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Can ultrasound on admission in active labor predict labor duration and a spontaneous delivery?
Get PDFBackground
Identifying predictive factors for a normal outcome at admission in the labor ward
would be of value for planning labor care, timing interventions and in preventing labor
dystocia. Clinical assessments of fetal head station and position at the start of labor
have some predictive value but the value of ultrasound methods for this purpose has
not been investigated. Studies using transperineal ultrasound before labor onset show
possibilities of using these methods to predict outcome.
Objective
To investigate if ultrasound measurements during the first examination in the active
phase of labor were associated with the duration of labor phases and the need for
operative delivery.
Study Design
This was a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study at Landspitali University
Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland. Nulliparous women at ≥37 weeks with a single fetus in
cephalic presentation and spontaneous labor onset were eligible. The recruitment period
was from January 2016 to April 2018.
Women were examined by a midwife on admission and included if in established
active phase defined as regular contractions with a fully effaced cervix, open four cm or
more. An ultrasound examination was performed by a separate examiner within 15
minutes, both examiners were blinded to the other's results. Transabdominal and
transperineal ultrasound were used to assess fetal head position, cervical dilatation and
fetal head station expressed as head-perineum distance and angle of progression.
Duration of labor was estimated as the hazard ratio for spontaneous delivery using
Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analysis. The hazard ratios were adjusted for
maternal age and BMI. The associations between study parameters and mode of delivery
were evaluated using receiver-operating characteristic curves.
Results
Median time to spontaneous delivery when head-perineum distance was ≤45 mm was 490
minutes compared to 682 min when >45mm (log rank test, p=0.009, but the adjusted HR
for shorter HPD was 1.47; 95% CI; 0.83 to 2.60). For angle of progression ≥93° the
median duration was 506 minutes compared to 732 min when <93° (log rank test,
p=0.008, adjusted HR for AoP was 2.07; 95% CI: 1.15 to 3.72). The median time to
delivery for non-occiput posterior positions was 506 minutes compared with 677 minutes
for occiput posterior positions (log rank test, p=0.07, adjusted HR 1.52; 95% CI: 0.96-
2.38) Median time to delivery was 429 minutes for dilatation of ≥6 cm and 704 minutes
for dilatation of 4-5 cm (log rank test, p=0.002, adjusted HR 3.11; 95% CI: 1.68 to 5.77).
Spontaneous deliveries were 75, 16 were instrumental vaginal (one forceps and 15
ventouse) and eight were cesarean deliveries. Head-perineum distance was associated
with spontaneous delivery with AUC=0.68 (95% CI; 0.55 to 0.80) and angle of
progression with AUC=0.67 (95% CI; 0.55 to 0.80). Ultrasound measurement of cervical
dilatation or position at inclusion were not significantly associated with a spontaneous
delivery.
Conclusions
Ultrasound examinations showed that fetal head station and cervical dilatation was
associated with the duration of labor but measurements of fetal head station were the
variables best associated with operative deliveries.Icelandic Centre for Researc
Developing theoretical foundations for runtime enforcement
Get PDFThe ubiquitous reliance on software systems is increasing the need for ensuring their correctness. Runtime enforcement is a monitoring technique that uses moni- tors that can transform the actions of a system under scrutiny in order to alter its runtime behaviour and keep it in line with a correctness specification; these type of enforcement monitors are often called transducers. In runtime enforcement there is often no clear separation between the specification language describing the cor- rectness criteria that a system must satisfy, and the monitoring mechanism that actually ensures that these criteria are met. We thus aim to adopt a separation of concerns between the correctness specification describing what properties the sys- tem should satisfy, and the monitor describing how to enforce these properties. In this thesis we study the enforceability of the highly expressive branching time logic μHML, in a bid to identify a subset of this logic whose formulas can be adequately enforced by transducers at runtime.
We conducted our study in relation to two different enforcement instrumentation settings, namely, a unidirectional setting that is simpler to understand and formalise but limited in the type of system actions it can transform at runtime, and a bidirectional one that, albeit being more complex, it allows transducers to effect and modify a wider set of system actions. During our investigation we define the behaviour of enforcement transducers and how they should be embedded with a system to achieve unidirectional and bidirectional enforcement. We also investigate what it means for a monitor to adequately enforce a logic formula, and define the necessary criteria that a monitor must satisfy in order to be adequate. Since enforcement monitors are highly intrusive, we also define a notion of optimality to use as a guide for identifying the least intrusive monitor that adequately enforces a formula.
Using these enforcement definitions, we identify a μHML fragment that can be adequately enforced via enforcement transducers that drop the execution of certain actions. We then show that this fragment is maximally expressive, i.e., it is the largest subset that can be enforced via these type of enforcement monitors. We finally look into static alternatives to runtime enforcement and identify a static analysis technique that can also enforce the identified μHML fragment, but without requiring the system to execute
High-temperature geothermal energy utilization in the context of EU climate and energy policy - life cycle environmental impacts and primary energy demand
Get PDFGeothermal energy utilization contributes to less than 0.5% of the world’s electricity demand and is not well represented in energy policies and environmental studies of energy systems. Research on geothermal potential and environmental impacts shows that geothermal energy can contribute to a low-carbon future and increased share of renewables in future energy systems, wherever access to geothermal resources is technically and economically feasible. Furthermore, geochemical conditions have to be favorable, as gaseous emissions are byproducts of utilizing high-temperature geothermal resources, where fluids are hotter than 150°C at 1 km depth below the surface. These include greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that can be as high as emissions from fossil-fuelled power plants in rare instances.
The recent climate and energy targets of the EU “clean energy for all” package for the year 2030 are set to reduce GHG emissions, increase the share of renewables within the EU energy mix, increase energy efficiency, and lower demand across the energy sector. This study investigates how the current EU climate and energy policy supports high-temperature geothermal utilization in future energy systems by comparing life cycle assessment results to the 2030 targets. The methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to a case study of a state-of-the-art, high-temperature geothermal combined heat and power plant located in Iceland. LCA provides a holistic approach to analyzing various environmental impacts, including GHG emissions and primary energy demand, which serve as a basis for the EU targets. Detailed life cycle inventory (LCI) data was collected for the study since such data is not readily available in LCA literature or databases for geothermal applications. Furthermore, different allocation methods used to divide the environmental impacts between heat and electricity were tested to observe their impacts on the overall results.
The overall results showed that life cycle GHG emissions are similar to other renewable energy technologies and thus can contribute significantly to lowering these emissions associated with energy use by replacing fossil fuels. However, due to the low thermal efficiency of electricity generation from geothermal, its increased use does not result in the desired increased energy efficiency, as measured by the EU targets in terms of primary energy demand, when added or replacing older technologies in the current energy system. However, the study results suggest that emphasis could instead be put on the non-renewable primary energy demand to ensure that renewable technologies such as geothermal utilization do not contradict the EU energy efficiency target. The study also identifies H2S emissions as a hotspot for geothermal utilization as the gas contributes to acidification and human toxicity potential. The results suggest that a barrier exists in current EU policy that may hinder geothermal energy from becoming one of the desired solutions to reach the 2030 climate and energy targets.Framleiðsla raforku með jarðhita telur minna en 0.5% af rafmagnsþörf heimsins. Sökum þessa er jarðhitanýting oftan undanskilin í stefnumótun og rannsóknum á orkukerfum. Þær rannsóknir sem til eru um nýtingarmöguleika og umhverfisáhrif jarðhita á heimsvísu benda til þess nýting hans, þar sem jarðfræðilegar og efnahagslegar forsendur eru til staðar, geti stuðlað að því að minnka losun frá orkuframleiðslu og aukið hlut endurnýjanlegra orkugjafa á kostnað jarðefnaeldsneytis. Þó eru til dæmi þess að nýting jarðhita valdi samskonar losun og nýting jarðefnaeldsneytis til orkuframleiðslu, sem bendir til mikilvægi þess að rétt skilyrði séu fyrir hendi við nýtingu slíkra auðlinda. Losun gróðurhúsalofttegunda fylgir einkum nýtingu háhita, þar sem jarðhitavökvi er um 150°C eða heitari á 1 km dýpi.
Í ný-uppfærðri orkustefnu Evrópusambandsins (ES) eru sett fram markmið um orku- og loftslagsmál. Þau eru birt sem hluti af hreinorkupakkanum (e. „clean energy for all” package) og ná til ársins 2030. Þau eiga einkum að leiða til minkunar á losun gróðurhúsalofttegunda, auka hlut endurnýjanlegra orkugjafa og minka orkunotkun með bættri orkunýtingu innan ES. Þessari rannsókn er ætlað að svara hvernig, og hvort, núgildandi markmið orkustefnu ES ýti undir frekari jarðhitanýtingu í Evrópu. Rannsóknin notar aðferðir vistferilsgreiningar (e. Life cycle assessment (LCA)) til þess að reikna út frumorkunýtni og kolefnisspor háhitanýtingar til samanburðar við markmiðin. Rannsóknin er byggð á raundæmi um slíka nýtingu, nánar tiltekið Hellisheiðarvirkjun, sem er hátækni jarðvarmavirkjun sem framleiðir bæði rafmagn og varma til húshitunar. Beiting vistferilsgreiningar gefur heildrænar niðurstöður fyrir ýmis umhverfisáhrif virkjunarinnar, þar með talið kolefnisspor framleiðslunnar og frumorkukræfni hennar, sem eru lykilstærðir í markmiðum orkustefnu ES. Hluti af rannsókninni fólst í því að safna saman ítarlegu gagnasetti fyrir mismunandi hluta lífsferils virkjunarinnar (e. Life cycle inventory (LCI)), þar sem slík gögn voru ekki til reiðu fyrir háhitavirkjanir í útgefnum rannsóknum eða gagnasettum. Jafnframt voru skoðaðar mismunandi aðferðir til að skipta umhverfisáhrifum milli raforku- og varmaframleiðslunnar (e. Allocation methods) til þess að meta áhrif þeirra á kolefnisspor og frumorkukræfni beggja framleiðsluvara.
Niðurstöðurnar sýna að kolefnisspor háhitanýtingar er svipað og kolefnisspor annarra endurnýjanlegra orkugjafa, þegar aðferðum lífsferilsgreiningar er beitt við útreikningana. Þar með getur jarðhiti gegnt mikilvægu hlutverki samhliða öðrum endurnýjanlegum orkugjöfum í framtíðar orkukerfum á heimsvísu til að verjast loftslagsvánni. Hins vegar er varmanýtni slíkra virkjana lág þegar kemur að rafmagnsframleiðslu, sem gerir það að verkum að háhitanýting nær ekki að uppfylla markmið ES um aukna orkunýtni og minni frumorkunotkun. Ef horft yrði til frumorkunotkunnar af óendurnýjanlegum uppruna (e. non-renewable primary energy demand) eingöngu myndi jarðhitanýting koma afar vel út í samanburði við aðra orkugjafa. Niðurstöður rannsóknarinnar sýna einnig fram á að losun brennisteinsvetnis (H2S) er álagspunktur í vistferilsgreiningunni þegar þær eru bornar saman við umhverfisáhrif annarrar orkutækni. Losun H2S telst því ein alvarlegasta aukaverkun jarðhitanýtingar og veldur hún áhrifum á súrnun (e. Acidification potential) og eitrunaráhrifum á mannfólk (e. Human toxicity potential). Komast má hjá slíkri losun með notkun hreinsunarbúnaðar við slíkar virkjanir. Ljóst er af niðurstöðunum að núverandi framsetning orkustefnu ES og markmiða henni tengdri styðja ekki nægjanlega vel við uppbyggingu jarðhitanýtingar í Evrópu.Nordic Energy Research, grant number 16X753.02.
The National Energy Fund (Orkusjóður), grant number 12-2007.
Landsvirkjun Energy Research fund, grant number FMV 04-2013
Reading fluency and ADHD symptoms: Initial testing of IS-FORM, IS-PSEUDO, and SWAN in a sample of Icelandic children
Get PDFThe small-scale study presented here was the first test of three instruments in a sample of Icelandic children: IS-FORM, IS-PSEUDO, and the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD-symptoms and Normal-behavior (SWAN) rating scale. Participants in this study were children in the 4th grade of a school in Reykjavik (10 girls and 10 boys). Guardians completed SWAN to assess their children's behavior. The researchers measured children's reading fluency for real Icelandic word forms (IS-FORM) and pseudowords (IS-PSEUDO) onsite. Lesferill standardized reading fluency exam scores and both Icelandic language and mathematics scores from the 4th grade Icelandic National Exams (academic achievement) were collected from the Directorate of Education. IS-FORM and IS-PSEUDO showed all signs of being reliable and valid instruments for assessing the reading fluency of 4th grade children (Chronbach's alpha for the IS-FORM 1, IS-FORM 2, and IS-PSEUDO together was .87). SWAN also had excellent reliability in our sample (Cronbach’s alpha of .96). A forced two-factor solution provided a factor structure that aligned well with the ADHD-Inattentive and ADHD-Hyperactive/Impulsive subscales of SWAN. SWAN scores correlated with all reading measures, but not significantly with academic achievement, and the strength of this association got stronger from 2nd to 5th grade. The results suggest that ADHD-related symptoms and behavior hinder children from reaching their full reading fluency potential.This research was funded by The Icelandic Research Fund (Grants No. 174013-051, 195912-053) and the University of Iceland Research Fund.Accepted peer-reviewed chapte
Chitotriazolan (poly(β(1-4)-2-(1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)-2-deoxy-d-glucose)) derivatives: Synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of antibacterial activity
Get PDFHere we describe the first synthesis of a new type of polysaccharides derived from chitosan. In these structures, the 2-amino group on the pyranose ring was quantitively replaced by an aromatic 1,2,3-triazole moiety. The 2-amino group of chitosan and di-TBDMS chitosan was converted into an azide by diazo transfer reaction. The chitosan azide and TBDMS-chitosan azide were poorly soluble but could be fully converted to triazoles by “copper-catalysed Huisgen cycloaddition” in DMF or DMSO. The reaction could be done with different alkynes but derivatives lacking cationic or anionic groups were poorly soluble or insoluble in tested aqueous and organic solvents. Derivatives with N,N-dimethylaminomethyl, N,N,N-trimethylammoniummethyl, sulfonmethyl, and phosphomethyl groups linked to the 4-position of the triazole moiety were soluble in water at neutral or basic conditions and could be analyzed by 1H, 13C APT, COSY, and HSQC NMR. The quaternized cationic chitotriazolan's had high activity against S. aureus and E. coli, whereas the anionic chitotriazolan's lacked activity.Rannsóknasjóður Rannís
Rannsóknasjóður HÍFinal manuscript to publishe
Mannekla lögreglu og mjúk löggæsla í dreifbýli
Get PDFMarkmið rannsóknarinnar eru að kortleggja þróun mannafla íslensku lögreglunnar frá árinu 2007, skoða lögregluna í evrópskum samanburði og greina upplifun dreifbýlislögreglumanna af helstu áskorunum þeirra og bjargráðum. Notast er við fyrirliggjandi gögn og viðtöl við 23 lögreglumenn með starfsreynslu í dreifbýli. Niðurstöðurnar sýna að starfandi lögreglumenn voru 648 árið 2017 og hafði fækkað um 9% frá 2007. Landsmönnum fjölgaði samhliða um 10%. Árið 2018 var Ísland meðal þeirra Evrópulanda sem höfðu hvað fæsta lögreglumenn (185) á hverja 100.000 íbúa. Hvergi fækkaði lögreglumönnum jafn mikið í Evrópu milli 2009 og 2018 og hérlendis (29,1%). Samhliða nær fimmfaldaðist fjöldi erlendra ferðamanna. Fólksfjölgun, fjölgun ferðamanna og fækkun lögreglumanna hafa aukið álag og komið niður á löggæslu, ekki síst í dreifbýli. Niðurstöður viðtala sýna að helstu áskoranir sem dreifbýlislögreglumenn upplifa eru mannekla, ofurálag, margþætt verkefni, lítil aðstoð og óskýr mörk vinnu og einkalífs. Helstu bjargráð dreifbýlislögreglumanna eru að þróa með sér fjölþætta kunnáttu og hugvitssemi við að virkja félagsauð nærsamfélagsins. Mikilvægust er góð samskiptahæfni sem byggist á samræðum, hæfileikanum að geta stillt til friðar og mjúkri löggæslu til að viðhalda trausti almennings og samstöðu. Félagsauður nærsamfélagsins, sem grundvallast á trausti, samvinnu og óformlegu félagslegu taumhaldi, hjálpar dreifbýlislögreglunni í þessum efnum.Byggðarannsóknasjóður Byggðastofnunar og Vísindasjóður Háskólans á Akureyri.Peer Reviewe
Collective Action and the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The Case of the Panama Papers Protest in Iceland
Get PDFSocial theory implies that a rise in the expectation that many will participate in collective action can make participation in the action widely rational, giving rise to a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. I address this classic, yet understudied, proposition by surveying participation in a demonstration that the ‘Panama Papers Leak’ triggered in Iceland in 2016. The demonstration was preceded by a sudden rise of large-turnout expectations, and attracted one-fifth of an urban population, allowing me to obtain event-specific, population-representative survey measures of the focal constructs (N = 821). The findings support hypotheses about the role of large-turnout expectations in collective action. They confirm that protest support (i.e. the value placed in the goal of the collective action) both raises large-turnout expectations and moderates their effects on protest participation. In fact, large-turnout expectations were associated with participation only if individuals supported the protest. Also, the findings imply that large-protest expectations trigger interpersonal relational dynamics that further motivate participation. The study thus supports and yet qualifies the role of the self-fulfilling prophecy in collective action.Pre-print (óritrýnt handrit
Predicting work disability and the outcome of vocational rehabilitation : the role of persistent physical symptoms and mental health
Get PDFAbstract
In this Thesis, the relationship between Persistent Physical Symptoms (PPS), mental health, work disability and vocational rehabilitation outcome was examined in two samples. First, we looked at a sample of 324 people seeking vocational rehabilitation services and then at a subsample of 285 Non-Cardiac Chest Pain (NCCP) patients taken from a larger study on 504 chest pain patients that attended an Icelandic cardiac emergency department (CED). The participants in the vocational rehabilitation sample were between 18 and 65 years old, their mean age was 39.34 years and the majority of them were female (78.1%). Participants in NCCP study were between 18 and 66 years old, their mean age was 49.84 years and about half of them were female (54.0%) and a half of them male (46.0%). In both samples, participants filled out questionnaires measuring PPS and mental health problems. Information regarding the rehabilitation of the vocational rehabilitation service seekers and medical diagnoses of the chest pain patients was retrieved from the service providers. In the vocational rehabilitation sample, we firstly estimated the prevalence of PPS, examined how the extent of PPS related to mental health problems, and estimated how many rehabilitation seekers might benefit from psychological treatment for PPS. Secondly, we investigated whether the outcome of vocational rehabilitation and functional impairment at its beginning could be predicted by the presence of PPS, specific PPS types or symptoms of psychological distress using logistic- and hierarchical linear regression. In the CED sample, we examined the relationship between PPS, mental health and work disability from another angle by looking at patients diagnosed with NCCP. NCCP patients whose symptoms were severe enough to meet PPS criteria (n=85) were compared to other NCCP (n=200) patients in terms of work status, psychological symptoms, and total number of PPS. In our vocational rehabilitation sample, the prevalence of PPS was 80.9%, and the modal number of symptoms was three. Participants with PPS more commonly had depression, anxiety and health anxiety symptoms in the clinical range, and these symptoms were positively correlated with the number of PPS. Between 46.2% and 64.6% of our participants were identified as being likely to benefit from a specialised PPS treatment. Functional impairment at the beginning of service was predicted by depressive symptoms, PPS and social anxiety symptoms. Only persistent pain and depressive symptoms independently predicted not returning to work, and the rehabilitation duration was not related to the severity or number of psychological symptoms nor the presence or number of PPS. In the CED sample, NCCP patients whose symptoms met PPS criteria reported more symptoms of depression, anxiety and health anxiety than other NCCP patients. They also ruminated more, had a higher number of other PPS and were more likely to be inactive or unable to work. Within Icelandic vocational rehabilitation, special attention should be given to PPS and depressive symptoms as they are common, positively associated with functional impairment at the beginning of service and a specific combination of these symptoms was associated with a lower return to work rate. Overall, the results suggest a clear need for routine evaluation and specialised treatment for PPS within vocational rehabilitation and that such treatments should preferably be both transdiagnostic and work focussed. Furthermore, the results indicate that there might be value in identifying and treating PPS at earlier stages, such as through the CED.VIRK - Vocational Rehabilitation Fund
RU Research Fun
Performance analysis of power generation by wood and woody biomass gasification in a downdraft gasifier
Get PDFPublisher's version (útgefin grein)An equilibrium simulation model was developed by applying Aspen Plus to
evaluate the performance of 28 wood and woody biomass (W&WB)
gasification in a downdraft gasifier integrated with power production unit.
The developed simulation model does not focus the gasification process as a
closed box, it considers important processes in gasification like drying,
pyrolysis, combustion, gasification and integrated with power production
plant (combustion chamber plus gas turbine). The results for the 28 W&WB
alternatives show that the net power produced from 1-ton feedstock entering
to the gasification system is between the interval [0-400 kW/ton] and among
them, gasification system derived from Tamarack bark biomass significantly
outranks all other systems by producing 363 kW/ton, owing to the favorable
results obtained in the performance analysis. Moreover, effect of various
operating parameters such as gasification temperature and air to fuel ratio
(AFR) on the system performance was carried out. Finally, the developed
model is applied as an effective tool to assess the impact of so many
biomasses and operating parameters on output power.This paper was a part of the project funded by Icelandic Research Fund (IRF), (in Icelandic:
Rannsoknasjodur) and the grant number is 196458-051.Peer Reviewe
The art of communication: a discourse analysis of three novels by Carmen Martín Gaite
Get PDFSpanish author C. Martín Gaite developed a number of theories on communication and the interlocutor in her essays and articles, that she put in practice in her narrative work through author-reader and characters communicative interaction. This study is based on different branches of the humanities and social sciences (such as literature, linguistics, philosophy and communication) to examine author-reader and characters discursive interaction in three novels by Martín Gaite: Entre visillos (1958), Retahílas (1974) y El cuarto de atrás (1978). This interdisciplinary approach is essential to solve the general objective of this research, which is to verify whether it is possible to create a study model for author-reader discursive interaction, and for discursive construction of meaning through characters' utterances, that can be applied to the novelistic genre.
For this purpose, a discourse analysis (DA) with a pragmatic-literary view has been first conducted identifying four discursive patterns in the author-reader interaction in the three novels. The pragmatic-literary DA includes theories such as Austin and Searle's Speech Act, Bakhtin's discursive genres, Charaudeau's communicative contract, Maingueneau's situation of communication, enunciation scene, and scenography, and Van Dijk's cognitive approach to context. Secondly, a contrapuntal analysis (AC) has identified three main discourses in the characters' utterances that construct the meaning
of dialogue in the novels. The AC originates in Baxter's communicative theory of Relational Dialectics and Bakhtin's dialogism.
As a result of this first systematic discursive study on three novels by Martín Gaite, the research has shown the creation of a valid study model of discursive interaction, applicable both to author-reader communication and to meaning construction among characters. This developing model, based on Martín Gaite's communicative theory, is open and inclusive. Thus, this research offers a different view not only in the framework of study of the novel in Martín Gaite's work, but also of the novels of other authors as well as in the investigation of other literary discursive genres.
La autora española C. Martín Gaite (1925-2000) desarrolló ciertas teorías sobre la comunicación y el interlocutor en sus ensayos y artículos, que puso en práctica en su obra narrativa a través de la interacción discursiva entre el autor-lector, y entre los personajes. Este estudio se apoya en diferentes ramas humanísticas y de las ciencias sociales (como la literatura, la lingüística, la filosofía y la comunicación) para examinar la interacción discursiva entre el autor-lector y entre los personajes en tres novelas de Martín Gaite: Entre visillos (1958), Retahílas (1974) y El cuarto de atrás (1978). Este enfoque interdisciplinar es ineludible para resolver el objetivo general de esta tesis, que es verificar si podemos crear un modelo de estudio de la interacción discursiva entre el autor y el lector, así como de la construcción discursiva de sentido en la interacción entre los personajes, aplicado al género novelístico.
Con este propósito, primero hemos llevado a cabo un análisis de discurso (AD) pragmático-literario con el que hemos identificado cuatro patrones discursivos en la interacción autora-lector en las tres novelas. El AD está basado en conceptos pragmáticos como los actos de habla de Austin y Searle, los géneros discursivos de Bajtín, el contrato comunicativo de Charaudeau, la situación de comunicación, la escena de enunciación y la escenografía de Maingueneau, y la teoría cognitiva del contexto de Van Dijk, entre otros. Seguidamente, hemos efectuado un análisis de contrapunto (AC) con el que hemos identificado tres discursos principales en los enunciados de los personajes que construyen el sentido de diálogo en los textos. El AC procede de la teoría comunicativa de la dialéctica relacional de Baxter y el dialogismo de Bajtín.
Como resultado de este primer estudio discursivo sistemático de tres novelas de Martín Gaite, hemos creado un modelo válido de estudio de la interacción discursiva, aplicable tanto a la relación autor-lector como a la construcción de sentido entre los personajes. Este paradigma en desarrollo, basado en la teoría comunicativa de la propia autora, es abierto e inclusivo. Así, este modelo ofrece una mirada diferente no solo en el marco de exploración de la novela en la obra de Martín Gaite, sino también en las novelas de otros autores y en la investigación de otros géneros discursivos literarios