The allocation of entrepreneurial effort and its implications on economic growth

The problem to allocate effort to innovation activities is defined and modelled for any single entrepreneur according to its propensity to innovate, which combines pure innovation and rent-seeking strategies. The allocation problem is solved both analytically and via simulation. The individual decisions measured in units of innovation are then aggregated to calculate the innovation quantity for a given population based on the distribution of heterogeneous entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurship rate and the implications for economic growth are also quantified. Consequently, policy makers should focus on reducing the entry barriers and the costs of production in order to stimulate the entrepreneurial activity and maximize the innovation quantity. They should also foster the attitude and propensity towards innovatio

Global impact of Salmonella type III secretion effector SteA on host cells

Salmonella enterica is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes gastroenteritis, bacteremia and typhoid fever in several animal species including humans. Its virulence is greatly dependent on two type III secretion systems, encoded in pathogenicity islands 1 and 2. These systems translocate proteins called effectors into eukaryotic host cell. Effectors interfere with host signal transduction pathways to allow the internalization of pathogens and their survival and proliferation inside vacuoles. SteA is one of the few Salmonella effectors that are substrates of both type III secretion systems. Here, we used gene arrays and bioinformatics analysis to study the genetic response of human epithelial cells to SteA. We found that constitutive synthesis of SteA in HeLa cells leads to induction of genes related to extracellular matrix organization and regulation of cell proliferation and serine/threonine kinase signaling pathways. SteA also causes repression of genes related to immune processes and regulation of purine nucleotide synthesis and pathway-restricted SMAD protein phosphorylation. In addition, a cell biology approach revealed that epithelial cells expressing steA show altered cell morphology, and decreased cytotoxicity, cell-cell adhesion and migration.Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucía, Spain (grant number P08-CVI-03487).Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Regional Development Fund (grant number SAF2010-15015

High-intensity interval training combined with vibration and dietary restriction Improves body composition and blood lipids in obese adults: a randomized trial

This study aimed to compare the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with additional whole-body vibration (WBV) on body composition and lipid profile in obese/overweight adults on a hypocaloric diet. Forty adults were randomly assigned to (a) HIIT and vibration and hypocaloric diet (HIITWBV, n ¼ 13), (b) HIIT and diet (HIIT, n ¼ 14), and (c) diet only (control [CON], n ¼ 13). High-intensity interval training WBV participants trained 3 times per week for 8 weeks (6 sets 1 minute of HIIT, cycling at 90% heart rate peak followed by 1 minute of interset vibration, at a frequency of 18 Hz increasing until 25 Hz with a peak-to- peak displacement of 4 mm. Training volume increased 1 set every 2 weeks until 10 sets). The HIIT group performed HIIT training followed by 2 minutes of passive recovery, while the CON continued with their daily activities combined with calorie restriction. Body composition (body fat and fat-free mass) and biochemical indices (glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides) were determined. Following 8 weeks, body fat was significantly reduced by 7.5% and both tri- glycerides and total cholesterol decreased in the HIITWBV group only ( 16.5% and 11.7% respectively). This study suggests that HIIT in combination with WBV and a hypocaloric diet can improve overall lipid profile in overweight/obese individual

A survey on the (in)security of trusted execution environments

As the number of security and privacy attacks continue to grow around the world, there is an ever increasing need to protect our personal devices. As a matter of fact, more and more manufactures are relying on Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to shield their devices. In particular, ARM TrustZone (TZ) is being widely used in numerous embedded devices, especially smartphones, and this technology is the basis for secure solutions both in industry and academia. However, as shown in this paper, TEE is not bullet-proof and it has been successfully attacked numerous times and in very different ways. To raise awareness among potential stakeholders interested in this technology, this paper provides an extensive analysis and categorization of existing vulnerabilities in TEEs and highlights the design flaws that led to them. The presented vulnerabilities, which are not only extracted from existing literature but also from publicly available exploits and databases, are accompanied by some effective countermeasures to reduce the likelihood of new attacks. The paper ends with some appealing challenges and open issues.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA This work has been partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the SecureEDGE project (PID2019-110565RB-I00), and by the by the Andalusian FEDER 2014–2020 Program through the SAVE project (PY18-3724)

Ostracods as palaeoenvironmental tracers: evolution of the southern area of the Doñana National Park from the lower Pliocene to recent

El estudio de los materiales geológicos y las asociaciones de ostrácodos presentes en un testigo largo obtenido en el sur del Parque Nacional de Doñana (SO de España) permite inferir una evolución paleoambiental desde medios marinos someros (Plioceno Inferior) hasta un lagoon salobre (Pleistoceno Superior-Holoceno) y la implantación de sistemas eólicos (<1.900 años BP), con un estadio intermedio aluvial durante la mayor parte del Pleistoceno. En el Holoceno Superior, se detecta un evento tsunami- génico caracterizado por la erosión de sedimentos eólicos y su depósito sobre medios submarealesThe analysis of the geological units and the ostracod assemblages of a long core collected in the southern Doñana National Park (SW Spain) permits to deduce an evolution from shallow marine palaeoenvironments (Lower Pliocene) to a brackish lagoon (Upper Pleistocene-Holocene) and the deposit of aeolian sediments (<1900 yr BP), with an intermediate alluvial stage during the Pleistocene. In the Late Holocene, a tsunamigenic event was detected, with the erosion of aeolian sediments and a subsequent deposit on subtidal environment

Impact of a Community Intervention for Early Skin Cancer Diagnosis Implementing Teledermatology

The principal cause of skin cancer is sun exposure. In areas with high sun exposure levels, early diagnosis and sun protection education strategies must be developed. Aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of an early skin cancer diagnosis intervention implementing teledermatology. Transversal descriptive study on a population in the Western Costa del Sol. Primary care physicians were instructed on skin cancer diagnosis. They recruited consecutive at-risk patients and held four workshops for early skin cancer diagnosis and education on sun protection. The resulting variables on participants’ satisfaction and intention to change were collected. 393 patients were recruited. The mean age was 52.9 years, and 65.4% were women. Suspicious lesions were detected in 24.1% of participants, and 11.7% were attended to via teledermatology. Of these, 65.2% were evaluated in person at the Dermatology Department. Fourteen basal cell carcinomas, 5 squamous cell carcinomas, and 2 melanomas were diagnosed. Regarding patient satisfaction, 67.7% found all aspects of the workshops of interest, 41.7% found the skin check-up of interest, and 26.4% found sun and skin cancer prevention information of interest. Of the patients attended to via teledermatology, 100% stated it was good or very good and 100% would consult again via this method. The intervention was successful in terms of participation, skin cancer diagnosis, and satisfaction, especially compared with other international campaigns. Therefore, although the data cannot be extrapolated to all environments, this initiative may be used as the basis for the development of future interventions

Impact of a Community Intervention for Early Skin Cancer Diagnosis Implementing Teledermatology

The principal cause of skin cancer is sun exposure. In areas with high sun exposure levels, early diagnosis and sun protection education strategies must be developed. Aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of an early skin cancer diagnosis intervention implementing teledermatology. Transversal descriptive study on a population in the Western Costa del Sol. Primary care physicians were instructed on skin cancer diagnosis. They recruited consecutive at-risk patients and held four workshops for early skin cancer diagnosis and education on sun protection. The resulting variables on participants’ satisfaction and intention to change were collected. 393 patients were recruited. The mean age was 52.9 years, and 65.4% were women. Suspicious lesions were detected in 24.1% of participants, and 11.7% were attended to via teledermatology. Of these, 65.2% were evaluated in person at the Dermatology Department. Fourteen basal cell carcinomas, 5 squamous cell carcinomas, and 2 melanomas were diagnosed. Regarding patient satisfaction, 67.7% found all aspects of the workshops of interest, 41.7% found the skin check-up of interest, and 26.4% found sun and skin cancer prevention information of interest. Of the patients attended to via teledermatology, 100% stated it was good or very good and 100% would consult again via this method. The intervention was successful in terms of participation, skin cancer diagnosis, and satisfaction, especially compared with other international campaigns. Therefore, although the data cannot be extrapolated to all environments, this initiative may be used as the basis for the development of future interventions

Benchmarks, sediment source and hydrodynamics of the 1755 Lisbon tsunami deposit at Boca do Rio Estuary

Standardizing the signature of tsunami deposits has been pointed as a major limitation on the identification of paleo-tsunami deposits. This limitation majorly arises from the strongly source-dependent nature of these deposits, which in turn determines their composition and structure, and from the effect of the local morphology of the corresponding depositional environment. Here, we provide new high-resolution mineralogical, geochemical and paleontological data of the 1755 tsunami layer of Boca do Rio estuary (Algarve, Portugal) with the aim of unraveling the signatures of estuarine tsunami deposit and link them to sediment source

Torque Teno Virus in Nasopharyngeal Aspirate of Children With Viral Respiratory Infections

Background: Torque teno virus (TTV) is a ubiquitous anellovirus responsible for persistent infections and is considered a marker of immune function. The role of TTV as a facilitator of respiratory infections (RIs) is unknown. Objectives: Our aim was to estimate, in a prospective study, the prevalence of TTV in the nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) of hospitalized children <5 years old, with RIs and correlate them with outcomes and immune response. Patients and methods: NPA was taken for testing of 16 respiratory viruses by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), TTV PCR, and immunologic study. Results: Sixty hospitalized children with an RI were included. A total of 51/60 patients had positive common respiratory viral (CRV) identification. A total of 23/60 (38.3%) children were TTV+ in NPA. TTV+ patients had other CRVs in 100% of cases versus 78.3% in TTV- ( P = 0.029). The TTV+ patients tended to be older, have fever, and to need pediatric intensive care unit admission more often than TTV- patients. Abnormal chest radiograph was more frequent in the TTV+ patients, odds ratios 2.6 (95% CI: 1.3-5.2). The genetic expression of filaggrin (involved in epithelial barrier integrity) was lower in TTV+ patients; however, the levels of filaggrin in the NPA were increased. Conclusions: TTV infection is common in children with RI and could be associated with abnormal imaging in radiograph, greater severity and an alteration in filaggrin gene expression and protein release.Funded by projects PI18CIII/0009, PI18/00177, and PI21/00377, funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and co-funded by the European Union. There are no conflicts of interest.S

Estrategia metodológica para la preparación del docente en la sede universitaria municipal. Consolación del Sur Methodological strategy for the teaching training in the University, Consolacion del Sur Municipality

En el marco de las transformaciones actuales, derivadas de la Universalización y la Municipalización de la enseñanza, y a pesar de las deficiencias Pedagógicas que se muestran en muchos de los claustros profesorales, la preparación de los docentes de las Sedes Universitarias Municipales se encamina a elevar la calidad de la Educación. En este trabajo se propone una Estrategia Metodológica de preparación y seguimiento del docente en el escenario de estas sedes, las cuales están llamadas a elevar el conocimiento pedagógico de los profesores y de esta forma, la calidad del Proceso Docente Educativo. Con su implementación se ha demostrado la influencia positiva que se ejerce sobre la formación del profesor, al desarrollar formas metodológicas dinámicas y participativas, ya sea en el tratamiento de la actividad docente, como en la valoración sistemática y sistémica del desempeño profesoral. Palabras clave: Docente, Modelo Pedagógico Universidades/Cuba, Educación Superior, Evaluación Educacional ABSTRACT In the setting of the present changes coming from the universalization of teaching and in spite of the pedagogical deficiencies shown in many Teaching Staff Meetings, the training of the Teaching Staff at the municipality is directed to increase the quality of Education and it is proposed a methodological strategy for the training and following of the teaching personnel. With the implementation at the University Out-patient Clinic the positive influence on the training of the professor by developing dynamic and participation methodological forms is demonstrated, both in the management of the teaching activity as in the systematic valuation of the teaching performance