Intercambio virtual entre jóvenes de Lationamérica: Una actividad posible

IX Congresso Brasileiro de Hispanistas realizado nos dias 22 a 25 agosto 2016En esa comunicación vamos a presentar la interesante experiencia de intercambio virtual entre alumnos de portugués uruguayos con estudiantes de lengua española en Brasil a través del sistema de video conferencia del Skype. Los aprendices eran alumnos del ANEP CES (Administración Nacional de Educación Pública Consejo de Educación Secundaria de Uruguay) y de un colegio privado en Rio de Janeiro. Al ofrecerle a nuestros alumnos la posibilidad de un intercambio virtual entre jóvenes de Latinoamérica no solo les ofrecimos la oportunidad de practicar de forma auténtica la lengua extranjera dentro del ambiente escolar, sino también una importante ocasión de contacto con otras formas de ser y ver el mundo facilitada por las nuevas tecnologías. Así, pudieron conocer su nivel real de competencia comunicativa a partir de la interacción con hablantes nativos en tiempo real y reflexionar sobre la importancia de superar estereotipos y prejuicios culturales, además de ampliar sus conocimientos sobre la diversidad cultural del continente a partir de la realidad de sus interlocutores. Entre los propósitos de esta experiencia estaba lo de fomentar la comunicación de los estudiantes en la lengua meta para que puedan evaluar sus capacidades y, al mismo tiempo, descubrir una nueva realidad cultural. Dicha experiencia educativa se enmarca dentro del abordaje de la enseñanza de segundas lenguas a través del enfoque comunicativo y encuentra fundamentos en los estudios sobre el uso de las nuevas tecnologías aplicadas a la educación. Entre otras referencias bibliográficas están las orientaciones curriculares de ambos países (2006), el Marco de referencia europeo para la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras (2002) y documentos de la UNESCO.UNILA­-UNIOEST

Multi-hazard response analysis of a 5MW offshore wind turbine

Wind energy has already dominant role on the scene of the clean energy production. Well-promising markets, like China, India, Korea and Latin America are the fields of expansion for new wind turbines mainly installed in offshore environment, where wind, wave and earthquake loads threat the structural integrity and reliability of these energy infrastructures. Along these lines, a multi-hazard environment was considered herein and the structural performance of a 5 MW offshore wind turbine was assessed through time domain analysis. A fully integrated model of the offshore structure consisting of the blades, the nacelle, the tower and the monopile was developed with the use of an aeroelastic code considering the interaction between the elastic and inertial forces, developed in the structure, as well as the generated aerodynamic and hydrodynamic forces. Based on the analysis results, the dynamic response of the turbine's tower was found to be severely affected by the earthquake excitations. Moreover, fragility analysis based on acceleration capacity thresholds for the nacelle's equipment corroborated that the earthquake excitations may adversely affect the reliability and availability of wind turbines

Espondilodiscitis en la infancia

La espondilodiscitis es una enfermedad inflamatoria que afecta el disco intervertebral y los cuerpos vertebrales adyacentes. Esta afección cursa con gran variedad de síntomas, relacionados con la edad del paciente y la localización del proceso inflamatorio. Se presentan 3 casos de discitis en niños pequeños que manifestaron síntomas diversos tales como: dificultad en la marcha, rechazo a caminar o sentarse, lumbalgia y dolor abdominal. Todos presentaron hiperlordosis lumbo-sacra. La centellografía resultó el examen complementario de elección para definir el diagnóstico al demostrar hipercaptación a nivel del disco intervertebral. La antibioticoterapia endovenosa fue curativa. Se propone al dosaje de proteína C reactiva como parámetro de laboratorio útil para el seguimiento.Spondylodiscitis is an inflammatory disease that affects the intervertebral disk and adjacent vertebral bodies. This affection develops a wide variety of symptoms related to the patient´s age and the inflammatory process location. We are reporting three children of early age with discitis who presented a range of symptoms such as: walking difficulties, refusal to walk or sit, low back pain and abdominal pain. Lumbosacral hyperlordosis was present in all cases. Scintigraphy was the complementary method of choice to define the diagnosis by showing hypercaptatation at the invertebral disk level. Endovenous antibiotic therapy proved effective. We propose the dosage of C protein as a useful laboratory parameter for the follow-up of these patients

Fabrication of Active Polymer Optical Fibers by Solution Doping and Their Characterization

This paper employs the solution-doping technique for the fabrication of active polymer optical fibers (POFs), in which the dopant molecules are directly incorporated into the core of non-doped uncladded fibers. Firstly, we characterize the insertion of a solution of rhodamine B and methanol into the core of the fiber samples at different temperatures, and we show that better optical characteristics, especially in the attenuation coefficient, are achieved at lower temperatures. Moreover, we also analyze the dependence of the emission features of doped fibers on both the propagation distance and the excitation time. Some of these features and the corresponding ones reported in the literature for typical active POFs doped with the same dopant are quantitatively similar among them. This applies to the spectral location of the absorption and the emission bands, the spectral displacement with propagation distance, and the linear attenuation coefficient. The samples prepared in the way described in this work present higher photostability than typical samples reported in the literature, which are prepared in different ways.This research was funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) (TEC2015-638263-C03-1-R) and by Eusko Jaurlaritza (ELKARTEK KK-2016/0030, ELKARTEK KK-2016/0059, ELKARTEK KK-2017/00033, ELKARTEK KK-2017/00089, IT933-16). The work of Mikel Azkune was supported in part by a research fellowship from the Universidad del Pais Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Vicerrectorado de Euskera y Formacion Continua, while working on a Ph.D. degree

An assessment of existing models for individualized breast cancer risk estimation in a screening program in Spain

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the calibration and discriminatory power of three predictive models of breast cancer risk. Methods: We included 13,760 women who were first-time participants in the Sabadell-Cerdanyola Breast Cancer Screening Program, in Catalonia, Spain. Projections of risk were obtained at three and five years for invasive cancer using the Gail, Chen and Barlow models. Incidence and mortality data were obtained from the Catalan registries. The calibration and discrimination of the models were assessed using the Hosmer-Lemeshow C statistic, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the Harrell’s C statistic. Results: The Gail and Chen models showed good calibration while the Barlow model overestimated the number of cases: the ratio between estimated and observed values at 5 years ranged from 0.86 to 1.55 for the first two models and from 1.82 to 3.44 for the Barlow model. The 5-year projection for the Chen and Barlow models had the highest discrimination, with an AUC around 0.58. The Harrell’s C statistic showed very similar values in the 5-year projection for each of the models. Although they passed the calibration test, the Gail and Chen models overestimated the number of cases in some breast density categories. Conclusions: These models cannot be used as a measure of individual risk in early detection programs to customize screening strategies. The inclusion of longitudinal measures of breast density or other risk factors in joint models of survival and longitudinal data may be a step towards personalized early detection of BC.This study was funded by grant PS09/01340 and The Spanish Network on Chronic Diseases REDISSEC (RD12/0001/0007) from the Health Research Fund (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria) of the Spanish Ministry of Health

Short report: Genetic characterization of atypical Mansonella (Mansonella) ozzardi microfilariae in human blood samples from Northeastern Peru

DNA sequence comparisons are useful for characterizing proposed new parasite species or strains. Microfilariae with an atypical arrangement of nuclei behind the cephalic space have been recently described in human blood samples from the Amazon region of Peru. Three blood specimens containing atypical microfilariae were genetically characterized using three DNA markers (5S ribosomal DNA, 12S ribosomal DNA, and cytochrome oxidase I). All atypical microfilariae were clustered into the Mansonella group and indistinguishable from M. ozzardi based on these DNA markers

Design, Fabrication and Testing of a High-Sensitive Fibre Sensor for Tip Clearance Measurements

A highly sensitive fibre bundle-based reflective optical sensor has been designed and fabricated for Tip Clearance measurements in a turbine rig. The sensor offers high spatial and temporal resolution. The sensor probe consists of a single-mode transmitting fibre and two concentric rings of receiving multimode fibres that collect reflected light in a differential detection gain configuration, yielding a highly linear calibration curve for distance measurements. The clearance measurement range is approximately 2 mm around the central point fixed at 3.2 mm from the probe tip, and the sensitivity of the probe is 61.73 mm(-1). The fibre bundle has been designed to ensure that the distance security specifications required for the experimental program of the turbine are met. The optical sensor has operated under demanding conditions set by the blade and casing design. The experimental results obtained so far are promising and lead us to think that the optical sensor has great potential for online clearance measurements with high precision.This work was funded in part by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), in part by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad under project TEC2015-638263-C03-1-R, and in part by the Gobierno Vasco/Eusko Jaurlaritza IT933-16 and ELKARTEK (KK-2016/0030, KK-2017/00033, KK-2017/00089 and KK-2016/0059). The work of Josu Amorebieta is supported in part by a PhD fellowship from the Universidad del Pais Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Vicerrectorado de Euskera y Formacion Continua

Budget impact analysis of switching to digital mammography in a population-based breast cancer screening program: a discrete event simulation model

Objective: To assess the budgetary impact of switching from screen-film mammography to full-field digital mammography in a population-based breast cancer screening program. Methods: A discrete-event simulation model was built to reproduce the breast cancer screening process (biennial mammographic screening of women aged 50 to 69 years) combined with the natural history of breast cancer. The simulation started with 100,000 women and, during a 20-year simulation horizon, new women were dynamically entered according to the aging of the Spanish population. Data on screening were obtained from Spanish breast cancer screening programs. Data on the natural history of breast cancer were based on US data adapted to our population. A budget impact analysis comparing digital with screen-film screening mammography was performed in a sample of 2,000 simulation runs. A sensitivity analysis was performed for crucial screening-related parameters. Distinct scenarios for recall and detection rates were compared. Results: Statistically significant savings were found for overall costs, treatment costs and the costs of additional tests in the long term. The overall cost saving was 1,115,857J (95%CI from 932,147 to 1,299,567) in the 10th year and 2,866,124J (95%CI from 2,492,610 to 3,239,638) in the 20th year, representing 4.5% and 8.1% of the overall cost associated with screenfilm mammography. The sensitivity analysis showed net savings in the long term. Conclusions: Switching to digital mammography in a population-based breast cancer screening program saves long-term budget expense, in addition to providing technical advantages. Our results were consistent across distinct scenarios representing the different results obtained in European breast cancer screening programs.This was supported by grants from the Health Ministry of Spain (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria PI07/90357)

U-Shaped and Surface Functionalized Polymer Optical Fiber Probe for Glucose Detection

In this work we show an optical fiber evanescent wave absorption probe for glucose detection in different physiological media. High selectivity is achieved by functionalizing the surface of an only-core poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer optical fiber with phenilboronic groups, and enhanced sensitivity by using a U-shaped geometry. Employing a supercontinuum light source and a high-resolution spectrometer, absorption measurements are performed in the broadband visible light spectrum. Experimental results suggest the feasibility of such a fiber probe as a low-cost and selective glucose detector.This work has been funded in part by the European Regional Development Fund; in part by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad under project TEC2015-638263-C03-1-R; and in part by the Gobierno Vasco/Eusko Jaurlaritza under projects IT933-16, IT718-13, and ELKARTEK (KK-2016/0030, KK-2017/00033, KK-2017/00089, KK-2016/0059). Authors are also grateful to the technical and human support provided by SGIKER (UPV/EHU, MICINN, GV/EJ, ERDF, and ESF). The work of Mikel Azkune was supported in part by a research fellowship from the Universidad del Pais Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Vicerrectorado de Euskera y Formacion Continua

Fabricación de fibras ópticas de plástico microestructuradas para el desarrollo de sensores ópticos

170 p.En este trabajo de tesis se han desarrollado técnicas avanzadas para la fabricación de Fibras Ópticas de Plástico Microestructuradas (FOPM) de forma precisa y controlada. En un primer bloque se analizan las técnicas de taladrado profundo y de apilamiento de capilares, empleadas en la creación de preformas estructuradas de alta calidad, partiendo de cilindros monolíticos de polímeros de elevada calidad óptica. En el segundo bloque se detalla el proceso de estirado de las preformas a FOPM, donde es necesario un control absoluto de la unidad de calentamiento y estirado. Por último, en el tercer bloque se muestran algunas de las FOPM diseñadas y fabricadas validando su empleo en diversas aplicaciones que van desde sensores de curvatura, rotación o presión hasta biosensores de glucosa. Además, se ha incluido un apéndice que ofrece información adicional relativa a la torre de fabricación