Autonomous University of Sinaloa

This study evaluates the structural reliability and seismic performance of reinforced concrete buildings with two different lateral load-resisting systems: (1) conventional moment-resisting frames (MRF) and (2) dual systems combining MRF with buckling-restrained braces (BRB). Both structures are assumed to be located on soft soil deposits within the lake-bed zone of Mexico City. Nonlinear dynamic analyses were performed using a suite of ground motion records representative of the local seismic hazard. The reliability assessment included the development of fragility curves and the estimation of the mean annual frequency of exceedance for key engineering demand parameters. Furthermore, the seismic performance of the building models was quantified in terms of expected economic losses using the methodology included in FEMA P-58. Results demonstrate that the incorporation of BRB significantly enhances structural reliability and reduces expected annual losses compared to the conventional MRF system. Specifically, the dual MRF–BRB building exhibited an Expected Annual Loss (EAL) of 0.43

Backyard activities (BAs) constitute a traditional rural food production strategy, although their sustainability-related outcomes remain underexplored in rural contexts. Our objective is to analyze how BAs in rural communities in the municipality of Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, represent a local strategy for producing healthy food through sustainable practices, focusing on the relationship between production processes and indicators associated with waste management, water use, and environmental impact. A stratified sampling approach was employed, and a structured survey was administered to 387 households practicing BAs in the region. Instrument consistency was verified using the Kuder-Richardson coefficient. Results show that BAs are relevant in the region: 89.15% of respondents have a family garden and 67.96% raise animals for domestic consumption, supporting an additional income. Chi-square tests revealed statistically significant correlations (p < 0.05) among the study variables, ranging from moderate to strong, with backyard animal husbandry practices standing out in relation to nutritional and health management in animal production, reaffirming that these are not isolated events but complementary activities. These findings indicate that BAs involve interconnected systems rather than isolated activities, reflecting an integrated household-level system with potential implications for resource management and environmental sustainability in rural contexts.

Acoustic communication in anurans exhibits considerable plasticity, yet the role of nonlinear phenomena (NLP) and their environmental modulation remain poorly understood. We investigated the acoustic structure of advertisement and aggressive calls in a free-toed frog from Sinaloa, Mexico. Calls from 24 males were recorded under natural conditions and during playback experiments to test whether vocalizations change in response to conspecific acoustic stimulation, with particular emphasis on NLP. Differences between spontaneous and post-stimulus calls revealed strong contextual modulation, after which relationships between acoustic variables, body size, and ambient temperature were evaluated. Advertisement and aggressive calls differed significantly in temporal and spectral characteristics, with aggressive calls showing greater duration, lower dominant frequency, and increased structural complexity. Dominant frequency in advertisement calls was negatively correlated with body size. NLP were common in both call types; however, aggressive calls showed lower proportion of chaos and shorter frequency jumps. In advertisement calls, several nonlinear components were significantly associated with temperature: chaos, subharmonics, and frequency jumps decreased with increasing temperature, whereas the proportion of harmonics increased. In contrast, aggressive calls did not exhibit significant thermal relationships. This study provides evidence that environmental temperature modulates multiple nonlinear acoustic components in anuran vocalizations. Our findings highlight the bioacoustics flexibility of Eleutherodactylus interorbitalis and suggest that NLP may serve as sensitive indicators of physiological and environmental conditions, contributing to a broader understanding of spectral encoding in amphibian communication.

Virtual reality (VR) has become a key tool in education, although some students still struggle with focus, leading to high dropout rates. The goal of this research was to create a more engaging and effective learning environment through immersive technology, but high costs remain a barrier for low-budget educational institutions. This study evaluates the implementation of an open-source immersive VR (IVR) solution for education, combining OpenSimulator, Firestorm VR, SteamVR and Meta Quest 2, as a cost-effective alternative to commercial platforms. Through systematic hardware benchmarking, we demonstrate a cost reduction compared to commercial solutions while maintaining high performance through optimized hardware configurations. Comparative analysis reveals that open-source solutions offer superior customization and privacy control, although they require greater technical experience for implementation. These findings provide actionable guidelines for institutions adopting IVR, balancing performance and affordability.

Quantum algorithms provide a promising framework in high-energy physics, in particular, for unraveling the causal configurations of multiloop Feynman diagrams by identifying Feynman propagators with qubits, a challenge analogous to querying directed acyclic graphs in graph theory. In this paper, we present the Minimum Clique-optimised quantum Algorithm (MCA), an automated quantum algorithm designed to efficiently query the causal structures within the Loop-Tree Duality. The MCA quantum algorithm is optimised by exploiting graph theory techniques, specifically, by analogy with the Minimum Clique Partition problem. The evaluation of the MCA quantum algorithm is exhibited by analysing the transpiled quantum circuit depth and quantum circuit area.