Spain’s disregard for Catalan press freedom is setting a dangerous precedent

First paragraph: In the run-up to the Catalan independence referendum on October 1 – ahead of the police attacks on voters on the day – the lines between protecting the Spanish constitution and curtailing freedom of expression became increasingly blurred. More than 140 websites promoting the referendum have been closed by the Spanish government in recent weeks. Reports have been rife of tensions between police and journalists – including raids on newspaper offices, broad threats of legal consequences, and an organised protest by journalists against harassment. All this in parallel with the other hostilities from Madrid: threats to arrest Catalan mayors, interference with civic budgets, mass police deployment and now the violence on the day itself. How do these attempts to control communication compare to other referendums – and how concerned should we be

Computational design and designability of gene regulatory networks

Nuestro conocimiento de las interacciones moleculares nos ha conducido hoy hacia una perspectiva ingenieril, donde diseños e implementaciones de sistemas artificiales de regulación intentan proporcionar instrucciones fundamentales para la reprogramación celular. Nosotros aquí abordamos el diseño de redes de genes como una forma de profundizar en la comprensión de las regulaciones naturales. También abordamos el problema de la diseñabilidad dada una genoteca de elementos compatibles. Con este fin, aplicamos métodos heuríticos de optimización que implementan rutinas para resolver problemas inversos, así como herramientas de análisis matemático para estudiar la dinámica de la expresión genética. Debido a que la ingeniería de redes de transcripción se ha basado principalmente en el ensamblaje de unos pocos elementos regulatorios usando principios de diseño racional, desarrollamos un marco de diseño computacional para explotar este enfoque. Modelos asociados a genotecas fueron examinados para descubrir el espacio genotípico asociado a un cierto fenotipo. Además, desarrollamos un procedimiento completamente automatizado para diseñar moleculas de ARN no codificante con capacidad regulatoria, basándonos en un modelo fisicoquímico y aprovechando la regulación alostérica. Los circuitos de ARN resultantes implementaban un mecanismo de control post-transcripcional para la expresión de proteínas que podía ser combinado con elementos transcripcionales. También aplicamos los métodos heurísticos para analizar la diseñabilidad de rutas metabólicas. Ciertamente, los métodos de diseño computacional pueden al mismo tiempo aprender de los mecanismos naturales con el fin de explotar sus principios fundamentales. Así, los estudios de estos sistemas nos permiten profundizar en la ingeniería genética. De relevancia, el control integral y las regulaciones incoherentes son estrategias generales que los organismos emplean y que aquí analizamos.Rodrigo Tarrega, G. (2011). Computational design and designability of gene regulatory networks [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/1417

Mapping groups associated with real-valued function spaces and direct limits of Sobolev-Lie groups

Let $M$ be a compact smooth manifold of dimension $m$ (without boundary) and $G$ be a finite-dimensional Lie group, with Lie algebra $g$. Let $H^{>m/2}(M,G)$ be the group of all mappings $\gamma\colon M\to G$ which are $H^s$ for some $s>m/2$. We show that $H^{>m/2}(M,G)$ can be made a regular Lie group in Milnor's sense, modelled on the Silva space $H^{>m/2}(M,g)$ which is the locally convex direct limit of the Hilbert spaces $H^s(M,g)$ for $s>m/2$, such that $H^{>m/2}(M,G)$ is the direct limit of the Hilbert-Lie groups $H^s(M,G)$ for $s>m/2$ as a smooth Lie group. We also explain how the (known) Lie group structure on $H^s(M,G)$ can be obtained as a special case of a general construction of Lie groups $F(M,G)$ whenever real-valued function spaces $F(U,R)$ on open subsets $U$ of $R^m$ are given, subject to simple axioms.Comment: Extended preprint version, 37 pages. Starting point for first author was earlier project "Regularity in Milnor's sense for direct limits of infinite-dimensional Lie groups'

The practice of Political Public Relations in Catalonia and Scotland

This thesis is about the practitioners of political public relations in Scotland and Catalonia. The study is focused on investigating the constitutive elements of political PR practitioners as a professional group and as a practice, and the influence that different media systems have on the practice of political PR. This is a comparative study that combines micro and macro-level analysis. The thesis is one of the first studies to approach political PR as a profession and to compare sub-state nations to explore communication practices in the political sphere. The theoretical framework for this thesis combines a neo-institutional approach to professions, and the theory of media systems models to explore and compare the context where political PR practitioners work. The empirical data of this thesis derives from in-depth interviews to Heads of Communication in parties and governments in Scotland and Catalonia. The analysis of the empirical data is based on thematic coding. The central argument of this thesis is that the practice of political PR and its practitioners occupy a professional role in the division of labour in the political sphere of Scotland and Catalonia. The professional role of political PR practitioners is that of a hybrid model that combines classic traits of professions with informal structures and shared professional identities resulting from the constant influence of the political and the media sphere. As a practice political PR is about relationship management and networking with the core actors and channels of the media sphere. Media systems provide the profession with different tools of influence over the media sphere influencing levels of professional power and professional performance. Catalan practitioners have a wider range of institutional tools because of the strongly interdependent relationship between the media and political spheres. Whereas Scottish practitioners use their professional power and performance to overcome the limitations to political influence in their media system.sub_mcpasubmitted2620_ethesessubmitte

Protocolo Asistencial de Cirugía Menor en Atención Primaria

Treball Final de Grau en Medicina. Codi: MD1158. Curs acadèmic: 2016/2017Introducción. La introducción de la Cirugía Menor en la Cartera de Servicios de Atención Primaria de la Consellería de Sanitat supone el apoyo institucional para la recuperación de una práctica diagnóstico-terapéutica de los médicos de Atención Primaria que contribuye a aumentar su capacidad resolutiva. A diferencia de los países anglosajones, la gestión de dicha práctica en España es deficiente (se realiza en poca cantidad y de forma heterogénea), motivo por el cual es necesario organizar y protocolizar todos los conocimientos, adecuados a los medios y materiales disponibles, sobre dicha actividad. Objetivo. Mejorar la oferta asistencial en el departamento de Castellón integrando una Cirugía Menor normalizada como una actividad más de la consulta diaria del médico de familia del centro de salud. Método. Para el trabajo se ha realizado una revisión bibliográfica de las principales fuentes y bases de datos biomédicas: Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Fisterra y AMF. Para ello se han incluido los artículos y documentos más relevantes publicados en los últimos 6 años y/o considerados de referencia con el tema de estudio. Las palabras clave utilizadas para la búsqueda han sido: Procedimientos de cirugía menor, atención primaria, procedimientos quirúrgicos ambulatorios, protocolo, cirugía menor, médicos de familia. Resultados. Tras revisar la bibliografía, podemos concluir que es necesario protocolizar la actividad de Cirugía Menor en Atención Primaria para estandarizar su práctica, dotar de mayor capacitación técnica a los médicos de familia, hacerla más accesible a la población y mejorar la eficiencia del Sistema nacional de salud. Conclusión. La protocolización, basada en la evidencia, de las actividades de cirugía menor en atención primaria seguramente permitiría efectuar una Cirugía Menor más homogénea y segura, además de ayudar a descongestionar determinados niveles asistenciales (dermatología y cirugía general). Para ello, es fundamental adaptar la práctica de Cirugía Menor a los recursos disponibles y al horario laboral de los médicos de familia, incentivar su realización, impulsar la formación continuada en ella y establecer un marco legal y unos criterios definidos para efectuarla de forma segura.Introduction. The introduction of Minor Surgery in the Primary Care Services of the health counseling assumes the institutional support for the recovery of a diagnostic-therapeutic practice of primary care physicians that contributes to increase their capacity for resolution. Unlike the Anglo-Saxon countries, the management of this practice in Spain is deficient (it is done in small quantities and in a heterogeneous way), and that is why it is necessary to organize and to protocol all knowledge about this activity, appropriate to the means and materials available. Objective. Improve the provision of care in the department of Castellón by integrating a standardized Minor Surgery as an activity in the daily consultation of the family doctor of the health center. Methods. For work, was carried out a bibliographical review of the main sources and biomedical databases: Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Fisterra and AMF. To this end, the most relevant articles and documents published in the last 6 years or considered as reference with the topic of study have been included. The keywords used for the search were: Minor surgery procedures, primary care, ambulatory surgical procedures, protocol, minor surgery, family doctors. Results. After reviewing the literature, we can conclude that it is necessary to register the activity of Minor Surgery in Primary Care to standardize its practice, provide more technical training to family doctors, make it more accessible to the population and improve the efficiency of the national health system. Conclusion. The evidence-based protocols for minor surgery in primary care would certainly allow doing a more homogeneous and safe Minor Surgery, in addition to helping to decongest certain levels of care (dermatology and general surgery). For this, it is fundamental to adapt the practice of Minor Surgery to the available resources and working hours of family physicians, to encourage their implementation, to encourage continuing training in it and to establish a legal framework and defined criteria to carry it out safely

PENGUASAAN PESERTA DIDIK KELAS IX TERHADAP LAGU NASIONAL DI SMP NEGERI 10 PONTIANAK

National songs play a crucial role in shaping Indonesia's national identity. At SMP Negeri 10 Pontianak, a noticeable number of students showed limited mastery of these songs. This school, established since 1979 and led by Ibu Rozani Nofelinda, S.Pd, M.Pd, functions with various curricula for different grades. The study utilized qualitative methods, such as observations and interviews. The findings highlighted that many students lacked adequate mastery of national songs. Factors impacting their proficiency include personal interest, motivation, teaching techniques, and external environment. The institution's vision emphasizes excellence, discipline, environmental mindfulness, faith, and devotion. Despite the national songs' curriculum not being mandatory, it was introduced to bolster students' nationalism, especially considering the decline in this practice during the two-year remote learning due to the pandemic. The results underscore that only a portion of the students excels in these national songs, indicating a pressing need for improved methods to foster and sustain national pride through mastery of these songs

Virus-host interactome: Putting the accent on how it changes

[EN] Viral infections are extremely complex processes that could only be well understood by precisely characterizing the interaction networks between the virus and the host components. In recent years, much effort has gone in this directionwith the aimof unveiling themolecular basis of viral pathology. These networks are mostly formed by viral and host proteins, and are expected to be dynamic bothwith time and space (i.e., with the progression of infection, as well as with the virus and host genotypes; what we call plastodynamic). This largely overlooked spatio-temporal evolution urgently calls for a change both in the conceptual paradigms and experimental techniques used so far to characterize virus-host interactions. More generally, molecular plasticity and temporal dynamics are unavoidable components of themechanisms that underlie any complex disease; components whose understandingwill eventually enhance our ability to modulate those networkswith the aimof improving disease treatments.This work is supported by the grants BFU2015-66894-P (to G.R.), BI02014-54269-R (to J-A.D.) and BFU2015-65037-P (to S.F.E.) from the Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, and by the grant PROMETEOII/2014/021 from the Generalitat Valenciana (to S.F.E. and J-A.D.).Rodrigo Tarrega, G.; Daros Arnau, JA.; Elena Fito, SF. (2017). Virus-host interactome: Putting the accent on how it changes. Journal of Proteomics. 156:1-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jprot.2016.12.007S1415

Influence of label information on dark chocolate acceptability

The aim of the present work was to study how the information on product labels influences consumer expectations and their acceptance and purchase intention of dark chocolate. Six samples of dark choco- late, varying in brand (premium and store brand) and in type of product (regular dark chocolate, single cocoa origin dark chocolate and high percentage of cocoa dark chocolate), were evaluated by 109 con- sumers who scored their liking and purchase intention under three conditions: blind (only tasting the products), expected (observing product label information) and informed (tasting the products together with provision of the label information). In the expected condition, consumer liking was mainly affected by the brand. In the blind condition, differences in liking were due to the type of product; the samples with a high percentage of cocoa were those less preferred by consumers. Under the informed condition, liking of dark chocolates varied depending on both brand and type of product. Premium brand chocolates generated high consumer expectations of chocolate acceptability, which were fulfilled by the sensory characteristics of the products. Store brand chocolates created lower expectations, but when they were tasted they were as acceptable as premium chocolates. Claims of a high percentage of cocoa and single cocoa origin on labels did not generate higher expectations than regular dark chocolates

What Makes for Effective Youth Mentoring Programmes: A rapid evidence summary

There is a large body of research, policy and comment on youth mentoring schemes. Despite this, there is very little evidence on whether such programmes work and, if they do, what makes them effective. This rapid review of the literature explores the existing evidence around what factors make youth mentoring (or intergenerational) programmes effective. We found that youth mentoring programmes can improve outcomes across academic, behavioural, emotional and social areas of young people’s lives. These impacts are small, but nevertheless significant. There is no evidence that youth mentoring programmes can improve physical health, although few studies examine this particular outcome. The evidence provides a number of insights into what makes youth mentoring programmes effective, including that longer mentoring relationships are associated with better outcomes, the importance of training and motivation, the need for goal-orientated programmes and the key role of the matching process

The impact of hop bitter acid and polyphenol profiles on the perceived bitterness of beer

Thirty-four commercial lager beers were analysed for their hop bitter acid, phenolic acid and polyphenol contents. Based on analytical data, it was evident that the beers had been produced using a range of different raw materials and hopping practices. Principal Components Analysis was used to select a sub-set of 10 beers that contained diverse concentrations of the analysed bitter compounds. These beers were appraised sensorially to determine the impacts of varying hop acid and polyphenolic profiles on perceived bitterness character. Beers high in polyphenol and hop acid contents were perceived as having ‘harsh’ and ‘progressive’ bitterness, whilst beers that had evidently been conventionally hopped were ‘sharp’ and ‘instant' in their bitterness. Beers containing light-stable hop products (tetrahydro-iso-α-acids) were perceived as ‘diminishing’, ‘rounded’ and ‘acidic’ in bitterness. The hopping strategy adopted by brewers impacts on the nature, temporal profile and intensity of bitterness perception in beer