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Treball de fi del grau del Doble grau en Traducció i Interpretació i Llengües Aplicades. Tutora: Gemma Barberà Altimira El desconeixement o la percepció errònia de la llengua de signes (LS), així com de la cultura i la comunitat Sorda, és un fet generalitzat a la societat i, en conseqüència, persistent a la major part de la comunitat educativa oïdora, que es perpetua quan es pren consciència del món que engloba aquesta llengua més enllà de l’àmbit lingüístic. En el present treball, s’estableix com a objectiu clau la creació d’una proposta de curs de formació de llengua de signes catalana (LSC) per al professorat, tot prenent un enfocament comunicatiu orientat a l’acció d’acord amb la metodologia d’ensenyament-aprenentatge basada en tasques. Així, per a una millor aproximació al món de la LSC, s’elaboren un seguit de materials de suport visuals, tant lingüístics com sobre la cultura de la comunitat Sorda, que es posen en consonància amb el curs gràcies a un entorn virtual d’ensenyament-aprenentatge. Prenent com a punt de partida els reptes i necessitats actuals de la LSC, es duu a terme una recerca documental i la pertinent selecció dels materials disponibles en aquest àmbit per tal d’assolir els propòsits establerts. En aquest sentit, aquest projecte contribueix a fer un pas més cap a la supressió de les barreres de comunicació en un camp d’estudi on encara queda un llarg camí per recórrer, tot incloent-hi diversos enfocaments d’ensenyament-aprenentatge de la llengua. A més, en ser un curs en línia, s’obre la porta a la possibilitat real de fer-ne difusió més enllà del col·lectiu docent. The lack of awareness and the misconceptions about sign language (SL) and Deaf community and culture and is a widespread phenomenon in the general society, which is also a persistent fact in most of the hearing educational community. Therefore, it lingers, as well, when it comes to becoming aware of the world that surrounds this language, beyond the linguistic field. The main goal of this paper is to propose a Catalan Sign Language (LSC) course for teachers, based on an action-oriented communicative approach according to a task-based teaching-learning methodology. In this sense, in order to achieve a better approach to the world of LSC, a combination of supplementary visual instructional materials have been designed, both linguistic and focused on the Deaf community and culture, which are put together thanks to a virtual teaching-learning environment. On the basis of the current LSC challenges and needs and with the intention of meeting the established purposes, documentary research has been carried out, in conjunction with the appropriate materials selection from the ones available in this field currently. On this matter, this project contributes in terms of taking a step forward in the removal of communication barriers in a field where there is still a long way to go, enclosing different teaching-learning approaches. Likewise, considering that it is an online course, it opens the door to the real chance of application beyond the teachers group. El desconocimiento o la percepción errónea de la lengua de signos (LS), así como de la cultura y la comunidad Sorda, es un hecho generalizado en la sociedad y, por consiguiente, persistente en la mayor parte de la comunidad educativa oyente, que se perpetúa en cuanto se toma consciencia del mundo que rodea a esta lengua, más allá del ámbito lingüístico. En el presente trabajo, se establece como objetivo principal la creación de una propuesta de curso de formación de lengua de signos catalana (LSC) para el profesorado, adoptando un enfoque comunicativo orientado a la acción conforme con la metodología de enseñanza-aprendizaje basada en tareas. De este modo, para conseguir una mejor aproximación al mundo de la LSC, se elaboran una serie de materiales complementarios visuales, tanto lingüísticos como sobre la cultura de la comunidad Sorda, que se ponen en consonancia con el curso gracias a un entorno virtual de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Estableciendo como punto de partida los retos y necesidades actuales de la LSC, se lleva a cabo una investigación documental y la pertinente selección de materiales disponibles en este ámbito con el fin de cumplir con los propósitos establecidos. En este sentido, este proyecto contribuye dando un paso más hacia la supresión de las barreras de comunicación en un campo de estudio donde aún queda un largo camino por recorrer, incluyendo diferentes enfoques de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Asimismo, en tratarse de un curso en línea, se abre la puerta a la posibilidad real de difusión más allá del colectivo docente.

In this contribution, the analytical potential of total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) instrumentation has been evaluated for the determination of major and trace elements in milk powder. TXRF allows the possibility of direct analysis of solid suspensions without the need for a digestion process and therefore it can be a potential analytical candidate for simple and cost-effective analysis. A detailed study to select sample preparation and measurements conditions was carried out. Different quantification approaches (including internal standardization and empirical calibration) were also tested. Finally, the developed TXRF methods (W anode) were validated by a strict comparison with the data from the reference methods on a set of twenty-three samples using robust statistics. Results showed that acceptable results can be obtained for K, Ca, Fe and Zn determination if using adequate calibration approaches. Otherwise, only screening results can be obtained for light elements (P and Cl) in milk powder samples., Eduard Roura is acknowledged for his support in the laboratory work. Ignasi Queralt also acknowledges the “Grant CEX2018-000794-S funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033”.

In this review, we discuss the recent advances in and problems with the use of magnetically-guided and magnetically-responsive nanoparticles in drug delivery and magnetofection. In magnetically-guided nanoparticles, a constant external magnetic field is used to transport magnetic nanoparticles loaded with drugs to a specific site within the body or to increase the transfection capacity. Magnetofection is the delivery of nucleic acids under the influence of a magnetic field acting on nucleic acid vectors that are associated with magnetic nanoparticles. In magnetically-responsive nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles are encapsulated or embedded in a larger colloidal structure that carries a drug. In this last case, an alternating magnetic field can modify the structure of the colloid, thereby providing spatial and temporal control over drug release.

Arsenic (As) has been classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a human carcinogen, being inorganic As the natural contaminating element present mostly in water sources because of its high solubility. Almost 10% of the Argentine population is exposed to As with high association to cancer. In the present work, we aimed to determine plant extracts able to counteract As oxidative stress effect, the main cellular response triggered by exposure. We analyzed Araucaria araucana used in popular medicine for inflammatory processes. We studied aqueous and organic extracts of seeds and leaves (and stems) in order to determine antioxidant activities in an in vitro model. We also analyzed elemental composition by X-ray fluorescence by dispersive energy (EDXRF). The results suggest that seeds of A. araucana are a suitable source of antioxidants and oligoelements as magnesium, potassium and calcium, worth to be studied as a potential pharmaceutical drug. © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group.

Over the last half decade the need for, and importance of, three-dimensional (3-D) modelling of magnetotelluric (MT) data have increased dramatically and various 3-D forward and inversion codes are in use and some have become commonly available. Comparison of forward responses and inversion results is an important step for code testing and validation prior to 'production' use. The various codes use different mathematical approximations to the problem (finite differences, finite elements or integral equations), various orientations of the coordinate system, different sign conventions for the time dependence and various inversion strategies. Additionally, the obtained results are dependent on data analysis, selection and correction as well as on the chosen mesh, inversion parameters and regularization adopted, and therefore, a careful and knowledge-based use of the codes is essential. In 2008 and 2011, during two workshops at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies over 40 people from academia (scientists and students) and industry from around the world met to discuss 3-D MT inversion. These workshops brought together a mix of code writers as well as code users to assess the current status of 3-D modelling, to compare the results of different codes, and to discuss and think about future improvements and new aims in 3-D modelling. To test the numerical forward solutions, two 3-D models were designed to compare the responses obtained by different codes and/or users. Furthermore, inversion results of these two data sets and two additional data sets obtained from unknown models (secret models) were also compared. In this manuscript the test models and data sets are described (supplementary files are available) and comparisons of the results are shown. Details regarding the used data, forward and inversion parameters as well as computational power are summarized for each case, and the main discussion points of the workshops are reviewed. In general, the responses obtained from the various forward models are comfortingly very similar, and discrepancies are mainly related to the adopted mesh. For the inversions, the results show how the inversion outcome is affected by distortion and the choice of errors, as well as by the completeness of the data set. We hope that these compilations will become useful not only for those that were involved in the workshops, but for the entire MT community and also the broader geoscience community who may be interested in the resolution offered by MT.

One critical factor for success in characterizing metals polluting mining environments so as to be able to eliminate them and subsequently recover these areas depends upon a speedy and correct response in the analysis of samples. Rapid, simultaneous, multi-element analysis can be undertaken using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, a versatile, non-destructive analytical technique commonly employed to identify both major and minor elements in samples related to environmental studies. An additional advantage of this technique is the possibility of conducting the analysis directly on solid samples, which is extremely convenient when dealing with environmental samples that are difficult to dissolve, such as soils, sediments and mining wastes. Moreover, in recent years the development of spectrometers equipped with digital-signal processors combined with enlarged X-ray production, using better designs for excitation-detection, has contributed to an improvement in instrumental sensitivity, thus allowing us to detect important polluting elements such as Cd and Pb at trace levels. In this paper the authors describe, on the basis of their own experience, some interesting applications of XRF spectrometry for the analysis of several types of environmental samples related to the study of the dispersion of metals within mining environments: (A) analysis of mining wastes, soils and sediments; (B) analysis of samples of vegetation used as bioindicators or related to phytoremediation studies; and (C) analysis of water samples related to mining operations Uno de los factores críticos para el éxito de la caracterización, eliminación y recuperación de zonas contaminadas por metales debido a actividades mineras es la respuesta rápida y adecuada en el análisis de las muestras relacionadas con este tipo de estudios. El análisis rápido, simultáneo y multielemental se puede realizar utilizando la espectrometría de fluorescencia de rayos-X, que es una técnica versátil, de análisis no destructivo y de uso común para la determinación de elementos mayoritarios y minoritarios en muestras ambientales. Una ventaja adicional de esta técnica es la posibilidad de realizar el análisis directamente en las muestras sólidas, lo cual es muy conveniente cuando se trata de muestras ambientales difíciles de disolver tales como suelos, sedimentos y residuos mineros. Por otra parte, en los últimos años, el desarrollo de equipos con procesadores de señales digitales con la combinación de mejores diseños de excitacióndetección ha promovido la mejora de la sensibilidad instrumental de los equipos que ha permitido la determinación de algunos contaminantes importantes como el Cd y el Pb a niveles traza. En la presente contribución y en base a la experiencia propia de los autores, se presentan algunas aplicaciones interesantes de metodologías analíticas, centradas en el uso de la espectrometría de fluorescencia de rayos-X, para la determinación elemental en diferentes tipos de muestras ambientales relacionadas con el estudio de la dispersión de metales en zonas mineras abandonadas: (A) análisis de residuos, suelos y sedimentos, (B) análisis de muestras vegetales utilizadas como bioindicadores o en estudios de fitorremediación y (C) análisis de muestras acuosas relacionadas con actividades mineras

[cat] Aquesta Tesi Doctoral té com objectius principals l’estudi d’Helicobacter pylori en mostres aquàtiques de Catalunya, en aigües procedents de sistemes dentals de consultes de dentistes, en saliva i en femtes de pacients amb símptomes gastrointestinals mitjançant el mètode de la PCR. També es va estudiar la supervivència d’Helicobacter pylori en aigua dolça usant un model de laboratori aplicant diferents tècniques d’anàlisi i es va interpretar el canvi de morfologia, la viabilitat i la culturabilitat de la bactèria així com la detecció i quantificació del seu ADN durant un període de temps concret. Per aconseguir aquests objectius, primer es va escollir la llet descremada al 40% v/v com a millor crioprotector i el medi agar Columbia suplementat amb 5% de sang desfibrinada de cavall com a medi de cultiu. Durant el desenvolupament de la tesi es va millorar la tècnica de PCR escollida inicialment basada amb l’estudi de Clayton i col•laboradors (1992) on s’usaven els iniciadors HPU1 i HPU2 en la PCR pel gen ureA, gen estructural de l’enzim ureasa. La tècnica de la hibridació seguida per aquests investigadors es va substituir per una segona PCR ja que aquesta permetria obtenir resultats més ràpidament. En aquesta PCR semiimbricada es va introduir un tercer iniciador intern, HPUI1, i mantenint HPU2 com a extern. Pel gen 16S rRNA, gen usat per a la detecció del gènere Helicobacter, es van usar els iniciadors 1F i 1R per a la primera PCR i els 1F i 2R per a la PCR semiimbricada. El mètode d’extracció escollit en aquest treball basat en partícules de sílice i tiocianat de guanidina descrit per Boom i col., (1990) i l’optimització de les barreges de reacció de les PCR semiimbricades pel gen ureA i 16S rRNA van permetre detectar 50 UPF/mL i 2-20UFC/mL, respectivament. Es va determinar la presència de H.pylori en mostres fecals humanes aplicant dos mètodes: mètode antigènic HpSA i l’amplificació del gen ureA. Amb el mètode molecular es va detectar la presència de ADN de H. pylori en 12 mostres i va mostrar un 75% de coincidència amb els resultats obtinguts amb el mètode antigènic HpSA. També es va determinar la presència de H. pylori a aigües amb diferent de nivell de contaminació fecal. Es va amplificar ADN d’aquesta espècie en un 30% de les mostres d’aigua residual, un 8,34% de les mostres d’aigua de riu de Catalunya i no es va detectar en aigua de font. L’estudi de supervivència de H. pylori a l’aigua en la foscor i a 7ºC es va demostrar que el recompte de bacteris i el número de genomes es manté constant durant tot el període d’estudi, 21 dies. La detecció per PCR també va ser positiva i constant durant aquest període. No obstant això, les cèl•lules només es van mantenir cultivables fins al sisè dia d’emmagatzematge. També es va observar una conversió morfològica de les cèl•lules bacterianes passant de la forma espiral a cocal amb el pas del temps. L’estudi de la morfologia cel•lular en un tall vertical d’una colònia d’H. pylori de 4 dies va mostrar la coexistència de cèl•lules amb morfologia bacil•lar i coccal. L’anàlisi de la saliva de 31 persones sanes va evidenciar la presència d’aquest bacteri en la boca de 6% de la població analitzada. La anàlisi feta amb la PCR semiimbricada per al gen 16S rRNA va identificar la presència d’aquest gen en 19 persones però la seqüenciació dels amplicons del gen ureA només va confirmar la presència de H. pylori en tres mostres. L’anàlisi de 31 mostres d’aigua procedents de les corresponents cadires no va mostra la presència del patogen., [eng] This thesis has as main objectives the study of Helicobacter pylori in water samples from Catalonia, saliva and human feces using the PCR method. Also studied survival, morpholgy, viability and culturability of Helicobacter pylori in water. We first chose skim milk at 40% v / v as cryoprotectant and Columbia agar supplemented with 5% horse blood desfibrinada as a medium. We used a seminested PCR for ureA gene with HPU1 and HPU2 primers for the first PCR and HPUI1 and HPU2 for the second PCR. By gene 16S rRNA, we used the 1F and 1R primers for the first PCR and 1F and 2R for the second PCR. Using a silica and guanidine extraction method and optimization of the seminested PCR reaction mixtures for urea and 16S rRNA genes were detected 50 UPF / mL and 2-20UFC/mL respectively. H.pylori was detected in 12 human fecal samples. DNA of H.pylori was amplified in 30% of samples of wastewater, a 8.34% of the samples of river water in Catalonia and was not detected in spring water. The bacterial count and the number of H.pylori genomes remains constant throughout the study period, 21 days water in the dark at 7 ° C. The detection by PCR was also positive and constant during this period. The cells remained culturable only until the sixth day of storage. We observed morphological conversion of bacterial cells through the spiral to cocal over time. The study of cell morphology in a vertical section of a colony of H.pylori showed the coexistence of cells with bacillary and coccal morphology. The analysis of saliva from 31 healthy individuals showed the presence of this bacterium in the mouth of 6% of the analyzed population but we urea only confirmed the presence of H.pylori in three samples by sequencing.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of reservoir analogues can be improved combining data from different geophysical methods. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) data are valuable tools, since they provide subsurface information from internal architecture and facies distribution of sedimentary rock bodies, enabling the upgrading of depositional models and heterogeneity reconstruction. The Lower Eocene Roda Sandstone is a well-known deltaic complex widely studied as a reservoir analogue that displays a series of sandstone wedges with a general NE to SW progradational trend. To provide a better understanding of internal heterogeneity of a 10m-thick progradational delta-front sandstone unit, 3D GPR data were acquired. In addition, common midpoints (CMP) to measure the sandstone subsoil velocity, test profiles with different frequency antennas (25, 50 and 100MHz) and topographic data for subsequent correction in the geophysical data were also obtained. Three ERT profiles were also acquired to further constrain GPR analysis. These geophysical results illustrate the geometry of reservoir analogue heterogeneities both depositional and diagenetic in nature, improving and complementing previous outcrop-derived data. GPR interpretation using radar stratigraphy principles and attributes analysis provided: 1) tridimensional geometry of major stratigraphic surfaces that define four units in the GPR Prism, 2) image the internal architecture of the units and their statistical study of azimuth and dips, useful for a quick determination of paleocurrent directions. These results were used to define the depositional architecture of the progradational sandbody that shows an arrangement in very-high-frequency sequences characterized by clockwise paleocurrent variations and decrease of the sedimentary flow, similar to those observed at a greater scale in the same system. This high-frequency sequential arrangement has been attributed to the autocyclic dynamics of a supply-dominated delta-front where fluvial and tidal currents are in competition. The resistivity models enhanced the viewing of reservoir quality associated with cement distribution caused by depositional and early diagenetic processes related to the development of transgressive and regressive systems tracts in high-frequency sequences.

Projecte de recerca elaborat a partir d’una estada a la Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Irlanda, entre setembre i desembre del 2009.En els últims anys s’ha realitzat un important avanç en la modelització tridimensional en magnetotel•lúrica (MT) gracies a l'augment d’algorismes d’inversió tridimensional disponibles. Aquests codis utilitzen diferents formulacions del problema (diferències finites, elements finits o equacions integrals), diverses orientacions del sistema de coordenades i, o bé en el conveni de signe, més o menys, en la dependència temporal. Tanmateix, les impedàncies resultants per a tots els valors d'aquests codis han de ser les mateixes una vegada que es converteixen a un conveni de signe comú i al mateix sistema de coordenades. Per comparar els resultats dels diferents codis hem dissenyat models diferents de resistivitats amb estructures tridimensional incrustades en un subsòl homogeni. Un requisit fonamental d’aquests models és que generin impedàncies amb valors importants en els elements de la diagonal, que no són menyspreables. A diferència dels casos del modelització de dades magnetotel.lúriques unidimensionals i bidimensionals, pel al cas tridimensional aquests elements de les diagonals del tensor d'impedància porten informació sobre l'estructura de la resistivitat. Un dels models de terreny s'utilitza per comparar els diferents algoritmes que és la base per posterior inversió dels diferents codis. Aquesta comparació va ser seguida de la inversió per recuperar el conjunt de dades d'una estructura coneguda. Report for the scientific sojourn carried out at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Ireland, from september until december the 2009. In the recent years the importance of three-dimensional modeling of magnetotelluric (MT) data increased and various 3D forward and inversion codes became available. These codes use different formulations of the problem (finite differences, finite elements or integral equations), various orientations of the coordinate system and either the plus or the minus sign convention for the time dependence. Nevertheless the resulting impedance values for all these codes should be the same once they are converted to a common sign convention and coordinate system. To compare the results of the various codes we designed two different models with three-dimensional resistivity structures embedded in a homogeneous subsurface. One fundamental model requirement was to generate impedances which have significant values in the diagonal elements which are not negligible. Unlike the one-dimensional and two-dimensional modeling of magnetotelluric data for the three-dimensional case these diagonal impedance elements carry information about the resistivity structure. One of the ground models was used to compare the various forward algorithms which are the base for the different inversion codes. This comparison was followed by an inversion of the retrieved data set – inversion of a known structure.