The Network Company in Catalonia : ICT, Productivity, Competitiveness, Salaries and Performance in Catalonia's Companies. Research report (synthesis document)

Resum en anglès del projecte de recerca L'empresa xarxa a Catalunya. TIC, productivitat, competitivitat, salaris i beneficis a l'empresa catalana té com a objectiu principal constatar que la consolidació d'un nou model estratègic, organitzatiu i d'activitat empresarial, vinculat amb la inversió i l'ús de les TIC (o empresa xarxa), modifica substancialment els patrons de comportament dels resultats empresarials, en especial la productivitat, la competitivitat, les retribucions dels treballadors i el benefici. La contrastació empírica de les hipòtesis de treball l'hem feta per mitjà de les dades d'una enquesta a una mostra representativa de 2.038 empreses catalanes. Amb la perspectiva de l'impacte de la inversió i l'ús de les TIC no s'aprecia una relació directa entre els processos d'innovació digital i els resultats de l'activitat de l'empresa catalana. En aquest sentit, hem hagut de segmentar el teixit productiu català per a buscar les organitzacions en què el procés de coinnovació tecnològica digital i organitzativa és més present i en què la intensitat de l'ús del coneixement és un recurs molt freqüent per a poder copsar impactes rellevants en els principals resultats empresarials. Això és així perquè l'economia catalana, avui, presenta una estructura productiva dual.

Deaths rates in public hospitals of eastern cape province of South Africa.

BACKGROUND: South Africa (SA) is experiencing a rapid epidemiologic transition as a consequence of political, economic and social changes. In this study we described, based on hospital data, the mortality patterns of Non communicable Diseases (NCD), Communicable Diseases (CD), the NCD/CD ratios, and the trends of deaths. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of all deaths occurring in several public hospitals in the Eastern Cape Province of SA between 2002 and 2006. Causes of deaths were coded according to the ICD 10 Edition. RESULTS: A total of 107380 admissions responded to the inclusion criteria between 2002 and 2006. The crude death rate was 4.3% (n=4566) with a mean age of 46±21 years and a sex ratio of 3.1 men (n=3453): 1 woman (n=1113). Out of all deaths, there were 62.9% NCD (n=2872) vs. 37.1% CD (n=1694) with NCD/CD ratio of 1.7. The ratio NCD/CD deaths in men was 1.3 (n=1951/1502) vs. NCD/CD deaths in women of 1.9 (n=735/378). The peak of deaths was observed in winter season. The majority of NCD deaths were at age of 30-64 years, whereas the highest rate of CD deaths was at age< 30 years. The trend of deaths including the majority of NCD, increased from 2002 to 2006. There was a tendency of increase in tuberculosis deaths, but a tendency of decrease in HIV/AIDS deaths was from 2002 to 2006. CONCLUSION: Non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of deaths in rural Eastern Cape province of SA facing Post-epidemiologic transition stages. We recommend overarching priority actions for the response to the Non-communicable Diseases: policy change, prevention, treatment, international cooperation, research, monitoring, accountability, and re-orientation of health systems.

Stand dynamics modelling approaches for multicohort management of eastern Canadian boreal forests

Abstract

Differential stress reaction of human colon cells to oleic-acid-stabilized and unstabilized ultrasmall iron oxide nanoparticles.

Therapeutic engineered nanoparticles (NPs), including ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) NPs, may accumulate in the lower digestive tract following ingestion or injection. In order to evaluate the reaction of human colon cells to USPIO NPs, the effects of non-stabilized USPIO NPs (NS-USPIO NPs), oleic-acid-stabilized USPIO NPs (OA-USPIO NPs), and free oleic acid (OA) were compared in human HT29 and CaCo2 colon epithelial cancer cells. First the biophysical characteristics of NS-USPIO NPs and OA-USPIO NPs in water, in cell culture medium supplemented with fetal calf serum, and in cell culture medium preconditioned by HT29 and CaCo₂ cells were determined. Then, stress responses of the cells were evaluated following exposure to NS-USPIO NPs, OA-USPIO NPs, and free OA. No modification of the cytoskeletal actin network was observed. Cell response to stress, including markers of apoptosis and DNA repair, oxidative stress and degradative/autophagic stress, induction of heat shock protein, or lipid metabolism was determined in cells exposed to the two NPs. Induction of an autophagic response was observed in the two cell lines for both NPs but not free OA, while the other stress responses were cell- and NP-specific. The formation of lipid vacuoles/droplets was demonstrated in HT29 and CaCo₂ cells exposed to OA-USPIO NPs but not to NS-USPIO NPs, and to a much lower level in cells exposed to equimolar concentrations of free OA. Therefore, the induction of lipid vacuoles in colon cells exposed to OA utilized as a stabilizer for USPIO NPs is higly amplified compared to free OA, and is not observed in the absence of this lipid in NS-USPIO NPs.

Letter health consultation : Manganese emissions from Amsted Rail Company, Inc. (Griffin Wheel Facility) Keokuk, Iowa (2010)

This letter has been prepared as a consultation to evaluate human health impacts from manganese emissions from the Amsted Rail Company, Inc. (Griffin Wheel) facility located in Keokuk, Iowa. We understand your concern and the concern of the Keokuk community, and want you to know that the Iowa Department of Public Health’s priority is to ensure that you have the best information possible to safeguard the health of the citizens of Keokuk. That information is included in the following discussion.

Genesis of the Jurassic carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn deposits of Jebel Ressas (North-eastern Tunisia): Evidence from mineralogy, petrography and trace metal contents and isotope (O, C, S, Pb) geochemistry

The Jebel Ressas Pb-Zn deposits in North-Eastern Tunisia occur mainly as open-space fillings (lodes, tectonic breccia cements) in bioclastic limestones of the Upper Jurassic Ressas Formation and along the contact of this formation with Triassic rocks. The galena-sphalerite association and their alteration products (cerussite, hemimorphite, hydrozincite) are set within a calcite gangue. The Triassic rocks exhibit enrichments in trace metals, namely Pb, Co and Cd enrichment in clays and Pb, Zn, Cd, Co and Cr enrichment in carbonates, suggesting that the Triassic rocks have interacted with the ore-bearing fluids associated with the Jebel Ressas Pb-Zn deposits. The delta(18)O content of calcite associated with the Pb-Zn mineralization suggests that it is likely to have precipitated from a fluid that was in equilibrium with the Triassic dolostones. The delta(34)S values in galenas from the Pb-Zn deposits range from -1.5 to +11.4%, with an average of 5.9% and standard deviation of 3.9%. These data imply mixing of thermochemically-reduced heavy sulfur carried in geothermal- and fault-stress-driven deep-seated source fluid with bacterially-reduced light sulfur carried in topography-driven meteoric fluid. Lead isotope ratios in galenas from the Pb-Zn deposits are homogenous and indicate a single upper crustal source of base-metals for these deposits. Synthesis of the geochemical data with geological data suggests that the base-metal mineralization at Jebel Ressas was formed during the Serravallian-Tortonian (or Middle-Late Miocene) Alpine compressional tectonics.

Letter health consultation : Northwest States Portland Cement Company site, site, Mason City, Iowa EPA facility ID: IAD98053431 (2008)

This letter has been prepared as a consultation to EPA regarding the third five year review of the Northwestern States Portland Cement Company Site, located North of Mason City, Iowa in Cerro Gordo County to provide an evaluation of the public health status of the site.

Direct Observation of Magnetic Metastability in Individual Iron Nanoparticles

X-ray photoemission electron microscopy combined with x-ray magnetic circular dichroism is used to study the magnetic properties of individual iron nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 20 down to 8 nm. While the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of bulk iron suggests superparamagnetic behavior in this size range, ferromagnetically blocked particles are also found at all sizes. Spontaneous transitions from the blocked state to the superparamagnetic state are observed in single particles and suggest that the enhanced magnetic energy barriers in the ferromagnetic particles are due to metastable, structurally excited states with unexpected life times

Direct Observation of Magnetic Metastability in Individual Iron Nanoparticles

X-ray photoemission electron microscopy combined with x-ray magnetic circular dichroism is used to study the magnetic properties of individual iron nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 20 down to 8 nm. While the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of bulk iron suggests superparamagnetic behavior in this size range, ferromagnetically blocked particles are also found at all sizes. Spontaneous transitions from the blocked state to the superparamagnetic state are observed in single particles and suggest that the enhanced magnetic energy barriers in the ferromagnetic particles are due to metastable, structurally excited states with unexpected life times

Wave-height hazard analysis in Eastern Coast of Spain : Bayesian approach using generalized Pareto distribution

Standard practice of wave-height hazard analysis often pays little attention to the uncertainty of assessed return periods and occurrence probabilities. This fact favors the opinion that, when large events happen, the hazard assessment should change accordingly. However, uncertainty of the hazard estimates is normally able to hide the effect of those large events. This is illustrated using data from the Mediterranean coast of Spain, where the last years have been extremely disastrous. Thus, it is possible to compare the hazard assessment based on data previous to those years with the analysis including them. With our approach, no significant change is detected when the statistical uncertainty is taken into account. The hazard analysis is carried out with a standard model. Time-occurrence of events is assumed Poisson distributed. The wave-height of each event is modelled as a random variable which upper tail follows a Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD). Moreover, wave-heights are assumed independent from event to event and also independent of their occurrence in time. A threshold for excesses is assessed empirically. The other three parameters (Poisson rate, shape and scale parameters of GPD) are jointly estimated using Bayes' theorem. Prior distribution accounts for physical features of ocean waves in the Mediterranean sea and experience with these phenomena. Posterior distribution of the parameters allows to obtain posterior distributions of other derived parameters like occurrence probabilities and return periods. Predictives are also available. Computations are carried out using the program BGPE v2.0

Biosynthesis of pyochelin and dihydroaeruginoic acid requires the iron-regulated pchDCBA operon in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The high-affinity siderophore salicylate is an intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway of pyochelin, another siderophore and chelator of transition metal ions, in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The 2.5-kb region upstream of the salicylate biosynthetic genes pchBA was sequenced and found to contain two additional, contiguous genes, pchD and pchC, having the same orientation. The deduced amino acid sequence of the 60-kDa PchD protein was similar to those of the EntE protein (2,3-dihydroxybenzoate-AMP ligase) of Escherichia coli and other adenylate-forming enzymes, suggesting that salicylate might be adenylated at the carboxyl group by PchD. The 28-kDa PchC protein showed similarities to thioesterases of prokaryotic and eukaryotic origin and might participate in the release of the product(s) formed from activated salicylate. One potential product, dihydroaeruginoate (Dha), was identified in culture supernatants of iron-limited P. aeruginosa cells. The antifungal antibiotic Dha is thought to arise from the reaction of salicylate with cysteine, followed by cyclization of cysteine. Inactivation of the chromosomal pchD gene by insertion of the transcription and translation stop element omega Sm/Sp abolished the production of Dha and pyochelin, implying that PchD-mediated activation of salicylate may be a common first step in the synthesis of both metabolites. Furthermore, the pchD::omega Sm/Sp mutation had a strong polar effect on the expression of the pchBA genes, i.e., on salicylate synthesis, indicating that the pchDCBA genes constitute a transcriptional unit. A full-length pchDCBA transcript of ca. 4.4 kb could be detected in iron-deprived, growing cells of P. aeruginosa. Transcription of pchD started at tandemly arranged promoters, which overlapped with two Fur boxes (binding sites for the ferric uptake regulator) and the promoter of the divergently transcribed pchR gene encoding an activator of pyochelin biosynthesis. This promoter arrangement allows tight iron-mediated repression of the pchDCBA operon.

Iron acquisition with the natural siderophore enantiomers pyochelin and enantio-pyochelin in Pseudomonas species.

The bacterial siderophore pyochelin is composed of salicylate and two cysteine-derived heterocycles, the second of which is modified by reduction and N-methylation during biosynthesis. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the first cysteine residue is converted to its D-isoform during thiazoline ring formation, whereas the second cysteine remains in its L-configuration. Stereochemistry is opposite in the Pseudomonas fluorescens siderophore enantio-pyochelin, in which the first ring originates from L-cysteine and the second ring from D-cysteine. Both siderophores promote growth of the producer organism during iron limitation and induce the expression of their biosynthesis genes by activating the transcriptional AraC-type regulator PchR. However, neither siderophore is functional as an iron carrier or as a transcriptional inducer in the other species, demonstrating that both processes are highly stereospecific. Stereospecificity of pyochelin/enantio-pyochelin-mediated iron uptake is ensured at two levels: (i) by the outer membrane siderophore receptors and (ii) by the cytosolic PchR regulators.

Mesoscale numerical analysis of the historical November 1982 heavy precipitation event over Andorra (Eastern Pyrenees)

From 6 to 8 November 1982 one of the most catastrophic flash-flood events was recorded in the Eastern Pyrenees affecting Andorra and also France and Spain with rainfall accumulations exceeding 400 mm in 24 h, 44 fatalities and widespread damage. This paper aims to exhaustively document this heavy precipitation event and examines mesoscale simulations performed by the French Meso-NH non-hydrostatic atmospheric model. Large-scale simulations show the slow-evolving synoptic environment favourable for the development of a deep Atlantic cyclone which induced a strong southerly flow over the Eastern Pyrenees. From the evolution of the synoptic pattern four distinct phases have been identified during the event. The mesoscale analysis presents the second and the third phase as the most intense in terms of rainfall accumulations and highlights the interaction of the moist and conditionally unstable flows with the mountains. The presence of a SW low level jet (30 m s-1) around 1500 m also had a crucial role on focusing the precipitation over the exposed south slopes of the Eastern Pyrenees. Backward trajectories based on Eulerian on-line passive tracers indicate that the orographic uplift was the main forcing mechanism which triggered and maintained the precipitating systems more than 30 h over the Pyrenees. The moisture of the feeding flow mainly came from the Atlantic Ocean (7-9 g kg-1) and the role of the Mediterranean as a local moisture source was very limited (2-3 g kg-1) due to the high initial water vapour content of the parcels and the rapid passage over the basin along the Spanish Mediterranean coast (less than 12 h).

Ophthalmic features of PLA2G6-related paediatric neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation.

BACKGROUND: Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) refers to genetically heterogenous paediatric neurodegenerative disorders characterised by basal ganglia iron deposition. One major cause is recessive mutations in the PLA2G6 gene. While strabismus and optic nerve pallor have been reported for PLA2G6-related disease, the ophthalmic phenotype is not carefully defined. In this study we characterise the ophthalmic phenotype of PLA2G6-related NBIA. METHODS: Prospective cohort study. RESULTS: The eight patients were 4-26 years old when examined. All had progressive cognitive and motor regression first noted between 9 months and 6 years of age that typically first manifested as difficulty walking (ataxia). Ophthalmic examination was sometimes limited by cognitive ability. Four of eight had exotropia, 7/7 bilateral supraduction defect, 5/7 poor convergence, 6/8 saccadic pursuit, 4/8 saccadic intrusions that resembled square-wave jerks, and 8/8 bilateral optic nerve head pallor. All patients lacked Bell phenomenon. CONCLUSIONS: Upgaze palsy, although not a previously reported finding, was confirmed in all patients (except in one for whom assessment could not be performed) and thus can be considered part of the phenotype in children and young adults. Other frequent findings not previously highlighted were abnormal convergence, saccadic pursuit, and saccadic intrusions. Optic nerve head pallor and strabismus, previously reported findings in the disease, were found in 100% and 50% of our cohort, respectively, and the strabismus in our series was always exotropia. Taken together, these clinical findings may be helpful in distinguishing PLA2G6-related neurodegeneration from the other major cause of NBIA, recessive PANK2 mutations.