Calidad de vida y percepción de la desigualdad de la mujer en la ciudad de Girona = Quality of life and inequality perception’s of women in the city of Girona

La igualdad de oportunidades para las mujeres, como factor clave para avanzar en la consecución de calidad de vida preocupa hoy en día a la sociedad en general y alas instituciones en particular. Antes de la elaboración de programas de intervención social es necesario conocer las percepciones de las propias mujeres acerca de sus problemas y de sus necesidades. Siguiendo esta línea de pensamiento presentamos un trabajo empírico en el que analizamos las percepciones de las mujeres de la ciudad de Girona, centrándonos en dos aspectos de manera particular: la percepción de calidad de vida proporcionada por su ciudad y la percepción de desigualdad de oportunidades y/o de discriminación. Los principales resultados, obtenidos a partir de las respuestas a un cuestionario auto-administrado, y proporcionados por una muestra de mujeres seleccionadas aleatoriamente a partir de un muestreo estratificado geográficamente, indican que en general están satisfechas con su ciudad aunque detectamos las principales causas de insatisfacción. Por otra parte, tas principales fuentes de desigualdad se refieren al mundo laboral (menos salario por el mismo trabajo, dificultades de encontrar trabajo si tienen hijos o si son ya mayores), y en la actitud general de la sociedad en el sentido de tener que cumplir el papel que tradicionalmente se les ha asignado

Role of structural saturation and geometry in the luminescence of silicon-based nanostructured materials

The structural saturation and stability, the energy gap, and the density of states of a series of small, silicon-based clusters have been studied by means of the PM3 and some ab initio (HF/6-31G* and 6-311++G**, CIS/6-31G* and MP2/6-31G*) calculations. It is shown that in order to maintain a stable nanometric and tetrahedral silicon crystallite and remove the gap states, the saturation atom or species such as H, F, Cl, OH, O, or N is necessary, and that both the cluster size and the surface species affect the energetic distribution of the density of states. This research suggests that the visible luminescence in the silicon-based nanostructured material essentially arises from the nanometric and crystalline silicon domains but is affected and protected by the surface species, and we have thus linked most of the proposed mechanisms of luminescence for the porous silicon, e.g., the quantum confinement effect due to the cluster size and the effect of Si-based surface complexes.

Reconstruction of the recent history of a large deep prealpine lake (Lake Bourget, France) using subfossil chironomids, diatoms, and organic matter analysis: towards the definition of a lake-specific reference state

This paper presents the recent history of a large prealpine lake (Lake Bourget) using chironomids, diatoms and organic matter analysis, and deals with the ability of paleolimnological approach to define an ecological reference state for the lake in the sense of the European Framework Directive. The study at low resolution of subfossil chironomids in a 4-m-long core shows the remarkable stability over the last 2.5 kyrs of the profundal community dominated by a Micropsectra-association until the beginning of the twentieth century, when oxyphilous taxa disappeared. Focusing on this key recent period, a high resolution and multiproxy study of two short cores reveals a progressive evolution of the lake's ecological state. Until AD 1880, Lake Bourget showed low organic matter content in the deep sediments (TOC less than 1%) and a well-oxygenated hypolimnion that allowed the development of a profundal oxyphilous chironomid fauna (Micropsectra-association). Diatom communities were characteristic of oligotrophic conditions. Around AD 1880, a slight increase in the TOC was the first sign of changes in lake conditions. This was followed by a first limited decline in oligotrophic diatom taxa and the disappearance of two oxyphilous chironomid taxa at the beginning of the twentieth century. The 1940s were a major turning point in recent lake history. Diatom assemblages and accumulation of well preserved planktonic organic matter in the sediment provide evidence of strong eutrophication. The absence of profundal chironomid communities reveals permanent hypolimnetic anoxia. From AD 1995 to 2006, the diatom assemblages suggest a reduction in nutrients, and a return to mesotrophic conditions, a result of improved wastewater management. However, no change in hypolimnion benthic conditions has been shown by either the organic matter or the subfossil chironomid profundal community. Our results emphasize the relevance of the paleolimnological approach for the assessment of reference conditions for modern lakes. Before AD 1900, the profundal Micropsectra-association and the Cyclotella dominated diatom community can be considered as the Lake Bourget reference community, which reflects the reference ecological state of the lake.

Qualitative structure-metabolism relationships in the hydrolysis of carbamates.

The aims of this review were 1) to compile a large number of reliable literature data on the metabolic hydrolysis of medicinal carbamates and 2) to extract from such data a qualitative relation between molecular structure and lability to metabolic hydrolysis. The compounds were classified according to the nature of their substituents (R³OCONR&supl;R²), and a metabolic lability score was calculated for each class. A trend emerged, such that the metabolic lability of carbamates decreased (i.e., their metabolic stability increased), in the following series: Aryl-OCO-NHAlkyl >> Alkyl-OCO-NHAlkyl ~ Alkyl-OCO-N(Alkyl)? ? Alkyl-OCO-N(endocyclic) ? Aryl-OCO-N(Alkyl)? ~ Aryl-OCO-N(endocyclic) ? Alkyl-OCO-NHAryl ~ Alkyl-OCO-NHAcyl?>> Alkyl-OCO-NH? > Cyclic carbamates. This trend should prove useful in the design of carbamates as drugs or prodrugs.

Learning-induced gene expression in the heads of two Nasonia species that differ in long-term memory formation.

BACKGROUND: Cellular processes underlying memory formation are evolutionary conserved, but natural variation in memory dynamics between animal species or populations is common. The genetic basis of this fascinating phenomenon is poorly understood. Closely related species of Nasonia parasitic wasps differ in long-term memory (LTM) formation: N. vitripennis will form transcription-dependent LTM after a single conditioning trial, whereas the closely-related species N. giraulti will not. Genes that were differentially expressed (DE) after conditioning in N. vitripennis, but not in N. giraulti, were identified as candidate genes that may regulate LTM formation. RESULTS: RNA was collected from heads of both species before and immediately, 4 or 24 hours after conditioning, with 3 replicates per time point. It was sequenced strand-specifically, which allows distinguishing sense from antisense transcripts and improves the quality of expression analyses. We determined conditioning-induced DE compared to naïve controls for both species. These expression patterns were then analysed with GO enrichment analyses for each species and time point, which demonstrated an enrichment of signalling-related genes immediately after conditioning in N. vitripennis only. Analyses of known LTM genes and genes with an opposing expression pattern between the two species revealed additional candidate genes for the difference in LTM formation. These include genes from various signalling cascades, including several members of the Ras and PI3 kinase signalling pathways, and glutamate receptors. Interestingly, several other known LTM genes were exclusively differentially expressed in N. giraulti, which may indicate an LTM-inhibitory mechanism. Among the DE transcripts were also antisense transcripts. Furthermore, antisense transcripts aligning to a number of known memory genes were detected, which may have a role in regulating these genes. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to describe and compare expression patterns of both protein-coding and antisense transcripts, at different time points after conditioning, of two closely related animal species that differ in LTM formation. Several candidate genes that may regulate differences in LTM have been identified. This transcriptome analysis is a valuable resource for future in-depth studies to elucidate the role of candidate genes and antisense transcription in natural variation in LTM formation.

Families in the Shadow of Cancer

The aims of this study were 1) to clarify the factors associated with family functioning in cancer patient’s families with dependant children, 2) to examine children’ mental health when they are exposed to parental cancer, 3) to explore the subjective experience of having cancer during pregnancy, and finally, 4) to describe the implementation of a childcentred family intervention for cancer patients’ families with dependant children in an adult oncology setting. The study groups were collected between May 1st 2002 and April 30th 2004. They consisted of one European group collected from six different countries (N = 381) and two Finnish clinical groups (N = 85 and N = 2). The first Finnish clinical group of 85 cancer patient families with dependant children included a sub-sample of 54 families with children aged 11-17 years. The second Finnish clinical group consisted of two pregnant cancer patients. Additionally, a control group (N = 59) consisting of a sub-sample of 49 families with children aged 11-17 years was used. Quantitative methods (FAD, BDI, YSR, SOC, SF-8) and qualitative methods (observation, interviews, diaries, videotapes) were used exclusively and/or in combination. The results can be summarised as follows: 1) cancer “per se “ did not impair family functioning, children’s mental health, early interaction between ill mothers and their infant, 2) maternal depression or the ill parent’s depression were significantly associated with impairment in family functioning, 3) the individual’s good sense of coherence was associated with improvement in family functioning, and 4) a child-centred family intervention, which aims to give space for elaborating on cancer in the family, validates the sense of coherence and children’s feelings, and promotes open communication was welcomed. It is important to note that in the European study group, the prevalence of depression was 35 % (BDI > 16) among ill mothers, and 28% among healthy mothers, 28% among ill fathers, and 13% among healthy fathers. Early screening and effective treatment of depression in cancer patients and their partners is of paramount importance for the mental health of children and the well-being of the family. Pregnant cancer patients are in need of psychosocial support.

Regenerated cellulose ultrafiltration membranes in the treatment of pulp and paper mill process waters

Ultrafiltration (UF) is widely applied in different separation processes in the pulp and paper industry. The growing need to protect the environment, a lack of pure water and an interest in producing high-value chemicals from compounds present in process waters will probably lead to an increase in the use of UF in the pulp and paper industry. The efficiency and cost-effectiveness of a UF process depends on the applied membrane. The membrane should have a high and stable filtration capacity, a particular selectivity and a long operational lifetime. To meet these requirements a membrane should have a low fouling tendency. In addition, it should withstand the prevailing operational and chemical conditions. This thesis evaluates the performance and applicability of the regenerated cellulose (RC) membranes 00030T and C2 in the treatment of pulp and paper mill process waters based on the requirements above. The results demonstrated that both the tested RC membranes fulfilled well the requirement of high filtration capacity. In addition, in the filtration of a paper mill clear filtrate (CF) the RC membranes were not as greatly affected by variations in the CF quality as a polysulphone membrane. Furthermore, due to their extreme hydrophilicity and weak charge the fouling tendency of the membranes can be expected to be low in pulp and paper mill filtration applications. It is, however, known that fouling cannot be totally avoided even when the membrane is chosen very carefully. This study indicated that carbohydrates influenced negatively on permeability and caused fouling in the filtration of groundwood mill circulation water. Thus, a pre-treatment effectively reducing the amount of carbohydrates might help to maintain a stable capacity. However, the results of the thesis also showed that the removal of some of the possible foulants might just increase the harmful effect of others. Multivariate examination was useful in the understanding of the complicated factors causing the unstable capacity. The thesis also revealed that the 00030T and C2 membranes can be used at high pressure (max. tested pressure 12 bar). The C2 membrane, having a sponge-like substructure, was more pressure resistant, and its performance was more stable at high pressure compared to the UCO30T membrane containing macrovoids in its substructure. Both tested membranes can, according to the results, also be used at temperatures as high as 70°C in acidic, neutral and alkaline conditions. However, the use at extreme conditions might cause faster ageing of the membranes compared to ageing in neutral conditions. The thesis proved that both the tested RC membranes are very suitable for pulp and paper mill applications and that the membranes can be utilised in processes operating in challenging conditions. Thus, they could be used in more demanding applications than supposed earlier.

SYNTHESIS AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF SPIRO[INDOLINE-3,4’-PYRANO[2,3-C:6,5-C’]DIPYRAZOL]- 2-ONES IN THE PRESENCE OF SBA-Pr-SO3H AS A NANOCATALYST

Sulfonic acid functionalized SBA-15 nanoporous material (SBA-Pr-SO3H) with a large pore size of 6 nm, a high surface area, high selectivity, and excellent chemical and thermal stability was applied as an efficient heterogeneous nanoporous acid catalyst in the reaction of isatin with pyrazolones under mild reaction conditions. A novel class of symmetrical spiro[indoline-3,4'-pyrano[2,3-c:6,5-c']dipyrazol]-2-one derivatives was successfully obtained in high yields. Comparison of these results with those reported in the literature shows that the current method is efficient, and results in better reaction times and yields of the desired products. Other advantages of this new method are its operational simplicity, easy work-up procedure, and the use of SBA-Pr-SO3H as a reusable and environmentally benign nanoreactor, such that the reaction proceeds easily in its nanopores. We also tested the antimicrobial activity of the prepared compounds using the disc diffusion method, and some of the synthesized compounds exhibited the best results against B. subtilis and S. aureus.

The notion of process in nonstandard theory and in Whiteheadian metaphysics

In this article I intend to show that certain aspects of A.N. Whitehead's philosophy of organism and especially his epochal theory of time, as mainly exposed in his well-known work Process and Reality, can serve in clarify the underlying assumptions that shape nonstandard mathematical theories as such and also as metatheories of quantum mechanics. Concerning the latter issue, I point to an already significant research on nonstandard versions of quantum mechanics; two of these approaches are chosen to be critically presented in relation to the scope of this work. The main point of the paper is that, insofar as we can refer a nonstandard mathematical entity to a kind of axiomatical formalization essentially 'codifying' an underlying mental process indescribable as such by analytic means, we can possibly apply certain principles of Whitehead's metaphysical scheme focused on the key notion of process which is generally conceived as the becoming of actual entities. This is done in the sense of a unifying approach to provide an interpretation of nonstandard mathematical theories as such and also, in their metatheoretical status, as a formalization of the empirical-experimental context of quantum mechanics.

Spontaneous Focusing on Numerosity in the Development of Early Mathematical Skills

The aim of the present set of longitudinal studies was to explore 3-7-year-old children.s Spontaneous FOcusing on Numerosity (SFON) and its relation to early mathematical development. The specific goals were to capture in method and theory the distinct process by which children focus on numerosity as a part of their activities involving exact number recognition, and individual differences in this process that may be informative in the development of more complex number skills. Over the course of conducting the five studies, fifteen novel tasks were progressively developed for the SFON assessments. In the tasks, confounding effects of insufficient number recognition, verbal comprehension, other procedural skills as well as working memory capacity were aimed to be controlled. Furthermore, how children.s individual differences in SFON are related to their development of number sequence, subitizing-based enumeration, object counting and basic arithmetic skills was explored. The effect of social interaction on SFON was tested. Study I captured the first phase of the 3-year longitudinal study with 39 children. It was investigated whether there were differences in 3-year-old children.s tendency to focus on numerosity, and whether these differences were related to the children.s development of cardinality recognition skills from the age of 3 to 4 years. It was found that the two groups of children formed on the basis of their amount of SFON tendency at the age of 3 years differed in their development of recognising and producing small numbers. The children whose SFON tendency was very predominant developed faster in cardinality related skills from the age of 3 to 4 years than the children whose SFON tendency was not as predominant. Thus, children.s development in cardinality recognition skills is related to their SFON tendency. Studies II and III were conducted to investigate, firstly, children.s individual differences in SFON, and, secondly, whether children.s SFON is related to their counting development. Altogether nine tasks were designed for the assessments of spontaneous and guided focusing on numerosity. The longitudinal data of 39 children in Study II from the age of 3.5 to 6 years showed individual differences in SFON at the ages of 4, 5 and 6 years, as well as stability in children.s SFON across tasks used at different ages. The counting skills were assessed at the ages of 3.5, 5 and 6 years. Path analyses indicated a reciprocal tendency in the relationship between SFON and counting development. In Study III, these results on the individual differences in SFON tendency, the stability of SFON across different tasks and the relationship of SFON and mathematical skills were confirmed by a larger-scale cross-sectional study of 183 on average 6.5-year-old children (range 6;0-7;0 years). The significant amount of unique variance that SFON accounted for number sequence elaboration, object counting and basic arithmetic skills stayed statistically significant (partial correlations varying from .27 to .37) when the effects of non-verbal IQ and verbal comprehension were controlled. In addition, to confirm that the SFON tasks assess SFON tendency independently from enumeration skills, guided focusing tasks were used for children who had failed in SFON tasks. It was explored whether these children were able to proceed in similar tasks to SFON tasks once they were guided to focus on number. The results showed that these children.s poor performance in the SFON tasks was not caused by their deficiency in executing the tasks but on lacking focusing on numerosity. The longitudinal Study IV of 39 children aimed at increasing the knowledge of associations between children.s long-term SFON tendency, subitizing-based enumeration and verbal counting skills. Children were tested twice at the age of 4-5 years on their SFON, and once at the age of 5 on their subitizing-based enumeration, number sequence production, as well as on their skills for counting of objects. Results showed considerable stability in SFON tendency measured at different ages, and that there is a positive direct association between SFON and number sequence production. The association between SFON and object counting skills was significantly mediated by subitizing-based enumeration. These results indicate that the associations between the child.s SFON and sub-skills of verbal counting may differ on the basis of how significant a role understanding the cardinal meanings of number words plays in learning these skills. The specific goal of Study V was to investigate whether it is possible to enhance 3-year old children.s SFON tendency, and thus start children.s deliberate practice in early mathematical skills. Participants were 3-year-old children in Finnish day care. The SFON scores and cardinality-related skills of the experimental group of 17 children were compared to the corresponding results of the 17 children in the control group. The results show an experimental effect on SFON tendency and subsequent development in cardinality-related skills during the 6-month period from pretest to delayed posttest in the children with some initial SFON tendency in the experimental group. Social interaction has an effect on children.s SFON tendency. The results of the five studies assert that within a child.s existing mathematical competence, it is possible to distinguish a separate process, which refers to the child.s tendency to spontaneously focus on numerosity. Moreover, there are significant individual differences in children.s SFON at the age of 3-7 years. Moderate stability was found in this tendency across different tasks assessed both at the same and at different ages. Furthermore, SFON tendency is related to the development of early mathematical skills. Educational implications of the findings emphasise, first, the importance of regarding focusing on numerosity as a separate, essential process in the assessments of young children.s mathematical skills. Second, the substantial individual differences in SFON tendency during the childhood years suggest that uncovering and modeling this kind of mathematically meaningful perceiving of the surroundings and tasks could be an efficient tool for promoting young children.s mathematical development, and thus prevent later failures in learning mathematical skills. It is proposed to consider focusing on numerosity as one potential sub-process of activities involving exact number recognition in future studies.

The effect of performing corrections on reported uterine cancer mortality data in the city of São Paulo

Reports of uterine cancer deaths that do not specify the subsite of the tumor threaten the quality of the epidemiologic appraisal of corpus and cervix uteri cancer mortality. The present study assessed the impact of correcting the estimated corpus and cervix uteri cancer mortality in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The epidemiologic assessment of death rates comprised the estimation of magnitudes, trends (1980-2003), and area-level distribution based on three strategies: i) using uncorrected death certificate information; ii) correcting estimates of corpus and cervix uteri mortality by fully reallocating unspecified deaths to either one of these categories, and iii) partially correcting specified estimates by maintaining as unspecified a fraction of deaths certified as due to cancer of "uterus not otherwise specified". The proportion of uterine cancer deaths without subsite specification decreased from 42.9% in 1984 to 20.8% in 2003. Partial and full corrections resulted in considerable increases of cervix (31.3 and 48.8%, respectively) and corpus uteri (34.4 and 55.2%) cancer mortality. Partial correction did not change trends for subsite-specific uterine cancer mortality, whereas full correction did, thus representing an early indication of decrease for cervical neoplasms and stability for tumors of the corpus uteri in this population. Ecologic correlations between mortality and socioeconomic indices were unchanged for both strategies of correcting estimates. Reallocating unspecified uterine cancer mortality in contexts with a high proportion of these deaths has a considerable impact on the epidemiologic profile of mortality and provides more reliable estimates of cervix and corpus uteri cancer death rates and trends.

Use of medicinal plant in the manufacturing of energetic cookies

Many nutrients provide energy and regulate physiological processes linked to exercise. This work aimed at using medicinal plant in the manufacturing of energetic cookie. An evaluation of microbiological and physicochemical stability was made within 180 days of the fabrication of the product. Sensorial analysis was performed in all stages with untrained tasters. The results were statistically tested. The evaluation of ergogenic effect of the product used the maximum volume of oxygen index as a parameter through the cooper track test (12 minutes) with 7 voluntaries. The participants received the consent form. This study was approved by the local ethics committee (N° CAAE - 0009.0.313.000-08). It was observed good stability for physicochemical and microbiological parameters. As for sensorial analysis there was a predominance of scores 6 to 8, characterizing good acceptance. It was verified increase in VO2 max after the intake of the cookies with or without the medicinal plants. However, the product with the medicinal plants presented a bigger value, 35.47 VO2 max mL/(kg.min)-1. The fraction of carbohydrate and the presence of medicinal plants can be considered as nutritional ergogenic substances. The lipid fraction favor the energetic aspect of the product. The proposed product presented energetic and ergogenic effect.

Evaluation of allicin stability in processed garlic of different cultivars

This research aimed at evaluating the suitability of five different garlic cultivars for the processing of unsalted garlic paste, chopped fried garlic, and fried sliced garlic. The concentration of allicin in the products was evaluated immediately after processing and at 45-day intervals during 180 days of storage. Allicin concentrations in raw garlic of the varieties under study differed (20.73 a 24.31mg of allicin g- 1 garlic). Stability exhibited a similar between the varieties according to the type of processing utilized. Processing into paste was more favorable to the preservation of allicin than the other processes. The amount of allicin lost during the process to obtain paste for the different varieties was less than 9.5%, and it reached a maximum loss of 22% for the commercial varieties during storage (180 days). All fried garlic samples showed a decrease by 99% in the content of allicin right after processing. The processing of garlic in the form of acidified paste preserved its bioactive characteristics during storage.

Studies in the synthesis of 4, 5-disubu/stituted phenanthrenes /|nK. Ramakrishnan. -- 260 St. Catharines, Ont. : [s. n.],

The work described in t his thesis was initiated with the intention of exploring new routes for the synthesis of certain 4, 5-disubstituted phenanthrenes. A series of reactions have been investigated in detail and several 4, 5-disubstituted phenanthrenes have been prepared. Some of the methods employed were novel and the yields of products were comparable or even better than the existing routes . A major observation made during the course of this work was the stability of the seven-membered ring system bridging the 4 and 5 positions of the phenanthrene nucleus . It has been found t hat the unbridged structures are not preferred if the compound is capable of isomerising to a bridged form . We have explained this phenomenon in t erms of the stereochemistry of t he 4 and 5 positions of the phenanthrene nucleus as well as the geometry of the bridge . Low temperature NMR studies have been carried out to investigate the conformations of the benzylic hydrogens of some of the 4,5-bridged compounds. However, the results were not conclusive as more than one reason could be attributed t o the observations .