The Coulomb-Higgs transition of the three-parameter U(1)-Higgs model

We find a first order Coulomb--Higgs phase transition at moderately large values of the coupling $\lambda$, and no evidence for a change of order at any finite value of it.Comment: 3 pages, uuencoded compressed ps file. Contribution to Lattice '9

Development of low-pH cementitious materials for HLRW repositories. Resistance against ground waters aggression

One of the most accepted engineering construction concepts of underground repositories for high radioactive waste considers the use of low-pH cementitious materials. This paper deals with the design of those based on Ordinary Portland Cements with high contents of silica fume and/or fly ashes that modify most of the concrete “standard” properties, the pore fluid composition and the microstructure of the hydrated products. Their resistance to long-term groundwater aggression is also evaluated. The results show that the use of OPC cement binders with high silica content produces low-pH pore waters and the microstructure of these cement pastes is different from the conventional OPC ones, generating C–S–H gels with lower CaO/SiO2 ratios that possibly bind alkali ions. Leaching tests show a good resistance of low-pH concretes against groundwater aggression although an altered front can be observe

Novel efficient genome-wide SNP panels for the conservation of the highly endangered Iberian lynx

Background: The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) has been acknowledged as the most endangered felid species in the world. An intense contraction and fragmentation during the twentieth century left less than 100 individuals split in two isolated and genetically eroded populations by 2002. Genetic monitoring and management so far have been based on 36 STRs, but their limited variability and the more complex situation of current populations demand more efficient molecular markers. The recent characterization of the Iberian lynx genome identified more than 1.6 million SNPs, of which 1536 were selected and genotyped in an extended Iberian lynx sample. Methods: We validated 1492 SNPs and analysed their heterozygosity, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and linkage disequilibrium. We then selected a panel of 343 minimally linked autosomal SNPs from which we extracted subsets optimized for four different typical tasks in conservation applications: individual identification, parentage assignment, relatedness estimation, and admixture classification, and compared their power to currently used STR panels. Results: We ascribed 21 SNPs to chromosome X based on their segregation patterns, and identified one additional marker that showed significant differentiation between sexes. For all applications considered, panels of autosomal SNPs showed higher power than the currently used STR set with only a very modest increase in the number of markers. Conclusions: These novel panels of highly informative genome-wide SNPs provide more powerful, efficient, and flexible tools for the genetic management and non-invasive monitoring of Iberian lynx populations. This example highlights an important outcome of whole-genome studies in genetically threatened species

Can a Wi-Fi WLAN support a first person shooter?

In corporate and commercial environments, the deployment of a set of coordinated Wi-Fi APs is becoming a common solution to provide Internet coverage to moving users. In these scenarios, real-time services as online games can also be present. This paper presents a set of experiments developed in a test scenario where an end device moves between different APs while generating game traffic. A WLAN solution based on virtual APs is used, in order to make the handoffs transparent for Layer 3. The results show that it is possible to maintain an acceptable level of subjective quality during the handoff. At the same time, it is set clear that the fact of having a gamer in an AP could be taken into account by radio resource management algorithms, in order to provide a better quality

Distinct Contributions of Median Raphe Nucleus to Contextual Fear Conditioning and Fear-Potentiated Startle

Ascending 5-HT projections from the median raphe nucleus (MRN), probably to the hippocampus, are implicated in the acquisition of contextual fear (background stimuli), as assessed by freezing behavior. Foreground cues like light, used as a conditioned stimulus (CS) in classical fear conditioning, also cause freezing through thalamic transmission to the amygdala. As the MRN projects to the hippocampus and amygdala, the role of this raphe nucleus in fear conditioning to explicit cues remains to be explained. Here we analyzed the behavior of rats with MRN electrolytic lesions in a contextual conditioning situation and in a fear-potentiated startle procedure. The animals received MRN electrolytic lesions either before or on the day after two consecutive training sessions in which they were submitted to 10 conditioning trials, each in an experimental chamber (same context) where they. received foot-shocks (0.6 mA, 1 sec) paired to a 4-sec light CS. Seven to ten days later, the animals were submitted to testing sessions for assessing conditioned fear when they were placed for five shocks, and the duration of contextual freezing was recorded. The animals were then submitted to a fear-potentiated startle in response to a 4-sec light-CS, followed by white noise (100 dB, 50 ms). Control rats (sham) tested in the same context showed more freezing than did rats with pre- or post-training MRN lesions. Startle was clearly potentiated in the presence of light CS in the sham-lesioned animals. Whereas pretraining lesions reduced both freezing and fear-potentiated startle, the post-training lesions reduced only freezing to context, without changing the fear-potentiated startle. In a second experiment, neurotoxic lesions of the MRN with local injections of N-methyl-D-aspartate or the activation of 5-HT1A somatodendritic auto-receptors of the MRN by microinjections of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-hydroxy- 2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) before the training sessions also reduced the amount of freezing and the fear-potentiated startle. Freezing is a prominent response of contextual fear conditioning, but does not seem to be crucial for the enhancement of the startle reflex by explicit aversive cues. As fear-potentiated startle may be produced in posttraining lesioned rats that are unable to freeze to fear contextual stimuli, dissociable systems seem to be recruited in each condition. Thus, contextual fear and fear-potentiated startle are conveyed by distinct 5-HT-mediated circuits of the MRN

Aplicación de diseño factorial completo para la otpimización del medio de cultivo para la remoción de Cr(VI) por levaduras autóctonas

La contaminación con cromo aumenta incesantemente debido a la continua industrialización y al mal manejo de los residuos. Entre los distintos estados de oxidación, el Cr (VI) es el más tóxico debido a su carácter cancerígeno y mutagénico. La reducción microbiana de Cr(VI) ofrece una alternativa económicamente rentable y ecológicamente viable. Con el fin de reducir los costos operativos en un proceso a gran escala, se estudió la composición y concentración de los componentes del medio de cultivo. Se trabajó con un diseño estadístico del tipo factorial completo para optimizar la remoción de Cr(VI) (1 mM concentración inicial) a las 24 h con las levaduras Cyberlindnera jadinii M9 y Wickerhamomyces anomalus M10. Se estudió y modeló la interacción entre las variables: SO 4(NH4)2, CaCl2, NaCl e inóculo para M9, y: sacarosa, KHPO4 e inóculo, para M10. En ambas cepas se alcanzo la remoción total de Cr(VI) a las 24 h de cultivo. También, se evaluó la tendencia a la máxima remoción a las 12 h. La combinación óptima predicha se confirmó experimentalmente, alcanzando un máximo de 73,91% y 87,32% para M9 y M10, respectivamente. En el caso de M9, NaCl pudo ser excluido de la fórmula del medio de cultivo. La composición resultante del medio de cultivo optimizado para M9 es (en g/L): sacarosa, 60; KHPO 4, 1; extracto de levadura, 1; Mg(SO4)2, 0,5; SO4(NH4)2, 1,05; CaCl2 0,12; inóculo 20% y para M10 resultante es (en g/L): sacarosa, 90; KHPO4, 1,2; SO4(NH4)2, 1,2; extracto de levadura, 1; Mg(SO4)2, 0,5; CaCl2, 0,1; NaCl, 0,1; inóculo 20%. Estos resultados indican que un alto porcentaje de remoción de Cr(VI) puede alcanzarse en un corto tiempo de cultivo empleando un medio de simple composición, el cual podría usarse en el desarrollo de un proceso a gran escala.Fil: Cruz, Elías L.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, Pablo Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Figueroa, L. I. C. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaXXXI Jornadas Científicas de la Asociación de Biología de TucumánTucumánArgentinaAsociación de Biología de Tucumá

Ianus: an Adpative FPGA Computer

Dedicated machines designed for specific computational algorithms can outperform conventional computers by several orders of magnitude. In this note we describe {\it Ianus}, a new generation FPGA based machine and its basic features: hardware integration and wide reprogrammability. Our goal is to build a machine that can fully exploit the performance potential of new generation FPGA devices. We also plan a software platform which simplifies its programming, in order to extend its intended range of application to a wide class of interesting and computationally demanding problems. The decision to develop a dedicated processor is a complex one, involving careful assessment of its performance lead, during its expected lifetime, over traditional computers, taking into account their performance increase, as predicted by Moore's law. We discuss this point in detail

Caracterización de residuos procedentes de los procesos de combustión de biomasa. Viabilidad de uso como materiales de Construcción.

En España, y más específicamente en Andalucía, la producción de energía a partir de la quema de biomasa presenta una actividad creciente, por lo que la caracterización de los residuos procedentes de esta combustión facilitaría su empleo futuro. En el presente trabajo se estudia la viabilidad técnica que presentan ciertos residuos (cenizas volantes y cenizas de fondo) procedentes de dicha combustión, para ser empleados en materiales de construcción, evaluando la composición química y mineralógica de estos residuos. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que los residuos analizados poseen propiedades aceptables para ser utilizados en la producción de materiales que tomen como base el cemento, si bien su calidad y tipo de aplicación depende de la procedencia del residu

REPORTES CLINICOS: INFECCION RINOSINUSAL PROBADA POR Aspergillus flavus Y PROBABLE INFECCION PULMONAR POR Emericella nidulans EN PACIENTES INMUNODEPRIMIDOS

En los ultimos 20 años la incidencia de aspergilosis invasiva ha aumentado  entre 5 y 10 veces, presentando una mortalidad que varía desde un 60 a 98% dependiendo de su localización, enfermedad de base(inmunodepresión), diagnóstico y tratamiento precoz. A pesar que se ha logrado un importante avance en estos dos últimos decenios, aproximadamente un 50% de los casos se diagnostican post mortem. Se reportan dos casos de aspergilosis (probada y probable) en pacientesinmunodeprimidos de 21 y 44 años respectivamente. El primer caso corresponde a una infección rinosinusal en una paciente con leucemia linfoblastica, con un cuadro clínico caracterizado por aumento de volumen facial  izquierdo, compromiso progresivo del estado general yequímosis en región periorbitaria. La endoscopia nasal detectó abundante secreción y tejido friable amarillento sugerente de infección micótica. Las muestras de tejidos enviadas al laboratorio para exámen directo y cultivos arrojaron presencia de hifas en la mucosa y crecimientoabundante de Aspergillus flavus. Se inició terapia con itraconazol, cambiándose posteriormente a voriconazol, con respuesta favorable y disminución del dolor y volumen facial. Sin embargo, la paciente fallece al 10º día del ingreso debido a su mal estado general, avance de la falla medular y posterior insuficiencia respiratoria. El segundo caso corresponde a una probable infección pulmonar en una paciente con cáncer de mama en tratamiento quimioterápico. La paciente ingresó conel diagnóstico de neutropenia febril y probable neumonia de etiología bacteriana, fue tratada con antimicrobianos tanto en el hospital comunal como en el de base. Sin embargo, presentó una evolución tórpida, cursando posteriormente con hemoptisis, insuficiencia respiratoriay compromiso de conciencia. Se tomaron muestras de secreción endotraqueal las que fueron enviadas para estudio bacteriológico(TBC) y micológico, además de hemo y urocultivos. Los resultados de los examenes efectuados fueron negativos, excepto todos los cultivosmicológicos que tempranamente (4 días) detectaron un amplio crecimiento de Aspergillus (Emericella) nidulans. Al momento del informe micológico la paciente había fallecido en el hospital base

An in-depth view of the microscopic dynamics of Ising spin glasses at fixed temperature

Using the dedicated computer Janus, we follow the nonequilibrium dynamics of the Ising spin glass in three dimensions for eleven orders of magnitude. The use of integral estimators for the coherence and correlation lengths allows us to study dynamic heterogeneities and the presence of a replicon mode and to obtain safe bounds on the Edwards-Anderson order parameter below the critical temperature. We obtain good agreement with experimental determinations of the temperature-dependent decay exponents for the thermoremanent magnetization. This magnitude is observed to scale with the much harder to measure coherence length, a potentially useful result for experimentalists. The exponents for energy relaxation display a linear dependence on temperature and reasonable extrapolations to the critical point. We conclude examining the time growth of the coherence length, with a comparison of critical and activated dynamics.Comment: 38 pages, 26 figure