La muy discrecional doctrina del margen de apreciación nacional según el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos: soberanía e integración

The established case-law of European Court of Human Rights on margin of national appretiation is one of the capital criteria for reviewing the decision made by national authorities after a superficial examination of the facts. Its application is very imprecise and discretionary, producing sometimes unpredictable, astonishing even contradictory effects. It corresponds more to the justice of case than a genuine general legal doctrine. Its current ground should be more in the considerable cultural pluralism of the peoples that take part of the Council of Europe than in the national (state) sovereignty, in view of the context of European integration, because the realities of the suppositions of fact should be integrated in the rights. But the Court itself and the scientific academic doctrine should make an effort in substituting this tool for other more accurate legal technique that may fulfil similar aims

Shaping a “localized” journalism in European digital media. A study of cases

Introducción: La información de proximidad se perfila como un elemento político central en la construcción de comunidades locales en la Red. En un contexto hiperconectado, queremos conceptualizar una modalidad de servicio público: el periodismo “localizado”. Metodología: En este artículo se emplea la estrategia de investigación del estudio de casos para valorar la “localización” informativa de la Unión Europea en tres cibermedios locales de diferentes países: Berliner Zeitung, This is Local London y Sevilla Actualidad. Esta aproximación empírica mediante el análisis de casos sirve para enmarcar una revisión crítica de la literatura sobre información local. Resultados y discusión: Se aprecia superficialidad y falta de lenguajes digitales en los ejemplos. Esto puede ser contrarrestado con una información sencilla y práctica, como refleja el texto de This is Local London sobre el cambio de hora europeo. La información “localizada” requiere vocación utilitarista y nuevas fórmulas que conecten más con la audiencia, como las narrativas transmedia.Introduction: Local journalism is emerging as a central political element in the shaping of local communities on the Internet. In an hyperconnected context, this research aims to conceptualize a form of public service: “localized” journalism. Method: This paper employs the study of cases research strategy to assess the journalistic “location” of the European Union in three local digital media from different countries: Berliner Zeitung, This is Local Londonand Sevilla Actualidad. This empirical approach through the study of cases works as a frame for a critical review of the literature on local journalism. Results and discussion: Superficiality and lack of digital languages are found in the examples. This can be counteracted by simple and practical information, as showed in the analyzed text of This is Local Londonaddressing European seasonal clock change. The “localized” information requires a utilitarian view and new formulas that connect more with the audience, like transmedia narratives

Covering the EU at local level: A multiple-case study in Germany, the UK and Spain

In recent years, European journalists show a preference for opinionated stories in a growing movement triggered by the acceleration of the political information cycle in the digital sphere. This research aims to analyze how reporting the EU meets quality standards, comparing the coverage of EU affairs in local media from Germany, the United Kingdom (UK) and Spain. We content-analyze all the published news items on European issues, collected over a one-year period (2018–2019). Local media are selected because of their relationship with democracy in nearby communities. Based on a corpus of 1093 news stories, the results show that the number of statements was high; meanwhile, we detected a negative bias in every media outlet of the sample, but some differences were also found linking to national contexts. Likewise, our study provides evidence on the shaping of low-quality news about the EU, arguing that this practice could boost a polarized climate

Closed-loop oxygen control improves oxygen therapy in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure patients under high flow nasal oxygen: a randomized cross-over study (the HILOOP study)

Acute respiratory failure; High-flow nasal oxygenInsuficiencia respiratoria aguda; Oxígeno nasal de alto flujoInsuficiència respiratòria aguda; Oxigen nasal d'alt fluxBackground We aimed to assess the efficacy of a closed-loop oxygen control in critically ill patients with moderate to severe acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) treated with high flow nasal oxygen (HFNO). Methods In this single-centre, single-blinded, randomized crossover study, adult patients with moderate to severe AHRF who were treated with HFNO (flow rate ≥ 40 L/min with FiO2 ≥ 0.30) were randomly assigned to start with a 4-h period of closed-loop oxygen control or 4-h period of manual oxygen titration, after which each patient was switched to the alternate therapy. The primary outcome was the percentage of time spent in the individualized optimal SpO2 range. Results Forty-five patients were included. Patients spent more time in the optimal SpO2 range with closed-loop oxygen control compared with manual titrations of oxygen (96.5 [93.5 to 98.9] % vs. 89 [77.4 to 95.9] %; p < 0.0001) (difference estimate, 10.4 (95% confidence interval 5.2 to 17.2). Patients spent less time in the suboptimal range during closed-loop oxygen control, both above and below the cut-offs of the optimal SpO2 range, and less time above the suboptimal range. Fewer number of manual adjustments per hour were needed with closed-loop oxygen control. The number of events of SpO2 < 88% and < 85% were not significantly different between groups. Conclusions Closed-loop oxygen control improves oxygen administration in patients with moderate-to-severe AHRF treated with HFNO, increasing the percentage of time in the optimal oxygenation range and decreasing the workload of healthcare personnel. These results are especially relevant in a context of limited oxygen supply and high medical demand, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Trial registration The HILOOP study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov under the identifier NCT04965844.This study is partially supported by a research grant from Hamilton Medical AG. For each patient, an anonymised file containing the recorded data from the high-flow device was sent to Hamilton Medical AG, where these data were transformed into a database of raw data and sent back to the investigators for further analysis. Hamilton Medical AG did not have a role in statistical analysis beyond this point or data interpretation

Computer based tool for temporal and spectral analysis of electrocardiographic records

Along the last years the relationship between autonomic nervous system (ANS) function and cardiovascular mortality has been recognized as a fact. This has lead researchers to focus on quantitative indicators for autonomic balance, which are able to work as markers for several diseases, even at early states. At this point, Heart Rate Variability (HRV) has been reported to be one of the most promising methods for the diagnostic and study of Parkinson disease. In order to obtain quantitative indicators, several temporal and spectral parameters have been proposed. This work introduces a virtual bioinstrument specially designed for its use at neuro-vegetative studies for the diagnostic of Parkinson disease.The authors would like to acknowledge the cooperation of the Parkinson Association of Cartagena and the research boards of both hospitals

Encuesta: El método comparado en derecho constitucional

En esta encuesta un grupo de Catedráticos de Derecho Constitucional contestan un conjunto de preguntas sobre el uso del método comparado en el derecho constitucional español, y sobre la influencia de modelos o referentes extranjeros durante el proceso constituyente, en la actividad legislativa y en la del Tribunal Constitucional, así como también algunas preguntas sobre los estudios de derecho constitucional comparado.In this academic survey a group of Constitutional Law Professors answer some questions about the role of the comparative method in the Spanish constitutional law, and the influence of foreign models in the constitutional process, the legislator and the Constitutional Court, as well as about the present situation of comparative constitutional law studies

A new ETV6-RUNX1 in vivo model produces a phenocopy of the human Pb-ALL

Resumen del trabajo presentado al 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, celebrado en Orlando (Florida-US) del 5 al 8 de diciembre de 2015.-- et al.[Introduction]: The ETV6-RUNX1 fusion gene, the most common subtype of childhood pB-ALL, is acquired in utero, producing a persistent and hidden preleukemic clone. However, the underlying mechanism explaining how the preleukemic clone evolves to pB-ALL remains to be identified. The lack of genetically engineered human-like ETV6-RUNX1pB-ALL models has hampered our understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease. [Methods]: We have used a novel experimental approach to generate a murine strain that mimics the human ETV6-RUNX1 pB-ALL. We expressed ETV6-RUNX1 specifically in hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) of C57BL/6 x CBA mice by placing ETV6-RUNX1 under the control of the Sca1 promoter. Two founder mice were obtained for the Sca1-ETV6-RUNX1 transgene, which had normal gestation, were viable and developed normally. Sca1-ETV6-RUNX1 transgenic mice were characterized with respect to clinical, immunephenotypic and genetic characteristics. For the detection of shared secondary genomic alterations we analyzed three murine Sca1-ETV6-RUNX1 and 11 ETV6-RUNX1positive human pB-ALL and corresponding germline by whole-exome (WES) and whole-genome sequencing using a HiSeq 2500 (Illumina) platform.[Results]: In our transgenic murine model Sca1-ETV6-RUNX1 transgene expression was detected in HSCs, while there was no detectable expression in pro B cells or later stages of B-cell development, which mimics human ETV6-RUNX1 preleukemic biology. Sca1-ETV6-RUNX1 mice developed exclusively pB-ALL at a low penetrance (7.5%; 3 out of 40) with a CD19+B220+IgM- cell surface phenotype. Overall survival was not significantly reduced compared to wild-type mice (P value = 0.7901). pB-ALL in Sca1-ETV6-RUNX1 mice manifested with splenomegaly, disruption of splenic architecture, and appearance of blast cells in the peripheral blood (PB). All leukemic cells displayed clonal immature BCR rearrangement. Tumor pro B cells grew independent of IL-7 and were able to propagate the disease when transplanted into sub-lethally irradiated syngeneic recipient mice. Whole-exome sequencing of murine pB-ALL revealed in one mouse a deletion of three amino acids in the B-cell differentiation factor EBF1, which is well known in the context of human ETV6-RUNX1 leukemia. Additionally we found mutations in genes implicated in histone modification, i.e. in KDM5Ccausing a premature translation stop. We compared the genomic alterations detected in the mouse model to published genomic data of pediatric ETV6-RUNX1 pB-ALL and identified multiple copy number variations, which are shared between the murine and human ETV6-RUNX1 pB-ALL. Among them were copy number gains and losses including i.e. the tumorsuppressor locus CDKN2A/B with a well-known role in human and mouse pB-ALL. A high proportion of genes implicated in histone modification was also mutated in published data of human ETV6-RUNX1 positive pB-ALL. We validated this novel finding of recurrent alterations of histone modifying genes in both the murine model and the human disease using an independent human ETV6-RUNX1 cohort of 11 patients. In this cohort were able to reproduce this finding. Similar to the murine model, we also detected a missense mutation in the methyltransferase KDM5C in one patient of our cohort of ETV6-RUNX1positive patients.[Conclusion]: In summary, we have characterized a new Sca1-ETV6-RUNX1 mouse model and this is, to our knowledge the first model, which represents a phenocopy of the human pB-ALL. Sca1-ETV6-RUNX1 mice develop exclusively pB-ALL at a very low penetrance as it is the case in human ETV6-RUNX1 positive pB-ALL. The acquisition of secondary mutations in pB-ALL with a high proportion in histone modifying genes confers the second hit for the conversion of a preleukemic clone into the clinically overt ETV6-RUNX1 positive pB-ALL disease. These findings are important for encouraging novel interventions that might help to prevent or treat ETV6-RUNX1 positive childhood leukemias.Peer Reviewe

El impacto de las políticas de evaluación del profesorado en la posición en los ránquines universitarios: el caso de la Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña

La universidad española ha afrontado con éxito el tránsito entre una universidad clásica, eminentemente docente, y una universidad moderna, en la que la investigación juega un papel esencial. Gran parte de este éxito reside en la instauración de sistemas de evaluación. No obstante, a pesar de los indiscutibles logros, aún queda un camino importante por recorrer para situarla en los lugares que le corresponden en las clasificaciones internacionales por el lugar que ocupamos dentro de los países de nuestro entorno. La Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña dispone de un modelo de evaluación docente, así como de información sobre la actividad investigadora del profesorado. Ello ha permitido implementar un modelo de evaluación global, que presentamos en este artículo. Asimismo, usando una muestra de 4.996 evaluaciones individuales de unos 1.700 profesores, analizamos la evolución temporal de las evaluaciones de los años 2011, 2012 y 2013, estudiamos si existen diferencias entre los ámbitos de conocimiento y examinamos si existe una relación entre la productividad académica así evaluada y la posición de la universidad en los ránquines universitarios. Los datos de este estudio corroboran que el modelo ha tenido éxito, al haber permitido que la universidad progresara en el ranquin Quacquarelli Symonds del puesto 350 al 337. Spanish universities have moved from a classical model, a teaching university, to a modern one, in which research is essential. Part of this success is due to the implementation of quality assessment policies. Nonetheless, and in spite of this, there is still a long way to place it at the level of similar countries in university rankings. The Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña has an evaluation model of the teaching performance of its staff, and also abundant information of their research. This has allowed implementing a global evaluation model. Here we present the evaluation model. Also, using 4,996 individual evaluations corresponding to about 1,700 academic staff members we analyze the evolution of the results of the evaluations of years 2011, 2012 and 2013, we study if there are differences among the various academic fields, and we examine if there exists a correlation between the evolution of the academic productivity measured using this model and the position of the university in the university rankings. We show that this model has allowed the university to improve its classification in the Quacquarelli Symonds Top University Ranking, from position 350 to 337.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version