Data on the working population in Spain related to training, workplace conditions and accident rates

Obtaining data on worker accident rates is necessary in order to analyze the causes and variables involved in the occurrence of said accidents. The majority of these data, collected after the accident occurs, do not consider the employee's working conditions. Here are presented the data on workplace accidents and the conditions of the workers by analyzing the generic data supplied as part of the 7th National Survey of Workplace Conditions (EWCS) in Spain, conducted in 2011. These data will yield the variables needed to determine if the information on workplace risks provided by the survey respondents has an appreciable effect on the occurrence of occupational accidents in the working population, and will also be used to explore other variables

Voltage dip generator for testing wind turbines connected to electrical networks

This paper describes a new voltage dip generator that allows the shape of the time profile of the voltage generated to be configured. The use of this device as a tool to test the fault ride-through capability of wind turbines connected to the electricity grid can provide some remarkable benefits: First, this system offers the possibility of adapting the main features of the time–voltage profile generated (dip depth, dip duration, the ramp slope during the recovery process after clearing fault, etc.) to the specific requirements set forth by the grid operation codes, in accordance with different network electrical systems standards. Second, another remarkable ability of this system is to provide sinusoidal voltage and current wave forms during the overall testing process without the presence of harmonic components. This is made possible by the absence of electronic converters. Finally, the paper includes results and a discussion on the experimental data obtained with the use of a reduced size laboratory prototype that was constructed to validate the operating features of this new device

Dynamic model of wind energy conversion systems with variable speed synchronous generator and full-size power converter for large-scale power system stability studies

Se inscribe dentro de la línea de investigación de Integración en red de sistemas eólicos. Se presenta un modelo informático en plataforma PSS/E para sistemas de generación eólica de velocidad variable del tipo Síncrono con Convertidor de plena potencia, capaz de simular el comportamuiento dinámico de estos sistemas en estudios de estabilidad del sistema eléctric

On the Equivalence Theorem in the χPT\chi PT Description of the Symmetry Breaking Sector of the Standard Model

We develop an alternative formulation of the symmetry breaking sector of the Standard Model as a gauged non-linear sigma model (NLSM) following the philosophy of the Chiral lagrangian approach, which is the only compatible with all the experimental and theoretical constraints. We derive the BRS symmetry of the model and the corresponding quantum lagrangian, which is a generalization of the standard Faddeev-Popov method, in a way which is covariant with respect to the reparametrizations of the coset space of the NLSM. Then we use the BRS invariance of the quantum lagrangian to state the Equivalence Theorem for the renormalized $S$-matrix elements calculated as a chiral expansion.Comment: LaTeX. Final version as it will appear in Nuclear Physics B (1994

The large longitudinal spread of solar energetic particles during the January 17, 2010 solar event

We investigate multi-spacecraft observations of the January 17, 2010 solar energetic particle event. Energetic electrons and protons have been observed over a remarkable large longitudinal range at the two STEREO spacecraft and SOHO suggesting a longitudinal spread of nearly 360 degrees at 1AU. The flaring active region, which was on the backside of the Sun as seen from Earth, was separated by more than 100 degrees in longitude from the magnetic footpoints of each of the three spacecraft. The event is characterized by strongly delayed energetic particle onsets with respect to the flare and only small or no anisotropies in the intensity measurements at all three locations. The presence of a coronal shock is evidenced by the observation of a type II radio burst from the Earth and STEREO B. In order to describe the observations in terms of particle transport in the interplanetary medium, including perpendicular diffusion, a 1D model describing the propagation along a magnetic field line (model 1) (Dr\"oge, 2003) and the 3D propagation model (model 2) by (Dr\"oge et al., 2010) including perpendicular diffusion in the interplanetary medium have been applied, respectively. While both models are capable of reproducing the observations, model 1 requires injection functions at the Sun of several hours. Model 2, which includes lateral transport in the solar wind, reveals high values for the ratio of perpendicular to parallel diffusion. Because we do not find evidence for unusual long injection functions at the Sun we favor a scenario with strong perpendicular transport in the interplanetary medium as explanation for the observations.Comment: The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co

μ−e\mu-e conversion in nuclei within the CMSSM seesaw: universality versus non-universality

In this paper we study $\mu-e$ conversion in nuclei within the context of the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, enlarged by three right handed neutrinos and their supersymmetric partners, and where the neutrino masses are generated via a seesaw mechanism. Two different scenarios with either universal or non-universal soft supersymmetry breaking Higgs masses at the gauge coupling unification scale are considered. In the first part we present a complete one-loop computation of the conversion rate for this process that includes the photon-, $Z$-boson, and Higgs-boson penguins, as well as box diagrams, and compare their size in the two considered scenarios. Then, in these two scenarios we analyse the relevance of the various parameters on the conversion rates, particularly emphasising the role played by the heavy neutrino masses, $\tan \beta$, and especially $\theta_{13}$. In the case of hierachical heavy neutrinos, an extremely high sensitivity of the rates to $\theta_{13}$ is indeed found. The last part of this work is devoted to the study of the interesting loss of correlation between the $\mu-e$ conversion and $\mu \to e \gamma$ rates that occurs in the non-universal scenario. In the case of large $\tan \beta$ and light $H^0$ Higgs boson an enhanced ratio of the $\mu-e$ to $\mu \to e \gamma$ rates, with respect to the universal case is found, and this could be tested with the future experimental sensitivities.Comment: 48 pages, 15 figures. Minor typos corrected and some references adde

LHC sensitivity to the resonance spectrum of a minimal strongly interacting electroweak symmetry breaking sector

We present a unified analysis of the two main production processes of vector boson pairs at the LHC, VV-fusion and qqbar annihilation, in a minimal strongly interacting electroweak symmetry breaking sector. Using a unitarized electroweak chiral Lagrangian formalism and modeling the final V_L V_L strong rescattering effects by a form factor, we describe qqbar annihilation processes in terms of the two chiral parameters that govern elastic V_L V_L scattering. Depending on the values of these two chiral parameters, the unitarized amplitudes may present resonant enhancements in different angular momentum-isospin channels. Scanning this two parameter space, we generate the general resonance spectrum of a minimal strongly interacting electroweak symmetry breaking sector and determine the regions that can be probed at the LHC.Comment: Final version to appear in Phys. Rev. D, including a more detailed exposition and a few more references. Conclusions and results unchanged. 14 pages, 5 figure

Prevalence and progression of chronic kidney disease after a liver transplant: a prospective, real-life, observational, two-year multicenter study

Introduction: chronic kidney disease is a frequent complication after liver transplantation. The use of calcineurin inhibitors is one of the causes of this complication. Current immunsuppression regimens that reduce the use of calcineurin inhibitors may be associated with an improved preservation of renal function. Objective: the study aimed to assess the evolution of renal function after liver transplantation in the current routine clinical practice. Methods: an observational, prospective, multicenter study in adult liver transplant recipients was performed. Two hundred and thirty patients with a good renal function before transplantation were assessed six months post-transplantation (baseline) and every six months until month 30. Results: at baseline, 32% of the patients had a reduction in the glomerular filtration rate below < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2. The mean glomerular filtration rate increased from 72.3 to 75.6 ml/min/1.73 m2 at baseline and month 30 respectively (p < 0.01). The mean serum creatinine levels (mg/dl) decreased from 1.13 to 1.09 (p < 0.01). The percentage of patients with stage 3 chronic kidney disease decreased from 31.7% to 26.4%, whereas the percentage of patients with stage 4 remained unchanged (0.4% at baseline and 0.5% at month 30). No patients progressed to end-stage kidney disease that required dialysis or renal transplantation. Conclusion: in the routine clinical practice, a moderate deterioration of renal function is frequent after liver transplantation. However, advanced chronic kidney disease is infrequent in patients with a good pre-transplant renal function

Heliospheric Transport of Neutron-Decay Protons

We report on new simulations of the transport of energetic protons originating from the decay of energetic neutrons produced in solar flares. Because the neutrons are fast-moving but insensitive to the solar wind magnetic field, the decay protons are produced over a wide region of space, and they should be detectable by current instruments over a broad range of longitudes for many hours after a sufficiently large gamma-ray flare. Spacecraft closer to the Sun are expected to see orders-of magnitude higher intensities than those at the Earth-Sun distance. The current solar cycle should present an excellent opportunity to observe neutron-decay protons with multiple spacecraft over different heliographic longitudes and distances from the Sun.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, to be published in special issue of Solar Physic

Farming and the geography of nutrient production for human use: a transdisciplinary analysis

Background: Information about the global structure of agriculture and nutrient production and its diversity is essential to improve present understanding of national food production patterns, agricultural livelihoods, and food chains, and their linkages to land use and their associated ecosystems services. Here we provide a plausible breakdown of global agricultural and nutrient production by farm size, and also study the associations between farm size, agricultural diversity, and nutrient production. This analysis is crucial to design interventions that might be appropriately targeted to promote healthy diets and ecosystems in the face of population growth, urbanisation, and climate change. Methods: We used existing spatially-explicit global datasets to estimate the production levels of 41 major crops, seven livestock, and 14 aquaculture and fish products. From overall production estimates, we estimated the production of vitamin A, vitamin B₁₂, folate, iron, zinc, calcium, calories, and protein. We also estimated the relative contribution of farms of different sizes to the production of different agricultural commodities and associated nutrients, as well as how the diversity of food production based on the number of different products grown per geographic pixel and distribution of products within this pixel (Shannon diversity index [H]) changes with different farm sizes. Findings: Globally, small and medium farms (≤50 ha) produce 51–77% of nearly all commodities and nutrients examined here. However, important regional differences exist. Large farms (>50 ha) dominate production in North America, South America, and Australia and New Zealand. In these regions, large farms contribute between 75% and 100% of all cereal, livestock, and fruit production, and the pattern is similar for other commodity groups. By contrast, small farms (≤20 ha) produce more than 75% of most food commodities in sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, south Asia, and China. In Europe, west Asia and north Africa, and central America, medium-size farms (20–50 ha) also contribute substantially to the production of most food commodities. Very small farms (≤2 ha) are important and have local significance in sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, and south Asia, where they contribute to about 30% of most food commodities. The majority of vegetables (81%), roots and tubers (72%), pulses (67%), fruits (66%), fish and livestock products (60%), and cereals (56%) are produced in diverse landscapes (H>1·5). Similarly, the majority of global micronutrients (53–81%) and protein (57%) are also produced in more diverse agricultural landscapes (H>1·5). By contrast, the majority of sugar (73%) and oil crops (57%) are produced in less diverse ones (H≤1·5), which also account for the majority of global calorie production (56%). The diversity of agricultural and nutrient production diminishes as farm size increases. However, areas of the world with higher agricultural diversity produce more nutrients, irrespective of farm size. Interpretation: Our results show that farm size and diversity of agricultural production vary substantially across regions and are key structural determinants of food and nutrient production that need to be considered in plans to meet social, economic, and environmental targets. At the global level, both small and large farms have key roles in food and nutrition security. Efforts to maintain production diversity as farm sizes increase seem to be necessary to maintain the production of diverse nutrients and viable, multifunctional, sustainable landscapes. Funding: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CGIAR Research Programs on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security and on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health funded by the CGIAR Fund Council, Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, European Union, International Fund for Agricultural Development, Australian Research Council, National Science Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Joint Programming Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change—Belmont Forum