Technocracy inside the rule of law : challenges in the foundations of legal norms

Technocracy is usually opposed to democracy. Here, another perspective is taken: technocracy is countered with the rule of law. In trying to understand the contemporary dynamics of the rule of law, two main types of legal systems (in a broad sense) have to be distinguished: firstly, the legal norm, studied by the science of law; secondly, the scientific laws (which includes the legalities of the different sciences and communities). They both contain normative prescriptions. But their differ in their subjects‘ source: while legal norms are the will’s expression of the normative authority, technical prescriptions can be derived from scientific laws, which are grounded over the commonly supposed objectivity of the scientific knowledge about reality. They both impose sanctions too, but in the legal norm they refer to what is established by the norm itself, while in the scientific legality they consist in the reward or the punishment derived from the efficacy or inefficacy to reach the end pursued by the action. The way of legitimation also differs: while legal norms have to have followed the formal procedures and must not have contravened any fundamental right, technical norms‘ validity depend on its theoretical foundations or on its efficacy. Nowadays, scientific knowledge has become and important feature in policy-making. Contradictions can arise between these legal systems. These conflicts are specially grave when the recognition or exercise of fundamental rights is instrumentally used, or when they are violated in order to increase the policies‘ efficacy. A political system is technocratic, when, in case of contradiction, the scientific law finally prevails

DSP based platform for an enhanced HF channel simulator

With the aim of improving existing tools for testing new HF transmission systems, this article describes a modification of the basic Watterson (1970) model which can be implemented without any extra added complexity with a general purpose DSP card running an a PC IBM compatible.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Closed-form equation for natural frequencies of beams under full range of axial loads modeled with a spring-mass system

A new simple closed-form equation that accurately predicts the effect of an arbitrarily large constant axial load, residual stress or temperature shift on the natural frequencies of an uniform single-span beam, with various end conditions, is presented. Its accuracy and applicability range are studied by comparing its predictions with numerical simulations and with the approximate Galef’s and Bokaian’s formulas. The new equation may be understood as a refinement or extension of these two approximate formulas. Significant accuracy and applicability range improvements are achieved, especially near the buckling point and for large and moderate axial load. The new closed-form equation is applicable in the full range of axial load, i.e., from the buckling load to the tensioned-string limit. It also models well the beam-to-string transition region for the eight boundary conditions studied. It works remarkably well in the free-free and sliding-free cases, where it is a near-exact solution. In addition, it yields the natural frequencies of a 1-D spring-mass system that may be used to model tensioned beams, and potentially, more complex systems.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

The NADPH-Dependent thioredoxin reductase C-2-Cys peroxiredoxin redox system modulates the activity of thioredoxin x in arabidopsis chloroplasts

The chloroplast redox network is composed of a complex set of thioredoxins (Trxs), reduced by ferredoxin (Fdx) via a Fdx-dependent Trx reductase (FTR), and an NADPH-dependent Trx reductase with a joint Trx domain, NTRC, which efficiently reduces 2-Cys peroxiredoxins (2-Cys Prxs). Recently, it was proposed that the redox balance of 2-Cys Prxs maintains the redox state of f-type Trxs, thus allowing the proper redox regulation of Calvin-Benson cycle enzymes such as fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase). Here, we have addressed whether the action of 2-Cys Prxs is also exerted on Trx x. To that end, an Arabidopsis thaliana quadruple mutant, ntrc-trxx-δ "2cp, which is knocked out for NTRC and Trx x, and contains severely decreased levels of 2-Cys Prxs, was generated. In contrast to ntrc-trxx, which showed a severe growth inhibition phenotype and poor photosynthetic performance, the ntrc-trxx-δ "2cp mutant showed a significant recovery of growth rate and photosynthetic efficiency, indicating that the content of 2-Cys Prxs is critical for the performance of plants lacking both NTRC and Trx x. Light-dependent reduction of FBPase was severely impaired in mutant plants lacking NTRC or NTRC plus Trx x, despite the fact that neither NTRC nor Trx x is an effective reductant of this enzyme. However, FBPase reduction was recovered in the ntrc-trxx-δ "2cp mutant. Our results show that the redox balance of 2-Cys Prxs, which is mostly dependent on NTRC, modulates the activity of Trx x in a similar way as f-type Trxs, thus suggesting that the activity of these Trxs is highly interconnected.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BIO2017-85195-C2-1-

Microbial Synthetic Biology, Systems Metabolic Engineering and Enzyme Engineering for Advanced Microbial Biodiesel Production with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The continuous requirement of transportation biofuels has brought the necessity to establish alternatives permitting low-cost production of biodiesel while being environmentally friendly. Biodiesel production was achieved utilizing Saccharomyces cerevisiae by employing respective enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) based on fatty acyl-CoA molecules and ethanol. Five acyltransferases/wax ester synthases were tested and heterologously introduced in yeast by expressing their codon-optimized gene for expression in a yeast host under the strong promoter TEF1p using plasmid pSP-GM2. In conclusion MhWS2 from oil bacteria Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus was the highliest active with 8.1 pmol/(mg protein•min).Through Metabolically Engineering, metabolism was widely modified for increasing biodiesel production by eliminating fatty acid-consumption competitive pathways, therefore augmenting the fatty acid pool. This was achieved by deleting genes ARE1, ARE2, LRO1, DGA1 and POX1, which conferred a 5-fold increase of FAEEs formation (17.2 mg/L). Right after, MhWS2 was overproduced in yeast by chromosomal integration of its codon-optimized ws2. Then gene copy number was enhanced by integrating it in δ-regions, conferring 7.5-fold higher biodiesel production in a gradually evolved strain tolerant to 20 mg/mL antibiotic G418.Furthermore, Protein Engineering of two natural catalysts (MhWS2 and α/β-hydrolase Eeb1p homolog to yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae) was addressed. In these subprojects, directed evolution of these two enzymes was achieved for favoring the synthesis of biodiesel by augmenting their efficiency and altering selectivity towards biocatalyzing FAEEs of desired chain length (C16 and C18, either saturated or monounsaturated). Starting with random mutagenesis of the respective codifying genes (ws2 and EEB1) allowed libraries of random point-mutations. Then library screening was conducted for reducing the CFU (colony formation unit) number; since lipotoxicity was employed as screening method due the condition of the yeast mutants, modifying to a weaker promoter was needed: KEX2p was then further applied. Ultimate selection of the best evolved variants of these enzymes was performed: variants MhWS2-v11 (65.3%) increment when compared to natural MhWS2) and Eeb1p-v04 (45.7% increment). MhWS2-v11 possesses five residue substitutions, while Eeb1p-v04 has 19 residue substitutions. In this case of scientific and technological studies, an advanced biofuel of an upcoming generation has been produced