Why Catalonia will see its energy metabolism increase in the near future: an application of MuSIASEM

This paper applies the so-called Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) to the economy of the Spanish region of Catalonia. By applying Georgescu-Roegen’s fund-flow model, it arrives at the conclusion that within a context of the end of cheap oil, the current development model based on the growth of low productivity sectors such as services and construction must change. The change is needed not only because of the increasing scarcity of affordable energy carriers, or because of the increasing environmental impact that the present development represents, but also because of an ageing population that demands labour productivity gains. This will imply industry requiring more energy consumption per worker in order to increase its productivity, and therefore its competitiveness. Thus, we conclude that energy intensity, and exosomatic energy metabolism of Catalonia will increase dramatically in the near future unless major conservation efforts are implemented in both the household and transport sectors.Catalonia, exosomatic energy, energy metabolism, economic development, hierarchical levels, multi-scale, integrated analysis

Direct 3D Tomographic Reconstruction and Phase-Retrieval of Far-Field Coherent Diffraction Patterns

We present an alternative numerical reconstruction algorithm for direct tomographic reconstruction of a sample refractive indices from the measured intensities of its far-field coherent diffraction patterns. We formulate the well-known phase-retrieval problem in ptychography in a tomographic framework which allows for simultaneous reconstruction of the illumination function and the sample refractive indices in three dimensions. Our iterative reconstruction algorithm is based on the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. We demonstrate the performance of our proposed method with simulation studies

Starburst radio galaxies: general properties, evolutionary histories and triggering

In this paper we discuss the results of a programme of spectral synthesis modelling of a sample of starburst radio galaxies in the context of scenarios for the triggering of the activity and the evolution of the host galaxies. The starburst radio galaxies -- comprising ~15 - 25% of all powerful extragalactic radio sources -- frequently show disturbed morphologies at optical wavelengths, and unusual radio structures, although their stellar masses are typical of radio galaxies as a class. In terms of the characteristic ages of their young stellar populations (YSP), the objects can be divided into two groups: those with YSP ages t_ysp < 0.1 Gyr, in which the radio source has been triggered quasi-simultaneously with the main starburst episode, and those with older YSP in which the radio source has been triggered or re-triggered a significant period after the starburst episode. Combining the information on the YSP with that on the optical morphologies of the host galaxies, we deduce that the majority of the starburst radio galaxies have been triggered in galaxy mergers in which at least one of the galaxies is gas rich. However, the triggering (or re-triggering) of the radio jets can occur immediately before, around, or a significant period after the final coalescence of the merging nuclei, reflecting the complex gas infall histories of the merger events. Overall, our results provide further evidence that powerful radio jet activity can be triggered via a variety of mechanisms, including different evolutionary stages of major galaxy mergers; clearly radio-loud AGN activity is not solely associated with a particular stage of a unique type of gas accretion event.Comment: 16 pages, 3 Figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Conceptual design of the ITER fast-ion loss detector

et al.A conceptual design of a reciprocating fast-ion loss detector for ITER has been developed and is presented here. Fast-ion orbit simulations in a 3D magnetic equilibrium and up-to-date first wall have been carried out to revise the measurement requirements for the lost alpha monitor in ITER. In agreement with recent observations, the simulations presented here suggest that a pitch-angle resolution of ∼5° might be necessary to identify the loss mechanisms. Synthetic measurements including realistic lost alpha-particle as well as neutron and gamma fluxes predict scintillator signal-to-noise levels measurable with standard light acquisition systems with the detector aperture at ∼11 cm outside of the diagnostic first wall. At measurement position, heat load on detector head is comparable to that in present devices.This research was supported in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grant Nos. RYC2011-09152, FIS2015-69362-P, and ENE2012- 31087) and the Marie Curie FP7 Integration Grant (No. PCIG11-GA2012-321455).Peer Reviewe

The soft X-ray and narrow-line emission of Mrk573 on kiloparcec scales

We present a study of the circumnuclear region of the nearby Seyfert galaxy Mrk573 using Chandra, XMM-Newton and HST data. The X-ray morphology shows a biconical region extending up to 12 arcsecs (4 kpc) in projection from the nucleus. A strong correlation between the X-rays and the highly ionized gas seen in the [O III] image is reported. Moreover, we have studied the line intensities detected with the RGS/XMM-Newton and used them to fit the low resolution EPIC/XMM-Newton and ACIS/Chandra spectra. The RGS spectrum is dominated by emission lines of C VI, O VII, O VIII, Fe XVII, and Ne IX, among others. A good fit is obtained using these emission lines found in the RGS spectrum as a template for Chandra spectra of the nucleus and extended emission. The photoionization model Cloudy provides a reasonable fit for both the nuclear region and the cone-like structures. For the nucleus the emission is modelled using two phases: a high ionization [log(U)=1.23] and a low ionization [log(U)=0.13]. For the high ionization phase the transmitted and reflected component are in a ratio 1:2, whereas for the low ionization the reflected component dominates. For the extended emission, we successfully reproduced the emission with two phases. The first phase shows a higher ionization parameter for the NW (log(U)=0.9) than for the SE cone (log(U)=0.3). The second phase shows a low ionization parameter (log(U)=-3) and is rather uniform for NW and SE cones. In addition, the nuclear optical/infrared SED has been modeled by a clumpy torus model. The torus bolometric luminosity agrees with the AGN luminosity inferred from the observed hard X-ray spectrum. The optical depth along the line of sight derived from the SED fit indicates a high neutral column density in agreement with the classification of the nucleus as a Compton-thick AGN.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, final version of the paper submitted to Ap

Optical and Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopy of the Multiple-Shell Planetary Nebula NGC 6369

NGC 6369 is a double-shell planetary nebula (PN) consisting of a bright annular inner shell with faint bipolar extensions and a filamentary envelope. We have used ground- and space-based narrow-band optical and near-IR images, broad-band mid-IR images, optical long-slit echelle spectra, and mid-IR spectra to investigate its physical structure. These observations indicate that the inner shell of NGC 6369 can be described as a barrel-like structure shape with polar bubble-like protrusions, and reveal evidence for H2 and strong polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emission from a photo-dissociative region (PDR) with molecular inclusions located outside the bright inner shell. High-resolution HST narrow-band images reveal an intricate excitation structure of the inner shell and a system of "cometary" knots. The knotty appearance of the envelope, the lack of kinematical evidence for shell expansion and the apparent presence of emission from ionized material outside the PDR makes us suggest that the envelope of NGC 6369 is not a real shell, but a flattened structure at its equatorial regions. We report the discovery of irregular knots and blobs of diffuse emission in low-excitation and molecular line emission that are located up to 80" from the central star, well outside the main nebular shells. We also show that the filaments associated to the polar protrusions have spatial extents consistent with post-shock cooling regimes, and likely represent regions of interaction of these structures with surrounding material.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

A cryptic RNA-binding domain mediates Syncrip recognition and exosomal partitioning of miRNA targets

Exosomal miRNA transfer is a mechanism for cell-cell communication that is important in the immune response, in the functioning of the nervous system and in cancer. Syncrip/hnRNPQ is a highly conserved RNA-binding protein that mediates the exosomal partition of a set of miRNAs. Here, we report that Syncrip's amino-terminal domain, which was previously thought to mediate protein-protein interactions, is a cryptic, conserved and sequence-specific RNA-binding domain, designated NURR (N-terminal unit for RNA recognition). The NURR domain mediates the specific recognition of a short hEXO sequence defining Syncrip exosomal miRNA targets, and is coupled by a non-canonical structural element to Syncrip's RRM domains to achieve high-affinity miRNA binding. As a consequence, Syncrip-mediated selection of the target miRNAs implies both recognition of the hEXO sequence by the NURR domain and binding of the RRM domains 5′ to this sequence. This structural arrangement enables Syncrip-mediated selection of miRNAs with different seed sequences. © 2018 The Author(s)