Good to eat : food and health at a time of information overload

For most of the world's population, eating is no longer what it was just a few decades ago. The diversification and globalisation of the food supply, the industrialisation of food, and the abundance of information have simplified this everyday activity, but they have also made it more complex. Never before has it been so easy to eat well and to eat poorly. The proof is that obesity and overweight are no longer a problem exclusive to the richest, while nutritional deficiencies do not affect only the most impoverished. The new thing about our time is that both problems, over-nutrition and under-nutrition, coexist not only in countries and cities, but also within the same family and even throughout a person's lifetime. Growing concern for health has fuelled interest in the relationship between diet and disease prevention. But despite the remarkable scientific advances, there are still many unanswered questions, and many evidence-based messages do not reach the population and are lost in a sea of misinformation and half-truths. In this monograph, apart from presenting a brief social history of food, we will delve into the advances in nutritional epidemiology, we will separate facts and fiction regarding current food, we will review what reliable dietary recommendations are and how they are identified, we will explain the evolution of dietary guidelines with an example, we will tackle the problem of ultra-processed food from the point of view of addiction and we will analyse miracle diets and how to detect them

Guía para la docencia y el aprendizaje: aplicación a las prácticas de urología

Se presenta un ejemplo de aplicación de la Guía para la docencia y el Aprendizaje basado en ECTS en la asignatura de Prácticas de Urologí

Determinants of Broadband Access: Is Platform Competition always the Key Variable to Success?

Previous studies have identified the rivalry among technological platforms as one of the main driving forces of broadband services penetration. This paper draws on data from the Spanish market between 2005 and 2011 to estimate the main determinants of broadband prices. Controlling for broadband tariffs features and network variables, we examine the impact of the different modes of competition on prices. We find that inter-platform competition has no significant effects over prices, while intra-platform competition is a key driver of the prices charged in the broadband market. Our analysis suggests that the impact of different types of competition on prices is critically affected by the levels of development of the broadband market achieved by the considered countr

Inducible and Acquired Clarithromycin Resistance in the Mycobacterium abscessus Complex

Clarithromycin was considered the cornerstone for the treatment of Mycobacterium abscessus complex infections. Genetic resistance mechanisms have been described and many experts propose amikacin as an alternative. Nevertheless, clarithromycin has several advantages; therefore, it is necessary to identify the non-functional erm(41) allele to determine the most suitable treatment. The aims of this study were to characterize the molecular mechanisms of clarithromycin resistance in a collection of Mycobacterium abscessus complex isolates and to verify the relationship between these mechanisms and the antibiogram. Clinical isolates of M. abscessus complex (n = 22) from 16 patients were identified using four housekeeping genes (rpoB, secA1, sodA and hsp65), and their genetic resistance was characterized by studying erm(41) and rrl genes. Nine strains were recovered from the clinical isolates and subjected to E-test and microdilution clarithromycin susceptibility tests, with readings at 3, 7 and 14 days. We classified 11/16 (68.8%) M. abscessus subsp. abscessus, 4/16 (25.0%) M. abscessus subsp. bolletii, and 1/16 (6.3%) M. abscessus subsp. massiliense. T28 erm(41) allele was observed in 8 Mycobacterium abscessus subps. abscessus and 3 Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. bolletii. One strain of M. abscessus subsp. bolletii had an erm(41) gene truncated and was susceptible to clarithromycin. No mutations were observed in rrl gene first isolates. In three patients, follow-up of initial rrl wild-type strains showed acquired resistance. Most clinical isolates of M. abscessus complex had inducible resistance to clarithromycin and total absence of constitutive resistance. Our findings showed that the acquisition of resistance mutations in rrl gene was associated with functional and non-functional erm(41) gene. Caution is needed when using erm(41) sequencing alone to identify M. abscessus subspecies. This study reports an acquired mutation at position 2057 of rrl gene, conferring medium-low clarithromycin constitutive resistance

Deployment of Broadband platforms: Empirical evidence of a regulation failure

This work tries to analyze why, in certain countries, the rivalry between broadband platforms has no effect on broadband deployment. Controlling for demographic features and network variables, we focus on analyzing the impact of regulations on the competitiveness of platforms offering an alternative to the dominant platform (xDSL). To reach this objective, this paper draws on data from cable and optical fiber platforms in the Spanish market. We find that the impact of different regulatory frameworks has critically affected the competitiveness of cable platforms and, in consequence, harmed inter-platform competition. By contrast, our results show that regulation is not discouraging the current spread of optical fiber platform

Evaluación continua a través de Moodle para involucrar al alumnado en su proceso de aprendizaje

El artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio orientado a conocer los efectos de un sistema de evaluación continua voluntaria usando la plataforma Moodle y un amplio banco de actividades, basadas en trabajos individuales y colaborativos, que el alumnado puede escoger. El objetivo de proponer este sistema de evaluación es doble. Por un lado, se persigue involucrar al alumnado ausente en el seguimiento de la evaluación continua mediante un entorno virtual. Por otro lado, se quiere motivar al alumnado en general en su aprendizaje a través de actividades continuas y orientadas a la práctica. El estudio se ha llevado a cabo en el contexto de una asignatura formada por dos grupos de los estudios de Administración y Dirección de Empresas de la Universidad de Barcelona. Como indicadores de bondad del sistema se han considerado la participación del alumnado en las actividades de evaluación y las notas finales. Los resultados han puesto de manifiesto la capacidad del sistema de involucrar al alumnado que asiste a clase en la realización de un mínimo de actividades y mejorar su aprendizaje, así como la incapacidad de involucrar significativamente al alumnado que no asiste a clase. Como conclusiones del estudio se apuntan la importancia de diseñar un buen modelo de feed-back y apostar más por tareas pensadas desde los enfoques de la evaluación auténtica.This article presents the results of a study aimed at getting to know the effects of a voluntary system of ongoing evaluation by means of the Moodle platform and a wide range of activities, based on individual and collaborative work, to be chosen by the students. There is a double objective for proposing such an evaluation system. On the one hand, it pursues to involve absent students in the follow-up of the ongoing evaluation through a virtual environment; while, on the other hand, engaging students in general in their own learning by means of continuous, practice-oriented activities. The study has been contextualised within a course that consists of two groups in the Business Administration Studies of the University of Barcelona. Student participation in the evaluation activities and their final grades have been taken as indicators for a satisfactory system. Results have exposed the capacity of the system, in the case of those students who attend classes, for getting them involved in improving their learning by engaging in a minimum number of activities. It has also shown its inability to involve to a significant extent those students who do not attend classes. The conclusions of the study point out towards the importance of designing a good feed-back model and towards a further support to activities designed from approaches of authentic assessment

El valor del compromiso del estudiante para la garantía de calidad de la Educación Superior. Alejándose del enfoque regulatorio

There is a lack of research into quality in the practicum, despite widespread acknowledgement of its value in graduate training. This paper look for a) to determine the quality of the practicum placements where students from Pedagogy Degree performed their practicum; b) to investigate the relationships between the students’ and teachers’ views and the Regulatory Model criteria; and 3) to identify Regulatory Model indicators that may be associated with participants’ views on the quality of practicum centres. Data was collected in two surveys, the sample comprising 106 students, 15 tutors and 291 practicum centres. The results shown that the three actors held positive views of its quality, there is a correlation between the tutors’ views and the Regulatory Model, and there are two main variables related to the placement centre quality: type of practices and coverage of competences. This paper highlight the social value of students’ engagement in conceptualization of quality and its indicators, going beyond the passive approach, which deals only with client satisfactionExiste una falta de investigación sobre la calidad del Practicum, a pesar del reconocimiento de su valor en la formación de graduados. Este artículo busca a) determinar la calidad de los centros de Practicum del Grado de Pedagogía de la Universidad de Barcelona; b) investigar las relaciones entre los puntos de vista de los estudiantes y los tutores y los criterios del Modelo Regulatorio; y 3) identificar los indicadores del Modelo regulatorio que pueden estar asociados con las opiniones de los participantes sobre la calidad de los centros de prácticas. Los datos se recopilaron mediante dos encuestas, la muestra comprendía 106 estudiantes, 15 tutores y 291 centros de prácticas. Los resultados indican que los tres actores tienen puntos de vista positivos sobre su calidad, que existe una correlación positiva entre los puntos de vista de los tutores y el Modelo regulatorio y se identificaron dos variables relacionadas con la calidad del centro de prácticas: el tipo de prácticas y la cobertura de competencias. Este artículo destaca el valor social de la participación de los estudiantes en la conceptualización de la calidad y sus indicadores, yendo más allá del enfoque pasivo, que trata sólo la satisfacción del client

Combination of multivariate statistical process control and classification tool for situation assessment applied to a sequencing batch reacto wastewater treatment

A combination of Multivariate Statistical Process Control (MSPC) and an automatic classification algorithm has been developed to be applied in a Waste Water Treatment Plant. Two extensions of the Principal Component Analysis have been used as MSPC method to diagnose the process and Fuzzy Technique used to classify situation assessment of the process. The goal is to perform situation assessment and classify the process with simple groups that describe the batch contributions and helps to fix the limits used to determine abnormal situations.Postprint (published version

Pectins and Olive Pectins

Pectins are a component of the complex heteropolysaccharide mixture present in the cell wall of higher plants. Structurally, the pectin backbone includes galacturonic acid to which neutral sugars are attached, resulting in functional regions in which the esterification of residues is crucial. Pectins influence many physiological processes in plants and are used industrially for both food and non-food applications. Pectin-based compounds are also a promising natural source of health-beneficial bioactive molecules. Olives, the fruit of the olive tree, are consumed as part of the healthy Mediterranean diet or processed into olive oil. Pectins from olives have recently emerged as promising compounds with health-beneficial effects

La influencia de familiness en la estrategia de internacionalización empresarial: una aplicación al sector oleícola

[ES] La estrategia de internacionalización empresarial es relevante para las empresas familiares, con unas peculiaridades específicas respecto a otro tipo de empresas, ya que quieren preservar su continuidad con los relevos generacionales. Ahora bien, la literatura ha eliminado tradicionalmente los factores familiares de los modelos estratégicos de las empresas familiares y han sido analizadas siguiendo modelos tradicionales, lo que ha conducido a resultados divergentes sobre su desempeño. Por ello, se ha considerado el solapamiento de los sistemas familia, empresa e individuos para llegar al concepto de familiness, a cuya composición y medición se aproxima este trabajo desde la perspectiva de Capital Social y Sistemas Abiertos, cubriendo la laguna existente en la investigación sobre su composición. Igualmente, se ha analizado la influencia que diferentes niveles de familiness tienen sobre la estrategia de internacionalización empresarial, en concreto, sobre las razones de la empresa para internacionalizarse y en su nivel de compromiso internacional[EN]The internationalization strategy assumes great importance in family businesses, with a set of specific peculiarities that differ from other companies, as they strive to preserve their continuity once they are handed over the next family generation. Nevertheless, the literature has traditionally removed family factors from the development of strategic models of family firms, which instead have been subjected to traditional models that have led to divergent results about their performance. Therefore, it has been considered the overlapping of the systems: family, business and individuals to achieve the concept of familiness. Bridging the research gap in relation to the composition of familiness, this piece of research gives a proposal for assessing its composition and measurement from the Social Capital and Open Systems perspectives. Thus, it has been analyzed the influence of different levels of familiness over the internationalization strategy, specifically, over the business’ reasons to internationalize and over its international commitment.Tesis Univ. Jaén. Departamento de Organización de Empresas, Marketing y Sociología. Leída el 5 de febrero de 201