Globilization and regional scenarios: EU and mediterranean from marginalization to co-development

Despite globalization a progressively increasing economic and financial concentration in the cores of the world economy (e.g. EU) as well as the rise of new socioeconomic marginalization of peripheries (e.g. Maghreb and Mashraq) has been observed since the early 1980s. Marginalization has produced its own models of specialization in production which reflect in various countries and regions the needs of the cores economy forces. A regional strategy for regional co-operation, so called co-development, is advanced to overcome the current economic and social problems faced by marginalized regions in relation to world economic trends.     

Modelling hypermedia and web applications: the Ariadne Development Method

The development process of hypermedia and web systems poses very specific problems that do not appear in other software applications, such as the need for mechanisms to model sophisticated navigational structures, interactive behaviors, interfaces with external applications, security constraints and multimedia compositions. Even though experience, modelling skills and abstractions can be borrowed from existing software design methods, such as object-oriented modelling, hypermedia developers need specific mechanisms to analyze and design using entities that belong to the hypermedia domain (such as nodes, links, anchors and space and time-based relationships). Moreover, hypermedia methods should provide mechanisms to deal with all the aforementioned features in a progressive and integrated way. In this paper, we present the Ariadne Development Method (ADM), a software engineering method that proposes a systematic, flexible, integrative and platform-independent process to specify and evaluate hypermedia and web applications. ADM has been shown particularly useful in complex systems involving a huge number of users with different abilities to access information, with a complex structure where a huge number of nodes have to be organized in a clear way to produce specifications that are discussed by people with an heterogeneous background. This is the case of ARCE, a Latin American project where 21 countries are cooperating to produce a web platform to improve assistance in disaster mitigation situations.     

Increasing the levels of 2-phenylethyl acetate in wine through the use of a mixed culture of Hanseniaspora osmophila and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The impact of mixed cultures of Hanseniaspora osmophila and Saccharomyces cerevisiae with different initial yeast ratios on wine composition has been examined. The mixed culture significantly affected sugar consumption, the main enological parameters and ester concentrations, with the exception of glycerol, isoamyl acetate and diethyl succinate levels. Remarkably, in wines obtained with mixed cultures the concentration of 2-phenylethyl acetate was approximately 3- to 9-fold greater than that produced by S. cerevisiae pure culture. Moreover sensory evaluation revealed a stronger fruity character in wines fermented with mixed cultures than in control wines. Independently of the mixed culture used, all wines showed concentrations of acetic acid and ethyl acetate within the ranges described for wines. Our data suggest that a mixed culture of H. osmophila and S. cerevisiae can be used as a tool to increase 2-phenylethyl acetate in wine and that its concentration can be controlled by modulating the initial yeast ratio in the culture.     

Iron-chelating ability and antioxidant properties of phycocyanin isolated from a protean extract of Spirulinaplatensis

The invitro scavenger activities of different reactive oxygen species (superoxide radical, hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorous acid and peroxyl radical), the effects on lipid peroxidation and the iron-chelating ability of a Spirulinaplatensis protean extract and the biliprotein, phycocyanin, isolated from this microalga were studied. S. platensis protean extract inhibited the generation of hydroxyl radical (IC₅₀ = 537 μg/ml for the system with EDTA and 1500 μg/ml without EDTA), the production of peroxyl radical (IC₅₀ = 230 μg/ml), and the lipid peroxidation process (IC₅₀ = 2320 μg/ml for the enzymatic system and 2180 μg/ml for the non-enzymatic system). Besides, phycocyanin inhibited hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals and the lipid peroxidation process. The iron ions decreased the maximum fluorescence emission spectra of S. platensis protean extract and phycocyanin and it was an indicator of the metal-chelating activity. The antioxidant properties of S. platensis and phycocyanin may arise from both radical-scavenging and metal chelation. Our results suggest that S. platensis could be used as a dietary supplement to prevent some diseases where free radicals are involved.     

DSC study on the influence of meat source, salt and fat levels, and processing parameters on batters pressurisation

 Hydrostatic high-pressure/temperature treatments were conducted at low (10 °C) and high temperatures (60, 70, and 80°C) on different types of meat batters. Pressure-induced effects on proteins were intensified by sodium chloride molarity at low and high temperatures. Treatments at 10°C under pressurisation yielded net thermal destabilisation effects on meat proteins pertaining either to muscle or batter systems. Heating at usual cooking temperature of 70°C under pressure yielded net stabilising effects on meat batter proteins. Overheating at 80°C was needed for entire protein denaturation. Pork and chicken meats were very similar in behaviour but chicken batters exhibited relatively higher thermal- and pressure-induced protein denaturation. Both kinds of physical destabilisation/stabilisation of proteins by pressure-induced effects increased with pressure level. Received: 30 December 1999 / Revised version: 14 February 2000     

The viability of cryopreserved onlay cranial bone allografts: a comparative experimental study versus fresh autografts

It is well known that calvarial bone autografts are the bone grafts that are the least reabsorbent and have the best long-term evolution in craniofacial surgery. However, they do have certain limitations: (1) reabsorption results in repeated surgery and the need for new donor areas, (2) a limited amount of autogenous cranial bone is available (due to avoiding areas close to cranial sutures and venous sinuses, and because the temporal bone is very fragile and the cranium has not fully developed in children), and (3) graft extraction increases surgical time and morbidity. Because of this, we present an alternative to calvarial bone autografts: cryopreserved allografts. This paper is an experimental prospective study carried out on sheep with the following goals: (1) to assess the behavior of calvarial onlay bone grafts cryopreserved at -80 degrees C, using fresh autografts implanted under the same conditions as controls; (2) to compare reabsorption percentages statistically over time; and (3) to study qualitatively any histological variations. The results obtained are (1) more reabsorption of allografts when compared to autografts (at 90 days, 21.97% versus 20.21% of grafted volume), although this difference is not statistically significant; (2) a reduction in height in all onlay grafts as a consequence of the loss of the dipl?e; (3) the absence of any type of inflammation caused by a reaction to cryopreserved allografts; and (4) bone substitution performed using frozen allografts is histologically similar to that using fresh autografts.     

SMA-10 Is a Non-Canonical Member of the TGF-β Sma/Mab Pathway and Immunity Regulator via the DAF-2 Insulin Receptor in Caenorhabditis elegans

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signalling pathways are highly conserved across metazoa and play essential roles not only during development but also in adult tissue maintenance. Alterations of these pathways usually result in a plethora of pathologies. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the TGF-β Sma/Mab (small/male abnormal) pathway regulates various worm phenotypes such as body size, immune response, ageing, matricide and reproductive span. SMA-10 has been described as a positive modulator of worm body size through the TGF-β Sma/Mab pathway. To better understand if SMA-10 is a core component of the pathway, we use gene epistatic analysis to assess the contribution of SMA-10 to various phenotypes regulated by TGF-β Sma/Mab. We confirm that SMA-10 controls body size and find that it also affects the matricide and reproductive span of the nematodes. However, neither male tail formation (previously reported) nor ageing appeared altered. Lastly, although null sma-10 worms are more susceptible to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections than wild-types, this response does not depend on TGF-β Sma/Mab but on the insulin receptor DAF-2. We also show that the expression of sma-10 in either hypodermis or intestine fully rescues the wild-type immune response. Our results contribute to understanding the role of SMA-10 as a context-dependent component of TGF-β Sma/Mab, and reveal a function of SMA-10 in immunity in association to the Insulin/insulin-like growth factor signalling (IIS) pathway.