Gordos (2009): Obesity in Films and Its Use in Education

Podeu consultar la versió en castellà a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/33453This paper analyses the characteristics of the six obese characters in Gordos (2009) by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo. This is an ensemble film that revolves around a therapy group, in which the most important theme is the need for participants to understand the feelings and emotions they hide behind their obesity. First, we discuss the prevalence of this chronic, complex and multifactorial disease, which the WHO has declared an epidemic of the 21st century. Next, the most important features of the main characters are analysed as well as their evolution throughout the film. We then summarise the decisive factors and the characters' clinical and medical treatments, and describe some aspects of the filming. Finally, the potential use of Gordos in education is discussed

In a better world (2011): the ethics of a doctor facing violence

Podeu consultar la versió en castellà a http://hdl.handle.net/2445/108302The main theme"In a Better World" (S. Bier, 2011), is violence and its possible answers: forgiveness and revenge. The film revolves around a doctor Anton who works in a refugee camp in sub-Saharan Africa. His family lives in a quiet village in Denmark, where his teenage son suffers bullying at school. This movie shows the fragility of a modern society, normal in appearance but with deep fissures that reflect the tragedies plaguing much of the African continent. It helps to understand the reality experienced by more than 10 million refugees and 15 million internally displaced persons surviving in sub-Saharan Africa. Hævnen, the original title whose meaning in Spanish is revenge, invites reflection on another possible response to violence-forgiveness. It is an excellent film for teaching and learning issues related to humanitarian work developed by health professionals in refugee camps around world

En un mundo mejor (2011): la ética de un médico ante la violencia

Podeu consultar la versió en anglès a http://hdl.handle.net/2445/53289En un mundo mejor (S. Bier, 2011), tiene por tema principal la violencia y sus posibles respuestas: el perdón y la venganza. La película se articula en torno a un médico, Anton que desarrolla su labor en un campo de refugiados en el África subsahariana. Su familia vive en un apacible pueblo en Dinamarca, donde uno de sus hijos sufre acoso escolar. Esta película muestra la fragilidad de una sociedad moderna en apariencia correcta, y contrapuesta a las tragedias que asolan a buena parte del continente africano; también ayuda a comprender la realidad que sufren los más de 10 millones de refugiados y más de 15 millones de desplazados internos que sobreviven en África subsahariana. El título original, Hævnen, significa venganza conducta opuesta al perdón. En suma es una película excelente para la enseñanza y aprendizaje de temas relacionados con la labor humanitaria que desarrollan los profesionales de la salud en los campos de refugiados de alrededor del mundo

Duplex and superduplex stainless steels: microstructure and properties evolution by surface modification processes

The paper presents an overview of diffusion surface treatments, especially nitriding processes, applied to duplex and superduplex stainless steels in the last five years. Research has been done mainly to investigate different nitriding processes in order to optimize parameters for the most appropriate procedure. The scope has been to improve mechanical and wear resistance without prejudice to the corrosion properties of the duplex and superduplex stainless steels. Our investigation also aimed to understand the effect of the nitriding layer on the precipitation of secondary phases after any heating step.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Triage (2009): la ética en tiempos de guerra

A través de la película Triage (2009) de Danis Tanovic, este trabajo repasa las características del triaje y sus implicaciones éticas en el contexto bélico donde dos fotorreporteros intentan documentar la crueldad de la guerra. Las características del singular triaje que realiza el Dr Talzani plantea la conveniencia de la eutanasia en situaciones extremas. También se analiza el trastorno por estrés post traumático que padecerá uno de los protagonistas como consecuencia del impacto que las experiencias vividas causan en quienes sobreviven al horror de la guerra

On the White Dwarf distances to Galactic Globular Clusters

We analyze in detail various possible sources of systematic errors on the distances of globular clusters derived by fitting a local template DA white dwarf sequence to the cluster counterpart (the so-called WD-fitting technique). We find that the unknown thickness of the hydrogen layer of white dwarfs in clusters plays a non negligible role. For reasonable assumptions - supported by the few sparse available observational constraints - about the unknown mass and thickness of the hydrogen layer for the cluster white dwarfs, a realistic estimate of the systematic error on the distance is within +-0.10 mag. However, particular combinations of white dwarf masses and envelope thicknesses - which at present cannot be excluded a priori - could produce larger errors. Contamination of the cluster DA sequence by non-DA white dwarfs introduces a very small systematic error of about -0.03 mag in the Mv/(V-I) plane, but in the Mv/(B-V) plane the systematic error amounts to ~ +0.20 mag. Contamination by white dwarfs with helium cores should not influence appreciably the WD-fitting distances. Finally, we obtain a derivative D((m-M)v)/D(E(B-V))~ -5.5 for the WD-fitting distances, which is very similar to the dependence found when using the Main Sequence fitting technique.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures A&A, accepted for publicatio

Gamma-ray emission from novae related to positron annihilation: constraints on its observability posed by new experimental nuclear data

Classical novae emit gamma-ray radiation at 511 keV and below, with a cut-off at around (20-30) keV, related to positron annihilation and its Comptonization in the expanding envelope. This emission has been elusive up to now, because it occurs at epochs well before the maximum in optical luminosity, but it could be detected by some sensitive intrument on board a satellite, provided that the nova is close enough and that it is observed at the right moment. The detection of this emission, which is a challenge for the now available and for the future gamma-ray instruments, would shed light into the physical processes occurring in the early phases of the explosion, which are invisible in other lower energy ranges. A good prediction of the emitted fluxes and of the corresponding detectability distances with different instruments relies critically on a good knowledge of reaction rates relevant to f18 destruction, which have been subject to a strong revision after recent nuclear spectroscopy measurements. With respect to previous results, smaller ejected masses of f18 are predicted, leading to smaller emitted fluxes in the (20-511) keV range and shorter detectability distances.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophys. J. Letter