The determinants of military spending in the academic literature over the last fifty years: A survey of the main contributions and models

Although it is difficult to establish a classification of the models which analyze the determinants of defence expenditure due to their great heterogeneity, the present article takes as a starting point the contributions of Smith (1989) and Dunne and Perlo-Freeman (2003a y 2003b), to offer an alternative taxonomy of the theoretical studies proposed in the academic literature over the last fifty years. In particular, it establishes a division in three blocks: 1) Analysis of the external influences of military spending (models of arms races and economic theory of military alliances), 2) examination of the internal factors that reverberate on the design of the defense budget (Bureaucratic and Organizational Politics Models), and 3) empirical studies of the determinants of defence spending, which examine the effects of a wide combination of economic, political, and geostrategic variables on the military budget.Defence economics, arms races, models of military alliances, organizational politics models, determinants of military spending.

Validation of self reported diagnosis of hypertension in a cohort of university graduates in Spain

BACKGROUND: The search for risk factors of hypertension requires the study of large populations. Sometimes, the only feasible way of studying these populations is to rely on self-reported data of the outcome. The objective of this study was to evaluate validity of self-reported diagnosis of hypertension in a cohort of university graduates in Spain. METHODS: The Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) Study is a cohort of more than 15,000 university graduates in Spain. We selected a random sample of 79 cohort participants who reported a diagnosis of hypertension and 48 participants who did not report such diagnosis (76% participation proportion). Then, we compared information on the self-reported diagnosis of hypertension and hypertension status as assessed through two personal blood pressure measurements and an interview. Additionally, we compared self-reported and measured blood pressure levels with intraclass correlation coefficients and the survival-agreement plot. RESULTS: From those 79 reporting a diagnosis of hypertension, 65 (82.3%, 95% CI 72.8–92.8) were confirmed through conventional measurement of blood pressure and the interview. From those 48 that did not report a diagnosis of hypertension, 41 (85.4%, 95% CI 72.4–89.1) were confirmed as non hypertensives. Results were similar among men and women, but were worse for overweight and obese individuals, and for those with a family history of hypertension. The agreement between self-reported and measured blood pressure levels (as a continuous variable), as estimated by the intraclass correlation coefficient, was 0.35 for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. CONCLUSION: Self-reported hypertension among highly educated participants in a cohort study is a relatively valid tool to assess the hypertensive status of participants. However, the investigators should be cautious when using self-reported blood pressure values

DENSIDAD POBLACIONAL E HISTORIA NATURAL DEL PAVO DE CACHO (OREOPHASIS DERBIANUS) EN LA RESERVA DE BIOSFERA SIERRA DE LAS MINAS, GUATEMALA

Resumen ∙ El Pavo de Cacho (Oreophasis derbianus) es una especie de crácido críticamente amenazada y endémica de México y Guatemala; sin embargo, su tamaño poblacional ha sido pobremente documentado en la mayor parte de su distribución. Se estimó su densidad poblacional en la Sierra de las Minas, Guatemala, mediante detecciones visuales y auditivas obtenidas durante el recorrido de trayectos lineales, con base en la teoría del muestreo de distancias. Tres trayectos (8 km de longitud total) fueron recorridos mensualmente para obtener un esfuerzo de muestreo de 72 km, de abril a diciembre de 2009. Los trayectos se ubicaron en el bosque nuboso y latifoliado de la zona núcleo “Las Cabañas” de la Reserva de Biosfera Sierra de las Minas, en la localidad de Albores, departamento de El Progreso, Guatemala. La densidad poblacional estimada fue de 3,04 ± 1,16 (± EE) ind/km². Esta densidad fue comparada con otras estimaciones en diferentes áreas de la distribución de la especie en México y Guatemala. La distribución de las estimaciones de densidad parece ajustarse a un patrón biogeográfico en donde una mayor densidad poblacional se encuentra al centro de la distribución geográfica de la especie, disminuyendo hacia la periferia. Si este es el caso, esto podría tener importantes implicaciones en la definición de estrategias para la conservación de la especie. Sin embargo, factores de perturbación humana como la cacería y captura también podrían ser la causa de la diferencia en las densidades poblacionales entre los sitios comparados. La mayoría de las detecciones ocurrieron en junio, mientras que una hembra y sus dos pollos fueron observados en agosto. Se observó que el Pavo de Cacho utilizó 22 especies de plantas en el área de estudio para alimentarse, vocalizar o posarse, de las cuales tres (Passiflora membranaceae, Prunus barbata y Oreopanax hederaceum) fueron nuevos registros en su dieta. Se reporta actividad de cacería en la zona núcleo del área protegida, lo que representa una amenaza para la viabilidad de esta población. Estudios sobre presión de cacería, requerimientos de hábitat, patrones de movimiento y variabilidad genética del Pavo de Cacho son clave para comprender a fondo su biología y establecer medidas de conservación adecuadas.Abstract ∙ Population density and natural history of the Horned Guan (Oreophasis derbianus) in the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala The Horned Guan (Oreophasis derbianus) is a critically endangered cracid species endemic to Mexico and Guatemala; nevertheless, its population size has been poorly documented throughout most of its distributional range. In the Sierra de las Minas, Guatemala, population density was estimated by visual and acoustic surveys in line transects, based on the distance sampling theory. Three transects (8 km total length) located in the cloud and mixed forest at "Las Cabañas" core area of the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve in the Albores locality, Department of El Progreso were monthly surveyed to total up 72 km of sampling effort from April to December 2009. Estimated population density was 3.04 ± 1.16 (± SE) ind/km², which was compared with other density estimates from different areas within the species distribution in Mexico and Guatemala. The distribution of density estimates seems to fit a biogeographic pattern where higher population densities are found at the center of the species distributional range tending to decrease towards the periphery. If this is the case, it may have important implications in the definition of the species conservation strategies. Nevertheless, human impacts, such as hunting and poaching, could also be the cause of differences in population density among sites. Most of the detections occurred in June, and a female with two chicks was observed in August. The Horned Guan was observed to use 22 plant species in the study area for feeding, vocalizing, and perching, of which three (Passiflora membranaceae, Prunus barbata, and Oreopanax hederaceum) were new records as food items. Hunting activity is reported within the core zone of the protected area, threating the viability of this population. Research on hunting pressure, habitat requirements, movement patterns, and genetic variability are key to further understand the biology of the Horned Guan and to establish appropriate conservation measures

Rehabilitación y ampliación del miniacueducto por gravedad de la comunidad Aranjuez, municipio de San Fernando, departamento de Nueva Segovia

El estudio consiste en rehabilitar y realizar el diseño o ampliación de un sistema de agua potable, que brinde un servicio eficiente y continuo durante su periodo de diseño de 20 años, para la comunidad Aranjuez, del municipio de San Fernando, Nueva Segovi

Resistant/Refractory Hypertension and Sleep Apnoea: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges

Hypertension is one of the most frequent cardiovascular risk factors. The population of hypertensive patients includes some phenotypes whose blood pressure levels are particularly difficult to control, thus putting them at greater cardiovascular risk. This is especially true of so-called resistant hypertension (RH) and refractory hypertension (RfH). Recent findings suggest that the former may be due to an alteration in the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone axis, while the latter seems to be more closely related to sympathetic hyper-activation. Both these pathophysiological mechanisms are also activated in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). It is not surprising, therefore, that the prevalence of OSA in RH and RfH patients is very high (as reflected in several studies) and that treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) manages to reduce blood pressure levels in a clinically significant way in both these groups of hypertensive patients. It is therefore necessary to incorporate into the multidimensional treatment of patients with RH and RfH (changes in lifestyle, control of obesity and drug treatment) a study of the possible existence of OSA, as this is a potentially treatable disease. There are many questions that remain to be answered, especially regarding the ideal combination of treatment in patients with RH/RfH and OSA (drugs, renal denervation, CPAP treatment) and patients’ varying response to CPAP treatment

Switching the substrate preference of fungal aryl-alcohol oxidase: towards stereoselective oxidation of secondary benzyl alcohols

Oxidation of primary alcohols by aryl-alcohol oxidase (AAO), a flavoenzyme that provides H2O2 to fungal peroxidases for lignin degradation in nature, is achieved by concerted hydroxyl proton transfer and stereoselective hydride abstraction from the pro-R benzylic position. In racemic secondary alcohols, the R-hydrogen abstraction would result in the selective oxidation of the S-enantiomer to the corresponding ketone. This stereoselectivity of AAO may be exploited for enzymatic deracemization of chiral mixtures and isolation of R-enantiomers of industrial interest by switching the enzyme activity from primary to secondary alcohols. A combination of computational simulations and mutagenesis has been used to produce AAO variants with increased activity on secondary alcohols, using the already available F501A variant of Pleurotus eryngii AAO as a starting point. Adaptive-PELE simulations for the diffusion of (S)-1-(p-methoxyphenyl)-ethanol in this variant allowed Ile500 to be identified as one of the key residues with a higher number of contacts with the substrate during its transition from the solvent to the active site. Substitution of Ile500 produced more efficient variants for the oxidation of several secondary alcohols, and the I500M/F501W double variant was able to fully oxidize (after 75 min) with high selectivity (ee >99%) the S-enantiomer of the model secondary aryl-alcohol (±)-1-(p-methoxyphenyl)-ethanol, while the R-enantiomer remained unreacted.This work was supported by the INDOX (KBBE-2013-7-613549) EU project and by the BIO2017-86559-R (GenoBioref), CTQ2016-79138-R and BIO2016-79106-R projects of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, cofinanced by FEDER funds. Pedro Merino (University of Zaragoza, Spain) is acknowledged for his suggestions on chiral HPLC analyses.Peer ReviewedAward-winningPostprint (published version

INFLUENCIA DE LA PERDIDA DE PESO Y LA ACTIVIDAD FÍSICA SOBRE FACTORES DE RIESGO CARDIOVASCULAR DE MUJERES OBESAS

La obesidad se asocia a un número de factores de riesgo de enfermedades cardiovasculares que incluyen hipertensión, frecuencia cardiaca aumentada, resistencia a la insulina, etc. El objetivo del presente trabajo ha sido observar la influencia de la pérdida de peso inducida por una dieta hipocalórica y el ejercicio habitual sobre la presión arterial y la frecuencia cardíaca de una población obesa femenina. 40 mujeres obesas sanas entre 20 y 50 años fueron seleccionadas para el estudio, el cual consistió en una valoración de la actividad física (AF) mediante un cuestionario autodefinido de AF, una intervención nutricional durante 10 semanas con una dieta hipocalórica diseñada para perder peso y un día de ensayo experimental inicial y final en los cuales se realizaron determinaciones antropométricas y metabólicas. Las voluntarias presentaron inicialmente una media de IMC de 37,2 kg/m2 y un porcentaje de grasa corporal de 43,3%. El peso se correlacionó positivamente con la frecuencia cardiaca (FC) inicial (p<0,05) y las participantes más activas mostraron una mayor disminución de la frecuencia cardiaca y de la presión arterial diastólica al perder un promedio de 7.6 kg de peso corporal tras la intervención. La pérdida de peso y la actividad física habitual participan directamente en la disminución significativa de la frecuencia cardiaca en reposo y de la presión arterial reduciendo el riesgo cardiovascular asociado a la obesidad.Palabras clave: obesidad, actividad física, pérdida de peso, presión arterial, frecuencia cardiaca, resistencia a la insulina.obesity, physical in activity, weight loss, blood pressure, heart rate, insulin resistance

Modulating receptor-ligand binding in biorecognition by setting surface wettability

[EN] Modulation of support wettability used for microarray format biosensing has led to an improvement of results. Hydrophobicity of glass chips was set by derivatizing with single vinyl organosilanes of different chain length and silane mixtures. Thiol-ene photochemical linking has been used as effective chemistry for covalent anchoring of thiolated probes. Lowest unspecific binding and highest signal intensity and SNR were obtained with large hydrocarbon chain (C-22) silanes or a shorter one (C-10) containing fluorine atoms. SNR resulting values are improved, reaching levels higher than 1500 in some cases, when using vinyl silanes modified with 1% C-10 alkyl fluorinated one, because mild hydrophobicity was achieved (water contact angle ca. 110 degrees) for all silanes, including the short C-2 and C-3, thus giving rise to smaller and better defined array spots. In addition, unspecific binding of reagents and targets was totally withdrawn. Hence, good-performing surfaces for biosensing applications can be built using appropriate organosilane reagent selection, including fluorinated ones.We thank Patricia Concepcion and Dolores Soriano (Instituto de Tecnologia Quimica, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas) for helping with XPS analysis. Financial support from the Generalitat Valenciana (GVA-PROMETEO/2014/040), FEDER, and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CTQ2013-45875-R and CTQ2016-75749-R) is acknowledged.Aragón Revuelta, P.; Noguera Murray, PS.; Bañuls Polo, M.; Puchades, R.; Maquieira Catala, A.; González Martínez, MÁ. (2018). Modulating receptor-ligand binding in biorecognition by setting surface wettability. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 410(23):5723-5730. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-1247-8S5723573041023González-Martínez MA, Puchades R, Maquieira A. Optical immunosensors for environmental monitoring: how far have we come? Anal Bioanal Chem. 2007;387:205–18.Kontogeorgis GM, Kiil S. Intermolecular and interparticle forces. In: Kontogeorgis GM, Kiil S, editors. Introduction to applied colloid and surface chemistry. Chichester: Wiley; 2016. p. 11–33.Ronkainen NJ, Halsall HB, Heineman WR. Electrochemical immunoassays and immunosensors. In: van Emon JM, editor. Immunoassay and other bioanalytical methods. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group; 2007. Chapter 16.González-Lucas D, Bañuls M-J, Puchades R, Maquieira A. Versatile and easy fabrication of advanced surfaces for high performance DNA microarrays. Adv Mater Interfaces. 2016:1500850.Yin L, Lu M, Wielunski L, Song W, Tan J, Lu Y, et al. Fabrication and characterization of compact silicon oxynitride waveguides on silicon chips. J Opt. 2012;14:085501.Zhang F, Sautter K, Larssen AM, Findley DA, Davis RC, Samha H, et al. Chemical vapor deposition of three aminosilanes on silicon dioxide: surface characterization, stability, effects of silane concentration, and cyanine dye adsorption. Langmuir. 2010;26:14648–54.Escorihuela J, Bañuls M-J, Puchades R, Maquieira A. DNA microarrays on silicon surfaces through thiol-ene chemistry. Chem Commun. 2012;48:2116–8.Kontogeorgis GM, Kiil S. Wetting and adhesion. In: Kontogeorgis GM, Kiil S, editors. Introduction to applied colloid and surface chemistry. Chichester: Wiley; 2016. p. 121–60.Weinrich D, Köhn M, Jonkheijm P, Westerlind U, Dehmelt L, Engelkamp H, et al. Preparation of biomolecule microstructures and microarrays by thiol-ene .photoimmobilization. ChemBioChem. 2010;11:235–47.Mira D, Llorente R, Morais S, Puchades R, Maquieira A, Marti J. High-throughput screening of surface-enhanced fluorescence on industrial standard digital recording media. In: Carrano JC, Zukauskas A, editors. Optically Based Biological and Chemical Sensing for Defence, Proceedings SPIE Vol. 5617. Bellingham: SPIE; 2004, 0277-786X/04/$15. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.578301 .Wasserman SR, Tao YT, Whitesides GM. Structure and reactivity of alkylsiloxane monolayers formed by reaction of alkyltrichlorosilanes on silicon substrates. Langmuir. 1989;5:1074–87.Munsch J-N, Dentzer J, Claus W, Bassel H. Structural characterization of silanes modified silica by temperature programmed desorption coupled to mass-spectra (TPD-MS) technique. J Colloid Sci Biotech. 2014;3:30–7.Celia E, Darmanin T, de Givenchy ET, Amigoni S, Guittard F. Recent advances in designing superhydrophobic surfaces. J Colloid Interface Sci. 2013;402:1–18.Li L, Li J, Du X, Welle A, Grunze M, Trapp O, et al. Direct UV-induced functionalization of surface hydroxy groups by thiol-ol chemistry. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2014;53:3835–9.Marczak J, Kargol M, Psarski M, Celichowski G. Modification of epoxy resin, silicon and glass surfaces with alkyl- orfluoroalkylsilanes for hydrophobic properties. Appl Surf Sci. 2016;380:91–100