El Parc infantil del Prat de l'Albereda de Morella. Una experiència docent coordinada pel professor d'escultura Joan Valle.

El professor d'escultura de la Facultat de Belles Arts de la Universitat de Barcelona, Joan Valle Martí, ha desenvolupat tot un seguit de recursos metodològics basats en l'experimentació de dues disciplines, l'activitat artística i la docència en l'àmbit de l'escultura. Totes dues han mantingut un procés de retroalimentació. A continuació, oferim una aproximació a un dels projectes més rellevants de la metodologia aplicada per Joan

Species-specific developmental toxicity in rats and rabbits: generation of a reference compound list for development of alternative testing approaches

For regulatory information requirements, developmental toxicity testing is often conducted in two mammalian species. In order to provide a set of reference compounds that could be used to explore alternative approaches to supersede testing in a second species, a retrospective data analysis was conducted. The aim was to identify compounds for which species sensitivity differences between rats and rabbits are not caused by maternal toxicity or toxicokinetic differences. A total of 330 compounds were analysed and classified according to their species-specific differences. A lack of concordance between rat and rabbit was observed in 24% of the compounds, of which 10% were found to be selective developmental toxicants in one of the species. In contrast to previously published analyses the presented comparison is based entirely on publically data allowing validating and comparing alternative approaches for developmental toxicity testing. Furthermore, this list could be useful to identify mechanisms leading to species differences

Effective communication models in advertising campaigns. A strategic analysis in the search for effectiveness

In striving for effectiveness these days, sales alone cannot be the single foremost objective. Other factors can contribute to the creation of a virtuous cycle and have an impact on sales. These too should be measured when determining the overall effectiveness of a campaign. In this article we present an analysis of the winning cases in the Effectiveness Awards for commercial communications in Spain from 2010-2018. We will use it to identify the most widely employed communication models and evaluation metrics currently in use when considering the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. To compare and provide professional assessment we have sought out and compiled the opinions of professionals from the advertising sector who have previously sat on the Effectiveness Awards jury. The main objective is to identify and categorise the most effective models of communication currently in use. To this end 280 cases have been analysed from the Effectiveness Awards between 2010 and 2018 and a total of 48 in-depth interviews have been carried out. Among the main results we highlight the superiority of emotional models over rational ones. We found cultural emotion provides the best results though when it comes to gains in efficiency, a correlation of both yields improved averages in business.En la actualidad, las marcas no pueden definir como único objetivo vender si lo que pretenden es ser eficaces. Existen otros indicadores que contribuyen a crear un ciclo virtuoso que acaba teniendo un impacto en ventas y, por tanto, deben ser medidos para determinar la efectividad de una campaña. Por medio de este artículo, presentamos un análisis de los casos ganadores en los Premios a la Eficacia en comunicación comercial en España (Premios Eficacia) en el periodo comprendido entre 2010-2018 para determinar los modelos de comunicación más utilizados y métricas de evaluación que, en la actualidad, se están aplicando para considerar el nivel de eficacia real que tiene una campaña de publicidad. Además, se recopila la opinión de profesionales del sector de la publicidad que han formado parte del jurado de los Premios Eficacia para contrastar y aportar su valoración profesional. El objetivo principal es identificar y categorizar los modelos de comunicación que son más eficaces en la actualidad. Para ello se han analizado 280 casos premiados en los Premios Eficacia en los años comprendidos entre 2010 y 2018 y se han realizado un total de 48 entrevistas en profundidad. Entre los principales resultados destacamos que existe una superioridad de los modelos emocionales sobre los racionales, siendo el emocional cultural el que ofrece mejores resultados, así como una correlación de los mismos respecto a la eficacia obtenida, generando un mayor promedio en los resultados de negocio

Automated morphological feature assessment for zebrafish embryo developmental toxicity screens

Detection of developmental phenotypes in zebrafish embryos typically involves a visual assessment and scoring of morphological features by an individual researcher. Subjective scoring could impact results and be of particular concern when phenotypic effect patterns are also used as a diagnostic tool to classify compounds. Here we introduce a quantitative morphometric approach based on image analysis of zebrafish embryos. A software called FishInspector was developed to detect morphological features from images collected using an automated system to position zebrafish embryos. The analysis was verified and compared with visual assessments of 3 participating laboratories using 3 known developmental toxicants (methotrexate, dexamethasone, and topiramate) and 2 negative compounds (loratadine and glibenclamide). The quantitative approach exhibited higher sensitivity and made it possible to compare patterns of effects with the potential to establish a grouping and classification of developmental toxicants. Our approach improves the robustness of phenotype scoring and reliability of assay performance and, hence, is anticipated to improve the predictivity of developmental toxicity screening using the zebrafish embryo

Benthic suspension feeders, key players in Antartic marine ecosystems?

Ja fa un cert temps que hom accepta, de manera general i a partir d'estudis de la columna d'aigua en mar obert, que en les comunitats marines de l'oceà Antàrtic hi ha un període prolongat d'activitat hivernal mínima que s'estén al llarg de sis mesos com a mínim, que és el temps que dura l'hivern austral. Tanmateix, investigacions recents en algunes espècies d'invertebrats suspensívors (filtradors) bentònics litorals han suggerit que el període d'inactivitat potser dura només unes poques setmanes. Això planteja una interessant qüestió: què és el que permet que aquests organismes antàrtics mengin, i per tant romanguin actius, durant períodes molt més llargs del que fins ara s'havia cregut? Hom ha suggerit adaptacions especials a menjar en concentracions molt baixes d'aliment, o bé a usar eficientment l'abundància ocasional d'aliment enmig de llargs períodes d'escassedat. Molts animals suspensívors podrien usar fonts alternatives al seu aliment usual, el fito- i el zooplàncton; per exemple, la ?fracció fina' de matèria orgànica, o microplàncton (bacteris, ciliats i flagel·lats, junt amb carboni inorgànic particulat d'orígens diversos), que hom ha demostrat recentment que té un paper molt més significatiu del que hom creia a l'hora de complementar la dieta i de subvenir a les demandes energètiques de moltes espècies de suspensívors. També s'ha esmentat el possible paper de la resuspensió de sediments i, atès l'elevat valor alimentari del component orgànic dels sediments antàrtics, àdhuc de fons pregons, serà interessant investigar més en aquesta línia. Observacions recents relacionades amb la dieta natural (captura de preses) d'algunes espècies d'aigües somes porten a suposar que alguns suspensívors antàrtics, si més no, tenen taxes de creixement i reproducció que són similars a les assenyalades per a espècies d'aigües temperades.For quite some time it was generally accepted, from water column and open sea studies, that in Antarctic marine communities there is a prolonged period of minimal winter activity which lasts for at least six months during the Southern winter. However, recent studies on certain littoral benthic suspension feeders have suggested that the period of inactivity may last only a few weeks. This raises the question of what allows these organisms to feed, and hence remain active, for considerably longer periods than previously thought. Special adaptations to feeding at low levels of food concentration, or to using occasional food abundance followed by long periods of starvation have been suggested. Many suspension feeders might use alternative food sources to phytoand zooplankton, e.g., the «fine fraction» of organic matter, or microplankton (bacteria, ciliates, and flagellates including POC of several origins), which has recently been shown to play a much more significant role than expected in complementing the diet and meeting energy demands in many species of suspension feeders. The possible role of sediment resuspension has also been reported, and given the high food value of the organic component of sediments even on deep bottoms further research would be of interest. Recent observations related to the natural diet (prey capture) of several shallow species lead to the assumption that part of Antarctic suspension feeders have similar growth and reproduction rates to those reported for temperate waters. Efficient food assimilation may contribute to our understanding of the continuous reproduction state observed in octocorals and, also, of the development of tridimensionally structured communities which are suspension-feeder dominated, highly diversified, and have a high biomass

A High-Fat Diet Modifies Brain Neurotransmitter Profile and Hippocampal Proteome and Morphology in an IUGR Pig Model

This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (AGL2015-68463-C2-2-P to A.B. and projects AGL2013-48121-C3-R and AGL2016-79321-C2-1-R to A.G.-B.), cofunded by FEDER. N.Y. is recipient of a graduate student fellowship from the Spanish FPU National Program Grant (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; number FPU17/01881). A.H.-M. is recipient of a graduate student fellowship from the Spanish FPI National Program Grant (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; number BES-2017-080541).Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) hinders the correct growth of the fetus during pregnancy due to the lack of oxygen or nutrients. The developing fetus gives priority to brain development ("brain sparing"), but the risk exists of neurological and cognitive deficits at short or long term. On the other hand, diets rich in fat exert pernicious effects on brain function. Using a pig model of spontaneous IUGR, we have studied the effect on the adult of a long-term high-fat diet (HFD) on the neurotransmitter profile in several brain areas, and the morphology and the proteome of the hippocampus. Our hypothesis was that animals affected by IUGR (born with low birth weight) would present a different susceptibility to an HFD when they become adults, compared with normal birth-weight animals. Our results indicate that HFD affected the serotoninergic pathway, but it did not provoke relevant changes in the morphology of the hippocampus. Finally, the proteomic analysis revealed that, in some instances, NBW and LBW individuals respond to HFD in different ways. In particular, NBW animals presented changes in oxidative phosphorylation and the extracellular matrix, whereas LBW animals presented differences in RNA splicing, anterograde and retrograde transport and the mTOR pathway

Ligand-independent oligomerization of TACI is controlled by the transmembrane domain and regulates proliferation of activated B cells.

In mature B cells, TACI controls class-switch recombination and differentiation into plasma cells during T cell-independent antibody responses. TACI binds the ligands BAFF and APRIL. Approximately 10% of patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) carry TACI mutations, of which A181E and C172Y are in the transmembrane domain. Residues A181 and C172 are located on distinct sides of the transmembrane helix, which is predicted by molecular modeling to spontaneously assemble into trimers and dimers. In human B cells, these mutations impair ligand-dependent (C172Y) and -independent (A181E) TACI multimerization and signaling, as well as TACI-enhanced proliferation and/or IgA production. Genetic inactivation of TACI in primary human B cells impaired survival of CpG-activated cells in the absence of ligand. These results identify the transmembrane region of TACI as an active interface for TACI multimerization in signal transduction, in particular for ligand-independent signals. These functions are perturbed by CVID-associated mutations

Effect of a rehabilitation-based chronic disease management program targeting severe COPD exacerbations on readmission patterns

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is recommended after a severe COPD exacerbation, but its short- and long-term effects on health care utilization have not been fully established. The aims of this study were to evaluate patient compliance with a chronic disease management (CDM) program incorporating home-based exercise training as the main component after a severe COPD exacerbation and to determine its effects on health care utilization in the following year. COPD patients with a severe exacerbation were included in a case-cohort study at admission. An intervention group participated in a nurse-supervised CDM program during the 2 months after discharge, comprising of home-based PR with exercise components directly supervised by a physiotherapist, while the remaining patients followed usual care. Nineteen of the twenty-one participants (90.5%) were compliant with the CDM program and were compared with 29 usual-care patients. Compliance with the program was associated with statistically significant reductions in admissions due to respiratory disease in the following year (median [interquartile range]: 0 [0-1] vs 1 [0-2.5]; P =0.022) and in days of admission (0 [0-7] vs 7 [0-12]; P =0.034), and multiple linear regression analysis confirmed the protective effect of the CDM program (β coefficient −0.785, P =0.014, and R 2 =0.219). A CDM program incorporating exercise training for COPD patients without limiting comorbidities after a severe exacerbation achieves high compliance and reduces admissions in the year following after the intervention

Physiology and toxicology teachers’ coordination. A case study in the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona

El aprendizaje es un proceso continuo que no debería finalizar una vez aprobada una determinada asignatura. En cualquier estudio universitario hay muchas materias que, para su comprensión, requieren de conocimientos adquiridos previamente en otras. En los estudios de Farmacia del plan 2002, los profesores de toxicología habían constatado que los estudiantes de dicha asignatura no recordaban conceptos básicos cursados en asignaturas de semestres anteriores. La asignatura de toxicología necesita para su comprensión conocimientos de, entre otras materias, fisiología y fisiopatología. Por esta razón se planteó la necesidad de hacer una actuación conjunta entre los profesores de Fisiología y Toxicología. Los objetivos de este proyecto fueron: a) Identificación de los contenidos fisiológicos y fisiopatológicos que los alumnos deben conocer para el seguimiento de la asignatura de toxicología. b) Unificación terminológica. c) Realización de un conjunto de preguntas básicas sobre estos contenidos. d) Detección, a través de estas preguntas, de los temas o grupos de temas con porcentajes más altos de respuestas incorrectas. e) Detectar los temas de fisiología y fisiopatología en los que hay que hacer más hincapié para favorecer el seguimiento de toxicología. En esta comunicación se describe la experiencia y los resultados obtenidos.Learning is a continuous process that should be still performed once a particular subject has been passed. In the university, many subjects require prior knowledge of others subjects for better understanding. During the Pharmacy curriculum of 2002, toxicology teachers observed that students did not seem to remember the basic concepts presumably acquired in previous semesters. For example, for the toxicology subject, students should have basic knowledge of physiology and pathophysiology. For this reason, a joint action among physiology and toxicology teachers was considered. The objectives of this project were: a) Identifying the physiological and pathophysiological aspects that students should know to follow the toxicology course. b) Reaching agreement over the common terminology. c) Executing a set of basic questions about these physiological and pathophysiological aspects. d) Detecting through these questions, the topics with a highest percentage of incorrect answers. e) Identifying which physiology and pathophysiology topics should be emphasized to encourage students to follow the toxicology subject. This communication describes the experience and outcomes of this project

Low Dynamics, High Longevity and Persistence of Sessile Structural Species Dwelling on Mediterranean Coralligenous Outcrops

There is still limited understanding of the processes underlying benthic species dynamics in marine coastal habitats, which are of disproportionate importance in terms of productivity and biodiversity. The life-history traits of long-lived benthic species in these habitats are particularly poorly documented. In this study, we assessed decadal patterns of population dynamics for ten sponge and anthozoan species that play key structural roles in coralligenous outcrops (∼25 m depth) in two areas of the NW Mediterranean Sea. This study was based on examination of a unique long-term photographic series, which allowed analysis of population dynamics over extensive spatial and time spans for the very first time. Specifically, 671 individuals were censused annually over periods of 25-, 15-, and 5-years. This long-term study quantitatively revealed a common life-history pattern among the ten studied species, despite the fact they present different growth forms. Low mortality rates (3.4% yr−1 for all species combined) and infrequent recruitment events (mean value of 3.1±0.5 SE recruits yr−1) provided only a very small fraction of the new colonies required to maintain population sizes. Overall, annual mortality and recruitment rates did not differ significantly among years; however, some species displayed important mortality events and recruitment pulses, indicating variability among species. Based on the growth rates of these 10 species, we projected their longevity and, obtained a mean estimated age of 25–200 years. Finally, the low to moderate turnover rates (mean value 0.80% yr−1) observed among the coralligenous species were in agreement with their low dynamics and persistence. These results offer solid baseline data and reveal that these habitats are among the most vulnerable to the current increases of anthropogenic disturbances