To what extent does photoperiod affect cattle reproduction? Clinical perspectives of melatonin administration

The seasonality of reproduction in most mammals is dictated by photoperiod, temperature and nutrition. Melatonin, mainly synthesized in the pineal gland, is generally accepted as the active mediator of photoperiod responses including reproduction. While non-pregnant heifers and cows show continuous sexual activity and are therefore not seasonal breeders, it has been suggested that photo-periodicity may influence the appearance of puberty in heifers and the onset of parturition. Further, the light/dark ratio may influence endocrine patterns of gestation and a shorter light period correlates with the incidence of twin pregnancies. This review considers specific aspects of the effects of photoperiod and melatonin on reproduction in dairy cattle and discusses the clinical applications of melatonin

Anderson localization in carbon nanotubes: defect density and temperature effects

The role of irradiation induced defects and temperature in the conducting properties of single-walled (10,10) carbon nanotubes has been analyzed by means of a first-principles approach. We find that di-vacancies modify strongly the energy dependence of the differential conductance, reducing also the number of contributing channels from two (ideal) to one. A small number of di-vacancies (5-9) brings up strong Anderson localization effects and a seemly universal curve for the resistance as a function of the number of defects. It is also shown that low temperatures, around 15-65 K, are enough to smooth out the fluctuations of the conductance without destroying the exponential dependence of the resistivity as a function of the tube length.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

ESTABLISHING AN ATLANTIC BLUEFIN TUNA (Thunnus thynnus) BROODSTOCK

The Spanish Institute of Oceanography owns a facility to reproduce Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT). This facility was built in 2015 and in August 2017, some fingerlings born in captivity were moved to this installation, and some wild tunas were added two months later. In November 2019, this batch consists in 69 2+ ABFT weighting 28 kg. Hopefully they can reach 40 kg at the beginning of June and spawn by the first time. Fertilized ABFT eggs were collected from cages owned by PisciAlba and obtained larvae were cultured in IEO facilities. At the end of July 2017, some fingerlings (Cultured batch –CB-, 2 gr mean weight) were move to ICRA facilities and placed in a 1000 m3 tank. At the end of September 2017 a total of 68 0+ ABFT fingerlings (Wild batch –WB-, 414 g mean weight), were captured from the Mazarron Bay and placed in another tank in ICRA. 4 months later, 81 tunas coming from both batches were weighted (2.5 kg mean weight), tagged and place together in a 3500 m3 tank. During all the time, temperature ranged between 17 and 27ºC, and food consisted in bait, mainly, Scomber scombrus (47% of the total food) and Clupea harengus (25%) but also Sardinella aurita, Engraulis encrasicolus and Scomber japonicus (11, 10 and 7% respectively). From February 2018 to November 2019, mortality has been 16.9% (10.9% in WB and 28.6% in CB) and tunas have grown to reach an average of 28 kg. Biomass in this moment is 1930 kg, which means a density of 0.55 kg/m3 . Feeding intake was high during the first six months (when tunas were smaller than 2.5 kg), but after this moment it has ranged between 2.5 and 7%, decreasing with the size of tunas and increasing slightly with higher temperatures (circles). Feeding conversion rate was quite stable during the period, averaging 13.8. According to forecast, at the end of next spring, average weight will be about 40 kg, with about 15 tunas greater than 50 kg. This means that they will be able to reproduce next summer if gonadal maturation develops properly

A New Fast Motion Estimation and Mode Decision algorithm for H.264 Depth Maps encoding in Free Viewpoint TV

In this paper, we consider a scenario where 3D scenes are modeled through a View+Depth representation. This representation is to be used at the rendering side to generate synthetic views for free viewpoint video. The encoding of both type of data (view and depth) is carried out using two H.264/AVC encoders. In this scenario we address the reduction of the encoding complexity of depth data. Firstly, an analysis of the Mode Decision and Motion Estimation processes has been conducted for both view and depth sequences, in order to capture the correlation between them. Taking advantage of this correlation, we propose a fast mode decision and motion estimation algorithm for the depth encoding. Results show that the proposed algorithm reduces the computational burden with a negligible loss in terms of quality of the rendered synthetic views. Quality measurements have been conducted using the Video Quality Metric

GROWTH AND SURVIVAL OF 0 + ABFT Thunnus thynnus FINGERLINGS KEPT IN TANKS

This article shows the most relevant results obtained between August 2017 and October 2018 with two batches of 0+ tunas: cultured tunas (CT) born in the IEO facilities in June 2017 and wild tunas (WT) captured in Mazarron Bay in September 2017. Fertilized ABFT eggs were collected from cages owned by PisciAlba and obtained larvae were cultured in IEO facilities. At the end of July 2017, 500 fingerlings (CT, 2 g average weight) were move to ICRA facilities on 29th July and placed in a 1000 m3 tank. At the end of September 2017 mean weight were 350 gr. In that moment, a total of 68 0+ ABFT fingerlings (WT, 414 g mean weight), were captured from the Mazarron Bay and placed in a 3500 m3 tank in ICRA. From this moment temperature ranged between 18 and 27ºC, and feeding consisted in bait, mainly Sardinella aurita and Scomber scombrus, but also Scomber japonicus, Engraulis encrasicolus and Clupea harengus. During November 2017, mortality increased in CT without any symptoms of infectious disease. 80 healthier CT were then moved to a greater tank (2500 m3 ) and in March 2018, when completely recovered, they were placed together with WT and both batches were cultured in the same tank up to now. During the 13 months period mortality observed in CT was high (close to 85%) while mortality in WT was lower than 15%. Growth was also slightly faster in WT. Feeding intake ranged during the whole period between 3 and 26%, and feeding conversion rate estimated was close to 12. At the end of October 2018 mean weight of population was 11 kg

Split vortices in optically coupled Bose-Einstein condensates

We study a rotating two-component Bose-Einstein condensate in which an optically induced Josephson coupling allows for population transfer between the two species. In a regime where separation of species is favored, the ground state of the rotating system displays domain walls with velocity fields normal to them. Such a configuration looks like a vortex split into two halves, with atoms circulating around the vortex and changing their internal state in a continuous way.Comment: 4 EPS pictures, 4 pages; Some errata have been corrected and thep resentation has been slightly revise

¿Cuál es el estilo parental óptimo para adolescentes con baja vs. alta autoeficacia? Autoconcepto, desajuste psicológico y rendimiento académico de los adolescentes en el contexto español

The aim of this paper is to establish which parenting style is associated with optimum outcomes among adolescents of Spanish families considering adolescents with low vs. high self-efficacy. Although classical studies identify the authoritative parenting style (based on warmth and strictness) as the best parental strategy, emerging research seriously questions the benefits of parental strictness. Additionally, the impact of parent-ing on the adolescent’s psychosocial competence has been studied for years, but less is known about whether it might vary depending on individual characteristics of the adolescent (e.g., self-efficacy). Participants were 1029 Spanish adolescents, 453 males (44%), aged 12-17 years. Families were classified in one of the parenting styles groups (authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, or neglectful), and adolescents were grouped by low vs. high self-efficacy. Adolescent psychosocial competence was examined through emotional and academic self-concept, psychological maladjustment (hostility/aggression, negative self-esteem, emotional responsivity, instability, and negative view of the world), and academic performance (grade point average and number of failing grades). Main and interaction effects of parenting style and adolescent self-efficacy were tested. Main effect results indicated that adolescents with low self-efficacy were always as-sociated with the worst psychosocial competence. Consistently, the main effect findings indicated that adolescents from indulgent and authoritative families were associated with better results than those from neglectful and authoritarian families. However, the indulgent parenting style yielded the best results. The impact of parenting might not be the same for adolescents in all cultural contexts. Contrary to findings from classical studies, parental strictness seems to be unnecessary or even detrimental for adolescents with low and high self-efficacy.El objetivo de este estudio es identificar qué estilo parental se asocia con resultados óptimos entre los adolescentes de familias españolas considerando aquellos con baja vs. alta autoeficacia. Los participantes fue-ron 1029 adolescentes españoles, 453 varones (44%), de 12 a 17 años. Aunque los estudios clásicos identifican el estilo autorizativo (basado en el afecto y la severidad)como la mejor estrategia socializadora, las investigaciones emergentes cuestionan seriamente los beneficios de la severidad parental. Además, el impacto de la socialización parental en la competencia psicosocial del adolescente se ha estudiado durante años, pero se sabe me-nos sobre si podría variar en función de las características individuales del adolescente (e.g., la autoeficacia). Las familias fueron clasificadas por estilo parental (autorizativo, autoritario, indulgente o negligente), y los adolescentes por baja vs. alta autoeficacia. La competencia psicosocial se examinó a través del autoconcepto emocional y académico, el desajuste psicológico (hostilidad/agresión, autoestima negativa, irresponsividad emocional, inestabilidad emocional y visión negativa del mundo) y el rendimiento académico (nota media y número de cursos repetidos). Se comprobaron los efectos principales y de interacción de estilo parental y autoeficacia. Los resultados de los efectos principales indicaron que los adolescentes con baja autoeficacia presentaban siempre la peor competencia psicosocial. También que los adolescentes de familias indulgentes y autorizativas presentaron mejores resultados que los de familias negligentes y autoritarias. Sin embargo, el estilo parental indulgente se asoció a los mejores resultados. El impacto de la socialización parental podría no ser igual en todos los contextos culturales. Frente a los resultados de los estudios clásicos, la severidad parental parece ser innecesaria o incluso perjudicial para los adolescentes con baja y alta autoeficacia

Eight years of research on bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) culture at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO)

Since 2000 the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) is participating in several research projects on BFT culture with the aim of contributing of the Domestication of this species, for improving the productive process and reducing the pressure on the wild stock as it has already happened with other full cycle cultured species