Alexandrescu, Ioana; Montoliu Pauli, Xavier (eds.). El prodigi de les lletres : aproximació a l'obra de Mircea Cartarescu

Obra ressenyada: Ioana ALEXANDRESCU; Xavier MONTOLIU PAULI, Xavier (eds.), El prodigi de les lletres: aproximació a l'obra de Mircea Cărtărescu. Bellaterra: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2021

ADAPTATION TO THE (HYPER)REALITY: HAMLET AND HIS VIRTUAL WORLD

In this article I will argue that the film adaptation of the play Hamlet by Michael Almereyda (2000) is a reflection on contemporary postmodern society that highlights the tragedy of an individual who is in a constant search for justice and identity through technology. I am particularly interested in the social transformations of a feudal world represented in Shakespeare's play and the values of advanced capitalism visible in this film by Michael Almereyda. I will also analyze how memory is constructed by editing and manipulating the image through the videos recorded by the main character in order to find out the truth and seek revenge for the death of his father. The image favors the evocation of the memories of Hamlet and connects him to the present while it stimulates the expression of past experiences, as well as the capacity for self-recognition, which helps to strengthen his own identity

Hydroxyapatite-ciprofloxacin delivery system: Synthesis, characterisation and antibacterial activity

The main objective of this study was to synthesize hydroxyapatite-ciprofloxacin composites using a chemical precipitation method and to evaluate the properties and in vitro release profile of the drug from the hydroxyapatite-ciprofloxacin composites. Composite characterization was achieved by FT-IR, XRD and DLS. Ciprofloxacin determination was accomplished by HPLC, resulting in good incorporation efficiency of the drug (18.13 %). The in vitro release study (Higuchi model C = K t1/2 and Ritger-Peppas model, C = K t0.6) showed a diffusion-controlled mechanism. The antibacterial activity showed that the bacterial growth inhibition zones were approximately equal for the synthesis composites and for the mechanical mixture on the Staphylococcus aureus germ. The use of hydroxyapatite, which is a biocompatible, bioactive and osteoconductive material, with ciprofloxacin, which has good antibacterial activity in this composite, makes it suitable for the development of bone grafts. Furthermore, the synthesis process allows a slow local release of the drug

A picture of medically assisted reproduction activities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe

STUDY QUESTION: How did coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) impact on medically assisted reproduction (MAR) services in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic (March to May 2020)? SUMMARY ANSWER: MAR services, and hence treatments for infertile couples, were stopped in most European countries for a mean of 7 weeks. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: With the outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe, non-urgent medical care was reduced by local authorities to preserve health resources and maintain social distancing. Furthermore, ESHRE and other societies recommended to postpone ART pregnancies as of 14 March 2020. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: A structured questionnaire was distributed in April among the ESHRE Committee of National Representatives, followed by further information collection through email. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: The information was collected through the questionnaire and afterwards summarised and aligned with data from the European Centre for Disease Control on the number of COVID-19 cases per country. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: By aligning the data for each country with respective epidemiological data, we show a large variation in the time and the phase in the epidemic in the curve when MAR/ART treatments were suspended and restarted. Similarly, the duration of interruption varied. Fertility preservation treatments and patient supportive care for patients remained available during the pandemic. LARGE SCALE DATA: N/A. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Data collection was prone to misinterpretation of the questions and replies, and required further follow-up to check the accuracy. Some representatives reported that they, themselves, were not always aware of the situation throughout the country or reported difficulties with providing single generalised replies, for instance when there were regional differences within their country. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: The current article provides a basis for further research of the different strategies developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Such conclusions will be invaluable for health authorities and healthcare professionals with respect to future similar situations.peer-reviewe

Vulnerabilidad y violencia contra las niñas en la narrativa rumana poscomunista: Florina Ilis, Doina Ruști, Nora Iuga y Liliana Corobca

[spa] Esta tesis se propone abordar una selección de novelas de las escritoras rumanas más reconocidas: Cruciada copiilor, 2005 (La cruzada de los niños, 2010), de Florina Ilis, Lizoanca la 11 ani, 2009, (Eliza a los once años, 2014), Hai să furăm pepeni 2010 [Vamos a robar melones], de Nora Iuga y Kinderland 2013, de Liliana Corobca, autoras de universos que corresponden a sus propios valores, desde su perspectiva como mujeres, y retratan de una manera inédita y particular aspectos de la cotidianeidad rumana poscomunista con matices que pueden explicarse a partir de la persistencia de las disposiciones y mentalidades construidas durante la época del régimen totalitarista. Las perspectivas que, desde la ficción, proponen las autoras rumanas, ayudan a problematizar estereotipos relacionados con la vida de las mujeres relacionados con la dependencia, los cuidados y la afiliación o temas tabú, como la sexualidad, las fantasías o el deseo, en especial en la infancia, un período importante en el desarrollo de las personas. A partir del análisis de estas novelas, esta tesis pretende ofrecer una reflexión en torno a la vulnerabilidad y la violencia en la infancia en femenino poniendo de relieve la complejidad conceptual inherente a tales situaciones bajo el período poscomunista, y también tratar las diferentes aportaciones teóricas para su conceptualización y análisis. Esta tesis se estructura en dos bloques: el primero tiene un enfoque basado en la teorización y el análisis de la vulnerabilidad en la infancia y el segundo analiza la violencia, cuyas huellas permanecen a lo largo de la formación del sujeto. El primer bloque se centra en el concepto de vulnerabilidad (Butler 2004) en relación con el habitus (Bourdieu 1990) y la construcción de la infancia, etapa en la cual las niñas ocupan su lugar conforme a un estereotipo de género. El segundo, se propone abordar el concepto de violencia, tanto a nivel teórico como a nivel de lectura de las novelas, para poner en evidencia que las niñas están siempre bajo el dominio del otro y cumplen con los requisitos que les otorga su condición de vulnerables (Cavarero 2009)[eng] This dissertation aims to explore a selection of novels by today’s most renowned Romanian female writers: Cruciada copiilor, 2005 (La cruzada de los niños, 2010, [The children’s crusade]), by Florina Ilis, Lizoanca la 11 ani, 2009, (Eliza a los once años, 2014, [Lizoanca at age 11], Hai să furăm pepeni, 2010 [Let’s steal melons], by Nora Iuga and Kinderland, 2012, by Liliana Corobca. These authors have created, from their perspectives as women, literary universes that correspond to their own values, and they portray post-Communist Romanian daily life in unprecedented and particular ways. Through their writings, they describe the rulings and mentalities set out during the totalitarian regime that Romania experienced. The perspectives put forward by these Romanian writers help to problematize stereotypes regarding women’s lives, related to dependence, care and affiliation, or taboo subjects, such as sexuality, fantasies, desires, especially during childhood, an important stage for someone’s development. This approach opens new fields of interpretation, for the novels here analyzed bring into focus new reflections on childhood and help to deconstruct those topics in which girls are perceived as angelical, tender and invisible beings, or those in which they are constructed as perpetually passive or as victims. The thesis is structured in two parts: the first one proposes a theorization and an analysis of vulnerability during childhood, and the second one analyses the violence whose traces remain in the formation of the subject. The first one is dedicated to a rethinking of the concept of vulnerability (Butler 2004) in relation to the habitus (Bordieu 1990) and to the construction of childhood, a stage in which girls understand their place in the world according to their gender stereotype. The second one aims to analyze the concept of violence, from both a theoretical and a fictional point of view, in order to highlight the fact that girls are always under domination and that they fulfil the requirements that their vulnerable status give them (Cavarero 2009)