¿The gastronomic tourism an opportunity for the local development in Catalonia?: An analysis from the stakeholders involved

The development of tourism and particularly public administration have had to adapt to new trends and the demands of the tourist market (Fayos-Solá, 2004) especially in Spain, thus generating some of the most remarkable and structural changes which constitute the emergence of new touristic dynamics (Lopez Palomeque and X. Font, 2010). The Catalan territory, which has participated in those dynamics where wine tourism becomes an alternative product of the diversification of touristic offerings, traditionally focused on sun-and-beach not only in this region but also in the whole of Spain. To revitalize the touristic offer historically focused on sun and Beach tourism, the Catalan government , bet for the gastronomic tourism through the creation of the strategies as the Gastronomic Club in 2001 or the Gastroteca in 2006; which link different stakeholders not only publics but also privates (travel agencies, universities, private foundation, NGO, producers, etc) interested in gastronomy, responding to this phenomenon that is increasing around the world and specially in Catalonia thanks to important figures like one of the most well known chefs around the world which is Ferran Adrià. Catalonia as a region is particularly varied, no only because it’s characteristics biogeographically but also for its touristic resources, generating in this territory the production of a set of “micro territories†which are constantly looking for authenticity and differentiation from highly competitive tourism brands such as the city of Barcelona. This paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages which arise this new touristic phenomenon in Catalonia and its relationship with the local development in different scales; through the perceptions and actions carried out for the stakeholders involved in this strategy. To achieve this, was taken the reflexions and the relationships that keep between them, 12 personalities from the public and private sector and the academy. Were applied semi structured interviews and them perceptions were systematized and analyzed using SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) methodology as the primary tool. This methodology, examines this phenomenon in Catalonia and its possibilities as a generator of local and regional development. Key words: Gastronomic tourism, local development, stakeholders, Catalonia.

Automated Identification and Classification of Stereochemistry: Chirality and Double Bond Stereoisomerism

Stereoisomers have the same molecular formula and the same atom connectivity and their existence can be related to the presence of different three-dimensional arrangements. Stereoisomerism is of great importance in many different fields since the molecular properties and biological effects of the stereoisomers are often significantly different. Most drugs for example, are often composed of a single stereoisomer of a compound, and while one of them may have therapeutic effects on the body, another may be toxic. A challenging task is the automatic detection of stereoisomers using line input specifications such as SMILES or InChI since it requires information about group theory (to distinguish stereoisomers using mathematical information about its symmetry), topology and geometry of the molecule. There are several software packages that include modules to handle stereochemistry, especially the ones to name a chemical structure and/or view, edit and generate chemical structure diagrams. However, there is a lack of software capable of automatically analyzing a molecule represented as a graph and generate a classification of the type of isomerism present in a given atom or bond. Considering the importance of stereoisomerism when comparing chemical structures, this report describes a computer program for analyzing and processing steric information contained in a chemical structure represented as a molecular graph and providing as output a binary classification of the isomer type based on the recommended conventions. Due to the complexity of the underlying issue, specification of stereochemical information is currently limited to explicit stereochemistry and to the two most common types of stereochemistry caused by asymmetry around carbon atoms: chiral atom and double bond. A Webtool to automatically identify and classify stereochemistry is available at http://nams.lasige.di.fc.ul.pt/tools.ph

Faceted anomalous scaling in the epitaxial growth of semiconductor films

We apply the generic dynamical scaling theory (GDST) to the surfaces of CdTe polycrystalline films grown in glass substrates. The analysed data were obtained with a stylus profiler with an estimated resolution lateral resolution of $l_c=0.3 \mu$m. Both real two-point correlation function and power spectrum analyses were done. We found that the GDST applied to the surface power spectra foresees faceted morphology in contrast with the self-affine surface indicated by the local roughness exponent found via the height-height correlation function. This inconsistency is explained in terms of convolution effects resulting from the finite size of the probe tip used to scan the surfaces. High resolution AFM images corroborates the predictions of GDST.Comment: to appear in Europhysics Letter

Gender Responsiveness: The Municipality of San Mateo Case

This study assessed the level of responsiveness of the Municipality of San Mateo. Descriptive statistics was employed particularly mean in order to obtain the ratings with regard to the level of gender responsiveness. Frequency counts and percentages were also used in determining the profile of LGU San Mateo. It was found out that the socio-economic data of LGU San Mateo provide information in relation to gender-responsiveness and the LGU has the capacity to deliver and employ gender responsive services which were manifested in its systematic approach and moving towards advanced stages of being gender-responsive. Moreover, mechanisms and strategies could be adopted to facilitate the localization of GAD mainstreaming. Keywords: basic services, gender, gender responsivenes

Perspectives of stem cell therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus

A patogênese do diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2) está associada, basicamente, a dois mecanismos, resistência à ação da insulina e disfunção secretória das células pancreáticas. Atualmente, há evidências experimentais, clínicas e epidemiológicas, da participação do sistema imune e de mediadores inflamatórios nesses mecanismos patogênicos. O interesse pelo tratamento regenerativo e pela utilização da terapia celular para o tratamento do DM2 deriva da importância da preservação da integridade funcional e quantitativa das células β pancreáticas. A utilização de células-tronco para obtenção de controle glicêmico em modelos experimentais de DM2 tem sido descrita já há alguns anos. Entretanto, em humanos, há poucos estudos publicados nesse sentido. Embora haja várias dificuldades a serem transpostas até que a terapia regenerativa do pâncreas para tratamento do DM2 seja uma opção viável, ela poderá vir a ser, no futuro, uma ferramenta importante para o controle metabólico da doença e redução de suas complicações crônicas.Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) is associated with insulin resistance and secretory dysfunction of the -cells. There is now experimental, epidemiological and clinical evidence suggesting that the immune system and inflammatory mediators are involved in the pathogenesis of DM2. The interest in regenerative therapeutics and cellular therapy for DM2 is motivated by the importance of preserving -cell mass and function. Cellular therapy with stem cells for glycemic control has been tested in experimental models for some years however, there are only a few published studies using this approach in humans. Although there are many obstacles to overcome before regenerative therapy becomes a real option to treat DM2, it may be an important strategy to attain metabolic control and prevent chronic complications in the future

Modelling of epitaxial film growth with a Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier dependent on the step height

The formation of mounded surfaces in epitaxial growth is attributed to the presence of barriers against interlayer diffusion in the terrace edges, known as Ehrlich-Schwoebel (ES) barriers. We investigate a model for epitaxial growth using a ES barrier explicitly dependent on the step height. Our model has an intrinsic topological step barrier even in the absence of an explicit ES barrier. We show that mounded morphologies can be obtained even for a small barrier while a self-affine growth, consistent with the Villain-Lai-Das Sarma equation, is observed in absence of an explicit step barrier. The mounded surfaces are described by a super-roughness dynamical scaling characterized by locally smooth (faceted) surfaces and a global roughness exponent $\alpha>1$. The thin film limit is featured by surfaces with self-assembled three-dimensional structures having an aspect ratio (height/width) that may increase or decrease with temperature depending on the strength of step barrier.Comment: To appear in J. Phys. Cond. Matter; 3 movies as supplementary materia