Political connections, corruption, and privatization of public services: Evidence from contracting out water services in Spain

Political corruption is a type of market failure. One area of public policy where corruption is relatively common is the contracting out of public services. Private firms can improve their chances of obtaining contracts by bribing politicians or public servants and funding political parties. In the same vein, firms can gain access to policy makers by hiring influential former politicians –a practice commonly referred to as revolving-doors. In Spain, a number of corruption cases, involving all the major political parties, are presently under judicial investigation. Some of these cases involve water contracts. Also, there is evidence showing that private firms have been funding political parties as well as hiring former politicians for top positions. In this paper, we use information from 892 privatizations of water services in Spanish municipalities between 1984 and 2014 and logistic multinomial regression techniques to study the association between specific firms securing contracts and the political parties ruling the municipalities. We find evidence of a systematic association between the Popular Party (Partido Popular or PP) and the firm, Aqualia, part of the large Spanish holding company, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC), which is known to have funded the PP. Furthermore, former PP politicians have been appointed to top positions in the FCC board of directors

Effects of a Hybrid Program of Active Breaks and Responsibility on the Behaviour of Primary Students: A Mixed Methods Study

Schools are ideal environments to promote healthy lifestyles and teach values among students. In this sense, the present study aims to verify the result of an Active Break program (AB) within the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) Model in the school environment. The sample consisted of two teachers/tutors from the sixth year of Primary Education and 51 pupils, aged between 11 and 13 years, who were divided into an experimental group (n = 26) and a control group (n = 25). The intervention program lasted 3 months, in which the hybridised methodology was applied during 100% of the weekly classes, computing a total of 156 sessions by the end of the study. It was a quasi-experimental study design that used a mixed methodology combining a systematic observational analysis with semi-structured interviews. The results showed an evolution in the behaviour of the teacher from the experimental group from a controlling style to one centred on the transfer of autonomy, while the teacher from the control group primarily used strategies based on the imposition of tasks and the establishment of organisation, which caused an increase in disruptive behaviours among students. We conclude that the program is adaptable to Primary Education and can be extended to any educational environment to improve the classroom climate and attract the attention of students and, finally, allows for the promotion of new teaching strategies.We are grateful for the support of the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC); the Spanish government subprojects integration ways between qualitative and quantitative data, multiple case development, and synthesis review as main axis for an innovative future in physical activity and sports research (PGC2018-098742-B-C31) and mixed method approach on performance analysis (in training and competition) in elite and academy sport (PGC2018-098742-B-C33) (2019–2021) (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities/State Research Agency/European Regional Development Fund), which are part of the coordinated project’s new approach to research in physical activity and sport from mixed methods perspective (NARPAS_MM) (SPGC201800X098742CV0); the Generalitat de Catalunya Research Group [Research group and in novation in designs] (GRID); Technology and multimedia and digital application to observational designs (Grant number 2017 SGR 1405). All individuals included in this section have consented to the acknowledgement

La Esposa del Inmaculado Cordero, que despues de visto por San Juan Bautista en la Jerusalen militante se descubrió al Evangelista en la Triunfante; ... Drama alegorico musico que en la solemne profesion y velo de ... Dª Maria Ignacia Borrás de lluria Cantó la Capilla de la Santa Iglesia Cathedral ... siendo su Maestro ... Francisco Queralt ...

Copia digital. España : Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria, 2020A la fi: "Se puede imprimir "De Almarza..." "Puede imprimirse. De Paz"Data presa tant del tít. com de l'Imprimatur: "Barcelona 17 de Marzo de 1790Reclam

Vocacion de Samuel. Drama en musica, que se ha de cantar en la solemne profesion de Doña Maria Ignacia de Vega y Sentmanat, en el Real Monasterio de San Pedro de las Puellas de Barcelona, ... Por la Capilla de la Santa Iglesia Cathedral, dia 22. de Mayo de 1780, siendo su Maestro ... Francisco Queralt

Copia digital. España : Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria, 2020ReclamsA la port.: VinyetaFriso avant el començament del tex

Ruth acogida en la casa de Booz. Drama, que en la solemne profesion de Doña Escolastica de Parrella, y de Vivèt, en el insigne Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Alguayre del Sagrado Militar Orden de San Juan de Jerusalen en la Ciudad de Barcelona, Dia 13. de Octubre de 1790. Cantò la Capilla de la Sta. Iglesia Cathedral de la misma Ciudad, siendo su Maestro Francisco Queralt...

Copia digital. España : Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria, 2020A la fi: Imprimase: "Federico"Data presa de l'autorització d'impressió: "Vich y Septiembre 19. de 1790"Sign.: [ ]1, A[4]ReclamsPort. i text amb fris orla

Remunicipalization of Local Public Services: Policy Drivers and Changing Prices

Remunicipalization is triggered primarily by disappointment with the outcomes of private management of local public services, but an ideological preference for public management might also play a role. Even though urban water delivery is the service most affected by remunicipalization in developed countries, little empirical evidence is available on its effects. Using a sample of Spanish municipalities, this paper assesses the change in the price of urban water following remunicipalization as compared to privatization. The main finding is that remunicipalization leads to smaller increases in price; this outcome is, however, due to a few atypical municipalities with abnormally low prices for water before the policy reform. Once these influential observations are controlled for, the question of whether the reform consists of remunicipalization or privatization makes no difference regarding the change in prices. It is also found that remunicipalization is much more likely in local councils governed by extreme left-wing parties

Changing prices after the reform of local public services: Remunicipalization versus privatization

Privatization and remunicipalization have been used as alternative options to reform the delivery of local public services; in both cases mainly because of disappointment with the service performance, although ideological preferences might also play a role. The drivers and effects of water privatization have been widely studied, whereas little empirical evidence is available for remunicipalization, particularly regarding its effects. Using a sample of Spanish municipalities, this paper assesses the change in the price of urban water following remunicipalization as compared to privatization. The main finding is that remunicipalization leads to smaller increases in price; this outcome is, however, due to a few atypical municipalities with abnormally low prices before the policy reform. Once these influential observations are controlled for, whether the reform consists of remunicipalization or privatization makes no difference regarding price changes. It is also found that remunicipalization is much more likely in cities governed by extreme left-wing parties

Determining population structure among Argentinian jaguars (Panthera onca)

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest felid in America and the most emblematic South American predator. This carnivore species holds a high environmental importance in all ecosystems it inhabits for its apex predator role. Jaguar populations have suffered an important decline over the last century and today this species is considered as critically endangered in Argentina. Ensuring the sustainability of theremaining jaguar populations demands a high degree of knowledge about the current state of their genetic variability levels and a description of population structure is essential, especially to allow rational translocation and reintroduction actions. The first jaguar reference genome was released in2017 (Figueiro et al. 2017) by the Jaguar Genome Project, a consortium we integrate.With the aim of generating useful resources and information for the jaguar genetics and conservation from the genomic perspective, we carried out the whole genome sequencing of 9 jaguar samples using Illumina 2500 NSG technology. Here we present the first results obtained from these 9 genomescompared to the reference. We performed a population structure analysis in order to estimate the optimal number of populations present in our data and a Multiple Correspondece Analysis (MCA) clustering of our samples based on over 280.000 homozygous variable positions in their genomes. Theestimation of the optimal number of populations present among our samples resulted in 6, according to the Structure analysis. However, the MCA clustering analysis only revealed 5 groups of individuals. The main genetic cluster of animal obtained is integrated by captive animals from zoos and natural reserves and surprisingly a Paraguayan male. Apart from this central group, a wild Argentinian sample from Misiones (a province in the north-east of the country) was located. Also, an animal of Uruguayan origin and the reference, built from a Brazilian animal, located in individual clusters.More work including heterozygous variable position analysis will be performed to better describe the genetic variability among the sequenced jaguar genomes and accurately describe the current genetic situation and population structure of this species in Argentinian territory.Fil: Pisciottano, Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Tarifa Reischle, Inti Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Pegueroles Queralt, Cinta. Centro de Regulación Genómica; España. Universitat Pompeu Fabra; EspañaFil: Willis, Jesse R.. Centro de Regulación Genómica; EspañaFil: Julca Chavez, Irene Consuelo. Centro de Regulación Genómica; España. Universitat Pompeu Fabra; EspañaFil: Gabaldón, Toni. Centro de Regulación Genómica; España. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats ; EspañaFil: Saragueta, Patricia Esther. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; ArgentinaExploring Genomic Landscapes EMBO WorkshopSan Pedro de AtacamaChileEMBOCenter for Genomic Regulatio

RosneT: A block tensor algebra library for out-of-core quantum computing simulation

With the advent of more powerful Quantum Computers, the need for larger Quantum Simulations has boosted. As the amount of resources grows exponentially with size of the target system Tensor Networks emerge as an optimal framework with which we represent Quantum States in tensor factorizations. As the extent of a tensor network increases, so does the size of intermediate tensors requiring HPC tools for their manipulation. Simulations of medium-sized circuits cannot fit on local memory, and solutions for distributed contraction of tensors are scarce. In this work we present RosneT, a library for distributed, out-of-core block tensor algebra. We use the PyCOMPSs programming model to transform tensor operations into a collection of tasks handled by the COMPSs runtime, targeting executions in existing and upcoming Exascale supercomputers. We report results validating our approach showing good scalability in simulations of Quantum circuits of up to 53 qubits.We acknowledge support from project QuantumCAT (ref. 001- P-001644), co-funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Union Regional Development Fund within the ERDF Operational Program of Catalunya, and European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 951911 (AI4Media). This work has also been partially supported by the Spanish Government (PID2019-107255GB) and by Generalitat de Catalunya (contract 2014-SGR-1051). This work is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the framework of the ERFD Operative Programme for Catalunya 2014-2020, with 1.527.637,88C. Anna Queralt is a Serra Hunter Fellow.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Metastatic breast cancer patients treated with low-dose metronomic chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide and celecoxib: clinical outcomes and biomarkers of response

Background Preclinical results showing therapeutic effect and low toxicity of metronomic chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide (Cy) + celecoxib (Cel) for mammary tumors encouraged its translation to the clinic for treating advanced breast cancer patients (ABCP). Patients and methods A single-arm, mono-institutional, non-randomized, phase II, two-step clinical trial (approved by Bioethics Committee and Argentine Regulatory Authority) was designed. Patients received Cy (50 mg po.d) + Cel (200 mg p.o.bid). Patient eligibility criteria included: ABCP who progressed to anthracyclines, taxanes and capecitabine, ≤4 chemotherapy schemes, with good performance status. Several pro- and anti-angiogenic molecules and cells were determined as biomarkers. Informed consent was signed by all patients. Primary endpoint was clinical benefit (CB). Results Twenty patients were enrolled. Main clinical outcomes were prolonged disease stabilization and partial remission in 10/20 and 1/20 patients, respectively. CB was 55 %, and time to progression (TTP) was 21.1 weeks. Median TTP in patients who achieved CB was 35.6 weeks, and mean overall survival was 44.20 weeks. There were no grade 3/4 toxicities associated with treatment. Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) increased at the time of progression in patients who showed CB (P = 0.014). Baseline CECs and circulating endothelial progenitor cells showed marginal associations with TTP. Serum VEGF decreased (P = 0.050), sVEGFR-2 increased (P = 0.005) and VEGF/sVEGFR-2 ratio decreased during treatment (P = 0.041); baseline VEGF and VEGF/sVEGFR-2 were associated with TTP (P = 0.035 and P = 0.030, respectively), while sVEGFR-2 did not. Conclusions Treatment was effective, showing low toxicity profile and excellent tolerability. The combination had anti-angiogenic effect. Increased levels of CEC could be useful for detecting progression. Baseline VEGF and VEGF/sVEGFR-2 values could be useful as early predictors of response. Trial registration ANMAT#4596/09.Fil: Perroud, Herman A. Institute of Experimental Genetics. School of Medical Sciences. National University of Rosario; Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Alasino, Carlos María. Institute of Oncology of Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Rico, María José. Institute of Experimental Genetics. School of Medical Sciences. National University of Rosario; Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Mainetti, Leandro Ernesto. Institute of Experimental Genetics. School of Medical Sciences. National University of Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Queralt, Francisco. Institute of Oncology of Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Pezzotto, Stella Maris. Research Council of the National University of Rosario (CIUNR); ArgentinaFil: Rozados, Viviana R. Institute of Experimental Genetics. School of Medical Sciences. National University of Rosario; Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Scharovsky, O. Graciela. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Consejo de Investigaciones UNR, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; Argentin