Caracterización del hábitat del Pico dorsiblanco (Dendrocopos leucotos) y propuesta de gestión en los hayedos del monte Mortua (Navarra)

[EN] This Work is part of a larger project of the company Bioma Forestal. It takes place in the beech forests at the watershed between Mediterranean and Atlantic basins in the transition arch between the Cantabric Mountains and the Pyrenees. The studied species, Dendrocopos leucotos, is classified as endangered in Spain, so a detailed knowledge and a management proposal could help to its preservation. In the Mortua forest, 9 territories were found for the white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos). With the data available from these territories we will infer the main dasometric parameters of the woodpecker's habitat in Mortua forest. Several plots will be evaluated in each of these territories as well as in 9 other areas chosen at random where there is no evidence of the wood-pecker presence. That plots will be used as control areas. These results will be studied in order to draw conclusions and create a management proposal for the Mortua forest that could be extrapolated to other similar beech forest.[ES] El TFG se enmarca en un estudio a mayor escala que lleva a cabo la empresa Bioma Forestal en los hayedos de la divisoria de aguas atlántico-mediterránea en el arco de transición entre los Pirineos y la Cordillera cantábrica. La especie objeto de estudio, Dendrocopos leucotos, está catalogada en España como ¿en peligro de extinción¿, por lo que un mayor conocimiento de su hábitat y una propuesta de gestión pueden ayudar a la conservación de la misma. En el conjunto del monte de Mortua, se han encontrado 9 territorios con presencia de pico dorsiblanco (Dendrocopos leucotos). En el trabajo, se llevará a cabo un diseño muestral para tomar los principales parámetros dasométricos del hábitat de la especie en el monte Mortua. Se levantarán una serie de parcelas de inventario, tanto en estos 9 territorios como en otras 9 zonas elegidas al azar entre aquellas en las que no se ha detectado la presencia del pícido, utilizadas como zonas de contraste. Posteriormente se realizará un análisis estadístico de los datos, y una vez obtenidos estos resultados y analizada la problemática de conservación del hábitat se realizará una propuesta de gestión selvícola para la conservación de la especie en el monte Mortua, extrapolable a otros hayedos similares.Barnard Belenguer, BJ. (2015). Caracterización del hábitat del Pico dorsiblanco (Dendrocopos leucotos) y propuesta de gestión en los hayedos del monte Mortua (Navarra). http://hdl.handle.net/10251/55817.TFG

Adapting to Climate Change: The urgency and some challenges to begin

Our response to the challenge of climate change will shape our future in many different and crucial ways. Adaptation is about realizing the impacts of climate change and acting in such a way to limit negative impacts and embrace positive outcomes in order to reduce our vulnerability from the effects of climate change

Sensitivity of fluvial sediment source apportionment to mixing model assumptions: A Bayesian model comparison

Mixing models have become increasingly common tools for apportioning fluvial sediment load to various sediment sources across catchments using a wide variety of Bayesian and frequentist modeling approaches. In this study, we demonstrate how different model setups can impact upon resulting source apportionment estimates in a Bayesian framework via a one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) sensitivity analysis. We formulate 13 versions of a mixing model, each with different error assumptions and model structural choices, and apply them to sediment geochemistry data from the River Blackwater, Norfolk, UK, to apportion suspended particulate matter (SPM) contributions from three sources (arable topsoils, road verges, and subsurface material) under base flow conditions between August 2012 and August 2013. Whilst all 13 models estimate subsurface sources to be the largest contributor of SPM (median ∼76%), comparison of apportionment estimates reveal varying degrees of sensitivity to changing priors, inclusion of covariance terms, incorporation of time-variant distributions, and methods of proportion characterization. We also demonstrate differences in apportionment results between a full and an empirical Bayesian setup, and between a Bayesian and a frequentist optimization approach. This OFAT sensitivity analysis reveals that mixing model structural choices and error assumptions can significantly impact upon sediment source apportionment results, with estimated median contributions in this study varying by up to 21% between model versions. Users of mixing models are therefore strongly advised to carefully consider and justify their choice of model structure prior to conducting sediment source apportionment investigations

Gene silencing in tick cell lines using small interfering or long double-stranded RNA

Gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi) is an important research tool in many areas of biology. To effectively harness the power of this technique in order to explore tick functional genomics and tick-microorganism interactions, optimised parameters for RNAi-mediated gene silencing in tick cells need to be established. Ten cell lines from four economically important ixodid tick genera (Amblyomma, Hyalomma, Ixodes and Rhipicephalus including the sub-species Boophilus) were used to examine key parameters including small interfering RNA (siRNA), double stranded RNA (dsRNA), transfection reagent and incubation time for silencing virus reporter and endogenous tick genes. Transfection reagents were essential for the uptake of siRNA whereas long dsRNA alone was taken up by most tick cell lines. Significant virus reporter protein knockdown was achieved using either siRNA or dsRNA in all the cell lines tested. Optimum conditions varied according to the cell line. Consistency between replicates and duration of incubation with dsRNA were addressed for two Ixodes scapularis cell lines; IDE8 supported more consistent and effective silencing of the endogenous gene subolesin than ISE6, and highly significant knockdown of the endogenous gene 2I1F6 in IDE8 cells was achieved within 48 h incubation with dsRNA. In summary, this study shows that gene silencing by RNAi in tick cell lines is generally more efficient with dsRNA than with siRNA but results vary between cell lines and optimal parameters need to be determined for each experimental system

Satisfaction is not all – patients' perceptions of outcome of general practice consultations, a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Evaluation of outcome in general practice can be seen from different viewpoints. In this study we focus on the concepts patients use to describe the outcome of a consultation with a GP. METHOD: Patients were interviewed within a week after a consultation with a GP. The interviews were made with 20 patients in 5 focus groups and 8 individually. They were analysed with a phenomenographic research approach. RESULTS: From the patient's perspective, the outcome of a consultation is about cure or symptom relief, understanding, confirmation, reassurance, change in self-perception and satisfaction. CONCLUSION: General practice consultations are often more important for patients than generally supposed. Understanding is the most basic concept

Exploring holographic Composite Higgs models

Simple Composite Higgs models predict new vector-like fermions not too far from the electroweak scale, yet LHC limits are now sensitive to the TeV scale. Motivated by this tension, we explore the holographic dual of the minimal model, MCHM5, to try and alleviate this tension without increasing the fine-tuning in the Higgs potential. Interestingly, we find that lowering the UV cutoff in the 5D picture allows for heavier top partners and less fine-tuning. In the 4D dual this corresponds to increasing the number of “colours” N , thus increasing the decay constant of the Goldstone Higgs. This is essentially a ‘Little Randall-Sundrum Model’, which are known to reduce some flavour and electroweak constraints. Furthermore, in anticipation of the ongoing efforts at the LHC to put bounds on the top Yukawa, we demonstrate that deviations from the SM can be suppressed or enhanced with respect to what is expected from mere symmetry arguments in 4D. We conclude that the 5D holographic realisation of the MCHM5 with a small UV cutoff is not in tension with the current experimental data

Tuberculosis in Antiretroviral Treatment Services in Resource-Limited Settings: Addressing the Challenges of Screening and Diagnosis

The high burden of tuberculosis (TB) among patients accessing antiretroviral treatment (ART) services in resource-limited settings is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and is associated with nosocomial transmission risk. These risks are greatly compounded by multidrug-resistant disease. Screening and diagnosis of TB in this clinical setting is difficult. However, progress has been made in defining a high-sensitivity, standardized symptom screening tool that assesses a combination of symptoms, rather than relying on report of cough alone. Moreover, newly emerging diagnostic tools show great promise in providing more rapid diagnosis of TB, which is predominantly sputum smear–negative. These include culture-based systems, simplified versions of nucleic acid amplification tests (such as the Xpert MTB/RIF assay), and detection of lipoarabinomannan antigen in urine. In addition, new molecular diagnostics now permit rapid detection of drug resistance. Further development and implementation of these tools is vital to permit rapid and effective screening for TB in ART services, which is an essential component of patient care

Physical activity and mental health in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Physical activity is prescribed as a component of primary management for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). This study investigates the association between physical activity and mental health as well as the exercise barriers, motivators and support providers for younger women with and without PCOS to assist in physical activity uptake and prescription for these women