Density operator of a system pumped with polaritons: A Jaynes-Cummings like approach

We investigate the effects of considering two different incoherent pumpings over a microcavity-quantum dot system modelled using the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian. When the system is incoherently pumped with polaritons it is able to sustain a large number of photons inside the cavity with Poisson-like statistics in the stationary limit, and also leads to a separable exciton-photon state. We also investigate the effects of both types of pumpings (Excitonic and Polaritonic) in the emission spectrum of the cavity. We show that the polaritonic pumping as considered here is unable to modify the dynamical regimes of the system as the excitonics pumping does. Finally, we obtain a closed form expression for the negativity of the density matrices that the quantum master equation considered here generates.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Manejo exitoso de perforación gástrica secundaria a plicatura de curvatura mayor laparoscópica con gastrostomía endoscópica percutánea con avance yeyunal y sellador de fibrina

ResumenUna de las complicaciones más frecuentes de los procedimientos bariátricos es la fuga gástrica, ya sea debido a dehiscencia de línea de grapado o por perforación gástrica. Estas varían dependiendo del tipo de cirugía, reportándose del 2.05-5.2% en bypass gástrico en Y de Roux, el 5.1% en manga gástrica y el 1.4% en plicatura gástrica. Actualmente, se recomienda manejo de mínima invasión con lo cual se disminuye morbilidad. Presentamos un caso clínico de perforación secundario a plicatura gástrica con exitoso manejo endoscópico.AbstractGastric leak, caused by staple line disruption or gastric perforation, is one of the most dreaded complications following bariatric surgery. The reported incidence of leakage varies depending on type of surgery, from 2.05% to 5.20% for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, 5.1% in sleeve gastrectomy, and 1.4% in gastric plication. Minimally invasive management is currently recommended to minimise morbidity. The case is presented of a patient who suffered a gastric perforation following a laparoscopic greater curvature plication, with successful endoscopic management

Planktonic cyanobacteria from the Abreus Reservoir, Cienfuegos, Cuba

The study of the cyanobacteria that make up the phytoplankton community of reservoirs is very important due to the production of toxins by some phytoplankton taxa. The composition and abundance of cyanobacteria and their relationship to physicochemical variables was determined during six months (March, April, June, September, November and December) in 2018 at five stations in the Abreus Reservoir, which is located in the south center of the Cienfuegos province (Cuba). Eleven new taxa were observed in the reservoir grouped into seven families, 14 genera, and 34 species. The toxigenic genera Microcystis and Raphidiopsis were observed at all collection points throughout the year, presenting a potentially persistent toxicity threat in this reservoir. Semi-accumulative blooms were reported in September. Microcystis sp. and Raphidiopsis sp. were the most abundant genera during observed blooms. The abundance of some cyanobacterial genera, including Microcystis, Aphanocapsa, Raphidiopsis and Dolichospermum, were strongly correlated with water temperature and transparency. Microcystin values are reported for the first time in Abreus Reservoir

Effect of two days treatment with orlistat on plasma leptin in obese patients without weight loss

Objective: Little is known about the impact of orlistat on the leptin system. We studied the plasma leptin and satiety sensation response for two days of orlistat treatment without hypocaloric diet and weight loss. Material and methods: Twenty obese female subjects were recruited from our medical outpatient clinics. All of these subjects had previously received advice on dietary restriction and lifestyle modification, but remained obese with a stable body weight for at least six months before recruitment for the study. Results: Subjects were given 120 mg orlistat 3 times daily and were asked to maintain their usual diet. At baseline and two days after the treatment with orlistat, physical examination, hunger and blood analysis were repeated. There were no significant differences observed regarding energy dietary intake, body weight and waist-hip ratio, or in plasma glucose, insulin c-peptide concentrations. Only plasma leptin and triglycerides concentrations decreased (p: 0.0001 and 0.01 respectively). Decrease in plasma leptin concentration was positively correlated with changes observed in plasma triglycerides concentration (p: 0.01, r2: 0.45). Pre-dinner hunger increased and was negatively correlated with decrease in leptin (p: 0.0001, r2: 0.74) and triglycerides (p: 0.02, r2: 0.59). Conclusion: These data suggest that the partial fat malabsorption induced by the treatment with orlistat quickly reduces plasma triglycerides and leptin. This decrease is associated with increased appetite before intake following the main meal of the day

Connectivity, neutral theories and the assessment of species vulnerability to global change in temperate estuaries

One of the main adaptation strategies to global change scenarios, aiming to preserve ecosystem functioning and biodiversity, is to maximise ecosystem resilience. The resilience of a species metapopulation can be improved by facilitating connectivity between local populations, which will prevent demographic stochasticity and inbreeding. The objective of this investigation is to estimate the degree of connectivity among estuarine species along the north-eastern Iberian coast, in order to assess community vulnerability to global change scenarios. To address this objective, two connectivity proxy types have been used based upon genetic and ecological drift processes: 1) DNA markers for the bivalve cockle (Cerastoderma edule) and seagrass Zostera noltei, and 2) the decrease in the number of species shared between two sites with geographic distance; neutral biodiversity theory predicts that dispersal limitation modulates this decrease, and this has been explored in estuarine plants and macroinvertebrates. Results indicate dispersal limitation for both saltmarsh plants and seagrass beds community and Z. noltei populations; this suggests they are especially vulnerable to expected climate changes on their habitats. In contrast, unstructured spatial pattern found in macroinvertebrate communities and in C. edule genetic populations in the area suggests that estuarine soft-bottom macroinvertebrates with planktonic larval dispersal strategies may have a high resilience capacity to moderate changes within their habitats. Our findings can help environmental managers to prioritise the most vulnerable species and habitats to be restored

CSIC High Specialization Course on Cultural Heritage Intervention Models: Research, Protection, Conservation and Valorization: A training Experience from a complex research programme.

Comunicación presentada en la 18th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, celebrada en Helsinki del 29 de agosto al 1 de septiembre de 2012.In late 2007 the then called Ministry of Education and Science funded the Research Program on Technologies for the Conservation and Valorization of Cultural Heritage (TCP) within the CONSOLIDER -INGENIO 2010 call. In it 16 research groups take part, from the CSIC and 4 Spanish universities, articulating traditionally distant disciplines directly involved with Cultural Heritage. The base for working is the culture of cooperation and collaboration between groups in an interdisciplinary way. TCP was the only funded proposal of the call that focused on the study of Cultural Heritage. One of the main objectives of the project included training, so after valorizing different options, it was finally decided to opt for a CSIC High Specialization Course model. The aim was to create a postgraduate training strategy for preparing, in a truly specialized way, professionals with technical or scientific profile, who can become the best professionals working on cultural heritage. This course was an alternative possibility, different from formal university education. It also benefited from greater freedom in designing the course, choosing the participating teachers, and establishing the relationship between practical and theoretical aspects. This goal lies at the very foundations of the Consolider call and more specifically, also within TCP: strengthen and highlight the link between the interdisciplinary research, the professional practice and the social visibility of research through training, dissemination and knowledge transfer.Peer Reviewe

Multi sensor system for pedestrian tracking and activity recognition in indoor environments

The widespread use of mobile devices and the rise of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) have allowed mobile tracking applications to become very popular and valuable in outdoor environments. However, tracking pedestrians in indoor environments with Global Positioning System (GPS)-based schemes is still very challenging. Along with indoor tracking, the ability to recognize pedestrian behavior and activities can lead to considerable growth in location-based applications including pervasive healthcare, leisure and guide services (such as, hospitals, museums, airports, etc.), and emergency services, among the most important ones. This paper presents a system for pedestrian tracking and activity recognition in indoor environments using exclusively common off-the-shelf sensors embedded in smartphones (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and barometer). The proposed system combines the knowledge found in biomechanical patterns of the human body while accomplishing basic activities, such as walking or climbing stairs up and down, along with identifiable signatures that certain indoor locations (such as turns or elevators) introduce on sensing data. The system was implemented and tested on Android-based mobile phones. The system detects and counts steps with an accuracy of 97% and 96:67% in flat floor and stairs, respectively; detects user changes of direction and altitude with 98:88% and 96:66% accuracy, respectively; and recognizes the proposed human activities with a 95% accuracy. All modules combined lead to a total tracking accuracy of 91:06% in common human motion indoor displacement

Effect of trampling and digging from shell shing on Zostera noltei (Zosteraceae) intertidal seagrass beds

Seagrass beds are among the most valuable ecosystems in the world but they are also among the ones most affected by human activities, and they have decreased significantly in recent decades. In many areas, such as in the Basque Country (northern Spain), seagrass beds occupy areas that are also of interest for human activities such as recreation and shellfishing. They may therefore face a number of pressures that cause damage or irreversible states. Taking into account the limited distribution of seagrass beds in the Basque Country and the interest in their conservation, an eight-month field experiment focusing on the Zostera noltei growing season was carried out to evaluate the effect of shellfish gathering. We used generalized linear models to assess different intensities of trampling and digging, as the most important pressures of shellfishing applied to Zostera noltei beds. The results indicated that shoot density of Z. noltei was negatively altered by trampling treatments and positively affected (as a recovery) by digging treatments. This finding suggests that shellfishing adversely affects seagrass abundance and is potentially responsible for its low density in the Oka estuary. Our findings are important for management and should be taken into account in seagrass conservation and restoration programmes

Capacidad predictiva de las metas académicas sobre el rendimiento en diferentes áreas curriculares

El objetivo de este estudio es el análisis del poder predictivo de los diferentes tipos de metas académicas sobre el rendimiento académico en cinco áreas curriculares. Para ello, se ha aplicado el Cuestionario de Metas Académicas a una amplia muestra de adolescentes que cursaban los cuatro cursos de la Enseñanza Secundaria en España (12 a 16 años). Los resultados obtenidos indican que el rendimiento se encuentra explicado, en primer lugar, positiva y significativamente por motivos de adquisición de competencia y control así como de obtención de un buen trabajo futuro y, en segundo lugar, negativamente por motivos muy relacionados con la protección de la autoestima. Son presentadas y discutidas algunas implicaciones de los datos para el proceso de aprendizaje.This study intends to analyze the various academic goals and their predictive power of the academic achievement in five different school subjects of Spanish core curriculum. In order to assess this, the Questionnaire of Academic Goals has been applied to a large sample of adolescents attending the four grade level years of Spanish Secondary Education (12 to 16 years). Data suggest that achievement is, firstly, explained, positive and significantly, by students’ wish of acquiring competence and control as well as of obtaining a good future job and, secondly, negatively, by reasons strongly related to the preservation of one’s self-esteem. Some implications of this data to learning are discussed