Confessional Autobiography in the 16th and 17th Centuries: An Approach

[Resumen] En el siguiente artículo se analizan las autobiografías confesionales de los siglos XVI y XVII, específicamente las de Alonso de Orozco, Pedro de Ribadeneira y Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. Estos autobiógrafos vinculan sus textos desde el principio con las Confesiones de San Agustín; sin embargo, conforme uno va leyendo las obras, se evidencian las relaciones con la hagiografía medieval y las vidas de santos. En una línea algo diferente que la de las autobiografías conventuales escritas por monjas, estos autobiógrafos poseen una intención de autorreivindicación y de crear una imagen de santidad de sí mismos. Asimismo, esto lleva a discutir el hibridismo entre tradiciones en un subgénero como el de la autobiografía confesional, apenas estudiado por parte de la crítica.[Abstract] The following article analyses the confessional autobiographies of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, specifically those of Alonso de Orozco, Pedro de Ribadeneira and Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. These autobiographers link their texts from the beginning to the Confessions of St. Augustine; however, as one reads the works, the relation with medieval hagiography and the lives of saints become evident. In a somewhat different vein than convent autobiographies written by nuns, these autobiographers possess an intention of self-vindication and of creating an image of sanctity for themselves. This also leads to a discussion about the hybridism between traditions in a sub-genre such as the confessional autobiography, which has hardly been studied by the specialists

SÍMIL Y ALEGORÍA EN ANTAGONÍA, DE LUIS GOYTISOLO: UN ANÁLISIS DESDE LA TEORÍA DE LA RELEVANCIA

El principal objetivo de este artículo consiste en aportar nuevas perspectivas teóricas y metodológicas para el estudio del símil, el símil extendido y la alegoría con la teoría de la relevancia como principal instrumento. En segundo lugar, este marco teórico se aplica al análisis del símil extendido en Antagonía, de Luis Goytisolo. Se considera que su amplia presencia es un reflejo de una de las características principales de la novela: la escritura es siempre un intento —condenado al fracaso— de ordenar el mundo caótico en el que viven los personajes

El imaginario lingüístico de los artículos de opinión de Arturo Pérez Reverte

The main goal of this paper is the analysis of the language ideologies that Arturo Pérez Reverte supports in the opinion pieces that he publishes weekly in XL Semanal. From his position of discursive privilege, the writer and academician endorses a panhispanic perspective that is ambiguously linked to Spanish Nationalism. From this point of view, Spanish is at the same time a meeting point for a large group of people in a postnational context and a dominant lengua común among the languages spoken in Spain. Regarding linguistic change, Pérez Reverte supports with violence the authority of the Real Academia Española and denies legitimacy to other possibilities of change, which are presented as linked with ephemeral political interests.

High body adiposity drives glucose intolerance and increases cardiovascular risk in normoglycemic subjects

Objective: We aimed to assess the utility of the 2 - hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) value to discriminate between different cardiometabolic profiles and examine the role of body composition to predict the associated increased risk for glucose impairment, beta cell dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. Methods: Subjects with normal fasting glucose (NFG) completed a 2 - h OGTT and were categorized to the carbohydrate metabolism alterations (CMA) or contro l group based upon a 2 - h glucose threshold of 7.8 mmol l - 1 . Body composition, visceral adipose tissue, OGTT - based parameters and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, obstructive sleep apnea, non - alcoholic fatty liver disea se and smoking status, were measured. Results: Subjects with CMA exhibited a significantly higher 1 - h postload glucose, greater decline in beta cell function and CVRF profile. After multivariate adjustment, excess of total body and visceral fat was associ ated with an increased risk of CMA, - cell dysfunction, CVRF and a lower whole - body insulin sensitivity. Conclusions: These data support the ethiopathogenic role of body and visceral fat in the development of glucose derangements and CVRF early on in the metabolic dysregulation process. Thus, body composition analysis and OGTT assessment performed in individuals with NFG enables a better identification of patients at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease

Mitochondria-related transcriptional signature is downregulated in adipocytes in obesity : a study of young healthy MZ twins

Low mitochondrial activity in adipose tissue is suggested to be an underlying factor in obesity and its metabolic complications. We aimed to find out whether mitochondrial measures are downregulated in obesity also in isolated adipocytes. We studied young adult monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs discordant (n = 14, intrapair difference Delta BMI ae 3 kg/m(2)) and concordant (n = 5, Delta BMI <3 kg/m(2)) for BMI, identified from ten birth cohorts of 22- to 36-year-old Finnish twins. Abdominal body fat distribution (MRI), liver fat content (magnetic resonance spectroscopy), insulin sensitivity (OGTT), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, serum lipids and adipokines were measured. Subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue biopsies were obtained to analyse the transcriptomics patterns of the isolated adipocytes as well as of the whole adipose tissue. Mitochondrial DNA transcript levels in adipocytes were measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Western blots of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) protein levels in adipocytes were performed in obese and lean unrelated individuals. The heavier (BMI 29.9 +/- 1.0 kg/m(2)) co-twins of the discordant twin pairs had more subcutaneous, intra-abdominal and liver fat and were more insulin resistant (p <0.01 for all measures) than the lighter (24.1 +/- 0.9 kg/m(2)) co-twins. Altogether, 2538 genes in adipocytes and 2135 in adipose tissue were significantly differentially expressed (nominal p <0.05) between the co-twins. Pathway analysis of these transcripts in both isolated adipocytes and adipose tissue revealed that the heavier co-twins displayed reduced expression of genes relating to mitochondrial pathways, a result that was replicated when analysing the pathways behind the most consistently downregulated genes in the heavier co-twins (in at least 12 out of 14 pairs). Consistently upregulated genes in adipocytes were related to inflammation. We confirmed that mitochondrial DNA transcript levels (12S RNA, 16S RNA, COX1, ND5, CYTB), expression of mitochondrial ribosomal protein transcripts and a major mitochondrial regulator PGC-1 alpha (also known as PPARGC1A) were reduced in the heavier co-twins' adipocytes (p <0.05). OXPHOS protein levels of complexes I and III in adipocytes were lower in obese than in lean individuals. Subcutaneous abdominal adipocytes in obesity show global expressional downregulation of oxidative pathways, mitochondrial transcripts and OXPHOS protein levels and upregulation of inflammatory pathways. The datasets analysed and generated during the current study are available in the figshare repository.Peer reviewe

Aquaporin-11 Contributes to TGF-β1-Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Human Visceral Adipocytes: Role in Obesity-Associated Inflammation

Aquaporin-11 (AQP11) is expressed in human adipocytes, but its functional role remains unknown. Since AQP11 is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident protein that transports water, glycerol, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), we hypothesized that this superaquaporin is involved in ER stress induced by lipotoxicity and inflammation in human obesity. AQP11 expression was assessed in 67 paired visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue samples obtained from patients with morbid obesity and normal-weight individuals. We found that obesity and obesity-associated type 2 diabetes increased (p &lt; 0.05) AQP11 mRNA and protein in visceral adipose tissue, but not subcutaneous fat. Accordingly, AQP11 mRNA was upregulated (p &lt; 0.05) during adipocyte differentiation and lipolysis, two biological processes altered in the obese state. Subcellular fractionation and confocal microscopy studies confirmed its presence in the ER plasma membrane of visceral adipocytes. Proinflammatory factors TNF-α, and particularly TGF-β1, downregulated (p &lt; 0.05) AQP11 mRNA and protein expression and reinforced its subcellular distribution surrounding lipid droplets. Importantly, the AQP11 gene knockdown increased (p &lt; 0.05) basal and TGF-β1-induced expression of the ER markers ATF4 and CHOP. Together, the downregulation of AQP11 aggravates TGF-β1-induced ER stress in visceral adipocytes. Owing to its "peroxiporin" properties, AQP11 overexpression in visceral fat might constitute a compensatory mechanism to alleviate ER stress in obesity