NGC1277: a massive compact relic galaxy in the nearby Universe

As early as 10 Gyr ago, galaxies with more than 10^11 Msun in stars already existed. While most of these massive galaxies must have subsequently transformed through on-going star formation and mergers with other galaxies, a small fraction (<0.1%) may have survived untouched till today. Searches for such relic galaxies, useful windows to explore the early Universe, have been inconclusive to date: galaxies with masses and sizes like those observed at high redshift (M*>10^11 Msun; Re<1.5 kpc) have been found in the local Universe, but their stars are far too young for the galaxy to be a relic galaxy. This paper explores the first case of a nearby galaxy, NGC1277 (in the Perseus cluster at a distance of 73 Mpc), which fulfills all the criteria to be considered a relic galaxy. Using deep optical spectroscopy, we derive the star formation history along the structure of the galaxy: the stellar populations are uniformly old (>10 Gyr) with no evidence for more recent star formation episodes. The metallicity of their stars is super-solar ([Fe/H]=0.20+-0.04) and alpha enriched ([alpha/Fe]=0.4+-0.1). This suggests a very short formation time scale for the bulk of stars of this galaxy. This object also rotates very fast (Vrot~300 km/s) and has a large velocity dispersion (sigma>300 km/s). NGC1277 will allow future explorations in full detail of properties such as the structure, internal dynamics, metallicity, dust content and initial mass function at around 10-12 Gyr back in time when the first massive galaxies were built.Comment: 4 figures; Accepted for publication at ApJ Letter

Design of a Lightweight, Cost Effective Thimble-Like Sensor for Haptic Applications Based on Contact Force Sensors

This paper describes the design and calibration of a thimble that measures the forces applied by a user during manipulation of virtual and real objects. Haptic devices benefit from force measurement capabilities at their end-point. However, the heavy weight and cost of force sensors prevent their widespread incorporation in these applications. The design of a lightweight, user-adaptable, and cost-effective thimble with four contact force sensors is described in this paper. The sensors are calibrated before being placed in the thimble to provide normal and tangential forces. Normal forces are exerted directly by the fingertip and thus can be properly measured. Tangential forces are estimated by sensors strategically placed in the thimble sides. Two applications are provided in order to facilitate an evaluation of sensorized thimble performance. These applications focus on: (i) force signal edge detection, which determines task segmentation of virtual object manipulation, and (ii) the development of complex object manipulation models, wherein the mechanical features of a real object are obtained and these features are then reproduced for training by means of virtual object manipulation

Evolution of adolescent fertility after decriminalization of abortion in Montevideo, Uruguay

AbstractObjectiveTo analyze the effect on adolescent fertility in Montevideo of the Uruguayan law on the voluntary termination of pregnancy that was passed in 2012.MethodsThe change in the number of births to teenage mothers between 2010 and 2014 was analyzed, along with their characteristics before and after decriminalization of abortion.ResultsDescriptive analysis of abortion before and after decriminalization showed that there was no reduction, during the period analyzed, in adolescent fertility, nor any changes in the distribution of births.ConclusionThe normative change brought about by the law on the voluntary termination of pregnancy was not associated with any substantial change in the reproductive behavior of adolescents in Montevideo. We recommend that this analysis is taken further with impact evaluation methodologies

Design and evaluation of an educational platform for implementing and testing bilateral control algorithms

This paper describes the design and evaluation of a new platform created in order to improve the learning experience of bilateral control algorithms in teleoperation. This experimental platform, developed at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, is used by the students of the Master on Automation and Robotics in the practices of the subject called “Telerobotics and Teleoperation”. The main objective is to easily implement different control architectures in the developed platform and evaluate them under different conditions to better understand the main advantages and drawbacks of each control scheme. So, the student’s tasks are focused on adjusting the control parameters of the predefined controllers and designing new ones to analyze the changes in the behavior of the whole system. A description of the subject, main topics and the platform constructed are detailed in the paper. Furthermore, the methodology followed in the practices and the bilateral control algorithms are presented. Finally, the results obtained in the experiments with students are also shown

Two-Hand Virtual Object Manipulation Based on Networked Architecture

A setup for bimanual virtual object manipulation is described in this paper. Index and thumb fingers are inserted in the corresponding thimbles in order to perform virtual object manipulations. A gimble, with 3-rotational degrees of freedom, connects each thimble to the corresponding serial-parallel mechanical structure with 3 actuated DoF. As a result, each finger has 6 DoF, movements and forces can be reflected in any direction without any torque component. Scenarios for virtual manipulation are based on distributed architecture where each finger device has its own real-time controller. A computer receives the status of each finger and runs a simulation with the virtual object manipulation. The information of the Scenario is updated at a rate of 200 Hz. The information from the haptic controller is processed at 1 kHz; it provides a good realism for object manipulation

Mechanical design optimization for multi-finger haptic devices applied to virtual grasping manipulation

This paper describes the design of a modular multi-finger haptic device for virtual object manipulation. Mechanical structures are based on one module per finger and can be scaled up to three fingers. Mechanical configurations for two and three fingers are based on the use of one and two redundant axes, respectively. As demonstrated, redundant axes significantly increase workspace and prevent link collisions, which is their main asset with respect to other multi-finger haptic devices. The location of redundant axes and link dimensions have been optimized in order to guarantee a proper workspace, manipulability, force capability, and inertia for the device. The mechanical haptic device design and a thimble adaptable to different finger sizes have also been developed for virtual object manipulation

Analysis of local and peripheral immune response developed in sheep experimentally infected with Toxoplasma gondii at different times of gestation

Trabajo presentado al: 4th International Meeting on Apicomplexa in Farm Animals. (11-14 October 2017 - Madrid, Spain).Toxoplasmosis is one the main infectious causes of reproductive failure in sheep where the time of gestation when sheep are infected affects the clinical and lesional outcome of the disease. In order to investigate the variations of local and peripheral immune responses during gestation, pregnant sheep were infected at early, mid and late gestation and subsequently culled at 2, 3 and 4 weeks post infection. In those sheep inoculated during the second term, serological antibodies were detected earlier and the increase in serological γ-IFN was higher than in the other infected animals. Regarding the local immune response at the placenta, infiltration of inflammatory cells was mainly found in the maternal septa, although it also invaded foetal mesenchyme adjacent to the lesions. The increase in the number of T lymphocytes was observed only in ewes infected during the second and last terms of gestation while the increase of B cells occurred in sheep infected at the first and second terms. The expression of iba-1 antigen by macrophages was more frequent after infection during the first term whereas macrophages expressing lysozyme, CD163 or calprotectin were more frequent in infections at mid-gestation. A significant increase in the transcription of γ-IFN, when compared to control animals, occurred after infections in the first and second term, while TNF-α and IL-10 transcription increased only in the second and last term, respectively. There were no differences when comparing transcription of cytokines between animals infected at different terms of gestation. This study shows that the time of gestation when infection occurs has a clear influence over the pathogenesis of ovine toxoplasmosis as a greater inflammatory response was found after inoculating sheep at the second term of gestation. This finding may explain the later invasion of the placenta by the parasite at early and mid gestation described in previous studies.This study was founded by AGL2016-75935-C2-2-R and LE080U16 research grants.Peer Reviewe

Infección experimental por Toxoplasma gondii en el primer, segundo y último tercio de gestación en ovejas. Respuesta lesional y distribución del parásito

6 páginas.--Trabajo presentado al: XL Congreso Nacional y el XVI Congreso Internacional de la Sociedad Española de Ovinotecnia y Caprinotecnia. (Castellón de la Plana, España, 16-18 septiembre 2015).Peer Reviewe

Anti-CD45RC antibody immunotherapy prevents and treats experimental autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis- ectodermal dystrophy syndrome

Targeted monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies show great promise for the treatment of transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases by inducing more specific immunomodulatory effects than broadly immunosuppressive drugs routinely used. We recently described the therapeutic advantage of targeting CD45RC, expressed at high levels by conventional T (Tconv) cells (CD45RC(hi)), their precursors, and terminally differentiated T (TEMRA) cells, but not by regulatory T cells (Tregs; CD45RC(lo/-)). We demonstrated efficacy of anti-CD45RC mAb treatment in transplantation, but its potential has not been examined in autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED) is a rare genetic syndrome caused by loss-of-function mutations of autoimmune regulator (AIRE), a key central tolerance mediator, leading to abnormal autoreactive T cell responses and autoantibody production. Herein, we show that, in a rat model of APECED syndrome, anti-CD45RC mAb was effective for both prevention and treatment of autoimmune manifestations and inhibited autoantibody development. Anti-CD45RC mAb intervention depleted CD45RC(hi) T cells, inhibited CD45RC(hi) B cells, and restored the Treg/Tconv cell ratio and the altered Treg transcriptomic profile. In APECED patients, CD45RC was significantly increased in peripheral blood T cells, and lesioned organs from APECED patients were infiltrated by CD45RC(hi) cells. Our observations highlight the potential role for CD45RC(hi) cells in the pathogenesis of experimental and human APECED syndrome and the potential of anti-CD45RC antibody treatment.Peer reviewe

Foetal periventricular leucomalacia as the main lesion in abortion during the acute phase of ovine toxoplasmosis

Trabajo presentado al: ApiCOWplexa in Farm Animals/ 3rd lnternational Meeting on Apicomplexan Parasites in Farm Animals. (Edimburgo, 30th Junio al 3rd Julio, 2015).Peer Reviewe