs signal classification for obstacle avoidance and target detection based on data collected by an on-board scan sonar. To evaluate the performance of the proposed OIT2-FELM, two different experiments are suggested. First, a number of benchmark problems in the field of non-linear system identification, regression and classification problems are used. Secondly, a number of experiments to the completion of a predefined 3D path using an ROV is implemented. Compared to other fuzzy strategies, the OIT2-FELM offered two significant capabilities. On the one hand, the OIT2-FELM provides a better treatment of uncertainty and noisy signals in underwater environments while improving the ROV's performance. Secondly, online learning in OIT2-FELM allows continuous knowledge discovery from survey data to infer the surroundings of the ROV. Experiment results to the completion of 3D paths show the effectiveness of the proposed approach to handle uncertainty and produce reasonable classification predictions (∼90.5% accuracy in testing data).</p

Alzheimer’s Disease Studies in the Tex-Mex Border: Dissecting a Complex Multifactorial Problem

Purpose: Alzheimer’s Disease (ALZ) is the leading cause of dementia in the aging population, and Latinos have \u3e3 times higher risk to develop dementia than the overall US population. Although several studies have examined for possible causes of this increased risk, lack of comprehensive information plus a reduced number of Latino samples available in each study have hindered the answers. Description: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has joined two large studies looking for multiple biomarkers associated with ALZ: The South Texas Alzheimer’s Center Clinical Data Repository and Biobank (STAC) and the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium (TARCC). We are now collecting clinical data along with neuroimaging and lab biomarkers from each individual enrolled in these studies, with the aim to enroll a large majority of Latinos in our site sample, which will help to elucidate the differences and risk factors inherent to our population in the border. We are also analyzing data from different Latin-American studies to study specific genetic risks, environmental factors, and their interactions. Partners: UTRGV has partnered with UTHSCSA for the STAC study and with many other academic research institutions at TARCC. We aim to provide experiences of clinical training to our psychology students and residents of medical specialties, as well as analysis opportunities and opening postdoctoral positions related to the development of this field at UTRGV. Looking Ahead: We expect to generate substantial contributions to the knowledge of cognitive decline in underserved populations, which can lead to improved treatments and better clinical care. Postdoctoral positions will be opening soon at the Institute of Neuroscience