UDP: an integral management system of embedded scripts implemented into the IMaX instrument of the Sunrise mission

The UDP (User Defined Program) system is a scripting framework for controlling and extending instrumentation software. It has been specially designed for air- and space-borne instruments with flexibility, error control, reuse, automation, traceability and ease of development as its main objectives. All the system applications are connected through a database containing the valid script commands including descriptive information and source code. The system can be adapted to different projects without changes in the framework tools, thus achieving great level of flexibility and reusability. The UDP system comprises: an embedded system for the execution of scripts by the instrument software; automatic tools for aiding in the creation, modification, documentation and tracing of new scripting language commands; and interfaces for the creation of scripts and execution control.Comment: This paper has been presented in the SPIE 2008, Marselle, Franc

Experimental transition probabilities in NII lines

Producción CientíficaThis work reports an extensive collection of 108 transition probabilities of NII lines in the visible spectral region, all of them measured in an emission experiment. Relative intensity measurements have been made on a pulsed discharge lamp and the absolute Aki values have been obtained by using the literature available data. Electron density and temperature range in this experiment from 0.2 to and from 17000 to 29000 K respectively. The first one has been simultaneously determined from two-wavelength interferometry and from the Stark broadening of HeI 471.3 nm, the second from Boltzmann-plot of NII lines and from NII/NI intensities ratios. The results are compared with the recent available literature.

Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional (grant PB-98-0356)Junta de Castilla y León (grant VA23-99

Accretion, ejection and reprocessing in supermassive black holes

This is a White Paper in support of the mission concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT), proposed as a medium-sized ESA mission. We discuss the potential of LOFT for the study of active galactic nuclei. For a summary, we refer to the paper.Comment: White Paper in Support of the Mission Concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timin

Detection of dengue virus serotype 2 in aedes aegypti in Quintana Roo, Mexico, 2011

Abstract. In October 2011, the State Health Department announced that several laboratory-confirmed cases of dengue had occurred among residents in two neighborhoods of Benito Juarez, Quintana Roo State, Mexico. To identify the dengue virus serotype(s) temporally and spatially associated with the cases, entomologic-based virus surveillance was initiated in October 2011 in both neighborhoods. Adult mosquitoes were collected from 88 houses by CDCbackpack aspirator, and all female Aedes aegypti L. (n = 419) were individually homogenized and assayed in pools of as many as 10 by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using dengue virus-specific primers. Five (12%) of 41 pools were positive for dengue virus RNA. The individual mosquitoes that comprised the pools were analyzed separately by RT-PCR using dengue virus serotype-specific primers. Six mosquitoes were positive for dengue virus serotype-2 (DENV-2) RNA, three of which were collected in the same house. The mean number of female Ae. aegypti collected in each house was 4.76 ± 6.19. The overall dengue virus-infection rate in female Ae. aegypti was 1.4%. Interestingly, most (60%) of mosquito females were collected only from 15 (17%) houses. In summary, we provide evidence of recent DENV-2 transmission in Quintana Roo State

XIPE: the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer

X-ray polarimetry, sometimes alone, and sometimes coupled to spectral and temporal variability measurements and to imaging, allows a wealth of physical phenomena in astrophysics to be studied. X-ray polarimetry investigates the acceleration process, for example, including those typical of magnetic reconnection in solar flares, but also emission in the strong magnetic fields of neutron stars and white dwarfs. It detects scattering in asymmetric structures such as accretion disks and columns, and in the so-called molecular torus and ionization cones. In addition, it allows fundamental physics in regimes of gravity and of magnetic field intensity not accessible to experiments on the Earth to be probed. Finally, models that describe fundamental interactions (e.g. quantum gravity and the extension of the Standard Model) can be tested. We describe in this paper the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE), proposed in June 2012 to the first ESA call for a small mission with a launch in 2017 but not selected. XIPE is composed of two out of the three existing JET-X telescopes with two Gas Pixel Detectors (GPD) filled with a He-DME mixture at their focus and two additional GPDs filled with pressurized Ar-DME facing the sun. The Minimum Detectable Polarization is 14 % at 1 mCrab in 10E5 s (2-10 keV) and 0.6 % for an X10 class flare. The Half Energy Width, measured at PANTER X-ray test facility (MPE, Germany) with JET-X optics is 24 arcsec. XIPE takes advantage of a low-earth equatorial orbit with Malindi as down-link station and of a Mission Operation Center (MOC) at INPE (Brazil).Comment: 49 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables. Paper published in Experimental Astronomy http://link.springer.com/journal/1068

Educación para la ciudadanía y la convivencia Ciclo tres (Quinto, Sexto y Séptimo) : protagonistas de la realidad, dirigimos la historia

El módulo que tenemos entre manos forma parte de una colección cuyo eje de acción es el fortalecimiento y desarrollo de las capacidades que promueven la participación, el empoderamiento y la movilización social para el ejercicio de las ciudadanías en la etapa escolar. Su título, protagonistas de la realidad, dirigimos la historia, inspirado en la frase atribuida a Paulo Freire “aprender a leer la realidad para escribir la historia”, resume el sentido de sus contenidos en dos vertientes, esto es, nos permite orientar los procesos de educación para la ciudadanía y la convivencia de los niños y niñas del ciclo, con el fin de aprender a ubicarse en el medio sociocultural donde se desenvuelve su vida cotidiana, y para actuar sobre el mismo en un sentido transformador. Partimos del reconocimiento de que los seres humanos nos constituimos como tales en relaciones e interacciones. Nuestros vínculos con el resto de la humanidad y el medio natural del cual nos proveemos para existir y con el cual conformamos un todo que hace posible la vida pueden ser más o menos conscientes. La mayor parte del tiempo, estas relaciones nos pasan inadvertidas, por lo lejanas o desconocidas o porque nos acostumbramos a cerrarles los ojos, a taparnos los oídos, a huir de ellas, a no dejarnos afectar por lo que percibimos, hasta llegar a la insensibilidad en su presencia

Supermassive Black Hole Winds in X-rays: SUBWAYS: II. HST UV spectroscopy of winds at intermediate redshifts

We present a UV spectroscopic study of ionized outflows in 21 active galactic nuclei (AGN), observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The targets of the Supermassive Black Hole Winds in X-rays (SUBWAYS) sample were selected with the aim to probe the parameter space of the underexplored AGN between the local Seyfert galaxies and the luminous quasars at high redshifts. Our targets, spanning redshifts of 0.1- 0.4 and bolometric luminosities (Lbol) of 1045- 1046 erg s-1, have been observed with a large multi-wavelength campaign using XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and HST. Here, we model the UV spectra and look for different types of AGN outflows that may produce either narrow or broad UV absorption features. We examine the relations between the observed UV outflows and other properties of the AGN. We find that 60% of our targets show a presence of outflowing H I absorption, while 40% exhibit ionized outflows seen as absorption by either C IV, N V, or O VI. This is comparable to the occurrence of ionized outflows seen in the local Seyfert galaxies. All UV absorption lines in the sample are relatively narrow, with outflow velocities reaching up to -3300 km s-1. We did not detect any UV counterparts to the X-ray ultra-fast outflows (UFOs), most likely due to their being too highly ionized to produce significant UV absorption. However, all SUBWAYS targets with an X-ray UFO that have HST data demonstrate the presence of UV outflows at lower velocities. We find significant correlations between the column density (N) of the UV ions and Lbol of the AGN, with NH I decreasing with Lbol, while NO VI is increasing with Lbol. This is likely to be a photoionization effect, where toward higher AGN luminosities, the wind becomes more ionized, resulting in less absorption by neutral or low-ionization ions and more absorption by high-ionization ions. In addition, we find that N of the UV ions decreases as their outflow velocity increases. This may be explained by a mechanical power that is evacuating the UV-absorbing medium. Our observed relations are consistent with multiphase AGN feeding and feedback simulations indicating that a combination of both radiative and mechanical processes are in play

Risks of dengue secondary infective biting associated with aedes aegypti in home environments in Monterrey, Mexico

Abstract. Secondary dengue virus infections are a major risk for developing dengue hemorrhagic fever. Recent exposure to infectious bites of Aedes aegypti (L.) females in previously diagnosed dengue cases fulfills the epidemiological model of dengue hemorrhagic fever. A study was comprised of 357 (89.2%) dengue and 43 (10.8%) dengue hemorrhagic fever cases confirmed by laboratory tests and clinical manifestations. An entomological survey was done in homes and backyards. Concurrently, a questionnaire was used to assess the impact of healthpromotion campaigns through knowledge of the vector and its epidemiological role. Seventy-six (28.4%) of the 268 (67.0%) total wet or dry oviposition sites were positive for the presence of larvae or pupae, while adult Ae. aegypti were found in 32 (8.0%). One hundred thirty-two (33%) householders who formerly had dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever had knowledge of either larval or adult dengue vector stages. According to gender distribution, 145 (36.2%) and 14 (3.5%) of the males confirmed with cases of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever lived in houses with 17.9 and 2% of the Ae. aegypti larval and pupal habitats. Houses with females who had dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever were 212 (53%) and 29 (7.3%), with containers with immature Ae. aegypti in 19.4 and 7%, respectively. Lack of sustainability of government-targeted health education campaigns is the major problem for involving communities in prevention and control of dengu

First events from the CNGS neutrino beam detected in the OPERA experiment

The OPERA neutrino detector at the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS) was designed to perform the first detection of neutrino oscillations in appearance mode, through the study of nu_mu to nu_tau oscillations. The apparatus consists of a lead/emulsion-film target complemented by electronic detectors. It is placed in the high-energy, long-baseline CERN to LNGS beam (CNGS) 730 km away from the neutrino source. In August 2006 a first run with CNGS neutrinos was successfully conducted. A first sample of neutrino events was collected, statistically consistent with the integrated beam intensity. After a brief description of the beam and of the various sub-detectors, we report on the achievement of this milestone, presenting the first data and some analysis results.Comment: Submitted to the New Journal of Physic