Open clusters in the Third Galactic Quadrant : III. Alleged binary clusters

Aims: We aim to determine accurate distances and ages of eight open clusters in order to: (1) assess their possible binarity (2) provide probes to trace the structure of the Third Galactic Quadrant. Methods: Cluster reddenings, distances, ages and metallicities are derived from ZAMS and isochrone fits in UBVRI photometric diagrams. Field contamination is reduced by restricting analysis to stars within the cluster limits derived from star counts. Further membership control is done by requiring that stars have consistent positions in several diagrams and by using published spectral types. Results: The derived distances, ages and metallicities have shown that none of the analysed clusters compose binary/double systems. Of the four candidate pairs, only NGC 2383/NGC 2384 are close to each other, but have different metallicities and ages. Ruprecht 72 and Ruprecht 158 are not clusters but fluctuations of the field stellar density. Haffner 18 is found to be the superposition of two stellar groups at different distances: Haffner 18(1) at 4.5 kpc and Haffner 18(2) between 9.5 and 11.4 kpc from the Sun. The derived distances and ages have been used to situate the clusters in the Galactic context. In particular, young stellar groups trace spiral structure at large Galactocentric radii. At least two clusters formed during the last few 108 yr in an interstellar medium with less than solar abundances. Conclusions: In contrast with the LMC, double clusters are apparently rare, or even non existent, in the undisturbed environment of the Third Galactic Quadrant. This leaves open the question of whether binary clusters form more easily toward denser and more violent regions of the Milky Way such as the inner Galaxy.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Coastal warming under climate change: Global, faster and heterogeneous

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGThe assessment of expected changes in coastal sea surface temperature (SST) on a global scale is becoming increasingly important due to the growing pressure on coastal ecosystems caused by climate change. To achieve this objective, 17 Global Climate Models from CMIP6 were used, with data from historical and hist-1950 experiments spanning 1982–2050. This analysis highlights significant warming of coastal areas worldwide, with higher and more variable rates of warming than observed in previous decades. All basins are projected to experience an increase in coastal SST near 1 °C by mid-century, with some regions exhibiting nearshore SST anomalies exceeding 2 °C for the period 2031–2050 relative to 1995–2014. Regarding the Eastern Upwelling Boundary Systems, only the Canary upwelling system and the southern part of the Humboldt upwelling system manage to show lower-than-average SST warming rates, maintaining, to a certain extent, their ability to buffer global warmingXunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2021/44Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2021-108Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDP/50017/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDB/50017/2020Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Xunta de Galicia | Ref. PRTR-C17·I1Ministerio de Ciencia e Investigación | Ref. TED2021-129524B-I0

DIREITO AGROAMBIENTAL EM DISPUTA: A PRESENÇA DO CAPITAL ESTRANGEIRO E A (IN)EFETIVIDADE DE DIREITOS SOCIOAMBIENTAIS NO MEIO RURAL BRASILEIRO

A presença do capital estrangeiro nas terras nacionais e a submissão das demandas internas frente aos interesses do capital internacional não são questões novas no cenário sociojurídico brasileiro. O avanço do modelo de desenvolvimento capitalista implementado no Brasil, ao favorecer a produção monocultora e perpetuar a estrutura agroexportadora de produtos primários, vincula importantes questões socioambientais estritamente à realização dos interesses mercadológicos nacionais e internacionais, violando inúmeros e importantes direitos fundamentais. Ciente de que a luta jurídica por si só não é capaz de alterar as relações estruturais de desigualdade estabelecidas em níveis mais complexos e profundos da vida social e que a mudança dos paradigmas do Direito Agroambiental - historicamente preocupados em realizar as categorias “produtividade” e “empresariado” como elementos centrais do desenvolvimento rural - também é indispensável para a reprodução do modo de produção capitalista, entende-se que o Direito possui responsabilidades socioambientais que devem ser observadas e cumpridas. Diante do exposto, através da metodologia indutiva, dedutiva, dialética e interdisciplinar, este estudo propõe apresentar os impactos socioambientais e jurídicos (in)sustentáveis presentes no meio rural brasileiro frente à presença do capital estrangeiro e também demonstrar o potencial que o Direito Agroambiental possui enquanto importante instrumento de transformações sociais.

Physical, chemical and microstructural characterization of two problematic soils from the Paraguayan Chaco

It is not uncommon for Geotechnical Engineering works to be carried out under unfavorable conditions that compromise the earth-stability. In this context, the Paraguayan Region of Chaco is notably known owing to the presence of problematic soils that possess dispersive characteristics and/or present high amounts of soluble-sulfates content. Geomaterials of such nature affect mainly the road infrastructure earthworks due to, respectively, their promptness to erosive phenomena when in contact with water and swelling owing to the grown and hydration of expansive minerals such as ettringite and thaumasite, when treated with calcium-based materials. Therefore, present research presents a detailed characterization of a dispersive soil and a sulfate-rich dispersive soil, both collected in the Western Region of Paraguay. Physical, chemical and microstructure tests were carried out in order to verify and explain the deleterious behavior observed in both soils

Examining the ability of CMIP6 models to reproduce the upwelling SST imprint in the Eastern boundary upwelling systems

Knowing future changes in the sea surface temperature (SST) is of vital importance since they can affect marine ecosystems, especially in areas of high productivity such as the Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems (EBUS). In this sense, it is key to have fine resolution models to study the SST patterns as close as possible to the coast where the upwelling influence is greater. Thus, the main objective of the present work is to assess the ability of 23 General Circulation Models (GCMs) from phase six of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) in reproducing the upwelling SST imprint in the EBUS through a comparison with the Optimum Interpolation of Sea Surface Temperature (OISST ¼) database of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the common period of 1982–2014. The results have shown that most of the CMIP6 GCMs overestimate nearshore SST for all the EBUS with the exception of Canary. Overall, the models with better resolution showed lower Normalized Root Mean Squared Error (NRMSE) and Normalized Bias (NBias), although the ability of the models is dependent on the study area. Thus, the most suitable models for each EBUS are the CNRM-HR, GFDL-CM4, HadGEM-MM, CMCC-VHR4, and EC-Earth3P for Canary; CESM1-HR, CMCC-VHR4, ECMWF-HR, and HadGEM-HM for Humboldt; and HadGEM-HH and HadGEM-HM for California. In the case of Benguela, no model adequately reproduces the SST imprint under the conditions established in the present study.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2021/44Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2021-108European Union | Ref. MAR-02.01.01-FEAMP-0022European Union | Ref. PRTR-C17.I1Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia | Ref. UIDP/50017/2020Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia | Ref. UIDB/50017/2020Portugal 2020 | Ref. MAR-02.01.01-FEAMP-002

Open clusters in the Third Galactic Quadrant : III. Alleged binary clusters

Aims: We aim to determine accurate distances and ages of eight open clusters in order to: (1) assess their possible binarity (2) provide probes to trace the structure of the Third Galactic Quadrant. Methods: Cluster reddenings, distances, ages and metallicities are derived from ZAMS and isochrone fits in UBVRI photometric diagrams. Field contamination is reduced by restricting analysis to stars within the cluster limits derived from star counts. Further membership control is done by requiring that stars have consistent positions in several diagrams and by using published spectral types. Results: The derived distances, ages and metallicities have shown that none of the analysed clusters compose binary/double systems. Of the four candidate pairs, only NGC 2383/NGC 2384 are close to each other, but have different metallicities and ages. Ruprecht 72 and Ruprecht 158 are not clusters but fluctuations of the field stellar density. Haffner 18 is found to be the superposition of two stellar groups at different distances: Haffner 18(1) at 4.5 kpc and Haffner 18(2) between 9.5 and 11.4 kpc from the Sun. The derived distances and ages have been used to situate the clusters in the Galactic context. In particular, young stellar groups trace spiral structure at large Galactocentric radii. At least two clusters formed during the last few 108 yr in an interstellar medium with less than solar abundances. Conclusions: In contrast with the LMC, double clusters are apparently rare, or even non existent, in the undisturbed environment of the Third Galactic Quadrant. This leaves open the question of whether binary clusters form more easily toward denser and more violent regions of the Milky Way such as the inner Galaxy.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Evaluación de mieles uniflorales raras colectadas en varias regiones de Portugal

La composición química de la miel depende básicamente del origen botánico y de la com-posición del néctar de las plantas o secreciones productoras de miel [1]. Cada vez más, aumenta el interés de los consumidores por acceder a mieles monoflorales [2]. En este sentido es impor-tante garantizar la calidad de los productos a partir de su autenticidad, seguridad y atributos sensoriales. Este trabajo hace parte de un proyecto de caracterización de mieles de Portugal que se está desarrollando al interior del grupo de investigación. Actualmente, la literatura no reporta información sobre la composición química de mieles Portuguesas de néctar poco comunes. El ob-jetivo es caracterizar las propiedades fisicoquímicas de cuatro mieles monoflorales raras: Poejo (Mentha pulegium), Tomilho (Thymus sp.), Medronheiro (Arbutus unedo), Alfarrobeira (Ceratonia siliqua) producidas en diferentes regiones de Portugal y compararlas con las encontradas en un tipo de miel ampliamente estudiada, como Castanheiro (Castanea sativa). Además, algunas de ellas presentan atributos organolépticos especiales, que podrían llegar a jugar un rol importante al momento de su comercialización y exportación.Las muestras de miel estudiadas presentan contenidos de humedad por debajo de lo estipulado en la legislación [3] indicando buena predisposición a su conservación. Se caracteriza-ron por tener valores de color menores a 100 mmPFund que permiten clasificarlas como mieles claras. Cumplen con los requerimientos de acidez libre y azúcares reductores. Las mieles poejo y medronheiro exceden los límites de HMF e índice diastásico, sugiriendo que no son mieles re-ciente producción o pudiendo haber sido calentadas. Se detectó la presencia de fenoles y flavo-noides, principalmente en poejo y medronheiro. En general, no hay grandes diferencias entre los parámetros registrados para la miel Castanheiro y las especies de interés.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Caracterización de mieles monoflorales de diferentes regiones de Portugal

En la actualidad, la miel es un producto natural muy estudiado en el campo de la investi-gación biomédica debido a sus reconocidos potencial antioxidante [1], antiinflamatorio y antimi-crobial [2]. Estas propiedades se han asociado con el alto contenido de azúcar, bajos valores de pH y el contenido de glucosa oxidasa, enzima que cataliza la transformación de la glucosa en pe-róxido de hidrógeno, producto que posee una alta capacidad antimicrobial. En prácticas clínicas principalmente se usan la miel de Manuka y Medihoney (originarias de Nueva Zelanda y Australia) debido a que poseen una alta actividad antimicrobial atribuida a la presencia del a-oxoaldehído, metilglioxal [3]. En estudios preliminares desarrollados al interior del Centro de Investigación de Montaña se han observado en mieles de Portugal, favorables propiedades para su uso en el cuidado de cicatrices [4], pero se requieren más estudios de caracterización de éstos productos que soporten posteriores estudios de evaluación de actividad biológica.El objetivo de este estudio es la caracterización de 14 mieles monoflorales de las princi-pales regiones productoras de Portugal, las cuales se describen a continuación de acuerdo a su nombre local y distrito de producción: Urze (Vila Real y Braganza), Echium (Braganza y Evora), Castanheiro (Vila Real), Poejo (Lisboa), Laranjeira (Faro), Rosmaninho (Lisboa), Tomilho (Lisboa), Eucalipto (Lisboa), Medronheiro (Lisboa), Alfarrobeira (Lisboa). La evaluación fisicoquímica muestra que los resultados de pH, acidez libre, azúcares re-ductores y humedad enmarcan las mieles estudiadas dentro de los parámetros establecidos por la Legislación Europea de calidad [5]. Urze, Echium, Poejo, Rosmaninho, Eucalipto, Medronheiro y Alfarrobeira superan, alguno o varios, de los límites establecidos para conductividad, sacarosa aparente, hidroximetilfurfural e índice diastásico. Además, se presentarán resultados de la acti-vidad antioxidante y del contenido de fenoles y flavonoides, su predominancia y posible contribu-ción en la actividad biológica disponible para fines médicos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Structure-Function Relationships of the Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Receptor

The follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) plays a crucial role in reproduction. This structurally complex receptor is a member of the G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily of membrane receptors. As with the other structurally similar glycoprotein hormone receptors (the thyroid-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone-chorionic gonadotropin hormone receptors), the FSHR is characterized by an extensive extracellular domain, where binding to FSH occurs, linked to the signal specificity subdomain or hinge region. This region is involved in ligand-stimulated receptor activation whereas the seven transmembrane domain is associated with receptor activation and transmission of the activation process to the intracellular loops comprised of amino acid sequences, which predicate coupling to effectors, interaction with adapter proteins, and triggering of downstream intracellular signaling. In this review, we describe the most important structural features of the FSHR intimately involved in regulation of FSHR function, including trafficking, dimerization, and oligomerization, ligand binding, agonist-stimulated activation, and signal transduction