The Minority American Dream in Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street and Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You.

Incluso antes de su independencia, el concepto del sueño americano se ha considerado parte de la identidad de los Estados Unidos. El que una persona mediante perseverancia y trabajo duro pueda conseguir cualquier cosa que se proponga siempre ha alimentado las expectativas para mejorar la calidad de vida de sus ciudadanos. Sin embargo, la realidad que muchos estudios revelan es que este ideal no se presenta de forma equitativa ante toda la población estadounidense, lo que puede provocar que el concepto se contradiga a sí mismo. Desde su nacimiento, Estados Unidos ha excluido muchas veces a minorías étnicas en su historia, y con ello, les ha privado de formar parte de la identidad del país; dejándolos al margen para priorizar un canon literario primariamente blanco. Aun así, desde el movimiento por los derechos civiles de los setenta, una gran mayoría de autores pertenecientes a minorías raciales se han rebelado en contra de este aislamiento. Sandra Cisneros y Celeste Ng son dos escritoras que exploran el concepto del sueño americano visto a través de la perspectiva de las minorías a las que pertenecen. Exploran este ideal fundamental de la identidad estadounidense en dos de sus obras más prestigiosas y que este trabajo analiza. Una de las primeras en abordar este tema en los ochenta, visibilizando a los latinos americanos, es Sandra Cisneros a través de su novela The House on Mango Street (1984). Tomando el mismo concepto, pero de una forma más actualizada, Ng presenta en Everything I Never Told You (2014) los problemas de integración y el sueño americano como ideal inalcanzable a través de la experiencia asiática-americana de sus protagonistas.<br /

Influence of the notch-sharpening technique on styrene-acrylonitrile fracture behavior

The Centre Catala del Plastic and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos laboratories joined forces to investigate the effect of the notch-sharpening technique on the fracture parameters of styrene-acrylonitrile. Contact notch-sharpening techniques, such as razor tapping, razor sliding, and razor broaching, and a noncontact procedure, femtolaser, were analyzed. The fracture values of the samples with notches sharpened via contact techniques were divided into two groups: one with pop-in and the other with no pop-in in the load-displacement records; this resulted in the lowest and highest fracture toughnesses, respectively. The fracture parameters of the specimens with notches sharpened via a femtolaser were between those of the samples with notches sharpened via contact procedures in which pop-in occurred and those in which it did not. To explain these results, the crack front of the nontested specimens after sharpening was investigated in depth, we identified the type of damage and measured its size and the crack tip radii. The morphology of the crack front was related to the fractographic study.Postprint (author's final draft

Propuesta de Estrategía de Desarrollo Turístico Sostenible para la Hacienda San Luís de Manares, Comarca San Luís de Manares, Municipio de Nandaíme, Departamento de Granada, periodo Septiembre 2013-Abril 2014

El turismo se ha venido desarrollando cada vez en mayor número, a nivel mundial y nacional, sin embargo, también está claro que la relación entre el turismo, el crecimiento económico y la reducción de la pobreza no es automática, sino que depende de que el turismo genere oportunidades de empleo y cree eslabones, en particular con los sectores proveedores de servicios y estos sean ofertados y consumidos de una forma sostenible. Considerando estas necesidades la Universidad, Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua UNAN-Managua y la carrera de Turismo Sostenible, a través de investigaciones que siguen el lineamiento turístico. En el documento se caracterizó la hacienda San Luis de Manares, se expuso los resultados del diagnóstico turístico de la hacienda y su entorno, serializó el FODA y el potencial turístico del sitio, en base a estos resultados se elaboraron cinco propuestas para el desarrollo de la hacienda San Luis de Manares. Proponiendo una estrategia que modestamente pretende ser un instrumento de planificación que apunta al desarrollo de una iniciativa turística responsable con el medio ambiente, el aspecto empresarial y sociocultural. La Metodología utilizada fue la del “Manual de Campo de Proceso Metodológico de la Planificación Turística Municipal”, facilitada por el INTUR enfocándose en la etapa III y IV “Elaboración de Diagnóstico Turístico Participativo y propuesta de desarrollo” trabajando la oferta turística. El presente estudio Monográfico es de carácter exploratorio y descriptivo con enfoque cualitativo, en él se caracteriza la zona y los recursos turísticos que posee la hacienda, se analiza e interpreta las condiciones del lugar, que permitirá desarrollar la actividad turística en el territori

Spanish Public Policies towards the Promotion of Cloud Computing and Digital Services for SMEs

The paper focuses on the first public programs in Spain to support the introduction of cloud computing services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-SMEs, and facilitating the digital transformation of SMEs, stimulating e-commerce and encouraging competitiveness. The paper analyses how the programs that the Spanish Government launched in 2015 transcend technology and impact over the digital ecosystem, with influences over supply and demand. The paper identifies the main drivers of SMEs providing cloud services and ICT solutions and other key elements that help to understand the eligible portfolio of cloud solutions and authorised providers that will contribute to the digital transformation of Spanish SMEs and micro-SMEs

The Interactive Origin and the Aesthetic Modeling of Image-Schemas and Primary Metaphors

According to the theory of conceptual metaphor, image-schemas and primary metaphors are preconceptual structures configured in human cognition, based on sensory-motor environmental activity. Focusing on the way both non- conceptual structures are embedded in early social interaction, we provide empirical evidence for the interactive and intersubjective ontogenesis of image-schemas and primary metaphors. We present the results of a multimodal image-schematic microanalysis of three interactive infant-directed performances (the composition of movement, touch, speech, and vocalization that adults produce for-and-with the infants). The microanalyses show that adults aesthetically highlight the image-schematic structures embedded in the multimodal composition of the performance, and that primary metaphors are also lived as embedded in these inter-enactive experiences. The findings allow corroborating that the psychological domains of cognition and affection are not in rivalry or conflict but rather intertwined in meaningful experiences.Laboratorio para el Estudio de la Experiencia Musica

The Interactive Origin and the Aesthetic Modeling of Image-Schemas and Primary Metaphors

According to the theory of conceptual metaphor, image-schemas and primary metaphors are preconceptual structures configured in human cognition, based on sensory-motor environmental activity. Focusing on the way both non- conceptual structures are embedded in early social interaction, we provide empirical evidence for the interactive and intersubjective ontogenesis of image-schemas and primary metaphors. We present the results of a multimodal image-schematic microanalysis of three interactive infant-directed performances (the composition of movement, touch, speech, and vocalization that adults produce for-and-with the infants). The microanalyses show that adults aesthetically highlight the image-schematic structures embedded in the multimodal composition of the performance, and that primary metaphors are also lived as embedded in these inter-enactive experiences. The findings allow corroborating that the psychological domains of cognition and affection are not in rivalry or conflict but rather intertwined in meaningful experiences.Laboratorio para el Estudio de la Experiencia Musica

Relationship between foaming properties and polysaccharide composition of sparkling wines

Póster presentado en las XI Carbohydrate Symposium (XI Jornadas de Carbohidratos), celebradas en Logroño del 28 al 30 de mayo de 2014.Peer Reviewe

Self-paced cycling improves cognition on institutionalized older adults without known cognitive impairment: A 15-month randomized controlled trial

This study aimed at identifying the effects of self-paced cycling on the cognitive and functional status and fall risk on institutionalized older adults without cognitive impairment. A total of 39 individuals were randomly assigned to an exercise group or to a control group. The exercise group participants cycled at their self-selected intensity at least for 15 min daily during 15 months. The control group participants performed recreational activities. The Mini-Mental State Examination, Fuld object memory evaluation, and symbol digit modality test were used for cognitive assessments. The Katz index, the timed "Up & Go" test, and the World Health Organization questionnaire were used to assess functional independence, mobility, and fall risk. Significant improvements were observed in the exercise group for global cognition and attention, visual scanning, and processing speed. Long-term self-paced cycling training seems to have a protective effect on cognitive status and attention, visual scanning, and processing speed in older institutionalized individuals

Diagnóstico socioecológico y tipificación de agricultura familiar periurbana, con énfasis en producción de durazno (Prunus persica), en El Jarillo, Venezuela

The objective of this work was to typify and describe, from a socioecological perspective, the agricultural activity of the family farming systems in El Jarillo, Venezuela. A transversal descriptive research was carried out from 2009 to 2016 and mixed methods and tools were used, including ethnographic ones. Twenty-seven family farming systems and 44 indicators were measured and analyzed to describe the main characteristics of the systems. Emphasis was placed on peach production. The indicators were grouped in four categories of analysis: Quality of Life (QL), Social Reproduction of the Family (SRF), Energy Efficiency and Conservation of Natural Resources (EECNR) and Autonomy vis-à-vis the Markets (AM). All indicator were weighted on a scale of 0 to 4. Despite being all systems focused on peach production, the differences were sufficient to identify the four types of production systems (A-D). Most of the farms grouped in type A (68%), and only one farm in type D (4%). Types A and D produce only peach, types B produce peach combined with other crops for sale and types C produce items for self-consumption. The average yield of peach was higher than 140 kg plant-1 crop-1 in the period analyzed for all types, except for type D. All types of farms are using agrochemicals to fertilize, fight pests and diseases, and induce flowering, based on techniques of the green revolution. The categories of QL, SRF and AM turned out to be favorable to sustainability, however, the difficulties encountered in the EECNR limit sustainability. The quality of life standards of the farming families are the product of the high rentability and the moderate economic risk, at the expense of the natural resourcesPostprint (published version

Multifactoriality of Parkinson’s disease as explored through human neural stem cells and their transplantation in middle-aged parkinsonian mice

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an age-associated neurodegenerative disorder for which there is currently no cure. Cell replacement therapy is a potential treatment for PD; however, this therapy has more clinically beneficial outcomes in younger patients with less advanced PD. In this study, hVM1 clone 32 cells, a line of human neural stem cells, were characterized and subsequently transplanted in middle-aged Parkinsonian mice in order to examine cell replacement therapy as a treatment for PD. In vitro analyses revealed that these cells express standard dopamine-centered markers as well as others associated with mitochondrial and peroxisome function, as well as glucose and lipid metabolism. Four months after the transplantation of the hVM1 clone 32 cells, striatal expression of tyrosine hydroxylase was minimally reduced in all Parkinsonian mice but that of dopamine transporter was decreased to a greater extent in buffer compared to cell-treated mice. Behavioral tests showed marked differences between experimental groups, and cell transplant improved hyperactivity and gait alterations, while in the striatum, astroglial populations were increased in all groups due to age and a higher amount of microglia were found in Parkinsonian mice. In the motor cortex, nonphosphorylated neurofilament heavy was increased in all Parkinsonian mice. Overall, these findings demonstrate that hVM1 clone 32 cell transplant prevented motor and non-motor impairments and that PD is a complex disorder with many influencing factors, thus reinforcing the idea of novel targets for PD treatment that tend to be focused on dopamine and nigrostriatal damag