Nominal address and rapport management in informal interactions among university students in Quito (Ecuador), Santiago (Chile) and Seville (Spain)

Nominal and pronominal address forms, which play a central role in the construction of interpersonal relations (cf. Bargiela et al. 2002; Clyne, Norrby and Warren 2009), have been the focus of attention in different linguistics subfields for several decades now. Less attention, however, has been paid to these forms from a variational pragmatics (Schneider and Barron 2008) perspective, particularly in Spanish. Using a corpus of role play interactions, we examine the impact of region and gender on nominal address usage among male and female university students from Quito (Ecuador), Santiago (Chile) and Seville (Spain). We look at how these forms are employed in rapport management (Spencer-Oatey 2008 [2000]) in two situations: giving advice and making a direct complaint (Boxer 1993). Building on work on nominal forms (cf. Leech 1999; McCarthy and O’Keefe 2003), we examine similarities and differences in their use across the three varieties of Spanish. Among the findings recorded was a larger repertoire of nominal forms in the Santiago and Quito data sets relative to the Seville corpus, with the highest frequency of use in Santiago. We suggest that address usage in the dyadic contexts examined is connected to the expression of affect and involvement, with Chileans (Santiago) and Ecuadorians (Quito) displaying more affect than Spaniards (Seville). Contrary to early research suggesting that women employ more affiliative language than men (cf. Lakoff 1995), overall, males in the present study were found to use address forms more frequently than females across the three locations

Biotrasformazioni di Acidi Biliari

In this PhD thesis a wide sampling of microrganisms from Ecuadorean slaughterhouses to use for biotransformations of the bile acids is reported. The aim of this project is the requirement both to have a different pathway to the chemical synthesis of ursodeoxycholic acid, active principle for gallstone solubilisation, and to recycle bile acids considered as “waste products”. In the first year the states of work of various slaughterhouses situated in the different Ecuadorean provinces have been studied. The Latacunga and Cayambe slaughterhouses have been selected to sample the microrganisms because of their poor sanitary conditions. This offers a higher chance to isolate microrganisms adapted to a “polluted environment” and with a potential ability to biotransform bile acids. The selection and purification of the microrganisms have been carried out in the labs of the Universidad Politecnica Salesiana of Quito (Ecuador). In the second year, a preliminary screening of the isolated microrganisms was carried out with various bile acids (i.e. deoxycholic, hyodeoxycholic, and cholic acid) in Biocatalysis and Biotransformations lab of the Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnologies of the University of Ferrara. The screening has demonstrated the ability of many microrganisms (bacteria and fungi) to give oxidation products of the various hydroxylic functions in C-3 and C-7 together with other unidentified products. In the third year, all the useful reactions have been repeated on preparative scale and the biotransformation products characterized by 1H e 13C NMR spectroscopy and Mass spectrometry. Among the microrganisms the strain MM B14, in particular, has been studied because of its ability to biotransform both deoxycholic and hyodeoxycholic acid giving various products and one of them unknown. The strain has been identified, sequencing his genomic DNA on a level of the sequence of the ribosomal RNA 16S, as Pseudomonas migulae. The new compound has been fully characterized. Other biotransformations are in progress. The research project will continue in Ecuador with new sampling to have new strains to test

Multi feature-rich synthetic colour to improve human visual perception of point clouds

Although point features have shown their usefulness in classification with Machine Learning, point cloud visualization enhancement methods focus mainly on lighting. The visualization of point features helps to improve the perception of the 3D environment. This paper proposes Multi Feature-Rich Synthetic Colour (MFRSC) as an alternative non-photorealistic colour approach of natural-coloured point clouds. The method is based on the selection of nine features (reflectance, return number, inclination, depth, height, point density, linearity, planarity, and scattering) associated with five human perception descriptors (edges, texture, shape, size, depth, orientation). The features are reduced to fit the RGB display channels. All feature permutations are analysed according to colour distance with the natural-coloured point cloud and Image Quality Assessment. As a result, the selected feature permutations allow a clear visualization of the scene's rendering objects, highlighting edges, planes, and volumetric objects. MFRSC effectively replaces natural colour, even with less distorted visualization according to BRISQUE, NIQUE and PIQE. In addition, the assignment of features in RGB channels enables the use of MFRSC in software that does not support colorization based on point attributes (most commercially available software). MFRSC can be combined with other non-photorealistic techniques such as Eye-Dome Lighting or Ambient Occlusion.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2019-061Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431F 2022/08Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2019-105221RB-C43Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Influencia de la Razón Social en el Desempeño Económico de las Empresas Familiares: Análisis en Función de la Etapa Generacional

A family identity of a firm, exhibited by the presence of the family name in the business name, can influence the value of economic profitability. The present analysis also explores if this relationship varies depending on the size and the generation running the business. The sample used to conduct this study comprises a panel data set of 21,149 Spanish family firms containing information from 2003 to 2015, which translates into a balanced database including 274,937 observations. For analysis purposes, the firms are classified into small, medium-sized and large ones. Contrary to the competitive advantages brought about by the family identity of the businesses highlighted by previous research, the current study suggests its negative effects on the profitability of small and medium-sized family firms. This effect is more acute when the company is managed by its founding generation. The findings in the case of large family firms indicate that the company name does not have an impact upon economic profitability.La identidad familiar de la empresa, manifestada a través de la presencia del nombre familiar en su razón social, puede influenciar el valor de su rentabilidad económica. Se analiza si esta relación varía en función de la dimensión empresarial, así como de la etapa generacional a cargo de la organización. La muestra objeto de análisis está compuesta por pequeñas, medianas y grandes empresas familiares. El estudio contempla un extenso panel de datos con información de 21149 empresas familiares españolas desde el año 2003 hasta el 2015, obteniendo una base de datos equilibrada compuesta por 274937 observaciones. Contrariamente a las ventajas competitivas señaladas por investigaciones anteriores, el presente estudio señala un efecto negativo de la identidad familiar de la organización sobre la rentabilidad de las pymes familiares. Este efecto es más acentuado cuando la organización es gestionada por la generación fundadora. Los resultados en el caso de las empresas de mayor dimensión indican que tener una razón social familiar no influye sobre el valor de la rentabilidad económica

Vocational profile in Health Sciences Students, enrolled in first-year at University of Malaga (Spain): differences by degree.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine certain characteristics about the vocational profile of college students, especially if we consider the situation of transition that is taking place currently in college with the implementation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Participants: Students enrolled in first grade of Health Sciences at University of Malaga (Spain) in Nursing, Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Occupational Therapy. The population comprised 272 participants (90%), of a 300 total sample of Health Sciences students with a mean age of 19 years (SD=1.8). Methodology: It was a descriptive and a cross sectional study. Students were asked to fill out an on-line questionnaire in May 2011. It was a vocational interests scale adapted into Spanish by a cross-cultural study. The dimensions were: Leadership, Organization, Altruism, Creativity, Analysis, Production, Adventure, and Erudition. The differences between the four groups of students have been checked by Anova. Results: The vocational profile among Health Sciences students showed significant differences. By degree, the most altruistic were Physiotherapy students (F=3.022, p= 0.030), being also the most adventurous (F=3.658, p=0.013). The most creative were Nursing students (F=3.578, p=0.014) and also the most erudite (F=5.527, p=0.001). Conclusions: These results could be useful in order to study the development of competences that are necessary for finding a job, work with patients and work as a member of multidisciplinary group. Also, we are collecting data every day in order to know the variance with respect the academic year (longitudinal study).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

A discordance analysis in manual labelling of urban mobile laser scanning data used for deep learning based semantic segmentation

Labelled point clouds are crucial to train supervised Deep Learning (DL) methods used for semantic segmentation. The objective of this research is to quantify discordances between the labels made by different people in order to assess whether such discordances can influence the success rates of a DL based semantic segmentation algorithm. An urban point cloud of 30 m road length in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) was labelled two times by ten persons. Discordances and its significance in manual labelling between individuals and rounds were calculated. In addition, a ratio test to signify discordance and concordance was proposed. Results show that most of the points were labelled accordingly with the same class by all the people. However, there were many points that were labelled with two or more classes. Class curb presented 5.9% of discordant points and 3.2 discordances for each point with concordance by all people. In addition, the percentage of significative labelling differences of the class curb was 86.7% comparing all the people in the same round and 100% comparing rounds of each person. Analysing the semantic segmentation results with a DL based algorithm, PointNet++, the percentage of concordance points are related with F-score value in R2 = 0.765, posing that manual labelling has significant impact on results of DL-based semantic segmentation methods.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2019-061Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. PID2019-105221RB-C43Ministère de l’Economie of the G. D. of Luxembourg | Ref. SOLSTICE 2019-05-030-24Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Risk Factors Influencing Microbial Contamination in Food Service Centers

An improvement of food service centers in recent years has been made based on the implementation of the principles of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system. Food safety preventive measures have been focused on training of handlers in hygiene practices and on improving the sanitary quality of meals. In Europe, an increasing trend in foodborne outbreaks has been attributed to catering businesses. This fact highlights that the impact of preventive measures in the past few years has not been sufficiently effective as expected. Special attention should be paid to food services destined to susceptible population, such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, or school canteens, because people could be more susceptible to become ill when exposed to foodborne agents. There are numerous relevant factors influencing microbial contamination of foods, according to the preparation method, hygienic sanitary conditions of catering facilities, or food handling, storage, and distribution. In the present chapter, a review of the most significant risk factors influencing microbial contamination of foods in food service centers are described with special focus on those establishments where susceptible population (i.e., children, elderly, immunocompromised people) is present. Besides, potential preventive measures to be considered in that establishments and correct implementation of food safety actions are given to provide useful recommendations to food handlers, food operators, and risk managers

The relationship between burnout and empathy in physiotherapists: a cross-sectional study

Background: There have been few studies carried out into empathy in physiotherapists. Burnout can debilitate the quality of care and the efficacy of treatment as the empathetic capacity of the professional diminishes. Objective: The objective of the study was to examine the association between the construct burnout, empathy and sociodemographic aspects in Spanish physiotherapists. Methods: A cross-sectional electronic survey including the Maslach Burnout Inventory (for burnout assessment), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (for empathy assessment) and sociodemographic data was answered by 461 Spanish physical therapists. A descriptive, bivariate and lineal regression analysis was performed. Results: There was an association between burnout and empathy. Specifically, higher levels of burnout are associated with lower levels of empathy, whilst years of work experience is associated with lower levels of burnout. Conclusions: The results of this study contribute to a greater understanding of the relationship between the level of burnout and the dimensions of empathy in physiotherapists. The influence of burnout, which causes difficulties in the mobilization of the professional towards the establishment of a quality therapeutic relationship, is highlighted

Hormonal spawning induction and larval rearing of meagre, Argyrosomus regius (Pisces: Sciaenidae)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the culture potential of meagre, Argyrosomus regius (Asso, 1801). Trials were conducted in two different facilities in Spain, the LIMIA research centre (Mallorca) and the IFAPA research centre “El Toruño” (El Puerto de Santa Maria). In May 2006, males with free milt and females with vitellogenic oocytes bigger than 500 μm were injected with salmon gonadotropin releasing hormone analogues (sGnRHa). Spawning occurred approximately 38 hours after induction. Fecundity was high with 1.207.000 eggs collected from a 13 kg female at LIMIA in a single spawn. The larval development, growth and morphological changes were described from 0 to 30 days post hatching (DPH). The mean length of the newly hatched larvae ranged from 2.20 ± 0.02 mm (LIMIA) to 3.19 ±0.09 mm (IFAPA). Feeding began on 3 DPH, initial swim bladder inflation was observed on 5 DPH, and metamorphosis was completed on 30 DPH. Growth was very fast and the post-larvae reached 15.11 ± 3.49 mm (LIMIA) and 11.66 ± 0.96 mm (IFAPA) in 30 days Cannibalism was observed from 15 DPH onwards. These preliminary results indicate the meagre as a priority species for the diversification in aquaculture.L'objectiu de l’estudi va ser avaluar el potencial del cultiu de la corbina, Argyrosomus regius (Asso, 1801). Les experiències es van realitzar en dues diferents instal·lacions a Espanya. El centre d'investigacions LIMIA (Mallorca) i el centre d'investigacions IFAPA "El Toruño" (El Port de Santa Maria). Al maig del 2006, mascles fluents i femelles amb ovòcits vitel·logènics majors de 500 micres van ser injectats amb anàlegs de l'hormona alliberadora de gonadotropina del salmó (sGnRHa). La posta es va obtenir aproximadament 38 hores després de la inducció. La fecunditat va ser alta, obtenintne 1.207.000 ous recollits d'una sola femella de 13 kg en una única posta. El desenvolupament larvari, creixement i canvis morfològics es van descriure des del dia 0 al 30 després de l'eclosió (DPH). La longitud mitjana de les larves recent eclosionades va variar entre 2.20 ± 0.02 mm (LIMIA) i 3.19 ± 0.09 mm (IFAPA). L'alimentació va començar el 3 DPH, la inflació inicial de la bufeta natatòria es va observar el 5 DPH, i la metamorfosi es va completar el 30 DPH. El creixement va ser molt ràpid aconseguint les post larves 15.11 ± 3.49 mm (LIMIA) i 11.66 ± 0.96 mm (IFAPA) en 30 dies. A partir del 15 DPH es va observar canibalisme. Aquestes dades, assenyalen a la corbina com una espècie prioritària en la diversificació de l'aqüicultura

Violence as a Barrier for HIV Prevention among Female Sex Workers in Argentina

Violence against female sex workers (FSWs) has been increasingly reported as an important determinant of HIV infection risk. This study explores the frequency of different violent experiences (sexual abuse, rejection, beating and imprisonment) among FSWs in Argentina and its association with condom use and HIV and T. pallidum prevalence.Fil: Pando, Maria de Los Angeles. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas en Retrovirus y Sida; Argentina; Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Microbiologia. Centro Nacional de Referencia del Sida; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina;Fil: Coloccini, Romina Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas en Retrovirus y Sida; Argentina; Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Microbiologia. Centro Nacional de Referencia del Sida; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina;Fil: Reynaga, Elena. Asociación de Mujeres Meretrices de Argentina; Argentina;Fil: Rodríguez Fermepin, Marcelo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica; Argentina;Fil: Gallo Vaulet, Maria Lucia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica; Argentina;Fil: Kochel, Tadeusz J.. United States Naval Medical Research Unit nº 6; Perú;Fil: Montano, Silvia M.. United States Naval Medical Research Unit nº 6; Perú;Fil: Avila, Maria Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas En Retrovirus y Sida; Argentina; Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Microbiología. Cátedra de Microbiología Parasitología e Inmunología; Argentina