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This paper addresses the current co-optation of street art into an uncritical aesthetic supplement to the process of neoliberal urbanisation, by focusing on its unresolved relation with its own site. This is done in three steps. First, via a perambulating immersion into the complexity of a specific site. Second, via a critical engagement with the form and politics of contemporary street art. Third, via a strategic speculation on the relation between the notions of art, urban and site. Street art’s current impasse, I argue, paradoxically depends on its incapacity to become properly urban. A urban-specific street art, I contend, is not a decorative veneer nor an enchanting disruption to dramatic processes of urbanisation: it is a force-field in which these processes are made visible, experienceable, and thus called into question. The ‘Olympic’ works of JR and Kobra in Rio de Janeiro, and the iconoclastic performance by Blu in Berlin, are used to illustrate and complement the argument.

This thesis is about space, law and control: how their relationship unfolds in the contemporary city, and how normative orderings emerge out of the urban mess, with particular attention to how this occurs in the extraordinary spatio-temporal context of mega events. The work is premised on the elaboration of an original spatial ontology through the notions of life, materiality and event, which culminates with the introduction of the notion of atmosphere and rhythm, and their folding into the concept of urban tuning. This understanding allows for re-thinking the spatiality and materiality of the urban from a non-dichotomous, immanent perspective, thus providing a novel way to investigate the spatiolegal configurations and the form they assume in the present-day city. Consequently, the thesis explores the exceptional relation between law, space and justice in modern and ‘post-modern’ times, by looking at contemporary forms of control and their on-going reformulation of urban space according to the twin requirements of consumption and immunity. Through this approach, I wish to push forward the urban and legal geographical debate, exploring the evolution of the spatiolegal into new, potentially oppressing logics of control, as well as delineating a radically material, ethico-politically worthwhile and strategically adequate concept of justice. Since I conceive urban mega events as paradigmatic contexts to investigate urban processes, I employ the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as the empirical testing ground for my conceptualisations.

Actualmente, en la comunidad autónoma de Cataluña existen programas de formación e inserción destinados a jóvenes vulnerables con fracaso escolar que han abandonado sus estudios y no disponen de una titulación mínima para poder seguir en la vida académica o acceder al mercado laboral. El objetivo de este proyecto fue analizar la experiencia de estas personas en el entorno de prácticas clínicas, su integración y desarrollo. Por otra parte, se analizó su posible reinserción académica y/o laboral. Se utilizó una metodología cualitativa basada en entrevistas semiestructuradas. La muestra estuvo compuesta por estudiantes que cumplieron los criterios de inclusión y realizaron las prácticas en un hospital comarcal. Podemos concluir afirmando que estos programas son eficaces, no se registraron incidencias durante el período de prácticas, las personas participantes se sintieron bien acogidas, adquirieron las competencias de aprendizaje, se mostraron motivadas y el 100% retomó los estudios en un ciclo formativo de grado medio. Actualment, a la comunitat autònoma de Catalunya existeixen programes de formació i inserció per a joves vulnerables amb fracàs escolar que han abandonat els estudis i no disposen d’una titulació mínima per poder continuar en el món acadèmic o accedir al mercat laboral. L’objectiu d’aquest projecte va ser analitzar l’experiència d’aquestes persones a l’entorn de pràctiques clíniques, a més de la integració i el desenvolupament que hi van experimentar. D’altra banda, se’n va voler analitzar la possible reinserció acadèmica i/o laboral. Per investigar-ho, es va dur a terme una metodologia qualitativa mitjançant entrevistes semiestructurades. La mostra va estar composta per estudiants que complien els criteris d’inclusió i que van realitzar les pràctiques en un hospital comarcal. Podem concloure afirmant que aquests programes són eficaços, no s’hi van registrar incidències durant les pràctiques, les persones participants s’hi van sentir ben acollides, van adquirir les competències d’aprenentatge necessàries, s’hi van sentir motivades i el 100% va reprendre els estudis en un cicle formatiu de grau mitjà. Currently, in the autonomous community of Catalonia, there are training and integration programmes for vulnerable young people who have experienced academic failure, dropped out of school, and do not have the minimum qualifications required to continue studying or enter the labour market. The aim of this project was to analyse the experiences of these individuals in clinical practice settings, their integration, and development. Additionally, the project sought to explore their potential academic and/or professional reintegration. A qualitative methodology was used, based on semi-structured interviews. The sample consisted of students who met the inclusion criteria and carried out their internships in a regional hospital. We can conclude that these programmes are effective: no incidents were recorded during the internships, participants felt welcomed, acquired learning competences, felt motivated, and 100% resumed their studies in an intermediate-level vocational training programme.

La caries dental constituye el primer problema de salud oral a nivel mundial, siendo una de las patologías bucales con mayor prevalencia en todas las edades. En la investigación se aborda su afección en la niñez, debido a la dependencia que los infantes tienen de sus padres. Por esta razón, se considera que es el grupo de edad más afectado con esta enfermedad. El objetivo es determinar la relación entre el nivel de educación y el factor socioeconómico de los padres en la prevalencia de caries dental en niños escolares mediante una revisión de literatura. Se llevó a cabo una investigación de tipo descriptiva, a través de un análisis documental en la base de datos de la Web of Science entre 2017 y 2021. Para llevar a cabo la revisión se utilizó como sustento la metodología PICO, a partir de los siguientes términos de interés: Parents, Education, Economic Status y Dental Caries y sus homólogos en español. Los resultados obtenidos indican que el factor socioeconómico y la educación de los padres constituyen variables que guardan una estrecha relación con la prevalencia de caries dental en los infantes. Del mismo modo, la existencia de ambas variables aumenta la probabilidad de exposición a caries dental. Las conclusiones arrojadas permiten afirmar que en general los niños con menor posición económica y con padres de bajo nivel educacional, tienen mayor experiencia y severidad de caries dental.

The management of parasites, insect pests and vectors requests development of novel, effective and eco-friendly tools. The development of resistance towards many drugs and pesticides pushed scientists to look for novel bioactive compounds endowed with multiple modes of action, and with no risk to human health and environment. Several natural products are used as alternative/complementary approaches to manage parasites, insect pests and vectors due to their high efficacy and often limited non-target toxicity. Their encapsulation into nanosystems helps overcome some hurdles related to their physicochemical properties, for instance limited stability and handling, enhancing the overall efficacy. Among different nanosystems, micro- and nanoemulsions are easy-to-use systems in terms of preparation and industrial scale-up. Different reports support their efficacy against parasites of medical importance, including Leishmania, Plasmodium and Trypanosoma as well as agricultural and stored product insect pests and vectors of human diseases, such as Aedes and Culex mosquitoes. Overall, micro- and nanoemulsions are valid options for developing promising eco-friendly tools in pest and vector management, pending proper field validation. Future research on the improvement of technical aspects as well as chronic toxicity experiments on non-target species is needed.

Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) based on somatic cells expanded in vitro , with or without genetic modification, is a rapidly growing area of drug development, even more so following the marketing approval of several such products. ATMPs are produced according to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) in authorized laboratories. Potency assays are a fundamental aspect of the quality control of the end cell products and ideally could become useful biomarkers of efficacy in vivo . Here we summarize the state of the art with regard to potency assays used for the assessment of the quality of the major ATMPs used clinic settings. We also review the data available on biomarkers that may substitute more complex functional potency tests and predict the efficacy in vivo of these cell-based drugs.

The growing interest in the development of green pest management strategies is leading to the exploitation of essential oils (EOs) as promising botanical pesticides. In this respect, nanotechnology could efficiently support the use of EOs through their encapsulation into stable nanoformulations, such as nanoemulsions (NEs), to improve their stability and efficacy. This technology assures the improvement of the chemical stability, hydrophilicity, and environmental persistence of EOs, giving an added value for the fabrication of natural insecticides effective against a wide spectrum of insect vectors and pests of public and agronomical importance. Carlina acaulis (Asteraceae) root EO has been recently proposed as a promising ingredient of a new generation of botanical insecticides. In the present study, a highly stable C. acaulis-based NE was developed. Interestingly, such a nanosystem was able to encapsulate 6% (w/w) of C. acaulis EO, showing a mean diameter of around 140 nm and a SOR (surfactant-to-oil ratio) of 0.6. Its stability was evaluated in a storage period of six months and corroborated by an accelerated stability study. Therefore, the C. acaulis EO and C. acaulis-based NE were evaluated for their toxicity against 1st instar larvae of the European grapevine moth (EGVM), Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a major vineyard pest. The chemical composition of C. acaulis EO was investigated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) revealing carlina oxide, a polyacetylene, as the main constituent. In toxicity assays, both the C. acaulis EO and the C. acaulis-based NE were highly toxic to L. botrana larvae, with LC50 values of 7.299 and 9.044 µL/mL for C. acaulis EO and NE, respectively. The C. acaulis-based NE represents a promising option to develop highly stable botanical insecticides for pest management. To date, this study represents the first evidence about the insecticidal toxicity of EOs and EO-based NEs against this major grapevine pest.

Acute central nervous system (CNS) infections, such as meningitis and encephalitis, represent medical emergencies that require rapid identification of the causative pathogen to guide appropriate therapeutic interventions. The QIAstat-Dx® Meningitis/Encephalitis (QIA/ME) is a molecular syndromic panel that enables the simultaneous detection of multiple pathogens and provides the visualization of cycle threshold (Ct) values, offering rapid results for prompt clinical management. This study retrospectively tested, with the QIA/ME panel, 170 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with CNS infections, confirmed through routine diagnostic workflows. The results were compared with those obtained from bacterial culture and singleplex PCR for viral detection. The QIA/ME demonstrated 100% concordance with reference methods for bacterial and yeast infections. For viral infections, the overall detection rate was 85.9%. Specifically, when singleplex PCR results exceeded 250 copies/mL for DNA viruses and 500 copies/mL for the RNA virus, the concordance rate with the QIA/ME was 96.8%. In contrast, when PCR values were below these thresholds, the concordance rate dropped to 43.8%. A strong overall correlation was observed between the viral load measured by singleplex PCR and Ct values from the QIA/ME (ρ = −0.83, p < 0.001). Only for enterovirus a weak correlation was found (ρ = −0.40, p = 0.056). The QIA/ME panel is an effective diagnostic tool for viral CNS infections, allowing for the visualization of Ct values that reflect pathogen load in samples and which could be useful in guiding clinical decision-making and patient management.