Transición a actividades comunicativas en la enseñanza de Inglés como Lengua Extranjera en la República Dominicana

In the last decade, the Communicative Approach has taken an important position within the English language teaching world. Many countries have abandoned their traditional teaching methods to implement this approach. The objectives of this research were to analyze the transitioning to communicative activities in Teaching English as a foreign language in the Dominican Republic, to identify the communicative activities to which the students were more receptive, to research students’ attitudes while developing communicative activities, and lastly, to analyze new strategies for successful communicative activities. To carry out the investigation, three interventions were carried out in the classroom where activities such as role-play, group work, mingle, information transfer, opinion sharing, and information gap were implemented. Two interviews were administered to learners. Participant observation was implemented as well as the teacher’s diary and note-taking as a way of record the events. Interviews revealed that students had a great disposition towards group work as well as having conversations and activities that involved giving opinions. They also showed that close attention should be paid to activities that involve speaking in front of the class as they raised students’ stress levels. According to students’ performance and answers during the sessions, group work, information gap, and opinion sharing activities activated their motivation to a greater extent. Modeling and giving clear instructions was fundamental to overcome linguistic gaps that emerged during the sessions. The progressive integration of the target language was more convenient while implementing communicative activities.En la última década, el enfoque comunicativo ha tomado una posición importante dentro del mundo de la enseñanza del idioma inglés. Muchos países han abandonado sus métodos tradicionales a fin de implementar dicho enfoque. Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo analizar la transición a actividades comunicativas en la enseñanza de inglés como lengua extranjera en la República Dominicana, identificar las actividades comunicativas a las cuales los estudiantes eran más receptivos, investigar las actitudes de los estudiantes al desarrollar dichas actividades y, por último, analizar nuevas estrategias para tener actividades comunicativas exitosas. Para llevar a cabo la investigación, se realizaron tres intervenciones en el aula aplicando actividades como juego de roles, trabajo grupal, actividades de falta de información, actividades de intercambio de opiniones, actividades de mezcla y actividades de transferencia de información. Se administraron dos entrevistas y se implementó la observación participante, así como el diario del maestro para registrar los eventos. Las entrevistas revelaron que los estudiantes tenían una gran disposición hacia el trabajo en grupo. También mostraron que las actividades que implican hablar en frente de la clase aumentan el nivel de estrés de los estudiantes. Según el rendimiento y las respuestas de los estudiantes, el trabajo en grupo, las actividades de búsqueda de información y las actividades de intercambio de opiniones activaron su motivación en mayor medida. Modelar y dar instrucciones claras fue fundamental para superar las brechas lingüísticas que surgieron durante las sesiones. Una integración progresiva del idioma de destino fue más conveniente al implementar actividades comunicativas

Functionalization and Characterization of Magnetic Nanoparticles for the Detection of Ferritin Accumulation in Alzheimer's Disease

Early diagnosis in Alzheimer's disease (AD), prior to the appearance of marked clinical symptoms, is critical to prevent irreversible neuronal damage and neural malfunction that lead to dementia and death. Therefore, there is an urgent need to generate new contrast agents which reveal by a noninvasive method the presence of some of the pathological signs of AD. In the present study, we demonstrate for the first time a new nanoconjugate composed of magnetic nanoparticles bound to an antiferritin antibody, which has been developed based on the existence of iron deposits and high levels of the ferritin protein present in areas with a high accumulation of amyloid plaques (particularly the subiculum in the hippocampal area) in the brain of a transgenic mouse model with five familial AD mutations. Both in vitro and after intravenous injection, functionalized magnetic nanoparticles were able to recognize and bind specifically to the ferritin protein accumulated in the subiculum area of the AD transgenic mice.Fil: Fernández Cabada, Tamara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; EspañaFil: Martínez Serrano, Alberto. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; España. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; EspañaFil: Cussó, Lorena. Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón; España. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid; España. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental; EspañaFil: Desco, Manuel. Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón; España. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental; España. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid; EspañaFil: Ramos Gómez, Milagros. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; Españ

Automation of profile packing

Alumeco’s strategy is to be the most effective logistic partner through effective handling and warehousing of aluminium products. In order to achieve this goal, Alumeco has to be working with the newest technology and constantly improve processes and methods. In the central warehouse in Odense the activity is mainly based on two high rack systems. One high rack is for handling aluminium sheets and the other one is for profiles and bars. The weekly activity on the two high racks ismore than 1500 orderliness per week. (500 sheets and 1000 profiles and bars). Therefore, Alumeco wants to investigate the opportunity to automate the process of packing profiles and bars from the existing high rack. Today the handling and packing of profiles is carried out manually by the stock workers. It means that it is a heavy physical process. Summing up, the goal to this project must be: • A packing line that can handle 70% of all orderliness • No handling of material by hand or manual crane Getting these goals Alumeco will save money, they will increase their incomes and they will become the leader in the handling of aluminium profiles and bars because nowadays there are no factories with an automatic method. In this way one of the Alumeco’s strategies we will achieve: to be the most effective logistic partner through effective handling and warehousing of aluminium products

Caracterización de dispositivos fotovoltaicos espaciales

Este trabajo surge de la mejora del diseño de VectorSol, sensor solar utilizado en el sistema de control de actitud del satélite Nanosat‐1B puesto en órbita en 2008. De la investigación y desarrollo se realizan cambios en el principio de funcionamiento y se crea el VectorSolFino de mayor precisión. Se realiza la fabricación de 32 sensores en una oblea de silicio en sala blanca y posteriormente hay que clasificarlos según su calidad y caracterizarlos para comprobar el rango de funcionamiento. La introducción es informativa de conceptos de dispositivos espaciales, se hace una reseña histórica desde el comienzo de la idea de VectorSol y se justifican el proyecto final de carrera. En el capítulo uno se explica el principio de funcionamiento del sensor, desde el origen del primer VectorSol hasta la sectorización del campo de visión en el nuevo sensor solar. Se hace un resumen del funcionamiento de la célula solar y sus parámetros característicos. Y por último se expone el método de fabricación en sala blanca. El capítulo dos describe el entorno de trabajo, el laboratorio de caracterización del campus Nord de la UPC, sus instrumentos, máquinas utilizadas y sistema de medición. Se exponen los conceptos de luz solar, su espectro, características y estándares utilizados. En el capítulo tres se realizan las mediciones en oscuridad para la clasificación de los dados construidos. Se muestran características I‐V antes y luego del último paso de recocido en la fabricación de la oblea, se ven sus mejoras y deficiencias. Se ponen notas a cada diodo y se clasifican los dados en 5 grupos según la calidad de los fotodiodos. En el capítulo cuatro se hacen ensayos con luz y temperatura para realizar la caracterización de los fotodiodos. Se explica el setup utilizado en las mediciones, y se hacen comparativas de los datos obtenidos. El último paso en la fabricación es la colocación del coverglass, se vuelven a realizar pruebas térmicas y lumínicas, se calculan los parámetros característicos y se estudia la simetría entre ejes. En el capítulo cinco se avanza cómo acaba el proceso de ensamblado con la electrónica de control y la carcasa que realiza la Universidad de Sevilla. En los laboratorios del INTA se hacen las últimas pruebas para la calificación del Sensor y se montan en el satélite que se pondrá en órbita en el 2011. Y se exponen las conclusiones finales del proyecto

Impact of the cultural and social factors in the location of industry

As far as location is concerned and speaking of the optimal place where the company will be placed, it has to be considered the two ways of studying the location: The Macro-location and Micro-location. This thesis is going to focus on macro-location which makes reference to the global location (country, region and city). On the other hand, the micro-location, which means the land or parcel where the company can be located, this point is not going to be discuss here. These are the objectives that this thesis is going to deal with: Explaining the reasons for the location of the industry, looking at what other authors have said throughout history, the techniques used for obtaining the potential locations, the factors influencing the location’s decision poring over each of them, treating these factors in an objective and seeing how important is each in the final decision. Going through history in order to see how the guidelines have changed to locate the industries since the beginning of the industrial revolution to our times. In addition, writing about the new factors that are emerging nowadays and inferring which factors are expected to be important in the near future. Making a comparative study of this issue and the customs of Spanish and Austrian societies, seeing the differences and the points they have in common in order to find the reasons for these differences and similarities. In short, people who read this study will have a clearer idea of what the location of the company consists, they will know which factors influence the study and how important are these factors in the final decision. It can also be seen a specific vision of the situation in Austria and Spain which is so closed that makes possible the comparison of the two countries. In addition, some examples and illustrations will help the reader to understand the ideas in a more practical and didactic wa

La renovación de la enseñanza de la geografía en la EGB (1970-1984). Nuevos proyectos y viejos problemas.

Sin resume

The role of fatness on physical fitness in adolescents with and without Down syndrome. The UP&DOWN Study

Background/Objectives: Adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit higher levels of fatness and low levels of physical fitness compared with those without DS. In adolescents without DS, fatness is tightly associated with physical fitness, but this association is unclear in adolescents with DS. The aim of this study was to examine the association between several markers of fatness and physical fitness in a relative large sample of adolescents with and without DS. Subjects/ Methods: For this study, a total of 111 adolescents with DS (41 females) aged 11 to 20 years old participated in this cross-sectional study. We also included a sex-matched control group (ratio 1:2) of 222 adolescents without DS aged 12 to 18 years old, participating in the UP&DOWN Study. The ALPHA health-related fitness test battery for adolescents was used to assess fatness and physical fitness. Results: Our results show that fatness is not associated with low levels of physical fitness in adolescents with DS (i.e. 3 of the 16 analyses identified differences in physical fitness variables by groups of fatness). In contrast, fatness, as expected, is associated with levels of physical fitness in adolescents without DS (i.e. 13 of the 16 analyses identified differences in physical fitness variables by groups of fatness). Conclusions: The present finding contributes to new knowledge by suggesting that the role of fatness on physical fitness is different in adolescents with and without DS, and consequently, the poor levels of physical fitness in adolescents with DS may be due to its syndrome rather than the high prevalence of obesity from this population

Clinical management of homocystinuria; case report and review of the literature

La homocistinuria es un error congénito del metabolismo de la metionina que conduce al acúmulo de metionina y de su principal metabolito, homocisteína, en plasma, orina y tejidos. El acúmulo de homocisteína posee toxicidad sobre los sistemas óseo (osteoporosis), ocular (luxación del cristalino), nervioso (convulsiones, alteraciones psiquiátricas) y vascular (accidentes cerebrovasculares, enfermedad cardiovascular). Presentamos 2 casos de homocistinuria en 2 pacientes hermanos y, a continuación, revisamos las estrategias terapéuticas disponiblesHomocystinuria is a congenital disorder of methyonine metabolism that leads to increased plasmatic, urinary and tissue deposits of methyonine and its main metabolite: homocysteine. Homocysteine deposits are toxic for the skeletal system (osteoporosis), the eyes (lens dislocation), central nervous system (seizures, psychiatric disorders) and also induce vascular damage (stroke and other cardiovascular events). This article reports two patients with homocystinuria in two siblings, followed by a concise review on the therapeutic strategies available for this disorde

Exploring University Performance through Multiple Factor Analysis: A Case Study

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Understanding the differences in catalytic performance for hydrogen production of Ni and Co supported on mesoporous SBA-15

Three mono and bimetallic Nix Co1−x /SBA-15 catalysts (x = 1, 0.5 and 0) with a total metallic content of 10 wt% have been prepared by a deposition–precipitation (DP) method. The catalytic performances on the dry reforming of methane reaction (DRM) have been determined and correlated with their physical and chemical state before and after the catalytic reaction. So, while the nickel monometallic system presents a high activity and stability in the DRM reaction, the Co/SBA-15 catalytic system turns out completely inactive. For its part, the Ni0.5Co0.5/SBA-15 has initially a catalytic performance similar to the Ni/SBA- 15 monometallic system, but rapidly evolving to an inactive system, therefore resembling the behavior of the cobalt-based catalyst. The characterization by TEM and in situ XPS techniques has allowed us to ascribe these differences to the initial state of metallic particles after reduction and their different evolution under reaction conditions. So, while after reduction both nickel containing Nix Co1−x /SBA-15 catalysts (x = 1 and 0.5) present a well dispersed metallic phase, the cobalt monometallic catalyst yields big metallic particles with a heterogeneous distribution of sizes. Additionally, unlike the Ni/SBA-15, the NiCo/SBA-15 system increases during reaction the metallic particle sizes. Besides indicating that the particle size is a major reason determining the catalytic performances, these results suggest that in the Ni–Co system both metals form after reduction a bimetallic phase mainly located inside the mesoporous channels of SBA-15 support. Under DRM reaction conditions, the cobalt is segregated to the surface of the bimetallic particles, which seems to determine the interaction with the support surface SBA-15. This feature gives rise to a much less stable metallic phase which suffers an important sintering process under DRM catalytic conditions. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Supported nickel catalytic systems are currently one of the most important industrial heterogeneous catalysts because its remarkable performance in a number of economically strategic processes [1–5]. Among them, the steam reforming of methane (SRM, CH4 + H2O ↔ 3H2 + CO) can be outlined as the main industrial process for obtaining hydrogen and synthesis gas, used to syn- thesize various important chemicals and fuels [6–9]. Although it is not yet commercially exploited, the dry reforming of methane (DRM, CH4 + CO2 ↔ 2H2 + 2CO) is an especially interesting reac- tion that transforms two of the most harmful greenhouse gases, methane and carbon dioxide, into a mixture of hydrogen and car- bon monoxide [10–12]. Once again, Ni-based catalysts are the most ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Caballero). widely tested in the literature for this reforming reaction, even though noble metal based catalysts such as Pt, Ru and Rh are much more performance toward methane conversion. The principal issue comes from the fact that Ni typically undergoes severe deactivation processes, mainly due to coke formation, but also due to sinter- ing of the metallic phase, generating big metallic particles which at the same time, favors the coke formation processes [13–17]. As an alternative to overcome these issues, a number of publications have shown as the use of bimetallic systems, as the combination of nickel and cobalt modified the catalytic performance in steam and dry reforming of methane [18–23]. But, depending on the support or the preparation methods both effects, improvements and wors- ening of the efficiency, have been reported. Main reasons explaining these contradictory findings are probably related with differences in the interaction of metals with support surface, which has been recognized as an essential factor affecting the stability of metal [24–26]. So, a strategy to avoid the growth of metallic particles is the use of special supports, and in particular mesoporous supports.Ministerio Economía y Competitividad de España (MINECO) y fondos FEDER de la Unión Europea-ENE2011-24412 y CTQ2014-60524-