Aggregation Behavior, Antibacterial Activity and Biocompatibility of Catanionic Assemblies Based on Amino Acid-Derived Surfactants

Abstract: The surface activity, aggregates morphology, size and charge characteristics of binary catanionic mixtures containing a cationic amino acid-derived surfactant N(π), N(τ)-bis(methyl)- L-Histidine tetradecyl amide (DMHNHC14) and an anionic surfactant (the lysine-based surfactant Nα-lauroyl-Nεacetyl lysine (C12C3L) or sodium myristate) were investigated for the first time. The cationic surfactant has an acid proton which shows a strong pKa shift irrespective of aggregation. The resulting catanionic mixtures exhibited high surface activity and low critical aggregation concentration as compared with the pure constituents. Catanionic vesicles based on DMHNHC14/sodium myristate showed a monodisperse population of medium-size aggregates and good storage stability. According to Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS), the characteristics of the bilayers did not depend strongly on the system composition for the positively charged vesicles. Negatively charged vesicles (cationic surfactant:myristate ratio below 1:2) had similar bilayer composition but tended to aggregate. The DMHNHC14-rich vesicles exhibited good antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and their bactericidal effectivity declined with the decrease of the cationic surfactant content in the mixtures. The hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity of these catanionic formulations against non-tumoral (3T3, HaCaT) and tumoral (HeLa, A431) cell lines also improved by increasing the ratio of cationic surfactant in the mixture. These results indicate that the biological activity of these systems is mainly governed by the cationic charge density, which can be modulated by changing the cationic/anionic surfactant ratio in the mixtures. Remarkably, the incorporation of cholesterol in those catanionic vesicles reduces their cytotoxicity and increases the safety of future biomedical applications of these systems. Keywords: amino acid-based surfactants; catanionic vesicles; SAXS; self-assembly; antibacterial activity; cytotoxicit

Entrevista semiestructurada para la exploración de la violencia sexual sobre las mujeres en la relación de la pareja (EVS)

La violencia sexual en el ámbito de la relación de pareja es un problema grave experimentado por un alto número de mujeres. Sin embargo, es difícil su detección por la ausencia de reconocimiento social. Este tipo de violencia con frecuencia se da ligado a otras formas de maltrato, no obstante observamos que diferentes protocolos de entrevista publicados para explorarla, no la evalúan o lo hacen de forma superficial. Esto se suma al hecho de que algunas de las mujeres que lo sufren no son conscientes del maltrato, ni de la gravedad e impacto real que tiene sobre ellas. Por todo ello, nuestro objetivo es proponer una herramienta de recogida de información sobre la violencia sexual en la pareja, que facilite a las y los profesionales la detección de esta forma de violencia. Para ello, nos hemos basado en una revisión exhaustiva de la literatura científica y profesional y en nuestra propia experiencia. Como resultado presentamos la Entrevista Semiestructurada para la Exploración de la Violencia Sexual sobre las Mujeres en la Relación de Pareja (EVS), esperando que sea de utilidad a las y los profesionales que intervienen con mujeres que son víctimas de malos tratos.Sexual violence in intimate partner context is a serious problem that is experienced by a large number of women. However, its detection is difficult because the absence of social recognition. This kind of violence occurs frequently linked to other abuse types, however we realize that various interview protocols that have been published to explore it, don’t examine it or examine it superficially. In addition, some of women who are abused are not aware of this, neither its gravity nor real impact on themselves. Therefore, our purpose is to create a tool for collecting on information about intimate partner sexual violence and to help professionals in detecting this kind of violence. So, we have relied on a comprehensive review of the scientific and professional literature and our own experience. As a result we present the Entrevista Semiestructurada para la Exploración de la Violencia Sexual sobre las Mujeres en la Relación de Pareja (EVS), we hope to be useful for professionals who work with women who are victims of this abuse

Ánforas tardorromanas en el Grau Vell (Sagunto, Valencia)

Estudio de un conjunto de 28 ánforas tardorromanas de Sagunto

The application of multicommutated flow techniques to the determination of iron

New flow techniques such as multicommutated flow-injection analysis (MCFIA), multi-syringe FIA (MSFIA) and multi-pumping flow systems (MPFSs) have been developed. The low reagent consumption achieved by these techniques should be highlighted, as they can be regarded as environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional FIA. We present several applications of these novel flow techniques to the determination of iron.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Aplicació de la política de la UE "zero discards" a la costa catalana i menorquina

La política de descarts zero és una llei que es va implementar a la Unió Europea amb la reforma de la Política Pesquera Comuna l'any 2015. Amb aquesta nova política es busca disminuir la sobreexplotació de les poblacions marines, intentar aconseguir els nivells de rendiment màxim sostenible proposats a l'Agenda 2030 i reduir el malbaratament del producte pesquer. En aquest estudi volem conèixer la rebuda que ha tingut aquesta llei al sector pesquer català i menorquí, i les dificultats que hagi pogut ocasionar a la feina dels treballadors. A més busquem conèixer com s'ha portat a terme la feina de pescador durant la crisi causada per la Covid-19 i si hi ha hagut canvis respecte als descarts pesquers. Per això fem una enquesta i entrevistem a diferents pescadors. Al principi pensàvem que la reforma de la PPC i la crisi de la Covid-19 podrien resultar un gran inconvenient a la flota pesquera. Després de les entrevistes i de parlar amb els pescadors veiem que quasi no hi ha hagut canvis. Això és degut al fet que es tracta d'una flota artesanal. Tenen un alt grau de selectivitat, pel que quasi no tenen descarts, i els petits canvis ocasionats per la Covid-19 els han pogut solucionar sense problemes.La política de descartes cero es una ley que se implementó en la Unión Europea con la reforma de la Política Pesquera Común en el año 2015. Con esta nueva política se busca disminuir la sobreexplotación de las poblaciones marinas, intentar alcanzar los niveles de rendimiento máximo sostenible propuestos en la "Agenda 2030" y reducir el desperdicio del producto pesquero. En este estudio queremos conocer cómo se recibió esta ley en el sector pesquero catalán y menorquín, y las dificultades que hayan podido surgir en el trabajo de los pescadores. Además, buscamos conocer como se ha llevado a cabo el trabajo de los pescadores durante la crisis del Covid-19 y si ha ocasionado cambios en los descartes pesqueros. Para eso hacemos una encuesta y entrevistamos a diferentes pescadores. Al principio pensábamos que la reforma de la PPC y la crisis por la Covid-19 podrían resultar un gran inconveniente a la flota pesquera. Después de las entrevistas y de hablar con los pescadores hemos visto que casi no ha habido cambios. Esto es debido a que se trata de una flota pesquera artesanal. Tienen un alto grado de selectividad, por lo que casi no tienen descartes, y los pequeños cambios ocasionados por la Covid-19 los han podido solucionar sin problemas.The zero discard policy is a law that was implemented in the European Union with the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2015. This new policy seeks to reduce the overexploitation of marine populations, to try to reach the maximum sustainable yield levels proposed in "Agenda 2030" and to reduce the waste of fish products. In this study we want to know how this law was received in the Catalan and Menorcan fishing sector, and the difficulties that may have arisen in the work of fishermen. In addition, we seek to know how the work of fishermen during the crisis of the Covid-19 has been carried out and if it has caused changes in fishing discards. To do this we conducted a survey and interviewed different fishermen. At first we thought that the reform of the CFP and the crisis over the Covid-19 could be a major inconvenience to the fishing fleet. After the interviews and talking to the fishermen we have seen that there has been almost no change. This is because it is an artisanal fishing fleet with a high degree of selectivity, so they have almost no discards. In addition, they have been able to solve without problems the small changes caused by the Covid-19.Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::2 - Fam zer

A corazón abierto: vivencias de madres y padres de menores con anomalías congénitas cardiacas

ResumenObjetivoExplorar con perspectiva de género las vivencias de madres y padres en los primeros momentos tras el diagnóstico de una anomalía congénita cardiaca en un/una hijo/a, integrando la visión de personal sanitario que atiende a estos/as menores y a sus familiares.MétodoEstudio de diseño cualitativo. Se realizaron cuatro entrevistas en profundidad a personal sanitario y cuatro grupos de discusión con madres y padres residentes en la Comunitat Valenciana. Los participantes se seleccionaron mediante muestreo intencionado. El análisis del discurso se trianguló entre ambas técnicas y entre investigadores, y se verificaron los resultados con madres, padres y profesionales sanitarios.ResultadosExisten diferencias entre madres y padres en la manera de expresar emocionalmente y afrontar el diagnóstico de una enfermedad grave en un/una hijo/a. Sin embargo, ambos progenitores manifiestan la necesidad de disponer de apoyo psicológico formal, y valoran positivamente el apoyo informal de otros/as padres/madres con vivencias similares.ConclusionesLa vivencia de la enfermedad en un/una hijo/a es diferente para madres y padres. Desde los servicios de salud debería prestarse atención al bienestar psicológico de las familias, incorporando los grupos de apoyo entre iguales y las asociaciones de pacientes como activos en salud.AbstractObjectiveTo explore, from a gender perspective, the experiences of mothers and fathers of children with congenital heart disease at the time of diagnosis, including the opinions of medical staff taking care of these children and their families.MethodsQualitative research. Four individual interviews with medical staff and four focus groups with mothers and fathers living in Valencia Region (Spain) were carried out. Participants were selected by purposive sampling. The discourse analysis was triangulated between techniques and researchers and the results were verified with mothers, fathers and medical staff.ResultsMothers and fathers differed in the way they expressed their emotions and in how they accepted the diagnosis of a serious illness in their child. However, both parents expressed the need for psychological support and highly appreciated the informal support from other parents with similar experiences.ConclusionsThe experience of the disease in a child is experienced differently by mothers and fathers. Health servies should pay attention to the psychological well-being of families, by including peer support groups and patient associations, which can play an important role as health assets

Return period curves for extreme 5-min rainfall amounts at the Barcelona urban network

Heavy rainfall episodes are relatively common in the conurbation of Barcelona and neighbouring cities (NE Spain), usually due to storms generated by convective phenomena in summer and eastern and south-eastern advections in autumn. Prevention of local flood episodes and right design of urban drainage have to take into account the rainfall intensity spread instead of a simple evaluation of daily rainfall amounts. The database comes from 5-min rain amounts recorded by tipping buckets in the Barcelona urban network along the years 1994–2009. From these data, extreme 5-min rain amounts are selected applying the peaks-over-threshold method for thresholds derived from both 95% percentile and the mean excess plot. The return period curves are derived from their statistical distribution for every gauge, describing with detail expected extreme 5-min rain amounts across the urban network. These curves are compared with those derived from annual extreme time series. In this way, areas in Barcelona submitted to different levels of flood risk from the point of view of rainfall intensity are detected. Additionally, global time trends on extreme 5-min rain amounts are quantified for the whole network and found as not statistically significant.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Scaling-up climate services with users in Latin America

Latin America farmers are highly vulnerable to climate variability, with crop losses observed throughout the region on a virtually annual basis. For instance, as indicated by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Program (WFP), the 2014–2017 drought conditions in Central America affected over 3.5 million people in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. At the same time, local stakeholders and farmers generally have limited access to existing climate and forecast information, do not have sufficient capacities to understand the climate information and/or mechanisms to relate this information to the impact that climate variations can generate at a local level. This precludes the translation of information into actionable knowledge, and therefore into action. In this study, we describe a process through which scientists and strategic partners have co-developed, tested and scaled out an approach to assess, co-produce, translate and transfer climate information to enable agricultural decision making –the Local Technical Agroclimatic Committees (LTAC). LTACs allow open and clear dialogues about climate variations at multiple timescales, how these can affect crops, and the design of measures to reduce crop loss, particularly providing agronomic recommendations to farmers. We systematically describe the process of evidence generation, creation, partner engagement, scaling up, and monitoring of the approach throughout Latin America. Currently, 35 LTACs exist in 9 Latin American countries, engaging more than 250 public and private institutions, increasing the resilience and food security of an estimated 330,000 farmers, and potentially transforming how Latin American farmers manage climate risk. The study illustrates changes in institutional and farmers' capacities to co-produce, translate and use climate information and explores how better climate and crop prediction models can effectively underpin this process. We show how strategic alliances with farmer organizations, national public, and private and regional climate outlook forums help deliver improved and accurate climate information to users. Finally, we document how LTACs and their integration with other local-scale processes have led to changes in farmers’ management practices to take better advantage of good climatic conditions or avoid losses

Ingredientes metodológicos para construir “agencia” en la formación de los futuros profesionales de la intervención social.

Formar a los/as profesionales en la intervención social exige un plus en la atención a las competencias transversales que son sustantivas para la condición de “arte” que exigen las profesionales de lo social. En definitiva, poner la mirada en “ser” desde el “hacer”, en la medida que la experiencia educativa se convierte en sí misma en el escenario para construirnos como sujetos-agencia, adquirir el poder desde el espacio relacional y, construir ciudadanía. El presente artículo se centra en experiencias educativas orientadas desde los Ciclos Formativos de Integración Social, y en concreto el trabajo por proyectos, con el ánimo de sistematizar y visibilizar aquellos ingredientes metodológicos que la experiencia acumulada revela como factores de éxito en la construcción de subjetividades superadoras de los procesos de individualización con los que se abordan los problemas sociales. En definitiva, se pretende recuperar las propuestas epistemológicas basadas en el pensamiento crítico y la pedagogía de la liberación, para poner en evidencia la necesidad de pasar del “yo “al “nosotros/as” en el espacio de aula. Un “nosotros/as” que supera la comunidad educativa y que se conforma en relación a esos/as “otros/as” con los/as que se pretende trabajar