Por una praxis educativa bi/pluri/multi/lingüe en Colombia

En esta nota de política exponemos las complejidades relacionadas con la diversidad lingüística en Colombia, destacando las relaciones asimétricas de poder que perviven entre diferentes grupos lingüísti- cos y examinando las diferentes interpretaciones del plurilingüismo y el multilingüismo. Señalamos que las nociones tradicionales de bi-, multi- y plurilingüismo han sido desafiadas en los últimos años, y, en cambio, abogamos por perspectivas contemporáneas que re- conocen el uso de múltiples lenguas o formas de hablar por parte de individuos y comunidades como una práctica social compleja que está influenciada por factores sociohistóricos y culturales. Finalmente, formulamos recomendaciones con implicaciones políticas desde una perspectiva de pluriversalidad, que reconoce y abraza la diversidad lingüística como un recurso para crear una sociedad más justa, democrática, intercultural e inclusiva

Adaptación del método del multiescalamiento para la estimación de caudales máximos en Colombia

Se aplicó el modelo de Multiescalamiento, utilizando cinco diferentes distribuciones Lévy, en diferentes subregiones del país definidas ad hoc. En cada una de ellas se calcularon los parámetros para el modelo y se verificaron las propiedades de multiescalado de los caudales máximos. Se muestra la conexión de la teoría con el método de regresión de cuantiles desarrollado por el Servicio Geológico de los Estados Unidos (USGS), ampliamente utilizado en la regionalización de crecientes. Finalmente, se aplicó el modelo ajustado para cada subregión en estaciones de validación seleccionadas en cada rango de áreas; este procedimiento demostró que las propiedades de multiescalamiento son más fuertes en las cuencas más grandes y que el modelo se les ajusta mejor

Suicidal Ideation Profiles in Patients with Fibromyalgia Using Transdiagnostic Psychological and Fibromyalgia-Associated Variables

Several studies have emphasized the heterogeneity of fibromyalgia patients. Furthermore, fibromyalgia patients are considered a high-risk suicide group. The ideation-to-action framework proposes a set of transdiagnostic psychological factors involved in the development of suicidal ideation. The present study aims to explore the existence of different subgroups according to their vulnerability to suicidal ideation through these transdiagnostic psychological variables and a set of variables typically associated with fibromyalgia. In this cross-sectional study, 151 fibromyalgia patients were assessed through the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Plutchik Suicide Risk Scale, Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire, Defeat Scale, Entrapment Scale, Psychache Scale, and Beck Hopelessness Scale. A K-means cluster analysis identified two clusters, one (45.70%) according to a low vulnerability, and a second (54.30%) with a high vulnerability to suicidal ideation. These clusters showed statistically significant differences in suicidal ideation and suicide risk. However, no differences were observed in most socio-demographic variables. In conclusion, fibromyalgia patients who present a clinical condition characterized by a moderate-high degree of physical dysfunction, overall disease impact and intensity of fibromyalgia-associated symptoms, along with a high degree of perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, defeat, entrapment, psychological pain and hopelessness, form a homogeneous group at high risk for suicidal ideation

Association between violence, stress and academy performance in 1º and 6º year of medical students of a public university, 2017

Introducción. Existen reportes nacionales e internacionales de presencia de estrés en estudiantes de medicina, mayor que en otras carreras profesionales; asimismo, la presencia de estrés se encuentra relacionada a bajo rendimiento académico. Objetivo. Determinar si existe asociación entre violencia, estrés y el rendimiento académico de los alumnos de primer y sexto año de medicina de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. Métodos. Se encuestó a 109 (47%) alumnos del 6to año, y 122 (53%) alumnos del 1er año. La percepción de violencia y estrés se determinaron con instrumentos validados; el rendimiento académico se determinó mediante el promedio ponderado anual. Se utilizó la prueba U de Mann Whitney para establecer diferencias entre las medias de las variables cuantitativas. Para establecer la correlación entre las variables de estudio se utilizó el coeficiente de correlación de Spearman. Valores p<0,05 se consideraron como significativos. Resultados. La percepción de violencia fue mayor en estudiantes de 6to año. Se estableció correlación positiva entre el estrés y violencia en estudiantes de 6to año. Conclusión. En ambos grupos estudiados se determinó percepción de violencia, mayor en estudiantes de 6to año. La correlación entre violencia y estrés fue significativa sólo en los estudiantes de 6to año. No hubo asociación significativa del estrés y violencia con el rendimiento académico.Introduction. There are national and international reports of the presence of stress in medical students, higher than in other professional careers; likewise, the presence of stress is related to low academic performance. Objective. To determine if there is an association between violence, stress and the academic performance of the first and sixth year medical students of the National University of San Marcos. Methods. It was surveyed 109 (47%) students of the 6th year, and 122 (53%) students of the 1st year. The perception of violence and stress were determined with validated instruments; academic performance was determined by the annual weighted average. The Mann Whitney U test was used to establish differences between the means of the quantitative variables. To establish the correlation between the study variables, the Spearman correlation coefficient was used. Values p <0,05 were considered significant. Results. The perception of violence was higher in 6th grade students. Positive correlation was established between stress and violence in 6th grade students. Conclusion. In both groups studied, perception of violence was determined, higher in 6th grade students. The correlation between violence and stress was significant only in 6th grade students. There was no significantassociation of stress and violence with academic performance

Transcriptional epigenetic regulation of Fkbp1/Pax9 genes is associated with impaired sensitivity to platinum treatment in ovarian cancer

Background: In an effort to contribute to overcoming the platinum resistance exhibited by most solid tumors, we performed an array of epigenetic approaches, integrating next-generation methodologies and public clinical data to identify new potential epi-biomarkers in ovarian cancer, which is considered the most devastating of gynecological malignancies. Methods: We cross-analyzed data from methylome assessments and restoration of gene expression through microarray expression in a panel of four paired cisplatin-sensitive/cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell lines, along with publicly available clinical data from selected individuals representing the state of chemoresistance. We validated the methylation state and expression levels of candidate genes in each cellular phenotype through Sanger sequencing and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, respectively. We tested the biological role of selected targets using an ectopic expression plasmid assay in the sensitive/resistant tumor cell lines, assessing the cell viability in the transfected groups. Epigenetic features were also assessed in 189 primary samples obtained from ovarian tumors and controls. Results: We identified PAX9 and FKBP1B as potential candidate genes, which exhibited epigenetic patterns of expression regulation in the experimental approach. Re-establishment of FKBP1B expression in the resistant OVCAR3 phenotype in which this gene is hypermethylated and inhibited allowed it to achieve a degree of platinum sensitivity similar to the sensitive phenotype. The evaluation of these genes at a translational level revealed that PAX9 hypermethylation leads to a poorer prognosis in terms of overall survival. We also set a precedent for establishing a common epigenetic signature in which the validation of a single candidate, MEST, proved the accuracy of our computational pipelines. Conclusions: Epigenetic regulation of PAX9 and FKBP1B genes shows that methylation in non-promoter areas has the potential to control gene expression and thus biological consequences, such as the loss of platinum sensitivity. At the translational level, PAX9 behaves as a predictor of chemotherapy response to platinum in patients with ovarian cancer. This study revealed the importance of the transcript-specific study of each gene under potential epigenetic regulation, which would favor the identification of new markers capable of predicting each patient’s progression and therapeutic response.The study was financially supported by FIS (ISCIII) and ERDF/FSE funds (PI15/00186, PI18/0050, and ERDF/FSE, A way to make Europe). The authors gratefully acknowledge the Colombian Ministry for Science, Technology and Innovation (MINCIENCIAS), Code 568-2012, for providing J.S. with partial funding for this study

Learning context effects: Study abroad, formal instruction and international immersion classrooms

This book deals with the effects of three different learning contexts mainly on adult, but also on adolescent, learners’ language acquisition. The three contexts brought together in the monograph include i) a conventional instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) environment, in which learners receive formal instruction in English as a Foreign Language (EFL); ii) a Study Abroad (SA) context, which learners experience during mobility programmes, when the target language is no longer a foreign but a second language learnt in a naturalistic context; iii) the immersion classroom, also known as an integrated content and language (ICL) setting, in which learners are taught content subjects through the medium of the target language—more often than not English, used as the Lingua Franca (ELF). The volume examines how these contexts change language learners’ linguistic performance, and also non-linguistic, that is, it throws light on how motivation, sense of identity, interculturality, international ethos, and affective factors develop. To our knowledge, no publication exists which places the three contexts on focus in this monograph along a continuum, as suggested in Pérez-Vidal (2011, 2014), with SA as ‘the most naturalistic’ context on one extreme, ISLA on the other, and ICL somewhere in between, while framing them all as international classrooms. Concerning target languages, the nine chapters included in the volume analyze English, and one chapter deals with Spanish, as the target language. As for target countries in SA programmes, data include England, Ireland, France, Germany, and Spain in Europe, but also Canada, China, and Australia. While the main bulk of the chapters deal with tertiary level language learners, a language learning population which has received less attention by research thus far, one chapter deals with adolescent learners. Carmen Pérez-Vidal, Sonia López, Jennifer Ament and Dakota Thomas-Wilhelm all served on the organizing committee for the EUROSLA workshop held at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, in May 2016. It is from this workshop that this monograph was inspire

Learning context effects: Study abroad, formal instruction and international immersion classrooms

This book deals with the effects of three different learning contexts mainly on adult, but also on adolescent, learners’ language acquisition. The three contexts brought together in the monograph include i) a conventional instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) environment, in which learners receive formal instruction in English as a Foreign Language (EFL); ii) a Study Abroad (SA) context, which learners experience during mobility programmes, when the target language is no longer a foreign but a second language learnt in a naturalistic context; iii) the immersion classroom, also known as an integrated content and language (ICL) setting, in which learners are taught content subjects through the medium of the target language—more often than not English, used as the Lingua Franca (ELF). The volume examines how these contexts change language learners’ linguistic performance, and also non-linguistic, that is, it throws light on how motivation, sense of identity, interculturality, international ethos, and affective factors develop. To our knowledge, no publication exists which places the three contexts on focus in this monograph along a continuum, as suggested in Pérez-Vidal (2011, 2014), with SA as ‘the most naturalistic’ context on one extreme, ISLA on the other, and ICL somewhere in between, while framing them all as international classrooms. Concerning target languages, the nine chapters included in the volume analyze English, and one chapter deals with Spanish, as the target language. As for target countries in SA programmes, data include England, Ireland, France, Germany, and Spain in Europe, but also Canada, China, and Australia. While the main bulk of the chapters deal with tertiary level language learners, a language learning population which has received less attention by research thus far, one chapter deals with adolescent learners. Carmen Pérez-Vidal, Sonia López, Jennifer Ament and Dakota Thomas-Wilhelm all served on the organizing committee for the EUROSLA workshop held at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, in May 2016. It is from this workshop that this monograph was inspire

Learning context effects: Study abroad, formal instruction and international immersion classrooms

This book deals with the effects of three different learning contexts mainly on adult, but also on adolescent, learners’ language acquisition. The three contexts brought together in the monograph include i) a conventional instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) environment, in which learners receive formal instruction in English as a Foreign Language (EFL); ii) a Study Abroad (SA) context, which learners experience during mobility programmes, when the target language is no longer a foreign but a second language learnt in a naturalistic context; iii) the immersion classroom, also known as an integrated content and language (ICL) setting, in which learners are taught content subjects through the medium of the target language—more often than not English, used as the Lingua Franca (ELF). The volume examines how these contexts change language learners’ linguistic performance, and also non-linguistic, that is, it throws light on how motivation, sense of identity, interculturality, international ethos, and affective factors develop. To our knowledge, no publication exists which places the three contexts on focus in this monograph along a continuum, as suggested in Pérez-Vidal (2011, 2014), with SA as ‘the most naturalistic’ context on one extreme, ISLA on the other, and ICL somewhere in between, while framing them all as international classrooms. Concerning target languages, the nine chapters included in the volume analyze English, and one chapter deals with Spanish, as the target language. As for target countries in SA programmes, data include England, Ireland, France, Germany, and Spain in Europe, but also Canada, China, and Australia. While the main bulk of the chapters deal with tertiary level language learners, a language learning population which has received less attention by research thus far, one chapter deals with adolescent learners. Carmen Pérez-Vidal, Sonia López, Jennifer Ament and Dakota Thomas-Wilhelm all served on the organizing committee for the EUROSLA workshop held at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, in May 2016. It is from this workshop that this monograph was inspire