Economic aspects of pharmacotherapy for chronic constipation

Constipation is one of the most common digestive complaints. It is a symptom, not a disease. The subjectivity that this involves means that assessments of clinical epidemiology, socioeconomic costs and pharmacotherapy are difficult, since there is no definition of 'normal' bowel habit. Although constipation can affect all ages, the problem increases with age, and is of particular concern for those who are frail and in long term care. Cultural influences may affect the prevalence in older people. Drug therapy of constipation cannot be considered in isolation, since there are issues in the prevention of constipation and the principles of good management that also apply. Furthermore, some consideration of the pathophysiology and diagnosis is important. This is because a number of remediable causes can be identified, and the diagnostic process involves patient education, which in turn may be effective in reducing costs. It is the complaint of constipation which leads either to self-medication or to consultation with the medical profession. Both of these courses of action have a significant influence on utilisation of laxatives (cathartics), obtained both over-the-counter and by prescription. Although there are a large number of laxative preparations available, therapy has changed little in half a century. Costs may vary considerably, and with such a significant problem there is a need for comparative studies. However, study methodologies are difficult, and a significant placebo response may be found. Education and preventive measures have been shown to reduce laxative use and costs in institutions. Unfortunately, there are few comparative studies of individual laxatives and even fewer cost-effectiveness studies. Those that there are have been based in institutions, and so extrapolation to other situations may be difficult. In general, little attention is given to constipation. It is, however, an area with significant resource implications in which education and preventive measures have been shown to be beneficial. Even so, there is still a need for good comparative studies, particularly where cost effectiveness is concerned.

Recreational shore fishing in southern Portugal: biological and socio-economic aspects and perspectives for management

Although overfishing is a concern for many fish stocks, it was for a long time only associated with commercial fishing exploitation, with less or no attention being given to the recreational fisheries. Recent research has shown however that the impact of recreational fishing on particular species can be considerable, and that the recreational harvest needs to be taken into account if fisheries are to be accurately assessed and effectively managed. In Portugal, the first recreational fishing regulations were only recently implemented. However, mirroring other European countries, regulations lacked scientific support, and specific knowledge of the activity was limited to a few studies with limited coverage. This thesis aimed to characterize the biological and socioeconomic aspects of the recreational shore angling activity in southern Portugal, to investigate whether the regulations in place were adequate and effective, and to provide recommendations for improved management and conservation of the inshore fisheries resources. A combined aerial-roving survey was conducted to gather data on fishing effort, catch, fishing trips and socioeconomic aspects (including anglers’ perceptions of regulations) of the recreational angling activity. The analysis of anglers’ catches suggested that compliance with daily bag limits was high, with less than 0.5% of creels exceeding the 10 kg angler-1 day-1 bag limit. Overall, 11.5% of the retained fishes were undersized, but non-compliance with minimum size limits was found to be high for some species (e.g. seabass, 73% undersized). In terms of the impact of recreational shore angling, the total estimated catches corresponded to less than 1% of the commercial landings for the same period (shared species). However, shore angling catches for white sea bream (Diplodus sargus) were found to be considerable, corresponding to 65% of the commercial landings (39.4% of total catch). In terms of anglers’ perceptions about the recreational fishing regulations in Portugal, the present study has shown that the majority of anglers accepted the existence of some kind of SRF regulations, but in general there was a partial or total disagreement with the recreational fishing restrictions recently put in place. Most anglers perceived themselves as not being involved in the decision-making process and claimed that some restrictions lacked a meaningful rationale (e.g. prohibition of fishing from piers/jetties). Fishers’ awareness with regard to specific aspects of the restrictions (such as the rationale for minimum size limits) was found to be very limited. During the same period, catches from sport fishing competitions were examined to test for differences with the recreational activity in terms of catches, and evaluate long term trends in catch and mean size of fish. Catches of the sport fishing competitions were found to be different from those observed for recreational fishing, being dominated by different species (e.g. garfish, mullets), and suggesting different fishing strategies of the the two types of anglers. High percentages of undersized fish were observed to be captured (and retained) during the competitions (in particular seabass, with 100% undersized), probably as a result of a single allowable minimum size (AMS) of 15 cm for all species in use in competitions. Lastly, catch and release fishing experiments were carried out to assess post-release mortality of three recreationally important species: two banded sea bream Diplodus vulgaris; black sea bream Spondyliosoma cantharus; and gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata. Post-release mortalities were found to be low (0-12%). The main predictor of mortality for Sparus aurata was anatomical hooking location, with 63% of the fishes that died being deeply hooked. The results support the release of fish, either from mandatory (e.g. minimum landing sizes) or voluntary practices. In summary, this thesis has demonstrated that the impact of recreational fishing for particular species is significant and needs to be taken into account for more effective management and stock assessment purposes. It has also highlighted several management issues that should be addressed in order to promote more adequate regulations in the future and prevent noncompliance issues. A periodic monitoring of the recreational fishing activity including all fishing modes (i.e. spear fishing, boat, and shore angling) would also be beneficial to ensure a timely knowledge on the global recreational fishing activity and support future management actions.

Socio-Economic Aspects of Sustainable Ecotourism Development: The Case of Kerala

The paper is an attempt to shed light on the socio-economic aspects of the local communities on the development of ecotourism in Kerala. Most of the local communities in the ecotourism destinations are tribes who have been excluded from the mainstream society and are not a part of Kerala’s overall development setting. The paper also tries to situate the community perception on the sustainable livelihood of ecotourism sites of Kerala. Data for the study is obtained from a primary survey by dividing the ecotourism destinations in Kerala into three zones, 230 from south zone, 220 from central zone and 200 from north zone with a total sample size of 650 based on the notion of community based ecotourism initiatives of the state. The result of the study confirms that ecotourism has helped to enhance the livelihood of the marginalized community. With well-knit policies it is possible to tag ecotourism of Kerala as an important tourism destination in the global tourism map

Legal, political and economic aspects of the tragedy in rural Colombia in recent decades: hypothesis for analysis

Editorial

Visca Dalí!. '­Viva Dalí!'.

Desde el servicio educativo de la Fundación Gala-Salvador Dalí se relatan las visitas-taller de su oferta educativa, tanto para alumnos de infantil, primaria, secundaria y bachillerato, sin olvidarse de los alumnos con necesidades especiales ni de los grupos familiares, AMPAs, etc..

Salvador Dalí y la cuestión de las dimensiones.

Reflexión sobre la aportación de Dalí al mundo de las matemáticas. Se centra en el análisis de las dimensiones a partir del estudio de sus cuadros.

Miradas y palabras de niños y niñas interpretando a Salvador Dalí : una experiencia de arte en educación infantil.

Proyecto de Trabajo realizado con el objetivo de que los alumnos de educación infantil empezasen a conocer la obra del pintor Salvador Dalí a través de una enseñanza sociocultural y democrática. Los diferentes talleres y actividades han sido pensados para permitir espacios de convivencia y diálogo entre los alumnos.

Salvador Dalí y el método paranoico-crítico, visión desde el psicoanálisis

Surrealismo y psicoanálisis, dos movimientos que buscaban liberar al sujeto de sus represiones, mantuvieron una relación cercana desde distintas perspectivas, la cual alcanzó su apogeo bajo la representación de sus principales referentes, Sigmund Freud, André Breton y Salvador Dalí. Este último se destaca por su deseo intenso de acercarse al analista austriaco, una vez se aproximó a la obra psicoanalítica, corriente de pensamiento que influiría en su obra artística y vida personal. En este sentido, se realiza una revisión sistemática de literatura con la intención de reconocer la influencia de la obra psicoanalítica en la vida y obra de Salvador Dalí. Se encontró que la relación entre la corriente de pensamiento y el artista español se ubica en el plano teórico y personal. Siendo admirador de las ideas psicoanalíticas, Salvador Dalí las incorpora como fundamento teórico del método paranoico-crítico, propuesta de creación artística, dando lugar a la paranoia como elemento sistematizador de la confusión.

Salvador Dalí.

La entrevista se realiza después de la edición de 'Carta abierta a Salvador Dalí' (1977) dónde el pintor muestra su faceta literaria. Ésta es constante, aunque menos conocida por el gran público, desde su etapa en la Residencia de Estudiantes de Madrid, donde su amistad con el poeta Federico García Lorca le lleva a escribir para conocerse mejor. En el transcurso de la entrevista Dalí deja de lado su parte más histriónica para mostrar su dominio del lenguaje y su sentido del humor.

La inspiración paranoica de Salvador Dalí.

Presenta un análisis del surrealismo dentro de la sociedad de vanguardia de finales del XIX y principios del XX centrándose en la figura de Dalí. Después analiza la contrariedad de la obra de este artista, la objetividad y la subjetividad. También presenta un análisis de los referentes iconográficos de su obra: la filosofía, el psicoanálisis, la ciencia y la lectura microscópica de los fenómenos naturales; y el método de trabajo del artista, el paranoico crítico.

Salvador Dalí : la necesidad de ser un hombre de acción.

Presenta un recorrido por las diversas facetas de la vida artística de Salvador Dalí: conferenciante, escritor, diseñador de escenarios, colaborador de ballets, arquitecto o guionista. Se centra en las relacionadas con el arte de la acción. En un primer apartado analiza su faceta de conferenciante. Después analiza las de creador de environment (ambiente) o protohappenings, performances y, finalmente, como pintor 'automático', su trabajo con el action painting y los falsos happenings o shows pictóricos.

Leganés en su entorno : experiencia interdisciplinar realizada por alumnos y profesores del IB número VI de Leganés (Salvador Dalí).

Proyecto presentado al Primer Concurso de Becas de Investigación Didáctica 'Investiga a través del entorno y exponlo' para Centros de enseñanza radicados en la Comunidad de Madrid, que se celebró el curso 1987-88, en el que obtuvo el segundo premio. Así mismo se celebró en el propio Instituto una exposición bajo el lema 'Leganés para su gente'