Short Communication. Wood identification based on their common name and their transversal surface anatomy. Application to the batch from the expedition of Ruiz and Pavon

Aim of study: To identify species of wood samples based on common names and anatomical analyses of their transversal surfaces (without microscopic preparations).Area of study: Spain and South America.Material and Methods: The test was carried out on a batch of 15 lumber samples deposited in the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid, from the expedition by Ruiz and Pavón (1777-1811). The first stage of the methodology is to search and to make a critical analysis of the databases which list common nomenclature along with scientific nomenclature. A geographic filter was then applied to the information resulting from the samples with a more restricted distribution. Finally an anatomical verification was carried out with a pocket microscope with a magnification of x40, equipped with a 50 micrometers resolution scale.Main results: The identification of the wood based exclusively on the common name is not useful due to the high number of alternative possibilities (14 for “naranjo”, 10 for “ébano”, etc.). The common name of one of the samples (“huachapelí mulato”) enabled the geographic origin of the samples to be accurately located to the shipyard area in Guayaquil (Ecuador). Given that Ruiz y Pavón did not travel to Ecuador, the specimens must have been obtained by Tafalla. It was possible to determine correctly 67% of the lumber samples from the batch. In 17% of the cases the methodology did not provide a reliable identification.Research highlights: It was possible to determine correctly 67% of the lumber samples from the batch and their geographic provenance. The identification of the wood based exclusively on the common name is not useful.Key words: historic wood; Ruiz and Pavon’s expedition; wood anatomy; wood identification; wood nomenclature

Velocity Statistics in Holographic Fluids: Magnetized Quark-Gluon Plasma and Superfluid Flow

We study the velocity statistics distribution of an external heavy particle in holographic fluids. We argue that when the dual supergravity background has a finite temperature horizon the velocity statistics goes generically as $1/v$, compatible with the jet-quenching intuition from the quark-gluon plasma. A careful analysis of the behavior of the classical string whose apparent worldsheet horizon deviates from the background horizon reveals that other regimes are possible. We numerically discuss two cases: the magnetized quark-gluon plasma and a model of superfluid flow. We explore a range of parameters in these top-down supergravity solutions including, respectively, the magnetic field and the superfluid velocity. We determine that the velocity statistics goes largely as $1/v$, however, as we leave the non-relativistic regime we observe some deviations.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures, references added and minor correction

Mitigating slipping-related mortality from purse seine fisheries for small pelagic fish: case studies from European Atlantic waters

The release of unwanted catches (UWC) from purse seines, while the catch is still in the water, is known as “slipping”. Once thought to be a benign process, compared to discarding UWC overboard from the fishing vessel, it is now recognised that “slipping” can lead to significant mortality in the released fish if done inappropriately. In this chapter, we examine purse seining and slipping operations, and discuss what drives slipping and potential mitigation measures to reduce slipping mortality. We use three examples of purse seine fisheries for small pelagic species in the North-east Atlantic; from Norway, Portugal and Spain. The ideal solution (identifying and avoiding UWC before the net is set) requires the development of tools to enable fishers to better characterise target schools in terms of key selection criteria, e.g., with respect to species, individual size and catch biomass. Such tools are being developed, based primarily on hydro-acoustic technology. However, some UWC in purse seine catches are inevitable, and operational improvements in slipping practices have been shown to significantly reduce stress and mortality in the released UWC. We conclude with a discussion on the challenges currently facing the implementation of the European Union (EU) Landing Obligation with regards to minimising slipping related mortality.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nanomechanics of wild-type and mutant dimers of the inner-ear tip-link protein protocadherin 15

Mechanical force controls the opening and closing of mechanosensitive ion channels atop the hair bundles of the inner ear. The filamentous tip link connecting transduction channels to the tallest neighboring stereocilium modulates the force transmitted to the channels and thus changes their probability of opening. Each tip link comprises four molecules: a dimer of protocadherin 15 (PCDH15) and a dimer of cadherin 23, all of which are stabilized by Ca2+ binding. Using a high-speed optical trap to examine dimeric PCDH15, we find that the protein’s mechanical properties are sensitive to Ca2+ and that the molecule exhibits limited unfolding at a physiological Ca2+ concentration. PCDH15 can therefore modulate its stiffness without undergoing large unfolding events under physiological conditions. The experimentally determined stiffness of PCDH15 accords with published values for the stiffness of the gating spring, the mechanical element that controls the opening of mechanotransduction channels. When PCDH15 exhibits a point mutation, V507D, associated with nonsyndromic hearing loss, unfolding events occur more frequently under tension and refolding events occur less often than for the wild-type protein. Our results suggest that the maintenance of appropriate tension in the gating spring is critical to the appropriate transmission of force to transduction channels, and hence to hearing

Volleyball Overhead Swing Volume and Injury Frequency over the Course of a Season

Background: Overuse injuries are common in volleyball; however, few studies exist that quantify the workload of a volleyball athlete in a season. The relationship between workload and shoulder injury has not been extensively studied in women\u27s collegiate volleyball athletes. Hypothesis/Purpose: This study aims to quantify shoulder workloads by counting overhead swings during practice and matches. The purpose of the current study is to provide a complete depiction of typical overhead swings, serves, and hits, which occur in both practices and matches. The primary hypothesis was that significantly more swings will occur in practices compared to matches. The secondary hypothesis was that greater swing volume and greater musculoskeletal injury frequency will occur in the pre-season than during the season. Study Design: Prospective cohort. Methods: Researchers observed practice and match videos and counted overhead serves and attacks of 19 women\u27s collegiate volleyball players for two seasons. Serves, overhead hits, and total swings (serves + hits) were the dependent variables; event (matches and practice) along with position (defensive specialists, setter, outside hitter, and middle blocker) were the independent variables. Musculoskeletal injury frequency and swing volume workload were compared across pre-season and competitive season time periods. Results: Across all positions except outside hitters twice as many total swings occurred in practices compared to matches (p = .002) resulting in an average of 19 (CI95 16.5, 21.5) more swings in practice than in matches. The average number of total swings during the pre-season 47.1 (CI95 44.1, 50.1) was significantly greater than average swings per session during the competitive season 37.7 (CI95 36.4, 38.9) (p \u3c 0.001) resulting in a mean difference of 9.4 (CI95 6.1, 12.7) swings. The number of athletes limited in participation or out due to a musculoskeletal injury during the pre-season (2.9%) was greater than during the season (1.1%) (p = 0.042). Conclusion: These findings support the primary hypothesis that women\u27s collegiate volleyball athletes swing more during practices than in matches. The higher average number of serves in the pre-season and the greater frequency of musculoskeletal injuries requiring participation restriction or removal from participation suggest that a concordant relationship may exist between workload and injury variables. Level of Evidence: 2

Single-Stranded Condensation Stochastically Blocks G-Quadruplex Assembly in Human Telomeric RNA

"This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b00722."[EN] TERRA is an RNA molecule transcribed from human subtelomeric regions toward chromosome ends potentially involved in regulation of heterochromatin stability, semiconservative replication, and telomerase inhibition, among others. TERRA contains tandem repeats of the sequence GGGUUA, with a strong tendency to fold into a four-stranded arrangement known as a parallel G-quadruplex. Here, we demonstrate by using single-molecule force spectroscopy that this potential is limited by the inherent capacity of RNA to self-associate randomly and further condense into entropically more favorable structures. We stretched RNA constructions with more than four and less than eight hexanucleotide repeats, thus unable to form several G-quadruplexes in tandem, flanked by non-G-rich overhangs of random sequence by optical tweezers on a one by one basis. We found that condensed RNA stochastically blocks G-quadruplex folding pathways with a near 20% probability, a behavior that is not found in DNA analogous molecules.Dedicated to the memory of Alfredo Villasante. The authors thank E. Poyatos-Racionero for auxiliary experiments. I.G. is supported by Fundacion IMDEA Nanociencia and M.G. by a Juan de la Cierva contract (FJCI-2016-28474). This research received grants from the MINECO (MAT2015-71806-R and BFU2017-89707-P). IMDEA Nanociencia acknowledges support from the "Severo Ochoa" Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (MINECO, Grant SEV-2016-0686).Gutiérrez, I.; Garavís, M.; De Lorenzo, S.; Villasante, A.; González, C.; Arias-Gonzalez, JR. (2018). Single-Stranded Condensation Stochastically Blocks G-Quadruplex Assembly in Human Telomeric RNA. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. 9(10):2498-2503. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b00722S2498250391

Opioid and Non-Opioid Prescribing Rates for Ankle Fractures in Emergency Departments across the United States between 2006 and 2015

This presentation describes the percentage of patients prescribed a controlled and non-controlled medication in an United States Emergency Department for a diagnosed ankle fracture