Critical Digital Pedagogies in Modern Languages – a Tutorial Collection

This introduction sets out the context for this special collection of self-learning online tutorials exploring critical pedagogies in Modern Languages. Previous research has demonstrated that, while some areas within the Modern Languages (such as language pedagogy) have a long history of engagement with digital mediation through approaches such as CALL, MALL and TELL, broader experience with digital culture and technology within the field is characterised by uncertainty, scepticism and sometimes anxiety. This is particularly apparent in the area of digital literacy acquisition – a survey we carried out in 2019 demonstrated significant interest in acquiring digital literacies appropriate to Modern Languages education and research, but also doubts about which literacies needed to be acquired and how to acquire them. This collection consists of practical and open educational resources for use in the Modern Languages, but it also represents an interrogation of the affordances and limitations generated by digital mediation. In this introduction we highlight some of the challenges that the collection had to overcome, and in so doing, we hope to foster wider discussion about how digital learning resources can be better integrated into Modern Languages education and research across languages, across educational levels and across digital platforms

Asymptotic modeling of Helmholtz resonators\\ including thermoviscous effects

We systematically employ the method of matched asymptotic expansions to model Helmholtz resonators, with thermoviscous effects incorporated starting from first principles and with the lumped parameters characterizing the neck and cavity geometries precisely defined and provided explicitly for a wide range of geometries. With an eye towards modeling acoustic metasurfaces, we consider resonators embedded in a rigid surface, each resonator consisting of an arbitrarily shaped cavity connected to the external half-space by a small cylindrical neck. The bulk of the analysis is devoted to the problem where a single resonator is subjected to a normally incident plane wave; the model is then extended using “Foldy’s method” to the case of multiple resonators subjected to an arbitrary incident field. As an illustration, we derive critical-coupling conditions for optimal and perfect absorption by a single resonator and a model metasurface, respectively

de Finetti reductions for correlations

When analysing quantum information processing protocols one has to deal with large entangled systems, each consisting of many subsystems. To make this analysis feasible, it is often necessary to identify some additional structure. de Finetti theorems provide such a structure for the case where certain symmetries hold. More precisely, they relate states that are invariant under permutations of subsystems to states in which the subsystems are independent of each other. This relation plays an important role in various areas, e.g., in quantum cryptography or state tomography, where permutation invariant systems are ubiquitous. The known de Finetti theorems usually refer to the internal quantum state of a system and depend on its dimension. Here we prove a different de Finetti theorem where systems are modelled in terms of their statistics under measurements. This is necessary for a large class of applications widely considered today, such as device independent protocols, where the underlying systems and the dimensions are unknown and the entire analysis is based on the observed correlations.Comment: 5+13 pages; second version closer to the published one; new titl

Regular string-like braneworlds

In this work, we propose a new class of smooth thick string-like braneworld in six dimensions. The brane exhibits a varying brane-tension and an $AdS$ asymptotic behavior. The brane-core geometry is parametrized by the Bulk cosmological constant, the brane width and by a geometrical deformation parameter. The source satisfies the dominant energy condition for the undeformed solution and has an exotic asymptotic regime for the deformed solution. This scenario provides a normalized massless Kaluza-Klein mode for the scalar, gravitational and gauge sectors. The near-brane geometry allows massive resonant modes at the brane for the $s$ state and nearby the brane for $l=1$.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures. Some modifications to match the published version in EPJ

Detection and Quantification of Grass and Olea Airborne Pollen Allergens in Outdoor Air Samples and its Correlation with Pollen Counts

Detection and Quantification of Grass and Olea Airborne Pollen Allergens in Outdoor Air Samples and its Correlation with Pollen Counts R Ferro1*, R Ribeiro1*, MR Martins1,2, AT Caldeira1,3, E Caeiro6, CM Antunes1,5 & R Brandão2,4 and the HIALINE working group7 1Dep. of Chemistry, University of Evora, Portugal; 2Mediterranean Inst. Crop and Environment Sciences, Univ.Evora, Portugal; 3Centro Química, University of Évora, Portugal; 4Dep. Biology, University of Evora; 5Center for NeuroSciences and Cell Biology-University of Coimbra, Portugal; 6Soc.Portuguesa Alergol.Imunologia Clínica , Portugal 7 M. Thibaudon, France, M. Smith, United Kingdom, C. Galan, Spain R. Albertini, Italy, L. Grewling, Poland, G. Reese, Germany, A. Rantio-Lehtimäki, Finland, S. Jäger and U. Berger, Austria, M. Sofiev, Finland, I. Sauliene, Lithuania, L. Cecchi, Italy Presenting author: [email protected] tel: +351 266760889 Introduction: Allergic respiratory diseases broken out after an exposure to airborne pollen, as asthma and allergic rhinitis, are deeply increasing and they represent one of the major public health problems nowadays, affecting about 40% of European population. In Portugal, grass and Olea europaea pollen are certainly one of the main sources of athmospheric aeroallergens and as such, one of the main causes of respiratory allergy. For these reasons, it is useful the development of new strategies for prevention and treatment of these pathologies. The execution of aerobiological analysis including pollen calendars and/or immunoassays for the detection and quantification of allergens which could forecast the allergenic potential of the athmosphere are quite relevant since they would contribute to develop prevention measures of allergic respiratory diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the putative correlation between the concentration of some of the major allergens of and with their pollen counts. Methodology: On a meteorological platform at the town center of Evora (south Portugal), ambient air was sampled at 800L/min with a Chemvol high-volume cascade impactor equipped with stages PM>10µm, 10 µm>PM>2.5µm. The polyurethane impacting substrate was extracted with 0.1M NH4HCO3, pH8.1, supplemented with 0.1% BSA. The major pollen allergens from grass Phleum p 5 and olive Ole e 1 were determined with allergen specific ELISA´s. Airborne pollen of and Olea europaea simultaneously monitored with a Burkard Seven Day Recording Volumetric Spore Trap* , between the 30th of April and the 8th of July of 2009. Both samplers were placed side-by-side with air input at the same level. Results: During the pollen season of 2009, high values of grass pollen were recorded between May 2th and June 1 th. It was also observed that the air content of Phl p5 or Ole e1 aeroallergens were directly correlated with airborne pollen counts of Poaceae and Oleaceae, respectively. Conclusions: These results suggest that the directly quantification of aeroallergens may contribute, together with pollen counts of air samples, to define the allergic risk with higher precision. Acknowledgments: This study is integrated in the european project HIALINE (Executive Agency for Health and Consumers under grant agreement No 2008 11 07

TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF POACEAE POLLEN IN AREAS OF SOUTHERN UNITED KINGDOM, SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

Overall, longer Poaceae pollen seasons coincided with earlier pollen season start dates. Winter rainfall noticeably affects the intensity of Poaceae pollen seasons in Mediterranean areas, but this was not as important in Worcester. Weekly data from Worcester followed a similar pattern to that of Badajoz and Évora but at a distance of more than 1500 km and 4-5 weeks later