Impôts et dépenses publiques variables : une Suisse polycentrique et multifonctionnelle ou du fédéralisme coopératif à la concurrence fiscale

Une Suisse polycentrique et multifonctionnelle ou du fédéralisme coopératif à la concurrence fiscale.

Association of Hematological Variables with Team-Sport Specific Fitness Performance.

PURPOSE: We investigated association of hematological variables with specific fitness performance in elite team-sport players. METHODS: Hemoglobin mass (Hbmass) was measured in 25 elite field hockey players using the optimized (2 min) CO-rebreathing method. Hemoglobin concentration ([Hb]), hematocrit and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were analyzed in venous blood. Fitness performance evaluation included a repeated-sprint ability (RSA) test (8 x 20 m sprints, 20 s of rest) and the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery level 2 (YYIR2). RESULTS: Hbmass was largely correlated (r = 0.62, P<0.01) with YYIR2 total distance covered (YYIR2TD) but not with any RSA-derived parameters (r ranging from -0.06 to -0.32; all P>0.05). [Hb] and MCHC displayed moderate correlations with both YYIR2TD (r = 0.44 and 0.41; both P<0.01) and RSA sprint decrement score (r = -0.41 and -0.44; both P<0.05). YYIR2TD correlated with RSA best and total sprint times (r = -0.46, P<0.05 and -0.60, P<0.01; respectively), but not with RSA sprint decrement score (r = -0.19, P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Hbmass is positively correlated with specific aerobic fitness, but not with RSA, in elite team-sport players. Additionally, the negative relationships between YYIR2 and RSA tests performance imply that different hematological mechanisms may be at play. Overall, these results indicate that these two fitness tests should not be used interchangeably as they reflect different hematological mechanisms.

Landscape Systems and Human Land-Use Interactions in Mediterranean Highlands and Littoral Plains during the Late Holocene: Integrated Analysis from the InterAmbAr Project (North-Eastern Catalonia).

The main goal of the InterAmbAr reseach project is to analyze the relationships between landscape systems and human land-use strategies on mountains and littoral plains from a long-term perspective. The study adopts a high resolution analysis of small-scale study areas located in the Mediterranean region of north-eastern Catalonia. The study areas are distributed along an altitudinal transect from the high mountain (above 2000m a.s.l.) to the littoral plain of Empordà (Fig. 1). High resolution interdisciplinary research has been carried out from 2010, based on the integration of palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data. The micro-scale approach is used to understand human-environmental relationships. It allows better understanding of the local-regional nature of environmental changes and the synergies between catchment-based systems, hydro-sedimentary regimes, human mobility, land-uses, human environments, demography, etc.

Attracting cavities for docking. Replacing the rough energy landscape of the protein by a smooth attracting landscape.

Molecular docking is a computational approach for predicting the most probable position of ligands in the binding sites of macromolecules and constitutes the cornerstone of structure-based computer-aided drug design. Here, we present a new algorithm called Attracting Cavities that allows molecular docking to be performed by simple energy minimizations only. The approach consists in transiently replacing the rough potential energy hypersurface of the protein by a smooth attracting potential driving the ligands into protein cavities. The actual protein energy landscape is reintroduced in a second step to refine the ligand position. The scoring function of Attracting Cavities is based on the CHARMM force field and the FACTS solvation model. The approach was tested on the 85 experimental ligand-protein structures included in the Astex diverse set and achieved a success rate of 80% in reproducing the experimental binding mode starting from a completely randomized ligand conformer. The algorithm thus compares favorably with current state-of-the-art docking programs. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Computational Chemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Un modelo de predicción de la insolvencia empresarial basado en variables financieras. Su aplicación al caso textil catalán (1994-1997)

En este documento se formula un modelo de predicción de la insolvencia a través de la combinación de diferentes variables cuantitativas extraídas de los estados contables de una muestra de empresas para los años 1994-1997. Partiendo del modelo de flexibilidad financiera de Donaldson, que es adaptado por Van Frederikslust a la predicción de la insolvencia, lo que aquí se expone es una aplicación a una muestra de empresas de los sectores textil y confección. Aunque los resultados no son alentadores, lo más importante es destacar cómo a través de una modelización de este tipo, probamos una formulación teórica del problema.

Classification models for neurocognitive impairment in HIV infection based on demographic and clinical variables

Objective: We used demographic and clinical data to design practical classification models for prediction of neurocognitive impairment (NCI) in people with HIV infection. Methods: The study population comprised 331 HIV-infected patients with available demographic, clinical, and neurocognitive data collected using a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests. Classification and regression trees (CART) were developed to btain detailed and reliable models to predict NCI. Following a practical clinical approach, NCI was considered the main variable for study outcomes, and analyses were performed separately in treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced patients. Results: The study sample comprised 52 treatment-naïve and 279 experienced patients. In the first group, the variables identified as better predictors of NCI were CD4 cell count and age (correct classification [CC]: 79.6%, 3 final nodes). In treatment-experienced patients, the variables most closely related to NCI were years of education, nadir CD4 cell count, central nervous system penetration-effectiveness score, age, employment status, and confounding comorbidities (CC: 82.1%, 7 final nodes). In patients with an undetectable viral load and no comorbidities, we obtained a fairly accurate model in which the main variables were nadir CD4 cell count, current CD4 cell count, time on current treatment, and past highest viral load (CC: 88%, 6 final nodes). Conclusion: Practical classification models to predict NCI in HIV infection can be obtained using demographic and clinical variables. An approach based on CART analyses may facilitate screening for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders and complement clinical information about risk and protective factors for NCI in HIV-infected patients.

Influence of transport and time on blood variables commonly measured for the athlete biological passport.

Some recent studies have characterized the stability of blood variables commonly measured for the Athlete Biological Passport. The aim of this study was to characterize the impact of different shipments conditions and the quality of the results returned by the haematological analyzer. Twenty-two healthy male subjects provided five EDTA tubes each. Four shipment conditions (24, 36, 48, 72 h) under refrigerated conditions were tested and compared to a set of samples left in the laboratory also under refrigerated conditions (group control). All measurements were conducted using two Sysmex XT-2000i analyzers. Haemoglobin concentration, reticulocytes percentage, and OFF-score numerical data were the same for samples analyzed just after collection and after a shipment under refrigerated conditions up to 72 h. Detailed information reported especially by the differential (DIFF) channel scatterplot of the Sysmex XT-2000i indicated that there were signs of blood deterioration, but were not of relevance for the variables used in the Athlete Biological Passport. As long as the cold chain is guaranteed, the time delay between the collection and the analyses of blood variables can be extended. Copyright© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Parallel declines in species and genetic diversity driven by anthropogenic disturbance: a multispecies approach in a French Atlantic dune system.

Numerous studies assess the correlation between genetic and species diversities, but the processes underlying the observed patterns have only received limited attention. For instance, varying levels of habitat disturbance across a region may locally reduce both diversities due to extinctions, and increased genetic drift during population bottlenecks and founder events. We investigated the regional distribution of genetic and species diversities of a coastal sand dune plant community along 240 kilometers of coastline with the aim to test for a correlation between the two diversity levels. We further quantify and tease apart the respective contributions of natural and anthropogenic disturbance factors to the observed patterns. We detected significant positive correlation between both variables. We further revealed a negative impact of urbanization: Sites with a high amount of recreational infrastructure within 10 km coastline had significantly lowered genetic and species diversities. On the other hand, a measure of natural habitat disturbance had no effect. This study shows that parallel variation of genetic and species diversities across a region can be traced back to human landscape alteration, provides arguments for a more resolute dune protection, and may help to design priority conservation areas.

Variables que incideixen en el coneixement de català i castellà de l'alumnat estranger a Catalunya: un estudi amb alumnat de sisè de primària

El domini de la llengua escolar apareix en totes les polítiques educatives com el tema central a través del qual s’ha d’incidir per garantir la igualtat i la cohesió social, ja que l’èxit escolar passa per desenvolupar una bona competència en la llengua vehicular de l’ensenyament (OECD 2008). A Catalunya, tot i els esforços destinats, els resultats lingüístics de l’alumnat estranger continuen essent molt més baixos que els de l’alumnat nacional (Consell Superior d’Avaluació del Sistema Educatiu 2009). No obstant això, hi ha molt pocs estudis que hagin analitzat els factors que s’amaguen darrere dels resultats lingüístics de l’alumnat estranger. Amb aquest objectiu en ment, l’article presenta les dades d’una recerca que pretén aprofundir les variables que incideixen en el coneixement de català i castellà escrit de l’alumnat estranger escolaritzat en 57 escoles de primària repartides pel territori de Catalunya

Caracterització del temps de vol en relació amb variables biomecàniques de l’estirada en l’arrencada d’halterofília

L’objecte del present estudi és caracteritzar el temps de vol (Tv) de la fase aèria en l’exercici d’arrencada en halterofília. Es descriu el seu comportament en funció de l’increment progressiu de la càrrega i en relació a variables biomecàniques de l’estirada, així com la seva evolució en un cicle d’entrenament. Es va fer un test màxim de càrregues progressives amb set halterofilistes (n = 7) de competició. Mitjançant els sistemes de valoració Musclelab i Chronojump es van registrar els valors de: força (F), potència (P), velocitat (V), pic de velocitat (pV) i alçada relativa (Hrel ) de la barra en l’estirada, al costat del Tv del desplaçament dels peus de l’aixecador a l’entrada sota la barra. Es va observar una moderada correlació negativa (r = –0,561; p < 0,01) entre el Tv i la càrrega màxima del test (%1RMT). No es van trobar correlacions significatives per al Tv respecte a la resta de variables analitzades. El Tv disminuïa amb l’increment de la càrrega en rangs submàxims, i era de natura aleatòria amb l’ocupació de càrregues màximes. En un subgrup de la mostra (n = 4) es van valorar les mateixes variables passades vuit setmanes. El Tv, la Pmàx i el pV suggereixen ser variables suficientment sensibles per monitoritzar els canvis generats per l’entrenament en vuit setmanes, encara que la reduïda dimensió mostral no va permetre aconseguir diferències significatives. Aquests resultats destaquen la possibilitat de considerar el Tv i la P com a mesures de control en l’entrenament d’halterofilistes, preferentment en l’ús de càrregues submàximes.

Ager Tarraconensis 5. Paisatge, poblament, cultura material i història = Landscape, Settlement, Material Culture and History Proceedings of the International Symposium

Aquesta obra recull 28 comunicacions presentades al Simposi internacional «L’ager Tarraconensis. Paisatge, poblament, cultura material i història», celebrat a Tarragona el 27 i 28 d’octubre del 2010, organitzat per l’Institut Català d’Arqueologia Clàssica a la seu de l’Institut i a la Diputació de Tarragona. Les aportacions al simposi se centren en l'evolució del paisatge al Camp de Tarragona i en altres regions del món romà, en la varietat de les primeres estratègies de control romà del territori, en les tipologies i evolució dels establiments, en aspectes econòmics i en la dinàmica del poblament, sense faltar-hi alguna aportació de l'epigrafia. Tot plegat fa referència molt especialment al territori de Tarraco, tot i que el simposi també va comptar amb comunicacions sobre altres territoris de l'àrea catalana i saguntina i d'altres províncies romanes, com la Lusitània, les Gàl·lies i la Transpadana; les comparacions entre diferents regions han donat una riquesa notable al debat. Entre els resultats més suggerents comptem amb la constatació de la similitud en els models de romanització del territori en les diferents àrees d'àmbit català i valencià, que contrasten significativament amb els models de territoris d'Andalusia, França i Portugal.

Molluscan radiations and landscape evolution in Miocene Amazonia

This PhD study aims to exploit the rich archive provided by the Miocene mollusc fauna of the Pebas Formation and other inland Miocene Amazonian formations to reconstruct landscape evolution and biotic development in lowland Amazonia during the Neogene. Over 160 samples from more than 70 Pebas Formation outcrops mostly collected by the author were processed for this study. Additional samples were collected in Andean areas of Colombia and Venezuela and further material from other northwestern South American basins was studied in museums. Pebas Formation samples and well log data made available by Occidental Peru from three wells in the Marañon Basin in Peru were also investigated. During this study four genera and 74 species from the Pebas Formation have been described and a further 13 species have been introduced in open nomenclature, and several species were reported for the first time. The number of mollusc species attributed to the Pebas fauna has increased from around 50 to 156. The Pebas fauna is characterised as aquatic, endemic and extinct, and is a typical representative of a long-lived lake fauna. Fluvial taxa are not common, (marginal) marine taxa are rare. An additional molluscan fauna from the Miocene Solimões Formation of Brazil, containing 13 fresh water species was also described. The newly documented fauna was used to improve biostratigraphic framework of Miocene Amazonian deposits. Twelve mollusc zones were introduced, the upper eleven of which cover a time interval of approximately seven million years covered previously by only three pollen zones. An age model calculated for the borehole data indicates that the Pebas Formation was deposited between c. 24 and 11 Ma. The areal distribution of the outcropping mollusc zones uncovered a broad dome structure, termed here the Iquitos-Araracuara anteclise in the study area. The structure appears to have influenced river courses and also contributed to edaphic heterogeneity that may have been in part responsible for the current high biodiversity in the study area. The Pebas system was a huge system (> one million km2) dominated by relatively shallow lakes, but also containing swamps and rivers. The system was fed by rivers draining the emergent Andes in the west and lowlands and cratons to the east. The Pebas system was located at sea level and was open to marine settings through a northern portal running through the Llanos Basin and East Venezuela Basin towards the Caribbean. Cyclical baselevel changes possibly related to Mylankhovitch cycles, have been documented in depositional sequences of the Pebas Formation. The composition of the Pebasian mollusc fauna implies that the system was mostly a fresh water system. Such an interpretation is matched by strontium isotope ratios as well as very negative δ18O ratios found in the shells, but is at odds with oligohaline and mesohaline ichnofacies found in the same strata. The mollusc fauna of the Pebas Formation diversified through most of the existence of the lake system. The diversification was mostly the result of in-situ cladogenesis. The success of some of the Pebasian endemic clades is explained by adaptation to fresh water, low oxygen, common unconsolidated lake bottoms (soup grounds) as well as high predation intensity. Maximum diversity was reached at the base of the late Middle to early Late Miocene Grimsdalea pollen zone, some 13 Ma. At the time some 85 species co-occurred, 67 of which are considered as Pebasian endemics. A subsequent drop in species richness coincides with indications of elevated salinities, although a causal relation still needs to be established. Apparently the Pebas fauna went (almost) entirely extinct with the replacement of the lake system into a fluvio-tidal system during the Early Late Miocene, some 11 Ma.

Architecture as a landscape

Postprint (published version)

Comparación de la capacidad predictiva de los modelos de coeficientes fijos frente a variables en los modelos econométricos regionales: un análisis para Cataluña

Durante las últimas décadas se ha producido un creciente interés en nuestro país en relación a las economías regionales dada la necesidad de los gobiernos regionales de obtener información sobre sus economías para así llevar a cabo actuaciones de política económica más efectivas y eficientes. En este marco, los modelos econométricos constituyen una herramienta de utilidad puesto que ofrecen información sobre las relaciones estructurales que se dan en una economía y permiten predecir su evolución. Sin embargo, la utilización de dichos modelos con finalidad predictiva se enfrenta al inconveniente de la elevada inestabilidad a corto plazo que se produce en las relaciones entre variables económicas a nivel regional. Por este motivo, en el presente trabajo se propone la utilización de un modelo de coeficientes variables para recoger dicha inestabilidad y mejorar las predicciones sobre la evolución de las variables del bloque de producción de la economía catalana. Para contrastar la mejora obtenida a partir de la aplicación de dicho modelo, se compara su capacidad predictiva con la de un modelo de coeficientes fijos. Los resultados muestran un mejor comportamiento del modelo de coeficientes variables frente al modelo de coeficientes fijos.