Mexican high school students' social representations of mathematics,its teaching and learning

This paper reports a qualitative research that identifies Mexican high school students’ social representations of mathematics. For this purpose, the social representations of ‘mathematics’, ‘learning mathematics’ and ‘teaching mathematics’ were identified in a group of 50 students. Focus group interviews were carried out in order to obtain the data. The constant comparative style was the strategy used for the data analysis because it allowed the categories to emerge from the data. The students’ social representations are: (A) Mathematics is…(1) important for daily life, (2) important for careers and for life, (3) important because it is in everything that surrounds us, (4) a way to solve problems of daily life, (5) calculations and operations with numbers, (6) complex and difficult, (7) exact and (6) a subject that develops thinking skills; (B) To learn mathematics is…(1) to possess knowledge to solve problems, (2) to be able to solve everyday problems, (3) to be able to make calculations and operations, and (4) to think logically to be able to solve problems; and (C) To teach mathematics is…(1) to transmit knowledge, (2) to know to share it, (3) to transmit the reasoning ability, and (4) to show how to solve problems.     

Ionothermal synthesis and structure analysis of an open-framework zirconium phosphate with a high CO2/CH4 adsorption ratio

Less is more: an open-framework zirconium phosphate with unusual 7-ring channels was synthesized ionothermally from a deep-eutectic solvent. This small-pore material displays a CO(2)/CH(4) adsorption ratio (17.3 at 1 bar) that is significantly higher than that of typical 8-ring materials, making it highly attractive for CO(2)/CH(4) separations.     

Preparation and thermal study of Mg-diclofenac compound in solid state

The thermal behaviour of Mg-diclofenac compound was evaluated by simultaneous TG-DTA and DSC. The profile of the DSC curves showed that this compound possesses two transition phases: endothermic and exothermic between 170–180 °C and 185–195 °C, respectively. The endothermic reaction is reversible (enantiotropic). Thus, different experimental conditions, i.e. masses sample, open and crimped lids crucible, static and dynamic atmospheres were utilized for DSC analysis for evaluation of this transition phase. In a static atmosphere the enantiotropic reaction was not observed. The obtained data were utilized to obtain the kinetic parameters, which were calculated by the Capela and Ribeiro method. The results show that the activation energy for the transition phase depends on the different experimental conditions.     

Morphometric partitioning of the respiratory surface area and diffusion capacity of the gills and swim bladder in juvenile Amazonian air-breathing fish, Arapaima gigas

The gills and the respiratory swim bladders of juvenile specimens (mean body mass 100 g) of the basal teleost Arapaima gigas (Cuvier 1829) were evaluated using stereological methods in vertical sections. The surface areas, harmonic mean barrier thicknesses and morphometric diffusing capacities for oxygen and carbon dioxide were estimated. The average respiratory surface area of the swim bladder (2173 cm² kg^?1) exceeded that of the gills (780 cm² kg^?1) by a factor of 2.79. Due to the extremely thin air–blood barrier in the swim bladder (harmonic mean 0.22 μm) and the much thicker water–blood barrier of the gills (9.61 μm), the morphometric diffusing capacity for oxygen and carbon dioxide was 88 times greater in the swim bladder than in the gills. These data clearly indicate the importance of the swim bladder, even in juvenile A. gigas that still engage in aquatic respiration. Because of the much greater diffusion constant of CO₂ than O₂ in water, the gills also remain important for CO₂ release.     

Macroscopic and microscopic aspects of the temporomandibular joint related to its clinical implication

In order to obtain a precise diagnosis and treatment for temporomandibular dysfunctions, it is necessary to have morphological and functional knowledge of the temporomandibular joint. Anatomic components are important to the understanding of the complexity of temporomandibular joint. Nonetheless, just as important are the anatomic relationships that this joint has with the neighboring structures. Thus, the aim of this study was to present the anatomic relationships of the temporomandibular joint in its various surfaces: external or lateral, anterior, posterior, medial, superior, and posterosuperior, considering the morphological and histological aspects. Nine human heads, fixed in formalin (10%) underwent sagittal medial section and were subsequently dissected, evidencing the anatomic components of all surfaces to be analyzed. Components of the external surface were: skin, subcutaneous tissue, lymphatic ganglia, parotid gland, superficial temporal artery, transverse facial artery, zygomatic-orbital artery, superficial temporal vein, facial and auriculotemporal nerves, masseter muscle, and pre-auricular lymphonodus. The anterior surface comprised the masseter and lateral pterygoid muscles (upper and inferior heads), pterygoid venous plexus, mandibular notch, posterior deep temporal artery, masseteric nerve, and deep posterior temporal branches. Medial surface components were: internal maxillary artery, of which middle meningeal artery was one of the closest branches to the TMJ, anterior tympanic artery, inferior alveolar, lingual, auriculotemporal, and chorda tympani nerves, which belonged to the surface posterior to the anterior wall of the auditory duct; auricolotemporal nerve, parotid gland; and petrotympanic fissure. The cerebral fossa (meninges and encephalon) belonged to the superior surface and the ear belonged to the posterosuperior surface. Histologically, the temporomandibular joint is composed by different tissues that compound the mandibular head, mandibular fossa, and articular eminence of the temporomandibular joint. It was concluded that the temporomandibular joint is a complex structure and the clinician must have the ability to formulate the diagnosis based on the understanding of morphological aspects of the structures that compose the stomatognatic system.