A newly discovered VHE gamma-ray PWN candidate around PSR J1459-60

Observations of the Galactic Plane performed by the H.E.S.S. telescope array have revealed a significant excess at very-high-energies (VHE; E>0.1 TeV) from the direction of PSR J1459-60, a rather old gamma-ray pulsar (64 kyr) with a spindown energy of ~10^36 erg/s, discovered by the Fermi/LAT satellite in high-energy (HE) gamma-rays. The X-ray pulsar counterpart has been recently detected using the Suzaku satellite. In this contribution, we present the discovery of a new VHE gamma-ray source, including morphological and spectral analyses. Its association with the gamma-ray pulsar in a PWN scenario will be discussed

Characteristics of strength and speed of execution in young women soccer players

El objetivo de este estudio fue caracterizar y comparar la fuerza máxima y rápida, la potencia anaeróbica, la velocidad de ejecución y de desplazamiento en función de la posición de juego en 59 jóvenes futbolistas distribuidas en dos categorías. La metodología consistió en una valoración de masa corporal, talla y 4 pruebas, fuerza explosiva (CMJ Y SJ), velocidad (30 m), la potencia anaeróbica (Prueba de Wingate) y la fuerza máxima (%1RM). Los resultados mostraron a las pre-juveniles con los mejores registros en la mayoría de variables a excepción de la talla y el VMP sentadilla. En la prueba de potencia máxima las porteras y defensas pre-juveniles obtuvieron el mejor registro (409,11 W±86,73 W) y 1RM (60,58 Kg±13,69 Kg) sin diferencias significativas. Finalmente, se encontró una interacción significativa entre la posición y la categoría de juego en VMP sentadilla, F55= 21,41; p = 0,021, eta cuadrado= 0,093 entre las jugadoras de las dos categorías estudiadasThe objective of this study was to characterize and compare the maximum and fast strenght, anaerobic power, speed of execution and displacement according to the playing position in 59 young players divided into two categories. The methodology consisted of an assessment of body mass, height and 4 tests, explosive force (CMJ and SJ), velocity (30 m), anaerobic power (Wingate test) and maximum force (% 1RM). The results showed the under 15 years old with the best records on most variables except for the size and mean propulsive velocity (MPV) squat. In the maximum power test pre-juvenile goalkeepers and defences line obtained the best record (409.11 W ± 86.73 W) and 1RM (60.58 kg ± 13.69 Kg) without significant differences. Finally, we found a significant interaction between the position and the game category in MPV squat, F55 = 21.41; P = 0.021, eta square = 0.093 among the players of the two categories studie

Designing local solutions for emptying pit latrines in low-income urban settlements (Malawi)

A lack of effective options in local technology poses challenges when onsite household sanitation facilities are eventually filled to capacity in unplanned settlement areas within Mzuzu City, located in northern Malawi. Vacuum trucks currently dominate the market but focus on emptying septic tanks in the more easily accessible planned settlement areas, rather than servicing the pit latrines common in unplanned settlement areas. As a result, households in the unplanned settlement areas within Mzuzu rely primarily on manual pit emptying (i.e., shoveling by hand) or digging a new pit latrine. These practices have associated health risks and are limited by space constraints. This research focused on filling the technological gap through the design, development, and testing of a pedal powered modified Gulper pump using locally available materials and fabrication. A modified pedal powered Gulper technology was developed and demonstrated to be capable of lifting fecal sludge from a depth of 1.5 m with a mean flow rate of 0.00058 m3/s. If the trash content was low, a typical pit latrine with a volume of 1–4 m3 could be emptied within 1–2 h. Based on the findings in our research Phase IV, the pedal powered Gulper modification is promising as a potential emptying technology for lined pit latrines in unplanned settlement areas. The success rate of the technology is about 17% (5 out 30 sampled lined pit latrines were successful) and reflects the difficulty in finding a single technology that can work well in all types of pit latrines with varying contents. We note that cost should not be the only design criteria and acknowledge the challenge of handling trash in pit latrines

Bilevel Parameter Learning for Higher-Order Total Variation Regularisation Models.

We consider a bilevel optimisation approach for parameter learning in higher-order total variation image reconstruction models. Apart from the least squares cost functional, naturally used in bilevel learning, we propose and analyse an alternative cost based on a Huber-regularised TV seminorm. Differentiability properties of the solution operator are verified and a first-order optimality system is derived. Based on the adjoint information, a combined quasi-Newton/semismooth Newton algorithm is proposed for the numerical solution of the bilevel problems. Numerical experiments are carried out to show the suitability of our approach and the improved performance of the new cost functional. Thanks to the bilevel optimisation framework, also a detailed comparison between TGV 2 and ICTV is carried out, showing the advantages and shortcomings of both regularisers, depending on the structure of the processed images and their noise level.King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) (Grant ID: KUKI1-007-43), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant IDs: Nr. EP/J009539/1 “Sparse & Higher-order Image Restoration” and Nr. EP/M00483X/1 “Efficient computational tools for inverse imaging problems”), Escuela Politécnica Nacional de Quito (Grant ID: PIS 12-14, MATHAmSud project SOCDE “Sparse Optimal Control of Differential Equations”), Leverhulme Trust (project on “Breaking the non-convexity barrier”), SENESCYT (Ecuadorian Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation) (Prometeo Fellowship)This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10851-016-0662-

Grapevine leaf uptake of mineral elements influenced by sugar foam amendment of an acidic soil

The use of sugar foam (industrial waste from sugar beet extraction) as an acidic soil (raña) liming agent has been studied in a singular winegrowing region. The contents of the major elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Na, Mg, S, Si) and trace elements (As, Ba, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Ga, Hf, La, Mo, Nb, Nd, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sc, Sn, Sr, Ta, Th, U, V, W, Y, Zn, Zr) in the original soil, the amended soil and in grapevine leaves has been measured by X-ray fluorescence. The addition of sugar foam modified the agronomic properties of the original soil. The amendment caused a slight increase in major elements (Ca, 10.4 g·kg-1; Mg, 1.9 g·kg-1 and K, 12.9 g·kg-1) and decreased Al (from 62 to 57.8 g·kg-1) and Fe (from 41.2 to 26.5 g·kg-1) content. Regarding trace elements, there was an increase in levels of Ba, Rb and Sr in the amended soil in comparison to the original soil. The major elements that accumulated in the vine leaf were Ca, Mg and S (Biological Absorption Coefficient, BAC, greater than 1). As for trace elements in leaf, Ba and Sr had a "medium" BAC (0.27 and 0.8, respectively) whereas Rb had a "slight"value (0.08). It is worth noting that the bioaccumulation rate of Zn was greater than 1. The use of sugar foam as a liming agent did not have a negative effect on the absorption of major and trace elements in vine leaves and led to improved BAC values for essential elements in the grapevine. The treatment did not increase the amount of trace elements in the soil above the reference levels for the region.

Evaluation of the functional potential of Weissella and Lactobacillus isolates obtained from Nigerian traditional fermented foods and cow's intestine

The characterisation of 24 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolates from Nigerian traditional fermented dairy foods, including some cow's intestine isolates, was conducted in order to select isolates for potential use as probiotics. LAB isolates were identified by partial sequencing the 16S rRNA gene as belonging to the species Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus brevis and mainly Weissella confusa. At the end of a characterisation process, 2 L. paracasei and 2 W. confusa isolates were selected, and their resistance to a simulated gastrointestinal digestion and their ability to adhere to eukaryotic cell lines were assessed. The survival to the simulated gastrointestinal passage was higher when bacterial suspensions were made in skimmed milk (2.0 ± 0.8 log units reduction) or at the simulated gastric juice pH 3 (2.7 ± 0.9 log units reduction) than at pH 2.0 (5.5 ± 0.7 log units reduction). Adhesion of LAB to both intestinal and vaginal epithelial models was comparable or higher than that of the reference Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. However, some of the isolates increased the adhesion of the pathogen Escherichia coli LMG2092 to HT-29 and HeLa monolayers. Overall, isolates L. paracasei UI14 and W. confusa UI7 are good candidates for further studying potential benefits that support their use as probiotics. This is one of the few articles reporting the characterisation and the probiotic potential of Weissella, although more studies are needed in order to establish their safety for potential probiotic applications. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.This work was financed by FEDER funds (European Union) and the Spanish Plan Nacional de I + D+I through the project AGL2009-09445. Borja Sánchez was the recipient of a postdoctoral Juan de la Cierva contract from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.Peer Reviewe

The self-regulatory German health care system between growing competition and state hierarchy

This article focuses on the changing role of the state in financing, providing and regulating health care services under the German health care system from 1970-2000. While a reduced role of the state can be observed in terms of financing, our analysis of service provision indicates inconsistent developments. Monetary resource flow analyses indicate a decrease in private service provision as a percentage of total health expenditure, but when analysing the development of health employment we see a growth in “private” health care personnel. The most important changes, however, have taken place in terms of regulation. Since the early 1990s, the traditionally self-regulatory German health care system has simultaneously faced growing competition and state hierarchy

Transmission of Place Branding Values through Experiential Events: Wine BC Case Study

Sustainability is to promote economic growth that generates equitable wealth for all without harming the environment, becoming one of the objectives that serve as a starting point for many place branding strategies. Cultural heritage, environmental sustainability, and the valorization of the territory are nowadays unavoidable elements to sustain brands. This research analyzes the transmission of place branding values through experiential events, as a formula for business improvement according to the principles of sustainable development. The research is focused on the case of wine in British Columbia (Canada). The methodology applied was based on a theoretical framework as a starting point for the study. From there, on the one hand, an analysis of the contents of the events carried out by the winegrowers of British Columbia during the harvest months in 2019 and 2020 has been carried out. On the other hand, interviews were conducted with relevant professionals and academics in the sector in order to determine the extent to which they meet the needs of promotion of the site, taking into account the impact on the sustainability of the territory. The results show the link between the events and the territory brand, which is a means to generate growth through wine tourism promoted by the wineries, thus revaluing the winegrowing landscape and, in general, the traditions of the place, among others. There is also a need to look for strategies that seek collaboration between the public and private sectors to improve the creation of integrated events that transmit the branding values of the place. Events are a tool to generate territory branding and can, if well-conceived, contribute to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). In the case study, the results show that the vast majority of events organized by BC wineries aim to promote place branding within the framework of sustainability. A methodology that could be applicable to other territories and countries

Exploring the Galaxy at TeV energies: Latest results from the H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane Survey

The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) is an array of four imaging atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes located in Namibia and designed to detect extensive air showers initiated by gamma-rays in the very-high-energy domain. It is an ideal instrument for surveying the Galactic plane in search of new sources, thanks to its location in the Southern Hemisphere, its excellent sensitivity, and its large field-of-view. The efforts of the H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane Survey, the first comprehensive survey of the inner Galaxy at TeV energies, have contributed to the discovery of an unexpectedly large and diverse population of over 60 sources of VHE gamma rays within its current range of l=250 to 65 degrees in longitude and |b|<=3.5 degrees in latitude. The population of VHE gamma-ray emitters is dominated by the pulsar wind nebula and supernova remnant source classes, although nearly a third remain unidentified or confused. The sensitivity of H.E.S.S. to sources in the inner Galaxy has improved significantly over the past two years, from continued survey observations, dedicated follow-up observations of interesting source candidates, and from the development of advanced methods for discrimination of gamma-ray-induced showers from the dominant background of hadron-induced showers. The latest maps of the Galaxy at TeV energies will be presented, and a few remarkable new sources will be highlighted.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, appears in the Proceedings of the 32nd International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2011), Beijing, China, 11th to 18th August 201

Soil and leaf mineral element contents in mediterranean vineyards: bioaccumulation and potential soil pollution

The study reported here concerns the geochemical distributions of macro- and trace elements (including potentially toxic elements, PTEs) in the vineyard soils of Alcubillas, which is one of the oldest, albeit not world-renowned, wine-growing areas in La Mancha (Central Spain). Soil and leaf samples were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to ascertain the levels of various elements in the soil and the plant. The potential toxicity of the elements was assessed with regard to the development of the vineyard. Despite the fact that fertilizers and pesticides are employed in the vineyards in this area, the results showed that the levels of trace elements in the soil samples did not exceed the reference values according the pedogeochemical values for the region and Spain. This finding suggests that the study area is not polluted, and therefore, there are hardly any traces of anthropogenic contamination. The Biological Absorption Coefficient (BAC) was calculated to assess the assimilation of various elements from the soil to the leaves, and differences were found in the element absorption capacity of the vines. Some elements were not taken up by Vitis vinifera despite elements like Zr and Rb being present in relatively high concentrations in the soil. The production in these soils does not represent a threat to human health or the ecosystem, because the farmers in this area are extremely careful to preserve the environment and they only farm to achieve moderate yields of grapes per hectar