L'Art i la vida artística a les terres de Lleida, 1875-1936: lectura sistèmica d'una perifèria

Aquesta tesi presenta una panoràmica en clau artísica del pla de Lleida entre 1875 i 1936. Hem constatat que durant aquesta època prenen forma i es consoliden uns mecanismes, unes estructures i unes dinàmiques imprescindibles per a la supervivència del fet artístic a Ponent, de tal manera que la concepció tòpica d’aquest territori com una estepa pel que feia a l’àmbit cultural i artístic queda en entredit. Sense oblidar que el nostre objecte d’estudi ocupa una posició perifèrica dins del marc general de l’art català d’època contemporània, presentem una lectura renovada gràcies a la incorporació de propostes metodològiques pròpies de disciplines amb poca o cap relació directa amb la història de l’art com són la teoria dels camps de poder (pròpia de la sociologia) i la teoria dels polisistemes (habitual en estudis de traducció). Des d’aquest punt de vista hem superat un escenari tradicionalment definit en base a oposicions binàries, sublimades en la relació Lleida-Barcelona i en la dialèctica centre-perifèria, i hem traçat un panorama sensiblement més ric en matisos, que aporta una major dimensió al coneixement disponible i encaixa com una peça més en el gran polisistema que és l’art català d’època contemporània.La presente tesis ofrece una panorámica en clave artística de la zona conocida como “Ponent” o “pla de Lleida” (llano en el sur de la provincia de Lleida, aproximadamente formado por las comarcas de la Noguera, Segrià, Urgell y Pla d’Urgell) entre 1875 y 1936. Hemos constatado que durante esta época se forman y se consolidan unos mecanismos, unas estructuras y unas dinámicas imprescindibles para la supervivencia del hecho artístico de Ponent, de tal modo que la concepción tópica sobre este territorio como una estepa en lo referente al ámbito artístico y cultural queda en entredicho. Sin olvidar que nuestro objeto de estudio ocupa una posición periférica dentro del marco general del arte catalán de época contemporánea, presentamos una lectura renovada gracias a la incorporación de propuestas metodológicas propias de disciplinas con poca o ninguna relación directa con la historia del arte, como son la teoría de los campos de poder (propia de la sociología) y la teoría de los polisistemas (habitual en estudios de traducción). Desde este punto de vista hemos superado un escenario tradicionalmente definido en base a oposiciones binarias sublimadas en la relación Lleida-Barcelona y en la dialéctica centro-periferia, y hemos trazado un panorama sensiblemente más rico en matices, que aporta una mayor dimensión al conocimiento disponible y encaja como una pieza más en el gran polisistema que es el arte catalán de época contemporánea.This thesis presents a panoramic view of the artistic phenomena occured in the area known as “pla de Lleida” or “Ponent” (the plain territory located in the southern part of Lleida’s province in West Catalonia, currently roughly comprised by Noguera, Segrià, Pla d’Urgell, and Urgell regions) between 1875 and 1936. During this period, the mechanisms, structures, and dynamics essential to ensure Ponent’s artistic life are developed and consolidated, setting grounds for discussion about the traditional cliché about Lleida being an artistic and cultural desert. Regarding Catalan contemporary art as a whole, our subject matter is certainly in a peripheric position. However, this stance is observed from a renewed point of view by the means of a combination of field and polysystem theory. This is a rare approach in art history, but it has allowed us to overcome a scenario based upon binary oppositions —condensed in centre-periphery relationships and the dialectics between Lleida and Barcelona— and thus to draw a richer panorama, which provides a new dimension to available knowledge and fits in as another part in the great polysystem of contemporary Catalan art

Improving Questioning-Answering Strategies in Learning from Multiple Complementary Texts: an Intervention Study

Studies have shown that inferential questions encourage a more in-depth understanding of texts and that students need to learn appropriate strategies for answering them, particularly when they deal with multiple texts. In this experimental study, the authors aimed to improve 8th grade students' (13- to 14 years old) ability to answer intra- and intertextual inferential questions when they read one or multiple complementary texts. The intervention was implemented by a group of middle-school history teachers. Teachers in both the intervention and control groups (IG and CG, respectively) taught the same teaching unit using the same reading materials. However, teachers in the IG participated in 12 hours of professional development seminars on analysis of their classroom practice and how to improve their questioning strategies. Post-intervention results revealed that students in the IG were significantly better than those in the CG at answering intra- and intertextual inferential questions. This difference was maintained at follow-up (two months after finishing the intervention). Students in the IG also performed better than those in the CG at a learning test. These results confirm the value of teaching students how to answer complex questions, especially when they refer to more than one text. The findings also support the value of the professional development program that enables teachers to reflect on their practice

Economy and Learning Research Lab

Postprint (published version

Prognostic value of biomarkers after cardiopulmonary bypass in pediatrics: The prospective PANCAP study

Objective:To assess the usefulness of procalcitonin, pro-adrenomedullin and pro-atrial natriuretic peptide as predictors of need for mechanical ventilation and postoperative complications (need for inotropic support and bacterial infection) in critically ill pediatric patients after cardiopulmonary bypass. Design:A prospective, observational study Setting: Pediatric intensive care unit. Patients: Patients under 18 years old admitted after cardiopulmonary bypass. Measuraments and main results: Serum levels of procalcitonin, pro-adrenomedullin and pro-atrial natriuretic peptide were determined immediately after bypass and at 24-36 hours. Their values were correlated with the need for mechanical ventilation, inotropic support and bacterial infection. One hundred eleven patients were recruited. Septal defects (30.6%) and cardiac valve disease (17.1%) were the most frequent pathologies. 40.7% required mechanical ventilation, 94.6% inotropic support and 15.3% presented invasive bacterial infections. Pro-adrenomedullin and pro-atrial natriuretic peptide showed significant high values in patients needing mechanical ventilation. Cut-off values higher than 1.22 nmol/L and 215.3 pmol/L, respectively for each biomarker, may indicate need for mechanical ventilation with an AUC of 0.721 and 0.746 at admission and 0.738 and 0.753 at 24-36 hours, respectively but without statistical differences. Pro-adrenomedullin and procalcitonin showed statistically significant high values in patients with bacterial infections. Conclusions: After bypass, pro-adrenomedullin and pro-atrial natriuretic peptide are suitable biomarkers to predict the need for mechanical ventilation. Physicians should be alert if the values of these markers are high so as not to progress to early extubation. Procalcitonin is useful for predicting bacterial infection. This is a preliminary study and more clinical studies should be done to confirm the value of pro-adrenomedullin and pro-atrial natriuretic peptide as biomarkers after cardiopulmonary bypass

Bottom-up instructive quality control in the biofabrication of smart protein materials

The impact of cell factory quality control on material properties is a neglected but critical issue in the fabrication of protein biomaterials, which are unique in merging structure and function. The molecular chaperoning of protein conformational status is revealed here as a potent molecular instructor of the macroscopic properties of self-assembling, cell-targeted protein nanoparticles, including biodistribution upon in vivo administration

Recombinant protein-based nanoparticles: Elucidating their inflammatory effects in vivo and their potential as a new therapeutic format

Bacterial inclusion bodies (IBs) are protein-based nanoparticles of a few hundred nanometers formed during recombinant protein production processes in different bacterial hosts. IBs contain active protein in a mechanically stable nanostructured format that has been broadly characterized, showing promising potential in different fields such as tissue engineering, protein replacement therapies, cancer, and biotechnology. For immunomodulatory purposes, however, the interference of the format immunogenic properties—intrinsic to IBs—with the specific effects of the therapeutic protein is still an uncovered gap. For that, active and inactive forms of the catalytic domain of a matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9 and mutMMP-9, respectively) have been produced as IBs and compared with the soluble form for dermal inflammatory effects in mmp9 knock-out mice. After protein injections in air-pouches in the mouse model, MMP-9 IBs induce local neutrophil recruitment and increase pro-inflammatory chemokine levels, lasting for at least two days, whereas the effects triggered by the soluble MMP-9 format fade out after 3 h. Interestingly, the IB intrinsic effects (mutMMP-9 IBs) do not last more than 24 h. Therefore, it may be concluded that IBs could be used for the delivery of therapeutic proteins, such as immunomodulating proteins while preserving their stability in the specific tissue and without triggering important unspecific inflammatory responses due to the protein format.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio