Feminist stereotypes and women's roles in Spanish radio ads

This article takes a quantitative approach to Spanish radio advertising and the stereotypes and female roles that it broadcasts in a medium that has traditionally had high female audience rates in our country. From content analysis of 679 radio ads extracted from the 3 main general Spanish radio stations and collected 10 years apart, the study attempts to show the evolution (or regression) of how radio advertising portrays women. The radio in Spain has always been a medium anchored in the real world that has also provided some degree of space to broadcast social movement. #MeToo, as a phenomenon promoting female empowerment, was no exception. Therefore, this longitudinal study aims to demonstrate whether the social movements that led to increased female activism have been reflected in a change of roles and stereotypes projected by radio advertising messages. The work presented here looks at the concept of role from a dual perspective: firstly, it focuses on the role played by female voices in radio advertising items. Secondly, it works on the concept of role by assimilating it into the female image projected in radio advertising items. The results obtained between the two samples are remarkably similar, demonstrating a clear tendency to polarise the female image and confirming that women are still being portrayed in significantly traditional roles

The sound of responsibility : evolution of the use of radio advertising as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication channel before and after Covid-19. A significant increase

Radio is an audio communication medium that has always stood out for its credibility and close relationship to its audience, which makes it an appealing option for organizations that want to make their responsible behavior known. The Covid-19 pandemic has created a new landscape in which the strategic role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the company has been strengthened and in which advertising messages are proving to be an interesting way of disseminating organizations' responsible actions. Based on the quantitative content analysis of 562 radio advertisements taken from the three principal mainstream Spanish radio broadcasters and collected 2 years apart (2019 and 2021), this study seeks to find out whether the Covid-19 health crisis has led to changes in the use of radio advertising as a vehicle for communicating organizations' CSR. To this end, the variables analyzed were the presence of CSR elements, advertiser, economic sector, CSR dimensions, beneficiary stakeholders, and communication area. The results show, among other data, that the communication of CSR through radio advertising has experienced significant growth after overcoming the worst moments of the pandemic. This growth indicates that companies are increasingly sensitive to issues related to CSR and that radio advertising has provided them with a way to publicize their socially responsible actions. It seems that corporations understand that credibility, trust, and a not inconsiderable penetration rate encourage the circulation of their CSR campaigns through the medium of radio.La radio es un medio de comunicación sonoro que siempre ha destacado por su credibilidad y cercanía con la audiencia, lo que la convierte en una interesante opción para las organizaciones que quieren dar a conocer sus actuaciones responsables. La pandemia de la Covid-19 ha generado un nuevo escenario en el que la responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC) ha visto reforzado su papel estratégico en la empresa y en el que los mensajes publicitarios se muestran como interesantes vías de divulgación de las acciones responsables de las organizaciones. A partir del análisis de contenido cuantitativo de 562 anuncios radiofónicos extraídos de las 3 principales emisoras de radio generalistas españolas y recogidos con 2 años de diferencia (2019 y 2021), el estudio trata de averiguar si la crisis sanitaria de la Covid-19 ha comportado cambios en el uso de la publicidad radiofónica como vehículo para comunicar la RSC de las organizaciones. Para ello, las variables analizadas han sido: presencia de elementos de RSC, anunciante, sector económico, dimensiones de la RSC, stakeholders beneficiarios y área de comunicación. Los resultados muestran, entre otros datos, que la comunicación de la RSC a través de la publicidad radiofónica ha experimentado un crecimiento significativo tras superar los peores momentos de la pandemia. Este incremento indica que las empresas son cada vez más sensibles con las cuestiones relacionadas con la RSC y que encuentran en la publicidad radiofónica una vía para difundir sus acciones socialmente responsables. Parece que las corporaciones han comprendido que credibilidad, confianza y un índice de penetración nada despreciable favorecen la transmisión de sus campañas de RSC en el medio radio

Substrate-controlled Michael additions of titanium enolates from chiral α-benzyloxy ketones to conjugated nitroalkenes

Lewis acid-mediated substrate-controlled reactions of the titanium(IV) enolates of chiral a-benzyloxy ketones with conjugated nitroalkenes give the 2,4-anti-4,5-syn Michael adducts in good yields and diastereomeric ratios. The supplementary Lewis acid plays a key role in the outcome of these transformations, probably as a consequence of the formation of bimetallic enolates that increase the reactivity of the enolate and direct the approach of the nitroalkene. Importantly, the most appropriate Lewis acid depends on the electrophilic partner: TiCl4 is the most suitable Lewis acid for b-aryl nitroalkenes while the best results for b-alkyl nitroalkenes are obtained with SnCl4. Finally, the nitro group of the resultant compounds can be converted into the corresponding amino, oxime, and nitrile groups under mild conditions, which permits the synthesis of a variety of enantiomerically pure derivatives with excellent yields

Visualizing the Template of a Chaotic Attractor

Chaotic attractors are solutions of deterministic processes, of which the topology can be described by templates. We consider templates of chaotic attractors bounded by a genus-1 torus described by a linking matrix. This article introduces a novel and unique tool to validate a linking matrix, to optimize the compactness of the corresponding template and to draw this template. The article provides a detailed description of the different validation steps and the extraction of an order of crossings from the linking matrix leading to a template of minimal height. Finally, the drawing process of the template corresponding to the matrix is saved in a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file.Comment: Appears in the Proceedings of the 26th International Symposium on Graph Drawing and Network Visualization (GD 2018

A word of caution: do not wake sleeping dogs; micrometastases of melanoma suddenly grew after progesterone treatment

Background: Hormonal treatment might affect the immune response to tumor antigens induced in cancer patients who are being vaccinated. Case presentation: A 33 years-old woman was diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma in May 2009. Her melanoma was located in the intermammary sulcus, had a Breslow thickness of 4 mm, a Clark’s level IV, it was ulcerated and highly melanotic. The bilateral sentinel node biopsy was negative. She entered into a randomized Phase II/III clinical study comparing a vaccine composed of irradiated melanoma cells plus BCG plus GM-CSF versus IFN-alpha 2b and she was assigned to the vaccine arm. During the two years treatment she remained disease-free; the final CAT scan being performed in August 2011. Between November and December 2011, her gynecologist treated her with three cycles of 200 mg progesterone/day for ten days, every two weeks, for ovary dysfunction. In November 2011 the patient returned to the Hospital for clinical and imaging evaluation and no evidence of disease was found. At the next visit in March 2012 an ultrasound revealed multiple, large metastases in the liver. A CAT scan confirmed the presence of liver, adrenal glands and spleen metastases. A needle biopsy of a liver lesion revealed metastatic melanoma of similar characteristics to the original tumor. We suggest that progesterone treatment triggered proliferation of so far dormant micrometastases that were controlled during CSF470 vaccine treatment. Conclusion: The use of progesterone in patients with melanoma that are under immunological treatments should be carefully considered, since progesterone could modify the balance of pro-inflammatory and Th1 functions to a regulatory and anti-inflammatory profile of the immune system that could have an impact in tumor progression.Fil: Mordoh, Jose. Fundacion Cancer. Centro de Investigaciones Oncologicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Tapia, Ivana Jaqueline. Fundacion Cancer. Centro de Investigaciones Oncologicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Barrio, Maria Marcela. Fundacion Cancer. Centro de Investigaciones Oncologicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Iberian cured-ham consumption improves endothelial function in healthy subjects

Objectives: Previous studies have shown that dietary components such as oleic acid or polyphenols exert beneficial effects on endothelium. We aimed to assess the impact of regular consumption of Iberian cured-ham (ICH) on endothelial function. Design: An open-label, randomized controlled parallel study. Setting: Volunteers recruited through advertisements at a hospital in Madrid, Spain. Participants: 102 Caucasian adults (76.8% females) aged 25-55 years, and free from cardiometabolic disease. Intervention: Participants were randomized to an ICH-enriched ad libitum diet or an ad libitum diet without ICH for 6 weeks. Subjects in ICH group were randomly provided with either acorn- or mixed-fed ICH, and followed up for an additional 6-week period under their usual diet. Measurements: Clinical parameters, biomarkers of endothelial function and oxidative stress, microvascular vasodilatory response to hyperemia and arterial stiffness were measured before and after the intervention. Results: After 6 weeks, a larger decrease in PAI-1 was observed in subjects consuming ICH compared to the Control group (-6.2±17.7 vs. 0.3±1.4 ng/ml; p=0.020). Similarly, microvascular vasodilatory response to hyperemia showed a significant increase (112.4±391.7 vs. -56.0±327.9%; p=0.007). However, neither oxidative stress, hemodynamic nor clinical parameters differed significantly over the study. Additionally, after stopping ICH consumption, improvements in PAI-1 remained for 6 additional weeks with respect to baseline (p=0.006). Conclusion: The present study demonstrates, for the first time, that regular consumption of ICH improves endothelial function in healthy adults. Strategies aimed to preserve or improve the endothelial function may have implications in vascular aging beyond the prevention of the atherothrombotic disease

Uso del podcast corporativo como herramienta de comunicación de los ODS en las principales entidades financieras españolas

Introducción: La RSC se erige como el mecanismo a través del cual las organizaciones integran los ODS en sus estrategias corporativas. Por otra parte, la comunicación de las iniciativas de responsabilidad y compromiso con la ciudadanía representan un factor importante en la consecución de la legitimidad social de la empresa. Además, las herramientas de comunicación digital, entre las que se encuentra el podcast corporativo, se presentan como potentes aliadas para difundir un mensaje de marca corporativa alineada con la sostenibilidad, el compromiso y la responsabilidad social. Por todo ello, el objetivo principal de este artículo es analizar el uso que hace el sector bancario del podcast corporativo como herramienta para comunicar contenido relacionado con los ODS. Metodología: Se ha realizado un análisis de contenido de los titulares y textos explicativos de las entregas de podcast emitidas por las entidades financieras de mayor envergadura en España durante el año 2022. Resultados: El 36,1% de los podcasts analizados aborda los ODS, concretamente se ha obtenido una representación de 12 de los 17 ODS marcados por las Naciones Unidas. Discusión: Los resultados muestran un uso significativo del podcast corporativo como herramienta de comunicación de los ODS, lo cual va en línea con la creciente apuesta de las empresas por una comunicación más comprometida vinculada a la RSC. Conclusiones: Esta investigación supone un paso más en el conocimiento del uso que hacen las organizaciones de las posibilidades comunicativas que proporcionan las plataformas digitales, en concreto el podcast, para comunicar temas relacionados con la RSC.Introduction: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the mechanism through which organizations integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their corporate strategies. On the other hand, the communication of responsibility and commitment initiatives with citizens is an important factor in achieving social legitimacy for the company. Moreover, digital communication tools, including corporate podcast, are powerful allies for disseminating a corporate brand message aligned with sustainability, commitment and social responsibility. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to analyze how the banking sector uses corporate podcast as a tool for communicating content related to the SDGs. Methodology: A content analysis of the headlines and explanatory texts of the podcast deliveries issued by the largest financial institutions in Spain during the year 2022 was carried out. Results: 36.1% of the podcasts analyzed address the SDGs, with 12 of the 17 SDGs set by the United Nations being represented. Discussion: The results show a significant use of corporate podcasts as a SDGs communication tool, which is consistent with companies' growing commitment to a more engaged communication linked to CSR. Conclusions: This research represents a further step in understanding how organizations use the communicative possibilities provided by digital platforms, specifically podcasts, to communicate CSR-related issues

Probability distributed time delays: integrating spatial effects into temporal models

Background: In order to provide insights into the complex biochemical processes inside a cell, modelling approaches must find a balance between achieving an adequate representation of the physical phenomena and keeping the associated computational cost within reasonable limits. This issue is particularly stressed when spatial inhomogeneities have a significant effect on system's behaviour. In such cases, a spatially-resolved stochastic method can better portray the biological reality, but the corresponding computer simulations can in turn be prohibitively expensive.Results: We present a method that incorporates spatial information by means of tailored, probability distributed time-delays. These distributions can be directly obtained by single in silico or a suitable set of in vitro experiments and are subsequently fed into a delay stochastic simulation algorithm (DSSA), achieving a good compromise between computational costs and a much more accurate representation of spatial processes such as molecular diffusion and translocation between cell compartments. Additionally, we present a novel alternative approach based on delay differential equations (DDE) that can be used in scenarios of high molecular concentrations and low noise propagation.Conclusions: Our proposed methodologies accurately capture and incorporate certain spatial processes into temporal stochastic and deterministic simulations, increasing their accuracy at low computational costs. This is of particular importance given that time spans of cellular processes are generally larger (possibly by several orders of magnitude) than those achievable by current spatially-resolved stochastic simulators. Hence, our methodology allows users to explore cellular scenarios under the effects of diffusion and stochasticity in time spans that were, until now, simply unfeasible. Our methodologies are supported by theoretical considerations on the different modelling regimes, i.e. spatial vs. delay-temporal, as indicated by the corresponding Master Equations and presented elsewhere

Knockout of the dhfr-ts Gene in Trypanosoma cruzi Generates Attenuated Parasites Able to Confer Protection against a Virulent Challenge

Chagas disease is the clinical manifestation of the infection produced by the flagellate parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and currently there is no vaccine to prevent this disease. Therefore, different approaches or alternatives are urgently needed. Vaccination with live attenuated parasites has been used effectively in mice to reduce parasitemia and histological damage. However, the use of live parasites as inmunogens is controversial due to the risk of reversion to a virulent phenotype. In this work we genetically manipulated a naturally attenuated strain of T. cruzi in order to produce parasites with impaired replication and infectivity, using the mutation as a safety device against reversion to virulence. We show that genetically modified parasites display a lower proliferation rate in vitro and induced almost undetectable levels of T. cruzi specific CD8+ T cells when injected in mice. Furthermore, the immune response induced by these live mutant parasites confers protection against a subsequent virulent infection even a year after the original immunization

Foundations of Black Hole Accretion Disk Theory

This review covers the main aspects of black hole accretion disk theory. We begin with the view that one of the main goals of the theory is to better understand the nature of black holes themselves. In this light we discuss how accretion disks might reveal some of the unique signatures of strong gravity: the event horizon, the innermost stable circular orbit, and the ergosphere. We then review, from a first-principles perspective, the physical processes at play in accretion disks. This leads us to the four primary accretion disk models that we review: Polish doughnuts (thick disks), Shakura-Sunyaev (thin) disks, slim disks, and advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs). After presenting the models we discuss issues of stability, oscillations, and jets. Following our review of the analytic work, we take a parallel approach in reviewing numerical studies of black hole accretion disks. We finish with a few select applications that highlight particular astrophysical applications: measurements of black hole mass and spin, black hole vs. neutron star accretion disks, black hole accretion disk spectral states, and quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs).Comment: 91 pages, 23 figures, final published version available at http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2013-