The Internationalisation of the Spanish food industry: The home market effect and European market integration

The objective of this study was to analyse, from a long-term perspective, the factors determining the process of the internationalisation of the Spanish agrifood industry. The paper concentrates on the empirical verification of the existence of a home market effect in the food and drink industries in Spain and on the effects on trade flows of integration into the European Union. With this aim in mind, we took into account the latest contributions to the estimation of the gravity equation for a sample of export flows from 13 agrifood subsectors between 1970 and 2012, with a destination of 175 markets. From the results of the study the existence of the “home market effect” stands out as the determining factor of the increasing process of internationalisation in the majority of the subsectors of the food industry. On this point, the presence of this effect is remarkable in the most dynamic industries, where the process of restructuring caused by the development of the internal market was more intense. Furthermore, the influence of the process of European integration has been shown by the literature to be a very important factor. Our results qualify in part the results of previous studies, since the positive effect appeared later than expected. The positive effects did not appear until the completion of the process of transition by the dismantling of the barriers established in the treaty of accession to the European Union

Coal and plastic waste co-pyrolysis by thermal analysis–mass spectrometry

Simultaneous thermogravimetry–mass spectrometry studies of a pyrolytic decomposition of mixtures of different plastic wastes/coking coal were carried out. The investigation was performed at temperatures up to 1000 °C in a helium atmosphere under dynamic conditions at a heating rate of 25 °C/min. Five thermoplastics, commonly found in municipal wastes: low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a plastic mixture rich in polyolefins were selected. Thermogravimetric parameters, together with different characteristic ion fragments from selected libraries of evolving products during the co-pyrolysis process were monitored, such as hydrogen, CO2 and aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Based on the results obtained, a synergistic effect between coal and individual residues has been found. The maximum interaction occurs at temperatures close to the maximum release of volatile matter of the plastic waste. There is a delay in the decomposition of the plastics that together with the changes in the composition of the volatile matter evolved, promote interactions between the components and have negative effects on coal fluidity. The polyolefinic wastes (HDPE, LDPE and PP) degrade at temperatures close to that of maximum coal degradation, modifying the thermal behaviour of the coal to a lesser degree. However, PS and PET, that release their volatile matter mostly in the early stage of the coal decomposition, show a more pronounced influence on the thermal behaviour. Moreover, the kinetic data demonstrates that the addition of polyolefins increases the energy required to initiate pyrolysis compared to PS and PET. All of these results agree with the fact that polyolefins reduce coal fluidity in a more moderate way than PET and PS

Investigation of the mechanism of chromium removal in (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane functionalized mesoporous silica

We are proposed that a possible mechanism for Cr(VI) removal by functionalized mesoporous silica. Mesoporous silica was functionalized with (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS) using the post-synthesis grafting method. The synthesized materials were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N-2 adsorption-desorption analysis, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to confirm the pore structure and functionalization of amine groups, and were subsequently used as adsorbents for the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. As the concentration of APTMS increases from 0.01 M to 0.25 M, the surface area of mesoporous silica decreases from 857.9 m(2)/g to 402.6 m(2)/g. In contrast, Cr(VI) uptake increases from 36.95 mg/g to 83.50 mg/g. This indicates that the enhanced Cr(VI) removal was primarily due to the activity of functional groups. It is thought that the optimum concentration of APTMS for functionalization is approximately 0.05 M. According to XPS data, NH3+ and protonated NH2 from APTMS adsorbed anionic Cr(VI) by electrostatic interaction and changed the solution pH. Equilibrium data are well fitted by Temkin and Sips isotherms. This research shows promising results for the application of amino functionalized mesoporous silica as an adsorbent to removal Cr(VI) from aqueous solution

The Spanish Mediterranean Fishing Guilds (Cofradias): An Example of Collaborative Management with a Key Role in Sustainable Fisheries

[EN] The management of Spanish coastal fisheries is based on a mixed model where the centralised action of the government is combined with the self-organisation of fishers in cofradias (guilds). These institutions have economic and political functions, intermediating between the State and the fishing sector and mediating in the conflicts that may occur. They also have welfare and mutualist tasks. This original and traditional co-management model is part of the social capital of traditional Spanish fishing. The aim of this article is to explore the possibilities of these Spanish fishers' organisations in order to improve the legitimacy of the fishery system and the sustainability of fisheries. Our hypothesis is that updating and adapting some aspects of the cofradias model could produce efficient forms of collaborative management and lead to improvements in the sustainability of fisheries. To validate this hypothesis the study analysed 69 face-to-face interviews in 21 Spanish-Mediterranean guilds. The analysis focused on three core aspects: the control of fishing resources; the integration of fishing knowledge in the management system; and, finally, the guilds contribution to the legitimacy of the system in the eyes of the fishers.This work was supported by National Plan for Scientific and Technological Research and Innovation (Spanish Economy and Competitiveness Ministry). Research Project CSO2016-76135-P. There is no conflict of interest declared in this article.Herrera-Racionero, P.; Lizcano, E.; Miret Pastor, LG.; Mascarell, Y. (2019). The Spanish Mediterranean Fishing Guilds (Cofradias): An Example of Collaborative Management with a Key Role in Sustainable Fisheries. Fisheries. 44(4):172-182. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10224S172182444Alegret J. L.1999.Gestión comunitaria cogestión y mercado. La evolución histórica de la gestión de la pesca en el Mediterráneo español. Pages109–124inG.Allut andJ.Pascual editors. Antropología de la pesca/Santiago de Compostela: Asociación Galega de Antropoloxía.La pesca a la Mediterrània 2016 Universidad de Alicante Alicante J. L Alegret J. L. Sánchez Lizaso Les confraries de pescadors a Espanya 47 54Andalusian Decree 86/2004 of March 2 2004 about Fishers Guilds and their Institutions. Available:https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/boja/2004/52/3Ariza, E., Pons, F., & Breton, F. (2016). Is «socio-ecological culture» really being taken into account to manage conflicts in the coastal zone? Inputs from Spanish Mediterranean beaches. Ocean & Coastal Management, 134, 183-193. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.10.006Catalan Law 22/2002 of July 12 2002 of Fishers Guilds. «DOGC» n. 3684. Available:https://www.boe.es/buscar/pdf/2002/BOE-A-2002-15890-consolidado.pdfCochrane, K. L., & Garcia, S. M. (Eds.). (2009). A Fishery Manager’s Guidebook. doi:10.1002/9781444316315Corral-Quintana, S., Legna-de la Nuez, D., Legna Verna, C., Hernández, J. H., & Romero-Manrique de Lara, D. (2016). How to improve strategic decision-making in complex systems when only qualitative information is available. Land Use Policy, 50, 83-101. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.09.0045. European Comission.2013.Commission implementing regulation6. (EU) Nº 1419/2013. Availablehttp://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013R1419&from=ES(May2017)European Commission.2014.Coastal zones: achieving sustainable management. Availablehttp://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/coastal_zones_sustainable_management_46si_en.pdf(May 2017).European Parliament.2012.Common position on the role of the RACS in the future Common Fisheries Policy Reform. Available:http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/201203/20120322ATT41696/20120322ATT41696EN.pdf(May 2017).Frangoudes, K., Marugán-Pintos, B., & Pascual-Fernández, J. J. (2008). From open access to co-governance and conservation: The case of women shellfish collectors in Galicia (Spain). Marine Policy, 32(2), 223-232. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2007.09.007Herrera-Racionero, P., Lizcano-Fernández, E., & Miret-Pastor, L. (2015). «Us» and «them». Fishermen from Gandía and the loss of institutional legitimacy. Marine Policy, 54, 130-136. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2014.12.018Jentoft, S. (2000). Legitimacy and disappointment in fisheries management. Marine Policy, 24(2), 141-148. doi:10.1016/s0308-597x(99)00025-1Kosamu, I. B. M. (2015). Conditions for sustainability of small-scale fisheries in developing countries. Fisheries Research, 161, 365-373. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2014.09.002Law 2/2007 of March 12 2007 of Marine Fishery and Aquaculture of Murcia region. Available inhttps://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2008/07/21/pdfs/A31793-31815.pdf(November 2018)Long, R. D., Charles, A., & Stephenson, R. L. (2015). Key principles of marine ecosystem-based management. Marine Policy, 57, 53-60. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2015.01.013Mackinson, S., Wilson, D. C., Galiay, P., & Deas, B. (2011). Engaging stakeholders in fisheries and marine research. Marine Policy, 35(1), 18-24. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2010.07.003MAGRAMA (Ministry of Agriculture Food and Environment).2015.Estadísticas pesqueras: Pesca marítima. Availablehttp://www.magrama.gob.es/es/estadistica/temas/estadisticas-pesqueras/pesca-maritima/(July 2017)Martínez-Novo, R., Lizcano, E., Herrera-Racionero, P., & Miret-Pastor, L. (2016). Innovation or ‘Inventions’? The conflict between latent assumptions in marine aquaculture and local fishery. Public Understanding of Science, 27(2), 214-228. doi:10.1177/0963662516651358Noy, C. (2008). Sampling Knowledge: The Hermeneutics of Snowball Sampling in Qualitative Research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 11(4), 327-344. doi:10.1080/13645570701401305Ostrom, E. (2009). A General Framework for Analyzing Sustainability of Social-Ecological Systems. Science, 325(5939), 419-422. doi:10.1126/science.1172133Pita, P., Fernández-Vidal, D., García-Galdo, J., & Muíño, R. (2016). The use of the traditional ecological knowledge of fishermen, cost-effective tools and participatory models in artisanal fisheries: Towards the co-management of common octopus in Galicia (NW Spain). Fisheries Research, 178, 4-12. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2015.07.021Producer organisations are officially recognised bodies set up by fishery or aquaculture producers. They play an essential role in running the European Common Fisheries Policy.State Marine Fishery Law: Law 3/2001 of March 26 2001. BOE (State Official Gazette) number 75. Available:https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2001-600

Interaction of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles with Human Red Blood Cell Membranes: Size and Surface Effects

The interactions of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) of different particle sizes and surface properties with human red blood cell (RBC) membranes were investigated by membrane filtration, flow cytometry, and various microscopic techniques. Small MCM-41-type MSNs (∼100 nm) were found to adsorb to the surface of RBCs without disturbing the membrane or morphology. In contrast, adsorption of large SBA-15-type MSNs (∼600 nm) to RBCs induced a strong local membrane deformation leading to spiculation of RBCs, internalization of the particles, and eventual hemolysis. In addition, the relationship between the degree of MSN surface functionalization and the degree of its interaction with RBC, as well as the effect of RBC−MSN interaction on cellular deformability, were investigated. The results presented here provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of RBC−MSN interaction and the hemolytic activity of MSNs and will assist in the rational design of hemocompatible MSNs for intravenous drug delivery and in vivo imaging

White-light photoluminescence and photoactivation in cadmium sulfide embedded in mesoporous silicon dioxide templates studied by confocal laser scanning microscopy

This is the author's version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of colloid and interface science. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of colloid and interface science, [147, 1, (2013)] DOI10.1016/j.jcis.2013.06.022)SBA-15 and SBA-16 silica templates have been infiltrated with CdS by means of nanocasting using a hybrid precursor. The morphology and structure of both the SiO2@CdS nanocomposites and the silica-free CdS replicas have been characterized. The three-dimensional nanocrystalline CdS networks embedded in SBA-15 and SBA-16 silica templates exhibit broad photoluminescence (PL) spectra over the entire visible range, together with enhanced PL intensity compared to silica-free CdS replicas. These effects result from the role silica plays in passivating the surface of the CdS mesostructures. Furthermore, photoactivation is eventually observed during continuous illumination because of both structural and chemical surface odifications. Owing to this combination of properties, these materials could be appealing for solid-state lighting, where ultra-bright near-white PL emission is indispensable

Zeolite structures loading with an anticancer compound as drug delivery systems

The authors are thankful to Dr. A. S. Azevedo for collecting the powder diffraction data.Two different structures of zeolites, faujasite (FAU) and Linde type A (LTA), were studied to investigate their suitability for drug delivery systems (DDS). The zeolites in the sodium form (NaY and NaA) were used as hosts for encapsulation of α-cyano-4- hydroxycinnamic acid (CHC). CHC, an experimental anticancer drug, was encapsulated in both zeolites by diffusion in liquid phase. These new drug delivery systems, CHC@zeolite, were characterized by spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C and 27Al solidstate MAS NMR, and UV−vis), chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of the zeolites and CHC@zeolite drug deliveries on HCT-15 human colon carcinoma cell line viability was evaluated. Both zeolites alone revealed no toxicity to HCT-15 cancer cells. Importantly, CHC@zeolite exhibit an inhibition of cell viability up to 585-fold, when compared to the non-encapsulated drug. These results indicate the potential of the zeolites for drug loading and delivery into cancer cells to induce cell deathO.M. and R.A. are recipients of fellowships (SFRH/BD/36463/2007, SFRH/BI/51118/2010) from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal). This work was supported by the FCT projects refs PEst-C/ QUI/UI0686/2011, PEst-C/CTM/LA0011/2011, and PTDC/ SAU-FCF/104347/2008, under the scope of “Programa Operacional Temático Factores de Competitividade” (COMPETE) of “Quadro Comunitário de Apoio III” and cofinanced by Fundo Comunitário Europeu FEDER, and the Centre of Chemistry and Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (University of Minho, Portugal)

Group IV Phospholipase A2α Controls the Formation of Inter-Cisternal Continuities Involved in Intra-Golgi Transport

The enzyme phospholipase A2 (cPLA2α) is involved in the formation of intercisternal tubules that mediate transport of proteins within the Golgi complex