Optimal combined word-length allocation and architectural synthesis of digital signal processing circuits

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First report of an olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) inside the Mediterranean Sea

We report the first confirmed occurrence of a Lepidochelys olivacea in the Mediterranean Sea based on the study of an individual stranded on a beach, located in the town of Oropesa del Mar (40º05ʹ32ʺN, 0º08ʹ02ʺE), Castellón province, East Spain, in May 2014. Morphological and genetic analyses were used to confirm the identification of the species. The individual had a sequence that matched the 470 bp Lepidochelys olivacea haplotype F (Genbank accession number: AF051773), found in several Atlantic populations. This becomes one of the northernmost known occurrences of olive ridleys in the world and is the first reports of this species in the Mediterranean Sea

A sandpile model with tokamak-like enhanced confinement phenomenology

Confinement phenomenology characteristic of magnetically confined plasmas emerges naturally from a simple sandpile algorithm when the parameter controlling redistribution scalelength is varied. Close analogues are found for enhanced confinement, edge pedestals, and edge localised modes (ELMs), and for the qualitative correlations between them. These results suggest that tokamak observations of avalanching transport are deeply linked to the existence of enhanced confinement and ELMs.Comment: Manuscript is revtex (latex) 1 file, 7 postscript figures Revised version is final version accepted for publication in PRL Revisions are mino

Contextualising the Last Survivors: Population Structure of Marine Turtles in the Dominican Republic.

Nesting by three species of marine turtles persists in the Dominican Republic, despite historic threats and long-term population decline. We conducted a genetic survey of marine turtles in the Dominican Republic in order to link them with other rookeries around the Caribbean. We sequenced a 740bp fragment of the control region of the mitochondrial DNA of 92 samples from three marine turtle species [hawksbill (n = 48), green (n = 2) and leatherback (n = 42)], and incorporated published data from other nesting populations and foraging grounds. The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) in the Dominican Republic appeared to be isolated from Awala-Yalimapo, Cayenne, Trinidad and St. Croix but connected with other Caribbean populations. Two distinct nesting populations of hawksbill turtles (Eremochelys imbricata) were detected in the Dominican Republic and exhibited interesting patterns of connectivity with other nesting sites and juvenile and adult male foraging aggregations. The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) has almost been extirpated from the Dominican Republic and limited inference could be made from our samples. Finally, results were compared with Lagrangian drifting buoys and published Lagrangian virtual particles that travelled through the Dominican Republic and Caribbean waters. Conservation implications of sink-source effects or genetic isolation derived from these complex inter-connections are discussed for each species and population.The present study is included as part of a conservation project funded by: the Spanish International Cooperation Agency (AECI, projects: A/2991/05 and A/5641/06), the Spanish Ministry of Education and Sciences (CGL2006-02936-BOS), the General Foundation of the University of Valencia, and the European Union (Marie Curie grants, FP6 & 7). BJG is supported by NERC and the Darwin Initiative. LAH is supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council of the UK. JAR and JT are also supported by project Prometeo/2011/40 of ‘Conselleria de Educacio´’ (Generalitat Valenciana) and project CGL2011-30413 of the Spanish Ministry of Sciences and Innovation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Microfluidic generation of droplet interface bilayer networks incorporating real-time size sorting in linear and non-linear configurations

In this study, a novel droplet based microfluidic method for the generation of different sized droplet interface bilayers is reported. A microfluidic platform was designed, which allows the generation and packing of picoliter lipid coated water droplets. Droplets were generated by hydrodynamic focusing coupled with selective transport along grooves according to their size. A trapping structure at the end of the groove and a fine control of the flow pressures allowed for the droplets to be successfully trapped and aligned on demand. This technology facilitates the fine control of droplet size production as well as the generation of extended networks from a variety of lipids including 1,2-diphytanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine in linear and non-linear configurations, which is vital to the application of Droplet Interface Bilayers to biological network construction on-chip

Analysis of the blackout risk reduction when segmenting large power systems using lines with controllable power flow

Large electrical transmission networks are susceptible to undergo very large blackouts due to cascading failures, with a very large associated economical cost. In this work we propose segmenting large power grids using controllable lines, such as high-voltage direct-current lines, to reduce the risk of blackouts. The method consists in modifying the power flowing through the lines interconnecting different zones during cascading failures in order to minimize the load shed. As a result, the segmented grids have a substantially lower risk of blackouts than the original network, with reductions up to 60% in some cases. The control method is shown to be specially efficient in reducing blackouts affecting more than one zone.DG and PC acknowledge funding from project PACSS RTI2018-093732-B-C22 and APASOS PID2021-122256NB-C22 of the MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ and by EU through FEDER funds (A way to make Europe), from the Maria de Maeztu program MDM-2017-0711 of the MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/, and also from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 957852, VPP4Islands). B.A.C. and J.M.R.-B. acknowledge access to Uranus, a supercomputer cluster located at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) funded jointly by EU FEDER funds and by the Spanish Government via the National Research Project Nos. UNC313-4E-2361, ENE2009-12213-C03-03, ENE2012-33219, and ENE2012-31753. OGB was supported in part by FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades - Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Project RTI2018-095429-B-I00 and in part by FI-AGAUR Research Fellowship Program, Generalitat de Catalunya. The work of OGB is supported by the ICREA Academia program

Characterising anomalous transport in accretion disks from X-ray observations

Whilst direct observations of internal transport in accretion disks are not yet possible, measurement of the energy emitted from accreting astrophysical systems can provide useful information on the physical mechanisms at work. Here we examine the unbroken multi-year time variation of the total X-ray flux from three sources: Cygnus X-1 , the microquasar GRS 1915+105 , and for comparison the nonaccreting Crab nebula. To complement previous analyses, we demonstrate that the application of advanced statistical methods to these observational time-series reveals important contrasts in the nature and scaling properties of the transport processes operating within these sources. We find the Crab signal resembles Gaussian noise; the Cygnus X-1 signal is a leptokurtic random walk whose self-similar properties persist on timescales up to three years; and the GRS 1915+105 signal is similar to that from Cygnus X-1, but with self-similarity extending possibly to only a few days. This evidence of self-similarity provides a robust quantitative characterisation of anomalous transport occuring within the systems

Ventajas e inconvenientes de la asistencia obligatoria a “Fisiología de la Digestión”, una asignatura de posgrado

Objetivos: Los criterios de evaluación actuales deben valorar no solo la adquisición de habilidades cognitivas que facilitan la asimilación progresiva de los contenidos, sino también de competencias específicas para el desarrollo de su formación profesional. Así, en este trabajo se analizan las ventajas e inconvenientes de la asistencia diaria obligatoria con respecto a la asistencia libre, como un criterio de evaluación para la asignatura de Posgrado Fisiología de la Digestión del Máster Universitario de Fisiología y Neurociencia de la Universidad de Sevilla. Material y Métodos: Se han comparado las calificaciones obtenidas por los alumnos de la asignatura de posgrado Fisiología de la Digestión durante dos cursos académicos (cursos 2010-2011, 2011-2012), donde la asistencia a clase fue obligatoria y los siguientes cursos (2012-2013, 2013-2014), donde dejó de tenerse en cuenta este criterio. Resultados y Discusión: Los alumnos con asistencia obligatoria no acudieron más a clase que los alumnos con asistencia libre y presentaron un porcentaje menor de calificaciones con sobresalientes y notables. Además, estos alumnos presentaron alrededor de un 5% de suspensos en comparación a los de asistencia libre, que nunca suspendieron. Finalmente, los alumnos de este último grupo participaron en las actividades de innovación con mayor interés. Conclusiones: En base a estos resultados se puede sugerir que durante los estudios de posgrado, la asistencia obligatoria disminuyó el interés y el rendimiento de los alumnos, mientras que la asistencia libre fomentó la participación en clase y en las actividades de innovación complementarias, mejorando sus calificaciones, por tanto la asistencia obligatoria no es un buen criterio de evaluación para la asignatura Fisiología de la Digestión.Aim: The current evaluation criteria assess not only the acquisition of cognitive skills that facilitate the gradual assimilation of the contents, but also specific responsibilities to develop the professional profile. Therefore, in this study we analyzed advantages and disadvantages of obligatory daily attendance respect to free for the postgraduate subject Physiology of the digestion of the Master Physiology and Neuroscience of the University of Seville. Material and Methods: We compared the scores of students in the postgraduate subject of Physiology of Digestion during two academic courses (courses 2010-2011 and 2011-2012), with obligatory attendance, and the two following courses (2012-2013 and 2013-2014) where this criterion was not evaluated. Results and Discussion: Students with obligatory attendance didn’t attended more to class that their free attendance partners; they even had a lower percentage of maximum qualifications. These students presented about a 5% of failing grades. When attendance was free, students didn’t fail and participated with more interest in innovation activity. Conclusions: According to these results, we could suggest that in postgraduate studies the mandatory attendance decreased the interest and efficiency of students. However, the free attendance promoted participation in class and in complementary innovation activity, and it also improved the qualifications of students. Therefore, mandatory attendance is not a good evaluation criterion for the subject of Physiology of Digestio