Exploring Potentials of a Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership in Human Resource Development

This paper explores the potentials of including the broad realm of human resource development into the proposed bilateral economic agreements between Japan and the Philippines. The authors greatly recognized that the extent and sustainability of a nations economic development is largely anchored on the degree of development of its largest asset, the human resource, hence exploring possible areas where such asset can be developed and make the most of is essential. An extensive review and comparison of the current human resource situation of the two countries was conducted primarily to delineate possible areas of cooperation and/or complementation, particularly on the general areas of health, nutrition, and education and training. These human resource areas, according to Herrin (2002), act as a yardstick of human resource improvement. Concentrating on these areas, at least thirteen possible intervention or cooperation areas were identified and discussed by the study. These possible areas of cooperation were all reckoned to be imperative so as to fully harness the competitive advantages of one country (e.g., Japan) in order to fill in the specific human resource needs of the other (e.g., Philippines) and vice versa

Using quantum state protection via dissipation in a quantum-dot molecule to solve the Deutsch problem

The wide set of control parameters and reduced size scale make semiconductor quantum dots attractive candidates to implement solid-state quantum computation. Considering an asymmetric double quantum dot coupled by tunneling, we combine the action of a laser field and the spontaneous emission of the excitonic state to protect an arbitrary superposition state of the indirect exciton and ground state. As a by-product we show how to use the protected state to solve the Deutsch problem.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, 2 table

QSO 2237+0305 VR light curves from Gravitational Lenses International Time Project optical monitoring

We present VR observations of QSO 2237+0305 conducted by the GLITP collaboration from 1999 October 1 to 2000 February 3. The observations were made with the 2.56 m Nordic Optical Telescope at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma (Spain). The PSF fitting method and an adapted version of the ISIS subtraction method have been used to derive the VR light curves of the four components (A-D) of the quasar. The mean errors range in the intervals 0.01-0.04 mag (PSF fitting) and 0.01-0.02 mag (ISIS subtraction), with the faintest component (D) having the largest uncertainties. We address the relatively good agreement between the A-D light curves derived using different filters, photometric techniques, and telescopes. The new VR light curves of component A extend the time coverage of a high magnification microlensing peak, which was discovered by the OGLE team.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, ApJ accepted (Feb 19

Palaeoenvironmental analysis of the Aragonian (middle Miocene) mammalian faunas from the Madrid Basin based on body-size structure

As a consequence of the growth of the Antarctic ice-sheet during the middle Miocene, a global decrease of temperatures and an associated increase in aridity provoked several environmental changes all around the world. Such environmental variations can be detected in the continental record of the mammalian prey community structure using a synecological approach. Because of the good quality of its faunas, the rich Aragonian vertebrate fossil record from the Madrid Basin (Spain) appears as a good candidate to explore these environmental changes. In order to analyse the climatic evolution of the Iberian Peninsula associated to the Global Cooling Event, two classic palaeosynecological methodologies (cenograms and body size diversity), based on body-size community structure, were applied to 6 fossil sites from the Madrid Basin, ranging over 2 million years (15.5 – 13.5 Ma). To establish a comparative framework, we used the ecological faunal data from 100 modern localities uniformly distributed all around the world. Our palaeoenvironmental inference is based on multivariate discriminant analysis of the dataset containing both modern and fossil mammals. Finally, we can conclude that the Aragonian mammalian assemblage from the Madrid Basin showed a predominance of semiarid environments with pulses of higher aridity in biozones Dc, E and F associated with the Global Cooling Event of the middle Miocene.Como consecuencia del crecimiento del casquete polar Antártico, durante el Mioceno medio, se produjo un descenso global de la tem­peratura asociado a un aumento de la aridez. Este tipo de cambios ambientales pueden ser detectados en el registro continental, siguiendo un modelo sinecológico para analizar la estructura de las comunidades de las faunas de mamíferos herbívoros. Debido a la calidad de sus faunas, el registro fósil de las faunas de vertebrados del Aragoniense de la Cuenca de Madrid se antoja como un buen candidato para explorar estos patrones de cambio ambiental. Con el objetivo de analizar la evolución climática de la Península Ibérica asociada al evento de enfriamiento global durante este lapso temporal, dos metodologías paleosinecológicas clásicas (cenogramas y espectros de diversidad de tamaño corporal), basadas en la estructura de tamaños corporales de las comunidades de mamíferos, han sido aplicadas a la fauna de herbívoros fósiles presente en seis yacimientos de la Cuenca de Madrid, abarcando aproximadamente 2 millones de años (15.5 – 13.5 Ma). Se ha establecido un marco comparativo usando los datos ecológicos de la fauna de mamíferos presente en 100 localidades uniformemente distribuidas por todo el planeta. Esta inferencia paleoambiental está basada en la aplicación de análisis discriminante multivariante sobre el conjunto de datos de las faunas actuales y fósiles. Finalmente, las faunas de mamíferos del Aragoniense de la Comunidad de Madrid mostraron una predominancia de ambientes semiáridos con varios pulsos de mayor aridez en las biozonas Dc, E y F asociados al evento de enfriamiento global del Mioceno medio

Sequential Electron Transport and Vibrational Excitations in an Organic Molecule Coupled to Few-Layer Graphene Electrodes

Graphene electrodes are promising candidates to improvereproducibility and stability in molecular electronics through new electrode−molecule anchoring strategies. Here we report sequentialelectron transport in few-layer graphene transistors containing individualcurcuminoid-based molecules anchored to the electrodes via π −π orbital bonding. We show the coexistence of inelastic co-tunneling excitations with single-electron transport physics due to an intermediate molecule−electrode coupling; we argue that an intermediate electron−phononcoupling is the origin of these vibrational-assisted excitations. Theseexperimental observations are complemented with density functionaltheory calculations to model electron transport and the interaction between electrons and vibrational modes of thecurcuminoid molecule. We find that the calculated vibrational modes of the molecule are in agreement with theexperimentally observed excitation

CO2 soil flux baseline at the technological development plant for CO2 injection at Hontomin (Burgos, Spain)

From the end of 2013 and during the following two years, 20 kt of CO2sc are planned to be injected in a saline reservoir (1500 m depth) at the Hontomín site (NE Spain). The target aquifers are Lower Jurassic limestone formations which are sealed by Lower Cretaceous clay units at the Hontomín site (NE Spain). The injection of CO2 is part of the activities committed in the Technology Development phase of the EC-funded OXYCFB300 project (European Energy Program for Recovery – EEPR, http://www.compostillaproject.eu), which include CO2 injection strategies, risk assessment, and testing and validating monitoring methodologies and techniques. Among the monitoring works, the project is intended to prove that present-day technology is able to monitor the evolution of injected CO2 in the reservoir and to detect potential leakage. One of the techniques is the measurement of CO2 flux at the soil–atmosphere interface, which includes campaigns before, during and after the injection operations. In this work soil CO2 flux measurements in the vicinity of oil borehole, drilled in the eighties and named H-1 to H-4, and injection and monitoring wells were performed using an accumulation chamber equipped with an IR sensor. Seven surveys were carried out from November 2009 to summer 2011. More than 4000 measurements were used to determine the baseline flux of CO2 and its seasonal variations. The measured values were low (from 5 to 13 g m−2 day−1) and few outliers were identified, mainly located close to the H-2 oil well. Nevertheless, these values cannot be associated to a deep source of CO2, being more likely related to biological processes, i.e. soil respiration. No anomalies were recognized close to the deep fault system (Ubierna Fault) detected by geophysical investigations. There, the CO2 flux is indeed as low as other measurement stations. CO2 fluxes appear to be controlled by the biological activity since the lowest values were recorded during autumn-winter seasons and they tend to increase in warm periods. Two reference CO2 flux values (UCL50 of 5 g m−2 d−1 for non-ploughed areas in autumn–winter seasons and 3.5 and 12 g m−2 d−1 for in ploughed and non-ploughed areas, respectively, in spring–summer time, and UCL99 of 26 g m−2 d−1 for autumn–winter in not-ploughed areas and 34 and 42 g m−2 d−1 for spring–summer in ploughed and not-ploughed areas, respectively) were calculated. Fluxes higher than these reference values could be indicative of possible leakage during the operational and post-closure stages of the storage project

Schizanthus grahamii and Schizanthus hookeri. Is there any relationship between their anthocyanin compositions and their different pollination syndromes?

[EN] Three different pollination syndromes (bee, hummingbird and moth-pollination syndromes) have been described for the different species of the genus Schizanthus Ruiz & Pav. (Solanaceae). Two closely related species from a phylogenetic point of view, Schizanthus grahamii and Schizanthus hookeri, show hummingbird and bee-pollination syndromes, respectively. One of the traits used to assign these pollination syndromes is the colour of the petals, which is red in S. grahamii and bluish-pink in S. hookeri. The objective of this work was to establish the differences in the anthocyanin composition of these two Schizanthus species that contribute to the different pollination syndrome. Identification of the pigments was carried out from the chromatographic and spectral data supplied by the HPLC-DAD-MSn analyses of the samples. Alkaline and acid hydrolyses were also performed in the extracts and in some isolated compounds in order to confirm the identities. First difference between these two species was found in the total anthocyanin content, which was about 13-fold higher in S. grahamii than in S. hookeri. Furthermore, the major peak was also different in both cases, thus explaining quantitative and qualitative colour differences between species. Delphinidin 3-O-rutinoside represented ca. 72% of the total area in S. grahamii and petanin (Petunidin 3-O-p-coumaroylrutinoside-5-O-glucoside) accounted for almost 62% of the total area in S. hookeri. The presence of the p-coumaroylrutinosyl moiety in the petanin makes the intramolecular copigmentation possible, thus conferring the bluish-pink hue to the petals of S. hookeri. Delphinidin 3-O-rutinoside is in turn responsible for the red colour exhibited by the petals of S. grahamii and along with other floral traits, responsible for the attraction of hummingbirds to the plant. Pigments structurally related to petanin, which have been often detected in other genus of Solanaceae, were detected in both species and in similar contents, supporting results from previous studies that pointed to a bee-pollinated common ancestor for both species that further specialised acquiring traits attractive to hummingbirds and among them, red colour of the petals which is mainly supplied by delphinidin 3-O-rutinoside

Spindle cell carcinoma: Two instances mistaken for vocal polyps

Spindle cell carcinoma is a variant of squamous carcinoma, with behavior that is apparently more aggressive than that of squamous carcinoma and that can produce distant lymphatic metastasis. It was first described by Virchow in 1864 [1], but the origin of the tumor is still not clear. The tumor is biphasic, with an epidermal component and a sarcomatous component involving spindle cells; transition zones between these components can be found [2–5]. In part due to this peculiar and complex nature, the tumor has accumulated various names since it was first described: sarcomatoid tumor, carci- nosarcoma, pleomorphic carcinoma, collision tumor, etc. [2,5,6]

Fault interpretation in seismic reflection data: an experiment analyzing the impact of conceptual model anchoring and vertical exaggeration

[EN]This paper presents an analysis on the limitations and advantages that some types of seismic data display present on the interpretation of the dataset