New Percichthyidae (Teleostei, Percoidei) from the early Pliocene of the Buenos Aires province (Argentina) and its biogeographical implications

Los registros paleoictiológicos del Plioceno temprano de la localidad de Farola Monte Hermoso, al sur de la provincia de Buenos Aires (Argentina) son aun escasos y saltuarios. Durante este lapso, dicha localidad habría estado vinculada a la paleocuenca del Río Colorado, por lo que se relacionaría con la Región Ictiogeográfica Austral. En la presente contribución se describe un nuevo género y especie de Percichtyidae de gran tamaño, procedente de los depósitos fluviales de la Formación Monte Hermoso, el cual constituiría el grupo hermano de los generos sudamericanos Percichthys y Santosius. Este hallazgo, conjuntamente con otros registros paleoictiológicos previos y análisis moleculares de taxones actuales, sugieren un recambio ictiofaunístico de importancia para el Neógeno tardío en la región Patagónica. De este modo, la conformación actual de la ictiofauna patagónica seria de reciente data, posiblemente a partir del Pleistoceno.The paleoichthyological record from the early Pliocene of Farola Monte Hermoso locality, southern Buenos Aires province (Argentina) is still patchy and biased. During such time span, this locality may be related to the Río Colorado paleobasin, and consequently may have been related to the Austral Ichthyogeographical Region. In the present contribution we describe a new genus and species of a very large Percichthyidae, coming from fluvial deposits of the Monte Hermoso Formation. The new taxon constitutes the sister group of the genera Percichthys and Santosius. This finding, together with other pre- vious paleoichthyological records, as well as phylogenetic and phylogeographic molecular analyses of living taxa, suggest the existence of an ichthyofaunistic turnover for the late Neogene in the Patagonian region. In this way, the current composition of the Patagonian ichthyofauna would be of recent age, possibly from the Pleistocene.Fil: Agnolin, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina. Fundacion de Historia Natural Felix de Azara; ArgentinaFil: Bogan, Sergio. Fundacion de Historia Natural Felix de Azara; ArgentinaFil: Tomassini, Rodrigo Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Manera, Teresa. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología; Argentin

FastIC: a fast integrated circuit for the readout of high performance detectors

This work presents the 8-channel FastIC ASIC developed in CMOS 65 nm technology suitable for the readout of positive and negative polarity sensors in high energy physics experiments, Cherenkov detectors and time-of-flight systems. The front-end can be configured to perform analog summation of up to 4 single-ended channels before discrimination in view of improving time resolution when segmenting a SiPM. The outputs encode the time-of-arrival information and linear energy measurement which captures the peak amplitude of the input signal in the 5 µA–25 mA input peak current range. Power consumption of the ASIC is 12 mW/ch with default settings. Measurements of single photon time resolution with a red-light laser source and a HPK SiPM S13360-3050CS are ≈140 ps FWHM

MATRIX16: A 16-Channel Low-Power TDC ASIC with 8 ps Time Resolution

This paper presents a highly configurable 16-channel TDC ASIC designed in a commercial 180 nm technology with the following features: time-of-flight and time-over-threshold measurements, 8.6 ps LSB, 7.7 ps jitter, 5.6 ps linearity error, up to 5 MHz of sustained input rate per channel, 9.1 mW of power consumption per channel, and an area of 4.57 mm2 . The main contributions of this work are the novel design of the clock interpolation circuitry based on a resistive interpolation mesh circuit and the capability to operate at different supply voltages and operating frequencies, thus providing a compromise between TDC resolution and power consumption. Keywords: TDC; time-to-digital converter; fast timing; PET; VLSI; ASIC; ToF; ToT; low power; frontend electronic

The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: single-probe measurements from CMASS anisotropic galaxy clustering

With the largest spectroscopic galaxy survey volume drawn from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), we can extract cosmological constraints from the measurements of redshift and geometric distortions at quasi-linear scales (e.g. above 50 $h^{-1}$Mpc). We analyze the broad-range shape of the monopole and quadrupole correlation functions of the BOSS Data Release 12 (DR12) CMASS galaxy sample, at the effective redshift $z=0.59$, to obtain constraints on the Hubble expansion rate $H(z)$, the angular-diameter distance $D_A(z)$, the normalized growth rate $f(z)\sigma_8(z)$, and the physical matter density $\Omega_mh^2$. We obtain robust measurements by including a polynomial as the model for the systematic errors, and find it works very well against the systematic effects, e.g., ones induced by stars and seeing. We provide accurate measurements $\{D_A(0.59)r_{s,fid}/r_s$ $\rm Mpc$, $H(0.59)r_s/r_{s,fid}$ $km s^{-1} Mpc^{-1}$, $f(0.59)\sigma_8(0.59)$, $\Omega_m h^2\}$ = $\{1427\pm26$, $97.3\pm3.3$, $0.488 \pm 0.060$, $0.135\pm0.016\}$, where $r_s$ is the comoving sound horizon at the drag epoch and $r_{s,fid}=147.66$ Mpc is the sound scale of the fiducial cosmology used in this study. The parameters which are not well constrained by our galaxy clustering analysis are marginalized over with wide flat priors. Since no priors from other data sets, e.g., cosmic microwave background (CMB), are adopted and no dark energy models are assumed, our results from BOSS CMASS galaxy clustering alone may be combined with other data sets, i.e., CMB, SNe, lensing or other galaxy clustering data to constrain the parameters of a given cosmological model. The uncertainty on the dark energy equation of state parameter, $w$, from CMB+CMASS is about 8 per cent. The uncertainty on the curvature fraction, $\Omega_k$, is 0.3 per cent. We do not find deviation from flat $\Lambda$CDM.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. The latest version matches and the accepted version by MNRAS. A bug in the first version has been identified and fixed in the new version. We have redone the analysis with newest data (BOSS DR12

HRFlexToT: A High Dynamic Range ASIC for Time-of-Flight Positron Emission Tomography

Time-of-Flight positron emission tomography scanners demand fast and efficient photo sensors and scintillators coupled to fast readout electronics. This article presents the high resolution flexible Time-over-Threshold (HRFlexToT), a 16-channel application-specific-integrated circuit for silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) anode readout manufactured using XFAB 0.18- \mu \text{m} CMOS technology. The main features of the HRFlexToT are a linear Time-over-Threshold with an extended dynamic range (10 bits) for energy measurement, low power consumption (≈ 3.5 mW/ch), and an excellent timing response. The experimental measurements show an energy linearity error of ≈ 3% and an energy resolution of about 12% at 511 keV. Single-photon time resolution measurements performed using an Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) SiPM NUV-HD ( 4 \times 4 mm2 pixel, 40- \mu \text{m} cell) and a Hamamatsu SiPM S13360-3050CS are around 142 and 167 ps full width at half maximum (FWHM), respectively. Coincidence time resolution (CTR) measurements with small cross-section pixelated crystals (LSO:Ce,Ca 0.4%, 2 \times 2 \times 5 mm3) coupled to the same Hamamatsu S13360-3050CS and FBK NUV-HD sensors yield a CTR of 117 ps and 119 ps, respectively. Measurements performed with a large cross-section monolithic crystal (LFS crystal measuring 25 \times 25 \times 20 mm3) and a Hamamatsu SiPM array S13361-6050NE-04 show a CTR of 324 ps FWHM after time-walk and time-skew correction

Analysis of biological diversity and miscegenation in the city of Puerto Madryn (Prov.of Chubut, Argentina)

En el marco del estudio de la composición genética de las poblaciones cosmopolitas de Argentina, se analizó una muestra poblacional de la localidad de Puerto Madryn (PM) con la finalidad de evaluar su diversidad biológica mediante la utilización de marcadores biparentales y uniparentales y comparar los resultados con los obtenidos previamente por nuestro equipo de investigación en seis poblaciones cosmopolitas de distintas regiones de la Argentina, aunque poniendo el énfasis a las correspondientes a la Región Patagónica. Las muestras biológicas fueron tomadas con consentimiento informado a 82 dadores de sangre no emparentados que concurrieron al Banco de Sangre y al Hospital Subzonal de dicha localidad, a quienes también se les realizó una encuesta genealógica. A partir de los datos proporcionados por los marcadores autosómicos se registró una contribución europea de 67.2%, amerindia de 29.4% y africana de 3.4%. A un origen amerindio fueron adscriptos el 59.9% y 8.7% de los linajes maternos y paternos, respectivamente, revelando un desigual aporte autóctono por género. El aporte europeo se vio representado principalmente por el Hg H (19.5%) y se detectaron sólo dos linajes subsaharianos. En PM las migraciones desde el centro del país han generado un fuerte impacto, reflejado en la mayor contribución de marcadores europeos respecto de dos muestras estudiadas previamente en Chubut (Comodoro Rivadavia y Esquel). Estas diferencias al interior de una misma provincia nos advierten que no puede abordarse el análisis de la constitución genética de las poblaciones sin dar cuenta de las particularidades regionales.In the frame of the study of the genetic composition of Argentinean cosmopolitan populations, a population sample of the city of Puerto Madryn (PM) was analyzed in order to evaluate its biological diversity using biparental and uniparental markers and compare the results with those previously obtained by our research team in six cosmopolitan populations from different regions of Argentina. The emphasis was laid on the populations of the Patagonia region. Biological samples were taken with informed consent from 82 unrelated blood donors, who attended the Regional Blood Bank and Hospital of the town and also underwent a genealogical survey. From the data obtained by analyzing autosomal markers, a European contribution of 67.2%, an Amerindian one of 29.4%, and an African one of 3.4% were estimated. The 59.9% and 8.7% of the maternal and paternal lineages, respectively, were ascribed to Native American origins, revealing an unequal gender indigenous contribution. The European contribution was mainly represented by H Hg (19.5%), and only two sub-Saharan lineages were detected. In PM, migrations from the center of the country have had a strong impact, as reflected in the greater contribution of European markers, with respect to the two samples previously studied in the province of Chubut (Comodoro Rivadavia and Esquel). These differences warn us of the necessity of accounting for the regional particularities when analyzing the genetic constitution of populations.Fil: Parolin, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Avena, Sergio Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; ArgentinaFil: Fleischer, Silvina. Puerto Madryn. Hospital Subzonal Andrés Isola; ArgentinaFil: Pretell, Mariana. Puerto Madryn. Hospital Subzonal Andrés Isola; ArgentinaFil: Di Fabio Rocca, Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Debora A.. Universidad Maimonides. Area de Invest.biomedicas y Biotecnologicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; ArgentinaFil: Dejean, Cristina B.. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; ArgentinaFil: Postillone, María Bárbara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; ArgentinaFil: Vaccaro, Maria S.. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; ArgentinaFil: Dahinten, Silvia Lucrecia V.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Manera, Guillermo. Puerto Madryn. Hospital Subzonal Andrés Isola; ArgentinaFil: Carnese, Francisco Raul. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropologicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentin

HRFlexToT: A High Dynamic Range ASIC for Time-of-Flight Positron Emission Tomography

Abstract: Time-of-Flight positron emission tomography scanners demand fast and efficient photo sensors and scintillators coupled to fast readout electronics. This article presents the high resolution flexible Time-over-Threshold (HRFlexToT), a 16-channel application-specific-integrated circuit for silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) anode readout manufactured using XFAB 0.18- μm CMOS technology. The main features of the HRFlexToT are a linear Time-over-Threshold with an extended dynamic range (10 bits) for energy measurement, low power consumption (≈ 3.5 mW/ch), and an excellent timing response. The experimental measurements show an energy linearity error of ≈ 3% and an energy resolution of about 12% at 511 keV. Single-photon time resolution measurements performed using an Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) SiPM NUV-HD ( 4×4 mm2 pixel, 40- μm cell) and a Hamamatsu SiPM S13360-3050CS are around 142 and 167 ps full width at half maximum (FWHM), respectively. Coincidence time resolution (CTR) measurements with small cross-section pixelated crystals (LSO:Ce,Ca 0.4%, 2×2×5 mm3) coupled to the same Hamamatsu S13360-3050CS and FBK NUV-HD sensors yield a CTR of 117 ps and 119 ps, respectively. Measurements performed with a large cross-section monolithic crystal (LFS crystal measuring 25×25×20 mm3) and a Hamamatsu SiPM array S13361-6050NE-04 show a CTR of 324 ps FWHM after time-walk and time-skew correction

Low-power SiPM readout BETA ASIC for space applications

The BETA application-specifc integrated circuit (ASIC) is a fully programmable chip designed to amplify, shape and digitize the signal of up to 64 Silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) channels, with a power consumption of approximately ∼1 mW/channel. Owing to its dual-path gain, the BETA chip is capable of resolving single photoelectrons (phes) with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) >5 while simultaneously achieving a dynamic range of ∼4000 phes. Thus, BETA can provide a cost-efective solution for the readout of SiPMs in space missions and other applications with a maximum rate below 10 kHz. In this study, we describe the key characteristics of the BETA ASIC and present an evaluation of the performance of its 16-channel version, which is implemented using 130 nm technology. The ASIC also contains two discriminators that can provide trigger signals with a time jitter down to 400 ps FWHM for 10 phes. The linearity error of the charge gain measurement was less than 2% for a dynamic range as large as 15 bits.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature.The authors acknowledge financial support from Grant PID2020-116075GB-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe” under Grant PID2020-116075GB-C21. They also acknowledge financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the “Unit of Excellence Maria de Maeztu 2020-2023” award to the Institute of Cosmos Sciences (CEX2019-000918-M).With funding from the Spanish government through the "Unit of Excellence Maria de Maeztu" accreditation (CEX2019-000918-M).Peer reviewe

Psychological treatments and psychotherapies in the neurorehabilitation of pain. Evidences and recommendations from the italian consensus conference on pain in neurorehabilitation

BACKGROUND: It is increasingly recognized that treating pain is crucial for effective care within neurological rehabilitation in the setting of the neurological rehabilitation. The Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation was constituted with the purpose identifying best practices for us in this context. Along with drug therapies and physical interventions, psychological treatments have been proven to be some of the most valuable tools that can be used within a multidisciplinary approach for fostering a reduction in pain intensity. However, there is a need to elucidate what forms of psychotherapy could be effectively matched with the specific pathologies that are typically addressed by neurorehabilitation teams. OBJECTIVES: To extensively assess the available evidence which supports the use of psychological therapies for pain reduction in neurological diseases. METHODS: A systematic review of the studies evaluating the effect of psychotherapies on pain intensity in neurological disorders was performed through an electronic search using PUBMED, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Based on the level of evidence of the included studies, recommendations were outlined separately for the different conditions. RESULTS: The literature search yielded 2352 results and the final database included 400 articles. The overall strength of the recommendations was medium/low. The different forms of psychological interventions, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, cognitive or behavioral techniques, Mindfulness, hypnosis, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Brief Interpersonal Therapy, virtual reality interventions, various forms of biofeedback and mirror therapy were found to be effective for pain reduction in pathologies such as musculoskeletal pain, fibromyalgia, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Central Post-Stroke pain, Phantom Limb Pain, pain secondary to Spinal Cord Injury, multiple sclerosis and other debilitating syndromes, diabetic neuropathy, Medically Unexplained Symptoms, migraine and headache. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological interventions and psychotherapies are safe and effective treatments that can be used within an integrated approach for patients undergoing neurological rehabilitation for pain. The different interventions can be specifically selected depending on the disease being treated. A table of evidence and recommendations from the Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation is also provided in the final part of the pape

Modelling Dynamic Conditional Correlations in WTI Oil Forward and Futures Returns

This paper estimates the dynamic conditional correlations in the returns on WTI oil one-month forward prices, and one-, three-, six-, and twelve-month futures prices, using recently developed multivariate conditional volatility models. The dynamic correlations enable a determination of whether the forward and various futures returns are substitutes or complements, which are crucial for deciding whether or not to hedge against unforeseen circumstances. The models are estimated using daily data on WTI oil forward and futures prices, and their associated returns, from 3 January 1985 to 16 January 2004. At the univariate level, the estimates are statistically significant, with the occasional asymmetric effect in which negative shocks have a greater impact on volatility than positive shocks. In all cases, both the short- and long-run persistence of shocks are statistically significant. Among the five returns, there are ten conditional correlations, with the highest estimate of constant conditional correlation being 0.975 between the volatilities of the three-month and six-month futures returns, and the lowest being 0.656 between the volatilities of the forward and twelve-month futures returns. The dynamic conditional correlations can vary dramatically, being negative in four of ten cases and being close to zero in another five cases. Only in the case of the dynamic volatilities of the three-month and six-month futures returns is the range of variation relatively narrow, namely (0.832, 0.996). Thus, in general, the dynamic volatilities in the returns in the WTI oil forward and future prices can be either independent or interdependent over time