Errors in kinematic distances and our image of the Milky Way Galaxy

Errors in the kinematic distances, under the assumption of circular gas orbits, were estimated by performing synthetic observations of a model disk galaxy. It was found that the error is < 0.5 kpc for most of the disk when the measured rotation curve was used, but larger if the real rotation curve is applied. In both cases, the error is significantly larger at the positions of the spiral arms. The error structure is such that, when kinematic distances are used to develope a picture of the large scale density distribution, the most significant features of the numerical model are significantly distorted or absent, while spurious structure appears. By considering the full velocity field in the calculation of the kinematic distances, most of the original density structures can be recovered.Comment: Accepted for publication in A

Acoso psicológico, organización e identidad : análisis desde un foro virtual

Las interacciones que tienen lugar en los foros de discusión de Internet se vienen empleando como fuente de información para el análisis de distintas temáticas sociales. Estos foros constituyen en muchos casos un nexo de (re)unión para las comunidades de afectados por problemas de distinta índole, convirtiéndose así el ciberespacio en un marco referencial para el estudio de los mismos. Por otro lado, la disponibilidad de los discursos íntegros de los participantes en estos foros y el carácter textual de los contenidos incluidos facilitan el empleo de metodologías de tipo cualitativo para el análisis de los fenómenos. En el presente trabajo analizamos el acoso psicológico en el marco de los foros de Internet con el objeto de profundizar en sus implicaciones subjetivas, especialmente los aspectos relacionados con la formulación de las identidades; y en sus implicaciones organizacionales, centrando la atención en las dimensiones estructurales y funcionales.Interactions in internet discussion forums provide data on a variety of social issues. Forums are often a meetingplace for people affected by a given problem; in fact, cyberspace has become a framework of reference in the study of such interaction. The ready availability of the participants' discourse, and the textual nature of the forum's contents, facilitate the use of qualitative methodologies. The present article analyses harassment in internet forums in order to study its subjective implications, specially those aspects related to the formulation of participants' identities. The article also explores the organizational implications of harassment, focusing on its structural and functional dimensions

A Paraneoplastic Syndrome to Remember: A Case of Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation in Lung Cancer

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is an acquired syndrome characterized by the widespread activation of coagulation. It can present as an acute life-threatening emergency or as a chronic process. Mortality is highly dependent on the reversibility of the aetiology and degree of coagulation impairment, so treatment of the underlying cause is vital. The authors present the case of a 57-year-old man whose inaugural presentation of lung cancer was chronic DIC, characterized by three thrombotic events, followed by acute DIC, culminating in death. Metastatic lung cancer was diagnosed only after death

Missplicing due to a synonymous, T96= exonic substitution in the T-box transcription factor TBX19 resulting in isolated ACTH deficiency

Congenital isolated ACTH deficiency (IAD) is a rare condition characterised by low plasma ACTH and serum cortisol with normal production of other pituitary hormones. TBX19 (also known as TPIT) is a T-box pituitary restricted transcription factor important for POMC gene transcription and terminal differentiation of POMC-expressing cells. TBX19 gene mutations have been shown to cause neonatal-onset congenital IAD. We report a neonate of Romanian origin, who presented at 15 h of life with respiratory arrest and hypoglycaemia which recurred over the following 2 weeks. Biochemical investigations revealed IAD, with undetectable serum cortisol (cortisol < 1 μg/dL; normal range (NR): 7.8–26.2) and plasma ACTH levels within the normal range (22.1 pg/mL; NR: 4.7–48.8). He responded to hydrocortisone treatment. Patient DNA was analysed by a HaloPlex next-generation sequencing array targeting genes for adrenal insufficiency. A novel homozygous synonymous mutation p.Thr96= (Chr1:168260482; c.288G>A; rs376493164; allele frequency 1 × 10−5, no homozygous) was found in exon 2 of the TBX19 gene. The effect of this was assessed by an in vitro splicing assay, which revealed aberrant splicing of exon 2 giving rise to a mutant mRNA transcript whereas the WT vector spliced exon 2 normally. This was identified as the likely cause of IAD in the patient. The predicted protein product would be non-functional in keeping with the complete loss of cortisol production and early presentation in the patient

Los conductores re-examinados: El transcurso del tiempo deteriora significativamente los conocimientos de los conductores

Dos mil cinco conductores, 1204 hombres y 801 mujeres,una muestra representativa de la población española deconductores, fueron nuevamente examinados utilizandoun cuestionario que reproducía fielmente un examen deconducir realizado por la Dirección General de Tráfico(DGT). Las preguntas fueron clasificadas en “muyimportantes”, “importantes” y “poco importantes”. El 96.5% de los conductores, suspendió el examen. Los resultadoseran tanto peores cuanto más tiempo había transcurridodesde la obtención del permiso de conducir. Esto eraindependiente de la importancia de las preguntas, de lamayor o menor frecuencia de conducción y afectaba porigual a hombres y mujeres. Las mujeres obtienen mejorespuntuaciones en señalización mientras que los hombres sonmejores en las preguntas de seguridad vial. Los resultadostambién demostraban que los conductores profesionales y los de mayor nivel educativo sufren un menor deterioro.Tales resultados nos llevan a considerar la relación que estosdatos puedan tener en los niveles de accidentalidad y laconveniencia de establecer pautas para la actualización delconocimiento de los conductores. Finalmente, se discutela relevancia que el examen que se utiliza para obtener elpermiso de conducir tiene como indicador o predictorde una futura conducción segura

Time of flight measurements based on FPGA using a breast dedicated PET

In this work the implementation of a Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) using a Nutt delay line FPGA-based and applied on a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) device is going to be presented in order to check the system’s suitability for Time of Flight (TOF) measurements. In recent years, FPGAs have shown great advantages for precise time measurements in PET. The architecture employed for these measurements is described in detail. The system developed was tested on a dedicated breast PET prototype, composed of LYSO crystals and Positive Sensitive Photomultipliers (PSPMTs). Two distinct experiments were carried out for this purpose. In the first test, system linearity was evaluated in order to calibrate the time measurements, providing a linearity error of less than 2% and an average time resolution of 1.4 ns FWHM. The second set of measurements tested system resolution, resulting in a FWHM as good as 1.35 ns. The results suggest that the coincidence window for the current PET can be reduced in order to minimize the random events and thus, achieve better image qualityAguilar, A.; García Olcina, R.; Martos, J.; Soret, J.; Torres-Pais, J.; Benlloch Baviera, JM.; González Martínez, AJ.... (2014). Time of flight measurements based on FPGA using a breast dedicated PET. Journal of Instrumentation. 9:0-8. doi:10.1088/1748-0221/9/05/C05012S08