Unidad Técnica de Geodesia, Geofísica y Magnetismo de Rocas: Laboratorio de Paleomagnetismo, Magnetismo de Rocas y Modelado Geomagnético

Trabajo presentado en la I Reunión Científica del Instituto de Geociencias (CSIC-UCM), los días 15 y 16 de septiembre de 2011.Peer reviewe

A Generalized Scaling Function for AdS/CFT

We study a refined large spin limit for twist operators in the sl(2) sector of AdS/CFT. We derive a novel non-perturbative equation for the generalized two-parameter scaling function associated to this limit, and analyze it at weak coupling. It is expected to smoothly interpolate between weakly coupled gauge theory and string theory at strong coupling.Comment: 27 pages, no figures; v2: references added and typos fixe

Rapid Intensity Decrease During the Second Half of the First Millennium BCE in Central Asia and Global Implications

Recent paleomagnetic studies have shown that important short-lived intensity fluctuations occurred during the first millennium BCE. However, the knowledge of the spatial and temporal extension of these features is still limited by the scarce availability of robust data. In this study we focus on the study of the intensity decrease that took place in Central Asia during the second half of the 1st millennium BCE after the high intensities that characterized the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly. Since previous archeointensities available for this period and region were obtained without accomplishing modern standards of quality, we present here new archeointensities that are derived from classical Thellier and Thellier experiments, including partial thermoremanent magnetization (pTRM) checks, thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) anisotropy and cooling rate corrections at the specimen level. The new 51 archeointensities, together with previous archeointensities, have been used to present a new local paleosecular variation curve for Central Asia. The results confirm the existence of an important geomagnetic field intensity decrease in South Uzbekistan from the 4th century BCE to the end of the 1st century BCE associated with rates of changes up to −15 μT/century. A critical analysis of the archeointensity global database indicates that this feature was present at continental scale, from Western Europe to Central Asia. However, this trend is not identified in other regions such as Japan or Mexico. Finally, the comparison with the dipole moment derived from recent global geomagnetic field reconstructions suggests a strong influence of non-dipolar sources upon this continental intensity feature.Financial support was given by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation thorough the projects CERAC (HAR2016-75133-C3-1-P), CONCERAC (HAR2016-75133-C3-3-P), SPYKE (CGL2017-87015-P), SÚMATE (PID2020-113316GB-I00) and PULSES 5.K (PID2020-117105RB-I00). R. Bonilla-Alba thanks the FPI fellowship (PRE2018-085949) associated with the SPYKE project. This study has been also funded by the Ramón y Cajal program (contracts of M. Gómez-Paccard and V. Martínez-Ferreras, refs. RYC-2013-14405 and RYC-2014-15789). The authors wish to acknowledge the professional support of the CSIC Interdisciplinary Thematic Platform Open Heritage: Research and Society (PTI-PAIS). E. Beamud thanks the Geomodels Research Institute (UB) and the Grup de Geodinàmica i Anàlisi de Conques-2017SGR596 (Generalitat de Catalunya). A. Palencia-Ortas thanks the PTA contract of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

Effective Lagrangian Approach to the Theory of Eta Photoproduction in the N∗(1535)N^{*}(1535) Region

We investigate eta photoproduction in the $N^{*}(1535)$ resonance region within the effective Lagrangian approach (ELA), wherein leading contributions to the amplitude at the tree level are taken into account. These include the nucleon Born terms and the leading $t$-channel vector meson exchanges as the non-resonant pieces. In addition, we consider five resonance contributions in the $s$- and $u$- channel; besides the dominant $N^{*}(1535)$, these are: $N^{*}(1440),N^{*}(1520),N^{*}(1650)$ and $N^{*}(1710)$. The amplitudes for the $\pi^\circ$ and the $\eta$ photoproduction near threshold have significant differences, even as they share common contributions, such as those of the nucleon Born terms. Among these differences, the contribution to the $\eta$ photoproduction of the $s$-channel excitation of the $N^{*}(1535)$ is the most significant. We find the off-shell properties of the spin-3/2 resonances to be important in determining the background contributions. Fitting our effective amplitude to the available data base allows us to extract the quantity $\sqrt{\chi \Gamma_\eta} A_{1/2}/\Gamma_T$, characteristic of the photoexcitation of the $N^{*}(1535)$ resonance and its decay into the $\eta$-nucleon channel, of interest to precise tests of hadron models. At the photon point, we determine it to be $(2.2\pm 0.2)\times 10^{-1} GeV^{-1}$ from the old data base, and $(2.2\pm 0.1) \times 10^{-1} GeV^{-1}$ from a combination of old data base and new Bates data. We obtain the helicity amplitude for $N^{*}(1535)\rightarrow \gamma p$ to be $A_{1/2}=(97\pm 7)\times 10^{-3} GeV^{-1/2}$ from the old data base, and $A_{1/2}=(97\pm 6)\times 10^{-3} GeV^{-1/2}$ from the combination of the old data base and new Bates data, compared with the results of the analysis of pion photoproduction yielding $74\pm 11$, in the same units.Comment: 43 pages, RevTeX, 9 figures available upon request, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Omics approaches in pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, which represents 80% of pancreatic cancers, is mainly diagnosed when treatment with curative intent is not possible. Consequently, the overall five-year survival rate is extremely dismal—around 5% to 7%. In addition, pancreatic cancer is expected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related death by 2030. Therefore, advances in screening, prevention and treatment are urgently needed. Fortunately, a wide range of approaches could help shed light in this area. Beyond the use of cytological or histological samples focusing in diagnosis, a plethora of new approaches are currently being used for a deeper characterization of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, including genetic, epigenetic, and/or proteo-transcriptomic techniques. Accordingly, the development of new analytical technologies using body fluids (blood, bile, urine, etc.) to analyze tumor derived molecules has become a priority in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma due to the hard accessibility to tumor samples. These types of technologies will lead us to improve the outcome of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients

Percutaneous mitral valve repair : Outcome improvement with operator experience and a second-generation device

Background and aim: Recent randomized data comparing percutaneous mitral valve repair (PMVR) versus optimal medical treatment in patients with functional MR (FMR) seemed to highlight the importance of the learning curve not only for procedural outcomes but also for patient selection. The aim of the study was to compare a contemporary series of patients undergoing PMVR using a second-generation Mitraclip device (Mitraclip NT) with previous cohorts treated with a first-generation system. Methods: This multicenter study collected individual data from 18 centers between 2012 and 2017. The cohort was divided into three groups according to the use of the first-generation Mitraclip during the first (control-1) or second half (control-2) or the Mitraclip NT sys-tem. Results: A total of 545 consecutive patients were included in the study. Among all, 182 (33.3%), 183 (33.3%), and 180 (33.3%) patients underwent mitral repair in the control-1, control-2, and NT cohorts, respectively. Procedural success was achieved in 93.3% of patients without differences between groups. Major adverse events did not statistically differ among groups, but there was a higher rate of pericardial effusion in the control-1 group (4.3%, 0.6%, and 2.6%, respectively; p = 0.025). The composite endpoint of death, surgery, and admission for congestive heart failure (CHF) at 12 months was lower in the NT group (23.5% in control-1, 22.5% in control-2, and 8.3% in the NT group; p = 0.032). Conclusions: The present paper shows that contemporary clinical outcomes of patients undergoing PMVR with the Mitraclip system have improved over time

Updated Iberian archeomagnetic catalogue: new full vector paleosecular variation curve for the last three millennia

In this work, we present 16 directional and 27 intensity high‐quality values from Iberia. Moreover, we have updated the Iberian archeomagnetic catalogue published more than 10 years ago with a considerable increase in the database. This has led to a notable improvement of both temporal and spatial data distribution. A full vector paleosecular variation curve from 1000 BC to 1900 AD has been developed using high‐quality data within a radius of 900 km from Madrid. A hierarchical bootstrap method has been followed for the computation of the curves. The most remarkable feature of the new curves is a notable intensity maximum of about 80 μT around 600 BC, which has not been previously reported for the Iberian Peninsula. We have also analyzed the evolution of the paleofield in Europe for the last three thousand years and conclude that the high maximum intensity values observed around 600 BC in the Iberian Peninsula could respond to the same feature as the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly, after travelling westward through Europe

Age validation in Octopus vulgaris beaks across full ontogenetic range. Beaks as recorders of live-events in octopuses

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