43569 research outputs found
Sort by
Developing a longitudinal framework to explore how deep brain stimulation parameters influence cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease
No full textTreball de Fi de Grau en Enginyeria Biomèdica. Curs 2024-2025
Tutors: Dr. Ignacio Aracil Bolaños, Dra. Gemma Piella FenoyDeep Brain Stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an established treatment for motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD), yet its e!ects on cognitive function remain less understood. This study develops a workflow within Lead-DBS environment to automatically compute volumes of tissue activated (VTAs) across multiple postoperative timepoints. In addition, it analyzes these data by
assessing whether stimulation parameters are associated with cognitive decline following STN-DBS. A structured dataset of 64 PD patients who underwent STN-DBS was used, which included a complete cognitive performance assessed with the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS) and stimulation data across five postoperative time points. The developed pipeline enabled automatic VTA generation from stimulation parameters and organized patient data in a structure compatible with Lead-DBS.
This allowed for the computation of stimulation overlap with the specific STN subregions at each timepoint. To explore potential associations with cognitive change, patients were clustered based on their longitudinal Mattis trajectories. Two distinct subgroups were identified: one showing stable or improved cognitive scores, and another exhibiting progressive decline. Linear mixed-e!ects models confirmed
a significant divergence in cognitive outcomes between these groups over time. Although stimulation overlap with STN subregions did not di!er significantly between clusters, the declining group showed a consistent trend toward greater overlap in the motor and associative territories. Exploratory sweetspot analyses gave further information regarding voxel-wise distribution of the sweet and sour spots. Despite
limitations such as a relatively small sample size and the absence of genetic data, this study demonstrates the feasibility of longitudinal VTA analysis using Lead DBS. Although no robust evidence between stimulation and cognitive decline was found in this cohort, subtle trends suggest a potential relationship that cannot be completely discarded. Future work should integrate this approach with more ad-
vanced voxel-wise and connectivity-based methods to better understand the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive outcomes in DBS-treated patients
Unraveling the effects of lymphoma-associated translocations on genome organization and gene regulation
No full textTranslocations have largely been associated with tumor development due to oncogene
overexpression upon rearrangement. Yet, their precise effects on nuclear architecture and long-
range gene regulation remain understudied. In this thesis, we characterize the interplay between
translocations, chromatin organization and gene expression using mantle cell lymphoma
(MCL) as a model. In MCL, its hallmark translocation t(11;14)(q13;q32) leads to the
overexpression of cyclin D1, but it is not sufficient to drive lymphomagenesis. In this regard,
we show that in vitro-engineered translocations can induce extensive gene expression
alterations in entire chromosome arms, indicating a broader regulatory potential of the
immunoglobulin enhancer than previously appreciated. Moreover, we demonstrate a clear link
between transcriptional alterations and genome organization, with the detection of new long-
range interacting loops spanning over 50 megabases. In summary, we reveal that the effects of
translocations are broader than initially appreciated, highlighting the importance of epigenetics
in this aspect and opening up new avenues for studying early steps of lymphomagenesis.Les translocacions han estat àmpliament associades al desenvolupament tumoral degut a la
sobreexpressió d’oncogens. No obstant això, els efectes específics que poden tenir en
l’organització de la cromatina i en la transcripció gènica romanen indefinides. Per aquest
motiu, aquesta tesi explora la interrelació entre les translocations, la organització de la
cromatina i l’expressió gènica, utilitzant el limfoma de les cèl·lules del mantell (MCL) com a
model. En MCL, la translocació t(11;14)(q13;q32) condueix a la sobeexpressió de ciclina D1,
però aquest oncogen no és suficient per iniciar el desenvolupament tumoral. És per això que
generant la translocació in vitro es mostra com aquesta pot induir directament una àmplia
alteració de l’expressió gènica, indicant una funció del potenciador (o “enhancer”) de la
immunoglobulina més extensa del que s’havia descrit. A més, es demostra que hi ha un lligam
clar entre les alteracions transcripcionals i la organització genòmica, amb la detecció de vincles
d’interacció que s’allarguen més de 50 megabases. En resum, aquesta tesi mostra que les
translocacions tenen un efecte molt més ampli del que era apreciat anteriorment, obrint noves
vies per estudiar les fases inicials de la limfomagènesi.Programa de Doctorat en Biomedicin
Conflict and intergroup trade: evidence from the 2014 Russia-Ukraine crisis
No full textDoes armed conflict reduce trade, even in noncombat areas, through the destruction of intergroup social capital? We analyze Ukrainian trade transactions before and after the 2014 Russia-Ukraine conflict. In a difference-in-differences framework, we find that Ukrainian firms from districts with fewer ethnic Russians experienced a deeper decline in trade with Russia. This decline is economically significant, persistent, and can be explained by erosion of intergroup trust. Affected Ukrainian firms suffered a decrease in performance and diverted trade to other countries. Our results suggest that, through social effects, conflict can be economically damaging even away from combat areas
Interview-based datasets for quantitative research on the Council of the EU: a systematic review and future developments
No full textThe literature on the Council of the EU has proliferated over the past twenty years thanks to the publication of voting records and an increased proportion of official documents. However, these sources continue to be affected by significant limitations, and researchers have therefore had to turn to expert interviews in order to understand decision-making within the institution. This research note aims to assess the progress enabled by this method, by identifying the main datasets produced with it and their contributions. What kind of data have been explored? Are they sufficient for deciphering the explanatory mechanisms behind EU negotiations? What are the practical advantages and disadvantages of this method? Will it continue to hold such an important place in the EU studies literature in the foreseeable future? This review explores these questions, identifying five widely-used interview-based datasets and the findings they have led to, then introducing a debate about the future of this type of research in an ever-evolving technological landscape.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry Science and Research under Grant PID2020-119716GB-I00; it was also supported by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union under Grants 101085465 - BACES and 101047889 - EU-GOV (Jean Monnet Chair in European Governance)
Hacia una medicina basada en la precisión en entornos de rehabilitación: evaluación del estado nutricional y la sarcopenia en pacientes con enfermedades crónicas = Towards a precision-based rehabilitation medicine: asssessment of nutritional status and sarcopenia in patients with chronic diseases referred to rehabilitation
No full textEsta tesis aborda la malnutrición y la sarcopenia en pacientes con enfermedades crónicas, centrándose en la enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica (EPOC) y la enfermedad renal crónica. Utilizando los criterios de la Global Leadership Initiative for Malnutrition (GLIM) y los criterios EWGSOP2, se evaluó la prevalencia de la malnutrición en pacientes con EPOC estable y candidatos a trasplante de riñón, así como la utilidad de Redes Neuronales Artificiales (ANN) para identificar factores pronósticos en receptores de trasplante pulmonar (TP). En el estudio de pacientes con EPOC (1), se encontró una prevalencia del 45% de malnutrición según GLIM, asociada a un riesgo significativamente mayor de mortalidad y hospitalización. En el estudio de trasplante de riñón (2), la malnutrición se asoció con un mayor riesgo de hospitalizaciones durante el primer año en la lista de espera. En receptores de TP (3), el 41.4% experimentó una alta tasa de pérdida de datos, siendo el bajo índice de masa corporal el factor más influyente, seguido por la indicación del trasplante, baja calidad de vida y fuerza de agarre reducida. Estos hallazgos destacan la importancia de abordar la malnutrición y la sarcopenia en pacientes con enfermedades crónicas, identificando factores de riesgo y proponiendo estrategias de intervención.This thesis addresses malnutrition and sarcopenia in patients with chronic diseases, focusing on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic kidney disease. Using the criteria from the Global Leadership Initiative for Malnutrition (GLIM) and EWGSOP2 criteria, the prevalence of malnutrition was assessed in stable COPD patients and kidney transplant candidates, along with the utility of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) in identifying prognostic factors in lung transplant recipients (TP). In the COPD patient study (1), a 45% prevalence of malnutrition according to GLIM was found, associated with a significantly higher risk of mortality and hospitalization. In the kidney transplant study (2), malnutrition was associated with an increased risk of hospitalizations during the first year on the waiting list. In TP recipients (3), 41.4% experienced a high data loss rate, with a low body mass index being the most influential factor, followed by transplant indication, low quality of life, and reduced grip strength. These findings underscore the importance of addressing malnutrition and sarcopenia in patients with chronic diseases, identifying risk factors, and proposing intervention strategies.Programa de Doctorat en Biomedicin
Desigualtats en salut adolescent a Barcelona: COVID-19, ús d'Internet i benestar mental des d'una òptica salubrista
No full textLes desigualtats socials i de gènere condicionen profundament la salut de la població adolescent. Aquesta tesi doctoral té com a objectiu principal analitzar com aquestes desigualtats es manifesten i s’entrecreuen en tres àmbits clau de la salut adolescent a la ciutat de Barcelona: la incidència de la COVID-19, el benestar mental i l’ús problemàtic d’Internet. El treball adopta una mirada crítica, interseccional i sistèmica, entenent la salut com un dret col·lectiu vinculat a les condicions materials, socials i emocionals de vida, i a l’accés equitatiu als recursos i oportunitats. Per assolir aquest objectiu, s’han desenvolupat tres estudis. El primer analitza la incidència de la COVID-19 entre l’alumnat escolaritzat i evidencia un patró desigual vinculat a la classe social i al gènere, especialment en les primeres onades de la pandèmia. El segon estudia l’ús problemàtic d’Internet (UPI) i identifica una prevalença més elevada entre les noies joves de barris socioeconòmicament desfavorits, així com l’associació d’aquest fenomen amb factors com la mala salut mental, les males relacions familiars i la manca d’activitat física regular. El tercer estudia l’evolució del benestar mental entre 2016 i 2021 i mostra un empitjorament significatiu, especialment entre les noies i l’alumnat amb menys recursos, evidenciant l’impacte de la pandèmia en la salut emocional i l’eixamplament de les desigualtats socials i de gènere. Els tres estudis es basen en dades representatives de l’alumnat de secundària a Barcelona, i combinen fonts administratives (com el registre COVID escolar i sanitari) i dades basades en una enquesta (FRESC). Tot i les limitacions pròpies dels dissenys transversals i l’anàlisi binària del gènere, la tesi aporta una visió sòlida i contextualitzada dels determinants socials i de gènere en salut adolescent. A més, defensa la necessitat d’enfocaments intersectorials, sistèmics i transformadors en l’àmbit de la salut pública, i reivindica la importància d’incorporar perspectives qualitatives i interculturals per comprendre millor les vivències adolescents. En aquest sentit, s’inclou a l’apèndix un estudi qualitatiu realitzat amb joves maputxes a Xile, que aporta una mirada complementària sobre els impactes de la pandèmia en contextos marcats per la desigualtat estructural i la identitat cultural. Aquesta tesi contribueix a visibilitzar els mecanismes socials que generen i perpetuen desigualtats en salut, i aspira a oferir evidències útils per al disseny de polítiques públiques més justes i orientades a garantir el benestar de totes les persones adolescents, independentment del seu gènere, origen o condició social.Las desigualdades sociales y de género condicionan profundamente la salud de la población adolescente. Esta tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo principal analizar cómo estas desigualdades se manifiestan y se entrecruzan en tres ámbitos clave de la salud adolescente en la ciudad de Barcelona: la incidencia de la COVID-19, el bienestar mental y el uso problemático de Internet. El trabajo adopta una perspectiva crítica, interseccional y sistémica, entendiendo la salud como un derecho colectivo vinculado a las condiciones materiales, sociales y emocionales de vida, y al acceso equitativo a los recursos y oportunidades. Para alcanzar este objetivo, se han desarrollado tres estudios. El primero analiza la incidencia de la COVID-19 entre el alumnado escolarizado y evidencia un patrón desigual vinculado a la clase social y al género, especialmente en las primeras olas de la pandemia. El segundo estudia el uso problemático de Internet (UPI) e identifica una prevalencia más elevada entre las chicas jóvenes de barrios socioeconómicamente desfavorecidos, así como la asociación de este fenómeno con factores como la mala salud mental, las malas relaciones familiares y la falta de actividad física regular. El tercero estudia la evolución del bienestar mental entre 2016 y 2021 y muestra un empeoramiento significativo, especialmente entre las chicas y el alumnado con menos recursos, evidenciando el impacto de la pandemia en la salud emocional y la ampliación de las desigualdades sociales y de género. Los tres estudios se basan en datos representativos del alumnado de secundaria en Barcelona, y combinan fuentes administrativas (como el registro COVID escolar y sanitario) y datos basados en una encuesta (FRESC). A pesar de las limitaciones propias de los diseños transversales y el análisis binario del género, la tesis aporta una visión sólida y contextualizada de los determinantes sociales y de género en la salud adolescente. Además, defiende la necesidad de enfoques intersectoriales, sistémicos y transformadores en el ámbito de la salud pública, y reivindica la importancia de incorporar perspectivas cualitativas e interculturales para comprender mejor las vivencias adolescentes. En este sentido, se incluye en el apéndice un estudio cualitativo realizado con jóvenes mapuches en Chile, que aporta una mirada complementaria sobre los impactos de la pandemia en contextos marcados por la desigualdad estructural y la identidad cultural. Esta tesis contribuye a visibilizar los mecanismos sociales que generan y perpetúan desigualdades en salud, y aspira a ofrecer evidencias útiles para el diseño de políticas públicas más justas y orientadas a garantizar el bienestar de todas las personas adolescentes, independientemente de su género, origen o condición social.Social and gender inequalities profoundly shape adolescent health. This doctoral thesis aims to analyse how these inequalities manifest and intersect across three key areas of adolescent health in the city of Barcelona: COVID-19 incidence, mental well-being, and problematic Internet use (PIU). The work adopts a critical, intersectional, and systemic perspective, understanding health as a collective right linked to the material, social, and emotional conditions of life, and to equitable access to resources and opportunities. To achieve this objective, three studies were conducted. The first analyses COVID-19 incidence among school-aged adolescents and reveals a pattern of inequality related to social class and gender, especially during the early waves of the pandemic. The second explores problematic Internet use, identifying higher prevalence among younger girls from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and highlights its association with factors such as poor mental health, negative family relationships, and lack of regular physical activity. The third study examines changes in mental well-being between 2016 and 2021, showing a significant deterioration—particularly among girls and adolescents with fewer resources—thus evidencing the impact of the pandemic on emotional health and the widening of social and gender inequalities. The three studies are based on representative data from secondary school students in Barcelona and combine administrative records (such as COVID-19 school and health registries) with survey-based data (FRESC). Despite the limitations of cross-sectional designs and the binary analysis of gender, this thesis offers a robust and contextualised perspective on the social and gender determinants of adolescent health. It also advocates for intersectoral, systemic, and transformative approaches to public health, and highlights the importance of incorporating qualitative and intercultural perspectives to better understand adolescent experiences. In this regard, the appendix includes a qualitative study conducted with Mapuche youth in Chile, providing a complementary view on the pandemic’s impact in contexts marked by structural inequality and strong cultural identity. This thesis contributes to making visible the social mechanisms that generate and perpetuate health inequalities and aspires to provide useful evidence for the design of fairer public policies aimed at ensuring the well-being of all adolescents, regardless of their gender, origin, or social background.Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Doctorat en Biomedicin
Glossari de la intersecció entre l'art i la tecnologia: proposta d'ampliació de l'Art & Architecture Thesaurus
No full textTutor: Ángel SoutoTreball de fi de grau en Traducció i InterpretacióL’art es troba en plena revolució a causa dels avenços tecnològics recents, que han ocasionat l’aparició de noves tècniques, eines i pràctiques. El món de l’art i la cultura s’ha d’actualitzar per poder comunicar i difondre aquestes noves maneres de crear i entendre l’art. El tesaurus Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) és un recurs àmpliament utilitzat, però no està al dia pel que fa a termes d’aquesta àrea de coneixement. Per suplir aquest buit, aquest treball pretén elaborar un glossari que serveixi com a proposta d’ampliació del AAT. S’ha realitzat el glossari per mitjà del programa Sketch Engine, amb l’extracció terminològica d’un corpus creat a partir de 39 articles de l’àmbit d’estudi. El glossari inclou una fitxa per a cada un dels 79 termes extrets. També s’ha fet servir l’eina de traducció assistida MemoQ per crear una base de dades terminològica bolcant-hi el glossari, exemplificant així l’ús d’aquesta terminologia en la traducció. Finalment, el glossari s’ha comparat amb els termes recollits a l’AAT, obtenint 47 termes que aquest no té registrats. Aquest glossari és un pas necessari per a actualitzar la terminologia de l’art i enriquir els recursos existents.El arte se encuentra en plena revolución debido a los recientes avances tecnológicos, que han ocasionado la aparición de nuevas técnicas, herramientas y prácticas. El mundo del arte y la cultura
tiene que actualizarse para poder comunicar y difundir estas nuevas formas de crear y entender el arte. El tesauro Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) es un recurso ampliamente utilizado, pero no está al
día en cuanto a términos de este ámbito de conocimiento. Para suplir este vacío, este trabajo pretende elaborar un glosario que sirva como propuesta de ampliación del AAT. Se ha realizado el glosario
mediante el programa Sketch Engine, con la extracción terminológica de un corpus creado a partir de 39 artículos del ámbito de estudio. El glosario incluye una ficha para cada uno de los 79 términos
extraídos. También se ha usado la herramienta de traducción asistida MemoQ para crear una base de datos terminológica volcando el glosario, ejemplificando el uso de esta terminología en la traducción.
Finalmente, se ha comparado el glosario con los términos que recoge el AAT, obteniendo 47 términos que no tiene registrados. Este glosario es un paso necesario para actualizar la terminología del arte y
enriquecer los recursos existentes.Art is in the midst of a revolution due to recent technological developments, which have led to the emergence of new techniques, tools and practices. The art and cultural heritage sector needs a
renovation to be able to communicate and disseminate these new ways of understanding art. The Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) is a widely used tool, but is not up to date regarding terminology in
this field of knowledge. To narrow this gap, this project aims to elaborate a glossary to function as a proposal for the expansion of the AAT. A glossary was created with the tool Sketch Engine, based on
the terminological extraction of a corpus created from the collection of 39 articles in the field of study. The glossary includes an entry for each of the 79 extracted terms. The computer-assisted translation
tool MemoQ was also used, to create a terminology database by importing the glossary information, as a way of exemplifying the use of this terminology for translation projects. Finally, the glossary was
compared to the AAT, obtaining 47 terms that are not included in the AAT. This glossary is a necessary step for actualizing the terminology of art and enriching the existing resources
Municipalizando el Occupancy Tax: el caso de Barcelona y el impuesto catalán sobre estancias en establecimientos turísticos
No full textNavigating the infodemic: what can we learn from the COVID-19 crisis?
No full textIn times of uncertainty, an excess of information can become a significant source of psychological distress. The COVID-19 pandemic thrust millions into a whirlwind of fear and confusion, in which access to reliable information offered a sense of security against invisible threats (Gao et al., 2020; Garfin et al., 2020). However, amid the urgent search for clarity, a parallel crisis quietly unfolded: a dramatic increase in global information consumption, often marked by the spread of misinformation and fake news (Cinelli et al., 2020; Masip et al., 2020; Ramírez et al., 2020). In this context, understanding how individuals sought, interpreted, and placed trust in information offers valuable lessons for addressing future global crises and developing effective strategies to combat infodemic
From discord to harmony: decomposed consonance-based training for improved audio chord estimation
No full textComunicació presentada al 26th International Society for Music Information Retrieval Conference (ISMIR 2025), celebrada a Daejeon (Korea) del 21 al 25 de setembre del 2025Audio Chord Estimation (ACE) holds a pivotal role in music information research, having garnered attention for over two decades due to its relevance for music transcription and analysis. Despite notable advancements, challenges persist in the task, particularly concerning unique characteristics of harmonic content, which have resulted in existing systems' performances reaching a glass ceiling. These challenges include annotator subjectivity, where varying interpretations among annotators lead to inconsistencies, and class imbalance within chord datasets, where certain chord classes are over-represented compared to others, posing difficulties in model training and evaluation. As a first contribution, this paper presents an evaluation of inter-annotator agreement in chord annotations, using metrics that extend beyond traditional binary measures. In addition, we propose a consonance-informed distance metric that reflects the perceptual similarity between harmonic annotations. Our analysis suggests that consonance-based distance metrics more effectively capture musically meaningful agreement between annotations. Expanding on these findings, we introduce a novel ACE conformer-based model that integrates consonance concepts into the model through consonance-based label smoothing. The proposed model also addresses class imbalance by separately estimating root, bass, and all note activations, enabling the reconstruction of chord labels from decomposed outputs.This work is supported by IA y Música: Cátedra en Inteligencia Artificial y Música (TSI-100929-2023-1), funded by the Secretaría de Estado de Digitalización e Inteligencia Artificial, and the European Union-Next Generation EU, under the program Cátedras ENIA 2022 para la creación de cátedras universidad-empresa en IA, and IMPA: Multimodal AI for Audio Processing (PID2023- 152250OB-I00), funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Spanish Government, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and co-financed by the European Union