Ethics and materials: Some Spanish Cases

The problem is general: modern architects and engineers are trying to understand historic structures using the wrong theoretical frame, the classic (elastic) thery of structures developed in the 19th Century for iron and stell, and in the 20th century for reinforced concrete, disguised with "modern" computer packages, mainly FEM, but also others. Masonry is an essentially different material, and the structural equations must be adapted accordingly. It is not a matter of "taste" or "opinion", and the consequences are before us. Since, say 1920s, historic monuments have suffered the aggression of generations of archietcts and engineers, trying to transform masonry in reinfored concrete or steel. The damage to the monuments and the expense has been, and is, enormous. However, as we have an adequate theory (modern limit analysis of masonry structures, Heyman 1966) which encompasses the "old theory" used successfully by the 18th and 19th Century practical engineers (from Perronet to Sejourné), it is a matter of "Ethics" not to use the wrong approach. It is also "contra natura" to modify the material masonry with indiscriminate injections, stitchings, etc. It is insane to consider, suddenly, that buildings which are Centuries or milennia old, are suddenly in danger of collapse. Maintenance is necessary but not the actual destruction of the constructive essence of the monument. A cocktail of "ignorance, fear and greed" is acting under the best of intentions.

Success possibilities of grid parity in particular cases in the new spanish regulatory framework

During the last 10 years the Spanish photovoltaic market has experienced one of the most important increases worldwide. The continuous raise on the price of the electricity in Spain, as in other European countries, USA and Japan, as well as the decrease of the cost of solar photovoltaic systems along this decade is opening a new way to reach grid parity point in some particular scenarios. A new Spanish legislation is being performed toward selfconsumption, and it is in this new context where the grid parity in a wide sense could be achieved. This work will study different cases in Spain, in order to determine whether grid parity would be possible along 2012. Keywords: grid parity, self-consumption, photovoltaic, net-metering

Rural tourism 2.0: Southern European cases

This work dcals with the new trends in tourism and the effect of ICT on the tourism management. The article is focused on the rural tourism development. Three different countries cases are exposed with the main webs the reader can consult. The countries are in the Southern Europe: France, Italy and Spain. Everyone can navigate through the webs and take his own conclusions.

Policy processes and collective action in water reforms: the cases of Nicaragua and Suriname

Las reformas de agua en países en desarrollo suelen llevarse a cabo junto con cambios institucionales más profundos o, incluso, acompañadas de cambios constitucionales o de régimen político. Por lo tanto, los marcos institucionales adaptados a países gobernados sujetos al estado de derecho pueden no ser apropiados para contextos gobernados fundamentalmente, al menos en sus inicios, por instituciones informales o poco maduras. Esta tesis toma las reformas de agua como punto de partida y pretende contribuir a la literatura mediante una serie de análisis empíricos tanto del ámbito general como del plano individual o sujeto personal de la política del agua. En el ámbito general, el foco se pone en los factores que explican el fallo de la acción colectiva en dos contextos diferentes: 1) en la implementación de la nueva Ley de Aguas de Nicaragua y 2) en el mantenimiento y revitalización de las instituciones de riego en Surinam. En el plano del individuo, la investigación se centra en las decisiones de los usuarios de los recursos y analiza el papel crítico de las variables sociales para la gestión de los recursos comunes. Para ello, el método de investigación utilizado es mixto, combinando el análisis de entrevistas, encuestas y experimentos. En el ámbito general, los resultados muestran que las principales barreras para la implementación de la nueva Ley de Aguas de Nicaragua podrían tener su reflejo en el lenguaje de la Ley y, por tanto, en la forma en la que se definen y configuran las instituciones incluidas en dicha Ley. Así, la investigación demuestra que la implementación de políticas no puede ser estudiada o entendida sin tener en cuenta tanto el diseño de la propia política como el marco socio-ecológico en el que se enmarca. El contexto específico de Nicaragua remarca la importancia de considerar tanto las instituciones formales como informales en los procesos de transición política. A pesar de que las reformas de agua requieren plazos largos para su implementación, el hecho de que exista una diferencia entre las reglas tal cual se definen formalmente y las reglas que operan en la realidad merece una mayor consideración en el diseño de políticas basadas fundamentalmente en instituciones formales. En el ámbito de la conducta individual, el análisis de la acción colectiva ofrece una serie de observaciones empíricas interesantes. En el caso de Nicaragua, los resultados indican que la intensidad de las relaciones sociales, el tipo de agentes dispuestos a proporcionar apoyo social y el nivel de confianza en la comunidad son factores que explican de manera significativa la participación en la comunidad. Sin embargo, el hecho de que la gestión colectiva de riego se produzca, en la mayoría de casos, en torno a lazos familiares sugiere que las variables de capital social críticas se definen en gran medida en la esfera familiar, siendo difícil que se extiendan fuera de estos nexos. El análisis experimental de los resultados de un juego de uso de recurso común y contribución al bien público muestra que las preferencias pro-sociales de los individuos y la heterogeneidad del grupo en términos de composición por sexo son factores que explican significativamente los resultados y las decisiones de apropiación a lo largo del juego. En términos del diseño de las políticas, es fundamental tener en cuenta las dinámicas de participación y uso de los recursos comunes de manera que los niveles de cooperación puedan mantenerse en el largo plazo, lo cual, como se observa en el caso de Surinam, no es siempre posible. Finalmente, el caso de Surinam es un ejemplo ilustrativo de los procesos de acción colectiva en economías en transición. El análisis del fallo de la acción colectiva en Surinam muestra que los procesos políticos vinculados al período colonial y de independencia explican en gran medida la falta de claridad en las reglas operacionales y colectivas que gobiernan la gestión de los sistemas de riego y drenaje. Los resultados empíricos sugieren que a pesar de que la acción colectiva para la provisión de los servicios de riego y drenaje estaba bien establecida bajo el régimen colonial, la auto-organización no prosperó en un contexto dependiente del apoyo externo y regido fundamentalmente por reglas diseñadas al nivel competencial del gobierno central. El sistema socio-ecológico que se desarrolló durante la transición post-colonial favoreció, así, la emergencia de comportamientos oportunistas, y posteriormente la inoperancia de los Water Boards (WBs) creados en la época colonial. En este sentido, cualquier intento por revitalizar los WBs y fomentar el desarrollo de la auto-organización de los usuarios necesitará abordar los problemas relacionados con los patrones demográficos, incluyendo la distribución de la tierra, el diseño de instituciones y la falta de confianza en el gobierno, además de las inversiones típicas en infraestructura y sistemas de información hidrológicos. El liderazgo del gobierno, aportando empuje de arriba-abajo, es, además, otro elemento imprescindible en Surinam. ABSTRACT Water reforms in developing countries take place along deeper institutional and even constitutional. Therefore, institutional frameworks that might result in positive outcomes in countries governed by the rule of law might not fit in contexts governed mainly by informal or immature institutions. This thesis takes water reforms as the starting point and aims to contribute to the literature by presenting several conceptual and empirical analyses at both general and individual levels. At the general national level, the focus is on the factors explaining failure of collective action in two different settings: 1) in the implementation of the new Nicaraguan Water Law and 2) in sustaining and revitalizing irrigation institutions in Suriname. At the individual level, the research focuses on the actions of resource users and analyzes the critical role of social variables for common pool resources management. For this purpose, the research presented in this thesis makes use of a mixed-method approach, combining interviews, surveys and experimental methods. Overall, the results show that major barriers for the implementation of the new Nicaraguan Water Law have its reflection on the language of the Law and, therefore, on the way institutions are defined and configured. In this sense, our study shows that implementation cannot fruitfully be studied and understood without taking into account both the policy design and the social-ecological context in which it is framed. The specific setting of Nicaragua highlights the relevance of considering both formal and informal institutions when promoting policy transitions. Despite the unquestionable fact that water reforms implementation needs long periods of time, there is still a gap between the rules on paper and the rules on the ground that deserves further attention when proposing policy changes on the basis of formal institutions. At the level of the individual agent, the analysis of collective action provides a number of interesting empirical insights. In the case of Nicaragua, I found that the intensity of social networks, the type of agents willing to provide social support and the level of trust in the community are all significant factors in explaining collective action at community level. However, the fact that most collective irrigation relies on family ties suggests that critical social capital variables might be defined within the family sphere and making it difficult to go beyond it. Experimental research combining a common pool resource and a public good game in Nicaragua shows that individuals’ pro-social traits and group heterogeneity in terms of sex composition are significant variables in explaining efficiency outcomes and effort decisions along the game. Thus, with regard to policy design, it is fundamental to consider carefully the dynamics of agents' participation and use of common pool resources, for sustaining cooperation in the long term, which, as seen in the case and Surinam, is not always possible. The case of Suriname provides a rich setting for the analysis of collective action in transition economies. The analysis of decay of collective irrigation in Suriname shows that the lack of clear operational and collective choice rules appear to be rooted in deeper political processes that date back to the colonial period. The empirical findings suggest that despite collective action for the provision of irrigation and drainage services was well established during the colonial period, self-organization did not flourish in a context governed by colonial state-crafted rules and mostly dependent on external support. The social-ecological system developed during the post-colonial transition process favored the emergence of opportunistic behavior. In this respect, any attempt to revitalize WBs and support self-organization will need to tackle the problems derived from demographic patterns, including land allocation, institutions design and government distrust, in addition to the typical investments in both physical infrastructure and hydrological information systems. The leadership role of the government, acting as a top-down trigger, is another essential element in Suriname.

Theory of intermittency applied to classical pathological cases

The classical theory of intermittency developed for return maps assumes uniform density of points reinjected from the chaotic to laminar region. Though it works fine in some model systems, there exist a number of so-called pathological cases characterized by a significant deviation of main characteristics from the values predicted on the basis of the uniform distribution. Recently, we reported on how the reinjection probability density (RPD) can be generalized. Here, we extend this methodology and apply it to different dynamical systems exhibiting anomalous type-II and type-III intermittencies. Estimation of the universal RPD is based on fitting a linear function to experimental data and requires no a priori knowledge on the dynamical model behind. We provide special fitting procedure that enables robust estimation of the RPD from relatively short data sets (dozens of points). Thus, the method is applicable for a wide variety of data sets including numerical simulations and real-life experiments. Estimated RPD enables analytic evaluation of the length of the laminar phase of intermittent behaviors. We show that the method copes well with dynamical systems exhibiting significantly different statistics reported in the literature. We also derive and classify characteristic relations between the mean laminar length and main controlling parameter in perfect agreement with data provided by numerical simulations

Real pragmatica ab la qual se mana als nouament conuertits del present Regne de Valencia la orde que han de tenir y guardar tostemps que vullen mudar ses cases y domicilis de uns llochs en altres ... y per lo semblant se llancen del present Regne los moriscos del Regne de Granada, Tagarins y Alarbs

Texto fechado en Valencia, en el Real Palacio a 30 de julio de 1586

Curiosa relacion en que se declara la fatal desgracia de la caída y pérdida de tres Formas consagradas, llevando el Viático à un enfermo desde Alboraya à Almácera ... : primera [-segunda] parte

Pie de imp. tomado de la segunda parte

Runup variability due to time dependence and stochasticity in the beach profiles: two extreme cases of the Spanish coast

Equations for extreme runup worked out from several experimental studies are compared. Infragraviatory oscillations dominate the swash in a dissipative state but not in intermediate - reflective states. Therefore two kinds of equation depending on either significant wave height, H-0, or the Iribarren number, xi(0), should be used. Through a sand bed physical model with a uniform sand bed slope, equations are proposed for both beach states, and results are compared with precedent field and physical model experiments. Once the equations are chosen, the time-longshore variability in a medium - long term time scale of the foreshore slope is evaluated in two extreme cases relating to the Spanish coast. The Salinas beach on the North coast (Bay of Biscay) displayed a permanent dissipative beach state with small variations in the beach foreshore slope both along the shore and in time, so foreshore slope deviations in a medium-long term period were irrelevant and extreme runup is predicted with the wave height worked out from the design return period. Peniscola beach on the East coast (Mediterranean sea) displayed an intermediate state. If only time variations are analysed, variations in determining extreme runup are irrelevant. In contrast, significant differences were found when the longshore variations were studied in this Mediterranean beach.

¡A Dios Fernando, á Dios! nos ha llegado la hora fatal de la separacion ; hagamos pues con ánimo esforzado el sacrificio á nuestra fiel Nacion ... [Texto impreso]

El texto, que se refiere a Fernando VII, puede fecharse entre 1808 y 1833

Persuasive system design methods to deliver a cardio-rehabilitation program of post mi outpatients

Las enfermedades no transmisibles provocan cada ano 38 millones de fallecimientos en el mundo. Entre ellas, tan solo cuatro enfermedades son responsables del 82% de estas muertes: las enfermedades cardiovasculares, las enfermedades crónicas respiratorias, la diabetes, y el cáncer. Se prevé que estas cifras aumenten en los próximos anos, ya que las tendencias indican que en el año 2030 las muertes por esta causa ascenderán a 53 millones de personas. La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) considera importante buscar soluciones para afrontar esta situación y ha solicitado a los gobiernos del mundo la implementación de intervenciones para mejorar los hábitos de vida de las personas y reducir así el riesgo de desarrollo de enfermedades no trasmisibles. Cada año se producen 32 millones de infartos de miocardio y derrames celebrales, de los cuales 12.5 son mortales. En el mundo entre el 40% y 75% de la víctimas de un infarto de miocardio mueren antes de su ingreso en el hospital. En los casos que sobreviven, la adopción de un estilo de vida saludable puede evitar infartos sucesivo, y supone un ahorro potencial de 6 billones de euros al año. La rehabilitación cardiaca es un programa individualizado que aplica un método multidisciplinar para ayudar al paciente a recuperar su condición física, a gestionar la enfermedad cardiovascular y sus comorbilidades, a adoptar hábitos de vida saludables, y a promover su salud mental. La rehabilitación cardiaca requiere la total involucración y motivación del paciente, solo de esta manera se podrán promover hábitos saludables y mejorar la gestión y prevención de su enfermedad. Aunque la participación en los programas de rehabilitación cardiaca es baja, hoy en día existen programas de rehabilitación cardiaca que el paciente puede realizar en su casa. Estos suponen una solución prometedora para aumentar la participación. La rehabilitación cardiaca se considera una intervención integral donde los modelos de psicología de la salud son aplicados para promover un cambio en el estilo de vida de las personas así como para ayudarles a afrontar su propia enfermedad. Existen métodos para implementar cambios de hábitos y de aptitud, y también se considera muy relevante promover no solo el bienestar físico sino también el mental. Existen tecnologías que promueven los cambios de comportamientos en los seres humanos. En concreto, las tecnologías persuasivas y los sistemas de apoyo al cambio de comportamientos modelan las características, las estrategias y los métodos de diseño para promover cambios usando la tecnología. Pero estos modelos tienen algunas limitaciones: todavía no se ha definido que rol tienen las emociones en el cambio de comportamientos y como traducir los métodos de la psicología de la salud en la tecnología. Esta tesis se centra en tres elementos que tienen un rol clave en los cambios de hábitos y actitud: el estado físico, el estado mental, y la tecnología. -Estado de salud: un estado de salud critico puede modificar la actitud del ser humano respecto al cambio. A la vez un buen estado de salud hace que la necesidad del cambio sea menos percibida. -Estado emocional: la actitud tiene un componente afectivo. Los estados emocionales negativos pueden reducir la habilidad de una persona para adoptar nuevos comportamientos. La salud mental es la situación ideal donde los individuos tienen predisposición a los cambios. La tecnología puede ayudar a las personas a adoptar nuevos hábitos, así como a mantener una salud física y mental. Este trabajo de investigación se centra en el diseño de tecnologías para la mejora del estado físico y emocional de las personas. Se ha propuesto un marco de diseño llamado “Well.Be.Sign”. El marco se basa en tres aspectos: El marco teórico: representa los elementos que se tienen que definir para diseñar tecnologías para promover el bienestar de las personas. -El diagrama de influencia: presenta las fuerzas de ‘persuasión’ en el contexto de la salud. El rol de las tecnologías persuasivas ha sido contextualizado en una dimensión donde otros elementos influencian el usuario.  El proceso de diseño: describe el proceso de diseño utilizando una metodología iterativa e incremental que aplica una combinación de métodos de diseño existentes (Diseño Orientado a Objetivos, Diseño de Sistemas Persuasivos) así como elementos originales de este trabajo de investigación. Los métodos se han aplicados para diseñar un sistema que ofrezca un programa de tele-rehabilitación cardiaca. Inicialmente se ha diseñado un prototipo de acuerdo con las necesidades del usuario. En segundo lugar, el prototipo se ha extendido especificando la intervención requerida para al programa de rehabilitación cardiaca. Finalmente el sistema se ha desarrollado y validado en un ensayo clínico con grupo control, donde se observaron las variaciones del estado cardiovascular, el nivel de conocimiento acerca de la enfermedad, la percepción de la enfermedad, la persistencia de hábitos saludables, y la aceptabilidad del sistema. Los resultados muestran que el grupo de intervención tiene una superior capacidad cardiovascular, mejor conocimiento acerca de la enfermedad, y más percepción de control de la enfermedad. Asimismo, en algunos casos se ha registrado persistencia de los hábitos de ejercicios 6 meses después del uso del sistema. Otros dos estudios se han presentado para demonstrar la relevancia del estado emocional del usuario en el diseño de aplicaciones para la promoción del bienestar.  En personas con una grave enfermedad crónica como la insuficiencia cardiaca, donde se ha presentado las conexiones entre estado de salud y estado emocional. En el estudio se ensena la relaciones que tienen los síntomas y las emociones negativas y como un estado negativo emocional puede empeorar la condición física del paciente. -Personas con trastornos del humor: el estudio muestra como las emociones pueden tener un impacto en la percepción de la tecnología por parte del usuario. ABSTRACT Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) cause the death of 38 million people every year. Four major NCDs are responsible for 82% of these deaths: cardio vascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and cancer. These pandemic numbers are projected to raise to 53 million deaths in 2030, and for this reason the assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) considers communicable diseases as an urgent need to be addressed. It is also a trend to advocate the adoption of mobile technology to deliver health services and to promote healthy behaviours among citizens, but adopting healthS promoting lifestyle is still a difficult task facing human tendencies. Within this context, there is a promising opportunity: persuasive technologies. These technologies are intentionally designed to change a person’s attitudes or behaviours; when applied in this context, than can be used to change health-related attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours. Each year there are 32 million heart attacks and strokes globally, of which about 12.5 million are fatal. Worldwide between 40 and 75% of all heart-attack victims die before reaching hospital. Avoiding a second heart attack by improving adherence to lifestyle and medication regimens has a cost saving potential of around €6 billion per year. In most of the cases the cardiovascular event has been provoked by unhealthy lifestyle. Furthermore, after an MI event the patient's decision to adopt or not healthier behaviour will influence the progress of the disease. Cardio-rehabilitation is an individualized program that follows a multidisciplinary approach to support the user to recover from the Myocardial Infarction, manage the Cardio Vascular Disease and the comorbidities, adopt healthy habits, and cope with any emotional distress. Cardio- rehabilitation requires patient participation and willingness to perform behavioral modifications and change the attitude toward the management and prevention of the disease. Participation in the Cardio Rehabilitation program is not high; the home-based rehabilitation program is a promising solution to increase participation. Nowadays cardio rehabilitation is considered a comprehensive intervention in which models of health psychology are applied to promote the behaviour change of the individuals. Relevant methods that have been successfully applied to foster healthy habits include the Health Belief Model and the Trans Theoretical Model. Studies also demonstrate the importance to promote not only the physical but also the mental well being of the individuals. The idea of also promoting behaviour change using technologies has been defined by the literature as persuasive technologies or behaviour change support systems, in which the features, the strategies and the design method have been modelled to foster the behaviour change using technology. Limitations have been found in this model: there is still research to be done on the role of the emotions and how psychological health intervention can be translated into computer methods. This research focuses on three elements that could foster behaviour change in individuals: the physical and emotional status of the person, and the technology. Every component can influence the user's attitude and behaviour in the following ways: ' Physical status: bad physical status could change human attitude toward the necessity to adopt health behaviours; at the same time, good health status reduces the need to adopt healthy habits. ' Emotional status: the attitude has an affective component, negative emotional state can reduce the ability of a person to adopt new behaviours, and mental well being is the ideal situation in which individuals have a predisposition to adopt healthy behaviours. ' Technology: it can help users to adopt new behaviours and can also be support to promote physical and emotional status. Following this approach the idea driven in this research is that technology that is designed to improve the physical status and the emotional status of the individual could better foster behaviour change. According to this principle, the Well.Be.Sign framework has been proposed. The framework is based on three views: ' The theoretical framework: it represents the patterns that have to be defined to design the technologies to promote well being. ' The influence diagram: it shows the persuasive forces in the context of health care. The role of the persuasive technologies is contextualized in a wider universe where other factors and persuasive forces influence a patient. ' The design process: it shows the process of design using an iterative, incremental methodology that applies a combination of existing methodologies (Goal Directed Design and Persuasive System Design) and others that are original to this research. The methods have been applied to design a system to deliver cardio rehabilitation at home: first a prototype has been defined according to the user’s needs, then it has been extended with the specific intervention required for the cardio–rehabilitation, finally the system has been developed and validated in a controlled clinical study in which the cardiovascular fitness, the level of knowledge, the perception of the illness, the persistence of healthy habits and the system acceptance (only the intervention group) were measured. The results show that the intervention group increased cardiovascular capacity, knowledge, feeling of control of illness and perceived benefits of exercise at the end of the study. After six months of the study, a followSup of the exercise habits was performed. Some individuals of the intervention group continued to be engaged in the running exercise sessions promoted in the designed system. Two other cases have been presented to demonstrate the foundations of the Well.Be.Sign’s approach to promote both physical and emotional status: ' People affected by Heart Failure, in which a bidirectional connection between health status and emotions has been discussed with patients. Two correlations were demonstrated: the relationship between symptoms and negative emotional response, and that negative emotional status is correlated with worsening of chronic conditions. ' People with mood disorders: the study shows that emotions could also impact how the user perceives the technology.

Lo permanente en lo efímero: Pabellones de Exposiciones Universales, hitos de la arquitectura de la segunda posguerra

Los Pabellones de las Exposiciones Universales suelen considerarse dentro de las arquitecturas efímeras, pero habría que puntualizar que toda construcción tiene su tiempo y su periodo de extinción pudiendo ser éstos indefinidos, lo permanente en lo efímero. Muchas de las obras míticas del siglo XX existieron sólo durante unos meses, en escenarios efímeros, modificando el curso de la arquitectura con unas pocas imágenes, lo que llevaría a cuestionar si las circunstancias por las que no han sobrevivido o lo han hecho en circunstancias poco comunes, no se deben tanto a una condición efímera sino a su carácter experimental. Determinadas Exposiciones Universales fueron plataforma para que los pabellones, hitos con los que se ha construido una parte significativa de la Historia de la Arquitectura contemporánea, pasaran a convertirse en mitos, por su distancia en el tiempo, porque ya no existen y porque a veces de ellos sólo nos queda una anticuada y limitada imaginería. Las diversas Historias de la Arquitectura ponen de manifiesto la importancia de algunos pabellones y el papel que ejercieron, ejercen y ejercerán algunos de los construidos para determinadas Exposiciones Universales, pues son el testimonio de que se mantienen vivos, permaneciendo en el tiempo, desempeñando cada uno una función, bien de base para nuevos avances tecnológicos o constructivos, bien para experimentar nuevas formas de habitar, bien para educar, bien para encumbrar a sus autores hasta entonces apenas conocidos. Tanto los que se han mantenido en pie, como los que han sido trasladados y reconstruidos en un nuevo emplazamiento, o incluso los que siguieron su destino fatal y se convirtieron en arquitecturas ausentes, pero que por lo que supusieron de innovación y experimentación, todos han permanecido vivos en la arquitectura de hoy en día. Esta tesis estudia el conjunto de factores que contribuyeron a conferirles esa condición de hito, qué tipo de publicaciones hablan de ellos, en qué términos se tratan y en qué medida los relacionan con la producción de la época y/o de su autor, qué aspectos destacan, cuáles son los valores icónicos que se han ido estableciendo con el paso del tiempo…Qué es lo que permanece. Por otra parte, también aborda en qué medida su condición de construcción efímera, y gracias a su inherente necesidad de desaparecer físicamente, favoreciendo su ausencia en el recuerdo, lo que los ha dotado de representatividad. Esto podría resultar hoy en día algo contradictorio, dado el gran valor concedido a la imagen en la sociedad actual hasta el punto de convertirse en un componente esencial de la representatividad: la imagen sustituye al recuerdo pareciendo que lo que carezca de manifestación física en realidad no existiera, hasta llegar a hacerle perder toda capacidad de representación. Sin embargo, y considerando la imagen como elemento esencial de lo icónico, la reconstrucción de los pabellones una vez concluidas las exposiciones, en muchos casos no ha hecho más que potenciar su valor como arquitecturas efímeras, ya que desposeídos de su carácter temporal, los pabellones de las exposiciones pierden su razón de ser. El Pabellón de España de Corrales y Molezún para la EXPO Bruselas’58 es un claro ejemplo de ello, como se mostrará en el desarrollo de la tesis. En la tesis se exponen los distintos casos de los pabellones elegidos, rastreando, fundamentalmente en las publicaciones periódicas, el papel que en cada uno de ellos ejerció su destino final que, a pesar de no ser el objetivo o fin de la presente tesis, sí podría haber contribuido en algunos casos a dotarle de esa categoría de hito en la historia de la arquitectura. Se trata en definitiva de rastrear las vicisitudes que los han conducido a su condición de referentes arquitectónicos, de hitos de la Historia de la Arquitectura. El estudio se centra en Pabellones de las Exposiciones Universales de Bruselas’58, Montreal’67 y Osaka’70 por dos motivos fundamentales: el primero, su catalogación por el Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) como Exposiciones Universales de 1ª categoría; y el segundo, el período en el que se celebraron, período comprendido entre los años 1945 a 1970, años de profundos y determinantes cambios en la arquitectura y en los que tiene lugar el desarrollo y posterior revisión de la modernidad tras la 2ª Guerra Mundial. Se analiza la trayectoria bibliográfica de los pabellones más nombrados de estas tres Exposiciones Universales que son: de Bruselas ’58, el Pabellón de la República Federal de Alemania, de Egon Eiermann y Sep Ruf; el Pabellón Philips de Le Corbusier, y el Pabellón de España, de José Antonio Corrales y Ramón Molezún; de Montreal ’67, el Pabellón de la República Federal de Alemania, de Frei Otto, y el Pabellón de Estados Unidos, de Richard Buckminster Fuller; y de Osaka ’70, el Theme Pavilion, de Kenzo Tange, el Takara Beautilion, de Kisho Kurokawa, y el Pabellón del Grupo Fuji, de Yutaka Murata. Mediante el análisis se detecta que, ya en las revistas coetáneas a las exposiciones, estos pabellones se señalaban como edificios importantes para la historia de la arquitectura futura. Hecho que se constata con la aparición de los mismos en las historias, incluso en las más recientes, lo que demuestra su condición de hitos en la Historia de la Arquitectura ya consolidada. ABSTRACT Pavilions of the Universal Exhibitions are often considered as ephemeral architecture. However it is worth mentioning that every construction has its time and its extinction period and both of them could be indefinite/infinite, the permanent in the ephemeral. Many of the iconic works of the twentieth century lasted only for a few months, in ephemeral scenarios, changing the course of architecture but not with many images. This leads to question whether their survival under special circumstances or their extinction is mainly due to their experimental nature, and not so much to their ephemeral condition. Pavilions are at the basis of a significant part of the history of contemporary architecture. Specific Universal Exhibitions served as platforms for these landmarks to become myths, be it because of their endurance, or because they no longer exist, or even because in some cases we only have a limited and outdated imagery of them. The different Histories of Architecture highlight the importance of some pavilions and the influence they have had, have and will have some of those that were built for particular Universal Exhibitions. They are a live testimony, lasting over time, playing a specific role as basis for new technological or constructive breakthroughs; to experience new ways of living; or to educate or to raise the profile of their authors hitherto little known. Thanks to their experimental or innovative approach, some pavilions enduring overtime or that have been moved and rebuilt in a new location, or even those that followed their fate and became absent architectures, are still alive in today’s architecture. This thesis analyses the set of elements that contributed to confer the status of landmark to pavilions: what kind of publications speak of them; how they are referred to and the extent to which they are linked to their contemporary production time and / or to their author; what are elements that make them stand out; what are the iconic values that have been established as time goes by and what are those that are still valid…What is it that remains. It also assesses to what extend the condition of pavilion constructions is ephemeral. And finally, what confers them representativeness, giving their inherent need to physically disappear, favoring their absence in the memory. Today this may result somewhat contradictory as the high value of images in contemporary society has made them an essential component of representativeness. They replace remembrances to the point that it seems that what lacks physical manifestation doesn’t exist anymore, and therefore loses representation capacity. However, and considering images as an essential element of what is iconic, in most cases the reconstruction of pavilions upon completion of the exhibitions has leveraged their value as ephemeral architectures; although once deprived of their temporary character, they would lose their reason to exist. The Pavilion of Spain Corrales and Molezún for the Brusels'58 EXPO is a clear example of this, as described in the development of this document. This thesis explores the case of specific pavilions and assesses the role each one had in their final destination, by mainly tracking them in regular publications. Even though the latter is not the objective or the purpose of this thesis, the final destination of these pavilions may have contributed in some cases to grant them their landmark status in the history of architecture. Actually, this thesis is about tracking the events that have led to grant these pavilions their condition as architectural references, as landmark in the history of architecture. The study focuses on pavilions of the Universal Exhibition Brussels'58, Montreal'67 and Osaka'70 for two main reasons: first, their classification by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) and Universal Exhibitions 1st category; and second, the period in which they were held, from 1945 to 1970, a time of profound and decisive changes in the architecture and in the development and subsequent revision of modernity after the II World. It analyzes the bibliographic path of the most cited pavilions in the three Universal Exhibitions: in Brussels '58, the pavilion of the RFA by Egon Eiermann and Sep Rup, the pavilion of Philips by Le Corbusier and the Spain pavilion from José Antonio Corrales and Ramón Molezún; in Montreal '67 the pavilion of RFA by Frei Otto and the United States pavilion by Richard Buckminster Fuller; and in Osaka '70, the Theme Pavilion by Kenzo Tange, the Takara Beautilion by Kisho Kurokawa and the Fuji Group pavilion by Yutaka Murata. Through the analysis it is noticeable that in the contemporary publications to the exhibitions, these pavilions were already signaled out as relevant buildings to the future architecture history. The fact that they became part of the history themselves, even in the most recent times, is a prove of their condition as milestones of the consolidated History of Architecture.

Incomplete embryonic lethality and fatal neonatal hemorrhage caused by prothrombin deficiency in mice

Deficiency of blood coagulation factor V or tissue factor causes the death of mouse embryos by 10.5 days of gestation, suggesting that part of the blood coagulation system is necessary for development. This function is proposed to require either generation of the serine protease thrombin and cell signaling through protease-activated receptors or an activity of tissue factor that is distinct from blood clotting. We find that murine deficiency of prothrombin clotting factor 2 (Cf2) was associated with the death of approximately 50% of Cf2−/− embryos by embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5), and surviving embryos had characteristic defects in yolk sac vasculature. Most of the remaining Cf2−/− embryos died by E15.5, but those surviving to E18.5 appeared normal. The rare Cf2−/− neonates died of hemorrhage on the first postnatal day. These studies suggest that a part of the blood coagulation system is adapted to perform a developmental function. Other mouse models show that the absence of platelets or of fibrinogen does not cause fetal wastage. Therefore, the role of thrombin in development may be independent of its effects on blood coagulation and instead may involve signal transduction on cells other than platelets.

Steroid disorders in children: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia and apparent mineralocorticoid excess

Our research team and laboratories have concentrated on two inherited endocrine disorders, congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and apparent mineralocorticoid excess, in thier investigations of the pathophysiology of adrenal steroid hormone disorders in children. CAH refers to a family of inherited disorders in which defects occur in one of the enzymatic steps required to synthesize cortisol from cholesterol in the adrenal gland. Because of the impaired cortisol secretion, adrenocorticotropic hormone levels rise due to impairment of a negative feedback system, which results in hyperplasia of the adrenal cortex. The majority of cases is due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD). Owing to the blocked enzymatic step, cortisol precursors accumulate in excess and are converted to potent androgens, which are secreted and cause in utero virilization of the affected female fetus genitalia in the classical form of CAH. A mild form of the 21-OHD, termed nonclassical 21-OHD, is the most common autosomal recessive disorder in humans, and occurs in 1/27 Ashkenazic Jews. Mutations in the CYP21 gene have been identified that cause both classical and nonclassical CAH. Apparent mineralocorticoid excess is a potentially fatal genetic disorder causing severe juvenile hypertension, pre- and postnatal growth failure, and low to undetectable levels of potassium, renin, and aldosterone. It is caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the HSD11B2 gene, which result in a deficiency of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2. In 1998, we reported a mild form of this disease, which may represent an important cause of low-renin hypertension.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide inhibits human small-cell lung cancer proliferation in vitro and in vivo

Small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is an aggressive, rapidly growing and metastasizing, and highly fatal neoplasm. We report that vasoactive intestinal peptide inhibits the proliferation of SCLC cells in culture and dramatically suppresses the growth of SCLC tumor-cell implants in athymic nude mice. In both cases, the inhibition was mediated apparently by a cAMP-dependent mechanism, because the inhibition was enhanced by the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin and the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine in proportion to increases in intracellular cAMP levels, and the inhibition was abolished by selective inhibition of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. If confirmed in clinical trials, this antiproliferative action of vasoactive intestinal peptide may offer a new and promising means of suppressing SCLC in human subjects, without the toxic side effects of chemotherapeutic agents.