Pre-service language teachers' development of appropriate pedagogies: A transition from insightful critiques to educational insights

This paper examines how pre-service teachers of Portuguese developed ideas about contextually appropriate pedagogies during their practicum as well as what they perceived as the impact of their pedagogical practices on student learning. The findings suggest that teacher education models which promote conscious critical reflection and teacher agency, and provide space for trainees to engage constructively both with their peers and with students are likely to generate innovative ideas for teaching which are appropriate to the specific contexts within which trainees teach

Stability of gold nanowires at large Au-Au separations

The unusual structural stability of gold nanowires at large separations of gold atoms is explained from first-principles quantum mechanical calculations. We show that undetected light atoms, in particular hydrogen, stabilize the experimentally observed structures, which would be unstable in pure gold wires. The enhanced cohesion is due to the partial charge transfer from gold to the light atoms. This finding should resolve a long-standing controversy between theoretical predictions and experimental observations.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Magnetic phenomena in 5d transition metal nanowires

We have carried out fully relativistic full-potential, spin-polarized, all-electron density-functional calculations for straight, monatomic nanowires of the 5d transition and noble metals Os, Ir, Pt and Au. We find that, of these metal nanowires, Os and Pt have mean-field magnetic moments for values of the bond length at equilibrium. In the case of Au and Ir, the wires need to be slightly stretched in order to spin polarize. An analysis of the band structures of the wires indicate that the superparamagnetic state that our calculations suggest will affect the conductance through the wires -- though not by a large amount -- at least in the absence of magnetic domain walls. It should thus lead to a characteristic temperature- and field dependent conductance, and may also cause a significant spin polarization of the transmitted current.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

gDs∗DK∗(892)g_{D^{\ast}_{s}D K^{\ast}(892)} and gBs∗BK∗(892)g_{B^{\ast}_{s}B K^{\ast}(892)} coupling constants in QCD sum rules

The coupling constants $g_{D^{\ast}_{s}D K^{\ast}(892)}$ and $g_{B^{\ast}_{s}B K^{\ast}(892)}$ are calculated in the framework of three-point QCD sum rules. The correlation functions responsible for these coupling constants are evaluated considering contributions of both $D(B)$ and $K^*(892)$ mesons as off-shell states, but in the absence of radiative corrections. The results, $g_{D^{\ast}_{s}D K^{\ast}(892)}=(4.31\pm1.42) GeV^{-1}$ and $g_{B^{\ast}_{s}B K^{\ast}(892)}=(3.24\pm1.08) GeV^{-1}$ are obtained for the considered strong coupling constants.Comment: 13 Pages and 11 Figure

Density functional method for nonequilibrium electron transport

We describe an ab initio method for calculating the electronic structure, electronic transport, and forces acting on the atoms, for atomic scale systems connected to semi-infinite electrodes and with an applied voltage bias. Our method is based on the density functional theory (DFT) as implemented in the well tested Siesta approach (which uses non-local norm-conserving pseudopotentials to describe the effect of the core electrons, and linear combination of finite-range numerical atomic orbitals to describe the valence states). We fully deal with the atomistic structure of the whole system, treating both the contact and the electrodes on the same footing. The effect of the finite bias (including selfconsistency and the solution of the electrostatic problem) is taken into account using nonequilibrium Green's functions. We relate the nonequilibrium Green's function expressions to the more transparent scheme involving the scattering states. As an illustration, the method is applied to three systems where we are able to compare our results to earlier ab initio DFT calculations or experiments, and we point out differences between this method and existing schemes. The systems considered are: (1) single atom carbon wires connected to aluminum electrodes with extended or finite cross section, (2) single atom gold wires, and finally (3) large carbon nanotube systems with point defects.Comment: 18 pages, 23 figure

Extreme Starbursts in the Local Universe

The "Extreme starbursts in the local universe" workshop was held at the Insituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia in Granada, Spain on 21-25 June 2010. Bearing in mind the advent of a new generation of facilities such as JWST, Herschel, ALMA, eVLA and eMerlin, the aim of the workshop was to bring together observers and theorists to review the latest results. The purpose of the workshop was to address the following issues: what are the main modes of triggering extreme starbursts in the local Universe? How efficiently are stars formed in extreme starbursts? What are the star formation histories of local starburst galaxies? How well do the theoretical simulations model the observations? What can we learn about starbursts in the distant Universe through studies of their local counterparts? How important is the role of extreme starbursts in the hierarchical assembly of galaxies? How are extreme starbursts related to the triggering of AGN in the nuclei of galaxies? Overall, 41 talks and 4 posters with their corresponding 10 minutes short talks were presented during the workshop. In addition, the workshop was designed with emphasis on discussions, and therefore, there were 6 discussion sessions of up to one hour during the workshop. Here is presented a summary of the purposes of the workshop as well as a compilation of the abstracts corresponding to each of the presentations. The summary and conclusions of the workshop along with a description of the future prospects by Sylvain Veilleux can be found in the last section of this document. A photo of the assistants is included.Comment: worksho

The HAND-Q : Psychometrics of a New Patient-reported Outcome Measure for Clinical and Research Applications

Background: The perspective of the patient in measuring the outcome of their hand treatment is of key importance. We developed a hand-specific patient-reported outcome measure to provide a means to measure outcomes and experiences of care from the patient perspective, that is, HAND-Q. Methods: Data were collected from people with a broad range of hand conditions in hand clinics in six countries between April 2018 and January 2021. Rasch measurement theory analysis was used to perform item reduction and to examine reliability and validity of each HAND-Q scale. Results: A sample of 1277 patients was recruited. Participants ranged in age from 16 to 89 years, 54% were women, and a broad range of congenital and acquired hand conditions were represented. Rasch measurement theory analysis led to the refinement of 14 independently functioning scales that measure hand appearance, health-related quality of life, experience of care, and treatment outcome. Each scale evidenced reliability and validity. Examination of differential item functioning by age, gender, language, and type of hand condition (ie, nontraumatic versus traumatic) confirmed that a common scoring algorithm for each scale could be implemented. Conclusions: The HAND-Q was developed following robust psychometric methods to provide a comprehensive modular independently functioning set of scales. HAND-Q scales can be used to assess and compare evidence-based outcomes in patients with any type of hand condition.Peer reviewe

A Comprehensive Analysis of Choroideremia: From Genetic Characterization to Clinical Practice.

Choroideremia (CHM) is a rare X-linked disease leading to progressive retinal degeneration resulting in blindness. The disorder is caused by mutations in the CHM gene encoding REP-1 protein, an essential component of the Rab geranylgeranyltransferase (GGTase) complex. In the present study, we evaluated a multi-technique analysis algorithm to describe the mutational spectrum identified in a large cohort of cases and further correlate CHM variants with phenotypic characteristics and biochemical defects of choroideremia patients. Molecular genetic testing led to the characterization of 36 out of 45 unrelated CHM families (80%), allowing the clinical reclassification of four CHM families. Haplotype reconstruction showed independent origins for the recurrent p.Arg293* and p.Lys178Argfs*5 mutations, suggesting the presence of hotspots in CHM, as well as the identification of two different unrelated events involving exon 9 deletion. No certain genotype-phenotype correlation could be established. Furthermore, all the patients´ fibroblasts analyzed presented significantly increased levels of unprenylated Rabs proteins compared to control cells; however, this was not related to the genotype. This research demonstrates the major potential of the algorithm proposed for diagnosis. Our data enhance the importance of establish a differential diagnosis with other retinal dystrophies, supporting the idea of an underestimated prevalence of choroideremia. Moreover, they suggested that the severity of the disorder cannot be exclusively explained by the genotype