La condició perifèrica a Barcelona

El creixement metropolità es produeix a Barcelona en un context en el qual, a diferència d'altres grans ciutats europees, es donen múltiples lògiques d'escala menor que determinen la composició urbana. Juntament amb els nuclis antics, els barris consolidats i els elements infraestructurals, els signes del relleu i les formes de la geografia configuren en gran part aquesta estructura complexa prèvia a l'expansió metropolitana. Aquesta situació es relaciona amb un procés arítmic d'ocupació del territori, que ha anat produint buits i discontinuïtats. Cal preguntar-se si en aquests territoris és possible aplicar la mateixa lògica de la ciutat central, caracteritzada per una definició exhaustiva de l'espai, o si pel contrari cal pensar els buits com a llocs de feble definició. Des d'aquesta perspectiva, aquestes formes de la perifèria es revelen com a transicions a mig camí entre la ciutat confortable i el paradigma no urbà i demanen ésser enteses més com a avantatges que com a patologies, més com a mostres d'un context que dóna nous arguments projectualsque com a situacions transitòries.El crecimiento metropolitano se produce en Barcelona en un contexto en el que, a diferencia de otras grandes ciudades europeas, se dan múltiples lógicas de escala menor que determinan la composición urbana. Junto con los núcleos antiguos, los barrios consolidados y los elementos infraestructurales, los signos del relieve y las formas de la geografía configuran en gran parte esta estructura compleja previa a la expansión metropolitana. Esta situación se relaciona con un proceso arrítmico de ocupación del territorio, que ha ido produciendo vacíos y discontinuidades. Cabe preguntarse si en estos territorios es posible aplicar la misma lógica de la ciudad central, caracterizada por una definición exhaustiva del espacio, o si, por el contrario, el espacio vacío puede pensarse como lugar de débil definición. Desde esta perspectiva, estas formas de la periferia se revelan como transiciones a medio camino entre la ciudad confortable y el paradigma no urbano y deben entenderse más como ventajas que como patologías, más como muestras de un contexto que proporciona nuevos argumentos proyectuales que como situaciones transitorias.A Barcelone, le développement métropolitain se déroule dans un contexte où, différemment à d'autres grandes villes européennes, ont lieu de multiples logiques d'échelle mineure qui déterminent la composition urbaine. Avec les anciens noyaux, les quartiers consolidés et les éléments infrastructurels, les signes du relief et les formes de la géographie configurent, en grande partie, cette structure complexe préalable à l'expansion métropolitaine. Cette situation est en relation avec un processus d'occupation du territoire arythmique, qui a produit des vides et des discontinuités. Est-il possible d'appliquer, à ces territoires, la même logique de la ville centrale, caractérisée par une définition exhaustive des espaces ou, par contre, l'espace vide peut-il être considéré comme un lieu de faible définition? Depuis cette perspective, ces formes de la périphérie se révèlent comme transitoires à mi-chemin entre la ville confortable et le paradigme non-urbain et doivent être considérées plus comme des avantages que comme des pathologies, plus comme preuve d'un contexte qui présente de nouveaux arguments projectuels que comme des situations transitoires.Metropolitan growth is occurring in Barcelona in a context in which, unlike other large European cities, numerous small scale logics are converging to determine the urban composition. Together with the old centres, the consolidated neighbourhoods and the infrastructural elements, it is the topography and the geographical forms that to a large degree configure this complex structure that predates metropolitan expansion. This situation has been associated with an arrythmic development of the territory, which has given rise to voids and discontinuities. One might ask whether it is possible to apply the same logic in these newly incorporated areas as in the central city, which is characterised by an exhaustive definition of the space; or whether the empty spaces should be thought of as being places of weak definition. Taking the latter view, the forms of the periphery are revealed to be intermediate forms half way between the comfortable city and the non-urban paradigm, and as such should be seen more as advantages than as pathologies, more as examples of a context that offers new planning arguments than as transitory situations

Gut microbiota controlling radiation-induced enteritis and intestinal regeneration

Cancer remains the second leading cause of mortality, with nearly 10 million deaths worldwide in 2020. In many cases, radiotherapy is used for its anticancer effects. However, radiation causes healthy tissue toxicity as a side effect. In intra-abdominal and pelvic malignancies, the healthy bowel is inevitably included in the radiation field, causing radiation-induced enteritis and dramatically affecting the gut microbiome. This condition is associated with significant morbidity and mortality that impairs cancer patients' and survivors' quality of life. This Review provides a critical overview of the main drivers in modulating the gut microenvironment in homeostasis, disease, and injury, focusing on gut microbial metabolites and microorganisms that influence epithelial regeneration upon radiation injury

Metabolomics Approaches and their Hidden Potential for Explaining the Mycotoxin Contamination Problem

Food is essential for life. On the basis of the previous sentence, consumers have a right to expect that the foods they purchase and consume will be safe, authentic and of high quality. On these premises, target compounds, such as mycotoxins, pesticides or antibiotics, have been commonly investigated on the food chain, and subsequently, were regulated by authorities. This raises the following question: may consumer be prevented to these risk exposures? Probably not, food chain is step-by-step longer and more complex than ever before. Note that food chain is affected by globalized trade, culture, travel and migration, an ageing population, changing consumer trends and habits, new technologies, emergencies, climate change and extreme weather events which are increasing foodborne health risks, especially for mycotoxins. Because of the fact that mycotoxins are natural toxic compounds produced by certain filamentous fungi on many agricultural communities. In fact, these toxins have adverse effects on humans, animals and crops that result in illnesses and economic losses. Nevertheless, so far mycotoxins and their modified forms have been mainly monitored in cereal and cereal-based products, however, may an early detection of mycotoxins be considered a reliable strategy? In this chapter, recent metabolomics approaches have been reviewed in order to answer this question and to understand future strategies in the field of mycotoxin contamination

Regular meetings of presentation adn discussion of LUB

Peer Reviewe

Regular meetings of presentation adn discussion of LUB

Peer Reviewe

Postoperative intestinal fistula in primary advanced ovarian cancer surgery

Background: Advanced ovarian cancer (AOC) requires an aggressive surgery with large visceral resections in order to achieve an optimal or complete cytoreduction and increase the patient’s survival. However, the surgical aggressiveness in the treatment of AOC is not exempt from major complications, such as the gastrointestinal fistula (GIF), which stands out among others due to its high morbidity and mortality. Methods: We evaluated the clinicopathological features in patients with AOC and their association with GI. Data for 107 patients with AOC who underwent primary debulking surgery were analyzed retrospectively. Clinicopathological features, including demographic, surgical procedures and follow-up data, were analyzed in relation to GIF. Results: GIF was present in 11% of patients in the study, 5 (4.5%) and 7 (6.4%) of colorectal and small bowel origin, respectively. GIF was significantly associated with peritoneal cancer index (PCI) > 20, more than 2 visceral resections, and multiple digestive resections. Overall and disease-free survival were also associated with GIF. Multivariate analysis identified partial bowel obstruction and operative bleeding as independent prognostic factors for survival. The presence of GIF is positively associated with poor prognosis in patients with AOC. Conclusion: Given the importance of successful cytoreductive surgery in AOC, the assessment of the amount of tumor and the aggressiveness of the surgery to avoid the occurrence of GIF become a priority in patients with AOC

Nutrimetabolomics: An Integrative Action for Metabolomic Analyses in Human Nutritional Studies

The life sciences are currently being transformed by an unprecedented wave of developments in molecular analysis, which include important advances in instrumental analysis as well as biocomputing. In light of the central role played by metabolism in nutrition, metabolomics is rapidly being established as a key analytical tool in human nutritional studies. Consequently, an increasing number of nutritionists integrate metabolomics into their study designs. Within this dynamic landscape, the potential of nutritional metabolomics (nutrimetabolomics) to be translated into a science, which can impact on health policies, still needs to be realized. A key element to reach this goal is the ability of the research community to join, to collectively make the best use of the potential offered by nutritional metabolomics. This article, therefore, provides a methodological description of nutritional metabolomics that reflects on the state‐of‐the‐art techniques used in the laboratories of the Food Biomarker Alliance (funded by the European Joint Programming Initiative "A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life" (JPI HDHL)) as well as points of reflections to harmonize this field. It is not intended to be exhaustive but rather to present a pragmatic guidance on metabolomic methodologies, providing readers with useful "tips and tricks" along the analytical workflow

The pivotal role of TRP channels in homeostasis and diseases throughout the gastrointestinal tract

The transient receptor potential (TRP) channels superfamily are a large group of proteins that play crucial roles in cellular processes. For example, these cation channels act as sensors in the detection and transduction of stimuli of temperature, small molecules, voltage, pH, and mechanical constrains. Over the past decades, different members of the TRP channels have been identified in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract playing multiple modulatory roles. Noteworthy, TRPs support critical functions related to the taste perception, mechanosensation, and pain. They also participate in the modulation of motility and secretions of the human gut. Last but not least, altered expression or activity and mutations in the TRP genes are often related to a wide range of disorders of the gut epithelium, including inflammatory bowel disease, fibrosis, visceral hyperalgesia, irritable bowel syndrome, and colorectal cancer. TRP channels could therefore be promising drug targets for the treatment of GI malignancies. This review aims at providing a comprehensive picture of the most recent advances highlighting the expression and function of TRP channels in the GI tract, and secondly, the description of the potential roles of TRPs in relevant disorders is discussed reporting our standpoint on GI tract–TRP channels interaction

Control de micotoxines en cereals i derivats per cromatografia liquida espectrometria de masses : avaluació de les ingestes

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by few fungal species that readily colonize crops and contaminate them with toxins in the field or after harvest. Surveillance studies have showed that mycotoxin contamination is a world-wide problem, since it is estimated that 25% of the world's crop production and 20% of crop production within the European Union may be contaminated with these contaminants. Economic losses deriving from that are tremendous, including reduction of livestock production and agricultural production, health care, veterinary and regulatory costs. The methods described in this Thesis for the extraction of mycotoxins from cereal and derivates used conventional techniques such as solid-liquid extraction (SLE), solid-phase extraction (SPE) and immunoaffinity columns (IACs). However, matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) and modified QuEChERS were used as alternative extraction methods. Finally, and after appropriate extraction method, mycotoxins into the extract have to be identified and quantified. A method of analysis for mycotoxins in food should be simple, rapid, robust, accurate and selective to enable simultaneous determination of mycotoxins. The currently used quantitative methods for the determination of mycotoxins in food mainly use chromatographic techniques for separation, in combination of a variety of detectors. HPLC with different detectors is frequently used both for routine analyses and as confirmatory method or screening techniques. Nowadays, the most widely used spectrometer in mycotoxins analysis has been the triple quadrupole, although QTRAP and Orbitrap technology were used in this Thesis in order to improve qualitative data. At the end, the regular presence of low levels of mycotoxins in several foods has been clearly demonstrated. Therefore, estimation of risk in terms of daily intake was calculated, in all the cases the daily dietary intake was below the tolerable daily intake established