Critical Point in Self-Organized Tissue Growth

We present a theory of pattern formation in growing domains inspired by biological examples of tissue development. Gradients of signaling molecules regulate growth, while growth changes these graded chemical patterns by dilution and advection. We identify a critical point of this feedback dynamics, which is characterized by spatially homogeneous growth and proportional scaling of patterns with tissue length. We apply this theory to the biological model system of the developing wing of the fruit fly \textit{Drosophila melanogaster} and quantitatively identify signatures of the critical point.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

La normalización de la información geográfica digital del Portal de Datos Abiertos del Ayuntamiento de Málaga.

Uno de los objetivos de la Cátedra de Recursos Geotecnológicos para la Economía y la Sociedad, que forma parte de la Red de Cátedras Estratégicas del Vicerrectorado de Proyectos Estratégicos de la Universidad de Málaga sobre restos de la sociedad es el promover actividades de transferencia de conocimiento con empresas, organismos y administraciones que utilicen o estén interesadas en utilizar los recursos geotecnológicos. En base a ello se propuso al Centro Municipal de Informática (CEMI) del Ayuntamiento de Málaga el desarrollo de iniciativas de cooperación y asesoramiento en el marco del Big Data Geográfico y la normalización de información geográfica para su publicación en portales de datos abiertos. Esta experiencia se planteó como una iniciativa de cooperación y colaboración para realizar entre el Centro Municipal de Informática del Ayuntamiento de Málaga y la Cátedra de Recursos Geotecnológicos.El promover actividades de transferencia de conocimiento con empresas, organismos y administraciones que utilicen o estén interesadas en utilizar los recursos geotecnológicos es una tarea de esta Cátedra. En base a ello se propuso al Centro Municipal de Informática (CEMI) del Ayuntamiento de Málaga el desarrollo de iniciativas de cooperación y asesoramiento en el marco del Big Data Geográfico y la normalización de información geográfica para su publicación en portales de datos abiertos. Esta experiencia se planteó como una iniciativa de cooperación y colaboración para realizar entre el Centro Municipal de Informática del Ayuntamiento de Málaga y la Cátedra de Recursos Geotecnológicos. A raíz de los diferentes contactos y reuniones se realizaron dos informes: 1) “La normalización de la información geográfica digital del Portal de Datos Abiertos del Ayuntamiento de Málaga” y 2) “La producción cartográfica de datos geográficos en el CEMI (Centro Municipal de Informática), Ayuntamiento de Málaga. Indicaciones para su utilización y difusión general a los ciudadanos” y una propuesta de actividades denominada: “Propuesta de colaboración entre la Cátedra de Recursos Geo-tecnológicos para la Economía y la Sociedad y el CEMI (Centro Municipal de Informática), Ayuntamiento de Málaga)”. En base a ellos se pretendía consolidar un marco de colaboración duradero entre este organismo del Ayuntamiento y la Universidad para la aplicación de las geotecnologías y la normalización de la información geográfica digital del Portal de Datos Abiertos del Ayuntamiento de Málaga acorde a la normativa Inspire de la UE que deberá ser aplicada íntegramente en 2020 en todos los portales de datos abiertos de la UE.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Quantum Replicator Dynamics

We propose quantization relationships which would let us describe and solution problems originated by conflicting or cooperative behaviors among the members of a system from the point of view of quantum mechanical interactions. The quantum analogue of the replicator dynamics is the equation of evolution of mixed states from quantum statistical mechanics. A system and all its members will cooperate and rearrange its states to improve their present condition. They strive to reach the best possible state for each of them which is also the best possible state for the whole system. This led us to propose a quantum equilibrium in which a system is stable only if it maximizes the welfare of the collective above the welfare of the individual. If it is maximized the welfare of the individual above the welfare of the collective the system gets unstable and eventually it collapses.Comment: 10 page

The Nature of Starbursts: I. The Star Formation Histories of Eighteen Nearby Starburst Dwarf Galaxies

We use archival HST observations of resolved stellar populations to derive the star formation histories (SFHs) of 18 nearby starburst dwarf galaxies. In this first paper we present the observations, color-magnitude diagrams, and the SFHs of the 18 starburst galaxies, based on a homogeneous approach to the data reduction, differential extinction, and treatment of photometric completeness. We adopt a star formation rate (SFR) threshold normalized to the average SFR of the individual system as a metric for classifying starbursts in SFHs derived from resolved stellar populations. This choice facilitates finding not only currently bursting galaxies but also "fossil" bursts increasing the sample size of starburst galaxies in the nearby (D<8 Mpc) universe. Thirteen of the eighteen galaxies are experiencing ongoing bursts and five galaxies show fossil bursts. From our reconstructed SFHs, it is evident that the elevated SFRs of a burst are sustained for hundreds of Myr with variations on small timescales. A long >100 Myr temporal baseline is thus fundamental to any starburst definition or identification method. The longer lived bursts rule out rapid "self-quenching" of starbursts on global scales. The bursting galaxies' gas consumption timescales are shorter than the Hubble time for all but one galaxy confirming the short-lived nature of starbursts based on fuel limitations. Additionally, we find the strength of the H{\alpha} emission usually correlates with the CMD based SFR during the last 4-10 Myr. However, in four cases, the H{\alpha} emission is significantly less than what is expected for models of starbursts; the discrepancy is due to the SFR changing on timescales of a few Myr. The inherently short timescale of the H{\alpha} emission limits identifying galaxies as starbursts based on the current characteristics which may or may not be representative of the recent SFH of a galaxy.Comment: 53 pages, 11 figure

The Nature of Starbursts : II. The Duration of Starbursts in Dwarf Galaxies

The starburst phenomenon can shape the evolution of the host galaxy and the surrounding intergalactic medium. The extent of the evolutionary impact is partly determined by the duration of the starburst, which has a direct correlation with both the amount of stellar feedback and the development of galactic winds, particularly for smaller mass dwarf systems. We measure the duration of starbursts in twenty nearby, ongoing, and "fossil" starbursts in dwarf galaxies based on the recent star formation histories derived from resolved stellar population data obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. Contrary to the shorter times of 3-10 Myr often cited, the starburst durations we measure range from 450 - 650 Myr in fifteen of the dwarf galaxies and up to 1.3 Gyr in four galaxies; these longer durations are comparable to or longer than the dynamical timescales for each system. The same feedback from massive stars that may quench the flickering SF does not disrupt the overall burst event in our sample of galaxies. While five galaxies present fossil bursts, fifteen galaxies show ongoing bursts and thus the final durations may be longer than we report here for these systems. One galaxy shows a burst that has been ongoing for only 20 Myr; we are likely seeing the beginning of a burst event in this system. Using the duration of the starbursts, we calculate that the bursts deposited 10^(53.9)-10^(57.2) ergs of energy into the interstellar medium through stellar winds and supernovae and produced 3%-26% of the host galaxy's mass.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figure

Factors influencing the abundance of pests in production fields and rates of interception of Dracaena marginata imported from Costa Rica

Importation of live nursery plants, like Dracaena marginata Lamoureux (Ruscaceae), can provide a significant pathway for the entry of foliar pests from overseas into the United States. We studied the abundance of foliar pests of quarantine importance found on Costa Rican-grown D. marginata. These include five genera of leafhoppers (Heteroptera: Cicadellidae, Oncometopia, Caldweliola, Diestostema, Gypona, and Empoasca), Florida red scale (Heteroptera: Disapididae, Chrysomphalus aoinidum (L.)), katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae), and a snail (Succinea costarricana von Martens (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, Succineidae)). In our first study, we examined the rationale behind size restrictions on Dracaena cuttings imported into the United States from Costa Rica. When comparing plant size, no differences were found in the abundance of quarantined pests on small (15–46 cm), medium (46–81 cm), and large (81–152 cm) propagules. In a second study, we estimated monthly abundances of pests in production plots for 1 yr to determine their relationship to rates of interception at U.S. ports. In any given month, <6% of the marketable shoots standing in the field were infested with at least one quarantine pest. There was no relationship between the average monthly frequencies of pest detection in the field and in U.S. inspection ports. Pest detections increased during the 1 mo when average monthly shipments were abnormally high. Our data suggest that off-shore postprocessing efforts to remove pestinfested material from the market stream need to be adjusted to accommodate sharp increases in the volume of shipped plants.publishedVersionFil: Hidalgo, Eduardo. Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE); Costa Rica.Fil: Benjamin, Tamara. Purdue University. College of Agriculture. Department of Entomology; United States.Fil: Casanoves, Fernando. Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE); Costa Rica.Fil: Sadof, Clifford. Purdue University. College of Agriculture. Department of Entomology; United States

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

The impact of rational surfaces on radial heat transport in TJ-II

Autor colectivo: TJ-II TeamIn this work, we study the outward propagation of temperature perturbations. For this purpose, we apply an advanced analysis technique, transfer entropy, to ECE measurements performed in ECR heated discharges at the low-shear stellarator TJ-II. We observe that the propagation of these perturbations is not smooth, but is slowed down at specific radial positions, near 'trapping zones' characterized by long time lags with respect to the perturbation origin. We also detect instances of rapid or instantaneous (non-local) propagation, in which perturbations appear to 'jump over' specific radial regions. The analysis of perturbations introduced in a resistive magneto-hydrodynamic model of the plasma leads to similar results. The radial regions corresponding to slow radial transport are identified with maxima of the flow shear associated with rational surfaces (mini-transport barriers). The non-local interactions are ascribed to MHD mode coupling effects

On the road to percent accuracy VI the nonlinear power spectrum for interacting dark energy with baryonic feedback and massive neutrinos

Understanding nonlinear structure formation is crucial for the full exploration of the data generated by forthcoming stage IV surveys, which will require accurate modelling of the matter power spectrum. This is particularly challenging for deviations from $\Lambda$CDM. We need to ensure that alternative cosmologies are well tested and avoid false detections. In this work we present an extension of the halo model reaction framework for interacting dark energy. We describe modifications to the halo model to include the additional force acting on dark matter within the Dark Scattering model, and implement them into the code ReACT. The halo model reaction is then combined with a pseudo spectrum from the EuclidEmulator2 and compared to Dark Scattering N-body simulations. Using a standard halo mass function and concentration-mass relation, we find these predictions to be 1% accurate at $z=0$ up to $k=0.8~h/{\rm Mpc}$ for the largest interaction strength tested ($\xi=50$ b/GeV), improving to $k=2~h/{\rm Mpc}$ at $z=1$. For a smaller interaction strength ($\xi=10$ b/GeV), we find 1%-agreement at $z=1$ up to at least $k=3.5~h/{\rm Mpc}$, being close to $k=1~h/{\rm Mpc}$ at $z=0$. Finally, we improve our predictions with the inclusion of baryonic feedback and massive neutrinos and search for degeneracies between the nonlinear effects of these two contributions and those of the dark sector interaction. By limiting the scales to those where our modelling is 1% accurate, we find a degeneracy between the effects of the interaction and those of baryonic feedback, but not with those generated by massive neutrinos. We expect the degeneracy with baryonic feedback to be resolvable when smaller scales are included. This work represents the first analytical tool for calculating the nonlinear matter power spectrum for coupled dark matter - dark energy models.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. The version of ReACT used in this work is available at https://github.com/PedroCarrilho/ReACT/tree/react_with_interact_baryon