MEGARA is the new generation IFU and MOS optical spectrograph built for the 10.4m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC). The project was developed by a consortium led by UCM (Spain) that also includes INAOE (Mexico), IAA-CSIC (Spain) and UPM (Spain). The instrument arrived to GTC on March 28th 2017 and was successfully integrated and commissioned at the telescope from May to August 2017. During the on-sky commissioning we demonstrated that MEGARA is a powerful and robust instrument that provides on-sky intermediate-to-high spectral resolutions RFWHM ~ 6,000, 12,000 and 20,000 at an unprecedented efficiency for these resolving powers in both its IFU and MOS modes. The IFU covers 12.5 x 11.3 arcsec2 while the MOS mode allows observing up to 92 objects in a region of 3.5 x 3.5 arcmin2. In this paper we describe the instrument main subsystems, including the Folded-Cassegrain unit, the fiber link, the spectrograph, the cryostat, the detector and the control subsystems, and its performance numbers obtained during commissioning where the fulfillment of the instrument requirements is demonstrated.

On June 25th 2017, the new intermediate-resolution optical IFU and MOS of the 10.4-m GTC had its first light. As part of the tests carried out to verify the performance of the instrument in its two modes (IFU & MOS) and 18 spectral setups (identical number of VPHs with resolutions R=6000-20000 from 0.36 to 1 micron) a number of astronomical objects were observed. These observations show that MEGARA@GTC is called to fill a niche of high-throughput, intermediate-resolution IFU & MOS observations of extremely-faint narrow-lined objects. Lyman-alpha absorbers, star-forming dwarfs or even weak absorptions in stellar spectra in our Galaxy or in the Local Group can now be explored to a new level. Thus, the versatility of MEGARA in terms of observing modes and spectral resolution and coverage will allow GTC to go beyond current observational limits in either depth or precision for all these objects. The results to be presented in this talk clearly demonstrate the potential of MEGARA in this regard.

MEGARA (Multi-Espectrografo en GTC de Alta Resolucion para Astronomia) is an optical Integral-Field Unit (IFU) and Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) designed for the GTC 10.4m telescope in La Palma that is being built by a Consortium led by UCM (Spain) that also includes INAOE (Mexico), IAA-CSIC (Spain), and UPM (Spain). The instrument is currently finishing AIV and will be sent to GTC on November 2016 for its on-sky commissioning on April 2017. The MEGARA IFU fiber bundle (LCB) covers 12.5x11.3 arcsec(2) with a spaxel size of 0.62 arcsec while the MEGARA MOS mode allows observing up to 92 objects in a region of 3.5x3.5 arcmin(2) around the IFU.The IFU and MOS modes of MEGARA will provide identical intermediate-to-high spectral resolutions (R-FWHM similar to 6,000, 12,000 and 18,700, respectively for the low-, mid-and high-resolution Volume Phase Holographic gratings) in the range 3700-9800 angstrom angstrom. An x-y mechanism placed at the pseudo-slit position allows (1) exchanging between the two observing modes and (2) focusing the spectrograph for each VPH setup. The spectrograph is a collimator-camera system that has a total of 11 VPHs simultaneously available (out of the 18 VPHs designed and being built) that are placed in the pupil by means of a wheel and an insertion mechanism. The custom-made cryostat hosts a 4kx4k 15-mu m CCD. The unique characteristics of MEGARA in terms of throughput and versatility and the unsurpassed collecting are of GTC make of this instrument the most efficient tool to date to analyze astrophysical objects at intermediate spectral resolutions.In these proceedings we present a summary of the instrument characteristics and the results from the AIV phase. All subsystems have been successfully integrated and the system-level AIV phase is progressing as expected.

La insuficiencia cardíaca (IC) es una enfermedad con una elevada morbimortalidad. Evaluamos la utilidad del programa de Unidades de Manejo Integral para Pacientes con IC (UMIPIC). Se analizaron los datos de los pacientes incluidos en el programa UMIPIC, recogidos en el registro de IC (RICA) de la Sociedad Española de Medicina Interna. Se compararon las visitas a Urgencias y las hospitalizaciones por cualquier causa y por IC durante el año anterior a la inclusión en el programa, con las que tuvieron durante el año de seguimiento posterior, usando el test de la chi-cuadrado. Se incluyeron 258 pacientes (edad media 80 años, 51,9% mujeres). Durante el año previo hubo 693 hospitalizaciones por cualquier causa y 174 durante el seguimiento (reducción del 75%, p < 0,001); 613 hospitalizaciones por IC el año antes y 92 durante el seguimiento (reducción del 85%, p < 0,001); 655 vs 302 en cuanto a las visitas a Urgencias por cualquier causa (reducción del 53,9%, p < 0,001); 440 vs 120 para las visitas a Urgencias por IC (reducción del 72%, p < 0,001). No hubo diferencias significativas en el número de hospitalizaciones o visitas a Urgencias por otras causas diferentes a la IC. El programa UMIPIC basado en la atención integral a pacientes ancianos con IC y comorbilidad reduce el porcentaje de reingresos hospitalarios y visitas a Urgencias durante el primer año de seguimiento. Heart failure (HF) is a disease with high morbidity and mortality. We evaluated the usefulness of the Comprehensive Management Units for Patients with HF (Unidades de Manejo Integral para Pacientes con IC [UMIPIC]) programme. We analysed the patient data from the UMIPIC programme, which was recorded in the HF registry (RICA) of the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine. We compared emergency department visits and hospitalisations for any cause and for HF during the year prior to inclusion in the programme against those that occurred during the subsequent follow-up year, using the chi-squared test. A total of 258 patients (mean age, 80 years; 51.9% women) were included in the study. During the previous year, there were 693 hospitalisations for all causes and 174 hospitalisations during the follow-up (75% reduction, P < .001). There were 613 hospitalisations for HF during the previous year and 92 during the follow-up (85% reduction, P < .001); 655 vs. 302 in terms of emergency department visits for any cause (53.9% reduction, P < .001); and 440 vs. 120 for emergency department visits for HF (72% reduction, P < .001). There were no significant differences in the number of hospitalisations or emergency department visits for causes other than HF. The UMIPIC programme based on the comprehensive care of elderly patients with HF and comorbidity reduces the rate of hospital readmissions and emergency department visits during the first year of follow-up.

Massive spectroscopic survey are becoming trendy in astrophysics and cosmology, as they can address new fundamental knowledge such as understanding the formation of the Milky Way and probing the nature of the mysterious dark energy. To enable massive spectroscopic surveys, new technology has been developed to place thousands of optical fibres at a given position on a focal plane. This technology needs to be: (1) accurate, with micrometer positional accuracy; (2) fast to minimize overhead; (3) robust to minimize failure; and (4) low cost. In this paper, we present the development, properties, and performance of a new single 8-mm in diameter fibre positioner robot, using two 4-mm DC-brushless gearmotors, that allows us to achieve accuracies up to 0.07 arcsec (5 mu m). This device has been developed in the context of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument.(1)

MEGARA (Multi-Espectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomı́a) is the future intermediate-resolution optical Integral-Field Unit (IFU) and Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) of the 10.4m GTC telescope. The instrument can be used to observe either a contiguous (100% filling factor) field-of-view of 12.5×11.3 arcsec or 92 objects anywhere in a 3.5×3.5 arcmin field patrolled by robotic actuactors attached to optical-fiber minibundles, respectively in its IFU and MOS modes. The MEGARA Consortium is led by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM, Spain) and also includes the Instituto Nacional de Astrof́ısica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE, Mexico), the Instituto de Astrof́ısica de Andalućıa (IAA-CSIC, Spain) and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM, Spain). The instrument passed its Critical Design Review (CDR) on late 2014 and is currently in construction phase with a planned date for the start of operations at GTC on early 2017. In this paper we summarize the main characteristics of the instrument and the status of the

MEGARA (Multi-Espectrografo en GTC de Alta Resolucion para Astronomia) is an optical Integral-Field Unit (IFU) and Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) designed for the GTC 10.4m telescope in La Palma. MEGARA offers two IFU fiber bundles, one covering 12.5x11.3 arcsec(2) with a spaxel size of 0.62 arcsec (Large Compact Bundle; LCB) and another one covering 8.5x6.7 arcsec(2) with a spaxel size of 0.42 arcsec (Small Compact Bundle; SCB). The MEGARA MOS mode will allow observing up to 100 objects in a region of 3.5x3.5 arcmin(2) around the two IFU bundles.Both the LCB IFU and MOS capabilities of MEGARA will provide intermediate-to-high spectral resolutions (R-FWHM similar to 6,000, 12,000 and 18,700, respectively for the low-, mid-and high-resolution Volume Phase Holographic gratings) in the range 3650-9700 angstrom angstrom. These values become R-FWHM similar to 7,000, 13,500, and 21,500 when the SCB is used.A mechanism placed at the pseudo-slit position allows exchanging the three observing modes and also acts as focusing mechanism. The spectrograph is a collimator-camera system that has a total of 11 VPHs simultaneously available (out of the 18 VPHs designed and being built) that are placed in the pupil by means of a wheel and an insertion mechanism. The custom-made cryostat hosts an E2V231-84 4kx4k CCD.The UCM (Spain) leads the MEGARA Consortium that also includes INAOE (Mexico), IAA-CSIC (Spain), and UPM (Spain). MEGARA is being developed under a contract between GRANTECAN and UCM. The detailed design, construction and AIV phases are now funded and the instrument should be delivered to GTC before the end of 2016.

MEGARA (Multi Espectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomía) is the future optical Integral-Field Unit (IFU) and Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) for the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC). MEGARA has three different fiber bundles, the Large Central Bundle covering 12.5 arcsec x 11.3 arcsec on sky, the Small Compact Bundle, of 8.5 arcsec x 6.7 arcsec, and a Fiber MOS positioner system that is able to place up to 100 mini-bundles with 7 fibers each in MOS configuration within a 3.5 arcmin x 3.5 arcmin FOV. The MEGARA focal plane subsystems are located at one of the GTC Folded Cassegrain focal stations. A field lens provides a telecentric focal plane, where the fibers are located. Micro-lenses arrays couple the telescope beam to the collimator focal ratio at the entrance of the fibers. Finally, the fibers, organized in bundles conducted the light from the focal plane to the pseudo-slit plates at the entrance of the MEGARA spectrograph, which shall be located at one of the Nasmyth platforms. This article also summarizes the prototypes already done and describes the set-up that shall be used to integrate fibers and micro-lens and characterize the fiber bundles.

In these proceedings we summarize the characteristics and current status of MEGARA, the future optical IFU and MOS for the 10.4 m GTC. MEGARA is being built by a Consortium led by the UCM (Spain) that also includes the INAOE (Mexico), the IAA-CSIC (Spain) and the UPM (Spain). The MEGARA IFU offers two different bundles, one called LCB with a field-of-view of 14 x 12 arcsec^2 and a spaxel size of 0.685 arcsec yielding spectral resolutions between R=6000-19000 and another one called SCB covering 10 x 8 arcsec^2 with 0.48 arcsec spaxels and resolutions R=8000-25000. The MOS component allows observing up to 100 targets in 3.5x3.5 arcmin^2. In September 2010 MEGARA was selected as the next optical spectrograph for GTC. Its PDR is scheduled for March 2012 with First Light on 2015.

The Mid-resolution InfRAreD Astronomical Spectrograph (MIRADAS, a near-infrared multi-object echelle spectrograph operating at spectral resolution R=20,000 over the 1-2.5 mu m bandpass) was selected in 2010 by the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) partnership as the next-generation near-infrared spectrograph for the world's largest optical/infrared telescope, and is being developed by an international consortium. The MIRADAS consortium includes the University of Florida, Universidad de Barcelona, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Institut de Fisica d'Altes Energies, Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya and Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, as well as probe arm industrial partner A-V-S (Spain). In this paper, we review the overall system design for MIRADAS, as it nears Preliminary Design Review in the autumn of 2012.

MEGARA (Multi-Espectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomía) is the future optical Integral-Field Unit (IFU) and Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) for GTC.The Fiber Units are placed at one Folded Cassegrain focus and feed the spectrograph located on a Nasmyth-type platform.This paper summarizes the status of the design of the MEGARA Folded Cassegrain Subsystems after the PDR (held on March 2012), as well as the prototyping that has been carried out during this phase.The MEGARA Fiber Unit has two IFUs: a Large Compact Bundle covering 12.5 arcsec x 11.3 arcsec on sky (100 microns fiber-core), and a Small Compact Bundle, of 8.5 arcsec x 6.7 arcsec (70 microns fiber-core), plus a Fiber MOS positioner, able to place up to 100 mini-bundles 7 fibers each (100 microns fiber-core) in MOS configuration within a 3.5arcmin x 3.5arcmin FOV.A field lens provides a telecentric focal plane where the fibers are located.Microlens arrays couple the telescope beam to the collimator focal ratio at the entrance of the fibers (providing the f/17 to f/3 focal ratio reduction to enter into the fibers).Finally, the fibers, organized in bundles, end in the pseudo-slit plate, which will be placed at the entrance focal plane of the MEGARA spectrographs.

In these proceedings we give a summary of the characteristics and current status of the MEGARA instrument, the future optical IFU and MOS for the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). MEGARA is being built by a Consortium of public research institutions led by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM, Spain) that also includes INAOE (Mexico), IAA-CSIC (Spain) and UPM (Spain). The MEGARA IFU includes two different fiber bundles, one called LCB (Large Compact Bundle) with a field-of-view of 12.5x11.3 arcsec(2) and a spaxel size of 0.62 arcsec yielding spectral resolutions between R=6,800-17,000 and another one called SCB (Small Compact Bundle) covering 8.5x6.7 arcsec(2) with hexagonally-shaped and packed 0.42-arcsec spaxels and resolutions R=8,000-20,000. The MOS component allows observing up to 100 targets in 3.5x3.5 arcmin(2). Both the IFU bundles and the set of 100 robotic positioners of the MOS will be placed at one of the GTC Folded-Cass foci while the spectrographs (one in the case of the MEGARA-Basic concept) will be placed at the Nasmyth platform. On March 2012 MEGARA passed the Preliminary Design Review and its first light is expected to take place at the end of 2015.

Fiber-fed spectrographs dedicated to observing massive portions of the sky are increasingly being more demanded within the astronomical community. For all the fiber-fed instruments, the primordial and common problem is the positioning of the fiber ends, which must match the position of the objects of a target field on the sky. Amongst the different approaches found in the state of the art, actuator arrays are one of the best. Indeed, an actuator array is able to position all the fiber heads simultaneously, thus making the reconfiguration time extremely short and the instrument efficiency high. The SIDE group (see http://side.iaa.es) at the Instituto de Astrof\'isica de Andaluc\'ia, together with the industrial company AVS and the University of Barcelona, has been developing an actuator suitable for a large and scalable array. A real-scale prototype has been built and tested in order to validate its innovative design concept, as well as to verify the fulfillment of the mechanical requirements. The present article describes both the concept design and the test procedures and conditions. The main results are shown and a full justification of the validity of the proposed concept is provided.