257 research outputs found
Experience-Based Dialogues in Secondary English-as-a-Second-Language Classrooms
An informal study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of experience-based dialogues in the promotion of oral language use in secondary-level English-As-A-Second-Language classrooms. The twenty-one dialogues field-tested in the project were developed interactively, by teacher and students, in the sociocognitive context of each of the learner\u27s background knowledge, experience and immediate communication needs. Experience-based dialogues are a method of language teaching and learning that focuses on the communicative act rather than on isolated or discrete grammatical items. An overview of the results of the informal study was presented here. Strategies for teachers to develop and implement, using this approach, were also discussed
Explicit minimal Scherk saddle towers of arbitrary even genera in
Starting from works by Scherk (1835) and by Enneper-Weierstra\ss \ (1863),
new minimal surfaces with Scherk ends were found only in 1988 by Karcher (see
\cite{Karcher1,Karcher}). In the singly periodic case, Karcher's examples of
positive genera had been unique until Traizet obtained new ones in 1996 (see
\cite{Traizet}). However, Traizet's construction is implicit and excludes {\it
towers}, namely the desingularisation of more than two concurrent planes. Then,
new explicit towers were found only in 2006 by Martin and Ramos Batista (see
\cite{Martin}), all of them with genus one. For genus two, the first such
towers were constructed in 2010 (see \cite{Valerio2}). Back to 2009, implicit
towers of arbitrary genera were found in \cite{HMM}. In our present work we
obtain {\it explicit} minimal Scherk saddle towers, for any given genus ,
Caveolin-1 is a risk factor for postsurgery metastasis in preclinical melanoma models
Melanomas are highly lethal skin tumours that are frequently treated by surgical resection. However, the efficacy of such procedures is often limited by tumour recurrence and metastasis. Caveolin-1 (CAV1) has been attributed roles as a tumour suppressor, although in late-stage tumours, its presence is associated with enhanced metastasis. The expression of this protein in human melanoma development and particularly how the presence of CAV1 affects metastasis after surgery has not been defined. CAV1 expression in human melanocytes and melanomas increases with disease progression and is highest in metastatic melanomas. The effect of increased CAV1 expression can then be evaluated using B16F10 murine melanoma cells injected into syngenic immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice or human A375 melanoma cells injected into immunodeficient B6Rag1−/− mice. Augmented CAV1 expression suppresses tumour formation upon a subcutaneous injection, but enhances lung metastasis of cells injected into the tail vein in both models. A procedure was initially developed using B16F10 melanoma cells in C57BL/6 mice to mimic better the situation in patients undergoing surgery. Subcutaneous tumours of a defined size were removed surgically and local tumour recurrence and lung metastasis were evaluated after another 14 days. In this postsurgery setting, CAV1 presence in B16F10 melanomas favoured metastasis to the lung, although tumour suppression at the initial site was still evident. Similar results were obtained when evaluating A375 cells in B6Rag1−/− mice. These results implicate CAV1 expression in melanomas as a marker of poor prognosis for patients undergoing surgery as CAV1 expression promotes experimental lung metastasis in two different preclinical models
Dissipation-driven superconductor-insulator transition in linear arrays of Josephson junctions capacitively coupled to metallic films
We study the low-temperature properties of linear Josephson-junction arrays
capacitively coupled to a proximate two-dimensional diffusive metal. Using
bosonization techniques, we derive an effective model for the array and obtain
its critical properties and phases at T = 0 using a renormalization group
analysis and a variational approach. While static screening effects given by
the presence of the metal can be absorbed in a renormalization of the
parameters of the array, backscattering originated in the dynamically screened
Coulomb interaction produces a non-trivial stabilization of the insulating
groundstate and can drive a superconductor-insulator transition. We study the
consequences for the transport properties in the low-temperature regime. In
particular, we calculate the resisitivity as a function of the temperature and
the parameters of the array, and obtain clear signatures of a
superconductor-insulator transition that could be observed in experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Urban colonial house in Santiago, Chile: heritage transformation cases
Actualmente se conservan en el centro histórico de la ciudad de Santiago de Chile escasos ejemplos de arquitectura colonial urbana y aquellos que se mantienen están bastante modificados. Esto se debe principalmente a la constante transformación y modernización del centro histórico junto con la destrucción de muchas de estas edificaciones patrimoniales. Su escasez se debe también a su vulnerabilidad sÃsmica debido a la técnica constructiva en tierra cruda. Este artÃculo busca describir y analizar las cuatro piezas residenciales coloniales que se conservan en el área fundacional de la ciudad, describiendo sus principales transformaciones y su rol como piezas claves en la configuración del trazado urbano.Currently, few examples of urban colonial architecture are preserved in the historic center of Santiago de Chile. Those buildings that remain are quite altered in form and function. This is mainly due to constant transformation and modernization of the historic center along with the destruction of many heritage buildings. Their scarcity is also due to seismic vulnerability of the adobe construction technique. This article seeks to describe and analyze four colonial residential buildings that remain in the foundational area of the city. Describing their main transformations, this article analyzes the role this colonial buildings play as key pieces in the configuration of the urban layout
The Caveolin-1 Connection to Cell Death and Survival
Nunez, S (Nunez, S.)[ 1,4 ] 1. Fac Med, CEMC, Lab Comunicac Celulares, Santiago, Chile. 4. Univ Talca, Fac Hlth Sci, Talca, ChileCaveolins are a family of membrane proteins required for the formation of small plasma membrane invaginations called caveolae that are implicated in cellular trafficking processes. In addition to this structural role, these scaffolding proteins modulate numerous intracellular signaling pathways; often via direct interaction with specific binding partners. Caveolin-1 is particularly well-studied in this respect and has been attributed a large variety of functions. Thus, Caveolin-1 also represents the best-characterized isoform of this family with respect to its participation in cancer. Rather strikingly, available evidence indicates that Caveolin-1 belongs to a select group of proteins that function, depending on the cellular settings, both as tumor suppressor and promoter of cellular traits commonly associated with enhanced malignant behavior, such as metastasis and multi-drug resistance. The mechanisms underlying such ambiguity in Caveolin-1 function constitute an area of great interest. Here, we will focus on discussing how Caveolin-1 modulates cell death and survival pathways and how this may contribute to a better understanding of the ambiguous role this protein plays in cancer
a multi-centre cross-country comparison of women in management and leadership in academic health centres in the European Union
Background Women’s participation in medicine and the need for gender equality
in healthcare are increasingly recognised, yet little attention is paid to
leadership and management positions in large publicly funded academic health
centres. This study illustrates such a need, taking the case of four large
European centres: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany), Karolinska
Institutet (Sweden), Medizinische Universität Wien (Austria), and Oxford
Academic Health Science Centre (United Kingdom). Case The percentage of female
medical students and doctors in all four countries is now well within the
40–60% gender balance zone. Women are less well represented among specialists
and remain significantly under-represented among senior doctors and full
professors. All four centres have made progress in closing the gender
leadership gap on boards and other top-level decision-making bodies, but a
gender leadership gap remains relevant. The level of achieved gender balance
varies significantly between the centres and largely mirrors country-specific
welfare state models, with more equal gender relations in Sweden than in the
other countries. Notably, there are also similar trends across countries and
centres: gender inequality is stronger within academic enterprises than within
hospital enterprises and stronger in middle management than at the top level.
These novel findings reveal fissures in the ‘glass ceiling’ effects at top-
level management, while the barriers for women shift to middle-level
management and remain strong in academic positions. The uneven shifts in the
leadership gap are highly relevant and have policy implications. Conclusion
Setting gender balance objectives exclusively for top-level decision-making
bodies may not effectively promote a wider goal of gender equality. Academic
health centres should pay greater attention to gender equality as an issue of
organisational performance and good leadership at all levels of management,
with particular attention to academic enterprises and newly created management
structures. Developing comprehensive gender-sensitive health workforce
monitoring systems and comparing progress across academic health centres in
Europe could help to identify the gender leadership gap and utilise health
human resources more effectively
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