The reception in Spain of African literature written in English: Statistical data generation using the specialised bibliographic database BDÁFRICA

El presente artículo examina la recepción de la literatura africana en lengua inglesa en España basándonos en BDÁFRICA, una base de datos bibliográfica que recoge obras de autores nacidos en África y publicadas en español y en España entre 1972 y 2014. Se ofrece una reflexión crítica de las dificultades para definir la literatura africana como objeto de estudio, debido a su complejidad y heterogeneidad. Se propone, además, un conciso recorrido historiográfico por la conformación del canon de dicha literatura que se ha realizado desde Occidente. Asimismo, se demuestra la falta de estudios estadísticos sobre la recepción de literatura africana en lengua inglesa en España. Respondiendo a esta necesidad, el objetivo del artículo es detallar y analizar los datos estadísticos inéditos que proporciona la base de datos, adoptando una metodología descriptiva. Los resultados de este estudio, que aporta datos cuantitativos y cualitativos fiables y novedosos, son originales en tanto en cuanto reflejan y señalan los problemas de la traducción de la literatura africana en lengua inglesa en España. BDÁFRICA, que es gratuita y está disponible en red, pretende ser un recurso y una fuente que estimule el desarrollo de la investigación en literatura poscolonial en España. Sin duda, esta base de datos bibliográfica especializada es una herramienta muy valiosa, especialmente para investigadores, traductores y editoriales interesados en literatura africana.English translation of abstract: This paper explores the reception in Spain of African literature written originally in English by focusing on BDÁFRICA, a bibliographical database of works of fiction by African-born authors published in Spain, in Spanish between 1972 and 2014. It provides a critical reflection on the constraints of defining the object of study when African literature is discussed, due to the complexity and heterogeneity of such literature. It also proposes a concise historiographical journey through the Western canon formation of African literature in English. Additionally, it evidences the lack of quantitative studies on the reception in Spain of African literature in English. To cater to this need, the aim of this paper is to report and analyse the groundbreaking statistical data the database itself provides by following a descriptive approach. The findings of this study, which provides reliable and unprecedented quantitative and qualitative data, are original in the sense that they map and highlight the problems of the reception of African literature in English, and translated in Spain. This shows BDÁFRICA, which is free and available online, as a primary (re)source for work to pave the way for the development of postcolonial literature research in Spain. This specialised bibliographical database is undoubtedly an invaluable tool, especially for researchers, translators and publishing houses interested in African literature.Published versio

BDAFRICA: Design and implementation of a database of Postcolonial African literature published in Spain

Este trabajo demuestra que no existe un repositorio que incluya los autores poscoloniales africanos publicados hasta el momento en España y que permita, por ende, realizar estudios cuantitativos y cualitativos del impacto de esta literatura con la precisión deseable. Esto supone una carencia tanto para investigaciones académicas como para el sector editorial a la hora de analizar tendencias de selección y recepción en el mercado. Ante esta situación, el objetivo primordial de este trabajo es diseñar e implementar una base de datos, basada en MySQL y delimitada por unos parámetros muy concretos, que recoja todas las obras de autores africanos publicadas en castellano en España entre 1972 (año en que España se unió al sistema ISBN) y 2014. Tras determinar unos criterios de diseño y unos protocolos de compilación específcos, el desarrollo metodológico se ha dividido en cuatro fases: recopilación, almacenamiento, tratamiento y difusión de los datos. Así, la base de datos BDÁFRICA consigue un doble objetivo: por un lado, proporciona a los investigadores datos fables en los que basar sus estudios y, por otro, permitiría ofrecer por primera vez datos estadísticos de la evolución de la publicación de obras de autores africanos en España en los últimos 42 años.English version of abstract: This paper evidences the absence of a repository or database that scompiles the publications of Postcolonial African writing in Spain, thus precluding comprehensive quantitative or qualitative studies on the impact of these works. This is a significant obstacle for both academic research and the book market, which up to now has been unable to analyse market selection and reception trends. To cater for this need, the aim of this paper is to describe the design and implementation of a relational database, based on MySQL and set up using specific and accurate parameters, that includes all the literary works penned by African writers and published in Spain and in Spanish from 1972 (when Spain first joined the ISBN system) to 2014. After determining a number of specific design criteria and compilation protocols, the methodology has been divided into four steps: data collection, storage, statistical processing and online dissemination. Thus, the database BDAFRICA achieves a twofold objective: firstly, it provides researchers with unbiased data as a framework for their studies, and secondly, it offers unprecedented statistics on the evolution of the publication of African literature in Spain over the last 42 years.Published versio

A scheduling theory framework for GPU tasks efficient execution

Concurrent execution of tasks in GPUs can reduce the computation time of a workload by overlapping data transfer and execution commands. However it is difficult to implement an efficient run- time scheduler that minimizes the workload makespan as many execution orderings should be evaluated. In this paper, we employ scheduling theory to build a model that takes into account the device capabili- ties, workload characteristics, constraints and objec- tive functions. In our model, GPU tasks schedul- ing is reformulated as a flow shop scheduling prob- lem, which allow us to apply and compare well known methods already developed in the operations research field. In addition we develop a new heuristic, specif- ically focused on executing GPU commands, that achieves better scheduling results than previous tech- niques. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation, showing the suitability and robustness of this new approach, is conducted in three different NVIDIA architectures (Kepler, Maxwell and Pascal).Proyecto TIN2016- 0920R, Universidad de Málaga (Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech) y programa de donación de NVIDIA Corporation

3d printing and testing of rose thorns or limpet teeth inspired anchor device for tendon tissue repair

Purposes. Advancements in medical technology have enabled medical specialists to resolve significant problems concerning tendon injuries. However, despite the latest improvements, surgical tendon repair remains challenging. This study aims to explore the capabilities of the current state-of-the-art technologies for implantable devices. Methods. After performing extensive patent landscaping and literature review, an anchored tissue fixation device was deemed the most suitable candidate. This design was firstly investigated numerically, realizing a Finite Element Model of the device anchored to two swine tendons stumps, to simulate its application on a severed tendon. Two different hook designs, both bio-inspired, were tested while retaining the same device geometry and anchoring strategy. Then, the applicability of a 3D-printed prototype was tested on swine tendons. Finally, the device-tendon stumps ensemble was subjected to uniaxial tensile tests. Results. The results show that the investigated device enables a better load distribution during the immobilized limb period in comparison to standard suture-based approaches, yet it still presents several design flaws. Conclusions. The current implantable solutions do not ensure an optimal result in terms of strength recovery. This and other weak points of the currently available proposals will serve as a starting point for future works on bio-inspired implantable devices for tendon repair

ABORDAJE ASISTENCIAL EN EL PACIENTE EN FASE AVANZADA DE ENFERMEDAD Y FAMILIA

Our project is intended to provide new knowledge as well as to facilitate the nursing care of patients in terminal situations regarding both primary attention and hospital care. This also assures the quality and continuity of the given care, without losing view of the will of the person to receive attention either at home or at the hospital. We believe it is important to consolidate a tool that is common to all the professionals who take care of this type of patient and their families, using as a reference the different taxonomies implanted (NANDA, NIC and NOC) as mainstays of the care plan and thus being able to reduce the clinical variability when approaching this type of patients. Using the model of Virginia Henderson as a base we try to answer the question: What does the nursing staff do in palliative cares? We have chosen this model for being open, amply developed, and utilizing easy to understand terminology. The project is structured according to three types of problems which our aid work is based upon: Problems of independence composed of current nursing and risk diagnoses, for which we have used NANDA taxonomy. Collaboration problems, in which the patient requires that the nurse enact for the patient the treatment and control prescribed by another professional (generally the doctor). Finally, the autonomy problems in which the patient lacking the necessary physical or intellectual capacity, needs that certain directed actions are carried out for him/her in order to satisfy the susceptible needs to a certain degree of substitution (partial or total).El trabajo que hemos elaborado tiene como finalidad aportar nuevos conocimientos así como facilitar la labor de la enfermería que atiende al enfermo en situación terminal tanto en los niveles de atención primaria como hospitalaria, asegurando a su vez la calidad y continuidad de los cuidados prestados, sin perder de vista la voluntad de la persona de recibir atención bien en su domicilio o bien en el hospital. Creemos importante la consolidación de una herramienta que sea común a todos los profesionales que atienden a este tipo de pacientes y sus familias usando como referencia las distintas taxonomías implantadas (NANDA, NIC y NOC) como pilar fundamental del plan de cuidados y conseguir así reducir la variabilidad clínica a la hora de abordar este tipo de pacientes. Basándonos en el modelo de Virginia Henderson pretendemos contestar a la pregunta ¿Qué hace la enfermería en cuidados paliativos? Hemos optado por elegir este modelo por ser abierto, de un amplio desarrollo y utilizar terminología fácil de comprender. El trabajo lo estructuramos en tres tipos de problemas alrededor de los cuales va a girar toda nuestra labor asistencial: Problemas de independencia compuestos por diagnósticos de enfermería reales y de riesgo, para los cuales, hemos utilizado la taxonomía NANDA; problemas de colaboración, en los que el paciente requiere que el enfermero o enfermera realice por él las actividades de tratamiento y control prescritas por otro profesional (generalmente el médico); y finalmente, los problemas de autonomía en los que el paciente, careciendo de la capacidad física o intelectual necesaria, necesita que se realicen por él ciertas acciones encaminadas a satisfacer las necesidades susceptibles de cierto grado de suplencia (parcial o total)

Educación y entrenamiento a paciente y familia con nutrición parenteral en domicilio

The Home Parenteral Nutrition consists of the infusion of nutrients, through a vein, carried out at the address of the patient.Among its requirements, is that of being able to count on the aid, qualification and collaboration of the patients themselves as well as that of the family and/or caretaker. This work represents the program of education and training directed to all of them in order to make this type of support a safe and effective modality in terms of maintenance of the nutritional state and improvements in the quality of life. The content is supported by an exhaustive revision of the scientific Literature that includes studies, guides of clinical practice, manuals and other documents of consensus guaranteed by expert societies in nutrition. We conclude that these programs can for this reason alone guarantee a suitable parenteral nutritional treatment in the home, so favouring the independence and well-being of the patient and family and assuring a safe administration and avoiding entries and prolonged hospital stays. La Nutrición Parenteral Domiciliaria consiste en la infusión de nutrientes, a través de una vena, en el propio domicilio del paciente.Entre sus requisitos, se encuentra el de poder contar con la ayuda, capacitación y colaboración tanto del propio paciente como de la familia y/o cuidador.Este trabajo representa el programa de educación y entrenamiento dirigido a todos ellos con la finalidad de conseguir que este tipo de soporte se convierta en una modalidad segura y eficaz en cuanto a mantenimiento del estado nutricional y mejora de la calidad de vida.El contenido se sustenta en una revisión exhaustiva de la literatura científica que abarca estudios, guías de práctica clínica, manuales y otros documentos de consenso avalados por sociedades expertas en nutrición.Finalizamos concluyendo que este tipo de programas pueden garantizar un adecuado tratamiento nutricional parenteral en el domicilio, favoreciendo la independencia y bienestar del paciente y familia, asegurando una administración segura y evitando ingresos y estancias hospitalarias prolongadas sólo por este motivo

CoExp: A Web Tool for the Exploitation of Co-expression Networks

Gene co-expression networks are a powerful type of analysis to construct gene groupings based on transcriptomic profiling. Co-expression networks make it possible to discover modules of genes whose mRNA levels are highly correlated across samples. Subsequent annotation of modules often reveals biological functions and/or evidence of cellular specificity for cell types implicated in the tissue being studied. There are multiple ways to perform such analyses with weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) amongst one of the most widely used R packages. While managing a few network models can be done manually, it is often more advantageous to study a wider set of models derived from multiple independently generated transcriptomic data sets (e.g., multiple networks built from many transcriptomic sources). However, there is no software tool available that allows this to be easily achieved. Furthermore, the visual nature of co-expression networks in combination with the coding skills required to explore networks, makes the construction of a web-based platform for their management highly desirable. Here, we present the CoExp Web application, a user-friendly online tool that allows the exploitation of the full collection of 109 co-expression networks provided by the CoExpNets suite of R packages. We describe the usage of CoExp, including its contents and the functionality available through the family of CoExpNets packages. All the tools presented, including the web front- and back-ends are available for the research community so any research group can build its own suite of networks and make them accessible through their own CoExp Web application. Therefore, this paper is of interest to both researchers wishing to annotate their genes of interest across different brain network models and specialists interested in the creation of GCNs looking for a tool to appropriately manage, use, publish, and share their networks in a consistent and productive manner

DADA: data assimilation for the detection and attribution of weather and climate-related events

A new nudging method for data assimilation, delay‐coordinate nudging, is presented. Delay‐coordinate nudging makes explicit use of present and past observations in the formulation of the forcing driving the model evolution at each time step. Numerical experiments with a low‐order chaotic system show that the new method systematically outperforms standard nudging in different model and observational scenarios, also when using an unoptimized formulation of the delay‐nudging coefficients. A connection between the optimal delay and the dominant Lyapunov exponent of the dynamics is found based on heuristic arguments and is confirmed by the numerical results, providing a guideline for the practical implementation of the algorithm. Delay‐coordinate nudging preserves the easiness of implementation, the intuitive functioning and the reduced computational cost of the standard nudging, making it a potential alternative especially in the field of seasonal‐to‐decadal predictions with large Earth system models that limit the use of more sophisticated data assimilation procedures

miR-21 Promotes Fibrogenesis in Peritoneal Dialysis.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a life-saving form of renal replacement therapy for those with end-stage kidney disease. Mesothelial cells (MCs) line the peritoneal cavity and help define peritoneal response to treatment-associated injury, a major reason for treatment failure. miRNAs are important regulators, but their roles in peritoneal fibrosis are largely unknown. In this study, miR-21 was one of the most abundant miRNAs in primary MCs, and was up-regulated by the profibrotic cytokine transforming growth factor-β1 and in PD effluent-derived MCs exhibiting mesenchymal phenotypic change. Increased miR-21 was found in peritoneal membrane biopsy specimens from PD patients compared to healthy controls (PD biocompatible, 5.86×, P = 0.0001; PD conventional, 7.09×, P < 0.0001, n = 11 per group). In PD effluent from a cohort of 230 patients, miR-21 was higher in those receiving the therapy long-term compared to new starters (n = 230, miR-21 3.26×, P = 0.001) and associated with icodextrin use (R = 0.52; 95% CI, 0.20-0.84), peritonitis count (R = 0.16; 95% CI, 0.03-0.29), and dialysate cytokines. miR-21 down-regulated programmed cell death 4 and programmed cell death 4 protein was decreased in peritoneal membrane biopsy specimens from PD patients compared to healthy controls. New miR-21 targets were identified that may be important during PD fibrogenesis. These data identify miR-21 as an important effector of fibrosis in the peritoneal membrane, and a promising biomarker in the dialysis effluent for membrane change in patients receiving PD

Advantages of doubly polished thin sections for the study of microfossils in volcanic rock

Doubly polished thin sections, originally prepared for fluid inclusion studies, present great advantages in the study of microfossils in volcanic rocks. Better visibility and light conditions, variation in thickness of the thin sections and the possibility to combine fluid inclusion studies with microfossil studies lead to a wide range of advantages over ordinary thin sections. This includes the study of morphology, internal microstructures, colonies, association with the substrate that microfossils are attached to and geological and environmental context in which the microfossil once lived. When meeting the criteria of microfossil recognition the advantages of doubly polished thin sections are substantial and can be crucial in distinguishing between biogenic microfossils and abiotically formed abiomorphs