Las cubiertas vegetales en el rediseño del olivar para una transición agroecológica

Tesis dirigida por Gloria Guzmán Casado. En muchas regiones de Andalucía la olivicultura sigue siendo la principal actividad económica y de generación de empleo. Por desgracia, este cultivo está cada vez más relacionado con la contaminación de las aguas por nitratos y herbicidas y la pérdida de suelo por procesos de erosión y eutrofización. La transición del olivar hacia un manejo agroecológico se realiza con cierta facilidad, sobre todo en los lugares con una menor intensificación productiva. En el primer capítulo se exponen los precedentes del presente estudio, la mayoría centrados en analizar la sustentabilidad en el manejo del olivar andaluz. Todos estos estudios tienen como protagonistas a agricultores, cooperativas, ayuntamientos y expertos de las principales zonas olivareras de Andalucía, así como a investigadores de diversos centros universitarios y de investigación. Dotar a los olivareros de la información y las herramientas que les faciliten la toma de decisiones debe encuadrarse en un proceso de investigación acción participativa que suponga, finalmente, propuestas colectivas de cambio social. En este sentido, aparecen los trabajos técnico-agronómicos como éste, que intentan profundizar en el conocimiento del funcionamiento del agroecosistema. Una de las propuestas a nivel predial para la mejora de la sustentabilidad del olivar es el uso de cubiertas vegetales como alternativa al manejo desnudo del suelo, por la mejora que supone en el estado de éste y en la fertilización del cultivo. La adopción de esta práctica se ve limitada por los problemas técnicos y las dudas que se les plantean a los agricultores en cuanto a la competencia por el agua y los nutrientes entre la cubierta y el olivo. La parte central de este trabajo presenta los resultados obtenidos durante un año de trabajo de campo en un olivar de la comarca de Iznalloz, concretamente en el municipio de Deifontes, donde se ensayan distintas cubiertas vegetales de leguminosas desde hace cuatro años

Urban and Transport Planning Related Exposures and Mortality: A Health Impact Assessment for Cities

BACKGROUND: By 2050, almost 70% of people globally are projected to live in urban areas. As the environments we inhabit affect our health, urban and transport designs that promote healthy living are needed. OBJECTIVE: We estimated the number of premature deaths preventable under compliance with international exposure recommendations for physical activity (PA), air pollution, noise, heat, and access to green spaces. METHODS: We developed and applied the Urban and TranspOrt Planning Health Impact Assessment (UTOPHIA) tool to Barcelona. Exposure estimates and mortality data were available for 1357361 residents. We compared recommended with current exposure levels. We quantified the associations between exposures and mortality and calculated population attributable fractions to estimate the number of premature deaths preventable. We also modeled life-expectancy and economic impacts. RESULTS: We estimated that annually almost 20% of mortality could be prevented if international recommendations for performance of PA, exposure to air pollution, noise, heat, and access to green space were complied with. Estimations showed that the biggest share in preventable deaths was attributable to increases in PA, followed by exposure reductions in air pollution, traffic noise and heat. Access to green spaces had smaller effects on mortality. Compliance was estimated to increase the average life expectancy by 360 (95% CI: 219, 493) days and result in economic savings of 9.3 (95% CI: 4.9; 13.2) billion euro per year. CONCLUSIONS: PA factors and environmental exposures can be modified by changes in urban and transport planning. We emphasize the need for (1) the reduction of motorized traffic through the promotion of active and public transport and (2) the provision of green infrastructure, which are both suggested to provide PA opportunities and mitigation of air pollution, noise, and heat

Socio-environmental correlates of physical activity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

BACKGROUND: Study of the causes of the reduced levels of physical activity in patients with COPD has been scarce and limited to biological factors. AIM: To assess the relationship between novel socio-environmental factors, namely dog walking, grandparenting, neighbourhood deprivation, residential surrounding greenness and residential proximity to green or blue spaces, and amount and intensity of physical activity in COPD patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited 410 COPD patients from five Catalan municipalities. Dog walking and grandparenting were assessed by questionnaire. Neighbourhood deprivation was assessed using the census Urban Vulnerability Index, residential surrounding greenness by the satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and residential proximity to green or blue spaces as living within 300 m of such a space. Physical activity was measured during 1 week by accelerometer to assess time spent on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and vector magnitude units (VMU) per minute. FINDINGS: Patients were 85% male, had a mean (SD) age of 69 (9) years, and post-bronchodilator FEV1 of 56 (17) %pred. After adjusting for age, sex, socio-economic status, dyspnoea, exercise capacity and anxiety in a linear regression model, both dog walking and grandparenting were significantly associated with an increase both in time in MVPA (18 min/day (p<0.01) and 9 min/day (p<0.05), respectively) and in physical activity intensity (76 VMU/min (p=0.05) and 59 VMUs/min (p<0.05), respectively). Neighbourhood deprivation, surrounding greenness and proximity to green or blue spaces were not associated with physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: Dog walking and grandparenting are associated with a higher amount and intensity of physical activity in COPD patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Pre-results, NCT01897298

Exposure to night-time traffic noise, melatonin-regulating gene variants and change in glycemia in adults

Traffic noise has been linked to diabetes, with limited understanding of its mechanisms. We hypothesize that night-time road traffic noise (RTN) may impair glucose homeostasis through circadian rhythm disturbances. We prospectively investigated the relationship between residential night-time RTN and subsequent eight-year change in glycosylated hemoglobin (ΔHbA1c) in 3350 participants of the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA), adjusting for diabetes risk factors and air pollution levels. Annual average RTN (Lnight) was assigned to participants in 2001 using validated Swiss noise models. HbA1c was measured in 2002 and 2011 using liquid chromatography. We applied mixed linear models to explore RTN-ΔHbA1c association and its modification by a genetic risk score of six common circadian-related MTNR1B variants (MGRS). A 10 dB difference in RTN was associated with a 0.02% (0.003-0.04%) increase in mean ΔHbA1c in 2142 non-movers. RTN-ΔHbA1c association was modified by MGRS among diabetic participants (Pinteraction = 0.001). A similar trend in non-diabetic participants was non-significant. Among the single variants, we observed strongest interactions with rs10830963, an acknowledged diabetes risk variant also implicated in melatonin profile dysregulation. Night-time RTN may impair glycemic control, especially in diabetic individuals, through circadian rhythm disturbances. Experimental sleep studies are needed to test whether noise control may help individuals to attain optimal glycemic levels

Promoting Creativity in the Cooperative Work Environment: A Case Study of the Lacol Cooperative

Previous research has examined organizational factors that could facilitate or limit creativity also indicating that although cooperatives can be seen as innovative business formats, they are also considered slow growth models because of their organizational characteristics. In this study we aim to explore the processes, practices, and other organizational characteristics that define the creative dynamics in cooperatives. In this way, our goals are (a) to understand how the promotion of the creativity is carried out in the cooperative workplace and (b) to study the factors that can accelerate the development of a more positive climate for creativity, boosting transformative elements and neutralizing exclusionary elements. This article is focused on a qualitative case study of an architecture cooperative from Catalonia (Spain), Lacol. The data were collected through two in-depth interviews. Also, visual material was collected to study how the physical space is organised and how this affects creative processes. The results show that, of the studied elements, those most relevant to produce a creative work environment in Lacol are power decentralization, freedom and autonomy, work team support, training, and challenges. Likewise, friendship has been identified as an important transversal element. Finally, future research lines are discussed

Sistema web automàtic per a la predicció dels resultats dels partits de la lliga de futbol professional

Treballs Finals de Grau d'Enginyeria Informàtica, Facultat de Matemàtiques, Universitat de Barcelona, Any: 2015, Director: Lluís Garrido OstermannThe back idea of this project consists of creating an automatized system which is able to forecast the result of the matches of the Spanish football league (LFP). It has been developed in different parts. One is related to request and process data from a website. Another part is used to train and test a classifier with the stored data using a set of supervised learning methods. This kind of classifiers are commonly called support vector machines (SVM). And the last one, create a web application to check and control part of the system. To achieve a high percentage of success, it’s very important to have enough data for each team. Also, it’s necessary to identify which features are relevant for the problem of classification. And adjusting the parameters of the classificator in a good way make a substantial difference.This document outlined in detail the process of design, analysis, development, implementation and results of this project