Humor na Internet: trabalhadores utilizam nova estratégia para protestar contra demissões e terceirizações

O objetivo neste artigo é analisar de que forma trabalhadores de uma empresa utilizaram o humor para manifestar-se contra demissões e terceirizações ocorridas nos anos 2000. Enquanto ela pregava a implantação de uma nova maneira de ser da empresa, que seria mais moderna, transparente e participativa, os trabalhadores produziram dois vídeos, postados no YouTube, para contar outra história, ridicularizar o discurso oficial e protestar. Ao combinar a utilização do humor com a Internet, os trabalhadores demonstraram sua capacidade de atualizar-se e encontrar novas formas de manifestar-se diante das situações vividas por eles, o que parece ter ampliado seu poder na luta simbólica. Embora as demissões e terceirizações não tenham sido revertidas, a "nova" gestão foi substituída pelos acionistas após dois anos de mandato. Os vídeos foram analisados a partir da técnica de análise de discurso de base francesa, que considera textos orais e escritos como discursos, e com o suporte da semiótica para a análise das imagens que acompanham a letra. A análise indica que os trabalhadores denunciam o rompimento do contrato psicológico estabelecido pela empresa, que se baseava na estabilidade do emprego. Os autores dos vídeos associam a empresa a uma figura feminina, ora mãe, ora amante, e o trabalho nela como algo que estava predestinado em sua vida. Eles demonstram o sentimento de abandono e traição, condizente com esse tipo de situação.

Political Humor as a confrontational tool against the Syrian regime: A study case: Syria, 15th March 2011 – 15th May 2012

The aim of this working paper is to analyze the inclusion of political humor into the set of actions used by opponents to the Syrian regime during the first year of a state-wide uprising in 2011. The research argues that although political humor has traditionally been seen mainly as a concealed voice against dominant elites, it can nevertheless take a confrontational stance and challenge a regime. In this paper we assess the role of political humor in challenging the legitimacy of the Syrian State through the battle for the signification of events. We will work with a theoretical framework that draws its assumptions from social movements’ studies and cultural studies. Through the assessment of the importance of discourse and the role of ideological domination to a regime we will see how the first year of the Syrian uprising included widespread acts of political humor as part of the strategy against the regime.

Compact portable biosensor for arsenic detection in aqueous samples with Escherichia coli bioreporter cells.

We present a compact portable biosensor to measure arsenic As(III) concentrations in water using Escherichia coli bioreporter cells. Escherichia coli expresses green fluorescent protein in a linearly dependent manner as a function of the arsenic concentration (between 0 and 100 μg/L). The device accommodates a small polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic chip that holds the agarose-encapsulated bacteria, and a complete optical illumination/collection/detection system for automated quantitative fluorescence measurements. The device is capable of sampling water autonomously, controlling the whole measurement, storing and transmitting data over GSM networks. We demonstrate highly reproducible measurements of arsenic in drinking water at 10 and 50 μg/L within 100 and 80 min, respectively.

Estrategias analógicas y sentido del humor en el aprendizaje de la competencia social de los profesionales de la educación social

Exploramos, en este artículo, el desarrollo y los resultados iniciales de una metodología innovadora que, usando la metáfora y el sentido del humor, crea un espacio narrativo en un contexto de formación universitaria en competencia social que favorece el proceso de aprendizaje. La experiencia consiste en vincular un escenario metafórico al escenario académico y al futuro escenario profesional. En el artículo se describen los ingredientes de la metáfora utilizada (la fiesta de cumpleaños) y sus vínculos con las competencias trabajadas en la asignatura de Habilidades sociales en la Facultad de Educación Social y Trabajo Social Pere Tarrés (URL). La valoración del profesorado y de los estudiantes la avala como una práctica educativa de éxito cuyos ingredientes pueden ser generalizados a otros contextos formativos.

La Traducció de l'humor en "Allo", Allo! : proposta d'una classificació

Aquest treball presenta, a través de l’anàlisi de la traducció de l’humor al català i al castellà de la sèrie britànica ’Allo’Allo!, la classificació que se’n deriva de diferents tipus d’acudits, estratègies i solucions. També valida aquesta classificació com a eina per estudiar l’estil d’un o més doblatges d’un text audiovisual on l’humor és prioritari així com per valorar-ne l’efectivitat. Sobre el corpus inicial d’aquells acudits basats en algun tret lingüístic o cultural no compartit per la llengua o cultura d’arribada, s’ha creat una classificació en quatre nivells que permet una anàlisi quantitativa d’un estil de traducció concret (dins de cada nivell o transversalment) i, a la vegada, la comparació entre dos estils diferents. El primer nivell analitza el tipus d’acudit al text original; el segon, la relació entre aquest i el text meta; el tercer, en quin tipus d’acudit s’ha materialitzat aquesta relació; i, el quart, la seva efectivitat.

The Big Band Theory : català col·loquial i humor científic. Proposta de traducció del capítol pilot

Aquest treball elabora una proposta de traducció per al doblatge del capítol pilot de The Big Bang Theory, que combina llenguatge col•loquial i llenguatge científic.L’objectiu és doble: elaborar un llenguatge col•loquial creïble però a la vegada genuí i emprar els equivalents catalans adequats per als termes científics originals.

Caution on the storage of waters and aqueous solutions in plastic containers for hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope analysis

RATIONALE The choice of containers for storage of aqueous samples between their collection, transport and water hydrogen (2H) and oxygen (18O) stable isotope analysis is a topic of concern for a wide range of fields in environmental, geological, biomedical, food, and forensic sciences. The transport and separation of water molecules during water vapor or liquid uptake by sorption or solution and the diffusive transport of water molecules through organic polymer material by permeation or pervaporation may entail an isotopic fractionation. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the extent of such fractionation. METHODS Sixteen bottle-like containers of eleven different organic polymers, including low and high density polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and perfluoroalkoxy-Teflon (PFA), of different wall thickness and size were completely filled with the same mineral water and stored for 659?days under the same conditions of temperature and humidity. Particular care was exercised to keep the bottles tightly closed and prevent loss of water vapor through the seals. RESULTS Changes of up to +5 parts per thousand for d2H values and +2.0 parts per thousand for d18O values were measured for water after more than 1?year of storage within a plastic container, with the magnitude of change depending mainly on the type of organic polymer, wall thickness, and container size. The most important variations were measured for the PET and PC bottles. Waters stored in glass bottles with Polyseal (TM) cone-lined PP screw caps and thick-walled HDPE or PFA containers with linerless screw caps having an integrally molded inner sealing ring preserved their original d2H and d18O values. The carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen stable isotope compositions of the organic polymeric materials were also determined. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study clearly show that for precise and accurate measurements of the water stable isotope composition in aqueous solutions, rigorous sampling and storage procedures are needed both for laboratory standards and for unknown samples. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Measurement of ß-tryptase in postmortem serum, pericardial fluid, urine and vitreous humor in forensic setting

L'activation des mastocytes se produit dans plusieurs conditions pathologiques et est principalement observée chez des patients développant une réaction anaphylactique. Dans la pratique clinique, la mesure de l'histamine et de ses métabolites dans le plasma et dans l'urine du patient peut être effectuée et montre parfois des résultats aussi précis que la mesure de la beta-tryptase dans le sang lorsqu'il est nécessaire de confirmer une activation mastocytaire. En revanche, la mesure de la beta tryptase dans l'urine dans un but diagnostic n'a que rarement été effectuée sur des personnes vivantes et a montré des résultats contradictoires. Dans le domaine de la médecine légale, la mesure de la beta-tryptase dans un but diagnostic est effectuée dans le sérum postmortem obtenu à partir de sang prélevé au niveau fémoral. Cependant, le sang peut être partiellement ou complètement indisponible dans certains cas spécifiques, dans les autopsies de nourrissons ou de corps sévèrement mutilés par exemple. Un des buts de notre étude est d'évaluer la pertinence de la mesure de la beta-tryptase dans des échantillons biologiques alternatifs, à savoir dans l'urine, l'humeur vitrée et le liquide péricardique. Pour cela nous avons sélectionné 94 cas d'autopsies comprenant 6 cas de réaction anaphylactique suite à l'administration de produits de contraste radiologique, 10 cas d'hypothermie, 10 cas d'acidocétose diabétique, 10 cas de suicide par arme à feu, 18 cas de décès consécutif à une injection d'héroïne, 10 cas de décès traumatiques, 10 cas de mort subite avec peu ou pas d'athérosclérose coronarienne, 10 cas de décès avec une athérosclérose coronarienne sévère mais sans signe d'infarctus du myocarde et 10 cas de décès consécutif à un infarctus du myocarde avec une athérosclérose coronarienne sévère. Dans tous les cas de réaction anaphylactique suite à l'administration de produit de contraste radiologique, les concentrations de beta-tryptase, mesurées dans le sérum postmortem et dans le liquide péricardique, ont montré des valeurs plus élevées que le seuil clinique de référence (11 ng/l) et le seuil postmortem de référence (45 ng/l). La concentration de beta-tryptase mesurée dans l'urine et l'humeur vitrée a montré des valeurs inférieures au seuil clinique dans tous les cas de notre étude. La mesure de la concentration de beta tryptase dans le liquide péricardique semble donc une alternative valable à la mesure dans le sérum postmortem, lorsque le sang fémoral n'est pas disponible durant l'autopsie, afin de poser un diagnostic de réaction anaphylactique.

El Uso del humor en los contenidos publicitarios para redes sociales y su coherencia con los valores de marca

Amb el creixement de les xarxes socials digitals i la constant recerca de contingut de valor
i entreteniment que exigeix el nou consumidor, diferents marques estan utilitzant cada vegada més l'humor com a eina en el seu missatge per als mitjans digitals, esperant aconseguir nivells de "viralitat", abast, freqüència, posicionament i fins i tot engagement més alts. Molts d'ells ho aconsegueixen a curt termini, però: està realment aquest missatge representant correctament els valors de marca?, el consumidor arriba a identificar característiques importants del producte? La identitat de la marca es veu reflectida correctament després de l'ús de l'humor en un missatge?

Baerveldt aqueous shunt implantation into the ciliary sulcus

Purpose: Aqueous shunt implantation into the anterior chamber is associated with corneal decompensation in up to a third of eyes. Intracameral tube position may affect corneal endothelial cell loss. The authors set out to examine the efficacy and safety of Baerveldt shunt implantation into the ciliary sulcus combined with surgical peripheral iridectomy (SPI). Methods: One hundred eyes prospectively underwent Baerveldt shunt implantation into the cilliary sulcus combined with SPI, leaving a short intracameral tube length (1-2mm). Pre and post operative measures recorded included patient demographics, visual acuity, IOP, number of glaucoma medications (GMs) and all complications. Pre-existing corneal decompensation was recorded. Success was defined as IOP≤21mmHg and 20% reduction in IOP from baseline with or without GMs. Results: Mean age was 65.4 years (±20.4years). Mean follow-up was 10.8 months. Preoperatively IOP was 25.7mmHg (± 9.9mmHg), GMs were 2.9 (±1.2) and VA was 0.4 (±0.3). At one year postoperatively there was a significant drop in IOP (mean= 13.3mmHg (± 5.0mmHg); p<0.001) and number of GMs (mean= 1.3 (±1.4); p<0.001); and no significant change in VA (mean= 0.4 (±0.3); p=0.93). The success rate at one year was 83%. Complications were minor and non sight threatening (10%), there were no cases of postoperative corneal decompensation, tube blockage or iris/corneal-tube contact. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that placement of Baerveldt shunts into the ciliary sulcus with SPI is a safe and efficacious method of IOP reduction in comparison with standard shunt positioning in the anterior chamber. The intracameral tube position combined with SPI avoided tube-iris contact and corneal decompensation. Sulcus placement of aqueous shunts should be considered in pseudophakic eyes.

Enhanced EGFP Fluorescence Emission in Presence of PEG Aqueous Solutions and PIB1000-PEG6000-PIB1000 Copolymer Vesicles.

An EGFP construct interacting with the PIB1000-PEG6000-PIB1000 vesicles surface reported a ~2-fold fluorescence emission enhancement. Because of the constructs nature with the amphiphilic peptide inserted into the PIB core, EGFP is expected to experience a "pure" PEG environment. To unravel this phenomenon PEG/water solutions at different molecular weights and concentrations were used. Already at ~1 : 10 protein/PEG molar ratio the increase in fluorescence emission is observed reaching a plateau correlating with the PEG molecular weight. Parallel experiments in presence of glycerol aqueous solutions did show a slight fluorescence enhancement however starting at much higher concentrations. Molecular dynamics simulations of EGFP in neat water, glycerol, and PEG aqueous solutions were performed showing that PEG molecules tend to "wrap" the protein creating a microenvironment where the local PEG concentration is higher compared to its bulk concentration. Because the fluorescent emission can be perturbed by the refractive index surrounding the protein, the clustering of PEG molecules induces an enhanced fluorescence emission already at extremely low concentrations. These findings can be important when related to the use of EGFP as reported in molecular biology experiments.

Development of a microfluidics biosensor for agarose-bead immobilized Escherichia coli bioreporter cells for arsenite detection in aqueous samples.

Contamination with arsenic is a recurring problem in both industrialized and developing countries. Drinking water supplies for large populations can have concentrations much higher than the permissible levels (for most European countries and the United States, 10 μg As per L; elsewhere, 50 μg As per L). Arsenic analysis requires high-end instruments, which are largely unavailable in developing countries. Bioassays based on genetically engineered bacteria have been proposed as suitable alternatives but such tests would profit from better standardization and direct incorporation into sensing devices. The goal of this work was to develop and test microfluidic devices in which bacterial bioreporters could be embedded, exposed and reporter signals detected, as a further step towards a complete miniaturized bacterial biosensor. The signal element in the biosensor is a nonpathogenic laboratory strain of Escherichia coli, which produces a variant of the green fluorescent protein after contact to arsenite and arsenate. E. coli bioreporter cells were encapsulated in agarose beads and incorporated into a microfluidic device where they were captured in 500 × 500 μm(2) cages and exposed to aqueous samples containing arsenic. Cell-beads frozen at -20 °C in the microfluidic chip retained inducibility for up to a month and arsenic samples with 10 or 50 μg L(-1) could be reproducibly discriminated from the blank. In the 0-50 μg L(-1) range and with an exposure time of 200 minutes, the rate of signal increase was linearly proportional to the arsenic concentration. The time needed to reliably and reproducibly detect a concentration of 50 μg L(-1) was 75-120 minutes, and 120-180 minutes for a concentration of 10 μg L(-1).

Measurement of biologically available naphthalene in gas and aqueous phases by use of a Pseudomonas putida biosensor.

Genetically constructed microbial biosensors for measuring organic pollutants are mostly applied in aqueous samples. Unfortunately, the detection limit of most biosensors is insufficient to detect pollutants at low but environmentally relevant concentrations. However, organic pollutants with low levels of water solubility often have significant gas-water partitioning coefficients, which in principle makes it possible to measure such compounds in the gas rather than the aqueous phase. Here we describe the first use of a microbial biosensor for measuring organic pollutants directly in the gas phase. For this purpose, we reconstructed a bioluminescent Pseudomonas putida naphthalene biosensor strain to carry the NAH7 plasmid and a chromosomally inserted gene fusion between the sal promoter and the luxAB genes. Specific calibration studies were performed with suspended and filter-immobilized biosensor cells, in aqueous solution and in the gas phase. Gas phase measurements with filter-immobilized biosensor cells in closed flasks, with a naphthalene-contaminated aqueous phase, showed that the biosensor cells can measure naphthalene effectively. The biosensor cells on the filter responded with increasing light output proportional to the naphthalene concentration added to the water phase, even though only a small proportion of the naphthalene was present in the gas phase. In fact, the biosensor cells could concentrate a larger proportion of naphthalene through the gas phase than in the aqueous suspension, probably due to faster transport of naphthalene to the cells in the gas phase. This led to a 10-fold lower detectable aqueous naphthalene concentration (50 nM instead of 0.5 micro M). Thus, the use of bacterial biosensors for measuring organic pollutants in the gas phase is a valid method for increasing the sensitivity of these valuable biological devices.

Relaxivity of Gd-based contrast agents on X nuclei with long intrinsic relaxation times in aqueous solutions.

The relaxivity of commercially available gadolinium (Gd)-based contrast agents was studied for X-nuclei resonances with long intrinsic relaxation times ranging from 6 s to several hundred seconds. Omniscan in pure 13C formic acid had a relaxivity of 2.9 mM(-1) s(-1), whereas its relaxivity on glutamate C1 and C5 in aqueous solution was approximately 0.5 mM(-1) s(-1). Both relaxivities allow the preparation of solutions with a predetermined short T1 and suggest that in vitro substantial sensitivity gains in their measurement can be achieved. 6Li has a long intrinsic relaxation time, on the order of several minutes, which was strongly affected by the contrast agents. Relaxivity ranged from approximately 0.1 mM(-1) s(-1) for Omniscan to 0.3 for Magnevist, whereas the relaxivity of Gd-DOTP was at 11 mM(-1) s(-1), which is two orders of magnitude higher. Overall, these experiments suggest that the presence of 0.1- to 10-microM contrast agents should be detectable, provided sufficient sensitivity is available, such as that afforded by hyperpolarization, recently introduced to in vivo imaging.