Deterministic and stochastic study for a microscopic angiogenesis model: applications to the Lewis lung carcinoma

Angiogenesis modelling is an important tool to understand the underlying mechanisms yielding tumour growth. Nevertheless, there is usually a gap between models and experimental data. We propose a model based on the intrinsic microscopic reactions defining the angiogenesis process to link experimental data with previous macroscopic models. The microscopic characterisation can describe the macroscopic behaviour of the tumour, which stability analysis reveals a set of predicted tumour states involving different morphologies. Additionally, the microscopic description also gives a framework to study the intrinsic stochasticity of the reactive system through the resulting Langevin equation. To follow the goal of the paper, we use available experimental information on the Lewis lung carcinoma to infer meaningful parameters for the model that are able to describe the different stages of the tumour growth. Finally we explore the predictive capabilities of the fitted model by showing that fluctuations are determinant for the survival of the tumour during the first week and that available treatments can give raise to new stable tumour dormant states with a reduced vascular network

La producción de programas musicales en la televisión pública española (1990-2010): el auge del talent show

Este artículo tiene como objeto ofrecer un recorrido por la historia de la producción de los programas musicales en la televisión pública española durante el periodo 1990-2010. Con esta finalidad, se ha consultado el archivo histórico digital de Radio Televisión Española como fuente primaria. A continuación, se ha completado la información con el análisis de fuentes secundarias como las secciones televisivas de la prensa nacional, publicaciones especializadas en televisión y bases de datos online como IMDb. Siguiendo un método de investigación inductivo, las conclusiones derivadas del estudio cronológico de los datos confirman las hipótesis planteadas. Primero, que el género musical ha sufrido un proceso de transformación al hibridarse con otros tipos de contenidos como las variedades, el concurso o la telerrealidad, dando como resultado el talent show contemporáneo. Y segundo, que la oferta de musicales de la televisión pública española no difiere en gran medida de la programada por los principales operadores privados, especialmente en la franja de máxima audiencia, dado su carácter comercial. La apuesta de TVE por el talent show musical ha sido determinante en la evolución del género musical en la televisión española.The aim of this article is to offer a journey through the history of the production of musical programmes on Spanish public television during the period 1990-2010. For this purpose, the digital historical archive of Radio Televisión Española has been consulted as a primary source. Besides, the information has been completed with the analysis of secondary sources such as television sections of the national press, specialized publications on television and online databases such as IMDb. Following an inductive research method, the conclusions derived from this study confirm our hypotheses. Firstly, the musical genre has undergone a transformation process due to its hybridization with other types of content such as varieties, game shows or reality shows, becoming the current talent show. And secondly, the musical offer of the Spanish public television does not differ a lot from that programmed by the main private operators, especially in prime time. TVE’s commitment to musical talent shows has been a cornerstone in the evolution of the musical genre in contemporary Spanish television

La producción de programas musicales en la televisión pública española (1990-2010): el auge del talent show

Este artículo tiene como objeto ofrecer un recorrido por la historia de la producción de los programas musicales en la televisión pública española durante el periodo 1990-2010. Con esta finalidad, se ha consultado el archivo histórico digital de Radio Televisión Española como fuente primaria. A continuación, se ha completado la información con el análisis de fuentes secundarias como las secciones televisivas de la prensa nacional, publicaciones especializadas en televisión y bases de datos online como IMDb. Siguiendo un método de investigación inductivo, las conclusiones derivadas del estudio cronológico de los datos confirman las hipótesis planteadas. Primero, que el género musical ha sufrido un proceso de transformación al hibridarse con otros tipos de contenidos como las variedades, el concurso o la telerrealidad, dando como resultado el talent show contemporáneo. Y segundo, que la oferta de musicales de la televisión pública española no difiere en gran medida de la programada por los principales operadores privados, especialmente en la franja de máxima audiencia, dado su carácter comercial. La apuesta de TVE por el talent show musical ha sido determinante en la evolución del género musical en la televisión española.The aim of this article is to offer a journey through the history of the production of musical programmes on Spanish public television during the period 1990-2010. For this purpose, the digital historical archive of Radio Televisión Española has been consulted as a primary source. Besides, the information has been completed with the analysis of secondary sources such as television sections of the national press, specialized publications on television and online databases such as IMDb. Following an inductive research method, the conclusions derived from this study confirm our hypotheses. Firstly, the musical genre has undergone a transformation process due to its hybridization with other types of content such as varieties, game shows or reality shows, becoming the current talent show. And secondly, the musical offer of the Spanish public television does not differ a lot from that programmed by the main private operators, especially in prime time. TVE's commitment to musical talent shows has been a cornerstone in the evolution of the musical genre in contemporary Spanish television

Adaptive fractional PID control of biped robots with time-delayed feedback

This paper presents the application of Fractional Order Time- Delay adaptive neural networks to the trajectory tracking for chaos synchronization between Fractional Order delayed plant, reference and Fractional Order Time-Delay adaptive neural networks. The proposed new control scheme is applied via simulations to control of a 4-DOF Biped Robot [1]. The main methodologies, on which the approach is based, are Fractional Order PID the Fractional Order Lyapunov-Krasovskii functions methodology. The structure of the biped robot is designed with two degrees of freedom per leg, corresponding to the knee and hip joints. Since torso and ankle are not considered, it is obtained a 4-DOF system, and each leg, we try to force this biped robot to track a reference signal given by undamped Duffing equation. The tracking error is globally asymptotically stabilized by two control laws derived based on a Lyapunov-Krasovski functional

Neuronal differentiation influences progenitor arrangement in the vertebrate neuroepithelium

Cell division, movement and differentiation contribute to pattern formation in developing tissues. This is the case in the vertebrate neural tube, in which neurons differentiate in a characteristic pattern from a highly dynamic proliferating pseudostratified epithelium. To investigate how progenitor proliferation and differentiation affect cell arrangement and growth of the neural tube, we used experimental measurements to develop a mechanical model of the apical surface of the neuroepithelium that incorporates the effect of interkinetic nuclear movement and spatially varying rates of neuronal differentiation. Simulations predict that tissue growth and the shape of lineage-related clones of cells differ with the rate of differentiation. Growth is isotropic in regions of high differentiation, but dorsoventrally biased in regions of low differentiation. This is consistent with experimental observations. The absence of directional signalling in the simulations indicates that global mechanical constraints are sufficient to explain the observed differences in anisotropy. This provides insight into how the tissue growth rate affects cell dynamics and growth anisotropy and opens up possibilities to study the coupling between mechanics, pattern formation and growth in the neural tube

Hooked on lit screens

The aim of this article is to trace new audiovisual consumption habits, analyzing which screens are preferred by people in Spain when watching different types of content online. In addition, we study the use of second screens, an increasingly common phenomenon. The main sources of data for this empirical study are two original surveys carried out online in May 2012 and in December 2016. The sample size was 1,200 in both cases, and interviews were conducted via the Internet. The target population consisted of Internet users in Spain and the sample distribution was designed to be representative of this population. Our results show that audiovisual consumption habits are changing dramatically, especially when looking at younger users, whose loyalty and attention is even more difficult to attract due to their disruptive practices. In this sense, great uncertainties and risks have emerged in the entertainment industry, although valuable opportunities may also arise.El objetivo de este artículo es descubrir nuevos hábitos de consumo audiovisual, analizando cuáles son las pantallas preferidas por los internautas españoles para ver contenidos audiovisuales online. Además, se analiza el uso de las segundas pantallas, práctica muy extendida entre la audiencia. La principal fuente de información es un estudio de campo basado en dos encuestas online originales lanzadas en mayo de 2012 y en diciembre de 2016. La muestra se compone en ambos casos de 1.200 personas y es representativa de la población internauta en España (universo). Los resultados apuntan a que los patrones de consumo audiovisual están cambiando drásticamente, especialmente en el caso de los usuarios más jóvenes, cuya fidelidad y atención es incluso más difícil de atraer debido a sus prácticas disruptivas. En este sentido, la industria del entretenimiento atraviesa una etapa repleta de importantes incertidumbres y riesgos, aunque al mismo tiempo se vislumbran valiosas oportunidade

Tell me the screen you use, and I will tell you the content you watch: The case of Spanish internet users

En els últims anys s’ha multiplicat el nombre de pantalles disponibles per veure continguts audiovisuals. Les llars han passat de tenir un o més televisors a comptar amb una àmplia varietat de dispositius connectats a internet. Aquest fet ha transformat profundament els hàbits de consum audiovisual a Espanya. Així, per exemple, el temps de visionat s’ha incrementat en totes les pantalles, inclosa la televisió convencional, amb una mitjana de quatre hores al dia. El públic jove sobresurt com el perfil que consumeix cada vegada més continguts en pantalles connectades a internet. L’objectiu d’aquest article és analitzar quins dispositius prefereix l’audiència per veure els diferents tipus de continguts —series de ficció, programes d’entreteniment, pel·lícules, notícies i esports—, així com les raons d’aquesta elecció. Per a això, hem tingut en compte els suports següents: televisió intel·ligent, telèfon mòbil, tauleta, ordinador i videoconsola. Entre les conclusions principals destaca que gairebé la meitat dels internautes espanyols veu la televisió a internet, sobretot per mitjà de l’ordinador. Això no obstant, les dades corroboren que els usuaris trien una pantalla o una altra en funció del tipus de contingut. Els resultats d’aquest estudi, basat en una enquesta pròpia, són especialment rellevants per conèixer els nous hàbits de consum audiovisual de la societat espanyola a internet.In recent years, the number and range of screens used to watch audiovisual contents has risen, from the traditional television set to Internet-enabled devices. This fact has profoundly changed audiovisual consumption habits in Spain. Firstly, viewing-times have increased across every platform. For example, in the case of conventional television, the average Spanish person watches four hours per day. Secondly, at the same time, younger audiences in particular are increasingly likely to use Internetenabled screens. The aim of this article is to analyze which screens are preferred by Spanish Internet users, as well as their reasons for doing so when watching different types of TV contents online, such as fiction series, entertainment shows, films, news and sports. In order to carry out this research, the following screens have been taken into account: smart TV, mobile phones, tablets, computers and video consoles. Of the main findings, two in particular may be highlighted in advance: almost half of Internet users watch TV online, and the most frequently used device to do so is the computer —including laptops and netbooks—. A further clear conclusion is that users choose different program genres depending on the screen. The results of this study, based on an original survey carried out online, may prove especially significant in order to discover new consumption habits of the Spanish population on the Internet

Comment on "Minimum Action Path Theory Reveals the Details of Stochastic Transitions Out of Oscillatory States" Reply

In our recent Letter, we study the transitions out of an oscillatory state for stochastic systems that can be described with a chemical Langevin equation (CLE). This is a reply to comments on that letter

Near infra-red light detection enhancement of plasmonic photodetectors

Nowadays numerous are the applications interested in exploiting near infrared light detection like LiDAR (at 850 - 950 nm wavelengths), NIR spectroscopy, quantum computation, and the detection of light from NIR emitting scintillators. Silicon based single photon avalanche diodes (SPAD) could be a valid device achieving high detection efficiency and high timing resolution. Moreover, they can provide single photon sensitivity in large areas if arranged in extended arrays named Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). Nevertheless, the Photon Detection Efficiency (PDE) of standard SiPMs in the NIR range is strongly limited by the relatively low Si absorption coefficient, leading to an absorption depth much larger than the typical active thickness of Si SPAD, i.e. 18 μm at 850 nm compared to some few μm’s. Hence, the performance of Si based detectors in NIR range is still inadequate for almost all the cited applications. A potential solution to overcome the limited Si absorption coefficient is to couple these photodetectors with a structure supporting highly confined light such as plasmonic oscillations, thus increasing the absorption. In recent years, the development in nanophotonic demonstrated that the interphase between metallic nanostructured and dielectric surface can support Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPP) i.e. electrons collective oscillation highly confined along the thickness of the device. Some of these interesting nanostructured are: i) 1- and 2-dimensional gratings; ii) bullseye structures; iii) nano-pillars and nano-holes arrays. Among those, 1D and 2D metallic nanograting are the most promising structures considering their feasibility and possible integration with Si based photodetector and SiPM technologies. In this contribution, we investigated the integration of a bidimensional metallic plasmonic nanograting structure on state of art photodetectors (PDs). For ease of production and characterization, the test devices consisted of conventional Silicon photodiodes instead of a proper SPAD. The PDs have been produced at the facility of Fondazione Bruno Kessler (Trento, Italy) using a custom CMOS-like microfabrication process similar the one used for FBK-SiPM technology. The previous described metallic nanograting is directly fabricated on a PDs by i) Electron Beam Lithography (EBL), ii) silver deposition, and iii) lift-off. Afterwards, the quantum efficiency (QE) of the produced samples have been measured in (450-1100) nm range. The first results are promising with an enhancement of about 45% at 950 nm with respect to the reference PD without any plasmonic nanostructured on top

The Spin Glass Phase in the Four-State, Three-Dimensional Potts Model

We perform numerical simulations, including parallel tempering, on the Potts glass model with binary random quenched couplings using the JANUS application-oriented computer. We find and characterize a glassy transition, estimating the location of the transition and the value of the critical exponents. We show that there is no ferromagnetic transition in a large temperature range around the glassy critical temperature. We also compare our results with those obtained recently on the "random permutation" Potts glass.Comment: 7 pages and 3 figures. Corrected minor typo