Realidades ficticias: el parque temático y su relación con la industria cinematográfica

The present article is based on the relationships between theme parks and the cinema industry, since both create common products and share a similar aesthetic experience. Roller coasters, spectacles and lives performances try to bring the cinema into real life using new technologies and elements presented in popular film

Pequeños defectos que debemos corregir: aprendiendo a ser mujer en la historieta sentimental de los años cincuenta y sesenta

The so called “sentimental story” published in the 40s and 50s in Spain played an important part in women education during the postwar period. Publications as Florita, Mariló or Blanca spread a symbolic construction of feminity based on submissiveness. Love was the only destiny for women. And therefore they had to prepare themselves for it. Values as simplicity, integrity, absolute devotion to men and to the family, and rejection of fantasy represented the axiology of this publications. Feminine comic perpetuated in this way the asymetric relationships in the Spanish society at the time by using a process sometimes even autorreferential since this reductionist image was created and disseminated by women authors as well.<br><br>La historieta sentimental de los años cuarenta y cincuenta jugó un papel fundamental en la educación de la mujer durante la época de la posguerra en España. Publicaciones como Florita, Mariló o Blanca difundían una construcción simbólica de la feminidad basada en la sumisión. La mujer era el sujeto destinado al amor y debía prepararse para ese final único. Valores como la sencillez, la honradez, la entrega absoluta al hombre y a la familia y el rechazo de la fantasía constituían la axiología de estas publicaciones. De esta forma, el cómic femenino perpetuaba las relaciones asimétricas de poder presentes en la sociedad española de la época mediante un proceso en ocasiones autorreferencial, ya que fueron muchas las autoras que colaboraron en la difusión de esta imagen reduccionista

Pequeños defectos que debemos corregir: aprendiendo a ser mujer en la historieta sentimental de los años cincuenta y sesenta

The so called “sentimental story” published in the 40s and 50s in Spain played an important part in women education during the postwar period. Publications as Florita, Mariló or Blanca spread a symbolic construction of feminity based on submissiveness. Love was the only destiny for women. And therefore they had to prepare themselves for it. Values as simplicity, integrity, absolute devotion to men and to the family, and rejection of fantasy represented the axiology of this publications. Feminine comic perpetuated in this way the asymetric relationships in the Spanish society at the time by using a process sometimes even autorreferential since this reductionist image was created and disseminated by women authors as well.La historieta sentimental de los años cuarenta y cincuenta jugó un papel fundamental en la educación de la mujer durante la época de la posguerra en España. Publicaciones como Florita, Mariló o Blanca difundían una construcción simbólica de la feminidad basada en la sumisión. La mujer era el sujeto destinado al amor y debía prepararse para ese final único. Valores como la sencillez, la honradez, la entrega absoluta al hombre y a la familia y el rechazo de la fantasía constituían la axiología de estas publicaciones. De esta forma, el cómic femenino perpetuaba las relaciones asimétricas de poder presentes en la sociedad española de la época mediante un proceso en ocasiones autorreferencial, ya que fueron muchas las autoras que colaboraron en la difusión de esta imagen reduccionista

Conocer la alteridad. Depth of Field: una aproximación colectiva a África

The purpose of this article is to approach postcolonial African photography through the pictures of the Nigerian group DOF (Depth of Field), in terms of what has been called Trans-African Photography; a photography that brings down the borders of the African continent and denies the identitary aspects of “the African” as a Western construction. The pictures of this new generation keep no relation with such characteristics as the naïve, the primitive or the brute, all of them related to “the African” from the point of view of the West. On the contrary, they insert themselves into the global dialogue of the Postmodern Art. And by doing so, they break away from the omnipresent ethnocentrism in the arts. It is important to raise this topic in the academia in order to create legitimization for these artistic practices that question not only the art circle and its system but also the social construction of an imagery that is currently widespread in the Western Countries. The training of these photographers has taken place mostly in Europe. Therefore talking about the migratory flux of the art and its meanings becomes necessary as well. The pictures of DOF, rather than represent the Other, raise controversy about the pertinence of Africa being part of a globalised world distributes their artworks and, at the same time, relocates them away from their territory. This has caused a great split not only in the western imagery but also in more traditional-style African photographers such as J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Tam Fiofori, Jide Adeniyi-Jones y Sunmi Smart-Cole. El propósito de este artículo es realizar una aproximación a la fotografía postcolonial africana a través de la obra del grupo nigeriano DOF (Depth of Field). Se tratará en él lo que se denomina Fotografía Transafricana; una fotografía que rompe con los bordes del continente y que niega el carácter identitario que desde Occidente se ha utilizado para construir “lo africano” desde un punto de vista colonial. Las fotografías de esta nueva generación nada tienen que ver con lo naif, lo primitivo o lo rudo - características éstas asociadas a lo que podríamos etiquetar como “lo africano - occidental”, sino que se insertan en el diálogo global del arte posmoderno y rompen con el etnocentrismo imperante en las artes. Es importante tratar este tema desde el mundo académico para legitimar unas prácticas que cuestionan no sólo el círculo y el sistema del arte, sino también la construcción social de un imaginario que a día de hoy sigue imperante en el mundo Occidental. No hay que olvidar asimismo que una parte importante de la formación de estos fotógrafos se ha desarrollado en Occidente, por lo que es necesario hablar también de los flujos migratorios del arte y de sus significados. Las fotografías de DOF, además de tratar el tema del Otro, promueven el debate sobre la pertinencia de la entrada de África en un mundo globalizado desde el que distribuir sus obras de arte al mismo tiempo que las deslocaliza de su territorio. Esto ha causado una gran brecha no sólo en el imaginario occidental sino entre los fotógrafos africanos más tradicionales como es el caso de J.D. Okhai Ojeikere, Tam Fiofori, Jide Adeniyi-Jones y Sunmi Smart-Cole

Encountering Otherness. Depth of Field: A collective approach to Africa / Conocer la alteridad. Depth of Field: una aproximación colectiva a África

The purpose of this article is to approach postcolonial African photography through the pictures of the Nigerian group DOF (Depth of Field), in terms of what has been called Trans-African Photography; a photography that brings down the borders of the African continent and denies the identitary aspects of “the African” as a Western construction. The pictures of this new generation keep no relation with such characteristics as the naïve, the primitive or the brute, all of them related to “the African” from the point of view of the West. On the contrary, they insert themselves into the global dialogue of the Postmodern Art. And by doing so, they break away from the omnipresent ethnocentrism in the arts. It is important to raise this topic in the academia in order to create legitimization for these artistic practices that question not only the art circle and its system but also the social construction of an imagery that is currently widespread in the Western Countries. The training of these photographers has taken place mostly in Europe. Therefore talking about the migratory flux of the art and its meanings becomes necessary as well. The pictures of DOF, rather than represent the Other, raise controversy about the pertinence of Africa being part of a globalised world distributes their artworks and, at the same time, relocates them away from their territory. This has caused a great split not only in the western imagery but also in more traditional-style African photographers such as J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Tam Fiofori, Jide Adeniyi-Jones y Sunmi Smart-Cole.El propósito de este artículo es realizar una aproximación a la fotografía postcolonial africana a través de la obra del grupo nigeriano DOF (Depth of Field). Se tratará en él lo que se denomina Fotografía Transafricana; una fotografía que rompe con los bordes del continente y que niega el carácter identitario que desde Occidente se ha utilizado para construir “lo africano” desde un punto de vista colonial. Las fotografías de esta nueva generación nada tienen que ver con lo naif, lo primitivo o lo rudo - características éstas asociadas a lo que podríamos etiquetar como “lo africano - occidental”, sino que se insertan en el diálogo global del arte posmoderno y rompen con el etnocentrismo imperante en las artes. Es importante tratar este tema desde el mundo académico para legitimar unas prácticas que cuestionan no sólo el círculo y el sistema del arte, sino también la construcción social de un imaginario que a día de hoy sigue imperante en el mundo Occidental. No hay que olvidar asimismo que una parte importante de la formación de estos fotógrafos se ha desarrollado en Occidente, por lo que es necesario hablar también de los flujos migratorios del arte y de sus significados. Las fotografías de DOF, además de tratar el tema del Otro, promueven el debate sobre la pertinencia de la entrada de África en un mundo globalizado desde el que distribuir sus obras de arte al mismo tiempo que las deslocaliza de su territorio. Esto ha causado una gran brecha no sólo en el imaginario occidental sino entre los fotógrafos africanos más tradicionales como es el caso de J.D. Okhai Ojeikere, Tam Fiofori, Jide Adeniyi-Jones y Sunmi Smart-Cole.</p

Targeting the gut microbiota with dietary fibers: a novel approach to prevent the development cardiovascular complications linked to systemic lupus erythematosus in a preclinical study

This work was supported by Grants from Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (MCIN) (Ref. PID2020-116347RB- I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, PID2021- 122490NB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033) co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund FEDER, Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación de la Junta de Andalucía (Ref. CTS 164, P20_00193) with funds from the European Union, and by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBER-CV). IR-V is postdoctoral funded by MINECO (FJC2021-048099-I). JM is a predoctoral fellow of MINECO (FPU18/02561), and CG-C and SM are predoctoral fellow of Junta de Andalucía. The cost of this publication was paid in part with funds from the European Union (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER, “FEDER una manera de hacer Europa”).This study is to investigate whether dietary fiber intake prevents vascular and renal damage in a genetic mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and the contribution of gut microbiota in the protective effects. Female NZBWF1 (SLE) mice were treated with resistantstarch (RS) or inulin-type fructans (ITF). In addition, inoculation of fecal microbiota from these experimental groups to recipient normotensive female C57Bl/6J germ-free (GF) mice was performed. Both fiber treatments, especially RS, prevented the development of hypertension, renal injury, improved the aortic relaxation induced by acetylcholine, and the vascular oxidative stress. RS and ITF treatments increased the proportion of acetate- and butyrate-producing bacteria, respectively, improved colonic inflammation and integrity, endotoxemia, and decreased helper T (Th)17 proportion in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), blood, and aorta in SLE mice. However, disease activity (splenomegaly and anti-ds-DNA) was unaffected by both fibers. T cell priming and Th17 differentiation in MLNs and increased Th17 infiltration was linked to aortic endothelial dysfunction and hypertension after inoculation of fecal microbiota from SLE mice to GF mice, without changes in proteinuria and autoimmunity. All these effects were lower in GF mice after fecal inoculation from fiber-treated SLE mice. In conclusion, these findings support that fiber consumption prevented the development of hypertension by rebalancing of dysfunctional gutimmune system-vascular wall axis in SLE.Grants from Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (MCIN) (Ref. PID2020-116347RB- I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, PID2021- 122490NB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033)European Regional Development Fund FEDER, Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación de la Junta de Andalucía (Ref. CTS 164, P20_00193) with funds from the European Union, and by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBER-CV)MINECO (FJC2021-048099-I)MINECO (FPU18/02561)Junta de AndalucíaEuropean Union (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER, “FEDER una manera de hacer Europa”

Mineralocorticoid receptor blockade improved gut microbiota dysbiosis by reducing gut sympathetic tone in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Microbiota has a crucial role in the host blood pressure (BP) regulation. The present study analyzes whether the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist spironolactone ameliorates the dysbiosic state in a genetic model of neurogenic hypertension. Twenty-week-old male Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were randomly allocated into three groups: untreated WKY, untreated SHR, and SHR treated with spironolactone for 5 weeks. Spironolactone restored the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes proportion, and acetate-producing bacteria populations to WKY levels. Spironolactone reduced the percentage of intestinal aerobic bacteria. The amelioration of gut dysbiosis was linked to a reduction in the gut pathology, an enhanced colonic integrity, a reduced gut permeability and an attenuated sympathetic drive in the gut. Spironolactone was unable to reduce neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in the paraventricular nuclei in the hypothalamus. Spironolactone reduced the higher Th17 cells proportion in mesenteric lymph nodes and Th17 infiltration in aorta, improved aortic endothelial function and reduced systolic BP. This study demonstrates for the first time that spironolactone reduces gut dysbiosis in SHR. This effect could be related to its capability to improve gut integrity and pathology due to reduced sympathetic drive in the gut.This work was supported by Grants from Comision ´ Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología, Ministerio de Economía y competitividad (PID2020-116347RB-I00), and Junta de Andalucía (CTS 164, P20_00193, A-CTS-318-UGR20) with funds from the European Union, and by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBER-CV), Spain. M.T. and I.R.-V. are postdoctoral fellow of Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Juan de la Cierva Incorporacion ´ Program, and Juan de la Cierva Formacion ´ Program, respectively). J.M. is a predoctoral fellow of MINECO, and C.G.-C. and S.M. are predoctoral fellow of Junta de Andalucía. The cost of this publication was paid in part with funds from the European Union (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER, “FEDER una manera de hacer Europa”).S

The Flavonoid Quercetin Reverses Pulmonary Hypertension in Rats

Quercetin is a dietary flavonoid which exerts vasodilator, antiplatelet and antiproliferative effects and reduces blood pressure, oxidative status and end-organ damage in humans and animal models of systemic hypertension. We hypothesized that oral quercetin treatment might be protective in a rat model of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Three weeks after injection of monocrotaline, quercetin (10 mg/kg/d per os) or vehicle was administered for 10 days to adult Wistar rats. Quercetin significantly reduced mortality. In surviving animals, quercetin decreased pulmonary arterial pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy and muscularization of small pulmonary arteries. Classic biomarkers of pulmonary arterial hypertension such as the downregulated expression of lung BMPR2, Kv1.5, Kv2.1, upregulated survivin, endothelial dysfunction and hyperresponsiveness to 5-HT were unaffected by quercetin. Quercetin significantly restored the decrease in Kv currents, the upregulation of 5-HT2A receptors and reduced the Akt and S6 phosphorylation. In vitro, quercetin induced pulmonary artery vasodilator effects, inhibited pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation and induced apoptosis. In conclusion, quercetin is partially protective in this rat model of PAH. It delayed mortality by lowering PAP, RVH and vascular remodeling. Quercetin exerted effective vasodilator effects in isolated PA, inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in PASMCs. These effects were associated with decreased 5-HT2A receptor expression and Akt and S6 phosphorylation and partially restored Kv currents. Therefore, quercetin could be useful in the treatment of PAH.This work was supported by grants and fellowships by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (SAF2011-28150 to F.P-V, SAF2010-22066-C02-01 to JD, and −02 to AC); Instituto de Salud Carlos III Red HERACLES RD06/0009 to JD; Miguel Servet Program CP12/03304 to LM; predoctoral grants BES-2012-051904 to DMS, CM, JMS, and PG; and Junta de Andalucia (Proyecto de excelencia, P12-CTS-2722)

Differing contributions of the gut microbiota to the blood pressure lowering effects induced by first-line antihypertensive drugs

https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.16410This work was supported by Grants from Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN) (PID2020-116347RB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and Junta de Andalucía (CTS 164, P20_00193 and A-CTS-318-UGR20) with funds from the European Union and by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBER-CV), Spain. M.T. and I.R.-V. are postdoctoral fellow of Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Juan de la Cierva Incorporación Program, IJC2020-044581-I, and Juan de la Cierva Formación Program, respectively). J. M. is a predoctoral fellow of MCIN, and C. G.-C. and S. M. are predoctoral fellow of Junta de Andalucía. The cost of this publication was paid in part with funds from the European Union (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER, ‘FEDER una manera de hacer Europa’).Background and Purpose: This study analyses whether first-line antihypertensive drugs ameliorate the dysbiosis state in hypertension, and to test if this modification contributes to their blood pressure (BP) lowering properties in a genetic model of neurogenic hypertension. Experimental Approach: Twenty-week-old male Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were untreated or treated with captopril, amlodipine or hydrochlorothiazide. A faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiment was also performed by gavage of faecal content from donor SHR-treated groups to SHR recipients for 3 weeks. Key results: Faeces from SHR showed gut dysbiosis, characterized by lower acetate- and higher lactate-producing bacteria and lower strict anaerobic bacteria. All three drugs increased the anaerobic bacteria proportion, captopril and amlodipine restored the proportion of acetate-producing bacterial populations to WKY levels, whereas hydrochlorothiazide decreased butyrate-producing bacteria. Captopril and amlodipine decreased gut pathology and permeability and attenuated sympathetic drive in the gut. Both drugs decreased neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in the hypothalamic paraventricular nuclei. Hydrochlorothiazide was unable to reduce neuroinflammation, gut sympathetic tone and gut integrity. FMT from SHR-amlodipine to SHR decreased BP, ameliorated aortic endothelium-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine, lowered NADPH oxidase activity, aortic Th17 infiltration and reduced neuroinflammation, whereas FMT from SHR-hydrochlorothiazide did not have these effects. Conclusions and Implications: First-line antihypertensive drugs induced different modifications of gut integrity and gut dysbiosis in SHR, which result in no contribution of microbiota in the BP lowering effects of hydrochlorothiazide, whereas the vasculo-protective effect induced by amlodipine involves gut microbiota reshaping and gut-immune system communication.Universidad de GranadaMCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 PID2020-116347RB-I00Junta de Andalucía (CTS 164, P20_00193 and A-CTS-318-UGR20)European UnionMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBER-CV)Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación IJC2020-044581-IJunta de AndalucíaFondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDE