Mesoscale subduction at the Almeria-Oran front. Part 1: ageostrophic flow

This paper presents a detailed diagnostic analysis of hydrographic and current meter data from three, rapidly repeated, fine-scale surveys of the Almeria-Oran front. Instability of the frontal boundary, between surface waters of Atlantic and Mediterranean origin, is shown to provide a mechanism for significant heat transfer from the surface layers to the deep ocean in winter. The data were collected during the second observational phase of the EU funded OMEGA project on RRS Discovery cruise 224 during December 1996. High resolution hydrographic measurements using the towed undulating CTD vehicle, SeaSoar,. traced the subduction of Mediterranean Surface Water across the Almeria-Oran front. This subduction is shown to result from a significant baroclinic component to the instability of the frontal jet. The Q-vector formulation of the omega equation is combined with a scale analysis to quantitatively diagnose vertical transport resulting from mesoscale ageostrophic circulation. The analyses are presented and discussed in the presence of satellite and airborne remotely sensed data; which provide the basis for a thorough and novel approach to the determination of observational error

Nonlinear dynamical model for the assessment of the seismic behaviour of ferrocement houses

En este trabajo se evalúa el comportamiento cíclico de un prototipo de vivienda de ferrocemento, ensamblado mediante muros prefabricados de pared delgada, con la finalidad de identificar sus parámetros estructurales y proponer un modelo dinámico no lineal para simular el comportamiento de viviendas bajo movimientos sísmicos. Para ello se construyó un prototipo a escala real 1:1 y se probó bajo carga cíclica. De los resultados experimentales se obtuvieron: el comportamiento histerético, la rigidez elástica, la resistencia a cortante, la resistencia máxima, la ductilidad, la capacidad de disipación de energía, el amortiguamiento y el coeficiente de capacidad de disipación de energía; todos ellos, parámetros necesarios para la evaluación dinámica de la vivienda de ferrocemento bajo movimientos sísmicos. Al final se implementó el modelo dinámico no lineal de Bouc-Wen-Baber-Noori (BWBN). Este modelo permitió realizar la evaluación sísmica de la vivienda prefabricada de ferrocemento bajo sismos ocurridos.This article evaluates the cyclic behaviour of a prototype of a precast ferrocement house, which is assembled using precast thin walls, in order to identify its structural parameters and propose a nonlinear dynamical model which is able to simulate the behaviour of those houses when subjected to seismic loading. For this purpose, a full-scale precast ferrocement house was tested under cyclic loading conditions. From the experimental results, the hysteretic behaviour, the elastic stiffness, the shear resistance, the maximum strength, the ductility, the energy dissipation, the equivalent damping and its coefficient of energy dissipation were assessed; those parameters are needed in order to evaluate the dynamic behaviour of ferrocement dwellings when subjected to earthquakes. At the end, the Bouc-Wen-Baber-Noori (BWBN) model of hysteresis was implemented. The model allowed performing the seismic evaluation of the precast ferrocement house under seismic activity.Peer Reviewe

Comparative pan-genome analysis of Piscirickettsia salmonis reveals genomic divergences within genogroups

Indexación: Scopus.Piscirickettsia salmonis is the etiological agent of salmonid rickettsial septicemia, a disease that seriously affects the salmonid industry. Despite efforts to genomically characterize P. salmonis, functional information on the life cycle, pathogenesis mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment, and control of this fish pathogen remain lacking. To address this knowledge gap, the present study conducted an in silico pan-genome analysis of 19 P. salmonis strains from distinct geographic locations and genogroups. Results revealed an expected open pan-genome of 3,463 genes and a core-genome of 1,732 genes. Two marked genogroups were identified, as confirmed by phylogenetic and phylogenomic relationships to the LF-89 and EM-90 reference strains, as well as by assessments of genomic structures. Different structural configurations were found for the six identified copies of the ribosomal operon in the P. salmonis genome, indicating translocation throughout the genetic material. Chromosomal divergences in genomic localization and quantity of genetic cassettes were also found for the Dot/Icm type IVB secretion system. To determine divergences between core-genomes, additional pan-genome descriptions were compiled for the so-termed LF and EM genogroups. Open pan-genomes composed of 2,924 and 2,778 genes and core-genomes composed of 2,170 and 2,228 genes were respectively found for the LF and EM genogroups. The core-genomes were functionally annotated using the Gene Ontology, KEGG, and Virulence Factor databases, revealing the presence of several shared groups of genes related to basic function of intracellular survival and bacterial pathogenesis. Additionally, the specific pan-genomes for the LF and EM genogroups were defined, resulting in the identification of 148 and 273 exclusive proteins, respectively. Notably, specific virulence factors linked to adherence, colonization, invasion factors, and endotoxins were established. The obtained data suggest that these genes could be directly associated with inter-genogroup differences in pathogenesis and host-pathogen interactions, information that could be useful in designing novel strategies for diagnosing and controlling P. salmonis infection. © 2017 Nourdin-Galindo, Sánchez, Molina, Espinoza-Rojas, Oliver, Ruiz, Vargas-Chacoff, Cárcamo, Figueroa, Mancilla, Maracaja-Coutinho and Yañez.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2017.00459/ful

Hypertension and albuminuria in chronic kidney disease mapped to a mouse chromosome 11 locus

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a key cause of hypertension and a potent independent risk for cardiovascular disease. Epidemiological studies suggest a strong genetic component determining susceptibility for renal disease and, by inference, the associated cardiovascular risk. With a subtotal nephrectomy model of kidney disease, we found the 129S6 mouse strain to be very susceptible to the development of hypertension, albuminuria, and kidney injury, whereas the C57BL/6 strain is relatively resistant. Accordingly, we set out to map quantitative trait loci conferring susceptibility to hypertension and albuminuria using this model with F2 mice. We found significant linkage of the blood pressure trait to two loci. At D11Mit143, mice homozygous for the 129S6 allele had significantly higher systolic blood pressure than mice heterozygous or homozygous for the C57BL/6 allele. Similarly, at D1Mit308, there was an excellent correlation between genotype and the blood pressure phenotype. The effect of the chromosome 11 locus was verified with a separate cohort of F2 mice. For the albuminuria trait, a significant locus was found at D11Mit143, which overlaps the blood pressure trait locus. Our studies have identified a region spanning ∼8 cM on mouse chromosome 11 that is associated with susceptibility to hypertension and albuminuria in CKD

18. BUENAS PRÁCTICAS PEDAGÓGICAS EN LA FORMACIÓN DE APRENDICES CON DISCAPACIDAD COGNITIVA – CASO DE ESTUDIO

En el Centro de Servicios y Gestión Empresarial del SENA, regional Antioquia se encuentra matriculado un grupo de aprendices de la Institución Maestro Guillermo Vélez Vélez, que poseen diferentes discapacidades cognitivas. Dicha condición especial se convierte en un reto para los instructores del área de logística y transporte del Centro de Servicios y Gestión Empresarial, los cuales no están entrenados directamente para trabajar con esta población ni han recibido capacitación para atender las poblaciones especiales. El enfoque de esta investigación es cualitativa, se realizó con la metodología de investigación acción, que tiene como propósito evidenciar aciertos y desaciertos, y realizar propuestas y cambios en los procesos formativos al tiempo que se trabaja con los aprendices. Para el SENA y el sector productivo es de gran relevancia la inclusión de esta población en el mundo laboral, y para ello deben salir bien formados tanto en la parte técnica como humana, para enfrentar los diferentes desafíos que se presentan en la etapa productiva. En busca de estos resultados se plantea sistematizar buenas prácticas para orientar formación profesional integral a los aprendices con discapacidad cognitiva. Los resultados de esta investigación fueron de gran interés tanto para la institución como para los instructores que orientaron formación con estos aprendices

Crystal Structures and Electronic Properties of Haloform-Intercalated C60

Using density functional methods we calculated structural and electronic properties of bulk chloroform and bromoform intercalated C60, C60 2CHX3 (X=Cl,Br). Both compounds are narrow band insulator materials with a gap between valence and conduction bands larger than 1 eV. The calculated widths of the valence and conduction bands are 0.4-0.6 eV and 0.3-0.4 eV, respectively. The orbitals of the haloform molecules overlap with the $\pi$ orbitals of the fullerene molecules and the p-type orbitals of halogen atoms significantly contribute to the valence and conduction bands of C60 2CHX3. Charging with electrons and holes turns the systems to metals. Contrary to expectation, 10 to 20 % of the charge is on the haloform molecules and is thus not completely localized on the fullerene molecules. Calculations on different crystal structures of C60 2CHCl3 and C60 2CHBr3 revealed that the density of states at the Fermi energy are sensitive to the orientation of the haloform and C60 molecules. At a charging of three holes, which corresponds to the superconducting phase of pure C60 and C60 2CHX3, the calculated density of states (DOS) at the Fermi energy increases in the sequence DOS(C60) < DOS(C60 2CHCl3) < DOS(C60 2CHBr3).Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 4 table

Gamma-Ray Bursts: Jets and Energetics

The relativistic outflows from gamma-ray bursts are now thought to be narrowly collimated into jets. After correcting for this jet geometry there is a remarkable constancy of both the energy radiated by the burst and the kinetic energy carried by the outflow. Gamma-ray bursts are still the most luminous explosions in the Universe, but they release energies that are comparable to supernovae. The diversity of cosmic explosions appears to be governed by the fraction of energy that is coupled to ultra-relativistic ejecta.Comment: Paper presented at "The Restless High-Energy Universe", May 5-8 2003 Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterda

Geodesic-based manifold learning for parameterization of triangular meshes

Reverse Engineering (RE) requires representing with free forms (NURBS, Spline, Bézier) a real surface which has been pointsampled -- To serve this purpose, we have implemented an algorithm that minimizes the accumulated distance between the free form and the (noisy) point sample -- We use a dualdistance calculation point to / from surfaces, which discourages the forming of outliers and artifacts -- This algorithm seeks a minimum in a function that represents the fitting error, by using as tuning variable the control polyhedron for the free form -- The topology (rows, columns) and geometry of the control polyhedron are determined by alternative geodesicbased dimensionality reduction methods: (a) graphapproximated geodesics (Isomap), or (b) PL orthogonal geodesic grids -- We assume the existence of a triangular mesh of the point sample (a reasonable expectation in current RE) -- A bijective composition mapping allows to estimate a size of the control polyhedrons favorable to uniformspeed parameterizations -- Our results show that orthogonal geodesic grids is a direct and intuitive parameterization method, which requires more exploration for irregular triangle meshes -- Isomap gives a usable initial parameterization whenever the graph approximation of geodesics on be faithful -- These initial guesses, in turn, produce efficient free form optimization processes with minimal errors -- Future work is required in further exploiting the usual triangular mesh underlying the point sample for (a) enhancing the segmentation of the point set into faces, and (b) using a more accurate approximation of the geodesic distances within , which would benefit its dimensionality reductio

Trade-offs between sociality and gastrointestinal parasite infection in the context of a natural disaster

This work was supported by ANID-Chilean scholarship [number 72190290], the National Institutes of Health Grants [R01AG060931] to N.S-M., L.J.N.B. and J.P.H., [R00AG051764] to N.S-M, [R01MH118203] to M.L.P., M.J.M, L.J.N.B. and N.S-M., [R01MH096875] to M.L.P., L.J.N.B. and M.J.M., [U01MH121260] to N.S-M., M.L.P. and M.J.M., a European Research Council Consolidator Grant to L.J.N.B. [Friend Origins - 864461].Parasites and infectious diseases constitute important challenges particularly for group-living animals. Social contact and shared space can both increase parasite transmission risk, while individual differences in social capital can help prevent infections. For example, high social status individuals and those with more or stronger affiliative partnerships may have better immunity and, thus, lower parasitic burden. To test for health trade-offs in the costs and benefits of sociality, we quantified how parasitic load varied with an individual's social status, as well as with their affiliative relationships with weakly and strongly bonded partners, in a free-ranging population of rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta. We found that high status was associated with a lower risk of protozoa infection at older ages compared to younger and low-status animals. Social resources can also be protective against infection under environmentally challenging situations, such as natural disasters. Using cross-sectional data, we additionally examined the impact of a major hurricane on the sociality - parasite relationship in this system and found that the hurricane influenced the prevalence of specific parasites independent of sociality. Overall, our study adds to the growing evidence for social status as a strong predictor of infection risk and highlights how extreme environmental events could shape vulnerability and resistance to infection.Peer reviewe

Constraints on Decaying Dark Matter from Fermi Observations of Nearby Galaxies and Clusters

We analyze the impact of Fermi gamma-ray observations (primarily non-detections) of selected nearby galaxies, including dwarf spheroidals, and of clusters of galaxies on decaying dark matter models. We show that the fact that galaxy clusters do not shine in gamma rays puts the most stringent limits available to-date on the lifetime of dark matter particles for a wide range of particle masses and decay final states. In particular, our results put strong constraints on the possibility of ascribing to decaying dark matter both the increasing positron fraction reported by PAMELA and the high-energy feature in the electron-positron spectrum measured by Fermi. Observations of nearby dwarf galaxies and of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) do not provide as strong limits as those from galaxy clusters, while still improving on previous constraints in some cases.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures, submitted to JCAP, revised version with some additions and correction