Built environment and modal choice; a case study

Compact, high density and mixed-used urban environments can exert a strong influence on the way people choose to travel. Very few studies, if any, have taken place in the developing world, particularly at the local scale. This paper reports on the relationship between the built environment and modal choice focusing mainly on three of its dimensions: density, diversity, and design. Such associations can provide urban and transportation professionals with valuable tools to assist them in policy appraisal and decision making. In order to analyze the relationship between modal choice and different measures of the built environment we use mobility and associated socio demographic data contained in the household travel survey performed in the city of Neuquen, Argentina during the year 2008. Urban environment variables are characterized for each of the zones in which the city was divided for the O-D survey. Generalized costs are considered as well. Modal split models are applied to assess the influence that built environment variables exert over the individual decision of traveling by car, ride transit, walk or bike. Dense, mixedused environments favor the decision to walk or bike to nearby destinations, discouraging private car use. Such environments also encourage the use of transit. Theoretical shortcomings, mixed and conflicting results and lack of consensus regarding methodological and variable measurement procedures are the main features of this trend of research. The analysis of a local case helps to clarify some of these points while widening the background for future research in an area that so far is limited to foreign experience. Our findings restate the importance of urban policies with regards to sustainable transportation.Fil: Riera, Alicia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación y Formación en Administración Pública; Argentina.Fil: Depiante, Violeta. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina.Otras Ingeniería Civi

La zona paleontològica d'Isona i Conca Dellà (Pallars Jussà, Catalunya)

Altres ajuts: Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya i el finançament del Ministeri de Ciència i Innovació (Subprograma Juan de la Cierva -MICINN-JDC- 2011)

Difusió virtual d'itineraris de camp en ciències de la terra

El portal d'internet GEOCAMP (http://einstein.uab.es/_c_gr_geocamp/geocamp/), d'activitats de camp en Ciències de la Terra permet optimitzar el treball abans, després i durant una excursió. Fins ara aquest ha estat el contingut del recurs virtual. La gran acceptació que ha anat tenint entre els alumnes de la universitat (sobretot dels primers cursos) com en altres entorns (professorat de secundària etc.) ens ha portat a ampliar-ne el seu abast. Així doncs, ens hem plantejat dos objectius. Un primer objectiu ha estat la traducció de la web al castellà i l'anglès. Un segon objectiu ha estat desenvolupar un apartat de propostes d'itineraris de camp concrets. Aquest segon objectiu ha de contribuir a omplir de contingut el recurs web a partir de l'aportació d'itineraris que estem desenvolupant des de dins el projecte però també a partir d'aportacions externes

A single Spanish version of maternal and paternal postnatal attachment scales: validation and conceptual analysis

Background: Postnatal bonding constitutes a major process during the postpartum period, and there is evidence that bonding difficulties have negative consequences for parents’ mental health and the child’s development. However, the conceptualization of postnatal bonding presents inconsistencies, as well as problems in having instruments that encompasses the father figure. The objective was to adapt the maternal postnatal attachment scale (MPAS) and the paternal postnatal attachment scale (PPAS) to Spanish, to evaluate its validity and reliability and to analyze the construct dimensionality of both questionnaires from a gender perspective. Methods: Instrumental design. In 2016–2017, a sample of 571 mothers and 376 fathers, with children between 6 and 11 months of age, responded to the Spanish version of MPAS and PPAS, respectively. After a process of translation-back-translation of the instrument, we empirically analyzed the internal consistency (Cronbach alpha, composite reliability (CR)) construct and concurrent validity (with regard to postpartum depression and dyadic adjustment). Additionally, we studied the instrument’s content validity, using the Delphi methodology; and the differential analysis in both samples (mothers and fathers), examining the invariance. Results: A short version of 15 items was obtained, common for mothers and fathers. The results of the Delphi methodology showed a 100% inter-judge agreement, highlighting the absence of differences in the adequacy of the items as a function of the parents’ gender. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of three original factors proposed by the authors. The global Cronbach alpha coefficients in the total sample were adequate (mothers, 0.70; fathers, 0.78); and Cronbach alpha of each dimension in the case of mothers was 0.50 (Quality of bonding), 0.55 (Absence of hostility), and 0.60 (Pleasure in interaction); in the case of fathers, it was respectively 0.54, 0.64, and 0.72. CR of each dimension were: quality of bonding, 0.74 in mothers and 0.80 in fathers; absence of hostility, 0.93 in mothers and 0.94 in fathers; pleasure in interaction, 0.83 in mothers and 0.90 in fathers. With regard to the analysis of group invariance, the results revealed empirical evidence of configural and metric invariance. Concurrent validity showed moderate negative correlations for postnatal depression (mothers, r = −0.41, p < 0.001; fathers, r = −0.38, p < 0.001), and positive correlations for dyadic adjustment (mothers, r = 0.39, p < 0.001; fathers, r = 0.44, p < 0.001). Discussion: A new version of the instrument was generated, with good psychometric properties, adequate for use both with mothers and with fathers. This scale helps evaluate postnatal maternal and paternal bonding, allowing to study it from within the family system, a necessary step forward to advance perinatal mental health.This project was supported by the General Sub-Directorate for Evaluation and Promotion of Research (Institute of Health Carlos III, ISCIII) and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) (No. PI14/01549)

Prediction of fatty acid composition in intact and minced fat of European autochthonous pigs breeds by near infrared spectroscopy

The fatty acids profile has been playing a decisive role in recent years, thanks to technological, sensory and health demands from producers and consumers. The application of NIRS technique on fat tissues, could lead to more efficient, practical, and economical in the quality control. The study aim was to assess the accuracy of Fourier Transformed Near Infrared Spectroscopy technique to determine fatty acids composition in fat of 12 European local pig breeds. A total of 439 spectra of backfat were collected both in intact and minced tissue and then were analyzed using gas chromatographic analysis. Predictive equations were developed using the 80% of samples for the calibration, followed by full cross validation, and the remaining 20% for the external validation test. NIRS analysis of minced samples allowed a better response for fatty acid families, n6 PUFA, it is promising both for n3 PUFA quantification and for the screening (high, low value) of the major fatty acids. Intact fat prediction, although with a lower predictive ability, seems suitable for PUFA and n6 PUFA while for other families allows only a discrimination between high and low values.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Un sistema de indicadores para medir el trabajo decente. Aplicación al caso piloto de la comarca del Montsià (Tarragona, Cataluña).

En el texto que se presenta a continuación se ofrece un análisis acerca de la importancia que adquiere, cada vez de forma más clara, el acceso al Trabajo Decente por parte de la población económicamente activa, así como del diseño de un sistema de indicadores generales que permita a los actores locales involucrados en la toma de decisiones, tanto de impacto local como a niveles superiores, tener un punto de referencia acorde a la normativa pautada por la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT) (OIT, 2016). Para entender la relevancia de las distintas variables a tomar en consideración cuando se habla del Trabajo Decente se debe pensar en cómo se comporta actualmente el mercado laboral, y en cómo se prevé que funcione en los próximos años. La sociedad y el mercado funcionan a una velocidad de vértigo; en la que cada vez más se observan la fragilidad y la vulnerabilidad de la oferta laboral, en la que, además, existe cada vez menos la tan anhelada conciliación del tiempo laboral con el tiempo que se debe dedicar al descanso y a la familia. En la actualidad se ha abierto un nuevo escenario como consecuencia de la pandemia derivada del COVID-19. Una emergencia sanitaria global que ha puesto de manifiesto la debilidad del modelo económico imperante y que, sobre todo, plantea un nuevo reto: el de repensar qué tipo de trabajo y qué garantías se necesitan para impedir el colapso económico y, en consecuencia, se evite la extrema vulnerabilidad a la que se ve abocada gran parte de la sociedad. En el marco del desarrollo local desde una perspectiva de carácter integral, la investigación que se presenta en este artículo parte de un estudio piloto aplicado en la comarca catalana del Montsià, en el que, tras un exhaustivo análisis de las políticas y programas de ocupación, así como de las potencialidades del territorio en materia económica, se desarrolló un sistema de indicadores para medir el Trabajo Decente. Las conclusiones de la investigación han servido para que las autoridades competentes las usen como referente a la hora de definir y trazar las políticas de empleo en dicho territorio. Exponer cómo se diseñaron metodológicamente estos indicadores y cómo pueden ser aplicados en diversos territorios es el objetivo que persigue éste artículo

Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial to assess safety of teleconsultation compared with face-to-face consultation: the ECASeT study

BackgroundThe use of remote consultation modalities has exponentially grown in the past few years, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although a huge body of the literature has described the use of phone (tele) and video consultations, very few of the studies correspond to randomized controlled trials, and none of them has assessed the safety of these consultation modalities as the primary objective. The primary objective of this trial was to assess the safety of remote consultations (both video and teleconsultation) in the follow-up of patients in the hospital setting.MethodsMulticenter, randomized controlled trial being conducted in four centers of an administrative healthcare area in Catalonia (North-East Spain). Participants will be screened from all individuals, irrespective of age and sex, who require follow-up in outpatient consultations of any of the departments involved in the study. Eligibility criteria have been established based on the local guidelines for screening patients for remote consultation. Participants will be randomly allocated into one of the two study arms: conventional face-to-face consultation (control) and remote consultation, either teleconsultation or video consultation (intervention). Routine follow-up visits will be scheduled at a frequency determined by the physician based on the diagnostic and therapy of the baseline disease (the one triggering enrollment). The primary outcome will be the number of adverse reactions and complications related to the baseline disease. Secondary outcomes will include non-scheduled visits and hospitalizations, as well as usability features of remote consultations. All data will either be recorded in an electronic clinical report form or retrieved from local electronic health records. Based on the complications and adverse reaction rates reported in the literature, we established a target sample size of 1068 participants per arm. Recruitment started in May 2022 and is expected to end in May 2024.DiscussionThe scarcity of precedents on the assessment of remote consultation modalities using randomized controlled designs challenges making design decisions, including recruitment, selection criteria, and outcome definition, which are discussed in the manuscript.Trial registrationNCT05094180. The items of the WHO checklist for trial registration are available in Additional file 1. Registered on 24 November 2021

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Estudio integrado (geología y paleontología) de la sucesión de dinosaurios (Maastrichtiense) de la vertiente surpirenaica

Se ha llevado a cabo el estudio de la sucesión de materiales continentales de edad Maastrichtiense de las formaciones Arén y Tremp, donde se encuentran numerosos yacimientos con restos de dinosaurios. Este estudio se ha realizado en los sinclinales de Vallcebre, Coll de Nargó y Tremp. El registro de dinosaurios lo componen saurópodos titanosaurios, terópodos dromeosaurios, ornitópodos hadrosaurios (incluyendo lambeosaurinos) y anquilosaurios nodosaurios, además de abundantes horizontes con huevos.La correlación de las diferentes secciones estratigráficas ha permitido el establecimiento de la sucesión de yacimientos con dinosaurios en cada una de estas áreas. Además, la datación mediante magnetoestratigrafía del sector oriental del sinclinal de Tremp, la biozonación con ooespecies en el de Coll de Nargó y la existencia de niveles de correlación físicos entre cada una de estas zonas ha permitido establecer la sucesión de dinosaurios global de la vertiente surpirenaica, en la que además se han incluido datos procedentes de la bibliografía. Asimismo, se ha construido la sucesión de yacimientos a partir de los trabajos publicados de las localidades del sur de Francia (vertiente norpirenaica y Provenza), que se ha integrado en el esquema general.Paralelamente, los datos obtenidos junto con la recopilación bibliográfica de los datos sedimentológicos de los yacimientos de la vertiente surpirenaica y el sur de Francia (vertiente norpirenaica y Provenza) junto con su contenido paleontológico ha permitido evaluar la existencia o no de sesgos ambientales, imprescindible para la correcta interpretación de la sucesión global. También se han realizado estudios sedimentológicos de los yacimientos más representativos de la vertiente surpirenaica (Fumanya, Basturs Poble y otros) para establecer sus modelos de formación e inferir datos paleoecológicos.Asimismo se ha llevado a cabo el estudio de isótopos estables de carbono y oxígeno en los carbonatos disponibles a lo largo de las secciones (huevos de dinosaurio y nódulos edáficos) que ha permitido observar las tendencias verticales de &#948;13C y &#948;18O a lo largo del Maastrichtiense y las diferencias en las composiciones isotópicas entre las distintas áreas.The succession of terrestrial Maastrichtian deposits of the Arén and Tremp formations has been carried out, where numerous dinosaur sites are found. The study area comprises the Vallcebre, Coll de Nargó and Tremp synclines. The dinosaur record consists on titanosaur sauropods, dromaeosaurid theropods, hadrosaur ornithopods (including lambeosaurines) and nodosaurid ankylosaurians, as well as many egg horizons.Correlation of the sections enabled a clear succession of dinosaur localities to be established in each of these areas. Besides, magnetostratigraphic dating of the eastern Tremp syncline, oospecies succession dating in the Coll de Nargó syncline and the existence of physical correlation horizons among these areas allowed a global succession of dinosaur faunas in the south Pyrenean area to be established. In addition, the succession of dinosaur French localities (north Pyrenean area and Provence) using data from bibliography was established and included in the general scheme.A compilation of all the sedimentological data from the sites in the south Pyrenean area and southern France (north Pyrenean area and Provence) together with their paleontological content allowed assessing the existence, or not, of environmental biases. This is essential to interpret the global dinosaur succession accurately. Sedimentological studies were carried out in the most representative sites in the south Pyrenean area (Fumanya, Basturs Poble and other) in order to infer their forming processes and paleoecological data.In addition, carbon and oxygen stable isotopes studies were carried out in the available carbonates (dinosaur eggshells and pedogenic nodules). These studies enabled the establishment of vertical &#948;13C and &#948;18O trends during the Maastrichtian and the differences in the isotopic compositions among the different areas

Estudio arqueológico de las cuencas media y baja del río Machángara

Las cuencas media y baja del rio Machangara han tenido gran actividad durante la época de desarrollo regional e integración, y luego con la llegada de los incas. En las prospecciones se descubrieron 20 puntos específicos con evidencia cerámica, dos con fragmentos óseos en la superficie, y dos con material cultural inca. También se identificaron muros y clara modificación del terreno en varios sectores, la mayoría de la evidencia se localiza en zonas elevadas como cumbres, y zonas planas de las partes altas. Se realizo excavación en el sitio denominado Upar, del q se recuperaron 978 fragmentos cerámicos en los 5 estratos encontrados.La mayoría de la cerámica recolectada tanto en prospecciones como en excavación, corresponde a la tradicional cultural Tacalshapa con influencia de la cultura Tuncahuan, y en menor cantidad a la cultura inca con presencia tardía. los restos cerámicos presentan tipos de labios cubiertos con bandas de pintura roja o sin ella; otros están pintados con pintura blanca y otros con pintura negra pulida; con labios de forma triangular asociados a recipientes cerrados de posible forma globular. Este tipo de recipientes tienen afinidad morfológica y estilística con la reportada en la vecina provincia de Loja, es decir, la llamada cerámica de Catamayo IV-V establecida por P. Lecoq, presenta tipos similares a los encontrados por nosotros.Licenciada en Ciencias de la Educación. Especialidad Historia y GeografíaCuenc