Twelfth Night’s Performances: An Analysis of Gender Presentations and Sexuality in Shakespearean Drama

[Abstract] Literary works are quite relevant in the study of a certain period’s social attitudes and concepts such as gender and sexuality. This is especially true for drama as it provides a way to observe the characters as they construct an identity through their performances. This essay intends to analyse the ways in which gender, sexuality and overall masculinity and femininity were developed as social constructs in Shakespeare’s time. Using the theory of performativity (the belief that gender and sexuality are social performances characterized by their similarity to a given standard that is considered canonical) as a framework along with a comprehensive description of the history of gender and sex, an interpretation of the characters from Twelfth Night has been crafted that presents their acts of speech within a narrative context as a direct modifier of their material conditions. For this purpose, a materialist approach to history and politics has been assumed to assess the intents and purposes of the play’s narrative both in its form and from a pragmatic point of view. Additionally, Shakespeare’s historical context has been thoroughly explored in terms of gender—its conceptualization and power dynamics—and sexuality (due to its potential socio-political impact in the society of the 17th century). The results of this study support—in general—the subversive nature of Shakespearean drama as well as the fact that his characters construct their identities through performative acts that allow them to effectively achieve social mobility between different social classes thanks to the establishment of homosocial relationships.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.FIL). Inglés: estudios lingüísticos y literarios. Curso 2021/202

Relación existente del ejercicio físico y la mejora de la calidad de vida en población que ha sufrido un ictus : revisión sistemática

27 páginas.Trabajo Fin de Máster en Actividad Física y Salud. Tutor: Dr. D. Francisco José Berral de la Rosa. El ictus es una de las principales causas de muerte a nivel mundial y el ejercicio físico ha demostrado que tiene beneficios en las secuelas producidas por el ictus. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este trabajo contractar la evidencia sobre la efectividad del ejercicio físico para la mejora de la calidad de vida. Una vez realizada la correcta revisión sistemática sobre este tema podemos concluir que hay cierta evidencia que muestra la relación entre ejercicio y calidad de vida, pero todavía falta una mayor evidencia.Stroke is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and physical exercise has been shown to have benefits in the sequelae of stroke. Therefore, the aim of this work is to contract the evidence on the effectiveness of physical exercise in improving quality of life. Once the correct systematic review on this subject has been carried out, we can conclude that there is some evidence showing the relationship between exercise and quality of life, but further evidence is still lacking

Influence of some oenological practices on the aromatic and sensorial characteristics of white Verdejo wines

Changes in the aromatic composition as well as sensory characteristics in Verdejo white wines were analysed based on two factors: the winemaking methodology and the storing time of wine in bottles. The volatile components were determined by GLC-MS, and the sensory profile was designed and assessed according to the ISO 11035 standard. The results showed that when wines were made in oak barrels, either completely or partially, which means the wines were in contact with the lees, the levels of 1-octanol, ethyl heptanoate and ethyl decanoate were significantly affected (P menor que 0.05); the softness sensation was also influenced (P menor que 0.05). However, the amount of time the wines were stored in bottles significantly affected (P menor que 0.05) the levels of 1-hexanol, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate, hexyl acetate, isoamyl acetate and isoamyl lactate and also an odour note (tropical fruit). The compounds with higher OAV values belong to the groups of esters and fatty acids. For these reasons, the composition and the quality of the aroma of Verdejo white wines appear to be significantly affected both by use of oak barrels in winemaking and the time the wines are stored in bottles

Influencia de cinco técnicas enológicas en parámetros relacionados con la acidez y el color en vinos tintos de Mencía

Se ha estudiado la influencia de cinco técnicas (metodología de elaboración, tipo de recipiente de conservación y tiempo de conservación del vino en rama, temperatura de conservación y tiempo de conservación del vino embotellado) sobre parámetros fisico-químicos y descriptores sensoriales ligados a la acidez y al color en vinos tintos jóvenes de la variedad Mencía en la DO. Valdeorras (Ourense, Galicia). Los resultados muestran que los 19 parámetros estudiados son muy sensibles a las técnicas estudiadas. Tres de las cinco técnicas afectan (p<0,05) a los 19 parámetros y las otras dos (p<0,05) a diez de ellos. La maceración prefermentativa en frio y la conservación del vino en barrica aumentaron la acidez, pero la elaboración tradicional, la conservación del vino en depósito, la conservación del vino en botella durante tres meses y el empleo de una temperatura de conservación del vino embotellado baja y constante fueron más adecuadas para el color. Esto hace necesario establecer condiciones muy concretas para cada técnica según el parámetro considerado

Effect of five enological practices and of the general phenolic composition on fermentation-related aroma compounds in Mencia young red wines

The effects of five technological procedures and of the contents of total anthocyanins and condensed tan- nins on 19 fermentation-related aroma compounds of young red Mencia wines were studied. Multifactor ANOVA revealed that levels of those volatiles changed significantly over the length of storage in bottles and, to a lesser extent, due to other technological factors considered; total anthocyanins and condensed tannins also changed significantly as a result of the five practices assayed. Five aroma compounds pos- sessed an odour activity value >1 in all wines, and another four in some wines. Linear correlation among volatile compounds and general phenolic composition revealed that total anthocyanins were highly related to 14 different aroma compounds. Multifactor ANOVA, considering the content of total anthocy- anins as a sixth random factor, revealed that this parameter affected significantly the contents of ethyl lactate, ethyl isovalerate, 1-pentanol and ethyl octanoate. Thus, the aroma of young red Mencia wines may be affected by levels of total anthocyanin

Implantació i difusió de la competència sostenibilitat i compromís social en l’enginyeria de sistemes

L’objectiu d’aquest projecte és dotar al cos docent de la UPC de materials, coneixements i sensibilitat necessaris per integrar en els seus ensenyaments la competència transversal de la “Sostenibilitat i el Compromís Social”. Aquesta competència ja s’ha començat a impartir en el primer curs d’alguns dels nous Graus a la UPC, però encara queda una gran tasca per acomplir: estendre i ampliar la competència en les assignatures de cursos superiors i, sobretot, en les especialitats de 5è i 6è quadrimestre. Per cobrir aquesta mancança encara no estan en marxa la creació de materials ni la preparació del personal docent que haurà de desplegar la competència. La finalitat, doncs, del projecte és dotar de capacitat al professorat per integrar la competència de “Sostenibilitat i Compromís Social” en les assignatures de cursos superiors i especialitats. Ho hem centrat bàsicament en l’àrea de l’Enginyeria de Sistemes tot i que també volem que sigui un exemple a seguir per altres àrees. Cal remarcar que aquest projecte és la continuació d’un projecte desenvolupat pels mateixos autors per integrar la competència en els primers quatrimestres dels nous Graus.Peer Reviewe

Mechanisms of cardiovascular disorders in patients with chronic kidney disease: a process related to accelerated senescence

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), especially those involving a systemic inflammatory process such as atherosclerosis, remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD is a systemic condition affecting approximately 10% of the general population. The prevalence of CKD has increased over the past decades because of the aging of the population worldwide. Indeed, CVDs in patients with CKD constitute a premature form of CVD observed in the general population. Multiple studies indicate that patients with renal disease undergo accelerated aging, which precipitates the appearance of pathologies, including CVDs, usually associated with advanced age. In this review, we discuss several aspects that characterize CKD-associated CVDs, such as etiopathogenic elements that CKD patients share with the general population, changes in the cellular balance of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the associated process of cellular senescence. Uremiaassociated aging is linked with numerous changes at the cellular and molecular level. These changes are similar to those observed in the normal process of physiologic aging. We also discuss new perspectives in the study of CKD-associated CVDs and epigenetic alterations in intercellular signaling, mediated by microRNAs and/or extracellular vesicles (EVs), which promote vascular damage and subsequent development of CVD. Understanding the processes and factors involved in accelerated senescence and other abnormal intercellular signaling will identify new therapeutic targets and lead to improved methods of diagnosis and monitoring for patients with CKD-associated CVDs

Design and conceptual proposal of an intelligent clinical decision support system for the diagnosis of suspicious obstructive sleep apnea patients from health profile

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a chronic sleep-related pathology characterized by recurrent episodes of total or partial obstruction of the upper airways during sleep. It entails a high impact on the health and quality of life of patients, affecting more than one thousand million people worldwide, which has resulted in an important public health concern in recent years. The usual diagnosis involves performing a sleep test, cardiorespiratory polygraphy, or polysomnography, which allows characterizing the pathology and assessing its severity. However, this procedure cannot be used on a massive scale in general screening studies of the population because of its execution and implementation costs; therefore, causing an increase in waiting lists which would negatively affect the health of the affected patients. Additionally, the symptoms shown by these patients are often unspecific, as well as appealing to the general population (excessive somnolence, snoring, etc.), causing many potential cases to be referred for a sleep study when in reality are not suffering from OSA. This paper proposes a novel intelligent clinical decision support system to be applied to the diagnosis of OSA that can be used in early outpatient stages, quickly, easily, and safely, when a suspicious OSA patient attends the consultation. Starting from information related to the patient’s health profile (anthropometric data, habits, comorbidities, or medications taken), the system is capable of determining different alert levels of suffering from sleep apnea associated with different apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) levels to be studied. To that end, a series of automatic learning algorithms are deployed that, working concurrently, together with a corrective approach based on the use of an Adaptive Neuro-Based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) and a specific heuristic algorithm, allow the calculation of a series of labels associated with the different levels of AHI previously indicated. For the initial software implementation, a data set with 4600 patients from the Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital in Vigo was used. The results obtained after performing the proof tests determined ROC curves with AUC values in the range 0.8–0.9, and Matthews correlation coefficient values close to 0.6, with high success rates. This points to its potential use as a support tool for the diagnostic process, not only from the point of view of improving the quality of the services provided, but also from the best use of hospital resources and the consequent savings in terms of costs and time.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2020/03

Evaluating the impact of existing legislation in Europe with regard to Female Genital Mutilation

The Spanish Report on the evaluation of existing legislation with regard to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the result of a research project supported by the European Commision Daphne Programme. The project Evaluating the impact of existing legislation in Europe with regard to female genital mutilation, has been coordinated by the International Centre for Reproductive Health of Ghent University (Belgium) from january 2003 to march 2004. The project included as partners the Foundation for Women’s Health, Research and Development (FORWARD, United Kingdom); Lund University (Sweden); Commission pour l'Abolition des Mutilations Sexuelles, (CAMS, France), the Centre of Studies on Citizenship, Migration and Minorities of the University of Valencia (GECIM, Spain), and the above mentioned ICRH (Ghent University, Belgium) . The Spanish report is an interdisciplinary research done by the Centre of Studies on Citizenship, Migration and Minorities (University of València), directed by professor Javier De Lucas, and which counts with researchers and collaborators both, from the University of Valencia and other Universities such as University of Barcelona and University Rovira i Virgili of Tarragona; in the fields of Law (Penal Law, Constitutional Law, Theory and Philosophy of Law), Sociology and Antropology. The Group of researchers includes as well lawyers and public prosecutors. Practice of Female Genital Mutilation in Spain, like other european countries, address this rite that is introduced by immigrants from countries where the practice is prevalent (as we may see in chapter 3), as a violation of women’s rights and consider that such violation cannot be justified by respect of cultural traditions or initiation ceremonies. The increasing of immigration in Spain, has been a fact in last years, and it would be an important issue in future, increasing too the number of girls at risk in our country. In Spain, since october 2003, we have anew specific legislation, but before Female Genital Mutilation was liable too under the general offence of injuries in the Penal Code. In this Report, like in the other of the project, we have examined the possibilities and difficulties in the implementation of the spanish national legislation, in order to recommend a legislative and political strategy through Europe. page4image1440 The research methodology, common to all reports, was designed by the ICRH in its cooordination task, but was as well discussed by all the partners along the six steering commitee meetings we have had. The structure and content of report reflects the answers to following questions: 1. What is the legislation with regard to FGM in your country? Description of the legislation.; 2. What is the number of published court cases/suspected cases related to FGM in your country? What is the number of “hearsay” cases?; 3. Brief description of the practising community and the corresponding jurisdiction: number of Africans per country in the geographic area where the cases that you describe are located; 4. What is the procedure to be followed in case of a legal intervention to prevent or to penalise the performance of FGM?; 5. Is legislation applicable on FGM being implemented?; 6.What are the obstructing (favouring) factors for the implementation of legislation applicable to FGM? First of all we have compiled information about legislation applied with regard to FGM: not only general or specific criminal law, (in the case of Spain both because we have a change of law since october 2003), but also child protection procedures. In chapter 1, you may find the result: a Constitutional analysis, changes in Criminal Law, ans an introduction to Minor protection Laws. The second issue was the knowledge of court cases, police and judicial investigation in order to study how justice works. In this part, we contact key-informants, review archival records and study other reports: usually sociological, anthropological and health reports. In chapter 2 we have selected and summarized seven court cases in which we hace found enough relevant information to other parts of the report. At the same time, we need to identify the practicing communities to estimate the prevalence of women with FGM and the number of girls at risk of FGM. This was interesting not only to limit the research but to focus on a territory where there was a probability of cases in Court. We have choosen Catalonia: a community with court cases (in Barcelona and Girona) and prevalence of FGM; and Valencia, a territory without known cases and with no prevalence of FGM. This analysis is shown in chapter 3. In order to detect factors that hamper the implementation of existing legisaltion we need to know how procedures works at different levels: health services, social assistance, police, prosecution office and courts. Examining procedure laws, referral procedures, guidelines or ruled practices was not enough. We had to know what happen, who know a case, which institution examine it, which real mens they have.... To complete this, we have performe a study, interviewing key-informants with an standard interview: police, prosecutors, judges, doctors, nurses, social assistants and immigrants. Interviews were fulfilled in Valencia, Tarragona, Barcelona and Girona. Results are in Chapter 4 (procedure followed); Chapter 5 (implementation of appllicable legislation) and Chapter 6 (obstructing and favouring factors for the implementation of legislation). We had three main meetings to design the research and discuss texts and provissional results. Some of conclusions of provissional spanish report were discused in two seminars: “Ciudadania europea y conflictos culturales”, [european citizenship and cultural conflicts] (Valencia, 29, 30 and 31 october 2003); and “Violencia de género: instrumentos jurídicos en la lucha contra la discriminación de las mujeres”[Gender violence: legal instruments fighting agains women discrimination] (Valencia, 26, 27 and 28 november 2003) The study was financed by the European Commission, Daphne programme, and ran from January 2003 to March 2004 (EC-CONTRACT no 02/058/WYC). In additon, in the period we have done this study, the Centre of Studies on Citizenship, Migration and Minorities was financed with other projects related: “Indicadores y medidas para el desarrollo de políticas públicas de integración social de los inmigrantes y la garantía de sus derechos en la Comunidad Valenciana”, [indicators and measures to develop public policies for social integration of immigrants and the protection of their fundamental rights in the Land of Valencia], Project I+D “Generalitat Valenciana”; 2002-2003; "Los derechos fundamentales en las sociedades multiculturales" [fundamental rights in multicultural societies], project I+D, Subdirección General de Proyectos de Investigación, Dirección General de Investigación, Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, november 2002-october 2005; “Los derechos de participación como elemento de integración de los inmigrantes” [participation rights as a element of the integration of immigrants], II Convocatoria de Ayudas a la Investigación en Economía, Demografía y Estudios de Población y Estudios Europeos de la Fundacion BBVA; 2004-2005. We wish to thank all who have collaborated in this study, specially we remark the collaboration and contributions of Elena Gascón Sorribas (Sociology of Law Laboratory; University of Zaragoza); María Heras García (Public Prosecutor); Dolores Gisbert Millet (Doctor, Health Service, Valencia); Ignacio de Lucas (Public Prosecutor); Laura Matilla (Lawyer, city council of Cullera); Joan Mayoral Simón (Justice Evaluating the impact of existing legislation with regard to Female Genital Mutilation..Spanish National Report. Daphne Programme Department, Regional Government of Catalonia); Xavier Montagud (Social Services, Regional Government of Valencia); and Dolores Sabater Collado (Court Secretary). With the results of the five National Report analysis and the information about legislation in all European Union member States, the coordinators, Els Leye and Jessika Deblonde, have elaborated A comparative analysis of the different legal approaches in the 15 EU Member States, and the respective judicial outcomes in Belgium, France, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom (ICRH, 2004)

Design of an intelligent decision support system applied to the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), characterized by recurrent episodes of partial or total obstruction of the upper airway during sleep, is currently one of the respiratory pathologies with the highest incidence worldwide. This situation has led to an increase in the demand for medical appointments and specific diagnostic studies, resulting in long waiting lists, with all the health consequences that this entails for the affected patients. In this context, this paper proposes the design and development of a novel intelligent decision support system applied to the diagnosis of OSA, aiming to identify patients suspected of suffering from the pathology. For this purpose, two sets of heterogeneous information are considered. The first one includes objective data related to the patient’s health profile, with information usually available in electronic health records (anthropometric information, habits, diagnosed conditions and prescribed treatments). The second type includes subjective data related to the specific OSA symptomatology reported by the patient in a specific interview. For the processing of this information, a machine-learning classification algorithm and a set of fuzzy expert systems arranged in cascade are used, obtaining, as a result, two indicators related to the risk of suffering from the disease. Subsequently, by interpreting both risk indicators, it will be possible to determine the severity of the patients’ condition and to generate alerts. For the initial tests, a software artifact was built using a dataset with 4400 patients from the Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital (Vigo, Galicia, Spain). The preliminary results obtained are promising and demonstrate the potential usefulness of this type of tool in the diagnosis of OSA.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2020/03