Is the cosmic microwave background really non-Gaussian?

Two recent papers have claimed detection of non-Gaussian features in the COBE DMR sky maps of the cosmic microwave background. We confirm these results, but argue that Gaussianity is still not convincingly ruled out. Since a score of non-Gaussianity tests have now been published, one might expect some mildly significant results even by chance. Moreover, in the case of one measure which yields a detection, a bispectrum statistic, we find that if the non-Gaussian feature is real, it may well be due to detector noise rather than a non-Gaussian sky signal, since a signal-to-noise analysis localizes it to angular scales smaller than the beam. We study its spatial origin in case it is nonetheless due to a sky signal (eg, a cosmic string wake or flat-spectrum foreground contaminant). It appears highly localized in the direction b=39.5, l=257, since removing a mere 5 pixels inside a single COBE beam area centered there makes the effect statistically insignificant. We also test Guassianity with an eigenmode analysis which allows a sky map to be treated as a random number generator. A battery of tests of this generator all yield results consistent with Gaussianity.Comment: Revised to match accepted ApJL version. 4 pages with 2 figs included. Links and color fig at http://www.sns.ias.edu/~max/gaussianity_frames.html or from [email protected]

Comparación del modulo resiliente de la subrasante obtenido a partir de deflexiones de impacto y mediante ensayos de laboratorio en un proyecto vial del departamento de Cundinamarca

El presente estudio se llevará a cabo en la carretera El Portal El Antojo que vía une la ciudad de Bogotá, con la carretera Bogotá Villavicencio, esta es de gran importancia porque sirve de apoyo principalmente cuando la Concesión realiza labores de mantenimiento en el túnel de El Boquerón obligando a desviar el tráfico por esta carretera. Para calcular el módulo resiliente de la subrasante en carretera El Portal El Antojo se llevaron a cabo medidas de deflexión en el mes de enero de 2010, mediante el empleo del FWD KUAB 50 2m de la firma GEVIAL LTDA. Para el análisis y procesamiento de la información se llevará a cabo de acuerdo con los lineamientos y normas establecidos en la guía metodológica para la rehabilitación de pavimentos asfálticos de carreteras del INVIAS. Se determinarán parámetros estructurales como la deflexión central, el módulo resiliente de la subrasante, y el número estructural de la vía seleccionada a través de un procedimiento de retro cálcul

A single built-in sensor to check pull-up and pull-down CMOS networks against transient faults

International audienceThis work proposes a novel built-in current sensor for detecting transient faults of short and long duration as well as multiple faults in combinational and sequential logic. Unlike prior similar strategies, which are formed by pairs of PMOS and NMOS sensors, the proposed scheme is a single sensor connected to PMOS and NMOS bulks of the monitored logic. In comparison with existing transient-fault mitigation techniques, the paper presents very competitive results that indicate no performance penalty, and overheads of only 26 % in power consumption and 23 % in area

Processo de concentração e purificação de extrato obtido a partir de resíduos de pseudofruto de caju e produto de elevado teor de carotenoides

A presente invenção apresenta um processo para concentração e purificação de carotenoides a partir de fibras residuais da produção de suco de caju integral sob condições controladas sem uso de qualquer solvente orgânico. O processo envolve uma pré-maceração das fibras de caju com uso de enzimas desagregadoras de estruturas celulares, que atuam sobre os tecidos fibrosos em combinação com prensagem controladas em ciclos sucessivos de extração aquosa. A concentração do extrato bruto obtido por maceração/prensagem é realizada à temperatura ambiente com uso de membranas de microfiltração em fluxo tangencial. O produto concentrado é então tratado por técnicas de diafiltração para ser purificado, eliminando-se grande parte dos componentes indesejáveis e que favoreçam a sua deterioração microbiana e bioquímica. O concentrado final possui potencial de aplicação como corante para alimentos de consumo humano e ração animal, sendo aplicável nas áreas de sucos e bebidas prontas para o consumo devido à considerável solubilidade em água. (Résumé d'auteur

An open source approach to serve a large number of computer users using block-level streaming

There are several options for providing a large number of computers to users for their daily tasks. A typical setup may consist of a large number of computers where each relies on an HDD consisting of the required software, sufficient RAM, a capable CPU that meets the software requirements, and a stable network connection. This thesis proposes the use of the open-source AoE protocol to stream an OS to a user computer from a central server. Since the streaming is done from a well-protected central storage, the AoE protocol is less prone to failures compared to the traditional approach based on having a local HDD. Furthermore, AoE being open source, it avoids the need to purchase per seat licenses for streaming. The expected outcome of the proposed design is to create a central system consisting of servers and storage components to serve a large number of end-user diskless clients efficiently

Improving air quality in metropolitan Mexico City : an economic valuation

Mexico City has for years experienced high levels of ozone and particulate air pollution. In 1995-99 the entire population of the Mexico City metropolitan area was exposed to annual average concentrations of fine particulate pollution (particulates with a diameter of less than 10micrometers, or PM10) exceeding 50 micrograms per cubic meter, the annual average standard in both Mexico and the United States. Two million people were exposed to annual average PM10 levels of more than 75 micrograms per cubic meter. The daily maximum one-hour ozone standard was exceeded at least 300 days a year. The Mexico Air Quality Management Team documents population-weighted exposures to ozone and PM10 between 1995 and 1999, project exposures in 2010, and computes the value of four scenarios for 2010: A 10 percent reduction in PM10 and ozone. A 20 percent reduction in PM10 and ozone. Achievement of ambient air quality standards across the metropolitan area. A 68 percent reduction in ozone and a 47 percent reduction in PM10 across the metropolitan area. The authors calculate the health benefits of reducing ozone and PM10 for each scenario using dose-response functions from the peer-reviewed literature. They value cases of morbidity and premature mortality avoided using three approaches: Cost of illness and forgone earnings only (low estimate). Cost of illness, forgone earnings, and willingness to pay for avoided morbidity (central case estimate). Cost of illness, forgone earnings, willingness to pay for avoided morbidity, and willingness to pay for avoided mortality (high estimate). The results suggest that the benefits of a 10 percent reduction in ozone and PM10 in 2010 are about $760 million (in 1999 U.S. dollars) annually in the central case. The benefits of a 20 percent reduction in ozone and PM10 are about$1.49 billion annually. In each case the benefits of reducing ozone amount to about 15 percent of the total benefits. By estimating the magnitude of the benefits from air pollution control, the authors provide motivation for examining specific policies that could achieve the air pollution reductions that they value. They also provide unit values for the benefits from reductions in ambient air pollution (for example, per microgram of PM10) that could be used as inputs into a full cost-benefit analysisof air pollution control strategies.Montreal Protocol,Public Health Promotion,Global Environment Facility,Air Quality&Clean Air,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Montreal Protocol,Air Quality&Clean Air,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Global Environment Facility,Transport and Environment

Investigating the peculiar emission from the new VHE gamma-ray source H1722+119

The MAGIC (Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov) telescopes observed the BL Lac object H1722+119 (redshift unknown) for six consecutive nights between 2013 May 17 and 22, for a total of 12.5 h. The observations were triggered by high activity in the optical band measured by the KVA (Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) telescope. The source was for the first time detected in the very high energy (VHE, $E > 100$ GeV) $\gamma$-ray band with a statistical significance of 5.9 $\sigma$. The integral flux above 150 GeV is estimated to be $(2.0\pm 0.5)$ per cent of the Crab Nebula flux. We used contemporaneous high energy (HE, 100 MeV $< E < 100$ GeV) $\gamma$-ray observations from Fermi-LAT (Large Area Telescope) to estimate the redshift of the source. Within the framework of the current extragalactic background light models, we estimate the redshift to be $z = 0.34 \pm 0.15$. Additionally, we used contemporaneous X-ray to radio data collected by the instruments on board the Swift satellite, the KVA, and the OVRO (Owens Valley Radio Observatory) telescope to study multifrequency characteristics of the source. We found no significant temporal variability of the flux in the HE and VHE bands. The flux in the optical and radio wavebands, on the other hand, did vary with different patterns. The spectral energy distribution (SED) of H1722+119 shows surprising behaviour in the $\sim 3\times10^{14} - 10^{18}$ Hz frequency range. It can be modelled using an inhomogeneous helical jet synchrotron self-Compton model.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

Multiwavelength Evidence for Quasi-periodic Modulation in the Gamma-ray Blazar PG 1553+113

We report for the first time a gamma-ray and multi-wavelength nearly-periodic oscillation in an active galactic nucleus. Using the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) we have discovered an apparent quasi-periodicity in the gamma-ray flux (E >100 MeV) from the GeV/TeV BL Lac object PG 1553+113. The marginal significance of the 2.18 +/-0.08 year-period gamma-ray cycle is strengthened by correlated oscillations observed in radio and optical fluxes, through data collected in the OVRO, Tuorla, KAIT, and CSS monitoring programs and Swift UVOT. The optical cycle appearing in ~10 years of data has a similar period, while the 15 GHz oscillation is less regular than seen in the other bands. Further long-term multi-wavelength monitoring of this blazar may discriminate among the possible explanations for this quasi-periodicity.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Corresponding authors: S. Ciprini (ASDC/INFN), S. Cutini (ASDC/INFN), S. Larsson (Stockholm Univ/KTH), A. Stamerra (INAF/SNS), D. J. Thompson (NASA GSFC

LEUCEMIA LINFOMA DE CELULAS T DEL ADULTO Y LINFOMA CUTANEO ASOCIADOS AL HTLV-1

The human virus T-lymph trophic(HTLV-1) is acquired through prolonged breast feeding, sexual contact and blood infusion. Between 1% to 4% of those infected, develop Adult T-cellleukemia /lymphoma(ATL) during the latency period between 30 to 50 years, it is still incurable and most of the cases end with fatal dead in the short term, the most frequent causes of death are infections. The cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is another manifestation of the virus, indicating spread.51 year old male, with hyporexia, odynophagia, necrotic ulcerated lesions on the hands, chest and head, presents oral fungal, enters with hematemesys, hematoquesia and asthenia, anemia, nutritional and neurological disorders. Hematological tests and biopsy diagnosed LLCTA and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma cutaneous, respectively. The patient would have an unfavorable prognosisEl virus linfotrópico humano tipo 1 (HTLV-1) se adquiere a través de la lactancia prolongada, contacto sexual e infusión sanguínea, entre el 1-4% de los infectados desarrollan Linfoma Leucemia de Células T del Adulto (LLCTA) con un periodo de latencia entre 30 y 50 años, siendo incurable y mortal a corto plazo, las causas de muerte más frecuentes son infecciones, el linfoma cutáneo de células T es otra manifestación del virus, indicando diseminación. Se presenta el caso de un hombre de 51 años, con hiporexia, odinofagia, lesiones ulceradas necróticas en manos, tórax y cabeza, micosis oral, ingresa por hematemesis, hematoquecia y astenia, presenta, anemia, alteraciones nutricionales y neurológicas. El estudio hematológico diagnosticó LLCTA y la biopsia linfoma cutáneo de células T. El paciente tendría un pronóstico desfavorable

The Spectral Energy Distribution of Fermi bright blazars

(Abridged) We have conducted a detailed investigation of the broad-band spectral properties of the \gamma-ray selected blazars of the Fermi LAT Bright AGN Sample (LBAS). By combining our accurately estimated Fermi gamma-ray spectra with Swift, radio, infra-red, optical and other hard X-ray/gamma-ray data, collected within three months of the LBAS data taking period, we were able to assemble high-quality and quasi-simultaneous Spectral Energy Distributions (SED) for 48 LBAS blazars.The SED of these gamma-ray sources is similar to that of blazars discovered at other wavelengths, clearly showing, in the usual Log $\nu$ - Log $\nu$ F$_\nu$ representation, the typical broad-band spectral signatures normally attributed to a combination of low-energy synchrotron radiation followed by inverse Compton emission of one or more components. We have used these SEDs to characterize the peak intensity of both the low and the high-energy components. The results have been used to derive empirical relationships that estimate the position of the two peaks from the broad-band colors (i.e. the radio to optical and optical to X-ray spectral slopes) and from the gamma-ray spectral index. Our data show that the synchrotron peak frequency $\nu_p^S$ is positioned between 10$^{12.5}$ and 10$^{14.5}$ Hz in broad-lined FSRQs and between $10^{13}$ and $10^{17}$ Hz in featureless BL Lacertae objects.We find that the gamma-ray spectral slope is strongly correlated with the synchrotron peak energy and with the X-ray spectral index, as expected at first order in synchrotron - inverse Compton scenarios. However, simple homogeneous, one-zone, Synchrotron Self Compton (SSC) models cannot explain most of our SEDs, especially in the case of FSRQs and low energy peaked (LBL) BL Lacs. (...)Comment: 85 pages, 38 figures, submitted to Ap