There are different types of violence which intersect in occurrences of sexist violence. This article, while granting that structural and symbolic violence are intertwined in a synergic relationship, focuses its attention on structural violence with three purposes in mind: first, to situate reflections made on sexist violence within the framework of epochal changes at the social, economic and political levels; secondly, to investigate in this new context if they are only reproduced, or if they reconfigure the same gender-sex orderings and patterns of inequality and violence that they trigger and legitimize; and, thirdly, to explore the ways in which contemporary socio-political transformations that undermine the functionality of institutions are having an impact on rising sexist violence trends today. Finally, based on the social and subjective changes that have come about in the face of adverse conditions produced through the insertion of social agents, progress is being made toward a differentiation of the forms of occurrence and functionality of sexist violence. In short, the purpose is to develop more specific approaches that will allow us to understand the scourge of sexist violence in our day and contribute to designing intervention strategies.

This article presents a bioinspired pneumatic soft actuator designed to mimic the flexo-extension movement of the human finger, with a particular focus on stiffness modulation through granular jamming. Three-chamber geometries – honeycomb, rectangular, and half-round – were evaluated to optimize curvature performance, utilizing Mold Star 15 Slow elastomer for actuator fabrication. Granular jamming, both passive and active, was implemented within the inextensible layer using chia and quinoa grains to enhance stiffness modulation. Experimental results revealed that the honeycomb geometry most closely aligned with the natural index finger trajectory. Stiffness evaluations demonstrated a range of 0–0.47 N/mm/° for quinoa and 0–0.9 N/mm/° for chia. The actuator’s force output increased by 16% for quinoa and 71% for chia compared to the nonjammed configuration. This enhanced performance is particularly beneficial for applications such as hand rehabilitation, where adaptive stiffness and force modulation are critical. Granular jamming, especially with active chia, provided superior adaptability for tasks requiring variable stiffness and resistance, making it a promising candidate for wearable robotic applications in rehabilitation.

This paper, building on new archival research and the social table method, presents comprehensive estimates of income inequality in Mexico in 1895, 1910, 1930 and 1940. Inequality grew from 1895 to 1910, driven by economic expansion within the context of an oligarchic economy. While real income increased for the lower classes during this period, the main beneficiaries were large landowners and entrepreneurs. In the revolutionary period from 1910 to 1930 inequality decreased especially as a result of land reforms, benefitting peasants at the expense of the large landowners. However, the economic structure of the country was not fundamentally changed, and in the 1930s inequality raised as incomes of peasants and those in the informal sector fell behind manufacturing and other high-earning sectors. The Mexican case shows the complex interaction of economics, demography and politics in determining economic inequality.

The generation of organic compounds relevant to the origin of living beings is easily achieved if reducing conditions exist in the environment; however, proposed models of primitive atmospheres do not favour these conditions. This work considers the quantity and possible size of the cosmic bodies that could have impacted the Earth between 4.2 and 3.8 Ga. Different atmospheres (with gases such as CO2, CO, N2, CH4) were experimentally irradiated by an Nd-YAG laser (used to simulate the energy of a shock wave produced by the interaction of a cosmic body with the atmosphere). Although the main products are short-chain, saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is the most abundant in some atmospheres. HCN is an important precursor of the organic molecules relevant to chemical evolution. According to our calculations, between 1023 and 1025 g of HCN could have been produced by the energy released to the atmosphere from the entry of cosmic objects between 4.2 and 3.8 Ga. Therefore, this shock wave energy could play an important role in the processes of chemical evolution.

Dicarbonyl compounds are highly reactive precursors of advanced glycation end products (AGE), produced endogenously, present in certain foods and formed during food processing. AGE contribute to the development of adverse metabolic outcomes, but health effects of dietary dicarbonyls are largely unexplored. We investigated associations between three dietary dicarbonyl compounds, methylglyoxal (MGO), glyoxal (GO) and 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG), and body weight changes in European adults. Dicarbonyl intakes were estimated using food composition database from 263 095 European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition–Physical Activity, Nutrition, Alcohol, Cessation of Smoking, Eating Out of Home in Relation to Anthropometry participants with two body weight assessments (median follow-up time = 5·4 years). Associations between dicarbonyls and 5-year body-weight changes were estimated using mixed linear regression models. Stratified analyses by sex, age and baseline BMI were performed. Risk of becoming overweight/obese was assessed using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression. MGO intake was associated with 5-year body-weight gain of 0·089 kg (per 1-sd increase, 95 % CI 0·072, 0·107). 3-DG was inversely associated with body-weight change (–0·076 kg, −0·094, −0·058). No significant association was observed for GO (0·018 kg, −0·002, 0·037). In stratified analyses, GO was associated with body-weight gain among women and older participants (above median of 52·4 years). MGO was associated with higher body-weight gain among older participants. 3-DG was inversely associated with body-weight gain among younger and normal-weight participants. MGO was associated with a higher risk of becoming overweight/obese, while inverse associations were observed for 3-DG. No associations were observed for GO with overweight/obesity. Dietary dicarbonyls are inconsistently associated with body weight change among European adults. Further research is needed to clarify the role of these food components in overweight and obesity, their underlying mechanisms and potential public health implications.