A new method to quantify and compare the multiple components of fitness-A study case with kelp niche partition by divergent microstage adaptations to Temperature

Point 1 Management of crops, commercialized or protected species, plagues or life-cycle evolution are subjects requiring comparisons among different demographic strategies. The simpler methods fail in relating changes in vital rates with changes in population viability whereas more complex methods lack accuracy by neglecting interactions among vital rates. Point 2 The difference between the fitness (evaluated by the population growth rate.) of two alternative demographies is decomposed into the contributions of the differences between the pair-wised vital rates and their interactions. This is achieved through a full Taylor expansion (i.e. remainder = 0) of the demographic model. The significance of each term is determined by permutation tests under the null hypothesis that all demographies come from the same pool. Point 3 An example is given with periodic demographic matrices of the microscopic haploid phase of two kelp cryptic species observed to partition their niche occupation along the Chilean coast. The method provided clear and synthetic results showing conditional differentiation of reproduction is an important driver for their differences in fitness along the latitudinal temperature gradient. But it also demonstrated that interactions among vital rates cannot be neglected as they compose a significant part of the differences between demographies. Point 4 This method allows researchers to access the effects of multiple effective changes in a life-cycle from only two experiments. Evolutionists can determine with confidence the effective causes for changes in fitness whereas population managers can determine best strategies from simpler experimental designs.CONICYT-FRENCH EMBASSADY Ph.D. gran

The granite and glacial landscapes of the Peneda-Gerês National Park

Granite and glacial landforms are presented as the main geomorphological landscape features of the Peneda-Gerês National Park. The park was established in 1971 and it is the only national park and most important protected area in Portugal. The aesthetic attractiveness is supported mainly by the distinct granite landscape of the Gerês and Peneda Mountains, where the post-orogenic Variscan Gerês gran- ite facies occurs. The rugged relief is poorly covered by vegetation, differentiating it from the surrounding moun- tainous areas and the most distinctive landforms are bornhardts, locally named as “medas”. Typical glacial landforms, such as U-shaped valleys, cirques and moraines, express the sheltered character of a low-altitude glaciation, which is of great significance in the context of the Pleistocene glaciation in Southern Europe.This work is co-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, based on COMPETE 2020 (Programa Operacional da Competitividade e Inter nacionalização), project ICT (UID/GEO/04683/2013) with reference POCI-01-0145- FEDER-007690 and Portuguese national funds pro vided by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologi

The decay Bs -> mu+ mu-: updated SUSY constraints and prospects

We perform a study of the impact of the recently released limits on BR(Bs -> mu+ mu-) by LHCb and CMS on several SUSY models. We show that the obtained constraints can be superior to those which are derived from direct searches for SUSY particles in some scenarios, and the use of a double ratio of purely leptonic decays involving Bs -> mu+ mu- can further strengthen such constraints. We also discuss the experimental sensitivity and prospects for observation of Bs -> mu+ mu- during the sqrt(s)=7 TeV run of the LHC, and its potential implications.Comment: 30 pages, 21 figures. v2: Improved discussion of constraints from B -> tau nu, references adde

Consistent phenological shifts in the making of a biodiversity hotspot: the Cape flora

Background The best documented survival responses of organisms to past climate change on short (glacial-interglacial) timescales are distributional shifts. Despite ample evidence on such timescales for local adaptations of populations at specific sites, the long-term impacts of such changes on evolutionary significant units in response to past climatic change have been little documented. Here we use phylogenies to reconstruct changes in distribution and flowering ecology of the Cape flora - South Africa's biodiversity hotspot - through a period of past (Neogene and Quaternary) changes in the seasonality of rainfall over a timescale of several million years. Results Forty-three distributional and phenological shifts consistent with past climatic change occur across the flora, and a comparable number of clades underwent adaptive changes in their flowering phenology (9 clades; half of the clades investigated) as underwent distributional shifts (12 clades; two thirds of the clades investigated). Of extant Cape angiosperm species, 14-41% have been contributed by lineages that show distributional shifts consistent with past climate change, yet a similar proportion (14-55%) arose from lineages that shifted flowering phenology. Conclusions Adaptive changes in ecology at the scale we uncover in the Cape and consistent with past climatic change have not been documented for other floras. Shifts in climate tolerance appear to have been more important in this flora than is currently appreciated, and lineages that underwent such shifts went on to contribute a high proportion of the flora's extant species diversity. That shifts in phenology, on an evolutionary timescale and on such a scale, have not yet been detected for other floras is likely a result of the method used; shifts in flowering phenology cannot be detected in the fossil record

Evolutionary relationships among barley and <i>Arabidopsis</i> core circadian clock and clock-associated genes

The circadian clock regulates a multitude of plant developmental and metabolic processes. In crop species, it contributes significantly to plant performance and productivity and to the adaptation and geographical range over which crops can be grown. To understand the clock in barley and how it relates to the components in the Arabidopsis thaliana clock, we have performed a systematic analysis of core circadian clock and clock-associated genes in barley, Arabidopsis and another eight species including tomato, potato, a range of monocotyledonous species and the moss, Physcomitrella patens. We have identified orthologues and paralogues of Arabidopsis genes which are conserved in all species, monocot/dicot differences, species-specific differences and variation in gene copy number (e.g. gene duplications among the various species). We propose that the common ancestor of barley and Arabidopsis had two-thirds of the key clock components identified in Arabidopsis prior to the separation of the monocot/dicot groups. After this separation, multiple independent gene duplication events took place in both monocot and dicot ancestors. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00239-015-9665-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Normal reference values of strength in pelvic floor muscle of women: a descriptive and inferential study

Background: To describe the clinical, functional and quality of life characteristics in women with Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI). In addition, to analyse the relationship between the variables reported by the patients and those informed by the clinicians, and the relationship between instrumented variables and the manual pelvic floor strength assessment.Methods: Two hundred and eighteen women participated in this observational, analytical study. An interview about Urinary Incontinence and the quality of life questionnaires (EuroQoL-5D and SF-12) were developed as outcomes reported by the patients. Manual muscle testing and perineometry as outcomes informed by the clinician were assessed. Descriptive and correlation analysis were carried out.Results: The average age of the subjects was (39.93 ± 12.27 years), (24.49 ± 3.54 BMI). The strength evaluated by manual testing of the right levator ani muscles was 7.79 ± 2.88, the strength of left levator ani muscles was 7.51 ± 2.91 and the strength assessed with the perineometer was 7.64 ± 2.55. A positive correlation was found between manual muscle testing and perineometry of the pelvic floor muscles (p < .001). No correlation was found between outcomes of quality of life reported by the patients and outcomes of functional capacity informed by the physiotherapist.Conclusion: A stratification of the strength of pelvic floor muscles in a normal distribution of a large sample of women with SUI was done, which provided the clinic with a baseline. There is a relationship between the strength of the pelvic muscles assessed manually and that obtained by a perineometer in women with SUI. There was no relationship between these values of strength and quality of life perceived

El Cuadro de Mando Integral como herramienta para gestores deportivos: un acercamiento desde el béisbol cubano

The study of Management as a Science and its contextualization in the sport field is essential at present for the success of the sport managers. Previously only certain kinds of game indicators were considered in the evaluation of the team results but today new horizons are opened to other perspectives. The use of the Balanced Scorecard as a tool to translate the strategy into actions and also for the control management in the organizations has been extended all over the sport world. It also enables the control and evaluation of some aspects as the motivation and the preparation of the athletes and technicians, the perception and the satisfaction of the fans, the fulfillment of the social responsibility or the financial results. This article is the result of some reflections, experiences and the literature review, allowing an approach to the current Cuban baseball context.El estudio de la Administración como ciencia y su contextualización en el terreno deportivo, es determinante en la actualidad para el éxito de los gestores deportivos. Si, con anterioridad, solo eran tenidos en cuenta determinados indicadores de juego en la evaluación del resultado de un equipo, hoy se abre el horizonte a otras perspectivas. Tal es el caso del empleo del Cuadro de Mando Integral (CMI), el cual se ha convertido poco a poco en herramienta para traducir la estrategia en acciones y para el control de la gestión en estas organizaciones. Su uso permite combinar la evaluación de resultados deportivos con aspectos como la motivación o preparación de atletas y técnicos; la percepción o satisfacción de los aficionados; el cumplimiento de la responsabilidad social, o los resultados financieros. Este artículo es fruto de las reflexiones, experiencias y revisión de la literatura, con un acercamiento al contexto del béisbol cubano

Behavior and Impact of Zirconium in the Soil–Plant System: Plant Uptake and Phytotoxicity

Because of the large number of sites they pollute, toxic metals that contaminate terrestrial ecosystems are increasingly of environmental and sanitary concern (Uzu et al. 2010, 2011; Shahid et al. 2011a, b, 2012a). Among such metals is zirconium (Zr), which has the atomic number 40 and is a transition metal that resembles titanium in physical and chemical properties (Zaccone et al. 2008). Zr is widely used in many chemical industry processes and in nuclear reactors (Sandoval et al. 2011; Kamal et al. 2011), owing to its useful properties like hardness, corrosion-resistance and permeable to neutrons (Mushtaq 2012). Hence, the recent increased use of Zr by industry, and the occurrence of the Chernobyl and Fukashima catastrophe have enhanced environmental levels in soil and waters (Yirchenko and Agapkina 1993; Mosulishvili et al. 1994 ; Kruglov et al. 1996)

Morphological variation in a secondary contact between divergent lineages of brown trout (Salmo trutta) from the Iberian Peninsula

The aim of this study was to analyze the morphological variation of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in the Duero basin, an Atlantic river basin in the Iberian Peninsula, where a spatial segregation of two divergent lineages was previously reported, based on isozyme, microsatellite and mtDNA data. In these studies, two divergent pure regions (Pisuerga and Lower-course) and several hybrid populations between them were identified. Morphological variation was evaluated in 11 populations representative of the genetic differentiation previously observed in the Duero basin, using multivariate analysis on 12 morphometric and 4 meristic traits. A large differentiation between populations was observed (interpopulation component of variance: 41.8%), similar to that previously detected with allozymes and microsatellites. Morphometric differentiation was also reflected by the high classification success of pure and hybrid individuals to their respective populations, using multivariate discriminant functions (94.1% and 79.0%, respectively). All multivariate and clustering analyses performed demonstrated a strong differentiation between the pure regions. The hybrid populations, though showing large differentiation among them, evidenced an intermediate position between the pure samples. Head and body shape traits were the most discriminant among the morphometric characters, while pectoral rays and gillrakers were the most discriminant among the meristic traits. These results confirmed the high divergence of the brown trout from the Duero basin and suggest some traits on which selection could be acting to explain the spatial segregation observed