Atmospheric monitoring and array calibration in CTA using the Cherenkov Transparency Coefficient

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the next generation observatory employing different types of Cherenkov telescopes for the detection of particle showers initiated by very-high-energy gamma rays. A good knowledge of the Earth's atmosphere, which acts as a calorimeter in the detection technique, will be crucial for calibration in CTA. Variations of the atmosphere's transparency to Cherenkov light and not correctly performed calibration of individual telescopes in the array result in large systematic uncertainties on the energy scale. The Cherenkov Transparency Coefficient (CTC), developed within the H.E.S.S. experiment, quantifies the mean atmosphere transparency ascertained from data taken by Cherenkov telescopes during scientific observations. Provided that atmospheric conditions over the array are uniform, transparency values obtained per telescope can be also used for the calibration of individual telescope responses. The application of the CTC in CTA presents a challenge due to the greater complexity of the observatory and the variety of telescope cameras compared with currently operating experiments, such as H.E.S.S. We present here the first results of a feasibility study for extension of the CTC concept in CTA for purposes of the inter-calibration of the telescopes in the array and monitoring of the atmosphere.Comment: All CTA contributions at arXiv:1709.0348

Urban infrastructure, an influential factor of urban mobility and consequently impact on road safety, and on the public health of the city : case of study, metropolitan area of the city of Toluca

Se realiza un diagnóstico en la zona metropolitana de la ciudad de Toluca con relación a la infraestructura urbana como factor determinante para la movilidad urbana, con el objeto de identificar las consecuencias negativas o positivas que se están presentado en la salud de la ciudadanía por la forma en que funciona el sistema de transporte público en la zona. Se aplica un análisis cualitativo-cuantitativo, utilizando la herramienta SIG a partir de los principios del análisis espacial: localización, distribución y asociación. Esto permitió identificar una serie de consecuencias negativas en materia de seguridad vial (accidentes de tránsito), sedentarismo (diabetes mellitus) y enfermedades por contaminación atmosférica. Determinándose que la ciudad es poco saludable, reflejo de que no se dan las condiciones de infraestructura para desarrollar una movilidad sustentable, donde se privilegie al transporte público no motorizado. Se evidencian los esfuerzos que se han realizado, sin embargo, son insuficientes, fragmentados, locales y no integrales.A diagnosis is made in the Metropolitan Area of the city of Toluca regarding urban infrastructure as a determining factor for urban mobility, in order to identify the negative or positive consequences that are presented in the health of the citizenship by the way in which the public transport system works in the area. A qualitative-quantitative analysis is applied, using the GIS tool based on the principles of spatial analysis: location, distribution and association. This allowed to identify a series of negative consequences in terms of road safety (traffic accidents), sedentarism (diabetes mellitus) and diseases by air pollution. Determining that the city is unhealthy, reflecting that there are no infrastructure conditions to develop a sustainable mobility, where non-motorized public transport is favored. It is evident the efforts that have been made, however, are insufficient, fragmented, local and non-integral.Fil: Hinojosa Reyes, Raquel

¿Una mujer entera no necesita media naranja?. Representación del amor de pareja como mecanismo de violencia contra las mujeres en la telenovela mexicana Los Aparicio

El 19 de abril de 2010 comenzó a transmitirse en México la telenovela Las Aparicio, producto televisivo que presenta a sus protagonistas, la madre y sus tres hijas, como mujeres transgresoras, que no vinieron a este mundo a sufrir, que son contemporáneas, urbanas y decididas a tomar el control de su vida. Estas mujeres comparten un esquema familiar muy peculiar: todas dan a luz exclusivamente a niñas y todas han quedado viudas en circunstancias extraordinarias y por su condición de viudez, “han aprendido a no necesitar a los hombres para sobrevivir, pues ahora los tienen porque quieren y porque pueden”.694 La frase central con la que Las Aparicio se dio a conocer y se vendió fue Una mujer entera no necesita media naranja, sin embargo, en esta historia se reproduce el estereotipo de género de las mujeres dependientes de sus parejas a nivel emocional, y que establecen vínculos amorosos aún en el contexto de la violencia de género. Ante lo anterior, este trabajo pretende evidenciar de qué forma, en los vínculos amorosos de pareja de las hermanas Aparicio, Alma, Mercedes y Julia, están presenten acciones u omisiones propios de la violencia contra las mujeres. Las herramientas teóricometodológica base de este trabajo son la perspectiva de género feminista y la concepción estructural de la cultura propuesta por John B. Thompson

Strategy Implementation for the CTA Atmospheric Monitoring Program

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next generation facility of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes. It will reach unprecedented sensitivity and energy resolution in very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. CTA will detect Cherenkov light emitted within an atmospheric shower of particles initiated by cosmic-gamma rays or cosmic rays entering the Earth's atmosphere. From the combination of images the Cherenkov light produces in the telescopes, one is able to infer the primary particle energy and direction. A correct energy estimation can be thus performed only if the local atmosphere is well characterized. The atmosphere not only affects the shower development itself, but also the Cherenkov photon transmission from the emission point in the particle shower, at about 10-20 km above the ground, to the detector. Cherenkov light on the ground is peaked in the UV-blue region, and therefore molecular and aerosol extinction phenomena are important. The goal of CTA is to control systematics in energy reconstruction to better than 10%. For this reason, a careful and continuous monitoring and characterization of the atmosphere is required. In addition, CTA will be operated as an observatory, with data made public along with appropriate analysis tools. High-level data quality can only be ensured if the atmospheric properties are consistently and continuously taken into account. In this contribution, we concentrate on discussing the implementation strategy for the various atmospheric monitoring instruments currently under discussion in CTA. These includes Raman lidars and ceilometers, stellar photometers and others available both from commercial providers and public research centres.Comment: (6 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the 2nd AtmoHEAD Conference, Padova, Italy May 19-21, 2014

Perception of neighborhood crime and drugs Increases cardiometabolic risk in Chilean adolescents

PURPOSE: Studies report an association between neighborhood risk and both obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors (CMR) among adolescents. Here we describe the effect of perceived neighborhood risk on adiposity and CMR among Chilean adolescents. METHODS: Participants were 523 low- to middle-income Chilean adolescents. We assessed neighborhood risk in early adolescence, adiposity in childhood and in early and later adolescence, and blood pressure and fasting glucose in later adolescence. Neighborhood risk profiles were estimated using latent profile analysis (LPA) and based on reported perceptions of crime and drug sales/use. Using linear and logistic regression, we examined the effect of neighborhood risk on adiposity and CMR. RESULTS: Mean age in early and later adolescence was 14 and 17 years, respectively. Participants were 52% male, with a mean BMI z-score of .67, and 8% met criteria for metabolic syndrome. LPA identified two neighborhood profiles: 61% low risk and 39% high risk. In later adolescence, being in the high risk profile predicted a higher BMI z-score, waist-to-height ratio, and fat mass index (p < .05). Adolescents in the high risk profile had three times greater odds of meeting criteria for metabolic syndrome (OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.5, 5.8) compared with those in the low risk profile. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that there are physiological responses to living in a neighborhood perceived as "risky," which may contribute to obesity and CMR even in adolescence. For Chilean neighborhoods with high crime and drugs, targeted public health interventions and policies for youth could be beneficial.This research was funded by R01HL088530 (NIH-NHLBI, PI: Gahagan); R01HD33487 (NIH-NICHD, PIs: Lozoff and Gahagan); R01DA021181 (NIH-NIDA, PI: Delva). The first author acknowledges D. Eastern Kang Sim for his support. All authors would like to thank the study participants for their on-going commitment to the project. (R01HL088530 - NIH-NHLBI; R01HD33487 - NIH-NICHD; R01DA021181 - NIH-NIDA