Penal enlightenment in Spain: From Beccaria's reception to the first criminal code

It is almost a commonplace to say that since Beccarias's "On crimes and punishment" was translated and spread throughout Europe, it became a tipping point in the history of penal thinking and legal reforms. In Spain, some scholars have even classified the penal thinking of that time in “pre Beccaria” and “post Beccaria Spanish Enlightenment”. Being so, and looking at the history of criminal justice in Spain at the ending of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th, one may ask why did Spanish jurists fail to achieve an institutional change in such a substantive matter during that period? A complete answer to this question would require a deeper and longer analysis: the problematic relationship between Catholicism and the Enlightenment and the deterrent that the experience of the French revolution meant for the Spanish reformist, should be taken into account. However, our purpose in this essay is limited to showing why the Spanish legal doctrine was not able to assume all of the consequences implied in enlightened penal thinking as was exposed in Beccaria's "On crime and punishments". Considering its circulation in Spain, we would proceed to identify certain discursive keys that conditioned its reading and its general acceptance among Spanish publicists and jurists of this time.Fil: Aguero, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales. Centro de Investigaciones Juridícas y Sociales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lorente, Marta. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Españ

Penal enlightenment in Spain: From Beccaria's reception to the first criminal code

It is almost a commonplace to say that since Beccarias's "On crimes and punishment" was translated and spread throughout Europe, it became a tipping point in the history of penal thinking and legal reforms. In Spain, some scholars have even classified the penal thinking of that time in “pre Beccaria” and “post Beccaria Spanish Enlightenment”. Being so, and looking at the history of criminal justice in Spain at the ending of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th, one may ask why did Spanish jurists fail to achieve an institutional change in such a substantive matter during that period? A complete answer to this question would require a deeper and longer analysis: the problematic relationship between Catholicism and the Enlightenment and the deterrent that the experience of the French revolution meant for the Spanish reformist, should be taken into account. However, our purpose in this essay is limited to showing why the Spanish legal doctrine was not able to assume all of the consequences implied in enlightened penal thinking as was exposed in Beccaria's "On crime and punishments". Considering its circulation in Spain, we would proceed to identify certain discursive keys that conditioned its reading and its general acceptance among Spanish publicists and jurists of this time.Fil: Aguero, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales. Centro de Investigaciones Juridícas y Sociales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lorente, Marta. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Españ

Investigation of oligodendroglial pathology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease. TDP-43 is found in pathological protein aggregates in neurons and glia in ALS and it is part of some mRNA transport granules. MBP messenger RNA (mRNA) must be transported to the oligodendrocyte processes for correct myelination. If TDP-43 were part of MBP mRNA transport granules, its aggregation could lead to loss of MBP in the CNS. Additionally, C9orf72 is a gene whose GGGGCC expansion mutation causes ALS. The expansion binds hnRNP-A2, a protein essential for the transport of MBP mRNA. This interaction may lead to the sequestration of hnRNP-A2, reducing its availability and causing a shortage of MBP in the CNS. Aims: To characterise the oligodendroglial pathology and the loss of MBP in our cohort of ALS cases, and to create zebrafish lines to investigate the development of oligodendroglial degeneration in sporadic ALS and C9orf72 ALS. The overarching hypothesis of the project is that the observed oligodendrocyte degeneration in ALS is primarily caused by a dysfunction of MBP mRNA transport, causing demyelination. Methods & Results: Using immunohistochemistry in human post mortem tissue, this project reports a greater, distinct ubiquitin-related glial pathology in the primary motor cortex of C9orf72-ALS cases. This C9orf72-related glial pathology was independent of the dipeptide-repeat protein inclusions usually found in the motor neurones of these patients. Using Western blot and qPCR, the levels of MBP and PLP, another myelin protein that is translated in the oligodendrocyte cell body, were measured. A reduction in the levels of MBP, but not those of PLP, was found in the spinal cord lateral corticospinal tracts of ALS cases, which was more pronounced in C9orf72 ALS. This reduction of the MBP levels was not accompanied by either a reduction in the number of axons panning that area or the levels of MBP mRNA. Conclusions: These results suggest that an impairment of mRNA transport is the main cause of the reduced MBP levels in the spinal cord of ALS patients and that oligodendrocyte degeneration precedes axonal degeneration in ALS. Were this confirmed using in vivo models of ALS, it would imply that ALS begins as a myelinopathy which later causes the apparition of neuronal pathology and death. None of the in vivo models trialled in this project were successful, but others have created promising models that will surely help understand oligodendroglial degeneration in ALS

Accurate Derivation of Lossy Equivalent Circuit of Waveguide External Coupling

A novel technique to derive the lossy equivalent circuit of waveguide external couplings of narrowband cavity filters with arbitrary cavity cross section and arbitrary coupling geometry is presented in this contribution. The technique makes use of a reduced CAD model to obtain the element values of the equivalent lossy circuit. Therefore the contribution of the external coupling structures to the total dissipated power and total stored energy of the filter can be derived and a clear separation between resonators and couplings is established. A first degree filter has been designed, simulated, and manufactured. Its lossy equivalent circuit has been extracted and comparisons with simulation and measurement show excellent agreement.Agencia Espacial Europe

MultiPARTES: Multicore Virtualization for Mixed-Criticality Systems

Modern embedded applications typically integrate a multitude of functionalities with potentially different criticality levels into a single system. Without appropriate preconditions, the integration of mixed-criticality subsystems can lead to a significant and potentially unacceptable increase of engineering and certification costs. A promising solution is to incorporate mechanisms that establish multiple partitions with strict temporal and spatial separation between the individual partitions. In this approach, subsystems with different levels of criticality can be placed in different partitions and can be verified and validated in isolation. The MultiPARTES FP7 project aims at supporting mixed- criticality integration for embedded systems based on virtualization techniques for heterogeneous multicore processors. A major outcome of the project is the MultiPARTES XtratuM, an open source hypervisor designed as a generic virtualization layer for heterogeneous multicore. MultiPARTES evaluates the developed technology through selected use cases from the offshore wind power, space, visual surveillance, and automotive domains. The impact of MultiPARTES on the targeted domains will be also discussed. In a number of ongoing research initiatives (e.g., RECOMP, ARAMIS, MultiPARTES, CERTAINTY) mixed-criticality integration is considered in multicore processors. Key challenges are the combination of software virtualization and hardware segregation and the extension of partitioning mechanisms to jointly address significant non-functional requirements (e.g., time, energy and power budgets, adaptivity, reliability, safety, security, volume, weight, etc.) along with development and certification methodology

Physical exercise improves memory in sedentary middle-aged adults: Are these exercise-induced benefits associated with S-Klotho and 1,25-dihydroxivitamin D? The FIT-AGEING randomized controlled trial

We aimed to investigate the effect of three types of exercise interventions on memory (i.e., immediate memory (IM), long-term memory (LTM), and recognition). We also investigated whether exercise-induced changes in circulating S-Klotho and 1,25-dihydroxivitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) levels were related to those observed in memory in healthy middle-aged sedentary adults. A 12-week randomized controlled trial was performed with a parallel-group design. Seventy-four participants (45–65 years old: 53% women) were randomly assigned to (1) no exercise (control) group, (2) concurrent training based on the international physical activity recommendations (PAR) group, (3) high-intensity interval training (HIIT) group, or (4) HIIT plus whole-body electromyostimulation (HIIT-EMS) group. Memory outcomes were assessed using the Wechsler Memory Scale-third edition. S-Klotho plasma levels were determined according to a solid-phase sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit while 1,25(OH)2D plasma levels were measured using a DiaSorin-Liaison immunochemiluminometric analyzer. IM-Verbal Paired Associates (IM-VPA) and IM-Logical Memory (IM-LM) were improved in both the HIIT and HIIT-EMS groups compared with the control group (all p ≤ 0.045). Exercise-induced changes in S-Klotho plasma levels were positively associated with those observed in IM, LTM, and recognition (all p ≤ 0.007), whereas exercise-induced changes in 1,25(OH)2D plasma levels were directly related to changes in IM and LTM (all p ≤ 0.048). In conclusion, a 12-week HIIT intervention with or without WB-EMS seems to be the most effective exercise program to improve IM. The significant and positive associations between exercise-induced changes in S-Klotho and 1,25(OH)2D levels with those observed in memory outcomes suggest that these factors may be potentially related to exercise-induced improvements of memory in middle-aged adults.FEDER/Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Economía y Conocimiento/Proyecto B462,Grant/Award Number: CTS-363- UGR18Spanish Ministry of EducationGrant/Award Number: FPU18/0365

Magnetic Graphene Oxide Composite for the Microextraction and Determination of Benzophenones in Water Samples

Magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) functionalized with graphene oxide (GO) have been synthesized through a silanization process of the magnetic nanoparticles with tetraethyl orthosilicate and (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane and further coupling of GO. The synthesized nanomaterials have been characterized by several techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and infrared and Raman spectroscopy, which enabled the evaluation of the different steps of the functionalization process. The hybrid nanomaterial has been employed for the extraction of five benzophenones (benzophenone-1, benzophenone-3, 4-hydroxybenzophenone, benzophenone-6 and benzophenone-8) in aqueous samples by dispersive micro-solid phase extraction, combining the magnetic properties of magnetite nanoparticles with the excellent sorption capacity of graphene oxide via hydrophobic interactions with the analytes. The subsequent separation and quantification of the analytes was performed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric detection, achieving limits of detection (LODs) in the range 2.5 to 8.2 μg·L−1, with relative standard deviations ranging from 1.3–9.8% and relative recovering in the range 86 to 105%. Positive swimming pool water samples analysed following the developed method revealed the presence of benzophenones in from 14.3 to 39 μg·L−1