Learning from the spaces of citizen participation: What has to be taught about leadership models for democratic learning?

Se presentan los resultados, en relación a modelos de liderazgo, de una investigación etnográfica desarrollada en espacios de participación ciudadana autónoma de la ciudad de Madrid. Dicha investigación tenía por finalidad formular propuestas educativas a través de la comprensión de la forma en que las personas que tienen una práctica ciudadana crítica, participativa y transformadora aprenden y enseñan dicha práctica. Partiendo de que estos espacios son modelos excepcionales para el aprendizaje del ejercicio ciudadano y que producen conocimiento y aprendizaje por sí mismos. Desde estas premisas se describe que los modelos de liderazgo observados pueden definirse como funcionales y situados, en cuanto a que se relación con la realización de determinadas funciones y contextos concretos. Además, estos espacios de participación tienden a generar liderazgos colectivos mediante la puesta en práctica de estrategias de aprendizaje para el desarrollo de habilidades y competencias que permitan que el ejercicio de estos liderazgos funcionales y situados sea desarrollado por distintas personasThe results are presented, in relation to leadership models, of ethnographic research developed in spaces of autonomous citizen participation in the city of Madrid. The purpose of this research was to formulate educational proposals through the understanding of how people who have a critical, participatory and transformative citizen practice learn and teach this practice. Starting from the fact that these spaces are exceptional models for the learning of the citizen's exercise and that produce knowledge and learning for themselves. From these premises, it is described that the observed leadership models can be defined as functional and situated, in terms of their relationship with the realization of specific functions and contexts. In addition, these spaces of participation tend to generate collective leadership through the implementation of learning strategies for the development of skills and competencies that allow the exercise of these functional and situated leaderships to be developed by different peopl

Position-dependent shear-induced austenite-martensite transformation in double-notched TRIP and dual-phase steel samples

While earlier studies on transformation-induced-plasticity (TRIP) steels focused on the determination of the austenite-to-martensite decomposition in uniform deformation or thermal fields, the current research focuses on the determination of the local retained austenite-to-martensite transformation behaviour in an inhomogeneous yet carefully controlled shear-loaded region of double-notched TRIP and dual-phase (DP) steel samples. A detailed powder analysis has been performed to simultaneously monitor the evolution of the phase fraction and the changes in average carbon concentration of metastable austenite together with the local strain components in the constituent phases as a function of the macroscopic stress and location with respect to the shear band. The metastable retained austenite shows a mechanically induced martensitic transformation in the localized shear zone, which is accompanied by an increase in average carbon concentration of the remaining austenite due to a preferred transformation of the austenite grains with the lowest carbon concentration. At the later deformation stages the geometry of the shear test samples results in the development of an additional tensile component. The experimental strain field within the probed sample area is in good agreement with finite element calculations. The strain development observed in the low-alloyed TRIP steel with metastable austenite is compared with that of steels with the same chemical composition containing either no austenite (a DP grade) or stable retained austenite (a TRIP grade produced at a long bainitic holding time). The transformation of metastable austenite under shear is a complex interplay between the local microstructure and the evolving strain fields

Regularity for entropy solutions of parabolic p-Laplacian type equations

In this note we give some summability results for entropy solutions of the nonlinear parabolic equation ut - div ap(x, [del] u)= f in ]0,T[x [omega] with initial datum in L 1 ([omega]) and assuming Dirichlet's boundary condition, where ap(., .) is a Carathéodory function satisfying the classical Leray-Lions hypotheses, f [member] L 1 (]0,T[x [omega]) and [omega] is a domain in R N. We find spaces of type L r (0,T ; M q ([omega])) containing the entropy solution and its gradient. We also include some summability results when f = 0 and the p-Laplacian equation is considered

Structural, antigenic and immunogenic features of respiratory syncytial virus glycoproteins relevant for vaccine development

Extraordinary progress in the structure and immunobiology of the human respiratory syncytial virus glycoproteins has been accomplished during the last few years. Determination of the fusion (F) glycoprotein structure folded in either the prefusion or the postfusion conformation was an inspiring breakthrough not only to understand the structural changes associated with the membrane fusion process but additionally to appreciate the antigenic intricacies of the F protein. Furthermore, these developments have opened new avenues for structure-based designs of promising hRSV vaccine candidates. Finally, recent advances in our knowledge of the attachment (G) glycoprotein and its interaction with cell-surface receptors have revitalized interest in this molecule as a vaccine, as well as its role in hRSV immunobiology.Work in the Madrid lab is currently funded by grant SAF2015-67033-R from Plan Nacional de I+D+I. J.S.M is supported in part by award P20GM113132 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.S

Open access to educational resources in energy and sustainability: Usability evaluation prototype for repositories

The purpose of this paper is to show a PhD dissertation research plan, which aims to assess whether the users’ experience of users to perform various tasks in an open access repository, increases by integrating Discovery Tools. The tasks to perform by the users are management and information design, dissemination and searches of open educational resources (OER) of sustainability energy. This research aims to develop a usability evaluation prototype which will offer new insights in the design of the information architecture. In the first stage, the criteria will be selected to measure the level of usability of the tasks to evaluate and develop the analysis of the current interactive design of the web repository. In the second stage, will consist of measure, once implemented the Discovery Tools in the web repository and check the usability level increase in relation with the criteria. In this paper you could find aspects as the motivations and the context in which it will develop this research, state of the art, hypothesis, research objectives, aspects of the methodology of the research, developed under the method of mixed layout, the current an expected contribution, the results and the validation and dissertation status. The results will contribute for detect new criteria and parameters for provide flexible interfaces, specifically for the web repositories, which are a part of the technological ecosystem of the scientific activity

Potent single-domain antibodies that arrest respiratory syncytial virus fusion protein in its prefusion state

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the main cause of lower respiratory tract infections in young children. The RSV fusion protein (F) is highly conserved and is the only viral membrane protein that is essential for infection. The prefusion conformation of RSV F is considered the most relevant target for antiviral strategies because it is the fusion-competent form of the protein and the primary target of neutralizing activity present in human serum. Here, we describe two llama-derived single-domain antibodies (VHHs) that have potent RSV-neutralizing activity and bind selectively to prefusion RSV F with picomolar affinity. Crystal structures of these VHHs in complex with prefusion F show that they recognize a conserved cavity formed by two F protomers. In addition, the VHHs prevent RSV replication and lung infiltration of inflammatory monocytes and T cells in RSV-challenged mice. These prefusion F-specific VHHs represent promising antiviral agents against RSV

Optimisation of Data Acquisition in Wind Turbines with Data-Driven Conversion Functions for Sensor Measurements

Operation and Maintenance (O&M) is an important cost driver of modern wind turbines. Condition monitoring (CM) allows the implementation of predictive O&M strategies helping to reduce costs. In this work a novel approach for wind turbine condition monitoring is proposed focusing on synergistic effects of coexisting sensing technologies. The main objective is to understand the predictability of signals using information from other measurements recorded at different locations of the turbine. The approach is based on a multi-step procedure to pre-process data, train a set of conversion functions and evaluate their performance. A subsequent sensitivity analysis measuring the impact of the input variables on the predicted response reveals hidden relationships between signals. The concept feasibility is tested in a case study using Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) data from an offshore turbine

Sensitivity of Modern Lighting Technologies to Rapid Voltage Changes

Rapid Voltage Changes (RVCs) are one of the Power Quality disturbances that are recently receiving a lot of attention from the point of view of international standards. However, although they can cause or contribute to flicker, IEC 61000-4-15 only addresses periodic amplitude fluctuations and more effort is needed to regulate the occurrence of RVCs, according to their effect on flicker perceptibility. Alongside, flicker perception is challenged by the integration of modern lighting technology, whose response is different from the traditional incandescent lamp. This paper studies the connection between the increasing importance of RVCs and the evolution of illumination technologies. Sensitivity of modern lighting technologies to RVCs is studied by measuring flicker with a high precision light flickermeter. A large set of modern lamps is tested and the relationship between RVCs parameters and flicker perceptibility is analyzed

Biliary Bicarbonate Secretion Constitutes a Protective Mechanism against Bile Acid-Induced Injury in Man

Background: Cholangiocytes expose a striking resistance against bile acids: while other cell types, such as hepatocytes, are susceptible to bile acid-induced toxicity and apoptosis already at micromolar concentrations, cholangiocytes are continuously exposed to millimolar concentrations as present in bile. We present a hypothesis suggesting that biliary secretion of HCO(3)(-) in man serves to protect cholangiocytes against bile acid-induced damage by fostering the deprotonation of apolar bile acids to more polar bile salts. Here, we tested if bile acid-induced toxicity is pH-dependent and if anion exchanger 2 (AE2) protects against bile acid-induced damage. Methods: A human cholangiocyte cell line was exposed to chenodeoxycholate (CDC), or its glycine conjugate, from 0.5 mM to 2.0 mM at pH 7.4, 7.1, 6.7 or 6.4, or after knockdown of AE2. Cell viability and apoptosis were determined by WST and caspase-3/-7 assays, respectively. Results: Glycochenodeoxycholate (GCDC) uptake in cholangiocytes is pH-dependent. Furthermore, CDC and GCDC (pK(a) 4-5) induce cholangiocyte toxicity in a pH-dependent manner: 0.5 mM CDC and 1 mM GCDC at pH 7.4 had no effect on cell viability, but at pH 6.4 decreased viability by >80% and increased caspase activity almost 10- and 30-fold, respectively. Acidification alone had no effect. AE2 knockdown led to 3- and 2-fold enhanced apoptosis induced by 0.75 mM CDC or 2 mM GCDC at pH 7.4. Discussion: These data support our hypothesis of a biliary HCO(3)(-) umbrella serving to protect human cholangiocytes against bile acid-induced injury. AE2 is a key contributor to this protective mechanism. The development and progression of cholangiopathies, such as primary biliary cirrhosis, may be a consequence of genetic and acquired functional defects of genes involved in maintaining the biliary HCO(3)(-) umbrella. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base