Educación Artística y experiencia importada: Cuando la construcción de significados recae en lo anecdótico

Vanguard, innovation, expression, freedom and creativity are terms that viewers associate with Art. Nevertheless it is frustration, indifference, triviality, flapdoodle and lack of understanding the sensations they exhibit in front of the actual piece of art, showing a clear inconsistency between their expectations and reality. Paradoxically, this situation is further more perpetuated by routines that should enable an approach but that, however, are promoting the consolidation of an immobile image and a stereotyped representation of art that affects its own conceptualization and, therefore, the art experience per se. This is how a surrogate of art emerges, sublimed and reviled at the same time, relegated to spaces that have nothing to do with Art itself or its value but that, all the same, takes its place. This article, based on the experiment of multiple mediated encounters with art, proves the reasons that maintain Art in that inaccessible limb; and, starting from reviewing the concept, it also suggests certain action values to generate proper spaces where public and art work can convene; a creation of an authentic space for Art. Creating these spaces is the imperative task of Artistic Education.Vanguardia, innovación, expresión, libertad y creatividad son términos que espectadoras y espectadores asocian al arte. Sin embargo, son frustración, indiferencia, frivolidad, chorrada e incomprensión las sensaciones que manifiestan ante la obra actual, evidenciando una clara contradicción entre expectativas y realidad. Paradójicamente, esta situación se perpetúa a través de vías que deberían propiciar el encuentro y que, por el contrario, están favoreciendo la consolidación de una imagen inmóvil y estereotipada del arte, que condiciona su propia conceptualización y, en consecuencia, también su vivencia. Surge así un sucedáneo del mismo a la vez encumbrado y denostado, relegado a espacios que nada tienen que ver con él ni con su valor y que, sin embargo, usurpa su lugar. Este artículo, basado en la experiencia de múltiples encuentros mediados, evidencia las razones que lo sostienen en ese limbo inaccesible y, partiendo de la revisión conceptual, propone unos principios de acción para la generación de verdaderos espacios de encuentro entre obra y público. De auténticos espacios para el arte. Originar estos espacios es la acuciante responsabilidad de la Educación Artística

Case 4-2001: acute sarcoidosis

To the Editor: the February 8 Case Record involves a patient with Löfgren's syndrome. In his discussion of the case, Dr. Bates does not sufficiently emphasize the importance of the recognition of periarticular ankle inflammation as a particular presenting sign of acute sarcoidosis. In the Nordic countries and Spain, Löfgren's syndrome is the most common form of the disease and frequently starts with periarticular ankle inflammation. In our series of 186 white patients with Löfgren's syndrome, 35 (19 percent) presented with periarticular ankle inflammation alone and 46 (25 percent) had periarticular ankle inflammation in association with erythema nodosum

Assessment of nutritional status by dual X-Ray absorptiometry in women with rheumatoid arthritis: a case-control study

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been related to an impairment of the nutritional status. Body mass index (BMI) has been used but questions arise about how to properly evaluate nutritional status in RA patients. Few studies have evaluated it by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.In women with RA, to analyze:Case-control study including 89 women with RA. The control group was composed by 100 patients affected by non-inflammatory rheumatic disorders. Study variables included age, RA duration, history, activity and disability, and in relation to nutritional status: BMI, serum albumin (ALB), whole body DXA assessment, and skeletal muscle index (SMI).Mean age of patients was 62 ± 8 years, mean duration of RA was 14 ± 9 years, mean disease activity score (DAS28) was 3.7 ± 1.4 and mean Health Assessment Questionnaire was 0.88 ± 0.77. BMI was 27.43 ± 5.16 Kg/m in patients and 27.78 ± 3.98 Kg/m in controls (P: ns). ALB was within normal range in all patients.By whole body DXA, RA patients presented a statistically significant lower lean mass in all locations and lower fat mass in limbs than controls. Patients had a redistribution of fat mass to trunk. Lean mass directly correlated with fat mass.Neither BMI nor ALB correlated with DXA parameters.BMI, appendicular lean mass and SMI correlated inversely with disease duration. Trunk lean mass correlated inversely, and fat mass directly, with RA disability parameters.RA patients fulfilled criteria of sarcopenia in 44% of cases versus 19% of controls (P <.001). In RA patients, regarding SMI, BMI showed a high specificity to detect sarcopenia (94% of the patients with low BMI had sarcopenia) but low sensitivity (47% of the patients with normal BMI or overweight had sarcopenia).RA patients have an impairment of nutritional status associated to disease duration that looks like sarcopenia and that is not predicted by BMI

Artistic Education and Imported Experience: When the Creation of Meanings Relies in the Anecdotical

Vanguard, innovation, expression, freedom and creativity are terms that viewers associate with Art. Nevertheless it is frustration, indifference, triviality, flapdoodle and lack of understanding the sensations they exhibit in front of the actual piece of art, showing a clear inconsistency between their expectations and reality. Paradoxically, this situation is further more perpetuated by routines that should enable an approach but that, however, are promoting the consolidation of an immobile image and a stereotyped representation of art that affects its own conceptualization and, therefore, the art experience per se. This is how a surrogate of art emerges, sublimed and reviled at the same time, relegated to spaces that have nothing to do with Art itself or its value but that, all the same, takes its place. This article, based on the experiment of multiple mediated encounters with art, proves the reasons that maintain Art in that inaccessible limb; and, starting from reviewing the concept, it also suggests certain action values to generate proper spaces where public and art work can convene; a creation of an authentic space for Art. Creating these spaces is the imperative task of Artistic Education

Obra y público, tradición y generación: ¿cómo propiciar el encuentro?

El arte actual, fruto de un sistema que oscila entre la extrema individualización y la “pseudoglobalización”, ha renunciado al aura de prestigio que, durante siglos, le había acompañado, caracterizado e, incluso, definido. Mientras en épocas pasadas, el arte se mostraba como paradigma de lo sublime –tanto por la genialidad a la que se asociaba, como por la intencionada situación de la obra en un plano elitista–, desde hace décadas deja su pedestal invitando al público a adentrarse en la obra, completándola. Es evidente que la imagen consolidada por siglos de tradición, no responde a las demandas de sociedades  complejas  y extremadamente dinámicas. Sin embargo, los propios mediadores que deberían quebrarla, para propiciar el acercamiento, la perpetúan. La Educación en Artes Plásticas y Visuales tiene que asumir la responsabilidad de suscitar contextos en los que el encuentro sea posible

Educación artística, desconsideración social y falta de expectativas. Consecuencias de la reproducción como paradigma no-educativo

This article seeks to reveal the real foundation underlying the social disregard of Artistic Education that, as lecturers in the Pedagogy of Artistic Expression at Malaga University, we see year after year among our students. Based on the analysis of conceptions and experiences that shape mental schema and, therefore, their own expectations towards art, the aim is to generate a real context of emancipation within this sphere. This research examines the stereotyped conceptions and decontextualized practices that sustain and perpetuate the social vision of Artistic Education. Furthermore, by means of an initial evaluation, it looks at the starting notions and mental schema held by trainee teachers associated with the subject. Data were gathered by means of an initial questionnaire administered over three academic years as part of the subject Education in the Plastic and Visual Arts taught on the Primary Education Teaching Degree at Malaga University, which gauges the expectations and educational baggage that students bring to the subject. Subsequent analysis uncovers decisive results regarding which processes sustain and perpetuate the social disregard in which Artistic Education is held. Keywords: Artistic Education, stereotype, expectations towards art, teacher training and initial evaluation

Assessment of inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis using thermography and machine learning: a fast and automated technique

Objectives Sensitive detection of joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is crucial to the success of the treat-to-target strategy. In this study, we characterise a novel machine learning-based computational method to automatically assess joint inflammation in RA using thermography of the hands, a fast and non-invasive imaging technique. Methods We recruited 595 patients with arthritis and osteoarthritis, as well as healthy subjects at two hospitals over 4 years. Machine learning was used to assess joint inflammation from the thermal images of the hands using ultrasound as the reference standard, obtaining a Thermographic Joint Inflammation Score (ThermoJIS). The machine learning model was trained and tuned using data from 449 participants with different types of arthritis, osteoarthritis or without rheumatic disease (development set). The performance of the method was evaluated based on 146 patients with RA (validation set) using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, area under the receiver-operating curve (AUROC), average precision, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value and F1-score. Results ThermoJIS correlated moderately with ultrasound scores (grey-scale synovial hypertrophy=0.49, p<0.001; and power Doppler=0.51, p<0.001). The AUROC for ThermoJIS for detecting active synovitis was 0.78 (95% CI, 0.71 to 0.86; p<0.001). In patients with RA in clinical remission, ThermoJIS values were significantly higher when active synovitis was detected by ultrasound. Conclusions ThermoJIS was able to detect joint inflammation in patients with RA, even in those in clinical remission. These results open an opportunity to develop new tools for routine detection of joint inflammation

SCORE and REGICOR function charts underestimate the cardiovascular risk in Spanish patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction: Our objective was to determine which one of the two function charts available in Spain to calculate cardiovascular (CV) risk, Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) or Framingham-REgistre GIroní del COR (REGICOR), should be used in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: A series of RA patients seen over a one-year period without history of CV events were assessed. SCORE, REGICOR, modified (m)SCORE and mREGICOR according to the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations were applied. Carotid ultrasonography (US) was performed. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) > 0.90 mm and/or carotid plaques were used as the gold standard test for severe subclinical atherosclerosis and high CV risk (US+). The area under the receiver operating curves (AUC) for the predicted risk for mSCORE and mREGICOR were calculated according to the presence of severe carotid US findings (US+). Results: We included 370 patients (80% women; mean age 58.9 ± 13.7 years); 36% had disease duration of 10 years or more; rheumatoid factor (RF) and/or anticyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) were positive in 68%; and 17% had extra-articular manifestations. The EULAR multiplier factor was used in 122 (33%) of the patients. The mSCORE was 2.16 ± 2.49% and the mREGICOR 4.36 ± 3.46%. Regarding US results, 196 (53%) patients were US+. The AUC mSCORE was 0.798 (CI 95%: 0.752 to 0.844) and AUC mREGICOR 0.741 (95% CI; 0.691 to 0.792). However, mSCORE and mREGICOR failed to identify 88% and 91% of US+ patients. More than 50% of patients with mSCORE ≥1% or mREGICOR >1% were US+. Conclusions: Neither of these two function charts was useful in estimating CV risk in Spanish RA patients

Effect of osteoprotegerin and Dickkopf-related protein 1 on radiological progression in tightly controlled rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between circulating osteoprotegerin (OPG) and Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK-1) and radiological progression in patients with tightly controlled rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Serum levels of OPG and DKK-1 were measured in 97 RA patients who were treated according to a treat-to-target strategy (T2T) aimed at remission (DAS28<2.6). Radiologic joint damage progression was assessed by changes in the total Sharp-van der Heijde score (SHS) on serial radiographs of the hands and feet. The independent association between these biomarker levels and the structural damage endpoint was examined using regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of the 97 RA patients (68 women) at the time of the study was 54 ± 14 years, and the median disease duration was 1.6 ± 1.5 years. Most patients were seropositive for either RF or ACPA, and the large majority (76%) were in remission or had low disease activity. After a median follow-up time of 3.3 ± 1.5 years (range, 1-7.5 yrs.), the mean total SHS annual progression was 0.88 ± 2.20 units. Fifty-two percent of the patients had no progression (defined as a total SHS of zero). The mean serum OPG level did not change significantly over the study period (from 3.9 ± 1.8 to 4.07 ± 2.23 pmol/L), whereas the mean serum DKK-1 level decreased, although not significantly (from 29.9 ± 10.9 to 23.6 ± 18.8 pmol/L). In the multivariate analysis, the predictive factors increasing the likelihood of total SHS progression were age (OR per year = 1.10; p = 0.003) and a high mean C-reactive protein level over the study period (OR = 1.29; p = 0.005). Circulating OPG showed a protective effect reducing the likelihood of joint space narrowing by 60% (95% CI: 0.38-0.94) and the total SHS progression by 48% (95% CI: 0.28-0.83). The DKK-1 levels were not associated with radiological progression. CONCLUSION: In patients with tightly controlled RA, serum OPG was inversely associated with progression of joint destruction. This biomarker may be useful in combination with other risk factors to improve prediction in patients in clinical remission or low disease activity state

Long-term fat redistribution in ARV-naïve HIV+ patients initiating a non-thymidine containing regimen in clinical practice

Lipodystrophy is still a matter of concern in HIV patients receiving ART. However, long-term fat change in patients taking non-thymidine regimens is not well known