Gaston Bouthoul y la polemología

Gaston Bouthol founded a particular sociology known as polemology. Skeptical about the pacifism and critic of the juridical illusion of the international regulation of the peace-phenomenon, he studied the war-phenomenon without moralising prejudices. Polemology, that involves a critic of culture, is focused on the social function of war, known as the most important institution of destruction. The study of major wars enabled him to raise an hypothesis that foresees the periodicity of wars

Jacques Maritain and the Political Theology of Contemporary Democracy

This article analyzes the democratic thought of the philosopher Jacques Maritain. A methodical reading of the integrity of his political work published since the 20s demonstrates a great continuity in the defense of a univocal concept of democratic governance, called social democracy, new Christianity, integral democracy or organic democracy in order to accommodate his thought to the political circumstances. Starting from the principle of superiority of spiritual power, Maritain has redefined the notion of democracy in an anti-rousseaunian sense. Maritain postulates a community and pluralist regime under a presidential government and non partitocratic political system. Maritainian democracy and the secular faith that must animate it, based on human rights, is conceived as an antidote against liberal neutralism and against the totalitarian temptation of a democracy understood as a political religion.Este artículo analiza el pensamiento democrático del filósofo Jacques Maritain. Una lectura metódica de la integridad de su obra política publicada desde los años 20 demuestra una gran continuidad en la defensa de un concepto unívoco de la gobernación democrática, denominada democracia social, nueva cristiandad, democracia integral o democracia orgánica para acomodarse a las circunstancias políticas. Partiendo del principio de superioridad del poder espiritual, Maritain ha depurado la noción de democracia de adherencias rousseaunianas, postulando un régimen comunitario y pluralista bajo un gobierno presidencialista y no partidocrático. La democracia maritainiana y la fe secular que debe animarla, basada en los derechos humanos, está concebida como un antídoto contra el neutralismo liberal y contra la tentación totalitaria de una democracia entendida como una religión política

Bioconjugated Plasmonic Nanoparticles for Enhanced Skin Penetration

Plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) are one of the most promising and studied inorganic nanomaterials for different biomedical applications. Plasmonic NPs have excellent biocompatibility, long-term stability against physical and chemical degradation, relevant optical properties, well-known synthesis methods and tuneable surface functionalities. Herein, we review recently reported bioconjugated plasmonic NPs using different chemical approaches and loading cargoes (such as drugs, genes, and proteins) for enhancement of transdermal delivery across biological tissues. The main aim is to understand the interaction of the complex skin structure with biomimetic plasmonic NPs. This knowledge is not only important in enhancing transdermal delivery of pharmaceutical formulations but also for controlling undesired skin penetration of industrial products, such as cosmetics, sunscreen formulations and any other mass-usage consumable that contains plasmonic NPs

Characterization of polypyrrole/phosphotungstate membranes by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

The aim of this study was to design and prepare multifunctional PPy/PW12O403- membranes useful for the development of smart textile fabrics and wastewaters treatments based on the application of electrochemical techniques. These PPy/PW12O403- membranes have been characterized by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy by using electrochemical cells with different configurations based on the use of two-, three-, or four-electrode experiments. The activation energy of the films in the temperature range 35-70 degrees C was 170 meV. It has been demonstrated that after measuring the PPy films in different NaCl solutions, both the rate of ionic exchange and the diffusion processes through the membrane are faster for more concentrated solutions. Ionic exchange and diffusion were very prevented with a large cation as tetramethylammonium. The impedance spectra obtained with metal/polymer/electrolyte configuration show that the electrical conduction developed through coatings in strong acid solution is controlled by finite-length diffusion processes with reflective boundary conditions. At pH 13, the electrical response proceeds through the oxide layer (Fe and Cr oxides) and the steel/electrolyte interface. In this case, the polymeric coating is very porous due to the counter-ion disintegration. The decomposition of the counter-ion was corroborated by means of energy dispersive X-ray and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Authors thank to the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (contract CTM2011-23583) and Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Primeros Proyectos de Investigacion (PAID-06-10)) for the financial support. J. Molina is grateful to the Conselleria d'Educacio, Formacio i Ocupacio (Generalitat Valenciana) for the Programa VALi+D Postdoctoral Fellowship.Bonastre Cano, JA.; Molina Puerto, J.; Galvan, JC.; Cases Iborra, FJ. (2014). Characterization of polypyrrole/phosphotungstate membranes by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Synthetic Metals. 187:37-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.synthmet.2013.10.020S374518

Bounded Components of Positive Solutions of Nonlinear Abstract Equations

In this work a general class of nonlinear abstract equations satisfying a generalized strong maximum principle is considered in order to show that any bounded component of positive solutions bifurcating from the curve of trivial states (λ, u) = (λ, 0) at a nonlinear eigenvalue λ = λ₀ must meet the curve of trivial states (λ, 0) at another singular value λ₁ ≠ λ₀. Since the unilateral theorems of P. H. Rabinowitz [13, Theorems 1.27 and 1.40] are not true as originally stated (c.f. the counterexample of E. N. Dancer [6]), in order to get our main result the unilateral theorem of J. Lopez-Gomez [11, Theorem 6.4.3] is required

Citrate-Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles as High-Performance Electrocatalysts: The Role of Size in the Electroreduction of Oxygen

Fuel cells stand out as among the most promising alternatives for non-sustainable fossil fuel based economy. Efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are required for the mass application of fuel cells. Citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are proposed as potentialdependent electrocatalysts for the ORR. AuNPs were synthesized by a green, reproducible, and easy scale-up method. After exhaustive characterization, the electrocatalytic activity of the resulting AuNPs was investigated in alkaline media. Static and dynamic electrochemical studies showed a core-size dependent tendency both for their potentials and intensities. For the first time ever, the hysteresis effect in the ORR profile over Au nanoelectrocatalysts is reported herein. In addition, the electrocatalytic efficiency was comparable to those obtained for Au clusters, suggesting the benefits of the citrate stabilizing agent on the electrocatalyst performance of nanomaterials based on noble metals for ORR. These results pave the way for the design of non-coated AuNPs as strong candidates for ORR

Citicoline may prevent cognitive decline in patients with cerebrovascular disease

Introduction: Neuroprotective drugs such as citicoline could improve cognitive performance and quality of life. We studied the effect of citicoline treatment and its association with Vascular Risk Factors (VRF) and APOE on cognition in patients with Subjective Cognitive Complaints (SCC) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Methods: This is an observational and prospective study with citicoline during 12 months follow-up. Eighty-one subjects who met criteria for SCC/MCI, aged 50–75 years with VRF were included and prescribed citicoline 1g/day. Subjects with previous cognitive impairment and any other central nervous system affection were excluded. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test and paired samples t-test were used to analyze the change in neuropsychological performance. Results: Mean age of the sample was 68.2 (SD 6.8) years and 26 (32.09%) were females. Fifteen subjects (24.6%) were APOE-ε4 carriers, fifty-six (76.7%) had hypertension, fifty-eight (79.5%) had dyslipidemia, twenty-one (28.8%) had diabetes mellitus and twenty-six (35.6%) had cardiopathy. Thirty-two (43.8%) subjects were diagnosed as SCC and forty-one (56.16%) as MCI. During the follow-up, Tweny-six patients (81.25%) in the group of SCC remained stable, six subjects (18.8%) converted to MCI. Twelve patients (29.9%) with MCI reverted to SCC and twenty-nine patients (70.7%) remained stable. At follow-up, SCC subjects had an improvement in the global language domain (p=0.03), naming (p<0.001), attention (p=0.01) and visuospatial abilities (p<0.01). MCI group showed an improvement in the screening test (p=0.03), delayed memory (p<0.01), global cognition (p=0.04) and in cognitive flexibility (p=0.03). Presence of APOE-ε4 had no impact on the above findings. Discussion: SCC subjects showed an improvement in language and attention domains, while those with MCI performed better after 12 months in total scores of MoCA and RBANS domains, some converting back to SCC. This supports the idea that citicoline may prevent cognitive decline in patients with cognitive deficits