Implicaciones humanitarias de la contratación de empresas militares privadas (PMC) por parte de los Estados. Estudio de caso; Estados Unidos y Blackwater en Irak (2003-2007)

La presente investigación tiene como finalidad analizar las implicaciones humanitarias de la participación de las Compañías Militares Privadas (PMC) contratadas por los Estados en escenarios de conflicto, a partir del caso de Blackwater y Estados Unidos en Irak (2003-2007), con el fin de mostrar a través de algunos hechos específicos como el acaecido en la plaza Al Nisour los vacíos existentes en la regulación de sus actividades. Frente a estos hechos se muestra como la Comunidad Internacional ha tratado de avanzar en la creación de un régimen internacional que las controle, sin embargo, como se evidencia a lo largo de este escrito la falta de compromiso por parte de los Estados ha hecho que esta tarea se vea obstaculizada y por lo tanto la actuación de estas compañías se encuentra aún en una zona jurídica gris.This investigation aims to analyze Private Military Companies’ participation in conflict sceneries, using the specific case of Blackwater in Irak hired by the United States (2003-2007). Achieving the goal of trying to explain the blank spaces in current law regulations trough some incidents such as the one developed in Al Nisour square. According to this, the article also reflects the efforts made by the international community and the lack of States solid participation, turning this into a difficult to solve situation that carries many grey jurisdiction areas.Universidad del Rosari

Assessment of heritage rammed-earth buildings. The Alcázar of King Don Pedro I (Spain).

The conservation and maintenance of earthen buildings is crucial, especially when dealing with heritage sites. This normally involves considerable effort in preliminary studies, which must be well planned in order to efficiently manage any restoration. This case study proposes a methodology to briefly assess the current state of a historical rammed-earth wall, to bring to light specific information regarding approaches for subsequent studies or decisions. This methodology is based on the study of damage and risk as a tool to swiftly discern critical areas or issues needing immediate attention. The procedure is illustrated on an outstanding heritage building: the Alcázar of King Don Pedro I in Carmona (Seville, Spain). Our conclusions confirm that this methodology constitutes an efficient and straightforward means to obtain not only a preliminary assessment of rammed-earth walls, but also objective and useful criteria for decision-makers

Discrimination of milks with a multisensor system based on layer-by-layer films

Producción CientíficaA nanostructured electrochemical bi-sensor system for the analysis of milks has been developed using the layer-by-layer technique. The non-enzymatic sensor [CHI+IL/CuPcS]2, is a layered material containing a negative film of the anionic sulfonated copper phthalocyanine (CuPcS) acting as electrocatalytic material, and a cationic layer containing a mixture of an ionic liquid (IL) (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate) that enhances the conductivity, and chitosan (CHI), that facilitates the enzyme immobilization. The biosensor ([CHI+IL/CuPcS]2-GAO) results from the immobilization of galactose oxidase on the top of the LbL layers. FTIR, UV–vis, and AFM have confirmed the proposed structure and cyclic voltammetry has demonstrated the amplification caused by the combination of materials in the film. Sensors have been combined to form an electronic tongue for milk analysis. Principal component analysis has revealed the ability of the sensor system to discriminate between milk samples with different lactose content. Using a PLS-1 calibration models, correlations have been found between the voltammetric signals and chemical parameters measured by classical methods. PLS-1 models provide excellent correlations with lactose content. Additional information about other components, such as fats, proteins, and acidity, can also be obtained. The method developed is simple, and the short response time permits its use in assaying milk samples online.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (project AGL2015-67482-R)Junta de Castilla y Leon - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (project VA-011U16)Junta de Castilla y León (grant BOCYL-D-4112015-9

The first report of South American edrioasteroids and the paleoecology and ontogeny of rhenopyrgid echinoderms

A new species of rhenopyrgid edrioasteroid Rhenopyrgus piojoensis sp. nov. is described form the Silurian (Lower Lud− low) Los Espejos Formation in the Precordillera of Argentina. This species is the first reported edrioasteroid from South America. Rhenopyrgids are widely distributed in Ordovician through Devonian deposits of most continents. Numerous juvenile specimens show that the general bodyplan is organized early in ontogeny and that the pedenculate zone lengthens with age. Phylogenetic analysis shows that rhenopyrgids are more closely related to edrioasterid edrioasteroids such as edrioblastoids and cyathocystids than to pyrgocystid isorophids.Fil: Sumrall, Colin D.. University of Tennessee; Estados UnidosFil: Heredia, Susana Emma. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones Mineras; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez, Cecilia María. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones Mineras; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Mestre García, Ana Isabel. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones Mineras; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

La cal de Morón en la arquitectura tradicional andaluza

En la aldea de Las Caleras de la Sierra de Morón de la Frontera, en la campiña sevillana, se encuentran en activo unas de las caleras más antiguas de Andalucía y los hornos productores de una cal artesanal de reconocido prestigio a nivel nacional e internacional. Esta importancia se vio acentuada cuando en el año 2011 la UNESCO declara la cal de Morón patrimonio Inmaterial Cultural de la Humanidad. Diversas entidades, subrayando al Museo de la Cal, promocionan las cualidades de este producto de alto nivel y promueven su incorporación y uso dentro del mercado de la construcción. Numerosas y destacadas intervenciones en Andalucía, tanto en el campo de la conservación del patrimonio construido como en la renovada arquitectura popular, son testimonios de la apropiada compatibilidad de la cal artesanal, principalmente con los sistemas y materiales constructivos tradicionales o poco industrializados.In the village of Las Caleras de la Sierra of Morón de la Frontera, in the Sevillian countryside, there are located several of the most ancient traditional lime factories, whose lime kilns produce nationally and internationally recognized handcrafted lime. This significance was highlighted in 2011 when UNESCO declared the traditional craftsmanship of lime–making in Morón as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Likewise, several organizations led by the Lime Museum of Morón are promoting this high quality product towards its integration within the construction market. A number of outstanding interventions carried out in Andalusia, both in the field of heritage conservation and new traditional architecture, are samples of the suitability of handcrafted lime for traditional or low industrialized constructive systems and materials

Procesos de cambio en la presencia de lombrices de tierra en cultivares de plátano, eje cafetero colombiano

La relación del hombre con los ecosistemas ha implicado cambios significativos en la regulación de los sistemas naturales, un ejemplo de ello es la perturbación generada por la implantación de cultivos en sitios no aptos, la manipulación indiscriminada de insumos de síntesis química y la sobreexplotación de los suelos; por tanto se hace necesario plantear estudios e investigaciones que den cuenta del grado de perturbación que se genera en los procesos de la biota edáfica de acuerdo al establecimiento de agroecosistemas. Es por ello que la investigación buscó consolidar información que permita la comprensión de procesos de cambio en la presencia de lombrices de tierra en sistemas de cultivar plátano en el Eje Cafetero colombiano, específicamente en el departamento del Quindío. El trabajo investigativo se guió bajo tres objetivos específicos, el primero, documentar la presencia de lombrices de tierra en las 33 fincas bajo el establecimiento de cuatro y cinco variables para el total de fincas, por cada finca, por arreglo y por muestreo; el segundo, comprender el impacto de la introducción de agroecosistemas de cultivar plátano sobre la distribución geográfica de las lombrices de tierra y, el tercero, diseñar un mapa con la distribución geográfica de las lombrices de tierra de acuerdo con la altura sobre el nivel del mar, categorizado por zonas alta y baja. Relacionado con lo anterior, se pudo evidenciar que el arreglo con mayor diversidad de especies fue el de plátano asociado con café (AC) con un total de 11 y el de menor diversidad específica fue el monocultivo (MONO) con 8. Asimismo, es de resaltar que, de 14 especies halladas, ocho pertenecen a la categoría ecológica epígeas y seis a la categoría endógeas, mientras que el mayor número de individuos para gran parte de las fincas, fue la especie Pontoscolex corethurus, la cual es común en ecosistemas perturbados. La especie presente y dominante en 22 de las 33 fincas muestreadas fue P. corethrurus, además de ser la dominante en todos los muestreos realizados y por la totalidad de arreglos. Además de ello, por medio del mapa se pudo establecer que esta especie se encontró presente tanto en la parte “alta” como en la parte “baja” y se constató que las especies fueron comunes de acuerdo a la cercanía de las fincas

Diferencias en perfil de inteligencia emocional de mujeres victima

29 Páginas.La Violencia de Pareja es un fenómeno presente en la sociedad colombiana, su mantenimiento y aumento merece de atención interdisciplinar. El apoyo desde la disciplina psicológica a nivel de investigación evidencia que su relación con el constructo de Inteligencia Emocional (IE) se ha investigado enfocándose en el victimario de esta dinámica quedando así relegado el estudio de la relación entre ambas variables en la víctima de este tipo de violencia. Por esta razón la presente investigación tiene como objetivo reconocer el perfil emocional de mujeres que han sido víctimas de violencia de pareja y compararlo con aquellas que no han sido víctimas, manejando un diseño descriptivo, no experimental, transversal en una muestra de 40 mujeres, 20 no víctimas y 20 víctimas. Para determinar a qué grupo pertenecía cada mujer se aplicó el Cuestionario de Evaluación a Víctimas de Violencia de Pareja (2015) y para evaluar la IE se aplicó el Test de Inteligencia Emocional Mayer-Salovey-Caruso (2009), este test presenta los resultados en puntaje total, por áreas y por ramas partiendo del modelo de cuatro ramas de Mayer, Salovey y Caruso. Los resultados evidencian que existen diferencias significativas entre los grupos de mujeres víctimas de violencia de pareja y mujeres no víctimas de este tipo de violencia con un p < 0.05 (0,000) en la puntuación total, las áreas estratégica y experimental y las cuatro ramas evaluadas por la prueba. El hallazgo central es que existen diferencias significativas entre el perfil emocional de mujeres víctimas de violencia de pareja y mujeres no víctimas de este tipo de violencia.The Partner Violence is a big phenomenon present in Colombia which maintenance and increase need interdisciplinary attention. The support from the psychological discipline at research level evidences that its relation with the construct of Emotional Intelligence (IE) has been investigated focusing on the victimizer of this dynamic, thus left behind the study of the relationship between both variables in the victim of this violence. For this reason, the present research aims at recognizing the emotional profile of women who have been victims of intimate partner violence and comparing them with those who have not been victims, using a descriptive, nonexperimental, transversal design in a sample of 40 women, 20 not victims and 20 victims. In order to determine the group of each woman belonged, the Questionnaire for Evaluation of Victims of Violence of the Couple (2015) was applied and to evaluate EI the Mayer-SaloveyCaruso Emotional Intelligence Test (2009) was applied. The results show that there are significant differences between the groups of women victims of partner violence and women not victims of this type of violence, with a p <0.05 (0.000) in the total score, the strategic and experiential area and the four branch of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso model. The principal finding is that there are significant differences between the emotional profile of women victims of intimate partner violence and women not victims of this type of violence

Electrochemical sensors modified with combinations of sulfur containing phthalocyanines and capped gold nanoparticles: A study of the influence of the nature of the interaction between sensing materials

Producción CientíficaVoltametric sensors formed by the combination of a sulfur-substituted zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPcRS) and gold nanoparticles capped with tetraoctylammonium bromide (AuNPtOcBr) have been developed. The influence of the nature of the interaction between both components in the response towards catechol has been evaluated. Electrodes modified with a mixture of nanoparticles and phthalocyanine (AuNPtOcBr/ZnPcRS) show an increase in the intensity of the peak associated with the reduction of catechol. Electrodes modified with a covalent adduct-both component are linked through a thioether bond-(AuNPtOcBr-S-ZnPcR), show an increase in the intensity of the oxidation peak. Voltammograms registered at increasing scan rates show that charge transfer coefficients are different in both types of electrodes confirming that the kinetics of the electrochemical reaction is influenced by the nature of the interaction between both electrocatalytic materials. The limits of detection attained are 0.9 × 10−6 mol∙L−1 for the electrode modified with the mixture AuNPtOcBr/ZnPcRS and 1.3 × 10−7 mol∙L−1 for the electrode modified with the covalent adduct AuNPtOcBr-S-ZnPcR. These results indicate that the establishment of covalent bonds between nanoparticles and phthalocyanines can be a good strategy to obtain sensors with enhanced performance, improving the charge transfer rate and the detection limits of voltammetric sensors.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (projects RTI2018-097990-B-I00 / CTQ2017-87102-R)Junta de Castilla y Leon - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (project VA275P18

Polymeric foams as the matrix of voltammetric sensors for the detection of catechol, hydroquinone, and their mixtures

Producción CientíficaPorous electrodes based on polymethylmethacrylate and graphite foams (PMMA_G_F) have been developed and characterized. Such devices have been successfully used as voltammetric sensors to analyze catechol, hydroquinone, and their mixtures. The presence of pores induces important changes in the oxidation/reduction mechanism of catechol and hydroquinone with respect to the sensing properties observed in nonfoamed PMMA_graphite electrodes (PMMA_G). The electropolymerization processes of catechol or hydroquinone at the electrode surface observed using PMMA_G do not occur at the surface of the foamed PMM_G_F. In addition, the limits of detection observed in foamed electrodes are one order of magnitude lower than the observed in the nonfoamed electrodes. Moreover, foamed electrodes can be used to detect simultaneously both isomers and a remarkable increase in the electrocatalytic properties shown by the foamed samples, produces a decrease in the oxidation potential peak of catechol in presence of hydroquinone, from +0.7 V to +0.3 V. Peak currents increased linearly with concentration of catechol in presence of hydroquinone over the range of 0.37·10−3 M to 1.69·10−3 M with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.27 mM. These effects demonstrate the advantages obtained by increasing the active surface by means of porous structures.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (project AGL2015-67482-R)Junta de Castilla y Leon - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (project VA-011U16

Modeling and optimization of acetic acid fermentation: A polynomial-based approach

Vinegar production is a typical bioprocess in the scope of the agrifood industry. Its optimization requirescareful modeling which has so far been addressed by using mainly unstructured first principles models. Because of the difficulties in obtaining these models, black box models, such as those used here, are becoming more frequently used. The polynomial models developed in this work, accurately reflect theeffect of the major and typical operational variables used in industry for this process. Also, responsesurfaces were used to identify the optimum operating conditions with a view to maximizing the meanfermentation rate and productivity. The followed strategy has a huge industrial interest since yields a tool that does not only allow finding the best operational conditions depending on different criteria but also is useful for process control. As far as we know this is the first time that these variables have been correlated in this way