Poster: Documenting Horizons of Interpretation in Philosophy

This poster presentation describes a project currently underway at the Faculty of Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). It has been funded by a grant from the Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos para la Innovación y Mejoramiento de la Enseñanza (PAPIME), a university endowment program for innovation in education. It is a collaborative documentation project of the individual and collective processes of research and writing of a group of 25 researchers, working on papers about the contemporary strategies of appropriation of the antiquity and aims to use innovative web-based technology to document different data of the research/writing process and to create a visualization model to use the data for educative and didactical purposes

The biogeographic basis of Ebola-virus disease outbreaks: A model for other zoonotic diseases?

We first determined the differential role of favorability of environmental conditions and mammalian chorotypes in explaining the presence of the Ebola virus in Africa. We then combined environmental factors and chorotypes using fuzzy logic, which better explained the distribution of Ebola virus. The core area for the virus was associated with human infections of known animal origin, with infections of unknown source detected in areas that are biogeographically more peripheral. Variation in the environmental favorability for disease outbreaks may be monitored using indices of macroclimatic oscillations. This may provide the basis for an early warning system based on the variation in macroclimatic indices and the locations where human contact with multiple animal species tend to occur. We propose to study the biogeography of zoonoses by: 1) determining the potential spatial distribution of these diseases, according to environmental factors and the biogeographic structure of animals linked to the zoonosis cycle; 2) search for relationships between disease outbreaks and global atmospheric oscillations to forecast periods of higher risk of emergence of the infectious diseases.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Modelado numérico para estudiar interfases fluido-sólidas ante excitaciones dinámicas

ResumenEste trabajo trata sobre la propagación de ondas en interfases fluido-sólidas debidas a excitaciones dinámicas, que son conocidas como ondas de Scholte. Se ha estudiado una amplia gama de materiales sólidos elásticos empleados en la ingeniería. La interfase une un medio acústico (fluido) y otro sólido. Se ha demostrado que por medio de un análisis de ondas difractadas en un fluido es posible deducir las características mecánicas del medio sólido, específicamente sus velocidades de propagación. Para este propósito, el campo difractado de onda de presión y desplazamientos, debido a una onda inicial de presión en el fluido, se expresa mediante las representaciones integrales de frontera, las cuales satisfacen la ecuación de movimiento. La presión inicial en el fluido es representada mediante una función de Hankel de segunda especie y orden cero. La solución a este problema de propagación de ondas se obtiene por medio del método indirecto de elementos frontera, que es equivalente al bien conocido teorema de representación de Somigliana. La validación de los resultados se realiza por medio del método del número de onda discreto. En primer lugar, se muestran espectros de presiones que ilustran el comportamiento del fluido para cada material sólido considerado, y después se aplica la transformada rápida de Fourier para mostrar los resultados en el dominio del tiempo, donde se ejemplifica la aparición de las ondas de Scholte y la cantidad de energía que transportan.AbstractThis work shows the wave propagation in fluid-solid interfaces due to dynamic excitations, such interface waves are known as Scholte's waves. We studied a wide range of elastic solid materials used in engineering. The interface connects an acoustic medium (fluid) and another solid. It has been shown that by means of an analysis of diffracted waves in a fluid, it is possible to deduce the mechanical characteristics of the solid medium, specifically, its propagation velocities. For this purpose, the diffracted field of pressures and displacements, due to an initial pressure in the fluid, are expressed using boundary integral representations, which satisfy the equation of motion. The initial pressure in the fluid is represented by a Hankel's function of second kind and zero order. The solution to this problem of wave propagation is obtained by means of the Indirect Boundary Element Method, which is equivalent to the well-known Somigliana's representation theorem. The validation of the results was performed by means of the Discrete Wave Number Method. Firstly, spectra of pressures to illustrate the behavior of the fluid for each solid material considered are included, then, the Fast Fourier Transform algorithm to display the results in the time domain is applied, where the emergence of Scholte's waves and the amount of energy that they carry are highlighted

Texture discrimination and multi-unit recording in the rat vibrissal nerve

BACKGROUND: Rats distinguish objects differing in surface texture by actively moving their vibrissae. In this paper we characterized some aspects of texture sensing in anesthetized rats during active touch. We analyzed the multifiber discharge from a deep vibrissal nerve when the vibrissa sweeps materials (wood, metal, acrylic, sandpaper) having different textures. We polished these surfaces with sandpaper (P1000) to obtain close degrees of roughness and we induced vibrissal movement with two-branch facial nerve stimulation. We also consider the change in pressure against the vibrissa as a way to improve the tactile information acquisition. The signals were compared with a reference signal (control) – vibrissa sweeping the air – and were analyzed with the Root Mean Square (RMS) and the Power Spectrum Density (PSD). RESULTS: We extracted the information about texture discrimination hidden in the population activity of one vibrissa innervation, using the RMS values and the PSD. The pressure level 3 produced the best differentiation for RMS values and it could represent the "optimum" vibrissal pressure for texture discrimination. The frequency analysis (PSD) provided information only at low-pressure levels and showed that the differences are not related to the roughness of the materials but could be related to other texture parameters. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the physical properties of different materials could be transduced by the trigeminal sensory system of rats, as are shown by amplitude and frequency changes. Likewise, varying the pressure could represent a behavioral strategy that improves the information acquisition for texture discrimination

Lack of maintenance of motorway fences works against their intended purpose with potential negative impacts on protected species

Linear infrastructure intrusions into natural ecosystems, such as motorways and high-speed railways, causes direct loss of habitat but also impacts fauna through collisions. Wildlife road mortality is well documented and extensive conservation legislation exists in many countries to minimise the negative impact of these infrastructures. However, although these measures are implemented because of legislation, these structures are often not adequately maintained. Here we present data on the functionality of perimeter fences along two motorways in Malaga province (southern Spain) erected to prevent collisions with the common chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon). We sampled the fences along the 14 km of the two motorways included in the 17 1 × 1 km squares of the study area. Our results show that the reptile fence is permeable throughout at those points where the metal sheeting was absent and where the vegetation had overgrown around the fence, hence allowing chameleons to cross. Given our results, we conclude that this situation is likely to be similar in other regions of Spain and in other countries. This is because construction/concessionary companies do not consider the environmental impact of construction projects in the medium and long term, and environmental authorities do not ensure that companies comply with the legislation

Brotes de ébola y la presencia de murciélagos en áreas humanizadas: un análisis biogeográfico

Recientemente se ha demostrado que existe una relación positiva entre la deforestación en África y la aparición de brotes de Ébola en humanos. Sin embargo, los mecanismos que median en esta relación aún son desconocidos. Se ha sugerido la facilitación del acceso del ser humano a la selva, y por tanto su mayor contacto con la fauna autóctona; y el favorecimiento ambiental de la fauna capaz de transmitir el virus, incluidos los murciélagos de la fruta (familia Pteropodidae). Nuestro objetivo ha sido tratar de comprobar el posible papel de los murciélagos de la fruta en la transmisión del Ébola en zonas recientemente deforestadas, mediante un enfoque hipotético-deductivo basado en la biogeografía de estas especies. Las actividades humanas podrían haber contribuido significativamente a definir las áreas de distribución de 15 especies de murciélagos de la fruta. Esta contribución es más significativa aún cuando el área de estudio se restringe a África central y occidental, contexto biogeográfico favorable a la presencia del virus del Ébola en la naturaleza. La influencia humana se intensifica en el caso de tres especies en particular: Eidolon helvum, Epomops franqueti e Hypsignatus monstrosus, cuyo vínculo con el Ébola está demostrado a través de pruebas serológicas y biomoleculares. Además, nuestro análisis proporciona evidencias de que las zonas donde la actividad humana favorece la presencia de 7 especies de murciélagos de la fruta están significativamente solapadas con la localización de brotes de Ébola cuya relación con eventos de deforestación se ha sugerido con anterioridad. Entre éstas especies hay 5 cuya relación con el Ébola está confirmada en laboratorio: las tres antes citadas, más Micropteropus pusillus y Rousettus aegyptiacus. Esto sugiere la existencia de un vínculo positivo entre la pérdida de bosque y la presencia de murciélagos de la fruta con capacidad de transmitir la enfermedad, en zonas donde infecciones de Ébola en seres humanos han tenido lugar.UKAID y USAID a través de CIFOR Bushmeat Research Initiative; proyecto CGL2016-76747-R del Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competividad y Fondos FEDER. // Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec