Business case y responsabilidad social empresarial: un análisis de la satisfacción laboral

Dentro de la Economía de la empresa, la teoría social de la empresa aborda la problemática de la ética y responsabilidad social de la empresa. Con este objetivo, desde los inicios del planteamiento de la responsabilidad social empresarial (RSE) se está discutiendo cuál tiene que ser el papel social de la empresa y su aportación a la sociedad. Entre los compromisos a adquirir por parte de la empresa en sus actuaciones socialmente responsables, el libro verde de la CE (2001) hace especial referencia a la dimensión interna conformada por el conjunto de actividades responsables que realiza la empresa de puertas hacia adentro con sus empleados y entorno directo. Desde esta perspectiva, la gestión responsable de los recursos humanos es la función que se ocupa de la gestión de las personas de la organización y en la que recae la responsabilidad de generar relaciones de confianza con ellas. Aquí se incluyen desde medidas para el fomento del aprendizaje permanente durante toda la vida y establecimiento de condiciones que permitan el desarrollo personal en el trabajo hasta garantías para la mejora de la información en la empresa o la consecución de un mayor equilibrio entre trabajo, familia y ocio, entre otras. El presente trabajo tiene por objeto analizar el impacto de diferentes medidas de responsabilidad social empresarial en el ámbito de los Recursos humanos sobre las actitudes y comportamientos de los trabajadores, específicamente la satisfacción laboral. Para ello se parte del enfoque del Bussiness Case de la RSE, el cual argumenta los beneficios económicos de la aplicación de principios de RSE en la gestión empresarial gracias a la calidad de las relaciones de la empresa con sus stakeholders -siendo uno de los grupos principales, los empleados- lo que derivará en una posición de ventaja competitiva en el mercado. El estudio aborda el impacto de la gestión de RRHH desde la perspectiva del empleado evaluando las prácticas tal como las perciben los trabajadores para poder entender sus reacciones ante estas prácticas. Para el estudio se utiliza la información para Cataluña procedente de la Encuesta de Calidad de Vida en el Trabajo del año 2007. El análisis se realiza mediante la estimación de un modelo de regresión logit ordenado, dado que la variable dependiente (la satisfacción laboral) es ordenada y no cuantitativa. Las variables explicativas son las valoraciones de los empleados de las prácticas de responsabilidad social en RRHH que se implementan en las empresas, y variables de control relativas tanto a la empresa como al propio trabajador.Within Business Economics, the theory of Social Business focuses on ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR deals with what should be the social role of firms and their contribution to society. The Green Book of the EU (2001) makes special emphasis on the internal dimension of CSR. It refers to a firm’s responsibility towards its most immediately affected agents, with employees being of the most relevant ones. Within this framework, responsible management of human resources has the requirement of generating human trust. It is implemented through measures such as continuous training, measures directed towards personal development in the job, information and transparency in management, and job conditions that allow for a better life for the employee by balancing personal life, family life and job dimensions. The objective of this paper is to analyse the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility measures in the Human Resources Management dimension, on employee’s outcomes, specifically on employee’s job satisfaction. For this purpose, the analysis takes the conceptual framework of the Business Case of CSR. The Business Case states that a firm’s economic benefits will come from applying CSR measures, because that will improve the quality of the firm’s relationships with their stakeholders (with employees being one of the most important stakeholders), which in turn will improve the firm’s competitiveness. The analysis is done from the employees’ perspective by taking into account employees’ evaluation of the actual responsiveness of firms towards social responsibility. The effects on employees’ outcomes (such as satisfaction with their job), is also measured by employees and not by the firms’ managers. The empirical analysis is conducted for employees living in Catalunya, which is one of the Spanish regions with more economic activity and a higher number of firms and employees. Data come from a representative sample of the Spanish survey Encuesta de Calidad de Vida en el Trabajo 2007. Ordered logit econometric models are estimated since the dependent variable to be explained, satisfaction, is ordered and not quantitative. The dependent variables are employees’ evaluation of corporate social responsibility measures and control variables, such as the size’ dimension and employees’ personal characteristics

Análisis de aguas residuales con fines epidemiológicos: aplicaciones a la estimación del consumo de sustancias de abuso y en salud pública en general. Red española ESAR-Net

En este artículo se presenta la metodología de análisis de aguas residuales con fines epidemiológicos (wastewater-based epidemiology, WBE) y su potencial para abordar diversos aspectos relacionados con la salud pública. Esta metodología permite obtener datos a una escala temporal y espacial relativamente pequeña (típicamente datos diarios-semanales sobre un municipio) de hábitos de consumo de sustancias de abuso, ilegales (como la cocaína o el cannabis) o legales (como el alcohol) a través de la determinación de biomarcadores de consumo (el compuesto original no metabolizado o alguno de sus metabolitos) en el agua residual. Aparte de discutir los fundamentos, ventajas y limitaciones de WBE, se comentan los precedentes más relevantes a nivel internacional, y las actividades más destacables en España en este ámbito. Finalmente, se exponen, los objetivos de la Red Española de Análisis de Aguas Residuales con Fines Epidemiológicos (ESAR-Net), una "Red de Excelencia" que agrupa a investigadores españoles con amplia experiencia en el área de WBE, así como las perspectivas de futuro de esta metodología puede tener para mejorar las competencias de la Salud Pública en España

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Personalized nanomedicine: A revolution at the nanoscale

This article belongs to the Special Issue Personalized Nanomedicine.Nanomedicine is an interdisciplinary research field that results from the application of nanotechnology to medicine and has the potential to significantly improve some current treatments Specifically, in the field of personalized medicine, it is expected to have a great impact in the near future due to its multiple advantages, namely its versatility to adapt a drug to a cohort of patients. In the present review, the properties and requirements of pharmaceutical dosage forms at the nanoscale, so-called nanomedicines, are been highlighted. An overview of the main current nanomedicines in pre-clinical and clinical development is presented, detailing the challenges to the personalization of these therapies. Next, the process of development of novel nanomedicines is described, from their design in research labs to their arrival on the market, including considerations for the design of nanomedicines adapted to the requirements of the market to achieve safe, effective, and quality products. Finally, attention is given to the point of view of the pharmaceutical industry including regulation issues applied to the specific case of personalized medicine. The authors expect this review to be a useful overview of the current state of the art of nanomedicine research and industrial production, and the future opportunities of personalized medicine in the upcoming years The authors encourage the development and marketing of novel personalized nanomedicines.C.F. is grateful to MINECO for their “Programa Torres Quevedo” grant. Financial support from Generalitat de Catalunya (grant 2014SGR1655) and MINECO (grant CTQ2016-80645-R) is acknowledged.Peer Reviewe

Morphosynthesis of porous silica from biocompatible templates

International audienceTaking inspiration from morphogenesis, synthetic porous silica materials have been synthesized through rational designs combining the sol–gel process and the surfactant templating method. Materials have been prepared from biocompatible systems using kolliphor as surfactant.The effect of Miglyol and Myristate solubilization in the Kolliphor/water system was first investigated in detail. The phase diagram proved that only a weak fraction of these oils (≈1 wt.%) can be incorporated into the hydrophobic core of the micelles (L1). Results also show that whatever the liquid crystal phases [direct hexagonal (H1) and lamellar (Lα)] the swelling effect take place upon addition of oil. Moreover, at low oil concentration oil-in-water fine emulsions are formulated, while at high oil concentration, oil-in-water concentrated emulsion are formulated.Starting from the various systems, porous silica materials were then synthesized. Results obtained by SAXS and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis show that Miglyol and Myristate can expand the mesopore size. The variations of the pore diameter have been related to the solubilization properties of the oil in the surfactant. In addition, macroporous silica could be design by using concentrated emulsions as template.This work demonstrates that synthetic silica materials can be obtained by mimic of natural processes

Insights of the kolliphor/water system for the design of mesostructured silica materials

International audienc

Short and ultrashort antimicrobial peptides anchored onto soft commercial contact lenses inhibit bacterial adhesion

Commercial soft contact lenses were chemically modified to incorporate antibacterial properties. Contact lenses and especially soft contact lenses present a risk of eye microbial infection that eventually may lead to vision loss. This is a significant health issue given the large population of contact lenses wearers worldwide. In order to introduce bactericidal activity in hydrogel contact lenses, one short and one ultrashort antimicrobial peptides, LKKLLKLLKKLLKL (LK) and IRIRIRIR (IR), were selected. These peptides were anchored on the surface of contact lenses using a linker (1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether) under mild conditions (room temperature, pH = 7.4). Physical and chemical properties of peptide-functionalized contact lenses were investigated through several analytical techniques including wettability, Raman confocal microscopy, fluorescence studies, refractometry and spectrophotometry. These studies demonstrated that contact lens modification occurred at the nanolevel (ng/lens). Bacterial cultures showed that peptide-functionalized contact lenses can drastically reduce bacterial adhesion and viability when exposed to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. These systems offer the potential to minimise corneal bacterial infection and represent a suitable platform for future ophthalmic devices.The authors greatly acknowledge financial support from Generalitat de Catalunya (Tecnospring Program, TECSPR14-2-0044, and Consolidated Group 2017SGR1778), and from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (CTQ2017-84998-P and CTQ2016-80645-R). The authors are also very grateful to Agencia Estatal de Investigación and to the European Regional Development Fund. Support and collaboration received from the Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (Portugal) is acknowledged. The authors also acknowledge the “Grupo de Nanotecnología Farmacéutica”, of the University of Barcelona (UB), in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, which forms an Associated Unit to CSIC. Functionalized contact lenses were developed at the Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), and characterization of contact lenses was carried out at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), in Braga, Portugal. The support provided by Yury Kolen'ko (INL) is acknowledged. Inhibition of bacteria was performed at the Section of Microbiology of the Biology, Health and Environment Department of the Faculty of Pharmacy, and cytotoxicity determinations were performed at the CellTec unit of the Faculty of Biology, both in the University of Barcelona. Refractive indices were measured in University of Minho (Braga, Portugal), with guidance from Madalena Lira. Raman Spectroscopy was performed in INL (Braga, Portugal), with assistance by Maria de Fátima Guimarães Cerqueira. Optical microscopy observations were carried out at the Nanostructured Liquid Characterization Unit, in the Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC), of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), which is affiliated to the NANBIOSIS ICTS of the Networking Research Center on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN).Peer reviewe

Rellevància de la competència transversal Capacitat d'aprenentatge i responsabilitat en l'àmbit de Ciències de la Salut

Podeu consultar la Setena trobada de professorat de Ciències de la Salut completa a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/43352Se determina la relevancia y la modalidad de trabajo (Presencial, semipresencial o no presencial) del conjunto de las cinco sub-competencias (Capacidad de análisis y de síntesis - Aplicar conocimientos a la práctica - Resolver problemas y tomar deci-siones - Capacitado para adaptarse a nuevas situaciones - Asumir responsabilida-des), ligadas a la competencia transversal Capacidad de aprendizaje y responsabili-dad, en los estudios de grado de Ciencias de la Salud de la UB y URL