Contrasting human perceptions of and attitudes towards two threatened small carnivores, Lycalopex fulvipes and Leopardus guigna, in rural communities adjacent to protected areas in Chile

Indexación: Scopus.The interaction between humans and small carnivores is a phenomenon especially frequent in rural fringes, as is the case of communities surrounding natural areas. In Chile, two species of threatened carnivores, the Darwin's Fox and the Guigna, have increased their contact with humans due to human-induced changes in their habitat. The objective of this study was to characterize the interactions of these species with humans by assessing human perceptions and attitudes toward them, and to assess livestock and poultry ownership and management practices in local communities to evaluate their possible roles in the phenomenon. We conducted semi-structured interviews in rural communities adjacent to natural protected areas of two different regions in southern Chile. We found that people have a more positive perception of Darwin's Foxes than Guignas, but both species are considered damaging due to poultry attacks. Livestock and poultry management was generally deficient. Improvements in animal management and education programs could lead to a significant decrease in negative interactions. © Sacristan et al. 2018.https://www.threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/4030/442

Cuestión catalana y crisis constitucional

El edificio constitucional inaugurado en España en 1978 rechina hoy por todas las costuras. Tras casi 40 años, urge rehabilitarlo, y eso exige reformarlo. Reforzar la democracia —maltrecha, como los derechos, por el manejo de esta crisis que hemos dado en llamar «Gran Recesión» europea—, restablecer el crédito de la política y relanzar al mismo tiempo su capacidad de integrar la pluralidad y el conflicto, son objetivos que demandan un pacto constitucional que actualice el que se hizo hace ya tanto tiempo. Y un pacto federal que asuma —va siendo hora— la maduración de nuestra diversidad identitaria, que es la de los españoles en esta primera mitad del siglo XXI.The constitutional structure launched in Spain in 1978 is facing dire straits. After almost 40 years, it needs to be rehabilitated, and that demands its reformation. To strengthen the democracy —injured, as well as the rights, by the management of the so called «European Great Recession»—, to restore trust in politics and to relaunch at the same time its ability to integrate the plurality and the conflict, are all objectives that require a constitutional pact which updates the previous one closed long time ago, as well as a federal pact which assumes the maturing of our identity diversity, which is that of the Spaniards in the first half of the 21st century

El lenguaje de los dioses

En toda obra creativa hay algo de deicida y de suplantación divina. El artista, en especial el poeta y, aun más, las vanguardias literarias, ven en la experimentación formal el núcleo de toda actividad creadora. En 1931, con antecedentes referidos en el cuerpo del texto, Vicente Huidobro se impone tales prodigios, míticos, divinos y estéticos, en su poema Altazor. A Huidobro le atrae el fracaso y no le teme, pues en él contempla “el imán del abismo”, no ignora que el poema es algo que nunca será, sino su posibilidad; altiva y magra. He aquí algunas líneas generales en las que este ensayo se enreda para procurar desenredarlas.In every creative work there is some deicide and divine impersonation. The artist, specially the poet, and even more the literary vanguards see in formal experimentation the center of any creative activity. In 1931, with precedents referred in text, Vicente Huidobro establishes such wonders, mythical, divine and aesthetic in his poem Altazor. Huidobro is attracted to failure and is not afraid of it, for he sees “the abyss magnet”, so he does not ignore that the poem is something that will never be but its proud and pure possibility. Here some of the general lines in which this essay tangles to try and untangle

Selective linkage detection of O-sialoglycan isomers by negative electrospray ionization ion trap tandem mass spectrometry

9 páginas, 6 figuras, 2 esquemas.-- El pdf del artículo es la versión de autor.Sialylated O-linked oligosaccharides are involved in many biological processes, such as cell-cell interactions, cell-substance adhesion, and virus-host interactions. These activities depend on their structure, which is frequently determined by tandem mass spectrometry. However, these spectra are frequently analyzer-dependent, which makes it difficult to develop widely applicable analytical methods. In order to deepen the origin of this behavior, two couples of isomers of sialylated O-linked oligosaccharides, NeuAcα2-3Galβ1-3GalNAc-ol/Galβ1-3(NeuAcα2-6)GalNAc-ol and NeuGcα2-3Galβ1-3GalNAc-ol/Galβ1-3(NeuGcα2-6)GalNAc-ol, were analyzed by liquid chromatography/negative electrospray ionization ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI(−)-MSn) using both an ion trap and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Results clearly showed that while ions obtained in the triple quadrupole instrument fitted very well with the standard fragmentation routes, in the ion trap several intense ions could not be explained by these rules, specially a fragment at m/z 597. Furthermore, this ion was observed in the mass spectrum of those isomers that sialic acid binds to GalNAc by an α2-6 linkage. From the MS3 spectrum of this ion an unexpected structure was deduced, and it led to propose alternative fragmentation pathways. Molecular mechanics calculations suggested that the found atypical route could be promoted by a hydrogen bond located only in α2-6-linked oligosaccharides. It has also been demonstrated that this process follows a slow kinetic, explaining why it cannot be observed using an ion beam-type mass analyzer. In conclusion, ion traps seem to be more appropriate than triple quadrupoles to develop a reliable analytical method to distinguish between isomeric O-linked glycans.Financial support was obtained from projects ANALISYC S-0505/ AGR/000312 from the Comunidad de Madrid, Consolider Ingenio 2010 (FUN-C-FOOD); CSD 2007-00063 from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia; and PIF-SIALOBIOTIC 200870F010-1 and -2 from CSIC.Peer reviewe

Kondo lattice model: Unitary transformations, spin dynamics, strongly correlated charged modes, and vacuum instability

Using unitary transformations, we express the Kondo lattice Hamiltonian in terms of fermionic operators that annihilate the ground state of the interacting system and that represent the best possible approximations to the actual charged excitations. In this way, we obtain an effective Hamiltonian which, for small couplings, consists in a kinetic term for conduction electrons and holes, an RKKY-like term, and a renormalized Kondo interaction. The physical picture of the system implied by this formalism is that of a vacuum state consisting in a background of RKKY-induced spin correlations, where two kinds of elementary modes can be excited: Soft neutral modes associated with deformations of the spin liquid, which lead to very large low-temperature values of the heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility, and charged modes corresponding to the excitation of electrons and holes in the system. Using the translational and spin rotational symmetries, we construct a simple ansatz to determine the charged excitations neglecting the effects of the spin correlations. Apart from the `normal', uncorrelated states, we find strongly correlated charged modes involving soft electrons (or holes) and spin fluctuations, which strongly renormalize the low-energy charged spectrum, and whose energy becomes negative beyond a critical coupling, signaling a vacuum instability and a transition to a new phase.Comment: 35 pages, revtex 3.

Decomposition and nitrogen mineralisation of two wild lupins (Leguminosae) species with potential as green manures

The amount of biomass produced by various native species of genus Lupinus (L.) growing in Mexico ranges from 2.9- 8.2 Mg/ha of dry matter, which can add up to 200 kg/ha of N to soil as green manure. However, information is scarce on the decomposition and mineralisation this biomass in the soil. The above-ground decomposition and N mineralisation of Lupinus mexicanus Cerv. ex Lag. and Lupinus rotundiflorus M.E. Jones species from Mexico using fine-mesh litter bags was evaluated. Litter bags containing 5 g of above-ground air-dried biomass at the vegetative and flowering stages were buried at a depth of 20 cm. Were dug up every 3 weeks over the course of 4 months, dried and re-weighed to determine the lost mass and total N by the Kjeldahl method. The largest decrease in residue mass occurred during the first 3 weeks of incubation. However, the lost mass was higher in younger green manure (75 days old) than in older plants (85 days old) after 18 weeks of exposure in the field. It was found that 60-75% of the total N in the plant material was released in the first 6 weeks. In L. rotundiflorus green manure, it was found that 79.14% of the initial N in the vegetative stage and 77.6% of N in the flowering stage was released 18 weeks after litter bag installation, whereas L. mexicanus were 74.6% and 74.7%, respectively. It was found that both decomposition and N mineralisation occurred quickly in the green manures evaluated

Deep XMM-Newton observation of the Eta Chamaleontis cluster

The members of the Eta Chamaleontis cluster are in an evolutionary stage in which disks are rapidly evolving. It also presents some peculiarities, such as the large fraction of binaries and accretion disks, probably related with the cluster formation process. Its proximity makes this stellar group an ideal target for studying the relation between X-ray emission and those stellar parameters. The main objective of this work is to determine general X-ray properties of the cluster members in terms of coronal temperature, column density, emission measure, X-ray luminosity and variability. We also aim to establish the relation between the X-ray luminosity of these stars and other stellar parameters, such as binarity and presence of accretion disks. A study of flare energies for each flare event and their relation with some stellar parameters is also performed. We used proprietary data from a deep XMM-Newton observation pointed at the core of the Eta Chamaleontis cluster. Specific software for the reduction of XMM-Newton data was used for the analysis of our observation. For the detection of sources, we used the wavelet-based code PWDetect. General coronal properties were derived from plasma model fitting. We also determined variability of the Eta Chamaleontis members in the EPIC field-of-view. A total of six flare-like events were clearly detected in five different stars. For them, we derived coronal properties during the flare events and pseudo-quiescent state separately. In our observations, stars that underwent a flare event have higher X-ray luminosities in the pseudo-quiescent state than cluster members with similar spectral type with no indications of flaring, independently whether they have an accretion disk or not. Observed flare energies are typical of both pre-main and main-sequence M stars. We detected no difference between flare energies of stars with and without an accretion disk.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. 12 pages, 30 individual figure