Los Grandes olvidados: las personas mayores en el entorno rural = The Great Forgotten Issue: Older People in Rural Context

Ageing is a heterogeneous subject being been able to distinguish profiles in function of sex, age, economic situation, cultural levels, habitat, family structure, health, etc. The objectives of this article are to identify forms of life to age in the rural environment and to concretize intervention proposals to increase active and participatory ways of life. 7 in-depth interviews to experts, 21 to older people, 5 to professionals and two focal groups of professionals and significant social agents were performed to collect data. Results identify 4 styles of aging: an opportunity for the change; a natural phase of the life; a moment to compensate and; a moment of abandonment. Conclusions summarize intervention proposals to increase active and participatory ways of ageing in different contexts to help professionals responsible for the services of older people care

Abbatouy, Mohammed; Renn Hürgen and Weinig, Paul (Eds.). Intercultural Transmission of Scientific Knowledge in the Middle Ages: Graeco-Arabic-Latin. Science in Context

As the editors explain in the introduction, a workshop dedicated to 'Experience and Knowledge Structures in Arabic and Latin sciences' was held at the Max Plank Institue for the HIstory of Science...

The Armc10/SVH gene: Genome context, regulation of mitochondrial dynamics and protection against Aβ-induced mitochondrial fragmentation

Mitochondrial function and dynamics are essential for neurotransmission, neural function and neuronal viability. Recently, we showed that the eutherian-specific Armcx gene cluster (Armcx1-6 genes), located in the X chromosome, encodes for a new family of proteins that localise to mitochondria, regulating mitochondrial trafficking. The Armcx gene cluster evolved by retrotransposition of the Armc10 gene mRNA, which is present in all vertebrates and is considered to be the ancestor gene. Here we investigate the genomic organisation, mitochondrial functions and putative neuroprotective role of the Armc10 ancestor gene. The genomic context of the Armc10 locus shows considerable syntenic conservation among vertebrates, and sequence comparisons and CHIP-data suggest the presence of at least three conserved enhancers. We also show that the Armc10 protein localises to mitochondria and that it is highly expressed in the brain. Furthermore, we show that Armc10 levels regulate mitochondrial trafficking in neurons, but not mitochondrial aggregation, by controlling the number of moving mitochondria. We further demonstrate that the Armc10 protein interacts with the KIF5/Miro1-2/Trak2 trafficking complex. Finally, we show that overexpression of Armc10 in neurons prevents A beta-induced mitochondrial fission and neuronal death. Our data suggest both conserved and differential roles of the Armc10/Armcx gene family in regulating mitochondrial dynamics in neurons, and underscore a protective effect of the Armc10 gene against A beta-induced toxicity. Overall, our findings support a further degree of regulation of mitochondrial dynamics in the brain of more evolved mammals.

The Armc10/SVH gene: Genome context, regulation of mitochondrial dynamics and protection against Aβ-induced mitochondrial fragmentation

Mitochondrial function and dynamics are essential for neurotransmission, neural function and neuronal viability. Recently, we showed that the eutherian-specific Armcx gene cluster (Armcx1-6 genes), located in the X chromosome, encodes for a new family of proteins that localise to mitochondria, regulating mitochondrial trafficking. The Armcx gene cluster evolved by retrotransposition of the Armc10 gene mRNA, which is present in all vertebrates and is considered to be the ancestor gene. Here we investigate the genomic organisation, mitochondrial functions and putative neuroprotective role of the Armc10 ancestor gene. The genomic context of the Armc10 locus shows considerable syntenic conservation among vertebrates, and sequence comparisons and CHIP-data suggest the presence of at least three conserved enhancers. We also show that the Armc10 protein localises to mitochondria and that it is highly expressed in the brain. Furthermore, we show that Armc10 levels regulate mitochondrial trafficking in neurons, but not mitochondrial aggregation, by controlling the number of moving mitochondria. We further demonstrate that the Armc10 protein interacts with the KIF5/Miro1-2/Trak2 trafficking complex. Finally, we show that overexpression of Armc10 in neurons prevents A beta-induced mitochondrial fission and neuronal death. Our data suggest both conserved and differential roles of the Armc10/Armcx gene family in regulating mitochondrial dynamics in neurons, and underscore a protective effect of the Armc10 gene against A beta-induced toxicity. Overall, our findings support a further degree of regulation of mitochondrial dynamics in the brain of more evolved mammals.

L’orquestra inclusiva dintre del context escolar

Aquest treball d’investigació pretén conèixer els factors que condicionen una pràctica instrumental inclusiva en el context escolar i d’aula; un tema poc treballat amb consciència d’universalitat en l’àrea curricular d’Educació Musical. En primer lloc, a la fonamentació teòrica, s’han extret les principals idees de diferents autors que tracten sobre el Disseny Universal, l’Ensenyament Multinivell, el treball cooperatiu i el treball musical amb instrumentació Orff. De cada un d’aquests blocs s’ha realitzat una relació entre aquestes teories i l’aplicació al context musical. Posteriorment, treballant des de la base teòrica, s’ha aplicat una intervenció a nivell escolar de dues setmanes on es pretén identificar els ítems que dificulten o afavoreixen la pràctica instrumental a l’aula i idear alternatives de pràctica instrumental inclusiva.

Text i context. El concurs de cinema amateur «JULIUS» (1987-1996)

El «Julius» és un concurs de cinema amateur que fonamenta la seva singularitat en el fet de partir d’un text literari prefixat del qual els participants han de fer una adaptació audiovisual. En aquest article s’estudia la primera època del concurs: el seu origen, les diverses edicions en què es dugué a terme, les incidències que s’hi produïren..., i el context social i cultural que va contribuir a fer-ne un concurs amb unes característiques úniques que es concretaren en l’anomenat «esperit Julius», sorneguer, llibertari i surrealista.

An Explanatory Approach to the Political Uses of ICT Initiatives for Participation : Institutions, Context, and Characteristics of the Actors

Political actors use ICTs in a different manner and in different degrees when it comes to achieving a closer relationship between the public and politicians. Usually, political parties develop ICT strategies only for electoral campaigning and therefore restrain ICT usages to providing information and establishing a few channels of communication. By contrast, local governments make much more use of ICT tools for participatory and deliberative purposes. These differences in usages have not been well explained in the literature because of a lack of a comprehensive explanatory model. This chapter seeks to build the basis for this model, that is, to establish which factors affect and condition different political uses of ICTs and which principles underlie that behaviour. We consider that political actors are intentional and their behaviour is mediated by the political institutions and the socioeconomic context of the country. Also, though, the actor¿s own characteristics, such as the type and size of the organization or the model of e-democracy that the actor upholds, can have an influence in launching ICT initiatives for approaching the public.

Catalan law in the European context

The article provides an overview of the Catalan law at the European context. How the Catalan institutions can tackle on the Spanish Government policies and decisions in front of the European Union. And how the European Union Law and policies are implemented in a decentralized country such Spain where Autonomous Communities have their own Governments and Parliaments. There is also examined how this Spanish territorial decentralized structure affects the implementation of such EU norms and its control. Finally, there is exposed how Catalan institutions manage to participate in front of the European Union institutions. Which are the instruments that can guarantee this participation and which are the EU responses to them.

Using appearance and context for outdoor scene object classification

We propose a probabilistic object classifier for outdoor scene analysis as a first step in solving the problem of scene context generation. The method begins with a top-down control, which uses the previously learned models (appearance and absolute location) to obtain an initial pixel-level classification. This information provides us the core of objects, which is used to acquire a more accurate object model. Therefore, their growing by specific active regions allows us to obtain an accurate recognition of known regions. Next, a stage of general segmentation provides the segmentation of unknown regions by a bottom-strategy. Finally, the last stage tries to perform a region fusion of known and unknown segmented objects. The result is both a segmentation of the image and a recognition of each segment as a given object class or as an unknown segmented object. Furthermore, experimental results are shown and evaluated to prove the validity of our proposal

Consum de premsa comarcal tradicional i en línia a Catalunya. Estudi de camp sobre preferències i hàbits de persones adultes en el context multipantalla

Aquesta recerca estudia el consum de premsa comarcal tradicional i en línia per part de lectors, radiooients i usuaris web residents a Catalunya. Per fer-ho, es va crear una enquesta en línia oberta a majors d’edat en què es destaca que: els mitjans de comunicació nacionals tradicionals són els més consumits, seguits pels mitjans de comunicació comarcals tradicionals; que hi ha una tendència a la disminució de consum de notícies en línia a mesura que augmenta l’edat, i que l’accés als mitjans de comunicació en línia es fa més a través d’ordinador portàtil, seguit de l’ordinador de sobretaula i després mitjançant el telèfon intel·ligent. Això desvetlla un panorama multipantalla en construcció, en la cerca d’una identitat i un model de negoci.

Simulating fuel consumption and vehicle emissions in an Australian context

Road transport is a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions around the world. There is an increasing interest in accurate information on local vehicle emission levels for policy development and sustainable traffic management. Previous studies have shown that emission predictions for the Australian situation need to reflect both the Australian fleet and driving behaviour to avoid unreliable outcomes. This paper discusses a new Australian vehicle emission software (PΔP) and a case-study where traffic simulation software (Aimsun) is combined with PΔP to demonstrate how consistent results can be achieved for the Australian situation. The case-study is an Australian city modelled using the microscopic simulator to generate the required trajectory data of each individual vehicle for the emission model. The simulation results are used in a number of ways: to assess the impacts of urban driving behaviour on fuel consumption, to create maps showing where and when elevated emission levels occur and to compare results with another program (COPERT Australia). The paper will also discuss where further research is required.

Una monografia inèdita de Gaziel sobre la premsa espanyola: context, comentari i edició

Text inèdit de Gaziel, prologat pel professor Manuel Llanas, que constitueix una monografia sobre la situació de la premsa diària espanyola. Es tracta d’una anàlisi històrica sobre el període comprès entre 1875 i 1942, amb una visió prospectiva final. L’autor divideix la periodització en tres fases: i) el passat (1874-1936); ii) el present, referit a la situació en la immediata postguerra; iii) el futur, on s’apunta una concepció normativa del periodisme. En cadascuna d’aquestes fases, la premsa és estudiada des de la dimensió política, professional, industrial i econòmica.

Prediction of individual automobile RBNS claim reserves in the context of Solvency II

Automobile bodily injury (BI) claims remain unsettled for a long time after the accident. The estimation of an accurate reserve for Reported But Not Settled (RBNS) claims is therefore vital for insurers. In accordance with the recommendation included in the Solvency II project (CEIOPS, 2007) a statistical model is here implemented for RBNS reserve estimation. Lognormality on empirical compensation cost data is observed for different levels of BI severity. The individual claim provision is estimated by allocating the expected mean compensation for the predicted severity of the victim’s injury, for which the upper bound is also computed. The BI severity is predicted by means of a heteroscedastic multiple choice model, because empirical evidence has found that the variability in the latent severity of injured individuals travelling by car is not constant. It is shown that this methodology can improve the accuracy of RBNS reserve estimation at all stages, as compared to the subjective assessment that has traditionally been made by practitioners.

Ecological fallacy in a time series context: evidence from the Spanish regional unemployment rates

The ecological fallacy (EF) is a common problem regional scientists have to deal with when using aggregated data in their analyses. Although there is a wide number of studies considering different aspects of this problem, little attention has been paid to the potential negative effects of the EF in a time series context. Using Spanish regional unemployment data, this paper shows that EF effects are not only observed at the cross-section level, but also in a time series framework. The empirical evidence obtained shows that analytical regional configurations are the least susceptible to time effects relative to both normative and random regional configurations, while normative configurations are an improvement over random ones.

Functional neuroanatomy of meaning acquisition from context

An important issue in language learning is how new words are integrated in the brain representations that sustain language processing. To identify the brain regions involved in meaning acquisition and word learning, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Young participants were required to deduce the meaning of a novel word presented within increasingly constrained sentence contexts that were read silently during the scanning session. Inconsistent contexts were also presented in which no meaning could be assigned to the novel word. Participants showed meaning acquisition in the consistent but not in the inconsistent condition. A distributed brain network was identified comprising the left anterior inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45), the middle temporal gyrus (BA 21), the parahippocampal gyrus, and several subcortical structures (the thalamus and the striatum). Drawing on previous neuroimaging evidence, we tentatively identify the roles of these brain areas in the retrieval, selection, and encoding of the meaning.