Presència, traducció i recepció de la literatura del Quebec a Catalunya

Les literatures francòfones, relegades durant molts anys a una quasi total indiferència per part de la literatura francesa, han pres en els últims quinze anys una importància considerable. L'esforç per part de molts professors d'incloure aquestes literatures en els programes d'ensenyament està donant els seus fruits. L'interès suscitat per l'estudi de la literatura quebequesa i l'apogeu que està prenent a Catalunya –a més de les bones relacions Catalunya-Quebec– van ser el motor d’una recerca sobre la presència, la traducció i la recepció de la literatura de Quebec a Catalunya. Per tal de conèixer l’estat de la qüestió, es va procedir, en un primer temps, a un seguiment de tot el que s’havia publicat a Catalunya referent a la literatura del Quebec. Igualment, es va sondejar els treballs sobre aquesta matèria que no havien estat objecte de publicació i es va recopilar la diversa informació sobre les manifestacions culturals relacionades amb aquesta matèria. En un segon temps, es va procedir a l’estudi dels materials obtinguts i a la seva avaluació. Malgrat la presència recent de la literatura del Quebec a Catalunya i la manca de planificació institucional per dur a terme una traducció sistemàtica que permeti mostrar l’estat actual d’aquesta literatura, es troba, cada vegada més, una voluntat manifesta de donar a conèixer aquesta cultura provinent de Quebec ja sigui per afinitats o voluntats individuals o per respondre a les tendències de mercat.

Association between GIS-based exposure to urban air pollution during pregnancy and birth weight in the INMA Sabadell Cohort

Background: There is growing evidence that traffic-related air pollution reduces birth weight. Improving exposure assessment is a key issue to advance in this research area.Objective: We investigated the effect of prenatal exposure to traffic-related air pollution via geographic information system (GIS) models on birth weight in 570 newborns from the INMA (Environment and Childhood) Sabadell cohort.Methods: We estimated pregnancy and trimester-specific exposures to nitrogen dioxide and aromatic hydrocarbons [benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m/p-xylene, and o-xylene (BTEX)] by using temporally adjusted land-use regression (LUR) models. We built models for NO2 and BTEX using four and three 1-week measurement campaigns, respectively, at 57 locations. We assessed the relationship between prenatal air pollution exposure and birth weight with linear regression models. We performed sensitivity analyses considering time spent at home and time spent in nonresidential outdoor environments during pregnancy.Results: In the overall cohort, neither NO2 nor BTEX exposure was significantly associated with birth weight in any of the exposure periods. When considering only women who spent < 2 hr/day in nonresidential outdoor environments, the estimated reductions in birth weight associated with an interquartile range increase in BTEX exposure levels were 77 g [95% confidence interval (CI), 7–146 g] and 102 g (95% CI, 28–176 g) for exposures during the whole pregnancy and the second trimester, respectively. The effects of NO2 exposure were less clear in this subset.Conclusions: The association of BTEX with reduced birth weight underscores the negative role of vehicle exhaust pollutants in reproductive health. Time–activity patterns during pregnancy complement GIS-based models in exposure assessment.

The Point system of selection of immigrants in Quebec

The present paper is aimed at identifying what are the effects of the Point System of Selection of immigrants in Quebec. I defend that the distribution of points results in a different composition of immigrant stocks in terms of origin mix and not in terms of labour skills. To do so, I carry out a longitudinal descriptive analysis on the national composition of immigrants in Quebec and two other significant provinces (Ontario and British Columbia), as well as an analysis of the distribution of points in Quebec and in the rest of Canada.

Genetic evidence of heterogeneity in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Background and aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic aetiology of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) and the impact of known cholestasis genes (BSEP, FIC1, and MDR3) on the development of this disease. Patients and methods: Sixty nine Finnish ICP patients were prospectively interviewed for a family history of ICP, and clinical features were compared in patients with familial ICP (patients with a positive family history, n=11) and sporadic patients (patients with no known family history of ICP, n=58). For molecular genetic analysis, 16 individuals from two independently ascertained Finnish ICP families were genotyped for the flanking markers for BSEP, FIC1, and MDR3. Results: The pedigree structures in 16% (11/69) of patients suggested dominant inheritance. Patients with familial ICP had higher serum aminotransferase levels and a higher recurrence risk (92% v 40%). Both segregation of haplotypes and multipoint linkage analysis excluded BSEP, FIC1, and MDR3 genes in the studied pedigrees. Additionally, the MDR3 gene, previously shown to harbour mutations in ICP patients, was negative for mutations when sequenced in four affected individuals from the two families. Conclusions: These results support the hypothesis that the aetiology of ICP is heterogeneous and that ICP is due to a genetic predisposition in a proportion of patients. The results of molecular genetic analysis further suggest that the previously identified three cholestasis genes are not likely to be implicated in these Finnish ICP families with dominant inheritance.

The Coverage of the European independence movements from a Canadian perspective: Comparisons of the francophone online press in Quebec with the English Canadian press on the independence movements in Scotland and Catalonia

This research paper provides the basis of a future doctoral thesison the construction of foreign news. We aim to highlight similarities and differences in the online news coverage of the nationalist movments in Scotland and Catalonia in the Canadian Anglophone and Francophone press. Through a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of The Montreal Gazette, The National Post, The Globe and Mail, Le Devoir and La Presse, we attempt to show the frames used in the coverage of the political developments in both “stateless regions” from January 2011 to September 2014, when a referendum on the constitutional status of Scotland has beenagreed on. In parallel to the analysis of daily online newspapers, we will use semi-structured interviews of journalists from each news organization to obtain more in-depth knowledge of the factors influencing the construction of news. Lastly, we want to find out to the extent to which the coverage on the nationalist movements in Scotland and Catalonia serve to revive the debate on the independence question of Québec

Mediació intercultural i institucions escolars: l'exemple del Quebec

L’increment de la multiplicitat cultural ha comportat que, en diversos països, s’elaborin diferents actuacions per aproximar posicions i millorar la comunicació entre progenitors i professionals de les institucions escolars, així com per facilitar l’adaptació del currículum a la diversitat cultural. Una de les opcions preses, amb cert èxit però no exempta d’errors,és la dels anomenats «mediadors interculturals». Una societat on aquesta figura, amb els noms d’agents de liaison i de milieu, s’ha desenvolupat és el Quebec. L’estudi dels seus encerts i limitacions, específicament a les institucions escolars, creiem que pot ser un referent a partir del qual cal reflexionar, atès el notable increment d’aquesta pràctica a Catalunya.

Los retos de la educación intercultural: Cataluña-Quebec

La educación multicultural y la intercultural, generalmente, suponen ideologías y prácticas diferentes, pero en otras ocasiones bajo estos conceptos se esconden realidades parecidas. Fijándonos en los discursos y las actuaciones llevadas a cabo en Cataluña y en Quebec, ambas políticas con la etiqueta de educación intercultural (Cataluña hacia donde creen que se debe avanzar y Quebec que lleva en este camino algunos años), pretendemos poner de manifiesto algunos de los retos que ambos contextos han tenido, tienen o tendrán que afrontar. De esta forma el texto se divide en tres partes: la primera describe la evolución catalana realizando, al final, un breve análisis de las relaciones entre los agentes educativos; la segunda presenta los pasos realizados desde los años sesenta en Quebec, con una explicación previa de su posición en comparación con Canadá multiculturalista; y, por último, las conclusiones apuntan a los citados retos de futuro que deberán tomarse en consideración.

El mediador escolar en Quebec: el último eslabón en la cadena de la comunicación intercultural

El incremento de la diversidad cultural ha comportado que se elaboren diferentes actuaciones para aproximar posiciones y mejorar la comunicación entre progenitores y profesionales de la escuela, así como para facilitar la adaptación del currículum a la diversidad cultural. Una de las opciones tomadas, con cierto éxito pero también con errores, es el llamado mediador intercultural. Sin pretender que ésta sea la solución idónea en todas las situaciones y que represente la presencia de un nuevo profesional en los centros educativos, la experiencia de Montreal -y, como veremos, la de alguna otra ciudad de Canadá- y del conjunto de Quebec es ilustrativa de lo que puede representar esta figura. Y más cuando en algunas Comunidades Autónomas, por ejemplo Cataluña, aparecen espontáneamente o potenciadas por diferentes instituciones, estos "profesionales".

El contexto escolar como escenario de educación superior en la formación de docentes. El prácticum en Quebec como modelo para reflexionar ante las nuevas titulaciones de grado

El diseño de los planes de estudio para las nuevas titulaciones de grado de Magisterio constituye, por su carácter profesionalizador basado en competencias y la ampliación de los estudios a cuatro cursos, una oportunidad para las facultades de educación de mejora de la calidad de la formación inicial de maestros. Gran parte del incremento de los créditos se destina a la ampliación de los periodos de prácticas en los centros escolares colaboradores. Se trata de un escenario de cambio profundo que deberá replantear la organización y revisar los modelos. La experiencia en Quebec nos proporciona elementos de análisis y de reflexión con la finalidad de llegar a orientaciones y a conclusiones transferibles a la organización de estos planes de estudio y para integrar el prácticum en una visión global e interdisciplinaria de la titulación.

Selection of internal control genes for real-time quantitative PCR in ovary and uterus of sows across pregnancy

Reproductive traits play a key role in pig production in order to reduce costs and increase economic returns. Among others, gene expression analyses represent a useful approach to study genetic mechanisms underlying reproductive traits in pigs. The application of reverse-transcription quantitative PCR requires the selection of appropriate reference genes, whose expression levels should not be affected by the experimental conditions, especially when comparing gene expression across different physiological stages.

ODiSEA: International Registry on Research Data

El artículo revisa los temas principales en la preservación y reuso de los datos de investigación (beneficios, ciclo de vida, proyectos, normativas ) e identifica la falta de un registro mundial de bancos, repositorios y bibliotecas de datos. Expone la creación de una herramienta web que recoja este tipo de depósitos y los clasifique por áreas disciplinares: ODiSEA International Registry on Research Data. Ofrecemos resultados sobre número y tipología temática de este tipo de depósitos a escala mundial. Esta aportación facilita el descubrimiento de nuevos conjuntos de datos cuya recombinación desde una perspectiva multidisciplinar fomentará la innovación y la rentabilidad de la inversión en ciencia.

BioSWR - Semantic Web services Registry for Bioinformatics

Article About the Authors Metrics Comments Related Content Abstract Introduction Functionality Implementation Discussion Acknowledgments Author Contributions References Reader Comments (0) Figures Abstract Despite of the variety of available Web services registries specially aimed at Life Sciences, their scope is usually restricted to a limited set of well-defined types of services. While dedicated registries are generally tied to a particular format, general-purpose ones are more adherent to standards and usually rely on Web Service Definition Language (WSDL). Although WSDL is quite flexible to support common Web services types, its lack of semantic expressiveness led to various initiatives to describe Web services via ontology languages. Nevertheless, WSDL 2.0 descriptions gained a standard representation based on Web Ontology Language (OWL). BioSWR is a novel Web services registry that provides standard Resource Description Framework (RDF) based Web services descriptions along with the traditional WSDL based ones. The registry provides Web-based interface for Web services registration, querying and annotation, and is also accessible programmatically via Representational State Transfer (REST) API or using a SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language. BioSWR server is located at http://inb.bsc.es/BioSWR/and its code is available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/bioswr/​under the LGPL license.

Satisfaction with pregnancy and delivery services: The quality of maternity care services as experienced by women

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the opinions of women regarding the satisfaction about the quality of maternity care received. We hope to establish whether health care technology increases satisfaction or whether it actually interferes with the construction of personal satisfaction in the process of care. Design and setting: Information was gathered using the focus group technique. The area of study comprised the post-natal groups run as part of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme of the Catalan Health Authority. (Spain) Participants: Five focus groups were held between May 2006 and July 2007. Findings: Quality of care is a complex concept in which a number of independent core features can be identified. We have grouped these core features into three basic categories. Safety: the hospital and its technological facilities, and the technical expertise of health professionals. The other two main pillars of quality of care are the human dimension of the relationship between the carers and the patient, and finally the structural aspects that determine the context in which the heath care is provided. Key conclusions and implications for practice: The mothers of our study feel satisfied with healthcare technology and view it as a source of security; technology become indispensable features in order to reduce the anxiety provoked by the perceived lack of confidence in their ability as mothers. In this study, women, both during pregnancy and especially when giving birth, believe their feelings and values should be understood by professionals, from whom they seek empathy and a personal commitment, and not just information.

Satisfaction with pregnancy and delivery services: The quality of maternity care services as experienced by women

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the opinions of women regarding the satisfaction about the quality of maternity care received. We hope to establish whether health care technology increases satisfaction or whether it actually interferes with the construction of personal satisfaction in the process of care. Design and setting: Information was gathered using the focus group technique. The area of study comprised the post-natal groups run as part of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme of the Catalan Health Authority. (Spain) Participants: Five focus groups were held between May 2006 and July 2007. Findings: Quality of care is a complex concept in which a number of independent core features can be identified. We have grouped these core features into three basic categories. Safety: the hospital and its technological facilities, and the technical expertise of health professionals. The other two main pillars of quality of care are the human dimension of the relationship between the carers and the patient, and finally the structural aspects that determine the context in which the heath care is provided. Key conclusions and implications for practice: The mothers of our study feel satisfied with healthcare technology and view it as a source of security; technology become indispensable features in order to reduce the anxiety provoked by the perceived lack of confidence in their ability as mothers. In this study, women, both during pregnancy and especially when giving birth, believe their feelings and values should be understood by professionals, from whom they seek empathy and a personal commitment, and not just information.