Cuadernos del Escorial/Como trenes en la noche

Publicat a Quimera

Framing Forest Fires and Environmental Activism: a Storytelling Contest about Human Intervention in Nature

This article focuses on the processes of sense-making of forest fires in a Mediterranean context. The authors use a textual approach to compare media framing with activist organizational storytelling. The authors conducted a frame analysis in two major daily newspapers in Catalonia (La Vanguardia and El Periódico de Catalunya) during three summers and compared the results with the stories from four leading activist and volunteering organizations that came out of in-depth interviews with their members, one focus group and published materials. The results identified up to five major mainstream media frames, among which were stories focusing on agricultural risk, climate change and weather conditions; imprudent and negligent attitudes; inappropriate fuel management and woodland conditions; and arson. The natural self-regulatory frame was present as part of the discourse of resilience but almost residual. Some journalism focused on the spectacular nature of the events and their dramatic impact, which led to some degree of mediatization of wildfires. The organizations problematized these frames and discussed about the appropriateness of human intervention to prevent forest fires. The results also revealed that activists observed the issue from a broader complexity, replicating frames on “structural responsibility” instead of “individual responsibility” allocation. The authors point out that if wildfires are to be better understood and dealt with more in-depth knowledge is required of different stakeholders’ approaches to preventing forest fires

Recerca en comunicació i procés català

Obra col·lectiva biennal, creada per l'Institut de la Comunicació de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (InCom-UAB), l'any 2000. La desena edició, corresponent al bienni 2017-2018, va comptar amb el suport de la Generalitat de Catalunya; el patrocini de Naturgy; la col·laboració de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona; la subscripció institucional de la Societat Catalana de Comunicació (filial de l'Institut d'Estudis Catalans); i la col·laboració científica de Comscore, Estudio General de Medios (EGM)/Asociación para la Investigación de Medios de Comunicación (AIMC), l'Observatori de la Comunicació a Catalunya, i el Portal de la Comunicació (InCom-UAB).En el marc del Grup Internacional d'Estudis sobre Comunicació i Cultura (InCom-UAB), reconegut com a Grup Consolidat de Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya per al període 2017-2020 (Referència de concessió 2017 SGR 00760).Al present capítol es fa una revisió de la recerca en comunicació elaborada durant aquests anys convulsos, on el procés o conflicte català ha esdevingut un mirall excepcional per copsar dinàmiques discursives; relacions entre periodistes, mitjans de comunicació, polítics i ciutadania; característiques i mutacions del sistema mediàtic; l'impacte de les xarxes socials en l'articulació del conflicte; el rol de la premsa estrangera en la construcció mediàtica de la crisi, o la tendència a l'espectacularització de la política i les seves implicacions en termes de salut democràtica

Polarització, espectacularització, tertúlies i periodisme. Una visió comunicativa del procés català

Obra col·lectiva biennal, creada per l'Institut de la Comunicació de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (InCom-UAB), l'any 2000. La desena edició, corresponent al bienni 2017-2018, va comptar amb el suport de la Generalitat de Catalunya; el patrocini de Naturgy; la col·laboració de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona; la subscripció institucional de la Societat Catalana de Comunicació (filial de l'Institut d'Estudis Catalans); i la col·laboració científica de Comscore, Estudio General de Medios (EGM)/Asociación para la Investigación de Medios de Comunicación (AIMC), l'Observatori de la Comunicació a Catalunya, i el Portal de la Comunicació (InCom-UAB).En el marc del Grup Internacional d'Estudis sobre Comunicació i Cultura (InCom-UAB), reconegut com a Grup Consolidat de Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya per al període 2017-2020 (Referència de concessió 2017 SGR 00760).La polarització discursiva, la mediatització i l'espectacularització de la política, el paper dels gèneres opinatius en la construcció de l'opinió pública catalana -amb especial rellevància el de la tertúlia o la crisi de legitimitat del sistema mediàtic del territori són algunes qüestions que han condicionat el context polític i social si posem el focus en els aspectes comunicatius del procés català. També cal destacar la crisi generada en la relació entre periodistes, polítics i ciutadania. Aquesta crisi ha trencat el sempre precari equilibri entre tres actors bàsics de la deliberació pública i ha intensificat, seguint una tendència global, una lluita per la legitimitat i la consolidació de la professió periodística com a pilar central de la salut del nostre sistema democràtic. El reforç i reconeixement a la tasca dels periodistes seran especialment necessaris davant d'estratègies evidents per fer-se amb el control i la difusió de la informació política en el conflicte català

An Immunochemical Approach to Detect the Quorum Sensing-Regulated Virulence Factor 2-Heptyl-4-Quinoline N-Oxide (HQNO) Produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa Clinical Isolates

Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Quorum sensing; VirulencePseudomonas aeruginosa; Detecció de quòrum; VirulènciaPseudomonas aeruginosa; Detección de quórum; VirulenciaUnderstanding quorum sensing (QS) and its role in the development of pathogenesis may provide new avenues for diagnosing, surveillance, and treatment of infectious diseases. For this purpose, the availability of reliable and efficient analytical diagnostic tools suitable to specifically detect and quantify these essential QS small molecules and QS regulated virulence factors is crucial. Here, we reported the development and evaluation of antibodies and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for HQNO (2-heptyl-4-quinoline N-oxide), a QS product of the PqsR system, which has been found to act as a major virulence factor that interferes with the growth of other microorganisms. Despite the nonimmunogenic character of HQNO, the antibodies produced showed high avidity and the microplate-based ELISA developed could detect HQNO in the low nM range. Hence, a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.60 ± 0.13 nM had been reached in Müeller Hinton (MH) broth, which was below previously reported levels using sophisticated equipment based on liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The HQNO profile of release of different Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates analyzed using this ELISA showed significant differences depending on whether the clinical isolates belonged to patients with acute or chronic infections. These data point to the possibility of using HQNO as a specific biomarker to diagnose P. aeruginosa infections and for patient surveillance. Considering the role of HQNO in inhibiting the growth of coinfecting bacteria, the present ELISA will allow the investigation of these complex bacterial interactions underlying infections. IMPORTANCE Bacteria use quorum sensing (QS) as a communication mechanism that releases small signaling molecules which allow synchronizing a series of activities involved in the pathogenesis, such as the biosynthesis of virulence factors or the regulation of growth of other bacterial species. HQNO is a metabolite of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa-specific QS signaling molecule PQS (Pseudomonas quinolone signal). In this work, the development of highly specific antibodies and an immunochemical diagnostic technology (ELISA) for the detection and quantification of HQNO was reported. The ELISA allowed profiling of the release of HQNO by clinical bacterial isolates, showing its potential value for diagnosing and surveillance of P. aeruginosa infections. Moreover, the antibodies and the ELISA reported here may contribute to the knowledge of other underlying conditions related to the pathology, such as the role of the interactions with other bacteria of a particular microbiota environment.This work has been funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (SAF2015-67476-R and RTI2018-096278-B-C21) and Fundación Marató de TV3 (TV32018-201825-30-31). The Nb4D group is a consolidated research group (Grup de Recerca) of the Generalitat de Catalunya and has support from the Departament d’Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació de la Generalitat de Catalunya (expedient: 2017 SGR 1441). CIBER-BBN is an initiative funded by the Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation from 2013 to 2016, Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program, and CIBER Actions were financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund. Enrique J. Montagut and Juan Raya wish to thank the FPI fellowship (BES-2016-076496 and PRE2019-087542, respectively) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. The Custom Antibody Service (CAbS) is acknowledged for its assistance and support in the production of HQNO antibodies

Concepciones alternativas, equilibrio químico y cambio conceptual

Considerando los resultados obtenidos en un examen diagnóstico aplicado durante 3 semestres en la asignatura de Química Analítica I, insertada en el 4º semestre de las licenciaturas de química que se imparten en la Facultad de Química, se detectó la necesidad de lograr un verdadero cambio conceptual en los temas de: equilibrio químico, cálculo de la constante, principio de LeChatelier y reacción reversible. Los alumnos que van a cursar Química Analítica I, ya acreditaron las asignaturas de Química General I y II y Química Inorgánica. Con base en el análisis de ese examen, las autoras planeamos, un taller con alumnos, para analizar y reflexionar acerca de las concepciones alternativas que prevalecen para esos conceptos. Se presentan los resultados obtenidos con este grupo de alumnos

A youth-led social marketing intervention to encourage healthy lifestyles, the EYTO (European Youth Tackling Obesity) project : a cluster randomised controlled0 trial in Catalonia, Spain

Acknowledgements This research project has been funded by European Direction General HEALTH-2012 12 19. This funder did not play a role in the Spanish study design, data collection, study management, data analysis, interpretation of data, writing of the report, or the decision to submit the report for publication. This research project has been developed as an EYTO component, and the National Children’s Bureau of the United Kingdom is responsible for the general data analysis of the four EYTO project participating countries; however, the Spanish data will be analysed by our research team. We appreciate the enthusiastic support of our European partners: Komunikujeme (Czech Republic), Companhia de Ideias (Portugal) and the National Children’s Bureau (United Kingdom). The Spanish research project has been supported by Central Market of Reus, Spain (Mercat Central de Reus), which provides fresh food for the intervention, and the Municipality of Reus, Spain [Ajuntament de Reus, Spain]. We thank the professors, parents and young people of the high-schools of Reus for their enthusiastic participation in this study.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Phase I/II study of DHA–paclitaxel in combination with carboplatin in patients with advanced malignant solid tumours

DHA–paclitaxel is a conjugate of paclitaxel and the fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid. Preclinical studies have demonstrated increased activity, relative to paclitaxel, with the potential for an improved therapeutic ratio. We conducted a phase I study to determine the maximum tolerated doses of DHA–paclitaxel and carboplatin when administered in combination. Two cohorts of patients were treated: carboplatin AUC 5 with DHA–paclitaxel 660 mg m-2 and carboplatin AUC 5 with DHA–paclitaxel 880 mg m-2. Both drugs were given on day 1 every 21 days. A total of 15 patients were enrolled with a median age of 59 years (range 33–71). All patients had advanced cancer refractory to standard treatment, performance status 0–2 and were without major organ dysfunction. A total of 54 cycles of treatment were delivered. No dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was seen in the first cohort of three patients. In an expanded second cohort, neutropenia was the main DLT, occurring in the first cycle of treatment in five of 12 patients: three of these patients and one additional patient also experienced dose-limiting grade 3 transient rises in liver transaminases. No alopecia was seen and one patient developed clinically significant neuropathy. One partial response was seen in a patient with advanced adenocarcinoma of the oesophago-gastric junction and 12 patients had stable disease with a median time to progression of 184 days (range 60–506 days). The recommended phase II dose in pretreated patients is Carboplatin AUC 5 and DHA–paclitaxel 660 mg m-2 given every 21 days. Further studies with Carboplatin AUC 5 and DHA-paclitaxel 880 mg m-2, given every 28 days, are warranted in chemo-naive patients