The competitor release effect applied to carnivore species: how red foxes can increase in numbers when persecuted

The objective of our study was to numerically simulate the population dynamics of a hypothetical community of three species of small to medium–sized carnivores subjected to non–selective control within the context of the competitor release effect (CRE). We applied the CRE to three carnivore species, linking interspecific competition with predator control efforts. We predicted the population response of European badger, the red fox and the pine marten to this wildlife management tool by means of numerical simulations. The theoretical responses differed depending on the intrinsic rate of growth (r), although modulated by the competition coefficients. The red fox, showing the highest r value, can increase its populations despite predator control efforts if control intensity is moderate. Populations of the other two species, however, decreased with control efforts, even reaching extinction. Three additional theoretical predictions were obtained. The conclusions from the simulations were: 1) predator control can play a role in altering the carnivore communities; 2) red fox numbers can increase due to control; and 3) predator control programs should evaluate the potential of unintended effects on ecosystems

Minimizing the social impact of construction work on mobility: a decision-making method

Minimising the impacts of construction work on mobility, especially in urban areas, is a major issue for local authorities and construction planners that has not been sufficiently studied. This paper proposes a deterministic decision-making method for quantifying the impacts of construction work on mobility, including emergency vehicles, mass transit, individual transport, bicycles, and pedestrians. The method is based on multi-attribute utility theory, interviews with experts representing various stakeholders in construction, and a review of the literature and legislation. The practical use is illustrated with a real case study in which two shaft-construction processes (diaphragm wall excavated using a hydromill and vertical shaft sinking machine) are compared and ranked. The sensitivity analysis shows the robustness of the results. The resulting Mobility Impact Index can easily be integrated with other social, economic, and environmental criteria, thereby enabling the evaluation of alternatives from a multi-criteria perspective, e.g., in tender processes. The method could be useful to public authorities and design and construction companies and is being piloted in construction projects of the city of Barcelona. It has implications for corporate social responsibility, social/sustainable procurement, and social/sustainable impact assessment in construction

Modelado de restauración forestal en sistemas de Dehesa sometidos a herbivoría

Los sistemas forestales de dehesa, presentan en la actualidad un serio problema de regeneración. Por este motivo es necesario diseñar estrategias que faciliten el reclutamiento de plantas jóvenes. En este trabajo desarrollamos un modelo teórico de un sistema con alta presión de herbivoría en el que se simula el efecto de dos medidas de manejo: la repoblación con planta o semilla y la protección de plantones. Se concluye que, según el modelo, resulta más rentable la protección de plantones que la repoblación, pero dado que ambas medidas no son excluyentes en restauración forestal se recomienda una estrategia mixta, siendo la protección de los plantones repoblados muy importante en sistemas con alta presión de herbivoría

Carbon allocation and carbon isotope fluxes in the plant-soil-atmosphere continuum: a review

The terrestrial carbon (C) cycle has received increasing interest over the past few decades, however, there is still a lack of understanding of the fate of newly assimilated C allocated within plants and to the soil, stored within ecosystems and lost to the atmosphere. Stable carbon isotope studies can give novel insights into these issues. In this review we provide an overview of an emerging picture of plant-soil-atmosphere C fluxes, as based on C isotope studies, and identify processes determining related C isotope signatures. The first part of the review focuses on isotopic fractionation processes within plants during and after photosynthesis. The second major part elaborates on plant-internal and plant-rhizosphere C allocation patterns at different time scales (diel, seasonal, interannual), including the speed of C transfer and time lags in the coupling of assimilation and respiration, as well as the magnitude and controls of plant-soil C allocation and respiratory fluxes. Plant responses to changing environmental conditions, the functional relationship between the physiological and phenological status of plants and C transfer, and interactions between C, water and nutrient dynamics are discussed. The role of the C counterflow from the rhizosphere to the aboveground parts of the plants, e.g. via CO<sub>2</sub> dissolved in the xylem water or as xylem-transported sugars, is highlighted. The third part is centered around belowground C turnover, focusing especially on above- and belowground litter inputs, soil organic matter formation and turnover, production and loss of dissolved organic C, soil respiration and CO<sub>2</sub> fixation by soil microbes. Furthermore, plant controls on microbial communities and activity via exudates and litter production as well as microbial community effects on C mineralization are reviewed. A further part of the paper is dedicated to physical interactions between soil CO<sub>2</sub> and the soil matrix, such as CO<sub>2</sub> diffusion and dissolution processes within the soil profile. Finally, we highlight state-of-the-art stable isotope methodologies and their latest developments. From the presented evidence we conclude that there exists a tight coupling of physical, chemical and biological processes involved in C cycling and C isotope fluxes in the plant-soil-atmosphere system. Generally, research using information from C isotopes allows an integrated view of the different processes involved. However, complex interactions among the range of processes complicate or currently impede the interpretation of isotopic signals in CO<sub>2</sub> or organic compounds at the plant and ecosystem level. This review tries to identify present knowledge gaps in correctly interpreting carbon stable isotope signals in the plant-soil-atmosphere system and how future research approaches could contribute to closing these gaps

Plasma-Functionalized Isotactic Polypropylene Assembledwith Conducting Polymers for Bacterial Quantification byNADH Sensing

Rapid detection of bacterial presence on implantable medical devices isessential to prevent biofilm formation, which consists of densely packedbacteria colonies able to withstand antibiotic-mediated killing. In this work, asmart approach is presented to integrate electrochemical sensors fordetecting bacterial infections in biomedical implants made of isotacticpolypropylene (i-PP) using chemical assembly. The electrochemical detectionis based on the capacity of conducting polymers (CPs) to detect extracellularnicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) released from cellular respirationof bacteria, which allows distinguishing prokaryotic from eukaryotic cells.Oxygen plasma-functionalized free-standing i-PP, coated with a layer(≈1.1 μm in thickness) of CP nanoparticles obtained by oxidativepolymerization, is used as working electrode for the anodic polymerization ofa second CP layer (≈8.2 μm in thickness), which provides very highelectrochemical activity and stability. The resulting layered material, i-PPf/CP2,detects the electro-oxidation of NADH in physiological media with asensitivity 417 μA cm−2and a detection limit up to 0.14×10−3m, which isbelow the concentration of extracellular NADH found for bacterial cultures ofbiofilm-positive and biofilm-negative strains.Authors acknowledge MINECO/FEDER (RTI2018-098951-B-I00), the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (2017SGR359), and B. Braun Surgical, S.A. for financial support. Support for the research of C.A. from ICREA Academia program for excellence in research is gratefully acknowledged

Using MaxEnt algorithm to assess habitat suitability of a potential Iberian lynx population in central Iberian Peninsula

Abstract Iberian lynx distribution is currently restricted to the south of the Iberian Peninsula. Nevertheless, there is evidence of the presence of several small groups in the peninsular centre that have been forgotten by management and conservation actions. In this research, we gathered evidences of Iberian lynx presence along 21 transects located in the southwest of the Madrid province. In these transects lynx DNA was identified in 47 scats, which scientifically proves the presence of the species in that location. Using these locations (presence-only data) we built a maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to estimate the suitability of the study area for the species. Our results show the existence of an almost continuous area that is approximately 744 km2 that is suitable for the Iberian lynx. Seventy-eight percent of this area is within the Natura 2000 network and, therefore, it falls under regulations to preserve and restore habitat types, flora and fauna. This study shows the suitability of this territory has for the Iberian lynx

Legal linked data ecosystems and the rule of law

This chapter introduces the notions of meta-rule of law and socio-legal ecosystems to both foster and regulate linked democracy. It explores the way of stimulating innovative regulations and building a regulatory quadrant for the rule of law. The chapter summarises briefly (i) the notions of responsive, better and smart regulation; (ii) requirements for legal interchange languages (legal interoperability); (iii) and cognitive ecology approaches. It shows how the protections of the substantive rule of law can be embedded into the semantic languages of the web of data and reflects on the conditions that make possible their enactment and implementation as a socio-legal ecosystem. The chapter suggests in the end a reusable multi-levelled meta-model and four notions of legal validity: positive, composite, formal, and ecological

Drafting a composite indicator of validity for regulatory models and legal systems

The aim of this paper is to lay the groundwork for the creation of a composite indicator of the validity of regulatory systems. The composite nature of the indicator implies a) that its construction is embedded in the long-standing theoretical debate and framework of legal validity; b) that it formally contains other sub-indicators whose occurrence is essential to the determination of validity. The paper suggests, in other words, that validity is a second-degree property, i.e., one that occurs only once the justice, efficiency, effectiveness, and enforceability of the system have been checked

Proposal of an extended t-J Hamiltonian for high-Tc cuprates from ab initio calculations on embedded clusters

A series of accurate ab initio calculations on Cu_pO-q finite clusters, properly embedded on the Madelung potential of the infinite lattice, have been performed in order to determine the local effective interactions in the CuO_2 planes of La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 compounds. The values of the first-neighbor interactions, magnetic coupling (J_{NN}=125 meV) and hopping integral (t_{NN}=-555 meV), have been confirmed. Important additional effects are evidenced, concerning essentially the second-neighbor hopping integral t_{NNN}=+110meV, the displacement of a singlet toward an adjacent colinear hole, h_{SD}^{abc}=-80 meV, a non-negligible hole-hole repulsion V_{NN}-V_{NNN}=0.8 eV and a strong anisotropic effect of the presence of an adjacent hole on the values of the first-neighbor interactions. The dependence of J_{NN} and t_{NN} on the position of neighbor hole(s) has been rationalized from the two-band model and checked from a series of additional ab initio calculations. An extended t-J model Hamiltonian has been proposed on the basis of these results. It is argued that the here-proposed three-body effects may play a role in the charge/spin separation observed in these compounds, that is, in the formation and dynamic of stripes.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.