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The role of episodic mass loss in the evolution of massive stars remains largely unknown and thus it is not included in the stellar models. The ASSESS project is conducting an optical survey in the nearby Universe (12 galaxies with Z ~ 0.1 to 1.5 Zo) searching for evolved massive stars, primarily targeting those with infrared excess (i.e. circumstellar dust) which reveals mass loss. The results of this survey in the northern hemisphere have led to the secure spectral classification of twelve red supergiants (RSGs) in NGC 6822 and IC 10 (Ζ= 0.32 Zo and 0.45 Zo). Follow up spectroscopy has been acquired in the J-band for eight of them using the EMIR detector at the Grand Telescope of the Canarias. Also, we observed one target from the literature (WLM 14), expanding our metallicity range to 0.14 Zo, as we aim to study mass loss in the low metallicity regime. Such observations are needed because the effective temperature (Teff) measured from atomic lines in the J-band is more accurate than the one estimated using the TiO bands present in the optical spectra, as the latter form at larger radii and lower temperatures. Improved Teff estimations lead to more robust estimations of mass loss. We aspire to calibrate the temperature scale of RSG at low metallicities and use it to obtain mass loss measurements for the rest of our sample (~ 130 RSGs) for which infrared spectroscopy is not feasible. I will present initial results from the analysis of these observations.

The Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), La Palma, Spain, is currently the largest (10.4m) and one of the most advanced optical/infrared telescopes in the world. It gathers several innovative visiting instruments. These instruments extend the exploitable capabilities of GTC beyond that covered by the common-user instruments (e.g. by providing high time resolution or high spectral resolution). Here we describe the visiting instruments HORuS and HiPERCAM and their main scientific results., {"references":["Tabernero, H. M. et al (2020), MNRAS, 498, 4222","Tabernero, H. M. et al (2022), MNRAS, 515, 1247","Osorio, Y. et al (2022), ApJ, 928, 173O","Rebassa-Mansergas, A. et al. (2019), NatAs, 3, 553","Parsons, S. G. et al. (2020), NatAs, 4, 690","Burdge, K. B. et al. (2022), Natur, 605, 41"]}

This paper presents a novel approach for solving the security-constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF) optimization problem using parallel Computing. In this approach, switched shunt capacitors, generation power ramp, and demand response are considered in the SCOPF by maximizing the market surplus during regular operation and for a set of contingencies of branches and generators. The optimization problem is solved using the Nonlinear Interior Point Method. The contingency assessment is paralleled in multiple CPU cores to decrease the computation time. Additionally, the test systems used in ARPA-GO competition were used and compared with the ARPA benchmark results to assess the proposed algorithm. The numerical results show this method is suitable for fast SCOPF using paralleling Computing.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more popular as time passes, allowing to perform tasks that were difficult to do in the past. From predictions to customization, AI is being used in many areas, not being educational environments outside this situation. AI is being used in educational settings to customize contents or to provide personalized feedback to the students, among others. In this scenario, AI in programming teaching is something that still has to be explored, since in this area we usually find assessment tools that allow grading the students work, but we can not find many tools aimed towards providing feedback to the students in the process of creating their program. In this work we present an AI based intelligent tutor that answers students programming questions. The tool has been tested by university students at the URJC along a whole course. Even if the tool is still in its preliminary phase, it helped the students with their questions, providing accurate answers and examples. The students were able to use the intelligent tutor easily and they thought that it could be a useful tool to use in other courses., Comment: Preliminary work

The authors also thank funding sources: the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC; UK National Capability award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UKSCaPE programme); Joint Nature Conservatio Committee (JNCC); Environment and Climate Change Canada; Natural Resources Canada; New Bedford Harbor Trustee Council; The Norwegian Environment Agency (and its predecessors), the SEAPOP programme (www.seapop.no) and its key institutions: The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, The Norwegian Polar Institute and Tromsø University Museum and the French Polar Institute. 1. Timing of breeding, an important driver of fitness in many populations, is widely studied in the context of global change, yet despite considerable efforts to identify environmental drivers of seabird nesting phenology, for most populations we lack evidence of strong drivers. Here we adopt an alternative approach, examining the degree to which different populations positively covary in their annual phenology to infer whether phenological responses to environmental drivers are likely to be (i) shared across species at a range of spatial scales, (ii) shared across populations of a species, or (iii) idiosyncratic to populations. 2. We combined 51 long-term datasets on breeding phenology spanning 50 years from nine seabird species across 29 North Atlantic sites and examined the extent to which different populations share early versus late breeding seasons depending on a hierarchy of spatial scales comprising breeding site, small-scale region, large-scale region and the whole North Atlantic. 3. In about a third of cases we found laying dates of populations of different species sharing the same breeding site or small-scale breeding region were positively correlated, which is consistent with the hypothesis that they share phenological responses to the same environmental conditions. In comparison we found no evidence for positive phenological covariation among populations across species aggregated at larger spatial scales. 4. In general we found little evidence for positive phenological covariation between populations of a single species, and in many instances the inter-year variation specific to a population was substantial, consistent with each population responding idiosyncratically to local environmental conditions. Black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) was the exception, with populations exhibiting positive covariation in laying dates that decayed with the distance between breeding sites, suggesting that populations may be responding to a similar driver. 5. Our approach sheds light on the potential factors that may drive phenology in our study species, thus furthering our understanding of the scales at which different seabirds interact with interannual variation in their environment. We also identify additional systems and phenological questions to which our inferential approach could be applied. Postprint

GTC is producing science in a routinely manner since 2009, but at the same time enhancing its capabilities with the continuous advent of new instruments at the facility. This contribution summarizes the current status of the night operation of the 10.4 m GTC and describe GTC short and medium term instrumentation plan in the period 2020-2025., Poster on instrumental capabilities of the 10.4 Gran Telescopio CANARIAS

Background: Many advanced practice nursing programs incorporate interprofessional collaboration into the curriculum. Few combine intraprofessional collaboration between nurse practitioner (NP) students of different population foci. Telephone triage is a skill that is rarely covered in NP education. Description: We describe a simulation program in which family nurse practitioner (FNP) students collaborate with psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) students in a drug-seeking telephone triage scenario. The patient was portrayed by an improvisational actor. Forty-seven FNP students and 14 PMHNP students participated in the scenario. Outcome: Students reported that the telephone triage scenario was useful and that they would be more likely to both collaborate with and refer patients to NPs from the other specialties. Conclusions: With some modifications, combining FNP and PMHNP students in a telephone triage simulation scenario is beneficial to both groups of students.

Presentation to the SETAC North America 42nd Annual meeting (November 2021)Search for CCTE records in EPA���s Science Inventory by typing in the title at this link.https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_search_results.cfm?advSearch=true&showCriteria=2&keyword=CCTE&TIMSType=&TIMSSubTypeID=&epaNumber=&ombCat=Any&dateBeginPublishedPresented=07/01/2017&dateEndPublishedPresented=&dateBeginUpdated=&dateEndUpdated=&DEID=&personName=&personID=&role=Any&journalName=&journalID=&publisherName=&publisherID=&sortBy=pubDate&count=25

This abstract briefly describes a segmentation algorithm developed for the ISIC 2017 Skin Lesion Detection Competition hosted at [ref]. The objective of the competition is to perform a segmentation (in the form of a binary mask image) of skin lesions in dermoscopic images as close as possible to a segmentation performed by trained clinicians, which is taken as ground truth. This project only takes part in the segmentation phase of the challenge. The other phases of the competition (feature extraction and lesion identification) are not considered. The proposed algorithm consists of 4 steps: (1) lesion image preprocessing, (2) image segmentation using k-means clustering of pixel colors, (3) calculation of a set of features describing the properties of each segmented region, and (4) calculation of a final score for each region, representing the likelihood of corresponding to a suitable lesion segmentation. The scores in step (4) are obtained by averaging the results of 2 different regression models using the scores of each region as input. Before using the algorithm these regression models must be trained using the training set of images and ground truth masks provided by the Competition. Steps 2 to 4 are repeated with an increasing number of clusters (and therefore the image is segmented into more regions) until there is no further improvement of the calculated scores., Comment: Abstract submitted to arXiv as prerequisite to participate in the ISIC2017 Skin Lesion Segmentation Challenge

Neutrophils are constantly generated from hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in the bone marrow to maintain high numbers in circulation. A considerable number of neutrophils and their progenitors have been shown to be present in the spleen too; however, their exact role in this organ remains unclear. Herein, we sought to study the function of splenic neutrophils and their progenitors using a mouse model for sterile, peritoneal inflammation. In this microcapsule device implantation model, we show chronic neutrophil presence at implant sites, with recruitment from circulation as the primary mechanism for their prevalence in the peritoneal exudate. Furthermore, we demonstrate that progenitor populations in the spleen play a key role in maintaining elevated neutrophil numbers. Our results provide new insight into the role for splenic neutrophils and their progenitors and establish a model to study neutrophil function during sterile inflammation.

We consider two coupled phase oscillators in the presence of proportional ("common") and independent white noises. The global synchronization properties of the system are analytically studied via the Fokker-Planck equation. When the "effective coupling" is big compared to the common noises, the former favors and the latter hinder synchronization. On the contrary, when the coupling is small compared to the proportional noises, we find that the latter induce synchronization, optimally when their intensities are big and in the n:m synchronization ratio. Furthermore, in such case a small value of the coupling is better for synchronization. Finally, we show that synchronization, which is a global property, must not be studied via local stability such as with Lyapunov exponents., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, revtex. Added an example that shows that synchronization, which is a global property, must not be studied by means of a local stability analysis such as via Lyapunov exponents. Other changes of medium importance were made as well

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Increasingly it is being realized that a holistic hazard assessment of complex environmental contaminant mixtures requires data on the concentrations of hydrophilic organic contaminants including new generation pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and many chemicals associated with household, industrial, and agricultural wastes. To address this issue, we developed a passive in situ sampling device (the polar organic chemical integrative sampler [POCIS]) that integratively concentrates trace levels of complex mixtures of hydrophilic environmental contaminants, enables the determination of their time‐weighted average water concentrations, and provides a method of estimating the potential exposure of aquatic organisms to the complex mixture of waterborne contaminants. Using a prototype sampler, linear uptake of selected herbicides and pharmaceuticals with log KowS < 4.0 was observed for up to 56 d. Estimation of the ambient water concentrations of chemicals of interest is achieved by using appropriate uptake models and determination of POCIS sampling rates for appropriate exposure conditions. Use of POCIS in field validation studies targeting the herbicide diuron in the United Kingdom resulted in the detection of the chemical at estimated concentrations of 190 to 600 ng/L. These values are in agreement with reported levels found in traditional grab samples taken concurrently.

El objetivo de este estudio fue ex post facto describir las diferencias en errores de la mecánica de la lectura (rectificaciones, sustituciones, rotaciones, omisiones, repeticiones, vacilaciones y adiciones) y en los procesos lectores (visual y fonológica) por un lado, y errores de motilidad ocular (seguimiento y sacádico) y atención selectiva por otro, en una muestra de dos grupos de niños con retraso lector o dislexia. Mediante un diseño ex post facto se compararon esos dos grupos, uno con fusión sensorial alterada medida a través de la prueba óptica del Worth, compuesto por 76 alumnos (34 niños y 42 niñas), y un grupo sin fusión sensorial alterada formado por 123 alumnos (59 niños y 64 niñas). Se ha comprobado que los alumnos disléxicos con fusión sensorial alterada tuvieron mayores problemas en la mecánica de la lectura y de forma significativa en las inversiones. Sin embargo, se encontraron escasas diferencias en relación a los procesos lectores, la atención selectiva y la motilidad ocular, no diferenciándose los grupos analizados. En definitiva, parece que el diagnóstico de la dislexia pueda estar afectado por medidas alternativas que sería necesario contrastar, que influirían en la forma de enfocar la labor preventiva y de intervención especializada del problema.