The Samoa Hurricane, 15-16 March 1889

Analysing historical weather extremes such as the tropical cyclone in Samoa in March 1889 could add to our understanding of extreme events. However, up to now the availability of suitable data was limiting the analysis of historical extremes, particularly in remote regions. The new “Twentieth Century Reanalysis” (20CR), which provides six-hourly, three-dimensional data for the entire globe back to 1871, might provide the means to study this and other early events. While its suitability for studying historical extremes has been analysed for events in the northern extratropics (see other papers in this volume), the representation of tropical cyclones, especially in early times, remains unknown. The aim of this paper is to study to the hurricane that struck Samoa on 15-16 March 1889. We analyse the event in 20CR as well as in contemporary observations. We find that the event is not reproduced in the ensemble mean of 20CR, nor is it within the ensemble spread. We argue that this is due to the paucity of data assimilated into 20CR. A preliminary compilation of historical observations from ships for that period, in contrast, provides a relatively consistent picture of the event. This shows that more observations would be available and implies that future versions of surface-based reanalyses might profit from digitizing further observations in the tropical region.

Calculating track thrust with track functions

In e+e− event shapes studies at LEP, two different measurements were sometimes performed: a “calorimetric” measurement using both charged and neutral particles and a “track-based” measurement using just charged particles. Whereas calorimetric measurements are infrared and collinear safe, and therefore calculable in perturbative QCD, track-based measurements necessarily depend on nonperturbative hadronization effects. On the other hand, track-based measurements typically have smaller experimental uncertainties. In this paper, we present the first calculation of the event shape “track thrust” and compare to measurements performed at ALEPH and DELPHI. This calculation is made possible through the recently developed formalism of track functions, which are nonperturbative objects describing how energetic partons fragment into charged hadrons. By incorporating track functions into soft-collinear effective theory, we calculate the distribution for track thrust with next-to-leading logarithmic resummation. Due to a partial cancellation between nonperturbative parameters, the distributions for calorimeter thrust and track thrust are remarkably similar, a feature also seen in LEP data.

Search for long-lived, heavy particles in final states with a muon and multi-track displaced vertex in proton-proton collisions at sqrts=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Many extensions of the Standard Model posit the existence of heavy particles with long lifetimes. In this Letter, results are presented of a search for events containing one or more such particles, which decay at a significant distance from their production point, using a final state containing charged hadrons and an associated muon. This analysis uses a data sample of proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb(-1) collected in 2011 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Results are interpreted in the context of R-parity violating supersymmetric scenarios. No events in the signal region are observed and limits are set on the production cross section for pair production of supersymmetric particles, multiplied by the square of the branching fraction for a neutralino to decay to charged hadrons and a muon, based on the scenario where both of the produced supersymmetric particles give rise to neutralinos that decay in this way. However, since the search strategy is based on triggering on and reconstructing the decay products of individual long-lived particles, irrespective of the rest of the event, these limits can easily be reinterpreted in scenarios with different numbers of long-lived particles per event. The limits are presented as a function of neutralino lifetime, and for a range of squark and neutralino masses.

Search for Scalar Diphoton Resonances in the Mass Range 65-600 GeV with the ATLAS Detector in pp Collision Data at √s = 8 TeV

A search for scalar particles decaying via narrow resonances into two photons in the mass range 65–600 GeV is performed using 20.3  fb −1 of s √ =8  TeV pp collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The recently discovered Higgs boson is treated as a background. No significant evidence for an additional signal is observed. The results are presented as limits at the 95% confidence level on the production cross section of a scalar boson times branching ratio into two photons, in a fiducial volume where the reconstruction efficiency is approximately independent of the event topology. The upper limits set extend over a considerably wider mass range than previous searches.

ADAMTS13 gene variants and function in women with preeclampsia: a population- based nested case- control study from the HUNT Study.

INTRODUCTION Known genetic variants with reference to preeclampsia only explain a proportion of the heritable contribution to the development of this condition. The association between preeclampsia and the risk of cardiovascular disease later in life has encouraged the study of genetic variants important in thrombosis and vascular inflammation also in relation to preeclampsia. The von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease, ADAMTS13, plays an important role in micro vascular thrombosis, and partial deficiencies of this enzyme have been observed in association with cardiovascular disease and preeclampsia. However, it remains unknown whether decreased ADAMTS13 levels represent a cause or an effect of the event in placental and cardiovascular disease. METHODS We studied the distribution of three functional genetic variants of ADAMTS13, c.1852C>G (rs28647808), c.4143_4144dupA (rs387906343), and c.3178C>T (rs142572218) in women with preeclampsia and their controls in a nested case-control study from the second Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT2). We also studied the association between ADAMTS13 activity and preeclampsia, in serum samples procured unrelated in time of the preeclamptic pregnancy. RESULTS No differences were observed in genotype, allele or haplotype frequencies of the different ADAMTS13 variants when comparing cases and controls, and no association to preeclampsia was found with lower levels of ADAMTS13 activity. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that ADAMTS13 variants and ADAMTS13 activity do not contribute to an increased risk of preeclampsia in the general population.

Frecuencia de resangrado en los primeros veintiún días luego de ruptura de aneurisma cerebral no sometido a tratamiento quirúrgico

Objetivo: Determinar la frecuencia de resangrado en los primeros 21 días como complicación de una ruptura de aneurisma cerebral. Diseño: Estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo Materiales y método: Se analizó una muestra pacientes obtenida de la base de datos de Unidad de Terapia Intensiva (UTI) del Hospital Central que habían sufrido una hemorragia subaracnoidea (HSA) por ruptura de aneurisma cerebral en el período comprendido entre junio de 2006 a enero de 2010. Se identificó el número de pacientes que sufrieron un resangrado como complicación del evento no sometido a tratamiento quirúrgico durante los 21 días posteriores al mismo. Resultados: Se analizó una muestra de 81 pacientes, 44 mujeres (54%) y 37 hombres (46%), edad media de 51 años (DS+/-14). Se registraron 6 resangrados (7,4%) en los 44 meses de seguimiento. El 50% de los resangrados (3 pacientes) acontecieron durante las primeras 24 horas. El 50% (3 pacientes) ocurrieron en mujeres. La edad media en la que apareció la complicación fue 52 años (DS+/-14). Conclusión: La frecuencia de resangrado luego de una ruptura de aneurisma es del 7,4%, con un pico de aparición en las primeras 24 horas.

El incendio de Cromañón en la CABA : una bisagra en la gestión cultural

En este artículo se propone la reflexión acerca de la relación entre los campos cultural y político en la definición de las orientaciones de la política cultural en la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (CABA) Argentina, en 2000-2010. Para ello se toma el incendio del local “República de Cromañón" ocurrido en diciembre del 2004, donde murieron 194 jóvenes y un número no determinado quedó afectado física y psicológicamente, y a consecuencia del cual fue destituido el Jefe de Gobierno Aníbal Ibarra. Se considera que la productividad de dicho acontecimiento resultó en un cambio de direccionalidad en la política cultural de la Ciudad Autónoma con consecuencias que excedieron el espacio local para proyectarse en el ámbito nacional. El análisis se realizó desde la perspectiva de la relativa autonomía de los campos (Pierre Bourdieu, 1995) y a partir de la hipótesis de la “autonomía variable" (Raymond Williams, 1982). En la máxima conducción del estado local, se encontraría una suerte de dominación de las instancias políticas sobre la gestión de la política cultural, en tanto que en la implementación de los programas, los técnicos y profesionales continúan desarrollan acciones que pueden resultar relativamente autónomas de las orientaciones del Ejecutivo de la CABA.

Planktonic foraminiferal flux in the Subantarctic

Sediment trap moorings deployed during 1997 and 1998 in the Subantarctic to Polar Frontal regions of the Southern Ocean reveal distinct seasonality in foraminiferal flux. Foraminiferal assemblages vary between each site, yet major species exhibit very similar patterns of seasonal succession which can be associated with changes in mixed layer depth. Enhanced foraminiferal productivity is also associated with periods of high biogenic silica and particulate organic carbon flux. On a broader scale, foraminiferal assemblages are strongly delineated by temperature. Temperature estimates derived from the assemblages using the modern analog technique (MAT) are mostly within 2.5°C of the satellite advanced very high resolution radiometer temperatures observed during the deployment period. This indicates that core top sediments included in the MAT database do reflect modern observed conditions at the sea surface, providing a robust technique for estimating past temperature change from foraminiferal assemblages in Southern Ocean environments.

Planktic foraminifera from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum at Shatsky Rise, Pacific Ocean

High-resolution biostratigraphic and quantitative studies of subtropical Pacific planktonic foraminiferal assemblages (Ocean Drilling Program, Leg 198 Shatsky Rise, Sites 1209 and 1210) are performed to analyse the faunal changes associated with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) at about 55.5 Ma. At Shatsky Rise, the onset of the PETM is marked by the abrupt onset of a negative carbon isotope excursion close to the contact between carbonate-rich ooze and overlying clay-rich ooze and corresponds to a level of poor foraminiferal preservation as a result of carbonate dissolution. Lithology, planktonic foraminiferal distribution and abundances, calcareous plankton and benthic events, and the negative carbon isotope excursion allow precise correlation of the two Shatsky Rise records. Results from quantitative analyses show that Morozovella dominates the assemblages and that its maximum relative abundance is coincident with the lowest delta 13C values, whereas subbotinids are absent in the interval of maximum abundance of Morozovella. The excursion taxa (Acarinina africana, Acarinina sibaiyaensis, and Morozovella allisonensis) first appear at the base of the event. Comparison between the absolute abundances of whole specimens and fragments of genera demonstrate that the increase in absolute abundance of Morozovella and the decrease of Subbotina are not an artifact of selective dissolution. Moreover, the shell fragmentation data reveal Subbotina to be the more dissolution-susceptible taxon. The upward decrease in abundance of Morozovella species and the concomitant increase in test size of Morozovella velascoensis are not controlled by dissolution. These changes could be attributed to the species' response to low nutrient supply in the surface waters and to concomitant changes in the physical and chemical properties of the seawater, including increased surface stratification and salinity. Comparison of the planktonic foraminiferal changes at Shatsky Rise to those from other PETM records (Sites 865 and 690) highlights significant similarities, such as the decline of Subbotina at the onset of the event, and discrepancies, including the difference in abundance of the excursion taxa. The observed planktonic foraminifera species response suggests a warm-oligotrophic scenario with a high degree of complexity in the ocean structure.

La memoria según Trelew

En este artículo, el autor expone las singulares características de la ejecución ilegal de detenidos políticos en una base militar en agosto de 1972, conocida como la «masacre de Trelew¼. También presenta los modos en que esa masacre comenzó a ser recordada en los años siguientes y las lecturas que realizaron de ella las distintas corrientes de izquierda, las cuales no alcanzaron a ver la nueva dimensión del hecho. Finalmente, se pregunta por las relaciones entre este crimen y el terror estatal que sobrevendrá poco tiempo después, como un aporte para reflexionar sobre el concepto de «terrorismo de Estado¼.

No se olviden de Bernardo (Kordon)

No casualmente el ttulo coincide con un eslogan muy divulgado y que intenta conservar la memoria acerca de un hecho y de una vctima. No lo son tambin aquellos escritores a los que una mezquina poltica de mercado condena poco menos que al olvido, luego de que durante dcadas animaran el proceso literario nacional y obtuvieran reconocimientos de diverso carcter por su produccin? No me cabe duda de que Bernardo Kordon (1915-2002) fue uno de esos animadores de la narrativa nacional, al que es indispensable volver para que se entiendan mejor algunos cambios sucedidos en ella a partir de los aos 50, aunque su culminacin date de la dcada del 60 y un poco ms.