High-frequency oscillations in a solar active region coronal loop

The Solar Eclipse Corona Imaging System (SECIS) was used to record high-cadence observations of the solar corona during the total solar eclipse of 1999 August 11. During the 2 min 23.5 s of totality, 6364 images were recorded simultaneously in each of the two channels: a white light channel, and the Fe xiv (5303 Angstrom) 'green line' channel (T similar to2 MK). Here we report initial results from the SECIS experiment, including the discovery of a 6-s intensity oscillation in an active region coronal loop.

Accurate computational methods for two-electron atom-laser interactions

We discuss the application of quantitatively accurate computational methods to the study of laser-driven two-electron atoms in short intense laser pulses. The fundamental importance of such calculations to the subject area is emphasized. Calculations of single- and double-electron ionization rates at 390 nm are presented. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.

Multi-Party Negotiation When Agents Have Subjective Estimates of Bargaining Powers

This paper presents a method for generating Pareto-optimal solutions in multi-party negotiations. In this iterative method, decision makers (DMs) formulate proposals that yield a minimum payoff to their opponents. Each proposal belongs to the efficient frontier, DMs try to adjust to a common one. In this setting, each DM is supposed to have a given bargaining power. More precisely each DM is supposed to have a subjective estimate of the power of the different parties. We study the convergence of the method, and provide examples where there is no possible agreement resulting from it.

Welfare Effort and Poverty from the Monetary and Capabilities Approach: A Cross-Country Analysis in Latin American and the Caribbean (1990-2010)

There is abundant empirical evidence on the negative relationship between welfare effort and poverty. However, poverty indicators traditionally used have been representative of the monetary approach, excluding its multidimensional reality from the analysis. Using three regression techniques for the period 1990-2010 and controlling for demographic and cyclical factors, this paper examines the relationship between social spending per capita —as the indicator of welfare effort— and poverty in up to 21 countries of the region. The proportion of the population with an income below its national basic basket of goods and services (PM1) and the proportion of population with an income below 50% of the median income per capita (PM2) were the two poverty indicators considered from the monetarist approach to measure poverty. From the capability approach the proportion of the population with food inadequacy (PC1) and the proportion of the population without access to improved water sources or sanitation facilities (PC2) were used. The fi ndings confi rm that social spending is actually useful to explain changes in poverty (PM1, PC1 and PC2), as there is a high negative and signifi cant correlation between the variables before and after controlling for demographic and cyclical factors. In two regression techniques, social spending per capita did not show a negative relationship with the PM2. Countries with greater welfare effort for the period 1990-2010 were not necessarily those with the lowest level of poverty. Ultimately social spending per capita was more useful to explain changes in poverty from the capability approach.

Orientación al mercado y tipología de las cooperativas agroalimentarias en base a la competitividad. Caso-estudio de las citrícolas españolas

La globalización ha recrudecido más si cabe la competencia en los mercados y las empresas deben afianzar y mejorar su posición competitiva para asegurar la supervivencia. Para ello resulta vital, entre otras cuestiones, velar por los intereses de los inversores al tiempo que cuidan de sus clientes. Las cooperativas sufren una coyuntura semejante respecto a sus socios y el mercado, es decir respecto a sus clientes internos (socios) y externos (mercado). El enfoque de las actividades y la estrategia de la cooperativa frente a esta dualidad determina su grado de orientación al mercado.Los estudios relacionados con la orientación al mercado en cooperativas son escasos en comparación con otras formas empresariales y han estado normalmente centrados en la figura de las cooperativas de segundo grado y circunscritos a sectores muy específicos.El sector citrícola español es uno de los más dinámicos y desarrollados del panorama productivo agrario. Su extensa experiencia comercial tanto a nivel doméstico como internacional confiere un carácter diferenciador a las entidades que operan en este subsector. Este trabajo analiza la posición de las cooperativas citrícolas españolas en relación a la orientación al mercado así como los factores de gestión y estrategia que están relacionadoscon ella. Para ello se utiliza una escala MARKOR, validada en estudios anteriores, sobre una muestra de 45 cooperativas.Se establece además una tipología de cooperativas citrícolas en base a los factores de competitividad que permiten ahondar en el conocimiento que existe sobre esta cuestión en entidades de economía social. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto un elevado grado de relación entre la innovación, el perfil del empresario y el conocimiento del entorno en relación con el grado de orientación al mercado.

Association between polymorphism in regulatory region of gene encoding tumour necrosis factor alpha and risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia: a case-control study

BACKGROUND: Deposition of beta-amyloid in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease is thought to precede a chain of events that leads to an inflammatory response by the brain. We postulated that genetic variation in the regulatory region of the gene for the proinflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) leads to increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. METHODS: A polymorphism in the regulatory region of the TNF-alpha gene was analysed in a case-control study. The polymorphism (C-850T) was typed in 242 patients with sporadic Alzheimer's disease, 81 patients with vascular dementia, 61 stroke patients without dementia, and 235 normal controls. These groups of individuals were also genotyped for the apolipoprotein E polymorphism, and the vascular dementia and stroke groups were typed at the HLA-DR locus. FINDINGS: The distribution of TNF-alpha genotypes in the vascular dementia group differed significantly from that in the stroke and normal control groups, giving an odds ratio of 2.51 (95% CI 1.49-4.21) for the development of vascular dementia for individuals with a CT or TT genotype. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the possession of the T allele significantly increased the risk of Alzheimer's disease associated with carriage of the apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele (odds ratio 2.73 [1.68-4.44] for those with apolipoprotein E epsilon4 but no TNF-alpha T, vs 4.62 [2.38-8.96] for those with apolipoprotein E epsilon4 and TNF-alpha T; p=0.03). INTERPRETATION: Possession of the TNF-alpha T allele significantly increases the risk of vascular dementia, and increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease associated with apolipoprotein E. Although further research is needed, these findings suggest a potential role for anti-inflammatory therapy in vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and perhaps especially in patients who have had a stroke.

Las Comisiones del Mapa de España en la década de 1850

La necesidad de contar con un mapa de base científica que cubriera todo el territorio español llevó al Estado a crear en paralelo varias Comisiones con cometidos geodésicos, topográficos y cartográficos durante la década de 1850. La labor simultánea de estas Comisiones se prolongó hasta 1859, cuando se aprobó la Ley de Medición del Territorio, que las fusionó en un único organismo. Este artículo analiza aspectos técnicos de los trabajos que realizaron estas Comisiones a partir de la información contenida en algunos documentos que custodia el Archivo Topográfico del IGN. Las conclusiones que se extraen son que estas Comisiones acometieron operaciones geodésicas que resultaron cruciales en el establecimiento ulterior de la red de triangulación peninsular, realizaron mediciones topográficas que fueron reutilizadas veinte años después en el levantamiento del Mapa Topográfico Nacional, e idearon las características catastrales que fueron adoptadas durante todo el siglo posterior para el Catastro de España.

Using XPS to determine solute solubility in room temperature ionic liquids

X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was used to quantify the amount of bromide ions present in two samples of [C(4)mpyrr]Br dissolved in the room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) [C(4)mpyrr][N(Tf)(2)]. One sample was of a known concentration (0.436 Br atom%); the other was a saturated solution. The results obtained from quantitative XPS analysis indicated that the saturated sample had a concentration, or solubility, of 0.90 Br atom% (746 mM) at 298 K, which was then independently confirmed by potential-step chronoamperometry of the same solution.

The impact of newly identified loci on coronary heart disease, stroke and total mortality in the MORGAM prospective cohorts

Recently, genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as being associated with coronary heart disease (CHD). We estimated the effect of these SNPs on incident CHD, stroke and total mortality in the prospective cohorts of the MORGAM Project. We studied cohorts from Finland, Sweden, France and Northern Ireland (total N=33,282, including 1,436 incident CHD events and 571 incident stroke events). The lead SNPs at seven loci identified thus far and additional SNPs (in total 42) were genotyped using a case-cohort design.We estimated the effect of the SNPs on disease history at baseline, disease events during follow-up and classic risk factors. Multiple testing was taken into account using false discovery rate (FDR) analysis. SNP rs1333049 on chromosome 9p21.3 was associated with both CHD and stroke (HR5=.20, 95% CI 1.08-1.34 for incident CHD events and 1.15, 0.99-1.34 for incident stroke). SNP rs11670734 (19q12) was associated with total mortality and stroke. SNP rs2146807 (10q11.21) showed some association with the fatality of acute coronary event. SNP rs2943634 (2q36.3) was associated with high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and SNPs rs599839, rs4970834 (1p13.3) and rs17228212 (15q22.23) were associated with non-HDL cholesterol. SNPs rs2943634 (2q36.3) and rs12525353 (6q25.1) were associated with blood pressure. These findings underline the need for replication studies in prospective settings and confirm the candidacy of several SNPs that may play a role in the etiology of cardiovascular disease.