Holographic Fabry-Perot spectrometer

We propose a spectrum analyzer based on the properties of a hologram recorded with the field transmitted by a Fabry-Perot etalon. The spectral response of this holographic Fabry-Perot spectrometer (HFPS) is analytically investigated in the paraxial approximation and compared with a conventional Fabry-Perot etalon of similar characteristics. We demonstrate that the resolving power is twice increased and the free spectral range (FSR) is reduced to one-half. The proposed spectrometer could improve the operational performance of the etalon because it can exhibit high efficiency and it would be insensible to environmental conditions such as temperature and vibrations. Our analysis also extends to another variant of the HFPS based on holographic multiplexing of the transmitted field of a Fabry-Perot etalon. This device increases the FSR, keeping the same HFPS performance. © 2011 Optical Society of America.We thank A. Cámara Iglesias for valuable discussions and advice. Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under project TEC 2008-04105 is acknowledged.Peer Reviewe

Microparticle movements in optical funnels and pods

Three-dimensional microparticle movements induced by laser beams with a funnel-and tubular pod-like structure, in the neighbourhood of the focal plane of an optical trapping setup, are experimentally studied. The funnel and pod beams constructed as coherent superpositions of helical Laguerre-Gaussian modes are synthesized by a computer generated hologram using a phase-only spatial light modulator. Particle tracking is achieved by in-line holography method which allows an accurate position measurement. It is experimentally demonstrated that the trapped particle follows different trajectories depending on the orbital angular momentum density of the beam. In particular applying the proposed pod beam the particle rotates in opposite directions during its movement in the optical trap. Possible applications of these single-beam traps for volumetric optical particle manipulation are discussed. © 2011 Optical Society of America.The financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under projects TEC2008-04105, TEC2009-5545-E/TEC are acknowledged. J. A. Rodrigo and A. M. Caravaca-Aguirre gratefully thank a “Juan de la Cierva” grant and fellowship from “Obra Social Ibercaja (Beca Ibercaja de Investigación 2010)”, respectively. The authors appreciate valuable comments from J. R. Arias-González.Peer Reviewe

Efecto de las radiaciones gamma sobre yemas de caqui

En la última década, el cultivo del caqui (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) en España ha aumentado significativamente. Esta expansión se debe principalmente al cv. Rojo Brillante, cultivar de alta calidad organoléptica en el que se basa el 95% de la producción. Con la finalidad de evitar los riesgos sanitarios y problemas de comercialización que supone el cultivo monovarietal, en el Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) se inició un programa de mejora de caqui que persigue la obtención de nuevos cultivares que mantengan la calidad del ‘Rojo Brillante’, alta productividad y buen tamaño de fruto, y que amplíen su campaña de recolección. En el caso del caqui, la mejora convencional se enfrenta a diferentes problemas como la baja disponibilidad de variedades con flores masculinas, la herencia dominante de la astringencia y la naturaleza hexaploide y nonaploide de los cultivares. Todo ello dificulta enormemente los estudios genéticos y ha tenido como consecuencia la baja variabilidad comercial disponible. Una de las estrategias elegidas en el IVIA para poder ampliar esta variabilidad ha sido la mutagénesis inducida a través de la irradiación con rayos gamma, estrategia ya utilizada anteriormente con éxito en otras especies frutales (Predieri, 2001)

CERVANTES: A Model-Based Approach for Service-Oriented Systems Development

Context: The benefits of the Model-Driven Software Engineering application for Service-Oriented Computing. Objective: This paper proposes a Model-Based approach for Service-Oriented Systems Development. Method: Following the Model-Driven Reverse Engineering process, from the models discovery, to the generation of the current Model-Based Approach for Service-Oriented Systems Development. Results: The CERVANTES metamodel is presented and compared to other initiatives. Conclusions: This study shows how Model-Driven Engineering can be used to develop Service Oriented Systems in practice

Identification of protein and mannoprotein antigens of Candida albicans of relevance for the serodiagnosis of invasive candidiasis

Antigens from Candida albicans blastoconidia and germ tubes were identified by two-dimensional electrophoresis and Western blotting and characterized by microsequencing, reactivity with concanavalin A, and a panel of human sera. Antigens identified included a polydispersed area in the acidic high-molecular-mass regions of blastoconidium and germ-tube extracts, and 16 antigens varying in molecular masses and isoelectric points (pIs). The majority of the detected antigens, especially those in the polydispersed region, showed mannosyl groups, as determined by concanavalin A reactivity. Antibodies present in sera from patients with invasive candidiasis showed high reactivity with a number of antigens not detected with sera from blood donors. Eight of the 16 antigens could be identified by reactivity with monoclonal antibodies or by microsequencing. Five antigens showed homology with five enzymes previously described as antigens in C. albicans: enolase, phosphoglycerate kinase, malate dehydrogenase, and two isoforms of the fructose biphosphate aldolase. However, to our knowledge, this is the first report of the immunogenic activity of a kexin precursor, a mitochondrial complex I chaperone, and a diacylglycerol kinase catalytic domain from C. albicans. Antigens described in this study may be of potential interest for the serodiagnosis of invasive candidiasis. [Int Microbiol 2007; 10(2):103-108

Multi-GPU Development of a Neural Networks Based Reconstructor for Adaptive Optics

Aberrations introduced by the atmospheric turbulence in large telescopes are compensated using adaptive optics systems, where the use of deformable mirrors and multiple sensors relies on complex control systems. Recently, the development of larger scales of telescopes as the E-ELT or TMT has created a computational challenge due to the increasing complexity of the new adaptive optics systems. The Complex Atmospheric Reconstructor based on Machine Learning (CARMEN) is an algorithm based on artificial neural networks, designed to compensate the atmospheric turbulence. During recent years, the use of GPUs has been proved to be a great solution to speed up the learning process of neural networks, and different frameworks have been created to ease their development. The implementation of CARMEN in different Multi-GPU frameworks is presented in this paper, along with its development in a language originally developed for GPU, like CUDA. This implementation offers the best response for all the presented cases, although its advantage of using more than one GPU occurs only in large networks

Dal germoplasma all'esportazione: il caso del kaki “Rojo Brillante”

Nonostante ci siano alcuni lavori sul kaki (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) che riportano come questa specie sia presente in Spagna fin dal XVI secolo, la sua diffusione nel bacino del Mediterraneo è stata rilevante solo durante gli ultimi due secoli. Dalle prime piante introdotte dall”Estremo Oriente, probabilmente del tipo astringente, si sono sviluppate varietá locali, sia attraverso libera impollinazione, che per mutazione gemmaria (Giordani, 2002). Nella banca di germoplasma del kaki presente all'IVIA (Valencia, Spagna) abbiamo raccolto numerose di queste varietá locali spagnole: “Cristalino”, “Picudo”, “Tomatero”, “Xato de Bonrepós”, “Bétera”, “Constantí”, “Ferrán”, “Garidells”, “La Selva” e “Reus”. Venti anni fa piante di kaki di queste e altre varitá erano coltivate lungo le aree Mediterranee della Spagna come alberi isolati in giardini e piccoli frutteti familiari o in modeste piantagioni destinate al consumo locale. Nonostante i frutti del kaki fossero ampiamente apprezzati nei mercati locali, Vastringenza dei frutti tipica di tutte le varieta coltivate in Spagna ne ha limitato la coltivazione. La selezione della cultivar di notevole qualitá “Rojo Brillante”, insieme all introduzione con successo di nuove tecniche di rimozione dell astringenza senza la perdita di compattezza della polpa, ha consentito l'espansione della coltivazione durante gli anni '90, specialmente nell'area di “Ribera del Xúquer” nella provincia di Valencia. In questo articolo sono descritte le origini, le caratteristiche e le tecniche culturali utilizzate per la coltivazione del “Rojo Brillante” considerato una nuova risorsa per l'industria del kaki

Resultados de la Experimentación con Nueve Preselecciones de Híbridos de Albaricoquero Resistentes al Virus de la Sharka

En 1993 se inició en el IVIA un programa de mejora genética del albaricoquero con el fin de obtener nuevas variedades resistentes al virus de la sharka y con buena adaptación a muestras condiciones agronómicas y comerciales. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de 9 híbridos preseleccionados que han destacado hasta el momento. Algunos de ellos podrán convertirse en breve en variedades comerciales para sustituir a las variedades tradicionales valencianas susceptibles a la sharka