El Consejo Nacional del Movimiento: la "cámara de las ideas" del franquismo

One of the elements that, within the institutional system of the Francoist Spain, has received less attention by historians and political scientists is the National Council of the Movement. This fact relates with the ambiguous and vague legal configuration this “House of ideas" received as organ of joint representation of the dictatorship’s single party. Despite repeated attempts to expand its powers, it never managed to operate effectively and independently as a parliamentary Assembly: trapped in the authoritarian logic of the regime, it could not escape from the control exercised by other institutions, mainly the Government and the Head of State. Combining the exegesis of legal texts, the analysis of archive documents and the contrast with doctrinal contributions, this article shows the contradictions of the theoretical image of the National Council, making clear its origins and evolution, its nature, composition and organization, its functions and purposes, and the political rule it carried out within the organic structure outlined in the legislation of the time.Una de las piezas que, dentro del sistema institucional de la España franquista, ha recibido menor atención por parte de historiadores y politólogos es el Consejo Nacional del Movimiento. Este hecho tiene que ver con la ambigua y difusa configuración legal que recibió esta «Cámara de las ideas», órgano de representación colegiada del Partido único de la dictadura. A pesar de los sucesivos Intentos por ampliar sus atribuciones, nunca consiguió funcionar eficaz e independientemente como una Asamblea parlamentarla: atrapado en la lógica autoritaria del régimen, no pudo sustraerse al dominio que sobre él ejercieron otras instancias de poder, especialmente el Gobierno y el Jefe del Estado. Combinando la exégesis de los textos jurídicos, el análisis de la documentación archivística y el contraste con las aportaciones doctrinales, este artículo descubre las contradicciones que encerraba la imagen teórica del Consejo Nacional, poniendo de manifiesto su origen y evolución, su naturaleza, composición y organización, sus funciones y fines, y el papel político que desempeñó dentro del esquema orgánico esbozado en la legislación de la época

Internet congestion control: From stochastic to dynamical models

Since its inception, control of data congestion on the Internet has been based on stochas tic models. One of the first such models was Random Early Detection. Later, this model was reformulated as a dynamical system, with the average queue sizes at a router’s buffer being the states. Recently, the dynamical model has been generalized to improve global stability. In this paper we review the original stochastic model and both nonlin ear models of Random Early Detection with a two-fold objective: (i) illustrate how a random model can be “smoothed out” to a deterministic one through data aggregation and (ii) how this translation can shed light into complex processes such as the Internet data traffic. Furthermore, this paper contains new materials concerning the occurrence of chaos, bifurcation diagrams, Lyapunov exponents and global stability robustness with respect to control parameters. The results reviewed and reported here are expected to help design an active queue management algorithm in real conditions, that is, when sys tem parameters such as the number of users and the round-trip time of the data packets change over time. The topic also illustrates the much-needed synergy of a theoretical approach, practical intuition and numerical simulations in engineerin

New RED-type TCP-AQM algorithms based on beta distribution drop functions

In recent years, Active Queue Management (AQM) mechanisms to improve the performance of TCP/IP networks have acquired a relevant role. In this paper we present a simple and robust RED-type algorithm together with a couple of dynamical variants with the ability to adapt to the specific characteristics of different network environments, as well as to the user needs. We first present a basic version called Beta RED (BetaRED), where the user is free to adjust the parameters according to the network conditions. The aim is to make the parameter setting easy and intuitive so that a good performance is obtained over a wide range of parameters. Secondly, BetaRED is used as a framework to design two dynamic algorithms, which we will call Adaptive Beta RED (ABetaRED) and Dynamic Beta RED (DBetaRED). In those new algorithms certain parameters are dynamically adjusted so that the queue length remains stable around a predetermined reference value and according to changing network traffic conditions. Finally, we present a battery of simulations using the Network Simulator 3 (ns-3) software with a two-fold objective: to guide the user on how to adjust the parameters of the BetaRED mechanism, and to show a performance comparison of ABetaRED and DBetaRED with other representative algorithms that pursue a similar objective

Performance profiles of football teams in the UEFA Champions League considering situational efficiency

Performance of football teams varies constantly due to the dynamic nature of this sport, whilst the typical performance and its spread can be represented by profiles combining different performance-related variables based on data from multiple matches. The current study aims to use a profiling technique to evaluate and compare match performance of football teams in the UEFA Champions League incorporating three situational variables (i.e. strength of team and opponent, match outcome and match location). Match statistics of 72 teams, 496 games across four seasons (2008-09 to 2012-13) of this competition were analysed. Sixteen performance-related events were included: shots, shots on target, shots from open play, shots from set piece, shots from counter attack, passes, pass accuracy (%), crosses, through balls, corners, dribbles, possession, aerial success (%), fouls, tackles, and yellow cards. Teams were classified into three levels of strength by a k-cluster analysis. Profiles of overall performance and profiles incorporating three situational variables for teams of all three levels of strength were set up by presenting the mean, standard deviation, median, lower and upper quartiles of the counts of each event to represent their typical performances and spreads. Means were compared by using one-way ANOVA and independent sample t test (for match location, home and away differences), and were plotted into the same radar charts after unifying all the event counts by standardised score. Established profiles can present straightforwardly typical performances of football teams of different levels playing in different situations, which could provide detailed references for coaches and analysts to evaluate performances of upcoming opposition and of their own

Thermodynamic evaluation of CO2 for ultra-low temperature refrigeration

Carbon dioxide (CO2, R744) is the only refrigerant in the safest class by the ASHRAE 34 Standard in the group of natural refrigerants, with zero ozone depletion potential and a global warming potential of 1. It has been recently proposed for commercial refrigeration and heat pumps. Ultra-low temperature (ULT) refrigeration considers two-stage cascades with hydrofluorocarbon synthetic refrigerants (R404A/R23 high and low-temperature stages, HTS and LTS, respectively) and, lately, hydrocarbons (R290/R170). This paper examines the potential of R744 in ULT refrigeration cascade configurations in combination with other promising refrigerants. R744 is proposed in the medium temperature stage (MTS) of a three-stage cascade and the HTS of a two-stage transcritical operation (subcritical and transcritical with and without ejector, respectively). The operational and energy performance are compared with standard two- and three-stage ULT refrigeration cascades. Also, the cycles have been optimized, changing the main parameters as cascade heat changer temperatures or gas cooler pressure to maximize COP. This optimization and all the models have been made with Python, extracting the thermodynamic properties of REFPROP. The results show that in the HTS, the coefficient of performance (COP) is 39 % lower than the same two-stage cascade cycle with R290. In the MTS of a three-stage cascade, COP is 10 % lower than the same three-stage cascade cycle with R290. The ejector increases the COP by 38 % in the transcritical HTS, but remains below the hydrocarbon two-stage cascade. The choice of alternative refrigerants in the other stages does not significantly vary the COP results. Technological advancements in single subcritical and transcritical R744 configurations should be transferred to ULT refrigeration cascades to increase competitiveness and take advantage of its environmental and safety characteristics

Enzyme Inhibition Microassays on Blu-Ray Disks for Drug Discovery

[EN] An enzyme inhibition-based assay for drug discovery developed by microarraing on Blu-ray disks is presented. As a proof-of-concept, the system screens a selected molecule library of potential chemical inhibitors against the glycoenzyme peroxidase, identifying the promising lead compounds with high selectivity using standard Blu-ray disks and drives. In order to face the first drug discovery stages, we establish the bases for a high-throughput screening assay and a methodology based on hypersurfaces suitable to manage a high number of data as well.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Region Development Fund under award reference: CTQ2016-75749-R.Sancho-Fornes, G.; Peris Chanzá, EJ.; Giménez-Romero, D.; Morais, S.; Maquieira Catala, A. (2019). Enzyme Inhibition Microassays on Blu-Ray Disks for Drug Discovery. ACS Omega. 4(3):5595-5600. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.8b03537S559556004

Mycorrhizal symbiosis primes the accumulation of antiherbivore compounds and enhances herbivore mortality in tomato

Plant association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can increase their ability to overcome multiple stresses, but their impact on plant interactions with herbivorous insects is controversial. Here we show higher mortality of the leaf-chewer Spodoptera exigua when fed on tomato plants colonized by the AMF Funneliformis mosseae, evidencing mycorrhiza-induced resistance. In search of the underlying mechanisms, an untargeted metabolomic analysis through ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was performed. The results showed that mycorrhizal symbiosis had a very limited impact on the leaf metabolome in the absence of stress, but significantly modulated the response to herbivory in the damaged area. A cluster of over accumulated metabolites was identified in those leaflets damaged by S. exigua feeding in mycorrhizal plants, while unwounded distal leaflets responded similar to those from non-mycorrhizal plants. These primed-compounds were mostly related to alkaloids, fatty acid derivatives and phenylpropanoid-polyamine conjugates. The deleterious effect on larval survival of some of these compounds, including the alkaloid physostigmine, the fatty acid derivatives 4-oxododecanedioic acid and azelaic acid, was confirmed. Thus, our results evidence the impact of AMF on metabolic reprograming upon herbivory that leads to a primed accumulation of defensive compounds

Time-motion analysis on Chinese male field hockey players

The aim of the study was to evaluate the match work-rate of Chinese field hockey players by analyzing the distance covered at different intensities pooled by specific positions during different periods of matches. Thirty-eight players from twenty-four male field hockey matches at the 11th Chinese National Games were filmed and analyzed

Estudio preliminar de los determinantes cognitivos que influyen en los jóvenes argentinos para realizar un consumo intensivo de alcohol o binge drinking

Introducción: El patrón de consumo de alcohol que realizan actualmente los jóvenes y adolescentes, caracterizado por ingerir cantidades elevadas, durante pocas horas y varios días a la semana (binge drinking, consumo concentrado o consumo en atracón), es una realidad que comparten muchos países, entre los que se incluyen España y Argentina. Objetivo: Describir los determinantes cognitivos del comportamiento de consumo intensivo de alcohol (binge drinking), en sujetos de 16 a 25 años en Argentina. Método: Se usó una encuesta construida ad hoc para evaluar los determinantes cognitivos de la conducta de consumo intensivo de alcohol, según las directrices de I. Ajzen. Resultados: Existen diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre el grupo de consumidores intensivos y el que no alcanza este nivel de consumo, en relación con las creencias conductuales y las creencias de control. Ambos grupos coinciden en que el consumo es perjudicial e inseguro; no hay diferencias en relación con las creencias normativas. Conclusiones: La interacción entre los factores actitudinales, motivacionales y de control comportamental es compleja. Es preciso dar mayor sensibilidad a los instrumentos utilizados y realizar un análisis más detallado sobre las consecuencias a corto, medio y largo plazo que genera un consumo intensivo de alcohol y el papel de este como reforzador, positivo o negativo

Gender differences in cooperation: experimental evidence on high school students

The emergence of cooperation among unrelated human subjects is a long-standing conundrum that has been amply studied both theoretically and experimentally. Within the question, a less explored issue relates to the gender dependence of cooperation, which can be traced back to Darwin, who stated that "women are less selfish but men are more competitive". Indeed, gender has been shown to be relevant in several game theoretical paradigms of social cooperativeness, including prisoner's dilemma, snowdrift and ultimatum/dictator games, but there is no consensus as to which gender is more cooperative. We here contribute to this literature by analyzing the role of gender in a repeated Prisoners' Dilemma played by Spanish high-school students in both a square lattice and a heterogeneous network. While the experiment was conducted to shed light on the influence of networks on the emergence of cooperation, we benefit from the availability of a large dataset of more 1200 participants. We applied different standard econometric techniques to this dataset, including Ordinary Least Squares and Linear Probability models including random effects. All our analyses indicate that being male is negatively associated with the level of cooperation, this association being statistically significant at standard levels. We also obtain a gender difference in the level of cooperation when we control for the unobserved heterogeneity of individuals, which indicates that the gender gap in cooperation favoring female students is present after netting out this effect from other socio-demographics factors not controlled for in the experiment, and from gender differences in risk, social and competitive preferences.This paper has benefited from the funding from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (Projects ECO2012-34828, RESINEE and PRODIEVO). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript