89 research outputs found
La estrategia de comunicación de Qatar y la resolución del conflicto diplomático en el Golfo
On the 5th of June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain
announced the rupture of diplomatic relations and the closure of borders with Qatar in
response to its alleged support for terrorist activities destabilising the region. In order to
revert the situation, 13 demands were made, which Qatar refuses to meet.
Qatar was isolated within the Gulf Cooperation Council and its international image was
damaged, particularly after the Trump Administration backed the blockade. In these trying
circumstances, Qatar has managed to resist by developing a public diplomacy that integrates
the analogue and digital environments in which communications play a vital role. Qatar has
protested its innocence before regional and international public opinion, and it has denounced
the anti-Qatar campaign and fake news stories that flooded social media, particularly Twitter,
before and during the first months of the crisis.
It has developed a communication strategy showing its willingness to open dialogue, respect
for international bodies where it defended its cause, together with diplomatic activities
reinforcing its positions before very diverse actors such as the United States, international
bodies, Kuwait and Turkey. Qatar used this strategy to transform its online influence into
offline diplomatic influence until it succeeded in getting Kuwait to act as mediator, with the
support of the United States, in order to put an end to the blockade, which was the top goal
of its foreign policy
SEM-EDX study of bentonite alteration under the influence of cement alkaline solutions
Bentonite is a key barrier for the isolation of high-level radioactive waste within Deep Geological Repository. However, bentonite may be altered by contact with cementitious materials and their alkaline pore fluids. This study offers an extensive morphological and semi-quantitative characterization of the bentonite surface exposed to three types of alkaline pore fluids released by different cement-based materials. The bentonite surfaces were studied using a thorough scanning electron microscopy exploration and analysed using an energy-dispersive ꭕ-ray detector (SEM-EDX). In addition, statistical, element mappings, ꭕ-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy analyses were performed. The aim was to have a picture of the morphological and chemical alterations of bentonite at very early stages in accordance with the integrated approach necessary to address bentonite stability in the long-term. As a consequence of the reactivity, two types of morphologies stood out in the matrix of bentonite: platelets and coatings-like crusts characterized by their high Mg and Ca content. These alterations presented a different scope depending on the type of alkaline pore solution involved and suggested the precipitation of authigenic magnesium silicate hydrates (M-S-H) and/or trioctahedral clay minerals and Ca‑carbonates. The knowledge of the performance of bentonite subjected to these alkaline solutions can help in the evaluation of the most suitable cement-based materials to be used next to bentoniteThe experimental work was supported by funding from the European Union‘s Horizon 2020 Research and Training programme from EURATOM [H2020-NFRP 2014, 2015] under grant agreement n◦662147; CEBAM
Executive Functions in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Family and School Environment
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the
presence of difficulties in communication and social interaction, often associated with deficits in
executive functions (EF). The EF correct development is related to a more effective functioning in
all its daily activities, while being associated with more efficient social relations. The objective of
this research is to analyze the level of development of EF in children and adolescents with ASD in
school and at home. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, and multicenter study with 102 participants
selected by non-probabilistic sampling, 32 parents of children with ASD, and 70 professionals
in the field of education of students with ASD. The study confirms that although children and
adolescents with ASD have problems in executive functioning, the perception of informants, parents,
and education professionals is similar but not the same in the different contexts: school and home
Biodiversity of <em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em> Yeasts in Spontaneous Alcoholic Fermentations: Typical Cellar or Zone Strains?
Spontaneous fermentation is the most traditional way and a low-intervention method for conducting alcoholic fermentation in wineries, giving rise to the most complex wine profiles. However, inoculation with single culture inocula of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains has become widespread in the modern wine industry. Nevertheless, some authors have pointed out that the use of the same yeasts in all the winegrowing regions of the world can cause a loss of typicity and have a standardizing effect on the wines. For this reason, many wineries and regions are carrying out programs of isolation and selection of yeasts that are typical of their vineyards/wineries. The aim of this work was to study the ecology of spontaneous fermentations in 11 wineries from all over the Rioja qualified designation of origin (Spain) during 3–4 consecutive years in order to establish the existence of typical strains belonging to wineries, sub-zones, or regional ecosystems. The results obtained showed a great diversity of strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in each fermentation studied. These strains were different each year in each winery, and hardly any common strains were detected between neighboring wineries, which would indicate that there are no representative strains from the winery or the area
Ansiedad, depresión y apatía en relación a la situación de fragilidad
This descriptive, transversal research studies the relationship between frailty in institutionalized old people and anxiety, depression and apathy in a 193 old people sample institutionalized in four old people’s homes.Frailty is measured with Short Physical Performance Battery; anxiety and depression with Goldberg scale; and apathy with Dementhia Apathy Interview and Rating.It is about a descriptive and transversal research that does not make any intervention on people participating and aims to establish if there is or there is not a relationship between variables, but not a causality relationship.It is shown that the three variables correlate with total punctuation in frailty scale and with all its subscales; so that, a higher frailty and/or dependency, corresponds to higher levels of anxiety, depression and apathy.There are also significant differences between frail and prefrail people groups in relation to apathy; and between dependent and prefrail groups in relation to anxiety and depression.Esta investigación descriptiva transversal estudia la relación de la situación de fragilidad en adultos mayores institucionalizados y la ansiedad, depresión y apatía en los mismos con una muestra de 193 personas mayores institucionalizadas en cuatro residencias para personas mayores.La fragilidad se mide con la herramienta Short Physical Performance Battery; la ansiedad y la depresión con la escala Goldberg; y la apatía con la escala Dementhia Apathy Interview and Rating.Se trata de un estudio transversal y descriptivo que no realiza ningún tipo de intervención sobre las personas participantes y pretende establecer si existe o no relación entre las variables, pero no una relación de causalidad entre ellas.Se observa que las tres variables correlacionan con la puntuación total de la escala de fragilidad y con cada una de sus subescalas; de manera que, a mayor situación de fragilidad y/o dependencia, mayores niveles de ansiedad, depresión y apatía.Aparecen además diferencias significativas entre el grupo de personas frágiles y prefrágiles en lo referente a la apatía; y entre los grupos dependiente y prefrágil en relación a la ansiedad y la depresión
Evaluation of the sorption potential of mineral materials using tetracycline as a model pollutant
Tetracycline (TC) is among the most used antibiotics in animal feedstock in the EU. Antibiotics’ persistence as emerging pollutants in the environment is evidenced by their long half-life in residual organic-mineral sediments and waters. The risk associated with this persistence favours antibiotic-resistant microbiota, affecting human health and ecosystems. The purpose of the present work is to assess the adsorption of TC into natural clay minerals, synthetic iron hydroxides and calcined sewage sludge. TC adsorption isotherms were performed in three replicated batch tests at three di erent pH values (4, 6, 8) and TC concentrations (33–1176 mg.L−1). X-Ray di raction (XRD) mineralogy, cation exchange capacity (CEC), Brunauer, Emmett and Teller specific surface area (BET-SSA) and point of zero charge salt effect (PZSE) were determined for the characterization of materials. Sorption was analysed by means of fitting Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models, which showed good fitting parameters for the studied materials. Low-charge montmorillonite (LC Mnt) is displays the best sorption capacity for TC at maximum TC concentration (350–300 mgTC.g−1) in the whole range of pH (4–8). Sepiolite and smectites adsorbed 200–250 mgTC.g−1, while illite, calcined sludge or iron hydroxides present the lowest adsorption capacity (<100 mgTC.g−1). Nevertheless, illite, sepiolite and ferrihydrite display high adsorption intensities at low to medium TC concentrations (<300 mg.L−1), even at pH 8, as is expected in wastewater environmental conditionsThis work has been economically supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (CTM2013-47874-C2-2-R and AGL2016-78490-R)
Senescence-associated proteolysis induced by abiotic and biotic stresses in barley leaves
Leaf senescence is a recycling process characterized by a massive degradation of macromolecules to relocalize nutrients from leaves to growing or storage tissues.
Our aim is to identify and analyze the C1A Cysteine
‐Protease (CysProt) family members from barley (35 cathepsin L‐,3B‐,1Hand3F‐like) involved in leaf senescence, to study their modulation by their specific inhibitors (cystatins) and to determine their roles mediated by abiotic (darkness and N starvation) and biotic (pathogens and pest) stresses
Effect of the Sequential Inoculation of Non-Saccharomyces/Saccharomyces on the Anthocyans and Stilbenes Composition of Tempranillo Wines
The phenolic compounds of red wines are responsible for their color, astringency, and antioxidant properties. The fermentative yeasts might be used to modulate wines in terms of their color, aroma and probably healthy properties. In this study, six non-Saccharomyces species were tested because they might enhance the properties of red Tempranillo wines from Rioja. The results confirmed that the anthocyanins and stilbenes composition of wine can be modulated with the use of a specific fermentation starter. Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Candida zeylanoides, and Torulaspora delbrueckii achieved the greatest improvements of the monomeric anthocyanin composition, and the latter three yeast species achieved the best results of stilbene composition when compared to S. cerevisiae and the other non-Saccharomyces yeasts. Overall, results suggested that the use of M. pulcherrima, Z. bailii, C. zeylanoides and T. delbrueckii as fermentation starters could be of great interest to achieve wines with better color and likely healthy properties
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