La regeneración urbana integrada y la declaración de Toledo

The Toledo Declaration has lead to a significant contribution to the definition of Integrated Urban Regeneration. Influenced by the principles of the Europe 2020 strategy, a social market economy for the twenty-first century is drawn. The strategy aims to exploit the potential of European cities in overcoming the current economic crisis. Policies of recovery of the existing city and the built heritage are defined as a priority. The intervention must include a cross-cutting approach in terms of environmental, social and economic integration. This technical note analyzes the documents generated on this subject by different actors linked to housing and citizen network.La Declaración de Toledo ha significado una aportación importante para la definición del concepto de Regeneración Urbana Integrada. Influenciada por los principios de la estrategia Europa 2020, dibuja una economía social de mercado para el siglo XXI que aprovecha el potencial de las ciudades europeas de cara a la superación de la actual situación de crisis económica. Para lograrlo se definen como prioritarias las políticas de recuperación del patrimonio edificado y la ciudad existente. La intervención debe comprender un enfoque transversal basado en términos de integración medioambiental, social y económica. La presente nota técnica analiza la documentación generada por diferentes actores en torno a este debate vinculado al tejido ciudadano y la vivienda

Análisis y propuesta de mejoras para la eficiencia energética del edificio principal del Instituto c.c. Eduardo Torroja-CSIC

As part of the 80th anniversary of IETcc-CSIC, a proposal for the rehabilitation of the 1953 building is made. The analysis of the main building’s energy performance concludes that it is not energy efficient. Energy efficiency improvement measures based on European directives are proposed, It is recommended to incorporate them step by step, starting with passive measures to reduce energy needs. Afterwards active measures, such as improving the performance of facilities, are proposed, so that the least possible amount of final energy is used to meet the comfort standards. To complete the operation, the use of renewable energy sources is proposed to reduce the consumption of non-renewable primary energy. Energy and building rehabilitation improvement measures in the IETcc-CSIC should be demonstrators for other public buildings with heritage values.En el marco del 80 aniversario del IETcc-CSIC se elabora una propuesta para la rehabilitación del edificio construido en 1953. Partiendo del análisis del comportamiento energético del edificio principal, se concluye que este no es eficiente energéticamente. Se proponen mejoras para la eficiencia energética del edificio tomando en cuenta las directivas europeas. Se recomienda incorporar las mejoras de forma escalonada, comenzando por las medidas pasivas para reducir sus necesidades energéticas. A continuación se proponen medidas activas, como la mejora del rendimiento de las instalaciones, de manera que se emplee la menor cantidad posible de energía final para satisfacer el confort de los usuarios. Para completar la intervención se propone el uso de fuentes de generación de energías renovables en la parcela con el objetivo de reducir el consumo de energía primaria no renovable. Las acciones para la rehabilitación energética e integral del edificio del IETcc-CSIC, deben ser demostradoras para otros edificios públicos con valores patrimoniales

Inclusivity in urban energy transitions: A methodological approach for mapping gendered energy vulnerability

peer reviewedEnergy poverty has become a notable concern within the European Union (EU), with adverse implications for the well-being and social inclusion of susceptible populations, particularly women. Despite an increasing focus on gender perspectives in the context of the energy transition in recent years, the assessment of the geographical distribution of energy vulnerability remains gender-blind. This paper introduces a simplified method for mapping gendered energy-vulnerable areas through a gender-responsive index. The proposed method enlightens the potential use of open-access data for evaluating energy vulnerability from a gender perspective. Additionally, the methodology cross-references previous energy poverty assessments to identify matching cases of gendered energy vulnerability, resulting in the Gendered Energy Vulnerability Index (GEVI). The GEVI enables the classification of areas based on their risk of experiencing gendered energy vulnerability. To illustrate the method, it is applied to the evaluation of a case study of Madrid, Spain. Findings estimate that 42 neighborhoods, representing 32 % of the total in the city, might be at risk of facing gendered energy vulnerability, with a pronounced impact on elderly women, single-parent households led by women, and women engaged in part-time employment or elementary occupations. The study also identifies specific spatial patterns and correlations within the city

Energy needs and vulnerability estimation at an urban scale for residential neighbourhoods heating in Madrid (Spain)

Urban areas renovation may lead to problematic situations associated with financing of the works in absence of a detailed analysis of the distribution of resources. An analysis of the needs and the obstacles in achieving buildings refurbishment to improve their energy efficiency must be observed. Buildings requiring energy refurbishment will be those with poor construction quality, not adapted to the new energy efficiency requirements. People with insufficient resources to deal with such actions will inhabit many of them. This paper proposes a model for energy needs assessment at an urban scale with the objective set on the refurbishment of residential buildings neighbourhoods, addressing comfort needs. In this sense, aspects of building energy vulnerability are explored as a prerequisite to the analysis of energy poverty in our cities and neighbourhoods. A methodology to characterize heating needs of urban areas is developed by using statistical data from the Spanish Census of Housing and Population. The superimposition of resulting demand values with demographic data allows introducing socioeconomic criteria in order to locate urban energy efficiency and fuel vulnerability. This information is useful in order to address specific public refurbishment strategies based on the reality of socioeconomic aspects of the neighbourhoods and the state of preservation of buildings

Geochemical influence of soil on leaf and grape (Vitis vinifera L. 'Cencibel') composition in La Mancha region (Spain)

The main purpose of the study was to evaluate major and trace elements contained in topsoil from representative plots of vineyards located in La Mancha, Spain, to obtain an elemental fingerprint of vines. The samples evaluated were obtained from topsoil in six different plots, belonging to the region of La Mancha, characterized by the cultivation of vineyards (near 189.127 ha). Twenty different vines from each plot were chosen to take samples from grapes, petioles and leaves. Analyses were carried out by X-ray Fluorescence applied on soils and dried vegetal matter. Biological Absorption Coefficient (BAC) was calculated to assess the uptake of minerals by vines as a function of their specific content in soil. The BAC in leaves and grapes was very similar for all studied elements. High contents of Ca, Sr, Ni and rare earth elements (La, Ce and Nd) were found along with low contents in Al, Zr, Ba, Cu, Zn and Pb, and normal contents in the rest of the elements. BAC in grapes was lower for the majority of the studied elements but it is interesting to underline the contents of Cs, K, Nb, Ce, Zn and Sr as possible markers of soil fingerprinting in the resulting wines.

Analysis of ancestral and functionally relevant CD5 variants in systemic lupus erythematosus patients

OBJECTIVE: CD5 plays a crucial role in autoimmunity and is a well-established genetic risk factor of developing RA. Recently, evidence of positive selection has been provided for the CD5 Pro224-Val471 haplotype in East Asian populations. The aim of the present work was to further analyze the functional relevance of non-synonymous CD5 polymorphisms conforming the ancestral and the newly derived haplotypes (Pro224-Ala471 and Pro224-Val471, respectively) as well as to investigate the potential role of CD5 on the development of SLE and/or SLE nephritis. METHODS: The CD5 SNPs rs2241002 (C/T; Pro224Leu) and rs2229177 (C/T; Ala471Val) were genotyped using TaqMan allelic discrimination assays in a total of 1,324 controls and 681 SLE patients of Spanish origin. In vitro analysis of CD3-mediated T cell proliferative and cytokine response profiles of healthy volunteers homozygous for the above mentioned CD5 haplotypes were also analyzed. RESULTS: T-cell proliferation and cytokine release were significantly increased showing a bias towards to a Th2 profile after CD3 cross-linking of peripheral mononuclear cells from healthy individuals homozygous for the ancestral Pro224-Ala471 (CC) haplotype, compared to the more recently derived Pro224-Val471 (CT). The same allelic combination was statistically associated with Lupus nephritis. CONCLUSION: The ancestral Ala471 CD5 allele confers lymphocyte hyper-responsiveness to TCR/CD3 cross-linking and is associated with nephritis in SLE patients

Consumer–brand identification revisited: An integrative framework of brand identification, customer satisfaction, and price image and their role for brand loyalty and word of mouth

Consumer–brand identification has received considerable attraction among scholars and practitioners in recent years. We contribute to previous research by proposing an integrative model that includes consumer–brand identification, customer satisfaction, and price image to investigate the interrelationships among these constructs as well as their effects on brand loyalty and positive word of mouth. To provide general results, we empirically test the model using a sample of 1443 respondents from a representative consumer panel and 10 service/product brands. The results demonstrate that identification, satisfaction, and price image significantly influence both loyalty and word of mouth. Moreover, we find significant interrelationships among the constructs: Identification positively influences both satisfaction and price image, which also increases satisfaction. By disclosing the relative importance of three separate ways of gaining and retaining customers, this study helps managers more appropriately choose the right mix of branding, pricing, and relationship marketing. From an academic point of view, our research is the first to explicitly examine the effects of the concept of identification for price management and to integrate variables from the fields of branding, relationship marketing, and behavioral pricing, which have separately been identified as particularly important determinants of marketing outcomes

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research