On the void explanation of the Cold Spot

The integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) contribution induced on the cosmic microwave background by the presence of a supervoid as the one detected by Szapudi et al. (2015) is reviewed in this letter in order to check whether it could explain the Cold Spot (CS) anomaly. Two different models, previously used for the same purpose, are considered to describe the matter density profile of the void: a top hat function and a compensated profile produced by a Gaussian potential. The analysis shows that, even enabling ellipticity changes or different values for the dark-energy equation of state parameter $\omega$, the ISW contribution due to the presence of the void does not reproduce the properties of the CS. Finally, the probability of alignment between the void and the CS is also questioned as an argument in favor of a physical connection between these two phenomena

Exploring two-spin internal linear combinations for the recovery of the CMB polarization

We present a methodology to recover cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization in which the quantity $P = Q+ iU$ is linearly combined at different frequencies using complex coefficients. This is the most general linear combination of the $Q$ and $U$ Stokes parameters which preserves the physical coherence of the residual contribution on the CMB estimation. The approach is applied to the internal linear combination (ILC) and the internal template fitting (ITF) methodologies. The variance of $P$ of the resulting map is minimized to compute the coefficients of the linear combination. One of the key aspects of this procedure is that it serves to account for a global frequency-dependent shift of the polarization phase. Although in the standard case, in which no global E-B transference depending on frequency is expected in the foreground components, minimizing $\left\langle |P|^2\right\rangle$ is similar to minimizing $\left\langle Q^2\right\rangle$ and $\left\langle U^2\right\rangle$ separately (as previous methodologies proceed), multiplying $Q$ and $U$ by different coefficients induces arbitrary changes in the polarization angle and it does not preserve the coherence between the spinorial components. The approach is tested on simulations, obtaining a similar residual level with respect to the one obtained with other implementations of the ILC, and perceiving the polarization rotation of a toy model with the frequency dependence of the Faraday rotation.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Searching for a dipole modulation in the large-scale structure of the Universe

Several statistical anomalies in the CMB temperature anisotropies seem to defy the assumption of a homogeneous and isotropic universe. In particular, a dipole modulation has been detected both in WMAP and Planck data. We adapt the methodology proposed by Eriksen et al. (2007) on CMB data to galaxy surveys, tracing the large-scale structure. We analyse the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) data at a resolution of ~2 degrees for three different flux thresholds: 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 mJy respectively. No evidence of a dipole modulation is found. This result suggests that the origin of the dipole asymmetry found in the CMB cannot be assigned to secondary anisotropies produced at redshifts around z = 1. However, it could still have been generated at redshifts higher or lower, such as the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect produced by the local structures. Other all-sky surveys, like the infrared WISE catalogue, could help to explore with a high sensitivity a redshift interval closer than the one probed with NVSS.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. Some minor changes have been done from the original manuscript. This paper is accepted by MNRA

MarineTools.temporal: A Python package to simulate Earth and environmental time series

The assessment of the uncertainty about the evolution of complex processes usually requires different realizations consisting of multivariate temporal signals of environmental data. However, it is common to have only one observational set. MarineTools.temporal is an open-source Python package for the non-stationary parametric statistical analysis of vector random processes suitable for environmental and Earth modelling. It takes a single timeseries of observations and allows the simulation of many time series with the same probabilistic behavior. The software generalizes the use of piecewise and compound distributions with any number of arbitrary continuous distributions. The code contains, among others, multi-model negative log-likely functions, wrappednormal distributions, and generalized Fourier timeseries expansion. Its programming philosophy significantly improves the computing time and makes it compatible with future extensions of scipy.stats. We apply it to the analysis of freshwater river discharge, water currents, and the simulation of ensemble projections of sea waves, to show its capabilities

Immunohistochemical diagnosis of Caprine alphaherpesvirus 1 (CpHV-1) in Mexico

The aim of this study was to identify the presence of Caprine alphaherpesvirus 1 (CpHV-1) in goat organs with suggestive injuries caused by the virus. A descriptive and retrospective study was performed, selecting necropsy cases suggestive of CpHV-1infection during a period of five years. Forty eight suspected cases were obtained, to which the immunohistochemistry technique with a CpHV-1 monoclonal antibody, was applied. We observed positivity in 24 goatling cases under 15 days (50%) and in 4 cases of adult animals (8.3%). The presence of CpHV-1 in goats from the Mexican plateau is confirmed

Estrategia educativa mediante las TIC para incrementar las prácticas obstétricas beneficiosas en la provincia del Azuay-Ecuador

La aplicación de prácticas no basadas en evidencias científicas, el incumplimiento de normas de atención establecidas por el Ministerio de Salud Pública (MSP), registro incompleto de datos, escasa capacitación del personal y dificultades en la comunicación, constituyen factores que han obstaculizado el mejoramiento continuo de la calidad de la atención, que se expresa tanto en la aplicación de prácticas inefectivas en la atención materna y neonatal, como en el deficiente cumplimiento de los estándares e indicadores. En estas circunstancias las tasas de mortalidad y morbilidad materna y neonatal continúan elevadas, cuyas causas en su mayoría son prevenibles. En el Ecuador, según el Instituto Ecuatoriano de Estadísticas y Censos (INEC) en el año 2009 murieron 208 mujeres por causas del embarazo, parto y puerperio (96.3 x 100.000 nacidos vivos) como consecuencia de inequidades económicas, sociales, culturales, carencia de recursos en salud y deficiencias en la calidad de la atención. En el estudio “Evaluación de los servicios de cuidados obstétricos y neonatales de emergencia” realizado en las provincias de Azuay y Guayas durante los años 2006 y 2007, con el auspicio de la OPS/OMS, se encontró deficiencias en la calidad de la atención, registros e informes de las atenciones incompletos y desarticulados del sistema de vigilancia epidemiológico provincial. Por otro lado, mediante análisis de bases de datos del SIP de 9000 partos atendidos en los Hospitales Pablo Arturo de Quito,Vicente Corral de Cuenca y Matilde Hidalgo de Guayaquil,se verificaron deficiencias en el cumplimiento de las normas de atención, tales como: uso de administración de hierro y folatos durante el embarazo (48%), VIH solicitado (17.6%), uso de oxitocina en el tercer período del parto (45%), posición supina del recién nacido (53.9%), acompañante durante el parto (27.3%), parto en posición acostada (90.9%), episiotomía (32%), ligadura precoz del cordón (41.3%), cesárea (21.1%)