An eclectic third generation model of financial and exchange rate crises

This paper presents an eclectic model that systematizes the dynamics of self-fulfilling crises, using the main aspects of the three typologies of third generation models, to describe the stylized facts that hasten the withdrawal of a pegged exchange rate system. The most striking contributions are the implications for economic policy as well the vanishing role of exchange rate as an instrument of macroeconomic adjustment, when balance-sheet effects are a real possibility.speculative attack, financial liberalization, financial panic, financial and exchange rate crisis

Adaptation dynamics of the quasispecies model

We study the adaptation dynamics of an initially maladapted population evolving via the elementary processes of mutation and selection. The evolution occurs on rugged fitness landscapes which are defined on the multi-dimensional genotypic space and have many local peaks separated by low fitness valleys. We mainly focus on the Eigen's model that describes the deterministic dynamics of an infinite number of self-replicating molecules. In the stationary state, for small mutation rates such a population forms a {\it quasispecies} which consists of the fittest genotype and its closely related mutants. The quasispecies dynamics on rugged fitness landscape follow a punctuated (or step-like) pattern in which a population jumps from a low fitness peak to a higher one, stays there for a considerable time before shifting the peak again and eventually reaches the global maximum of the fitness landscape. We calculate exactly several properties of this dynamical process within a simplified version of the quasispecies model.Comment: Proceedings of Statphys conference at IIT Guwahati, to be published in Praman

Les Estructures de participació juvenil a Catalunya d'ençà de la transició democràtica

La participació juvenil ha estat i és un concepte amb moltes consideracions, molts de significats i formes d'aplicació, tant en l'àmbit nacional com en l'internacional. Amb l'objectiu de conèixer l'evolució de les principals estructures de participació juvenil, l'article parteix dels marcs que han impulsat aquesta participació a Europa, per analitzar després l'evolució, en les darreres dècades, d'algunes de les estructures participatives juvenils a Catalunya: els consells locals de joventut i els consells municipals de joventut. Es tracten també alguns dels vells reptes de la participació juvenil, caracteritzats per superar l'estructuració dels canals de participació clàssics i generar altres formes de prendre part en la quotidianitat de la vida col·lectiva.Youth participation is and has been a concept with many considerations, meanings and forms of application, both nationally and internationally. In order to know the evolution of the main structures of youth participation, this article starts with the frames that have motivated this participation in Europe, to analyse then the evolution of some of the youth participatory structures in Catalonia in the recent decades: the local and municipal youth councils. The article also covers some of the old challenges of youth participation, which are characterised by the overcoming the structuring of traditional channels participation and the generation other forms of taking part in everyday community life.La participación juvenil ha sido y es un concepto con muchas consideraciones, significados y formas de aplicación, tanto a escala nacional como internacional. Con el objetivo de conocer la evolución de las principales estructuras de participación juvenil, el artículo parte de los marcos que han impulsado esta participación en Europa, para analizar luego la evolución, en las últimas décadas, de algunas de las estructuras participativas juveniles en Cataluña: los consejos locales de juventud y los consejos municipales de juventud. Se tratan también algunos de los viejos retos de la participación juvenil, caracterizados por superar la estructuración de los canales de participación clásicos y generar otras formas de tomar parte en la cotidianidad de la vida colectiva

Facile Synthesis of Novel Prussian Blue-Lipid Nanocomplexes

Prussian blue (PB) is known for its multiple applications ranging from fine arts to therapeutics. More recently, PB nanoparticles have been pointed to as appealing photothermal agents (PA) when irradiated with wavelengths corresponding to the biological windows, namely regions located in the near infrared (NIR) zone. In addition, the combination of PB with other components such as phospholipids boosts their therapeutical potential by facilitating, for instance, the incorporation of drugs becoming suitable drug delivery systems. The novelty of the research relies on the synthesis procedure and characterization of hybrid lipid-PB nanoparticles with a high yield in a friendly environment suitable for photothermal therapy. This goal was achieved by first obtaining insoluble PB coated with oleylamine (OA) to facilitate its combination with lipids. The resulting lipid-PB complex showed a monomodal distribution of sizes with an overall size of around 100 nm and a polydispersity index of about 0.200. It highlights one critical step in the synthesis procedure that is the shaking time of the mixture of PB-OA nanoparticles with the lipid, which was found to be 48 h. This time assured homogeneous preparation without the need of further separation stages. Samples were stable for more than three months under several storage conditions. View Full-Text Keywords: Prussian blue nanoparticles; lipid nanoparticles; photothermal agent; photothermal therapy; NI

La función docente en las prácticas externas. Un análisis de las percepciones de los agentes implicados para mejorar el modelo

Este artículo aborda la función docente en las prácticas externas del grado de Educación Social de la Universidad de Barcelona a partir de la percepción de cada uno de los agentes implicados: los tutorescentro, los tutores-universidad y los estudiantes. Las prácticas externas se enmarcan en un modelo participativo, reflexivo y dialógico, caracterizado por el protagonismo del estudiante en su proceso de formación. En este sentido, el trabajo se inscribe en el marco de una investigación cuyo objeto es analizar la función docente con el propósito de mejorar las condiciones del aprendizaje y ofrecer un modelo formativo de calidad. A partir de la metodología cualitativo-comprensiva, hemos identificado los elementos que nos permiten formular algunas orientaciones tanto para mejorar la función docente, como para optimizar el modelo de prácticas. Este estudio nos permite concluir que dicho modelo debe venir caracterizado, principalmente, por la corresponsabilidad y la reflexión sobre, en y para la acción formativa

Is the Screening Test of the French Version of the Dementia Quality of Life Questionnaire Indispensable?

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the screening questions in the French version of the Dementia Quality of Life (DQoL) questionnaire. To assess the psychometric properties of the French DQoL, 155 patients with mild-to-moderate dementia were recruited. Here, we compared the psychometric properties of the instrument between patients who passed the screening test (n = 109) and the whole study population (n = 155). The French DQoL version showed a good test-retest reliability at a 2-week interval (0.95 ≤ intraclass correlation coefficients ≤ 1.0), and an average internal consistency (0.58 ≤ Cronbach's α ≤ 0.87) for the 2 study groups. Significant differences were observed in the 2 groups for 4 dimensions of the DQoL regarding dementia severity (Cornell scale), and for 3 dimensions evaluating depression (MMSE). Convergent validity with the Duke Health Profile revealed many significant correlations between dimensions not only in the 109 patients, but also in the whole study population. Our study demonstrated that patients who failed the screening procedure nonetheless seemed to be able to answer the DQoL questionnaire, the whole study group showing acceptable psychometric properties

Las emociones: punto de partida y llegada en el practicum de educación social

Podeu consultar el document complet a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/58585Sin emoción no hay educación, esta es la premisa que nos convoca y que quiere dar cuenta esta comunicación. Como tutoras del practicum de educación social y por el hecho también de haber participado en el equipo de coordinación del mismo, hemos trabajado desde las emociones, con las emociones y hemos crecido profesionalmente a través de ellas. Esta comunicación quiere dar cuenta de la importancia de las emociones en el practicum de educación social, en el aprendizaje de los estudiantes, en su acompañamiento, pero también las emociones de los tutores y de nuestra relación pedagógica. Una relación pedagógica sostenida por las emociones. Por tanto vamos a presentar las voces de nuestra vivencia emocional y el trabajo realizado con los estudiantes de educación social en su proceso de prácticas, en su acompañamiento en las sesiones de seminario en la universidad y las tutorías

High-trhoughput screening of cytochrome C novel partners chlamydomonas ReindhartII

Comunicaciones a congreso

Evolution on a Rugged Landscape:Pinning and Aging

Population dynamics on a rugged landscape is studied analytically and numerically within a simple discrete model for evolution of N individuals in one-dimensional fitness space. We reduce the set of master equations to a single Fokker-Plank equation which allows us to describe the dynamics of the population in terms of thermo-activated Langevin diffusion of a single particle in a specific random potential. We found that the randomness in the mutation rate leads to pinning of the population and on average to a logarithmic slowdown of the evolution, resembling aging phenomenon in spin glass systems. In contrast, the randomness in the replication rate turns out to be irrelevant for evolution in the long-time limit as it is smoothed out by increasing ``evolution temperature''. The analytic results are in a good agreement with numerical simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let