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The fact that there is a specific age marking the emergence of adulthood in the United States has been well documented. The starting point for the studies included in this special issue is the assumption that the same can be said for European countries. Thus, a comparison of characteristics of emerging adulthood between different European countries was performed. In this special issue, contributions of scholars from five different European countries are taken as representative of different regions: Spain, Italy, Finland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. The efforts of the research are twofold. The first is to look at how the traditional markers of adulthood have changed and how the concept of adulthood is seen in the different countries. The second is to highlight the influence that the entrance into the working world and romantic partnership have on emerging adults and to detect the impact of the timing of entering adulthood on identity achievement. The results are presented here as different pathways that emerging adults follow to reach the same goal of mature adulthood.

Minorities are often seen and portrayed as unable to successfully access and navigate the global domain. This article posits the notion of minority cosmopolitanisms as a viable alternative for minorities to articulate their collective identity in the globalized era. To show how this works in the specific case of Catalonia, I investigate how the Framework Convention on National Minorities (FCNM) and the European Union (EU) have interacted with various Catalan public and governmental bodies. In discussing Catalonia, for instance, I entertain a somewhat provoking hypothesis: Catalonia's success in nearing independence might be due to the fact that it has not joined the FCNM and that Catalonia has instead chosen to develop its very own branch of minority cosmopolitanism. I begin by giving two pertinent and detailed examples from popular culture to illustrate the scope and trajectory of minority cosmopolitanism. I then trace minority cosmopolitanism through the history of the Spanish-Catalan conflict, dating back to 1714 but with a focus on the 20th and 21st centuries, when the older notion of Catalanism was gradually replaced by Independentism as a result of cosmopolitan practices. I conclude with possible lessons to be gained from Catalonia's refusal to partake in the FCNM for reconsidering its role in the changing political landscape of Europe. In addition, relations between Catalonia and the EU are also discussed. Based on the analysis of Catalan relations with the EU and the FCNM, I suggest a few measures on how such transnational bodies can respond to cosmopolitan engagements by minority groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We present results from the international field campaign DAURE (Determination of the sources of atmospheric Aerosols in Urban and Rural Environments in the Western Mediterranean), with the objective of apportioning the sources of fine carbonaceous aerosols. Submicron fine particulate matter (PM1) samples were collected during February--March 2009 and July 2009 at an urban background site in Barcelona (BCN) and at a forested regional background site in Montseny (MSY). We present radiocarbon (14C) analysis for elemental and organic carbon (EC and OC) and source apportionment for these data. We combine the results with those from component analysis of aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements, and compare to levoglucosan-based estimates of biomass burning OC, source apportionment of filter data with inorganic composition + EC + OC, submicron bulk potassium (K) concentrations, and gaseous acetonitrile concentrations. At BCN, 87% and 91% of the EC on average, in winter and summer, respectively, had a fossil origin, whereas at MSY these fractions were 66% and 79 %. The contribution of fossil sources to organic carbon (OC) at BCN was 40% and 48 %, in winter and summer, respectively, and 31% and 25% at MSY. The combination of results obtained using the 14C technique, AMS data, and the correlations between fossil OC and fossil EC imply that the fossil OC at Barcelona is ~47% primary whereas at MSY the fossil OC is mainly secondary (~85 %). Day-to-day variation in total carbonaceous aerosol loading and the relative contributions of different sources predominantly depended on the meteorological transport conditions. The estimated biogenic secondary OC at MSY only increased by ~40% compared to the order-of-magnitude increase observed for biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) between winter and summer, which highlights the uncertainties in the estimation of that component. Biomass burning contributions estimated using the 14C technique ranged from similar to slightly higher than when estimated using other techniques, and the different estimations were highly or moderately correlated. Differences can be explained by the contribution of secondary organic matter (not included in the primary biomass burning source estimates), and/or by an overestimation of the biomass burning OC contribution by the 14C technique if the estimated biomass burning EC/OC ratio used for the calculations is too high for this region. Acetonitrile concentrations correlate well with the biomass burning EC determined by 14C. K is a noisy tracer for biomass burning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, Catalonia is seen as a successful example of language revitalization, through the achievement and maintenance of a fairly stable Castilian/Catalan bilingualism for the last thirty years or so. Recently, however, Catalonia has experienced significant immigration in the context of globalization. The autonomous government is now supporting an agenda in which Catalan alone is presented as the national language, the language of convergence, while Castilian, despite its long historical presence in the region, is portrayed as one of three hundred languages spoken there today. We examine how this policy interacts with everyday linguistic realities and with a preservationist agenda. Catalan speakers are divided between those who feel liberated from the imposition of Spanish identity and culture and those who fear an exclusivist nationalism which they feel would be anachronistic in the globalized world of today. Spanish speakers, in turn, feel threatened and targeted. New immigrants, coming from all corners of the world, are caught in a climate in which official language policies hardly reflect their own needs. Linguistic policies have to be re-thought to tend to the needs of immigrants while also ensuring the survival of Catalan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The epidemiology of bacteraemia is dynamic and may vary between geographical regions. • Healthcare-associated (HCA) episodes showed significant differences in patient features, sources and aetiology. • Consideration of HCA bloodstream infection as a distinct category is confirmed as epidemiologically and clinically useful. The epidemiology of bloodstream infections (BSIs) is dynamic as it depends on microbiological, host and healthcare system factors. The aim of this study was to update the information regarding the epidemiology of BSIs in Spain considering the type of acquisition. An observational, prospective cohort study in 26 Spanish hospitals from October 2016 through March 2017 including all episodes of BSI in adults was performed. Bivariate analyses stratified by type of acquisition were performed. Multivariate analyses were performed by logistic regression. Overall, 6345 BSI episodes were included; 2510 (39.8%) were community-acquired (CA), 1661 (26.3%) were healthcare-associated (HCA) and 2056 (32.6%) hospital-acquired (HA). The 30-day mortality rates were 11.6%, 19.5% and 22.0%, respectively. The median age of patients was 71 years (interquartile range 60–81 years) and 3656 (58.3%; 95% confidence interval 57.1–59.6%) occurred in males. The proportions according to patient sex varied according to age strata. Escherichia coli (43.8%), Klebsiella spp. (8.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (8.9%) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (7.4%) were the most frequent pathogens. Multivariate analyses confirmed important differences between CA and HCA episodes, but also between HCA and HA episodes, in demographics, underlying conditions and aetiology. In conclusion, we have updated the epidemiological information regarding patients' profiles, underlying conditions, frequency of acquisition types and aetiological agents of BSI in Spain. HCA is confirmed as a distinct type of acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decade, some changes in the epidemiology of invasive infections have been reported; however, specific studies with patient-level data are scarce. The aim of this study was to describe and evaluate the epidemiologic changes in bloodstream infections (BSI) during the last decade in Andalucía, Spain. Data from two prospective cohorts of BSI in adults with the same methodology performed 10 years apart in 11 hospitals (eight tertiary and three community) in Andalucía, Spain, were compared; the 2006–7 cohort study was performed between October 2006 and March 2007, and the 2016–17 cohort study was performed between October 2016 and March 2017. Population-based incidence rates were calculated and extrapolated for 1 year. Relative risk ratios were calculated between the 2 periods. Multivariate analyses were performed by logistic regression. Overall, 1262 episodes of BSI were included, 563 (44.6%) in 2006–7 and 699 (55.3%) in 2016–17. Multivariate models selected the following changes in patients' features in 2016–17, after controlling for type of acquisition: higher age (odds ratio (OR) = 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.03), lower urinary catheter (OR = 0.37; 95% CI, 0.26–0.48) and lower Pitt score (OR = 0.76; 95% CI, 0.71–0.82). Adjusted estimations considering patients' features and exposure to procedures showed a reduction in coagulase-negative staphylococci (OR = 0.47; 95% CI, 0.32–0.69), and an increase in Proteus spp. (OR = 3.12; 95% CI, 1.18–8.23) and Candida spp. (OR = 3.01; 95% CI, 1.03–8.86). We found relevant epidemiologic changes in BSI in our area, including rates, frequency of acquisition types, changes in patient's profiles and aetiologic agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]