Constructed Languages and British Dystopias: Exploring the Role of Nadsat and Newspeak in “A Clockwork Orange” and “1984”

Trabajo de fin de Grado. Grado en Estudios Ingleses. Curso académico 2021-2022El presente trabajo analiza el papel de las lenguas construidas de Nadsat y Newspeak en las obras literarias que las contienen, dos de las novelas más representativas de la ficción distópica británica: La Naranja Mecánica y 1984 respectivamente. El análisis se centrará específicamente en la capacidad que tienen estas lenguas para distanciar al lector de la historia y permitirle reflexionar sobre el lenguaje, sobre su influencia en la creación de una identidad individual y en el pensamiento y el comportamiento de las sociedades.The present paper analyzes the role of the constructed languages of Nadsat and Newspeak in the literary works that contain them, two of the most representative novels of British dystopian fiction: A Clockwork Orange and 1984 respectively. The analysis focuses specifically on the ability these languages have to distance the reader from the story and allow them to reflect on language, on its influence on the creation of an individual identity and on societies' thought and behavior

Procesos geomorfológicos activos en cárcavas del borde del piedemonte norte de la Sierra de Guadarrama (Provincia de Segovia, España)

Dos localizaciones situadas cerca del borde del piedemonte norte de la Sierra de Guadarrama (provincia de Segovia) ofrecen formas erosivas en cárcavas bien desarrolladas: (a) un conjunto de barrancos encajados sobre arenas arcósicas del Mioceno, en un relieve de lomas y vaguadas del suroeste provincial; (b) cárcavas sobre arenas silíceas del Cretácico Superior, en un relieve de laderas de mesas y cuestas de la zona centro sur de la Provincia. En este trabajo se caracteriza la actividad geomorfológica de esos barrancos y cárcavas, y se inicia su cuantificación. El objetivo está encaminado a conocer qué procesos movilizan sedimentos, y a evaluar sus tasas de actuación, intensidad, frecuencia de ocurrencia y conectividad entre los mismos. Los procesos de erosión hídrica por salpicadura, arroyada laminar y concentrada en rills, junto con la actividad gravitacional observada, movilizan materiales desde las cabeceras de las cárcavas hasta los colectores, rellenándolos; éstos son evacuados mediante procesos de encajamiento en los canales efímeros, y sedimentados en pequeños conos aluviales. En los barrancos sobre arcosas, los eventos de precipitación poco intensos y de alta frecuencia tienden a rellenar los lechos arenosos, mientras que la fusión nival y las precipitaciones de alta intensidad y baja frecuencia vacían los canales, sedimentando en zonas apicales de los conos aluviales. En las cárcavas sobre arenas silíceas, los primeros datos obtenidos apuntan a unas tasas de erosión y producción de sedimentos muy elevadas, ya que sobre ellas se produce escorrentía y erosión hídrica de manera casi instantánea; por ello, los eventos de precipitación de baja intensidad son capaces de sedimentar en las zonas apicales de los conos, mientras que los eventos de alta intensidad originan lóbulos telescópicos sobre conos aluviales existentes en pedimentos. [ABSTRACT] Two areas located at the edge of the North piedmont of the Guadarrama Mountains (province of Segovia) show a conspicuous development of gullies. A series of valley side gullies, or ravines, cut on arkosic sand sediments of Miocene age at the Río Chico Valley (southwest of the Segovia province); and slope gullies, cut on silica sand, shale and gravel sediments of Upper Cretaceous age, on the slopes of a set of mesas and cuestas at the río Cega piedmont (Pedraza region, south centre of the Segovia province). This paper characterizes the geomorphic activity of both types of gullies. In addition, the quantification of their current activity is initiated. The objectives are: to know which processes are eroding and mobilizing the sediments within the gullies, and to evaluate their rates, intensity, frequency and connectivity. A detailed field survey shows that weathering processes (sandstone sheeting, and the formation of popcorn structures on shale layers), and splash, sheet and rill erosion, along with sand and mud falls, slides and flows move sediment from the gully slopes and internal divides to the dry washes. These materials are temporary stored in ephemeral stream channels (filled with sandy bed material), evacuated by stream-bed scour and fill processes, and deposited in alluvial cones. In order to get a first approximation of the amount of erosion and sediment movement, a set of field methods have been applied to these areas. These methods include: erosion pins, measurement of pedestals, system of rods and washers, pit traps (box and gabion check-dam types), and topographic surveys after extensive sedimentation on alluvial cones, along with the installation of pluviographs. The results show how on the arkosic valley side gullies, the precipitation events of low intensity and high frequency tend to fill the sandy stream-beds, whereas the snowmelt and the high intensity and low frequency precipitation events scour the sandy stream-beds. The sedimentation occurs here at the apex part of the alluvial cones, which rest directly on the nearby floodplain of the Chico River. On the silica sand slope gullies, the first gathered data point at very high rates of erosion and sedimentation (44.1 tons/ha for a single event), which is interpreted due to the fact that runoff and water erosion occurs here almost instantaneously after precipitation. Here, the precipitation events of low intensity and high frequency produce sedimentation at the apex part of the alluvial cones, whereas the high intensity and low frequency precipitation events sediment in the form of telescopic lobes, on existing alluvial cones, which rest on pediments

Lab at home: prácticas de Ingeniería Química en tiempos de confinamiento

En este proyecto de innovación docente se han desarrollado prácticas de laboratorio de dos asignaturas del Grado en Ingeniería Química, Ingeniería Térmica y Operaciones de Separación, para así garantizar la experimentalidad en situaciones de docencia no presencial empleando materiales cotidianos e instalaciones confeccionadas por impresión 3D, que podrán ser empleadas por los estudiantes en situación de confinamiento

Epidemiología básica. Material docente para prácticas en ciencias de la salud

Material docente teórico práctico para apoyar la enseñanza de la epidemiología. Consta de 4 unidades, cada una de ellas con una introducción teórica y unos ejercicios basados en artículos publicados en inglés en revistas científicas

Management of acute diverticulitis with pericolic free gas (ADIFAS). an international multicenter observational study

Background: There are no specific recommendations regarding the optimal management of this group of patients. The World Society of Emergency Surgery suggested a nonoperative strategy with antibiotic therapy, but this was a weak recommendation. This study aims to identify the optimal management of patients with acute diverticulitis (AD) presenting with pericolic free air with or without pericolic fluid. Methods: A multicenter, prospective, international study of patients diagnosed with AD and pericolic-free air with or without pericolic free fluid at a computed tomography (CT) scan between May 2020 and June 2021 was included. Patients were excluded if they had intra-abdominal distant free air, an abscess, generalized peritonitis, or less than a 1-year follow-up. The primary outcome was the rate of failure of nonoperative management within the index admission. Secondary outcomes included the rate of failure of nonoperative management within the first year and risk factors for failure. Results: A total of 810 patients were recruited across 69 European and South American centers; 744 patients (92%) were treated nonoperatively, and 66 (8%) underwent immediate surgery. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups. Hinchey II-IV on diagnostic imaging was the only independent risk factor for surgical intervention during index admission (odds ratios: 12.5, 95% CI: 2.4-64, P =0.003). Among patients treated nonoperatively, at index admission, 697 (94%) patients were discharged without any complications, 35 (4.7%) required emergency surgery, and 12 (1.6%) percutaneous drainage. Free pericolic fluid on CT scan was associated with a higher risk of failure of nonoperative management (odds ratios: 4.9, 95% CI: 1.2-19.9, P =0.023), with 88% of success compared to 96% without free fluid ( P <0.001). The rate of treatment failure with nonoperative management during the first year of follow-up was 16.5%. Conclusion: Patients with AD presenting with pericolic free gas can be successfully managed nonoperatively in the vast majority of cases. Patients with both free pericolic gas and free pericolic fluid on a CT scan are at a higher risk of failing nonoperative management and require closer observation

Healthcare workers hospitalized due to COVID-19 have no higher risk of death than general population. Data from the Spanish SEMI-COVID-19 Registry

Aim To determine whether healthcare workers (HCW) hospitalized in Spain due to COVID-19 have a worse prognosis than non-healthcare workers (NHCW). Methods Observational cohort study based on the SEMI-COVID-19 Registry, a nationwide registry that collects sociodemographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data on patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Spain. Patients aged 20-65 years were selected. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to identify factors associated with mortality. Results As of 22 May 2020, 4393 patients were included, of whom 419 (9.5%) were HCW. Median (interquartile range) age of HCW was 52 (15) years and 62.4% were women. Prevalence of comorbidities and severe radiological findings upon admission were less frequent in HCW. There were no difference in need of respiratory support and admission to intensive care unit, but occurrence of sepsis and in-hospital mortality was lower in HCW (1.7% vs. 3.9%; p = 0.024 and 0.7% vs. 4.8%; p<0.001 respectively). Age, male sex and comorbidity, were independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality and healthcare working with lower mortality (OR 0.211, 95%CI 0.067-0.667, p = 0.008). 30-days survival was higher in HCW (0.968 vs. 0.851 p<0.001). Conclusions Hospitalized COVID-19 HCW had fewer comorbidities and a better prognosis than NHCW. Our results suggest that professional exposure to COVID-19 in HCW does not carry more clinical severity nor mortality

Physical therapy in unilateral and bilateral vestibular hypofunction

[ES] Introducción: La rehabilitación vestibular (RV) basada en la terapia física, tiene el objetivo, en el caso de patología vestibular, de inducir la compensación del sistema nervioso central (SNC) a nivel de núcleos vestibulares y de otros niveles del SNC. Incluye ejercicios de habituación, adaptación y sustitución vestibular, ejercicios para mejorar el equilibrio y el control postural dinámico y ejercicios para el acondicionamiento general. En este capítulo discutimos los recientes avances sobre el adiestramiento del equilibrio y de la marcha, la estabilidad de la mirada y la habituación, en el contexto de los trastornos vestibulares uni y bilaterales. Método: Revisión narrativa. Resultados: Los ejercicios se prescriben para mejorar la función; fortaleciendo, y favoreciendo la flexibilidad y la resistencia, a través de la adaptación del RVO, la habituación, la sustitución sensorial, la marcha y el equilibrio postural. Son más eficaces los programas personalizados que los genéricos. El cumplimiento mejora con la personalización y las visitas de seguimiento a un fisioterapeuta. Discusión/Conclusiones: La RV permite mejorar el déficit funcional y los síntomas subjetivos derivados de la hipofunción vestibular periférica uni y bilateral, así como las alteraciones del equilibrio de origen central. Los objetivos de la RV consisten en reducir los síntomas para mejorar la estabilidad postural y de la mirada (particularmente durante los movimientos de la cabeza) y devolver al individuo a sus actividades normales, incluyendo la actividad física, la conducción y el trabajo habitual. Los médicos deben ofrecer la RV a quienes muestren limitaciones funcionales relacionadas con un déficit vestibular, pues actualmente se considera el tratamiento estándar en la disfunción vestibular periférica

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio