La aplicación del desarrollo sostenible en el derecho internacional: El caso del régimen jurídico del cambio climático

Treballs finals del Màster "Estudios Internacionales: organizaciones internacionales y cooperación – Colección Memorias MEI", Facultat de Dret, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs:2013-2014, Tutora: Mar Campins-EritjaEste trabajo pretende arrojar luz sobre la evolución y las implicaciones del concepto del desarrollo sostenible en el derecho internacional, centrándose sobre todo en el ámbito medioambiental y, en especial, en el caso del régimen jurídico del cambio climático como principal herramienta para resolver uno de los problemas medioambientales más importantes y complejos del siglo XXI. El desarrollo sostenible es un término que se ha utilizado en numerosas ocasiones durante las últimas décadas, y parece proporcionar la solución para lograr un mundo en el que los derechos sociales y medioambientales vayan acorde con las exigencias de los mercados y el desarrollo económico de las sociedades actuales. Así, es muy extensa la literatura que existe en torno al desarrollo sostenible, muchas las conferencias que se han llevado a cabo con este término como orden del día y muchos tratados cuyo último fin es la consecución de un desarrollo que tenga en consideración a los más vulnerables, a las generaciones futuras y los recursos finitos del planeta. Sin embargo, y a pesar de la gran envergadura y extenso uso del concepto, desde su primera aparición por los años 80, pocos han sido capaces de llevarlo a cabo. La teoría está al alcance de todos, pero su puesta en práctica parece no llegar nunca. Todo el mundo es capaz de definir, en mayor o menor medida, el concepto del desarrollo sostenible y el concepto del cambio climático por separado; sin embargo, no todos analizan la estrecha relación entre ambos. Es por esta misma razón que este trabajo recupera la idea inicial del desarrollo sostenible surgida en los años 70, y consolidada con la publicación del famoso informe Brundtland; estudia brevemente su evolución durante los últimos 20 años y analiza su puesta en práctica en dos de los tratados más complejos a nivel medioambiental: la Convención Marco de Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático y su Protocolo de Kioto..

Creating functional nanostructures: Encapsulation of caffeine into α-lactalbumin nanotubes

This work evaluated the stability and functionality of nanotubes obtained from α-lactalbumin (α-LA). α-LA nanotubes' structure was highly stable during a freeze-drying process but not after grinding. The ability of α-LA nanotubes to encapsulate caffeine, used as a model molecule, was evaluated. α-La nanotubes were highly effective for this purpose as encapsulation efficiency (%EE) was near 100% and loading capacity (%LC) near 10% at 1.5/20 and 2/20 ratios (caffeine/α-LA, w/w). α-LA nanotubes' structure was not affected by the presence of caffeine. Also, in general, refrigeration temperatures and neutral or alkaline conditions, under which the adverse effect of chelating agents was prevented, helped to stabilise α-LA nanotubes' structure and maintain caffeine encapsulated. At 8 °C and pH 7.5, in the presence of 75 μg mL− 1 of EDTA, > 50% of the caffeine remained encapsulated into α-LA nanotubes.Clara Fuciños gratefully acknowledge her Post-Doctoral grant (I2C 2014) from Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria (Xunta de Galicia, Spain). Pablo Fuciños gratefully acknowledges his Marie Curie COFUND Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (Project No: 600375. NanoTRAINforGrowth - INL Fellowship programme in nanotechnologies for biomedical, environment and food applications). This study was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684), and the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462)

La influencia del síndrome de inhalación en la evolución y el pronóstico del paciente quemado crítico

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Cirugía. Fecha de lectura: 13-07-2017Esta tesis tiene embargado el acceso al texto completo hasta el 13-01-2019El síndrome de inhalación es una entidad de gran relevancia clínica dentro del contexto del paciente quemado crítico ya que aumenta su morbimortalidad. En los últimos años, y gracias a los avances en el manejo y tratamiento de los pacientes quemados críticos, se ha observado una importante disminución de la mortalidad del paciente quemado. Sin embargo, no ha ocurrido lo mismo en los pacientes con síndrome de inhalación, cuya mortalidad sigue siendo muy elevada. Algunos autores, creen que este aumento en la mortalidad se debe al incremento en los requerimientos de volumen durante la resucitación inicial de los pacientes con síndrome de inhalación comparado con los pacientes que no presentan inhalación. En la fase de resucitación inicial parece existir una mayor alteración hemodinámica en los pacientes con síndrome de inhalación, por lo que nos plantemos estudiar si los cambios hemodinámicos producidos durante esta fase inicial podrían estar en relación con el aumento de la morbimortalidad. Así mismo nos planteamos estudiar otros factores implicados en el peor pronóstico de estos pacientes

Evaluation of antimicrobial effectiveness of pimaricin-loaded thermosensitive nanohydrogels in grape juice

Pimaricin-loaded poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanohydrogels with and without acrylic acid, were evaluated as food-spoilage inhibitors in a model system and a real food product: grape juice. Pimaricin was proposed as a non-allergenic alternative to sulphites for protecting juices against recontamination. However, pimaricin may degrade under conditions and treatments (heating, acidification, lighting) commonly applied in producing fresh juices. Nanohydrogel encapsulation may be a feasible procedure to avoid pimaricin degradation, improving its antimicrobial activity. Pimaricin-free nanohydrogels did not affect the growth of the indicator yeast either in the food model system or in grape juice. Conversely, pimaricin-loaded nanohydrogels effectively inhibited the growth of the indicator yeast. In some cases, the inhibition was extended even further than using free pimaricin. For instance, in the food model system, pimaricin-loaded nanohydrogels with acrylic acid (NPPNIPA-20AA(5)) prevented the yeast growth for more than 81 h while free pimaricin was only effective for 12 h. Despite pimaricin-loaded nanohydrogels without acrylic acid (NPPNIPA(5)) were able to reduce maximum yeast growth, as in all treatments with pimaricin, the extent of the inhibitory effect was not significantly (p>0.05) different to that achieved with free pimaricin. In grape juice, both free pimaricin and NPPNIPA-20AA(5) treatment completely inhibited the growth of the indicator yeast until the end of the bioassay. However, the latter provided similar inhibition levels using a smaller amount of pimaricin due to PNIPA-20AA(5) protection and its controlled release from the nanohydrogel. Therefore, nanohydrogel encapsulation may help to optimise antifungal treatments and decrease the incidence of food allergies.Funded by grant (MAT 2006-11662-CO3-CO2-C01/MAT 2010-21509-C03-01/EUI 2008-00115) from the “Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia” (Spain). Grant (SFRH/BPD/87910/2012) from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal). Marie Curie COFUND Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Cruise terminal in the port of A Coruña

[Resumen:] Con el aumento de atraques de buques de cruceros que ha desarrollado en los últimos años el puerto de A Coruña, se plantea necesidad de modificar la terminal existente en la actualidad, subsanando los problemas de infradimensionado del edificio y los problemas de flujo interno de vehículos del puerto. Mediante este proyecto, se plantea la demolición de la terminal existente en el muelle de Transatlanticos y la construcción de una nueva en la misma ubicación, la superficie de la nueva edificación tendrá una superficie total construida de 4200 m2. Esta nueva terminal se dividirá en una zona central, de trato de pasajeros, y una zona anexa, que se utilizara como pasillo de embarque y desembarque. Dentro la parte central de la terminal se ofrecerán servicios a los pasajeros que hasta ahora no eran prestados por la antigua como zona WI-FI, zona de espera para el embarque, área de restauración, casa de cambio y área de meet and greet. Aparte de estos servicios, a nivel de protección portuaria se aumentara la velocidad de trato de pasajeros en el control de seguridad aumentando de 3 a 5 el número de conjuntos de arco detector de metales y escáner. Esta construcción de la nueva terminal, se completará con dos estructuras. La primera será la colocación de dos pasarelas de embarque automáticas y móviles, que permitirán agilizar y hacer más cómodo las salidas y entrada de pasajeros del buque. La segunda una pasarela que unirá la planta alta de la terminal con una parada de buses lanzadera situada al oeste. La mejora del área de cruceros del puerto se completara, con una reordenación de los flujos de vehículos en el muelle de Transatlánticos, una reorganización de las plazas de taxis de la parada situada al norte del edificio “Palexco” y la construcción de un aparcamiento para buses de excursiones en el muelle de Batería.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.ETSECCP). Tecnoloxía da Enxeñaría Civil. Curso 2016/201

Natamycin-loaded poly(n-isopropylacrylamide) nanohydrogels for smart edible packaging : development and characterization

The development of new formulations for antimicrobial agents release has attracted great attention due to the possibility of using such formulations in several applications (e.g. food packaging and surface treatments in biomedical devices). Smart packaging appears in the last years as one of the most promissory application to food packaging in order to enhance the capacity to maintain food quality and safety. Moreover, edible packaging, using edible and biodegradable biopolymers, has been stated as one of the promises in packaging science (e.g. fresh-cut products, cheese, fruits, fish). Based on this and in the fact that no work has been reported with the incorporation of smart nanohydrogels in edible packaging, a smart delivery device consisting in poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanohydrogels and polysaccharide- based films was developed. Polysaccharide-based films with and without the incorporation of natamycin-loaded poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanohydrogels were charactherized in terms of: transport (water vapour, oxygen and carbon dioxide permeabilities) and mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation-at-break), opacity, water sensitivity (moisture content and contact angle) and thermal properties (differential scanning calorimetry - DSC and thermogravimetric analyses - TGA). Chemical interactions were studied by means of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy was used to verify the presence of nanohydrogel in the film matrix. [...

Development and sensory test of a dairy product with ACE inhibitory and antioxidant peptides produced at a pilot plant scale

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGA scale-up process was carried out to obtain potent bioactive peptides from whey protein through a simple hydrolysis process. The scale-up was satisfactory, with results similar to those obtained at lab scale: a fraction of peptides < 1 kDa with ACE inhibitory activity of 18.44 ± 2.47 μg/mL, a DPPH value of 69.40 ± 0.44%, and an ORAC value of 3.37 ± 0.03 μmol TE/mg protein. The peptide sequences responsible for the ACE inhibitory activity were also similar to those identified at lab scale: PM, LL, LF, HFKG and PT. The hydrolysate was used as a functional ingredient in a low-fat yoghurt. The consumer sensory taste panel found no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the bitterness of the control and the functional yoghurt, and about 50% of consumers would buy it. The hydrolysate maintained its bioactivities for 4 months at −20 ◦C (after thawing and pasteurisation), and for 1 week in yoghurt at 4 ◦C

Effects of Feeding of Two Potentially Probiotic Preparations from Lactic Acid Bacteria on the Performance and Faecal Microflora of Broiler Chickens

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of two probiotic preparations, containing live lactic acid bacteria (Lactococcus lactis CECT 539 and Lactobacillus casei CECT 4043) and their products of fermentation (organic acids and bacteriocins), as a replacement for antibiotics in stimulating health and growth of broiler chickens. The effects of the supplementation of both preparations (with proven probiotic effect in weaned piglets) and an antibiotic (avilamycin) on body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), feed consumption efficiency (FCE), relative intestinal weight, and intestinal microbiota counts were studied in 1-day posthatch chickens. The experiments were conducted with medium-growth Sasso X44 chickens housed in cages and with nutritional stressed Ross 308 broiler distributed in pens. Consumption of the different diets did not affect significantly the final coliform counts in Sasso X44 chickens. However, counts of lactic acid bacteria and mesophilic microorganisms were higher in the animals receiving the two probiotic preparations (P < 0.05). In the second experiment, although no differences in BWG were observed between treatments, Ross 308 broilers receiving the probiotic Lactobacillus preparation exhibited the lowest FCE values and were considered the most efficient at converting feed into live weight

Development of active and nanotechnology-based smart edible packaging systems: physical-chemical characterization

This work aims at characterising polysaccharide-based films without (GA) and with the incorporation of free natamycin (GA-NA) and natamycin-loaded in a smart delivery device consisting in poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanohydrogels (GA-PNIPA). Transport properties (water vapour, oxygen and carbon dioxide permeabilities), mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation-at-break), opacity, water sensitivity (moisture content and contact angle) and thermal properties (differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses) were evaluated. Chemical interactions were studied by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy was used to verify the presence of natamycin and nanohydrogel particles in the film matrix. The results show that natamycin and natamycin-loaded poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) nanohydrogels can be successfully added to edible films without changing their main packaging properties. However, tensile strength decreased (p < 0.05) when both natamycin and natamycin-loaded PNIPA nanohydrogels were incorporated (from 24.44 to 17.02 and 16.63 MPa, for GA-NA and GA-PNIPA, respectively). GA-NA and GA-PNIPA films are more opaque and showed to be more sensitive to water (i.e. higher values of moisture content and decrease of contact angle) than GA films. Scanning electron microscopy images confirmed the presence of natamycin and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanohydrogels in the films’ matrix. Since natamycin could be successfully released from polysaccharide-based films, the system could be used as active packaging ingredient when used free in the matrix or as smart packing when loaded with PNIPA nanohydrogels.Miguel A. Cerqueira (SFRH/BPD/72753/2010) is a recipient of a fellowship from the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE Portugal). The support of EU Cost Actions FA0904 and FA1001 is gratefully acknowledged

Evaluation of a chitosan-based edible film as carrier of natamycin to improve the storability of saloio cheese

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the application of chitosan coating containing natamycin on the physicochemical and microbial properties of semi-hard cheese. Three cheese groups were prepared: samples without coating, samples coated with chitosan and with chitosan containing 0.50 mg mL−1 of natamycin, whose minimum inhibitory concentration was previously determinated on cheese surface. Microbiological analyses showed that natamycin coated samples presented a decrease on moulds/yeasts of 1.1 log (CFU g−1) compared to control after 27 days of storage. Addition of natamycin also affected O2 and CO2 permeability, increasing from 7.12 to 7.68 × 10−15 g·(Pa s m)−1, and from 10.69 to 64.58 × 10−14 g·(Pa s m)−1, respectively. The diffusion coefficient values of natamycin from the film to phosphate buffered saline solution and to the cheese were 3.60 × 10−10 and 1.29 × 10−12 cm2 s−1, respectively. This study demonstrated that chitosan-based coating/films can be used as release system containing natamycin to create an additional hurdle for moulds/yeasts in cheese thus contributing to extend its shelf-life.Plan Galego de Investigación, Desenvolvemento e Innovación Tecnolóxica-Incite (Xunta de GaliciaFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT