First year undergraduate perceptions of achievement

This is initiative considers students’ perceptions of First Year Undergraduate Achievement. To date research has not considered achievement in the first year of University study from the students’ perspective. Specifically this work considers: What does ‘Achievement’ mean to the First Year undergraduates? What is the process that First Year undergraduates’ make achievement by? How do First Year undergraduates make achievement? What are the influential factors that affect the First Year undergraduates’ achievement and how they make effect?HEFC

Dynamic dissipative cooling of a mechanical oscillator in strong-coupling optomechanics

Cooling of mesoscopic mechanical resonators represents a primary concern in cavity optomechanics. Here in the strong optomechanical coupling regime, we propose to dynamically control the cavity dissipation, which is able to significantly accelerate the cooling process while strongly suppressing the heating noise. Furthermore, the dynamic control is capable of overcoming quantum backaction and reducing the cooling limit by several orders of magnitude. The dynamic dissipation control provides new insights for tailoring the optomechanical interaction and offers the prospect of exploring macroscopic quantum physics.Comment: accepetd in Physical Review Letter

Propuesta para un diccionario cultural bilingüe (español-chino-español)

Aquesta tesi doctoral, dedicada al tractament de les paraules culturals en diccionaris bilingües i a la creació d'un nou model de diccionari cultural bilingüe espanyol-xinès-espanyol, sorgeix de la necessitat de l'aprenentatge i l'ensenyament de l'anomenada “cultura compartida "i, també, de la perspectiva de la comunicació intercultural entre gents de diferents cultures. Basant-nos en els estudis teòrics sobre la interrelació e interdependència entre llenguatge i cultura, hem seguit una sèrie de metodologies amb les que podíem investigar els problemes més significatius que generaven malentesos o xocs culturals entre parlants de diferents cultures. En aquest treball, hem centrat el nostre interès investigatiu especialment en el tractament dels anomenats culturemes -entesos com a paraules o expressions específic-culturals- en l'àmbit lexicogràfic, perquè aquestes paraules no només es consideren com "peons d'una cultura centenària" pertanyents a la seva societat sinó que també són elements fonamentals que constitueixen part de la macroestructura dels diccionaris de la llengua i per a la comprensió d'aquestes paraules es requereix no només el coneixement del seu valor lingüístic, sinó també del seu valor connotatiu en un determinat context cultural. Des d'aquesta perspectiva, hem presentat una proposta per crear un nou model de diccionari cultural bilingüe dirigit especialment als usuaris xinesos que tinguin necessitat de conèixer el sentit connotatiu i cultural de les paraules de l'espanyol i que vulguin esmenar problemes d'integració i comunicació, causats per la seva escassa immersió cultural a la cultura espanyola. Per tant, aquest futur diccionari cultural que proposem en aquesta investigació es caracteritzaria pel seu enfocament orientat al tractament dels coneixements culturals i sabers i, alhora, a la formació de les habilitats i les actituts dels aprenents d´ una llengua estrangera a l´entrar en contacte amb altres cultures.La presente tesis doctoral, dedicada al tratamiento de las palabras culturales en diccionarios bilingües y a la creación de un nuevo modelo de diccionario cultural bilingüe español-chino-español, parte inicialmente de la necesidad del aprendizaje y la enseñanza de la llamada “cultura compartida” y, también, de la perspectiva de la comunicación intercultural entre gentes de distintas culturas. Basándonos en los estudios teóricos sobre la interrelación e interdependencia entre lenguaje y cultura, hemos seguido una serie de metodologías con las que podíamos indagar los problemas más significativos que generaban malentendidos o choques culturales entre hablantes de distintas culturas. En este trabajo, hemos centrado nuestro interés de investigación especialmente en el tratamiento de los llamados culturemas -entendidos como palabras o expresiones específico-culturales- en el ámbito lexicográfico, porque estas palabras no sólo se consideran como “peones de una cultura centenaria” de cada sociedad sino que también son elementos fundamentales que constituyen parte de la macroestructura de los diccionarios de lengua y para la comprensión de estas palabras se requiere no sólo el conocimiento de su valor de lengua, sino también de su valor connotativo en un determinado contexto cultural. Desde esta perspectiva, hemos presentado una propuesta para crear un nuevo modelo de diccionario cultural bilingüe dirigido especialmente a los usuarios chinos que tengan necesidad de conocer el sentido connotativo y cultural de las palabras del español y que quieran subsanar problemas de integración y comunicación, causados por su escasa inmersión cultural en la cultura española. Por tanto, ese futuro diccionario cultural que proponemos en esta investigación se caracteriza por su enfoque orientado al tratamiento de los conocimientos y saberes culturales y, a la vez, a la formación de las habilidades y las actitudes de los aprendices de una lengua extranjera al entrar en contacto con otras culturas.The present doctoral thesis, dedicated to the treatment of the cultural words in bilingual dictionaries and to the creation of a new model of Spanish-Chinese-Spanish bilingual cultural dictionary, initially stems from the need of learning and education for the call "shared culture", and also from the perspective of intercultural communication among peoples of distinctive cultures. Based on the theoretical studies about the interrelation and interdependence between languages and cultures, we’ve followed a series of methodologies with which we could investigate the most significant problems that generate misunderstandings or cultural shocks among speakers of different cultures. In this paper, we’ve focused our research interest especially on the treatment of so-called culturemes - known as words or expressions as specified in cultural-lexicographical spheres, because these words are not merely considered as "peones of a centenary culture" of each society but also as fundamental elements constituting part of the macro-structure of the language dictionaries. Comprehension of these words requires the knowledge of the value of language as well as the connotative value in a certain cultural context. From this perspective, we’ve presented a proposal to create a new model of bilingual cultural dictionary especially for those Chinese users who need to know connotative sense and the cultural words of Spanish, and want to compensate for the problems of integration and communication, caused by their limited cultural immersion in Spanish culture. Therefore, that future cultural dictionary we proposed in this research is characterized by the treatment of the cultural knowledge and, at the same time, by the development of the abilities and attitudes of learners of a foreign language to interact with other cultures

Effects of L-carnitine against oxidative stress in human hepatocytes: involvement of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Excessive oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation have been demonstrated to play important roles in the production of liver damage. L-carnitine is a natural substance and acts as a carrier for fatty acids across the inner mitochondrial membrane for subsequent beta-oxidation. It is also an antioxidant that reduces metabolic stress in the cells. Recent years L-carnitine has been proposed for treatment of various kinds of disease, including liver injury. This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of L-carnitine against hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced cytotoxicity in a normal human hepatocyte cell line, HL7702.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed cytotoxicity using MTT assay and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. Antioxidant activity and lipid peroxidation were estimated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, activities and protein expressions of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) formation. Expressions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-alpha and its target genes were evaluated by RT-PCR or western blotting. The role of PPAR-alpha in L-carnitine-enhanced expression of SOD and CAT was also explored. Statistical analysis was performed by a one-way analysis of variance, and its significance was assessed by Dennett's post-hoc test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed that L-carnitine protected HL7702 cells against cytotoxity induced by H₂O₂. This protection was related to the scavenging of ROS, the promotion of SOD and CAT activity and expression, and the prevention of lipid peroxidation in cultured HL7702 cells. The decreased expressions of PPAR-alpha, carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 (CPT1) and acyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX) induced by H₂O₂can be attenuated by L-carnitine. Besides, we also found that the promotion of SOD and CAT protein expression induced by L-carnitine was blocked by PPAR-alpha inhibitor MK886.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Taken together, our findings suggest that L-carnitine could protect HL7702 cells against oxidative stress through the antioxidative effect and the regulation of PPAR-alpha also play an important part in the protective effect.</p

Bis{4,4′-[oxalylbis(aza­nedi­yl)]dipyridinium} octa­molybdate

In the crystal structure of the title compound, (C12H12N4O2)2[Mo8O26], the amino and pyridinium groups of the N 1,N 2-di(pyridinium-4-yl)oxalamide cations are hydrogen bonded to the O atoms of the centrosymmetric isopolyoxometalate β-[Mo8O26]4− anions, forming a three-dimensional supra­molecular architecture