Sea Level in the Strait of Gibraltar: Tides

A network of tide gauges with eight observation recording points was in operation in the Strait of Gibraltar during the years 1984 and 1985, which made it possible to draw up detailed charts of the tides showing their refined structure. For the first order, the Strait of Gibraltar represents the nodal line of the stationary wave of the western Mediterranean, which, hypothetically, would end at the Cadiz meridian (6°17.0W). The tide is basically semi-diurnal; on average, 90% of the energy is associated with the second order and, for this, the Strait of Gibraltar tends to represent an antinode of the stationary wave, although the influence of the bottom topography and the rotation is interpreted in phase delays in the sill area (slightly progressive wave) and in increased non-linear constituents of higher orders. The radiational tide S is evaluated in the area studied and it is ascertained that it shows the same characteristics as the tides having strictly gravitational constituents, which implies that it is fundamentally co-oscillating. Order 4 displays characteristics of resonant amplification due to the existence of the free oscillation mode of the western Mediterranean basin the period of which is close to 6 hours. Of order 3 it should be stressed that M3, though small, is perfectly detectable in the area

Direct and indirect effects of planning density, nitrogenous fertilizer and host plant resistance on rice herbivores and their natural enemies

In rice ecosystems, seeding densities can be adjusted to compensate for lower nitrogen levels that reduce GHG emissions, or to increase farm profitability. However, density-induced changes to plant anatomy could affect herbivore-rice interactions, and alter arthropod community dynamics. We conducted an experiment that varied transplanting density (low or high), nitrogenous fertilizer (0, 60 or 150 kg added ha−1) and rice variety (resistant or susceptible to phloem-feeding insects) over two rice-growing seasons. Yields per plot increased with added nitrogen, but were not affected by variety or transplanting density. Planthopper and leafhopper densities were lower on resistant rice and in high-density field plots. Nitrogen was associated with higher densities of planthoppers, but lower densities of leafhoppers per plot. High planting densities and high nitrogen also increased rodent damage. The structure of arthropod herbivore communities was largely determined by season and transplanting density. Furthermore, two abundant planthoppers (Sogatella furcifera (Horváth) and Nilaparvata lugens (Stål)) segregated to low and high-density plots, respectively. The structure of decomposer communities was determined by season and fertilizer regime; total decomposer abundance increased in high-nitrogen plots during the dry season. Predator community structure was determined by season and total prey abundance (including decomposers) with several spider species dominating in plots with high prey abundance during the wet season. Our results indicate how rice plasticity and arthropod biodiversity promote stability and resilience in rice ecosystems. We recommend that conservation biological control, which includes a reduction or elimination of insecticides, could be promoted to attain sustainable rice production systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Structural analysis on mutation residues and interfacial water molecules for human TIM disease understanding

10.1186/1471-2105-14-S16-S11BMC Bioinformatics14SUPPL16-BBMI

Progressive dry-core-wet-rim hydration trend in a nested-ring topology of protein binding interfaces

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Water is an integral part of protein complexes. It shapes protein binding sites by filling cavities and it bridges local contacts by hydrogen bonds. However, water molecules are usually not included in protein interface models in the past, and few distribution profiles of water molecules in protein binding interfaces are known.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this work, we use a tripartite protein-water-protein interface model and a nested-ring atom re-organization method to detect hydration trends and patterns from an interface data set which involves immobilized interfacial water molecules. This data set consists of 206 obligate interfaces, 160 non-obligate interfaces, and 522 crystal packing contacts. The two types of biological interfaces are found to be drier than the crystal packing interfaces in our data, agreeable to a hydration pattern reported earlier although the previous definition of immobilized water is pure distance-based. The biological interfaces in our data set are also found to be subject to stronger water exclusion in their formation. To study the overall hydration trend in protein binding interfaces, atoms at the same burial level in each tripartite protein-water-protein interface are organized into a ring. The rings of an interface are then ordered with the core atoms placed at the middle of the structure to form a nested-ring topology. We find that water molecules on the rings of an interface are generally configured in a dry-core-wet-rim pattern with a progressive level-wise solvation towards to the rim of the interface. This solvation trend becomes even sharper when counterexamples are separated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Immobilized water molecules are regularly organized in protein binding interfaces and they should be carefully considered in the studies of protein hydration mechanisms.</p

Evidence of the role of tick subolesin in gene expression

Background: Subolesin is an evolutionary conserved protein that was discovered recently in Ixodes scapularis as a tick protective antigen and has a role in tick blood digestion, reproduction and development. In other organisms, subolesin orthologs may be involved in the control of developmental processes. Because of the profound effect of subolesin knockdown in ticks and other organisms, we hypothesized that subolesin plays a role in gene expression, and therefore affects multiple cellular processes. The objective of this study was to provide evidence for the role of subolesin in gene expression.Results: Two subolesin-interacting proteins were identified and characterized by yeast two-hybrid screen, co-affinity purification and RNA interference (RNAi). The effect of subolesin knockdown on the tick gene expression pattern was characterized by microarray analysis and demonstrated that subolesin RNAi affects the expression of genes involved in multiple cellular pathways. The analysis of subolesin and interacting protein sequences identified regulatory motifs and predicted the presence of conserved protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation sites.Conclusion: Collectively, these results provide evidence that subolesin plays a role in gene expression in ticks.Peer reviewedVeterinary PathobiologyBiochemistry and Molecular Biolog

Clinical outcomes resulting from telemedicine interventions: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: The use of telemedicine is growing, but its efficacy for achieving comparable or improved clinical outcomes has not been established in many medical specialties. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the efficacy of telemedicine interventions for health outcomes in two classes of application: home-based and office/hospital-based. METHODS: Data sources for the study included deports of studies from the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and HealthSTAR databases; searching of bibliographies of review and other articles; and consultation of printed resources as well as investigators in the field. We included studies that were relevant to at least one of the two classes of telemedicine and addressed the assessment of efficacy for clinical outcomes with data of reported results. We excluded studies where the service did not historically require face-to-face encounters (e.g., radiology or pathology diagnosis). All included articles were abstracted and graded for quality and direction of the evidence. RESULTS: A total of 25 articles met inclusion criteria and were assessed. The strongest evidence for the efficacy of telemedicine in clinical outcomes comes from home-based telemedicine in the areas of chronic disease management, hypertension, and AIDS. The value of home glucose monitoring in diabetes mellitus is conflicting. There is also reasonable evidence that telemedicine is comparable to face-to-face care in emergency medicine and is beneficial in surgical and neonatal intensive care units as well as patient transfer in neurosurgery. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the widespread use of telemedicine in virtually all major areas of health care, evidence concerning the benefits of its use exists in only a small number of them. Further randomized controlled trials must be done to determine where its use is most effective

Determinantes Nacionais e Setoriais da Estrutura de Capital na América Latina

This study identified the role of the national environment (the Macroeconomy, Financial Development and Institutional Quality) and industry characteristics (Munificence, Dynamism, Concentration, Life Cycle, Technological Efficiency Dispersion, Product Quality Dispersion, Customer Bargaining Power and Supplier Bargaining Power) on debt of 612 listed companies from 7 Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela). For comparison purposes, the analysis is also extended to 847 U.S. companies. The period of study is 1996-2009 and the analysis employed a Hierarchical Linear Model, which controls the effects according to the level of the variables (country, industry, time and firm). The results suggest that Financial Development eases access to external funds and Institutional Quality is negatively related to firm Leverage. The research also finds evidence that institutional quality can promote asymmetrical development between stock markets and credit markets