Is Spanish depopulation irreversible? Recent demographic and spatial changes in small municipalities

Many small Spanish municipalities (those with less than 2000 inhabitants) experienced population growth during the first decade of the 21st century due to a large influx of foreign immigrants. However, the Great Recession put an end to this trend. The first aim of this paper is to analyse the demographic impact of the new phase of economic growth – known as the "post-crisis” period (2014–2020) – on small Spanish municipalities. The second aim is to carry out an initial analysis of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis on the growth of these municipalities. The results of a nine-category typology show that during the post-crisis period, the vast majority of villages continued to depopulate, while a minority gained population or had stagnant population figures. The Covid-19 pandemic represented a turning point, with small municipalities as a whole starting to grow again. However, the population did not increase in all categories of villages or in all regions of rural Spain. The results for both periods (post-crisis and Covid-19 pandemic) highlight the growing importance of migration to demographic change in the smallest municipalities © 2023, Vienna Yearbook of Population Research.All Rights Reserved.

Housing vulnerability and sublease during lockdown. Experiences the Latin Americans in Barcelona

Subleasing is the housing solution that accommodates the most vulnerable and residentially excluded urban groups, including a large part of the Latin American immigrants residing in the city of Barcelona and its metropolitan area. By conducting 16 interviews with members of this group living in sublet rooms, this article analyzes the impact on them of the compulsory confinement decreed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results indicate that subleasing can mask situations of homelessness and substandard housing that does not guarantee security or stability for this group when facing confinement. On the contrary, the residential deficiencies became more tangible during this period, penalizing especially those nuclear families living in a room, women and those in an irregular administrative situation.

Cross-culturally approaching the cycling behaviour questionnaire (CBQ): Evidence from 19 countries

Given different advances in applied literature, risky and positive behaviours keep gaining ground as key contributors for riding safety outcomes. In this regard, the Cycling Behaviour Question-naire (CBQ) represents one of the tools available to assess the core dimensions of cycling behaviour and their relationship with road safety outcomes from a behavioural perspective. Nevertheless, it has never been psychometrically approached through a cross-cultural perspec-tive. Therefore, this study aimed to perform the cross-cultural validation of the CBQ, examining its psychometric properties, reliability indexes, validity insights and descriptive scores in 19 countries distributed across five regions: Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. For this purpose, it was used the data retrieved from a full sample of 7,001 urban cyclists responding to a large-scale electronic survey. Participants had a mean age of M = 36.15 (SD = 14.71), ranging between 16 and 83 years. The results of this large-scale study empirically support the assumption that the 29-item version of the CBQ has a fair dimensional structure and item composition, good internal consistency, reliability indexes, and an interesting set of validity insights. Among these results, there can be highlighted that: (i) Structurally speaking, the questionnaire works better under a three-factor dimensionality, keeping all its 29 items, whose factor loadings are >0.400 in

Immigration and Housing During Home Confinement: The Case of Sublet Rooms

For the immigrant population sublet rooms are a common way of access to housing. In the context of the covid-19 juncture, this paper examines the impact of the mandatory home confinement decree at the beginning of the pandemic, on immigrants living in sublet rooms in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. 27 semi-structured interviews carried out within this group are analyzed. The results show the worsening of pre-existing problems: coexistence problems, poor housing conditions, overcrowding or excessive prices, as well as the appearance of new difficulties due to constant and forced coexistence, not being able to use of public spaces and closure of institutions, affecting the physical and psychological health of this group. It is shown that subleasing, which hosts a large part of the residentially excluded population, does not guarantee a decent, adequate, and safe home to face home confinement.

Bioequivalence study of a new formulation of paracetamol/ibuprofen during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: To determine the bioequivalence of two oral formulations of paracetamol 500 mg/ibuprofen 200 mg. Tolerability of both formulations of paracetamol/ ibuprofen were evaluated descriptively. Material and/or methods: Twenty-four healthy volunteers were enrolled at this random, single-dose, crossover, two-period design, open-label, bioequivalence study. After overnight fasting, two formulations (test and reference) of paracetamol/ibuprofen (paracetamol 500 mg/ ibuprofen 200-mg film coated tablets), were administered as a single dose on two treatment days separated by a 72 h (minimum) washout period. After dosing, blood samples were drawn for a period of 12 h. Pharmacokinetic parameters were determined from plasma concentrations for both formulations. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO. Extraordinary safety measures were implemented at different levels that intended to preserve the clinical trial activities as far as possible, protecting the safety and preserving the traceability while no vaccine was available. These measures, locally, consisted of: information about the importance of the measures, PCR test for COVID-19 at the screening visit (if IgG serology was positive) and PCR test at every period of admission to Trials Unit, the subject came into the Unit only after a negative result. Results: The highest effort made to assure the safety of participants led to a regular development of the study, with only two cases excluded primarily and one excluded after the first dose administration. Regarding pharmacokinetics, the results found for Paracetamol: Ln (Cmax) ng/ml Ratio 92.83% (CI90: 83.73%-102.94%);Ln (AUClast) h∗ng/ml Ratio: 96.14% (CI90: 93.24%-99.13%);for Ibuprofen: Ln (Cmax) ng/ml Ratio: 93.78% (CI90: 85.43-102.96%), Ln (AUClast) h∗ng/ml Ratio: 96.06% (CI90: 93.75%-98.42%). No drug-related safety concerns appeared. Conclusions: The clinical development of the BE clinical trial was made available by the extraordinary safety measures adopted. The pharmacokinetics results comply with the regulatory requirements for bioequivalence. No significant findings concerning safety were found.

Emergency visits and mortality caused by ischemic heart disease attributable to fine particulate matter during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile.

POSITION DU PROBLèME: Le confinement mis en place au deuxième trimestre 2020 a entrainé une amélioration de la qualité de l'air de Santiago, capitale et plus grande ville du Chili, caractérisée par de fortes concentrations en particules fines PM2,5 liées, en grande partie, au trafic routier. L'objectif était de mettre en évidence une potentielle réduction des visites aux urgences pour infarctus du myocarde aigu (IDM) et des décès dus à une cardiopathie ischémique (CPI) attribuable à l'émission de PM2,5, en comparant les périodes équivalentes de 2019 et de 2020. MéTHODES: À Santiago, la surveillance de la qualité de l'air se fait grâce à neuf moniteurs situés dans neuf communes différentes : Cerro Navia, Cerrillos, El Bosque, Pudahuel, Independencia, La Florida, Quilicura, Santiago centre-ville et Las Condes (classées de la plus haute à la plus basse en matière de pauvreté multidimensionnelle). La concentration moyenne quotidienne de PM2,5 a été décrite avec des séries temporelles, et les visites aux urgences pour IDM et les décès dus à une CPI ont été analysés de façon trimestrielle pour chaque année. Pour estimer l'impact de l'excès de PM2,5, les fractions de risque attribuables (FRA) pour les visites aux urgences pour IDM et les décès pour CPI ont été calculées. RéSULTATS: La moyenne quotidienne des PM2,5 a diminué dans huit des neuf communes de Santiago. Cependant, la réduction n'a été significative que dans trois communes. Les visites aux urgences pour IDM et les décès par CPI attribuables aux PM2,5 ont diminué légèrement mais significativement dans ces trois communes. Les FRA dans les autres communes sont restées similaires à 2019. CONCLUSIONS: Une réduction significative de la FRA des PM2,5 pour les décès par CPI et les visites aux urgences d'IDM n'a été observée que dans les communes avec une réduction significative de la concentration quotidienne moyenne de PM2,5 pendant la pandémie de COVID-19.