Teaching beyond corporate social responsibility: The Social Action Strategies course in the Advertising and Public Relations Degree at Pompeu Fabra University

En aquest article examinem els marcs europeus i espanyols per al desenvolupament de competències d'orientació social, així com la composició curricular dels graus de publicitat i relacions públiques de les universitats catalanes en relació amb assignatures orientades a sectors no lucratius. Explorem la necessitat d'establir dins del grau continguts que vagin més enllà de la responsabilitat social corporativa, particularment per fer front a necessitats socials fora de les lògiques de mercat, i requerides pel tercer sector social. Exposem com la comunicació participativa per al desenvolupament i la comunicació per al canvi social poden compondre el contingut disciplinari de la comunicació per a l'interès públic dins del grau en publicitat i relacions públiques, basant-nos en tres anys de desenvolupament, investigació i innovació docent en l'assignatura d'estratègies d'acció social de la Universitat Pompeu Fabra.In this paper we examine the European and Spanish frameworks for socially-oriented higher education competences, as well as the curricular composition of the Advertising and Public Relations (APR) degrees in Catalan universities regarding socially-oriented communication. We explore the need to establish contents within the degree which go beyond corporate social responsibility, particularly to address needs within the social third sector. We explore how participatory development communication and communication for social change can compose the core content of communication in the public interest within the APR Degree, based on three years of curricular innovation, research and development within the Social Action Strategies course taught in the APR Degree at Pompeu Fabra University

Spatialité et portée politique d’une mise en scène

Lors de l’hiver 2006, l’association Les Enfants de Don Quichotte installe un campement de tentes sur les berges du canal Saint-Martin, à Paris. Il s’agit alors de susciter le débat public au sujet de la situation des SDF, question qui semble confinée dans l’angle mort tant du point de vue des politiques publiques, que de celui des usages ordinaires constitutifs des espaces publics. L’originalité de l’action entreprise tient dans sa mise en scène, qui est structurée par un scénario, c’est-à-dire une mise en récit opérée dans et par l’espace.During the winter of 2006, the organization Les Enfants de Don Quichotte installed a tent camp on the banks of the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris. The objective was to draw attention to the situation of the homeless which until then had remained invisible in public spaces and were neglected by public policies. This action generated an intense public debate. Our purpose is to focus on the originality of the action which lied in the way it was staged, structured by a script, set in a spatial narrative

Discovery and Validation of a New Class of Small Molecule Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR4) Inhibitors

Many inflammatory diseases may be linked to pathologically elevated signaling via the receptor for lipopolysaccharide (LPS), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). There has thus been great interest in the discovery of TLR4 inhibitors as potential anti-inflammatory agents. Recently, the structure of TLR4 bound to the inhibitor E5564 was solved, raising the possibility that novel TLR4 inhibitors that target the E5564-binding domain could be designed. We utilized a similarity search algorithm in conjunction with a limited screening approach of small molecule libraries to identify compounds that bind to the E5564 site and inhibit TLR4. Our lead compound, C34, is a 2-acetamidopyranoside (MW 389) with the formula C17H27NO9, which inhibited TLR4 in enterocytes and macrophages in vitro, and reduced systemic inflammation in mouse models of endotoxemia and necrotizing enterocolitis. Molecular docking of C34 to the hydrophobic internal pocket of the TLR4 co-receptor MD-2 demonstrated a tight fit, embedding the pyran ring deep inside the pocket. Strikingly, C34 inhibited LPS signaling ex-vivo in human ileum that was resected from infants with necrotizing enterocolitis. These findings identify C34 and the β-anomeric cyclohexyl analog C35 as novel leads for small molecule TLR4 inhibitors that have potential therapeutic benefit for TLR4-mediated inflammatory diseases. © 2013 Neal et al

Top-down and bottom-up modulation in processing bimodal face/voice stimuli

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Processing of multimodal information is a critical capacity of the human brain, with classic studies showing bimodal stimulation either facilitating or interfering in perceptual processing. Comparing activity to congruent and incongruent bimodal stimuli can reveal sensory dominance in particular cognitive tasks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We investigated audiovisual interactions driven by stimulus properties (bottom-up influences) or by task (top-down influences) on congruent and incongruent simultaneously presented faces and voices while ERPs were recorded. Subjects performed gender categorisation, directing attention either to faces or to voices and also judged whether the face/voice stimuli were congruent in terms of gender. Behaviourally, the unattended modality affected processing in the attended modality: the disruption was greater for attended voices. ERPs revealed top-down modulations of early brain processing (30-100 ms) over unisensory cortices. No effects were found on N170 or VPP, but from 180-230 ms larger right frontal activity was seen for incongruent than congruent stimuli.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data demonstrates that in a gender categorisation task the processing of faces dominate over the processing of voices. Brain activity showed different modulation by top-down and bottom-up information. Top-down influences modulated early brain activity whereas bottom-up interactions occurred relatively late.</p

Discrete approaches to quantum gravity in four dimensions

The construction of a consistent theory of quantum gravity is a problem in theoretical physics that has so far defied all attempts at resolution. One ansatz to try to obtain a non-trivial quantum theory proceeds via a discretization of space-time and the Einstein action. I review here three major areas of research: gauge-theoretic approaches, both in a path-integral and a Hamiltonian formulation, quantum Regge calculus, and the method of dynamical triangulations, confining attention to work that is strictly four-dimensional, strictly discrete, and strictly quantum in nature.Comment: 33 pages, invited contribution to Living Reviews in Relativity; the author welcomes any comments and suggestion

Self-Reported Health Status in Primary Health Care: The Influence of Immigration and Other Associated Factors

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study are to compare self-reported health status between Spanish-born and Latin American-born Spanish residents, adjusted by length of residence in the host country; and additionally, to analyse sociodemographic and psychosocial variables associated with a better health status. DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional population based study of Latin American-born (n = 691) and Spanish-born (n = 903) in 15 urban primary health care centres in Madrid (Spain), carried out between 2007 and 2009. The participants provided information, through an interview, about self-reported health status, socioeconomic characteristics, psychosocial factors and migration conditions. Descriptive and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The Spanish-born participants reported a better health status than the Latin America-born participants (79.8% versus 69.3%, p<0.001). Different patterns of self-reported health status were observed depending on the length of residence in the host country. The proportion of immigrants with a better health status is greater in those who have been in Spain for less than five years compared to those who have stayed longer. Better health status is significantly associated with being men, under 34 years old, being Spanish-born, having a monthly incomes of over 1000 euros, and having considerable social support and low stress. CONCLUSIONS: Better self-reported health status is associated with being Spanish-born, men, under 34 years old, having an uppermiddle-socioeconomic status, adequate social support, and low stress. Additionally, length of residence in the host country is seen as a related factor in the self-reported health status of immigrants

Recurrent dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 through the Uruguayan–Brazilian border

Uruguay is one of the few countries in the Americas that successfully contained the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) epidemic during the first half of 2020. Nevertheless, the intensive human mobility across the dry border with Brazil is a major challenge for public health authorities. We aimed to investigate the origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains detected in Uruguayan localities bordering Brazil as well as to measure the viral flux across this ∼1,100 km uninterrupted dry frontier. Using complete SARS-CoV-2 genomes from the Uruguayan–Brazilian bordering region and phylogeographic analyses, we inferred the virus dissemination frequency between Brazil and Uruguay and characterized local outbreak dynamics during the first months (May–July) of the pandemic. Phylogenetic analyses revealed multiple introductions of SARS-CoV-2 Brazilian lineages B.1.1.28 and B.1.1.33 into Uruguayan localities at the bordering region. The most probable sources of viral strains introduced to Uruguay were the Southeast Brazilian region and the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Some of the viral strains introduced in Uruguayan border localities between early May and mid-July were able to locally spread and originated the first outbreaks detected outside the metropolitan region. The viral lineages responsible for Uruguayan urban outbreaks were defined by a set of between four and 11 mutations (synonymous and non-synonymous) with respect to the ancestral B.1.1.28 and B.1.1.33 viruses that arose in Brazil, supporting the notion of a rapid genetic differentiation between SARS-CoV-2 subpopulations spreading in South America. Although Uruguayan borders have remained essentially closed to non-Uruguayan citizens, the inevitable flow of people across the dry border with Brazil allowed the repeated entry of the virus into Uruguay and the subsequent emergence of local outbreaks in Uruguayan border localities. Implementation of coordinated bi-national surveillance systems is crucial to achieve an efficient control of the SARS-CoV-2 spread across this kind of highly permeable borderland regions around the world

Inequities in maternal postnatal visits among public and private patients: 2004 Pelotas cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The postnatal period is the ideal time to deliver interventions to improve the health of both the newborn and the mother. However, postnatal care shows low-level coverage in a large number of countries. The objectives of this study were to: 1) investigate inequities in maternal postnatal visits, 2) examine differences in postnatal care coverage between public and private providers and 3) explore the relationship between the absence of maternal postnatal visits and exclusive breastfeeding, use of contraceptive methods and maternal smoking three months after birth.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the calendar year of 2004 a birth cohort study was started in the city of Pelotas, Brazil. Mothers were interviewed soon after delivery and at three months after birth. The absence of postnatal visits was defined as having no consultations between the time of hospital discharge and the third month post-partum. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between absence of postnatal visits and type of insurance scheme adjusting for potential confounding factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Poorer women, black/mixed, those with lower level of education, single mothers, adolescents, multiparae, smokers, women who delivered vaginally and those who were not assisted by a physician were less likely to attend postnatal care. Postnatal visits were also less frequent among women who relied in the public sector than among private patients (72.4% vs 96% among public and private patients, respectively, <it>x</it>²p < 0.001) and this difference was not explained either by maternal characteristics or by health care utilization patterns. Women who attended postnatal visits were more likely to exclusively breastfeed their infants, to use contraceptive methods and to be non-smokers three months after birth.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Postpartum care is available for every woman free of charge in the Brazilian Publicly-funded health care system. However, low levels of postpartum care were seen in the study (77%). Efforts should be made to increase the percentage of women receiving postpartum care, particularly those in socially disadvantaged groups. This could include locally-adapted health education interventions that address women's beliefs and attitudes towards postpartum care. There is a need to monitor postpartum care and collected data should be used to guide policies for health care systems.</p

Transcriptomic comparison of the retina in two mouse models of diabetes

Mouse models of type I diabetes offer the potential to combine genetic approaches with other pharmacological or physiological manipulations to investigate the pathophysiology and treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Type I diabetes is induced in mice through chemical toxins or can arise spontaneously from genetic mutations. Both models are associated with retinal vascular and neuronal changes. Retinal transcriptomic responses in C57BL/6J mice treated with streptozotocin and Ins2Akita/+ were compared after 3 months of hyperglycemia. Specific gene expression changes suggest a neurovascular inflammatory response in diabetic retinopathy. Genes common to the two models may represent the response of the retina to hyperglycemia, while changes unique to each model may represent time-dependent disease progression differences in the various models. Further investigation of the commonalities and differences between mouse models of type I diabetes may define cause and effect events in early diabetic retinopathy disease progression

Role of the Lateral Paragigantocellular Nucleus in the Network of Paradoxical (REM) Sleep: An Electrophysiological and Anatomical Study in the Rat

The lateral paragigantocellular nucleus (LPGi) is located in the ventrolateral medulla and is known as a sympathoexcitatory area involved in the control of blood pressure. In recent experiments, we showed that the LPGi contains a large number of neurons activated during PS hypersomnia following a selective deprivation. Among these neurons, more than two-thirds are GABAergic and more than one fourth send efferent fibers to the wake-active locus coeruleus nucleus. To get more insight into the role of the LPGi in PS regulation, we combined an electrophysiological and anatomical approach in the rat, using extracellular recordings in the head-restrained model and injections of tracers followed by the immunohistochemical detection of Fos in control, PS-deprived and PS-recovery animals. With the head-restrained preparation, we showed that the LPGi contains neurons specifically active during PS (PS-On neurons), neurons inactive during PS (PS-Off neurons) and neurons indifferent to the sleep-waking cycle. After injection of CTb in the facial nucleus, the neurons of which are hyperpolarized during PS, the largest population of Fos/CTb neurons visualized in the medulla in the PS-recovery condition was observed in the LPGi. After injection of CTb in the LPGi itself and PS-recovery, the nucleus containing the highest number of Fos/CTb neurons, moreover bilaterally, was the sublaterodorsal nucleus (SLD). The SLD is known as the pontine executive PS area and triggers PS through glutamatergic neurons. We propose that, during PS, the LPGi is strongly excited by the SLD and hyperpolarizes the motoneurons of the facial nucleus in addition to local and locus coeruleus PS-Off neurons, and by this means contributes to PS genesis