The principal objective of the paper is to show the importance of the Hamiltonian in control theory. Instead of using the Lagrangian formulation of electromechanical or robotic systems, our work is focused on robot dynamics by its Hamiltonian. Using the iterative Newton–Euler, we generate the local Hamiltonians and the derivative of the moments at each joint of the robot manipulator. Thus, we can apply decentralized controllers at each joint. We compare and discuss the efficiency of the controllers. We show that the performance of the sliding modes controller is more robust than that of the PD or Bang–Bang controllers.

We use the SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) project as a template to demonstrate how deep spectrophotometric surveys covering large cosmological volumes over extended fields (1– $15\, \rm{deg^2}$ ) with a mid-IR imaging spectrometer (17– $36\, \rm{\rm{\upmu m}}$ ) in conjunction with deep $70\, \rm{\rm{\upmu m}}$ photometry with a far-IR camera, at wavelengths which are not affected by dust extinction can answer the most crucial questions in current galaxy evolution studies. A SPICA-like mission will be able for the first time to provide an unobscured three-dimensional (3D, i.e. x, y, and redshift z) view of galaxy evolution back to an age of the universe of less than $\sim$ 2 Gyrs, in the mid-IR rest frame. This survey strategy will produce a full census of the Star Formation Rate (SFR) in the universe, using polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) bands and fine-structure ionic lines, reaching the characteristic knee of the galaxy luminosity function, where the bulk of the population is distributed, at any redshift up to $z \sim 3.5$ . Deep follow-up pointed spectroscopic observations with grating spectrometers onboard the satellite, across the full IR spectral range (17– $210\, \rm{\rm{\upmu m}}$ ), would simultaneously measure Black Hole Accretion Rate (BHAR), from high-ionisation fine-structure lines, and SFR, from PAH and low- to mid-ionisation lines in thousands of galaxies from solar to low metallicities, down to the knee of their luminosity functions. The analysis of the resulting atlas of IR spectra will reveal the physical processes at play in evolving galaxies across cosmic time, especially its heavily dust-embedded phase during the activity peak at the cosmic noon ( $z \sim 1$ –3), through IR emission lines and features that are insensitive to the dust obscuration.

Fuchsia parviflora is a dioecious shrub that depends on biotic pollination for reproduction. Previous studies suggest that the male plants produce more flowers, and male-biased sex ratios have been found in some natural populations. To assess whether the biased sex ratios found between genders in natural populations are present at the point at which plants reach sexual maturity, and to identify possible trade-offs between growth and reproduction, we performed a common garden experiment. Finally, to complement the information of the common garden experiment, we estimated the reproductive biomass allocation between genders in one natural population. Sex ratios at reaching sexual maturity in F. parviflora did not differ from 0.5, except in one population, which was the smallest seedling population. We found no differences between genders in terms of the probability of germination or flowering. When flowering began, female plants were taller than males and the tallest plants of both genders required more time to reach sexual maturity. Males produced significantly more flowers than females, and the number of flowers increased with plant height in both genders. Finally, in the natural population studied, the investment in reproductive biomass was seven-fold greater in female plants than in male plants. Our results showed no evidence of possible trade-offs between growth and reproduction. Despite the fact that female plants invest more in reproductive biomass, they were taller than the males after flowering, possibly at the expense of herbivory defence.

The bibliography on the Spanish Civil War is almost unattainable, but the matter continues to elicit such interest that it remains open to new historiographic trends. For example, the ‘classic’ military history of the conflict, cultivated prominently in recent years by Gabriel Cardona, Jorge Martínez Reverte and Anthony Beevor, does not renounce the microhistory or cultural perspective. These constitute the theoretical framework of the New Military History and its corollary the New Combat History, which combine philological, anthropological, psychological and historiographical perspectives to various degrees. In the specific field of the war experiences pioneered by George L. Mosse, the concepts of brutalisation, barbarisation and demodernisation of military operations, coined by Omer Bartov to describe the particularities of the Eastern campaign during the Second World War, are being used by Spanish historians dedicated to the study of the violence and atrocities of the civil war and post-war. Focusing on the field of political history, government management or diplomacy has been studied almost exhaustively, but this is not the case for the principal phenomenon of political violence in the 1930s in Europe, namely paramilitarisation. It is surprising that the latest studies on the issue at the European level (Robert Gerwarth, John Horne, Chris Millington and Kevin Passmore) do not include any essays on the enormous incidence of paramilitary violence in Spain before, during and after the civil war.

From the present work, the wear behavior of aged Ni-based superalloy was analyzed under dry sliding conditions. Such alloy was melted in a vacuum induction furnace and cast into a ceramic mold. Then the alloy was solubilized at 1080°C for 4 hours and then aged at 760°C for 4, 8, 16, 24, 48, 72 and 150 hours. The alloy was characterized as-cast and also in the heat-treated conditions by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Mechanical characterization included just Vickers hardness and wear resistance under dry sliding conditions by a block on ring configuration according to the ASTM G77 standard. Wear tests were undertaken for 2000 m at a speed of 0.7 ms-1 at two different loads (25 and 78 N). The worn samples were analyzed by an optical profiler to determine the wear volume and by SEM to analyze the worn surface and the microstructure below the worn surface. The main findings indicate the formation of an oxide layer mainly formed by Cr and Ni during sliding. The thickness of such a layer is about 10 μm for short aging times and about 5 μm for longer aging times. For this load, the wear resistance was 50% higher for the shorter aging times than that for the longer aging times. This behavior is described in terms of the thickness of the protecting layer, and on the availability of chromium to form such a layer since it forms Cr23C6 at long aging times. On the other hand, for a load of 78 N the wear behavior is in agreement with hardness. Wear resistance increases with aging time due to the higher precipitation of prime gamma phase.

In order to analyse the effect of hosts’ relationships and the helminthic load on the switching of parasites between native and introduced hosts, we sampled rodents belonging to two suborders from Central Chile. We compared the number of helminthic species shared between murids (introduced) and cricetid (native, same suborder) rodents to those shared between murids and hystricomorphs (native, different suborder), and we assessed the association between parasitic presence, abundance and geographical dispersion in source hosts to the presence and abundance in recipient hosts. Introduced rodent species shared more helminth species with cricetid rodents than with non-cricetids. Presence and abundance in recipient hosts was not associated with the prevalence and mean abundance in source hosts’ population. The mean abundance of parasites in source hosts throughout the territory and wider dispersion was positively associated with the likelihood of being shared with a recipient host. Closer relationships between native and introduced hosts and high parasitic abundance and dispersion could facilitate host switching of helminths between native and introduced rodents. This work provides the first documentation of the importance of parasitic abundance and dispersion on the switching of parasites between native and introduced hosts.

Atomic clusters attached to a low-dimensional system, called Fano defects, produce rich wave interferences. In this work, we analytically found an enhanced thermoelectric figure-of-merit (ZT) in periodic atomic chains with Fano defects, compared with those without such defects. We further study self-assembled DNA-like systems with periodic and quasiperiodically placed Fano defects by using a real-space renormalization method developed for the Kubo–Greenwood formula, in which tight-binding and Born models are respectively used for the electric and lattice thermal conductivities. The results reveal that the quasiperiodicity could be another ZT-improving factor, whose long-range disorder inhibits low-frequency acoustic phonons insensitive to local defects.

Perovskites solar cells have reached impressive efficiencies (22%) in recent years. Because certain environmental concerns are raised by the use of lead halides, there is an interest to seek out lead-free alternatives, featuring bismuth or antimony. Alongside, one of the major drawbacks displayed by MAPbI3 is their low stability at ambient conditions. In this work, (RP4)xBiyIz were synthesized, using different types of tetra-alkylphosphoniums (R4PI) were R = ethyl, butyl, hexyl, and octyl, to assess their stability. Afterwards, they were characterized to study their morphology and crystal structure, as well as their optical properties.

The small red brocket deer Mazama bororo is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, a biome that has been greatly fragmented and altered by human activities. This elusive species is morphologically similar to the red brocket deer Mazama americana and the Brazilian dwarf brocket deer Mazama nana, and genetic typing is necessary for reliable identification. To determine the geographical range of M. bororo more accurately, we conducted non-invasive genetic sampling using scat detection dogs trained to locate deer faeces. We surveyed 46 protected areas located within the species’ potential distribution and collected a total of 555 scat samples in 30 of the protected areas. Using a polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism approach, we genotyped 497 scat samples (89%) and detected M. bororo in seven localities in three Brazilian states. The results support a range extension of the small red brocket deer to latitudes 23 and 28°S and longitudes 47 and 49°W. We show that the species’ distribution is associated with 37,517 km2 of the Ombrophilous Dense Forest in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and this conclusion is supported by species distribution modelling. The small red brocket deer is the largest endemic species in Brazil and may have the smallest geographical distribution of any Neotropical deer species. This species occupies fragmented landscapes and is threatened by human encroachment, poaching, and predation by dogs, and based on our findings we recommend policy intervention for conservation planning of the Ombrophilous Dense Forest.

The cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is a hematophagous ectoparasite of major importance for the livestock industry. It shows a remarkable ability to survive over long periods without feeding. However, the mechanisms used to endure long-term starvation are poorly understood. It is believed that autophagy, a process of intracellular protein degradation, may play a significant role to confront adverse environmental conditions. To advance our understanding of autophagy in R. microplus, in the present study we report the molecular characterization of three autophagy-related (ATG) genes, namely, RmATG3, RmATG4 and RmATG6, as well as their expression profiles in different developmental stages and organs of the parasite. The deduced amino acid sequences derived from the characterized gene sequences were subjected to Basic Local Alignment Search Tool analysis. The testing produced significant alignments with respective ATG proteins from Haemaphysalis longicornis and Ixodes scapularis ticks. Real-time polymerase chain reaction assays revealed that RmATG4 and RmATG6 transcripts were elevated in egg and ovary tissue, when compared with larva and midgut samples, while RmATG3 expression in midgut was 2-fold higher than in egg, larva and ovary samples.

Thermoelectric properties of segmented nanowires and nanobelts are studied by means of the Kubo-Greenwood formula and a real-space renormalization plus convolution method. The tight-binding and Born models are respectively used for the calculation of electronic and lattice thermal conductivities. In particular, we investigate the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of periodic and quasiperiodically segmented nanowires with two different cross sections, where the segments of the quasiperiodic one are ordered following the Fibonacci sequence. The results show an increase of ZT when the cross section area of nanowires diminishes. In addition, we present results of ZT in segmented nanobelts with an inhomogeneous cross section. For both nanowires and nanobelts, the quasiperiodicity seems to be an important enhancing factor of ZT.

The presence of compact obscured nuclei in luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) is very well probed by the detection of highly excited absorption lines of OH and H2O in the far-infrared (far-IR), which require warm and optically thick dust to pump the high-lying rotational levels. We are using a spherically symmetric radiative transfer code to model the H2O lines, OH lines and continuum from these objects. We discuss the results and analysis of Herschel observations of the compact obscured nucleus in the extremely H2O luminous LIRG Zw 049.057. In this galaxy we have found very high H2O abundances in a Compton thick compact core. Abundant 18O bearing species also suggest the presence of a relatively young starburst. We compare this to our observations and modeling of the luminous merger component Arp 299a, which is another source with prominent H2O and OH lines. Our preliminary results, however, suggest that its nuclear activity is in a different evolutionary state compared to Zw 049.057.