Exploring Combined Influences of Seasonal East Atlantic (EA) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the Temperature-Precipitation Relationship in the Iberian Peninsula

The combined influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the East Atlantic (EA) patterns on the covariability of temperatures and precipitation in 35 stations of the Iberian Peninsula during the period 1950–2019 is analysed in this work. Four EA-NAO composites were defined from teleconnection patterns’ positive and negative phases: EA+NAO+, EA+NAO-, EA-NAO+ and EA-NAO-. Daily data of maximum and minimum temperature were used to obtain seasonal means (TX and TN, respectively), and the covariability of these variables with accumulated seasonal rainfall (R) was studied comparing results obtained for different NAO and EA composites. Main results indicate slight differences in the spatial coverage of correlation coefficients between R and temperature variables, except in spring when the generalised negative relationship between R and TX under EA+NAO+ and EA-NAO- disappears under EA-NAO+ and EA+NAO- composites. This result may be useful to interpret and discuss historical reconstructions of the Iberian climate

Influencia de la NAO en la covariabilidad de temperaturas y precipitaciones de invierno en España, 1946-2005

En este trabajo se analiza la influencia de la Oscilación del Atlántico Norte (NAO) en la covariabilidad de temperaturas y precipitaciones de invierno de 18 estaciones meteorológicas distribuidas por el territorio peninsular español durante el periodo 1946-2005. La covariabilidad entre precipitaciones totales acumuladas (R) y media estacional de las temperaturas máximas diarias (TX), mínimas diarias (TN), medias diarias (TM), y del rango diurno de temperaturas (DTR), fue analizada comparando los resultados obtenidos para las distintas fases de la NAO. Entre las variables relacionadas con la temperatura, la que muestra mayor cobertura espacial de resultados estadísticamente significativos es la DTR. Entre los principales resultados se obtiene el descenso (aumento) de los valores medios de DTR durante la fase NAO negativa (positiva), aunque no hay cambios importantes en las correlaciones entre variables dependiendo de las fases de la NAO. En términos generales, y durante la fase NAO negativa (positiva), se produce un aumento (descenso) de la covariabilidad de temperaturas y precipitaciones en las estaciones occidentales, mientras que el comportamiento opuesto se detecta en las estaciones del litoral mediterráneo.The influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the covariability of temperatures and precipitation in 18 stations of the Iberian Peninsula during the period 1946-2005 is analyzed in this work. Daily data of minimum, maximum, mean temperature, and daily temperature range were used to obtain seasonal means (TN, TX, TM, and DTR, respectively), and the covariability of these variables with accumulated seasonal rainfall (R) was studied comparing results obtained for different NAO phases. The variable that shows the greatest spatial coverage of statistically significant results is the DTR. It has been detected a decrease (increase) of DTR during the negative (positive) NAO phase, although there is not important differences of the correlations depending on the NAO phases. In general terms, during the negative (positive) NAO phase, there is an increase (decrease) of the covariability of temperatures and rainfall in western stations, while the opposite behavior is found in the Mediterranean stations

Nova ocorrência de vespas não-polinizadoras (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) em sicônios de Ficus microcarpa no Brasil

Ficus microcarpa is an Asian fig tree that is ornamentally cultivated. The specific pollinator, Eupristina verticillata Waterston, and the non-pollinators Walkerella microcarpae Bouček and Philotrypesis emeryi Grandi, have been reported associated to F. microcarpa in Brazil. In here we report for the first time the occurrence of Odontofroggatia ishii Wiebes and Philotrypesis taiwanensis Chen et al in F. microcarpa in Brazil. Our results suggest that P. taiwanensis and O. ishii represent a recent influx of these wasps into Brazil. Considering that ~20 fig wasp species are associated with F. microcarpa in its native area, novel occurrences can be reported in the future in Brazil.Ficus microcarpa é uma figueira asiática cultivada com finalidades ornamentais. A espécie polinizadora específica, Eupristina verticillata Waterston, e as não-polinizadoras Walkerella microcarpae Bouček e Philotrypesis emeryi Grandi, foram relatadas associadas a F. microcarpa no Brasil. No presente estudo, relatamos pela primeira vez a ocorrência de Odontofroggatia ishii Wiebes e Philotrypesis taiwanensis Chen et al em F. microcarpa no Brasil. Nossos resultados sugerem que tais vespas foram introduzidas recentemente no país. Considerando que ~20 espécies de vespas são associadas a F. microcarpa em sua região de origem, novas ocorrências poderão ser registradas no futuro no Brasil.International Foundation for Science (IFS, Sweden)FAPES

Measuring Dislocation Density in Aluminum with Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy

Dislocations in a material will, when present in enough numbers, change the speed of propagation of elastic waves. Consequently, two material samples, differing only in dislocation density, will have different elastic constants, a quantity that can be measured using Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy. Measurements of this effect on aluminum samples are reported. They compare well with the predictions of the theory.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Hepatitis C virus in monozygotic twins

É relatado o caso de paciente grávida, com hepatite C crônica que deu à luz dois gêmeos monozigóticos. Um recém-nascido apresentou positividade para o RNA do vírus da hepatite C (RNA-VHC), no sangue venoso, coletado de veia periférica doze horas após o parto. O outro recém-nascido apresentou-se negativo para o RNA-VHC logo após o nascimento, porém tornou-se RNA-VHC positivo na amostra coletada aos três meses de idade. Os resultados permitem supor que um dos gêmeos provavelmente foi contaminado no período intra-uterino, enquanto o outro adquiriu a infecção no período perinatal. Ambos foram negativos para a presença do RNA-VHC e para os anticorpos anti-HCV em todas as amostras séricas coletadas após os nove meses de idade. Os exames laboratoriais dos gêmeos não mostraram a presença de infecção crônica pelo VHC durante o acompanhamento de 29 meses .A case of a pregnant patient with chronic hepatitis C who gave birth to monozygotic twins that were infected with HCV is reported. One of the newborns was positive for HCV-RNA in blood sample collected 12 hours after delivery. The other newborn was negative for HCV-RNA at birth, but was detected HCV viremia at three months of age. The results have led to the conclusion that one of the twins was probably contaminated in the intrauterine period, while the other acquired the infection in the perinatal period. Both were negative for HCV-RNA and for anti-HCV in the serum samples collected at nine months of age. The report describes the changes in the laboratory tests conducted in mother and twins until 29 months after delivery

Sobre la puesta, incubación de huevos, nacimiento y desarrollo de crías de <i>Philodryas viridissima</i> (Colubridae: Xenodontinae) en cautiverio

El género Philodryas (Wagler, 1830) incluye aproximadamente 21 especies distribuidas en casi toda Sudamérica. Existen reportes sobre la dieta, hábitat y tácticas defensivas de muchas especies del género (Bozinovic y Rosenman, 1988; Marques, 1999; Hartmann y Marques, 2005), pero los datos reproductivos se restringen a pocas especies. El día 10 de noviembre del 2005 se capturó una hembra de Philodryas viridissima oviponiendo en un hormiguero al lado de un sendero en la Reserva privada de Potrerillo del Guendá y Las Conchas, a 40 km al Oeste de Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.Asociación Herpetológica Argentina (AHA

Design and simulation of an energy homeostaticity system for electric and thermal power management in a building with smart microgrid

Nowadays, microgrids are gaining importance in electric power generation and distribution environments due to their flexibility, versatility, scalability and the possibility of supplying ancillary services when connected to the grid. They allow for the customization of electric supply for very different types of consumers. Therefore, a new control model for power and energy management based on homeostaticity of electric power systems (EPS) is presented, which has been already analyzed and approved by ENEL Chile in its developmental stage. ENEL, the largest electric utility in the country, is interested in incorporating smart microgrids in the electricity distribution market, as part of a worldwide policy. Such microgrids are to be installed in buildings serviced by ENEL. To demonstrate the model’s utility, a Simulink model of a real microgrid is used, which is comprised of PV generation, energy storage, an air conditioning (AC) equipment and thermal storage of the building upon which the microgrid is installed. The behavior of every element is simulated, including the dynamic thermal model of the building in order to optimize energy management and power supply versus consumption. The behavior of the whole system is analyzed under different environmental profiles and energy consumption patterns using the proposed homeostaticity system.Ministry of Education RTI2018-094917-B-I00Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico, Tecnológico y de Innovación Tecnológica FPU16-03522,3170399,FP

A Prediction Algorithm For Drug Response In Patients With Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Based On Clinical And Genetic Information

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy is the most common form of adult epilepsy in surgical series. Currently, the only characteristic used to predict poor response to clinical treatment in this syndrome is the presence of hippocampal sclerosis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms ( SNPs) located in genes encoding drug transporter and metabolism proteins could influence response to therapy. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate whether combining information from clinical variables as well as SNPs in candidate genes could improve the accuracy of predicting response to drug therapy in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. For this, we divided 237 patients into two groups: 75 responsive and 162 refractory to antiepileptic drug therapy. We genotyped 119 SNPs in ABCB1, ABCC2, CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP1B1, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, CYP3A4, and CYP3A5 genes. We used 98 additional SNPs to evaluate population stratification. We assessed a first scenario using only clinical variables and a second one including SNP information. The random forests algorithm combined with leave-one-out cross-validation was used to identify the best predictive model in each scenario and compared their accuracies using the area under the curve statistic. Additionally, we built a variable importance plot to present the set of most relevant predictors on the best model. The selected best model included the presence of hippocampal sclerosis and 56 SNPs. Furthermore, including SNPs in the model improved accuracy from 0.4568 to 0.8177. Our findings suggest that adding genetic information provided by SNPs, located on drug transport and metabolism genes, can improve the accuracy for predicting which patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy are likely to be refractory to drug treatment, making it possible to identify patients who may benefit from epilepsy surgery sooner.121FAPESP [2013/07559-3]Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP