Historiografía occidental y mitología prehispánica en la novela histórica latinoamericana

Hacia fines del siglo XX, en Latinoamérica se publica una gran producción de novelas calificadas como históricas, notable cuantitativa y cualitativamente. Sus novedosas propuestas y las diferencias que guarda respecto a las características tradicionales del género, provocan un cuestionamiento crítico respecto a la categoría de novela histórica. En general, las producciones recientes problematizan las posibilidades del conocimiento histórico, como también las posibilidades del lenguaje para expresar ese conocimiento. Además, contienen una fuerte crítica hacia el discurso historiográfico oficial y recurren a la historia, no como producto acabado o dato, sino como procedimiento narrativo y cognoscitivo. Esto les permite trascender la referencia histórica local –sin excluirla – para remitir de manera más amplia a la historiografía y a la historia como portadores de la verdad sobre el pasado. La investigación analiza un corpus de novelas argentinas de finales del siglo pasado indagando los conceptos de historia y ficción propuestos por los textos.

Jeunes filles scoliotiques et orthopédie a la Belle Epoque: l'essor urbain de la mécanothérapie a Lausanne et Genève [Scoliotic young girls and orthopaedics in Belle Epoque: the urban surge of mecanotherapy in Lausanne and Geneva].

In Belle Epoque towns marked by the industrial and medical surge, a new technical therapy, called mechanotherapy, emerged, stemming from Swedish medical gymnastics and auxiliary to orthopaedics. Aiming mostly at treating scoliosis, this therapy by movement attracted a sizeable female clientele to these towns, because of the hygienic and social conceptions feeding collective imagination linked to the bodies of scoliotic young girls. Taking the French-speaking Swiss towns of Lausanne and Geneva as examples, the article first seeks to describe the emergence of mechanotherapy as a medical and urban phenomenon. It then addresses the role played by scoliosis in this orthopaedic practice, and examines the clientele attracted to the towns, among which well-born young girls seem to be predominant.

Una casa, una història: patrimoni arquitectònic i humà d'una casa de la Selva del Camp

Treball de recerca realitzat per una alumna d'ensenyament secundari i guardonat amb un Premi CIRIT per fomentar l'esperit científic del Jovent l'any 2009. El treball té com a objecte de recerca un habitatge del municipi de la Selva del Camp. Aquest, es centra tant en els aspectes artístics i decoratius, com en l’anàlisi de l’evolució patrimonial i l’ús social de l’edifici entre els segles XVIII-XX. En la recerca s’ha analitzat, per una banda, el procés de transformació de l’edifici des de l’any 1749 i els elements artístics que encara s’hi conserven com pintures neoclàssiques, treballs de ferro forjat, etc., els quals fan que sigui una de les cases més emblemàtiques del Carrer Major de la Selva. D’altra banda, s’ha indagat en les diferents generacions que, des de mitjan segle XVIII, n’han tingut la propietat i el paper que aquestes famílies han jugat dins la societat selvatana. La casa, en aquests anys, ha pertanyut a dues famílies i al Sindicat Agrícola. La primera, els Fortuny, terratinents i amb càrrecs al govern municipal; l'altra, els Carnicer, comerciants d'avellanes dels quals jo en sóc descendent. De 1910 a 1920 la casa fou al seu del Sindicat Agrícola i a partir de textos de Puig i Ferreter s’ha pogut descriure l’ambient que s'hi vivia i les activitats que s’hi duien a terme. Alhora, el fet d’analitzar les diferents funcions que l’edifici ha tingut al llarg d’aquests anys (residència familiar, corredoria de comerç, premsa d’oli, seu del Centre Republicà o del Sindicat Agrícola) ha permès explicar la història de la vila de la Selva a partir de la d’aquest edifici.

La relation ambiguë des protestantismes à la sociologie

(Résumé de l'ouvrage) What are the relations between sociology and the different religions - Christianity with its various branches, Judaism, Islam, Oriental religions, sects and New Religious Movements ? That is the question which this work, - conceived on the occasion of the XXVth Conference of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion/Société Internationale de Sociologie des Religions (SISR) - wishes to clarify. The book retraces the varied and troubled history of these relations and also reveals how in opening up its research to other religions besides the Christan, sociology is forced to redefine the very object of its field of study. What is the religious? This question, which until recently was considered impertinent, informs this book throughout. If confronts the necessity of rethinking theories and methodological appoaches which, constructed in the context of 19th and early 20th century Western Europe, prove to be rather inadequate for encompassing contemporary religious phenomena and religious manifestations in other contexts. To these new theoretical and methodological demands is added, for the sociologist, a deontological imperative, which takes on all the more importance today as the religious provokes passionate social debate.

Parasitic diseases: opportunities and challenges in the 21st century

The opportunities and challenges for the study and control of parasitic diseases in the 21st century are both exciting and daunting. Based on the contributions from this field over the last part of the 20th century, we should expect new biologic concepts will continue to come from this discipline to enrich the general area of biomedical research. The general nature of such a broad category of infections is difficult to distill, but they often depend on well-orchestrated, complex life cycles and they often involve chronic, relatively well-balanced host/parasite relationships. Such characteristics force biological systems to their limits, and this may be why studies of these diseases have made fundamental contributions to molecular biology, cell biology and immunology. However, if these findings are to continue apace, parasitologists must capitalize on the new findings being generated though genomics, bioinformatics, proteomics, and genetic manipulations of both host and parasite. Furthermore, they must do so based on sound biological insights and the use of hypothesis-driven studies of these complex systems. A major challenge over the next century will be to capitalize on these new findings and translate them into successful, sustainable strategies for control, elimination and eradication of the parasitic diseases that pose major public health threats to the physical and cognitive development and health of so many people worldwide.

The taxonomy of Brazilian insects vectors of transmissible diseases (1900-2000) - then and now

A brief historical overview is given of the most relevant taxonomic studies of insect groups vectors of transmissible diseases in Brazil, from the "heroic" times of the foundation of the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz in Rio de Janeiro up to the present. The following orders are considered: Phthiraptera (Anoplura, Amblycera and Ischnocera), Hemiptera (Reduviidae: Triatominae), Siphonaptera and Diptera (Culicidae, Ceratopogonidae, Psychodidae: Phlebotominae, Simuliidae, Tabanidae, Chloropidae and Muscidae). The most important Brazilian collections of each group are cited.

El vidre bufat a Vimbodí

Estudi de la importància que va tenir el vidre bufat a Vimbodí en la primera meitat del segle XX, tant en l'aspecte econòmic com en el social. Es fa un petit recorregut sobre la història del vidre i el Museu del Vidre de Vimbodí.

La Llengua de l'heroi: notes sobre la llengua del segle XX a partir de les traduccions catalanes de David Copperfield de Charles Dickens

Estudi comparatiu de les dues traduccions catalanes publicades de David Copperfield de Charles Dickens. La primera de Josep Carner feta l’any 1930 però publicada el 1964 i la segona obra deJoan Sellent del 2003. L’anàlisi mostra que ambdues traduccions, excel·lents, reflecteixen una evolució singular i força accelerada del model de llengua que els traductors fan arribar al seu públic, que és reflex de la complexa història de la llengua catalana del segle xx, que encara s’had’escriure.

NKT cells: In the beginning...

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells as we know them today are a unique subset of mature T cells co-expressing a semi-invariant Valpha14/Vbeta8 TCR and surface markers characteristic of NK cells. The semi-invariant TCR on iNKT cells recognizes glycolipids bound to monomorphic CD1d molecules, leading to rapid cytokine production. The purpose of this historical perspective is to describe how a series of seemingly unrelated findings in the late 1980s and early 1990s crystallized in the discovery of iNKT cells. The story is told from a personal viewpoint, with a particular effort to place both breakthroughs and misinterpretations in the context of their era.

Hypertension and microvascular remodelling

In the present review, microvascular remodelling refers to alterations in the structure of resistance vessels contributing to elevated systemic vascular resistance in hypertension. We start with some historical aspects, underscoring the importance of Folkow's contribution made half a century ago. We then move to some basic concepts on the biomechanics of blood vessels, and explicit the definitions proposed by Mulvany for specific forms of remodelling, especially inward eutrophic and inward hypertrophic. The available evidence for the existence of remodelled resistance vessels in hypertension comes next, with relatively more weight given to human, in comparison with animal data. Mechanisms are discussed. The impact of antihypertensive drug treatment on remodelling is described, again with emphasis on human data. Some details are given on the three studies to date which point to remodelling of subcutaneous resistance arteries as an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients. We terminate by considering the potential role of remodelling in the pathogenesis of end-organ damage and in the perpetuation of hypertension.

21st century climate change: where has all the geomorphology gone?

This Commentary draws together recently published work relating to the relationship between climate change and geomorphology to address the surprising observation that geomorphic work seems to have had little impact upon the work of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change. However, recent papers show that methodological innovation has allowed geomorphological reconstruction over timescales highly relevant to late 20th century and 21st century climate change. In turn, these and other developments are allowing links to be made between climatic variability and geomorphology, to begin to predict geomorphic futures and also to appreciate the role that geomorphic processes play in the flux of carbon and the carbon cycle.

Healthy Iowans 2010 Mid-Course Revision, July 2005

In the past century, public health has been credited with adding 25 years to life expectancy by contributing to the decline in illness and injury. Progress has been made, for example, in smoking reduction, infectious disease, and motor vehicle and workplace injuries. Besides its focus on traditional concerns such as clean water and safe food, public health is adapting to meet emerging health problems. Particular troublesome are health threats to youth: teenage pregnancies, violence, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and other conditions associated with high-risk behaviors. These threats add to burgeoning health care costs. A conservative estimate of $69 billion in medical spending could be averted through the impact of public health strategies aimed at heart disease, stroke, fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries, motor vehicle-related injuries, low birth weight, and violence. These strategies require the collaboration of many groups in the public and private sectors. Collaboration is the bedrock of public health and Healthy Iowans planning. At the core of Healthy Iowans 2000 and its successor, Healthy Iowans 2010, is the idea that all Iowans benefit when stakeholders decide on disease prevention and health promotion strategies and agree to work together on them. These strategies can improve the quality of life and hold down health care costs. The payoff for health promotion and disease prevention is not immediate, but it has long-lasting benefits. The Iowa plan is a companion to the national plan, Healthy People 2010. An initiative to improve the health of Americans, the national plan is the driving force for federal resource allocation for disease prevention and health promotion. The state plan is used in the same way. Both plans have received broad support from Republican and Democratic administrations. Community planners are using the state plan to help assess health needs and craft health improvement plans. Healthy Iowans 2010 was written at an unusual point in history – a new decade, a new century, a new millennium. The introduction was optimistic. “The 21st century,” it says, “promises to add life as well as years through improved health habits coupled with medical advances. Scientists have suggested that if these changes occur, the definition of adulthood will also change. An extraordinary number of people will live fuller, more active lives beyond that expected in the late 20th century.” At the same time, the country has spawned a new generation of health hazards. According to Dr. William Dietz of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it has replaced “the diseases of deficiency with diseases of excess” (Newsweek, August 2, 1999). New threats, such as childhood overweight, can reverse progress made in the last century. This demands concerted action.