Market Orientation: the Impact of Mascomex on the Internationalization of the Galician Economy

The university is not an end in itself, but rather a means of improving the society which it serves. A society is made up of multiple institutions, which must to distinguish between students, their families, the businesses that employ them, and of course, the public authorities which, in the case of Spanish public universities, contribute most of the funds necessary for the university’s financial resources. Trying to satisfy the needs and interests of such a diverse audience is undoubtedly one of the main challenges when trying to introduce a market orientation in universities. There are currently no doubts as to the crucial role played by foreign trade and globalization in growth, profitability and business survival. Consequently, it is also vital for economic development and the welfare of countries. The Master in Foreign Trade Management (MASCOMEX-Master en Dirección y Gestión de Comercio Exterior) of the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) arose with the objective of trainning managers and technicians to be specialized in international trade in order to foster the development and international expansion of Galician companies in foreign markets. After 20 years of successfully achieving this objective, it is a good example of how market orientation gives universities important instruments for improving the quality of teaching and research, and fostering innovation in curricula and all services provided. This is achieved by better adapting the educational programmes to the needs of their multiple customers and society whole. The empirical analysis of the determining factors of Galician exports confirms the positive and statistically significant impact between the growths in the number of graduates in this master and the growth in Galician exports.Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00

Optimización del esquema de bodegas utilizadas para el almacenamiento de materiales de construcción y reparación naval

The paper shows the evaluation of applying models to improve efficiency in management of warehousesused in shipyards, focused on pick up, packing, and shipping activities, supported among others on theproposal by Rosenblatt and Roll (1984) to optimize the layout for storage and handling of materials neededfor ship construction and repair. Besides proposing the best physical layout for the storage of goods, themodel seeks to minimize three types of costs: costs related to the initial investment (construction andmaintenance), shortage costs, and costs associated with storage policies. The optimal design is foundthrough analytical optimization and simulation techniques.El articulo muestra la evaluación de la aplicación de modelos para mejorar la eficiencia en el manejo de bodegas utilizadas en astilleros, centrada en actividades derecolección, embalaje y envío, soportada entre otras en la propuesta de Rosenblatt y Roll (1984) para la optimización del diseño para el almacenamiento y manejo de los materiales necesarios para la construcción y reparación de buques. Además de proponerla mejor distribución física para el almacenamiento de las mercancías, el modelo busca minimizar tres tipos de costos: costos asociados a la inversión inicial (construcción y de mantenimiento), un costo de escasez y los costos asociados con las políticas de almacenamiento. El diseño óptimo se desarrolla con una combinación de optimización analítica y técnicas de simulación

Awareness, treatment and control of hypertension: Trend from population-based surveys conducted in a low-middle income country

Aim: To estimate and determine temporal trends for awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in adults from the urban area in Colombia. Methods: We conducted two population-based surveys (years 2010 and 2015) in the Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga-Santander, Colombia, using the WHO STEPwise approach. Participants were asked to provide demographic, socioeconomic and cardiovascular risk factors data. Blood pressure (BP) was measured twice using an automated device. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP≥140 mmHg, a diastolic BP≥90 mmHg or self-reported antihypertensive treatment. We estimated age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES) adjusted prevalence ratios (PR), with 2010 as the reference survey, using poisson regression and correcting standard errors by clustering. Results: We evaluated 1,136 (mean age: 35.7 years; 43% male) and 872 (mean age:37.7 years; 41% male) adults from the 2010 and 2015 surveys, respectively. There were a larger proportion of individuals sampled from low SES in the 2015 as compared to the 2010 survey (93.6% vs. 70.9%). Overall, prevalence of hypertension was 16.4% (95%CI: 14.8 – 17.9): It increased significantly with age (from 2.4% among individuals 15-19 years old to 41.1% among individuals 50 years and older; p-trend<0.001) but did not differed by sex (17.8% in men vs. 15.4% in women) or year (16.1% vs. 16.6% in 2010 and 2015, respectively). Overall, prevalence of awareness, treatment and control of hypertension were 65.0%, 84.1%, and 62.2%, respectively. Although awareness and control increased from 2010 to 2015 (PR=1.05 and PR=1.12, respectively), only the prevalence of treatment showed a statistically significant increment of 11% (PR=1.11; 95%IC: 1.01 – 1.24). Implication: The STEPwise is a suitable surveillance strategy to estimate the burden of cardiovascular risk factors in low-middle income countries. Our results are consistent with national data from urban areas and show for the first time a short-time improvement in antihypertensive coverage

Hemolytic activity and siderophore production in different aeromonas species isolated from fish

P. 5612-5614The hemolytic activity and siderophore production of several strains of motile aeromonads were determined. The hemolytic activity of Aeromonas caviae and Aeromonas eucrenophila was enhanced after trypsinization of the samples. The enhancement of hemolysis was observed in strains that carried an aerolysin-like gene, detected by a PCR procedure. Siderophore production was demonstrated in all but one strain of Aeromonas jandaei. No apparent relationship was observed between the presence of plasmid DNA and hemolysis or siderophore production.S

Verificación artroscópica del diagnóstico por resonancia magnética de las lesiones meniscales

La utilización de la Imagen por Resonancia Magnética (IRM) como prueba diagnóstica en la patología de la rodilla, se presenta como alternativa no invasiva fundamental. Se ha diseñado un protocolo a doble ciego junto al servicio de radiodiagnóstico de nuestro hospital a través del cual se han evaluado un total de 31 pacientes donde los hallazgos de la IRM son contrastados con la exploración artroscópica posterior. Para el menisco interno, la precisión diagnóstica de la IRM es del 93 % y del 87% para el externo. Como conclusiones de mayor relieve, la sensibilidad de la exploración fue del 90% para el interno y del 75% para el externo y respecto a la especificidad, en el interno resultó ser del 100% y del 91% en el externo. Los valores predictivo negativo y positivo fueron respectivamente del 85 y 100% en el menisco interno y del 84 y 75% en el externo. Se encontró mayor dificultad diagnóstica en la porción anterior del menisco externo y falta de precisión ocasional en definir el tipo y extensión de la lesión.The use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MIR) as a diagnostic trial in the pathology of the knee, has become an important non invasive alternative. We have designed a double blind protocol with the Department of Radiology through we have evaluated 31 patients analyzing the MRI results in relation with the arthroscopic findings. For the medial meniscus, the accuracy of the MRI was 93 % and 87% for the lateral. As main conclusions, the sensibility was 90% for the medial meniscus and 75% for the lateral one and about specificity, we found a result of 100% for the medial meniscus and 91% for the lateral. The negative and positive predictive values were respectively 85% and 100% for the medial and 84% and 75% for the lateral. We noted more diagnostic difficulties in the anterior portion of lateral meniscus and lack of precission in the determination of the type and extension of the meniscal injury

Reconstrucción del ligamento cruzado anterior con plastia mixta de semitendinoso y fibra de Kennedy-Lad

—Se han evaluado los resultados de la reconstrucción del ligamento cruzado anterior (LCA) con una plastia mixta de tendón del semitendinoso y fibra sintética de KennedyLAD en veinticinco pacientes con un mínimo de dos años de seguimiento postoperatorio (media de treinta y ocho meses). Se trataba en todos los casos de lesiones crónicas donde la cirugía consistió en la reconstrucción del LCA y meniscectomías parciales cuando fueron necesarias. La evaluación se llevó a cabo mediante pruebas funcionales (Lysholm) y clínicas (Marshall), pruebas de estabilidad manual (Lachman, pivot, cajón neutro anterior), medidas instrumentales de estabilidad con artrómetro (KT-1000), índice de actividad y apreciación subjetiva. Los datos indican que el comportamiento de la plastia es adecuado en el 92% de los casos proporcionando a los pacientes una función articular satisfactoria en su vida diaria incluyendo la actividad deportiva.The authors assess the results of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction by means of a semitendinous tendon and Kennedy LAD composite graft. Minimum followup has been two years (mean of thirty eight months). In every cases the lesion was considered as chronic and surgery consisted of ACL reconstruction and partial meniscectomy if neccessary. Studies performed to asses the results included: functional (Lysholm) and clinical (Marshall) tests, manual stability tests (Lachman, pivot-shift, neutral anterior drawer), instrumented stability measurement (KT-1000 arthrometer), activity score and subjective patient self-assessment. The data collected indicate that the performance of the composite graft is adequate in 92% of the cases, allowing the patients a satisfactory knee joint function in their daily life including sporting activities

Knowledge, perceptions, and perspectives of medical students regarding the use of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance: a qualitative research in Galicia, Spain

Antibiotic resistance is a significant public health concern, with numerous studies linking antibiotic consumption to the development of resistance. As medical students will play a pivotal role in prescribing antibiotics, this research aimed to identify their perceptions of current use and factors that could influence future inappropriate use of antibiotics. The study employed a qualitative research approach using Focus Group discussions (FGs) consisting of students from the final theoretical course of the Medicine degree. The FGs were conducted based on a pre-script developed from factors contributing to antibiotic misuse identified in previous studies. All sessions were recorded and transcribed for analysis by two independent researchers, with all participants signing informed consent. Seven focus groups were conducted, with a total of 35 participants. The study identified factors that could influence the future prescription of antibiotics, including the low applicability of knowledge, insecurity, clinical inertia, difficulties in the doctor-patient relationship, unawareness of available updates on the topic, and inability to assess their validity. The students did not perceive antibiotic resistance as a current problem. However, the study found several modifiable factors in medical students that could explain the misuse of antibiotics, and developing specific strategies could help improve their useThis research was supported in part by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (PI081239, PI09/90609) Spanish State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation and co-funded by The European Union (ERDF)S

Reconstructing the impact of human activities in a NW Iberian Roman mining landscape for the last 2500 years

This article was made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Little is known about the impact of human activities during Roman times on NW Iberian mining landscapes beyond the geomorphological transformations brought about by the use of hydraulic power for gold extraction. We present the high-resolution pollen record of La Molina mire, located in an area intensely used for gold mining (Asturias, NW Spain), combined with other proxy data from the same peat core to identify different human activities, evaluate the strategies followed for the management of the resources and describe the landscape response to human disturbances. We reconstructed the timing and synchronicity of landscape changes of varying intensity and form occurred before, during and after Roman times. An open landscape was prevalent during the local Late Iron Age, a period of relatively environmental stability. During the Early Roman Empire more significant vegetation shifts took place, reflected by changes in both forest (Corylus and Quercus) and heathland cover, as mining/metallurgy peaked and grazing and cultivation increased. In the Late Roman Empire, the influence of mining/metallurgy on landscape change started to disappear. This decoupling was further consolidated in the Germanic period (i.e., Visigothic and Sueve domination of the region), with a sharp decrease in mining/metallurgy but continued grazing. Although human impact was intense in some periods, mostly during the Early Roman Empire, forest regeneration occurred afterwards: clearances were local and short-lived. However, the Roman mining landscape turned into an agrarian one at the onset of the Middle Ages, characterized by a profound deforestation at a regional level due to a myriad of human activities that resulted in an irreversible openness of the landscape. © 2014 The Authors

Behaviour of Non-O157 STEC and Atypical EPEC during the Manufacturing and Ripening of Raw Milk Cheese

12 p.This study was carried out to assess the survival of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) during the traditional manufacturing and ripening of Spanish hard cheese from raw cow’s milk. Milk samples were spiked with up to 3.1–3.5 log cfu/mL of one strain of STEC (O140:H32 serotype) and one of aEPEC (serotype O25:H2). The first steps of cheesemaking allow for a STEC and aEPEC increase of more than 1 log cfu/mL (up to 4.74 log cfu/g and 4.55 log cfu/g, respectively). After cheese pressing, a steady reduction of both populations was observed, with the STEC strain being more sensitive. The studied pathogenic E. coli populations decreased by 1.32 log cfu/g in STEC and 0.59 log cfu/g in aEPEC in cheese ripened during a minimum period of 60 d. Therefore, a moderate contamination by these diarrhoeagenic E. coli pathotypes, in particular, with aEPEC, on cheese manufactured from raw milk may not be totally controlled through the cheesemaking process and during a maturation of 90 d. These findings remark the importance of improvement in bacteriological quality of raw milk and crosscontamination prevention with diarrhoeagenic E. coli in the dairy industryS