El impacto a corto y medio plazo del apoyo de ICEX

La estrategia de evaluación, puesta en marcha por ICEX a partir de 2011, contemplaba llegar a analizar el efecto de su apoyo en las principales variables económicas de las empresas como base para la toma de decisiones y la acción orientada a resultados. Una exhaustiva y compleja evaluación, cuyo diseño se inició en 2017 y que en este artículo se detalla, nos ha permitido alcanzar una estimación de ese impacto, unos resultados que refuerzan y consolidan lo apuntado en las evaluaciones de instrumentos y programas de ICEX realizadas internamente. Los resultados positivos muestran un impacto diferente por perfiles de empresas, y el análisis de la evolución temporal permite observar que el fuerte impulso de la exportación de bienes que se produce de forma inmediata gracias al apoyo de ICEX no se mantiene a medio plazo para todos los tipos de empresa

Seguridad en una célula flexible de producción de piezas de aluminio

2003/200

Distribution and determinants of sedentary lifestyles in the European Union

Background Many studies have shown the health burden of a sedentary lifestyle. The main goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of sedentary lifestyles in the 15 Member States of the European Union (EU) and to identify the main correlates of a sedentary lifestyle. Methods Nationally representative samples (n ≈ 1000 subjects in each country; >15 years) completed a questionnaire concerning attitudes to physical activity, body weight, and health; in total 15 239 subjects. Sedentary people were defined in two ways: (1) those expending less than 10% of their leisure time expenditure in activities involving ≥4 metabolic equivalents (MET). (2) Those who did not practice any leisure-time physical activity and who also were above the median in the number of hours spent sitting down during leisure time. Logistic regression models were fitted to analyse the association between sedentary lifestyles and gender, age, body mass index (BMI), educational level, weight change in the last 6 months, and marital and smoking status. Results Percentages of sedentary lifestyles across European countries ranged between 43.3% (Sweden) and 87.8% (Portugal) according to the first definition. According to both definitions, a lower prevalence of sedentary lifestyle was found in Northern countries (especially Scandinavian countries) as compared with Mediterranean countries, whereas the prevalence was higher among older, obese, less educated, widowed/divorced individuals, and current smokers. Similar relative differences between countries and socio-demographic groups were found independently of the method used to define a sedentary lifestyle. Conclusion Prevalence of sedentary lifestyle in the EU is high, especially among inhabitants of some Mediterranean countries, obese subjects, less-educated people, and current smokers. This high prevalence involves important public health burdens and preventive strategies are urgently needed

Prevalence of physical activity during leisure time in the European Union

PURPOSE: To estimate the prevalence of physical activity during leisure time in adults from the 15 member states of the European Union and the relationship with sociodemographic variables. METHODS: A representative sample, with approximately 1000 adults, aged 15 and upward, was selected from each member state to complete a questionnaire on attitudes to physical activity, body weight, and health by a face-to-face interview, summing a total of 15,239 subjects. The amount of leisure-time physical activity was quantified by assigning metabolic equivalents (METs) to each activity. Multiple linear regression models with MET-h.wk(-1) as the dependent variable were fitted. RESULTS: Northern European countries showed higher levels of physical activity than southern ones. The highest prevalence (91.9%) was found in Finland, and the lowest (40.7%) in Portugal. A higher percentage of men practiced any leisure-time physical activity and also showed higher mean of MET-h.wk(-1). In both genders, the multivariate models showed a significant trend to higher leisure time activity in participants with higher educational levels and in nonsmokers. Also, an inverse association between body mass index and leisure-time physical activity was found. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of any physical activity during leisure time in the adult European population was similar to the U.S. estimates. Nevertheless, the amount of activity is low, and a wide disparity between countries exists. To our knowledge, this is the first study determining the prevalence and amount of leisure-time physical activity, which is the first step to define strategies to persuade populations to increase their physical activity

Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) and its relationship with germline mutations

We present the case of a 38-year-old man with a history of abdominal paraganglioma 10 years ago, who consulted for hematemesis and asthenia of 5 days' evolution. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed where a raised submucosal lesion, about 2 cm, with ulceration on its surface, was observed at the corporal-antral junction. The CT scan revealed nodular thickening of the gastric wall at the level of the lesser curvature. After the resolution of his hematemesis, it was decided to intervene on the patient, performing a partial gastrectomyUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Microtubule stabilization reduces amyloid pathology and improves synaptic/memory deficits in APP/PS1 mice

Aims: Cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is highly related to synaptic/neuronal loss. Tau hyperphosphorylation destabilizes microtubules leading to axonal transport failure and generation of dystrophic neurites, thus contributing to synaptic dysfunction. The effect of microtubule stabilization on amyloid-beta pathology has not been assessed in vivo yet. This study evaluated the effect of the microtubule-stabilizing agent, Epothilone D (EpoD) in the pathology of an amyloidogenic mouse model. Methods: APP751SL/PS1M146L mice (3-month-old) were treated weekly with intraperitoneal injections of EpoD (2 mg/kg) or vehicle for 3 months. For memory performance, animals were tested on the objectrecognition, Y-maze and Morris water maze. Hippocampal proteinopathies were quantified by image analysis after immunostaining. Somatostatin (SOM)-numerical density was calculated by stereology. APPswe-N2a cells were treated with EpoD 100nM for 12/24 hours. Protein levels were analysed by Western/dot-blot. Results: EpoD-treated mice improved their performance of cognitive tests, while hippocampal phospho-tau and Ab (especially oligomers) accumulation decreased, together with synaptic/neuritic pathology. Remarkably, EpoD exerted a neuroprotective effect on SOM-interneurons, a highly AD-vulnerable GABAergic subpopulation. Conclusions: EpoD improved microtubule dynamics and axonal transport in an AD-like context, reducing tau and Ab accumulation and promoting neuronal and cognitive protection, underlining the cross-talk between cytoskeleton pathology and proteinopathy. Therefore, microtubule-stabilizing drugs could be candidates for slowing AD at both tau and Ab pathologies.Supported by PI18/01557 (to AG) and PI18/01556 (to JV) grants from ISCiii of Spain, co-financed by FEDER funds (European Union), CIBERNED collaborative grant (to AG and JV), and by PPIT.UMA.B1.2017/26 grant (to RSV). Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Validation of the Spanish version of the physical activity questionnaire used in the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study

Objective: The objective of this analysis was to test the validity of the estimates of energy expenditure and sedentary lifestyle obtained through a self-administered questionnaire of physical activity for Spanish-speaking people adapted from US questionnaires (Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study) using a triaxial accelerometer (RT3 Triaxial Research Tracker) as the reference. Design and setting: Validation study, calculating the non-parametric correlation coefficients between the level of physical activity and sedentary lifestyle collected by the self-administered questionnaire and the triaxial accelerometer measurements. Percentage of misclassification and kappa coefficients were also calculated. Subjects: The study population consisted of a sample of 40 obese women who were participants of the SUN (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra) project (a prospective cohort study among Spanish university alumni). They were selected because of their peculiar metabolic characteristics, in the search for a sub-optimal scenario for validity. Results: Physical activity during leisure time (estimated as MET-h week21) derived from the self-administered questionnaire moderately correlated with kcal day21 assessed through the accelerometer (Spearman’s r ¼ 0.507, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.232, 0.707). The Spearman correlation between the ratio of sedentary lifestyle to physical activity obtained through the questionnaire and the direct estimation (RT3) was 20.578 (95% CI 20.754, 20.325). The kappa index was 0.25 (P ¼ 0.002) when assessing the cross-classification into quintiles and 0.41 for the dichotomous estimation of a sedentary lifestyle. Only 2.5% of participants were misclassified by the questionnaire more than two quintiles apart from the estimates of the RT3. Conclusions: The moderate values obtained for correlation in a sub-optimal scenario for validity and the low percentage of extreme misclassification suggest the validity of the questionnaire to assess physical activity in Spanish-speaking women aged 20–50 years

Plant-pollinator networks in semi-natural grasslands are resistant to the loss of pollinators during blooming of mass-flowering crops

Mass-flowering crops lead to spatial redistributions of pollinators and to transient shortages within nearby semi-natural grasslands, but the impacts on plant–pollinator interactions remain largely unexplored. Here, we characterised which pollinator species are attracted by oilseed rape and how this affected the structure of plant–pollinator networks in nearby grasslands. We surveyed 177 networks from three countries (Germany, Sweden and United Kingdom) in 24 landscapes with high crop cover, and compared them to 24 landscapes with low or no oilseed rape during and after crop blooming. On average 55% of grassland pollinator species were found on the crop, which attracted 8–35% of individuals away from grasslands. However, networks in the grasslands were resistant to these reductions, since mainly abundant and highly mobile species were attracted. Nonetheless, simulations indicated that network structural changes could be triggered if > 50% of individuals were attracted to the crop (a value well-above that found in our study system), which could affect community stability and resilience to further disturbance

Gastrointestinal cancer: Relationship between histology and microbiota

Este trabajo fue presentado como comunicación tipo póster en el citado congreso.Objectives: Review of the published literature concerning the relationship between microbiome and gastrointestinal cancer. Methods: Present work is focused on systematic research in the most prominent biomedical databases finds relevant works in Pubmed and the library’s catalog of the University of Málaga (Jábega) of published journals in the last 5 years. Results: In this work, the mechanisms used by the microbiome to damage gastrointestinal epithelial cells and cause cancer are explained. Some of them are the dysbiosis, destruction of the mucosal barrier, chronic inflammation, damage caused by metabolites produced in the digestion and the direct attack of certain toxins to the cell’s DNA. These mechanisms adjust the immune response, by activation or inhibition using different cytokines. There is also a deeper look into several microorganisms and how they cause gastrointestinal cancer using toxins or virulence factors to activate them. Conclusions: The evidence found so far about the microbiota and gastrointestinal cancer is enough to assume the relationship between them, although there is much left to research. With these findings, it can be expected that in a near future certain microorganisms could be used for screening purposes, due to their increase in early stages of the tumor genesis and also, in a preventive way to try to eradicate them, even avoid cancer. Studies on the microbiota are hardly beginning, and results appear to be promising.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech