Aplicatiu web per la gestió de l’Associació Cultural Pubills

S'ha creat un aplicatiu web autogestionable per a l'Associació Cultural Pubills de Valls de Torroella que millora l’existent. El nou aplicatiu disposa de noves funcionalitats com el fòrum, notícies, secció d’arxius multimèdia i botiga virtual. L'aplicatiu ha estat desenvolupat des de zero utilitzant programari lliure i els principals llenguatges de programació web actuals. Projecte disponible a http://www.pubills.com.

Gestió mapes i GPS

El projecte denominat "Gestor de mapes i GPS" és una aplicació per a dispositius mòbils Android que utilitza l'API v.1 de Google Maps.

Aplicació per Android : Pasapas

Aquest treball de final de carrera pretén aprofitar les característiques de la API d'Android en la gestió de la localització i el seu disseny modular, així com també utilitzar l'API de mapes de Google per a Android en una aplicació que té per objectiu principal l'enregistrament i la lectura de recorreguts i punts d'interés.

G-protein coupled receptor-evoked glutamate exocytosis from astrocytes: role of prostaglandins.

Astrocytes are highly secretory cells, participating in rapid brain communication by releasing glutamate. Recent evidences have suggested that this process is largely mediated by Ca(2+)-dependent regulated exocytosis of VGLUT-positive vesicles. Here by taking advantage of VGLUT1-pHluorin and TIRF illumination, we characterized mechanisms of glutamate exocytosis evoked by endogenous transmitters (glutamate and ATP), which are known to stimulate Ca(2+) elevations in astrocytes. At first we characterized the VGLUT1-pHluorin expressing vesicles and found that VGLUT1-positive vesicles were a specific population of small synaptic-like microvesicles containing glutamate but which do not express VGLUT2. Endogenous mediators evoked a burst of exocytosis through activation of G-protein coupled receptors. Subsequent glutamate exocytosis was reduced by about 80% upon pharmacological blockade of the prostaglandin-forming enzyme, cyclooxygenase. On the other hand, receptor stimulation was accompanied by extracellular release of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Interestingly, administration of exogenous PGE2 produced per se rapid, store-dependent burst exocytosis of glutamatergic vesicles in astrocytes. Finally, when PGE2-neutralizing antibody was added to cell medium, transmitter-evoked exocytosis was again significantly reduced (by about 50%). Overall these data indicate that cyclooxygenase products are responsible for a major component of glutamate exocytosis in astrocytes and that large part of such component is sustained by autocrine/paracrine action of PGE2.

Monitorització Trailwalker

La ONG Intermon Oxfam organitza anualment una cursa solidària anomenada "Trailwalker" en la que una sèrie d'equips han de completar un recorregut de 100km en menys de 32h. S'ha dissenyat i implementat una solució de seguiment dels equips en cursa amb la creació d'una aplicació per dispositius Android que realitzen el posicionament a través de GPS o servei d'ubicació de Google, i envien les dades a un servidor central amb programari GIS ArcGIS, el qual s'utilitza per mostrar les dades en un visor HTML que utilitza l'API Javascript del mateix.

Spermiogenesis particularities of a sperm storage species: Helicolenus dactylopterus (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae)

A study of the spermiogenesis and spermatozoa of Helicolenus dactylopterus was conducted. Females of this species have the capacity to store sperm within their ovaries, and male gametes have a considerable cytoplasmic mass surrounding their heads to survive the long period of intraovarian sperm storage. Our observations show that early spermatids are round-shaped cells and have a spherical nucleus with diffuse chromatin. The nuclear volume decreases as a result of progressive chromatin condensation during spermiogenesis, causing the nucleus to take on a U-shape. Flagellar insertion is not central to the nucleus but consistently occurs at an oblique angle towards one side of it. The flagellum is inserted into the nuclear fossa, without subsequent nuclear rotation. In mature spermatozoa, the flagellum is adjacent to the nucleus. A comparison of the spermatozoa in the testicular lobules and those in the intraovarian storage structures suggests that the increase in volume of the cytoplasmic mass may occur in the posterior region of the testis, in the testicular duct. Spermatozoa enter the ovary in groups that reach the ovarian lumen and are surrounded by the ovarian epithelium for storage in sperm storage crypts

Posicionamiento en buscadores de las webs oficiales de capitales de provincia españolas

Study of ranking in Google and Yahoo of big Spanish municipal corporation websites while searching by city tourist brand. Analysis of whether city tourist brands are promoting properly in the internet. Results of the daily ranking monitoring in Google and Yahoo are shown, for the searches made in 2009 by touristic brands of Spanish provincial capitals. The results show that 66% of official websites are situated after number 40 and, also, that in 46% of the searches made by touristic brands of province capital there is an official website within the top 10 positions. Empirical evidence about the weight of backlinks and keywords for SEO has also been detected.

EducME: una aproximació a un entorn de treball complet mitjançant Moodle i eyeOS

En aquest projecte es presenta la solució aportada per combinar un entorn virtual d'aprenentatge com Moodle i un escriptori virtual com EyeOs. La solució anomenada educME (educació, Moodle i EyeOS) es basa en el desenvolupament d'una aplicació dins de l'escriptori virtual que doni accéss a Moodle.EducME està basat en el patró de comportament Strategy. S'ha combinat la interfície web original de Moodle amb la nova interfície basada en Qooxdoo. D'aquesta manera, es desenvolupa la aplicació de forma progressiva, sent funcional des del principi. Es completa la comunicació de les dues aplicacions principals mitjançant l'ús dels Web Services. A més a més, s'ha desenvolupat un sistema automàtic d'identificació a través de l'escriptori virtual, que allibera de feina extra tant l'usuari final, com a l'administrador principal de Moodle.Finalment, s'ha registrat la aplicació sota la llicència GNU GPL, s'ha publicat el codi font al Google Code, i s'ha realitzat una web i una demo públiques per que la comunitat pugui conèixer i provar la aplicació.

Apprima't

Proyecto final de carrera sobre el desarrollo de una aplicación móvil para plataformas Android, conteniendo fragmentos, actividades y manejos de bases de datos.Se utiliza también el API de Google Maps para mostrar la posición del usuario y puntos precargados desde la base de datos.

Changes in physiological and behavioral parameters of preterm infants undergoing body hygiene: a systematic review

Objective To verify the effect of bathing on the body temperature of preterm infants (PTI). Method Systematic review conducted in the following bibliographic electronic sources: Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde/Lilacs (BVS), Cumulated Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science, using a combination of search terms, keywords and free terms. The review question was adjusted to the PICO acronym (Patient/population, Intervention, Control/comparative intervention, Outcome). The selected publications were evaluated according to levels of evidence and grades of recommendation for efficacy/effectiveness studies, as established by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Results Eight hundred and twenty four (824) publications were identified and four studies met the inclusion criteria, of which three analyzed the effect of sponge baths and the effect of immersion baths. Conclusion Sponge baths showed a statistically significant drop in body temperature, while in immersion baths the body temperature remained stable, although they studied late preterm infants.

Living Snow Fences, 2006

Blowing snow can cause significant problems for mobility and safety during winter weather in three distinct ways. It may drift onto the road, thus requiring almost continuous plowing while the wind is blowing (which may occur when a given winter storm is over). Snow may drift onto wet pavement (perhaps caused by ice control chemicals) and dilute out the chemicals on the road, creating ice on the road. And sufficient blowing snow can cause a major deterioration in visibility on the road, a factor which has been shown to be significant in winter crashes. The problem of blowing snow can be very effectively addressed by creating a snow storage device upwind of the road that requires protection from snow drifting. Typically, these storage devices are fences. Extensive design guidance exists for the required height and placement of such fences for a given annual snowfall and given local topography. However, the design information on the placement of living snow fences is less complete. The purpose of this report is to present the results of three seasons of study on using standing corn as snow fences. In addition, the experience of using switch grass as a snow storage medium is also presented. On the basis of these experimental data, a design guide has been developed that makes use of the somewhat unique snow storage characteristics of standing corn snow fences. The results of the field tests on using standing corn showed that multiple rows of standing corn store snow rather differently than a traditional wooden snow fence. Specifically, while a traditional fence stores most of the snow downwind from the fence (and thus must be placed a significant distance upwind of the road to be protected, specifically at least 35 times the snow fence height) rows of standing corn store the majority of the snow within the rows. Results from the three winters of testing show that the standing corn snow fences can store as much snow within the rows of standing corn as a traditional fence of typical height for operation in Iowa (4 to 6 feet) can store. This finding is significant because it means that the snow fences can be placed at the edge of the farmer’s field closest to the road, and still be effective. This is typically much more convenient for the farmer and thus may mean that more farmers would be willing to participate in a program that uses standing corn than in traditional programs. ii On the basis of the experimental data, design guidance for the use of standing corn as a snow storage device in Iowa is given in the report. Specifically, it is recommended that if the fetch in a location to be protected is less than 5,000 feet, then 16 rows of standing corn should be used, at the edge of the field adjacent to the right of way. If the fetch is greater than 5,000 feet, then 24 rows of standing corn should be used. This is based on a row spacing of 22 inches. Further, it should be noted that these design recommendations are ONLY for the State of Iowa. Other states of course have different winter weather and without extensive further study, it cannot be said that these guidelines would be effective in other locations with other winter conditions.

Cruveilhier's legacy to skull base surgery: premise of an evidence-based neuropathology in the 19th century.

OBJECTIVES: Jean Cruveilhier has always been described as a pioneer in pathological anatomy. Almost nothing has been reported concerning his exceptional methodology allying pre-mortem clinical description and syndromic classification of neurological and neurosurgical diseases, and post-mortem meticulous dissections. Cruveilhier's methodology announced the birth of the anatomoclinical method built up by Jean-Martin Charcot and the neurological French school during the 19th century. The aim of our work is to extract the quintessence of Cruveilhier's contributions to skull base pathology through his cogent clinical descriptions coupled with exceptional lithographs of anterior skull base, suprasellar and cerebello-pontine angle tumors. METHODS: We reviewed the masterwork of Jean Cruveilhier on pathological anatomy and we selected the chapters dedicated to central nervous system pathologies, mainly skull base diseases. A systematic review was performed on Pubmed/Medline and Google Scholar using the keywords "Jean Cruveilhier", "Skull base pathology", "Anatomoclinical method". RESULTS: Among his descriptions, Cruveilhier dedicated large chapters to neurosurgical diseases including brain tumors, cerebrovascular pathologies, malformations of the central nervous system, hydrocephalus, brain infections and spinal cord compressions. CONCLUSION: This work emphasizes on the role of Jean Cruveilhier in the birth of the anatomoclinical method particularly in neuroscience during a 19th century rich of epistemological evolutions toward an evidence-based medicine, through the prism of Cruveilhier's contribution to skull base pathology.

The economics of anti-parasite defences in animal societies

RESUME : De nombreuses espèces animales vivent en groupe. Du simple grégarisme aux colonies hautement intégrées de fourmis, la vie sociale a atteint des degrés divers de complexité. Les nombreuses interactions entre membres d'une société favorisent la transmission de parasites. Cela représente un coût potentiel de la vie sociale. Cette thèse s'intéresse aux défenses permettant de réduire le coût du parasitisme dans les colonies de fourmis ainsi qu'à la manière dont le parasitisme a pu façonner certains aspects de ces sociétés. Les colonies de fourmis des bois (Forimica paralugubris) contiennent de grandes quantités de résine de conifères. Cette résine réduit la densité microbienne dans le nid et augmente la survie des ouvrières lors d'infections parasitaires. Dans cette thèse, nous montrons, d'une part, que les ouvrières collectent activement la résine et que ce comportement est plutôt préventif que curatif et, d'autre part, que la résine permet aux ouvrières une utilisation moindre de leurs défenses immunitaires. Ces résultats permettent de conclure que ce comportement réduit l'exposition au parasitisme et qu'il a une fonction adaptative. L'émergence d'un tel comportement de médication chez une espèce d'insectes sociaux illustre le fait que la socialité, bien yue provoquant une exposition accrue au parasitisme, permet également l'émergence de mécanismes sociaux de défense. II a été suggéré que la présence de plusieurs reines au sein d'un même nid (polygynie) améliore la résistance aux parasites en augmentant la diversité génétique au sein de la colonie. En accord avec cette hypothèse, nous montrons qu'une augmentation de la diversité génétique au sein de groupes expérimentaux de Formica selysi améliore leur survie lors d'une infection parasitaire. Cependant, nous suggérons également que sur le terrain, d'autres facteurs corrélés à la polygynie ont des effets antagoniques sur la résistance. Nous montrons par exemple que les ouvrières polygynes semblent avoir une capacité moindre à monter une réponse immunitaire. Certains aspects de la reproduction des fourmis ont pu également être façonnés par le parasitisme. L'accouplement n'a lieu que lors d'une courte période au début de la vie adulte, généralement à l'extérieur de la colonie. Les reines stockent ensuite le sperme et l'utilisent parcimonieusement au cours de leur vie alors que les males meurent rapidement. Nous montrons que les défenses immunitaires des reines de fourmis des bois (F. paralugubris) sont fortement affectées par l'accouplement. Ces modulations immunitaires sont probablement liées à une augmentation de l'exposition au parasitisme lors de l'accouplement ainsi qu'à des blessures copulatoires. I1 semble donc que l'accouplement soit accompagné de coûts immunitaires pour les reines. Dans son ensemble, cette thèse illustre la diversité des mécanismes de défenses contre les parasites dans les sociétés de fourmis. La vie sociale, en offrant un nouveau niveau d'interaction, permet en effet l'émergence d'adaptations originales. Cela explique probablement le grand succès écologique des espèces sociales. SUMMARY : Sociality is widespread among animals and has reached variable degrees of complexity, from loose social Groups to highly integrated ant colonies. The many interactions between members of a social group promote the spread of parasites, but social life also permits the evolution of original defence mechanisms. This thesis sheds light on how ant colonies defend themselves against parasites, and on how parasitism shapes certain aspects of these societies. Wood ants nests (Formica paralugubris) contain large amounts of conifer resin which reduces the microbial density in ant nests and enhances the survival of ants challenged by some pathogens. We show that resin is actively collected by workers and that resin collection is rather a prophylactic than a curative behaviour. Moreover, we suggest that resin reduces the use of the immune defences of workers. Altogether, these results indicate that the use of resin is a collective adaptation to prevent the spread of parasites. The emergence of medication in a social insect species illustrates that sociality does not only increase the exposure to parasites but also allows the emergence of social mechanisms to counter this threat. The number of reproducing queens per colony is a variable trait in ants. It has been suggested that polygyny (the occurrence of multiple queens within a colony), by increasing the colonial genetic diversity, improves disease resistance. In line with this hypothesis, we show that in a socially polymorphic ant (Formica selysi), an experimental increase of colony genetic diversity enhances disease resistance. However, we also suggest that factors covarying with queen number variation in the field have antagonistic effects on parasite resistance. We show for instance that polygyne workers seem to have lower immune defences. Parasites may also shape some aspects of ant queen reproductive biology. Ant queens mate at the beginning of their adult life, usually outside of the colony, and store sperm for several years to fertilize eggs. Males die shortly after mating and queens never remate later in life, which drastically reduces sexual conflicts. Moreover, mating and nest founding occur away from the collective defence mechanisms of the natal colony and might be associated with an increased risk of parasitism. We show that mating affects the immune defences of wood ant queens (F. paralugubris) in multiple ways that are consistent with mating wounds and increased risk of parasitism. We suggest that mating is associated with immunity costs in ants, despite the reduced level of sexual conflicts. Altogether, my thesis illustrates the diversity of anti-parasite mechanisms in ant societies. This sheds light on how sociality, by offering a new level of interactions, allows the evolution of original adaptations, which may explain the wide ecological success of social species.

Supermarket key attributes and location decisions: A comparative study between British and Spanish consumers

The Maximum Capture problem (MAXCAP) is a decision model that addresses the issue of location in a competitive environment. This paper presents a new approach to determine which store s attributes (other than distance) should be included in the newMarket Capture Models and how they ought to be reflected using the Multiplicative Competitive Interaction model. The methodology involves the design and development of a survey; and the application of factor analysis and ordinary least squares. Themethodology has been applied to the supermarket sector in two different scenarios: Milton Keynes (Great Britain) and Barcelona (Spain).