The economic geography of football success: empirical evidence from european cities

Introduction. – 1. The geography of successful football teams: an analytical framework – 2. Empirical analysis – 2.1. Data, model estimation and results – 2.2. Cities and teams: some remarks about market size and teams’ performance – 3. Conclusions – 4. Annex

The production process in basketball: Empirical evidence from Spanish league

The main objective of this paper is to provide an empirical assessment of the production process in a basketball team. We estimate a logit model in which the output produced by a team is the game outcome (win or loss) and the inputs are those play characteristics that impact on that outcome. From the results obtained it is clear that, on average, there is a substantial difference between the impact of each play characteristic on a basketball team’s winning probability and that probability varies as the quality/quantity of the inputs used changes, albeit not proportionally.sports economics, team sport, professional basketball, productive process, logit model

Elastic, dielectric and electromechanical properties of (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-BaTiO3 piezoceramics at the morphotropic phase boundary region

A systematic study of the functional properties of the (1-x)(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3–xBaTiO3 (BNT-xBT) piezoceramic system for 0.05 = x = 0.07 is performed. The samples are obtained through the conventional solid-state route. The expected microstructure for these compounds, with no significant dependence on the composition, is verified by field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) is detected for x = 0.06–0.07 by means of the Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction data. The dielectric spectra show a frequency-independent, completely diffuse phase transition with a composition-dependent diffusivity coefficient. The depolarization temperature is effectively evaluated from pyroelectric measurements, the value being strongly dependent on the composition. A significant contribution of the extrinsic effect to elastic, dielectric and electromechanical properties is revealed for MPB BNT-xBT. The Bi3+ substitution by Ba2+ leads to the formation of A-site vacancies, which give rise to the enhancement of domain wall motion, as occurs in other perovskite-type piezoelectrics. Good functional properties are achieved for x = 0.07 (d33 = 180 pC/N), which are similar or even better than those obtained by complex synthesis routes. This system exhibits a remarkable stability in the permittivity that has hitherto not been reported. This fact may open the way for BNT-BT compositions to be used in specific applications in which lead-free piezoceramics have previously been employed with little success, e.g. in high power devices.Postprint (author's final draft

CCAAT/Enhancer binding protein β induces motility and invasion of glioblastoma cells through transcriptional regulation of the calcium binding protein S100A4

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.We have previously shown that decreased expression of CCAAT/Enhancer binding protein β (C/EBPβ) inhibits the growth of glioblastoma cells and diminishes their transformation capacity and migration. In agreement with this, we showed that C/ EBPβ depletion decreases the mRNA levels of different genes involved in metastasis and invasion. Among these, we found S100 calcium binding protein A4 (S100A4) to be almost undetectable in glioblastoma cells deficient in C/EBPβ. Here, we have evaluated the possible role of S100A4 in the observed effects of C/EBPβ in glioblastoma cells and the mechanism through which S100A4 levels are controlled by C/EBPβ. Our results show that C/EBPβ suppression significantly reduced the levels of S100A4 in murine GL261 and human T98G glioblastoma cells. By employing an S100A4-promoter reporter, we observed a significant induction in the transcriptional activation of the S100A4 gene by C/EBPβ. Furthermore, overexpression of S100A4 in C/EBPβ- depleted glioblastoma cells reverses the enhanced migration and motility induced by this transcription factor. Our data also point to a role of S100A4 in glioblastoma cell invasion and suggest that the C/EBPβ gene controls the invasive potential of GL261 and T98G cells through direct regulation of S100A4. Finally, this study indicates a role of C/EBPβ on the maintenance of the stem cell population present in GL261 glioblastoma cells.This work was supported by MINECO (SAF2010–16365) and by Fundación Mutua Madrileña (to A.P.-C.). CIBERNED is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. D.A.-M. is a fellow of the MINECO.Peer Reviewe

SILO6: A six-legged robot for humanitarian de-mining tasks

Detection and removal of antipersonnel landmines in infested fields is an important worldwide problem. Around 100 million landmines have been deployed over the last two decades, and demining will take several more decades, even if no more mines were deployed in future. A high mine-clearance rate can only be accomplished by using new technologies such as improved sensors, efficient manipulators and mobile robots. This paper presents some basic ideas on the configuration and controller of a mobile system for detecting and locating antipersonnel landmines in an efficient and effective way. The whole system has been configured to work in a semi-autonomous mode with a view also to robot mobility and energy efficiency. The paper outlines the main features of the overall system and focuses on some aspects of the controller.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology under Grant CICYT DPI2001-1595.Peer reviewe

Taxonomic revision and molecular phylogeny of Pisa (Decapoda: Majoidea: Epialtidae), including the description of a new genus of Pisinae.

CC BYThe spider crabs of the genus Pisa Leach, 1814 (Epialtidae: Pisinae) are reviewed in this study based on mor- phological and molecular data (16S and COI genes). From these results, a new genus, Afropisa n. gen., is established for the clade composed of Pisa carinimana Miers, 1879, Pisa calva Forest and Guinot, 1966 and Pisa sanctaehelenae Chace, 1966 based on carapace morphology, rostrum, pterygostomian tubercles and male gonopod 1. Additionally, Lissa chiragra (Fabricius, 1775) is transferred to Pisa based on morphological (adults and larvae) and molecular evidence. Furthermore, the status of Pisa hirticornis (Herbst, 1804) is discussed and clarified. The phylogenetic relationships between several Pis- inae Dana, 1851 genera, as revealed by molecular data, are discussed. An illustrated identification key of eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean species of Pisinae is provided

Identifying past social-ecological thresholds to understand long-term temporal dynamics in Spain

A thorough understanding of long-term temporal social-ecological dynamics at the national scale helps to explain the current condition of a country’s ecosystems and to support environmental policies to tackle future sustainability challenges. We aimed to develop a methodological approach to understand past long-term (1960-2010) social-ecological dynamics in Spain. First, we developed a methodical framework that allowed us to explore complex social-ecological dynamics among biodiversity, ecosystem services, human well-being, drivers of change, and institutional responses. Second, we compiled 21 long-term, national-scale indicators and analyzed their temporal relationships through a redundancy analysis. Third, we used a Bayesian change point analysis to detect evidence of past social-ecological thresholds and historical time periods. Our results revealed that Spain has passed through four socialecological thresholds that define five different time periods of nature and society relationships. Finally, we discussed how the proposed methodological approach helps to reinterpret national-level ecosystem indicators through a new conceptual lens to develop a more systems-based way of understanding long-term social-ecological patterns and dynamicsThis work was supported by the Biodiversity Foundation (http://www.fundacion-biodiversidad.es/) of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Partial financial support was also provided by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (project CGL2014-53782-P: ECOGRADIENTES). The Spanish National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA) funded Marina García-Llorente as part of the European Social Fund. Blanca González García-Mon participated in this article as a “la Caixa” Banking Foundation scholar. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, preparation of the report, or the decision to submit the study for publicatio

Legal and ethical implications of applications based on agreement technologies: the case of auction-based road intersections

Agreement Technologies refer to a novel paradigm for the construction of distributed intelligent systems, where autonomous software agents negotiate to reach agreements on behalf of their human users. Smart Cities are a key application domain for Agreement Technologies. While several proofs of concept and prototypes exist, such systems are still far from ready for being deployed in the real-world. In this paper we focus on a novel method for managing elements of smart road infrastructures of the future, namely the case of auction-based road intersections. We show that, even though the key technological elements for such methods are already available, there are multiple non-technical issues that need to be tackled before they can be applied in practice. For this purpose, we analyse legal and ethical implications of auction-based road intersections in the context of international regulations and from the standpoint of the Spanish legislation. From this exercise, we extract a set of required modifications, of both technical and legal nature, which need to be addressed so as to pave the way for the potential real-world deployment of such systems in a future that may not be too far away

Toward a clinical practice guide in pharmacogenomics testing for functional polymorphisms of drug-metabolizing enzymes. Gene/drug pairs and barriers perceived in Spain

The development of clinica lpractice recommendations or guidelines for the clinical use of biomarkers is an issue of great importance withr regard to adverse drug reactions.The poten-tial of pharmacogenomicbiomarkers has been extensively investigated in recent years.However,several barriers to implementing the use of pharmacogenomics testing exist.We conducted a survey among members of the Spanish Societies of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology to obtain information about the perception of such barriers and to compare the perceptions of participants about the relative importance of majorgene/drug pairs.Of 11 potential barriers,the highest importance was attributed to lack of institutional support for pharmacogenomic stesting,and to the issues related to the lack of guidelines.Of the proposed gene/drug pairs the highest importance was assigned to HLA-B/abacavir, UGT1A1/irinotecan, and CYP2D6/tamoxifen.In this perspective article,we compare the relative importance of 29 gene/drugpairs in the Spanish study with that of the same pairs in the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutic sstudy,and we provide suggestions and areas of focus to develop a guide for clinical practice in pharmacogenomics testingThe work in the author’s laboratory is financed by Grants PS09/00943, PS09/00469, RETICS RIRAAF RD07/0064/0016, and CIBERehd from Instituto de Salud CarlosIII,Madrid, Spain, and by Grants GR10068 from Junta de Extremadura, Spain. Financed in part with FEDER funds from the European Unio

Influence of the formulation on double emulsions containing ecological ingredients prepared by a microfluidic technique

Multiple emulsions have significant potential in myriad applications, including foods, cosmetics, drop networks, controlled microreactors, synthesis of microcapsules and drug delivery systems. Great control of multiple-emulsion drops production can be achieved using microfluidic devices. The field of emulsification through microfluidic devices has in recent years become a popular topic of research. In this work, we used a practical approach to make monodisperse double-emulsions drops with an ultrathin middle layer using a single step emulsification in a capillary microfluidic device. The goal of this study was to investigate the influence of different surfactants and additives on stability and droplet size of W/O/W eco-friendly emulsions formulated with a green solvent (D-Limonene). The incorporation of Pluronic F108 destabilised the double emulsions due to a process of precipitation, forming microcapsules. By contrast, there was a necessity to include Span 80 in the formulation in order to achieve stable double emulsions. The addition of rosin gum or silicone oil did not show any improvement in the stability of these complex emulsions. Finally, the formulation used in ultrathin shell microfluidic device did not produce stable double emulsions in the traditional microfluidic device.Las emulsiones múltiples tienen multitud de aplicaciones en la industria alimentaria, cosméticos, microreactores controlados, síntesis de microcápsulas y sistemas de liberación controlada. Se puede conseguir un gran control de la producción de gotas en emulsiones dobles usando técnicas microfluídicas. En este trabajo se desarrollaron emulsiones dobles formuladas con D-Limoneno usando un dispositivo de microfluídica en un solo paso. El D-Limoneno, el componente principal del aceite esencial de naranja, es un monoterpeno natural que tiene propiedades antioxidantes, bactericida, quimiopreventivas y terapéuticas. El objetivo del presente estudio fue investigar la influencia de diferentes tipos de tensioactivos y aditivos en la formulación de emulsiones dobles ecológicas tipo corteza-ultrafina-núcleo sobre la estabilidad física. Las emulsiones dobles tipo corteza ultra fina y núcleo preparadas con Pluronic P108 sufrieron un fenómeno de desestabilización debido a la precipitación de este tensioactivo polimérico creando microcápsulas. Las emulsiones dobles necesitaron un tensioactivo hidrófobo (Span 80) en la fase media para estabilizarlas. Se consiguieron emulsiones dobles estables utilizando Span 80 como tensioactivo en la fase oleosa y PVA en la fase exterior para la configuración tipo corteza ultrafina-núcleo. Estas condiciones no son extrapolables al tradicional dispositivo de microfluídica.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad del Gobierno de España-CTQ2015-70700-PComisión Europea (Programa FEDER)-CTQ2015-70700-