The effect of ability-grouping techniques on students' perceptions of speaking tasks

Tesis (Profesor de Inglés para la Enseñanza Básica y Media, Licenciado en Educación)Un problema crítico en la enseñanza del Inglés como Lengua Extranjera en Chile es que la mayoría de los profesores no pueden interactuar con sus alumnos del colegio usando el lengua meta. Lo anterior corresponde a una falta de oportunidades de los estudiantes para practicar la habilidad de hablar a través de conversaciones y trabajo colaborativo. De acuerdo a esto, agrupar a los alumnos precisamente en clases ha demostrado incentivar dichas oportunidades. Por lo tanto, ya que el consenso en técnicas de agrupación es controversial, el presente estudio apunta a contrastar las percepciones de los alumnos de acuerdo a agrupaciones de habilidades homogéneas y heterogéneas comparando dos segundos medios en un colegio chileno subvencionado. Por una parte el Grupo A fue organizado homogéneamente de acuerdo a sus competencias en el idioma mediante una prueba de diagnóstico para que los estudiantes con nivel similar estuvieran juntos. Por otra parte, el Grupo B fue organizado heterogéneamente para que los estudiantes con diferentes niveles estuvieran juntos. Este experimento siguió un diseño de comparación y fue utilizado un instrumento correspondiente a un cuestionario con una escala Likert para medir las percepciones de los estudiantes de acuerdo a las técnicas de agrupación. La aplicación consistió en seis clases para ambos grupos en tratamiento, las cuales incluyeron los seis tipos de actividades colaborativas de tres tipos diferentes de tarea. Las actividades y sus respectivos tipo de actividades son, de la primera a la última: “Juego de Roles” y “Entrevista” (Tarea Interpersonal), “Quién soy yo” y “Debate” (Tarea Transaccional), “Contar una Historia” y “Presentación de Afiche” (Tarea Extensiva). Consecuentemente, el principal hallazgo del estudio muestra que todos los estudiantes (ambos grupos, A y B) percibieron las técnicas de agrupación positivamente. Finalmente, contrastando ambas técnicas de agrupación, los estudiantes del Grupo B (heterogéneo) percibieron la mayor parte de las actividades más positivamente que el Grupo A (homogéneo)One critical problem in Chilean EFL teaching is that most teachers cannot interact with school learners using the target language. The latter corresponds to a shortage of opportunities for learners to practice the speaking skill through conversation and collaboration. Accordingly, grouping learners accurately in classes have proved to encourage the referred opportunities. Therefore, since consensus on grouping techniques is controversial, the current study aimed to contrast learners‟ perceptions on Homogeneous and Heterogeneous ability-grouping by comparing two tenth grade courses in a Chilean subsidized school. On the one hand, Group A was arranged homogeneously in compliance with learners‟ low, middle, or high ability level diagnosed in an oral pretest, so learners with similar level were together. On the other hand, Group B was arranged heterogeneously so learners with different levels were gathered. This experiment followed a comparison-group design and used as an instrument a questionnaire with a Likert scale to measure learners‟ perceptions on grouping techniques. The application consisted on six lessons for both treatment groups, which featured six different collaborative activities taken from three different types of tasks. The activities and their respective type of task are, from first to last: Role Play and Interview (Interpersonal tasks), Who am I and Debate (Transactional tasks), Story Telling and Poster Presentation (Extensive tasks). Consequently, the main finding of the study shows that all learners (from both, Groups A and B) perceived grouping techniques positively. Finally, when contrasting both grouping techniques, learners from Group B (Heterogeneous) perceived most of the activities more positively than Group A (Homogeneous)

Effect of stress and attention on startle response and prepulse inhibition

The startle reflex magnitude can be modulated when a weak stimulus is presented before the onset of the startle stimulus, a phenomenon termed prepulse inhibition (PPI). Previous research has demonstrated that emotional processes can modulate PPI and startle intensity, but the available evidence is inconclusive. In order to obtain additional evidence in this domain, we conducted two experiments intended to analyze the effect of induced stress and attentional load on PPI and startle magnitude. Specifically, in Experiment 1 we used a between subject strategy to evaluate the effect on startle response and PPI magnitude of performing a difficult task intended to induce stress in the participants, as compared to a group exposed to a control task. In Experiment 2 we evaluated the effect of diverting attention from the acoustic stimulus on startle and PPI intensity. The results seem to indicate that induced stress can reduce PPI, and that startle reflex intensity is reduced when attention is directed away from the auditory stimulus that induces the reflex.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad PSI2012-32077Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad PSI2015-64965-P/MINECO-FEDE

Conditioned increase of locomotor activity induced by haloperidol

Dopamine antagonist drugs have profound effects on locomotor activity. In particular, the administration of the D2 antagonist haloperidol produces a state that is similar to catalepsy. In order to confirm whether the modulation of the dopaminergic activity produced by haloperidol was repeatedly paired with the presence of distinctive contextual cues that served as a Conditioned Stimulus. Paradoxically, the results revealed a dose-dependent increase n locomotor activity following conditioning with dopamine antagonist (Experiments 1) that was susceptible of extinction when the conditioned stimulus was presented repeatedly by itself after conditioning (Experiment 2). These data are interpreted from an associative perspective, considering them as a result of a classical conditioning process.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad PSI2015-64 965-

Flavanol-anthocyanin condensed pigments in plant extracts

Pigments resulting from the direct condensation of anthocyanins and flavanols are usually associated with reactions taking place during processing and storage of plant-derived foods and beverages and have been particularly studied in aged red wines. In this paper, small amounts of flavanol-anthocyanin condensed pigments are found in different plant extracts. Structures are suggested for 10 such condensed pigments detected in extracts of strawberry, runner beans, purple corn and grape skins, based on their MS" fragmentation patterns, following analyses by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. All of them correspond to dimers containing a flavan-3-ol [either (epi)afzelechin, (epi)catechin or (epi)gallocatechin] as the upper unit carbon-carbon linked to a lower anthocyanin unit consisting of different delphinidin, cyanidin, pelargonidin, peonidin or malvidin derivatives. The detection of these pigments in plant extracts may suggest that they are natural pigments and not products exclusively formed during storage and ageing of processed foods and beverages, as was previously assumed.Comissão Europeia (Fundo Social Europeu) e Governo Português através do Programa PRODEP (III) - ref.ª 5.3/N/199.006/00-Doutoramento

Detection of kinase domain mutations in BCR::ABL1 leukemia by ultra-deep sequencing of genomic DNA

The screening of the BCR::ABL1 kinase domain (KD) mutation has become a routine analysis in case of warning/failure for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) Philadelphia (Ph)-positive patients. In this study, we present a novel DNA-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) methodology for KD ABL1 mutation detection and monitoring with a 1.0E-4 sensitivity. This approach was validated with a well-stablished RNA-based nested NGS method. The correlation of both techniques for the quantification of ABL1 mutations was high (Pearson r = 0.858, p < 0.001), offering DNA-DeepNGS a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 82%. The clinical impact was studied in a cohort of 129 patients (n = 67 for CML and n = 62 for B-ALL patients). A total of 162 samples (n = 86 CML and n = 76 B-ALL) were studied. Of them, 27 out of 86 harbored mutations (6 in warning and 21 in failure) for CML, and 13 out of 76 (2 diagnostic and 11 relapse samples) did in B-ALL patients. In addition, in four cases were detected mutation despite BCR::ABL1 < 1%. In conclusion, we were able to detect KD ABL1 mutations with a 1.0E-4 sensitivity by NGS using DNA as starting material even in patients with low levels of disease

Oxidation mechanisms occurring in wines

The present review aims to show the state of the art on the oxidation mechanisms occurring in wines, as well as the methods to monitor, classify and diagnose wine oxidation. Wine oxidation can be divided in enzymatic oxidation and non-enzymatic oxidation. Enzymatic oxidation almost entirely occurs in grape must and is largely correlated with the content of hydroxycinnamates, such as caffeoyltartaric acid and para-coumaroyltartaric acid, and flavan-3-ols. Non-enzymatic oxidation, also called chemical oxidation of wine, prevails in fermented wine and begin by the oxidation of polyphenols containing a catechol or a galloyl group. These phenolic. reactions, both enzymatic and non-enzymatic, result in by-products named quinones. However, in non-enzymatic oxidation, oxygen does not react directly with phenolic compounds. The limitation on the reactivity of triplet oxygen is overcome by the stepwise addition of a single electron, which can be provided by reduced transition metal ions, essentially iron(II) and copper(I). The sequential electron transfer leads to the formation of hydroperoxide radical (HOO center dot), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and hydroxyl radical (HO center dot). The later radical will oxidize almost any organic molecule found in wine and will react with the first species it encounters, depending on their concentration. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ascorbic acid, when added to wine, are able to reduce the quinones. Alternative options have been assessed for the prevention of oxidation during wine storage; nevertheless, these are not fully understood or commonly accepted. During aging, aldehydes are important intermediates in the chemical transformations occurring in wines, leading to color and flavor changes. In the same way, a range of off-flavors can be formed from wine oxidation. At low concentrations these flavors may add to the complexity of a wine, but as these increase they begin to detract from wine quality. In addition to the major chemical browning involving wine phenols, the main oxidation reactions occurring during grape juice heating or storage are caramelization and Maillard reaction, which are temperature dependent. Different methods have been proposed in the literature, addressing the complexity and multi-scale related with the oxidation process, to attempt the quantification of antioxidant activity in wines. These methods can be broadly divided in: i) methods based on chemical reactions and ii) methods based on the chemical-physical properties of antioxidants

Impact of interstitial lung disease on the survival of systemic sclerosis with pulmonary arterial hypertension

To assess severity markers and outcomes of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) with or without pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH-SSc/non-PAH-SSc), and the impact of interstitial lung disease (ILD) on PAH-SSc. Non-PAH-SSc patients from the Spanish SSc registry and PAH-SSc patients from the Spanish PAH registry were included. A total of 364 PAH-SSc and 1589 non-PAH-SSc patients were included. PAH-SSc patients had worse NYHA-functional class (NYHA-FC), worse forced vital capacity (FVC) (81.2 ± 20.6% vs 93.6 ± 20.6%, P &lt; 0.001), worse tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) (17.4 ± 5.2 mm vs 19.9 ± 6.7 mm, P &lt; 0.001), higher incidence of pericardial effusion (30% vs 5.2%, P &lt; 0.001) and similar prevalence of ILD (41.8% vs. 44.9%). In individuals with PAH-SSc, ILD was associated with worse hemodynamics and pulmonary function tests (PFT). Up-front combination therapy was used in 59.8% and 61.7% of patients with and without ILD, respectively. Five-year transplant-free survival rate was 41.1% in PAH-SSc patients and 93.9% in non-PAH-SSc patients (P &lt; 0.001). Global survival of PAH-SSc patients was not affected by ILD regardless its severity. The multivariate survival analysis in PAH-SSc patients confirmed age at diagnosis, worse NYHA-FC, increased PVR, reduced DLCO, and lower management with up-front combination therapy as major risk factors. In conclusion, in PAH-SSc cohort risk of death was greatly increased by clinical, PFT, and hemodynamic factors, whereas it was decreased by up-front combination therapy. Concomitant ILD worsened hemodynamics and PFT in PAH-SSc but not survival regardless of FVC impairment

Impact of interstitial lung disease on the survival of systemic sclerosis with pulmonary arterial hypertension

To assess severity markers and outcomes of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) with or without pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH-SSc/non-PAH-SSc), and the impact of interstitial lung disease (ILD) on PAH-SSc. Non-PAH-SSc patients from the Spanish SSc registry and PAH-SSc patients from the Spanish PAH registry were included. A total of 364 PAH-SSc and 1589 non-PAH-SSc patients were included. PAH-SSc patients had worse NYHA-functional class (NYHA-FC), worse forced vital capacity (FVC) (81.2 +/- 20.6% vs 93.6 +/- 20.6%, P < 0.001), worse tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) (17.4 +/- 5.2 mm vs 19.9 +/- 6.7 mm, P < 0.001), higher incidence of pericardial effusion (30% vs 5.2%, P < 0.001) and similar prevalence of ILD (41.8% vs. 44.9%). In individuals with PAH-SSc, ILD was associated with worse hemodynamics and pulmonary function tests (PFT). Up-front combination therapy was used in 59.8% and 61.7% of patients with and without ILD, respectively. Five-year transplant-free survival rate was 41.1% in PAH-SSc patients and 93.9% in non-PAH-SSc patients (P < 0.001). Global survival of PAH-SSc patients was not affected by ILD regardless its severity. The multivariate survival analysis in PAH-SSc patients confirmed age at diagnosis, worse NYHA-FC, increased PVR, reduced DLCO, and lower management with up-front combination therapy as major risk factors. In conclusion, in PAH-SSc cohort risk of death was greatly increased by clinical, PFT, and hemodynamic factors, whereas it was decreased by up-front combination therapy. Concomitant ILD worsened hemodynamics and PFT in PAH-SSc but not survival regardless of FVC impairment

Psychology in Chile: Analysis of its History, Present and Future

Artículo de publicación ISISin acceso a texto completoThis paper present a review of the development and current state of Chilean psychology. In 1946 formally establishes the formation of psychologists in Chile; in 1959, it made official the Association of Psychologists of Chile and in 1968 the College of Psychologists of Chile was founded. This puts Chile in the first countries in the region in the formal development of the discipline. Currently, there are 139 training programs in psychology, taught in 49 universities. Added to that, a growing supply of master's and doctoral programs in psychology. With regard to the scientific development of the discipline shown a sustained increase in the number of published articles, noting that since 2011 has exceeded 100 items per year, although this production is linked to a few institutions and authors with high prominence. Additionally, a low collaboration between Chilean and Latin American researchers in studies and scientific productivity, despite sharing similar issues and problems observed. Regarding future challenges, it is necessary to increase systems quality assurance in pre and postgraduate courses, as well as the most influential psychologists of society

Anteproyecto de una camara de refrigeracion usando energia solar, para uva de exportacion

162 p