Short-term oleoyl-estrone treatment affects capacity to manage lipids in rat adipose tissue

Background: Short-term OE (oleoyl-estrone) treatment causes significant decreases in rat weight mainly due to adipose tissue loss. The aim of this work was to determine if OE treatment affects the expression of genes that regulate lipid metabolism in white adipose tissue. Results: Gene expression in adipose tissue from female treated rats (48 hours) was analysed by hybridization to cDNA arrays and levels of specific mRNAs were determined by real-time PCR. Treatment with OE decreased the expression of 232 genes and up-regulated 75 other genes in mesenteric white adipose tissue. The use of real-time PCR validate that, in mesenteric white adipose tissue, mRNA levels for Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) were decreased by 52%, those of Fatty Acid Synthase (FAS) by 95%, those of Hormone Sensible Lipase (HSL) by 32%, those of Acetyl CoA Carboxylase (ACC) by 92%, those of Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase 1b (CPT1b) by 45%, and those of Fatty Acid Transport Protein 1 (FATP1) and Adipocyte Fatty Acid Binding Protein (FABP4) by 52% and 49%, respectively. Conversely, Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF¿) values showed overexpression (198%). Conclusion: Short-term treatment with OE affects adipose tissue capacity to extract fatty acids from lipoproteins and to deal with fatty acid transport and metabolism.

Access by Capacity and Peak-Load Pricing

Several European telecommunications regulatory agencies have recently introduced a fixed capacity charge (flat rate) to regulate access to the incumbent's network. The purpose of this paper is to show that the optimal capacity charge and the optimal access-minute charge analysed by Armstrong, Doyle, and Vickers (1996) have a similar structure and imply the same payment for the entrant. I extend the analysis tothe case where there is a competitor with market power. In this case, the optimalcapacity charge should be modified to avoid that the entrant cream-skims the market,fixing a longer or a shorter peak period than the optimal. Finally, I consider a multiproduct setting, where the effect of the product differentiation is exacerbated.

Esquemes de toxicologia industrial (I): Introducció-metalls

En paraules del mateix autor, aquest és un text esquemàtic destinat principalment a complir la funció docent a l'Escola Professional de Medicina del Treball de la Universitat de Barcelona. És un recull de documents que es van posar en el seu moment a disposició dels alumnes que cursaven Toxicologia Industrial i que va ser publicat posteriorment en forma d'un únic volum aprofitant l'efemèrida del XXXVè anniversari de l'escola.Dir també que el text present aquí correspon a la tercera edició, lleugerament ampliada l'any 2004.

Esquemes de toxicologia industrial (II): Risc i patologia per hidrocarburs

Aquesta és la segona part de la recopilació duta a terme pel doctor Corbella dels apunts i materials docents per a les assignatures de Toxicologia Industrial. En aquest cas es centra en l'estudi de la toxicitat i els riscs i malalties laborals derivades de la intoxicació per hidrocarburs.

Industrial agglomerations and wage gradients: the Spanish economy in the interwar period

This paper gives new evidence on the relationship between integration and industrial agglomeration in the presence of scale economies, by testing directly one of the predictions that can be derived from Krugman (1991), that is, the existence of regional nominal wage gradients and its transformation following changes in trade regimes. Our case study analyzes the effects of the substitution of an open economy by a closed economy regime, exactly the opposite process studied by Hanson (1996, 1997). In Spain, during the interwar period, protectionist policies would have favored the loss of centrality of the coastal location (Barcelona) and the relative rise of central locations (such as Madrid). Our results indicate the existence of a wage gradient centered in Barcelona during the interwar period (1914-1930) and its weakening after 1925.

Were Spanish migrants attracted by industrial agglomerations?: an analysis for the interwar years in the light of the new economic geography

In this paper we examine whether access to markets had a significant influence onmigration choices of Spanish internal migrants in the inter-war years. We perform astructural contrast of a New Economic Geography model that focus on the forwardlinkage that links workers location choice with the geography of industrial production,one of the centripetal forces that drive agglomeration in the NEG models. The resultshighlight the presence of this forward linkage in the Spanish economy of the inter-warperiod. That is, we prove the existence of a direct relation between workers¿ localizationdecisions and the market potential of the host regions. In addition, the direct estimationof the values associated with key parameters in the NEG model allows us to simulatethe migratory flows derived from different scenarios of the relative size of regions andthe distances between them. We show that in Spain the power of attraction of theagglomerations grew as they increased in size, but the high elasticity estimated for themigration costs reduced the intensity of the migratory flows. This could help to explainthe apparently low intensity of internal migrations in Spain until its upsurge during the1920s. This also explains the geography of migrations in Spain during this period,which hardly affected the regions furthest from the large industrial agglomerations (i.e.,regions such as Andalusia, Estremadura and Castile-La Mancha) but had an intenseeffect on the provinces nearest to the principal centres of industrial development.

Integración económica y localización industrial. Cataluña, la fábrica de España: ¿cuándo y por qué?

En este artículo se analizan los determinantes de la localización de la actividad industrial en España durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. El objetivo es estudiar la existencia de cambios en los factores explicativos de la localización, con el fin de identificar los efectos de la integración económica sobre la geografía industrial española. Para hacerlo, en primer lugar se analiza la literatura histórica existente. En segundo lugar, se describen las teorías que explican la localización de l'actividad. En tercer lugar, se realiza un análisis empírico de la localización y la concentración de la industria española al siglo XIX. A continuación, se propone un estudio econométrico de los determinantes de la localización industrial en dos cortes temporales, 1856 y 1893. Los resultados son consistentes con las teorías del comercio. Durante el decurso de la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, España paso a ser una economía integrada, la movilidad del trabajo y del capital se vio favorecida y como resultado, las diferencias relativas en las dotaciones de factores perdieron importancia en la explicación de las pautas de especialización industrial. Por el contrario, la integración económica favoreció la significación relativa de las economías de escala o de la proximidad a los mercados como elementos explicativos de la localización de la industria, favoreciendo, de esta manera, la aglomeración de la actividad industrial

Consideraciones sobre las formas de producción industrial en Cataluña 1936-1938

La gran cantidad de libros y papeles escritos alrededor de la guerra civil aspañola 1936-1939 han prestado relativamente poca atención al examen de la evolución económica de esapaña durante aquellos años y, más en particular, al desarrollo de la actividad económica y de los modos de producción industrial en Cataluña durante el mismo período, que, así pues, por un conjunto de circunstancias han quedado, en algunos aspectos, marginados de dichos estudios. [. . .]

La rehabilitación y el uso del patrimonio histórico industrial

La reutilización de edificios industriales es un aspecto del proceso de reconversión de suelo industrial en otros usos, el cual se ha acentuado con la reestructuración industrial ligada a la aparición de lo que se denomina ciudad postindustrial. Dicho proceso ha llevado con frecuencia al abandono y a la degradación de los viejos edificios industriales, que muchas veces son derribados y sustituidos por otros nuevos dedicados a viviendas o a usos terciarios. En los dos últimos decenios, sin embargo, la conservación y la reutilización del patrimonio histórico industrial ha adquirido una gran importancia. Los viejos edificios industriales funcionalmente obsoletos poseen, en efecto, valores arquitectónicos y técnicos que hacen a veces necesaria y posible su conservación y reutilización adaptativa. Pero eso exige definir claramente criterios de selección, tras un proceso de inventario y catalogación, en el que deben tenerse en cuenta los criterios generales de catalogación del patrimonio histórico monumental. El artículo discute la conveniencia de conservar edificios funcionalmente obsoletos y aborda la cuestión de las estrategias de defensa, haciendo alusión al papel de los técnicos y a la necesidad del compromiso local.

Anàlisi d’un incendi en una nau industrial a Gavà. Conclusions per a l’aplicació del (RSCIEI) en naus de tipus A en horitzontal

1. SINISTRE D’UNA NAU INDÚSTRIAL A GAVÀ 2. ANÀLISI DE SINISTRES DE PÒRTICS ENTRE MITGERES 3. CONTROL DE LA FALLADA DE LES ESTRUCTURES AMB MESURES PASSIVES 3.1 Definició del model simulats 3.2 Paràmetres de càlcul amb OZONE 3.3 Corbes d’incendi resultants del model de zones 1D 3.4 Control tèrmic de l’estructura amb sistemes de ventilació 3.5 Control tèrmic de l’estructura amb aïllament 3.6 Taula de resultats 3.7 Conclusions 1D 4. SIMULACIÓ DELS INCENDIS AMB FIRE DYNAMICS SIMULATOR

Decentralization and the Welfare State: What Do Citizens Perceive?

Trust in public institutions and public policies are generally perceived as a precondition for economic recovery in times of recession. Recent empirical evidence tends to find a positive link between decentralization and trust. But our knowledge about whether decentralization – through increased trust – improves the perception of the delivery and effectiveness of public policies is still limited. In this paper we estimate the impact of fiscal and political decentralization on the perception of the state of the education system and of health services, by using the 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 waves of the European social survey. The analysis of the views of 160,000 individuals in 31 European countries indicates that while the effect of fiscal decentralization on the perception of the state of the health and education system is limited, political decentralization clearly affects citizen’s satisfaction with education and health delivery. The influence of political decentralization, however, is highly contingent on whether we consider the capacity of the local or regional government to exercise authority over its citizens (self-rule) or to influence policy at the national level (shared-rule). Keywords: Education, health, satisfaction, fiscal and political decentralization, Europe. JEL codes: H11, H77

Young innovative firms and R&D strategies: is the Spanish case different?

This paper analyzes the profile of Spanish young innovative companies (YICs) and the determinants of innovation and imitation strategies. The results for an extensive sample of 2,221 Spanish firms studied during the period 2004–2010 show that YICs are found in all sectors, although they are more concentrated in high-tech sectors and, in particular, in knowledge-intensive services (KIS). Three of every four YICs are involved in KIS. Our results highlight that financial and knowledge barriers have much impact on the capacity of young, small firms to innovate and to become YICs, whereas market barriers are not obstacles to becoming a YIC. Public funding, in particular from the European Union, makes it easier for a new firm to become a YIC. In addition, YICs are more likely to innovate than mature firms, although they are more susceptible to sectoral and territorial factors. YICs make more dynamic use of innovation and imitation strategies when they operate in high-tech industries and are based in science parks located close to universities. Keywords: innovation strategies, public innovation policies, barriers to innovation, multinomial probit model. JEL Codes: D01, D22 , L60, L80, O31

Viticulture under climate change : understanding vulnerability and adaptive capacity of wineries and growers. A case study in El Penedès region, Catalonia

Climate change may pose challenges and opportunities to viticulture, and much research has focused in studying the likely impacts on grapes and wine production in different regions worldwide. This study assesses the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of the viticulture sector under changing climate conditions, based on a case study in El Penedès region, Catalonia. Farm assets, livelihood strategies, farmer-market interactions and climate changes perceptions are analysed through semi-structured interviews with different types of wineries and growers. Both types of actors are equally exposed to biophysical stressors but unevenly affected by socioeconomic changes. While wineries are vulnerable because of the current economic crisis and the lack of diversification of their work, which may affect their income or production, growers are mainly affected by the low prices of their products and the lack of fix contracts. These socioeconomic stressors strongly condition their capacity to adapt to climate change, meaning that growers prioritize their immediate income problems, rather than future socioeconomic or climate threats. Therefore, growers undertake reactive adaptation to climate changing conditions, mainly based on ancient knowledge, whilst wineries combine both reactive and anticipatory adaptation practices. These circumstances should be addressed in order to allow better anticipatory adaptation to be implemented, thus avoiding future climate threats.

Projecte d'adequació d'una nau industrial per a la implantació d'una indústria de processat d'ametlles

El projecte se situa en una explotació agrícola de 20 ha, 18 de les quals estan destinades al cultiu d’ametllers de la varietat Vairo. L’explotació pertany al municipi de l’Albi, a la comarca de Les Garrigues, província de Lleida. Actualment a la finca existeix una nau industrial sense instal•lació elèctrica ni hidràulica i sense cap partició a l’interior que es fa servir com a magatzem d’eines. Les ametlles recollides a l’explotació són comercialitzades a una cooperativa de Reus. Els serveis dels que disposa la finca actualment són: - Escomesa elèctrica a l’entrada de la finca. - Aigua del canal Segarra-Garrigues pressuritzada. Escomesa a l’entrada de la finca. - Fossa sèptica de 50 m3. Es troba a 20 m del col•lector general pel qual s’evacuaran les aigües residuals. Es tracta d’una antiga bassa soterrada que ja existia i que se’n reconvertirà el seu ús. L’objectiu del projecte és descriure i dissenyar l’adequació de la nau industrial de dimensions 10 m x 12 m (120 m2) per implantar una indústria de processat primari d’ametlla. El processat primari consisteix en el desclovat de l’ametlla (separació del gra de la closca), assecat del gra obtingut per aconseguir una humitat inferior al 6 % i finalment l’envasat d’aquest gra. Com a procés secundari s’envasarà i es comercialitzarà la closca obtinguda en el procés de descolvat

Actuación ante los delitos contra la propiedad intelectual e industrial desde el punto de vista jurídico [presentació associada a la ponència]

Sus formas de manifestación, comisión y desarrollo directamente relacionadas con el propio desarrollo de la tecnología; Son una fuente lucrativa para los grupos delictivos organizados y un medio fácil y de poco coste para la obtención de importantes beneficios y con menor riesgo de castigo; Especial idiosincrasia de las localidades de esta comunidad autónoma, favorece su proliferación; Genera un fenómeno sociológico singular : empatía o solidaridad que determina un menor reproche social; -Escasa conciencia popular del carácter delictivo de algunas de estas conductas; -Figura delictiva que entraña organización compleja siendo el Top manta nada más que la “punta del iceberg”. Necesidad de una visión jurídica global para analizar este tipo de delitos y abordarlos adecuadamente.