Province Of Barcelona Research Articles

Risk factors associated with asbestos-related diseases: a community-based case–control study

BackgroundAsbestos is a first level carcinogen. However, few epidemiological studies analyse the risk and protective factors associated with asbestos-related diseases and follow up these conditions in the general population. Pleural mesothelioma, caused by inhalation of asbestos fibres at work, at home or in the environment, is the most representative asbestos-related disease.The objectives of this study are to analyse the risk and protective factors associated with asbestos-related diseases and to investigate the incidence of new clinical manifestations in patients already diagnosed with some form of ARD.Methods/DesignWe have designed a matched case–control study with follow up of both cohorts from a population of a health district of the Barcelona province that has been exposed to asbestos for a period of 90 years.DiscussionA better understanding of asbestos-related diseases should improve i) the clinical and epidemiological follow up of patients with this condition; ii) the design of new treatment strategies; iii) and the development of preventive activities. At the end of the study, the two cohorts created in this study (affected cases and healthy controls) will constitute the basis for future research.

Educación en valores: análisis sobre las expectativas y los valores de los adolescentes

The results of a study on the values and expectations of teenagers in the province of Barcelona (Spain) are presented in this article. The overall objective of the study was to know what teenagers, families and teachers think about the values and expectations of young people. Accordingly, the authors felt it was essential to consult the opiMaria Rosa Buxarrais-Estrada Universitat de Barcelona, Espana mrbuxarrais@ub.edu

Energy and environmental evaluation of municipal facilities: Case study in the province of Barcelona

The service sector is extraordinarily important for the European economy, as it accounts for 75% of the GDP. Yet it is also a huge consumer of energy, especially in urban environments. Municipalities have the authority to develop and manage municipal services, and as a result the European Commission drew up the Covenant of Mayors in which the signatory municipalities pledge to reduce their CO2 emissions by 20% of their 1990 rates. Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) emerged from this covenant with the goal of analysing the current consumption patterns and compiling the actions that the municipalities should undertake in order to fulfil their pledges.This article focuses on analysing the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of 978 municipal service facilities in the province of Barcelona in the year 2005. The average consumption per facility by surface area is 118.8kWh/m2. Regarding greenhouse gas emissions, the average annual emissions in the facilities studied in the province of Barcelona were 40.0kgCO2eq/m2.

Factores de riesgo más prevalentes en las bronquiolitis por virus respiratorio sincitial en lactantes de 0 a 24 meses

Our aim is to describe the environmental aspects of children between 0 and 24 months, who arrived in the Emergency Department of the Hospital General de Cataluña and Hospital Parc Tauli (both within Barcelona province), and were diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis from November 2010 to February 2011. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on children of both sexes, with ages from 0 to 24 months, and diagnosed with bronchiolitits respiratory syncytial virus +. Data was obtained by completing a non-validated questionnaire, with information provided by parents and the medical history. The most common features in the study were: a mean age of 3.8 months, most were males, with siblings of school age, mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy, were in a non-smoking environment in their home, and finally, less than 5 people living together in their home. The most common risk factors n order of prevalence were, having siblings of school age, male sex, and living in smoking environment. It was observed that the majority of children had risk associated factors associated, with only 8.2% of samples not presenting any risk factors.

Percepción de la transición a la maternidad: estudio fenomenológico en la provincia de Barcelona

ObjectivesTo describe needs and experiences of mothers with children under one year old, to identify the factors that hinder the transition to motherhood, and to design the content of a health promotion program to develop motherhood support group sessions. DesignA qualitative study with a phenomenological approach. LocationEight Primary Care Centres in the province of Barcelona, between July 2011 and July 2012. ParticipantsA total of 21 mothers participating in group dynamics maternity support: All of them participated in interviews and 8 in focus group. MethodSemi-structured interviews were used in a purposive sample. The transcriptions were analysed by structure (latent content analysis) and content (manifest content analysis), with different categories being obtained. ResultsThe participants in the study defined the construct of motherhood around three categories: Changes in lifestyle, feelings and perceptions. They identified as the most stressful times; «the new role», «changes in the partner relationship», «feelings», «experiences of pregnancy and childbirth», «idealisation», «lack of support», «crying», «colic», «read the signs of the child», «bath», «rest», «contradictory opinions», «learning», and «acquisition of new skills». They highlighted, as key topics for group dynamics, feeding, development, affective relationship, maternal confidence, fathers participation, family role, emotional, rest, massage, bath, accident prevention, colic, first aid, childcare, resources, and vaccines. ConclusionDynamic groups should be contextualised according to the perceived needs of the mothers, and other family members should be allowed to participate.

Resultados preliminares de las pérdidas de suelo en zona agrícola del Penedés (Cataluña, España)

This concerns the evaluation of soil loss through runoff erosion in the agricultura! zones. The area of ·study is situated in the tectonic trench of Penedes (Province of Barcelona), basically made up of neoge and quaternary materials. The quantification of the erosive processes is carried out on experimental plots intalled on prívate estates. It is based on the data obtained from two fundamental variables: climate and runoff. For this purpose we have set up a series of typical meteorological instruments and gathering devices to collect both solid and liquid discharge brought down by the overland flow. These are similar to Gerlach troughs but on a larger scale. During 1983 the soil losses in this experimental zone were 2.4 kg/m2 . The erosion took place atan uneven rate. From a total of 46 rainy days only 11 produced results and 3 of these were responsible for 92% of the total erosion.

Pleural mesothelioma in relation to meteorological conditions and residential distance from an industrial source of asbestos

ObjectivesFew studies have focused on pleural mesothelioma and environmental exposure in individuals residing around an industrial source of asbestos. The aim of this study is to determine whether residential distance...

Evaluación del impacto de la utilización de medicamentos en dosis unitarias en 2 centros de atención primaria

ObjectiveTo evaluate the economical impact of using medications packaged in a single dose non-reusable container (Onedose®), compared to prescribing preparations in the usual multidose containers. DesignWe performed a cost-minimization analysis from a prescribing center's perspective. The observational study design is retrospective and analyzes 23 products in prescriptions made between January and April 2012. SettingTwo Spanish Primary Care Centers located in the province of Barcelona. The first covered an urban area with a population of 24.500 people, and the second a semi-urban area with 10.000 people. Primary outcome measuresEach examined product was measured between January and April 2012 and extrapolated annually, based on the defined substitution scenarios results of total Euro savings in non-prescribed doses and price differences. ResultsThe Savings related to the substitution of the prescribed packaging presentations with Onedose® were 45.000 Euros (24%) in the months of analysis and 133.000 Euros annually, avoiding the use of 212.000 doses (14%) in the period analyzed and 669.000 doses annually. ConclusionsThe use of single dose non-reusable container packaging (Onedose®) in the analyzed health centers reduced prescription-related expenses without increasing dispensing costs, thus reducing the household stock of those medicines which are not objectively suitable to be used without a previous diagnosis.

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Children Assertive Behavior Scale

AbstractThe main goal of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Cuestionario para Evaluar la Asertividad (CEA-ESO). This questionnaire is the Spanish version of the Children’s Assertive Behavior Scale (CABS) on which students self-rate their inhibited, assertive, and aggressive relational styles. The questionnaire was administered to 640 students of Compulsory Secondary Education (CSE) aged between 11 and 16 years old, from various schools of the province of Barcelona, Spain. The homogeneity analysis carried out suggests a bidimensional structure in contrast to the tridimensional structure proposed for the original version of the CABS, that is, the CEA-ESO is effective for the discrimination of students’ assertive and aggressive behaviors, but inhibition is weakly represented. The reliability analyses of the questionnaire reveal a scale originally targeting students over 15 years of age, but with adequate internal consistency also for age groups between 12 and 14 years. The advantages of using a single instrument for the entire period of CSE are commented on. The Spanish adaptation of the CABS is considered an adequate instrument to assess assertiveness at school, but further research is required to confirm its capacity to discriminate students’ three interpersonal relational styles.

Health implications of the establishment and spread of Aedes albopictus in Spain

The spread of Aedes albopictus by Eastern Spain has been constant since its first finding in 2004. Currently the species has been collected in the coastal provinces of Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Castellón, Alicante and Murcia. The high synanthropism of the species, together with its anthropophilic behaviour and vectorial capacity to transmit several arboviruses, have led to the return of active transmission cycles of common diseases in the past such as Dengue virus and even the appearance of new tropical viruses as Chikungunya in southern Europe. This manuscript discusses the public health implications of the expected expansion of Ae. albopictus for much of the Iberian Peninsula, in the context of current climatic and sociodemographic situation. Moreover, several issues related with the control of the species in urban and suburban environments are exposed. Finally the preliminary data about other invasive aedines recently collected in the European continent are presented.

A New Immigration Regularization Policy: The Settlement Program in Spain

The topic of regularization of immigrants has occupied a position high on the agenda in Spain and elsewhere. In this paper, we contribute to this particular issue by providing an evaluative case study in Spain using administrative data from the Province of Barcelona from 2005 to 2009, which allows survival analysis, the follow-up of migrants’ trajectories after regularization and the examination of the hazard of lapsing back into irregularity. Our analysis reveals critical differences on the effectiveness of two pathways to earned legalization in Spain as a policy: the 2005 Normalisation and the Settlement Program in full operation since 2006.

Geospatial analysis for conservation: applications with open-source software in the Natural Parks of Barcelona

We describe some applications of geospatial analysis in which open-source software has been prevalent, with the aim of presenting examples of operational use and discussing past and current limitations. The examples are extracted from a sequence of projects carried out in Natural Parks of the Province of Barcelona (Catalonia, NE Spain), including the use of calibrated satellite vegetation index to monitor recovery after fire, multi-criteria analysis to rank abandoned fields for restoration, generalization of vegetation maps using a double-criteria hierarchical clustering, and planning and initial evaluation of aerial campaigns with a small remote-controlled aerial vehicle. Our use of open-source software steadily increased through this sequence of projects, with the R language and environment for statistical computing occupying a central position in our set of tools, but our applications also made use of proprietary software.

AS37-01 - Outcomes of treatment orders in Barcelona province (Spain)

In our presentation we look at the outcomes of mental health patients with a treatment order (in Spain called “Medidas de Seguridad”) for people suffering from a mental disorder that had committed an offence. This kind of order could apply (generally related with severity of offence) for compulsory treatment in community, psychiatric hospital or psychiatric penitentiary units. The sample are patients with “medidas de seguridad” (treatment orders) that they finished it between 2005 (April) and 2009 (April), in each of the types where they were admitted (community, hospital and prison psychiatry), The geographical area of study will be Barcelona province (about 5.500.000 population). The number of patients included in all types of tretament order were 220 patiens (108 admitted and 112 in community treatment). The variables that we will look there are: 1) When they finish the order (gender, psychiatric diagnoses on discharge, psychopharmaocological treatment and kind of psychiatric follow-up recomended, type of offence and length of treatment order. 2) In the outcome will look at variables like psychiatric diagnosis (in order to see the diagnosis stability), accommodation (housing), recidivism, treatment and working (other legal and social factors) and hospital admissions and current psychiatric follow-up. There are few studies that review the outcome of patients having a treatment order and serving a sentence in the long term. We also try to compare these groups with people suffering from a mental illness and no serving sentences. Economic differences between the groups will be also analysed.

Intervention for control of hypertension in Catalonia, Spain (INCOTECA Project): results of a multicentric, non-randomised, quasi-experimental controlled intervention study

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a quality improvement (QI) plan aimed at primary healthcare teams (PHCTs) to optimise hypertension control and to compare it...

Abundancia de ginetas (Genetta genetta) en un encinar mediterráneo. Estimación mediante trampeo fotográfico

Knowledge of the population dynamics of Iberian carnivores is still poor, despite the importance of this knowledge in the proper management of the environment. Camera-trapping has evolved greatly and has expanded as a detection method and for obtaining biological and ecological parameters of carnivores, because it is widely applicable and non-invasive. This technique has been successfully used in a variety of species for census and to establish relative abundance. In the present study, our results provide estimates of the density of genets by camera-trapping in a typical Mediterranean forest dominated by oaks (Quercus ilex) and small patches of Aleppo (Pinus halepensis), Scots (Pinus sylvestris) and black pine (Pinus nigra salzmannii) on a limestone substrate. During the summer of 2008 sampling was conducted in the Sant Llorenç del Munt i L’Obac Natural Park, located in the province of Barcelona, north east Spain. A total of 12 camera traps, arranged in a grid, worked simultaneously for 6 weeks. Each week, we checked the proper functioning of the equipment and renewed the bait (tuna cans with vegetable oil). The effective sampling effort was 418 trapdays and 705 photographs were obtained of 494 animals, including 17 of genets. Applying the methodology for estimating densities and using photographic capture-recapture data we obtained densities of 0.64± 0.19 individuals/km2 by the estimator M0 and 0.85± 0.27 genets/km2 with Mh estimator. Considering these results, camera-trapping appears to be the optimal method for estimating densities and recording other aspects of the ecology of carnivores which are easily identified by photographic records, such as the genet.

The metabolism of cultural services. Energy and water flows in museums

Museums are one of the most longstanding, deeply rooted cultural services in society owing to the function they perform (communication, education and conservation of our heritage). The research in this article focuses on analysing the energetic and water metabolism of 28 museums in the province of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) in order to quantify and model its demand of resources during the operation of museums.The results show that in museums’ energy profile, consumption of electrical energy predominates. A visit to a museum is associated with an average energy consumption of 15.7kWh whilst the average energy consumption per square metre is 102.9kWh. This consumption is associated with greenhouse gas emissions of 2.34kg of equivalent CO2 per visit. Besides, a visit to a museum is associated with an average water consumption of 27.3L.Energy and water consumption have a significative strong correlation with the area and the number of visits and also among them. Several regression models have been developed in order to analyse in depth these relationships. A power equation model between energy and water consumption has been obtained, which could become a simple management tool for monitoring and controlling the consumption of museums.

Life cycle assessment of energy flow and packaging use in food purchasing

The aim of this project is to obtain quantitative data on the metabolic flows (energy consumption, not only by the establishment but also in the transportation of workers and customers, and packaging use) and their resulting environmental impacts of a standard shopping basket purchase in five city center municipal markets and a hypermarket in a suburban retail park in the province of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). The main results show that a standard shopping basket purchased in a retail park requires 20 times more energy than one purchased in a municipal market (11.1 kWh and 0.57 kWh, respectively). Customer transportation represents 83.2% of energy consumption in a retail park, while the greatest impacts in a municipal market stem from the establishment itself (49.5%) and worker transportation (40.4%). Secondly, the packaging use inventory is higher in a hypermarket (253 g) than in a municipal market (102 g). However, the overall environmental impact associated with a standard shopping basket is 10 times higher on average in a hypermarket than in a municipal market, and the carbon footprints of the hypermarket and the municipal market are 3.8 and 0.4 kg of CO 2 eq., respectively. According to the sensitivity analysis, current policies for reducing the amount of plastic bag packaging have little repercussion in a retail park because its relative weight in terms of total packaging use is only 7%. Nevertheless, they have notable effects in municipal markets where plastic bags represent 25% of the packaging use. Finally, if customers selected the least packaged products available in hypermarkets, each shopping basket could reduce up to 47.2% of its used packaging weight and between 15.4 and 59.0% of its associated environmental impact.

Institutionalizing Participatory Democracy and the Emergence of an Epistemic Community in Spanish Local Government

ABSTRACT:This article contributes to the academic debate on the emergence and configuration of an epistemic community and its encouragement of participatory democracy in local government. With a case study of the councils of cities in the province of Barcelona (Spain) with up to 5,000 inhabitants, where notable advances have been made in this field, a description is provided of the epistemic community and the activities it has undertaken to promote citizen participation. The results illustrate the role of the epistemic community in the establishment of participation units and its capacity to generate participatory processes in different spheres of local government with different levels of pre-existing institutional arrangements. However, questions arise concerning its capacity to maintain and extend its influence in spheres of advanced technical specificity and robust institutional arrangements, where negotiation is required to promote citizen participation.

¿Participar para transformar? La experiencia de los presupuestos participativos en la provincia de Barcelona

¿Qué cabe esperar de los procesos de participación ciudadana en las políticas públicas locales?, ¿es razonable esperar transformaciones políticas significativas? En este artículo se identifican aquellas condiciones que, a nivel teórico, podemos prever que determinen la capacidad transformadora de la participación ciudadana. Esta discusión teórica da lugar a un marco de evaluación de las prácticas de participación que se aplica al análisis de las 11 experiencias vigentes de presupuestos participativos en la provincia de Barcelona. El análisis pone en evidencia los límites de este tipo de prácticas de participación, los cuales están relacionados con tres factores principales: su posición institucional periférica; el escaso margen de decisión que se concede a la ciudadanía; y la escasa movilización social. Sin embargo, los casos analizados obtienen buenos resultados en dos aspectos importantes: el impacto de las propuestas ciudadanas en la toma de decisiones públicas y la transformación de las actitudes políticas, técnicas y ciudadanas hacia la participación. El marco de evaluación propuesto nos ayuda a identificar ámbitos críticos de mejora de los procesos participativos y de fortalecimiento de su capacidad transformadora.

The land snail midden from Balma del Gai (Barcelona, Spain) and the evolution of terrestrial gastropod consumption during the late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic in eastern Iberia

The aim of this paper is to describe the results of a study of the terrestrial gastropods recovered at the Epipalaeolithic site Balma del Gai, and comparing it with other Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic samples from the Mediterranean region of the Iberian Peninsula. Balma del Gai is located in north-eastern Spain, in the municipality of Moià, province of Barcelona. This small rock shelter lies about 50 km inland from the coast. The second layer, the middle one, (Nivell I) contains diverse Epipalaeolithic occupations dated from 12,240 ± 110 BP to 8930 ± 140 BP. A large amount of terrestrial gastropod shells was recovered during archaeological excavations. These shells belong to the species Cepaea nemoralis, which is very common in other contemporaneous sites from the region. The anthropic origin of the sample has been confirmed by a previous taphonomic study. New results reveal an evolution in the use of land snails as a food resource from south to north in Mediterranean Iberia: consumption of land snails began in the south with the warmer stages at the end of the Pleistocene and extended northwards during the Holocene. However, land snails were most likely only a seasonal food source, and their presence is probably correlated with the exploitation of other resources such as small mammals (rabbits) and collected plants and fruits.