LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT: CONTROLLING TERRITORIES, NORMALIZING SUBJECTS

Language assessment is widely used as a tool to control access to different territories, especially in international mobility. This paper aims to analyze the assessment criteria of the Celpe-BRAS exam in order to highlight the transplantation of normalizing language policies from the Global North into Brazil. By applying Performance Decision Trees, it was possible to observe the gradual punishment of the presence of foreignness in language performances, even when they do not affect proficiency, in line with language policies such as the Common European Framework. This research aims to encourage discussions about the transplantation of a normalizing ritual of assessment as a condition for controlling access to territories

Chemical characterization of an encapsulated red wine powder and its effects on neuronal cells

Red wine polyphenols are known for their implications for human health protection, although they suffer from high instability. For this reason, a red wine powder was prepared by freeze-drying encapsulation in maltodextrin/arabic gum matrix, and its composition was determined by means of high-performance liquid chromatography coupled quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-QTOF). More than thirty polyphenols, including anthocyanins, flavanols, flavonols, phenolic acids and stilbenoids, were identified. Some of the main quantified polyphenols were: malvidin-3-O-glucoside, malvidin 3-O-(6”-acetyl-glucose), petunidin-3-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, syringenin-3-O-glucoside, epicatechin, gallic acid and syringic acid. The biological activity of this de-alcoholized and encapsulated red wine on human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells was studied. The results showed that the encapsulated red wine powder has active redox properties, as verified by performing reactive oxygen species (ROS) analysis utilizing a neuronal model. This could help explain its action against the neurotoxicity induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA).Fil: Rocha Parra, Diego Fernando. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnologia de Alimentos y Nutrición; España. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Chirife, Jorge. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires"; ArgentinaFil: Zamora, María Clara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires"; ArgentinaFil: de Pascual Teresa, Sonia. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnologia de Alimentos y Nutrición; Españ

Exploring Students’ Beliefs about Autonomy in an EFL Setting

89 páginasThe present study aims to explore the beliefs students hold about autonomy in reference to responsibility, ability and willingness to plan, motivate and evaluate learning. This study was carried out at Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Pasto campus, where English language courses require learners to approach learning from an autonomous perspective. However, no previous studies have been carried out to determine whether or not learners have the characteristics of autonomous learners. A total of 432 students participated in the study. They answered a 30 closed-item multiple choice format questionnaire created to elicit students’ beliefs about autonomy. The results showed that learners consider learning to be a shared process in terms of responsibility. Nevertheless, conventional tasks are still observed as a responsibility for teachers. Results also showed that learners considered themselves to be able and felt willing to make decisions concerning planning, motivation and evaluation

The demand of business services in Spain

The growth in the outsourcing of services has become one of the most relevant features of the changes in manufacturing firms¿ behaviour. This paper provides empirical evidence about the extent and evolution of services outsourcing by Spanish manufacturing firms in 1990-1998. A general increase in outsourcing of services has been detected among firms in this period, although with strong differences across sectors and kind of services. Additionally, this paper studies the decision to outsource, devoting particular attention to the relationship between outsourcing and productivity. The results show the influence of variables such as firm size, ownership and location, among others

Los Concursos de Arquitectura como modelo de estudio para el aprendizaje de Expresión Gráfica dirigido a los últimos cursos de la carrera. Idealismo y Constructivismo

Los distintos modos de grafiar las presentaciones en los concursos de arquitectura, son un modelo para la enseñanza de las retóricas arquitectónicas y una manera de preparar a los futuros rquitectos para conseguir trabajo en el mundo profesional

Procesamiento paralelo de aplicaciones numéricas de alto rendimiento

El foco de la investigación se centra en temas específicos de procesamiento paralelo, orientados a la resolución de aplicaciones numéricas de alto rendimiento. Naturalmente, se deben tener en cuenta por un lado las aplicaciones con todas sus características, como la de dependencias de datos y el hardware de procesamiento con las suyas, como la memoria distribuida. El objetivo final siempre es el de optimización de rendimiento.\nEstos temas abarcan el desarrollo de patrones de resolución de clases de algoritmos paralelos, la utilización y eventual actualización de una biblioteca de sincronización de relojes distribuidos ya implementada y la transformación y optimización de los algoritmos paralelos de álgebra lineal sobre clusters, considerando la tecnología de procesadores de múltiples núcleos (multicores) que emerge actualmente.\nDesarrollar software de base para clusters de multicores, tratando de optimizar el uso del hardware disponible en las arquitecturas, suponiendo diferentes modelos de programación paralela y diferentes esquemas o paradigmas de resolución de aplicaciones.Eje: Procesamiento distribuido y paralel

Optimization of Nanoparticle-Based SERS Substrates through Large-Scale Realistic Simulations

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has become a widely used spectroscopic technique for chemical identification, providing unbeaten sensitivity down to the singlemolecule level. The amplification of the optical near field produced by collective electron excitations plasmons in nanostructured metal surfaces gives rise to a dramatic increase by many orders of magnitude in the Raman scattering intensities from neighboring molecules. This effect strongly depends on the detailed geometry and composition of the plasmonsupporting metallic structures. However, the search for optimized SERS substrates has largely relied on empirical data, due in part to the complexity of the structures, whose simulation becomes prohibitively demanding. In this work, we use state-of-the-art electromagnetic computation techniques to produce predictive simulations for a wide range of nanoparticle-based SERS substrates, including realistic configurations consisting of random arrangements of hundreds of nanoparticles with various morphologies. This allows us to derive rules of thumb for the influence of particle anisotropy and substrate coverage on the obtained SERS enhancement and optimum spectral ranges of operation. Our results provide a solid background to understand and design optimized SERS substrates.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version