El arte que traduce. 1995-2010: la traducción como mediación cultural en los procesos de transmisión y recepción de las obras de arte

El trabajo de investigación realizado durante los tres últimos años de beca se centra en las teorías críticas y en las prácticas artísticas contemporáneas que utilizan la traducción como mediación cultural en los procesos de transmisión y recepción de las obras de arte contemporáneo. En el contexto artistico contemporáneo la traducción es entendida como intercambio, adaptación, traslado o transacción. Tomando como referentes conceptuales las teorías nacidas en el marco interdisciplinar de los Estudios Visuales y de los Estudios de Traducción, dicha investigación se ha centrado en el análisis del fenómeno de la traducción en la producción artística. A partir de este análisis se han investigado las conexiones entre estas disciplinas humanísticas y la práctica artística, así como la problemática que éstas conllevan en la formulación de nuevos criterios y nuevas categorías de la Historia del Arte actual. En la práctica artística cuestiones relativas a la traducción se han podido integrar al arte visual: por un lado como práctica indispensable para la comprensión e interpretación de la obra de arte entre diferentes contextos geográficos o culturales, y por otro, como elemento “formal” indispensable para la realización de los artefactos artísticos que, a su vez, quieren interpretar diferentes realidades sociales, antropológicas o políticas. Sobretodo a partir de la serie On Translation del artista catalán Antoni Muntadas, así como de otros artistas de varios contextos geográficos y culturales, se han analizado las dinámicas prácticas y teóricas de la traducción que acompañan el proceso de la realización de los artefactos artísticos. Muchas de estas obras de arte contemporáneo asimilando los significantes propios del contexto cultural, social, político, económico, y utilizando elementos formales variados (sobretodo tecnológicos) necesitan de un análisis interdisciplinar.

MENTAL IMAGERY IN PERCEPTUAL LEARNING

L'imagerie mentale est définie comme une expérience similaire à la perception mais se déroulant en l'absence d'une stimulation physique. Des recherches antérieures ont montré que l'imagerie mentale améliore la performance dans certains domaines, comme par exemple le domaine moteur. Cependant, son rôle dans l'apprentissage perceptif n'a pas encore été étudié. L'apprentissage perceptif correspond à l'amélioration permanente des performances suite à la répétition de la même tâche. Cette thèse présente une série des résultats empiriques qui montrent que l'apprentissage perceptif peut aussi être achevé en l'absence des stimuli physiques. En effet, imaginer des stimuli visuels amène à une meilleure performance avec les stimuli réels. Donc, les processus sous-jacents l'apprentissage perceptif ne sont pas uniquement déclenchés par les stimuli sensoriels, mais également par des signaux internes. En plus, l'apprentissage perceptif à travers l'imagerie mentale ne se réalise que seule-ment quand les stimuli ne sont pas (complètement) présents, mais gaiement quand les stimuli montrés ne sont pas utiles quant à la résolution de la tâche. - Mental imagery is described as an experience that resembles pereeptnal ex-perience but which occurs in the absence ef a physical stimulation. Despite its beneficial effects in, among others, motor performance, the role of mental imagery m perceptual learning has not yet been addressed. Here we focus on a specific sensory modality: vision. Perceptual learning is the ability to improve perception in a stable way through the repetition of a given task Here I demonstrate by a series of empirical results that a perceptual improve¬ment can also occur in the absence of a stimulation. Imagining visual stimuli is sufficient for successful perceptual learning. Hence, processes underlying perceptual learning are not only stimulus-driven but can also be driven by internally generated signals. Moreover, I also show that perceptual learning via mental imagery can occur not only when physical stimuli are (partially) absent, but also in conditions where stimuli are uninformative with respect to the task that has to be learned.

Disseminació, integració i visualització de dades biològiques

La recent revolució en les tècniques de generació de dades genòmiques ha portat a una situació de creixement exponencial de la quantitat de dades generades i fa més necessari que mai el treball en la optimització de la gestió i maneig d'aquesta informació. En aquest treball s'han atacat tres vessants del problema: la disseminació de la informació, la integració de dades de diverses fonts i finalment la seva visualització. Basant-nos en el Sistema d'Anotacions Distribuides, DAS, hem creat un aplicatiu per a la creació automatitzada de noves fonts de dades en format estandaritzat i accessible programàticament a partir de fitxers de dades simples. Aquest progrtamari, easyDAS, està en funcionament a l'Institut Europeu de Bioinformàtica. Aquest sistema facilita i encoratja la compartició i disseminació de dades genòmiques en formats usables. jsDAS és una llibreria client de DAS que permet incorporar dades DAS en qualsevol aplicatiu web de manera senzilla i ràpida. Aprofitant els avantatges que ofereix DAS és capaç d'integrar dades de múltiples fonts de manera coherent i robusta. GenExp és el prototip de navegador genòmic basat en web altament interactiu i que facilita l'exploració dels genomes en temps real. És capaç d'integrar dades de quansevol font DAS i crear-ne una representació en client usant els últims avenços en tecnologies web.

Characteristics of eyes with secondary loss of visual acuity receiving variable dosing ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: The aim of this work is to investigate the characteristics of eyes failing to maintain visual acuity (VA) receiving variable dosing ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) after three initial loading doses. METHODS: A consecutive series of patients with nAMD, who, after three loading doses of intravitreal ranibizumab (0.5 mg each), were re-treated for fluid seen on optical coherence tomography. After exclusion of eyes with previous treatment, follow-up less than 12 months, or missed visits, 99 patients were included in the analysis. The influence of baseline characteristics, initial VA response, and central retinal thickness (CRT) fluctuations on the VA stability from month 3 to month 24 were analyzed using subgroups and multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: Mean follow-up duration was 21.3 months (range 12-40 months, 32 patients followed-up for ≥24 months). Secondary loss of VA (loss of five letters or more) after month 3 was seen in 30 patients (mean VA improvement from baseline +5.8 letters at month 3, mean loss from baseline -5.3 letters at month 12 and -9.7 at final visit up to month 24), while 69 patients maintained vision (mean gain +8.9 letters at month 3, +10.4 letters at month 12, and +12.8 letters at final visit up to month 24). Secondary loss of VA was associated with the presence of pigment epithelial detachment (PED) at baseline (p 0.01), but not with baseline fibrosis/atrophy/hemorrhage, CRT fluctuations, or initial VA response. Chart analysis revealed additional individual explanations for the secondary loss of VA, including retinal pigment epithelial tears, progressive fibrosis, and atrophy. CONCLUSIONS: Tissue damage due to degeneration of PED, retinal pigment epithelial tears, progressive fibrosis, progressive atrophy, or massive hemorrhage, appears to be relevant in causing secondary loss of VA despite vascular endothelial growth factor suppression. PED at baseline may represent a risk factor.

Selective integration of auditory-visual looming cues by humans.

An object's motion relative to an observer can confer ethologically meaningful information. Approaching or looming stimuli can signal threats/collisions to be avoided or prey to be confronted, whereas receding stimuli can signal successful escape or failed pursuit. Using movement detection and subjective ratings, we investigated the multisensory integration of looming and receding auditory and visual information by humans. While prior research has demonstrated a perceptual bias for unisensory and more recently multisensory looming stimuli, none has investigated whether there is integration of looming signals between modalities. Our findings reveal selective integration of multisensory looming stimuli. Performance was significantly enhanced for looming stimuli over all other multisensory conditions. Contrasts with static multisensory conditions indicate that only multisensory looming stimuli resulted in facilitation beyond that induced by the sheer presence of auditory-visual stimuli. Controlling for variation in physical energy replicated the advantage for multisensory looming stimuli. Finally, only looming stimuli exhibited a negative linear relationship between enhancement indices for detection speed and for subjective ratings. Maximal detection speed was attained when motion perception was already robust under unisensory conditions. The preferential integration of multisensory looming stimuli highlights that complex ethologically salient stimuli likely require synergistic cooperation between existing principles of multisensory integration. A new conceptualization of the neurophysiologic mechanisms mediating real-world multisensory perceptions and action is therefore supported.

Bilateral sequential nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy: a comparison of visual outcomes in fellow eyes using quantitative analysis of goldmann visual fields.

OBJECTIVE To better define the concordance of visual loss in patients with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). METHODS The medical records of 86 patients with bilateral sequential NAION were reviewed retrospectively, and visual function was assessed using visual acuity, Goldmann visual fields, color vision, and relative afferent papillary defect. A quantitative total visual field score and score per quadrant were analyzed for each eye using the numerical Goldmann visual field scoring method. RESULTS Outcome measures were visual acuity, visual field, color vision, and relative afferent papillary defect. A statistically significant correlation was found between fellow eyes for multiple parameters, including logMAR visual acuity (P = .01), global visual field (P < .001), superior visual field (P < .001), and inferior visual field (P < .001). The mean deviation of total (P < .001) and pattern (P < .001) deviation analyses was significantly less between fellow eyes than between first and second eyes of different patients. CONCLUSIONS Visual function between fellow eyes showed a fair to moderate correlation that was statistically significant. The pattern of vision loss was also more similar in fellow eyes than between eyes of different patients. These results may help allow better prediction of visual outcome for the second eye in patients with NAION.

Décrire et convaincre: rhétoriques visuelles de la cinématographie en médecine [Describe and convince: visual rhetoric of cinematography in medicine]

The tools of visualisation occupy a central place in medicine. Far from being simple accessories of glance, they literally constitute objects of medicine. Such empirical acknowledgement and epistemological position open a vast field of investigation: visual technologies of medical knowledge. This article studies the development and transformation of medical objects which have permitted to assess the role of temporality in the epistemology of medicine. It firstly examines the general problem of the relationships between cinema, animated image and medicine and secondly, the contribution of the German doctor Martin Weiser to medical cinematography as a method. Finally, a typology is sketched out organising the variety of the visual technology of movement under the perspective of the development of specific visual techniques in medicine.

Theory of mind and cognitive processes in aging and Alzheimer type dementia: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: Theory of mind (ToM) performance in aging and dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) has been a growing interest of researchers and recently, theoretical trends in ToM development have led to a focus on determining the cognitive skills involved in ToM performance. The aim of the present review is to answer three main questions: How is ToM assessed in aging and DAT? How does ToM performance evolve in aging and DAT? Do cognitive processes influence ToM performance in aging and DAT? METHOD: A systematic review was conducted to provide a targeted overview of recent studies relating ToM performance with cognitive processes in aging and DAT. RESULTS: RESULTS suggest a decrease in ToM performance, more pronounced in complex ToM tasks. Moreover, the review points up the strong involvement of executive functions, especially inhibition, and reasoning skills in ToM task achievement. CONCLUSION: Current data suggest that the structure of ToM tasks itself could lead to poor performance, especially in populations with reduced cognitive abilities.

Lack of association between the protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 22 R263Q and R620W functional genetic variants and endogenous non-anterior uveitis.

OBJECTIVE Endogenous uveitis is a major cause of visual loss mediated by the immune system. The protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 22 (PTPN22) gene encodes a lymphoid-specific phosphatase that plays a key role in T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling. Two independent functional missense single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located within the PTPN22 gene (R263Q and R620W) have been associated with different autoimmune disorders. We aimed to analyze for the first time the influence of these PTPN22 genetic variants on endogenous non-anterior uveitis susceptibility. METHODS We performed a case-control study of 217 patients with endogenous non-anterior uveitis and 718 healthy controls from a Spanish population. The PTPN22 polymorphisms (rs33996649 and rs2476601) were genotyped using TaqMan allelic discrimination assays. The allele, genotype, carriers, and allelic combination frequencies were compared between cases and controls with χ(2) analysis or Fisher's exact test. RESULTS Our results showed no influence of the studied SNPs in the global susceptibility analysis (rs33996649: allelic P- value=0.92, odds ratio=0.97, 95% confidence interval=0.54-1.75; rs2476601: allelic P- value=0.86, odds ratio=1.04, 95% confidence interval=0.68-1.59). Similarly, the allelic combination analysis did not provide additional information. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the studied polymorphisms of the PTPN22 gene do not play an important role in the pathophysiology of endogenous non-anterior uveitis.

Claudin-19 mutations and clinical phenotype in Spanish patients with familial hypomagnesemia with hypercalciuria and nephrocalcinosis.

Familial hypomagnesemia with hypercalciuria and nephrocalcinosis is an autosomal recessive tubular disorder characterized by excessive renal magnesium and calcium excretion and chronic kidney failure. This rare disease is caused by mutations in the CLDN16 and CLDN19 genes. These genes encode the tight junction proteins claudin-16 and claudin-19, respectively, which regulate the paracellular ion reabsorption in the kidney. Patients with mutations in the CLDN19 gene also present severe visual impairment. Our goals in this study were to examine the clinical characteristics of a large cohort of Spanish patients with this disorder and to identify the disease causing mutations. We included a total of 31 patients belonging to 27 unrelated families and studied renal and ocular manifestations. We then analyzed by direct DNA sequencing the coding regions of CLDN16 and CLDN19 genes in these patients. Bioinformatic tools were used to predict the consequences of mutations. Clinical evaluation showed ocular defects in 87% of patients, including mainly myopia, nystagmus and macular colobomata. Twenty two percent of patients underwent renal transplantation and impaired renal function was observed in another 61% of patients. Results of the genetic analysis revealed CLDN19 mutations in all patients confirming the clinical diagnosis. The majority of patients exhibited the previously described p.G20D mutation. Haplotype analysis using three microsatellite markers showed a founder effect for this recurrent mutation in our cohort. We also identified four new pathogenic mutations in CLDN19, p.G122R, p.I41T, p.G75C and p.G75S. A strategy based on microsequencing was designed to facilitate the genetic diagnosis of this disease. Our data indicate that patients with CLDN19 mutations have a high risk of progression to chronic renal disease.

Metagenomics, paratransgenesis and the Anopheles microbiome: a portrait of the geographical distribution of the anopheline microbiota based on a meta-analysis of reported taxa

Anophelines harbour a diverse microbial consortium that may represent an extended gene pool for the host. The proposed effects of the insect microbiota span physiological, metabolic and immune processes. Here we synthesise how current metagenomic tools combined with classical culture-dependent techniques provide new insights in the elucidation of the role of the Anopheles-associated microbiota. Many proposed malaria control strategies have been based upon the immunomodulating effects that the bacterial components of the microbiota appear to exert and their ability to express anti-Plasmodium peptides. The number of identified bacterial taxa has increased in the current “omics” era and the available data are mostly scattered or in “tables” that are difficult to exploit. Published microbiota reports for multiple anopheline species were compiled in an Excel® spreadsheet. We then filtered the microbiota data using a continent-oriented criterion and generated a visual correlation showing the exclusive and shared bacterial genera among four continents. The data suggested the existence of a core group of bacteria associated in a stable manner with their anopheline hosts. However, the lack of data from Neotropical vectors may reduce the possibility of defining the core microbiota and understanding the mosquito-bacteria interactive consortium.

Intraocular Straylight And Contrast Sensitivity Two Months After Lasik: Intraocular Straylight Measurement As A New Parameter In Visual Quality Assessment

PROPÒSIT: Estudiar l'efecte de la cirurgia LASIK en la llum dispersa i la sensibilitat al contrast. MÈTODES: Vint-i-vuit pacients van ser tractats amb LASIK. La qualitat visual es va avaluar abans de l'operació i dos mesos després. RESULTATS: La mitjana de llum dispersa i la sensibilitat al contrast abans de l'operació no va canviar en dos mesos després. Només un ull tenia un marcat augment en la llum dispersa. Nou ulls van presentar una lleugera disminució en la sensibilitat al contrast. S'han trobat dues complicacions. CONCLUSIÓ: Després de LASIK la majoria dels pacients (80%) no van tenir complicacions i van mantenir la seva qualitat visual. Uns pocs pacients (16%) van tenir una mica de qualitat visual disminuïda. Molt pocs (4%) van tenir complicacions clíniques amb disminució en la qualitat visual.

Polymorphism at a sex-linked transcription cofactor in European tree frogs (Hyla arborea): Sex-antagonistic selection or neutral processes?

Nascent sex chromosomes offer a unique opportunity to investigate the evolutionary fate of genesrecently trapped in non-recombining segments. A housekeeping gene (MED15) was recently shown to lie on the nascent sex-chromosomes of the European tree frog (Hyla arborea), with different alleles fixed on the X and the Y chromosomes. Here we document a polymorphism (glutamine deletion) in the X copy of the gene, and use population surveys and experimental crosses to test whether this polymorphism is neutral or maintained by sex-antagonistic selection. Tadpoles from parents of known genotypes revealed significant discrepancies from Mendelian inheritance, suggesting possible sex-antagonistic effects under laboratory conditions. Quantitatively, however, these effects did not meet the conditions for polymorphism maintenance. Furthermore, field estimates of female genotypic frequencies did not differ from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and allelic frequencies on the X chromosome did not differ between sexes. In conclusion, although sex antagonistic effects cannot be excluded given the laboratory conditions, the X-linked polymorphism under study appears neutral in the wild. Alternatively, sex-antagonistic selection might still account for the fixation of a male specific allele on the Y chromosome.