Is the influence of quality of life on urban growth non-stationary in space? A case study of Barcelona

There are several determinants that influence household location decisions. More concretely, recent economic literature assigns an increasingly important role to the variables governing quality of life. Nevertheless, the spatial stationarity of the parameters is implicitly assumed in most studies. Here we analyse the role of quality of life in urban economics and test for the spatial stationarity of the relationship between city growth and quality of life.quality of life, urban economics, geographically weighted regressions

Shipwreck and Rescue of the Fleet and Armada of the Marquis of the Vado del Maestre, 1691

Mediante el análisis de las embarcaciones que integraban la flota y armada del general Diego de Córdoba Lasso de la Vega, marqués del Vado del Maestre, se vislumbra el complejo entramado de la marina que se dirigía a Tierra Firme a finales del siglo XVII, la calidad de las naves que transportaban los caudales a la península Ibérica y la existencia de un sistema protocolario en caso de producirse un siniestro. La pérdida de alguno de los navíos que transportaban los metales preciosos agravaría aún más los problemas de la resentida Hacienda castellana, por lo que la Corona debía ejecutar un plan de búsqueda y rescate con la mayor celeridad posible para tratar de obtener los valiosos cargamentos.The complex structure of the navy that was heading of Tierra Firme of the late seventeenth century is evident trough the analysis of the ships from the fleet and armada of General Diego de Córdoba Lasso de la Vega, Marquis of the Vado del Maestre, the quality of the ships that made the transport of flows to the Iberian Peninsula, life on board and the existence of a protocol system in the event of an incident. The loss of any of the ships that transported precious metals to Spain would aggravate even more the problems to the Castilian treasury. Should it occur, the Crown would have to promptly execute a plan of search and rescue in order to obtain valuable cargos

Camino de los Estudiantes en Alcalá de Henares

Peer Reviewe

Institutional effects as determinants of learning outcomes : exploring state variations in Mexico

This paper uses the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment student-level achievement database for Mexico to estimate state education production functions, controlling for student characteristics, family background, home inputs, resources, and institutions. The authors take advantage of the state-level variation and representative sample to analyze the impact of institutional factors such as state accountability systems and the role of teachers'unions in student achievement. They argue that accountability, through increased use of state assessments, will improve learning outcomes. The authors also cast light on the role of teachers'unions, namely their strength through appointments to the school and relations with state governments. The analysis shows the importance of good relations between states and unions. Furthermore, it demonstrates that accountability systems are cost-effective measures for improving outcomes.Tertiary Education,Education For All,Teaching and Learning,Secondary Education,Primary Education

Microbial profiling of a suppressiveness-induced agricultural soil amended with composted almond shells lead to isolation of new biocontrol agents

Vida et al., 2016. Microbial profiling of a suppressiveness-induced agricultural soil amended with composted almond shells lead to isolation of new biocontrol agents. Biological and integrated control of plant pathogens IOBC-WPRS Bulletin Vol. 117, 2016 pp. 140-143This study focused on the microbial profile present in an agricultural soil that becomes suppressive after the application of composted almond shells (AS) as organic amendments. The role of microbes in the suppression of Rosellinia necatrix, the causative agent of avocado white root rot, was determined after heat-treatment and complementation experiments with different types of soil. Bacterial and fungal profiles based on the 16S rRNA gene and ITS sequencing, the soil under the influence of composted almond shells revealed an increase in Proteobacteria and Ascomycota groups, as well as a reduction in Acidobacteria and Xylariales (where R. necatrix is allocated). Complementary to these findings, functional analysis by GeoChip 4.6 confirmed the improvement of a group of specific probes included in the “soil benefit” category was present only in AS-amended soils, corresponding to specific microorganisms previously described as potential biocontrol agents, such as Pseudomonas spp., Burkholderia spp. or Actinobacteria. Based in such data, a model for the microbial-based suppressiveness is proposed and further isolation of representative microorganisms were performed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

De novo analysis of the haustorial transcriptome of the cucurbit powdery mildew fungus Podosphaera xanthii reveals new candidate secreted effector proteins

Backgrounds. Cucurbit crops are affected, among other pathogens, by the obligate biotrophic fungus Podosphaera xanthii, the main causal agent of powdery mildew in cucurbits. This fungus develops a specialized structure of parasitism termed haustorium. Haustoria are developed into epidermal cells and are responsible for nutrients uptake and effectors delivery. Objectives. The aim of this study was to obtain the haustorial transcriptome of P. xanthii to complete the panel of effector candidates of this fungal pathogen. Methods. To obtain the haustorial transcriptome, we have developed an effective method for isolation of haustoria without contaminants by flow cytometry. The cDNA library was built using a combination of dT primers and random primers followed by a depletion of ribosomal sequences. Sequencing was carried out by Illumina NextSeq550. Conclusions. After bioinformatic analysis, we were able to identify 25 new effector candidates secreted by the classic pathway (with signal peptide) and 269 new candidates secreted by the non-classic pathway (without signal peptide). Most proteins had no functional annotation. By protein modelling and ligand predictions, we are now being able to assign putative functions to some of these candidates to select those with potential roles in pathogenesis for subsequent functional in vivo analysis by HIGS (host-induced gene silencing). By these approaches, we are starting to shed some light into the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis in this very important pathogen of cucurbits.This work was supported by a grant from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (AGL2013-41938-R), co-financed with FEDER funds (EU). A grant form Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech, is also acknowledged

Extracellular matrix components are required to protect bacillus subtilis from pseudomonas invasion and co-colonization of plants

Plants are colonized by a vast variety of microbes. Among them, bacteria are the most predominant and are able to adapt to environmental changes and interact with other microorganisms using a wide array of molecules, metabolic plasticity and secretion systems. One way bacteria have evolved to succeed in this competitive scenario is the formation of biofilms which provides protection to the cells, modulates the flux of signals and controls cellular differentiation. Thus, efforts are encouraged to really determine the functionality of the bacterial extracellular matrix. In this study, we have employed microbiological and microscopic techniques to study the interaction between Bacillus subtilis 3610 and Pseudomonas chlororaphis PCL1606. We demonstrate the important role of the extracellular matrix in protecting B. subtilis colonies from infiltration by Pseudomonas. Furthermore, time-lapse confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) analyses of the bacterial interactions have permitted to complete the study of the bacterial behaviors and to measure bacterial expansion rates. Surprising, we find that the Pseudomonas type VI secretion system (T6SS) is required in the cell-to-cell contact with matrix-impaired B. subtilis cells, revealing a novel role for T6SS against Gram-positive bacteria. In response to P. chlororaphis infiltration, we find that B. subtilis activates sporulation and expresses motility-related genes. Confocal microscopy of the bacterial interactions using plant organs highlights the functional importance of these different bacterial strategies in their coexistence as stable bacterial communities. The findings further our understanding of the functional role played by biofilms in mediating bacterial social interactions.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech