Explaining the electoral performance of radical right parties in Europe (2008-2019): a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Although radical right parties have been extensively examined since their significant breakthrough in the European political arena in the late 80s, not enough attention has been paid to the reasons behind their unequal electoral performance (or in other words, to the cross-national and within-national variations of their success). The aim of this research is to identify the different scenarios of electoral success for radical right parties in ten European countries between 2008 and 2019. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) -a case-oriented technique which allows in-depth comparative examination and which is based on the concepts of equifinality and causal heterogeneity-, we test the role of several causal conditions related to some demand-side and supply-side explanations. Our results reveal four sufficient causal paths that lead to the success of these parties, which confirm that they are able to achieve relevance in quite diverse contexts. The four paths combine both demand-side and supply-side conditions, but the role of the latter is qualitatively and quantitatively more important. In particular, we see how radical right parties can effectively take advantage of favorable political competitive dynamics, even in the absence of a priori favorable socio-economic contexts. Overall, our findings run contrary to some mechanistic explanations in the literature and support the idea of conceiving of the radical right parties as a complex, multiform phenomenon which needs to be understood through both theoretical and methodological innovations.The authors would like to thank Jorge Ramos for his valuable comments and suggestions on previous versions of this article. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism and suggestions. This work was supported by Ayudas para la Formacion de Profesorado Universitario (FPU, Ministry of Education, Government of Spain [FPU16/04643]

Análisis comparativo de la evaluación docente de “Investigación Comercial” entre Grado y Licenciatura: Impacto del nuevo EEES

La puesta en marcha del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior ha permitido adaptar la asignatura de Investigación Comercial a los nuevos métodos de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Nuestro trabajo evalúa el impacto de la implantación de los instrumentos de evaluación continua a través de un análisis comparado de la evaluación docente (notas de los alumnos) de Investigación Comercial del Grado con la de Dirección Comercial II de la Licenciatura ya extinguida. Los resultados evidencian un incremento sustancial en el número de alumnos presentados al examen final y un mayor porcentaje de alumnos aprobados en la asignatura del Grado. Asimismo, destacan las notas elevadas obtenidas por los alumnos del Grado en los exámenes parciales y en la participación en clase. En este sentido, la evaluación de la asignatura con instrumentos de evaluación continua y final supone importantes ventajas con respecto a la evaluación apoyada exclusivamente en el examen final

ant(6)-I Genes encoding aminoglycoside O-nucleotidyltransferases are widely spread among Streptomycin resistant strains of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Identification of 34 novel mutations in propionic acidemia: Functional characterization of missense variants and phenotype associations

Propionic acidemia (PA) is caused by mutations in the PCCA and PCCB genes, encoding α and β subunits, respectively, of the mitochondrial enzyme propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC). Up to date, >200 pathogenic mutations have been identified, mostly missense defects. Genetic analysis in PA patients referred to the laboratory for the past 15 years identified 20 novel variants in the PCCA gene and 14 in the PCCB gene. 21 missense variants were predicted as probably disease-causing by different bioinformatics algorithms. Structural analysis in the available 3D model of the PCC enzyme indicated potential instability for most of them. Functional analysis in a eukaryotic system confirmed the pathogenic effect for the missense variants and for one amino acid deletion, as they all exhibited reduced or null PCC activity and protein levels compared to wild-type constructs. PCCB variants p.E168del, p.Q58P and p.I460T resulted in medium-high protein levels and no activity. Variants p.R230C and p.C712S in PCCA, and p.G188A, p.R272W and p.H534R in PCCB retained both partial PCC activity and medium-high protein levels. Available patients-derived fibroblasts carriers of some of these mutations were grown at 28 °C or 37 °C and a slight increase in PCC activity or protein could be detected in some cases at the folding-permissive conditions. Examination of available clinical data showed correlation of the results of the functional analysis with disease severity for most mutations, with some notable exceptions, confirming the notion that the final phenotypic outcome in PA is not easily predictedWe thank the following physicians/clinicians for sending samples for genetic analysis: Dr. Wilson (Auckland, New Zealand), Dr. Parini (Rome, Italy), Dr. Vilaseca (Barcelona, Spain), Dr. Gockay (Istanbul, Turkey), Dr. Al Sannaa (Saudi Arabia), Dr. Pedrón (Madrid, Spain), Dr. Savvapoulou (Tesalonica, Greece), Dr. Martínez-Pardo (Madrid, Spain), Dr. Lama (Madrid, Spain), Dr. Lemes (Montevideo, Uruguay), Dr. Van Calcar (Madison, USA), Dr. Pintos (Badalona, Spain), Dr. Laszlo (Szeged, Hungary), Dr. Kuijtmans (Nijmegen, The Netherlands), Dr. Schatz (München, Germany), Dr. EL Khateeb (Jordan), Dr. de las Heras (Baracaldo, Spain), Dr. Miñana (Buenos Aires, Argentina). The technical assistance of A. Sánchez is gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and European Regional Development Fund (grant number SAF2016-76004-R). Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa receives an institutional grant from Fundación Ramón Arece

Online psycho-education to the treatment of bipolar disorder: protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Background: Bipolar disorder patients frequently present recurrent episodes and often experience subsyndromal symptoms, cognitive impairment and difficulties in functioning, with a low quality of life, illness relapses and recurrent hospitalization. Early diagnosis and appropriate intervention may play a role in preventing neuroprogression in this disorder. New technologies represent an opportunity to develop standardized psychological treatments using internet-based tools that overcome some of the limitations of face-to-face treatments, in that they are readily accessible and the timing of therapy can be tailored to user needs and availability. However, although many psychological programs are offered through the web and mobile devices for bipolar disorder, there is a lack of high quality evidence concerning their efficacy and effectiveness due to the great variability in measures and methodology used. Methods: This clinical trial is a simple-blind randomized trial within a European project to compare an internet-based intervention with treatment as usual. Bipolar disorder patients are to be included and randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) the experimental group (tele-care support) and 2) the control group. Participants in both groups will be evaluated at baseline (pre-treatment) and post-treatment. Discussion: This study describes the design of a clinical trial based on psychoeducation intervention that may have a significant impact on both prognosis and treatment in bipolar disorder. Specifically, bringing different services together (service aggregation), it is hoped that the approach proposed will significantly increase the impact of information and communication technologies on access and adherence to treatment, quality of the service, patient safety, patient and professional satisfaction, and quality of life of patients.This study has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No 604691

Genome comparison of erythromycin resistant campylobacter from Turkeys identifies hosts and pathways for horizontal spread of erm(B) genes

Los patógenos en el género Campylobacter son la causa más común de gastroenteritis bacteriana transmitida por los alimentos. La campilobacteriosis, causada principalmente por Campylobacter jejuni y Campylobacter coli, se transmite a los humanos mediante alimentos de origen animal, especialmente aves de corral. En cuanto a muchos patógenos, la resistencia antimicrobiana en Campylobacter está aumentando a un ritmo alarmante. La prescripción de eritromicina es el tratamiento de elección para los casos clínicos que requieren terapia antimicrobiana, pero esto se ve comprometido por la movilidad del gen de resistencia a la eritromicina erm (B) entre las cepas. Aquí, evaluamos la resistencia a seis antimicrobianos en 170 aislados de Campylobacter (133 C. coli y 37 C. jejuni) de pavos. Los aislados resistentes a la eritromicina (n = 85; 81 C. coli y 4 C. jejuni) se examinaron en busca de la presencia del gen erm (B), que no se ha identificado previamente en aislamientos de pavos. Se secuenciaron los genomas de dos aislamientos positivos de C. coli y en ambos aislamientos el gen erm (B) se agrupó con determinantes de resistencia contra aminoglucósidos más tetraciclina, incluidos aad9, aadE, aph (2 ") - IIIa, aph (3 ') - IIIa , y genes tet (O). El análisis genómico comparativo identificó secuencias erm (B) idénticas entre Campylobacter de pavos, Streptococcus suis de cerdos y Enterococcus faecium y Clostridium difficile de humanos. Esto es consistente con múltiples eventos de transferencia horizontal entre diferentes especies de bacterias que colonizan pavos. Este ejemplo destaca el potencial de diseminación de la resistencia antimicrobiana a través de los límites de las especies bacterianas que pueden comprometer su efectividad en la terapia antimicrobiana.Pathogens in the genus Campylobacter are the most common cause of food-borne bacterial gastro-enteritis. Campylobacteriosis, caused principally by Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, is transmitted to humans by food of animal origin, especially poultry. As for many pathogens, antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter is increasing at an alarming rate. Erythromycin prescription is the treatment of choice for clinical cases requiring antimicrobial therapy but this is compromised by mobility of the erythromycin resistance gene erm(B) between strains. Here, we evaluate resistance to six antimicrobials in 170 Campylobacter isolates (133 C. coli and 37 C. jejuni) from turkeys. Erythromycin resistant isolates (n = 85; 81 C. coli and 4 C. jejuni) were screened for the presence of the erm(B) gene, that has not previously been identified in isolates from turkeys. The genomes of two positive C. coli isolates were sequenced and in both isolates the erm(B) gene clustered with resistance determinants against aminoglycosides plus tetracycline, including aad9, aadE, aph(2″)-IIIa, aph(3′)-IIIa, and tet(O) genes. Comparative genomic analysis identified identical erm(B) sequences among Campylobacter from turkeys, Streptococcus suis from pigs and Enterococcus faecium and Clostridium difficile from humans. This is consistent with multiple horizontal transfer events among different bacterial species colonizing turkeys. This example highlights the potential for dissemination of antimicrobial resistance across bacterial species boundaries which may compromise their effectiveness in antimicrobial therapy.• Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Ayudas AGL2009-07550, AGL2012-39028 • Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Ayuda 2014/000223 • Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. Ayudas S2009 / AGR-1489; S2013 / ABI-2747 • Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España. Ayuda AGL2012-39028 • Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. Beca BES-2013-065003, para Diego Flórez Cuadrado • Consejo de Investigación Médica. Ayuda MR / L015080 / 1, para Samuel K. SheppardpeerReviewe

Efecto del perfil y dedicación de los docentes sobre la satisfacción y calidad percibida del alumnado de Investigación Comercial

El Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior destaca la importancia de las competencias para el aprendizaje del alumno y de la adecuación de los instrumentos de evaluación en relación a los objetivos, contenidos y competencias de una asignatura. El presente estudio analiza el impacto del perfil y dedicación del profesorado (a tiempo completo y a tiempo parcial) en la implantación de los instrumentos de evaluación mediante la comparación de la evaluación docente de Investigación Comercial del Grado en Administración y Dirección de Empresas entre los profesores que imparten dicha asignatura en el curso 2013-2014. Los resultados evidencian la ausencia de diferencias a nivel de calificaciones entre los profesores a tiempo completo y a tiempo parcial. Sin embargo, se detecta que la valoración subjetiva del alumnado del profesorado a tiempo completo es superior a la del profesorado a tiempo parcial en la asistencia a clases teóricas y prácticas, en la satisfacción con la materia, así como en la opinión sobre la docencia y sobre la evaluación. Por tanto, resulta necesario el diseño de medidas que traten de responsabilizar al profesor a tiempo parcial en los objetivos de aprendizaje, las experiencias de aprendizaje, la evaluación y calificación, para asegurar resultados consistentes interprofesor

Gene pool transmission of multidrug resistance among Campylobacter from livestock, sewage and human disease

The use of antimicrobials in human and veterinary medicine has coincided with a rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the food-borne pathogens Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. Faecal contamination from the main reservoir hosts (livestock, especially poultry) is the principal route of human infection but little is known about the spread of AMR among source and sink populations. In particular, questions remain about how Campylobacter resistomes interact between species and hosts, and the potential role of sewage as a conduit for the spread of AMR. Here, we investigate the genomic variation associated with AMR in 168 C. jejuni and 92 C. coli strains isolated from humans, livestock and urban effluents in Spain. AMR was tested in vitro and isolate genomes were sequenced and screened for putative AMR genes and alleles. Genes associated with resistance to multiple drug classes were observed in both species and were commonly present in multidrug-resistant genomic islands (GIs), often located on plasmids or mobile elements. In many cases, these loci had alleles that were shared among C. jejuni and C. coli consistent with horizontal transfer. Our results suggest that specific antibiotic resistance genes have spread among Campylobacter isolated from humans, animals and the environment.S.K.S., B.P. and S.C.B. were supported by grants from the Medical Research Council (MR/L015080/1), the Wellcome Trust (088786/C/09/Z), the Food Standards Agency (FS246004) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/I02464X/1). E.M. received a University of Bath Faculty of Science URSA studentship. D.F.C. is supported by the FPI program (BES-2013-065003) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. J.K.C. is supported by a BBSRC KTN PhD studentship (BB/P504750/1)