Patentes, cambio técnico e industrialización en la España del siglo XIX

Editada en la Fundación Empresa PúblicaEn este artículo se utilizan las series de patentes para profundizar en la estructura de la economía española entre 1759 y 1878, partiendo de la hipótesis de que la actividad inventiva es fruto de la demanda derivada del proceso de crecimiento económico. Los resultados aclaran que la mayor parte de las patentes se concentraron en determinados sectores innovadores en expansión, entre los que es posible encontrar —además de a la industria textil y a los metales— a actividades que la historiografía no ha unido, habitualmente, con procesos de cambio técnico e industrialización en la época analizada. Es el caso de la transformación de productos agrarios, la fabricación de bienes de equipo, la química de consumo, la construcción o los servicios. A través de un estudio detallado de las patentes es posible caracterizar y particularizar el proceso de avance técnico en cada uno de estos sectores.In this paper we use patent statistics in order to analyse the structure of the Spanish economy between 1759 and 1878. We depart from the hypothesis that inventive activity is demand driven. The results show how at the beginning of the Spanish industrialisation the majority of patents were concentrated in a few innovative sectors. Besides the textile and basic metal industries, it is possible to find some other sectors that have not usually been linked to technical change nor to productivity growth during that period. This is the case for the food, beverages and tobaceo industries, machinery and equipment as well as chemical, construction and services sectors. A detailed analysis of patent records makes ít possible to study the characteristics and peculiaríties of the technical progress conceming each one of these sectors.Publicad

On a branch-and-bound approach for a Huff-like Stackelberg location problem

Modelling the location decision of two competing firms that intend to build a new facility in a planar market can be done by a Huff-like Stackelberg location problem. In a Huff-like model, the market share captured by a firm is given by a gravity model determined by distance calculations to facilities. In a Stackelberg model, the leader is the firm that locates first and takes into account the actions of the competing chain (follower) locating a new facility after the leader. The follower problem is known to be a hard global optimisation problem. The leader problem is even harder, since the leader has to decide on location given the optimal action of the follower. So far, in literature only heuristic approaches have been tested to solve the leader problem. Our research question is to solve the leader problem rigorously in the sense of having a guarantee on the reached accuracy. To answer this question, we develop a branch-and-bound approach. Essentially, the bounding is based on the zero sum concept: what is gain for one chain is loss for the other. We also discuss several ways of creating bounds for the underlying (follower) sub-problems, and show their performance for numerical cases

Ellipticals at z=0 from Self-Consistent Hydrodynamical Simulations: Clues on Age Effects in their Stellar Populations

We present results of a study of the stellar age distributions in the sample of elliptical-like objects (ELOs) identified at z=0 in four simulations operating in the context of a concordance cosmological model. The simulations show that the formation of most stars in each ELO of the sample is a consequence of violent dynamical events, either fast multiclump collapse at high z, or mergers at lower z. This second way can explain the age spread as well as the dynamical peculiarities observed in some ellipticals, but its relative weight is never dominant and decreases as the ELO mass at the halo scale, $M_{vir}$, increases, to such an extent that some recent mergers contributing an important fraction to the total ELO mass can possibly contribute only a small fraction of new born stars. More massive objects have older means and narrower spreads in their stellar age distributions than less massive ones. The ELO sample shows also a tight correlation between $M_{vir}$ and the central stellar l.o.s. velocity dispersion, $\sigma_{los}$. This gives a trend of the means and spreads of ELO stellar populations with $\sigma_{los}$ that is consistent, even quantitatively, with the age effects observationally detected in the stellar populations of elliptical galaxies. Therefore, these effects can be explained as the observational manifestation of the intrinsic correlations found in the ELO sample between $M_{vir}$ and the properties of the stellar age distribution, on the one hand, and $M_{vir}$ and $\sigma_{los}$, on the other hand. These correlations hint, for the first time, at a possible way to reconcile age effects in ellipticals, and, particularly, the increase of $\alpha /$ ratios with $\sigma_{los}$, with the hierarchical clustering paradigm.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letter

Development of Expertise in Spanish Elite Basketball Coaches.(El desarrollo de la pericia en los entrenadores españoles expertos en baloncesto.)

<b>Abstract</b><p align="justify">The present study was designed to address two issues: first, to identify the different development stages that eight expert Spanish basketball coaches go through; and second, to determine the possible factors that have contributed to the formative or training, process of the expert coach. Qualitative data were gathered in semi-structured interviews. The coaches worked with the men’s first Spanish Basketball League (“ACB” league) or the Spanish national selection. Our findings reveal four stages in the coach development process. These stages were the consequence mainly of a gradual progression in thinking and reflective practice that enabled the coach to optimize the necessary skills for high performance. In addition, all the coaches interviewed reflected an intense dedication and commitment over many years to their work, as well as an ongoing quest for improvement.</p><b>Resumen</b><p align="justify">El presente estudio fue diseñado para hacer frente a dos cuestiones: en primer lugar, identificar las diferentes etapas formativas de ocho entrenadores expertos en baloncesto, y en segundo lugar, determinar los posibles factores que han contribuido a la formación del entrenador experto. La metodología utilizada es la cualitativa y la técnica de recogida de datos fue la entrevista semiestructurada. Los entrenadores entrevistados pertenecían a la liga ACB o a la selección nacional española. Nuestros resultados ponen de manifiesto cuatro etapas en el desarrollo de su pericia. Estas etapas son consecuencia principalmente de un desarrollo de su conocimiento, así como de una profunda reflexión práctica que permitió al entrenador optimizar las habilidades necesarias para trabajar en el alto rendimiento. Además, todos los entrenadores reflejan una intensa dedicación y compromiso durante muchos años hacia su trabajo, así como una búsqueda constante por mejorar.</p

Halotolerant bacteria in the efflorescences of a deteriorated church

7 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, 18 references.--Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium, celebrado del 5-8, abril, 2000, en Sevilla, España.[EN]: A study on the composition of the efflorescences from the Church of Saint Jerome, Granada, Spain, and their influence on the distribution ofthe bacterial communities was carried out. The composition of the efflorescences varied depending on the location of the sampling point. The colony foming units (cfu) was related with the type of salt, with a clear difference between halite and epsomite/hexahydrite. The most abundant genera were Bacillus and Micrococcus and the abundance of bacilli could be explained by their osmotic adaptation to halophilic environments.[ES]: Se ha determinado la composición de las eflorescencias de la iglesia de San Jerónimo, en Granada, España, y relacionado con la presencia de comunidades específicas de bacterias. Existe una conexión entre el tipo de sales y las comunidades bacterianas; así, la epsomita, la sal más abundante en el templo, origina la selección de comunidades capaces de crecer a concentraciones de hasta,15% de esta sal. Sin embargo, las bacterias que basan su halotolerancia en la halita presentan un crecimiento comparativamente menor y no son significativamente estimuladas por la presencia de epsomita. Los géneros más abundantes son Bacillus y Micrococcus. La abundancia de bacilos se debe a su adaptación osmótica a ambientes salinos.This work was supported by the European Commission, project ENV4-CT98-0705, and the Research Groups RNM-179 and 201 from the Community of Andalusia.Peer reviewe

Study on the effects of using a carbon dioxide atmosphere on the properties of vine shoots-derived biochar

This study analyzes the effects of using a different atmosphere (pure N2 or pure CO2) at two levels of absolute pressure (0.1 and 1.1 MPa) on the pyrolysis of vine shoots at a constant peak temperature of 600 °C. Recycling CO2 from residual flue gases into the pyrolysis process may be economically beneficial, since CO2 can replace the use of an expensive N2 environment. In addition, the use of a moderate pressure (e.g., 1.1 MPa) can result in higher carbonization efficiencies and an improvement in the pyrolysis gas (in terms of yield and composition). Results from our study suggest that the use of CO2 instead of N2 as pyrolysis environment led to similar carbonization efficiencies (i.e., fixed-carbon yields) and mass yields of biochar. The chemical properties related to the potential stability of biochar (i.e., fixed-carbon content and molar H:C and O:C ratios) were very similar for both pyrolysis atmospheres. Under an atmosphere of CO2, the yield of produced CO2 was drastically decreased at the expense of an increase in the yield of CO, probably as a consequence of the promotion of the reverse Boudouard reaction, especially at high pressure. The enhanced reverse Boudouard reaction can also explain the relatively high BET specific surface area and the macro-porosity development observed for the biochar produced under a CO2 environment at 1.1 MPa. In summary, the pressurized pyrolysis of biomass under an atmosphere of CO2 appears as a very interesting route to produce highly stable and porous biochars and simultaneously improving the yield of CO

The Lack of Structural and Dynamical Evolution of Elliptical Galaxies since z ~ 1.5: Clues from Self-Consistent Hydrodynamical Simulations

We present results of a study on the evolution of the parameters characterizing the structure and dynamics of the relaxed elliptical-like objects (ELOs) identified at z=0, z=1 and z=1.5 in a set of hydrodynamical, self-consistent simulations operating in the context of a concordance cosmological model. The values of the stellar mass, the stellar half-mass radius and the stellar mean-square velocity have been measured in each ELO and found to populate, at any z, a flattened ellipsoid close to a plane (the dynamical plane, DP). Our simulations indicate that, at the intermediate zs considered, individual ELOs evolve, increasing the values of these parameters as a consequence of on-going mass assembly, but, nevertheless, their DP is roughly preserved within its scatter, in agreement with observations of the Fundamental Plane of ellipticals at different zs. We briefly discuss how this lack of significant dynamical and structural evolution in ELO samples arises, in terms of the two different phases operating in the mass aggregation history of their dark matter halos. According with our simulations, most dissipation involved in ELO formation takes place at the early violent phase, causing the stellar mass, the stellar half-mass radius and the stellar mean-square velocity parameters to settle down to the DP, and, moreover, the transformation of most of the available gas into stars. In the subsequent slow phase, ELO stellar mass growth preferentially occurs through non-dissipative processes, so that the DP is preserved and the ELO star formation rate considerably decreases. These results hint, for the first time, to a possible way of explaining, in the context of cosmological simulations, different apparently paradoxical observational results on ellipticals.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure. Minor changes to match the published versio

Análisis sobre el almacenamiento térmico en la edificación

The paper begins with and explanation of the general treatment which the application of passive solar energy receives in construction, within the EEC, either in research programmes or in the estimates for energy saving and reducing of the environmental pollution. The author then goes on to analyse the systems of thermal accumulation through latent heat and sensible heat. The types of heat produced by means of water together with pebbles are analysed in the latter case. Further on, there is a description of the work carried out at the Institute on experimental modules. The object of analysis was the influence of the mass distribution inside the module, and also the energy saving tested on two analogous houses with the conservatory leaning against the South facade, one of which did not have the thermal storage system based on pebbles. These experiments helped to define the global thermal index, which takes into consideration both the energy saving factors and the thermal comfort.En primer lugar se hace una exposición sobre el tratamiento con carácter general que está teniendo la aplicación de la energía solar pasiva en la edificación, dentro del ámbito de la CEE, bien en programas de investigación o en previsiones de ahorro energético y disminución de la contaminación del medio ambiente para pasar, posteriormente, a los sistemas de acumulación térmica por calor latente y calor sensible, analizándose en este último caso los producidos por cantos rodados y a base de agua. A continuación se desarrollan los trabajos que se llevaron a cabo en el Instituto sobre módulos experimentales, donde se analizó la influencia de la distribución de masa en el interior del módulo, así como el ahorro energético experimentado sobre dos casetas análogas con invernadero adosado a la fachada Sur, pero uno de ellos sin sistema de acumulación térmica, a base de cantos rodados, definiéndose un índice térmico global, que considera, conjuntamente, los factores de ahorro energético y confort térmico

Clues on Regularity in the Structure and Kinematics of Elliptical Galaxies from Self-consistent Hydrodynamical Simulations: the Dynamical Fundamental Plane

[Abridged] We have analysed the parameters characterising the mass, size and velocity dispersion both at the baryonic scale and at the halo scales of two samples of relaxed elliptical-like-objects (ELOs) identified, at z=0, in a set of self-consistent hydrodynamical simulations operating in the context of a concordance cosmological model. At the halo scale they have been found to satisfy virial relations; at the scale of the baryonic object the (logarithms of the) ELO stellar masses, projected stellar half-mass radii, and stellar central l.o.s. velocity dispersions define a flattened ellipsoid close to a plane (the intrinsic dynamical plane, IDP), tilted relative to the virial one, whose observational manifestation is the observed FP. The ELO samples have been found to show systematic trends with the mass scale in both, the relative content and the relative distributions of the baryonic and the dark mass ELO components, so that homology is broken in the spatial mass distribution (resulting in the IDP tilt), but ELOs are still a two-parameter family where the two parameters are correlated. The physical origin of these trends presumably lies in the systematic decrease, with increasing ELO mass, of the relative amount of dissipation experienced by the baryonic mass component along ELO stellar mass assembly. ELOs also show kinematical segregation, but it does not appreciably change with the mass scale. The non-homogeneous population of IDPs explains the role played by the virial mass to determine the correlations among intrinsic parameters. In this paper we also show that the central stellar line-of-sight velocity dispersion of ELOs, is a fair empirical estimator of the virial mass, and this explains the central role played by this quantity at determining the observational correlations.Comment: 20 pages, 17 Figures. Only changed to a more readable styl

Análisis sobre el almacenamiento térmico en la edificación

The paper begins with and explanation of the general treatment which the application of passive solar energy receives in construction, within the EEC, either in research programmes or in the estimates for energy saving and reducing of the environmental pollution. The author then goes on to analyse the systems of thermal accumulation through latent heat and sensible heat. The types of heat produced by means of water together with pebbles are analysed in the latter case. &#13; Further on, there is a description of the work carried out at the Institute on experimental modules. The object of analysis was the influence of the mass distribution inside the module, and also the energy saving tested on two analogous houses with the conservatory leaning against the South facade, one of which did not have the thermal storage system based on pebbles. These experiments helped to define the global thermal index, which takes into consideration both the energy saving factors and the thermal comfort.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;En primer lugar se hace una exposición sobre el tratamiento con carácter general que está teniendo la aplicación de la energía solar pasiva en la edificación, dentro del ámbito de la CEE, bien en programas de investigación o en previsiones de ahorro energético y disminución de la contaminación del medio ambiente para pasar, posteriormente, a los sistemas de acumulación térmica por calor latente y calor sensible, analizándose en este último caso los producidos por cantos rodados y a base de agua. &#13; A continuación se desarrollan los trabajos que se llevaron a cabo en el Instituto sobre módulos experimentales, donde se analizó la influencia de la distribución de masa en el interior del módulo, así como el ahorro energético experimentado sobre dos casetas análogas con invernadero adosado a la fachada Sur, pero uno de ellos sin sistema de acumulación térmica, a base de cantos rodados, definiéndose un índice térmico global, que considera, conjuntamente, los factores de ahorro energético y confort térmico