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Esta tesis doctoral se ha desarrollado en el marco del proyecto general Homero: texto y tradición, en el grupo de investigación de Literatura Griega del Departamento de Filología Clásica de la Universidad de Murcia, y lo ha dirigido el Catedrático D. Mariano Valverde Sánchez. OBJETIVOS El encuentro con Circe es una de las escalas del viaje de Odiseo: esta figura se presenta como una maga hostil con los viajeros, pero termina ayudándolos a seguir su viaje. Los poemas de Homero tuvieron una enorme repercusión en la creación literaria europea, y dentro de la abundante bibliografía homérica, se han publicado algunos estudios sobre el episodio de Circe, pero muy pocos aportan una visión completa de Od. X, y ninguno se centra en la literatura española. Nos proponemos hacer una incursión amplia y sistemática en el recorrido literario del episodio desde Homero hasta la literatura española actual. Esta trayectoria abarca una gran cantidad y diversidad de tratamientos, y es necesario profundizar en la visión del tema de cada recreación en relación con su contexto. Uno de los objetivos centrales es explicar qué características del episodio han suscitado el interés de autores de épocas, ideologías y procedencias tan dispares. La figura de Circe presenta diversas facetas -mujer, hechicera, amante-, y señalamos cuál predomina en los tratamientos, explicando sus motivos y consecuencias. METODOLOGÍA El estudio se enfoca desde el ámbito metodológico de la filología y de la literatura comparada. Se hace un análisis basado en la totalidad de textos, profundizando en los rasgos definitorios de cada época y autor y extrayendo conclusiones. Ofrecemos traducciones propias de los textos griegos y latinos. La investigación de las fuentes del episodio se desarrolla en las siguientes fases: a. La literatura griega. Homero, Apolunio, Plutarco y otros. b. La literatura latina. Virgilio, Ovidio y referencias secundarias. c. La literatura medieval y renacentista. Destacan Boecio, Dante y los compendios mitográficos d. La literatura del Siglo de Oro. Los tratamientos principales son los de La Circe de Lope de Vega y El mayor encanto, amor y Los encantos de la Culpa de Calderón. e. La literatura contemporánea. f. Análisis comparativo de la totalidad de textos estudiados y conclusiones. RESULTADOS Nuestro estudio pone de relieve la importante fortuna que ha tenido durante siglos el episodio de Circe, fortuna determinada por su origen homérico pero también por las sugestivas características de la figura protagonista. La aventura homérica inspira nuevas creaciones literarias y a la vez es objeto de especulaciones filosóficas desde distintas ópticas, oscilando siempre entre la poesía y la filosofía. En cada aportación se incorporan elementos diferentes que dan como resultado una nueva creación en cada ocasión. Al margen de la época, el autor y la corriente literaria, un conjunto de elementos se mantienen en primer plano -el amor, la magia, el misterio, las metamorfosis-, pero éstos recibiendo tratamientos e interpretaciones muy diferentes. Con la comparación de los diferentes enfoques se aprecian los cambios de mentalidad de cada contexto histórico-social respecto a diversos temas ligados al episodio, como son lo sobrenatural, la religión, el perfil del héroe o la consideración de la mujer. / This thesis has been developed in the frame of the general project Homero: texto y tradición, by the investigative group of Greek Literature of the Classic Philology Departament of the University of Murcia, and it has been directed by the Professor D. Mariano Valverde Sánchez. OBJECTIVES The meeting with Circe is one of the stages of Odysseus’ travel: this character is presented as a magician hostile to the sailors, but she finally helps them to continue their voyage. Homer’s poems had a great influence in European literary creation. In the plentiful homeric bibliography, some studies about the Circe episode have been published, but few of them bring a complete vision of Od. X, and none of them handles Spanish literature. We intend to do a wide and systematic research in the paht of the Circe episode from Homer to present Spanish literature. This course covers a large number and variety of treatments, and is necessary to delve into the theme’s vision of each recreation in relation to its context. One of the main purposes is to explain which features of the episode aroused the interest of author belonging to so varied times, ideologies and backgrounds. Circe’s character offers different facets -woman, sorcerer, lover-, and we point out which one dominates in the treatments, explaining its motives and consequences. METHODOLOGY The study is approached from the methodological field of philology and comparative literature. We do an analysis based on all the texts, delving into the distinctive features of each era and author and drawing conclusions. We offer our own translations of Greek and Latin texts. The investigation of the sources of the episode takes place according to the following phases: a. Greek literature. Homer, Apollonius, Plutarch and others. b. Latin literature. Virgil, Ovid and secondary references. c. The Medieval and Renaissance literature. Standing out Boethius, Dante and mythographical compendia. d. The Golden Age literature major treatments are Lope de Vega’s La Circe and Calderon’s El mayor encanto, amor and Los encantos de la Culpa. e. Contemporary literature. f. Comparative analysis of all the studied texts and conclusions. RESULTS Our survey highlights that the Circe episode has had a significant fortune for centuries. This fortune is determined by the homeric origin, but also by heroine’s attractive features. The Homeric adventure inspires new literary creations and also is the subject of philosophical speculations from different angles, always oscillating between poetry and philosophy. Each input incorporates different elements that result in a new creation each time. Regardless of the time, the author and the literary movement, a set of items are kept in the foreground -love, magic, mystery, metamorphosis-, although they receive very different treatments and interpretations. With the comparison of different approaches we can appreciate the mindset changes in socio-historical context regarding various issues related to the episode, such as the supernatural, the religion, the hero’s profile or the women’s regard.

En undersökning utförd av OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) visar att skolresultaten bland de svenska 15-åringarna sjunker drastiskt och att inget annat av de deltagande ländernas resultat sjunkit lika mycket under lika lång tid. Denna studie är en stickprovsundersökning som behandlar hur ämnesuppfattningen inom ämnesområdet Svenska skiljer sig mellan lärare och dess respektive elever. Urvalet består av tre gymnasieklasser i Årskurs 2 som studerar olika studieförberedande program på tre olika gymnasieskolor i en medelstor svensk kommun. Studien går ut på att påvisa hur en gemensam överensstämmande ämnesuppfattning mellan båda parterna påverkar möjligheten till jämställda och rättvisa resultat.Studiens resultat och analys visar på att lärare och elever inte nödvändigtvis inte delar en gemensam ämnesuppfattning där lärare av tradition ser ämnet som ett litteraturhistoriskt bildningsämne. I kontrast till detta ser man att eleverna istället ser ämnet som ett praktiskt färdighetsämne då de efterfrågar praktisk nytta av ämnesinnehållet. / A survey conducted by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) shows that school results among Swedish 15 year olds are rapidly declining, and that non of the other partaking countries show a drop of this scale, for the same period of time. This text is a study that focuses around how understanding of the subject construction, within the subject of Swedish differs between teachers and their students. A selection has been made, and it consists of three classes of second year students in three different Swedish high schools, all from the same medium sized municipality. The students also have in common that they are striving for future higher studies, based on their choice of specialisation. This essay serves to prove how joint understanding of what the subject consists of, affects the possibility of fair and equal grading.The result of this survey shows that teachers and students do not necesarilly share a common understanding of what the subject is. Of tradition, teachers tend to look upon the subject as a literary subject, from a historical perspective. In contrast to this, it is evident through this study that students generally percieve it as a subject focused upon proficiency, because they want future practical use of that which is studied.

The multi-functional FGL2 can be expressed as either a type II membrane-associated glycoprotein or a secreted tetrameric molecule. As an important effector of regulatory T cells, secreted FGL2 inhibits dendritic cell maturation and T cell proliferation. The mechanism of its immunomodulatory function remains unclear. The goals of this thesis are to identify receptor(s) of secreted FGL2, key biological functions and signaling pathways, and mechanism of FGL2 oligomerization. Soluble FGL2 was critical for all studies, and the production of recombinant FGL2 was compared in E. coli, insect cells and mammalian cells. Soluble and stable FGL2 was secreted only by mammalian cells, indicating the importance of post-translational modification. In flow cytometry and surface plasmon resonance assays, recombinant FcFGL2 and albumin tagged FGL2 fusion proteins bound to Fc gamma RIIB and Fc gamma RIII receptors expressed by antigen presenting cells (APCs), including lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated B lymphocytes, endothelial cells, thioglycollate-stimulated peritoneal macrophages, and bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BM-DCs). The binding of recombinant FGL2 to Fc gamma RIIB and Fc gamma RIII was specific, dependent on receptor expression and blocked by anti-Fc gamma RIIB/III antibody. FcFGL2 inhibited the maturation of BM-DC derived from fc gamma riib wild type mice but not from fc gamma riib knock out mice. It also induced apoptosis of the A20 mouse B cell line (Fc gammaRIIB+), but not the A20IIA1.6 cell line (Fc gamma RIIB-). The activation of caspases induced by FcFGL2 binding to A20 cells was confirmed by flow cytometry, Western blotting and analysis of DNA fragmentation. The role of Fc gammaRIIB in FGL2-mediated immunosuppression was confirmed in vivo. Infusion of FcFGL2 into fc gamma riib+/+, but not fc gamma riib-/- C57BL/6J mice (H-2b) inhibited the rejection of fully mismatched BALB/cJ (H-2d) skin and heart allografts. Studies on the mechanism of FGL2 oligomerization employed site-directed mutagenesis and revealed that cysteines at positions 94, 97, 184, and 187 were critical. Mutation of these cysteines resulted in secretion of monomeric FGL2. Computer modeling of FGL2 tetramers predicted an asymmetric arrangement that was similar to the structure of multimeric ficolin. The data presented in this thesis provide mechanistic insights into the immunosuppressive activity of soluble FGL2, and a foundation for the development of a novel and potentially highly effective immunosuppressive therapy.

The multi-functional FGL2 can be expressed as either a type II membrane-associated glycoprotein or a secreted tetrameric molecule. As an important effector of regulatory T cells, secreted FGL2 inhibits dendritic cell maturation and T cell proliferation. The mechanism of its immunomodulatory function remains unclear. The goals of this thesis are to identify receptor(s) of secreted FGL2, key biological functions and signaling pathways, and mechanism of FGL2 oligomerization. Soluble FGL2 was critical for all studies, and the production of recombinant FGL2 was compared in E. coli, insect cells and mammalian cells. Soluble and stable FGL2 was secreted only by mammalian cells, indicating the importance of post-translational modification. In flow cytometry and surface plasmon resonance assays, recombinant FcFGL2 and albumin tagged FGL2 fusion proteins bound to Fc gamma RIIB and Fc gamma RIII receptors expressed by antigen presenting cells (APCs), including lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated B lymphocytes, endothelial cells, thioglycollate-stimulated peritoneal macrophages, and bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BM-DCs). The binding of recombinant FGL2 to Fc gamma RIIB and Fc gamma RIII was specific, dependent on receptor expression and blocked by anti-Fc gamma RIIB/III antibody. FcFGL2 inhibited the maturation of BM-DC derived from fc gamma riib wild type mice but not from fc gamma riib knock out mice. It also induced apoptosis of the A20 mouse B cell line (Fc gammaRIIB+), but not the A20IIA1.6 cell line (Fc gamma RIIB-). The activation of caspases induced by FcFGL2 binding to A20 cells was confirmed by flow cytometry, Western blotting and analysis of DNA fragmentation. The role of Fc gammaRIIB in FGL2-mediated immunosuppression was confirmed in vivo. Infusion of FcFGL2 into fc gamma riib+/+, but not fc gamma riib-/- C57BL/6J mice (H-2b) inhibited the rejection of fully mismatched BALB/cJ (H-2d) skin and heart allografts. Studies on the mechanism of FGL2 oligomerization employed site-directed mutagenesis and revealed that cysteines at positions 94, 97, 184, and 187 were critical. Mutation of these cysteines resulted in secretion of monomeric FGL2. Computer modeling of FGL2 tetramers predicted an asymmetric arrangement that was similar to the structure of multimeric ficolin. The data presented in this thesis provide mechanistic insights into the immunosuppressive activity of soluble FGL2, and a foundation for the development of a novel and potentially highly effective immunosuppressive therapy.

Accumulating evidence suggests that inflammation plays an important role in the progression ofParkinson's disease (PD). Among many inflammatory factors found in the PD brain, cyclooxygenase(COX), especially the inducible isoform, COX-2, is believed to be the critical enzyme in theinflammatory response. Induction of COX-2 is also found in an experimental model of PD producedby administration of 1-methy-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). To investigate whetherinhibition of COX-2 by valdecoxib or deficiency in COX-2 could prevent dopaminergic neuronaltoxicity and locomotor activity impairment, we injected MPTP into valdecoxib-treated C57BL/6N miceand COX-2 deficient mice, respectively. Both automated total distance and vertical activitymeasurements of the open-field test were significantly reduced in the vehicle-treated mice at two weekspost-MPTP injection. In contrast, valdecoxib treatment significantly attenuated these deficits.Similarly, COX-2 deficiency attenuated MPTP-induced loss of coordination on a rotarod assay.Valdecoxib or deficiency of COX-2 reduced microglial activation while preventing loss of tyrosinehydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). The total number ofactivated microglia in the SNpc had a strong positive correlation with the level of COX-2 anddopaminergic neurodegeneration. The results of this study indicate that reducing the activity of COX-2can mitigate the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons as well as the motor deficits caused byMPTP neurotoxicity, possibly by suppressing the activation of microglia in the SNpc.

A variety of synthetic bone graft materials such as the polymer poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) have been investigated as alternatives to current tissue based bone graft materials. In this study, efforts have been made to improve the tissue-PLGA interface by immobilizing bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) in an oriented manner on scaffolds using covalently immobilized heparin. The results demonstrated a four-fold increase in covalently immobilized heparin compared to non-specific heparin attachment. Furthermore, the scaffolds with covalently attached heparin retained approximately three-fold more BMP-2 than did either scaffolds with no heparin attached or scaffolds with non-specific heparin attachment. The activity of scaffolds with BMP-2 immobilized in various manners was examined using an alkaline phosphatase assay on C3H10T1/2-seeded scaffolds. These results indicated approximately twice the amount of activity with scaffolds that had BMP-2 immobilized with covalently attached heparin than on scaffolds with adsorption of BMP-2 and a three-fold increase in activity when compared to scaffolds that had non-specific heparin attachment as the mechanism for BMP-2 immobilization. These results demonstrated that PLGA with covalently linked heparin has potential to immobilize BMP-2 in a specific orientation that is favorable for cell-receptor binding, leading to the more efficient use of the bone-growth factor.

La intenció fonamental d’aquesta tesi és fer un estudi de la Transició de l’Església espanyola i catalana i com va influir aquesta a la Transició política que es va fer posteriorment. També s’ha de considerar que la base de l’estudi és la jerarquia eclesiàstica, sobretot la catalana entre els anys 1970-1980. Per començar, hi ha un breu resum biogràfic dels bisbes que regentaven les diferents diòcesis catalanes en els anys setanta, tot destacant el fet gairebé excepcional que tots eren de parla catalana i nascuts dins dels països catalans. A partir d’aquí es desenvolupa el tema que enclou des de l’Assemblea Conjunta fins el restabliment de la Generalitat i la seva problemàtica. El fet d’iniciar el treball d’investigació per l’Assemblea Conjunta rau en que aquí podem situar el començament de la Transició Eclesial, on es tracten temes i polèmiques que mai havia abordat l’Església dins del franquisme; igualment, com es va organitzar a Catalunya, les seves problemàtiques i els resultats. A continuació s’estudia l’impacte del document “L’Església i la comunitat política”, de molta transcendència en les relacions Església – Estat. S’ha de tenir present que el document representa l’intent de la comunitat eclesial de separar-se del poder temporal, tant relacionats fins aleshores. De la mateixa manera s’analitzen les repercussions que va tenir pel govern franquista i els intents que es van fer per arribar a impedir els seus efectes. També es fa una anàlisi de les problemàtiques internes de l’Església, de la nova llei d’educació i com es rebuda per l’Església i el procés de catalanització de la comunitat eclesial a Catalunya. La mort i posterior enterrament de Carrero Blanco va significar, per al poble en general, les males relacions entre els dirigents de l’Església i els de l’Estat, a part de que assenyalava el començament de la decadència del règim, cosa que la Conferència Episcopal tenia molt clara, i en conseqüència va prosseguir en el seus intents d’allunyar-se del poder polític. En referència al govern d’Arias Navarro, s’estudien dues qüestions, d’un banda, el cas Añoveros i de l’altre, el document sobre la reconciliació. El cas Añoveros va representar el moment de màxima tensió entre el govern i la jerarquia. S’aprofita l’ocasió per veure el ressò que va tenir a Catalunya, per la gran identificació d’un part important de l’Església catalana, amb la temàtica de la polèmica homilia del bisbe Añoveros. La reconciliació, temàtica central de l’Any Sant, va ser molt ben rebuda per la jerarquia perquè, feia temps que una part d’aquesta buscava l’entesa entre tots els espanyols, pensessin el que pensessin. Les reflexions no eren favorables al règim, però aquest ja no tenia la força suficient com per a parar les crítiques. La mort de Franco va representar l’inici de la Transició Política. Els canvis que això suposava van ser ben rebuts per l’Església amb l’excepció de petits grups nostàlgics amb el passat. En aquest apartat s’estudien les repercussions de la Reforma Política, les primeres eleccions, la Constitució i les primeres lleis, la més polèmica la del divorci. L’Església, davant aquest allau de canvis, va intentar mantenir una neutralitat absoluta, no donant suport a cap grup polític, però sí que va donar les seves orientacions sobre els aspectes morals que havien de tenir en compte els fidels. Per acabar, s’analitza tot el procés de l’autonomia catalana, les seves conseqüències dins de l’Església catalana i les seves divergències amb l’espanyola / The aim of this thesis is to study the transition period of the Spanish and Catalan Church and how it influenced the subsequent political transition. It is important to consider that the basis of this study is the ecclesiastic hierarchy, above all the Catalan hierarchy between the years 1970 and 1980. I start with a brief bibliographic summary of the bishops who held the different Catalan dioceses in the seventies, pointing out the exceptional fact that almost all of them spoke Catalan and were born in the Catalan Countries. After that, I develop the subject of the Joint Assembly (Assemblea Conjunta) and I explain the difficulties gone through to re-establish the Generalitat (the government of the autonomous community of Catalonia). I started my research work with the Joint Assembly, because it is there where we can say that the ecclesiastic transition started, since in this Assembly people dealt with subjects and controversies which had never been dealt with during the Franco period. I also explain how this Assembly was organised in Catalonia, its problems and its achievements. Next, I study the impact of the document “The Church and the Political Community”, which was very important in the relationship between the Church and the State. We have to take into account that the document represents the attempt of the ecclesiastic community to separate from the temporal political power, with which it had always been closely related. I also analyse the consequences that this transition had for the Franco government and the attempts carried out by this government to avoid its effects. In addition I do some research on the Church internal problems, the new education law and how the Church reacted to it, and the Catalanisation process in the ecclesiastic community of Catalonia. Carrero Blanco’s death and burial contributed to deteriorate the already bad relationship existing between Church and State leaders. Besides, it represented the beginning of the regime’s decline. The Episcopal Conference was well aware of this decline and therefore insisted on moving away from the political power. With reference to Arias Navarro’s government I deal with two subjects. On the one hand the Añoveros affair and on the other hand the reconciliation document. The Añoveros affair represented the highest tension moments between the government and the ecclesiastic hierarchy. This fact had a great impact in Catalonia where an important part of the Catalan Church agreed and felt identified with the subject of Añoveros’ polemic homily. The reconciliation, central subject of the Holy Year, was welcomed by the ecclesiastic hierarchy, because this one wanted all the Spanish people to come to an agreement, no matter what their ideas were. The thoughts and ideas discussed during the reconciliation process were ideas from people contrary to the political regime, but this one had no longer the strength to stop criticisms. Franco’s death and burial represented the start of the political transition. The changes that it brought about were welcomed by the Church, with the exception of some small nostalgic groups. In this part I comment the consequences of the political reform, the first elections, the Constitution (law), the first laws and among them the most polemic law: the divorce law. During all these changes, the Church was neutral and did not give support to any political parties, but it did give some advice and directions to the Catholic Christians about moral aspects. Finally, I analyse the process of the Catalan Autonomy, its consequences for the Catalan Church and the difference of opinions between the Catalan and the Spanish Church.