Is the influence of quality of life on urban growth non-stationary in space? A case study of Barcelona

There are several determinants that influence household location decisions. More concretely, recent economic literature assigns an increasingly important role to the variables governing quality of life. Nevertheless, the spatial stationarity of the parameters is implicitly assumed in most studies. Here we analyse the role of quality of life in urban economics and test for the spatial stationarity of the relationship between city growth and quality of life.quality of life, urban economics, geographically weighted regressions

Shipwreck and Rescue of the Fleet and Armada of the Marquis of the Vado del Maestre, 1691

Mediante el análisis de las embarcaciones que integraban la flota y armada del general Diego de Córdoba Lasso de la Vega, marqués del Vado del Maestre, se vislumbra el complejo entramado de la marina que se dirigía a Tierra Firme a finales del siglo XVII, la calidad de las naves que transportaban los caudales a la península Ibérica y la existencia de un sistema protocolario en caso de producirse un siniestro. La pérdida de alguno de los navíos que transportaban los metales preciosos agravaría aún más los problemas de la resentida Hacienda castellana, por lo que la Corona debía ejecutar un plan de búsqueda y rescate con la mayor celeridad posible para tratar de obtener los valiosos cargamentos.The complex structure of the navy that was heading of Tierra Firme of the late seventeenth century is evident trough the analysis of the ships from the fleet and armada of General Diego de Córdoba Lasso de la Vega, Marquis of the Vado del Maestre, the quality of the ships that made the transport of flows to the Iberian Peninsula, life on board and the existence of a protocol system in the event of an incident. The loss of any of the ships that transported precious metals to Spain would aggravate even more the problems to the Castilian treasury. Should it occur, the Crown would have to promptly execute a plan of search and rescue in order to obtain valuable cargos

Nutritional status, healthy habits, quality of life and daytime sleepiness in nightlife workers of Córdoba

Premio extraordinario de Trabajo Fin de Máster curso 2013-2014. Metodología de la Investigación en Ciencias de la Salu

Camino de los Estudiantes en Alcalá de Henares

Peer Reviewe

Institutional effects as determinants of learning outcomes : exploring state variations in Mexico

This paper uses the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment student-level achievement database for Mexico to estimate state education production functions, controlling for student characteristics, family background, home inputs, resources, and institutions. The authors take advantage of the state-level variation and representative sample to analyze the impact of institutional factors such as state accountability systems and the role of teachers'unions in student achievement. They argue that accountability, through increased use of state assessments, will improve learning outcomes. The authors also cast light on the role of teachers'unions, namely their strength through appointments to the school and relations with state governments. The analysis shows the importance of good relations between states and unions. Furthermore, it demonstrates that accountability systems are cost-effective measures for improving outcomes.Tertiary Education,Education For All,Teaching and Learning,Secondary Education,Primary Education

Plant surfaces as vehicles of Bacillus cereus responsible of human food poisoning

• Introduction A major concern in food safety is the contamination of fresh and stored food with spoiling bacteria that provoke human poisoning. Bacillus cereus is a common food-borne pathogen responsible of important poisoning outbreaks and severe bacteraemia and septicaemia. Poisoning caused by B. cereus is classified in two main categories: emetic and diarrheic. The emetic poisoning is correlated to the production of cereulide. This toxin is very heat stable, and it can be produced in the food contaminated by B. cereus cells. Diarrheic poisoning is provoked by the enterotoxin hemolysin BL, the non-hemolytic enterotoxin and the cytotoxin K. • Objective To study the interaction of B. cereus with plants as a bacteria reservoir, and in ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables. • Materials & Methods A collection of strains implicated in food-borne outbreaks were tested in vitro for a battery of phenotypes related to bacterial multicellular behaviour and thus interaction with host. 1. Solid or liquid media were used to study biofilm formation, motility or adhesion to surfaces. 2. Leaves, fruits and vegetables (melon leaf, cucumber leaf and fruit and endive) were used to study the persistence of B. cereus over time and their distribution and organization by electron microscopy. • Results All the strains behaved similarly in vitro, only some persisted on plant surfaces. Among them, the emetic strain AH187 was selected because bacterial cells persisted on a concentration of 104-105 CFU per gram of leaf, vegetable or fruit, with a sporulation rate of 40%. The electron microscopy images showed the organization of bacteria in well-developed biofilms with visible extracellular matrix. Finally, mass spectrometry analysis proved the presence of some isoforms of cereluide on the different surfaces. • Conclusion The fact that cells of B. cereus persist in leaf surface mainly as vegetative cells are indicative of their ability to adapt to the physico-chemical changeable phyllosphere, and thus to produce the emetic toxin cereulide. The presence of spores, and the formation of biofilms can be indicative of the versatile adhesive properties of this strain to diverse surfaces. Altogether are supportive of the importance of plant surfaces either as reservoir of bacterial cells or as vehicles for further contamination and food poisoning.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Novas contribuições para a teoria empresarial da mudança social e cultural

This paper combines the theoretical framework developed by Coyne and Boettke (2009) about an entrepreneurial theory of social and cultural change, with the contributions of Huerta de Soto (2010) about the impossibility of economic calculation in socialism. With this synthesis, the entrepreneurial theory of social and cultural change is reinforced to (1) refute any political action aimed to achieve social and cultural changes, and (2) to claim the entrepreneur as the driving force of all social phenomena. The paper concludes that, as in the market sphere, the government cannot effectively implement policies oriented to social and cultural change, since it cannot acquire the knowledge necessary to plan society and social relationships.Este trabajo combina el marco teórico desarrollado por Coyne y Boettke (2009) sobre una teoría empresarial del cambio sociocultural, con las contribuciones de Huerta de Soto (2010) sobre la imposibilidad del cálculo económico en el socialismo. Con esta síntesis, la teoría empresarial del cambio sociocultural es reforzada para (1) refutar cualquier acción dirigida a conseguir cambios socioculturales y (2) para destacar al empresario como la fuerza motora de todos los fenómenos sociales. El trabajo concluye que, al igual que en el mercado, el gobierno no puede implementar políticas orientadas al cambio sociocultural efectivamente, ya que no puede hacerse con el conocimiento necesario para planificar la sociedad y las relaciones sociales.Este artigo alia o referencial teórico, desenvolvido por Coyne e Boettke (2009) sobre a teoria empresarial da mudança social e cultural, às contribuições de Huerta de Soto (2010), sobre a impossibilidade de cálculo econômico no socialismo. Com esse resumo, a teoria empresarial de mudança social e cultural é reforçadapara (1) refutar qualquer ação política que objetiva alcançar as mudanças sociais e culturais, e (2) para ter o empreendedor como a força motriz de todo o fenômeno social. O artigo conclui que, assim como na esfera do mercado, o governo não pode implementar políticas orientadas à mudança social e cultura efetivamente, uma vez que ele não consegue adquirir o conhecimento necessário para planejar a sociedade e as relações sociais

Microbial profiling of a suppressiveness-induced agricultural soil amended with composted almond shells lead to isolation of new biocontrol agents

Vida et al., 2016. Microbial profiling of a suppressiveness-induced agricultural soil amended with composted almond shells lead to isolation of new biocontrol agents. Biological and integrated control of plant pathogens IOBC-WPRS Bulletin Vol. 117, 2016 pp. 140-143This study focused on the microbial profile present in an agricultural soil that becomes suppressive after the application of composted almond shells (AS) as organic amendments. The role of microbes in the suppression of Rosellinia necatrix, the causative agent of avocado white root rot, was determined after heat-treatment and complementation experiments with different types of soil. Bacterial and fungal profiles based on the 16S rRNA gene and ITS sequencing, the soil under the influence of composted almond shells revealed an increase in Proteobacteria and Ascomycota groups, as well as a reduction in Acidobacteria and Xylariales (where R. necatrix is allocated). Complementary to these findings, functional analysis by GeoChip 4.6 confirmed the improvement of a group of specific probes included in the “soil benefit” category was present only in AS-amended soils, corresponding to specific microorganisms previously described as potential biocontrol agents, such as Pseudomonas spp., Burkholderia spp. or Actinobacteria. Based in such data, a model for the microbial-based suppressiveness is proposed and further isolation of representative microorganisms were performed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

De novo analysis of the haustorial transcriptome of the cucurbit powdery mildew fungus Podosphaera xanthii reveals new candidate secreted effector proteins

Backgrounds. Cucurbit crops are affected, among other pathogens, by the obligate biotrophic fungus Podosphaera xanthii, the main causal agent of powdery mildew in cucurbits. This fungus develops a specialized structure of parasitism termed haustorium. Haustoria are developed into epidermal cells and are responsible for nutrients uptake and effectors delivery. Objectives. The aim of this study was to obtain the haustorial transcriptome of P. xanthii to complete the panel of effector candidates of this fungal pathogen. Methods. To obtain the haustorial transcriptome, we have developed an effective method for isolation of haustoria without contaminants by flow cytometry. The cDNA library was built using a combination of dT primers and random primers followed by a depletion of ribosomal sequences. Sequencing was carried out by Illumina NextSeq550. Conclusions. After bioinformatic analysis, we were able to identify 25 new effector candidates secreted by the classic pathway (with signal peptide) and 269 new candidates secreted by the non-classic pathway (without signal peptide). Most proteins had no functional annotation. By protein modelling and ligand predictions, we are now being able to assign putative functions to some of these candidates to select those with potential roles in pathogenesis for subsequent functional in vivo analysis by HIGS (host-induced gene silencing). By these approaches, we are starting to shed some light into the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis in this very important pathogen of cucurbits.This work was supported by a grant from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (AGL2013-41938-R), co-financed with FEDER funds (EU). A grant form Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech, is also acknowledged