Genetic variability in wild and domestic populations of Inga edulis Mart. (Fabaceae) in Peruvian Amazon

Human activity in the Peruvian Amazon causes native vegetation fragmentation into smaller units resulting on the increase of agricultural systems. Understanding the level, the structure and the origin of morphologic within and among populations variation is essential for planning better management strategies aimed at sustainable use and conservation of Inga edulis Mart. species. We evaluated the genetic variability in wild and domestic population to unfold cultivation changes over the species genetic resources. We have studied 400 adult trees: 200 cultivated on arable land and 200 wild growing in untouched lowland rain forest. The individuals were randomly selected. Sampling sites were selected and defined on the basis of the geographical coordinates: longitude, latitude and altitude. Phenotypic variation was monitored using the proposed descriptor of qualitative and quantitative features (e.g., weight of hundred seeds). For each individual a voucher specimen was kept. The total genomic DNA was extracted from young leaves, conserved in silica gel, with INVITEK, Invisorb ®Spin Plant Mini Kit. Samples were then genotyped with five microsatellite (SSR) loci. One locus (Pel5) was cross-transferred, developed previously for Pithecellobium elegans. The remaining four loci (Inga03, 05, 08, 33) were previously developed for the species. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was made using a Biometra® T1 Thermocycler using the following profile: 95 °C for 2 min; 95°C for 15 s, 55/59 °C for 30 s, 72 °C for 30 s, 30 cycles; 72 °C for 15 min. The PCR products were fluorescently labelled. The visualization of fragments was carried out according to standard protocols on genetic analyser, ABI PRISM® 310 (Applied Biosystems), using ABI GENESCAN and GENOTYPER software. The phenotypic and genotypic results of wild versus domestic populations are under evaluation to verify if cultivation is altering the allelic variation considering that morphology is considerably changed.Czech Development Cooperation Project entitled “Sustainable use of natural resources in Peruvian Amazon” Project No. 23/MZe/B/07-10; The Academy of Science of The Czech Republic and the National Council for Science, Technology and Technological Innovation, Peru, binational project entitled “Morphological and genetic diversity of indigenous tropical trees in the Amazon – model study of Inga edulis Mart. in Peruvian Amazon”; Foundation “Nadace Nadání Josefa, Marie a Zdeňky Hlávkových”, Czech Republi

Socioeconomic Position and the Health Gradient in Cuba: Dimensions and Mechanisms

Background: To throw light on the under-researched association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and health in Cuba, this study examined SEP gradients in health and their underlying mechanisms among urban Cuban adults aged 18-65. Methods: By applying linear regressions to data from the 2010 National Survey on Risk Factors and Chronic Diseases, the analysis explored the SEP-health gradient along three SEP dimensions-education, occupation, and skin colour-using ten health measures: Self-reported health (SRH), general and abdominal obesity, hypertension, high glucose, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, metabolic syndrome, and cumulative risk factors. Regressions also included behaviours and health-related risk perceptions (tobacco and alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity, and risk-related behaviours). It thus investigated the SEP-health gradient and its underlying mechanisms via both behaviours and health-related risk perceptions. Results: Once controlling for gender, age, marital status, region and provincial dummies, the analysis detected educational gradients in SRH (estimated coefficient [95% CI]: Middle-level education = 3.535 [1.329, 5.741], p \u3c 0.01; high-level education = 5.249 [3.050, 7.448], p \u3c 0.01) that are partially explainable by both health-affecting behaviours (tobacco and alcohol consumption, diet, physical and sedentary activity) and risk perceptions. Using objective measures of health, however, it found no SEP-health gradients other than hypertension among people identified as having Black skin color (adjusted for demographic variables, 0.060 [0.018, 0.101], p \u3c 0.01) and high cholesterol among those identified as having Mulatto or Mestizo skin color (adjusted for demographic variables,-0.066 [-0.098,-0.033], p \u3c 0.01). Conclusions: In terms of objective health measures, the study provides minimal evidence for an SEP-health gradient in Cuba, results primarily attributable to the country\u27s universal healthcare system-which offers full coverage and access and affordable medications- A nd its highly developed education system

Shape of the oxygen abundance profiles in CALIFA face-on spiral galaxies

Y.A. acknowledges financial support from the Ramón y Cajal programme (RyC-2011-09461). Y.A. and A.I.D. acknowledge support from the project AYA2013-47742-C4-3-P from the Spanish MINECO, as well as the “Study of Emission-Line Galaxies with Integral-Field Spectroscopy” (SELGIFS) programme, funded by the EU (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IRSES-612701). Support for L.G. is provided by the Ministry of Economy, Development, and Tourism’s Millennium Science Initiative through grant IC120009, awarded to The Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, MAS. LG acknowledges support by CONICYT through FONDECYT grant 3140566. R.M.G.D. acknowledges support from the Spanish grant AYA2014-57490-P, and from the “Junta de Andalucía” P12-FQM2828 project. RAM thanks the Spanish program of International Campus of Excellence Moncloa (CEI). IM and A.d.O. acknowledge support from the Spanish MINECO grant AYA2013-42227P. JMA acknowledges support from the European Research Council Starting Grant (SEDmorph, P.I. V. Wild). Support for MM has been provided by DGICYT grant AYA2013-47742-C4-4-P. PSB acknowledges support from the Ramón y Cajal programme, grant ATA2010-21322-C03-02 from the Spanish MINECO. CJW acknowledges support through the Marie Curie Career Grant Integration 303912.We measured the gas abundance profiles in a sample of 122 face-on spiral galaxies observed by the CALIFA survey and included all spaxels whose line emission was consistent with star formation. This type of analysis allowed us to improve the statistics with respect to previous studies, and to properly estimate the oxygen distribution across the entire disc to a distance of up to 3-4 disc effective radii (re). We confirm the results obtained from classical H ii region analysis. In addition to the general negative gradient, an outer flattening can be observed in the oxygen abundance radial profile. An inner drop is also found in some cases. There is a common abundance gradient between 0.5 and 2.0 re of αO/H =-0.075 dex/re with a scatter of σ = 0.016 dex/re when normalising the distances to the disc effective radius. By performing a set of Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, we determined that this slope is independent of other galaxy properties, such as morphology, absolute magnitude, and the presence or absence of bars. In particular, barred galaxies do not seem to display shallower gradients, as predicted by numerical simulations. Interestingly, we find that most of thegalaxies in the sample with reliable oxygen abundance values beyond ~2 effective radii (57 galaxies) present a flattening of the abundance gradient in these outer regions. This flattening is not associated with any morphological feature, which suggests that it is a common property of disc galaxies. Finally, we detect a drop or truncation of the abundance in the inner regions of 27 galaxies in the sample; this is only visible for the most massive galaxies.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Automation of an Electro-Hydraulic Test Bench Using a Weitek CMT3092 HMI- PLC

The industrial environment demands mean that future professionals must acquire more and more technical skills. However, this represents a high investment that many higher education institutions cannot afford. Therefore, the laboratory equipment is updated, and this study begins with the automation of an electro-hydraulic test bench that was manual. For this, a PLC - Weintek was selected, whose programming was carried out in ladder language using CODESYS as a development platform, using an open Modbus programming code through the SFD block language. A human-machine interface (HMI) on a touch screen in the system allows user input (with various hierarchies) and operations control. The operator can also store data for later analysis. Finally, the validation of this proposal is carried out with the respective experimental tests, obtaining a significant reduction in the execution time of the three proposed tasks and improvement of learning conditions

Challenges and Possibilities of Archaeological Sites Virtual Tours: The Ulaca Oppidum (Central Spain) as a Case Study

This research presents a virtual tour performed on the oppidum of Ulaca, one of the most relevant archaeological sites of the Iberian Peninsula during the Late Iron Age (ca. 400–50 BC). Beyond the clear benefits of the tool to the interpretation, dissemination, and knowledge of the mentioned archaeological site and its surroundings, the novelty of this research is the implementation of the platform in alternative scenarios and purposes. In this way, the present work verifies how the access to multi-source and spatially geolocated information in the same tool (working as a geospatial database) allows the promotion of cross-sectional investigations in which different specialists intervene. This peculiarity is also considered useful to promote tourism with an interest beyond the purely historical/archaeological side. Likewise, the possibility of storing and managing a large amount of information in different formats facilitates the investigation in the contexts of excavations and archaeological or environmental works. In this sense, the use of this kind of tool for the study of cultural landscapes is especially novel. In order to better contextualize the potential of the virtual tour presented here, an analysis about the challenges and possibilities of implementing this tool in environments such as the Ulaca oppidum is performed. The selected site stands out for: (i) being in a unique geological, environmental and ecological context, allowing us to appreciate how human beings have modified the landscape over time; (ii) presenting numerous visible archaeological remains with certain conservation problems; and (iii) not having easy access for visitors

Shape of the oxygen abundance profiles in CALIFA face-on spiral galaxies

We measured the gas abundance profiles in a sample of 122 face-on spiral galaxies observed by the CALIFA survey and included all spaxels whose line emission was consistent with star formation. This type of analysis allowed us to improve the statistics with respect to previous studies, and to properly estimate the oxygen distribution across the entire disc to a distance of up to 3-4 disc effective radii (re). We confirm the results obtained from classical H ii region analysis. In addition to the general negative gradient, an outer flattening can be observed in the oxygen abundance radial profile. An inner drop is also found in some cases. There is a common abundance gradient between 0.5 and 2.0 re of αO/H =-0.075 dex/re with a scatter of σ = 0.016 dex/re when normalising the distances to the disc effective radius. By performing a set of Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, we determined that this slope is independent of other galaxy properties, such as morphology, absolute magnitude, and the presence or absence of bars. In particular, barred galaxies do not seem to display shallower gradients, as predicted by numerical simulations. Interestingly, we find that most of thegalaxies in the sample with reliable oxygen abundance values beyond ~2 effective radii (57 galaxies) present a flattening of the abundance gradient in these outer regions. This flattening is not associated with any morphological feature, which suggests that it is a common property of disc galaxies. Finally, we detect a drop or truncation of the abundance in the inner regions of 27 galaxies in the sample; this is only visible for the most massive galaxies.</p