Dismounting the classics. Didactic proposal based on a children and youth literature workshop for foreign language vocabulary teaching at the stage of primary education within the framework of Technique Feature Analysis

Uno de los principales objetivos de la Educación Primaria en España es el aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera. Las últimas leyes de educación, a pesar de sus diferencias, coinciden en la importancia de saber comunicarse en una lengua extranjera, tanto para fines sociales como profesionales. Así, presentan la adquisición de una segunda lengua como una prioridad dentro del sistema educativo español. El presente trabajo presenta una propuesta didáctica para trabajar el vocabulario en segunda lengua a través de la literatura infantil y juvenil. La propuesta está diseñada siguiendo el marco teórico “Technique Feature Analysis” (TFA), establecido por Nation y Webb para la adquisición de léxico en segunda lengua.One of the main aims within Primary Education in Spain is learning a foreign language. Despite the changes in the Spanish Education law along the last three decades, they all coincide in the importance of the ability to communicate in a foreign language in different types of situations. Thus, second language learning is given pride of place by the Spanish Educational system. The present work suggests a proposal to teach L2 vocabulary through popular children and youth literature. The proposal is designed within the theoretical framework of the Technique Feature Analysis (TFA), suggested by Nation and Webb to promote L2 vocabulary learning

The deconstruction of the folktale in Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes and the translation of its postmodern features into French and Spanish

Revolting Rhymes (1982) de Roald Dahl es una obra literaria infantil atípica en la que el autor galés actualiza y reescribe, tanto en forma como en contenido, seis cuentos populares. Este trabajo tiene dos objetivos: por un lado, evidenciar las características posmodernas de la obra y de qué manera estas contribuyen a lograr su propósito comunicativo; y, por el otro, analizar si dos de los elementos posmodernos más importantes del texto, la actualización de los aspectos culturales y la variedad de registros lingüísticos, están igualmente presentes en las versiones traducidas al francés y al castellano. Para ello, se han realizado dos estudios traductológicos contrastivos de tipo descriptivo con el fin de analizar la traducción de dichos elementos posmodernos en los textos meta en francés y castellano, aplicando la taxonomía de técnicas de traducción propuesta por Molina y Hurtado (2002).Revolting Rhymes (1982) by Roald Dahl is an atypical work of children’s literature in which the Welsh writer updated and rewrote six traditional folk tales in both form and content. This paper aims to evince the postmodern features of Revolting Ryhmes and the way in which they contribute to reach the communicative purpose of the literary work. The second objective of this work is to analyse if two of the most significant postmodern features (the cultural update and the variety of language registers) are also present in the Spanish and French translations. To do so, two descriptive and contrastive translation studies were carried out to analyse the translation of those features in the target texts in French and Spanish based on the proposal of translation techniques of Molina and Hurtado (2002)

Fog interception by Ball moss (<i>Tillandsia recurvata</i>)

Interception losses are a major influence in the water yield of vegetated areas. For most storms, rain interception results in less water reaching the ground. However, fog interception can increase the overall water storage capacity of the vegetation and once the storage is exceeded, fog drip is a common hydrological input. Fog interception is disregarded in water budgets of semiarid regions, but for some plant communities, it could be a mechanism offsetting evaporation losses. <i>Tillandsia recurvata</i> is a cosmopolitan epiphyte adapted to arid habitats where fog may be an important water source. Therefore, the interception storage capacity by <i>T. recurvata</i> was measured in controlled conditions and applying simulated rain or fog. Juvenile, vegetative specimens were used to determine the potential upperbound storage capacities. The storage capacity was proportional to dry weight mass. Interception storage capacity (<i>C</i>_min) was 0.19 and 0.56 mm for rainfall and fog respectively. The coefficients obtained in the laboratory were used together with biomass measurements for <i>T. recurvata</i> in a xeric scrub to calculate the depth of water intercepted by rain. <i>T. recurvata</i> contributed 20 % to the rain interception capacity of their shrub hosts: <i>Acacia farnesiana</i> and <i>Prosopis laevigata</i> and; also potentially intercepted 4.8 % of the annual rainfall. Nocturnal stomatic opening in <i>T. recurvata</i> is not only relevant for CO₂ but for water vapor, as suggested by the higher weight change of specimens wetted with fog for 1 h at dark in comparison to those wetted during daylight (543 ± 77 vs. 325 ± 56 mg, <i>p</i> = 0.048). The storage capacity of <i>T. recurvata</i> leaf surfaces could increase the amount of water available for evaporation, but as this species colonise montane forests, the effect could be negative on water recharge, because potential storage capacity is very high, in the laboratory experiments it took up to 12 h at a rate of 0.26 l h⁻¹ to reach saturation conditions when fog was applied

Mahogunin Ring Finger 1 Is Required for Genomic Stability and Modulates the Malignant Phenotype of Melanoma Cells.

The mouse mahoganoid mutation abrogating Mahogunin Ring Finger-1 (MGRN1) E3 ubiquitin ligase expression causes hyperpigmentation, congenital heart defects and neurodegeneration. To study the pathophysiology of MGRN1 loss, we compared Mgrn1-knockout melanocytes with genetically matched controls and melan-md1 (mahoganoid) melanocytes. MGRN1 knockout induced a more differentiated and adherent phenotype, decreased motility, increased the percentage of cells in the S phase of the cell cycle and promoted genomic instability, as shown by stronger γH2AX labelling, increased burden of DNA breaks and higher abundance of aneuploid cells. Lack of MGRN1 expression decreased the ability of melanocytes to cope with DNA breaks generated by oxidizing agents or hydroxyurea-induced replicative stress, suggesting a contribution of genomic instability to the mahoganoid phenotype. MGRN1 knockout in B16-F10 melanoma cells also augmented pigmentation, increased cell adhesion to collagen, impaired 2D and 3D motility and caused genomic instability. Tumors formed by Mgrn1-KO B16-F10 cells had lower mitotic indices, fewer Ki67-positive cells and showed a trend towards smaller size. In short-term lung colonization assays Mgrn1-KO cells showed impaired colonization potential. Moreover, lower expression of MGRN1 is significantly associated with better survival of human melanoma patients. Therefore, MGRN1 might be an important phenotypic determinant of melanoma cells

Effect of location and stage of development of dominant follicle on ovulation and embryo survival rate in alpacas

This study was designed to determine the effect of location of the preovulatory dominant follicle and stage of ovarian follicle development on ovulation rate and embryo survival in alpacas. In Experiment 1, mature lactating alpacas were randomly assigned to one of two groups according to the location of the dominant follicle detected by ultrasonography: (a) Right ovary (RO, n=96) or (b) Left ovary (LO, n=108). All females were mated once by an intact adult male. Ovulation rate, CL diameter and embryo survival rate (heartbeat) were assessed by ultrasonography on Days 2 (Day 0. =mating), 8 and 30, respectively. Ovulation rate (96.5 and 96.3% for RO and LO group, respectively), corpus luteum (CL) diameter (10.2 and 10.6. mm for RO and LO group, respectively) and pregnancy rate (60.2 and 56.7% for RO and LO group, respectively) did not differ among groups. In Experiment 2, lactating alpacas (n=116) were submitted to ultrasonic-guided follicle ablation to synchronize follicular wave emergence. Afterwards, daily ultrasonography examinations were performed and females were randomly assigned to the following groups according to the growth phase and diameter of the dominant follicle: (a) early growing (5-6. mm, n=27), (b) growing (7-12. mm, n=30); (c) static (7-12. mm, n=30), or (d) regressing phase (12-7. mm, n=29). All alpacas were mated with a proven intact male, except five alpacas from early growing group that rejected the male. Females were examined by ultrasonography on Day 2 (ovulation rate), Day 8 (CL diameter), and Days 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 (embryo survival by the presence of embryo proper and heartbeat). No differences were detected in ovulation rate among groups (96%, 97%, 100%, and 97%) or in CL size (10.3, 11.7, 11.1, and 11.1. mm, for early growing, growing, early static and regressing, respectively). Although, embryo survival rate at Day 35 after mating was numerically greatest in growing (65.5%), intermediate in early growing (52.4%) and static (53.3%), and least in regressing phase (42.9%), there were no differences among groups. Results suggest that neither location nor stage of development of the dominant follicle has an influence on ovulation and embryo survival rate in alpacas. © 2011 Elsevier B.V

A de novo transcriptional atlas in Danaus plexippus reveals variability in dosage compensation across tissues

A detailed knowledge of gene function in the monarch butterfly is still lacking. Here we generate a genome assembly from a Mexican nonmigratory population and used RNA-seq data from 14 biological samples for gene annotation and to construct an atlas portraying the breadth of gene expression during most of the monarch life cycle. Two thirds of the genes show expression changes, with long noncoding RNAs being particularly finely regulated during adulthood, and male-biased expression being four times more common than female-biased. The two portions of the monarch heterochromosome Z, one ancestral to the Lepidoptera and the other resulting from a chromosomal fusion, display distinct association with sex-biased expression, reflecting sample-dependent incompleteness or absence of dosage compensation in the ancestral but not the novel portion of the Z. This study presents extended genomic and transcriptomic resources that will facilitate a better understanding of the monarch's adaptation to a changing environment

Quality criteria of physiotherapy grade (diploma): report provided by the Spanish Association and Physiotherapists

[Resumen] El informe sobre criterios de calidad específicos de recursos materiales y profesorado para el título de grado de Fisioterapia ha sido elaborado por la Asociación Española de Fisioterapeutas que convocó, con tal finalidad, a una comisión de expertos en Educación en Fisioterapia. El documento, realizado a propuesta de la Dirección General de Universidades en diciembre de 2004, tiene por objetivo el establecer los criterios mínimos de recursos materiales y humanos derivados de la especificidad de la titulación de Fisioterapia, que permita cubrir las nuevas demandas de la sociedad. En relación a los recursos materiales, se ha procurado darle un suficiente grado de especificación cuantitativa y cualitativa a los instrumentos que constituyen los recursos materiales específicos. La intención es, así mismo, facilitar su valoración en el momento de acreditar la titulación. Se abordan, por una parte, los recursos específicos de la titulación para la docencia teórico-práctica en el centro, dentro de los laboratorios destinados a tal efecto. Por otra parte, se definen las características o perfil de los centros sociosanitarios donde debe impartirse la formación clínica del alumno. En relación a los recursos humanos, se hace especial hincapié en el perfil y la experiencia del profesorado para la docencia, así como en el ratio profesor-alumno en la formación práctica y en la formación clínica.[Abstract] The report about specific quality criteria of resources material (items) and teaching profession to obtain the Physiotherapy Grade, has been elaborated by the Spanish Association of Physiotherapists, which aimed to convoke a Physiotherapy Education experts commission. The document was carried out on Universities General Chairmene’s proposal, aiming to establish the minimum criteria of human and Material (Items) resources, derived from the specific Physical Therapy Grade (Diploma), Which may cover the latest Society requirements. According to the Material resources, there has been a serious attempt to give the instruments, which constitute the specific material resources, an appropriate degree, quantitative and qualitative specification. The main intention by itself, consists of providing its assessment when the time to accredit the title comes. On the one hand the specific resources of the Physiotherapy Grade for the Theoric-practical Teaching in the Centre are taken up even in the laboratories aimed to get such goal. On the other hand we define the characteristics or the profile of the social. Health centres, where Pupils’ Clinical Education, must be carried out. Relating to the Human Resources, we do underline the Teaching Profession experience and profile, as well as the rate Teacher-Pupil, both in the practical Training and the Clinical Education, too

Controlled trial of balance training using a video game console in community-dwelling older adults

gamification is a potentially attractive option for improving balance and reducing falls. to assess the effect of balance training using the NintendoTM Wii game console on balance (primary outcome), falls and fear of falling. quasi-randomised, open-label, controlled clinical trial in parallel groups, carried out on community-dwelling patients over 70 years, able to walk independently. Participants were assigned 1:1 to the intervention or control group. Balance training was conducted using the Nintendo WiiFit TM twice a week for 3 months. Balance was assessed using the Tinetti balance test (primary outcome), the unipedal stance and the Wii balance tests at baseline, 3 months and 1 year. Falls were recorded and Fear of falling was assessed by the Falls Efficacy Scale (Short-FES-I). 1,016 subjects were recruited (508 in both the intervention and the control group; of whom 274 and 356 respectively completed the 3-month assessment). There was no between-group difference in the Tinetti balance test score, with a baseline mean of 14.7 (SD 1.8) in both groups, and 15.2 (1.3) at 3 months in the intervention group compared to 15.3 (1.7) in controls; the between-group difference was 0.06 (95% CI 0.30-0.41). No differences were seen in any of the other balance tests, or in incident falls. There was a reduction in the fear of falling at 3 months, but no effect at 1 year. the study found no effect of balance training using the Nintendo TM Wii on balance or falls in older community-dwelling patients. The study protocol is available at clinicaltrials.gov under the code NCT02570178

Effects of a moderate intake of beer on markers of hydration after exercise in the heat: a crossover study

Background: Exercise in the heat causes important water and electrolytes losses through perspiration. Optimal rehydration is crucial to facilitate the recuperation process after exercise. The aim of our study was to examine whether a moderate beer intake as part of the rehydration has any negative effect protocol after a short but dehydrating bout of exercise in the heat.Methods: Sixteen active male (VO2max, 56 ± 4 mL/kg/min), were included in a crossover study and performed a dehydrating exercise (≤1 h running, 60 %VO2max) twice and 3 weeks apart, in a hot laboratory setting (35 ± 1 °C, humidity 60 ± 2 %). During the two hours following the exercise bouts participants consumed either mineral water ad-libitum (W) or up to 660 ml regular beer followed by water ad-libitum (BW). Body composition, hematological and serum parameters, fluid balance and urine excretion were assessed before, after exercise and after rehydration.Results: Body mass (BM) decreased (both ~ 2.4 %) after exercise in both trials. After rehydration, BM and fat free mass significantly increased although BM did not return to baseline levels (BM, 72.6 ± 6.7 to 73.6 ± 6.9; fat free mass, 56.9 ± 4.7 to 57.5 ± 4.5, no differences BW vs W). Beer intake did not adversely affect any measured parameter. Fluid balance and urine excretion values did not differ between the rehydration strategies.Conclusions: After exercise and subsequent water losses, a moderate beer (regular) intake has no deleterious effects on markers of hydration in active individuals.This study was partially supported by the “Centro de Información Cerveza y Salud” (n° C-2534-00)