Multiversidades. Un nuevo enfoque educativo transdisciplinar

Sabemos que la verdad y el conocimiento son complejos y por eso podemos encontrar res- puestas, pero difícilmente nos encontraremos con la verdad. Navegamos en medio de un océano de incertidumbres y nos apoyamos solamente en pequeños islotes de certezas.Es urgente crear espacios donde se priorice saber escuchar para que pueda caminar la palabra, saber aprender para que se pueda liberar el conocimiento, saber hacer para poder construir el mundo y saber pensar para poder soñar. Es importante trabajar en el sentido de formar una vi- sión integral, coherente y liberadora, donde se puedan encontrar el saber científico y los saberes espirituales, lo intelectual y lo emocional, lo racional y lo intuitivo.Para que tenga sentido humanístico nuestra propia humanidad necesitamos una nueva forma de conocer y de pensar, una forma multidimensional, multidisciplinaria, multiconsensual, multifacé- tica, multicontinental, multicultural, necesariamente multi-verdad y multiversitaria

Constructing the audit risk assessment by the audit team leader when planning: using fuzzy theory

The aim of this study is to construct the assessment of the expected audit risk by the audit team leader (ATL) during the planification phase of the audit. The ATL plays an important role within the audit, and even more so regarding small and medium-sized (SME) audit firms. The audit risk assessment is critical as relying more (less) on internal controls implemented by the client leads to performing less (more) substantive audit procedures. This is determined by the ATL based on their professional judgement and previous experience. The use of fuzzy theory has powerful potential into the audit arena, as the audit risk assessment (outcome) is critically related to the auditors’ judgement and perception. We argue that ATL characteristics are core conditions in determining the audit risk assessment when planning. Using hand-collected and private data from Spanish SME audit firms, we find that a comprehensive set of conditions must be given for perceived high audit risk. The results indicate that female and inexperienced ATLs planning the audit of indebted firms with high proportions of capital assets, less profitability, and with a larger board sizes, as they are expected to have bad internal control. The same conditions are met when expecting errors, as well as shorter audit tenures. Finally, conditions such as the ATL’s experience gains importance in expecting irregularities. This paper extends our understanding of the role of ATL characteristics on the audit risk assessment when planning and raising awareness on studying SME audit firm behavior

Pyrosequencing Analysis Reveals Changes in Intestinal Microbiota of Healthy Adults Who Received a Daily Dose of Immunomodulatory Probiotic Strains

The colon microbiota plays a crucial role in human gastrointestinal health. Current attempts to manipulate the colon microbiota composition are aimed at finding remedies for various diseases. We have recently described the immunomodulatory effects of three probiotic strains (Lactobacillus rhamnosus CNCM I-4036, Lactobacillus paracasei CNCM I-4034, and Bifidobacterium breve CNCM I-4035). The goal of the present study was to analyze the compositions of the fecal microbiota of healthy adults who received one of these strains using high-throughput 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Bacteroides was the most abundant genus in the groups that received L. rhamnosus CNCM I-4036 or L. paracasei CNCM I-4034. The Shannon indices were significantly increased in these two groups. Our results also revealed a significant increase in the Lactobacillus genus after the intervention with L. rhamnosus CNCM I-4036. The initially different colon microbiota became homogeneous in the subjects who received L. rhamnosus CNCM I-4036. While some orders that were initially present disappeared after the administration of L. rhamnosus CNCM I-4036, other orders, such as Sphingobacteriales, Nitrospirales, Desulfobacterales, Thiotrichales, and Synergistetes, were detected after the intervention. In summary, our results show that the intake of these three bacterial strains induced changes in the colon microbiota.This study utilized fecal samples from the clinical trial NCT01479543 that was supported by Hero Spain S. A. through contract #3582 with the Fundacion General Empresa Universidad de Granada. Carolina Gomez-Llorente is the recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship of the University of Granada

Urine NMR-based TB metabolic fingerprinting for the diagnosis of TB in children

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children, and early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to reduce long-term morbidity and mortality. In this study, we explore whether urine nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics could be used to identify differences in the metabolic response of children with different diagnostic certainty of TB. We included 62 children with signs and symptoms of TB and 55 apparently healthy children. Six of the children with presumptive TB had bacteriologically confirmed TB, 52 children with unconfirmed TB, and 4 children with unlikely TB. Urine metabolic fingerprints were identified using high- and low-field proton NMR platforms and assessed with pattern recognition techniques such as principal components analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis. We observed differences in the metabolic fingerprint of children with bacteriologically confirmed and unconfirmed TB compared to children with unlikely TB (p = 0.041 and p = 0.013, respectively). Moreover, children with unconfirmed TB with X-rays compatible with TB showed differences in the metabolic fingerprint compared to children with non-pathological X-rays (p = 0.009). Differences in the metabolic fingerprint in children with different diagnostic certainty of TB could contribute to a more accurate characterisation of TB in the paediatric population. The use of metabolomics could be useful to improve the prediction of TB progression and diagnosis in children

Urine NMR-based TB metabolic fingerprinting for the diagnosis of TB in children

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children, and early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to reduce long-term morbidity and mortality. In this study, we explore whether urine nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics could be used to identify differences in the metabolic response of children with different diagnostic certainty of TB. We included 62 children with signs and symptoms of TB and 55 apparently healthy children. Six of the children with presumptive TB had bacteriologically confirmed TB, 52 children with unconfirmed TB, and 4 children with unlikely TB. Urine metabolic fingerprints were identified using high- and low-field proton NMR platforms and assessed with pattern recognition techniques such as principal components analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis. We observed differences in the metabolic fingerprint of children with bacteriologically confirmed and unconfirmed TB compared to children with unlikely TB (p = 0.041 and p = 0.013, respectively). Moreover, children with unconfirmed TB with X-rays compatible with TB showed differences in the metabolic fingerprint compared to children with non-pathological X-rays (p = 0.009). Differences in the metabolic fingerprint in children with different diagnostic certainty of TB could contribute to a more accurate characterisation of TB in the paediatric population. The use of metabolomics could be useful to improve the prediction of TB progression and diagnosis in children

Urine NMR-based TB metabolic fingerprinting for the diagnosis of TB in children

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children, and early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to reduce long-term morbidity and mortality. In this study, we explore whether urine nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics could be used to identify differences in the metabolic response of children with different diagnostic certainty of TB. We included 62 children with signs and symptoms of TB and 55 apparently healthy children. Six of the children with presumptive TB had bacteriologically confirmed TB, 52 children with unconfirmed TB, and 4 children with unlikely TB. Urine metabolic fingerprints were identified using high- and low-field proton NMR platforms and assessed with pattern recognition techniques such as principal components analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis. We observed differences in the metabolic fingerprint of children with bacteriologically confirmed and unconfirmed TB compared to children with unlikely TB (p = 0.041 and p = 0.013, respectively). Moreover, children with unconfirmed TB with X-rays compatible with TB showed differences in the metabolic fingerprint compared to children with non-pathological X-rays (p = 0.009). Differences in the metabolic fingerprint in children with different diagnostic certainty of TB could contribute to a more accurate characterisation of TB in the paediatric population. The use of metabolomics could be useful to improve the prediction of TB progression and diagnosis in children

Aula d'Ecologia : cicles de conferències 1999 i 2000

Descripció del recurs: 13 juny 2007Conté: Rafael Argullol, Natura i ciutat en el canvi de mil·lenni ; Antoni Lloret, Energies per al segle XXI ; Jorge Wagensberg, Investigació científica i sostenibilitat: l'experiència amazònica ; Manuel Ludevid, El paper de les empreses en la societat sostenible ; Rafael Grasa, El paper de les ONG en la societat sostenible ; Luis Ángel Fernández Hermana, La comunicació en la transició cap a una societat sostenible ; Frederic Ximeno, Estratègies i eines de planificació territorial cap a una ciutat sostenible ; José Luis Porcuna, Estratègies agroecològiques cap a una agricultura sostenible ; Josep Germain, Estratègia catalana per a la biodiversitat ; Carles Gràcia, Els boscos i el funcionament sostenible del planeta ; Manuel Herce, El territori de la ciutat: criteris de sostenibilitat, ordenació i urbanització ; Josep Enric Llebot, Ciència i política del canvi climàtic ; Àlex Aguilar, L'extinció de les espècies: entre la ignorància i la tolerància ; Josep Olives, La ciutat com a idea d'equilibri ; Anna Cabré, Demografia i migracions al segle XXI: què és raonable preveure? ; Manolis Kogevinas, Càncer i exposicions mediambientals ; Ramon Arandes, L'aprofitament de les aigües del subsòl de Barcelona ; Rafael Simó, L'oceà i l'atmosfera, inseparables davant el canvi climàtic global ; Joan Caylà, Sobre el possible impacte mundial de la sida en la dècada 2000-2010 ; Jordi Serra Raventós, Ocupació del litoral i implicacions sobre el territori ; Joan Manuel Vilaplana, Catàstrofes i societat ; Montserrat Vilà, Causes i conseqüències de les invasions biològiques ; Josep Egozcue, Clonatge humà: tècnica i ètica ; Millán M. Millán, Contaminación fotoquímica en la cuenca mediterránea: revisión de los resultados de proyectos de investigación europeos ; Jaume Terradas i José Ángel Burriel, Mapa ecològic de Barcelona

Diagnostic Performance of the Fujifilm SILVAMP TB-LAM in Children with Presumptive Tuberculosis

Current diagnostics for tuberculosis (TB) only manage to confirm a small proportion of children with TB and require respiratory samples, which are difficult to obtain. There is a need for non-invasive biomarker-based tests as an alternative to sputum testing. Fujifilm SILVAMP TB lipoarabinomannan (FujiLAM), a lateral-flow test to detect lipoarabinomannan in urine, is a novel non-sputum-based point-of-care diagnostic reported to have increased sensitivity for the diagnosis of TB among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults. We evaluate the performance of FujiLAM in children with presumptive TB. Fifty-nine children attending a paediatric hospital in Haiti with compatible signs and symptoms of TB were examined using Xpert MTB/RIF, smear microscopy and X-rays, and classified according to the certainty of diagnosis into bacteriologically confirmed TB ( = 5), unconfirmed TB (bacteriologically negative, = 50) and unlikely TB ( = 4). Healthy children ( = 20) were enrolled as controls. FujiLAM sensitivity and specificity were 60% and 95% among children with confirmed TB. FujiLAM's high specificity and its characteristics as a point-of-care indicate the test has a good potential for the diagnosis of TB in children

Integrated production: a transitional strategy towards sustainable systems

La producción integrada, puede servir en los ambientes agrarios mediterráneos, como una estrategia de punto de partida, para una transición agroecológica. Esta transición tiene que abordar importantes retos: recuperar los suelos agrarios deteriorados; mejorar la calidad de las aguas de riego; utilizar variedades adaptadas a las condiciones atmosféricas mediterráneas, especialmente en lo referente ala adaptación a los niveles de ozono y comercializar alimentos con bajos niveles de residuos de pesticidas o sin residuos, en un mercado cada vez más globalizado. Esa transición agroecológica, tienen que llevar inevitablemente a una producción ecológica, como modelo más adaptado a las bases de un manejo sostenible de nuestros sistemas agrarios.The integrated production can be useful in Mediterranean agrarian environments as an initial strategy for an agroecological transition. This transition defines important chances to recuperate spoiled agrarian soils; to improve the quality of irrigation waters; to use adapted Mediterranean atmospheric conditions variety, especially considering the ozone levels adaptation and marketing foods with low levels of pesticide residues or without toxic residues, in a market each time more global. This agroecological transition direct us inevitably to an ecological production, as a more adapted model to the bases of sustainable management of our agrarian systems