Responsabilidad de las plataformas de préstamos participativos

The Ley 5/2015, de 27 de abril, de fomento de la financiación empresarial introduced the crowdlending regulation in our country for the first time. Through this mechanism, companies and consumers can obtain liquidity in a new financial system based in banking decentralization. On this paper, the legal architecture of peer-to-peer lending platforms has been underscored to analyze their liability regime. This work observes the investors protection rules and borrowers obligations, overlighting that platforms are mere intermediaries no responsible about the information that they deal and there is not access control obligation of their users. This event is clear on a financial investment activity Act, aimed to nonprofessionals subjects, that not gets to create enought warranties and legal certainty for them.La Ley 5/2015, de 27 de abril, de fomento de la financiación empresarial, introdujo por primera vez en nuestro país la regulación del crowdlending. Mediante este mecanismo empresas y particulares obtienen liquidez en un nuevo sistema financiero basado en la descentralización bancaria. En este estudio se ha puesto de relieve la arquitectura legal de las plataformas de préstamos participativos para poder analizar el régimen de responsabilidad que les ha sido conferido. El trabajo se ha realizado teniendo en cuenta las normas de protección de los inversores y las obligaciones de los promotores, lo que ha permitido subrayar que las plataformas se configuran como meros intermediarios que no son responsables por la información que tratan y no tienen prevista una obligación de control de acceso de los usuarios a los que prestan dicho servicio. Esto queda patente en la normativa de una actividad de inversión financiera, dirigida a sujetos no profesionales, que no ha terminado de dotarles de las garantías necesarias para evitar desincentivos y seguridad jurídica

El derecho de desistimiento del consumidor en la precompra o suministro anticipado de contenidos digitales

La precompra, o suministro anticipado de contenidos digitales, es la práctica por la cual el consumidor adquiere, a cambio de precio, un archivo con contenido digital bloqueado y al que no podrá acceder hasta que se cumpla una condición de pendencia, que por lo general será la llegada de la fecha oficial de lanzamiento del producto. En el contexto del suministro de contenidos digitales que no se prestan en soporte material, el legislador concede al empresario la facultad de exceptuar el derecho de desistimiento del usuario con la finalidad de proteger los derechos de autor y los intereses legítimos de terceros. A la luz de las prácticas de mercado, este trabajo analiza si esta excepción debe estar al servicio del empresario también en los supuestos de suministro anticipado, aun cuando el riesgo de acceso al contenido ya no sirve para fundamentar dicha excepción

Robots Liability: A Use Case and a Potential Solution

In this chapter, a system of distribution of responsibility for damages caused by robots is introduced, and its practical application on the results obtained in the real experiences at the University of Almería (Spain) is analyzed. The attribution of liability for damages produced by autonomous agents usually focuses the theoretical discussion on legal and ethical fields on robotics. The European Parliament adopted the report with recommendations to the Commission on Civil Law Rules on Robotics (2015/2103(INL)) in February 2017. This work includes the master guidelines that the European Commission should take into account to legislate this technology. In its attempt to attribute responsibility for damages caused by robots, the Committee considers that once responsible parties have been identified, their liability level should range, looking the robot’s learning capability and the knowledge learned from its owner. This work proposes the use of responsibility setting matrix as a mechanism to distribute liabilities between the robot, the manufacturer, and the owner, depending on the knowledge programmed by the manufacturer and the one acquired by the robot (through its learning ability and the adjustments made by the owner), that would distribute the responsibility for damages among the three agents involved

Implantació i perfecionament, mitjançant l’entorn virtual ATENEA, d’eines telemàtiques i activitats útils per a la formació i avaluació dels estudiants de l’assignatura de Geotècnia dins la titulació d’Enginyeria Tècnica d’Obres Públiques

La implantació dels nous plans d’estudi implica una major participació en les activitats docents per part dels estudiants; Geotècnia es prepara per a aquest sistema docent mitjançant l’ATENEA. S’ha apostat per metodologies docents amb suport TIC efectiu a través de l’Intranet de l’ETSECCPB i l’ús de Moodle (sistema de gestió amb especialització en l’aprenentatge on line), de manera que es recondueixi l’assignatura cap al nou Espai Europeu d’Educació Superior. A part del material habitual (apunts de classe, exercicis d’examen, etc.), s’està emfatitzant l’ús d’un dipòsit permanent de tot el material, amb l’ajut de l’ATENEA, mitjançant proves telemàtiques d’autoavaluació per a la formació dins del sistema metodològic de l’Avaluació Continuada.Peer Reviewe

Disposition of d-penicillamine, a promising drug for preventing alcohol-relapse. Influence of dose, chronic alcohol consumption and age: studies in rats

Pharmacokinetic studies concerning D-penicillamine (an acetaldehyde sequestering agent) are scarce and have not evaluated the influence of chronic ethanol consumption and age on its disposition. Since recent preclinical studies propose D-penicillamine as a promising treatment for alcohol relapse, the main aim of the present work was to evaluate the influence of these two factors on D-penicillamine disposition in order to guide future clinical studies on the anti-relapse efficacy of this drug in alcoholism. Additionally, the effect of the administered dose was also evaluated. To this end, three studies were carried out. Study 1 assessed the influence of dose on D-penicillamine disposition, whereas studies 2 and 3 evaluated, respectively, the influence of chronic alcohol consumption and age. Rapid intravenous administrations of 2, 10 and 30 mg/kg of D-penicillamine were performed using young or adult ethanol-naïve rats or adult ethanol-experienced (subjected to a long-term ethanol self-administration protocol) rats. Pharmacokinetic parameters were derived from the biexponential model. Statistical analysis of CL, normalized AUC0 ∞, V1 and k10 revealed that disposition, in the range plasma concentrations assayed, is non-linear both in young ethanol-naïve and in adult ethanol-experienced rats. Notably, no significant changes in t1/2 were detected. Chronic ethanol consumption significantly reduced CL values by 35% without affecting t1/2. D-Penicillamine disposition was equivalent in young and adult animals. In conclusion, although DP pharmacokinetics is non-linear, the lack of significant alterations of the t1/2 would potentially simplify the clinical use of this drug. Chronic consumption of ethanol also alters D-penicillamine disposition but, again, does not modify t1/2. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer ReviewMedicin

Disposition of d-penicillamine, a promising drug for preventing alcohol-relapse. Influence of dose, chronic alcohol consumption and age: studies in rats

Pharmacokinetic studies concerning d-penicillamine (an acetaldehyde sequestering agent) are scarce and have not evaluated the influence of chronic ethanol consumption and age on its disposition. Since recent preclinical studies propose d-penicillamine as a promising treatment for alcohol relapse, the main aim of the present work was to evaluate the influence of these two factors on d-penicillamine disposition in order to guide future clinical studies on the anti-relapse efficacy of this drug in alcoholism. Additionally, the effect of the administered dose was also evaluated. To this end, three studies were carried out. Study 1 assessed the influence of dose on d-penicillamine disposition, whereas studies 2 and 3 evaluated, respectively, the influence of chronic alcohol consumption and age. Rapid intravenous administrations of 2, 10 and 30 mg/kg of d-penicillamine were performed using young or adult ethanol-naïve rats or adult ethanol-experienced (subjected to a long-term ethanol self-administration protocol) rats. Pharmacokinetic parameters were derived from the biexponential model. Statistical analysis of CL, normalized AUC0∞, V1 and k10 revealed that disposition, in the range plasma concentrations assayed, is non-linear both in young ethanol-naïve and in adult ethanol-experienced rats. Notably, no significant changes in t1/2 were detected. Chronic ethanol consumption significantly reduced CL values by 35% without affecting t1/2. d-Penicillamine disposition was equivalent in young and adult animals. In conclusion, although DP pharmacokinetics is non-linear, the lack of significant alterations of the t1/2 would potentially simplify the clinical use of this drug. Chronic consumption of ethanol also alters d-penicillamine disposition but, again, does not modify t1/2

Soil greenhouse gas emissions and crop production with implementation of alley cropping in a Mediterranean citrus orchard

The implementation of alley cropping in orchards has been suggested as a sustainable strategy to increase farmer revenues by crop diversification, enhance soil organic matter (SOM) and fertility, water retention, overall biodiversity, and contribute to climate change mitigation. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess if alley cropping with annual crops can contribute to i) mitigate soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ii) enhance C sequestration in a semiarid Mediterranean irrigated citrus orchard, and iii) increase land productivity. For this, two different treatments were established: i) conventional mandarin monoculture (MC) with no alley cropping; and ii) mandarin diversified with alley cropping of barley/vetch and fava bean (DIV). Measurements of soil CO2 and N2O emissions were periodically performed (every 7–20 days) during two years. Soil CO2 emission rates followed the soil moisture trend, and showed no significant differences between treatments. As an average, soil CO2 emission rates were 147 mg m-2 h-1 in MC and 196 mg m-2 h-1 in DIV. Soil N2O emission rates were not correlated to soil moisture nor temperature, and showed average values of 0.026 mg m-2 h-1 in MC and − 0.002 mg m-2 h-1 in DIV. Alley cropping did not contribute to significantly increase soil organic C and total nitrogen in two years’ time. With regard to production, mandarin yield showed no significant differences between treatments, but alley crops contributed to complementary commodities to the main cash crop, increasing overall land productivity. Thus, alley cropping in irrigated Mediterranean orchards has no significant effect on soil C sequestration and GHG emissions at short-term, with increased land productivity owing to new commodities grown in the alleys. These results confirm that under semiarid Mediterranean climate, long periods are needed to efficiently assess soil C sequestration potential of sustainable practices in orchards.This work was supported by the European Commission Horizon 2020 Project Diverfarming [Grant agreement 728003]. Raúl Zornoza acknowledges the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the “Ramón y Cajal” Program [RYC-2015-18758]

Glutamate and opioid antagonists modulate dopamine levels evoked by innately attractive male chemosignals in the nucleus accumbens of female rats

Sexual chemosignals detected by vomeronasal and olfactory systems mediate intersexual attraction in rodents, and act as a natural reinforcer to them. The mesolimbic pathway processes natural rewards, and the nucleus accumbens receives olfactory information via glutamatergic projections from the amygdala. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of the mesolimbic pathway in the attraction towards sexual chemosignals. Our data show that female rats with no previous experience with males or their chemosignals display an innate preference for male-soiled bedding. Focal administration of the opioid antagonist β-funaltrexamine into the posterior ventral tegmental area does not affect preference for male chemosignals. Nevertheless, exposure to male-soiled bedding elicits an increase in dopamine efflux in the nucleus accumbens shell and core, measured by microdialysis. Infusion of the opioid antagonist naltrexone in the accumbens core does not significantly affect dopamine efflux during exposure to male chemosignals, although it enhances dopamine levels 40 minutes after withdrawal of the stimuli. By contrast, infusion of the glutamate antagonist kynurenic acid in the accumbens shell inhibits the release of dopamine and reduces the time that females spend investigating male-soiled bedding. These data are in agreement with previous reports in male rats showing that exposure to opposite-sex odors elicits dopamine release in the accumbens, and with data in female mice showing that the behavioral preference for male chemosignals is not affected by opioidergic antagonists. We hypothesize that glutamatergic projections from the amygdala into the accumbens might be important to modulate the neurochemical and behavioral responses elicited by sexual chemosignals in rats

Soil greenhouse gas emissions and crop production with implementation of alley cropping in a Mediterranean citrus orchard

The implementation of alley cropping in orchards has been suggested as a sustainable strategy to increase farmer revenues by crop diversification, enhance soil organic matter (SOM) and fertility, water retention, overall biodiversity, and contribute to climate change mitigation. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess if alley cropping with annual crops can contribute to i) mitigate soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ii) enhance C sequestration in a semiarid Mediterranean irrigated citrus orchard, and iii) increase land productivity. For this, two different treatments were established: i) conventional mandarin monoculture (MC) with no alley cropping; and ii) mandarin diversified with alley cropping of barley/vetch and fava bean (DIV). Measurements of soil CO2 and N2O emissions were periodically performed (every 7–20 days) during two years. Soil CO2 emission rates followed the soil moisture trend, and showed no significant differences between treatments. As an average, soil CO2 emission rates were 147 mg m-2 h-1 in MC and 196 mg m-2 h-1 in DIV. Soil N2O emission rates were not correlated to soil moisture nor temperature, and showed average values of 0.026 mg m-2 h-1 in MC and − 0.002 mg m-2 h-1 in DIV. Alley cropping did not contribute to significantly increase soil organic C and total nitrogen in two years’ time. With regard to production, mandarin yield showed no significant differences between treatments, but alley crops contributed to complementary commodities to the main cash crop, increasing overall land productivity. Thus, alley cropping in irrigated Mediterranean orchards has no significant effect on soil C sequestration and GHG emissions at short-term, with increased land productivity owing to new commodities grown in the alleys. These results confirm that under semiarid Mediterranean climate, long periods are needed to efficiently assess soil C sequestration potential of sustainable practices in orchards.This work was supported by the European Commission Horizon 2020 Project Diverfarming [Grant agreement 728003]. Raúl Zornoza acknowledges the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the “Ramón y Cajal” Program [RYC-2015-18758].Peer reviewe

Peer to peer insurance: primera aproximación a los seguros entre pares

Over the classic insurance model, where the policy holder take out insurance with a lawful insurance agency, peer-to-peer insurance is the most disruptive business model in front of that, where digital platform user´s overlook the insurance agency and take on his rol. In this paper, we will analyze the legal status of these platforms.Frente al modelo tradicional de seguros, en el que el tomador contrata con una entidad aseguradora debidamente licenciada, los seguros entre pares protagonizan el modelo de competencia directo más disruptivo hasta la fecha, en el que los usuarios de una plataforma digital prescinden de la aseguradora y asumen, ellos mismos, sus funciones. En este artículo se analiza la posible naturaleza de estas plataformas