A continuous deployment-based approach for the collaborative creation, maintenance, testing and deployment of CityGML models

Georeferenced 3D models are an increasingly common choice to store and display urban data in many application areas. CityGML is an open and standardized data model, and exchange format that provides common semantics for 3D city entities and their relations and one of the most common options for this kind of information. Currently, creating and maintaining CityGML models is costly and difficult. This is in part because both the creation of the geometries and the semantic annotation can be complex processes that require at least some manual work. In fact, many publicly available CityGML models have errors. This paper proposes a method to facilitate the regular maintenance of correct city models in CityGML. This method is based on the continuous deployment strategy and tools used in software development, but adapted to the problem of creating, maintaining and deploying CityGML models, even when several people are working on them at the same time. The method requires designing and implementing CityGML deployment pipelines. These pipelines are automatic implementations of the process of building, testing and deploying CityGML models. These pipelines must be run by the maintainers of the models when they make changes that are intended to be shared with others. The pipelines execute increasingly complex automatic tests in order to detect errors as soon as possible, and can even automate the deployment step, where the CityGML models are made available to their end users. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of this method, and as an example of its application, a CityGML deployment pipeline has been developed for an example scenario where three actors maintain the same city model. This scenario is representative of the kind of problems that this method intends to solve, and it is based on real work in progress. The main benefits of this method are the automation of model testing, every change to the model is tested in a repeatable way; the automation of the model deployment, every change to the model can reach its end users as fast as possible; the systematic approach to integrating changes made by different people working together on the models, including the possibility of keeping parallel versions with a common core; an automatic record of every change made to the models (who did what and when) and the possibility of undoing some of those changes at any time

Discovery of a wide companion near the deuterium burning mass limit in the Upper Scorpius association

We present the discovery of a companion near the deuterium burning mass limit located at a very wide distance, at an angular separation of 4.6+/-0.1 arcsec (projected distance of ~ 670 AU) from UScoCTIO108, a brown dwarf of the very young Upper Scorpius association. Optical and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy confirm the cool nature of both objects, with spectral types of M7 and M9.5, respectively, and that they are bona fide members of the association, showing low gravity and features of youth. Their masses, estimated from the comparison of their bolometric luminosities and theoretical models for the age range of the association, are 60+/-20 and 14^{+2}_{-8} MJup, respectively. The existence of this object around a brown dwarf at this wide orbit suggests that the companion is unlikely to have formed in a disk based on current planet formation models. Because this system is rather weakly bound, they did not probably form through dynamical ejection of stellar embryos.Comment: 10 pages, including 4 figures and 2 table

Temporal changes of the flare activity of Proxima Cen

We study temporal variations of the emission lines of Halpha, Hepsilon, H and K Ca II, D1 and D2 Na I, 4026 and 5876 A He I in the HARPS spectra of Proxima Centauri across an extended time of 13.2 years, from May 27, 2004, to September 30, 2017. Aims. We analyse the common behaviour and differences in the intensities and profiles of different emission lines in flare and quiet modes of Proxima activity. Methods. We compare the pseudo-equivalent widths (pEW) and profiles of the emission lines in the HARPS high-resolution (R ~ 115,000) spectra observed at the same epochs. Results. All emission lines show variability with a timescale of at least 10 min. The strength of all lines except He I 4026 A correlate with \Halpha. During strong flares the `red asymmetry' appears in the Halpha emission line indicating the infall of hot condensed matter into the chromosphere with velocities greater than 100 km/s disturbing chromospheric layers. As a result, the strength of the Ca II lines anti-correlates with Halpha during strong flares. The He I lines at 4026 and 5876 A appear in the strong flares. The cores of D1 and D2 Na I lines are also seen in emission. During the minimum activity of Proxima Centauri, Ca II lines and Hepsilon almost disappear while the blue part of the Na I emission lines is affected by the absorption in the extending and condensing flows. Conclusions. We see different behaviour of emission lines formed in the flare regions and chromosphere. Chromosphere layers of Proxima Cen are likely heated by the flare events; these layers are cooled in the `non-flare' mode. The self-absorption structures in cores of our emission lines vary with time due to the presence of a complicated system of inward and outward matter flows in the absorbing layers.Comment: 22 pages, 12 Figures, accepted by A

Measurement of AC Loss and Magnetic Field during Ramps in the LHC Model Dipoles

We describe the systems for AC loss and magnetic field measurements developed for the LHC superconducting magnets. AC loss measurements are performed using an electric method, while field measurements are performed using either fixed pick-ups or rotating coils. We present results obtained on 1-m long model dipoles, and compare the results of the different methods in terms of average inter-strand resistance and low order field harmonics

Genotype x dose of artificial insemination interaction for buck fertility

Ponencia publicada en ITEA, vol.104El objetivo de este trabajo fue estimar los parámetros genéticos de la fertilidad tras la IA con 3 tipos de dosis obtenidas de eyaculados de machos de la línea Caldes: 1) tipo 10: con 10 x 106 espermatozoides/ml y 24h de conservación en un diluyente comercial tipo A. 2) tipo 40: con 40 x 106 espermatozoides/ml y las mismas condiciones de conservación que las del tipo 10. 3) tipo X: dosis preparadas tras diluir los eyaculados con un diluyente comercial tipo B (1:5) siendo desconocida la concentración y sin periodo de conservación. Se realizaron 3,628 IA con dosis del tipo 10 sobre hembras cruzadas, 3,027 con dosis del tipo 40 y la misma población de hembras, y 5,779 con dosis del tipo X sobre hembras puras de la línea Caldes. La fertilidad tras la IA con dosis del tipo 10 (F10), 40 (F40) y X (FX) fue considerada un carácter distinto en cada caso, de tipo binario. Los datos se analizaron utilizando un modelo umbral tri-carácter. La estima de la media de la distribución marginal posterior (DMP) de F10 menos F40 fue de -0.13. Este resultado indica un claro efecto de la concentración sobre la fertilidad, que podría no ser lineal. Las medias de la DMP de F10 menos FX y F40 menos FX fueron -0.37 y -0.23, respectivamente, lo que indica que el efecto de las condiciones de conservación sobre la fertilidad podría ser más importante que el de la concentración ya que FX fue muy próxima a la fertilidad tras la MN y la concentración del tipo de dosis X sería en promedio de unos 50 x 106 espermatozoides/ml. Las heredabilidades parecen ser similares para F10 y F40 y ambas mayores que las correspondientes a la fertilidad tras la MN y a FX. La interacción del genotipo x concentración de la dosis de IA es prácticamente despreciable debido a que las varianzas genéticas fueron similares para F10 y F40 y a que su correlación genética fue próxima a 1. Sin embargo, la interacción podría ser de mayor importancia entre el genotipo y las condiciones de conservación.The aim of this research was to estimate genetic parameters of male fertility after AI with three different types of AI doses obtained from ejaculates of bucks belonging to the Caldes line: 1) type 10: doses with 10 x 106 spermatozoa/ml and a period of 24 h of storage at 18ºC in a saline extender A. 2) type 40: doses with 40 x 106 spermatozoa/ml and the same storage conditions as type 10. 3) type X, doses prepared with semen diluted (1:5) with a saline extender B, but with unknown sperm dosage and no storage period. 3,628 AI were performed with the type 10 doses using crossbred females, 3,027 with the type 40 doses and the same population of females, and 5,779 with the type X doses, using purebred M. Piles et al. ITEA (2008), Vol. 104 (2), 160-168 16 females from the Caldes line in a different farm. Fertility after AI with type 10 doses (F10), type 40 doses (F40) and type X doses (FX) was considered as three different binary traits. Data were analyzed under a three-trait threshold model. The mean of the marginal posterior distribution (MPD) for F10 minus F40 was estimated to be -0.13. This result indicates a clear effect of the sperm dosage on fertility, which could be non-linear. The mean of the MPD of F10 minus FX and F40 minus FX were respectively, -0.37 and -0.23 which indicates that the effect of the storage conditions on fertility could be even more important on fertility than sperm dosage, since FX was very close to fertility after NM and sperm dosage of this type of doses was in average lower than 50 x 106 spermatozoa/ml. Heritabilities seem to be similar for F10 and F40 and both of them could be higher than heritability of male fertility after NM and FX. Variance of the genotype x sperm dosage interaction was almost negligible since additive variances were similar for F10 and F40 and their genetic correlation was close to 1. However, this interaction could be more important between the genotype and the storage conditions

The Substellar Mass Function in sigma Orionis

We combine results from imaging searches for substellar objects in the sigma Orionis cluster and follow-up photometric and spectroscopic observations to derive a census of the brown dwarf population in a region of 847 arcmin^2. We identify 64 very low-mass cluster member candidates in this region. We have available three color (IZJ) photometry for all of them, spectra for 9 objects, and K photometry for 27% of our sample. These data provide a well defined sequence in the I vs I-J, I-K color magnitude diagrams, and indicate that the cluster is affected by little reddening despite its young age (~5 Myr). Using state-of-the-art evolutionary models, we derive a mass function from the low-mass stars (0.2 Msol) across the complete brown dwarf domain (0.075 Msol to 0.013 Msol), and into the realm of free-floating planetary-mass objects (<0.013 Msol). We find that the mass spectrum (dN/dm ~ m^{-alpha}) increases toward lower masses with an exponent alpha = 0.8+/-0.4. Our results suggest that planetary-mass isolated objects could be as common as brown dwarfs; both kinds of objects together would be as numerous as stars in the cluster. If the distribution of stellar and substellar masses in sigma Orionis is representative of the Galactic disk, older and much lower luminosity free-floating planetary-mass objects with masses down to about 0.005 Msol should be abundant in the solar vicinity, with a density similar to M-type stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 19 pages, 3 figures include

Inhibition of Fungi and Gram-Negative Bacteria by Bacteriocin BacTN635 Produced by Lactobacillus plantarum sp. TN635

The aim of this study was to evaluate 54 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains isolated from meat, fermented vegetables and dairy products for their capacity to produce antimicrobial activities against several bacteria and fungi. The strain designed TN635 has been selected for advanced studies. The supernatant culture of this strain inhibits the growth of all tested pathogenic including the four Gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella enterica ATCC43972, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 49189, Hafnia sp. and Serratia sp.) and the pathogenic fungus Candida tropicalis R2 CIP203. Based on the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene of the strain TN635 (1,540 pb accession no FN252881) and the phylogenetic analysis, we propose the assignment of our new isolate bacterium as Lactobacillus plantarum sp. TN635 strain. Its antimicrobial compound was determined as a proteinaceous substance, stable to heat and to treatment with surfactants and organic solvents. Highest antimicrobial activity was found between pH 3 and 11 with an optimum at pH = 7. The BacTN635 was purified to homogeneity by a four-step protocol involving ammonium sulfate precipitation, centrifugal microconcentrators with a 10-kDa membrane cutoff, gel filtration Sephadex G-25, and C18 reverse-phase HPLC. SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified BacTN635, revealed a single band with an estimated molecular mass of approximately 4 kDa. The maximum bacteriocin production (5,000 AU/ml) was recorded after a 16-h incubation in Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) medium at 30 °C. The mode of action of the partial purified BacTN635 was identified as bactericidal against Listeria ivanovii BUG 496 and as fungistatic against C. tropicalis R2 CIP203