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La vejez femenina en el mundo fenicio-púnico: concepciones, realidades y representaciones
No full textUna primera aproximació a l'impacte de les derivacions des de la sanitat privada sobre l'ús de recursos sanitaris públics a Catalunya: reflexions sobre el temps d'espera per a diagnòstic i per a tractament
No full textAffective polarization and social cohesion
No full textSocial cohesion is an important prerequisite for the health of democracies. In this chapter, we consider how political norms of competition in democratic settings can become detrimental to societies afflicted by affective polarization by deteriorating social trust and tolerance and increasing social discrimination. We theorize that the deterioration of social cohesion will follow as partisan identities become ever more relevant criteria in people's social categorization of themselves and others, thereby strengthening political norms of competition and potentially overpowering social norms of cooperation. We discuss the theoretical foundations of this argument, provide some empirical evidence of the underlying mechanism using data from five countries, and identify some limitations and avenues for future research
Robustness in reinforcement learning under task-uncertainty
No full textTreball fi de màster de: Master in Intelligent Interactive SystemsSupervisor: Dr. Miguel Calvo-FullanaReinforcement learning (RL) agents often face challenges in real-world scenarios where the task is not known in advance. This thesis tackles the problem of task uncertainty by developing agents that can identify and adapt to the current objective in real-time, using only reward signals as feedback. Instead of a monolithic meta-policy, we propose a modular framework based on a committee of pre-trained
"expert" policies, each specialized for a single known task. We develop and analyze two distinct online adaptation mechanisms: a "Dual Lambda" algorithm, derived from a game-theoretic max-min formulation using Lagrangian duality, which finds a robust policy mixture and offers formal guarantees; a pragmatic Predictive Control (MPC-style) algorithm that selects the best expert at each step through short-horizon simulations in the true environment. The performance of these algorithms is rigorously evaluated in a custom 2D navigation environment through a three-phase protocol of increasing complexity, culminat-
ing in a zero-shot generalization test with novel, unseen obstacle geometries. The results demonstrate that both approaches significantly outperform baseline methods, successfully adapting to the active task. The analysis reveals a trade-off: the Dual Lambda method provides inherent conservatism and theoretical robustness, while the predictive approach offers greater practical flexibility and emergent behaviors,
such as autonomously assigning specialized roles to experts in complex scenarios. A crucial finding is that the performance of both algorithms is fundamentally bounded by the expressive capacity of the initial expert policy set, highlighting that while the adaptation mechanism is critical, its success is contingent on the diversity of the underlying skills. This work provides a comprehensive analysis of two modular
solutions for task-uncertain RL and establishes a foundation for developing more flexible and robust autonomous systems
Role of maternal Vitamin D3 levels in shaping adolescent vascular health: Evidence from a spanish population-based birth cohort
No full textBackground: Low gestational vitamin D levels may increase offspring risk of cardiovascular disease from an early age. Studies investigating the impact on offspring macrovascular function have been inconsistent. Few included pulse wave velocity as an arterial stiffness indicator, and none included measures of microvascularization as an early marker of cardiovascular health. This study explored the association between gestational vitamin D levels and macro- and microvascular health across early adolescence. Methods and results: We analyzed data from 430 mother-child pairs from a Spanish birth cohort. 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (vitamin D3) levels were measured in serum at 13 weeks of pregnancy. At 11 and 15 years we assessed macrovascular parameters, including systolic and diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and pulse wave velocity (m/s), and microvascular parameters (central retinal artery/vein equivalent (μm)). We used continuous (in ng/mL) and categorical (deficient <20 ng/mL versus adequate >20 ng/mL) deseasonalized 25(OH)D3 levels as exposure. Mixed effect and linear regression models were conducted. During their pregnancies, nearly 23% of the mothers had deficient vitamin D3 levels. We did not find statistically significant associations between pregnancy vitamin D3 levels and macro- and microvascular function markers across adolescence. However, subjects exposed to deficient vitamin D3 levels showed a nonstatistically significant decrease in pulse wave velocity (β=-0.09 [95% CI, -0.19 to 0.01]) compared with those exposed to adequate levels. There was no evidence of a sex interaction. Conclusions: Our findings show little evidence to support associations between low vitamin D levels during pregnancy and macro- or microvascular health parameters through early adolescence.Júlia Sangüesa holds a PFIS (Personal Formación de Investigadores en Salud) fellowship, funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spanish Health Research Institute) through the project “FI19/00124” (co‐funded by the European Social Fund, “Investing in your future”). ISGlobal (Barcelona Institute for Global Health) acknowledges support from the grant CEX2023‐0001290‐S funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN) and the State Research Agency (MCIN/AEI/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033), and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia) through the CERCA Program. The INMA‐Sabadell cohort was funded by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spanish Health Research Institute) through multiple initiatives (including Red INMA, Childhood and Environment Network, grant G03/176; and CIBERESP, Network for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and Public Health), from the Generalitat de Catalunya‐CIRIT (Interdepartmental Commission for Research and Technological Innovation; grant 1999SGR 00241), and from the Generalitat de Catalunya‐AGAUR (Agency for Management of University and Research Grants; grants 2009 SGR 501 and 2014 SGR 822). Additional support was provided by Fundació La Marató de TV3 (Marató Foundation; grant 090430), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness MINECO (grant SAF2012‐32991, co‐funded by the European Regional Development Fund [FEDER]), and the Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l'Alimentation, de l'Environnement et du Travail (ANSES; grants 1262C0010, EST‐2016 RF‐21, EST‐19 RF‐04, and 2019/1/233). The study also received funding from the European Commission through several projects (261357, 308333, 603794, 634453, 825712, and 874583)
Representación y participación política en Cataluña en torno a 1700
No full textEn la segunda mitad del siglo XVII cuajaron en Cataluña largos procesos de transformación y económica y de cambio social. Nuevos y dinámicos grupos impulsaron una puesta al día del constitucionalismo catalán en las Cortes de 1701-1702, presididas por Felipe V de Borbón, y más todavía en las de 1705-1706, presididas por Carlos III el Archiduque. A diferencia de lo que sucedía en otros territorios de la Corona de Aragón y de Europa, en Cataluña se ampliaban y consolidaban la representación y la participación política, en Cortes y en otras instituciones, y se consagraban mecanismos de defensa de los derechos de toda la sociedad. La victoria borbónica en la Guerra de Sucesión acabó drásticamente con estas estructuras de corte republicanista. Palabras clave: Representación, participación, Cataluña, siglo XVIII, constitucionalismo Long-term processes of social and economic transformation crystallized in the second half of the Seventeenth century. Dynamic merchants merged with traditional elites and promoted an updating of Catalan constitutionalism both in the 1701-1702 parliament, called by Philippe V, and in the 1705-1706 one, led by archduke Charles III. While in several European countries representative institutions and rule of law were fading under royal absolutism, they were being strengthened in Catalonia. Once the Bourbon dynasty won the War of Succession to the Spanish throne, all structures implying active political participation of clergy, nobility and commoners were abolished. Keywords: Representation, participation, Catalonia, 18th century, constitutionalism
Spanish language learning in the AI era: AI as a scaffolding tool
No full textData de publicació electrònica: 08-04-2025This study investigated how ten Chinese university students interacted with ChatGPT to facilitate their acquisition of Spanish as a second language. In a semi-informal educational setting, 370 ChatGPT prompts authored by the students and the AI-generated responses they yielded were collected over the course of one week. Secondary data sources included questionnaires and learning diaries. Findings revealed that students primarily sought assistance from ChatGPT with vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, and written expression, with fewer prompts focused on grammar or oral communication. The prompts showed significant variation in length, language preference, and pattern, though only a small portion involved more than a single prompt-response interaction. This trend suggests a largely task-oriented use of ChatGPT, with limited reflective engagement. This study points to the teacher ↔ AI ↔ learner relationship as a new dimension of interaction and offers practical recommendations for educators in AI-assisted language learning. Key suggestions include fostering students’ self-directed learning abilities and encouraging more reflective and systematic learning approaches.This research was funded by the doctoral scholarship from the first co-author (2024 FI-1-00688, Government of Catalonia), the competitive research project coordinated by the second co-author (OralGrab. Recording videos and audios for teaching-learning, PID2022-141511NB-100, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation), and the funds from GRAEL (Group for Language Learning and Teaching Research) (2021 SGR 471, AGAUR, Government of Catalonia, Spain)
Geometric diagrams of genomes: constructing a visual grammar for 3D genomics
No full textAdvances in the field of three-dimensional (3D) genomics have revealed an ever-expanding array of architectural features that were unknown only a few years ago. Just as ribbon diagrams integrate spatial and symbolic representation to communicate the shape of a protein, the representation of genomes in 3D space requires the development and use of new cartographic symbols and visual conventions. Here, we propose a conceptualized grammar that makes it easier to create visual 3D representations of genomes.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 823327 to M.A.M-R. and F.R. M.A.M-R. also acknowledges support by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PID2020-115696RB-I00 and PID2023-151484NB-I00). M.A.M-R., E.L.A., and N.N. acknowledge support by the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number RM1HG011016. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Caracterización arqueométrica de la cerámica vidriada monocroma: el convento de los Dominicos de Castelló d'Empúries (Cataluña)
No full textLa excavación realizada en la única torre que se conserva de la estructura medieval de Castelló d'Empúries (Cataluña), proporcionó un gran número de cerámicas, entre las que se encuentran los materiales estudiados en el presente trabajo. En consecuencia, se pretenden exponer los resultados de la caracterización arqueométrica de un conjunto de seis individuos de cerámica vidriada monocroma (VM). Mediante la observación por lupa binocular, y diversas técnicas analíticas (MEBEDX y DRX), se han determinado las características formales y composicionales de las cerámicas. Los resultados se han contemplado desde una vertiente social y económica, con el objetivo de extrapolar hipótesis sobre su producción, uso y función
Obsessive-compulsive disorder in the World Mental Health surveys
No full textBackground: National surveys have suggested that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent and impairing condition. However, there are few cross-national data on OCD, with data particularly scarce in low- and middle-income countries. Here we employ data from the World Mental Health surveys to characterize the onset, course, severity, and treatment of OCD across a range of countries in different geographic regions of the world. Methods: Data came from general population surveys carried out in 10 countries (Argentina, Australia, Colombia, Iraq, Poland, People's Republic of China, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain) using a consistent research protocol and interview. A total of 26,136 adults were assessed for OCD in face-to-face interviews and were included in the present analyses. We examined lifetime and 12-month prevalence as well as age of onset, persistence, severity, and treatment of DSM-IV OCD in six high-income countries (HICs) and four low- or middle-income countries (LMICs). We also investigated socio-demographic variables and temporally prior mental disorders as predictors of OCD onset, persistence, severity, and treatment. Results: Across the 10 countries surveyed, OCD has a combined lifetime prevalence of 4.1%. The 12-month prevalence (3.0%) is nearly as high, suggesting a highly persistent course of illness. Age of onset is early, with more than 80% of OCD cases beginning by early adulthood. Most OCD cases in the community are mild (47.0%) or very mild (27.5%), with a smaller percentage designated as moderate (22.9%) or severe (2.7%) by the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. Only 19.8% of respondents with OCD received any mental health treatment in the past year, with treatment rates much higher in HICs (40.5%) than LMICs (7.0%). Cross-nationally, OCD commonly emerges in adolescence or early adulthood against a backdrop of earlier-occurring mental disorders. With few exceptions (e.g., prior social phobia), the socio-demographic and psychopathological risk factors for OCD onset, persistence, severity, and treatment are distinct. Conclusions: These cross-national data underscore clinical lessons regarding the importance of early diagnosis of OCD and comprehensive evaluation of comorbidity; draw attention to OCD as an undertreated disorder, particularly in LMIC contexts; and emphasize the public health significance of this often-overlooked condition