The feminine face of Science

Uno de los objetivos fijados en la asignatura Ciencias para el mundo contemporáneo (1º de Bachillerato) es el de superar el escaso interés que siente el alumnado hacia la ciencia. Es necesario para tal fin un cambio en los planteamientos tanto metodológicos como temáticos, respecto a las asignaturas de ciencias tradicionales. Con la intención de contribuir a este cambio se han diseñado actividades en las que confluyen características que podrán ayudar a conseguirlo. En el caso propuesto se escogió una temática controvertida a lo largo de la historia: Mujeres y Ciencia; eligiendo como estrategia de aprendizaje las webquests y publicando en la red las tareas realizadas por el alumnado, todo esto con la finalidad de romper las paredes del aula y hacer extensiva la cultura científica al resto de la comunidad educativa y público en general

La controversia de los agrocombustibles, una propuesta didáctica para las Ciencias para el Mundo Contemporáneo

Presentamos una propuesta didáctica para llevar a cabo en la nueva materia Ciencias para el Mundo Contemporáneo (CMC). Elegimos un tema actual y controvertido, como es el caso de los agrocombustibles (mal llamados biocombustibles) y lo abordamos de un modo que se convierta en algo atractivo para los alumnos, haciéndoles conocer a la vez los fundamentos científicos del problema.Palabras clave: Ciencias para el Mundo Contemporáneo; Biocombustibles; MiniQuest; Contrapublicidad; Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible; Alfabetización científica; Pensamiento crítico.Biofuel controversy, a didactic proposal for the “Sciences in the Contemporary World”We present a didactic proposal to be carried out in the new subject in spanish curriculum “Sciences in the Contemporary World”. We take this controverted subject, using the term agrofuels instead of biofuels, to be developed in classroom, introducing it in a attractive way for the students, and stating at the same time its scientific foundations.Key words: Sciences in the Contemporary World; Biofuels; MiniQuest; Advertising countermeasures; Education for the Sustainable Development; Scientific Alphabetization; Critical thinking

Physical activity and smoking habit in adolescent students

El objetivo de este estudio fue detectar en qué medida afecta la actividad física y el hábito tabáquico en estudiantes de Enseñanza Secundaria. Se estudiaron 168 adolescentes no fumadores y fumadores recién iniciados. Se midieron peso, talla, presión arterial, frecuencia cardíaca, actividad física, fuerza, flexibilidad y resistencia y una prueba espirométrica. Tanto en chicas y chicos fumadores, se evidenciaron peores resultados en la mayoría de los parámetros espirométricos (FEV1, FEF25-75%, FVC) y un envejecimiento prematuro del pulmón, más acentuado en chicas. La actividad físico-deportiva moderada se asocia a adolescentes que menos fuman y tienen más facilidad para abandonar el hábito tabáquicoThe aim of the study was to detect how physical education and smoking habits affect secondary school students, 168 non smokers and newly initiated were studied. Weight, height, heart rate, blood pressure, physical activity, strength, flexibility and endurance, and spirometric tests were analyzed. In both, female and male smokers, obtained worse results in the mayority of spirometric parameters (FEV1, FEF25-75%, FVC) and premature lung ageing, more pointed in females. Moderate physical-sporting activity is associated to adolescents who smoke less and quit smoking more easil

The Fornax Cluster through S-PLUS

The Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS) aims to map ≈ 9300 deg2of the southernsky using the Javalambre filter system of 12 optical bands, 5 Sloan-like filters and 7 narrow-band filters centeredon several prominent stellar features ([OII], Ca H+K, D4000, Hδ, Mgb, Hα and CaT). S-PLUS is carried outwith the T80-South, a new robotic 0.826 m telescope located on CTIO, equipped with a wide field of view camera(2 deg2). In this poster we introduce project #59 of the S-PLUS collaboration aimed at studying the Fornaxgalaxy cluster covering an sky area of ≈ 11 × 7 deg2, and with homogeneous photometry in the 12 optical bandsof S-PLUS (Coordinator: A. Smith Castelli).Fil: Smith Castelli, Analia Viviana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Mendez de Olivera, C.. Universidade do Sao Paulo. Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas; BrasilFil: Herpic, F.. Universidade do Sao Paulo. Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas; BrasilFil: Barbosa, C.. Universidade do Sao Paulo. Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas; BrasilFil: Escudero, Carlos Gabriel. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Grossi, M.. Observatorio de Valongo; BrasilFil: Sodré, L.. Universidade do Sao Paulo. Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas; BrasilFil: de Bom, .. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; BrasilFil: Zenocratti, Lucas Jesús. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: de Rossi, Maria Emilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio(i); ArgentinaFil: Cortesi, A.. Observatorio de Valongo; BrasilFil: Cid Fernandes, R.. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Lopes, A.. Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología E Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional. Departamento Astronomia y Astrofísica; BrasilFil: Telles, E.. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; BrasilFil: Oliveira Schwarz, G. B.. Universidade Anhembi Morumbi; BrasilFil: Dantas, M. L. L.. Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center; PoloniaFil: Faifer, Favio Raúl. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Chies Santos, A.. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Saponara, Juliana. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: Reynaldi, María Victoria. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Andruchow, Ileana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Sesto, Leandro Alberto. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Mestre, M.. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; ArgentinaFil: de Amorim, A. L.. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: de Lima, E. V. R.. Universidade do Sao Paulo. Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas; BrasilFil: Abboud, J.. Universidade do Sao Paulo. Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas; BrasilFil: Cernic, V.. Universidade do Sao Paulo. Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas; BrasilFil: Souza de Almeida Garcia, I.. Universidade do Sao Paulo. Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas; Brasil62° Reunión Anual de la Asociación Argentina de AstronomíaRosarioArgentinaUniversidad Nacional de RosarioComplejo Astronómico Municipal Galileo Galile

First observation of Bs -> D_{s2}^{*+} X mu nu decays

Using data collected with the LHCb detector in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, the semileptonic decays Bs -> Ds+ X mu nu and Bs -> D0 K+ X mu nu are detected. Two structures are observed in the D0 K+ mass spectrum at masses consistent with the known D^+_{s1}(2536) and $D^{*+}_{s2}(2573) mesons. The measured branching fractions relative to the total Bs semileptonic rate are B(Bs -> D_{s2}^{*+} X mu nu)/B(Bs -> X mu nu)= (3.3\pm 1.0\pm 0.4)%, and B(Bs -> D_{s1}^+ X munu)/B(Bs -> X mu nu)= (5.4\pm 1.2\pm 0.5)%, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. This is the first observation of the D_{s2}^{*+} state in Bs decays; we also measure its mass and width.Comment: 8 pages 2 figures. Published in Physics Letters

A pathogenic role for germline PTEN variants which accumulate into the nucleus.

The PTEN gene encodes a master regulator protein that exerts essential functions both in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. PTEN is mutated in the germline of both patients with heterogeneous tumor syndromic diseases, categorized as PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS), and a group affected with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous studies have unveiled the functional heterogeneity of PTEN variants found in both patient cohorts, making functional studies necessary to provide mechanistic insights related to their pathogenicity. Here, we have functionally characterized a PTEN missense variant [c.49C>G; p.(Gln17Glu); Q17E] associated to both PHTS and ASD patients. The PTEN Q17E variant displayed partially reduced PIP3-catalytic activity and normal stability in cells, as shown using S. cerevisiae and mammalian cell experimental models. Remarkably, PTEN Q17E accumulated in the nucleus, in a process involving the PTEN N-terminal nuclear localization sequence. The analysis of additional germline-associated PTEN N-terminal variants illustrated the existence of a PTEN N-terminal region whose targeting in disease causes PTEN nuclear accumulation, in parallel with defects in PIP3-catalytic activity in cells. Our findings highlight the frequent occurrence of PTEN gene mutations targeting PTEN N-terminus whose pathogenicity may be related, at least in part, with the retention of PTEN in the nucleus. This could be important for the implementation of precision therapies for patients with alterations in the PTEN pathway

Prompt K_short production in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=0.9 TeV

The production of K_short mesons in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 0.9 TeV is studied with the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The luminosity of the analysed sample is determined using a novel technique, involving measurements of the beam currents, sizes and positions, and is found to be 6.8 +/- 1.0 microbarn^-1. The differential prompt K_short production cross-section is measured as a function of the K_short transverse momentum and rapidity in the region 0 < pT < 1.6 GeV/c and 2.5 < y < 4.0. The data are found to be in reasonable agreement with previous measurements and generator expectations.Comment: 6+18 pages, 6 figures, updated author lis

Poly (vinyl alcohol) and poly (benzimidazole) blend membranes for high performance alkaline direct ethanol fuel cells

A series of poly(vinyl alcohol)-blend-poly(benzimidazole) (PVA:PBI) membranes are synthesized with different ratios of PVA and PBI (2:1, 4:1, 6:1 and 8:1) using the casting method. These materials are doped in KOH 6 M solution in order to study their suitability for fuel cell applications. The Infra-red (IR) and Raman spectra confirm the successful doping of the membranes and the dimensional changes due to water and KOH uptakes during the doping are similar to other PBI-based membranes. XPS measurements are performed to evaluate the characteristics of these materials after the doping process. The thermal stability of the membranes is excellent in the range of desired temperatures (below 100 °C) and the conductivity values found are between 10−2and 10−1S cm−1. These results are optimal to consider these membranes as candidates for anion exchange membranes (AEMs) and they are tested in a single cell with ethanol as fuel. The PVA:PBI 4:1 membrane have the best behaviour in fuel cell, reaching a power density of 76 mW cm−2, approximately 50% better than the doped PBI in the same conditions. These important results can be considered highly promising for the future application of these membranes in alkaline polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (APEMFC).This work has been partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO) under projects ENE2016-77055-C3-1-R and CTQ2015-68844-REDT, and by the Madrid Regional Research Council (CAM) under project S2013/MAE-2882 727 (RESTOENE-2)

Fe-N/C catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction supported on different carbonaceous materials. Performance in acidic and alkaline direct alcohol fuel cells

Four carbonaceous materials (acetylene black, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and two carbon materials synthesized by hard-template method) were used as a support to synthesize four Fe-N/C non-noble metal (NNM) catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by impregnation with a FeIII–1,10-phenanthroline complex and subsequent pyrolysis in inert atmosphere. The catalysts were characterized by N2 physisorption, XPS, Raman and TGA, and their ORR activity was measured by rotating disk electrode (RDE) in both acidic and alkaline conditions. The catalysts were tested in an acidic direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) and in an alkaline direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC). Due to the slower ORR kinetics at low pH, the features of the carbon support have an important influence on the performance in acidic DMFC. Conversely, the enhanced ORR kinetics at high pH, makes the influence of the C-support less evident in alkaline DEFC. Moreover, the short-term durability test in DMFC for our best Fe-N/C catalysts showed better results compared to Pt/C benchmark catalyst. The durability in alkaline DEFC is poor, even though the initial performance can be partially recovered after purge-drying and reactivation

Assessment of PTEN tumor suppressor activity in nonmammalian models: the year of the yeast.

Model organisms have emerged as suitable and reliable biological tools to study the properties of proteins whose function is altered in human disease. In the case of the PI3K and PTEN human cancer-related proteins, several vertebrate and invertebrate models, including mouse, fly, worm and amoeba, have been exploited to obtain relevant functional information that has been conserved from these organisms to humans along evolution. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an eukaryotic unicellular organism that lacks a canonical mammalian-like PI3K/PTEN pathway and PIP3 as a physiological second messenger, PIP2 being essential for its life. The mammalian PI3K/PTEN pathway can be reconstituted in S. cerevisiae, generating growth alteration phenotypes that can be easily monitored to perform in vivo functional analysis of the molecular constituents of this pathway. Here, we review the current nonmammalian model systems to study PTEN function, summarize our knowledge of PTEN orthologs in yeast species and propose the yeast S. cerevisiae as a sensitive biological sensor of PI3K oncogenicity and PTEN tumor suppressor activity