Triunfos y Fracasos del Socialismo Burocrático en Cuba, 2016-2021: Debates Oficialistas sobre Economía y Política

This analysis of the Cuban Communist Party’s institutionalization process shows and quantifies important changes among top-level personnel and political procedures such as the executive office’s depersonalization, the Party Secretariat’s defenestration (2021), and the steps to establish greater Party supremacy over the military high command. It examines the contradictory debates regarding economic policy and democracy in the three most recent Party Congresses. It highlights the fracture within the Party leadership, which paralyzed and partly reversed the economic reform. It describes the new economic opening in 2021. It assesses the official response – repression and accelerated economic reforms – to the July 2021 protests.La presente apuesta de investigación tiene como derrotero analizar el proceso de institucionalización del Partido Comunista de Cuba, del gobierno y del Estado, desde una perspectiva comparativa con los casos históricos de la Unión Soviética, de China, así como de otros regímenes comunistas. Con ocasión de ello, se demostrarán y cuantificarán los cambios importantes a nivel del personal de alto nivel y de los procedimientos políticos, tales como: la despersonalización del poder ejecutivo, la defenestración del Secretariado del Partido, de la misma manera que los pasos para establecer una mayor supremacía del Partido sobre la cúpula militar. Se examinarán los contradictorios debates en materia de política económica y de democracia en los tres más recientes congresos del Partido, en los que han estado supuestos una serie de reformas y contrarreformas. Ejemplo de ello, fue la fractura en la dirigencia del Partido que paralizó y parcialmente revirtió la posibilidad de una reforma económica. Finalmente, se reflexionará en torno a la prioridad de la cúpula dirigente de mantener la flexibilidad en su ejercicio del poder. Escenario que lo ha propiciado la nueva apertura económica en 2021. Se evaluará la respuesta oficial de represión y de aceleradas reformas económicas, frente a las protestas del mes de julio 2021

Co oxidation: effect of Ce and Au addition on MnOx catalysts

The effect of cerium and/or gold addition to a manganese oxide which was greatly active in CO oxidation was studied. The catalysts obtained by this way were characterized by N2 adsorption, XRF, XRD and TPR, and their catalytic activity was measured in the CO oxidation reaction. The pure MnOx catalyst was active in the CO oxidation but the addition of 5 wt % cerium decreased their catalytic activity. Adding 2 wt % gold improved the activity of MnOx and Ce/MnOx and caused a slight decrease of the catalyst specific area and of the average oxidation state of manganese in catalysts, which was found between 3.3 and 3.6. The order of activity found on the basis of T50 for the four catalysts was: Au/MnOx > Au/Ce/MnOx > MnOx > Ce/MnOx, with T50 of 89, 95, 99 and 139 °C, respectively. The solids Au/MnOx and Au/Ce/MnOx presented a T10 of 30 and 49 °C, indicating that gold favored the conversion at room temperature. The effect of water vapor on the reaction was also analyzed, finding a decrease in the catalytic activity of all catalysts, due to the blocking of active sites in the catalyst surface.Fil: Peluso, Miguel Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo En Ciencias Aplicadas; ArgentinaFil: Hernández Enciso, W. Y.. Universidad de Sevilla. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla; EspañaFil: Dominguez, M. I.. Universidad de Sevilla. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto de Ienia de Materiales de Sevilla; EspañaFil: Thomas, Horacio Jorge. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo En Ciencias Aplicadas; ArgentinaFil: Centeno, M. A.. Universidad de Sevilla. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla; EspañaFil: Sambeth, Jorge Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo En Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentin

Co oxidation: effect of Ce and Au addition on MnOx catalysts

The effect of cerium and/or gold addition to a manganese oxide which was greatly active in CO oxidation was studied. The catalysts obtained by this way were characterized by N2 adsorption, XRF, XRD and TPR, and their catalytic activity was measured in the CO oxidation reaction. The pure MnOx catalyst was active in the CO oxidation but the addition of 5 wt % cerium decreased their catalytic activity. Adding 2 wt % gold improved the activity of MnOx and Ce/MnOx and caused a slight decrease of the catalyst specific area and of the average oxidation state of manganese in catalysts, which was found between 3.3 and 3.6. The order of activity found on the basis of T50 for the four catalysts was: Au/MnOx > Au/Ce/MnOx > MnOx > Ce/MnOx, with T50 of 89, 95, 99 and 139 °C, respectively. The solids Au/MnOx and Au/Ce/MnOx presented a T10 of 30 and 49 °C, indicating that gold favored the conversion at room temperature. The effect of water vapor on the reaction was also analyzed, finding a decrease in the catalytic activity of all catalysts, due to the blocking of active sites in the catalyst surface.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicada

Tamaño de planta y formación específica en el mercado laboral colombiano

Con base en la Encuesta de Calidad de Vida (ECV) de 2003 del DANE, en este trabajo se estudia la formación para el empleo (FPE) en el mercado laboral colombiano. Se encuentra una relación estrecha entre modernidad empresarial y FPE. Utilizando funciones mincerianas modificadas se encuentra que la rentabilidad de la FPE aumenta con el nivel de educación formal y el tamaño de las empresas

Conductance control for electromagnetic-compatible induction heating appliances

The design requirements of induction hobs are strongly restricted by efficiency, heating performance, cost, the generation of acoustic noise, and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). These two latter topics, cost and EMC, motivated the research presented in this article. The different levels at which the equivalent load of the induction hob is excited generate a variation of the equivalent impedance throughout the grid period even if all the other parameters are kept constant. This can cause a nonsinusoidal consumption of the grid current which goes against the compliance with EMC standards. This article proposes an online controller which controls the conductance seen by the inverter by only modifying the switching frequency throughout the bus period. This greatly reduces the harmonic distortion of the grid current, no matter what is the type of the vessel used. Moreover, it requires neither power-factor correction rectifiers nor any additional circuitry and it has a faster dynamic response with respect to the traditional solutions used in induction hobs due to its higher bandwidth

Struma Ovarii associated with Pseudo-Meigs Syndrome and elevated serum Ca 125: Case report and literature review

Struma Ovarii is a highly specialized monodermal teratoma in which the major component is thyroid tissue. Its relationship with Pseudo Meigs syndrome, hyperthyroidism and elevation of Ca 125 is a rare condition; this could mimic malignancy. Ultrasound and axial tomography may be useful in diagnosis; but histopathological criteria play a very important role in the definitive diagnosis. Our objective is to present a case report of Struma ovarii, ascites, pleural effusion (pseudo meigs syndrome), elevation of Ca 125, hyperthyroidism, and review the published literature in relation to epidemiology and diagnostic characteristics

Repurposing of statins for Buruli Ulcer treatment: antimicrobial activity against Mycobacterium ulcerans

Mycobacterium ulcerans causes Buruli Ulcer, a neglected infectious skin disease that typically progresses from an early non-ulcerative lesion to an ulcer with undermined edges. If not promptly treated, these lesions can lead to severe disfigurement and disability. The standard antibiotic regimen for Buruli Ulcer treatment has been oral rifampicin combined with intramuscular streptomycin administered daily for 8 weeks. However, there has been a recent shift toward replacing streptomycin with oral clarithromycin. Despite the advantages of this antibiotic regimen, it is limited by low compliance, associated side effects, and refractory efficacy for severe ulcerative lesions. Therefore, new drug candidates with a safer pharmacological spectrum and easier mode of administration are needed. Statins are lipid-lowering drugs broadly used for dyslipidemia treatment but have also been reported to have several pleiotropic effects, including antimicrobial activity against fungi, parasites, and bacteria. In the present study, we tested the susceptibility of M. ulcerans to several statins, namely atorvastatin, simvastatin, lovastatin and fluvastatin. Using broth microdilution assays and cultures of M. ulcerans-infected macrophages, we found that atorvastatin, simvastatin and fluvastatin had antimicrobial activity against M. ulcerans. Furthermore, when using the in vitro checkerboard assay, the combinatory additive effect of atorvastatin and fluvastatin with the standard antibiotics used for Buruli Ulcer treatment highlighted the potential of statins as adjuvant drugs. In conclusion, statins hold promise as potential treatment options for Buruli Ulcer. Further studies are necessary to validate their effectiveness and understand the mechanism of action of statins against M. ulcerans

Feature Selection Using Genetic Algorithms for the Generation of a Recognition and Classification of Children Activities Model Using Environmental Sound

In the area of recognition and classification of children activities, numerous works have been proposed that make use of different data sources. In most of them, sensors embedded in children’s garments are used. In this work, the use of environmental sound data is proposed to generate a recognition and classification of children activities model through automatic learning techniques, optimized for application on mobile devices. Initially, the use of a genetic algorithm for a feature selection is presented, reducing the original size of the dataset used, an important aspect when working with the limited resources of a mobile device. For the evaluation of this process, five different classification methods are applied, k-nearest neighbor (k-NN), nearest centroid (NC), artificial neural networks (ANNs), random forest (RF), and recursive partitioning trees (Rpart). Finally, a comparison of the models obtained, based on the accuracy, is performed, in order to identify the classification method that presents the best performance in the development of a model that allows the identification of children activity based on audio signals. According to the results, the best performance is presented by the five-feature model developed through RF, obtaining an accuracy of 0.92, which allows to conclude that it is possible to automatically classify children activity based on a reduced set of features with significant accuracy.In the area of recognition and classification of children activities, numerous works have been proposed that make use of different data sources. In most of them, sensors embedded in children’s garments are used. In this work, the use of environmental sound data is proposed to generate a recognition and classification of children activities model through automatic learning techniques, optimized for application on mobile devices. Initially, the use of a genetic algorithm for a feature selection is presented, reducing the original size of the dataset used, an important aspect when working with the limited resources of a mobile device. For the evaluation of this process, five different classification methods are applied, k-nearest neighbor (k-NN), nearest centroid (NC), artificial neural networks (ANNs), random forest (RF), and recursive partitioning trees (Rpart). Finally, a comparison of the models obtained, based on the accuracy, is performed, in order to identify the classification method that presents the best performance in the development of a model that allows the identification of children activity based on audio signals. According to the results, the best performance is presented by the five-feature model developed through RF, obtaining an accuracy of 0.92, which allows to conclude that it is possible to automatically classify children activity based on a reduced set of features with significant accuracy

Pretreatment of vinasse from the sugar refinery industry under non-sterile conditions by Trametes versicolor in a fluidized bed bioreactor and its effect when coupled to an UASB reactor

During hydrous ethanol production from the sugar refinery industry in Mexico, vinasse is generated. Phenolic compounds and melanoidins contribute to its color and make degradation of the vinasse a difficult task. Although anaerobic digestion (AD) is feasible for vinasse treatment, the presence of recalcitrant compounds can be toxic or inhibitory for anaerobic microorganism. Therefore, this study presents new data on the coupled of the FBR (Fluidized Bed Bioreactor) to the UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) reactor under non-sterile conditions by T. versicolor. Nevertheless, for an industrial application, it is necessary to evaluate the performance in this kind of proposal system. Therefore, this study used a FBR for the removal of phenolic compounds (67%) and COD (38%) at non-sterile conditions. Continuous operation of the FBR was successfully for 26 days according to the literature. When the FBR was coupled to the UASB reactor, we obtained a better quality of effluent, furthermore methane content and yield were 74% and 0.18 m 3 CH/ kg COD respectively. This study demonstrated the possibility of using for an industrial application the coupled of the FBR to the UASB reactor under non-sterile conditions. Continuous operation of the FBR was carried out successfully for 26 days, which is the highest value found in the literature