Face to Face with Argentinian Truco: Origins and Evolution

Trick-Taking Games (TTGs) are card games in which each player plays one of his cards in turn according to a given rule. The player with the highest card then wins the trick, i.e., he gets all the cards that have been played during the round. For instance, Spades is a famous TTG proposed by online casinos, where each player must play a card that follows the leading suit when it is possible. Otherwise, he can play any of his cards. In such a game, a dishonest user can play a wrong card even if he has cards of the leading suit. Since his other cards are hidden, there is no way to detect the cheat. Hence, the other players realize the problem later, i.e., when the cheater plays a card that he is not supposed to have. In this case, the game is biased and is canceled. Our goal is to design protocols that prevent such a cheat for TTGs. We give a security model for secure Spades protocols, and we design a scheme called SecureSpades. This scheme is secure under the Decisional Diffie-Hellman assumption in the random oracle model. Our model and our scheme can be extended to several other TTGs, such as Belotte, Whist, Bridge, etc.

Although the apical development of wheat has been widely described, studies analysing how genetic breeding over the 20th century influenced the developmental phases and its consequences on yield generation are lacking, especially for durum wheat under field conditions in Mediterranean environments. The aims of this study were to analyse the effects of breeding in Spain and Italy on crop development during the last century, to determine whether or not breeding significantly altered the developmental phases between sowing and maturity, and to evaluate the importance of each phase in determining the number of grains per spike of durum wheat (Triticum durum) cultivars representing the germplasm grown throughout the 20th century in Spain and Italy. Eight field experiments were carried out during 4 years in two contrasting latitudes (Lleida and Granada, Spain). Plant material consisted of 24 durum wheat cultivars (12 Italian and 12 Spanish) grown throughout the 20th century in Spain and Italy. In Spanish materials, breeding reduced the duration of the period from sowing to anthesis, placing the grain-filling period in better conditions. In those cultivars, the sub-phase sowing-terminal spikelet formation was reduced while the duration of the period from booting to anthesis was increased. The number of grains per spike increased by 23 % from old to modern cultivars, by changes in the number of grains per spikelet in both Spanish and Italian cultivars. Floral abortion from booting to anthesis diminished by 24 % from old to modern cultivars, and grain setting increased by 13 %. The results suggest that breeding reduced not only plant height, but also the time to anthesis. By extending the duration of the phase from booting to anthesis, which was associated with an increase in spike dry weight and grains per spike, it suggests that future increases in spike fertility could be achieved by enlarging that phase.

Gambling on the Divine: The Culture of Card Games in Herbert's Temple by Brandie R. Siegfried So it is more suitable for the thinking person to play at cards . . . than at other games. — The Book on Games of Chance, 1564 [I will] deal unto you Christ's Cards, wherein you shall perceive Christ's rule. The game that we will play at shall be called The Triumph, which, if it be well played at, he that dealeth shall win; and the Standers and lookers on shall do the same; insomuch that no man that is willing to play at this Triumph with these cards, but they shall be all winners and no losers. — Hugh Latimer, Christmas Sermon, 1529 "Turn their eyes hither, who shall make a gain" writes George Herbert in the dedication to The Temple, "Theirs, who shall hurt themselves or me, refrain."1 Within a very few pages of Herbert's project, such "gain" will be shuffled together with a variety of game images, where a trump card will share metaphorical value with the triumph of Christ, and where transformation and discovery are intimately linked to divine gambles. Although both Michael Clifton and Anna K. Nardo have discussed the significance of play and gaming within Herbert's work,2 1 would like to expand our vision of the ludic by providing a brief cultural history of English cards and gaming. More specifically, I will situate this historical knowledge in relation to three of Herbert's poems — "Jordan" (I), "Submission," and "Love" (III) — in order to demonstrate the extent to which many of Herbert's best-wrought conceits depend, for their poetic power, upon a particular spin of game-derived meaning. I Card games and gambling are the pastimes most frequently referred to in The Temple, and this makes sense when we consider the history of cards and particular card games in relation to both politics Card Games in The Temple73 and religion in early modern England. On an obvious level, cards have to do with class and status. The face cards depict the various levels of power at court, while the original suits reflect four major class divisions: the cup or chalice represents churchmen, the sword marks the soldier, the coin stands for the merchant, and the stick or wand is a token for the common laborer. Although in England the stylization of each suit had evolved somewhat from the original patterns, this class division remained firmly entrenched in popular culture.3 The significance of their representative value in terms of class and status is dramatically emphasized as late as the French Revolution, when "the Kings and Queens of all suits were banished" at the same time that the royal family was beheaded.4 Moreover, in English card games, the ace functioned in much the same way as the pawn in chess: though normally the lowliest in terms of playing power, depending on the game and the particular arrangement of other cards, the ace could become the most valuable.5 In other words, while the face cards kept their customary continental value, the English ruled that the nonaristocratic ace had the potential for outstripping even the king. We also know that cards had a very real place in England's economic life. As early as 1463, an act of parliament prohibited the importation of foreign-manufactured packs; during Elizabeth's reign Raleigh made a fortune through his monopoly on playing cards, and by 1590 cards had become a common means of advertising or promoting propaganda (for instance, a special pack was published celebrating the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588); by 1615 playing cards were being taxed; and by 1628 "The Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards" was incorporated by royal charter.6 In addition, packs were commonly put to double use, providing both a ludic pastime and an instructional tool. Decks often combined the characteristics of playing cards and Schoolbook: one side would have the usual suit for scoring while the other contained information on astrology, heraldry, history, philosophy, geography, arithmetic, language (alphabet decks were very popular) and even the carving of fowl.7 Some games mixed knowledge of the card's specialty ("The...

From the start there has been a conflict between Christianity and Judaism. In the New Testament the Pharisees are objects of polemics, and during the next centuries a great number of texts claiming the Christian superiority were written. During the 14th and 15th centuries in France and Spain Jews experienced forced conversion to Christianity, which was supported by secular authorities. The Jews reacted to this not only by defending their Jewish faith and way of life&&they also criticized the Christian faith and way of life. Jewish polemic texts against Christianity can thus be viewed as a reaction to the writings from the Christian side. This is the background to the extensive number of Jewish polemic texts written during the 14th century in France and during the 15th and 16th centuries in Spain, but these texts are not primarily directed toward Christians.

C ostume and period rooms are notoriously difficult to present in art museums. They are no less worthy of attention than anything else in an art museum's holdings, but their frequent association with commercial sponsors and donors can lead to the exposure of the seamy rather than the noble side of the institutions concerned. Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century was an exhibition organized by Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the museum's Wrightsman Galleries between April 29 and August 8, 2004. It was sponsored by Asprey, London, with additional support from Conde Nast. Its conceit was simple. Each of the eighteenth-century period rooms became the setting of a dramatic tableau comprising costumed mannequins. Each of the ten scenes was given a coy title-The Levee: 'The Assiduous Admirer,' Card Game: 'Cheating at Hearts,' and so on-and was loosely inspired by the mannered eroticism of Pierre-Ambroise-Francois Choderlos de Laclos's novel, les Liaisons dangereuses (1782). The book itself was incorporated into the scenario, for the Chaperone in Music Lesson: 'A Window of Opportunity,' set in the Viennese Paar Room, is said in the accompanying pamphlet to be reading it while her charge, the Student-a young woman at a harp in a French ivory silk

Cognitive processes are important factors in the aetiology of pathological gambling and they are always important aspect of all gambling interventions. Among other things, the gamblers' decision-making process and persistence in gambling is under the influence of their perception of the importance of knowledge/skills versus luck in different gambling activities. In this study, we examine cognitive distortions of pathological gamblers and their perceptions on the significance of luck versus knowledge/skills in different games of chance. Effects of age and length of treatment are also examined. A total of 65 pathological gamblers at the gambling addicts' club in Zagreb were included in the study. Cognitive distortions were measured using a modified version of the Gambling related cognitive distortions scale (Ricijaš et al. 2011). Participant thoughts on the role of luck versus knowledge/skills in games of chance were measured with a questionnaire especially designed for this study. All instruments were self-assessment questionnaires and anonymously filled out during a group sessions. In general, results showed moderate cognitive distortions in terms of gambling beliefs, but significant perception of the importance of knowledge/skills for some games, especially sports betting and card games. Younger patients and patients in treatment for longer period have lower illusion of control. Length of treatment also seem to effect gambling-related superstition beliefs and incorrect understanding of probability, as well as importance of knowledge/skills for success in sports betting and card games. The results of this study lead to the indirect conclusion that length of treatment is a positive factor, which likely influences gamblers' cognitive distortions. This conclusion certainly requires additional examination using longitudinal studies, which would provide a better overview of whether these differences are in fact due to the length of treatment and also to confirm its value for future abstinence from gambling activities.

Los veterinarios recibieron diferentes denominaciones a lo largo del siglo XIX en España: albéitares, herradores, castradores, mariscales, etc., y no fueron reconocidos laboral y socialmente hasta el siglo XX. En 1850 se les ceden responsabilidades sanitario-zootécnicas, aunque muchos siguieron practicando el herrado. Con la creación de las escuelas de veterinaria, se plantan las bases de la veterinaria moderna en España, lo cual le da trascendencia en la salud pública, sobre todo en figuras como el subdelegado veterinario y el inspector de carnes, al entender las repercusiones que las enfermedades que sufren los animales tienen en la población que consume sus carnes. Mediante el estudio del Archivo Histórico de Jerez de los Caballeros (Badajoz, España) se ha podido analizar cómo vivieron y trabajaron los profesionales de la veterinaria en la población durante el siglo XIX. Se observa cómo se asentaban o marchaban de la ciudad, cómo atendían las epidemias que sufrían los animales para el consumo humano y cómo sufrían las dificultades económicas de la época y del Ayuntamiento. La destrucción y pérdida de parte del Archivo dificulta la obtención de más datos.

Introduction. The article studies the identification of historical prerequisites for the formation of social policy in Spain in the late XIX-early XX centuries. The authors believe that the historical approach to this topic allows a comprehensive approach to the peculiarities of the formation of social policy in the modern world. The study of this problem since the 19th century is due to the fact that it was from that time in such European countries as Great Britain, France and Germany that the issues of the formation of social policy and its importance in society became significant. Materials and Methods. The methodological basis is based on the fundamental principles of scientific knowledge: objectivity, historicism and consistency, which predetermined the integrated use of general scientific and special approaches. The research is also based on the principle of interdisciplinarity, which allowed the socio-cultural method to be applied in this work. For the selection and systematization of sources, such methods as the analytical and the descriptive ones were used, allowing for a more accurate interpretation of documents and materials. Analysis. The history of Spain in the XIX century confirms that the turning point in the formation of social policy was the Constitution of 1869, when the rights and freedoms of the Spanish population were officially consolidated for the first time. Since then, a rather important period of social transformation has begun, which influenced the further formation of social policy in the country. The origin of social policy in Spain is also associated with the emergence of ideological trends (Krauzism, social Catholicism or Conservatism) at the end of the 19th century, formed under the influence of German socialism and the social policy of Fr. Bismarck. An important step towards the formation of social policy was the creation in 1883 of a Commission to study issues related to “the improvement or welfare of the working class in both agriculture and industry and affecting the relationship between capital and labor”. It was later renamed the Commission for Social Reforms (CRS) and gave impetus to the development of Spanish legislation on social security. The beginning of the twentieth century in Spain was marked by a political crisis, but it was during this period that great attention was paid to social issues and problems. Important laws were adopted: The Law on Industrial Accidents, The Law on the labor of women and Minors, The Law on Sunday Rest, etc. In this regard, new institutions are emerging (the Institute of Social Reforms, the Labor Inspection Service, the National Institute of Forecasting). However, many bills and social programs were never adopted, which complicated the socio-economic situation in the country. The First World War gave a new impetus to the development of social protection policies in most European countries, and in Spain in particular. The Spanish government was forced to reduce the working day to 8 hours, introduce old-age insurance for workers and employees, raise wages, and establish unemployment benefits. But the coup d’etat in 1923 and the global financial crisis of 1929 further complicated the socio-economic situation in the country. The proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931 allowed the new Government to implement a broad program of democratic transformations. Results. Thus, the historical period of the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century is associated with the formation of the ideology and concept of social policy in Spain. The authors of the article note that a historical digression into the problem of the formation and formation of social policy is necessary to understand the evolution of this issue and identify the relationship of historical events. Historical knowledge of the problem allows a deeper understanding of the trends in the development of social policy in modern states.

En el presente ensayo se estudia la relación entre la correspondencia epistolar de Ernestina de Champourcin y Carmen Conde con la simultánea escritura de sus poemas. A la luz del concepto de habitación propia como espacio imprescindible y necesario para la creación literaria expresado por Virginia Woolf en A Room of One’s Own, las cartas sirven como habitación propia donde ambas poetas pretenden conseguir su autenticidad estética coartada por la sociedad patriarcal en los comienzos del siglo XX en España. La presencia del interlocutor, el desdoblamiento del yo poético y los poemas metapoéticos confluyen en la obligación por parte de la crítica de posicionar el epistolario de las poetas en primer plano, ya que éste sirve como taller y espacio libre para el desarrollo de la estética de las poetas.

The change of territorial organisation in the 18th century in Spain was strongly related to the preservation of the local heritage. Academic architects, military engineers, and master builders coexisted to carry out the design and management of municipal construction works. The evolution of the figure of the master builder and the confrontation with architects and the guilds since the creation of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando posed an inflection point in this aspect. The first aim of the present study was to highlight the figure of Vicente López Cardera, master builder in the Council and Diocese of Córdoba between the late 18th century and the early 19th century, through his work on the municipal interventions in the maintenance of the construction works and infrastructures in Montilla (Córdoba, Spain) around the year 1794. The second aim of the study was to emphasise the role of graphic engineering in the conservation of municipal heritage in the Modern Age through the study of drawings and plans provided by him in the analysed documentation. His thinking in the approach to these works fits with the ideas of social hygienic improvements that began with the Enlightenment as well as with the concept of sustainable development in culture; hence, his work is relevant in the sustainable development planning of cities in the present. With this study, missing heritage elements are also revealed, opening future lines of research that lead to their virtual reconstruction and the promotion of tourism in rural areas.

History of mathematics and mathematics education research allows us to know, among other issues: the influence that certain textbooks have had on the teaching of school mathematics, in academic or professional training, during a certain historical period; as well as the scientific advances achieved in each historical period and their incorporation into the teaching of the subject matter. In this work, we focus our attention on the applications of the method of finding maxima and minima included in the textbooks published during the 18th century in Spain. Specifically, we identify the approach of the algorithm used, the shortcomings or deficiencies that the posing of the proposed problems may have, the verification of the nature of the optimal points obtained and the consideration—or not—of the negative solutions in the process of resolution.

This study presents the results of the first genetic analysis of ancient chestnut trees (Castanea sativa Mill.) in Italy and in the Iberian Peninsula to better understand the effect of grafting on the domestication process of chestnut and to investigate the impacts of early selection and improvement on the genetic diversity retained. We evaluated 105 giant ancient trees from Italy, Spain and Portugal and compared them with the European Union (EU) database of chestnut cultivars by using a set of 24 simple sequence repeats (SSRs; microsatellite markers). We measured the perimeter (girth) at the diameter at breast height (DBH). Samples from both the canopy and the roots of each tree were analysed to distinguish which trees were self‐rooted and which were grafted. Diversity was compared using standard metrics and model‐based approaches based on the expected heterozygosity (He) at equilibrium. We could differentiate 91 new genotypes; 9.6% matched known chestnut cultivars. We found the first evidences of cultivation, that is, grafting to produce “instant domestication” in Galicia and in the Douro Valley in trees of 14‐m perimeter (15th century) and in the Basque Country (first report in that area) in a tree of 11.5‐m perimeter (16th century). In Italy, the cultivar “Marrone Fiorentino” was found in some giant trees with perimeters of 8 and 9 m (17th‐18th centuries) in the Toscana and Umbria. Those findings matched with written references in Portugal from the 16th century and from the 18th century in Spain. “Instant domestication” could be dated back to the 15th century and was related to the wild populations existing in the same areas where cultivars are being propagated, without a different genetic structure for wild chestnut trees and with a high diversity maintained through the initiation of domestication.

Visigoths

The article deals with the synergies between the development of scientific knowledge and the transformation of literary tradition. During the 16th - 17th centuries English intellectuals work out new forms of narrativization of their scientific ideas, trying to make them accessible to the widest possible audience. In the middle of the 16th century, authors such as T. Eliot, W. Cunningham,R. Record and others began to write works in the national language, simplifying the texts of ancient authors, using the form of dialogues and poetic inserts, as well as illustrating difficult to understand concepts. At the beginning of the 17th century, to facilitate the perception of difficult terms, special dictionaries structuring the world in alphabetical order began to be created, which transformed into the first scientific and technical encyclopedias by the end of the 17th century. Based on the theoretical framework of Francis Bacon, authors used a variety of genres to overcome scholastic tradition and to simplify the presentation of complex material. For this purpose, the forms of aphorisms, fantastic journeys, card games, etc. could be used. The article concludes that it is necessary to comprehensively consider the history of scientific knowledge development in the context of the formation of the early modern period representational and communicative strategies.

To introduce Crystallography to the Public, we have organized the crystallography exhibition "Journey into the crystal" in 2009, a "Laue Symposium" in 2012 and a "Bragg symposium, Crystallography for life" in 2013. For the IYCr2014 we have created a set of multilingual hands-on travelling exhibitions to be used in different communities and particularly in emerging countries (in Africa, South America, Asia,...). In addition, we create a set of multilingual tools and other educational material like games to come with these exhibition presentations. A voyage of discovery: Based on this travelling exhibition, we can take visitors on a journey of discovery of matter, but also on a journey through time to the beginnings of crystallography. The public discover why crystal puzzles people so much, why it is so useful to science and why it plays such an important role in our daily lives. With crystallography the public can discover, for example: -1- The myths surrounding diamonds including the surprising fact that diamonds will burn like graphite. Thanks to crystallography, the answer lies in the structure of their chemical bonds. -2- How, in the 18th and 19th centuries, scientists still managed to imagine the architecture of crystals, even though they could not use X-rays to see inside them. -3- Here, use a laser as a source of the light to explain `diffraction and learn how the 1895 discovery of the mysterious "X-Rays" inspired the work of Laue and the Braggs, father and son, making it possible to "journey" into the heart of a crystal. -4- The discovery of DNA and the use of crystallography to understand the biological world and thus the secret of life. This knowledge has greatly contributed to the development of new drugs and thus to the expansion of the pharmaceutical industry. -5- Play with card games or mosaics to understand easily the concepts of periodicity and atomic order and see the explanation of crystal's shape and symmetry. -6- Cultivate crystals,... the specific qualities of crystals make them key materials in many applications and we must take our time to make large crystals...