On the EDM Cancellations in D-brane models

We analyze the possibility of simultaneous electron, neutron, and mercury electric dipole moment (EDM) cancellations in the mSUGRA and D--brane models. We find that the mercury EDM constraint practically rules out the cancellation scenario in D-brane models whereas in the context of mSUGRA it is still allowed with some fine-tuning.Comment: 10 pages, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

The Arabidopsis thaliana Homeobox Gene ATHB12 Is Involved in Symptom Development Caused by Geminivirus Infection

BACKGROUND: Geminiviruses are single-stranded DNA viruses that infect a number of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants. Arabidopsis is susceptible to infection with the Curtovirus, Beet severe curly top virus (BSCTV). Infection of Arabidopsis with BSCTV causes severe symptoms characterized by stunting, leaf curling, and the development of abnormal inflorescence and root structures. BSCTV-induced symptom development requires the virus-encoded C4 protein which is thought to interact with specific plant-host proteins and disrupt signaling pathways important for controlling cell division and development. Very little is known about the specific plant regulatory factors that participate in BSCTV-induced symptom development. This study was conducted to identify specific transcription factors that are induced by BSCTV infection. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Arabidopsis plants were inoculated with BSCTV and the induction of specific transcription factors was monitored using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assays. We found that the ATHB12 and ATHB7 genes, members of the homeodomain-leucine zipper family of transcription factors previously shown to be induced by abscisic acid and water stress, are induced in symptomatic tissues of Arabidopsis inoculated with BSCTV. ATHB12 expression is correlated with an array of morphological abnormalities including leaf curling, stunting, and callus-like structures in infected Arabidopsis. Inoculation of plants with a BSCTV mutant with a defective c4 gene failed to induce ATHB12. Transgenic plants expressing the BSCTV C4 gene exhibited increased ATHB12 expression whereas BSCTV-infected ATHB12 knock-down plants developed milder symptoms and had lower ATHB12 expression compared to the wild-type plants. Reporter gene studies demonstrated that the ATHB12 promoter was responsive to BSCTV infection and the highest expression levels were observed in symptomatic tissues where cell cycle genes also were induced. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that ATHB7 and ATHB12 may play an important role in the activation of the abnormal cell division associated with symptom development during geminivirus infection

A multi-component flood risk assessment in the Maresme coast (NW Mediterranean)

Coastal regions are the areas most threatened by natural hazards, with floods being the most frequent and significant threat in terms of their induced impacts, and therefore, any management scheme requires their evaluation. In coastal areas, flooding is a hazard associated with various processes acting at different scales: coastal storms, flash floods, and sea level rise (SLR). In order to address the problem as a whole, this study presents a methodology to undertake a preliminary integrated risk assessment that determines the magnitude of the different flood processes (flash flood, marine storm, SLR) and their associated consequences, taking into account their temporal and spatial scales. The risk is quantified using specific indicators to assess the magnitude of the hazard (for each component) and the consequences in a common scale. This allows for a robust comparison of the spatial risk distribution along the coast in order to identify both the areas at greatest risk and the risk components that have the greatest impact. This methodology is applied on the Maresme coast (NW Mediterranean, Spain), which can be considered representative of developed areas of the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The results obtained characterise this coastline as an area of relatively low overall risk, although some hot spots have been identified with high-risk values, with flash flooding being the principal risk process

The ecological map of Barcelona: the changes of the city in the last three decades

Barcelona presenta una importante dinámica en su estructura urbana, con repercusiones en el medio ambiente. Para la gestión y la planificación a escala municipal se precisa saber cómo se estructura  la ciudad y cómo cambia  en el tiempo.  En este trabajo  se presenta el Mapa ecológico de Barcelona (MEB), que cuenta con tres ediciones y recoge casi tres décadas (1977-2004) de cambios en la estructura de la ciudad. En él, se representan las zonas ecológicas que componen  el  sistema  urbano,  es  decir,  distintos  tipos  de  zonas  naturales,  seminaturales,  y urbanizadas. De la tercera edición, cabe destacar su alto nivel de resolución gracias a que las imágenes  de  base  son  ortofotos  color  con  un  píxel  de  0.5  m,  y  que  la  leyenda  jerárquica presenta, en su máximo detalle, 58 categorías. Los principales resultados de la comparación entre ediciones del MEB muestran el proceso de densificación urbana sufrido por Barcelona a costa de cultivos y solares sin edificar, agotando prácticamente el suelo libre del municipio, pero también la recuperación del bosque, y el importante aumento de zonas verdes.The dynamic nature of urban growth in Barcelona has important repercussions on the environment. Management and planning on a municipal scale makes it imperative to know how the city is structured and how it changes over time. In this work, we present the Ecological Map of Barcelona (MEB), which has three editions and it covers almost three decades (1977-2004) of changes in the structure of the city. The map displays the ecological areas that compose the urban system, that is, different kinds of natural areas, semi-natural areas and built-up areas. It is worth pointing out the high level of resolution of the third edition because the images used in this new edition are colour orthophotos with a pixel size of 0.5 m, and because the hierarchical legend displays, at maximum detail, 58 categories. Comparing among editions of the MEB shows the process of urban densification suffered by Barcelona at the expense of crops and non- built plots, using practically the free ground up of the municipality, but also the recovery of the forest, and the important increase of green areas.Barcelone présente une importante dynamique dans sa structure urbaine, avec des répercussions  dans  l’environnement.  Pour  la  gestion  et  la  planification  à  échelle  municipale  on précise savoir comment se structure la ville et comment elle change dans le temps. Dans ce travail on présente la Carte écologique de Barcelone (MEB), de la quelle il y a trois éditions et rassemble presque trois décennies (1977-2004) de changements dans la structure de la ville. On y  représente les zones écologiques qui composent le système urbain, c’est-à-dire, différents types de zones naturelles, seminaturelles, et urbanisées. De la troisième édition, il convient de souligner son haut niveau de résolution grâce au fait que les images de base sont ortho-photos couleur avec un pixel de 0.5 m, et que la légende hiérarchique présente, dans son détail maximal,  58  catégories.  Les  principaux  résultats  de  la  comparaison  entre  les  éditions  du  MEB montrent le processus de densification urbaine souffert par Barcelone aux prix de cultures et de lots sans construire, en épuisant pratiquement le sol libre de la municipalité, mais aussi la récupération de la forêt, et l’importante augmentation d’espaces verts

El Inventario Ecológico y Forestal de Catalunya y su consulta mediante la palicación MiraBosc "on-line"

El Inventario Ecológico y Forestal de Catalunya (IEFC, http://www.creaf.uab.es/iefc), que el CREAF llevó a cabo en el período 1988-98, representó una contribución metodológica a los inventarios forestales nacionales, ya que, además de las variables habituales incorporó otras nuevas como: la biomasa arbórea de ramas, hojas y aérea total, la concentración y la cantidad de nutrientes en las distintas fracciones aéreas del árbol, la vida media de las hojas, el índice de área foliar, la estructura y composición del sotobosque o los modelos de combustible y de inflamabilidad. El IEFC ha sido un inventario innovador, también en lo que respecta a la transferencia de la información a la sociedad. Las tradicionales publicaciones en forma de libros han ido acompañadas de versiones digitales de acceso libre y gratuito, que permiten una consulta mucho más ágil de la información y se ha desarrollado una aplicación, MiraBosc on-line (http://natura.creaf.uab.es/mirabosc/), que permite realizar consultas en tiempo real sobre la base de datos del IEFC desde cualquier ordenador conectado a Internet. En solo tres pasos y mediante sencillos menús se puede obtener información relativa a parcelas de muestreo, tarifas de cubicación, dasometría o indicadores dendrométricos; escogiendo el ámbito geográfico, las especies y el nivel de protección del suelo