The “Northern Syndrome”. The human dimension of the fight against the terrorist organization ETA

For more than forty years, Spain has been confronted with internal terrorism, of an ethno-nationalist nature, deployed by the terrorist organization ETA. Their armed struggle, which caused more than 850 fatalities, had as its objective the independence of the Basque Country, Navarre, as well as a part of the so-called French Basque Country. It was especially during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s when the police forces deployed in the so-called “Northern Zone” were exposed not only to the possibility of suffering a terrorist attack, but also to the rejection and animosity of a large part of the Basque a Navarrese population, which considered the police as an “occupation force”. This gave rise to the concept of “Northern Syndrome”, which referred, above all, to the psychological consequences that this omnipresent terror and rejection in their daily lives produced in both the police officers and their families. Based on these considerations, the objective of the present work is to analyse said psycho-pathological construct. To this end, the author of this paper has conducted a total of 25 interviews with police officers and relatives who were stationed in the Basque Country and Navarra during the so-called “years of lead”. As will be seen, practically all of the individuals interviewed affirm not only the existence of said Syndrome, but also having suffered from it during their stay in the North and, in some cases, also currently

Análisis de Solución a la Infraestructura Inalámbrica en la Universidad de Ibagué

Se realizó un análisis de toda la infraestructura inalámbrica cuyo propósito es documentar toda la información recolectada de la solución wifi, se tiene en cuenta todos los puntos de vista de docentes, estudiantes y administrativos de la Universidad de Ibagué. Para lograr los mejores resultados en este proyecto, se recolecta toda la información requerida para conocer las ubicaciones en tiempo real y las configuraciones actuales de cada uno de los AP, los datos se pueden visualizar en una aplicación interactiva, que facilita cualquier acción correctiva para el administrador al momento de identificar alguna posible falla. Por lo tanto, se concluye, que de acuerdo con la problemática encontrada, al desconocer cómo se encuentra gran parte de la infraestructura inalámbrica, se ha evidenciado intermitencia y problemas expuestos por los usuarios al momento de conectarse a la red. Las altas ventajas de las conexiones inalámbricas tienden a impactar notablemente en el futuro, por ende, la universidad a través de este proyecto logra un análisis en tiempo real, monitoreo y revisión de configuración que permite validar puntos sin cobertura, mejoras y documentación de la red wifi al interior del campus (Geolocalización de Access Point) con el objetivo de preparar la infraestructura y proyectarla para un servicio de calidad.An analysis of the entire wireless infrastructure was carried out, the purpose of which is to document all the information collected from the Wi-Fi solution, taking into account all the points of view of teachers, students and administrators of the University of Ibagué. To achieve the best results in this project, all the information required to know the real-time locations and current configurations of each of the APs is collected, the data can be viewed in an interactive application, which facilitates any corrective action for the administrator when identifying any possible failure. Therefore, it is concluded that, according to the problems found, by not knowing how much of the wireless infrastructure is located, intermittence and problems exposed by users when connecting to the network have been evidenced. The high advantages of wireless connections require a noticeable impact in the future, therefore, the university through this project achieves a real-time analysis, monitoring and configuration review that allows validating points without coverage, improvements and documentation of the network Wi-Fi inside the campus (Geolocation of Access Point) in order to prepare the infrastructure and project it for a quality service

Políticas públicas para la lucha efectiva contra la corrupción a nivel de los gobiernos locales

En el presente trabajo de tesis titulado: Políticas públicas para la lucha efectiva contra la corrupción a nivel de los gobiernos locales respondió al problema: ¿De qué manera las políticas actuales del gobierno influyen en la lucha contra la corrupción a nivel de los gobiernos locales? y tuvo como objetivo general: Determinar la manera en que las políticas públicas actuales del gobierno influyen en la lucha contra la corrupción a nivel de los gobiernos locales El tipo de investigación empleado fue aplicada, el diseño es no experimental y de corte longitudinal. La muestra del presente estudio fue de 232 trabajadores de los gobiernos locales de los distritos metropolitanos de Huancayo, Ica y Pucallpa. Concluyendo que las políticas públicas actuales del gobierno no influyen significativamente en la lucha contra la corrupción a nivel de los gobiernos locales

Performance of a Photovoltaic Pumping System

In this work, a PV pumping system was installed in a building at the University of Malaga. The system simulates a conventional PV pumping system which in real conditions would supply a small agricultural installation. In the installation under examination it has been find that it is possible to improve the overall efficiency of the system obtaining a similar volume of water with a less photovoltaic modules installed. It can be concluded that the optimal performance allow a lower investment cost. Also a lower surface for the PV generator is a benefit.Pumping water with solar photovoltaic (PV) is an application of particular interest in isolated systems. This technology has proven over the years to be an effective way to supply drinking water to communities, as well as for agricultural use (irrigation) and livestock (troughs). The earlier installations of PV pumping were based on the use of DC motors of medium and low power directly coupled to the PV generator operating centrifugal pumps. Later they have been proposing and using various types of systems based on different combinations of DC motors, AC motors, DC brushless motors, centrifugal pumps, positive displacement pumps, DC/DC converters and DC/AC inverters. They all have the common characteristic of being a result of specific developments to efficiently use in PV pumping systems. In this work a PV pumping system was installed on a building at the University of Malaga. The system simulates a conventional PV pumping system. A set of experiments has been carried out to study the performance of the system. In the installation studied, it has been proved that it is possible to improve the overall efficiency of the system by reducing the photovoltaic power installed to obtain the same volume of water. As a conclusion it may be said that a lower investment and less surface occupied by photovoltaic system is achieved.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

ADME prediction with KNIME: In silico aqueous solubility consensus model based on supervised recursive random forest approaches

In-silico prediction of aqueous solubility plays an important role during the drug discovery and development processes. For many years, the limited performance of in-silico solubility models has been attributed to the lack of high-quality solubility data for pharmaceutical molecules. However, some studies suggest that the poor accuracy of solubility prediction is not related to the quality of the experimental data and that more precise methodologies (algorithms and/or set of descriptors) are required for predicting aqueous solubility for pharmaceutical molecules. In this study a large and diverse database was generated with aqueous solubility values collected from two public sources; two new recursive machine-learning approaches were developed for data cleaning and variable selection, and a consensus model based on regression and classification algorithms was created. The modeling protocol, which includes the curation of chemical and experimental data, was implemented in KNIME, with the aim of obtaining an automated workflow for the prediction of new databases. Finally, we compared several methods or models available in the literature with our consensus model, showing results comparable or even outperforming previous published models.  </p

Predicted distribution and movement of Glossina palpalis palpalis (Diptera: Glossinidae) in the wet and dry seasons in the Kogo trypanosomiasis focus (Equatorial Guinea).

The aim of this study was to predict the distribution and movement of populations of the tsetse fly, Glossina palpalis palpalis (Diptera: Glossinidae), in the wet and dry seasons and to analyze the impact of the use of mono-pyramidal traps on fly populations in the Kogo focus in 2004 and 2005. Three Glossina species are present in Kogo: Glossina palpalis palpalis, major HAT vector in West-Central Africa, Glossina caliginea, and Glossina tabaniformis. The apparent density (AD) of G. p. palpalis clearly fell from 1.23 tsetse/trap/day in July 2004 to 0.27 in December 2005. A significant reduction in the mean AD for this species was noted between seasons and years. The diversity of Glossina species was relatively low at all the sampling points; G. p. palpalis clearly predominated over the other species and significantly dropped as a consequence of control activities. The predictive models generated for the seasonal AD showed notable differences not only in the density but in the distribution of the G. p. palpalis population between the rainy and dry season. The mono-pyramidal traps have proven to be an effective instrument for reducing the density of the tsetse fly populations, although given that the Kogo trypanosomiasis focus extends from the southern Equatorial Guinea to northern Gabon, interventions need to be planned on a larger scale, involving both countries, to guarantee the long-term success of control

Simulation of a biorefinery process as learning tool in chemical engineering degree

Currently, the search for alternative biomass to be used as renewable sources for energy production is one of the most important challenges to achieve a sustainable growth based on a bioeconomy strategy (Mendes et al., 2009). In this context, lignocellulosic waste are a renewable, clean, inexpensive and with high availability for the manufacture of biofuels. In this sense, the main objective of this study was the simulation and design of engineering processes that allows the valorization of lignocellulosic waste and the obtaining of biofuels as alternative to fossil fuels. This goal implies the practical application of the theoretical knowledge acquired by the student during the chemical engineering degree. Specifically, the students designed and simulated a biorefinery process that consisted of a Kraft pulping process as starting point of two main lines of production: (1) Process I: production of bioethanol and (2) Process II: direct and indirect production of dimethylether (DME), both from lignocellulosic biomass (Fig.1). Two commercial simulation packages, ASPEN HYSYS® and UNISIM were used to simulate the production of dimethylether and bioethanol, respectively. The first step was determining a strategic situation for the installation of the biorefinery. The central area of Andalusia (between the municipalities of Lucena and Antequera) was considered the most adequate area to develop the installation of the biorefinery plant after evaluating the biomass available inside of 100 kms of distance around this place. Specifically, different biomass mixtures were considered in order to ensure the viability of a constant inlet flow of biomass in the biorefinery. In function of this inlet flow of biomass, the installations were designed and dimensioned in each stage of the process. The student carried out a wide revision of state of the art to decide the most adequate processes among different alternatives to obtain dimethylether and bioethanol. The different stages selected as the most adequate in each line of the process can be observed in Fig.1. Moreover, the students evaluated the different alternatives for the valorisation and optimization of the by-products generated in each stage of the process in order to minimize the consuming of chemical compounds and energy requirements. Therefore, the students learnt to develop a real engineering process more sustainable and friendly with the environment. To sum up, the used of programs to simulate the transformation of lignocellulosic biomass in biofuels, such as, bioethanol or dimethylether, which is a process with several social, environmental and economic advantages, was an interesting learning tool for students of chemical engineering degree. Keywords Bioethanol, design, dimethylether, Kraft pulping process, simulations. References Mendes, C.V.T., Carvalho, M.G.V.S., Baptista, C.M.S.G., Rocha, J.M.S., Soares, B.I.G., Sousa, G.D.A., 2009. Valorisation of hardwood hemicelluloses in the kraft pulping process by using an integrated biorefinery concept. Food Bioproduct Process 87:197–207.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech MINECO: Proyecto CTQ2015-68654-

Analysis about benefits of software-defined wide area network: a new alternative for WAN connectivity

This article is based on conducting research to analyze the benefits of emerging trends in communications and networking technology, such as software-defined wide area networks. Using Waterfall as a methodology, the main objective is to carry out a technical comparison at the design and configuration level, creating a virtual environment that simulates traditional and SDWAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) infrastructures. The results obtained verify that the benefits of SDWAN maintain business continuity, anticipate situations in which the infrastructure can act intelligently, optimize connectiv-ity while maintaining security, and provide improvements in the management of the entire infrastructure. People will be able to see the results obtained between both technologies and validate the benefits that SDWAN offers .Campus Lima Centr

The effects of reprocessing and fiber treatments on the properties of polypropylene-sugarcane bagasse biocomposites

This study explores the reprocessing behavior of polypropylene-sugarcane bagasse biocomposites using neat and chemically treated bagasse fibers (20 wt.%). iocomposites were reprocessed 5 times using the extrusion process followed by injection molding. The mechanical properties indicate that microfibers bagasse fibers addition and chemical treatments generate improvements in the mechanical properties, reaching the highest performance in the third cycle where the flexural modulus and flexural strength increase 57 and 12% in comparison with neat PP. differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and TGA characterization show that bagasse fibers addition increases the crystallization temperature and thermal stability of the biocomposites 7 and 39 °C respectively, without disturbing the melting process of the PP phase for all extrusion cycles. The rheological test shows that viscosity values of PP and biocomposites decrease progressively with extrusion cycles; however, Cole–Cole plots, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), width at half maximum of tan delta peaks and SEM micrographs show that chemical treatments and reprocessing could improve fiber dispersion and fiber–matrix interaction. Based on these results, it can be concluded that recycling potential of polypropylene-sugarcane bagasse biocomposites is huge due to their mechanical, thermal and rheological performance resulting in advantages in terms of sustainability and life cycle impact of these material

Black–White Latino Racial Disparities in HIV Survival, Florida, 2000–2011

This research aimed to estimate Black/White racial disparities in all-cause mortality risk among HIV-positive Latinos. Florida surveillance data for Latinos diagnosed with HIV (2000–2008) were merged with 2007–2011 American Community Survey data. Crude and adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) were calculated using multi-level Cox regression. Of 10,903 HIV-positive Latinos, 8.2% were Black and 91.9% White. Black Latinos were at increased mortality risk compared with White Latinos after controlling for individual and neighborhood factors (aHR 1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21–1.62). In stratified analyses, risk factors for Black Latinos included: age ¥60 years compared with ages 13–19 (aHR 4.63, 95% CI 1.32–16.13); US birth compared with foreign birth (aHR 1.56, 95% CI 1.16–2.11); diagnosis of AIDS within three months of HIV diagnosis (aHR 3.53, 95% CI 2.64–4.74); residence in the 3rd (aHR 1.82, 95% CI 1.13–2.94) and 4th highest quartiles (aHR 1.79, 95% CI 1.12–2.86) of neighborhood poverty compared with the lowest quartile; and residence in neighborhood with 25%–49% (aHR 1.59, 95% CI 1.07–2.42) and ¥50% Latinos compared with \u3c25% Latinos (aHR 1.58, 95% CI 1.03–2.42). Significant racial disparities in HIV survival exist among Latinos. Differential access to—and quality of—care and perceived/experienced racial discrimination may be possible explanations