Pulsating stars in the VMC survey

The VISTA survey of the Magellanic Clouds system (VMC) began observations in 2009 and since then, it has collected multi-epoch data at Ks and in addition multi-band data in Y and J for a wide range of stellar populations across the Magellanic system. Among them are pulsating variable stars: Cepheids, RR Lyrae, and asymptotic giant branch stars that represent useful tracers of the host system geometry.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, proceeding contribution of invited presentation at "Wide-field variability surveys: a 21st-century perspective", San Pedro de Atacama (Chile

Influencia de los procesos de depuración sobre la toxicidad de las aguas residuales textiles.

La toxicidad de algunos productos utilizados en los procesos de tintura y acabado de los artículos textiles es muy elevada. En este trabajo se determina la toxicidad frente a la Dafnia Magna de algunos productos químicos utilizados en la Industria Textil. También se estudia la influencia de los procesos de depuración sobre la toxicidad de las aguas residuales textiles.La toxicité de quelques produits utilisés dans les processus de teinture et d'ennoblissement des articles textiles est très élevée. Dans ce travail on détermine la toxicité vis-à-vis de la Dafnia Magna de quelques produits utilisés dans l'Industrie Textile. On étudie aussi l'influence des processus d'épuration sur la toxicité des eaux résiduaires textiles.The toxicity of some of the products, employed in dyeing and finishing processes textiles articles, is very high. This paper deals with the determination of toxicity against Dafnia Magna of some of the chemical products employed in Textile Industry. Also the influence of the process of purification on the toxicity sf textile waste waters is studied.Peer Reviewe

Photometric Variability in the Ultracool Dwarf BRI 0021-0214: Possible Evidence for Dust Clouds

We report CCD photometric monitoring of the nonemission ultracool dwarf BRI 0021-0214 (M9.5) obtained during 10 nights in 1995 November and 4 nights in 1996 August, with CCD cameras at 1 m class telescopes on the observatories of the Canary Islands. We present differential photometry of BRI 0021-0214, and we report significant variability in the I-band light curve obtained in 1995. A periodogram analysis finds a strong peak at a period of 0.84 day. This modulation appears to be transient because it is present in the 1995 data but not in the 1996 data. We also find a possible period of 0.20 day, which appears to be present in both the 1995 and 1996 datasets. However, we do not find any periodicity close to the rotation period expected from the spectroscopic rotational broadening (< 0.14 day). BRI 0021-0214 is a very inactive object, with extremely low levels of Halpha and X-ray emission. Thus, it is unlikely that magnetically induced cool spots can account for the photometric variability. The photometric variability of BRI 0021-0214 could be explained by the presence of an active meteorology that leads to inhomogeneous clouds on the surface. The lack of photometric modulation at the expected rotational period suggests that the pattern of surface features may be more complicated than previously anticipated.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 26 pages, 13 figures include

Positive Outcomes Influence the Rate and Time to Publication, but Not the Impact Factor of Publications of Clinical Trial Results

Objectives: Publication bias may affect the validity of evidence based medical decisions. The aim of this study is to assess whether research outcomes affect the dissemination of clinical trial findings, in terms of rate, time to publication, and impact factor of journal publications. Methods and Findings: All drug-evaluating clinical trials submitted to and approved by a general hospital ethics committee between 1997 and 2004 were prospectively followed to analyze their fate and publication. Published articles were identified by searching Pubmed and other electronic databases. Clinical study final reports submitted to the ethics committee, final reports synopses available online and meeting abstracts were also considered as sources of study results. Study outcomes were classified as positive (when statistical significance favoring experimental drug was achieved), negative (when no statistical significance was achieved or it favored control drug) and descriptive (for non-controlled studies). Time to publication was defined as time from study closure to publication. A survival analysis was performed using a Cox regression model to analyze time to publication. Journal impact factors of identified publications were recorded. Publication rate was 48·4% (380/785). Study results were identified for 68·9% of all completed clinical trials (541/785). Publication rate was 84·9% (180/212) for studies with results classified as positive and 68·9% (128/186) for studies with results classified as negative (p<0·001). Median time to publication was 2·09 years (IC95 1·61-2·56) for studies with results classified as positive and 3·21 years (IC95 2·69-3·70) for studies with results classified as negative (hazard ratio 1·99 (IC95 1·55-2·55). No differences were found in publication impact factor between positive (median 6·308, interquartile range: 3·141-28·409) and negative result studies (median 8·266, interquartile range: 4·135-17·157). Conclusions: Clinical trials with positive outcomes have significantly higher rates and shorter times to publication than those with negative results. However, no differences have been found in terms of impact factor

Structural and Morphological Properties of Nanostructured Y2O3:Eu3+ Phosphor Particles Prepared Through Aerosol Synthesis

Poster presented at the COST Action 539- ELENA, 3rd Workshop, Bled, Slovenia, September 2, 200

An attempt to predict conformation and fatness in bulls by means of artificial neural networks using weight, age and breed composition information

The present study aimed to predict conformation and fatness grades in bulls based on data available at slaughter (carcass weight, age and breed proportions) by means of counter-propagation artificial neural networks (ANN). For chemometric analysis, 5893 bull carcasses (n=2948 and n=2945 for calibration and testing of models, respectively) were randomly selected from the initial data set (n≈27000; one abattoir, one classifier, three years period). Different ANN models were developed for conformation and fatness by varying the net size and the number of epochs. Tested net parameters did not have a notable effect on models’ quality. Respecting the tolerance of ±1 subclass between the actual and predicted value (as allowed by European Union legislation for on-spot checks), the matching between the classifier and ANN grading was 73.6 and 64.9% for conformation and fatness, respectively. Success rate of prediction was positively related to the frequency of carcasses in the class.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biodégradabilité des effluents textiles traités avec des techniques d'oxydation électrochemique

La oxidación electroquímica de efluentes textiles es un método eficaz para la eliminación del color, especialmente cuando el agua residual contiene colorantes reactivos. Sin embargo, antes de la aplicación industrial de esta técnica, deben llevarse a cabo controles para verificar que no se genere una cantidad excesiva de productos tóxicos durante el tratamiento. En este estudio, los efluentes tratados por oxidación electroquímica son aguas residuales textiles sintéticas que contienen colorantes reactivos. Para evaluar su biodegradabilidad, se emplean técnicas respirométricas. Cuando el ión cloruro está presente en el agua residual coloreada, el tratamiento electroquímico puede proporcionar una buena eliminación del color a un coste bajo. En general, el nivel de biodegradabilidad de las aguas residuales aumenta después del tratamiento electroquímico para la eliminación del color siempre que vaya seguido de una aireación para eliminar el cloro. En ausencia del ión cloruro, no se requiere aireación debido a que durante el tratamiento electroquímico, la biodegradabilidad mejora.In a previous paper, the electrochemical oxidation of textile effluents was reported as an efficient method to remove colour, especially when the wastewater contains reactive dyes. However, before applying industrially this technique, some controls should be carried out in order to verify that no exceeding amounts of toxic products are generated during the treatment. In the present work, effluents treated by electrochemical oxidation are the synthetic textile wastewater containing reactive dyes. Respirometric techniques are employed to evaluate the biodegradability. When chloride ion is present in a dyeing wastewater, an electrochemical treatment can achieve a good colour removal with a reasonable cost. In general, wastewater keeps their biodegradability level after removing colour by an electrochemical treatment, whenever this treatment is followed by an aeration to eliminate the chlorine. In the absence of chloride ion, the aeration is not required since the biodegradability is improved during the electrochemical treatment.Dans un travail préalable, l'oxydation électrochimique d'effluents textiles a été rapportée comme une méthode effective pour décolorer les eaux résiduaires, surtout quand elles contiennent des colorants réactifs. Cependant, quelques contrôles devraient être emportés pour vérifier, avant d'appliquer cette technique industriellement, que la quantité de produits toxiques qui peut se produire pendant le traitement ne soit pas excessive. Dans la présente étude, les effluents traités par oxydation électrochimique sont des eaux résiduaires textiles synthétiques qui contiennent des colorants réactifs. Des techniques respirometriques sont employées pour évaluer leur biodégradabilité. Quand l'ion chlorure est présent dans une eau résiduaire de teinture, un traitement électrochimique peut accomplir une bonne décoloration avec un coût raisonnable. En général, les eaux résiduaires maintiennent leur biodégradabilité après avoir éliminé la couleur par un traitement électrochimique, pourvu que ce traitement soit suivi d’une aération pour enlever le chlore. En absence d'ion chlorure, l'aération n'est pas exigée puis ce que la biodégradabilité augmente pendant le traitement électrochimique

Radiometric Wireless Sensor Network Monitoring of Partial Discharge Sources in Electrical Substations

A wireless sensor network (WSN) with the potential to monitor and locate partial discharge (PD) in high-voltage electricity substations using only received signal strength (RSS) is proposed. The advantages of an RSS-based operating principle over more traditional methods (e.g., time-of-arrival and time-difference-of-arrival) are described. Laboratory measurements of PD that emulate the operation of a PD WSN are presented. The hardware architecture of a prototype PD WSN is described and the particular challenges of an RSS-based location approach in an environment with an unknown, and spatially varying, path-loss index are discussed. It is concluded that an RSS-based PD WSN is a plausible solution for the monitoring of insulation integrity in electricity substations