168 research outputs found

    Capacidad administrativa y absorción de los fondos Next-Generation

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    In July 2020, the European Commission agreed on an aid package, the so-called Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM), for which Spain would receive no less than 140 billion. For its management, the government developed the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan where, in addition, it would establish not only what investment project would be made but also the reforms to be applied. However, the recent experience of the Spanish administration revealed a significant difficulty in executing the European funds associated with the Multiannual Financial Framework 14-20. This difficulty, of which both the Spanish administration itself and the European Commission are aware, forces us to review the determinants of administrative capacity in our country as well as the possible necessary changes. In this paper we explore the relationship between administrative capacity and execution of funds as well as the necessary actions that must be carried out to improve the capacity and efficiency of administrations in the execution of funds that will be decisive for the future of Spain.En julio de 2020 la Comisión Europea acordó un paquete de ayudas, el denominado Mecanismo de Recuperación y Resiliencia (MRR), por el que España recibiría no menos de 140 mil millones. Para su gestión, el gobierno desarrolló el Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia donde, además, se establecerían no solo las bases de la inversión correspondiente sino de las reformas a aplicar. No obstante, la experiencia reciente de la administración española revelaba una importante dificultad para ejecutar los fondos europeos asociados al Marco Financiero Plurianual 14-20. Esta dificultad, de la que tanto la propia administración española como la Comisión Europea son conscientes, obliga a revisar los determinantes de la capacidad administrativa en nuestro país, así como los posibles cambios necesarios. En este trabajo exploramos la relación entre capacidad administrativa y ejecución de fondos, así como las necesarias acciones que se deben llevar a cabo para mejorar la capacidad y eficiencia de las administraciones en una ejecución de fondos que va a ser determinante para el futuro de España

    Hydrodynamic connectivity and dispersal patterns of a transboundary species (Pagellus bogaraveo) in the Strait of Gibraltar and adjacent basins

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    The blackspot seabream (Pagellus bogaraveo) is a benthopelagic fish species highlyappreciated by consumers and an important target of the Spanish and Moroccan fish-eries in the transcontinental waters of the Strait of Gibraltar area. It is also one of themost exploited resources of the region, which has led to a situation of overex-ploitation and a notable drop of catches. To gain insight into the sustainability of thisresource and certain patterns of the spatial adaptation of the species, a high-resolution circulation model coupled to a Lagrangian tracking module has beenemployed to investigate the dispersal pathways of blackspot seabream, using eggsand larvae (early-life-stages, ELS) as purely passive particles advected by currents.Several spawning scenarios consisting of different spatial (depths and sites) and tem-poral (tidal phase and strength) initial conditions have been analyzed to identify themost likely pathways of ELS dispersion. Eastward transport by the Atlantic Jet exitingthe Strait of Gibraltar is the most influencing process in that dispersion. Regardingtemporal fluctuations, fortnightly tidal modulation is the prevailing factor to deter-mine the horizontal paths of the ELS, spring tides being the cause of the greatestscattering of propagules. Spawning depth in the Strait of Gibraltar is a critical condi-tion, as revealed by the model sensitivity tests. Potential implications of the results ofthe study to improve the assessment and management of this species are discussed.This work was partially funded by the FAO Project: CopeMed phase II “Coordination to Support Fisheries Management in the Western and Central Mediterranean” and the General Fisheries Commission of the Mediterranean GFCM, both with the financial support of the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission (DG-MARE) and the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Food. Funding for open access charge was provided by Universidad de Málaga/CBUA

    HACIA UN SISTEMA DE PENSIONES PERUANO COMPETITIVO

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    The study gathers perceptions about the Peruvian pension system regarding the possibility of optimizing the financial management of the resources of the National Pension Fund, aiming to create a greater profitability and competitiveness with respect to the system, generating a real alternative the private pension system.A documentary analysis was carried out and surveys were applied to three groups of informants: organized social sector, academic specialists, and pension system managers. The research problem was: How does the intervention of the ONP (National Pension Bureau) with professionalization of investments affects the competitiveness of the Pension System in Peru? The results obtained from the application of the surveys to specialists and representatives of the social sector were that the professionalization of ONP investments is possible and desirable, requiring regulatory and administrative changes and that should be applied according to the investment theory In portfolio. Plus, given the conditions, that scenario would generate greater competitiveness in the pension system as a whole, positively impacting the stability and growth of the capital market and the national economy, also positively impacting the welfare of pensioners and contributors.El estudio recoge las percepciones sobre el sistema de pensiones peruano respecto de la posibilidad de optimizar la gestión financiera de los recursos del Fondo Nacional de Pensiones, tendiente a crear una mayor rentabilidad y la competitividad con respecto al sistema en su conjunto, generando una alternativa real frente al sistema privado de pensiones. Se realizó el análisis documental y se aplicaron encuestas a tres grupos de informantes: sector social organizado, especialistas académicos, y responsables del sistema de pensiones. El problema de investigación fue: ¿De qué manera la intervención de la ONP con profesionalización de inversiones, incide en la competitividad del Sistema Pensiones en el Perú? Los resultados obtenidos de la aplicación de las encuestas a especialistas y los representantes del sector social fueron que la profesionalización de las inversiones de la ONP es posible y deseable, requiriendo ello cambios normativos y administrativos, y que se debería aplicar conforme a la teoría de inversiones en portafolio; y que, dadas las condiciones, generaría una mayor competitividad en el sistema previsional en su conjunto, impactando positivamente en la estabilidad y crecimiento del mercado de capitales y de la economía nacional, e impactando positivamente en el bienestar de los pensionistas y aportantes

    Novel Horizons in Postbiotics: Lactobacillaceae Extracellular Vesicles and Their Applications in Health and Disease

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    Lactobacillus probiotics contained in dietary supplements or functional foods are wellknown for their beneficial properties exerted on host health and diverse pathological situations. Their capacity to improve inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and regulate the immune system is especially remarkable. Although bacteria–host interactions have been thought to occur directly, the key role that extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from probiotics play on this point is being unveiled. EVs are lipid bilayer-enclosed particles that carry a wide range of cargo compounds and act in different signalling pathways. Notably, these EVs have been recently proposed as a safe alternative to the utilisation of live bacteria since they can avoid the possible risks that probiotics may entail in vulnerable cases such as immunocompromised patients. Therefore, this review aims to give an updated overview of the existing knowledge about EVs from different Lactobacillus strains, their mechanisms and effects in host health and different pathological conditions. All of the information collected suggests that EVs could be considered as potential tools for the development of future novel therapeutic approaches.Junta de Andalucia CTS 164 PY20_01157Instituto de Salud Carlos III European Commission PI19/01058 European Commissio

    Spilled ink blots the mind: A reply to Merrit et al. (2018) on subjectivity and bone surface modifications

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    Categorical variables identifying microscopic features of cut marks produce high accuracy in discrimination of bone surface modifications, but are vulnerable to variable degrees of inter-analyst subjectivity. Metric analyses of cut mark width and depth are presented by Merritt et al. (2018) as a more objective method of identifying cut marks. However, this uni(bi)variate method has shown very high rates of mark classification error when structurally similar marks are compared. Furthermore, within-sample comparison carried out via subsampling shows that different datasets of metric values, obtained with the same type of tool and raw material, are subject to such a high degree of variability that significant differences of homogeneous subsamples are repeatedly obtained, thus preventing any useful analogs to be made. Additionally, this much higher stochastic variability depends on limited knowledge of the contextual processes that intervene in cut mark metric properties, as well as on a mismatch between theoretical premises on the immanent-configurational process-trace dynamics and their confusion during experimental praxis. The selection of specific contextual variables and disregard of others, in addition to the combination of different tool types and raw materials, distorts the resulting cut mark properties. This indicates that even when attempting to use exclusively metric numeric variables, subjectivity is a conditioning factor in analyzing and interpreting cut marks

    Modeling the Spanish Bachillerato academic underachievement using a random network

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    Creative Commons: Atribución 3.0 España (CC BY 3.0 ES)[EN] In this paper, we propose a random network to model the evolution of the academic performance focused on the educational level of Bachillerato in Spain. For that, we will build a random network. Once the random network is stated, it will evolve according to a set of evolution rules and this allows us to simulate the academic behavior of Bachillerato students in order to determine whether they promote or not to the next academic level. Finally, this simulation process will allow us to provide predictions given by 95% of confidence intervals of the Bachillerato academic results over the next few years. Our predictions provide good results since, for each academic subpopulation, the new real data appeared during the development of this study corresponding to the academic year 2009 − 2010 lie inside the confidence intervals.Cortés López, JC.; Colmenar, JM.; Hidalgo, I.; Sánchez Sanchez, A.; Santonja, F.; Villanueva Micó, RJ. (2014). Modeling the Spanish Bachillerato academic underachievement using a random network. International Journal of Complex Systems in Science. 4(1):7-11. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/60001S7114

    Smart Tree: An Architectural, Greening and ICT Multidisciplinary Approach to Smart Campus Environments.

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    At present, climate change, pollution, and uncontrolled urbanism threaten not only natural ecosystems, but also the urban environment. Approaches to mitigate these challenges and able to provide an alternative for the use of the space are deemed to be multidisciplinary, combining architecture, vegetation integration, circular economy and information and communications technologies (ICT). University campuses are a key scenario to evaluate such solutions as their student and research community is intrinsically willing to support these experiences and provide a wide knowledge on the fields necessary for their design and implementation. However, the creation of areas combining usability and sustainability is commonly lacking a multidisciplinary approach combining all these different perspectives. Hence, the present work aims to overcome this limitation by the development of a novel integrated approach for campus spaces for co-working and leisure, namely a “Smart Tree”, where novel architecture, furniture design, flora integration, environmental sensoring and communications join together. To this end, a survey of the literature is provided, covering related approaches as well as general principles behind them. From this, the general requirements and constraints for the development of the Smart Tree area are identified, establishing the main interactions between the architecture, greening and ICT perspectives. Such requirements guide the proposed system design and implementation, whose impact on the environment is analyzed

    Expression of epicardial adipose tissue thermogenic genes in patients with reduced and preserved ejection fraction heart failure

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    [Abstract] Epicardial adipose tissue has been proposed to participate in the pathogenesis of heart failure. The aim of our study was to assess the expression of thermogenic genes (Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC1α), and PR-domain-missing 16 (PRDM16) in epicardial adipose tissue in patients with heart failure, stablishing the difference according to left ventricular ejection fraction (reduced or preserved). Among the 75 patients in our study, 42.7% (n=32) had reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. UCP1, PGC1α and PRDM16 mRNA in EAT were significantly lower in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. Multiple regression analysis showed that age, male gender, body max index, presence of obesity, type-2-diabetes mellitus, hypertension and coronary artery disease and left ventricular ejection fraction were associated with the expression levels of UCP1, PGC1α and PRDM16 mRNA. Thermogenic genes expressions in epicardial adipose tissue (UCP1: OR 0.617, 95%CI 0.103-0.989, p=0.042; PGC1α: OR 0.416, 95%CI 0.171-0.912, p=0.031; PRDM16: OR 0.643, 95%CI 0.116-0.997, p=0.044) were showed as protective factors against the presence of heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, and age (OR 1.643, 95%CI 1.001-3.143, p=0.026), presence of coronary artery disease (OR 6.743, 95%CI 1.932-15.301, p<0.001) and type-2-diabetes mellitus (OR 4.031, 95%CI 1.099-7.231, p<0.001) were associated as risk factors. The adequate expression of thermogenic genes has been shown as possible protective factors against heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, suggesting that a loss of functional epicardial adipose tissue brown-like features would participate in a deleterious manner on heart metabolism. Thermogenic genes could represent a future novel therapeutic target in heart failure.Ministerio de Salud, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad; PI13/02542Ministerio de Salud, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad; PI11/01661Red de Investigación Cardiovascular (España), RD12/0042/003

    Impact of Using Different Levels of Threshold-Based Artefact Correction on the Quantification of Heart Rate Variability in Three Independent Human Cohorts

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    The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/2/325/s1, Figure S1: Example of a visual inspection of a R-R signal to find possible artefacts or premature contractions across Kubios filters; Figures S2 and S3: Differences on the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) time- and frequency-domains parameters respectively without considering the Very Strong filter; Figure S4: Differences between cohorts on the SDNN using different Kubios filters; Figure S5: Differences between cohorts on the pNN50 using different Kubios filters; and Figure S6: Differences between cohorts on the HF using different Kubios filters.Juan M.A. Alcantara, Abel Plaza-Florido, Jairo H. Migueles, Guillermo Sanchez-Delgado and Francisco J. Amaro-Gahete are supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (FPU15/04059, FPU16/02760, FPU15/02645, FPU13/04365 and FPU14/04172 respectively). Guillermo Sanchez-Delgado is supported by the University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigación 2018 (Programa Contratos-Puente and Programa Perfeccionamiento de Docotres). Francisco J. Amaro-Gahete is supported by the University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigación 2019 (Programa Contratos-Puente). Guillermo Sanchez-Delgado and Borja Martinez-Tellez are supported by individual postdoctoral grants from the Fundación Alfonso Martin Escudero.Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive indicator of autonomic nervous system function. HRV recordings show artefacts due to technical and/or biological issues. The Kubios software is one of the most used software to process HRV recordings, offering different levels of threshold-based artefact correction (i.e., Kubios filters). The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of different Kubios filters on the quantification of HRV derived parameters from short-term recordings in three independent human cohorts. A total of 312 participants were included: 107 children with overweight/obesity (10.0 ± 1.1 years, 58% men), 132 young adults (22.2 ± 2.2 years, 33% men) and 73 middle-aged adults (53.6 ± 5.2 years, 48% men). HRV was assessed using a heart rate monitor during 10–15 min, and the Kubios software was used for HRV data processing using all the Kubios filters available (i.e., 6). Repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated significant differences in HRV derived parameters in the time-domain (all p < 0.001) across the Kubios filters in all cohorts, moreover similar results were observed in the frequency-domain. When comparing two extreme Kubios filters, these statistical differences could be clinically relevant, e.g. more than 10 ms in the standard deviation of all normal R-R intervals (SDNN). In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that the application of different Kubios filters had a significant impact on HRV derived parameters obtained from short-term recordings in both time and frequency-domains.The study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (DEP2013-47540 and DEP2016-79512-R), the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI13/01393), European Union Development Funds, the Fundación Iberoamericana de Nutrición (FINUT), the Redes Temáticas de Investigación Cooperativa RETIC (Red SAMID RD16/0022), the University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigación 2016 (Excellence actions: Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health [UCEES]), and the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades (FEDER: ref. SOMM17/6107/UGR)

    Coenzyme Q10 partially restores pathological alterations in a macrophage model of Gaucher disease

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    Background Gaucher disease (GD) is caused by mutations in the GBA1 gene which encodes lysosomal β-glucocerebrosidase (GCase). In GD, partial or complete loss of GCase activity causes the accumulation of the glycolipids glucosylceramide (GlcCer) and glucosylsphingosine in the lysosomes of macrophages. In this manuscript, we investigated the effects of glycolipids accumulation on lysosomal and mitochondrial function, inflammasome activation and efferocytosis capacity in a THP-1 macrophage model of Gaucher disease. In addition, the beneficial effects of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ) supplementation on cellular alterations were evaluated. Chemically-induced Gaucher macrophages were developed by differentiateing THP-1 monocytes to macrophages by treatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and then inhibiting intracellular GCase with conduritol B-epoxide (CBE), a specific irreversible inhibitor of GCase activity, and supplementing the medium with exogenous GlcCer. This cell model accumulated up to 16-fold more GlcCer compared with control THP-1 cells. Results Chemically-induced Gaucher macrophages showed impaired autophagy flux associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and increased oxidative stress, inflammasome activation and impaired efferocytosis. All abnormalities were partially restored by supplementation with CoQ. Conclusion These data suggest that targeting mitochondria function and oxidative stress by CoQ can ameliorate the pathological phenotype of Gaucher cells. Chemically-induced Gaucher macrophages provide cellular models that can be used to investigate disease pathogenesis and explore new therapeutics for GD.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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