This paper describes a method to analyze open or closed elliptical structures with constant axial ratio by a Body-of-Revolution (BoR) Finite Element Method (FEM). The method is based on Transformation Optics, a coordinate transformation that maps the elliptical shape to a circular shape, for which BoR-FEM represents a greatly efficient tool for the analysis.

This work describes the design of a rectenna array exploiting orthogonal, closely-spaced UHF monopoles for orientation-independent RF energy harvesting to energize a passive tag, designed for UWB localization, with wake-up radio (WUR) capabilities. To reach this goal, different RF networks are studied to simultaneously realize RF decoupling of the antenna elements and matching of the radiating elements to the non-linear network of rectifiers. The design is performed for a wide power range of the RF incoming signals that need to be exploited for both energizing the passive tag and for providing energy autonomy to a WUR sub-system, used to minimize the long-term power consumption during tag standby operations. Two meandered cross-polarized monopoles, located in close proximity, and thus highly coupled, are adopted for orientation-insensitive operations. The combining RF network is reactive and includes an unbalanced power divider to draw a fraction of the harvested energy to a secondary way for WUR operations. The performance of the harvester is first optimized by EM/non-linear co-design of the whole system over an interval of low RF power levels. The system has been realized and experimentally validated: the superior results obtained, in terms of both dc voltage and power, with respect to a standard single-monopole rectenna, justify the deployment of the presented tag for the energy autonomy of future generation radio-frequency identification tags for indoor localization.

The Magellanic Clouds remain an ideal place to study the properties of Cepheid variables. In this paper, we review historical and current work on Cepheids in LMC and SMC clusters, present new results for NGC 1866 and NGC 2164, and describe a new technique for automated selection of Cepheid variables using two-color photometry. We also emphasize the numerous advantages of high-precision radial velocities in the study of Magellanic Cloud variables.

A far-infrared observatory such as the SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics, with its unprecedented spectroscopic sensitivity, would unveil the role of feedback in galaxy evolution during the last ~10 Gyr of the Universe (z = 1.5–2), through the use of far- and mid-infrared molecular and ionic fine structure lines that trace outflowing and infalling gas. Outflowing gas is identified in the far-infrared through P-Cygni line shapes and absorption blueshifted wings in molecular lines with high dipolar moments, and through emission line wings of fine-structure lines of ionised gas. We quantify the detectability of galaxy-scale massive molecular and ionised outflows as a function of redshift in AGN-dominated, starburst-dominated, and main-sequence galaxies, explore the detectability of metal-rich inflows in the local Universe, and describe the most significant synergies with other current and future observatories that will measure feedback in galaxies via complementary tracers at other wavelengths.

Despite the higher proportion of foreclosures and home evictions executed in Spain, compared to other countries, and the known link between social exclusion and mental health problems, studies exploring this association in Spain remain scarce. This study investigated the link between the process of home eviction and the appearance of symptomatology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and perceived stress. Two hundred and five people affected by the process of home eviction were assessed using a structured interview that included three validated assessment instruments for PTSD, perceived stress, anxiety and depression. Analysis involved comparison with the normative groups that formed the validation studies together with regression analysis to determine the major psychological and socio-demographic predictors of perceived stress. Of the participants, 95.1% reported that they were experiencing the process of home eviction with fear, helplessness, or horror. In PTSD symptomatology, they scored higher than the normative PTSD group in symptoms of avoidance (t = 5.01; p < .05), activation (t = 5.48; p < .01), and total score (t = 4.15; p < .05). Of this subgroup, 72.5% fulfilled the DSM-IV symptom criteria for PTSD. The major predictor of perceived stress was PTSD symptomatology (B = .09; p < .001). The process of home eviction in Spain is having an alarming impact on mental health of affected people calling for effective measures to provide psychological and social support.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of acylated ghrelin supplementation during in vitro maturation (IVM) of bovine oocytes. IVM medium was supplemented with 20, 40 or 60 pM acylated ghrelin concentrations. Cumulus expansion area and oocyte nuclear maturation were studied as maturation parameters. Cumulus–oocyte complexes (COC) were assessed with the comet, apoptosis and viability assays. The in vitro effects of acylated ghrelin on embryo developmental capacity and embryo quality were also evaluated. Results demonstrated that acylated ghrelin did not affect oocyte nuclear maturation and cumulus expansion area. However, it induced cumulus cell (CC) death, apoptosis and DNA damage. The damage increased as a function of the concentration employed. Additionally, the percentages of blastocyst yield, hatching and embryo quality decreased with all acylated ghrelin concentrations tested. Our study highlights the importance of acylated ghrelin in bovine reproduction, suggesting that this metabolic hormone could function as a signal that prevents the progress to reproductive processes.

High signal—to-noise ratio, medium resolution spectra have been obtained for ~8 giants in each of 18 LMC clusters with the CTIO 4-m multifiber ARGUS spectrograph. In addition, Washington CCD photometry has been obtained for ~50 SMC and LMC clusters with the CTIO 4-m and 1.5-m from which abundances can be obtained for ~25 giants per cluster. The derivation of metal abundances from these data will be discussed and some preliminary results presented.

It has recently been found that models of a radiating bow shock can explain qualitatively the strange emission line profiles observed in some Herbig-Haro (H-H) objects. It is also possible to compare directly the emission line intensity maps predicted from these models with CCD images of H-H objects. Such a comparison between our models and observations of HH 46/47 is presented, showing that the condensation HH 47A may tentatively be identified with a bow shock formed at the “head” of a jet.

Rusitec fermenters are in vitro systems widely used to study ruminal fermentation, but little is known about the microbial populations establishing in them. This study was designed to assess the time evolution of microbial populations in fermenters fed medium- (MC; 50% alfalfa hay : concentrate) and high-concentrate diets (HC; 15 : 85 barley straw : concentrate). Samples from solid (SOL) and liquid (LIQ) content of fermenters were taken immediately before feeding on days 3, 8 and 14 of incubation for quantitative polymerase chain reaction and automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis analyses. In SOL, total bacterial DNA concentration and relative abundance of Ruminococcus flavefaciens remained unchanged over the incubation period, but protozoal DNA concentration and abundance of Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus albus and fungi decreased and abundance of methanogenic archaea increased. In LIQ, total bacterial DNA concentration increased with time, whereas concentration of protozoal DNA and abundance of methanogens and fungi decreased. Diet×time interactions were observed for bacterial and protozoal DNA and relative abundance of F. succinogenes and R. albus in SOL, as well as for protozoal DNA in LIQ. Bacterial diversity in SOL increased with time, but no changes were observed in LIQ. The incubated diet influenced all microbial populations, with the exception of total bacteria and fungi abundance in LIQ. Bacterial diversity was higher in MC-fed than in HC-fed fermenters in SOL, but no differences were detected in LIQ. Values of pH, daily production of volatile fatty acids and CH4 and isobutyrate proportions remained stable over the incubation period, but other fermentation parameters varied with time. The relationships among microbial populations and fermentation parameters were in well agreement with those previously reported in in vivo studies. Using 15N as a microbial marker or quantifying total microbial DNA for estimating microbial protein synthesis offered similar results for diets comparison, but both methods presented contrasting results for microbial growth in SOL and LIQ phases. The study showed that fermentation parameters remained fairly stable over the commonly used sampling period (days 8 to 14), but shifts in microbial populations were detected. Moreover, microbial populations differed markedly from those in the inocula, which indicates the difficulty of directly transposing results on microbial populations developed in Rusitec fermenters to in vivo conditions.

The intensity of annual Spanish influenza activity is currently estimated from historical data of the Spanish Influenza Sentinel Surveillance System (SISSS) using qualitative indicators from the European Influenza Surveillance Network. However, these indicators are subjective, based on qualitative comparison with historical data of influenza-like illness rates. This pilot study assesses the implementation of Moving Epidemic Method (MEM) intensity levels during the 2014–2015 influenza season within the 17 sentinel networks covered by SISSS, comparing them to historically reported indicators. Intensity levels reported and those obtained with MEM at the epidemic peak of the influenza wave, and at national and regional levels did not show statistical difference (P = 0·74, Wilcoxon signed-rank test), suggesting that the implementation of MEM would have limited disrupting effects on the dynamic of notification within the surveillance system. MEM allows objective influenza surveillance monitoring and standardization of criteria for comparing the intensity of influenza epidemics in regions in Spain. Following this pilot study, MEM has been adopted to harmonize the reporting of intensity levels of influenza activity in Spain, starting in the 2015–2016 season.

We have obtained Washington CCD photometry with the CTIO 4m and 1.5m for ˜50 intermediate-to-old age star clusters in the Clouds. The data extend to near or below the main sequence and provide excellent photometry for the giants, from which precise (internal errors <0.1 dex) mean cluster abundances can be determined. We present data for several of the clusters and discuss the results. Intermediate resolution spectra have also been obtained for some 16 clusters with the CTIO 4m ARGUS multiple-object fibre-fed spectrograph. Finally, we have also obtained high dispersion (R˜20,000) échelle spectra for several of the brighter giants in a small sample of Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) clusters. Detailed elemental abundances derived from these spectra will be presented. These data will help refine our knowledge of the age-metallicity relation in the Clouds.

High-precision radial velocity measurements have been obtained for 62 stars in the young LMC cluster NGC 1866 using the Las Campanas 2.5m with échelle spectrograph. The mass-weighted mean-square velocity dispersion is σ2 = 6.5 ± 1.3 km2 s−2. The mass of the cluster M(r < 20) = 8.1 ± 1.6 × 104 M ⊙, implying a M/L of 0.20 ± 0.04 in solar units.

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE, Udalski et al. 1994a; Paczynski et al. 1994b – these proceedings; and references therein) is an extensive photometric search for the rare cases of gravitational microlensing of Galactic bulge stars by foreground objects. It provides a huge data base (Szymański & Udalski 1993), from which color-magnitude diagrams have been compiled (Udalski et al. 1993, 1994b). Here we discuss the use a of well-defined population of bulge red clump stars to investigate the presence of the bar in our Galaxy. The results of our earlier studies are described by Stanek et al. (1994).

We present deep HST color-magnitude diagrams of fields centered on the six old LMC globular clusters NGC 1754, NGC 1835, NGC 1898, NGC 1916, NGC 2005, and NGC 2019. Separate cluster and field star CMDs are shown. The time of formation of the LMC is studied from an analysis of the cluster CMDs. Based on a comparison of the CMDs with sequences of the Milky Way clusters M3, M5, and M55, we suggest that the LMC formed its first stars at the same time as the Milky Way to within 1 Gyr. We find additional evidence that these LMC globular clusters are as old as the oldest Milky Way clusters through a comparison of our data with the horizontal branch evolutionary models of Lee, Demarque, & Zinn (1994).

The evolution of the LMC following its formation is studied through an analysis of the field star CMDs. Through an automated comparison with stellar evolution models, we extract the star formation histories implied by the CMDs. Our best-fit star formation histories imply that the LMC has been actively forming stars over the last 4 Gyr, in agreement with previous field star studies. The four fields that lie in the Bar also contain significant numbers of stars with ages of 4–8 Gyr in the best-fit cases. The most notable disagreement between the best-fit models and observed CMDs is in the color of the red giant branch.

Star formation in the outermost regions of the LMC, several kpc from the center, has been dormant for some Gyr. With deep HST and wide-field ground-based imaging surveys, sufficient stars can be measured to accurately delineate the critical turn-off and subgiant branch regions of the CMD, and thus provide a picture of the first 10 Gyr of star formation in the LMC.

The analysis of the first three years of the OGLE data revealed 12 microlensing events of the Galactic bulge stars, with the characteristic time scales in the range 8.6 < t 0 < 80 days, where t 0 = RE/V. A complete sample of nine events gave the optical depth to gravitational microlensing larger than (3.3 ± 1.2) × 10–6, in excess of current theoretical estimates, indicating a much higher efficiency for microlensing by either bulge or disk lenses. The lenses are likely to be ordinary stars in the Galactic bar, which has its long axis elongated towards us. At this time we have no evidence that the OGLE events are related to dark matter. The OGLE color magnitude diagrams reveal the presence of the Galactic bar and a low density inner disk region ∼ 4 kpc in radius. A catalogue of a few thousand variable stars is in preparation.