Urban Growth and Long-Term Transformations in Spanish Cities Since the Mid-Nineteenth Century: A Methodology to Determine Changes in Urban Density.

The current work models urban growth in the continuous built-up areas of 47 Spanish cities from the mid-nineteenth century through to the present day. We did this by compiling a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) dataset, based on a series of historic maps and aerial images, and then used this to study urban growth and to make spatial comparisons. Our chosen indicator of expansion: population density, was calculated by dividing the total population of each city (based on its municipal area) by its built-up area during each period. Our results revealed four different stages of growth, each of which was characterised by a certain political and economic reality. They showed the clogging up of the walled city, the shaping of the urban ensanches, the maturity of the compact city and the process of metropolisation

Effects of a hyperlipidic diet on experimental carcinogenesis of the breast: content and type of tumors

En el presente trabajo se han estudiado los efectos de una dieta hiperlipídica (20 % aceite de maíz) sobre las principales etapas de la carcinogénesis. Dicho estudio se ha realizado utilizando como soporte experimental el modelo del cáncer de mama inducido en la rata mediante dimetilbenz(a) antraceno. Los tumores mamarios malignos representan la patología más abundante aparecida en los animales. Tal resultado es atribuido específicamente a la acción del carcinógeno. Por otra parte, al comparar el número de tales tumores entre los diferentes grupos experimentales y el grupo control, se observa que la dieta hiperlipídica administrada tiene efectos promotores de la carcinogénesis mamaria en la rata. Este efecto no se obtiene si la dieta hiperlipídica se administra a los 157 días de la inducción carcinogénica. Además, los resultados obtenidos también indican que dicha dieta no tiene acción sobre la iniciación. Sin embargo, tal probabilidad no puede afirmarse dado que cabe la posibilidad de que la dieta hiperlipídica haya inducido cambios en los animales que hayan modificado la eficacia de la carcinogénesis

Electronic catalogue of urban contemporary cartography in Spain, 1800-1950

El campo de la cartografía histórica ha hecho muchos avances en los últimos años, no solo por el esfuerzo de los investigadores, sino también por la continua labor de digitalización, puesta en valor y difusión de los documentos disponibles en los diferentes archivos institucionales y privados, que en muchos casos ya están disponibles en repositorios digitales. Este proyecto se enmarca en esta voluntad de facilitación de la labor del investigador, a partir de la creación de un catálogo de cartografía urbana histórica entre el año 1800 y el 1950, que pretende ser un punto de partida y de encuentro para la creación de un directorio centralizado en el que se pueda tener disponible toda aquella cartografía que permita el estudio histórico de la ciudad en España. Este catálogo aúna casi 1.000 mapas de 131 ciudades, esperando poder ir ampliándose en un futuro cercano.The contemporary cartography field has made many advances in the last few years, not only because of the researchers' efforts, but also because of the digitalisation work. As a result of this task, many documents in private and institutional archives are now available in digital repositories. This project is framed in this will to ease researcher's work by the launch of an electronic catalogue of urban contemporary cartography in Spain between the years 1800 and 1950. The catalogue is aimed to be a starting and encounter point for the creation of a centralised directory to approach the historical study of the city in Spain. It combines more than 1.000 maps from 131 cities, waiting to be increased in a near future

The Role of Dietary Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Corn Oil on the Alteration of Epigenetic Patterns in the Rat DMBA-Induced Breast Cancer Model

Disruption of epigenetic patterns is a major change occurring in all types of cancers. Such alterations are characterized by global DNA hypomethylation, gene-promoter hypermethylation and aberrant histone modifications, and may be modified by environment. Nutritional factors, and especially dietary lipids, have a role in the etiology of breast cancer. Thus, we aimed to analyze the influence of different high fat diets on DNA methylation and histone modifications in the rat dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer model. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a low-fat, a high corn-oil or a high extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) diet from weaning or from induction with DMBA. In mammary glands and tumors we analyzed global and gene specific (RASSF1A, TIMP3) DNA methylation by LUMA and bisulfite pyrosequencing assays, respectively. We also determined gene expression and enzymatic activity of DNA methyltransferases (DNMT1, DNMT3a and DNMT3b) and evaluated changes in histone modifications (H3K4me2, H3K27me3, H4K20me3 and H4K16ac) by western-blot. Our results showed variations along time in the global DNA methylation of the mammary gland displaying decreases at puberty and with aging. The olive oil-enriched diet, on the one hand, increased the levels of global DNA methylation in mammary gland and tumor, and on the other, changed histone modifications patterns. The corn oil-enriched diet increased DNA methyltransferase activity in both tissues, resulting in an increase in the promoter methylation of the tumor suppressor genes RASSF1A and TIMP3. These results suggest a differential effect of the high fat diets on epigenetic patterns with a relevant role in the neoplastic transformation, which could be one of the mechanisms of their differential promoter effect, clearly stimulating for the high corn-oil diet and with a weaker influence for the high EVOO diet, on breast cancer progression

Diets high in corn oil or extra-virgin olive oil differentially modify the gene expression profile of the mammary gland and influence experimental breast cancer susceptibility

Altres ajuts: This work was supported by Grants from "Fundación Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero" (FPCO2008-165.396; FPCO2013-CF611.084), "Organización Interprofesional del Aceite de Oliva Español" (OIP2009-165.646, "Departament de Salut i d'Agricultura, Alimentació i Acció Rural de la Generalitat de Catalunya" (GC2010-165.000)Nutritional factors, especially dietary lipids, may have a role in the etiology of breast cancer. We aimed to analyze the effects of high-fat diets on the susceptibility of the mammary gland to experimental malignant transformation. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a low-fat, high-corn-oil, or high-extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) diet from weaning or from induction. Animals were induced with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene at 53 days and euthanized at 36, 51, 100 and 246 days. Gene expression profiles of mammary glands were determined by microarrays. Further molecular analyses were performed by real-time PCR, TUNEL and immunohistochemistry. Carcinogenesis parameters were determined at 105 and 246 days. High-corn-oil diet increased body weight and mass when administered from weaning. The EVOO diet did not modify these parameters and increased the hepatic expression of UCP2, suggesting a decrease in intake/expenditure balance. Both diets differentially modified the gene expression profile of the mammary gland, especially after short dietary intervention. Corn oil down-regulated the expression of genes related to immune system and apoptosis, whereas EVOO modified the expression of metabolism genes. Further analysis suggested an increase in proliferation and lower apoptosis in the mammary glands by effect of the high-corn-oil diet, which may be one of the mechanisms of its clear stimulating effect on carcinogenesis. The high-corn-oil diet strongly stimulates mammary tumorigenesis in association with modifications in the expression profile and an increased proliferation/apoptosis balance of the mammary gland. The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00394-015-0958-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Catálogo digital de cartografía urbana contemporánea en España (1800-1950)

El campo de la cartografía contemporánea ha hecho muchos avances en los últimos años, no solo por el esfuerzo de los investigadores, sino también por la continua labor de digitalización, puesta en valor y difusión de los documentos disponibles en los diferentes archivos institucionales y privados, que en muchos casos ya están disponibles en repositorios digitales. Este proyecto se enmarca en lla voluntad de facilitar la labor del investigador, a partir de la creación de un catálogo de cartografía urbana contemporánea entre los años 1800 y 1950, que pretende ser un punto de partida y de encuentro para la creación de un directorio centralizado en el que se pueda tener disponible toda aquella cartografía que permita el estudio histórico de la ciudad en España. Este catálogo aúna más de 1.000 mapas de 131 ciudades, esperando poder ir ampliándose en un futuro cercano

State of the art on ethical, legal, and social issues linked to audio- and videobased AAL solutions

Working Group 1. Social responsibility: Ethical, legal, social, data protection and privacy issuesAbstract Ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies are increasingly presented and sold as essential smart additions to daily life and home environments that will radically transform the healthcare and wellness markets of the future. An ethical approach and a thorough understanding of all ethics in surveillance/monitoring architectures are therefore pressing. AAL poses many ethical challenges raising questions that will affect immediate acceptance and long-term usage. Furthermore, ethical issues emerge from social inequalities and their potential exacerbation by AAL, accentuating the existing access gap between high-income countries (HIC) and low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Legal aspects mainly refer to the adherence to existing legal frameworks and cover issues related to product safety, data protection, cybersecurity, intellectual property, and access to data by public, private, and government bodies. Successful privacy-friendly AAL applications are needed, as the pressure to bring Internet of Things (IoT) devices and ones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) quickly to market cannot overlook the fact that the environments in which AAL will operate are mostly private (e.g., the home). The social issues focus on the impact of AAL technologies before and after their adoption. Future AAL technologies need to consider all aspects of equality such as gender, race, age and social disadvantages and avoid increasing loneliness and isolation among, e.g. older and frail people. Finally, the current power asymmetries between the target and general populations should not be underestimated nor should the discrepant needs and motivations of the target group and those developing and deploying AAL systems. Whilst AAL technologies provide promising solutions for the health and social care challenges, they are not exempt from ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI). A set of ELSI guidelines is needed to integrate these factors at the research and development stage. Keywords Ethical principles, Privacy, Assistive Living Technologies, Privacy by Design, General Data Protection Regulation.publishedVersio

State of the art on ethical, legal, and social issues linked to audio- and video-based AAL solutions - Uploaded on December 29, 2021

Ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies are increasingly presented and sold as essential smart additions to daily life and home environments that will radically transform the healthcare and wellness markets of the future. An ethical approach and a thorough understanding of all ethics in surveillance/monitoring architectures are therefore pressing. AAL poses many ethical challenges raising questions that will affect immediate acceptance and long-term usage. Furthermore, ethical issues emerge from social inequalities and their potential exacerbation by AAL, accentuating the existing access gap between high-income countries (HIC) and low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Legal aspects mainly refer to the adherence to existing legal frameworks and cover issues related to product safety, data protection, cybersecurity, intellectual property, and access to data by public, private, and government bodies. Successful privacy-friendly AAL applications are needed, as the pressure to bring Internet of Things (IoT) devices and ones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) quickly to market cannot overlook the fact that the environments in which AAL will operate are mostly private (e.g., the home). The social issues focus on the impact of AAL technologies before and after their adoption. Future AAL technologies need to consider all aspects of equality such as gender, race, age and social disadvantages and avoid increasing loneliness and isolation among, e.g. older and frail people. Finally, the current power asymmetries between the target and general populations should not be underestimated nor should the discrepant needs and motivations of the target group and those developing and deploying AAL systems. Whilst AAL technologies provide promising solutions for the health and social care challenges, they are not exempt from ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI). A set of ELSI guidelines is needed to integrate these factors at the research and development stage

Position paper on ethical, legal and social challenges linked to audio- and video-based AAL solutions

This publication is based upon work from COST Action GoodBrother – Network on Privacy-Aware Audio- and VideoBased Applications for Active and Assisted Living, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).In this position paper, we have used Alan Cooper’s persona technique to illustrate the utility of audio- and video-based AAL technologies. Therefore, two primary examples of potential audio- and video-based AAL users, Anna and Irakli, serve as reference points for describing salient ethical, legal and social challenges related to use of AAL. These challenges are presented on three levels: individual, societal, and regulatory. For each challenge, a set of policy recommendations is suggested.publishedVersio

Position paper on ethical, legal and social challenges linked to audio- and video-based AAL solutions

In this position paper, we have used Alan Cooper’s persona technique to illustrate the utility of audio- and video-based AAL technologies. Therefore, two primary examples of potential audio- and video-based AAL users, Anna and Irakli, serve as reference points for describing salient ethical, legal and social challenges related to use of AAL. These challenges are presented on three levels: individual, societal, and regulatory. For each challenge, a set of policy recommendations is suggested