Contemporary art practices and knowledge production into mediation in museums for People with Alzheimer

The Contemporary art museums acting like social agent before the territory and its inhabitants is becoming an emerging idea going through the strategies of the institution. Mediator and artist/educator and the new understanding for them encourage education team works strategies to social involvement. From this point of view, an experience with people with Alzheimer and their companions in Centro de Arte de Alcobendas (Madrid) funded by DKV Seguros is introduced. The aim designed for this proposal pretend to find out evidence about the validity and new possibilities of this methodology based on contemporary art practices in the context of museums education, especially regarding health collective. We also understand the experience as social knowledge production driving in two ways. From the museum to the collective and society and the opposite. The results have been analyzed throughout a qualitative research method (implicit in artist practices) and they have displayed specific therapeutic benefits. On the other hand, from a wider point of view, some judgement and research questions have been made in order to consider the utility, efficiency and sustainability of this practices and its influence in social transformation

Prediction of standard particleboard mechanical properties utilizing an artificial neural network and subsequent comparison with a multivariate regression model

The physical properties (specific gravity, moisture content, thickness swelling and water absorption) and mechanical properties (internal bond strength, bending strength and modulus of elasticity) were determined on 93 Spanish-manufactured standard particleboards of different thicknesses selected randomly at the end of the production process. The testing methods of the corresponding European standards (EN) were used, except in the case of the thickness swelling and absorption tests, for which the Spanish UNE standard was used. The thickness and the values obtained for the physical properties were entered into an artificial neural network in order to predict the mechanical properties of the board. The fit was compared with the usual multivariate regression models. The use of a neural network made it possible to obtain the values of bending strength, modulus of elasticity and internal bond strength of the boards utilizing the known data, not only of thickness, moisture content and specific gravity, but also of thickness swelling and water absorption. The neural network proposed is much better adapted to the observed values than any of the multivariate regression models obtained

Investor behavior and Flow-through capability in the US stock market

This paper analyzes investor behavior depending on the flow-through capability in the US stock market, because investors seek protection from inflation rate changes, and the flow-through capability (a firm?s ability to transmit inflation shocks to the prices of its products and services) is a key factor in investment decisions. Our estimates of the flow-through capability of firms listed on the US stock exchange at the sector level are significantly different among industries, and we demonstrate a direct relationship between changes in stock prices (at the sector level) and flow-through capability. These results would be relevant because they have important implications on investor behavior

Alternative estimates of the well-known negative relationship between the US interest rate risk and the flow-through capability

This paper estimates US industries' ability to transmit inflation shocks to the prices of their products and services (flow-through capability, FTC) and the stock duration (interest rate sensitivity) at the sector level. Then, considering the significant differences in ability among industries, we analyze the relationship between FTC and interest rate sensitivity using two alternative methodologies (in both cases). Finally, we find a significant negative relationship between FTC and stock duration, as suggested by previous literature. Thus, industries with high FTC, such as S7 (Finance and Real Estate), S9 (Manufacturing), S11 (Transportation and Warehousing) and S12 (Utilities), may be less sensitive (than expected) to changes in nominal interest rates. In contrast, sectors such as S4 (Retail Trade), S8 (Information) and S10 (Professional and Administrative Services) (with high IRS) may be more sensitive (than expected) to changes in nominal interest rates, indicating a weak ability to transmit inflation shocks to the prices of their products and service

Na+-dependent D-mannose transport at the apical membrane of rat small intestine and kidney cortex

The presence of a Na+/D-mannose cotransport activity in brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV), isolated from either rat small intestine or rat kidney cortex, is examined. In the presence of an electrochemical Na+ gradient, but not in its absence, D-mannose was transiently accumulated by the BBMV. D-Mannose uptake into the BBMV was energized by both the electrical membrane potential and the Na+ chemical gradient. D-Mannose transport vs. external D-mannose concentration can be described by an equation that represents a superposition of a saturable component and another component that cannot be saturated up to 50 μM D-mannose. D-Mannose uptake was inhibited by D-mannose ≫ D-glucose > phlorizin, whereas for α-methyl glucopyranoside the order was D-glucose = phlorizin ≫ D-mannose. The initial rate of D-mannose uptake increased as the extravesicular Na+ concentration increased, with a Hill coefficient of 1, suggesting that the Na+ :D-mannose cotransport stoichiometry is 1:1. It is concluded that both rat intestinal and renal apical membrane have a concentrative, saturable, electrogenic and Na+-dependent D-mannose transport mechanism, which is different from SGLT1.Dirección General de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas PM99-012

Retablo de los Evangelistas de la Catedral de Sevilla. Investigación e intervención

El objetivo de este artículo es dar a conocer intervención realizada sobre un retablo pictórico de gran calidad, con una serie de características y problemática compleja tanto a nivel estructural como pictórico, exigiendo una metodología específica de actuación condicionada por defectos de técnica de ejecución, por el avanzado estado de deterioro y desafortunadas intervenciones anteriores que manifestaban algunas de las partes integrantes del retablo. Se presentan en líneas generales los resultados de un trabajo colectivo y complejo, intentando sintetizar tanto características generales como específicas halladas este retablo así como la justificación de la intervención y las actuaciones básicas del proceso de restauración llevado a cabo para la obtención de los resultados que se pretendían alcanzar

El impacto de la evaluación educativa en el desarrollo de competencias en la universidad. La perspectiva de las primeras promociones de graduados

El proyecto impulsado por la Universitat de Barcelona pretende analizar el impacto de la evaluación educativa en el desarrollo de competencias en la universidad a partir de la percepción de las primeras promociones de graduados formados en el marco del EEES.La finalidad es recoger información acerca del impacto que ha tenido la implementación de los grados universitarios sobre las competencias adquiridas por los estudiantes a partir de la percepción de éstos sobre sus propias competencias y de la opinión de los profesores y los empleadores sobre las competencias que consideran necesarias para el ejercicio profesional

Psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale

AbstractThe Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) is a self-report instrument measuring marital satisfaction, which has been widely used in different cultures. In Spain, there are to date no studies analysing the psychometric properties of the scale in functional and dysfunctional couples, nor performing independent factor analysis of men and women's data. The objective of this study is to determine some psychometric properties of a Spanish DAS version on a sample of 915 participants: 403 who requested couple therapy, and 512 who did not request therapy. Results support the reliability of the instrument for both subsamples. The confirmatory factor analysis showed a four-factor internal structure that corresponds to the one proposed by the author of the original scale. Furthermore, the Spanish DAS has high discriminant power between both subsamples, and presents as a valid and reliable instrument to measure marital quality in Spanish couples who request couple therapy and those who do not request it.ResumenLa Escala de Ajuste Diádico (EAD) es una escala de autoinforme de satisfacción conyugal que ha sido ampliamente utilizada en distintas culturas. En España no existen en la actualidad estudios que analicen las propiedades psicométricas de la escala en parejas con y sin malestar ni que realicen análisis factoriales independientes de los datos de hombres y mujeres. El objetivo de este estudio es determinar algunas propiedades psicométricas de una versión española de la EAD en una muestra de 915 participantes: 403 que buscaban terapia de pareja y 512 que no requerían terapia. Los resultados respaldan la fiabilidad del instrumento para ambas submuestras. El análisis factorial confirmatorio mostró una estructura interna de cuatro factores que se corresponde con la propuesta por el autor de la escala original. Además, la versión española de la EAD ofrece una alta capacidad discriminante entre ambos subgrupos, constituyendo un instrumento válido y fiable para medir la satisfacción conyugal en parejas españolas que buscan terapia y en aquellas que no la requieren

State of the art on toxicological mechanisms of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles and strategies to reduce toxicological risks

Metal nanoparticles have been extensively investigated for different types of pharmaceutical applications. However, their use has raised some concerns about their toxicity involving the increase of reactive oxygen species causing cellular apoptosis. Therefore, in this review we summarize the most relevant toxicity mechanisms of gold, silver, copper and copper oxide nanoparticles as well as production methods of metal nanoparticles. Parameters involved in their toxicity such as size, surface charge and concentration are also highlighted. Moreover, a critical revision of the literature about the strategies used to reduce the toxicity of this type of nanoparticles is carried out throughout the review. Additionally, surface modifications using different coating strategies, nanoparticles targeting and morphology modifications are deeply explained.This work was funded by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCTES), European Social Fund (FSE) of EU, through the project UIDB/04469/2020 (CEB strategic fund), co-funded by European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE) and FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Surface functionalization of PLGA nanoparticles to increase transport across the BBB for Alzheimers disease

Alzheimers disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that accounts for about 60% of all diagnosed cases of dementia worldwide. Although there are currently several drugs marketed for its treatment, none are capable of slowing down or stopping the progression of AD. The role of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) plays a key role in the design of a successful treatment for this neurodegenerative disease. Nanosized particles have been proposed as suitable drug delivery systems to overcome BBB with the purpose of increasing bioavailability of drugs in the brain. Biodegradable poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (PLGA-NPs) have been particularly regarded as promising drug delivery systems as they can be surface-tailored with functionalized molecules for site-specific targeting. In this review, a thorough discussion about the most recent functionalization strategies based on PLGA-NPs for AD and their mechanisms of action is provided, together with a description of AD pathogenesis and the role of the BBB in brain targeting.A.C. [Amanda Cano] acknowledges the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under the grant Juan de la Cierva (FJC2018-036012-I). Authors acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under the project SAF2017-84283-R; Biomedical Research Networking Centre in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED, CB06/05/0024) and Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) for the strategic fund (UIDB/04469/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio