Cosmovisiones e imaginarios del caos en la obra de Gary Victor

Este trabajo pretende estudiar la obra de un autor haitiano contemporáneo, Gary Victor, un discípulo de la escuela literaria haitiana del caos llamada la “Spirale”. Por ello, y dado el interés que suscita cada vez más el caos asociado a la literatura, este estudio ha tratado de profundizar en las dimensiones del concepto de caos para comprender mejor su alcance, su atracción y su contribución al pensamiento y a la literatura haitiana. El caos tanto en ciencias humanas como en ciencias exactas viene a referirse a las zonas o espacios no observados hasta entonces, con leyes desconocidas en las que el azar y la incertidumbre juegan todavía un papel importante y que representa el lado opuesto a todo lo que constituye el orden, la razón y la verdad. ¿En qué medida el caos como desorden oculto puede, entonces, llegar a ordenar un espacio habitable y conformar una cosmovisión para el hombre? Este trabajo se articula alrededor de esta pregunta. Trata en un primer tiempo de profundizar en la dimensión existencial del caos así como en su aporte a la creación de nuevas cosmovisiones y ontologías a partir de nuevos valores como los derivados de sus principios: la impredecibilidad, la complejidad y el movimiento. Estas nuevas concepciones, que entran en choque con los viejos pilares de la civilización occidental (determinismo y causalidad), han suscitado un gran interés en las antiguas colonias a la hora de pensar el giro decolonial y el nuevo sujeto emancipado en busca de su propia historia. Finalmente, se aplicará el marco teórico al estudio de la obra de Gary Victor y de su particular cosmovisión e imaginarios. A partir de las dinámicas del caos que manan del complejo y violento entramado histórico-social haitiano, su literatura se dota de una función particular: la de desencriptar el caos del mundo en busca de una posibilidad para lo humano

Exploring how children with reading difficulties respond to instructional supports in literacy games and the role of prior knowledge

Digital literacy games can be beneficial for children with reading difficulties as a supplement to classroom instruction and an important feature of these games are the instructional supports, such as feedback. To be effective, feedback needs to build on prior instruction and match a learner's level of prior knowledge. However, there is limited research around the relationship between prior knowledge, instruction and feedback in the context of learning games. This paper presents an empirical study exploring the influence of prior knowledge on response to feedback, in two conditions: with or without instruction. Thirty-six primary children (age 8–11) with reading difficulties participated: each child was assessed for their prior knowledge of two suffix types—noun and adjective suffixes. They subsequently received additional instruction for one suffix type and then played two rounds of a literacy game—one round for each suffix type. Our analysis shows that prior knowledge predicted initial success rates and performance after a verbal hint differently, depending on whether instruction was provided. These results are discussed with regards to learning game feedback design and the impact on different types of knowledge involved in gameplay, as well as other game design elements that might support knowledge building during gamepla

A Computational Model of Reactive Oxygen Species and Redox Balance in Cardiac Mitochondria

AbstractElevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a critical role in cardiac myocyte signaling in both healthy and diseased cells. Mitochondria represent the predominant cellular source of ROS, specifically the activity of complexes I and III. The model presented here explores the modulation of electron transport chain ROS production for state 3 and state 4 respiration and the role of substrates and respiratory inhibitors. Model simulations show that ROS production from complex III increases exponentially with membrane potential (ΔΨm) when in state 4. Complex I ROS release in the model can occur in the presence of NADH and succinate (reverse electron flow), leading to a highly reduced ubiquinone pool, displaying the highest ROS production flux in state 4. In the presence of ample ROS scavenging, total ROS production is moderate in state 3 and increases substantially under state 4 conditions. The ROS production model was extended by combining it with a minimal model of ROS scavenging. When the mitochondrial redox status was oxidized by increasing the proton permeability of the inner mitochondrial membrane, simulations with the combined model show that ROS levels initially decline as production drops off with decreasing ΔΨm and then increase as scavenging capacity is exhausted. Hence, this mechanistic model of ROS production demonstrates how ROS levels are controlled by mitochondrial redox balance

Bourdieu y la traducción e interpretación en los servicios públicos. Hacia una teoría social

Dentro de los Estudios de Traducción, la Traducción e Interpretación en los Servicios Públicos (TISP) es un área relativamente reciente (Critical Link 1995) en lucha todavía por conseguir el reconocimiento académico y profesional que se merece dentro y fuera de los límites que marca dicha disciplina. Gran parte de las dificultades para conseguir esa aceptación y reconocimiento se halla en la controversia que envuelve el papel del traductor e intérprete en sus actuaciones en los servicios públicos. En un intento por explicar la actuación de estos intérpretes, que con frecuencia va más allá de la invisibilidad y del mero trasvase lingüístico, y siguiendo la influencia que la teoría social de Bourdieu está teniendo en otras áreas de los Estudios de Traducción (Simeoni 1998; Heilbron y Sapiro 2002; Inghilleri 2003, 2005), es nuestra intención tratar de aplicar los conceptos fundamentales (habitus, campo, illusio y capital simbólico) de las teorías bourdianas a la TISP y analizar el papel del intérprete desde sus presupuestos, así como sugerir nuevas vías de investigación para el desarrollo de un teoría sociológica de la TISP.Within Translation Studies (TS), Public Service Interpreting and Translation (PSIT) is a relatively recent area (Critical Link 1995) still fighting for academic and professional recognition inside and outside the limits of that discipline. The growing interest in PSIT is undoubtedly linked to the migration phenomenon and the intervention of intermediaries (interpreters and translators) who make communication possible is generally recognised. But the controversy about the role(s) these intermediaries have to perform in public services seems to be one of the main difficulties to obtain academic and institutional acceptance and recognition. Following the influence of Bourdieu´s social theory in certain areas of TS (Simeoni 1998; Heilbron and Sapiro 2002; Inghilleri 2003, 2005), it is our intention to apply the basic concepts of his theory (habitus, field, illusion and symbolic capital) to PSIT in an attempt to explain the performance of these ‘visible’ interpreters. New areas of research in the development of a sociological theory of PSIT will also be suggested

Loss-of-function mutations in the CABLES1 gene are a novel cause of Cushing's disease.

The CABLES1 cell cycle regulator participates in the adrenal-pituitary negative feedback, and its expression is reduced in corticotropinomas, pituitary tumors with a largely unexplained genetic basis. We investigated the presence of CABLES1 mutations/copy number variations (CNVs) and their associated clinical, histopathological and molecular features in patients with Cushing's disease (CD). Samples from 146 pediatric (118 germline DNA only/28 germline and tumor DNA) and 35 adult (tumor DNA) CD patients were screened for CABLES1 mutations. CNVs were assessed in 116 pediatric CD patients (87 germline DNA only/29 germline and tumor DNA). Four potentially pathogenic missense variants in CABLES1 were identified, two in young adults (c.532G > A, p.E178K and c.718C > T, p.L240F) and two in children (c.935G > A, p.G312D and c.1388A > G, and p.D463G) with CD; no CNVs were found. The four variants affected residues within or close to the predicted cyclin-dependent kinase-3 (CDK3)-binding region of the CABLES1 protein and impaired its ability to block cell growth in a mouse corticotropinoma cell line (AtT20/D16v-F2). The four patients had macroadenomas. We provide evidence for a role of CABLES1 as a novel pituitary tumor-predisposing gene. Its function might link two of the main molecular mechanisms altered in corticotropinomas: the cyclin-dependent kinase/cyclin group of cell cycle regulators and the epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway. Further studies are needed to assess the prevalence of CABLES1 mutations among patients with other types of pituitary adenomas and to elucidate the pituitary-specific functions of this gene

Surface area of carbon-based nanoparticles prevails on dispersion for growth inhibition in amphibians

The attractive properties of carbon-based nanoparticles such as graphene and its derivatives or carbon nanotubes lead to their use in many application fields, whether they are raw or functionalized, such as oxidized. These particles may finally contaminate the aquatic compartment, which is a major receptacle of pollutants. The study of their impact on aquatic organisms is thus essential. At the nano scale, recent studies have highlighted that specific surface area should be used as the most relevant descriptor of toxicity instead of the conventional mass concentration. By using a dose-response model, this work compares the chronic toxicity observed on Xenopus laevis larvae after 12-day in vivo exposure to raw, oxidized carbon allotropes, or in the presence of chemical dispersant. We show that chemical dispersion does not influence the observed chronic toxicity, whether it is through surface chemistry (oxidation state) or through the addition of a dispersant. The biological hypothesis leading to growth inhibition are discussed. Finally, these results confirm that surface area is the more suited metric unit describing growth inhibition

Modulation of chiroptical and photophysical properties in helicenic rhenium(I) systems: the use of an N‐(aza[6]helicenyl)‐NHC ligand

The photophysical and chiroptical properties of a novel, chiral helicene-NHC−Re(I) complex bearing an N-(aza[6]helicenyl)-benzimidazolylidene ligand are described, showing its ability to emit yellow circularly polarized luminescence. A comparative analysis of this new system with other helicene-Re(I) complexes reported to date illustrates the impact of structural modifications on the emissive and absorptive properties