Joan Mañé: la nació i l'Estat des de la premsa

La biografia esdevé un element imprescindible per entendre un temps, una societat i una manera de ser. La de Joan Mañé i Flaquer ens ajuda a cercar aquests elements en la relació i el lloc que va ocupar Catalunya dins de l’Espanya liberal. Però també és la relectura dels mitjans de comunicació com a element de difusió ideològica de primer ordre i de com es va començar a constituir en una empresa de caràcter capitalista, en un moment en què el debat polític comença a sortir dels reduïts cenacles d’una petita minoria de persones.The biography becomes an indispensable element in order to understand a time, a society and a way of being. That of Joan Mañé i Flaquer helps us to find these elements in the relationship and the position taken by Catalonia in liberal Spain. But it is also a new reading of the media as an element of ideological diffusion of the first order and how it came to transform itself into a capitalist style business, at a time when political debate was starting to spread from the previously limited circles of a small minority

Influence of temperature on high molecular weight poly(lactic acid) stereocomplex formation

The influence of temperature on the formation of high molecular weight poly(lactic acid) (PLA) stereocomplex was studied by evaluation of the precipitates from dioxane solutions of PLA enantiomers (PLLA and PDLA). The racemic mixtures were characterized by Gel Permeation Chromatography, Infrared Spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Scanning Electronic Microscopy, Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering and Vicat Softening Temperature. Precipitation was carried out under different solution temperatures, keeping constant the mixing ratio (XD), the molecular weight, the optical purity of both PLA enantiomers and the stirring rate. It was found that the precipitates contained only pure stereocomplex crystallites (racemic crystallites), without observing crystal phase separation between both homocrystals. The kinetics of the insoluble phase formation could be adjusted with the Avrami model, classically used for polymer crystallization in molten state. It was observed that the maximum PLA stereocomplex production rate was at about 40°C. However, more thermally stable racemic crystallites were formed at high solution temperatures. It was found that all the precipitates were sphere-like at 10 g·dl–1 at the solution temperature of 25, 40, 60 and 80°CPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Plantes transgèniques en recerca

El conjunt d'aproximacions presentades en aquest article il·lustra alguns dels usos més habituals de les plantes transgèniques en la recerca, que han permès, i encara permeten, respondre moltes preguntes genuïnes de gran interès biològic difícilment resolubles per altres aproximacions. Per això es pot afirmar que les plantes transgèniques han revolucionat la recerca bàsica i aplicada en el camp de la biologia vegetal. La seua utilització ens està ajudant a entendre millor com uns organismes tan fascinants i plàstics com les plantes es formen i, en interaccionar amb el medi, responen alterant la seua forma o fisiologia. Encara ens queda molt per conèixer, i l'ús de plantes transgèniques en la nostra recerca encara té molt a dir. Esbrinar més o menys depèn, en gran mesura, de la imaginació dels investigadors.The different strategies summarized in the manuscript illustrate some of the most common uses of transgenic plants in research. They have allowed answering several questions of great biological importance that cannot be easily addressed by other approaches. For that reason it is probably correct to state that transgenic plants have revolutionized basic and applied research in plant biology. Its utilization is helping us to better understand how these fascinating and plastic organisms are formed and, when interacting with the environment, responding by changing their form and/or physiology. We still have a lot to learn, and usage of transgenic plants in our research still has a lot to give. To discover more or less depends, partially, on the imagination of researchers

Euphorbia duvalii Lecoq & Lamotte en la península ibérica

Euphorbia duvalii Lecoq & Lamotte is an endemic species from the Catalan-Occitan territory -western Mediterranean area- and is usually found in the south of France. Euphorbia duvalii has been cited from some localities of the Iberian Peninsula, but in later reviews all of these citations were finally identified as other species of Euphorbia L. One of these citations, from the Alt Empordà -Girona, Spain-, was of specific interest because not all the sources agreed on what the species was. To clarify whether or not this species is really present in the Iberian Peninsula, we examined new material from this population in order to establish whether the species is in fact E. duvalii. Once the morphology of the specimens from the Serra de Bac Grillera population had been analysed, we were able to confirm that they were indeed E. duvalii. This means that this is the only area on the Iberian Peninsula where this endemic species has been identified. The population is located in a rocky meadow that contains some scrub and is surrounded by pinewoods. Because this is the one and only Iberian population, a management and conservation plan needs to be drawn up to ensure its preservation.Euphorbia duvalii Lecoq & Lamotte es una especie endémica del territorio catalano-occitano -área mediterránea occidental- que puede ser hallada normalmente en el sur de Francia. Euphorbia duvalii ha sido citada de algunas localidades de la Península Ibérica, pero en revisiones posteriores todas las citas se identificaron finalmente como otras especies de Euphorbia L. Una de estas citas, la del Alt Empordà -Gerona, España-, era muy interesante, ya que no todas las fuentes estaban de acuerdo a qué especie correspondía. Para clarificar si esta especie se encuentra en la Península Ibérica, examinamos material nuevo de esta localidad para determinar si la especie era de hecho E. duvalii. Tras el análisis de la morfología de los especímenes de la población de la sierra de Bac Grillera, fuimos capaces de confirmar que se trataba de E. duvalii. Esto significa que ésta es la única área en la península ibérica donde esta especie endémica ha sido identificada. La población se encuentra en un prado rocoso con algunos matorrales y rodeado de pinares. Ya que ésta es la única población ibérica, es necesario un plan de gestión y conservación de esta especie para su preservación