Highly synchronized noise-driven oscillatory behavior of a FitzHugh-Nagumo ring with phase-repulsive coupling

We investigate a ring of $N$ FitzHugh--Nagumo elements coupled in \emph{phase-repulsive} fashion and submitted to a (subthreshold) common oscillatory signal and independent Gaussian white noises. This system can be regarded as a reduced version of the one studied in [Phys. Rev. E \textbf{64}, 041912 (2001)], although externally forced and submitted to noise. The noise-sustained synchronization of the system with the external signal is characterized.Comment: 7 pages, 15 figures, uses aipproc.cls, aip-6s.clo and aipxfm.sty. "Cooperative Behavior in Neural Systems: Ninth Granada Lectures'', edited by J. Marro, P. L. Garrido, and J. J. Torre

Structure and evolution of magnetohydrodynamic solitary waves with Hall and finite Larmor radius effects

Nonlinear and low-frequency solitary waves are investigated in the framework of the one-dimensional Hall-magnetohydrodynamic model with finite Larmor effects and two different closure models for the pressures. For a double adiabatic pressure model, the organization of these localized structures in terms of the propagation angle with respect to the ambient magnetic field Θ and the propagation velocity C is discussed. There are three types of regions in the Θ-C plane that correspond to domains where either solitary waves cannot exist, are organized in branches, or have a continuous spectrum. A numerical method valid for the two latter cases, which rigorously proves the existence of the waves, is presented and used to locate many waves, including bright and dark structures. Some of them belong to parametric domains where solitary waves were not found in previous works. The stability of the structures has been investigated by performing a linear analysis of the background plasma state and by means of numerical simulations. They show that the cores of some waves can be robust, but, for the parameters considered in the analysis, the tails are unstable. The substitution of the double adiabatic model by evolution equations for the plasma pressures appears to suppress the instability in some cases and to allow the propagation of the solitary waves during long timesG.S.A. is supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain under Grant No. RYC-2014-15357. E.S. was supported by the Swedish Research Council, Grant No. 2016-05012, and by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation

Experimental study of a TLP offshore floating wind turbine

Tank testing in a wind and wave environment is a key part of the design process for the development of an offshore floating wind turbine. The current paper describes an extensive experiment campaign carried out at the Kelvin Hydrodynamics Laboratory at the University of Strathclyde to determine the hydrodynamic performance of the Iberdrola TLPWIND offshore floating wind turbine with the NREL 5MW reference turbine over a range of environmental conditions. Tests were carried out for 70m water depth and the deployment area selected as off Aberdeen, North Sea. The campaign included free oscillation tests, tests in regular waves and irregular waves, and additionally examined failure and accidental load cases

Virulence in Mice of a Toxoplasma gondii Type II Isolate Does Not Correlate With the Outcome of Experimental Infection in Pregnant Sheep

Toxoplasma gondii is an apicomplexan parasite that infects almost all warm-blooded animals. Little is known about how the parasite virulence in mice extrapolates to other relevant hosts. In the current study, in vitro phenotype and in vivo behavior in mice and sheep of a type II T. gondii isolate (TgShSp1) were compared with the reference type II T. gondii isolate (TgME49). The results of in vitro assays and the intraperitoneal inoculation of tachyzoites in mice indicated an enhanced virulence for the laboratory isolate, TgME49, compared to the recently obtained TgShSp1 isolate. TgShSp1 proliferated at a slower rate and had delayed lysis plaque formation compared to TgME49, but it formed more cyst-like structures in vitro. No mortality was observed in adult mice after infection with 1-105 tachyzoites intraperitoneally or with 25-2, 000 oocysts orally of TgShSp1. In sheep orally challenged with oocysts, TgME49 infection resulted in sporadically higher rectal temperatures and higher parasite load in cotyledons from ewes that gave birth and brain tissues of the respective lambs, but no differences between these two isolates were found on fetal/lamb mortality or lesions and number of T. gondii-positive lambs. The congenital infection after challenge at mid-pregnancy with TgShSp1, measured as offspring mortality and vertical transmission, was different depending on the challenged host. In mice, mortality in 50% of the pups was observed when a dam was challenged with a high oocyst dose (500 TgShSp1 oocysts), whereas in sheep infected with the same dose of oocysts, mortality occurred in all fetuses. Likewise, mortality of 9 and 27% of the pups was observed in mice after infection with 100 and 25 TgShSp1 oocysts, respectively, while in sheep, infection with 50 and 10 TgShSp1 oocysts triggered mortality in 68 and 66% of the fetuses/lambs. Differences in vertical transmission in the surviving offspring were only found with the lower oocyst doses (100% after infection with 10 TgShSp1 oocysts in sheep and only 37% in mice after infection with 25 TgShSp1 oocysts). In conclusion, virulence in mice of T. gondii type II isolates may not be a good indicator to predict the outcome of infection in pregnant sheep

Tamoxifen ameliorates peritoneal membrane damage by blocking mesothelial to mesenchymal transition in peritoneal dialysis

Mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (MMT) is an auto-regulated physiological process of tissue repair that in uncontrolled conditions such as peritoneal dialysis (PD) can lead to peritoneal fibrosis. The maximum expression of peritoneal fibrosis induced by PD fluids and other peritoneal processes is the encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) for which no specific treatment exists. Tamoxifen, a synthetic estrogen, has successfully been used to treat retroperitoneal fibrosis and EPS associated with PD. Hence, we used in vitro and animal model approaches to evaluate the efficacy of Tamoxifen to inhibit the MMT as a trigger of peritoneal fibrosis. In vitro studies were carried out using omentum-derived mesothelial cells (MCs) and effluent-derived MCs. Tamoxifen blocked the MMT induced by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, as it preserved the expression of E-cadherin and reduced the expression of mesenchymal-associated molecules such as snail, fibronectin, collagen-I, α-smooth muscle actin, and matrix metalloproteinse-2. Tamoxifen-treatment preserved the fibrinolytic capacity of MCs treated with TGF-β1 and decreased their migration capacity. Tamoxifen did not reverse the MMT of non-epitheliod MCs from effluents, but it reduced the expression of some mesenchymal molecules. In mice PD model, we demonstrated that MMT progressed in parallel with peritoneal membrane thickness. In addition, we observed that Tamoxifen significantly reduced peritoneal thickness, angiogenesis, invasion of the compact zone by mesenchymal MCs and improved peritoneal function. Tamoxifen also reduced the effluent levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and leptin. These results demonstrate that Tamoxifen is a therapeutic option to treat peritoneal fibrosis, and that its protective effect is mediated via modulation of the MMT processThis work was supported by grant SAF2010-21249 from the ‘‘Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad’’ to MLC and by grant S2010/BMD-2321 from ‘‘Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid’’ to MLC and RS. This work was also partially supported by grants PI 09/0776 from ‘‘Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias’’ to AA, and RETICS 06/0016 (REDinREN, Fondos FEDER, EU) to R

Subwavelength Index Engineering for SOI Waveguides

Photonic structures with a sub-wavelength pitch, small enough to suppress diffraction, can behave as equivalent homogenous materials that can be engineered to exhibit a specific refractive index and dispersion. Here we discuss the design of a variety of integrated photonic devices, ranging from grating couplers to multimode interference couplers, for which the use of sub-wavelength structures enables unique characteristics. We will place special emphasis on the design and experimental demonstration of multi-mode interference couplers with an unprecedented bandwidth beyond 200nm at telecom wavelengths.Universidad de Málaga.Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, "Programa Estatal de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad (cofinanciado FEDER)", Proyecto TEC2013-46917-C2-1-

Análisis de la demanda doméstica de leña y carbón en localidades de Santiago del Estero, Catamarca, Tucumán y Córdoba = Domestic demand analysis for firewood and coal in cities of Santiago del Estero, Catamarca, Tucumán and Córdoba

La importancia de la producción de leña en la región chaqueña pone particular interés en fomentar el uso sustentable de este recurso, como fuente de trabajo e ingresos para las familias productoras. Para ello el presente trabajo se propone analizar la demanda doméstica de leña y carbón, en Santiago del Estero, Catamarca, Tucumán y Córdoba. Se realizaron 923 encuestas a consumidores de leña y/o carbón durante el año 2013, con el fin de conocer cuál es el consumo anual de leña y carbón, cuáles son sus principales usos, las fuentes de abastecimiento, el precio al cual adquieren estos productos, cuál es la valoración relativa de diferentes atributos de los combustibles como la leña, el carbón y el gas y con qué otros productos se asocia la leña. Los resultados obtenidos indican que el principal uso doméstico de la leña y el carbón es la cocción de alimentos, el carbón se consume en más hogares que la leña, pero ésta presenta mayor consumo en kg per cápita que el carbón y presenta mayor diversidad de usos. Se visualiza además la ausencia de un sistema de logística en provisión y venta a un precio de referencia para la leña. La leña y el gas se presentan como productos más atractivos que el carbón para la cocción de alimentos, pero la dificultad para conseguir leña puede ser una limitante si se promociona como un producto de consumo masivo.The importance of producing firewood in the Chaco region sets particular interest in promoting the sustainable use of this resource, as a source of family producers labor and income. The present work intends to analyze the domestic demand of firewood and coal, in Santiago del Estero, Catamarca, Tucumán and Córdoba. To know what the annual consumption of firewood and charcoal is as well as its main uses, the sources of supply, the price they pay for these products, their relative valuation of the different features of the fuels (firewood, coal and gas) and to what other products firewood is associated, 923 surveys were conducted on consumers of firewood and / or coal in 2013. The results obtained indicate that the main domestic use of firewood and charcoal is cooking; most homes consumed coal instead firewood though its consumption per capita is higher than coal and presents greater possibilities of uses. The absence of a logistic system for the supply of frewood and of a reference price for its sale is observed. Firewood and gas appear as more attractive products than coal for cooking, but the difficulty in obtaining firewood can be a drawback in case it is promoted as a product of mass consumption.EEA Santiago del EsteroFil: De Bedia, Gonzalo Rafael. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santiago del Estero; ArgentinaFil: Navall, Jorge Marcelo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santiago del Estero; Argentina.Fil: Sánchez Ugalde, Rocio. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero. Facultad de Ciencias Forestales; ArgentinaFil: Ledesma, D. Provincia de Santiago del Estero. Dirección General de Bosques y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Salim, Nadia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santiago del Estero; ArgentinaFil: Díaz, F. Provincia de Santiago del Estero. Dirección General de Bosques y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Cisneros, Esteban F. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero. Facultad de Ciencias Forestales; ArgentinaFil: Luna, M. Asesor Programa Cambio Rural II,; Argentin

Infrared permittivity of the biaxial van der Waals semiconductor α\alpha-MoO3_3 from near- and far-field correlative studies

The biaxial van der Waals semiconductor $\alpha$-phase molybdenum trioxide ($\alpha$-MoO$_3$) has recently received significant attention due to its ability to support highly anisotropic phonon polaritons (PhPs) -infrared (IR) light coupled to lattice vibrations in polar materials-, offering an unprecedented platform for controlling the flow of energy at the nanoscale. However, to fully exploit the extraordinary IR response of this material, an accurate dielectric function is required. Here, we report the accurate IR dielectric function of $\alpha$-MoO$_3$ by modelling far-field, polarized IR reflectance spectra acquired on a single thick flake of this material. Unique to our work, the far-field model is refined by contrasting the experimental dispersion and damping of PhPs, revealed by polariton interferometry using scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) on thin flakes of $\alpha$-MoO$_3$, with analytical and transfer-matrix calculations, as well as full-wave simulations. Through these correlative efforts, exceptional quantitative agreement is attained to both far- and near-field properties for multiple flakes, thus providing strong verification of the accuracy of our model, while offering a novel approach to extracting dielectric functions of nanomaterials, usually too small or inhomogeneous for establishing accurate models only from standard far-field methods. In addition, by employing density functional theory (DFT), we provide insights into the various vibrational states dictating our dielectric function model and the intriguing optical properties of $\alpha$-MoO$_3$