New Studies of the Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Supernova Remnant CTB 80

We investigated the kinematics of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) associated with PSR B1951+32 in the old supernova remnant CTB 80 using the Fabry-Perot interferometer of the 6m Special Astrophysical Observatory telescope. In addition to the previously known expansion of the system of bright filaments with a velocity of 100-200km/s, we detected weak high-velocity features in the H-alpha line at least up to velocities of 400-450km/s. We analyzed the morphology of the PWN in the H-alpha, [SII], and [OIII] lines using HST data and discuss its nature. The shape of the central filamentary shell, which is determined by the emission in the [OIII] line and in the radio continuum, is shown to be consistent with the bow-shock model for a significant (about 60 degrees) inclination of the pulsar's velocity vector to the plane of the sky. In this case, the space velocity of the pulsar is twice higher than its tangential velocity, i.e., it reaches ~500 km/s, and PSR B1951+32 is the first pulsar whose line-of-sight velocity (of about 400 km/s) has been estimated from the PWN observations. The shell-like H-alpha-structures outside the bow shock front in the east and the west may be associated with both the pulsar's jets and the pulsar-wind breakthrough due to the layered structure of the extended CTB 80 shell.Comment: to appear in Astronomy Letters, 12 pages, 6 postscript figures, two in colour; for a version with high resolution figures see http://www.sao.ru/hq/grb/team/vkom/CTB80_fine.pd

La serpiente en el arte rupestre de Nocui, norte semiárido de Chile

Damos a conocer el notable desarrollo técnico e iconográfico que alcanzaron los grabados rupestres de Nocui (región de Coquimbo, Chile), confeccionados desde inicios del Alfarero Temprano (ca. 2000 AP) pero mayormente desarrollados por los diaguitas hasta tiempos tardíos (1000-1536 DC). Su análisis establecerá que el referente serpentimorfo expresa significados que se encuadran en el ámbito de lo simbólico y lo sagrado, siendo el principal indicador de la unidad cultural local. Asimismo, proponemos que el lugar de tales grabados fue dotado de gran valor simbólico, llegando incluso a ser sacralizado, por lo que fue parte esencial de los procesos de apropiación del territorio, conformación de identidad, así como de reafirmación y promoción del imaginario sagrado.Palabras clave : arte rupestre; Nocui; diaguitas; cosmovisión. AbstractRock art research recently conducted at the pastures of Nocui (region of Coquimbo, Chile) reveals the remarkable technical and iconographic development archieved in engravings during early ceramics period (ca. 2000 BP) and until the blossoming of Diaguita Culture (1000-1536 AD). This suggest that rupestrian expressions played a primary rol in the process of appropriation of the local territory, as carried out through a seasonal hunting and grazing economic strategies. We propose that the high symbolic value attributed in this way to specific locations became sacralized through time, making certaim places essential to the construction of local identity and the promotion of its cosmovision.Palabras clave : rock art; Nocui; Diaguita Culture; cosmovision

La testamentaría de Andrés Bello: legatario, heredero y causante intestado. Los negocios jurídicos y las relaciones de familia develados a su muerte

The unknown –until now– partitional files of Andrés Bello constitute a discovery that opens new possibilities regarding the study of the legal affairs caused by his death, of his familial relationships, of the persistence of his social relationships even after his death, and of his decision not to write a will. It also gives details regarding his private life: his fortune, his domestic life, and even his most cherished memories. We will describe and analyze two dossiers, the first of which –related to the events that occurred immediately after his death– is kept in the Library of the Supreme Court of Justice in Santiago, and the second –written a couple decades later, due to the publication of La Filosofía del entendimiento y Poema del Cid–, in the National Historical Archive of Chile.Los desconocidos, hasta ahora, expedientes particionales de Andrés Bello constituyen un descubrimiento que abre nuevas posibilidades para el estudio de los negocios jurídicos de los cuales fue parte con ocasión de su deceso, de aspectos desconocidos de sus relaciones de familia, de la mantención de sus relaciones sociales incluso a su muerte, y de su decisión de morir intestado. Por otro lado, nos entrega detalles sobre su intimidad: fortuna y vida doméstica, incluso de sus recuerdos más queridos. Describiremos y analizaremos dos expedientes, el primero, que remite a lo ocurrido inmediatamente a la muerte del codificador, custodiado en la Biblioteca de la Excma. Corte Suprema de Justicia en Santiago, y el segundo, ocurrido un par de décadas después, producto de la publicación de La Filosofía del entendimiento y Poema del Cid, en el Archivo Nacional Histórico de Chile

La serpiente en el arte rupestre de Nocui, norte semiárido de Chile

Damos a conocer el notable desarrollo técnico e iconográfico que alcanzaron los grabados rupestres de Nocui (región de Coquimbo, Chile), confeccionados desde inicios del Alfarero Temprano (ca. 2000 AP) pero mayormente desarrollados por los diaguitas hasta tiempos tardíos (1000-1536 DC). Su análisis establecerá que el referente serpentimorfo expresa significados que se encuadran en el ámbito de lo simbólico y lo sagrado, siendo el principal indicador de la unidad cultural local. Asimismo, proponemos que el lugar de tales grabados fue dotado de gran valor simbólico, llegando incluso a ser sacralizado, por lo que fue parte esencial de los procesos de apropiación del territorio, conformación de identidad, así como de reafirmación y promoción del imaginario sagrado.Palabras clave : arte rupestre; Nocui; diaguitas; cosmovisión. AbstractRock art research recently conducted at the pastures of Nocui (region of Coquimbo, Chile) reveals the remarkable technical and iconographic development archieved in engravings during early ceramics period (ca. 2000 BP) and until the blossoming of Diaguita Culture (1000-1536 AD). This suggest that rupestrian expressions played a primary rol in the process of appropriation of the local territory, as carried out through a seasonal hunting and grazing economic strategies. We propose that the high symbolic value attributed in this way to specific locations became sacralized through time, making certaim places essential to the construction of local identity and the promotion of its cosmovision.Palabras clave : rock art; Nocui; Diaguita Culture; cosmovision

L'amarilli pastorale

Marca tip. na portSign.: A-C\p12\s, D\p10\

Smart meter enabled dynamic pricing of water.

The advent of smart metering is set to revolutionize many aspects of the relationship between water utilities and their customers. Smart-metered data supports enhanced customer interaction, enables linking to social media and paves the way for dynamic tariffs (prices that change over time). For dynamic pricing, metering must have sufficiently high frequency and enable billing users individually; smart metering enables this. Dynamic tariffs aim to either reduce demand or shift it in time and can be designed for revenue neutrality with the wider aim of increasing economic, social or environmental benefits. Two dynamic water pricing schemes are described here: scarcity and peak pricing. Scarcity pricing reduces demand by setting prices nearer to the marginal economic value of water, which is closely related to water scarcity in the basin which varies over time. Scarcity pricing aims to send users a signal of water’s value in connection with its scarcity to promote more efficient water use. Peak pricing uses demand displacement tariffs, sometimes combined with demand reduction tariffs, to lower and maybe shift the peak demand to off-peak hours. The aim is to reduce leakage and decrease future network expansion and maintenance costs while potentially lower pumping energy costs. The proposed analysis estimates the potential economic and engineering benefits of dynamic tariff designs. These benefits are assessed for the Greater London area in the United Kingdom and its 15 million inhabitants. Scarcity pricing is implemented by equating the marginal value of residential demands with the estimates of the marginal economic values of environmental flows derived from tourism, property values, etc. Over the 85-year historical period, scarcity pricing during droughts resulted in a 70% reduction in environmental flow shortage volumes whilst residential prices rose above twice the base rate only 3% of the time. The net present value of estimated savings from peak pricing was evaluated approximately at £30 million for each of the initial percentage points in peak usage reduction. The talk also discusses the wider implications, challenges and benefits of dynamic pricing, and its potential links to customer interaction, social media, and to the SmartH2O project more generally