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The work of city councilors, as they participate in the budget process, is involved in a series of problems that are specific to them. And this affects the community they represent if they are unable to overcome these issues. The councillors carry out their work as long as it is relatively regulated by the regulations in force. The frequent situations they encounter indicate that there is a gap between the real issues they deal with and the rules. The objective is focused on identifying the existence of the gap between both circumstances and its effects on the work of the councilors in office in the Carboniferous Basin. Therefore, our main question is: is there a gap between the regulations and the actual work done by councilors when they are in the process of approving the budget that comes from the municipal executive branch? We understand that this affects the decision making of the main work tool that affects both populations. To address this question we used a questionnaire addressed to the councilmen who are no longer in office, consisting of six axes of questioning. In this way, we gained access to their personal experiences and the different visions and ways of approaching the issue. The answers led to situations in which problems derived mainly from political, informational, resource and personal preparation for the positions of councilors predominated. Considering this, the situation of the existence of the gap is demonstrated and the next step will be to establish whether the councilors and the community accept and maintain these peculiarities for the budget. The next lines of research will be related to the possible changes to be introduced in the process at the practical and normative level., El trabajo de los ediles, en tanto participan del proceso presupuestario, se ve envuelto en una serie de problemáticas que le son propias. Y ello afecta a la comunidad a la cual representan, si no pueden sortear dichas cuestiones. Los ediles realizan su trabajo, en tanto se encuentra relativamente normado por la reglamentación vigente. Las frecuentes situaciones que se encuentran nos indican que entre las cuestiones reales con las que se manejan y las normas existe un distanciamiento o brecha. El objetivo se centra en identificar la existencia de la brecha entre ambas circunstancias y sus efectos en la labor de los concejales de mandato cumplido en la Cuenca Carbonífera. Por lo tanto, nuestra pregunta principal es ¿existe una brecha entre lo normado y el trabajo real que realizan los concejales cuando se encuentran en el proceso de aprobación del presupuesto que deviene del poder ejecutivo municipal? Entendemos que esto afecta la toma de decisiones de la principal herramienta de trabajo que afecta a ambas poblaciones. Para afrontar dicha pregunta se utilizó un cuestionario dirigido a los concejales que ya no están en funciones, constando de seis ejes de preguntas. Con ello accedimos a sus experiencias personales y de las distintas visiones y maneras de abordar la cuestión. Las respuestas condujeron a situaciones donde predominaron problemáticas derivadas principalmente de las líneas políticas, informacionales, recursos y de preparación personal para los cargos de ediles. Teniendo en cuenta ello, la situación de la existencia de la brecha queda demostrada y el paso siguiente será establecer si los ediles y la comunidad aceptan y mantienen estas peculiaridades para el presupuesto. Las próximas líneas de investigación serán relativas a los posibles cambios a introducir en el proceso a nivel práctico y normativo.

Currently, communication systems play a fundamental role in the dissemination of information about natural disasters. This article presents a systematic literature review (SLR) on the use of communication systems as a basis for applying different emergency response scenarios of natural catastrophes. In addition, it aims to exhaustively analyze the existing literature on communication systems used in natural disaster environments. The first part focuses on the sources of information; then the investigations that use techniques in communication systems are described. Finally, the results obtained can be used to make decisions on the optimal management of resources according to the catastrophic event., Actualmente, los sistemas de comunicación juegan un papel fundamental en la difusión de información sobre catástrofes naturales. Este artículo presenta una revisión sistemática de literatura (SLR) sobre el uso de sistemas de comunicación como base para aplicar diferentes escenarios de respuesta a emergencias de catástrofes naturales. Además, tiene como objetivo analizar de forma exhaustiva la literatura existente sobre sistemas de comunicación utilizados en ambientes de catástrofes naturales. La primera parte se centra en las fuentes de información; luego se describen las investigaciones que utilizaron técnicas en los sistemas de comunicación. Finalmente, los resultados obtenidos pueden ser utilizados para tomar decisiones en la asignación óptima y manejo de recursos de acuerdo al evento de catástrofe.

At the core of redox flow reactors, the design of the flow field geometry –which distributes the liquid electrolyte through the porous electrodes– and the porous electrode microstructure –which provides surfaces for electrochemical reactions– determines the performance of the system. To date, these two components have been engineered in isolation and their interdependence, although critical, is largely overlooked. Here, we systematically investigate the interaction between state-of-the-art electrode microstructures (a paper and a cloth) and prevailing flow field geometries (flow through, serpentine and four variations of interdigitated). We employ a suite of microscopic, fluid dynamics, and electrochemical diagnostics to elucidate structure-property-performance relationships. We find that interdigitated flow fields in combination with paper electrodes –which features a uniform microstructure with unimodal pore size distribution– and flow-through configurations combined with cloth electrodes –which have a hierarchical microstructure with bimodal pore size distribution– provide the most favorable trade-off between hydraulic and electrochemical performance. Our analysis evidences the importance of carrying out the co-design of flow fields and electrode microstructures in tandem.

Electrochemical flow reactors are increasingly relevant platforms in emerging sustainable energy conversion and storage technologies. As a prominent example, redox flow batteries, a well-suited technology for large energy storage if the costs can be significantly reduced, leverage electrochemical reactors as power converting units. Within the reactor, the flow field geometry determines the electrolyte pumping power required, mass transport rates, and overall cell performance. However, current designs are inspired by fuel cell technologies but have not been engineered for redox flow battery applications, where liquid-phase electrochemistry is sustained. Here, we leverage stereolithography 3D printing to manufacture lung-inspired flow field geometries and compare their performance to conventional flow field designs. A versatile two-step process based on stereolithography 3D printing followed by a coating procedure to form a conductive structure is developed to manufacture lung-inspired flow field geometries. We employ a suite of fluid dynamics, electrochemical diagnostics, and finite element simulations to correlate the flow field geometry with performance in symmetric flow cells. We find that the lung-inspired structural pattern homogenizes the reactant distribution throughout the porous electrode and improves the electrolyte accessibility to the electrode reaction area. In addition, the results reveal that these novel flow field geometries can outperform conventional interdigitated flow field designs, as these patterns exhibit a more favorable balance of electrical and pumping power, achieving superior current densities at lower pressure loss. Although at its nascent stage, additive manufacturing offers a versatile design space for manufacturing engineered flow field geometries for advanced flow reactors in emerging electrochemical energy storage technologies.