Potential impact of environmental bacteriophages in spreading antibiotic resistance genes

The idea that bacteriophage transduction plays a role in the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes is gaining momentum. Such transduction might be vital in horizontal transfer from environmental to human body-associated biomes and here we review many lines of evidence supporting this notion. It is well accepted that bacteriophages are the most abundant entities in most environments, where they have been shown to be quite persistent. This fact, together with the ability of many phages to infect bacteria belonging to different taxa, makes them suitable vehicles for gene transfer. Metagenomic studies confirm that substantial percentages of the bacteriophage particles present in most environments contain bacterial genes, including mobile genetic elements and antibiotic resistance genes. When specific genes of resistance to antibiotics are detected by real-time PCR in the bacteriophage populations of different environments, only tenfold lower numbers of these genes are observed, compared with those found in the corresponding bacterial populations. In addition, the antibiotic resistance genes from these bacteriophages are functional and generate resistance to the bacteria when these genes are transfected. Finally, reports about the transduction of antibiotic resistance genes are on the increase.

The Impact of EU Membership on the Economic Governance of Spain

[spa] España no fue admitida en la Comunidad Económica Europea durante el régimen de Franco por razones políticas. Integrarse a la Comunidad Europea en enero de 1986 fue el último peldaño hacia la consolidación definitiva de la democracia en España y de la apertura de su economía.. Los resultados de los veinticinco años como miembro de la UE se han traducido en un impulso sin precedentes de modernización y progreso. España adoptó el “Acervo Comunitario” y recibió considerables beneficios de su integración a la Comunidad, eliminando barreras, siguiendo las políticas comunes, recibiendo fondos europeos y adoptando la moneda europea común. A partir de un nivel del 60% del promedio europeo de renta per capita en 1986, el nivel actual –incluso con la crisis que estalló en 2008- se sitúa en torno al 105 por ciento. Los últimos tres años han sido diferentes y difíciles como consecuencia de la severa crisis económica y financiera.En este contexto este trabajo analiza como los sucesivos gobiernos de España han organizado la gobernanza económica para adaptarla a los cambios cuantitativos y cualitativos que se han ido produciendo en la integración europea.

The Impact of EU Membership on the Economic Governance of Spain

[spa] España no fue admitida en la Comunidad Económica Europea durante el régimen de Franco por razones políticas. Integrarse a la Comunidad Europea en enero de 1986 fue el último peldaño hacia la consolidación definitiva de la democracia en España y de la apertura de su economía.. Los resultados de los veinticinco años como miembro de la UE se han traducido en un impulso sin precedentes de modernización y progreso. España adoptó el “Acervo Comunitario” y recibió considerables beneficios de su integración a la Comunidad, eliminando barreras, siguiendo las políticas comunes, recibiendo fondos europeos y adoptando la moneda europea común. A partir de un nivel del 60% del promedio europeo de renta per capita en 1986, el nivel actual –incluso con la crisis que estalló en 2008- se sitúa en torno al 105 por ciento. Los últimos tres años han sido diferentes y difíciles como consecuencia de la severa crisis económica y financiera.En este contexto este trabajo analiza como los sucesivos gobiernos de España han organizado la gobernanza económica para adaptarla a los cambios cuantitativos y cualitativos que se han ido produciendo en la integración europea.

Evaluating the impact of filming on the number of errors committed by nursing students to determine the efficacy of simulated clinical situations

Clinic simulation as a training and knowledge method allows people experiment a real event representation with the aim of acquiring knowledge, abilities and aptitudes. The filming of the staging represents a useful tool to review the decisions taken and the actions they did, with the purpose to highlight the strengths, weaknesses and the areas for improvement. The article describes a study carried out by a group of students in second course of nursing, and it tries to evaluate if there is any influence if somebody is filming you during the clinic simulation, does it make you do more errors or not?

Impact of the Spanish smoking control law on exposure to second-hand smoke and respiratory health in hospitality workers: a cohort study

A smoke-free law came into effect in Spain on 1st January 2006, affecting all enclosed workplaces except hospitality venues, whose proprietors can choose among totally a smoke-free policy, a partial restriction with designated smoking areas, or no restriction on smoking on the premises. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the law among hospitality workers by assessing second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure and the frequency of respiratory symptoms before and one year after the ban.

The Impact of Doing Business Regulations on Investments in ICT

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Impact of geographical and cultural factors on clinical trials in acute mania: lessons from a ziprasidone and haloperidol placebo-controlled study

Clinical trials today are conducted in multiple countries to enhance patient recruitment and improve efficiency of trials. However, the demographic and cultural diversity may contribute to variations in study outcomes. Here we conducted post-hoc analyses for a placebo-controlled study with ziprasidone and haloperidol for the treatment of acute mania to address the demographic, dosing, and outcome disparities in India, Russia and the USA. We compared the baseline characteristics, outcomes and discontinuations in patients and explored the relationship between the outcome measures across these countries. We found substantial differences in baseline characteristics of subjects, administered dosage and disease severity in India compared to the USA and Russia. Conversely, US subjects had a higher placebo response compared to subjects in Russia and India. These results are probably due to demographic differences in patient populations and psychiatric clinical practice across countries. While we offer initial ideas to address the disparities identified in this analysis, it is clear that further research to improve our understanding of geographical differences is essential to ensure globally applicable results for clinical trials in psychiatry.

The impact of inbound demand on price levels in tourism municipalities : Empirical evidence from Catalonia

It is usually argued that tourism exerts negative economic impacts in host jurisdictions through the increase in prices linked to increasing demand for basic services and goods from tourists. This paper surveys 149 products in 45 tourism and non-tourism jurisdictions in Catalonia (which represent a total of 18,500 prices) in order to test empirically several hypotheses related to differences in price levels in tourism and non-tourism jurisdictions. The main results show that prices in tourism jurisdictions are not significantly higher than those in non-tourism ones. The analysis suggests that tourists are likely to pay higher prices than natives for some products

Impact of quality improvement tools on the performance of firms using different quality management systems

This study compares the impact of quality management tools on the performance of organisations utilising the ISO 9001:2000 standard as a basis for a quality-management system band those utilising the EFQM model for this purpose. A survey is conducted among 107 experienced and independent quality-management assessors. The study finds that organisations with qualitymanagement systems based on the ISO 9001:2000 standard tend to use general-purpose qualitative tools, and that these do have a relatively positive impact on their general performance. In contrast, organisations adopting the EFQM model tend to use more specialised quantitative tools, which produce significant improvements in specific aspects of their performance. The findings of the study will enable organisations to choose the most effective quality-improvement tools for their particular quality strategy

How Important to a City Are Tourists and Daytrippers? The Economic Impact of Tourism on The City of Barcelona

In this paper, we devise a methodology that is able to objectively quantify the impact of tourism on the urban economy. This methodology takes various dimensions into account. First, to analyse the impact at sectoral level, it should bear in mind that tourism is a cross-sectional activity which affects many sectors, both directly and indirectly. Therefore, it is important to consider the impact of urban tourism on sectors traditionally defined as tourism-related, -that is, hotels, restaurants, shops, etc.- but also its impact on other sectors -for instance, textiles, food, construction, to name only a few- due to the intersectoral relationships that emerge. Second, we need to calculate the percentage of the turnover of each sector that is due to the tourism industry. Third, it is important to establish the geographic distribution of this impact: how is the effect shared between the city and its neighbouring areas QUESTION Finally, the effect of urban tourism should be quantified not only in terms of turnover, but also in terms of its contribution to GDP and employment.

Industrial emissions abatement: Untangling the impact of the EU ETS and the economic crisis

In this study we use historical emission data from installations under the European Union Emissions Trading System, -EU ETS- to evaluate the impact of this policy on industrial greenhouse gas emissions during the first two trading phases, 2005-2012. As such the analysis seeks to disentangle two causes of emission abatement: that attributable to the EU ETS and that attributable to the economic crisis that hit the EU in 2008/09. Using a panel data approach the estimated emissions reduction attributable to the EU ETS is about 21 per cent of the total emission abatement during the observation period. These results suggest therefore that the lion’s share of abatement was attributable to the effects of the economic crisis, a finding that has serious implications for future policy adjustments affecting core elements of the EU ETS, including the distribution of EU emission allowances.

Impact of simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation: patients' perspectives

Background: Few qualitative studies of simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPK Tx) have been published. The aims of this study were to explore from the perspective of patients, the experience of living with diabetes mellitus type 1 (T1DM), suffering from complications, and undergoing SPK Tx with good outcome; and to determine the impact of SPK Tx on patients and their social and cultural environment. Methods: We performed a focused ethnographic study. Twenty patients were interviewed. Data were analyzed using content analysis and constant comparison following the method proposed by Miles and Huberman. Results: A functioning SPK Tx allowed renal replacement therapy and insulin to be discontinued. To describe their new situation, patients used words and phrases such as"miracle","being reborn" or"coming back to life". Although the complications of T1DM, its surgery and treatment, and associated psychological problems did not disappear after SPK Tx, these were minimized when compared with the pretransplantation situation. Conclusion: For patients, SPK Tx represents a recovery of their health and autonomy despite remaining problems associated with the complications of T1DM and SPK Tx. The understanding of patients" existential framework and their experience of disease are key factors for planning new intervention and improvement strategies.

Impact of simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation: patients' perspectives

Background: Few qualitative studies of simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPK Tx) have been published. The aims of this study were to explore from the perspective of patients, the experience of living with diabetes mellitus type 1 (T1DM), suffering from complications, and undergoing SPK Tx with good outcome; and to determine the impact of SPK Tx on patients and their social and cultural environment. Methods: We performed a focused ethnographic study. Twenty patients were interviewed. Data were analyzed using content analysis and constant comparison following the method proposed by Miles and Huberman. Results: A functioning SPK Tx allowed renal replacement therapy and insulin to be discontinued. To describe their new situation, patients used words and phrases such as"miracle","being reborn" or"coming back to life". Although the complications of T1DM, its surgery and treatment, and associated psychological problems did not disappear after SPK Tx, these were minimized when compared with the pretransplantation situation. Conclusion: For patients, SPK Tx represents a recovery of their health and autonomy despite remaining problems associated with the complications of T1DM and SPK Tx. The understanding of patients" existential framework and their experience of disease are key factors for planning new intervention and improvement strategies.

The impact of adopting a CLIL approach on EFL learners reading skills in Catalonia school

En els últims anys, un gran nombre de docents i escoles han estat introduint programes AICLE a les escoles catalanes. A la majoria d’escoles, però, només s'ensenya anglès com a llengua estrangera, la qual cosa, limita les oportunitats d'estar en contacte amb la llengua estrangera en un context diferent. L’objectiu d'aquest estudi és analitzar si els infants milloren en les seves habilitats lectores i comprovar si existeix un avantatge significatiu respecte els alumnes que només estudien anglès com a llengua estrangera. L’estudi empíric que us presento a continuació, compara els resultats obtinguts en dues proves de comprensió lectora. A les proves hi van participar dos grups d’alumnes de cinquè de d’Educació Primària. Un dels grups seguia un programa AICLE (1 hora a la setmana i , a més aprenia anglès coma llengua estrangera); l’altre grup només estudiava anglès com a llengua estrangera. L'objectiu principal d'aquest projecte d'investigació és esbrinar si els programes AICLE tenen un impacte en les habilitats lectores en llengua anglesa dels alumnes. Així doncs, humilment intentaré contribuir a la literatura existent sobre els beneficis de l’AICLE.

La Incidencia de las nuevas tecnologías en los hábitos formativos de los estudiantes de magisterio = The Impact of new technologies in the learning habits of teacher students

Este trabajo persigue dos objetivos: el primero es analizar el uso de las TIC en un grupo de estudiantes de segundo curso de Magisterio de la Universidad de Girona; el segundo es analizar los documentos normativos legales que establecen el currículum de educación primaria en Cataluña para observar qué tipo de papel juegan las TIC en las nuevas programaciones educativas. La primera parte se ha llevado a cabo mediante una encuesta, cuyos resultados permiten observar tres aspectos distintos: el primero, que una parte considerable del grupo considera las TIC más como un complemento para el aprendizaje que como una forma de aprendizaje; el segundo, que a pesar de hacer un uso considerable de las TIC, el conocimiento que tienen de ellas es muy básico y utilizan aplicaciones muy genéricas; y el tercero es que una parte de sus propuestas didácticas para el uso de las TIC son propuestas tradicionales simplemente adaptadas a un nuevo instrumento, sin buscar realmente la innovación que puede suponer la incorporación de las TIC. En la segunda parte del artículo, a partir del análisis e interpretación de los documentos legales que establecen el currículum de Educación Primaria, se observa que en un mismo documento conviven aserciones sobre las TIC como complemento al aprendizaje de contenidos con otras formulaciones que consideran las TIC como constructoras de conocimiento. A partir del perfil de los estudiantes y del estado de los documentos legales, al final del artículo se hacen propuestas para formar al futuro maestro teniendo en cuenta las TIC como herramientas básicas de conocimiento