'El futuro' del español como lengua segunda y extranjera

La enseñanza y aprendizaje de la gramática de la lengua española como lengua segunda y extranjera es un proceso altamente complejo, cuyas aristas debería incluir la variación para que tanto estudiosos del tema, escritores de material bibliográfico, docentes como alumnos contáramos con una herramienta facilitadora y, pensamos, eficaz, para su abordaje y para un empleo funcional en búsqueda del acto comunicativo exitoso (Searle, 1986). Por esta razón compartimos una línea de investigación que se desprende de la tesis en etapa de desarrollo de la maestría de UBA en Análisis del Discurso titulada ?El futuro de los políticos. Un estudio de la variación morfosintáctica en el empleo de los tiempos de futuro en el discurso político? dirigida por la Doctora Angelita Martínez. Se trata de un estudio de variación etnopragmático(García, E. 1995; Martínez, A. 1995) que sigue los principios de la Escuela de Columbia (Contini Morava, 1995; Diver, 1995; Reid, 2004) sobre las formas morfosintácticas de futuro en el español rioplatense de los políticos de la actualidad. Con un corpus de 161 emisiones de futuro sintáctico (FS) y futuro perifrástico(FP) nos proponemos probar si el factor de la edad del orador político ejerce influencia en la selección o no. Según los significados básicos de las formas, los gramáticos de todos los tiempos han coincidido en que cuando los hablantes quieren expresar certeza optan por el FP mientras que el FS expresa mayor lejanía, y por ende, menor certeza. Sin embargo, en el discurso de los políticos argentinos con frecuencia se observa el empleo del FS, y no pensamos que éstos quieran comunicar incerteza de sus dichos ni promesa, sino, postulamos, que hacen uso de esta forma para expresar la acción futura como algo que inevitablemente ocurrirá, más allá de posibilidad de manipulación o incidencia, casi como una profecía, y que dejan el FP para expresar la posibilidad de manipulación sobre esos hechos futuros (Martínez & Mailhes, 2012; Mailhes, 2011, 2012a,b,c, 2014)

Benthic cyanobacterial mat (BCM) abundance on samples from the coast of Curacao

Benthic cyanobacterial mats (BCMs) are impacting coral reefs worldwide. However, the factors and mechanisms driving their proliferation are unclear. We conducted a multi-year survey around the Caribbean island of Curaçao, which revealed highest BCM abundance on sheltered reefs close to urbanised areas. Reefs with high BCM abundance were also characterised by high benthic cover of macroalgae and low cover of corals. Nutrient concentrations in the water-column were consistently low, but markedly increased just above substrata (both sandy and hard) covered with BCMs. This was true for sites with both high and low BCM coverage, suggesting that BCM growth is stimulated by a localised, substrate-linked release of nutrients from the microbial degradation of organic matter. This hypothesis was supported by a higher organic content in sediments on reefs with high BCM coverage, and by an in situ experiment which showed that BCMs grew within days on sediments enriched with organic matter (Spirulina). We propose that nutrient runoff from urbanised areas stimulates phototrophic blooms and enhances organic matter concentrations on the reef. This organic matter is transported by currents and settles on the seabed at sites with low hydrodynamics. Subsequently, nutrients released from the organic matter degradation fuel the growth of BCMs. Improved management of nutrients generated on land should lower organic loading of sediments and other benthos (e.g. turf and macroalgae) to reduce BCM proliferation on coral reefs.

Enigmas monetarios en el derecho local. Los mencales y maravedís en los fueros castellanos

La historia de la moneda en la Castilla medieval ha estado siempre mediatizada por la convivencia no siempre armónica entre dos sistemas monetarios muy diferentes. Uno basado en la plata, de origen europeo, otro centrado en el oro, de raíces árabes. La necesidad de conectar y de establecer unas equivalencias entre ellos se convirtió pronto en una necesidad, máxime cuando las monedas de oro incrementaron sus variantes. En esta compleja situación aparecen mencales y maravedís citados conjuntamente en muchos fueros: Zorita, Uclés, Cuenca,... sin que su naturaleza quede del todo clara. Este artículo compara estas referencias y analiza las equivalencias que los unen. Como colofón al trabajo podemos afirmar que los maravedís citados en cada texto corresponden a monedas áureas de distinto peso y valor mientras el mencal es identificado con un ponderal de oro que los relaciona.

Territorial administrative reorganization as a strategy for optimizing the structure of local government

Through the tough economic and social situation and the lack of values that has been experienced in recent years, local governments especially in Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain have been forced to strongly consider the structure and size of their public sector. Despite some initiative to reduce the number of municipalities and provinces, little substantive progress has been made in improving the management of the local public Administration during this crisis. In this study a territorial administrative reorganization is proposed as a strategy to optimize the structure of local government, analyzing the Spanish situation in general, and an autonomous community in particular.

Optimal location of solid waste containers in Alcalá de Henares

The waste’s rise is a problem that affects the environment as a whole and we cannot forget about it. A good waste’s management is the key to improve the future prospect, and the waste collection is key within the management activities. To find out the better way to collect wastes leads to a reduction of the social, economic and environmental cost. With the use of the Geographic Information Systems it has been intended to elaborate a methodology which allowed us to identify the most suitable places for the location of the collection containers of the different sorts of the solid urban wastes. Taking into account that different types of wastes exist, not all of them should be managed in the same way. Therefore we have to differentiate between models where we apply efficiency and models where we apply equity for the collection of wastes, bearing in mind the necessities of each waste.

A Generalized Fuzzy Linguistic Model for Predicting Component Concentrations in an Optical Gas Sensing System

Motivated by environmental protection concerns, monitoring the flue gas of thermal power plant is now often mandatory due to the need to ensure that emission levels stay within safe limits. Optical based gas sensing systems are increasingly employed for this purpose, with regression techniques used to relate gas optical absorption spectra to the concentrations of specific gas components of interest (NOx, SO2 etc.). Accurately predicting gas concentrations from absorption spectra remains a challenging problem due to the presence of nonlinearities in the relationships and the high-dimensional and correlated nature of the spectral data. This article proposes a generalized fuzzy linguistic model (GFLM) to address this challenge. The GFLM is made up of a series of “If-Then” fuzzy rules. The absorption spectra are input variables in the rule antecedent. The rule consequent is a general nonlinear polynomial function of the absorption spectra. Model parameters are estimated using least squares and gradient descent optimization algorithms. The performance of GFLM is compared with other traditional prediction models, such as partial least squares, support vector machines, multilayer perceptron neural networks and radial basis function networks, for two real flue gas spectral datasets: one from a coal-fired power plant and one from a gas-fired power plant. The experimental results show that the generalized fuzzy linguistic model has good predictive ability, and is competitive with alternative approaches, while having the added advantage of providing an interpretable model.

Patrimonio arqueológico de las Islas Canarias

Los paisajes insulares canarios han estado sometidos a transformaciones que, en los tres últimos milenios se han debido, por un lado, a razones estrictamente naturales tales como emisiones lávicas y piroclásticas y por otro a causas antrópicas vinculadas con las prácticas agrícolas y ganaderas desarrolladas a partir de la primera colonización humana. Por lo que a esto último se refiere, en torno al cambio de Era hemos detectado en la isla de Lanzarote una notable degradación del medio asociada a un fenómeno de intensificación económica basada en actividades ganaderas. Desde la perspectiva metodológica se han utilizado datos geo-arqueológicos derivados de intervenciones arqueológicas y análisis sedimentológicos y polínicos efectuados en diferentes yacimientos de Lanzarote datados entre los siglos X a.C. y XIV d.C.

Absorción de ahorro interno por el gobierno nacional

El gobierno colombiano ha financiado durante los últimos cinco años el déficit fiscal en gran medida con recursos provenientes del ahorro nacional, a través de emisiones de títulos en condiciones de rentabilidad innecesariamente altas, frenando la tendencia de disminución de tasas de interés internas. Adicionalmente, la estructura institucional gubernamental a través de la cual se realiza la colocación primaria y la negociación secundaria de dichos títulos, genera una competencia desigual que desplaza a los demás agentes económicos, especialmente el sector productivo, como captadores de recursos del mercado de capitales para financiar sus negocios. Lo anterior ha ocurrido en un período caracterizado por crisis del sector financiero y recesión económica.

Aspecto químico de la actividad de fumarolas en Nicaragua y El Salvador

Desde hace mucho tiempo se suponía que la composición química de fuentes termales y fumarolas, como la de gases de emisiones volcánicas, deberían ofrecer buenos indicios respecto al estado de actividad y la naturaleza de procedencia de las emisiones. La aplicación más práctica de la volcanología química tal vez se encuentre en los problemas relacionados con el desarrollo de las riquezas naturales de vapor. Durante los estudios de las reservas hidrotermales de Nicaragua realizados en 1952 y 1953, se hizo evidente que una cuestión de primera importancia para la tasación de la posibilidad del desarrollo de fuerza, es la determinación del origen del vapor. Sin entrar en detalles, se puede decir que vapor natural en cantidades adecuadas con una razón alta de vapor–agua, es solamente posible desde fuentes magmáticas primarias. Entre algunos indicios posibles que pudieran indicar un origen magmático, son los siguientes: un alto contenido químico, la presencia de elementos o compuestos característicos de gases magmáticos y la ausencia de elementos o compuestos de origen superficial.

Procedimiento para fijar dióxido de carbono mediante la utilización de un cultivo de cianobacterias

El objeto de la presente invención es un proceso para fijar dióxido de carbono (CO2), mediante el cultivo de cualquier cianobacteria fijadora de nitrógeno, halotolerante, y capaz de producir un exopolisacárido que se excreta al medio. La utilización de dicho procedimiento permite reducir o eliminar emisiones de CO2 que proceden de procesos industriales, por ejemplo de las centrales de generación eléctrica. Otro objeto de la presente invención lo constituye la utilización como biocombustible de un exopolisacárido producido mediante el cultivo de la cianobacteria Anabaena, que posee un alto poder calorífico. La utilización de dicho exopolisacárido como biocombustible permitiría reducir el consumo de combustibles fósiles en aquellos procesos industriales que los emplean.

Control de emociones en el trabajo, el juego de los sentimientos organizacionales

Día a día nos enfrentamos a emociones propias y ajenas, muchas veces hemos sentido o vivido cómo las emociones toman el control de nuestras acciones, o cómo personas en sus lugares de trabajo, se sienten incómodas, insatisfechas, tristes, alegres, motivadas, o simplemente pasan de la ira al entusiasmo, de la frustración a la satisfacción, entre otro sinfín de emociones, las cuales se manifiestan continuamente, estas emociones pueden hacer que el clima laboral sea agradable y placentero, o por el contrario, se puede convertir en un pesadilla, una de la cual sólo quieres despertar y que no se vuelva a repetir cuando cierres de nuevo los ojos. Pero… ¿cómo se puede luchar contra algo que es igual desde hace más de 200 mil años? Las emociones en el ser humano no han cambiado, simplemente se han ajustado a al ambiente en los que éste se desempeña diariamente, y uno de esos ambientes en los cuales pasamos gran parte de nuestro tiempo es el laboral. Un espacio en donde nos relacionamos e interactuamos con otros individuos y en los cuales debemos realizar actividades encaminadas a cumplir un objetivo o meta solicitada por la organización; muchas veces son nuestras emociones las culpables de nuestros aciertos o desaciertos en donde la rabia o la tranquilidad pueden ser el motor de la toma de decisiones correctas. La clave está en aprender a identificar estas emisiones y en canalizarlas para que trabajen en nuestro beneficio, de modo que nos ayuden a controlar nuestro comportamiento y nuestro pensamiento buscando mejores resultados, además de los resultados de las personas que tenemos a cargo si fuese el caso, ya que cada uno de nosotros influye en el estado de ánimo de los demás para bien o para mal; algo que hacemos continuamente; somos portadores de un “virus social” que genera reacción en los demás. Esto quiere decir que no sólo debemos aprender a controlar nuestras emociones, sino también a “manipular” las de los demás, siendo éste un método de protección ya que permite asegurar que las tareas asignadas sean las adecuadas y en el momento adecuado. Lo más importante es lograr que las personas se sientan bien como seres humanos, y trabajar para que puedan entender el poder que tienen sus emociones en sus acciones. Es así pues que las emociones controladas y seleccionadas adecuadamente son el comienzo de una serie de reacciones que permiten alcanzar las metas planteadas de una manera estratégica y controlada.

AN EXAMINATION OF HYDROXYL RADICAL: OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE OXIDATIVE CAPACITY OF THE TROPOSPHERE THROUGH EMPIRICAL, BOX, AND GLOBAL MODELING APPROACHES

Hydroxyl radical (OH) is the primary oxidant in the troposphere, initiating the removal of numerous atmospheric species including greenhouse gases, pollutants that are detrimental to human health, and ozone-depleting substances. Because of the complexity of OH chemistry, models vary widely in their OH chemistry schemes and resulting methane (CH4) lifetimes. The current state of knowledge concerning global OH abundances is often contradictory. This body of work encompasses three projects that investigate tropospheric OH from a modeling perspective, with the goal of improving the tropospheric community’s knowledge of the atmospheric lifetime of CH4. First, measurements taken during the airborne CONvective TRansport of Active Species in the Tropics (CONTRAST) field campaign are used to evaluate OH in global models. A box model constrained to measured variables is utilized to infer concentrations of OH along the flight track. Results are used to evaluate global model performance, suggest against the existence of a proposed “OH Hole” in the tropical Western Pacific, and investigate implications of high O3/low H2O filaments on chemical transport to the stratosphere. While methyl chloroform-based estimates of global mean OH suggest that models are overestimating OH, we report evidence that these models are actually underestimating OH in the tropical Western Pacific. The second project examines OH within global models to diagnose differences in CH4 lifetime. I developed an approach to quantify the roles of OH precursor field differences (O3, H2O, CO, NOx, etc.) using a neural network method. This technique enables us to approximate the change in CH4 lifetime resulting from variations in individual precursor fields. The dominant factors driving CH4 lifetime differences between models are O3, CO, and J(O3-O1D). My third project evaluates the effect of climate change on global fields of OH using an empirical model. Observations of H2O and O3 from satellite instruments are combined with a simulation of tropical expansion to derive changes in global mean OH over the past 25 years. We find that increasing H2O and increasing width of the tropics tend to increase global mean OH, countering the increasing CH4 sink and resulting in well-buffered global tropospheric OH concentrations.

Estudo numérico do impacto das emissões veiculares e fixas da cidade de Manaus nas concentrações de poluentes atmosféricos da região amazônica

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the urban pollution plume from the city of Manaus by emissions from mobile and stationary sources in the atmospheric pollutants concentrations of the Amazon region, by using The Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model. The air pollutants analyzed were CO, NOx, SO2, O3, PM2.5, PM10 and VOCs. The model simulations have been configured with a grid spacing of 3 km, with 190 x and 136 y grid points in horizontal spacing, centered in the city of Manaus during the period of 17 and 18 of March 2014. The anthropogenic emissions inventories have gathered from mobile sources that were estimated the emissions of light and heavy-duty vehicles classes. In addition, the stationary sources have considered the thermal power plants by the type of energy sources used in the region as well as the emissions from the refinery located in Manaus. Various scenarios have been defined with numerical experiments that considered only emissions by biogenic, mobile and stationary sources, and replacement fuel from thermal power plant, along with a future scenario consisting with twice as much anthropogenic emissions. A qualitative assessment of simulation with base scenario has also been carried out, which represents the conditions of the region in its current state, where several statistical methods were used in order to compare the results of air pollutants and meteorological fields with observed ground-based data located in various points in the study grid. The qualitative analysis showed that the model represents satisfactorily the variables analyzed from the point of view of the adopted parameters. Regarding the simulations, defined from the base scenarios, the numerical experiments indicate relevant results such as: it was found that the stationary sources scenario, where the thermal power plants are predominant, resulted in the highest concentrations, for all air pollutants evaluated, except for carbon monoxide when compared to the vehicle emissions scenario; The replacement of the energy matrix of current thermal power plants for natural gas have showed significant reductions in pollutants analyzed, for instance, 63% reductions of NOx in the contribution of average concentration in the study grid; A significant increase in the concentrations of chemical species was observed in a futuristic scenario, reaching up to a 81% increase in peak concentrations of SO2 in the study area. The spatial distributions of the scenarios have showed that the air pollution plume from Manaus is predominantly west and southwest, where it can reach hundreds of kilometers to areas dominated by original soil covering.

Fetal-maternal interface impedance parallels local NADPH oxidase related superoxide production

Blood flow assessment employing Doppler techniques is a useful procedure in pregnancy evaluation, as it may predict pregnancy disorders coursing with increased uterine vascular impedance, as pre-eclampsia. While the local causes are unknown, emphasis has been put on reactive oxygen species (ROS) excessive production. As NADPH oxidase (NOX) is a ROS generator, it is hypothesized that combining Doppler assessment with NOX activity might provide useful knowledge on placental bed disorders underlying mechanisms. A prospective longitudinal study was performed in 19 normal course, singleton pregnancies. Fetal aortic isthmus (AoI) and maternal uterine arteries (UtA) pulsatility index (PI) were recorded at two time points: 20-22 and 40-41 weeks, just before elective Cesarean section. In addition, placenta and placental bed biopsies were performed immediately after fetal extraction. NOX activity was evaluated using a dihydroethidium-based fluorescence method and associations to PI values were studied with Spearman correlations. A clustering of pregnancies coursing with higher and lower PI values was shown, which correlated strongly with placental bed NOX activity, but less consistently with placental tissue. The study provides evidence favoring that placental bed NOX activity parallels UtA PI enhancement and suggests that an excess in oxidation underlies the development of pregnancy disorders coursing with enhanced UtA impedance.

Photochemistry and transport of tropospheric ozone and its precursors in urban and remote environments

Tropospheric ozone (O3) adversely affects human health, reduces crop yields, and contributes to climate forcing. To limit these effects, the processes controlling O3 abundance as well as that of its precursor molecules must be fully characterized. Here, I examine three facets of O3 production, both in heavily polluted and remote environments. First, using in situ observations from the DISCOVER-AQ field campaign in the Baltimore/Washington region, I evaluate the emissions of the O3 precursors CO and NOx (NOx = NO + NO2) in the National Emissions Inventory (NEI). I find that CO/NOx emissions ratios derived from observations are 21% higher than those predicted by the NEI. Comparisons to output from the CMAQ model suggest that CO in the NEI is accurate within 15 ± 11%, while NOx emissions are overestimated by 51-70%, likely due to errors in mobile sources. These results imply that ambient ozone concentrations will respond more efficiently to NOx controls than current models suggest. I then investigate the source of high O3 and low H2O structures in the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP). A combination of in situ observations, satellite data, and models show that the high O3 results from photochemical production in biomass burning plumes from fires in tropical Southeast Asia and Central Africa; the low relative humidity results from large-scale descent in the tropics. Because these structures have frequently been attributed to mid-latitude pollution, biomass burning in the tropics likely contributes more to the radiative forcing of climate than previously believed. Finally, I evaluate the processes controlling formaldehyde (HCHO) in the TWP. Convective transport of near surface HCHO leads to a 33% increase in upper tropospheric HCHO mixing ratios; convection also likely increases upper tropospheric CH3OOH to ~230 pptv, enough to maintain background HCHO at ~75 pptv. The long-range transport of polluted air, with NO four times the convectively controlled background, intensifies the conversion of HO2 to OH, increasing OH by a factor of 1.4. Comparisons between the global chemistry model CAM-Chem and observations show that consistent underestimates of HCHO by CAM-Chem throughout the troposphere result from underestimates in both NO and acetaldehyde.