A new way of teaching different subjects in a foreign language in the Building Engineering Degree at the Universidad Politécnica.

The European Union has been promoting linguistic diversity for many years as one of its main educational goals. This is an element that facilitates student mobility and student exchanges between different universities and countries and enriches the education of young undergraduates. In particular, a higher degree of competence in the English language is becoming essential for engineers, architects and researchers in general, as English has become the lingua franca that opens up horizons to internationalisation and the transfer of knowledge in today’s world. Many experts point to the Integrated Approach to Contents and Foreign Languages System as being an option that has certain benefits over the traditional method of teaching a second language that is exclusively based on specific subjects. This system advocates teaching the different subjects in the syllabus in a language other than one’s mother tongue, without prioritising knowledge of the language over the subject. This was the idea that in the 2009/10 academic year gave rise to the Second Language Integration Programme (SLI Programme) at the Escuela Arquitectura Técnica in the Universidad Politécnica Madrid (EUATM-UPM), just at the beginning of the tuition of the new Building Engineering Degree, which had been adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) model. This programme is an interdisciplinary initiative for the set of subjects taught during the semester and is coordinated through the Assistant Director Office for Educational Innovation. The SLI Programme has a dual goal; to familiarise students with the specific English terminology of the subject being taught, and at the same time improve their communication skills in English. A total of thirty lecturers are taking part in the teaching of eleven first year subjects and twelve in the second year, with around 120 students who have voluntarily enrolled in a special group in each semester. During the 2010/2011 academic year the degree of acceptance and the results of the SLI Programme have been monitored. Tools have been designed to aid interdisciplinary coordination and to analyse satisfaction, such as coordination records and surveys. The results currently available refer to the first and second year and are divided into specific aspects of the different subjects involved and into general aspects of the ongoing experience

Datos sobre la alianza Corynephoro-Plantaginion Radicatae Rivas Goday & Rivas-Martínez 1963 Nom. Invers. Rivas Martínez 1975 en el sector Orensano-Sanabriense

Se estudian los pastizales duros, abiertos y pobres constituidos por especies vegetales pulvinulares del piso supramediterráneo de ombroclimas subhúmedo y húmedo del Sector Orensano Sanabriense, incluibles en la alianza Corynephoro Plantaginion radicatae Rivas Goday & Rivas Martínez 1963 nom. invers. Rivas Martínez 1975, describiéndose la asociación Diantho merinoi Plantaginetum radicatae nova.The poor, open, hard meadows are studied. They are formed by pulvinular species in supramediterranean level, with subhumid and humid ombroclimous. They are included in the alliance Corynephoro Plantaginion radicatae Rivas Goday & Rivas Martínez 1963 nom. invers. Rivas Martínez 1975. The association Diantho merinoi Plantaginetum radicatae nova is described

Datos sobre la vegetación terofítica y nitrófila leonesa

En el presente trabajo se describen dos asociaciones: Plantago loeflingii-Prolongoetum pectinatae nova y Minuartio hybridae-Saxifragetum tridactylitis nova (Tuberarietea guttatae Br.-B1. 1952 em. Rivas-Martinez 1977), aportándose datos corológicos y ecológicos de otras comunidades terofiticas y nitrófilas descritas y que forman parte de la vegetación leonesa.In this paper, we describe two associations: Plantage loeflingii-Prolongoetum pectinatae nova y Minuartio hybridae-Saxifragetum tridactylitis nova (Tuberarietea guttatae Br.-B1. 1952 em. Rivas-Martinez 1977); also we give some chorological, ecological and variability facts, about another therophitic and nitrogenous communities already defined, and components of the vegetation of León

Datos sobre vegetación terofitica y nitrófila leonesa. Nota II

En el presente trabajo se describen dos asociaciones: Carduo carpetani-Onopordetum acanthii nova (Onopordetea acanthii Br.-81. 1964 em. Rivas-Martinez in Ladero, F. Navarro E C.J. Valle 1983) y Artemisio glutinosae-Santolinetum semidentatae nova (Pegano-Salsoletea Br.-B1. E O. Bolós (1954) 1957 ampl. Peinado V Martinez Parras 1984), aportándose datos coro-lógicos y ecológicos de otras comunidades terofíticas y nitrófilas descritas y que forman parte de la vegetación leonesa.In this paper, we describe two associations: Carduo carpetani-Onopordetum acanthii nova (Onopordetea acanthii Br.-B1. 1964 em. Rivas-Martínez in Ladero, F. Navarro E C.J. Valle 1083) and Artemisio glutinosae-Santolinetum semidentatae nova (Pegano-Salsoletea Br.-B1. 6 O. Bolós (1954) 1957 ampl. Peinado E Martinez Parras 1984); also we give some chorological, ecological and variability facts, about another therophitic and nitrogenous communities already defined, and components of the vegetation of León

Prosthetic assessment in cleft lip and palate patients : a case report with oronasal communication

The cleft lip and palate patient is mainly characterized by the presence of an oronasal communication, malformation or agenesis of the teeth close to the cleft, and deficient sagittal and transverse growth of the maxilla. These patients require various treatments involving a multidisciplinary team, which may include a maxillofacial surgeon, an orthodontist, a speech therapist, a paediatrician, a general dentist, a prosthodontist, an ENT specialist, a psychologist and all those professionals who can help provide functional, aesthetic and psychological improvement. This report describes a case of prosthetic rehabilitation in a patient with cleft lip and palate and an oronasal fistula (communication) following surgery. Different prosthetic treatments are described, with emphasis being placed on the approach chosen after to discuss the various limitations which arose

Acetyl Group Migration in Xylan and Glucan Model Compounds as Studied by Experimental and Computational Methods

It was recently demonstrated by us that acetyl groups in oligosaccharides can migrate not only within one saccharide unit but also between two different saccharide units. Kinetics of this phenomenon were previously investigated in both mannan model compounds and a naturally occurring polysaccharide. In addition to mannans, there are also several other naturally acetylated polysaccharides, such as xyloglucans and xylans. Both xyloglucans and xylans are some of the most common acetylated polysaccharides in nature, displaying important roles in the plant cells. Considering the various biological roles of natural polysaccharides, it could be hypothesized that the intramolecular migration of acetyl groups might also be associated with regulation of the biological activity of polysaccharides in nature. Consequently, a better understanding of the overall migration phenomenon across the glycosidic bonds could help to understand the potential role of such migrations in the context of the biological activity of polysaccharides. Here, we present a detailed investigation on acetyl group migration in the synthesized xylan and glucan trisaccharide model compounds by a combination of experimental and computational methods, showing that the migration between the saccharide units proceeds from a secondary hydroxyl group of one saccharide unit toward a primary hydroxyl group of the other unit

Acyl Group Migration in Pyranosides as Studied by Experimental and Computational Methods

Acyl group migration affects the synthesis, isolation, manipulation and purification of all acylated organic compounds containing free hydroxyl groups, in particular carbohydrates. While several isolated studies on the migration phenomenon in different buffers have been reported, comprehensive insights into the overall migration process in different monosaccharides under similar conditions have been lacking. Here, we have studied the acyl migration in different monosaccharides using five different acyl groups by a combination of experimental, kinetic and theoretical tools. The results show that the anomeric configuration in the monosaccharide has a major influence on the migration rate, together with the relative configurations of the other hydroxyl groups and the nature of the migrating acyl group. Full mechanistic model, based on computations, demonstrates that the acyl migration proceeds through an anionic stepwise mechanism with linear dependence on the OH-] and the pK(a) of the hydroxyl group toward which the acyl group is migrating

Integrated approach to foreign language in the building engineering degree at the Universidad Politécnica Madrid

The European Union has been promoting linguistic diversity for many years as one of its main educational goals. This is an element that facilitates student mobility and student exchanges between different universities and countries and enriches the education of young undergraduates. In particular,a higher degree of competence in the English language is becoming essential for engineers, architects and researchers in general, as English has become the lingua franca that opens up horizons to internationalisation and the transfer of knowledge in today’s world. Many experts point to the Integrated Approach to Contents and Foreign Languages System as being an option that has certain benefits over the traditional method of teaching a second language that is exclusively based on specific subjects. This system advocates teaching the different subjects in the syllabus in a language other than one’s mother tongue, without prioritising knowledge of the language over the subject. This was the idea that in the 2009/10 academic year gave rise to the Second Language Integration Programme (SLI Programme) at the Escuela Arquitectura Tecnica in the Universidad Politecnica Madrid (EUATM-UPM), just at the beginning of the tuition of the new Building Engineering Degree, which had been adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) model. This programme is an interdisciplinary initiative for the set of subjects taught during the semester and is coordinated through the Assistant Director Office for Educational Innovation. The SLI Programme has a dual goal; to familiarise students with the specific English terminology of the subject being taught, and at the same time improve their communication skills in English. A total of thirty lecturers are taking part in the teaching of eleven first year subjects and twelve in the second year, with around 120 students who have voluntarily enrolled in a special group in each semester. During the 2010/2011 academic year the degree of acceptance and the results of the SLI Programme are being monitored. Tools have been designed to aid interdisciplinary coordination and to analyse satisfaction, such as coordination records and surveys. The results currently available refer to the first semester of the year and are divided into specific aspects of the different subjects involved and into general aspects of the ongoing experience

Computational studies of Brønsted acid-catalyzed transannular cycloadditions of cycloalkenone hydrazones

The contribution to the energy barrier of a series of tethers in transannular cycloadditions of cycloalkenes with hydrazones has been computationally studied by using DFT. The Houk's distortion model has been employed to evaluate the influence of the tether in the cycloaddition reaction. That model has been extended to determine the contribution of each tether and, more importantly, the effect exerted between them. In addition to the distortion induced by the tethers, the entropy effects caused by them has also been studied. The analysis of the evolution of the electron localization function along the reaction revealed the highly concerted character of the reaction

The essential role of water molecules in the reaction mechanism of protein O-Fucosyltransferase 2

Protein O-fucosyltransferase 2 (PoFUT2) is an inverting glycosyltransferase (GT) that fucosylates thrombospondin repeats (TSRs) from group 1 and 2. PoFUT2 recognizes a large and diverse number of TSRs through a dynamic network of water-mediated interactions. By X-ray structural studies of C. elegans PoFUT2 complexed to a TSR of group 2, we demonstrate that this GT recognizes similarly the 3D structure of TSRs from both groups 1 and 2. Its active site is highly exposed to the solvent, suggesting that water molecules might also play an essential role in the fucosylation mechanism. We applied QM/MM methods using human PoFUT2 as a model, and found that HsPoFUT2 follows a classical S(N)2 reaction mechanism in which water molecules contribute to a great extent in facilitating the release of the leaving pyrophosphate unit, causing the H transfer from the acceptor nucleophile (Thr/Ser) to the catalytic base, which is the last event in the reaction. This demonstrates the importance of water molecules not only in recognition of the ligands but also in catalysis