Palabras del Sr. Kofi A. Annan

Discurso del ex Secretario General de Naciones Unidas durante la conferencia pronunciada por José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero en el Museo del Prado el 16 de junio de 2008, organizada por el Real Instituto Elcano, con la colaboración de la Fundación CIDOB, la Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales (FRIDE), el Instituto Complutense de Estudios Internacionales (ICEI) y el Instituto de Cuestiones Internacionales y de Política Exterior (INCIPE)

Correspondence between HBT radii and the emission zone in non-central heavy ion collisions

In non-central collisions between ultra-relativistic heavy ions, the freeze-out distribution is anisotropic, and its major longitudinal axis may be tilted away from the beam direction. The shape and orientation of this distribution are particularly interesting, as they provide a snapshot of the evolving source and reflect the space-time aspect of anisotropic flow. Experimentally, this information is extracted by measuring pion HBT radii as a function of angle with respect to the reaction plane. Existing formulae relating the oscillations of the radii and the freezeout anisotropy are in principle only valid for Gaussian sources with no collective flow. With a realistic transport model of the collision, which generates flow and non-Gaussian sources, we find that these formulae approximately reflect the anisotropy of the freezeout distribution.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Mass Spectrometry-based Methods for Phosphorylation Site Mapping of Hyperphosphorylated Proteins Applied to Net1, a Regulator of Exit from Mitosis in Yeast

Prior to anaphase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Cdc14 protein phosphatase is sequestered within the nucleolus and inhibited by Net1, a component of the RENT complex in budding yeast. During anaphase the RENT complex disassembles, allowing Cdc14 to migrate to the nucleus and cytoplasm where it catalyzes exit from mitosis. The mechanism of Cdc14 release appears to involve the polo-like kinase Cdc5, which is capable of promoting the dissociation of a recombinant Net1·Cdc14 complex in vitro by phosphorylation of Net1. We report here the phosphorylation site mapping of recombinant Net1 (Net1N) and a mutant Net1N allele (Net1N-19m) with 19 serines or threonines mutated to alanine. A variety of chromatographic and mass spectrometric-based strategies were used, including immobilized metal-affinity chromatography, alkaline phosphatase treatment, matrix-assisted laser-desorption post-source decay, and a multidimensional electrospray mass spectrometry-based approach. No one approach was able to identify all phosphopeptides in the tryptic digests of these proteins. Most notably, the presence of a basic residue near the phosphorylated residue significantly hampered the ability of alkaline phosphatase to hydrolyze the phosphate moiety. A major goal of research in proteomics is to identify all proteins and their interactions and post-translational modification states. The failure of any single method to identify all sites in highly phosphorylated Net1N, however, raises significant concerns about how feasible it is to map phosphorylation sites throughout the proteome using existing technologies

Surface electrical properties experiment, part 1

The work is reported which was performed on the Surface Electrical Properties Experiment Data Acquisition System. Areas discussed include: data handling and processing, installation and external signal application, operation of the equipment, and digital output. Detailed circuit descriptions are included

Population Dynamics and Clonal Comparisons of Cowpea Aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) on Resistant and Susceptible Cowpea Cultivars

Survivorship, growth, and reproductive performance of cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch, were studied on whole plants and excised plant tissues of aphid-resistant (‘ICV-12') and aphid-susceptible (‘ICV-1') cultivars of cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. In a greenhouse study, clonal populations derived from individuals that were originally collected from 5 different locations were studied on plants of the 2 cultivars to assess possible development of aphid biotypes. In the laboratory, performance of 1 clone was studied on excised leaves, flowers, and pods to assess tissue localization and effect of injury on ICV-12 resistance. Aphid life table parameters measured included survivorship, reproductive period, intrinsic rate of increase, net rate of reproduction, number of generations and generation time. Aphid reproductive performance and life table parameters were significantly reduced on seedlings and excised tissues of ICV-12 plants compared with ICV-1. Survivorship, intrinsic rate of increase and net rate of reproduction of populations were most adversely affected. Antibiosis appeared to contribute to aphid resistance in ICV-12. Effects of excised ICV-12 foliage were stronger than those of flowers or pods. Thus, the resistant factor in ICV-12 apparently was based in seedling foliage. However, there were no differences among excised tissues of ICV-1. Trends in the results indicated that there was no variability among the different populations in their demographic statistics on each cultivar. Thus, there did not seem to be biotype development or breakdown of ICV-12 resistance in any of the A. craccivora population

Linking glacial and future climates through an ensemble of GCM simulations

International audienceIn this paper we explore the relationships between the modelled climate of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and that for doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide compared to the pre-industrial climate by analysing the output from an ensemble of runs from the MIROC3.2 GCM. Our results lend support to the idea in other recent work that the Antarctic is a useful place to look for historical data which can be used to validate models used for climate forecasting of future greenhouse gas induced climate changes, at local, regional and global scales. Good results may also be obtainable using tropical temperatures, particularly those over the ocean. While the greater area in the tropics makes them an attractive area for seeking data, polar amplification of temperature changes may mean that the Anatarctic provides a clearer signal relative to the uncertainties in data and model results. Our result for Greenland is not so strong, possibly due to difficulties in accurately modelling the sea ice extent. The MIROC3.2 model shows an asymmetry in climate sensitivity calculated by decreasing rather than increasing the greenhouse gases, with 80% of the ensemble having a weaker cooling than warming. This asymmetry, if confirmed by other studies would mean that direct estimates of climate sensitivity from the LGM are likely to be underestimated by the order of half a degree. Our suspicion is, however, that this result may be highly model dependent. Analysis of the parameters varied in the model suggest the asymmetrical response may be linked to the ice in the clouds, which is therefore indicated as an important area for future research

Linking glacial and future climates through an ensemble of GCM simulations

In this paper we explore the relationships between the modelled climate of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and that for doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide compared to the pre-industrial climate by analysing the output from an ensemble of runs from the MIROC3.2 GCM. <br><br> Our results lend support to the idea in other recent work that the Antarctic is a useful place to look for historical data which can be used to validate models used for climate forecasting of future greenhouse gas induced climate changes, at local, regional and global scales. Good results may also be obtainable using tropical temperatures, particularly those over the ocean. While the greater area in the tropics makes them an attractive area for seeking data, polar amplification of temperature changes may mean that the Antarctic provides a clearer signal relative to the uncertainties in data and model results. Our result for Greenland is not so strong, possibly due to difficulties in accurately modelling the sea ice extent. <br><br> The MIROC3.2 model shows an asymmetry in climate sensitivity calculated by decreasing rather than increasing the greenhouse gases, with 80% of the ensemble having a weaker cooling than warming. This asymmetry, if confirmed by other studies would mean that direct estimates of climate sensitivity from the LGM are likely to be underestimated by the order of half a degree. Our suspicion is, however, that this result may be highly model dependent. Analysis of the parameters varied in the model suggest the asymmetrical response may be linked to the ice in the clouds, which is therefore indicated as an important area for future research

A Contactless IoT-Based GPS-Tracked Waste Bin to Curb Medical Waste Infections in Ghana

Irregular checking of waste especially in some medical facilities of Ghana leads to overflow of waste. A study by World Health Organisation (WHO) in February 2018 indicates that 15% of the total waste collected from medical facilities may be infectious, toxic, or radioactive and may contribute to unintended release of chemical or biological hazards. Considering the present COVID-19 pandemic and other diseases like ebola and hantavirus, it is critical to properly manage waste collected from medical facilities. In this study, Internet of Things (IoT) is used to design a smart bin to help reduce user contact to waste. Using a flowchart, a schematic model of the system was developed using Proteus 8.11 software. Two HCSR04 ultrasonic sensors were used to measure the waste level in the bin and detect proximity of objects to the bin to trigger an MG996R servo motor for automatic operation of the lid of the waste bin having a monitoring system. A NEO-6M GPS module was used to determine the location of the waste bin and displayed on a 16x2 LCD. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) was created for remote monitoring of waste over the internet. An ESP32 node MCU was programmed using Arduino software and used to interface the system with the GUI. The designed system was constructed and incorporated into a rectangular-shaped plastic bin. During testing, a hand wave at the sensor on the side of the container triggered opening of the bin. Sample waste placed in the bin were detected and real-time information regarding waste levels were sent to a self-designed HTML webpage called ‘Smart Bin’ with dynamic IP address. This system could be used in health facilities to prevent medical waste overflow, limit human contact to waste and avoid spread of infections

Health-seeking behaviour of tuberculosis patients and related factors in the central region of Ghana

The health seeking behaviour of TB patients and health service related barriers have been cited to have an influence on the management of the disease in countries with high incidence of TB. Using close and open-ended questionnaires, an assessment of the health seeking behaviour of 302 TB patients selected from 24 DOTS centres in six districts in the Central  Region of Ghana was carried out. Under service-related barriers, distance from home to DOTS centre significantly impacted on the management of TB among sufferers (p=0.025). Though not significant, patients  acknowledged the good reception by staff at treatment centres with 99.3% of them being comfortable with staff and services provided at centres. Majority (46.7%) of patients perceived TB to be caused by the oral route while only 9.3% knew the causative agent to be bacteria. Compared with males, quite a number of women did not have adequate knowledge on TB (p&lt;0.05). More than half of the respondents sought treatment elsewhere as first point of treatment before reporting to the DOTS centre. Health insurance played an important role in the health seeking behaviour of respondents; 45.9% of TB patients with health insurance visited the health facility as 1st provider whilst 49.4% without health insurance visited prayer camps (p=0.001). Our study has revealed that factors such as staff  attitude, distance to treatment centres, gender, employment and education are key factors that affect the health-seeking behaviour of TB patients in the Central Region of GhanaKeywords: Tuberculosis, Health, barriers, Central Regio