Critical Choices at a Critical Age: Youth Emancipation Paths and School Attainment in Latin America

This paper discusses how young people become adults in Latin America and how that process affects educational attainment. An examination of four countries at three levels of development shows that individuals` educational attainment is closely linked to the decisions that young people make regarding adult roles, here referred to as emancipation patterns. The paper documents differences among countries in the age at which young people start working, marry and leave the educational system. Factor and hazard analyses further show how these dimensions vary according to gender and income within countries and how they affect the chances that young people will remain in the educational system. Findings indicate that countries` development levels strongly affect the modal ages at which people become adults, hastening the process in less-developed countries and delaying it at higher stages of development. Second, within countries males and females present distinct risk factors regarding educational attainment; public roles (work) increase the risk of drop-out for men and private roles (marriage) increase this risk for women. In addition, and as expected, lower income groups are more at risk and present earlier adoption of adult values than higher income groups. The interrelation of income and gender operate differently in emancipation patterns and in how public and private adult roles affect the chances of remaining in the educational system. Consequently, in order to increase educational attainment the sequence and timing of adult role adoption have to be factored into policies.

frances: a deep learning NLP and text mining web tool to unlock historical digital collections : a case study on the Encyclopaedia Britannica

Funding: This work was supported by the NLS Digital Fellowship and by the Google Cloud Platform research credit program.This work presents frances, an integrated text mining tool that combines information extraction, knowledge graphs, NLP, deep learning, parallel processing and Semantic Web techniques to unlock the full value of historical digital textual collections, offering new capabilities for researchers to use powerful analysis methods without being distracted by the technology and middleware details. To demonstrate these capabilities, we use the first eight editions of the Encyclopaedia Britannica offered by the National Library of Scotland (NLS) as an example digital collection to mine and analyse. We have developed novel parallel heuristics to extract terms from the original collection (alongside metadata), which provides a mix of unstructured and semi-structured input data, and populated a new knowledge graph with this information. Our Natural Language Processing models enable frances to perform advanced analyses that go significantly beyond simple search using the information stored in the knowledge graph. Furthermore, frances also allows for creating and running complex text mining analyses at scale. Our results show that the novel computational techniques developed within frances provide a vehicle for researchers to formalize and connect findings and insights derived from the analysis of large-scale digital corpora such as the Encyclopaedia Britannica.Postprin

Modality of input and vocabulary acquisition of English for specific purposes

En esta investigación se ha estudiado el efecto de tres modalidades de input (audio, imágenes y subtítulos) sobre la adquisición de vocabulario a corto y largo plazo en la enseñanza del inglés para fines específicos. También se ha investigado la atención que prestan los estudiantes al input. En el proyecto participaron 33 alumnos de inglés para fines específicos. Los estudiantes vieron tres videos: uno con subtítulos e imagen, otro con audio e imagen y el último con subtítulos, audio e imagen. Los participantes realizaron un test tras el visionado de cada vídeo y otro test una semana después del visionado de los tres vídeos que incluía el vocabulario de todos los vídeos. Además, los alumnos completaron un cuestionario final. Los resultados indicaron que el audio ayuda en la adquisición de vocabulario de inglés para fines específicos, ya que el vídeo sin audio obtuvo los peores resultados. Los resultados del cuestionario final mostraron que las imágenes ayudaban más a los estudiantes que el audio o los subtítulos. A pesar de que los alumnos percibieron que estaban prestando más atención a los subtítulos que al audio, los resultados confirmaron que el audio les ayudó más en la adquisición de vocabulario de inglés para fines específicosThis study examined the effect of input modality (audio, captions and image) on short-term and long-term recall of vocabulary of English for Specific Purposes. It also examined learners’ attention to input. 33 English for Specific Purposes students participated in the project. Students watched three videos of English for Specific Purposes: one with captions and image (CI), another one with audio and image (AI) and the last one with audio, captions and image (ACI). All participants completed written immediate post-tests after watching each video and a delayed post-test, which included all the vocabulary from the three immediate post-tests, one week after the last session. Students also answered a final survey. Results indicated that audio helps recall of vocabulary in ESP, since the best scores in the delayed post-test were in the AI and ACI videos, the video without audio also obtained the worst results in the delayed post-test. Results from the final survey showed that visual images were more helpful for students than captions or audio and students stated that they were paying more attention to captions than to audio while watching the videos. Even if they perceived that they were paying more attention to captions than to audio, results confirmed that audio helped more in the acquisition of ESP vocabularyMáster Universitario en Profesorado de Educación Secundaria por la Universidad Pública de NavarraBigarren Hezkuntzako Irakasletzako Unibertsitate Masterra Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa

Looking for Net Zero Districts: The case of Port District of Seville

[EN]Current climate situation, together with the politics driven by the European Union have inspired the development of Net Zero Districts. This document presents an alternative and economic analysis of a hybrid (PV/Wind turbine) power system projects. The case study is located at the Port District Area in the city of Seville, Spain. The analysis is carried out by investigating the potentials of wind and solar energy and collecting data from different sources. Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) software is used to analyse the available data and the technical-economic feasibility of the proposed hybrid power system. In this document, both off-grid and grid-connected systems are modelled and optimized for comparison purposes. The simulation results indicate that the proposed model of a grid-connected system is more feasible than the off-grid one in the mentioned region.[ES]La situación climática que se está viviendo actualmente, junto con las políticas energéticas impulsadas por la Unión Europea, han inspirado el desarrollo de los distritos Net Zero. Este documento presenta un estudio de alternativas y análisis económico de proyectos de sistemas de generación eléctrica híbrida (solar y eólica). El caso práctico está situado en el distrito portuario de la ciudad de Sevilla, España. El análisis se desarrolla mediante la investigación de los potenciales eólico y solar, junto con la recolección de datos de diferentes fuentes. El software utilizado para el análisis de los datos y la viabilidad técnico-económica del proyecto será HOMER. En este documento se trabaja en un modelo para un sistema aislado y otro conectado a red, con el objetivo de comparar la viabilidad de ambos. Los resultados del proyecto muestran que, para la localización prevista, un sistema conectado a red obtiene mejores resultados en cuanto a viabilidad del proyecto.[EU]Gaur egun bizi dugun egoera klimatikoak, Europar Batasunak bultzatutako politika energetikoekin batera, Net Zero distrituen garapena ekarri du. Dokumentu honek sistema hibridoen (eguzki energia eta energia eolikoa integratzen dituena) alternatiba azterketa eta analisi ekonomikoa aurkezten du. Kasu praktikoa Sevilla hiriko (Espainia) portu-distrituan kokatzen da. Analisia egiteko, haize- eta eguzki-potentzialak ikertu dira, eta hainbat iturritako datuak bildu. Proiektuaren bideragarritasun tekniko-ekonomikoa eta datuak aztertzeko erabiliko den softwarea HOMER izango da. Dokumentu honetan, sistema isolatu baterako eta sarera konektatuta dagoen beste baterako eredu bat lantzen da, bien bideragarritasuna alderatzeko. Proiektuaren emaitzek erakusten dutenez, aurreikusitako kokapenerako, sarera konektatutako sistema batek emaitza hobeak lortzen ditu proiektuaren bideragarritasunari dagokionez

Modelling and characterization of small photosensors in advanced CMOS technologies

The rapid scaling of CMOS technologies and the development of optimized CIS (CMOS Image Sensor) processes for CMOS vision products has not been met by a similar effort in a comprehensive study of the main physical phenomena dominating the behavior of pixels at these technological nodes. This work provides a study of the behaviour of small photodetectors in advanced CMOS technologies in order to evaluate the impact of the geometry on the pixel photoresponse. Several models were developed paying special attention to the peripheral collection. The results suggest that the largest active area no longer necessarily guarantees the optimum response and show the significance of the lateral contribution for small photodiodes. That is, they establish the need to find a trade-off between the active area and the collecting area surrounding the junction to maximize the response. Based on the solution of the two-dimensional steady-state equation in the surroundings of the junction, an analytical model for uniformly illuminated p-n+ junction photodiodes was proposed. It is compact, general and scalable. In order to be used in Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools, the model was implemented in a Hardware Description Language (HDL) and used for circuit simulations to illustrate the potential of the model for the optimization of the pixel performance

América Latina y las marcas distintivas de su desarrollo social : una comparación global

Al tiempo que pocos estudiosos aceptarían hablar de América Latina como una región homogénea, muchos tienden a utilizar el denominativo sin especificaciones de varianza, especialmente cuando se refieren a la clave histórica y a eventos que ocurren en la región. Así, el MSI, la crisis de la deuda, la década perdida y el nuevo modelo exportador son etapas económicas de América Latina. Asimismo, los regímenes oligárquicos, las etapas populistas, las democracias, sus caídas y las redemocratizaciones son etapas políticas de América Latina. Claro está que a poco de andar la academia indicará que no todos los países atravesaron estas etapas, que no todos lo hicieron de igual manera y que para diferentes países significó cosas diferentes. En suma, nuevamente el cuidado con la varianza interna. El problema con este debate es que el mismo es irrelevante o, en rigor, no puede ser respondido desde el interior de América Latina. Para responder al interrogante respecto de si América Latina presenta o no elementos comunes que la diferencian de otras regiones de desarrollo, además de la breve recapitulación histórica que se presentó en el capítulo precedente, necesariamente debe realizarse un análisis comparativo empírico entre esta región y las restantes.Marcas regionales en perspectiva comparada, tipos de Estado Social y desajuste entre riesgo y protección en el pasado. Los países de alto desarrollo humano. Los países de desarrollo humano medio. Los países de desarrollo humano medio-bajo

The treatment of bacterial disease of plants by bacteriophage coated nanoparticles

Bacterial phytopathogens are a recurring issue for agricultural plants.Traditional control measures include copper treatment and use of pesticides and antibiotics. The use of bacteriophages that selectively kill the causative pathogen as an alternative treatment has been delayed by technical difficulties associated with phage stability and deployment methods. In this project, we developed phage-coated nanoparticles for the control of tomato plant soft rot, caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum, as a model system.Scottish crops were used as a source to isolate new bacteriophages,followed by triple isolation of single plaques formed after infection. Using the enrichment technique, that uses bacteria to isolate the virus from a soil sample, twelve potentially different bacteriophages were recovered and fully characterised. All of the phages isolated resemble T7 based on morphology by transmission electron microscopy; consistent with the genomic characterisation, electron microscopy revealed that the phages displayed a morphology characteristic of the Podoviridae. Subsequently, we covalently bound a collection of phages to the surface of different nanoparticles and the capacity of these phage coated nanoparticles to control bacterial plant disease was assessed.This new technology fully retains the antimicrobial capacity of the bacteriophages and enhances its stability, particularly against dehydration,making this technology a potentially good candidate for use of biocontrol agents for crop pathogen treatment.Bacterial phytopathogens are a recurring issue for agricultural plants.Traditional control measures include copper treatment and use of pesticides and antibiotics. The use of bacteriophages that selectively kill the causative pathogen as an alternative treatment has been delayed by technical difficulties associated with phage stability and deployment methods. In this project, we developed phage-coated nanoparticles for the control of tomato plant soft rot, caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum, as a model system.Scottish crops were used as a source to isolate new bacteriophages,followed by triple isolation of single plaques formed after infection. Using the enrichment technique, that uses bacteria to isolate the virus from a soil sample, twelve potentially different bacteriophages were recovered and fully characterised. All of the phages isolated resemble T7 based on morphology by transmission electron microscopy; consistent with the genomic characterisation, electron microscopy revealed that the phages displayed a morphology characteristic of the Podoviridae. Subsequently, we covalently bound a collection of phages to the surface of different nanoparticles and the capacity of these phage coated nanoparticles to control bacterial plant disease was assessed.This new technology fully retains the antimicrobial capacity of the bacteriophages and enhances its stability, particularly against dehydration,making this technology a potentially good candidate for use of biocontrol agents for crop pathogen treatment

Building lightweight semantic search engines

Despite significant advances in methods for processing large volumes of structured and unstructured data, surprisingly little attention has been devoted to developing general practical methodologies that leverage state-of-the-art technologies to build domain-specific semantic search engines tailored to use cases where they could provide substantial benefits. This paper presents a methodology for developing these kinds of systems in a lightweight, modular, and flexible way with a particular focus on providing powerful search tools in domains where non-expert users encounter challenges in exploring the data repository at hand. Using an academic expertise finder tool as a case study, we demonstrate how this methodology allows us to leverage powerful off-the-shelf technology to enable the rapid, low-cost development of semantic search engines, while also affording developers with the necessary flexibility to embed user-centric design in their development in order to maximise uptake and application value.Postprin

Flow cytometric assessment of the reactivity of a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against two populations of human dendritic cells (DC)

BACKGROUND: The identification of antigens on human DC has been a very difficult and elusive task because of the lack of appropriate reagents. Therefore, we evaluated by flow cytometry a panel of mAb that recognize antigens on human DC, aiming to determine the kinetics of DC antigen expression at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days in (i) Dermal DC like cells (Mo-DC) and (ii) Langerhans cell like DC (Mo-LC). In addition we aimed to identify markers for DC subpopulations. RESULTS: It was found at day 7, that mAb BG6, HP-F1, BU10, RFD-1, CMRF-44 recognized <20% of Mo-DC. In contrast, 7H5, ZM3.8, CDlb/c, 55K-2, MMR1.16, MMR190.BB3 and L25 reacted with >50% of Mo-DC. Moreover, 7H5, ZM3.8, CMRF-56, CDlb/c, 55K-2, MMR1.16, MMR190.BB3 and L25 showed increased MFI reactivity against Mo-DC. mAb BG6, BU10 and CMRF-44 recognized <20% Mo-LC while RFD-1 reacted with 21% of Mo-LC. In contrast, HP-F1 showed 87% of Mo-LC positive. Also, 7H5, ZM3.8, RFD-7, MR15-2, CDlb/c, 55K-2, MMR1.16, MMR190.BB3 and L25 reacted with >50% of Mo-LC. The increase in % of positive cells was paralleled by MFI increases. At day 14, fourteen mAb recognized >50% of the Mo-DC, while five recognized 20-50% of Mo-DC. BG6 reacted with 7% of the Mo-DC. Nineteen mAb recognized >48% of Mo-LC while BG6 had negative reactivity. At day 21 and 28, all mAb reacted with >20% of Mo-DC and yielded a significant MFI with Mo-DC. Also nineteen mAb yielded significant MFI with Mo-LC while RFD-7 did not. CONCLUSIONS: The immunophenotyping assays demonstrated differences between the two DC populations as well as variations in the reactivity of the mAb at diverse time points, suggesting the existence of subpopulations within the Mo-DC and Mo-LC