Transparència, integritat i grups d’interès. Deu lliçons apreses de l’aplicació de la Llei 19/2014, del 29 de desembre

Interest groups must conduct their activities before public administrations transparently, guaranteeing the integrity of public servants and the interest groups themselves. They must also ensure equality in their access to public institutions, so this activity can have a positive impact on public decision-making and the drafting of legislation, promoting good governanceand good administration overall. This article offers a detailed analysis of the concept of the interest group as it is defined by the regulations in force in Catalonia and the mechanisms derived from them to guarantee the transparency of interest groups’ activities and the integrity of their relations with senior officials. The article also evaluates the regulations in forcein view of the experience acquired since their entry into force. Last, by way of conclusion, it identifies ten elements that should be taken into account when regulating the activity of interest groups, and at the time these regulations are applied.Los grupos de interés han de desarrollar su actividad ante las administraciones públicas con transparencia i garantizando la integridad tanto de los servidores públicos como de los mismos grupos de interés, como también la igualdad en su acceso a las instituciones públicas, para que esta actividad pueda tener un impacto positivo en la toma de decisiones públicas y la elaboración de normas y, en general, promover el buen gobierno y la buena administración. Este artículo analiza en detalle el concepto de grupo de interés que se deriva de la normativa vigente en Cataluña y expone los mecanismos que prevé la regulación catalana para garantizar la transparencia de la actividad de los grupos de interés y la integridad en las relaciones entre los altos cargos y los grupos de interés. El artículo también hace una valoración de la normativa vigente en vista de la experiencia alcanzada desde su entrada en vigor. Finalmente, a modo de conclusión, identifica diez elementos que se tendrían que tener bien presentes a la hora de regular la actividad de los grupos de interés y en el momento de aplicar esta regulación. Els grups d’interès han de desenvolupar la seva activitat davant les administracions públiques amb transparència i garantint la integritat tant dels servidors públics com dels mateixos grups d’interès, com també la igualtat en el seu accés a les institucions públiques, perquè aquesta activitat pugui tenir un impacte positiu en la presa de decisions públiques i l’elaboració de normes i, en general, promoure el bon govern i la bona administració. Aquest article analitza en detall el concepte de grup d’interès que es deriva de la normativa vigent a Catalunya i exposa els mecanismes que preveu la regulació catalana per garantir la transparència de l’activitat dels grups d’interès i la integritat en les relacions entre els alts càrrecs i els grups d’interès. L’article també fa una valoració de la normativa vigent en vista de l’experiència assolida des de la seva entrada en vigor. Finalment, a mode de conclusió, identifica deu elements que s’haurien de tenirben presents a l’hora de regular l’activitat dels grups d’interès i en el moment d’aplicar aquesta regulació.

Influencia de los tratamientos térmicos en la elaboración de productos untables de tomate formulados con isomaltulosa-fructosa o sacarosa

La creciente demanda de productos saludables con poder antioxidante pone de manifiesto la necesidad de desarrollar nuevos alimentos que mejoren estas propiedades en los productos tradicionales. En este sentido, el empleo de altas temperaturas deteriora las propiedades antioxidantes y las vitaminas de los alimentos. Por otra parte, el uso de nuevos ingredientes que aporten beneficios al organismo también es muy valorado por los consumidores. Esto sucede con el azúcar isomaltulosa que a diferencia de la sacarosa presenta un carácter cariogénico y además es de lenta asimilación en sangre. Por ello, el objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar el efecto del tratamiento térmico (temperaturas: 80, 90, 100 ºC, tiempos: 5 a 20 min) en la etapa de pasteurización del proceso de elaboración de un untable de tomate de 50 ºBrix, similar a la mermelada tradicional pero eliminando la etapa de cocción. Además se evaluó la influencia del tipo de azúcar utilizado en la formulación: isomaltulosa-fructosa o sacarosa. Se determinaron los cambios en las propiedades físico-químicas, ópticas y mecánicas así como el contenido de licopeno y ß-caroteno en los untables de tomate estudiados. Los resultados obtenidos indican que los untables no presentaron cambios importantes en el color con respecto al control. A nivel mecánico fueron más consistentes los untables obtenidos con sacarosa, especialmente los tratados a 100 ºC y 20 min. Por último, el tratamiento térmico redujo considerablemente el contenido en licopeno y ß-caroteno, especialmente en las muestras formuladas con sacarosa.Agustí Gil, R. (2010). Influencia de los tratamientos térmicos en la elaboración de productos untables de tomate formulados con isomaltulosa-fructosa o sacarosa. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/13651Archivo delegad

Variable rate dosing in precision viticulture: Use of electronic devices to improve application efficiency

Two different spray application methods were compared in three vine varieties at different crop stages. A conventional spray application with a constant volume rate per unit ground area (1 ha(-1)) was compared with a variable rate application method designed to compensate electronically for measured variations in canopy dimensions. An air-blast sprayer with individual multi-nozzle spouts was fitted with three Ultrasonic sensors and three electro valves on one side, in order to modify the emitted flow rate of the nozzles according to the variability of canopy dimensions in real time. The Purpose of this prototype was to precisely apply the required amount of spray liquid and avoid over dosing. On average, a 58% saving in application volume was achieved with the variable rate method, obtaining similar or even better leaf deposits.This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, and was part of research project AGL2007-66093-C04-02/AGR. We are grateful to Professor Jordi Valero from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya for his help in the statistical analysis and Xavier Vidal director of the School of Viticulture “Mercè Rosell” at Espiells (Barcelona) for his help during the field experiments

HIRLAM_INM and ECMWF analyses: comparison of their behaviour in cyclones detection

Comunicación presentada en: 5th Plinius Conference on Mediterranean Storms celebrada del 1 al 3 de octubre de 2003 en Ajaccio, Corsica.One of the specific objectives of the MEDEX Project is the carrying out of a dynamically oriented climatology of cyclones that produce high impact weather in the Mediterranean. With this purpose, two cyclone catalogues, respectively based on HIRLAM_INM and ECMWF operational objective analyses, have been obtained for the last years in the Meteorological Centre of the Balearic Islands of the INM, the former covering the West Mediterranean basin and the latter covering all throughout the Mediterranean. When comparing both cyclone databases in the common area of study some significant differences have been observed, mainly on some areas. In this work these differences are shown and studied and some possible causes are explored.This work has been partially supported by the REN2002-03482/CLI grant

Long-Term Cardiac Safety and Survival Outcomes of Neoadjuvant Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin in Elderly Patients or Prone to Cardiotoxicity and Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Final Results of the Multicentre Phase II CAPRICE Study

Cardiotoxicitat; Doxorubicina liposomal pegilada; SupervivènciaCardiotoxicidad; Doxorubicina liposomal pegilada; SupervivenciaCardiotoxicity; Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin; SurvivalBackground: The CAPRICE trial was designed to specifically evaluate neoadjuvant pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) in elderly patients or in those with other cardiovascular risk factors in whom conventional doxorubicin was contraindicated. The primary analysis of the study showed a pathological complete response (pCR) of 32% and no significant decreases in LVEF during chemotherapy. Here, we report important secondary study objectives: 5-year cardiac safety, disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS) and breast cancer specific survival (BCSS). Methods: In this multicentre, single-arm, phase II trial, elderly patients or those prone to cardiotoxicity and high risk stage II-IIIB breast cancer received PLD (35 mg/m2) plus cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m2) every 4 weeks for 4 cycles, followed by paclitaxel for 12 weeks as neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) monitorization, electrocardiograms and cardiac questionnaires were performed at baseline, during treatment and at 9, 16, 28 and 40 weeks thereafter. The primary endpoint was pCR and 5-year cardiac safety, DFS, BCSS and OS were also analyzed. Results: Between Oct 2007, and Jun 2010, 50 eligible patients were included. Median age was 73 (35-84) years, 84% were older than 65; 64% of patients suffered from hypertension, and 10% had prior cardiac disease. Most of tumors (88%) were triple negative. No significant decreases in LVEF were observed. The mean baseline LVEF was 66.6% (52-86) and after a median follow-up of 5 years, mean LVEF was 66 (54.5-73). For intention to treat population, 5-year DFS was 50% (95% CI 40.2-68.1) and 5-year OS was 56% (95%CI 41.2-68.4). There were 8 non-cancer related deaths, achieving a 5 years BCSS of 67.74% (CI 95%:54.31%- 81.18%). Conclusion: At 5-year follow-up, this PLD-based NAC regimen continued to be cardiac-safe and effective in a population of very high-risk breast cancer patients. This scheme should be considered as an option in elderly patients or in those with other risks of developing cardiotoxicity.The rest of the study was supported by the collaborative group SOLTI

Effect of aclidinium bromide on exacerbations in patients with moderate to severe COPD: a pooled analysis of five Phase III, randomized, placebo-controlled studies

We investigated the effect of the long-acting muscarinic antagonist aclidinium bromide on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations by pooling data from five randomized, placebo-controlled,parallel-group Phase III studies of 3-6 months' duration. Data were pooled from the aclidinium 400 μg twice-daily (BID) and placebo arms (N = 2,521) and stratified by Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) group (A, B, C and D). Results showed that fewer patients experienced 1 exacerbation with aclidinium (any severity: 12.5%; moderate to severe: 10.9%) compared with placebo (any severity: 15.7%; moderate to severe: 13.3%) and the odds of experiencing 1 exacerbation of any severity were reduced in patients receiving aclidinium (odds ratio = 0.78, p = 0.039). Furthermore, aclidinium reduced the rate of exacerbations compared with placebo (any severity: rate ratio = 0.79, p = 0.026; moderate to severe: 0.80, p = 0.044). The time to first exacerbation of any severity was delayed with aclidinium compared with placebo (hazard ratio = 0.79, p = 0.026) and there was a numerical delay in time to first moderate-to-severe exacerbation. Finally, the effects of aclidinium on exacerbations versus placebo were greater in patients in GOLD Groups B and D; however, it is of note that only 10.7% of patients were classified in Group A or C. In summary, the results indicate that aclidinium 400 μg BID reduces the frequency of COPD exacerbations compared with placebo and that these effects are greater in symptomatic patients

Flexible and Conductive Bioelectrodes Based on Chitosan-Carbon Black Membranes: Towards the Development of Wearable Bioelectrodes

[EN] Wearable sensors for non-invasive monitoring constitute a growing technology in many industrial fields, such as clinical or sport monitoring. However, one of the main challenges in wearable sensing is the development of bioelectrodes via the use of flexible and stretchable materials capable of maintaining conductive and biocompatible properties simultaneously. In this study, chitosan-carbon black (CH-CB) membranes have been synthesized using a straightforward and versatile strategy and characterized in terms of their composition and their electrical and mechanical properties. In this sense, CH-CB membranes showed good conductivity and mechanical resistance thanks to the presence of carbon black, which decreases the insulating behavior of chitosan, while flexibility and biocompatibility are maintained due to the dual composition of the membrane. Thus, flexible and biocompatible conductive bioelectrodes have been developed by the combined use of CH and CB without the use of toxic reagents, extra energy input, or long reaction times. The membranes were modified using the enzymes Glucose Oxidase and Laccase in order to develop flexible and biocompatible bioelectrodes for enzymatic glucose biofuel cells (BFCs) and glucose detection. A BFC assembled using the flexible bioelectrodes developed was able to deliver 15 mu W cm(-2), using just 1 mM glucose as biofuel, and up to 21.3 mu W center dot cm(-2) with higher glucose concentration. Additionally, the suitability of the CH-CB membranes to be used as a glucose sensor in a linear range from 100 to 600 mu M with a limit of detection (LOD) of 76 mu M has been proven. Such demonstrations for energy harvesting and sensing capabilities of the developed membrane pave the way for their use in wearable sensing and energy harvesting technologies in the clinical field due to their good mechanical, electrical, and biocompatible properties.This work has been supported by the Instituto Valenciano de Competitividad Empresarial (IVACE) in accordance with the IMAMCL/2020/1 agreement and within the framework of the BioSensCell project.Buaki-Sogo, M.; García-Carmona, L.; Gil Agustí, MT.; García Pellicer, M.; Quijano-Lopez, A. (2021). Flexible and Conductive Bioelectrodes Based on Chitosan-Carbon Black Membranes: Towards the Development of Wearable Bioelectrodes. Nanomaterials. 11(8):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11082052S11711