Variability of coastal and ocean water temperature in the upper 700 m along the western Iberian Peninsula from 1975 to 2006

Temperature is observed to have different trends at coastal and ocean locations along the western Iberian Peninsula from 1975 to 2006, which corresponds to the last warming period in the area under study. The analysis was carried out by means of the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA). Reanalysis data are available at monthly scale with a horizontal resolution of 0.5° × 0.5° and a vertical resolution of 40 levels, which allows obtaining information beneath the sea surface. Only the first 21 vertical levels (from 5.0 m to 729.35 m) were considered here, since the most important changes in heat content observed for the world ocean during the last decades, correspond to the upper 700 m. Warming was observed to be considerably higher at ocean locations than at coastal ones. Ocean warming ranged from values on the order of 0.3 °C dec(-1) near surface to less than 0.1 °C dec(-1) at 500 m, while coastal warming showed values close to 0.2 °C dec(-1) near surface, decreasing rapidly below 0.1 °C dec(-1) for depths on the order of 50 m. The heat content anomaly for the upper 700 m, showed a sharp increase from coast (0.46 Wm(-2)) to ocean (1.59 Wm(-2)). The difference between coastal and ocean values was related to the presence of coastal upwelling, which partially inhibits the warming from surface of near shore water.publishe

Emergent global patterns of ecosystem structure and function from a mechanistic general ecosystem model

Anthropogenic activities are causing widespread degradation of ecosystems worldwide, threatening the ecosystem services upon which all human life depends. Improved understanding of this degradation is urgently needed to improve avoidance and mitigation measures. One tool to assist these efforts is predictive models of ecosystem structure and function that are mechanistic: based on fundamental ecological principles. Here we present the first mechanistic General Ecosystem Model (GEM) of ecosystem structure and function that is both global and applies in all terrestrial and marine environments. Functional forms and parameter values were derived from the theoretical and empirical literature where possible. Simulations of the fate of all organisms with body masses between 10 µg and 150,000 kg (a range of 14 orders of magnitude) across the globe led to emergent properties at individual (e.g., growth rate), community (e.g., biomass turnover rates), ecosystem (e.g., trophic pyramids), and macroecological scales (e.g., global patterns of trophic structure) that are in general agreement with current data and theory. These properties emerged from our encoding of the biology of, and interactions among, individual organisms without any direct constraints on the properties themselves. Our results indicate that ecologists have gathered sufficient information to begin to build realistic, global, and mechanistic models of ecosystems, capable of predicting a diverse range of ecosystem properties and their response to human pressures

Gas Accretion and Galactic Chemical Evolution: Theory and Observations

This chapter reviews how galactic inflows influence galaxy metallicity. The goal is to discuss predictions from theoretical models, but particular emphasis is placed on the insights that result from using models to interpret observations. Even as the classical G-dwarf problem endures in the latest round of observational confirmation, a rich and tantalizing new phenomenology of relationships between $M_*$, $Z$, SFR, and gas fraction is emerging both in observations and in theoretical models. A consensus interpretation is emerging in which star-forming galaxies do most of their growing in a quiescent way that balances gas inflows and gas processing, and metal dilution with enrichment. Models that explicitly invoke this idea via equilibrium conditions can be used to infer inflow rates from observations, while models that do not assume equilibrium growth tend to recover it self-consistently. Mergers are an overall subdominant mechanism for delivering fresh gas to galaxies, but they trigger radial flows of previously-accreted gas that flatten radial gas-phase metallicity gradients and temporarily suppress central metallicities. Radial gradients are generically expected to be steep at early times and then flattened by mergers and enriched inflows of recycled gas at late times. However, further theoretical work is required in order to understand how to interpret observations. Likewise, more observational work is needed in order to understand how metallicity gradients evolve to high redshifts.Comment: Invited review to appear in Gas Accretion onto Galaxies, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, eds. A. J. Fox & R. Dav\'e, to be published by Springer. 29 pages, 2 figure

Trypanosoma cruzi Immune Response Modulation Decreases Microbiota in Rhodnius prolixus Gut and Is Crucial for Parasite Survival and Development

Trypanosoma cruzi in order to complete its development in the digestive tract of Rhodnius prolixus needs to overcome the immune reactions and microbiota trypanolytic activity of the gut. We demonstrate that in R. prolixus following infection with epimastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi clone Dm28c and, in comparison with uninfected control insects, the midgut contained (i) fewer bacteria, (ii) higher parasite numbers, and (iii) reduced nitrite and nitrate production and increased phenoloxidase and antibacterial activities. In addition, in insects pre-treated with antibiotic and then infected with Dm28c, there were also reduced bacteria numbers and a higher parasite load compared with insects solely infected with parasites. Furthermore, and in contrast to insects infected with Dm28c, infection with T. cruzi Y strain resulted in a slight decreased numbers of gut bacteria but not sufficient to mediate a successful parasite infection. We conclude that infection of R. prolixus with the T. cruzi Dm28c clone modifies the host gut immune responses to decrease the microbiota population and these changes are crucial for the parasite development in the insect gut

Environmental enrichment reduces signs of boredom in caged mink

Animals housed in impoverished cages are often labelled 'bored'. They have also been called 'apathetic' or 'depressed', particularly when profoundly inactive. However, these terms are rarely operationally defined and validated. As a negative state caused by under-stimulation, boredom should increase interest in stimuli of all kinds. Apathy (lack of interest), by contrast, should manifest as decreased interest in all stimuli, while anhedonia (loss of pleasure, a depressive symptom) should specifically decrease interest in normally rewarding stimuli. We tested the hypotheses that mink, a model carnivore, experience more boredom, depression-like apathy, or anhedonia in non-enriched (NE) cages than in complex, enriched (E) cages. We exposed 29 subjects (13 E, 16 NE) to ten stimuli categorized a priori as aversive (e.g. air puffs), rewarding (e.g. evoking chasing) or ambiguous/neutral (e.g. candles). Interest in stimuli was assessed via latencies to contact, contact durations, and durations oriented to stimuli. NE mink contacted all stimuli faster (P = 0.003) than E mink, and spent longer oriented to/in contact with them, albeit only significantly so for ambiguous ones (treatment*type P<0.013). With stimulus category removed from statistical models, interest in all stimuli was consistently higher among NE mink (P<0.0001 for all measures). NE mink also consumed more food rewards (P = 0.037). Finally, we investigated whether lying down while awake and stereotypic behaviour (both increased by NE housing) predicted these responses. Lying awake positively co-varied with certain measures of increased exploration. In contrast, stereotypic 'scrabbling' or locomotion (e.g. pacing) did not. Overall, NE mink showed no evidence of apathy or depression, but instead a heightened investigation of diverse stimuli consistent with boredom. This state was potentially indicated by spending much time lying still but awake (although this result requires replication). Boredom can thus be operationalized and assessed empirically in non-human animals. It can also be reduced by environmental enrichment

Top management team faultlines and firm performance: examining the CEO-TMT interface

Prior research indicates that the relationship between top management team (TMT) faultlines and firm performance is equivocal. We shed new light on this topic by highlighting the moderating role of the CEO–TMT interface. Analyzing data from large international firms over the period 2005–2009 (347 firm-year combinations), we find that the performance effect of knowledge-based TMT faultlines is significantly altered when the leader of the TMT (i.e., the CEO): (a) socio-demographically resembles incumbent executives, (b) possesses a diverse career background, and (c) shares common socialization experience with other TMT members. Overall, our research reveals that different dimensions of the CEO-TMT interface play a pivotal role in determining the performance effects of knowledge-based TMT subgroups. Implications for upper echelons theory, team diversity, and strategic leadership research are discussed

The ANTARES Optical Module

The ANTARES collaboration is building a deep sea neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea. This detector will cover a sensitive area of typically 0.1 km-squared and will be equipped with about 1000 optical modules. Each of these optical modules consists of a large area photomultiplier and its associated electronics housed in a pressure resistant glass sphere. The design of the ANTARES optical module, which is a key element of the detector, has been finalized following extensive R & D studies and is reviewed here in detail.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures, to be published in NI

Chapitre II. La formation des travailleurs étrangers

De la marginalité à la centralité La formation des travailleurs étrangers n’a pas donné lieu, jusqu’à maintenant, à une production massive de discours de spécialistes universitaires, nationaux et étrangers. On trouve par contre une abondance de textes, de documents, de rapports de ces spécialistes — nationaux pour la plupart — que sont les enseignants bénévoles. C’est en effet principalement sur le terrain de la formation que se situent la plupart des actions bénévoles, dans la mesure où cell..

Etude et realisation d'un commutateur optoelectronique ultrarapide base sur l'excitation d'un mode dans un guide d'onde non lineaire couple par reseau

SIGLECNRS T Bordereau / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc