The role of stellar radial motions in shaping galaxy surface brightness profiles

Aims. The physics driving features such as breaks observed in galaxy surface brightness (SB) profiles remains contentious. Here, we assess the importance of stellar radial motions in shaping their characteristics. Methods. We use the simulated Milky Way-mass cosmological discs from the Ramses Disc Environment Study (RaDES) to characterise the radial redistribution of stars in galaxies displaying type-I (pure exponentials), II (downbending), and III (upbending) SB profiles. We compare radial profiles of the mass fractions and the velocity dispersions of different sub-populations of stars according to their birth and current location. Results. Radial redistribution of stars is important in all galaxies regardless of their light profiles. Type-II breaks seem to be a consequence of the combined effects of outward-moving and accreted stars. The former produce shallower inner profiles (lack of stars in the inner disc) and accumulate material around the break radius and beyond, strengthening the break; the latter can weaken or even convert the break into a pure exponential. Further accretion from satellites can concentrate material in the outermost parts, leading to type-III breaks that can coexist with type-II breaks, but situated further out. Type-III galaxies would be the result of an important radial redistribution of material throughout the entire disc, as well as a concentration of accreted material in the outskirts. In addition, type-III galaxies display the most efficient radial redistribution and the largest number of accreted stars, followed by type-I and II systems, suggesting that type-I galaxies may be an intermediate case between types-II and III. In general, the velocity dispersion profiles of all galaxies tend to flatten or even increase around the locations where the breaks are found. The age and metallicity profiles are also affected, exhibiting different inner gradients depending on their SB profile, being steeper in the case of type-II systems (as found observationally). The steep type-II profiles might be inherent to their formation rather than acquired via radial redistribution

Evaluating the regulator : winners and losers in the regulation of Spanish electricity distribution (1988-2002)

The main aim of this article is to evaluate the actions of the Spanish regulator as far as the activity of electricity distribution is concerned. In contrast to other European Union countries, in Spain this activity has historically been in the hands of the private sector. To this end, we shall firstly analyze whether the legislative changes introduced by the regulator have led to the distribution companies improving their efficiency levels; secondly, whether the benefits they have obtained have been linked to these levels; and lastly, whether the consumer has shared in these improvements. The analysis was carried out by comparing the income obtained by the companies as reward for their electricity distribution activity during the 1988-2002 period with those they would have received had the regulation model proposed by Bogetoft (1997) been applied to them. The results show that the Spanish electricity regulator has not linked the reward given to the companies with their efficiency, and in addition, they have benefited at the expense of the interests of the consumer

Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection: A Narrative Review of the Issues in Screening and Management From a Panel of European Experts.

Maternal primary and non-primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy can result in in utero transmission to the developing fetus. Congenital CMV (cCMV) can result in significant morbidity, mortality or long-term sequelae, including sensorineural hearing loss, the most common sequela. As a leading cause of congenital infections worldwide, cCMV infection meets many of the criteria for screening. However, currently there are no universal programs that offer maternal or neonatal screening to identify infected mothers and infants, no vaccines to prevent infection, and no efficacious and safe therapies available for the treatment of maternal or fetal CMV infection. Data has shown that there are several maternal and neonatal screening strategies, and diagnostic methodologies, that allow the identification of those at risk of developing sequelae and adequately detect cCMV. Nevertheless, many questions remain unanswered in this field. Well-designed clinical trials to address several facets of CMV treatment (in pregnant women, CMV-infected fetuses and both symptomatic and asymptomatic neonates and children) are required. Prevention (vaccines), biology and transmission factors associated with non-primary CMV, and the cost-effectiveness of universal screening, all demand further exploration to fully realize the ultimate goal of preventing cCMV. In the meantime, prevention of primary infection during pregnancy should be championed to all by means of hygiene education

Evolució i tendències en l'ocupació del sòl a les illes balears

Se analizan los cambios de ocupación del suelo en las Islas Baleares para el período 1956-2000, así como los potenciales de crecimiento que posibilitan los planes territorial, profundizando en el estudio de las cubiertas del suelo urbano-industriales, que tienen la origen en la explosión turísticoinmobiliaria de las Islas Baleares. La transformación territorial que resulta de la incorporación de las islas Baleares al capitalismo global hace que estas cubiertas urbano-industriales pasen de ocupar 7.416 Ha (1956) a 28.746 Ha (2000). A partir de los planes vigentes, la cubierta urbano-industrial podría alcanzar, potencialmente, unas 38.120 Ha para el 2015, con la siguiente distribución de superficies: urbano (32.360 Ha), viario (2966 Ha), ferroviario (252 Ha), golf (1189 Ha) y canteras (1353 Ha).This study analyses the changes in land use in the Balearic Islands during the 1956-2000 period and the growth potential generated by the planning policy, while examining the industrial and urban coverage of land caused by the tourism and real estate boom in the Islands. The land transformation stemming from the Balearic Islands’ entry into global capitalism gave rise to the growth of urban and industrial land, which went from 7,416 ha. in 1956 to 28,746 ha. in 2000. Based on the current planning model, the urban and industrial coverage could potentially reach some 38,120 ha. by around 2015, with the following distribution: urban (32,360 ha.), roads (2966 ha.), railway (252 ha.), golf (1189 ha.) and quarries (1353 ha.)

The impact of financial insecurity on self-reported health: Europe in cross-national perspective

Using the EU-SILC 2008 module on over-indebtedness and financial exclusion, this paper analyses how perceived future-orientated economic insecurity alters individual self-assessed health (SAH), once controlling for past and current financial situation in a range of European countries. Those effects differ by gender and by country. Our results also suggest that country characteristics explain a larger part of the unknown variability of individual levels of SAH than individual-household characteristics. Thus, our findings might be of help in designing the most effective policies intended to alleviate the individual welfare costs of perceived financial insecurity provoked by upcoming business-cycle downturnsPID2019111765GB-I0

Gender differences in the effect of teleworking on job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

This paper analyzes gender differences regarding the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the likelihood of job loss, differentiating between employment transitions towards unemployment, inactivity and furlough schemes, and the role that teleworking may have had as a protector of job loss in Spain. Based on more than 1,800 types of jobs defined by occupation and economic activity combinations, we propose an Evidence-Based Teleworking Index that considers the intensity of telework use in a given type of job, but also reflects the actual ability of firms to adapt to telework. Using multinomial probit models with sample selection, we found that more women than men suffered job loss during the pandemic. The findings also confirm that the ability to telework has acted as a potential cushion against employment losses, but the effect has been mainly driven by males. The shielding effects of telework have been especially relevant in reducing transitions from employment to furlough schemes, while the power of telework to protect against inactivity and unemployment seems to be much more modest, even during the pandemicThis work was supported by the Government of Spain through projects PID2019-111765GB-I00, PID2022-137819NB-I00, and the Regional Government of Andalusia through project PY18-411

Inferring export orientation from corporate websites

This is an author's accepted manuscript of an article published in: “Applied Economics Letters"; Volume 21, Issue 7, 2014; copyright Taylor & Francis; available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2013.872752The purpose of this article is to infer indicators about the export orientation of firms from the analysis of their corporate websites. Using a dataset of manufacturing firms, two logistic regressions were performed and compared: one considering some firm structural variables, and another considering some web-based variables. Results showed that the website features are good predictors of the export orientation of firms, performing as well as the classic economic variables.Blázquez Soriano, MD.; Doménech I De Soria, J. (2014). Inferring export orientation from corporate websites. Applied Economics Letters. 21(7):509-512. doi:10.1080/13504851.2013.872752S509512217Bonaccorsi, A. (1992). On the Relationship Between Firm Size and Export Intensity. Journal of International Business Studies, 23(4), 605-635. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490280DA, Z., ENGELBERG, J., & GAO, P. (2011). In Search of Attention. The Journal of Finance, 66(5), 1461-1499. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6261.2011.01679.xDzielinski, M. (2012). Measuring economic uncertainty and its impact on the stock market. Finance Research Letters, 9(3), 167-175. doi:10.1016/j.frl.2011.10.003Freund, C. L., & Weinhold, D. (2004). The effect of the Internet on international trade. Journal of International Economics, 62(1), 171-189. doi:10.1016/s0022-1996(03)00059-xGirma, S., Greenaway, avid, & Kneller, R. (2004). Does Exporting Increase Productivity? A Microeconometric Analysis of Matched Firms. Review of International Economics, 12(5), 855-866. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9396.2004.00486.xLee, J., & Morrison, A. M. (2010). A comparative study of web site performance. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 1(1), 50-67. doi:10.1108/17579881011023016Murphy, J., & Scharl, A. (2007). An investigation of global versus local online branding. International Marketing Review, 24(3), 297-312. doi:10.1108/02651330710755302Nassimbeni, G. (2001). Technology, innovation capacity, and the export attitude of small manufacturing firms: a logit/tobit model. Research Policy, 30(2), 245-262. doi:10.1016/s0048-7333(99)00114-6Preis, T., Reith, D., & Stanley, H. E. (2010). Complex dynamics of our economic life on different scales: insights from search engine query data. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 368(1933), 5707-5719. doi:10.1098/rsta.2010.0284Spence, M. M. (2003). Small Business Economics, 20(1), 83-103. doi:10.1023/a:1020200621988Varian, H. R. (2010). Computer Mediated Transactions. American Economic Review, 100(2), 1-10. doi:10.1257/aer.100.2.1Wholey, J. S., & Hatry, H. P. (1992). The Case for Performance Monitoring. Public Administration Review, 52(6), 604. doi:10.2307/97717

The orientation of the romanesque churches: the methods of Gisemundus de Ripoll (f. 850)

[EN] There is little evidence of an understanding of scientific knowledge in the praxis of medieval geometry. Among these are the methods of tracing the orientation of sacred buildings. An example of this is a group of churches located in the Arán Valley (11c-13c) built from East to West with great precision (91.41º ± 1.91º). Given the mountainous profile that prevents observing the solar ortho, these churches have been traced observation or instrumental systems by inherited from Vitruvius, Higinio Gromático, Gisemundo, or Gerberto de Aurillac. It is concluded that the method of gromatic sources, the Ars geometria Gisemundus (c.800), copied in the monastery of Ripoll, is the one that, from the geometric point of view, allows the orientation of E-O to be traced with the least error.[ES] Existen pocas evidencias sobre el conocimiento científico en la praxis de la geometría medieval. Entre estas se encuentran los métodos del tazado de la orientación de los edificios sacros, y ejemplo de ello son un grupo de iglesias situadas en el valle de Arán (XI-XIII), construidas de Este a Oeste, con gran precisión (91,41º, ± 1,91º). Dado el perfil montañoso, que impide observar el orto solar, estas iglesias han sido trazadas mediante sistemas de observación o instrumentales, heredados de Vitruvio, Higinio Gromático, Gisemundo, o Gerberto de Aurillac. Se concluye que el método de fuentes gromáticas, el Ars geometria Gisemundus (c.800) copiado en el monasterio de Ripoll, es el que desde el punto de vista geométrico permite trazar la orientación de E-O con menos error.Lluis I Ginovart, J.; Lluis Teruel, C.; Ugalde Blázquez, I. (2022). La orientación de las iglesias románicas: los métodos de Gisemundus de Ripoll (f. 850). EGA Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica. 27(44):62-73. https://doi.org/10.4995/ega.2022.14057OJS6273274

Evidence of ongoing radial migration in NGC 6754: Azimuthal variations of the gas properties

Understanding the nature of spiral structure in disk galaxies is one of the main, and still unsolved questions in galactic astronomy. However, theoretical works are proposing new testable predictions whose detection is becoming feasible with recent development in instrumentation. In particular, streaming motions along spiral arms are expected to induce azimuthal variations in the chemical composition of a galaxy at a given galactic radius. In this letter we analyse the gas content in NGC 6754 with VLT/MUSE data to characterise its 2D chemical composition and H$\alpha$ line-of-sight velocity distribution. We find that the trailing (leading) edge of the NGC 6754 spiral arms show signatures of tangentially-slower, radially-outward (tangentially-faster, radially-inward) streaming motions of metal-rich (poor) gas over a large range of radii. These results show direct evidence of gas radial migration for the first time. We compare our results with the gas behaviour in a $N$-body disk simulation showing spiral morphological features rotating with a similar speed as the gas at every radius, in good agreement with the observed trend. This indicates that the spiral arm features in NGC 6754 may be transient and rotate similarly as the gas does at a large range of radii.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL 2016 September 2