Energy, along with water, is a crucial element in any strategy aiming to achieve economic growth. The past squandering of resources cannot continue

The Spanish construction sector has traditionally proven inefficient with many cases of bad practice leading to the overproduction of housing and

© P. Duran © P. Duran One of the causes of the current crisis has been our land management, heir to

In recent years many European Union countries have shown a clear intention to incorporate new forms of territorial administration and spatial

Valencians should be able to achieve a respectful balance between culture, history, tradition, modernity and competitiveness, as have most enlightened peoples

© M. Lorenzo Training and knowledge are two main underpinnings of any production system. In this respect, knowledge transfer from universities to

To prepare this special issue we have brought together specialists from various branches of economics to reflect on the scenarios resulting from the grave

In the mid-eighteenth century, the famous Encyclopédie by Diderot and D’Alembert, stated that «an interest in chemistry» was really «a madman’s passion». Chemists belonged

Great apes are born vulnerable and dependent and require a long period of upbringing. Maternal empathy, communication skills and techniques for gathering and preparing food can greatly enhance their offspring’s chances of survival. What was the role of mothers in the human evolution?

Pain is a subjective sensation, so to objectify its intensity different types of scales are used whereby the patient can indicate the degree of pain being treated. The effect of analgesic drugs is evaluated in clinical trials subject to strict rules in order to compare the effect of the medication with that produced by substances without analgesic activity.

Figure 1. Satellite images. Differences between a) a Landsat TM image from 2005 and b) a QuickBird image from 2004 of the north of the

Pain can have far-reaching effects on people’s quality of life. Improper treatment is a serious healthcare issue and an ethical problem of the first degree, directly affecting people and potentially undermining their dignity.

Children experience pain just like adults, since nerve pathways develop during pregnancy. Pain in infants has particular connotations because it is difficult to assess, but there are validated methods to detect it and, above all, there are procedures and medicines to treat pain effectively in children.

Pain is one of the symptoms for which patients seek medical treatment most. It affects 12% of the population and is considered severe in one third of these cases. This article reviews the different types of pain, both acute and chronic, and new pain-management treatments.

Numerous drugs with analgesic effect can be used to treat pain. Opioids are effective for moderate to severe pain, while nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and especially paracetamol (acetaminophen) are useful to treat mild or even moderate pain. Analgesics should be used according to guidelines, and users should be aware of their adverse effects, avoiding them whenever possible, and steering clear of overuse.

This article addresses the advent of the theory and treatment of chronic pain from the second half of the nineteenth century until the mid-twentieth century. It would appear that pain medication emerged from the confluence of practices related to treating patients with terminal diseases and those suffering from incurable pain.

Pain is the most common symptom of human disease and has accompanied living beings since their advent. It has been argued that pain is part of human identity, not only as an unpleasant sensation –complex from the neurological viewpoint– but because it is accompanied by affective factors, which make us question our reason for being.

© Cartoteca de l’Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya. Figura 1. N. Sanson [1675]: Les monts Pyrenées ou sont remarqués les passages de France en Espagne, Amsterdam,

© M. Lorenzo The future of food lies in personalized nutrition, that is, smart diets designed according to the specific demands of individual genotypes and their

Research shows that fire promotes the creation of new substances and speeds up mineralisation, also encouraging the production of recalcitrant forms of organic matter.

Understanding soil requires knowledge of particle aggregation. Fire affects aggregation by degrading the biological fraction, although low-intensity fire does not leave obvious signs in its wake.

We ask ourselves whether natural populations, abiotic properties and the economy and society in the affected area will recover over time. This question comes up after each wildfire but to answer it is complex.

Forests cover a large part of Catalonia (63%) and this means their management is critical to good spatial planning. Prescribed fires help prevent major wildfires, which have marked recent history, they also help to reintroduce a natural element in the Mediterranean forest: fire.

Fire requires three elements: ignition, oxygen and fuel. All three are present in terrestrial ecosystems, thus fire has become a component of environments. In this sense, the Mediterranean ecosystem’s adaptation to fire is evident.