The Common Agricultural Policy and the European Union's Enlargement to Eastern and Central Europe: A Comparison with the Spanish Case

enlargement; Spain; Poland; EU-East-Central Europe; budgetary procedure; treaty reform

El comercio en la cuenca del Atlántico, 2000-2012: una visión panorámica

Este artículo presenta un análisis descriptivo del comercio de mercancías en el Atlántico que muestra los siguientes datos: el mayor volumen se encuentra en el Atlántico Norte y en las Américas, aunque con el crecimiento más lento; África y América Latina comercian principalmente con el Norte, pero con tendencia a la diversificación; Europa depende menos del comercio atlántico que las otras regiones y América Latina es la más dependiente; África comercia mayoritariamente con socios extraregionales; el papel del Atlántico en el comercio mundial está disminuyendo debido al auge de Asia (China); en las exportaciones se identifica una división Norte (productos de mayor valor añadido) y Sur (materias primas); en las importaciones dominan los automotores y el petróleo; el principal reto es la crisis económica en Europa; con la ronda de Doha encallada, los acuerdos atlánticos de libre comercio en negociación (Canadá-UE; TTIP) cobran relevancia para estimular los flujos de mercancías, que se sitúa entre los más importantes del mundo

The Permeation mechanism of cisplatin through a dioleoylphosphocholine bilayer

The investigation of the intermolecular interactions between platinum-based anticancer drugs and lipid bilayers is of special relevance to unveil the mechanisms involved in different steps of the anticancer mode of action of these drugs. We have simulated the permeation of cisplatin through a model membrane composed of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine lipids by means of umbrella sampling classical molecular dynamics simulations. The initial physisorption of cisplatin into the polar region of the lipid membrane is controlled, in a first moment, by long-range electrostatic interactions with the choline groups and, in a second step, by long-range electrostatic and hydrogen bond interactions with the phosphate groups. The second half of the permeation pathway, in which cisplatin diffuses through the nonpolar region of the bilayer, is characterized by the drop of the interactions with the polar heads and the rise of attractive interactions with the non-polar tails, which are dominated by van der Waals contributions

Automatic characterization of drug/amino acid interactions by energy decomposition analysis

The computational study of drug/protein interactions is fundamental to understand the mode of action of drugs and design new ones. In this study, we have developed a python code aimed at characterizing the nature of drug/amino acids interactions in an accurate and automatic way. Specifically, the code is interfaced with different software packages to compute the interaction energy quantum mechanically, and obtain its different contributions, namely, Pauli repulsion, electrostatic and polarisation terms, by an energy decomposition analysis based on one-electron and two-electron deformation densities. The code was tested by investigating the nature of the interaction between the glycine amino acid and 250 drugs. An energy-structure relationship analysis reveals that the strength of the electrostatic and polarisation contributions is related with the presence of small and large size heteroatoms, respectively, in the structure of the drugLR and JJN acknowledge the Comunidad de Madrid for funding through the Attraction of Talent Program (Grant ref 2018-T1/BMD-10261) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Project PID2020-117806GA-I00). MM thanks Xunta de Galicia for fnancial support through the project GRC2019/2

Decolonizing health governance: A Uganda case study on the influence of political history on community participation

This paper presents a case study of how colonial legacies in Uganda have affected the shape and breadth of community participation in health system governance. Using Habermas’s theory of deliberative democracy and the right to health, we examine the key components required for decolonizing health governance in postcolonial countries. We argue that colonization distorts community participation, which is critical for building a strong state and a responsive health system. Participation processes grounded in the principles of democracy and the right to health increase public trust in health governance. The introduction and maintenance of British laws in Uganda, and their influence over local health governance, denies citizens the opportunity to participate in key decisions that affect them, which impacts public trust in the government. Postcolonial societies must tackle how imported legal frameworks exclude and limit community participation. Without meaningful participation, health policy implementation and accountability will remain elusive.publishedVersio

“Análisis bacteriológico del agua de abastecimiento de los estanques de la estación piscicola de Izalco, Departamento de Sonsonate, El Salvador, durante el año 2016”

El objetivo general de la investigación fue realizar un análisis bacteriológico en el agua que es utilizada para abastecer los estanques de la estación piscícola de Izalco con la finalidad de determinar la calidad de agua con la que cuenta la estación.Se realizaron 4 muestreos a los que le se efectuaron pruebas bioquímicas para identificar la presencia de las bacterias, Escherichacoli, Enterobactersp, Citrobactersp, Salmonella sp, Shigellasp., presentes en el agua de los estanques, como en los canales que abastecen a estos

Showcasing the contribution of social sciences to health policy and systems research

Background: This Special Issue represents a critical response to the frequent silencing of qualitative social science research approaches in mainstream public health journals, particularly in those that inform the field of health policy and systems research (HPSR), and the study of equity in health. Methods: This collection of articles is presented by SHAPES, the thematic working group of Health Systems Global focused on social science approaches to research and engagement in health policy and systems. The issue aims to showcase how qualitative and theory-driven approaches can contribute to better promoting equity in health within the field of HPSR. Results: This issue builds on growing recognition of the complex social nature of health systems. The articles in this collection underscore the importance of employing methods that can uncover and help explain health system complexities by exploring the dynamic relationships and decision-making processes of the human actors within. Articles seek to highlight the contribution that qualitative, interpretivist, critical, emancipatory, and other relational methods have made to understanding health systems, health policies and health interventions from the perspective of those involved. By foregrounding actor perspectives, these methods allow us to explore the impact of vital but difficult-to-measure concepts such as power, culture and norms. Conclusion: This special issue aims to highlight the critical contribution of social science approaches. Through the application of qualitative methods and, in some cases, development of theory, the articles presented here build broader and deeper understanding of the way health systems function, and simultaneously inform a more people-centred approach to collective efforts to build and strengthen those systems.publishedVersio

Engaging with complexity to improve the health of indigenous people: a call for the use of systems thinking to tackle health inequity

The 400 million indigenous people worldwide represent a wealth of linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as traditional knowledge and sustainable practices that are invaluable resources for human development. However, indigenous people remain on the margins of society in high, middle and low-income countries, and they bear a disproportionate burden of poverty, disease, and mortality compared to the general population. These inequalities have persisted, and in some countries have even worsened, despite the overall improvements in health indicators in relation to the 15-year push to meet the Millennium Development Goals. As we enter the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) era, there is growing consensus that efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and promote sustainable development should be guided by the moral imperative to improve equity. To achieve this, we need to move beyond the reductionist tendency to frame indigenous health as a problem of poor health indicators to be solved through targeted service delivery tactics and move towards holistic, integrated approaches that address the causes of inequalities both inside and outside the health sector. To meet the challenge of engaging with the conditions underlying inequalities and promoting transformational change, equity-oriented research and practice in the field of indigenous health requires: engaging power, context-adapted strategies to improve service delivery, and mobilizing networks of collective action. The application of systems thinking approaches offers a pathway for the evolution of equity-oriented research and practice in collaborative, politically informed and mutually enhancing efforts to understand and transform the systems that generate and reproduce inequities in indigenous health. These approaches hold the potential to strengthen practice through the development of more nuanced, context-sensitive strategies for redressing power imbalances, reshaping the service delivery environment and fostering the dynamics of collective action for political reform.publishedVersio

Readiness to treat and factors associatedwith survival of newborns with breathingdifficulties in Ethiopia

Background Ethiopia is one of five countries that account for half of the world’s 2.6 million newborn deaths. A quarter of neonatal deaths in Ethiopia are caused by birth asphyxia. Understanding different dimensions of the quality of care for newborns with breathing difficulties can lead to improving service provision environments and practice. We describe facility readiness to treat newborns with breathing difficulties, the extent to which newborn resuscitation is provided, and by modeling the survival of newborns with difficulties breathing, we identify key factors that suggest how mortality from asphyxia can be reduced. Methods We carried out a secondary analysis of the 2016 Ethiopia Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care Assessment that included 3804 facilities providing childbirth services and 2433 chart reviews of babies born with difficulties breathing. We used descriptive statistics to assess health facilities’ readiness to treat these newborns and a binary logistic regression to identify factors associated with survival. Results Over one-quarter of facilities did not have small-sized masks (size 0 or 1) to complete the resuscitation kits. Among the 2190 cases with known survival status, 49% died before discharge, and among 1035 cases with better data quality, 29% died. The odds of surviving birth asphyxia after resuscitation increased eightfold compared to newborns not resuscitated. Other predictors for survival were the availability of a newborn corner, born at term or post-term, normal birth weight (≥2500 g) and delivered by cesarean or assisted vaginal delivery. Conclusion The survival status of newborns with birth asphyxia was low, particularly in the primary care facilities that lacked the required resuscitation pack. Newborns born in a facility with better data quality were more likely to survive than those born in facilities with poor data quality. Equipping health centers/clinics with resuscitation packs and reducing the incidence of preterm and low birth weight babies should improve survival rates.publishedVersio