The CAST experiment: status and perspectives

The status of the solar axion search with the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) will be discussed. Results from the first part of CAST phase II where the magnet bores were filled with \hefour gas at variable pressure in order to scan \ma up to 0.4 eV will be presented. From the absence of excess X-rays when the magnet was pointing to the Sun, we set a typical upper limit on the axion-photon coupling of \gag \lesssim 2.17 \times10^{-10}GeV$^{-1}$ at 95% CL for \ma$<0.4$ eV, the exact result depending on the pressure setting. Our search for axions with masses up to about 1.2 eV using \hethree as a buffer gas is, since last year, in progress in the second part of CAST phase II. Expectations for sensibilities will be given. Near future perspectives as well as more long term options for a new helioscope experiment will be evoked.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure to be publish in the proceedings of the 5th Patras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISP

Valores del mar en la obra de Pedro Ferrer Calatayud

El presente trabajo pretende ofrecer una interpretación de la obra marinista del pintor Pedro Ferrer Calatayud (1860-1944). Basada en el contexto artístico en el que se inscribe el pintor hemos identificado en su pintura dos valores esenciales de la personalidad estética del mar: la profundidad, asociada a la experiencia del abismo y representada por la iconografía del naufragio, y la temporalidad vinculada a la idea de eternidad y de tiempo cíclico y expresada a través de la relación del mar con otros componentes de la naturaleza. El análisis ha constatado que el mar en la pintura del pintor valenciano no fue solo motivo y tema sino también medio para adoptar nuevas soluciones ideológicas y técnicas que desembocaron en las nuevas corrientes artísticas de inicios del siglo XX. (A

Large Standard Model Higgs at LEP

In 1999 the LEP experiments collected data at centre of mass energies between 192 and 202 GeV for about 900 pb-1 integrated luminosity. Combined results are presented for the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson. No statistically significant excess has been observed when compared to Standard Model background expectation which can be translated into a lower bound on the mass of the Higgs boson at 107.9 GeV/c^2 at 95 % confidence level.Comment: Talk given at the 35th Recontres de Moriond, Les Arcs, France, March 11-18, 200

Introduction to nonlinearities, business cycles, and forecasting

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Introduction to nonlinearities, business cycles, and forecasting.

Forecasting; Business cycles;

Lo esencial es invisible a los ojos: igualdad y violencia de género. Análisis comparativo entre universidades española y mexicana

Este estudio forma parte de una investigación cuyo propósito es aportar evidencias acerca de las percepciones del estudiantado sobre la igualdad y la violencia de género de dos universidades, una española y una mexicana. Realizamos una investigación plurimetodológica con el fin de valorar la situación actual de estas dimensiones, y establecimos diferencias y semejanzas para comprender con mayor profundidad el fenómeno. A partir de la aplicación de grupos de discusión, cuestionarios y observaciones, observamos que en ambas universidades siguen existiendo elementos que generan desigualdades, discriminación e, incluso, violencia de género. De forma global, los resultados han revelado tendencias similares en las percepciones del estudiantado respecto a las cuestiones investigadas

His or Her? Errors in Possessive Determiners Made by L2-English Native Spanish Speakers

Native Spanish speakers commonly confuse third person singular possessive determiners when making gender agreements, which is considered an error-prone grammatical feature because there are syntactic differences in their use between English and Spanish. This study conducted an elicited production task to explore whether proficiency in English affects the correct use of his/her by Spanish speakers in speech production, whether participants make more errors depending on the gender match or mismatch between the possessor and the possessum in the noun phrase, and whether there are differences in the number of errors made due to the gender of the possessor. The results showed that sentences with a gender mismatch condition had higher error rates and that advanced L2 speakers made fewer mistakes than less proficient ones. However, proficiency did not mitigate the number of errors in sentences which required the use of the feminine possessive determiner, which is in line with the theory of the default masculine gender in Spanish. The study provides valuable insights into the challenges faced by native Spanish speakers when producing possessive gender agreements in English and highlights the need for more targeted instruction to address these issues in the teaching of English as a foreign language.This research was funded by the Department of Language Sciences of the University College London; an honorarium of GBP 450.00 was provided to cover costs for printing, copying and participation, out of which GBP 10.00 was given to each participant

Reduced ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-1 expression levels in dementia with Lewy bodies

Parkinson disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are characterized by the accumulation of abnormal α-synuclein and ubiquitin in protein aggregates conforming Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-1 (UCHL-1) disassembles polyubiquitin chains to increase the availability of free monomeric ubiquitin to the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) thus favoring protein degradation. Since mutations in the UCHL-1 gene, reducing UPS activity by 50%, have been reported in autosomal dominant PD, and UCHL-1 inhibition results in the formation of a-synuclein aggregates in mesencephalic cultured neurons, the present study was initiated to test UCHL-1 mRNA and protein levels in post-mortem frontal cortex (area 8) of PD and DLB cases, compared with agematched controls. TaqMan PCR assays, and Western blots demonstrated down-regulation of UCHL-1 mRNA and UCHL-1 protein in the cerebral cortex in DLB (either in pure forms, not associated with Alzheimer disease: AD, and in common forms, with accompanying AD changes), but not in PD, when compared with age-matched controls. Interestingly, UCHL-1 mRNA and protein expressions were reduced in the medulla oblongata in the same PD cases. Moreover, UCHL-1 protein was decreased in the substantia nigra in cases with Lewy body pathology. UCHL-1 down-regulation was not associated with reduced protein levels of several proteasomal subunits, including 20SX, 20SY, 19S and 11Sα. Yet UCHL-3 expression was reduced in the cerebral cortex of PD and DLB patients. Together, these observations show reduced UCHL-1 expression as a contributory factor in the abnormal protein aggregation in DLB, and points UCHL-1 as a putative therapeutic target in the treatment of DLB

El desarrollo de actividades físicas en el medio ambiente por los profesionales de la Cultura Física

This article aims to reflect on environmental problems, in addition to how they affect the quality of life of the human being and propose to the Physical Culture professional the necessary elements that allow them to develop physical activities to mitigate the effects that they may bring to the health of participants current environmental conditions. In the development of the research, research methods and techniques were used such as: the interview, the review of documents among others that allowed determining the elements necessary for the preparation of the proposal.Este artículo tiene como objetivo reflexionar sobre los problemas medio ambientales, además de cómo afectan la calidad de vida del ser humano y proponer al profesional de la Cultura Física elementos necesarios que le permitan desarrollar actividades físicas para mitigar las afectaciones que puedan traer a la salud de los participantes las actuales condiciones medioambientales. En el desarrollo de la investigación se utilizaron métodos y técnicas de investigación tales como: la entrevista, la revisión de documentos entre otros que permitieron determinar los elementos necesarios para la elaboración de la propuesta

El paper dels sistemes naturals de tractament d'aigües residuals en la protecció dels recursos hídrics

L’aigua és un bé valuós i essencial, indispensable per a totes les formes de vida. Aquest fet, conjuntament amb la seva fragilitat enfront la contaminació, i l’escassetat d’aigua potable en moltes regions del planeta, remarca la necessitat d’una bona gestió de l’aigua, aspecte clau pel desenvolupament humà sostenible. La preservació dels recursos hídrics rau principalment en la prevenció de la seva contaminació. Malgrat tot, la creixent generació d’aigües residuals evidencia la necessitat de sistemes de tractament. El tractament de les aigües residuals és una pràctica àmpliament estesa en la majoria dels països desenvolupats. No obstant, és menys comú en comunitats petites i sobretot en països en vies de desenvolupament on, a més, la potabilització de l’aigua és escassa. Aquest fet es deu bàsicament als elevats costos de construcció i explotació de les plantes de tractament convencionals o intensives. Tècniques de tractament alternatives, com ara els sistemes naturals o extensius, es presenten en aquesta ponència com a sistemes pont per a una gestió sostenible en un futur pròxim. Els avantatges principals d’aquest sistemes són: baix o nul consum energètic, baixa generació de residus, baix impacte sonor, bona integració en el medi, simple operació i fàcil manteniment. Per contra, les principals limitacions són el requeriment de grans superfícies i el cost de construcció (lligat als moviments de terra). Degut a què el control operacional és bastant limitat, les fases de disseny i de construcció són crucials per a assegurar un bon funcionament i una bona qualitat de l’aigua depurada.Peer Reviewe