Diari de Guerra de Salvador Porras i Manaut (1937-1939)

El documento que presentamos es el "Diario de Guerra" de Salvador Porras i Manaut. Es un dietario escrito por este joven de la quinta del cuarenta a partir de su experiencia de movilización en la Guerra española del siglo XX. Porras, en el transcurso de más de quince meses (entre octubre de 1937 y enero de 1939, principalmente) expone noticias e impresiones derivadas de su participación en los frentes del Segre, del Ebro y en la retirada definitiva de las fuerzas republicanas del área meridional de las comarcas catalanas de Poniente.The document presented here is the “War Diary” of Salvador Porras i Manaut. This diary was kept by this young man of the 1940 conscripts based on his experiences of recruitment into the Spanish Civil War. Over a period of fifteen months (mainly from October 1937 to January 1939), Porras included news and impressions derived from his participation on the fronts Segre, and Ebro fronts and the final withdrawal of the republican forces from the southern part of western Catalonia

On the efficiency and sensitivity of a pyramidal classification algorithm

In this paper we propose a Pyramidal Classification Algorithm, which together with an appropriate aggregation index produces an indexed pseudo-hierarchy (in the strict sense) without inversions nor crossings. The computer implementation of the algorithm makes it possible to carry out some simulation tests by Monte Carlo methods in order to study the efficiency and sensitivity of the pyramidal methods of the Maximum, Minimum and UPGMA. The results shown in this paper may help to choose between the three classification methods proposed, in order to obtain the classification that best fits the original structure of the population, provided we have an a priori information concerning this structure.Pyramidal classification methods, aggregation index, pseudo-hierarchy, Robinsonian dissimilarity, Monte Carlo evaluation, overlapping clusters

Biografía de P. Font Quer

48 p. -- fot. bl. y n.Peer reviewe

Symptom-Based Predictive Model of COVID-19 Disease in Children

COVID-19; Microbiology; PaediatricsCOVID-19; Microbiología; PediatríaCOVID-19; Microbiologia; PediatriaBackground: Testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is neither always accessible nor easy to perform in children. We aimed to propose a machine learning model to assess the need for a SARS-CoV-2 test in children (<16 years old), depending on their clinical symptoms. Methods: Epidemiological and clinical data were obtained from the REDCap® registry. Overall, 4434 SARS-CoV-2 tests were performed in symptomatic children between 1 November 2020 and 31 March 2021, 784 were positive (17.68%). We pre-processed the data to be suitable for a machine learning (ML) algorithm, balancing the positive-negative rate and preparing subsets of data by age. We trained several models and chose those with the best performance for each subset. Results: The use of ML demonstrated an AUROC of 0.65 to predict a COVID-19 diagnosis in children. The absence of high-grade fever was the major predictor of COVID-19 in younger children, whereas loss of taste or smell was the most determinant symptom in older children. Conclusions: Although the accuracy of the models was lower than expected, they can be used to provide a diagnosis when epidemiological data on the risk of exposure to COVID-19 is unknown.This research has received external funding from the Fundació la Marató tv3 after being awarded in the COVID-19 research call with the expedient number 202134-30-31

Teraherz subsurface imaging system

A subsurface imaging system based on a terahertz time-domain spectrometer (THz-TDS) is described in this paper. The system performance has been simulated in terms of spatial resolution, penetration capabilities and SNR. Moreover, a commercial THz-TDS has been used to perform the proof-of-concept of the described system.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Treadmill intervention attenuates the cafeteria diet-induced impairment of stress-coping strategies in young adult female rats

The current prevalence of diet-induced overweight and obesity in adolescents and adults is continuously growing. Although the detrimental biochemical and metabolic consequences of obesity are widely studied, its impact on stress-coping behavior and its interaction with specific exercise doses (in terms of intensity, duration and frequency) need further investigation. To this aim, we fed adolescent rats either an obesogenic diet (cafeteria diet, CAF) or standard chow (ST). Each group was subdivided into four subgroups according to the type of treadmill intervention as follows: a sedentary group receiving no manipulation; a control group exposed to a stationary treadmill; a low-intensity treadmill group trained at 12 m/min; and a higher intensity treadmill group trained at 17 m/min. Both the diet and treadmill interventions started at weaning and lasted for 8 weeks. Subjects were tested for anxiety-like behavior in the open field test and for coping strategies in the two-way active avoidance paradigm at week 7 and were sacrificed at week 8 for biometric and metabolic characterization. CAF feeding increased the weight gain, relative retroperitoneal white adipose tissue (RWAT %), and plasma levels of glucose, insulin, triglycerides and leptin and decreased the insulin sensitivity. Treadmill intervention partially reversed the RWAT% and triglyceride alterations; at higher intensity, it decreased the leptin levels of CAF-fed animals. CAF feeding decreased the motor activity and impaired the performance in a two-way active avoidance assessment. Treadmill intervention reduced defecation in the shuttle box, suggesting diminished anxiety. CAF feeding combined with treadmill training at 17 m/min increased the time spent in the center of the open field and more importantly, partially reversed the two-way active avoidance deficit. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that at doses that decreased anxiety-like behavior, treadmill exercise partially improved the coping strategy in terms of active avoidance behavior in the CAF-fed animals. This effect was not observed at lower doses of treadmill training

Autobiographical memory and default mode network function in schizophrenia : an fMRI study

The brain functional correlates of autobiographical recall are well established, but have been little studied in schizophrenia. Additionally, autobiographical memory is one of a small number of cognitive tasks that activates rather than de-activates the default mode network, which has been found to be dysfunctional in this disorder. Twenty-seven schizophrenic patients and 30 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while viewing cue words that evoked autobiographical memories. Control conditions included both non-memory-evoking cues and a low level baseline (cross fixation). Compared to both non-memory evoking cues and low level baseline, autobiographical recall was associated with activation in default mode network regions in the controls including the medial frontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex and the hippocampus, as well as other areas. Clusters of de-activation were seen outside the default mode network. There were no activation differences between the schizophrenic patients and the controls, but the patients showed clusters of failure of de-activation in non-default mode network regions. According to this study, patients with schizophrenia show intact activation of the default mode network and other regions associated with recall of autobiographical memories. The finding of failure of de-activation outside the network suggests that schizophrenia may be associated with a general difficulty in de-activation rather than dysfunction of the default mode network per se

Advancec characterization of multicaloric materials in pulsed magnetic fields.

The multicaloric effect is described by a temperature or entropy change of a material triggered by external stimuli applied or removed simultaneously or sequentially. The prerequisite for this is a material exhibiting multiple ferroic states. However, direct measurements of the effect are rarely reported. Now, for this reason, we built a measurement device allowing to determine the adiabatic temperature change in pulsed magnetic fields and, simultaneously, under the influence of a uniaxial load. We selected the all--metal Heusler alloy Ni-Mn-Ti-Co for our first test because of its enhanced mechanical properties and enormous magneto- and elastocaloric effects. Ni-Mn-Ti-Co was exposed to pulsed magnetic fields up to 10 T and uniaxial stresses up to 80 MPa, and the corresponding adiabatic temperature changes were measured. With our new experimental tool, we are able to better understand multicaloric materials and determine their cross-coupling responses to different stimuli

Trends and patterns in the use of computed tomography in children and young adults in Catalonia — results from the EPI-CT study

Background Although there are undeniable diagnostic benefits of CT scanning, its increasing use in paediatric radiology has become a topic of concern regarding patient radioprotection. Objective To assess the rate of CT scanning in Catalonia, Spain, among patients younger than 21 years old at the scan time. Materials and methods This is a sub-study of a larger international cohort study (EPI-CT, the International pediatric CT scan study). Data were retrieved from the radiological information systems (RIS) of eight hospitals in Catalonia since the implementation of digital registration (between 1991 and 2010) until 2013. Results The absolute number of CT scans annually increased 4.5% between 1991 and 2013, which was less accentuated when RIS was implemented in most hospitals. Because the population attending the hospitals also increased, however, the rate of scanned patients changed little (8.3 to 9.4 per 1,000 population). The proportions of patients with more than one CT and more than three CTs showed a 1.51- and 2.7-fold increase, respectively, over the 23 years. Conclusion Gradual increases in numbers of examinations and scanned patients were observed in Catalonia, potentially explained by new CT scanning indications and increases in the availability of scanners, the number of scans per patient and the size of the attended population.Supported in part by the Seventh Framework Programme from the European Community (Grant agreement no: 269912) and the Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear