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Escudriñando las materialidades de Tåno' Låguas yan Gåni entre 1500 AEC y el 1898 EC: el aprendizaje transgeneracional como dinámica histórica de reexistencia comunitaria
No full textEn esta investigación reivindico el aprendizaje transgeneracional como dinámica histórica de re-existencia comunitaria y las posibilidades que su estudio crea para descolonizar la historia y la educación de Tåno’ Låguas yan Gåni y de España, así como para colaborar en la reparación de los daños históricos del colonialismo español en Tåno’ Låguas yan Gåni. Para ello, rastreo la historicidad de las materialidades en el registro arqueológico y documental de Tåno’ Låguas yan Gåni desde el comienzo de su poblamiento (1500 AEC) hasta el final del dominio colonial español (1898 EC), a la par que corroboro las siguientes hipótesis: [1] los proyectos de escolarización que se dieron durante la época colonial española del archipiélago (1668 EC – 1898 EC) supusieron la implementación de un orden social patriarcal, edadista y capacitista; [2] en situaciones coloniales las dinámicas propias del aprendizaje transgeneracional se convierten en dinámicas de re-existencia comunitaria; y, por último, [3] los procesos que permiten contrastar las hipótesis 1 y 2 pueden materializarse en un recurso didáctico y colaborar en la reparación histórica del colonialismo de una ex metrópoli.In this research I claim transgenerational learning as a historical dynamic of community re-existence and the possibilities its study creates for decolonising the history and education of Tåno‘ Låguas yan Gåni and Spain, as well as for collaborating in repairing the historical damage of Spanish colonialism in Tåno’ Låguas yan Gåni. To this end, I trace the historicity of materialities in the archaeological and documentary record of Tåno' Låguas yan Gåni from the beginning of its settlement (1500 BCE) to the end of Spanish colonial rule (1898 CE), as well as corroborate the following hypotheses: [1] the schooling projects that occurred during the Spanish colonial period of the archipelago (1668 CE - 1898 CE) involved the implementation of a patriarchal, ageist and ableist social order; [2] in colonial situations the dynamics of transgenerational learning become dynamics of community re-existence; and, finally, [3] the processes that allow to contrast hypotheses 1 and 2 can be materialised in a didactic resource and collaborate in the historical reparation of the colonialism of a former metropolisPrograma de Doctorat en Històri
The legal and administrative challenges for the decent work right protection: a case study on lower-skilled TCN workers in Malta
No full textTreball de Fi de Màster: Master in European and Global Law. Curs 2024-2025Tutor: Josep IbañezThis thesis investigates the structural and legal shortcomings that hinder the protection of decent work rights for lower-skilled Third-Country National (TCN) workers in Malta. Although the country formally adheres to key international and EU labour standards, a gap persists between legal frameworks and their enforcement. The study contends that this failure to protect arises not only from legislative deficiencies but also from deeper institutional dysfunction, which encompasses corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency, and limited transparency.
The research employs a threefold methodology: a legal comparative analysis, a survey of TCNs’ lived experiences, and an institutional assessment leading to policy recommendations. The legal analysis reveals Malta’s partial transposition of core labour rights instruments while highlighting systemic issues in areas such as unfair dismissals, access to information, and dispute resolution. Empirical findings from a survey of 43 participants illustrate widespread labour abuses, including wage theft, unsafe working conditions, discrimination, and a pervasive mistrust of institutions.
The final chapter identifies structural weaknesses, including the employer-tied work permit system, the absence of regularisation mechanisms, and the exclusion of irregular migrants from labour protections. To address these challenges, six recommendations are proposed: decoupling migration status from employment, introducing fair regularisation pathways, reinforcing public-private protection networks, certifying employers in human rights standards, mandating occupational safety training, and enhancing institutional accountability through transparency and ethics reforms
Regulation of tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes by circadian molecular clocks
No full textCircadian rhythms are the natural 24-hour cycles governing physiological processes and play a critical role in regulating immune function. This thesis explores the intricate connections between circadian rhythms and the immune response in cancer, focusing on how disruptions in these rhythms may influence T cell efficacy against tumor cells. By integrating insights from chronobiology and immunology, the present work investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying circadian regulation of T cells and their possible implications for cancer progression and treatment. Experimental data highlight how circadian regulation can shape T cell anti-tumor function, potentially creating a more permissive environment for tumor growth. Furthermore, the thesis examines novel mechansims regulating T cell responses aimed at optimizing cancer immunotherapy. These findings underscore the importance of taking into account the circadian regulation of adaptive immune responses to improve current treatments of cancer and other diseases.Els ritmes circadians són cicles naturals de 24 hores que governen els processos fisiològics i juguen un paper crucial en la regulació del sistema immunitari. Aquesta tesi explora les complexes interaccions entre els ritmes circadians i la resposta immune contra el càncer, centrant-se en com les alteracions d’aquests ritmes poden influir en l’eficàcia de les cèl·lules T en la lluita contra les cèl·lules tumorals. Integrant coneixements de la cronobiologia i la immunologia, aquest treball investiga els mecanismes moleculars subjacents a la regulació circadiana de les cèl·lules T i les seves possibles implicacions en la progressió i el tractament del càncer. Els resultats obtinguts destaquen com la regulació circadiana pot modular la funció antitumoral de les cèl·lules T, creant un entorn potencialment més permissiu per al creixement tumoral. A més, la tesi examina nous mecanismes de regulació de les respostes de les cèl·lules T amb l'objectiu d'optimitzar la immunoteràpia contra el càncer. Aquests resultats posen en evidència la importància de considerar la regulació circadiana de les respostes immunitàries adaptatives per a millorar els tractaments actuals del càncer i altres malalties.Los ritmos circadianos son ciclos naturales de 24 horas que gobiernan los procesos fisiológicos y juegan un papel crucial en la regulación del sistema inmunitario. Esta tesis explora las complejas interacciones entre los ritmos circadianos y la respuesta inmune contra el cáncer, centrándose en cómo las alteraciones de estos ritmos pueden influir en la eficacia de las células T en la lucha contra las células tumorales. Integrando conocimientos de la cronobiología y la inmunología, este trabajo investiga los mecanismos moleculares subyacentes a la regulación circadiana de las células T y sus posibles implicaciones en la progresión y el tratamiento del cáncer. Los resultados obtenidos destacan cómo la regulación circadiana puede modular la función antitumoral de las células T, creando un entorno potencialmente más permisivo para el crecimiento tumoral. Además, la tesis examina nuevos mecanismos de regulación de las respuestas de los linfocitos T con el objetivo de optimizar la inmunoterapia contra el cáncer. Estos resultados ponen en evidencia la importancia considerar la regulación circadiana de las respuestas inmunitarias adaptativas para mejorar los tratamientos actuales del cáncer y otras enfermedadesPrograma de Doctorat en Biomedicin
Learning partial correlation graphs and graphical models by covariance queries
No full textWe study the problem of recovering the structure underlying large Gaussian graphical models or, more generally, partial correlation graphs. In high-dimensional problems it is often too costly to store the entire sample covariance matrix. We propose a new input model in which one can query single entries of the covariance matrix. We prove that it is possible to recover the support of the inverse covariance matrix with low query and computational complexity. Our algorithms work in a regime when this support is represented by tree-like graphs and, more generally, for graphs of small treewidth. Our results demonstrate that for large classes of graphs, the structure of the corresponding partial correlation graphs can be determined much faster than even computing the empirical covariance matrix.GL, VV, and PZ were supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Grant PGC2018-101643-B-I00 and FEDER, EU. GL and PZ acknowledge the support of "High-dimensional problems in structured probabilistic models - Ayudas Fundación BBVA a Equipos de Investigación Cientifica 2017". GL was supported by "Google Focused Award Algorithms and Learning for AI" and PZ by Beatriu de Pinós grant (BP-2016-00002) and Ramón y Cajal (RYC-2017-22544)
Alegorías de una memoria rota
No full textTreball de fi de màster en Estudis de Cinema i Audiovisual ContemporanisTutor: Xavier Pérez ToríoEl presente trabajo explora la construcción de una temporalidad anacrónica sedimentada por fragmentos de memoria en el cine rumano contemporáneo, a partir del análisis de Malmkrog (Cristi Puiu,
2020), Întregalde (Radu Muntean, 2021) y R.M.N. (Cristian Mungiu, 2022). A través de estos tres relatos situados en Transilvania y ambientados en torno a la Navidad, se indaga en las formas mediante las cuales el cine rumano se convierte en dispositivo de condensación histórica y espectral. El paisaje deviene forma latente; el tiempo, pliegue; la imagen, un territorio de persistencias traumáticas enmarcadas en clave alegórica. Lejos de linealidad, estas películas despliegan geografías del desencuentro, donde la historia no cesa de insistir en forma de síntoma. El cine rumano reciente articula una estética de la supervivencia en la que pasado, presente y futuro se imbrican de manera sináptica, abriendo heridas temporales que la imagen no clausura, sino evidencia.This study examines the construction of an anachronistic temporality sedimented through fragments of memory in contemporary Romanian cinema, focusing on Malmkrog (Cristi Puiu, 2020), Întregalde (Radu Muntean, 2021), and R.M.N. (Cristian Mungiu, 2022). Set in Transylvania and unfolding around the Christmas season, these three films are analyzed as instances in which Romanian cinema operates as a dispositif of historical and spectral condensation. Landscape emerges as latent form; time, as fold; image becomes a territory of traumatic persistence articulated through allegory. Eschewing linearity, these works construct geographies of disjunction, where history continuously resurfaces in the guise of the symptom. Recent Romanian cinema thereby articulates an aesthetic of survival in which past, present, and future are synaptically interweaved, opening temporal wounds that the image does not resolve, but rather lays bare
Impact of Trump's 2025 tariff policies on the USD/EUR and its volatility
No full textTreball de Fi de Grau en Economia i en Estudis Internacionals d'Economia i Empresa. Curs 2024-2025Tutor: Xavier Cuadras-MoratóThis study investigates the macroeconomic and financial effects of Donald Trump’s 2025 tariff policies on the USD/EUR exchange rate and its volatility. Following Trump’s re-election, the US administration imposed sweeping protectionist measures, triggering significant fluctuations in currency markets. Using an extended IS-LM framework—including Mundell-Fleming and Open IS-MP-PC models—the paper analyzes the theoretical mechanisms linking tariffs to exchange rate dynamics. The study identifies two key phases: a short-lived USD appreciation driven by initial market optimism, followed by a sharp depreciation due to retaliatory tariffs, heightened uncertainty, and rising risk premiums. To complement the theoretical framework, empirical analysis is conducted using time-series forecasting simulations: ARMAX-GARCH, random forests, and boosting, trained on macro-financial data from 1999 to 2025. The forecasts reveal that Trump’s tariff shock led to unusual exchange rate movements considering historical patterns, underscoring the role of expectations, political credibility, and uncertainty in shaping currency behavior. The paper concludes with a discussion on policy implications for the US, the Eurozone, and other major trade partners of the US; and the stability of the global economy
Attention-enhanced 3D convolutional neural network for automated lung nodule malignancy assessment
No full textTreball fi de màster de: Erasmus Mundus joint Master in Artificial Intelligence (EMAI)Supervisora: Carolina Migliorelli Falcone
Co-supervisor: Vicenç GómezAccurate classification of lung nodule malignancy remains a critical challenge in medical imaging, directly impacting early lung cancer diagnosis and patient outcomes. While existing 3D convolutional neural networks have shown promise in capturing volumetric morphological characteristics, effectively focusing on the most discriminative features for malignancy classification remains challenging. This study investigates a customized 3D ResNet architecture enhanced with Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM) for improved lung nodule malignancy classification, with validation across multiple datasets to demonstrate generalizability. Our proposed framework integrates CBAM attention mechanisms into a 3D ResNet backbone, enabling the model to adaptively focus on both spatial and channel-wise features critical for malignancy determination. The CBAM module allows the network to emphasize informative features while suppressing irrelevant noise commonly present in CT imaging. This attention-guided approach addresses the inherent challenge of extracting discriminative features from volumetric medical data where subtle morphological differences often determine malignancy status. The 3DResNetarchitecture uses residual connections to facilitate deep feature learning while reducing gradient vanishing problems, particularly important when processing high-dimensional volumetric data. By operating directly on 3D patches, our model captures spatial relationships across all three dimensions, providing a more comprehensive representation of nodule characteristics including shape irregularities, internal texture patterns, and boundary definitions that are crucial malignancy indicators. To enhance model interpretability and validate attention mechanisms, we generate spatial attention maps that visualize regions of focus during classification decisions. These attention maps demonstrate that our CBAM-enhanced model successfully identifies clinically relevant anatomical structures and morphological features associated with malignant nodules. Additionally, we conducted texture feature experiments to complement the deep learning approach. Traditional texture analysis methods were employed to extracthandcrafted features such as gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) statistics, as well as classification of nodules based on texture. These experiments provide additional insights into nodule characteristics, and when combined with the spatial attention maps generated by our model, offer a complementary view of how both traditional handcrafted features and learned attention mechanisms contribute to understanding nodule texture patterns and properties. Experimental validation was performed across multiple lung nodule datasets, both public and private, demonstrating the generalizability of our approach. The crossdataset evaluation confirms that the architecture maintains robust performance across different imaging protocols, patient populations etc., as well as consistence in all metrics across all tested datasets. The spatial attention maps revealed that the model correctly learns to focus on the relevant regions, aligning with radiological expertise and improving clinical interpretability. This work contributes to the advancement of computer-aided diagnosis systems for lung cancer screening by demonstrating the effectiveness of attention-enhanced 3D CNNs. The proposed CBAM-integrated 3D ResNet architecture offers a promising solution for automated lung nodule malignancy classification, potentially supporting radiologists in making more accurate and timely diagnostic decisions
Disorienting empathy: reimagining the global border regime through Mohsin Hamid's exit west
No full textThis article explores how literature can sensitise us to our potential implication in the injustice and violence of the global border regime. The violence of borders today sustains a large economic and political system that "produces precarity and disposability, exposes migrants and refugees to harm and exploitation, and reinforces global inequalities". While it manifests itself in direct events, policies, and actions, the violence produced by the global border regime is structural, widespread, and racially charged. Citizens of the global North are not precisely perpetrators of border violence, yet they bear a certain kind of political responsibility for the experiences of trauma, death, impoverishment, and discrimination that borders generate and institutionalise. Reading Mohsin Hamid's Exit West (2017), I investigate how we can recognise ourselves in the position of the 'implicated subject' (Michael Rothberg) through a process of what I call 'disorienting empathy¿' This form of expanded and self-aware perspective-taking elicits our concern for others, but simultaneously de-centres our self, leading us to reflect critically on our subject position and on our potential indirect involvement in systemic violence. By examining Exit West's literary strategies, I argue that empathy, non-appropriative identification, and disorientation can generate a self-reflexivity about our responsibility in relation to the global border regime. Drawing on affect theory, literary theory, migration studies, and critical race theory, the article highlights contemporary fiction's capacity to represent diasporic experiences and reimagine the freedom of movement in the twenty-first century
Demografia, pensions i redistribució
No full textAdreço aquest Policy Paper a la demografia, les pensions i la redistribució des de l’experiència d’haver revisitat recentment (conferència invitada a l’IREA de la Universitat de Barcelona). Reviso les interseccions del tema des d’una mena de “confieso que he vivido”. I, si se’m permet, des d’aquell ‘aquí empezó todo’; referint-me, com no, al segle passat!
