Finales de novela en las Ejemplares

Article que analitza els paràgrafs finals de les novel·les d'en Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Arnau de Montrodon y la catedral de San Carlomagno. Sobre la imagen y el culto al emperador carolingio en Gerona

In 1345, the unique worship of Saint Charlemagne was institutionalized in the cathedral of Gerona. The roots (and for many, the reasons) of this celebration are found in the existence of an old local legend, the well-known testimonies to which go back to the eleventh century. Nevertheless, a lengthy analysis of the facts that marked the life of the cathedral during the long permanence Amau de Montrodon had there—first in quality of canon (1297-1335) and later as bishop (1333-1348)- make it possible for us to verify that the promotion of the cult to San Charlemagne falls within a complex program of ideological and symbolic exaltation of the See of Girona that was designed by this notable and restlessly active ecclesiastic

Auditoria ètica en un centre d’atenció gerontològica per a gent gran amb dependència

L’ atenció a les persones grans en un establiment residencial ha experimentat una evolució important en els darrers anys: hem passat de l’atenció per beneficència dels ‘asils’ (marcada per un model clarament assistencialista, on l’usuari era un receptor passiu del servei) a l’atenció gerontològica integral (marcada per un model professionalitzat de servei, on l’usuari esdevé un consumidor actiu informat). Hi ha força acord que aquesta maduresa i professionalització ha de tenir en compte els aspectes ètics en l’atenció a la gent gran amb dependència, tant pel que fa a l’ètica assistencial pròpiament dita com a l’ètica de l’organització. Així, l’ètica esdevé un aspecte més a gestionar en aquestes organitzacions. Això requereix planificar com abordar els aspectes ètics en la dinàmica de l’organització, desenvolupar el treball planificat, avaluar els resultats i introduir millores a partir dels resultats obtinguts. En primer lloc hem de tenir identificats els temes ètics a contemplar en un centre gerontològic, que són diferents dels que es puguin plantejar en un centre sanitari, o en un centre educatiu, per exemple. Tot això, però, requereix un mètode i uns elements de mesura. Seria útil poder confeccionar una mena de radiografia de l’organització amb identificació del grau d’assoliment dels aspectes ètics. Es fa necessari disposar d’un instrument per mesurar la qualitat ètica en una residència. Una eina per assolir-ho seria l’auditoria ètica. Caldria disposar d’un model d’auditoria ètica adaptat a les necessitats d’un centre gerontològic d’atenció a persones grans amb dependència (popularment conegut per una ‘residència d’avis’). En aquest treball em proposo els següents objectius: 2.1.- Recerca documental per identificar sistemes d’auditoria ètica específics per a residències de gent gran; 2.2.- Si n’existeixen, fer una anàlisi i comparació dels diferents sistemes trobats, amb el punts forts i punts febles de cadascun d’ells i 2.3.- Valorar la seva idoneïtat en una residència per a gent gran

The post-communist fertility puzzle

Fertility has unanimously declined across the entire post-communist region. This study explores the variation in fertility trends over time among these countries and assesses to what degree three explanations are applicable: second demographic transition (SDT), postponement transition (PPT) or reaction to the economic crisis. Moreover, on the basis of SDT and PPT theoretical tenets, as well as descriptive evidence, the economic context is hypothesized to be linked to two processes of fertility decline conversely. The results show that no one theoretical explanation is sufficient to explain the complex fertility declines across the entire post-communist region from 1990 to 2003. In some countries, a great part of the decline in fertility occurred before significant postponement of childbearing began, which indicates that the dramatic decline was due to stopping behavior or postponement of higher order births. Postponement of first births, either through PPT or SDT processes, greatly contributed to fertility decline in a small number of countries. Pooled cross-sectional time-series analyses of age-specific birthrates confirm that these two distinct processes are present and show that the economic crisis explanation has explanatory power for declining birth rates. In contrast, logistic regressions show that the likelihood of postponing childbirth increases with improved economic conditions. These results confirm the importance of taking the economic context into account when discussing explanations for fertility decline. More specifically, the results indicate that the severity and duration of economic crisis, or absence thereof, influenced the extent and manner in which fertility declined.

Economic crisis and recovery: changes in second birth rates within occupational classes and educational groups

This study assesses the decline in second birth rates for men and women across different skill levels in transitional Russia. Changes within educational groups and occupational classes are observed over three distinct time periods: the Soviet era, economic crisis, and economic recovery. The most remarkable finding is the similarity in the extent second birth rates declined within educational groups and occupational classes during the economic crisis. Although further decline occurred in the recovery period, more variation emerged across groups.

Influencia del lenguaje y lugar de origen de un lector en la formación de conductas

El estudio examinó la posible influencia del lenguaje y lugar de origen de un lector en la comprensión de mensajes de comunicación en salud y en la formación de actitud e intención de conductas preventivas. Un instrumento de medición con escala de comprensión de lectura, actitud e intención fue suministrado a un grupo de puertorriqueños y dominicanos (N=40) residentes en San Juan, Puerto Rico. La escala de comprensión tenía dos textos en diversos niveles de dificultad (bastante fácil y medio) de acuerdo con la Fórmula de Legibilidad para el idioma español de Francisco Szigriszt Pazos. Los análisis estadísticos revelaron que no se encontró diferencia estadística significativa (p>.05) en las medias aritméticas de las respuestas correctas al comparar los dos niveles de dificultad entre los participantes. No hubo diferencia estadística significativa (p>.05) entre la muestra en el nivel de dificultad bastante fácil, no obstante en el nivel de dificultad medio hubo diferencia estadística significativa (p<.05). Los análisis de regresión reflejaron que la comprensión y actitud en conjunto no predicen de manera significativa el grado de intención para la adopción de una conducta preventiva de salud.

L'identité de Jésus et l'identité de son disciple : le récit de la transfiguration comme clef de lecture de l'Evangile de Marc

Marc présente l'identité divine de Jésus comme se dévoilant malgré lui. Jésus fait taire ceux qui la révèlent, qu'il s'agisse des démons ou de ses disciples. William Wrede a tenté d'expliquer cet état de fait à l'aide de la théorie du "secret messianique". Marc attribuerait à Jésus une stratégie de voilement intentionnel de sa filiation divine. L'auteur s'oppose à Wrede à l'aide de catégories empruntées à l'anthropologie culturelle: dans l'Antiquité, l'identité est attribuée par une instance ayant statut d'autorité. Par conséquent, le comportement manifesté par Jésus dans l'Evangile de Marc n'est pas l'expression d'une stratégie particulière mais le comportement attendu d'un individu qui respecte les règles d'attribution de l'honneur. De plus, Marc est méfiant à l'égard du titre "Christ" attribué à Jésus et préfère le titre "Fils de Dieu" compris au sens prophétique. Enfin, la raison qui pousse l'évangéliste à écrire résiderait dans la nécessité de défendre la légitimité de la tradition de sa communauté face à d'autres groupes chrétiens plus apostoliques.

The migration towards Digital Terrestrial Television: challenges for public policy and public broadcasters

This paper initially identifies the main transformations of the television system that are caused by digitalization. Its development in several broadcasting platforms is analyzed as well as the particular obstacles and requirements that are detected for each of them. Due to its technical characteristics and its historical link to the public services, the terrestrial network requires migration strategies different from those strictly commercial, and public intervention might be needed. The paper focuses on such migration strategies towards DTT and identifies the main issues for public intervention in the areas of the digital scenario: technology, business and market transformation and the reception field. Moreover, it describes and classifies the challenges that public broadcasters should confront due to digitalization. This paper finally concludes that the leadership of the public broadcasters during the migration towards DTT is an interesting tool for public policy. The need for foster the digitalization of the terrestrial platform and to achieve certain social and public goal besides the market interest brings an opportunity for public institutions and public broadcasters to work together. That leading role could also be positive for the public service to face its necessary redefinition and reallocation within the digital context.

Relaxation of selective constraints causes independent selenoprotein extinction in insect genomes

BACKGROUND: Selenoproteins are a diverse family of proteins notable for the presence of the 21st amino acid, selenocysteine. Until very recently, all metazoan genomes investigated encoded selenoproteins, and these proteins had therefore been believed to be essential for animal life. Challenging this assumption, recent comparative analyses of insect genomes have revealed that some insect genomes appear to have lost selenoprotein genes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this paper we investigate in detail the fate of selenoproteins, and that of selenoprotein factors, in all available arthropod genomes. We use a variety of in silico comparative genomics approaches to look for known selenoprotein genes and factors involved in selenoprotein biosynthesis. We have found that five insect species have completely lost the ability to encode selenoproteins and that selenoprotein loss in these species, although so far confined to the Endopterygota infraclass, cannot be attributed to a single evolutionary event, but rather to multiple, independent events. Loss of selenoproteins and selenoprotein factors is usually coupled to the deletion of the entire no-longer functional genomic region, rather than to sequence degradation and consequent pseudogenisation. Such dynamics of gene extinction are consistent with the high rate of genome rearrangements observed in Drosophila. We have also found that, while many selenoprotein factors are concomitantly lost with the selenoproteins, others are present and conserved in all investigated genomes, irrespective of whether they code for selenoproteins or not, suggesting that they are involved in additional, non-selenoprotein related functions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Selenoproteins have been independently lost in several insect species, possibly as a consequence of the relaxation in insects of the selective constraints acting across metazoans to maintain selenoproteins. The dispensability of selenoproteins in insects may be related to the fundamental differences in antioxidant defense between these animals and other metazoans.

Nucleotide, cytogenetic and expression impact of the human chromosome 8p23.1 inversion polymorphism

Background: The human chromosome 8p23.1 region contains a 3.8–4.5 Mb segment which can be found in different orientations (defined as genomic inversion) among individuals. The identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tightly linked to the genomic orientation of a given region should be useful to indirectly evaluate the genotypes of large genomic orientations in the individuals. Results: We have identified 16 SNPs, which are in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with the 8p23.1 inversion as detected by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The variability of the 8p23.1 orientation in 150 HapMap samples was predicted using this set of SNPs and was verified by FISH in a subset of samples. Four genes (NEIL2, MSRA, CTSB and BLK) were found differentially expressed (p<0.0005) according to the orientation of the 8p23.1 region. Finally, we have found variable levels of mosaicism for the orientation of the 8p23.1 as determined by FISH. Conclusion: By means of dense SNP genotyping of the region, haplotype-based computational analyses and FISH experiments we could infer and verify the orientation status of alleles in the 8p23.1 region by detecting two short haplotype stretches at both ends of the inverted region, which are likely the relic of the chromosome in which the original inversion occurred. Moreover, an impact of 8p23.1 inversion on gene expression levels cannot be ruled out, since four genes from this region have statistically significant different expression levels depending on the inversion status. FISH results in lymphoblastoid cell lines suggest the presence of mosaicism regarding the 8p23.1 inversion.

Recent human evolution has shaped geographical differences in susceptibility to disease

Background: Searching for associations between genetic variants and complex diseases has been a very active area of research for over two decades. More than 51,000 potential associations have been studied and published, a figure that keeps increasing, especially with the recent explosion of array-based Genome-Wide Association Studies. Even if the number of true associations described so far is high, many of the putative risk variants detected so far have failed to be consistently replicated and are widely considered false positives. Here, we focus on the world-wide patterns of replicability of published association studies.Results: We report three main findings. First, contrary to previous results, genes associated to complex diseases present lower degrees of genetic differentiation among human populations than average genome-wide levels. Second, also contrary to previous results, the differences in replicability of disease associated-loci between Europeans and East Asians are highly correlated with genetic differentiation between these populations. Finally, highly replicated genes present increased levels of high-frequency derived alleles in European and Asian populations when compared to African populations. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the heterogeneous nature of the genetic etiology of complex disease, confirm the importance of the recent evolutionary history of our species in current patterns of disease susceptibility and could cast doubts on the status as false positives of some associations that have failed to replicate across populations.

Simulation methods with extended stability for stiff biochemical kinetics

Background: With increasing computer power, simulating the dynamics of complex systems in chemistry and biology is becoming increasingly routine. The modelling of individual reactions in (bio)chemical systems involves a large number of random events that can be simulated by the stochastic simulation algorithm (SSA). The key quantity is the step size, or waiting time, τ, whose value inversely depends on the size of the propensities of the different channel reactions and which needs to be re-evaluated after every firing event. Such a discrete event simulation may be extremely expensive, in particular for stiff systems where τ can be very short due to the fast kinetics of some of the channel reactions. Several alternative methods have been put forward to increase the integration step size. The so-called τ-leap approach takes a larger step size by allowing all the reactions to fire, from a Poisson or Binomial distribution, within that step. Although the expected value for the different species in the reactive system is maintained with respect to more precise methods, the variance at steady state can suffer from large errors as τ grows. Results: In this paper we extend Poisson τ-leap methods to a general class of Runge-Kutta (RK) τ-leap methods. We show that with the proper selection of the coefficients, the variance of the extended τ-leap can be well-behaved, leading to significantly larger step sizes.Conclusions: The benefit of adapting the extended method to the use of RK frameworks is clear in terms of speed of calculation, as the number of evaluations of the Poisson distribution is still one set per time step, as in the original τ-leap method. The approach paves the way to explore new multiscale methods to simulate (bio)chemical systems.

Essential role of the N-terminal region of TFII-I in viability and behavior

Background: GTF2I codes for a general intrinsic transcription factor and calcium channel regulator TFII-I, with high and ubiquitous expression, and a strong candidate for involvement in the morphological and neuro-developmental anomalies of the Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS). WBS is a genetic disorder due to a recurring deletion of about 1,55-1,83 Mb containing 25-28 genes in chromosome band 7q11.23 including GTF2I. Completed homozygous loss of either the Gtf2i or Gtf2ird1 function in mice provided additional evidence for the involvement of both genes in the craniofacial and cognitive phenotype. Unfortunately nothing is now about the behavioral characterization of heterozygous mice. Methods: By gene targeting we have generated a mutant mice with a deletion of the first 140 amino-acids of TFII-I. mRNA and protein expression analysis were used to document the effect of the study deletion. We performed behavioral characterization of heterozygous mutant mice to document in vivo implications of TFII-I in the cognitive profile of WBS patients. Results: Homozygous and heterozygous mutant mice exhibit craniofacial alterations, most clearly represented in homozygous condition. Behavioral test demonstrate that heterozygous mutant mice exhibit some neurobehavioral alterations and hyperacusis or odynacusis that could be associated with specific features of WBS phenotype. Homozygous mutant mice present highly compromised embryonic viability and fertility. Regarding cellular model, we documented a retarded growth in heterozygous MEFs respect to homozygous or wild-type MEFs. Conclusion: Our data confirm that, although additive effects of haploinsufficiency at several genes may contribute to the full craniofacial or neurocognitive features of WBS, correct expression of GTF2I is one of the main players. In addition, these findings show that the deletion of the fist 140 amino-acids of TFII-I altered it correct function leading to a clear phenotype, at both levels, at the cellular model and at the in vivo model.

Whole genome analysis of p38 SAPK-mediated gene expression upon stress

Background: Cells have the ability to respond and adapt to environmental changes through activation of stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs). Although p38 SAPK signalling is known to participate in the regulation of gene expression little is known on the molecular mechanisms used by this SAPK to regulate stress-responsive genes and the overall set of genes regulated by p38 in response to different stimuli.Results: Here, we report a whole genome expression analyses on mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) treated with three different p38 SAPK activating-stimuli, namely osmostress, the cytokine TNFα and the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin. We have found that the activation kinetics of p38α SAPK in response to these insults is different and also leads to a complex gene pattern response specific for a given stress with a restricted set of overlapping genes. In addition, we have analysed the contribution of p38α the major p38 family member present in MEFs, to the overall stress-induced transcriptional response by using both a chemical inhibitor (SB203580) and p38α deficient (p38α-/-) MEFs. We show here that p38 SAPK dependency ranged between 60% and 88% depending on the treatments and that there is a very good overlap between the inhibitor treatment and the ko cells. Furthermore, we have found that the dependency of SAPK varies depending on the time the cells are subjected to osmostress. Conclusions: Our genome-wide transcriptional analyses shows a selective response to specific stimuli and a restricted common response of up to 20% of the stress up-regulated early genes that involves an important set of transcription factors, which might be critical for either cell adaptation or preparation for continuous extra-cellular changes. Interestingly, up to 85% of the up-regulated genes are under the transcriptional control of p38 SAPK. Thus, activation of p38 SAPK is critical to elicit the early gene expression program required for cell adaptation to stress.

Human synthetic lethal inference as potential anti-cancer target gene detection

Background: Two genes are called synthetic lethal (SL) if mutation of either alone is not lethal, but mutation of both leads to death or a significant decrease in organism's fitness. The detection of SL gene pairs constitutes a promising alternative for anti-cancer therapy. As cancer cells exhibit a large number of mutations, the identification of these mutated genes' SL partners may provide specific anti-cancer drug candidates, with minor perturbations to the healthy cells. Since existent SL data is mainly restricted to yeast screenings, the road towards human SL candidates is limited to inference methods. Results: In the present work, we use phylogenetic analysis and database manipulation (BioGRID for interactions, Ensembl and NCBI for homology, Gene Ontology for GO attributes) in order to reconstruct the phylogenetically-inferred SL gene network for human. In addition, available data on cancer mutated genes (COSMIC and Cancer Gene Census databases) as well as on existent approved drugs (DrugBank database) supports our selection of cancer-therapy candidates.Conclusions: Our work provides a complementary alternative to the current methods for drug discovering and gene target identification in anti-cancer research. Novel SL screening analysis and the use of highly curated databases would contribute to improve the results of this methodology.