Optoelectrical cooling of polar molecules to sub-millikelvin temperatures

We demonstrate direct cooling of gaseous formaldehyde (H2CO) to the microkelvin regime. Our approach, optoelectrical Sisyphus cooling, provides a simple dissipative cooling method applicable to electrically trapped dipolar molecules. By reducing the temperature by three orders of magnitude and increasing the phase-space density by a factor of ~$10^4$ we generate an ensemble of $3\cdot10^5$ molecules with a temperature of about 420\mu K, populating a single rotational state with more than 80% purity

Fast, precise, and widely tunable frequency control of an optical parametric oscillator referenced to a frequency comb

Optical frequency combs (OFC) provide a convenient reference for the frequency stabilization of continuous-wave lasers. We demonstrate a frequency control method relying on tracking over a wide range and stabilizing the beat note between the laser and the OFC. The approach combines fast frequency ramps on a millisecond timescale in the entire mode-hop free tuning range of the laser and precise stabilization to single frequencies. We apply it to a commercially available optical parametric oscillator (OPO) and demonstrate tuning over more than 60 GHz with a ramping speed up to 3 GHz/ms. Frequency ramps spanning 15 GHz are performed in less than 10 ms, with the OPO instantly relocked to the OFC after the ramp at any desired frequency. The developed control hardware and software is able to stabilize the OPO to sub-MHz precision and to perform sequences of fast frequency ramps automatically.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Review of Scientific Instrument

Four temptations against urban renewel: an approach to fur current urban processes

Comunicación presentada en 25 European Network housing Research International Conference. Tarragona 19 al 22 junio 2013The new paradigm of urban social and economic rehabilitation is replacing the current sprawl growth model. But four temptations must be considered: 1) The high-density. This process is possible in sprawl model, but its quantification does not seem to be clear, because after a certain threshold of occupancy per unit area, the city seems to collapse and social and environmental benefits disappear, appearing reversal processes city to country in search of a minimum quality of life standards. There is not a model for appropriate density. It depends on the way of life of population, the traditional city model. 2) The replacement. Architectonic and urban rehabilitation must be preferred to replacement, except for certain cases to be legally taxed. But as the city cannot be densified and orderly, without the prior replacement of the building, may fit this temptation. Even replacing the building can be made without considering high building standards 3) The gentrification. There is a wide doctrine and experience about this phenomenon with serious social consequences. It is very tempting to replace the building, due to improve requirement of broad levels of quality, entering a game of speculation, so common in our real estate market. 4) The eco-city. Comprehensive projects are building spaces with low levels of energy consumption. Fall into this temptation means to continue the extensive city model we have been developing, creating new cities far from the existing but incorporating saving measures, and continuing resource consumptio

Palinología e importancia paleoambiental de la Formación Tunal (Daniano) en su localidad tipo, Quebrada el Chorro (Salta, Argentina).

The palynologic investigation of samples from the Tunal Formation at El Chorro creek (Salta, Argentina) resulted in the recovery of terrestrial assemblages of pollen and spores associated with freshwater algae (Pediastrum spp. and Scenedesmus sp.). Of the 43 species of sporomorphs identified for the Tunal Formation so far, 28 species are cited here for the first time. The spores and pollen indicate a Danian age at the type locality. Sedimentary proxidata including abundant evaporites suggest intervals of at least seasonal arid environmental conditions. In contrast, the palynologic assemblages recovered from the organic rich dark shales indicate the presence of swampy areas and forests surrounding them. The dominance of Verrustephanoporites simplex Leidelmeyer (corresponding to the modern Phyllostylon, Ulmaceae) indicates abundant seasonal rainfalls, warm humid conditions and subtropical climate.La investigación palinológica de muestras extraídas de la Formación Tunal en la quebrada El Chorro (Salta, Argentina) resultó en la recuperación de una asociación de polen y esporas, juntamente con algas de agua dulce (Pediastrum spp. y Scenedesmus sp.). De las 43 especies de esporomorfos identificadas hasta el momento para la Formación Tunal, 28 se citan aquí por primera vez. Las esporas y polen indican edad Daniana en la localidad tipo. Los proxidata sedimentarios incluyendo abundantes evaporitas, sugieren intervalos al menos estacionales de condiciones ambientales áridas. Por otro lado, las asociaciones palinológicas recuperadas de las pelitas oscuras ricas en materia orgánica indican la presencia de áreas anegadas y selvas en sus alrededores. En las últimas, el predominio de Verrustephanoporites simplex Leidelmeyer (que se corresponde con el actual Phyllostylon, Ulmaceae) indica abundantes lluvias estacionales, condiciones cálido-húmedas y clima subtropicalFil: Volkheimer, Wolfang. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Novara, Martin Guillermo. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; ArgentinaFil: Narvaez, Paula Liliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Marquillas, Rosa Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentin

Genome sequence of Christensenella minuta DSM 22607T

Obesity influences and is influenced by the human gut microbiome. Here, we present the genome of Christensenella minuta, a highly heritable bacterial species which has been found to be strongly associated with obesity through an unknown biological mechanism. This novel genome provides a valuable resource for future obesity therapeutic studies

Rotational cooling of trapped polyatomic molecules

Controlling the internal degrees of freedom is a key challenge for applications of cold and ultracold molecules. Here, we demonstrate rotational-state cooling of trapped methyl fluoride molecules (CH3F) by optically pumping the population of 16 M-sublevels in the rotational states J=3,4,5, and 6 into a single level. By combining rotational-state cooling with motional cooling, we increase the relative number of molecules in the state J=4, K=3, M=4 from a few percent to over 70%, thereby generating a translationally cold (~30mK) and nearly pure state ensemble of about 10^6 molecules. Our scheme is extendable to larger sets of initial states, other final states and a variety of molecule species, thus paving the way for internal-state control of ever larger molecules

ISAC6+ Delivering Smarter Administration through innovation - a Benefits Realisation approach to ensuring success.

The paper describes how the Project Management discipline of benefits realisation has been applied to an EU funded E-government initiative. It explores the benefits of using this approach, the challenges to be addressed, and suggest a framework for applying the approach to other local and national e-government initiatives. One of the key project objectives is to demonstrate through the pilot that implementation of the iSAC6+ system will provide value for money by delivering the desired benefits both to government office users and citizens. The approach described here focuses on costs and benefits generated by use of the system. There are staff costs for training, support and operation, technical costs for integrating iSAC6+ in to existing systems and websites, and more significantly organisational costs for designing and implementing new procedures and working practices. Citizens too will incur costs to access and use the service. In iSAC6+ we have created a model of costs and benefits which can be applied in the short term to the pilot, and in the longer term to a much larger number of public organisations. The aim of the Benefits Realisation model is to demonstrate that iSAC6+ is capable of delivering value for money, and thus to justify the investment needed for expanding its use. Information Technology project success or failure is traditionally judged against objectives set during initial project planning. Enterprises, both public and private sector, have found this approach inadequate because long term costs and benefits do not occur until after the project has completed. Benefits Realisation emerged in the 1990s and developed two roles: a discipline for anticipating and quantifying the expected value of a project in terms of the costs and benefits which will accrue after the project itself is complete; and an over-arching project management philosophy. The paper uses the case study experience to comment upon these two different perspectives. The model developed within the project is based upon the recognised public sector costing formula, the Standard Cost model (SCM) but goes much further by integrating it into a Benefits Realisation tool which creates an audit trail from organisational strategic aims through to detailed cost measures for both quantitative and qualitative incidences

Long transient dynamics in the Anderson-Holstein model out of equilibrium

We calculate the time dependent nonequilibrium current through a single level quantum dot strongly coupled to a vibrational mode. The nonequilibrium real time dynamics caused by an instantaneous coupling of the leads to the quantum dot is discussed using an approximate method. The approach, which is specially designed for the strong polaronic regime, is based on the so-called polaron tunneling approximation. Considering different initial dot occupations, we show that a common steady state is reached after times much larger than the typical electron tunneling times due to a polaron blocking effect in the dot charge. A direct comparison is made with numerically exact data, showing good agreement for the time scales accessible by the diagrammatic Monte Carlo simulation method

Childhood poverty in South Africa

Based on a paper by Teresa Guthrie

Correction system for polyphonic piano recordings

M.I. Martin-Erdozain, I. Barbancho, A. Rosa-Pujazon, A.M. Barbancho, "Correction system for polyphonic piano recordings", XXVIII Simposium Nacional de la Unión Científica Internacional de Radio, Santiago de Compostela, España, 2013n this paper, a support tool for piano rehearsal is presented. The system analyses a given piano polyphonic recording to find the times, pitch and duration of the notes and figures played, taking into account the possibility of playing more than one note simultaneously as well as covering the whole piano frequency range. In order to do so, the system uses an onset detection algorithm to segment the input signal into partitions which are then analysed in the time and frequency domains. Then, the system correlates the data extracted from the partitions with the score of the original piece, identifying the positions and type of the mistakes performed by the user, and providing her/him with the corresponding feedback. The experiments conducted showed that the application is capable of analysing a given recording and indicate the musician the mistakes made.This work has been funded by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Spanish Government under Project No. TIN2010-21089-C03-02 and by the Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio under Project No. TSI-090100-2011-25