CE-315 : A New Interacting Double-degenerate Binary Star

We present spectroscopic observations of object CE-315 revealing a blue continuum with strong emission lines. Most of the detected lines are identified with He I or He II in emission with a handful of faint lines of nitrogen. Notable is the complete absence of hydrogen lines. The He lines exhibit triple-peaked profiles with remakably broad widths, of about 2000 km/s (FWZP). The observations show that CE-315 is an interacting binary system with an orbital period of 65.1 +/- 0.7 minutes, and a mass ratio of 0.022. We conclude that the most likely scenario for this object is that of an accreting 0.77 solar mass white dwarf with a 0.017 solar mass helium white dwarf as mass donor.Comment: Astrophysical Journal, 20 page

Millimagnitude Photometry for Transiting Extrasolar Planetary Candidates III: Accurate Radius and Period for OGLE-TR-111-b

We present accurate V-band photometry for a planetary transit of OGLE-TR-111 acquired with VIMOS at the ESO Very Large Telescope. The measurement of this transit allows to refine the planetary radius, obtaining R_p= 1.01 +/- 0.06 R_J. Given the mass of M_p = 0.53 M_J previously measured from radial velocities, we confirm that the density is rho_p= 0.6 +/- 0.2 g/cm^3. We also revise the ephemeris for OGLE-TR-111-b, obtaining an accurate orbital period P= 4.014484 +/- 0.000014 days, and predicting that the next observable transits would occur around December 2006, and after that only in mid-2008. Even though this period is different from previously published values, we cannot yet rule out a constant period.Comment: 16 pages (including figures), 5 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Bikeways and cycling urban mobility

XI Congreso de Ingeniería del Transporte (CIT 2014)During the past years, cycling use has been promoted in our cities as an alternative to other modes of transport. One of the main objectives of the utilization of the bicycles is to reduce the use of private vehicles powered by fossil fuel. In this paper some of the advantages and benefits of the cycling use are presented, and some factors that influence its utilization are analysed. In particular, the study is focused on the barrier elements and, more specifically, in the structural barrier factors. Further on, more than 70 kilometres of bicycle network in several cities of the region of Castile and Leon (Spain) have been analysed, in order to see their potential influence on the use of the bicycle. From the results of this analysis some recurring problems emerge and make us identify that the total length of the bicycle network is not so important as the number of destinations and completed itineraries that can be reached in an effective and safe way

Parton distributions: determining probabilities in a space of functions

We discuss the statistical properties of parton distributions within the framework of the NNPDF methodology. We present various tests of statistical consistency, in particular that the distribution of results does not depend on the underlying parametrization and that it behaves according to Bayes' theorem upon the addition of new data. We then study the dependence of results on consistent or inconsistent datasets and present tools to assess the consistency of new data. Finally we estimate the relative size of the PDF uncertainty due to data uncertainties, and that due to the need to infer a functional form from a finite set of data.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, presented by Stefano Forte at PHYSTAT 2011 (to be published in the proceedings

Use of nanoemulsions of plant essential oils as aphid repellents

It is believed that climate change will greatly impact the relative importance of pests. The bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi L. is probably the major pest of temperate cereal crops on a world scale, it attacks all the major cereals and pasture grasses. The organic sector is in need of alternative aphicides or products that can repel this pest. In spite of the properties of plant volatiles that allow them to act as insect repellents, there is a lack of such products on the market for the agricultural sector. In this work, we tested a group of essential oils and pure compounds in a laboratory choice bioassay with R. padi (20 replications per product) and the repellency index (R.I.) was computed after 24 h. At 0.15 μl/cm2, aniseed, peppermint and lemongrass essential oils were repellent for apterous females. trans-Anethole and caryophyllene exhibited volatile toxicity to the insects (LD50 =0.11 μl/cm2). R.I. values ranging from 68.8 to 100 were obtained using farnesol, geraniol, cisjasmone, citral, linalool, estragole, pulegone and caryophyllene. Water emulsions of the active products were obtained (nanoemulsions with oil droplets less than 100 nm via ultrasounds for 10 min) and applied at increasing volumes using a computer-controlled spraying apparatus for the bioassay, and a dose response was obtained. Some products were active: carvone increased mobility, whilst cis-jasmone repelled R. padi at a very low dose (0.02 μl/cm2 of the treated leaf). Zetasizer measurements indicated that the smaller the particle size within the nanoemulsion, the higher the activity. Using lecithin (1:2) or lecithin plus glycerol (1:2:1) in addition to a bioactive produced larger negative Z-potential values and therefore more stable formulations without any evident effect on activity

The Personal Wellbeing among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Spain and Associated Factors

Objective: The conceptual framework of Quality of Life (QoL) allows approaching the knowledge of the living conditions of people in order to help establishing policies for QoL improvement. This study is aimed at examining the assessment made by older adults on their personal wellbeing and the satisfaction with life and the associated factors. A summary of the psychometric properties of the measurement instrument was also presented. Method: The data came from the Ageing in Spain Longitudinal Study, Pilot Survey (ELES-PS), carried out in 2011 among people 50 years old or more living in family housing in Spain. The Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI), as a multidimensional measure of QoL, was used to evaluate the subjective wellbeing. Personal, social and residential characteristics were considered as independent variables. Descriptive statistical analysis, ANOVA, correlation, factor and regression analyses were applied. Results and conclusions: The PWI had good psychometric properties and showed the convergent validity with satisfaction with life as a whole (SWLW). Unidimensional structure of the scale was also demonstrated. PWI and SWLW total scores reached 74.5%SM and 77.1%SM, respectively. The best rated life domains were the satisfaction with relationships, safety and feeling part of the community. The SWLW observed significant differences in gender categories while PWI within age and social status. Both scales were associated with marital status, educational level, household size, current activity status and social status. The regression model of the PWI explained 34.2% of the variance through factors on socio-demographic and economic resources, psychosocial, health/functioning, family and social networks, leisure and residential environment. Based on these results, it would be desirable to deepen on this line from a longitudinal perspective to detect the influence of the changing conditions of the aged people in their personal well-being and life satisfaction.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (National R&D&I Plan: ref. CSO2009-08645-E/SOCI, CSO2009-06638-E/SOCI, CSO2009-06637-E/SOCI), by the Fundación Obra Social Cajamadrid and by the Basque Government, and supported by the Ageing Process Research Unit INGEMA-CSIC, for carrying out the ELES Project Pilot Survey. Another grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (National R&D&I Plan: ref. CSO2011-30210-C02-01) was endorsed for the analysis. Authors would like to thank the editor and the anonymous reviewer/s for their helpful comments during the development of this paper

Daptomycin Plus Fosfomycin Versus Daptomycin Alone for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia and Endocarditis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Bacteremia; Daptomycin; FosfomycinBacterièmia; Daptomicina; FosfomicinaBacteriemia; Daptomicina; FosfomicinaBackground We aimed to determine whether daptomycin plus fosfomycin provides higher treatment success than daptomycin alone for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia and endocarditis. Methods A randomized (1:1) phase 3 superiority, open-label, and parallel group clinical trial of adult inpatients with MRSA bacteremia was conducted at 18 Spanish hospitals. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 10 mg/kg of daptomycin intravenously daily plus 2 g of fosfomycin intravenously every 6 hours, or 10 mg/kg of daptomycin intravenously daily. Primary endpoint was treatment success 6 weeks after the end of therapy. Results Of 167 patients randomized, 155 completed the trial and were assessed for the primary endpoint. Treatment success at 6 weeks after the end of therapy was achieved in 40 of 74 patients who received daptomycin plus fosfomycin and in 34 of 81 patients who were given daptomycin alone (54.1% vs 42.0%; relative risk, 1.29 [95% confidence interval, .93–1.8]; P = .135). At 6 weeks, daptomycin plus fosfomycin was associated with lower microbiologic failure (0 vs 9 patients; P = .003) and lower complicated bacteremia (16.2% vs 32.1%; P = .022). Adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation occurred in 13 of 74 patients (17.6%) receiving daptomycin plus fosfomycin, and in 4 of 81 patients (4.9%) receiving daptomycin alone (P = .018). Conclusions Daptomycin plus fosfomycin provided 12% higher rate of treatment success than daptomycin alone, but this difference did not reach statistical significance. This antibiotic combination prevented microbiological failure and complicated bacteremia, but it was more often associated with adverse events.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (PI12/01907); Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases (RD16/0016/0005); Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); and Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness. This work was also supported by the European Development Regional Fund “A way to achieve Europe,” Operational Programme Intelligent Growth 2014–2020; Spanish Clinical Research Network (SCReN), co-financed by the Plan Nacional de I+D and ISCIII, Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación (PT13/0002/0007); and the Grupo de Estudio de la Infección Relacionada con la Asistencia Sanitaria. J. M.-M. received a personal 80:20 research grant from the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques Agust Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona, Spain, during 2017–2021

Update on Neural Network Parton Distributions: NNPDF1.1

We present recent progress within the NNPDF parton analysis framework. After a brief review of the results from the DIS NNPDF analysis, NNPDF1.0, we discuss results from an updated analysis with independent parametrizations for the strange and anti-strange distributions, denoted by NNPDF1.1. We examine the phenomenological implications of this improved analysis for the strange PDFs.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, proceedings of the International Symposium on Multiparticle Dynamics 08, 15-20 september 2008, DES

Comportamiento reproductivo de ovejas F1 (Damara x Merino) sincronizadas con CIDR y dos tiempos de aplicación de GnRH

Este experimento se realizó para evaluar el comportamiento reproductivo en ovejas F1 (Damara x Merino) importadas de Australia, sincronizadas con un dispositivo liberador de la hormona (CIDR) y dos tiempos de aplicación de hormona liberadora de gonadotropinas (GnRH). Cuarenta y cinco ovejas F1 de primer parto con 18.08 ± 0.07 meses de edad y 43.3 ± 5.6 kg de peso corporal, fueron asignadas aleatoriamente a uno de tres tratamientos: T1 (n = 15): CIDR por doce días; T2 (n = 15): CIDR por doce días mas 25 µg de GnRH 48 h antes del retiro del dispositivo y T3 (n = 15): CIDR por doce días mas 25 µg de GnRH al momento del retiro del CIDR. El porcentaje de presentación de estros (100 %) fue similar (p > 0.05) para T1, T2 y T3. El intervalo (h) de inicio del estro sincronizado después del retiro del CIDR fue diferente (p 0.05) para T1, T2 y T3 (60, 53.3 y 46.6 %, respectivamente). La prolificidad promedio general fue de 100.8% y fue similar (p > 0.05) entre tratamientos. La concentración de progesterona determinó que las ovejas probadas tuvieron un cuerpo luteo funcional al comienzo del experimento. Se concluye que el uso combinado de CIDR mas GnRH, 48 h antes y al momento del retiro del dispositivo, no tiene efecto sobre el comportamiento reproductivo en ovejas F1 (Damara x Merino)