Perfeccionismo individual y perfeccionismo estatal

La doctrina de la lesión enorme (en adelante DLE) es una herramienta utilizada por los tribunales de justicia para negarse a ejecutar contratos cuyas cláusulas sean notoriamente abusivas, favorezcan excesivamente a una de las partes, o configuren una situación de explotación. Existe un extenso debate entre quienes apoyan la validez de esta doctrina y quienes defienden la libertad contractual. Seana Shiffrin ha realizado una defensa novedosa de la DLE, intentando distinguirla de defensas pasadas, generalmente basadas en el paternalismo. En este ensayo me propongo mostrar de qué manera el argumento de Shiffrin implica que el estado se comporte en una manera perfeccionista, algo que tanto para liberales como para libertarios representa una amenaza más seria que el paternalismo a la autonomía individual. La estructura de este trabajo será la siguiente: en la parte (i) reproduciré el argumento de Shiffrin y delimitaré el ámbito de la discusión. En la parte (ii) presentaré mi crítica y contemplaré posibles objeciones. La parte (iii) contendrá las conclusiones más importantes

Eco-trench: a novel trench solution based on reusing excavated material and a finishing layer of expansive concrete

Installing utility pipelines generates a significant amount of trench arisings, which are usually transported to landfills instead of being reused as backfill material. This practice generates CO2 emissions and wastes raw materials. This paper presents a more sustainable solution, an eco-trench, which is based on re-using trench arisings as backfill and adding a top layer of expansive concrete to improve the eco-trench’s structural performance. The technical feasibility of the eco-trench was evaluated through a finite element model, which identified the degree of expansion in concrete required to avoid failure or subside the stresses caused by traffic. The potential expansion of concrete was measured under confined conditions in the laboratory by means of a novel test developed for this purpose. The results showed that adding calcium oxide generates the required internal stress. The results were then confirmed in a pilot experience.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Ground/space, passive/active remote sensing observations coupled with particle dispersion modelling to understand the inter-continental transport of wildfire smoke plumes

During the 2017 record-breaking burning season in Canada/United States, intense wild fires raged during the first week of September in the Pacific northwestern region (British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and northern California) burning mostly temperate coniferous forests. The heavy loads of smoke particles emitted in the atmosphere reached the Iberian Peninsula (IP) a few days later on 7 and 8 September. Satellite imagery allows to identify two main smoke clouds emitted during two different periods that were injected and transported in the atmosphere at several altitude levels. Columnar properties on 7 and 8 September at two Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) mid-altitude, background sites in northern and southern Spain are: aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 440 nm up to 0.62, Ångström exponent of 1.6–1.7, large dominance of small particles (fine mode fraction >0.88), low absorption AOD at 440 nm (0.98). Profiles from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) show the presence of smoke particles in the stratosphere during the transport, whereas the smoke is only observed in the troposphere at its arrival over the IP. Portuguese and Spanish ground lidar stations from the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network/Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network (EARLINET/ACTRIS) and the Micro-Pulse Lidar NETwork (MPLNET) reveal smoke plumes with different properties: particle depolarization ratio and color ratio, respectively, of 0.05 and 2.5 in the mid troposphere (5–9 km) and of 0.10 and 3.0 in the upper troposphere (10–13 km). In the mid troposphere the particle depolarization ratio does not seem time-dependent during the transport whereas the color ratio seems to increase (larger particles sediment first). To analyze the horizontal and vertical transport of the smoke from its origin to the IP, particle dispersion modelling is performed with the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model (HYSPLIT) parameterized with satellite-derived biomass burning emission estimates from the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). Three compounds are simulated: carbon monoxide, black carbon and organic carbon. The results show that the first smoke plume which travels slowly reaches rapidly (~1 day) the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) but also shows evidence of large scale horizontal dispersion, while the second plume, entrained by strong subtropical jets, reaches the upper troposphere much slower (~2.5 days). Observations and dispersion modelling all together suggest that particle depolarization properties are enhanced during their vertical transport from the mid to the upper troposphere.Spanish groups acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (MINECO) (ref. CGL2013-45410-R, CGL2014-52877-R, CGL2014-55230-R, TEC2015-63832-P, CGL2015-73250-JIN, CGL2016-81092-R and CGL2017-85344-R)European Union through H2020 programme ACTRIS-2, grant 654109European Union through H2020 programme EUNADICS-AV, grant 723986European Union through H2020 programme GRASP-ACE, grant 77834

Extreme, wintertime Saharan dust intrusion in the Iberian Peninsula: Lidar monitoring and evaluation of dust forecast models during the February 2017 event

The research leading to these results has received funding from the H2020 program from the European Union (grant agreement no. 654109, 778349) and also from the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Economy and Competitiviness (MINECO, ref. CGL2013-45410-R, CGL2016-81092-R, CGL2017-85344-R, TEC2015-63832-P), the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (ref. CGL2017-90884-REDT); the CommSensLab "Maria de Maeztu" Unity of Excellence (ref. MDM-2016-0600) financed by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación. Co-funding was also provided by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ref. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007690, ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-000004, ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-000011); by the Andalusia Regional Government (ref. P12-RNM-2409); by the Madrid Regional Government (projects TIGAS-CM, ref. Y2018/EMT-5177 and AIRTEC-CM, ref. P2018/EMT4329); by the University of Granada through “Plan Propio. Programa 9 Convocatoria 2013” and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and national funding (ref. SFRH/BSAB/143164/2019). The BSC-DREAM8b and NNMB/BSC-Dust (now NMMB-MONARCH) model simulations were performed by the Mare Nostrum supercomputer hosted by the Barcelona Supercomputer Center (BSC). S. Basart acknowledges the AXA Research Fund for supporting aerosol research at the BSC through the AXA Chair on Sand and Dust Storms Fund, as well as the InDust project (COST Action CA16202). The authors gratefully acknowledge the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model and/or READY website (http://www.ready.noaa.gov) used in this publication.An unprecedented extreme Saharan dust event was registered in winter time from 20 to 23 February 2017 over the Iberian Peninsula (IP). We report on aerosol optical properties observed under this extreme dust intrusion through passive and active remote sensing techniques. For that, AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) and EARLINET (European Aerosol Research LIdar NETwork) databases are used. The sites considered are: Barcelona (41.38°N, 2.17°E), Burjassot (39.51°N, 0.42°W), Cabo da Roca (38.78°N, 9.50°W), Évora (38.57°N, 7.91°W), Granada (37.16°N, 3.61°W) and Madrid (40.45°N, 3.72°W). Large aerosol optical depths (AOD) and low Ångström exponents (AE) are observed. An AOD of 2.0 at 675 nm is reached in several stations. A maximum peak of 2.5 is registered in Évora. During and around the peak of AOD, AEs close to 0 and even slightly negative are measured. With regard to vertically-resolved aerosol optical properties, particle backscatter coefficients as high as 15 Mm−1 sr−1 at 355 nm are recorded at the lidar stations. Layer-mean lidar ratios are found in the range 40–55 sr at 355 nm and 34–61 sr at 532 nm during the event. The particle depolarization ratios are found to be constant inside the dust layer, and consistent from one site to another. Layer-mean values vary in the range 0.19–0.31. Another remarkable aspect of the event is the limited vertical distribution of the dust plume which never exceeds 5 km. The extreme aspect of the event also presented a nice case for testing the ability of two dust forecast models, BSC-DREAM8b and NMMB/BSC-Dust, to reproduce the arrival, the vertical distribution and the intensity of the dust plume over a long-range transport region. In the particular case of the February 2017 dust event, we found a large underestimation in the forecast of the extinction coefficient provided by BSC-DREAM8b at all heights independently of the site. In contrast NMMB/BSC-Dust forecasts presented a better agreement with the observations, especially in southwestern part of the IP. With regard to the forecast skill as a function of lead time, no clear degradation of the prognostic is appreciated at 24, 48 and 72 h for Évora and Granada stations (South). However the prognostic does degrade (bias increases and/or correlation decreases) for Barcelona (North), which is attributed to the fact that Barcelona is at a greater distance from the source region and to the singularity of the event.Funding from the H2020 program from the European Union (grant agreement no. 654109, 778349)Spanish Ministry of Industry, Economy and Competitiviness (MINECO, ref. CGL2013-45410-R, CGL2016-81092-R, CGL2017-85344-R, TEC2015-63832-P)Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (ref. CGL2017-90884-REDT)CommSensLab "Maria de Maeztu" Unity of Excellence (ref. MDM-2016-0600) financed by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciónCo-funding was also provided by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ref. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007690, ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-000004, ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-000011)Andalusia Regional Government (ref. P12-RNM-2409); by the Madrid Regional Government (projects TIGAS-CM, ref. Y2018/EMT-5177 and AIRTEC-CM, ref. P2018/EMT4329)Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and national funding (ref. SFRH/BSAB/143164/2019

Evaluación de la sostenibilidad de carreteras

Infrastructure of communication, and in particular roads, have centuries of existence. The design, construction, operation, maintenance and dismantling have been adapted to the requirements and challenges of each historical period. Sustainability is one of the main challenges of our society, including as main pillars: economic, environmental and social aspects. The assessment of the sustainability of an infrastructure such as a road is a challenge still unsettled. Moreover, the misuse of the term sustainability poses a threat to achieve the objective of evaluating the sustainability of the roads. Given that the concept of sustainability implies different requirements and criteria, it seems reasonable to use multi-criteria methods in decision making. This article presents a brief review of methods to assess the sustainability of the infrastructure. It also proposes the MIVES method to assess the sustainability of roads. It is a multi-criteria method which includes the three main pillars of sustainability: economy, environment and society. The article concludes with an example of application for prioritization of investments in rural roads and its potential conversion in roads of Provincial Government.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Evaluación de la sostenibilidad de carreteras

Infrastructure of communication, and in particular roads, have centuries of existence. The design, construction, operation, maintenance and dismantling have been adapted to the requirements and challenges of each historical period. Sustainability is one of the main challenges of our society, including as main pillars: economic, environmental and social aspects. The assessment of the sustainability of an infrastructure such as a road is a challenge still unsettled. Moreover, the misuse of the term sustainability poses a threat to achieve the objective of evaluating the sustainability of the roads. Given that the concept of sustainability implies different requirements and criteria, it seems reasonable to use multi-criteria methods in decision making. This article presents a brief review of methods to assess the sustainability of the infrastructure. It also proposes the MIVES method to assess the sustainability of roads. It is a multi-criteria method which includes the three main pillars of sustainability: economy, environment and society. The article concludes with an example of application for prioritization of investments in rural roads and its potential conversion in roads of Provincial Government.Peer Reviewe

Eco-trench: a novel trench solution based on reusing excavated material and a finishing layer of expansive concrete

Installing utility pipelines generates a significant amount of trench arisings, which are usually transported to landfills instead of being reused as backfill material. This practice generates CO2 emissions and wastes raw materials. This paper presents a more sustainable solution, an eco-trench, which is based on re-using trench arisings as backfill and adding a top layer of expansive concrete to improve the eco-trench’s structural performance. The technical feasibility of the eco-trench was evaluated through a finite element model, which identified the degree of expansion in concrete required to avoid failure or subside the stresses caused by traffic. The potential expansion of concrete was measured under confined conditions in the laboratory by means of a novel test developed for this purpose. The results showed that adding calcium oxide generates the required internal stress. The results were then confirmed in a pilot experience.Peer Reviewe

Plasma Aβ42/40 ratio alone or combined with FDG-PET can accurately predict amyloid-PET positivity : A cross-sectional analysis from the AB255 Study

To facilitate population screening and clinical trials of disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease, supportive biomarker information is necessary. This study was aimed to investigate the association of plasma amyloid-beta (Aβ) levels with the presence of pathological accumulation of Aβ in the brain measured by amyloid-PET. Both plasma Aβ42/40 ratio alone or combined with an FDG-PET-based biomarker of neurodegeneration were assessed as potential AD biomarkers. We included 39 cognitively normal subjects and 20 patients with mild cognitive impairment from the AB255 Study who had undergone PiB-PET scans. Total Aβ40 and Aβ42 levels in plasma (TP42/40) were quantified using ABtest kits. Subjects were dichotomized as Aβ-PET positive or negative, and the ability of TP42/40 to detect Aβ-PET positivity was assessed by logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses. Combination of plasma Aβ biomarkers and FDG-PET was further assessed as an improvement for brain amyloidosis detection and diagnosis classification. Eighteen (30.5%) subjects were Aβ-PET positive. TP42/40 ratio alone identified Aβ-PET status with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.881 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.779-0.982). Discriminating performance of TP42/40 to detect Aβ-PET-positive subjects yielded sensitivity and specificity values at Youden's cutoff of 77.8% and 87.5%, respectively, with a positive predictive value of 0.732 and negative predictive value of 0.900. All these parameters improved after adjusting the model for significant covariates. Applying TP42/40 as the first screening tool in a sequential diagnostic work-up would reduce the number of Aβ-PET scans by 64%. Combination of both FDG-PET scores and plasma Aβ biomarkers was found to be the most accurate Aβ-PET predictor, with an AUC of 0.965 (95% CI = 0.913-0.100). Plasma TP42/40 ratio showed a relevant and significant potential as a screening tool to identify brain Aβ positivity in preclinical and prodromal stages of Alzheimer's disease

Design of the β3-adrenergic agonist treatment in chronic pulmonary hypertension secondary to heart failure trial

Combined pre-and post-capillary hypertension (CpcPH) is a relatively common complication of heart failure (HF) associated with a poor prognosis. Currently, there is no specific therapy approved for this entity. Recently, treatment with beta-3 adrenergic receptor (β3AR) agonists was able to improve pulmonary hemodynamics and right ventricular (RV) performance in a translational, large animal model of chronic PH. The authors present the design of a phase II randomized clinical trial that tests the benefits of mirabegron (a clinically available β3AR agonist) in patients with CpcPH due to HF. The effect of β3AR treatment will be evaluated on pulmonary hemodynamics, as well as clinical, biochemical, and advanced cardiac imaging parameters. (Beta3 Agonist Treatment in Chronic Pulmonary Hypertension Secondary to Heart Failure [SPHERE-HF]; NCT02775539)