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Enhancing support for patients with low anterior resection syndrome: insights and educational resources from the LARSCAT project
No full textPurpose: To address the educational gaps and support needs of patients with low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) following rectal cancer surgery. The LARSCAT project aimed to develop comprehensive resources to better inform patients and enhance their quality of life. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted between November 2022 and March 2023. Seven focus groups were formed, including six patients, two surgeons, and three nurses. Patients had undergone rectal cancer surgery with stoma reversal 2 to 12 years earlier, and all experienced major LARS. The focus groups, held in-person and online, explored the impact on daily life, social and sexual health, mood, rest, and relationships. Thematic analysis was performed to identify key issues and support strategies following the COREQ guidelines. Results: Participants reported insufficient information regarding potential dysfunctions after rectal cancer surgery, and difficulties finding reliable information online. The timing of receiving information varied according to individual coping mechanisms. LARS symptoms significantly impacted daily life, social activities, sexual health, and mood. Patients emphasised the need for more tailored information and supplementary written materials to read at their own pace. Consequently, three comprehensive documents were created and made available online. Conclusion: This study highlights a significant gap in patient education on the long-term effects of rectal cancer surgery. The resources developed by the LARSCAT project aim to provide essential support to patients and healthcare professionals. Future research should focus on integrating these resources into routine care and evaluating their impact on patient outcomes and quality of life
Oscillatory dynamics of active learning in the human brain
No full textComunicació presentada al 2019 Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience, celebrada a Berlin (Alemanya) del 13 al 16 de setembre de 2019.While the benefits of self-directed learning on human memory are well-acknowledged, little is known on its underlying neurophysiological substrate. Here, we investigated the key signatures of volitional learning in the brain as assessed by representational similarity analysis applied to human intracranial EEG (iEEG) data. Epilepsy patients performed an episodic memory task during virtual navigation which tests differences in recognition memory for self-directed versus passive learning. Consistent with previous literature, higher recognition accuracy was observed for items studied in active as opposed to passive movement conditions at the behavioral level. In addition, we demonstrate a critical role of hippocampal low-frequency oscillations for active learning. This is observed in 1) increased hippocampal 2-6Hz power for active versus passive information sampling and 2) significantly greater encoding-retrieval similarity (ERS) for volitional as compared to passive conditions in the first second after cue onset at retrieval. Follow-up analyses will address the contribution of activity at different frequencies for item-specific ERS and volitional versus passive learning. Together, these results offer a first perspective on the key oscillatory mechanisms underlying volitional learning in the human brain.The research leading to these results has received funding from the ERC grant agreement n° 341196 (CDAC)
OBERIU: Un episodio clave de la vanguardia literaria rusa.
No full textEsta tesis se centra en el movimiento de las vanguardias históricas rusas OBERIU (acrónimo de Unión del Arte Real), activo entre 1927 y 1930, aunque la actividad de sus miembros comenzó antes y se prolongó tras su disolución. El objetivo principal es analizar la posición de las vanguardias literarias rusas en el campo cultural antes y después de la Revolución de Octubre, situar el movimiento OBERIU en ese contexto y examinar los rasgos principales de su producción artística a través de las obras de sus autores centrales: Alexander Vvedensky, Daniíl Jarms y Nikolay Zabolotsky. Además de describir el movimiento y sus características, se propone un estudio de caso que compara el uso del absurdo en las obras de OBERIU con el de ciertos autores europeos, con el fin de ampliar la visión de las vanguardias europeas, donde esta corriente rusa ha sido, en muchos casos, ignorada o escasamente reconocida.This thesis focuses on the Russian historical avant-garde movement OBERIU (an acronym for Union of Real Art), active between 1927 and 1930, although the work of its members began earlier and continued after the group's dissolution. The main objective is to analyze the position of Russian literary avant-gardes within the cultural field before and after the October Revolution, to situate OBERIU in this context, and to examine the main features of its artistic output through the works of its core members: Alexander Vvedensky, Daniil Kharms, and Nikolay Zabolotsky. In addition to describing the movement and its characteristics, this thesis proposes a case study that compares the use of absurdism in OBERIU's works with that of selected European authors. The aim is to broaden the perspective on European avant-gardes, in which the Russian contribution—particularly that of OBERIU—has often been overlooked or insufficiently acknowledged.Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Doctorat en Humanitat
Political disaffection or institutional adultcentrism? Youth perceptions of adult hegemony in institutional politics and policies
No full textData de publicació electrònica: 09-09-2024The relationship between young people and public institutions has traditionally attracted a lot of attention. In particular, there has been much discussion about the idea of youth political disaffection. In recent years, the literature seems to agree that this disaffection of the new generations is fundamentally oriented towards the institutional political system. Studies on institutional disaffection have tended to look at the characteristics, transformations and situations experienced by young people themselves. However, the role that public institutions play in producing this distancing has hardly been examined. In this article, we aim to determine whether the theoretical tool of adultcentrism, as a hegemony that places young people in a peripheral position, helps us understand these processes. We use data from focus groups and participatory workshops in the city of Barcelona to analyse to what extent the distancing of young people from institutions is shaped by perceptions and discourses that assume or react to the marginal position that youth have in the institutional system. By basing this analysis on adultcentric forms of governance, we aim to understand both how such perspectives are constructed by young people through their interaction with institutions, and also how these perceptions become generalised discourses among youth.This research was carried out with financial support from the Sindicatura de Greuges de Barcelona and the Ministry of Science and Innovation (Spain) (Grant agreement: PID2020-117529RB-I00)
Visiones del cuerpo enfermo en el cine y la fotografía de principios del siglo XX
No full textEsta intervención se articuló a partir del trabajo realizado por los tres comisarios de la exposición "A cos obert. La malaltia a la fotografia" i el cinema dels orígens (1880-1930)» (Museu del Cinema de Girona, 2024-2025). El punto de partida de la misma se basaba en el paralelismo entre la aparición y la evolución de los dispositivos de visión médica y los cinematográficos, que tendrían como consecuencia la normalización de la circulación de imágenes del cuerpo enfermo, tanto de su exterior como de su interior. Las imágenes que manejamos nos condujeron desde la microscopía del interior del cuerpo, con una fuerte conexión con el cine abstracto, hasta
las imágenes paródicas del cuerpo enfermo en el cine de ficción, pasando por el cuerpo en rehabilitación y sus prótesis y llegando al cuerpo afectado por las pandemias, ya ligado a la biopolítica
Patentabilidad y protección de los segundos usos médicos
No full textEste trabajo tiene como primer objetivo analizar la patentabilidad de las segundas indicaciones médicas. A tal efecto, estudia la redacción que deberían tener para recibir menos objeciones, los problemas de novedad, su diferencia con los tratamientos médicos y las particularidades de la Comunidad Andina, que no las admite. El segundo objetivo responde al interrogante de qué medidas se pueden adoptar para protegerlas sin impedir, al mismo tiempo, la comercialización lícita de medicamentos genéricos que implementen el uso de la sustancia o producto conocidos para los primeros usos y que ya no están patentados. Para ello, investiga cómo influye la legislación farmacéutica en dicha protección y cómo se infringe (directa e indirectamente) una patente de segundo uso médico. Los dos objetivos se abordan desde la legislación nacional junto con las particularidades del Derecho alemán, británico y norteamericano, utilizando los principales casos jurisprudenciales, especialmente, el asunto Pregabalina. La tesis termina con algunas propuestas para solventar o aliviar en parte los problemas de protección.The first objective of this work is to analyse the patentability of second medical indications. To this end, it studies the wording they should have to receive fewer objections, the problems of novelty and its difference with medical treatments and the particularities of the Andean Community that does not admit them. The second objective answers the question of what measures can be adopted to protect them without preventing, at the same time, the licit marketing of generic medicines that implement the use of the substance or product known for the first uses and that are no longer patented. To do this, it investigates how pharmaceutical legislation influences said protection and how a second medical use patent is infringed (directly and indirectly). The two objectives are addressed from national legislation together with the particularities of German, British and North American Law, using the main jurisprudential cases, mainly the Pregabalina case. The thesis ends with some proposals to partially solve or alleviate protection problemsPrograma de Doctorat en Dre
Experimentando los comunes educativos: prácticas inter e intra generacionales en torno a lo común
No full textEn las últimas tres décadas los planteamientos conceptuales y metodológicos de la [nueva] sociología de la infancia (Gaitán, 2006; 2022) han permitido mejorar nuestra comprensión de los procesos sociales en relación con niñas, niños y adolescentes, y de cómo ellos mismos y ellas mismas inciden en dichos procesos. Para esto, han sido fundamentales los desarrollos sobre la participación, el ser por encima del devenir, la agencia o sobre la ciudadanía. Sin embargo, recientemente algunas voces empiezan a señalar la existencia de ciertas tensiones y tendencias autorreferenciales que podría estar cosificando los autodenominados «estudios de infancia» (Spyrou et al., 2019). Frente a ello, invitan a desfetichizar las nociones fundacionales de la sociología de la infancia, a traspasar los límites ya establecidos y a mantener una «conversación más amplia y continua sobre nuestros propios esfuerzos por comprometernos con el niño, los niños y la infancia más allá de los marcos recibidos» (Spyrou et al., 2019: 5). Esto incluye una mirada crítica hacia una noción de agencia individualizada que ha sido, y es, clave en el surgimiento del campo interdisciplinar de los estudios de infancia. Una mirada que desvela los sesgos universalistas adultocéntricos [y también androcéntricos] de estos planteamientos, y propone una reconceptualización de la agencia humana más orientada por planteamientos más relacionales
Essays in Macro-Finance
No full textThis thesis consists of three chapters on firm heterogeneity and the role of credit frictions and regulatory constraints. The first chapter highlights the role of a gender gap in credit access in distorting capital allocation across firms, which leads to an output loss of 4% for the US economy. The second chapter examines corporate borrowing choice and its implications on firm activity. We document the wide usage of cash flow loans among the largest and smallest firms in the economy, the latter being in contrast to conventional wisdom that small firms are required to pledge collateral when they borrow. We further show that firms’ loan type choice correlate with their operating needs. We propose a firm dynamics model with a collateral cost to explain these facts. The third chapter proposes a theoretical model that formalizes why a long-lasting period of expansionary monetary policy may amplify banks’ incentives to rollover loans to unviable firms.Esta tesis consta de tres cap´ıtulos sobre la heterogeneidad de las empresas y el papel de las fricciones crediticias y las restricciones regulatorias. El primer cap´ıtulo destaca el papel de la brecha de g´enero en el acceso al cr´edito a la hora de distorsionar la asignaci´on de capital entre empresas, lo que conduce a una p´erdida de producci´on del 4% para la econom´ıa estadounidense. El segundo cap´ıtulo examina la elecci´on de endeudamiento corporativo y sus implicaciones en la actividad empresarial. Documentamos el amplio uso de pr´estamos sin garantia entre las empresas m´as grandes y m´as peque˜nas de la econom´ıa, lo que contrasta con la sabidur´ıa convencional de que las peque˜nas empresas deben ofrecer garant´ıas cuando solicitan pr´estamos. Adem´as, mostramos que la elecci´on del tipo de pr´estamo de las empresas se correlaciona con sus necesidades operativas. Proponemos un modelo de din´amica de empresas con un costo colateral para explicar estos hechos. El tercer cap´ıtulo propone un modelo te´orico que formaliza por qu´e un per´ıodo prolongado de pol´ıtica monetaria expansiva puede amplificar los incentivos de los bancos para refinanciar pr´estamos a empresas inviables.Programa de Doctorat en Economia, Finances i Empres
Policymaking, trust, and the demand for public services: evidence from a mass sterilization campaign
No full textWe study a large-scale family planning intervention in which more than 260,000 Peruvian women were sterilized. Many of these medical procedures are alleged to have been performed without patient consent. The subsequent disclosure of alleged illegal sterilizations caused reductions in the usage of contraceptive methods and prenatal and birth delivery services and, more generally, the demand for medical services in affected areas. As a result, child health worsened. The results persist for at least 17 years after the information disclosure and are driven by disappointed supporters of the implementing government. Learning about the government's malpractices undermined trust in institutions.León-Ciliotta acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (Barcelona School of Economics CEX2019-000915-S), funded by grants MCIN/ AEI/10.13039/501100011033, RYC2017-23172, and PID2023-150768NB-I00
Mapping protein-coding genomes to phenomes: a phylogenetic perspective
No full textIn the current genomics era, it is essential to understand how the existing genomics diversity across evolution is linked to the enormous diversity we observe at the phenotypic level. Until now, Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been the predominant tool in genome-phenome studies, focused on populations from different model organisms. However, the significant increase in the availability of large comparative datasets in recent years helps to broaden the understanding of the genomic architecture of biological traits and recover variability one would miss only with GWAS studies. In this thesis, firstly, we developed new comparative methodologies, datasets and strategies to carry out comprehensive genome-phenome analysis on the mammals and primate’s phylogenies. Secondly, we obtained a comprehensive phylogenetic protein-coding genome phenome map in primates, providing amino acid positions and protein-coding gene evolutionary rates associated with phenotype variation on morphological, physiological, life-history, ecological and behavioral traits. Lastly, we demonstrate the applicability of these datasets and methodologies studying protein-coding genomic correlates in two phenotypes of particular interest from the human perspective: longevity in mammals and neoplasia in primates.En la era genómica actual, es esencial entender cómo la diversidad genómica existente a lo largo de la evolución puede explicar la enorme diversidad que observamos a nivel fenotípico. Hasta el momento, los estudios de asociación genoma-fenoma (GWAS) han sido la herramienta principal en estudios de genoma-fenoma, centrados en poblaciones de distintos organismos modelo. Sin embargo, el significativo aumento de disponibilidad de recursos de genómica comparativa en los últimos años puede ayudar a ampliar la comprensión que tenemos de la arquitectura genómica de los caracteres biológicos, recuperando variación que perdemos si solo nos centramos en estudios de GWAS. En esta tesis, primero desarrollamos nuevas metodologías, bases de datos y estrategias comparativas para llevar a cabo análisis comprensivos de genoma-fenoma en las filogenias de mamíferos y primates. En segundo lugar, generamos un mapa filogenético genoma-fenoma exhaustivo en primates a partir de genes codificante para proteínas, recuperando posiciones aminoacídicas testadas filogenéticamente y tasas evolutivas de genes codificantes asociadas a la variación de caracteres morfológicos, fisiológicos, ecológicos, de historia de la vida y comportamentales. Finalmente, demostramos la aplicabilidad de estos datos y metodologías estudiando las correlaciones con el genoma codificante para proteína en dos fenotipos particularmente interesantes desde la perspectiva humana: longevidad en mamíferos y neoplasia en primates.Programa de Doctorat en Biomedicin