¿Hacia que nueva PAC se encamina Europa?

El pasado mes de julio, la Comisión Europea presentó una propuesta para reformar de forma “radical” la Política Agrícola Común (PAC). No han sido pocas las críticas que ha recibido, entre ellas la falta de operatividad de la modulación y los inconvenientes de un pago directo en función de las ayudas percibidas a lo largo de la historia. Pese a todo, la Comisión parece haber acertado en la dirección de las reformas planteadas, aun cuando los instrumentos son susceptibles de mejora

Terroir Zoning: Influence on Grapevine Response (Vitis vinifera L.) at Within-vineyard and Between-Vineyard Scale

Since ancient times, wines from specific regions have been valued and studies related to terroir focus on the elements of the environment that affect wine production. This paper presents the terroir variations between vineyards and within the same vineyard, as well as its influence on grape production. A soil zoning is carried out, starting from an aerial photointerpretation (FIA) and studying each soil sector based on its depth analysis (pits). This zoning of the environmental homogeneous units (EHU) is redefined with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), resulting in the proposed terroir zoning. The temporal stability of the terroir zoning has been tested through the representation of the NDVI during 3 years and the response of the vineyard (yield, vegetative growth, and grape composition) during 4 years. The relationship between the EHUs, soil epipedon particularly, and the response of the vineyard is analyzed from an agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) prior to a principal component analysis (PCA). There is an EHU that is shown to be more vigorous, associated with a material deposition area whose main series of soil is fine-loamy, mixed, mesic, Typic Xerofluvent. This microterroir produces grapes with low sugar content, high acidity, and low levels of polyphenolic compounds, including anthocyanins

Medición de la actividad física en la población española mediante cuestionarios: direcciones futuras de investigación

1 página.-- Carta al editor.Peer reviewe

Influence of health behaviours on the incidence of infection and allergy in adolescents: the AFINOS cross-sectional study

[Background] Some health behaviours are liable to affect the incidence of allergies and/or common infections in young people; however, the extent and ways in which these might occur are mostly unknown. This study examines the association of health behaviours related to physical activity, sedentariness, diet and sleep with allergy and infection symptoms in adolescents, and also with biological markers that might mediate disease incidence.[Methods] The study comprised a total of 2054 adolescents (50.7% girls) from the Madrid region of Spain. The incidence of infection and allergy symptoms three months prior to the study was obtained from a self-administered questionnaire. Physical and sedentary activities, height and weight, food habits and sleep duration were also self-reported and their influence on infection and allergy incidence was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Blood biomarkers (IgE, eosinophil percentage, leptin, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10) were evaluated in a subsample of 198 subjects.[Results] Adequate sleep duration (OR = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.64 to 0.97) and unhealthy weight status (overweight/obesity) (OR = 1.35, 95%CI: 1.04-1.74) were independently associated with decreased and increased allergy incidence, respectively. No significant association was observed with infection incidence. IgE and leptin differed between adolescents with and without allergy symptoms. In regression models IgE was significantly associated with inadequate sleep duration and leptin with weight status.[Conclusion] Excess weight and inadequate sleep duration are independently associated with the incidence of allergy symptoms in adolescents. Adequate sleep duration and weight during adolescence might be relevant for a decreased risk of suffering allergy symptoms.The study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (DEP2006-56184-C03-02/PREV) and EU funding (FEDER). DM-G received a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (AP2006-02464). The Unit of Information Resources for Research’s Library (CSIC) provided financial support for the editorial charges of this article.Peer Reviewe

Point defects on graphene on metals

Understanding the coupling of graphene with its local environment is critical to be able to integrate it in tomorrow's electronic devices. Here we show how the presence of a metallic substrate affects the properties of an atomically tailored graphene layer. We have deliberately introduced single carbon vacancies on a graphene monolayer grown on a Pt(111) surface and investigated its impact in the electronic, structural and magnetic properties of the graphene layer. Our low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy studies, complemented by density functional theory, show the existence of a broad electronic resonance above the Fermi energy associated with the vacancies. Vacancy sites become reactive leading to an increase of the coupling between the graphene layer and the metal substrate at these points; this gives rise to a rapid decay of the localized state and the quenching of the magnetic moment associated with carbon vacancies in free-standing graphene layers

El tío Burroughs en monitos

Reseña del libro Fernández, Bernardo Bef (2014), Uncle Bill, Sexto Piso, México. &nbsp

Redes sociales y comunicación universitaria: los desafíos de la Universidad Veracruzana en la época de internet

El uso de internet y las redes sociales ha transformado el mundo de la comunicación. El empoderamiento ciudadano a través de estas tecnologías ha sido muy polémico. Y para las universidades públicas en México no es la excepción, porque el tema cobra especial importancia política y social. Para ello este artículo tiene el propósito de reflexionar las múltiples aristas del epifenómeno. Por un lado, la reconversión del uso debe ubicarse en el contexto de las causas sociológicas que determinan estas actitudes frente a todo lo que se llame autoridad. Una segunda reflexión es de carácter conceptual y está relacionada con la coyuntura económica y política que viven las universidades en México y en específico el estado de Veracruz. Y una tercera reflexión es en términos epistemológicos, ya que prevalece un enfoque tradicionalista de la comunicación, el cual es vital trascender con una visión moderna de lo que está ocurriendo en la etapa de la globalización. El reto, entonces, es superar la satanización de un medio para que internet y las redes sociales puedan incluirse en una política de comunicación universitaria con la justa asertividad para formar una mejor ciudadanía, que dentro de la agenda futura, seguro será uno de los principales desafíos de la educación superior en México, muy probablemente en América Latina y quizás en el mundo

Lysosomal membrane stability in mussels

In 2012, the ICES Study Group on Integrated Monitoring of Chemicals and their Effects provided a framework for integrated monitoring to the OSLO-Paris Commission. UNEP/MAP and HELCOM expert groups have also developed guidelines on integrated monitoring of chemicals and their effects for the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea. This document provides the technical information for one of the biological effects measurements, the lysosomal membrane stability (LMS), which is a part of the above mentioned integrated monitoring approaches. Lysosomes are cytoplasmic, single membrane organelles whose condition is sensitive to stress whether it be due to environmental conditions or exposure to a wide array of contaminants. Two different methodologies have been developed to assess LMS in mussels: an enzyme cytochemical method using cryostatic sections of digestive gland tissue, and an in vivo cytochemical method (using haemolymph cells). In this document, different aspects of the operational procedures have been standardized and harmonized, with particular reference to the in vivo cytochemical method. New graphical material has been added to clarify criteria of interpretation and new external quality assurance programmes for measurements of lysosomal membrane stability have been proposed. Background (BAC) and environmental (EAC) assessment criteria to assess the LMS data are provided. Additionally, a new scoring procedure to enhance the sensitivity of the LMS measurements using the in vivo assay is provided.Versión del edito