The RAD project

Prosodic analysis of audio descriptions in the VIW corpus in Catalan / María Machuca (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Anna Matamala (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Antonio Ríos (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) ; Localisation guidelines for translating AD from Spanish into Chinese: a first proposal / Yuchen Liu (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Irene Tor-Carroggio (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Sara Rovira-Esteva (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Helena Casas-Tost (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) ; A comprehensive approach to opera audio description / Irene Hermosa-Ramírez (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). Chair and general project presentation: Carme Mangiron (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Emerging risk factors and the dose-response relationship between physical activity and lone atrial fibrillation: a prospective case-control study

A history of a parts per thousand yen2000 h of vigorous endurance training, tall stature, abdominal obesity, and OSA are frequently encountered as risk factors in patients with Ln-AF. Fewer than 2000 total hours of high-intensity endurance training associates with reduced Ln-AF risk

Mapas de actividades comunitarias y activos para la salud: ¿Cómo trabajar con ellos?

El modelo de activos para la salud tiene relaciones íntimas con el paradigma de la Promoción de la Salud, de modelos de Desarrollo Comunitario o de la Teoría Salutogénica de Antonovsky, siendo su punto de partida la Salud Positiva de una comunidad y de las personas que la integran

Global Health in the Age of COVID-19: Responsive Health Systems Through a Right to Health Fund.

We propose that a Right to Health Capacity Fund (R2HCF) be created as a central institution of a reimagined global health architecture developed in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such a fund would help ensure the strong health systems required to prevent disease outbreaks from becoming devastating global pandemics, while ensuring genuinely universal health coverage that would encompass even the most marginalized populations. The R2HCF's mission would be to promote inclusive participation, equality, and accountability for advancing the right to health. The fund would focus its resources on civil society organizations, supporting their advocacy and strengthening mechanisms for accountability and participation. We propose an initial annual target of US$500 million for the fund, adjusted based on needs assessments. Such a financing level would be both achievable and transformative, given the limited right to health funding presently and the demonstrated potential of right to health initiatives to strengthen health systems and meet the health needs of marginalized populations-and enable these populations to be treated with dignity. We call for a civil society-led multi-stakeholder process to further conceptualize, and then launch, an R2HCF, helping create a world where, whether during a health emergency or in ordinary times, no one is left behind

Global Variation of Nutritional Status in Children Undergoing Chronic Peritoneal Dialysis : A Longitudinal Study of the International Pediatric Peritoneal Dialysis Network

While children approaching end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) are considered at risk of uremic anorexia and underweight they are also exposed to the global obesity epidemic. We sought to investigate the variation of nutritional status in children undergoing chronic peritoneal dialysis (CPD) around the globe. The distribution and course of body mass index (BMI) standard deviation score over time was examined prospectively in 1001 children and adolescents from 35 countries starting CPD who were followed in the International Pediatric PD Network (IPPN) Registry. The overall prevalence of underweight, and overweight/obesity at start of CPD was 8.9% and 19.7%, respectively. Underweight was most prevalent in South and Southeast Asia (20%), Central Europe (16.7%) and Turkey (15.2%), whereas overweight and obesity were most common in the Middle East (40%) and the US (33%). BMI SDS at PD initiation was associated positively with current eGFR and gastrostomy feeding prior to PD start. Over the course of PD BMI SDS tended to increase on CPD in underweight and normal weight children, whereas it decreased in initially overweight patients. In infancy, mortality risk was amplified by obesity, whereas in older children mortality was markedly increased in association with underweight. Both underweight and overweight are prevalent in pediatric ESKD, with the prevalence varying across the globe. Late dialysis start is associated with underweight, while enteral feeding can lead to obesity. Nutritional abnormalities tend to attenuate with time on dialysis. Mortality risk appears increased with obesity in infants and with underweight in older children.Peer reviewe

Association of Candidate Gene Polymorphisms With Chronic Kidney Disease: Results of a Case-Control Analysis in the Nefrona Cohort

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Despite classical clinical risk factors for CKD and some genetic risk factors have been identified, the residual risk observed in prediction models is still high. Therefore, new risk factors need to be identified in order to better predict the risk of CKD in the population. Here, we analyzed the genetic association of 79 SNPs of proteins associated with mineral metabolism disturbances with CKD in a cohort that includes 2, 445 CKD cases and 559 controls. Genotyping was performed with matrix assisted laser desorption ionizationtime of flight mass spectrometry. We used logistic regression models considering different genetic inheritance models to assess the association of the SNPs with the prevalence of CKD, adjusting for known risk factors. Eight SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs2238135, rs1800247, rs385564, rs4236, rs2248359, and rs1564858) were associated with CKD even after adjusting by sex, age and race. A model containing five of these SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs1800247, rs4236, and rs2248359), diabetes and hypertension showed better performance than models considering only clinical risk factors, significantly increasing the area under the curve of the model without polymorphisms. Furthermore, one of the SNPs (the rs2248359) showed an interaction with hypertension, being the risk genotype affecting only hypertensive patients. We conclude that 5 SNPs related to proteins implicated in mineral metabolism disturbances (Osteopontin, osteocalcin, matrix gla protein, matrix metalloprotease 3 and 24 hydroxylase) are associated to an increased risk of suffering CKD

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Búsqueda de comunidades en grafos ponderados: detección de tramas de blanqueo de capitales = Search for homogeneous communities in Weighted directed graphs: application in detection of cases of money laundering

En una red comercial extensa, la gran cantidad de empresas participantes y el alto número de relaciones entre ellas dificultan enormemente la detección de tramas de blanqueo de capitales. En este trabajo, se aplicará un algoritmo basado en técnicas de visión artificial para tratar de detectar situaciones en las que varias empresas se transfieran grandes cantidades de dinero entre sí, lo que podría identificarse como una posible trama de blanqueo de capital. Frente a la gran cantidad de algoritmos de detección de comunidades en grafos que se basan en la topología del mismo, el enfoque presentado en este trabajo se fundamenta en analizar el valor de los pesos asignados a sus arcos, ya que estos simbolizan las cantidades de dinero que mueven las empresas. Se identificarán las fronteras entre tramas de forma similar a como se detectan los bordes en una imagen. Se aporta un ejemplo de la aplicación del algoritmo sobre la red de exportaciones mundiales en los últimos años así como varios ejemplos de su funcionamiento en grafos sintéticos de mayor tamaño.---ABSTRACT---In a wide comercial network, having a large quantity of companies and a high number of relation between them difficult the detection of money laundering. In this paper, we implement an algorithm based on computational vision techniques to attempt to detect a specific type of group in which a certain amount of business transfer large amounts of money between them and much smaller quantities with the rest of business outside the group. Unlike the many algorithms of community detection based in the topology of the graph, the approach presented in this work analyse the value of the weights assigned to the edges. These values represent the amounts of money transferred by the companies. The boundaries between communities will be detected in a similar way to to the edge detection in images. The algorithm will be tested in a network of world exports and in several artificial graphs of wider size

Learning Strategies in Oral Comprehension through Short Films

Magistrsko delo predstavlja refleksijo o vlogi slušnega razumevanja v procesu učenja tujega jezika in hkrati raziskuje, kako izboljšati razvoj te jezikovne spretnosti. Pregled strokovne literature o tej temi nas je vodil k pripravi gradiva namenjenega pouku francoščine in španščine. V strokovni literaturi se poudarja vlogo učnih strategij pri razvoju slušnega razumevanja. Več raziskav dokazuje, da dobri poslušalci uporabljajo več različnih in koristnih učnih strategij kot jih uporabljajo manj uspešni poslušalci. Te raziskave tudi poudarjajo pomembnost metakognitivnih in kognitivnih strategij na vseh ravneh procesa učenja tujega jezika, vendar hkrati oporazarjajo na pomembne razlike povezane z ravnjo znanja. Večina avtorjev priporoča uporabo avtentičnih dokumentov pri pouku. Na podlagi teh izsledkov smo pripravili nekaj nalog za razvoj slušnega razumevanja pri pouku francoščine in španščine s pomočjo kratkih filmov. Predstavljene dejavnosti so bile izpeljane v treh srednjih šolah v Sloveniji. Po pouku so dijaki izpolnili anketo, s katero smo pridobili dragocene informacije o njihovi uporabi učnih strategij, tako kot o njihovem odnosu do filma in drugih audiovizualnih vsebin v tujem jeziku izven šole. S pomočjo drugega vprašalnika smo pridobili tudi povratno informacijo od učiteljev francoščine in španščine.The purpose of this master thesis is to reflect the role of listening in foreign language learning process and to research how to develop this language skill in a more effective way. A review of specialized literature on this topic has led us to prepare some materials for FFL and SFL classroom. Theoretical review has pointed out the prominent role of learning strategies for the development of listening comprehension. Several researchers have demonstrated that good listeners use a wide range of useful strategies. All of them highlight the importance of metacognitive and cognitive strategies for all proficiency levels, however, they find important differences in strategy repertoire depending on learner’s proficiency. Most authors also recommend introducing authentic documents in language classroom. In the light of this research, we have prepared some examples of activities to train listening comprehension with short films in FFL and SFL classrooms. These activities were carried out in three Slovenian high schools. After the class students answered a questionnaire which provides us valuable information about their use of strategies as well as information about their relation to film or other video content in foreign language outside the classroom. Teachers also participated in this research through another questionnaire