Location of franchises and large retail chains following the Great Recession. The case of the city of Zaragoza (Spain)

The current retail activity model is rapidly evolving, in order to adapt to consumer changes. For a long time, shopping centres have stood out as the most attractive model. However, the implementation of franchises and large commercial chains in cities is transforming the uses of urban space and configuring new spatial relationships. The city of Saragossa serves as a case study

Characterisation of the Colour Fraction of Pedro Ximenez Andalusian Sweet Wines

Changes in colour fraction of commercially bottled Pedro Ximenez sweet wines, unaged and oxidatively agedin American oak casks and mostly produced in the Montilla-Moriles and Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Designations ofOrigin (Spain), have been studied. The total tannin content and the total polyphenol content (A280) increasedwith increased aging time, a trend clearly observed in the Jerez wines. Browning, as measured by the absorbanceat 420 nm, differed markedly between unaged and aged wines. Aged wines showed an increase in browning withtime and an increase in high molecular weight browning compounds, most probably Maillard compounds.Colour measurements based on the CIELab system showed a gradual decrease in hue and lightness with ageing

Sensory Analysis of Sweet Musts in Pedro Ximenez cv. Grapes Dried using Different Methods

The sensory properties of musts from Pedro Ximenez grapes chamber-dried at 40 or 50°C, with or withouta dipping treatment, are compared to musts from grapes subjected to the traditional sun-drying methodused in the production of sweet wines. The chamber-dried procedure, specifically at 50°C, decreased thedrying time, improved the health status of the grapes relative to the growth of fungi that produce toxins andyielded must with a very similar color to that of sun-dried grapes. Sensory evaluation has shown that mustfrom grapes dried at 50°C, after treatment with an alkaline emulsion of ethyl oleate, is unacceptable dueto the light color. The musts receiving the highest scores for color, aroma and flavor were from untreatedgrapes dried at 50ºC or potassium carbonate-treated grapes dried at the same temperature. However, thetreatment did not significantly accelerate drying

Excipient-free inhalable microparticles of Azithromycin produced by electrospray: A novel approach to direct pulmonary delivery of antibiotics

Inhalation therapy offers several advantages in respiratory disease treatment. Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic with poor solubility and bioavailability but with a high potential to be used to fight lung infections. The main objective of this study was to generate a new inhalable dry powder azithromycin formulation. To this end, an electrospray was used, yielding a particle size around 2.5 µm, which is considered suitable to achieve total deposition in the respiratory system. The physicochemical properties and morphology of the obtained microparticles were analysed with a battery of characterization techniques. In vitro deposition assays were evaluated after aerosolization of the powder at constant flow rate (100 L/min) and the consideration of the simulation of two different realistic breathing profiles (healthy and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients) into a next generation impactor (NGI). The formulation was effective in vitro against two types of bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Finally, the particles were biocompatible, as evidenced by tests on the alveolar cell line (A549) and bronchial cell line (Calu-3). © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Inhibition of FAK prevents blister formation in the neonatal mouse model of pemphigus vulgaris

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune blistering skin disease characterized by suprabasal acantholysis and by autoantibodies against desmoglein 3 localized on desmosomes. In addition, caspases also seem to participate in this blistering disease. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase involved in cytoskeleton remodelling and formation and disassembly of cell adhesion structures. We have previously demonstrated that HER (human epidermal growth factor receptor related) isoforms, Src (Rous sarcoma) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), three molecules implicated in signalling processes, take part in suprabasal acantholysis and apoptosis induced by PV-IgG in a mouse model. Our aim was to investigate whether upregulation of FAK is implicated in the development of PV lesions. Herein, using a mouse model, PV-IgG administration showed an increased level of FAK phosphorylated on 397 and 925 tyrosine residues in the basal layer of epidermis. When mice were pretreated with a FAK inhibitor (FI), the acantholysis of the basal layer of epidermis was absent. More interestingly, we observed that phosphorylated FAK (Y397/925) decreased when HER isoforms, Src, mTOR and pan-caspases inhibitors were employed before PV-IgG administration. In addition, pretreatment with the FI before PV-IgG injection prevented the changes in both Bax and Bcl-2 expression and caspase-9 and caspase-3 activities induced by PV-IgG. Finally, FI reduced the expression of phosphorylated Src and mTOR in the basal cells of epidermis. In conclusion, our data reveal a novel role of phosphorylated FAK (Y397/925) in PV development involving HER isoforms, Src and mTOR kinase

La dieta como punto de partida para la adquisición de competencias

Se ha utilizado la dieta de nuestros alumnos como punto de partida para que éstos desarrollen una serie de competencias. Por una parte, se ha pretendido el fomento del trabajo en grupo, la búsqueda de información en bases de datos no habituales en el mundo científico, y la presentación adecuada de resultados. Los alumnos han recopilado datos acerca de la composición, la funcionalidad y la aportación energética de los alimentos de su dieta diaria, tanto de los componentes principales (carbohidratos, proteínas, lípidos, vitaminas y minerales), como de los aditivos alimentarios utilizados en la Industria Agroalimentaria. Además, los alumnos con este trabajo han podido desarrollar las competencias de igualdad de género y comprobar que la dieta no depende del género de la persona, sino más bien de los hábitos personales. Asimismo, los alumnos han demostrado que la alimentación de los estudiantes universitarios no es adecuada y sería necesario realizar programas de salud para fomentar una mejor alimentación

Ubicación de franquicias y grandes cadenas comerciales después de la gran recesión. El caso de la ciudad de Zaragoza

El modelo comercial actual evoluciona de manera acelerada, adaptándose a los cambios del consumidor. Si hasta hace bien poco las grandes superficies comerciales eran las locomotoras de esta actividad, la implantación de franquicias y grandes cadenas comerciales en las ciudades está transformando los usos del espacio urbano y configurando nuevas relaciones espaciales. Como ejemplo se ha seleccionado la ciudad de Zaragoza

Theory of the Quantum Hall Smectic Phase II: Microscopic Theory

We present a microscopic derivation of the hydrodynamic theory of the Quantum Hall smectic or stripe phase of a two-dimensional electron gas in a large magnetic field. The effective action of the low energy is derived here from a microscopic picture by integrating out high energy excitations with a scale of the order the cyclotron energy.The remaining low-energy theory can be expressed in terms of two canonically conjugate sets of degrees of freedom: the displacement field, that describes the fluctuations of the shapes of the stripes, and the local charge fluctuations on each stripe.Comment: 20 pages, RevTex, 3 figures, second part of cond-mat/0105448 New and improved Introduction. Final version as it will appear in Physical Review