Plasticity in the morphology of the fused frontals of Albanerpetontidae (Lissamphibia; Allocaudata)

Albanerpetontidae form an enigmatic extinct group of lissamphibians, ranging from the early Bathonian to the early Pleistocene. The Upper Jurassic outcrops of Portugal yield a large collection of material, suitable for addressing the intraspecific variation in and diagnostic potential of the characteristic fused frontals. We revise 58 specimens from the Guimarota beds of the Kimmeridgian Alcobaca Formation and describe 62 new frontal bones from the Kimmeridgian - Tithonian Lourinha Formation. Smaller specimens exhibit a vermicular dorsal ornamentation, while it is polygonal in larger specimens and other albanerpetontids. Compared to small specimens, larger specimens display: (1) larger ventrolateral crests extending posteriorly after the parietal margin; (2) a relatively shorter internasal process; (3) a frontal width across posterior edges relatively smaller; and (4) a ventromedian crest less pronounced. Morphometric analyses suggest a single species with different ontogenetic stages. Specimens are attributed to aff. Celtedens sp., based on a bell-shaped outline with a curved orbital margin (although variable in Portuguese specimens), and a flabellate, bulbous-shaped internasal process. The species is more similar to C. megacephalus than C. ibericus, but its phylogenetic position comprises an unresolved trichotomy. Our results show that intraspecific variation and homoplasy render the fused frontal non-diagnostic below the generic level

Block to granular-like transition in dense bubble flows

We have experimentally investigated 2-dimensional dense bubble flows underneath inclined planes. Velocity profiles and velocity fluctuations have been measured. A broad second-order phase transition between two dynamical regimes is observed as a function of the tilt angle $\theta$. For low $\theta$ values, a block motion is observed. For high $\theta$ values, the velocity profile becomes curved and a shear velocity gradient appears in the flow.Comment: Europhys. Lett. (2003) in pres

Ocean urea fertilization for carbon credits poses high ecological risks

The proposed plan for enrichment of the Sulu Sea, Philippines, a region of rich marine biodiversity, with thousands of tonnes of urea in order to stimulate algal blooms and sequester carbon is flawed for multiple reasons. Urea is preferentially used as a nitrogen source by some cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates, many of which are neutrally or positively buoyant. Biological pumps to the deep sea are classically leaky, and the inefficient burial of new biomass makes the estimation of a net loss of carbon from the atmosphere questionable at best. The potential for growth of toxic dinoflagellates is also high, as many grow well on urea and some even increase their toxicity when grown on urea. Many toxic dinoflagellates form cysts which can settle to the sediment and germinate in subsequent years, forming new blooms even without further fertilization. If large-scale blooms do occur, it is likely that they will contribute to hypoxia in the bottom waters upon decomposition. Lastly, urea production requires fossil fuel usage, further limiting the potential for net carbon sequestration. The environmental and economic impacts are potentially great and need to be rigorously assessed. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Draft genome sequence of multidrug-resistant vibrio parahaemolyticus strain PH698, infecting penaeid shrimp in the Philippines

The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains in diverse settings has been reported globally. In the Philippine shrimp aquaculture industry, antibiotics are used for the treatment of bacterial diseases during the production cycle. We report the draft genome of Vibrio parahaemolyticus PH698, a multidrug-resistant strain isolated from a Philippine shrimp farm

Arte, arquitectura y emblemática en tres certámenes poéticos zaragozanos del Siglo de Oro

Por su propia naturaleza, el certamen poético presenta un marcado carácter literario que, sin embargo, no excluye su dimensión artística, sobre todo en la categoría dedicada a la compo-sición de jeroglíficos. Así queda de manifiesto en sendos certámenes zaragozanos celebrados en 1614 y 1628 en honor a la beata Teresa de Jesús y a la Virgen del Pilar, que contaron con la participación del tracista descalzo fray Alberto de la Madre de Dios y del pintor Jusepe Martínez respectivamente. A ello se suma el ejemplo de la arquitectura al servicio del jeroglífico, con la Cruz del Coso como protagonista de una empresa para el recién nombrado inquisidor general fray Luis Aliaga en el certamen poético organizado en su honor en 1619. Este trabajo propone la reconstrucción material de los jeroglíficos zaragozanos, a través de los cuales estableceremos las conexiones entre arte, poesía y emblemática tan frecuentes en el marco de la fiesta barroca del Siglo de Oro.By its very nature, the poetic contest presents a marked literary character which, however, does not exclude its atistic dimension, mainly in the category of hieroglyphs. We can verify this in both Zaragoza contests held in 1614 and 1628 in honor of Blessed Teresa de Jesus and Virgin of Pilar, which counted with the participation of the Barefoot Carmelite architect fray Alberto de la Madre de Dios and the painter Jusepe Martinez respectively. To this we can add the example of architecture in the service of the hieroglyphic, as shows the Cross of the Coso, protagonist of an imprese for the newly appointed General Inquisitor fray Luis Aliaga in the poetic contest organized in his honor in 1619. This paper proposes the material reconstruction of the Zaragoza hieroglyphs, through which we’ll establish the relationship among Art, Poetry and Emblematic Literature, so frequent in the context of Spanish Golden Age festivities

Casa, familia, heredad. La colección fotográficade caseríos vascos de Fr. Pedro de Madrid, 1912

Este trabajo pretende dar a conocer la colección fotográfica de caseríos vascos del Valle de Baztán (Navarra) que bajo el lema Echezarra (Casa vieja) resultó premiada en el Certamen fotográfico- social celebrado en 1912 en Pamplona, poniendo de relieve su carácter inédito y su notable valor artístico, documental e ideológico; no en vano, las imágenes conjugan en armonía caserío, familia y heredad, para componer un inmejorable testimonio de los modos de vida en Baztán de hace un siglo, participando plenamente de la visión arcádica de los valores encarnados por el campesino vasco, alejada de la realidad, pero tan arraigada en el pensamiento tradicional de la época. Y, a su vez, quiere resaltar la figura prácticamente desconocida de su autor, Fr. Pedro de Madrid (Pedro Satué), religioso capuchino que se inició en las técnicas del arte fotográfico en el Colegio de Lekaroz para, una vez secularizado, acabar desarrollando la profesión en el estudio que abrió en Madrid, especializándose en el retrato artístico.This paper seeks to highlight the photographic collection of Basque farmhouses of Baztan Valley (Navarra) that, under the motto Echezarra (Old House), was awarded in the Photographic-Social Competition held in 1912 in Pamplona, emphasizing its unpublished nature and itsremarkable artistic, documentary and ideological value; not in vain, the images combine in harmony farmhouse, family and estate, to create a superb testimony of lifestyles in Baztan Valley of a Century ago, participating fully in the arcadic vision of the values embodied by the Basque farmer, far from reality but deeply rooted in the traditional thinking of the time. And, at the same time, it wants to highlight the virtually unknown figure of its author, Fr. Pedro de Madrid (Pedro Satué), Capuchin Friar started in the photographic techniques in the Convent of Lekaroz for, secularized once, develop the profession in the Studio that he opened in Madrid, where he specialized in artistic portrait

Thick surface flows of granular materials: The effect of the velocity profile on the avalanche amplitude

A few years ago, Bouchaud al. introduced a phenomenological model to describe surface flows of granular materials [J. Phys. Fr. I, 4, 1383 (1994)]. According to this model, one can distinguish between a static phase and a rolling phase that are able to exchange grains through an erosion/accretion mechanism. Boutreux et al. [Phys. Rev. E, 58, 4692 (1998)] proposed a modification of the exchange term in order to describe thicker flows where saturation effects are present. However, these approaches assumed that the downhill convection velocity of the grains is constant inside the rolling phase, a hypothesis that is not verified experimentally. In this article, we therefore modify the above models by introducing a velocity profile in the flow, and study the physical consequences of this modification in the simple situation of an avalanche in an open cell. We present a complete analytical description of the avalanche in the case of a linear velocity profile, and generalize the results for a power-law dependency. We show, in particular, that the amplitude of the avalanche is strongly affected by the velocity profile.Comment: 7 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Critical appraisal of bilastine for the treatment of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and urticaria

Bilastine is a second generation antihistamine indicated for the treatment of seasonal or perennial allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and chronic urticaria with a daily dose of 20 mg, in adults and children over 12 years of age. The efficacy of bilastine has been shown to be similar to that of the comparator drugs for the control of the nasal and nonnasal symptoms of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, while also showing a subjective improvement in the quality of life and in overall clinical impression. For chronic urticaria the symptoms (itching and the development of papules) lessens from the second day of treatment onwards, in a similar way to other antihistamines used as comparators. Bilastine should not be administered at meal times to avoid interference with the absorption process. It is not distributed to the central nervous system, is scarcely metabolized, and elimination is through the kidneys and feces, with a 14-hour elimination half-life. It has no effect on cytochrome P450. During clinical development, bilastine was shown to be a drug that is adequately tolerated, with a similar effect to placebo with regard to drowsiness and changes in heart rate. In relation to its use, headaches were the most frequent adverse effect to be reported. No cardiotoxic effects have been observed, and the therapeutic dose does not alter the state of alertness

La Cantalera: an exceptional window onto the vertebrate biodiversity of the Hauterivian-Barremian transition in the Iberian Peninsula.

La Cantalera is an accumulation site for fossil vertebrates consisting mainly of teeth and isolated postcranial remains. It has the greatest vertebrate biodiversity of any site from the Hauterivian-Barremian transition in the Iberian Peninsula. Up to now, 31 vertebrate taxa have been recognized: an osteichthyan (Teleostei indet.), two amphibians (Albanerpetonidae indet. and Discoglossidae indet.), a chelonian (Pleurosternidae? indet.), a lizard (Paramacellodidae? indet.), four crocodylomorphs (cf. Theriosuchus sp., Bernissartiidae indet., Goniopholididae indet., cf. Lisboasaurus sp.), two pterosaurs (Istiodactylidae? indet., Ornithocheiridae? indet.), four ornithopod dinosaurs (Iguanodontoidea indet., Hadrosauroidea? indet., “Hypsilophodontidae” indet., Rhabdodontidae? indet.), a thyreophoran (Polacanthidae indet.), a sauropod (Euhelopodidae indet.), eleven theropods (Carcharodontosauridae? indet., Baryonychinae indet., aff. Paronychodon sp., Maniraptora indet. 1-3, Dromaeosaurinae indet. 1-3, Velociraptorinae indet., Avialae? indet.) and three or four multituberculate mammals (Cantalera abadi, Eobaatar sp., Plagiaulacidae or Eobaataridae gen. et sp. indet., “Plagiaulacida” indet.). Nine ootaxa have also been distinguished at the site of La Cantalera. Oofamilies assigned to dinosaurs (Elongaloolithidae, Prismatoolithidae, cf. Spheroolithidae), to crocodiles (Krokolithidae) and eggshells of two oofamilies incertidae sedis are represented. This association is consistent with the record of bone and tooth remains from the site. La Cantalera was formed in a marshy environment where there was an intermittent body of water. The great majority of the vertebrate fossil remains lack evidence of transport, so the preserved association is a good representation of the vertebrate ecosystem in or around the marshy area of La Cantalera. The vertebrate association of La Cantalera displays certain differences with respect to those from lacustrine environments of the Hauterivian-Barremian transition of the Iberian Range. These differences include, for example, the absence of Chondrichthyes, the merely token presence of the osteichthyans, the scarcity of chelonians, the presence of exclusively multituberculate mammals, the lower diversity of sauropods and the greater diversity of theropods