Letras y coordenadas : enfoque cartesiano a una disciplina humana

Una descripción abstracta, casi matemática de una escritura no constituye por sí misma una descripción histórica válida. Pero precisamente porque es objetiva, precisa e inequívoca puede resultar un instrumento muy útil para la observación de la escritura y para la comunicación de resultados, y, finalmente, también para la comprensión de la escritura y de su desarrollo.An abstract, almost mathematical description of script does not itself produce a historically valid description. But just because it is objective, precise and unequivocal, it can be a very useful instrument to observe script and to communicate the results and, in the end, it can contribute to the understanding of script and their developmentUne description abstraite, presque mathématique d'une écriture ne constitue pas en elle-même une description historique valide. Mais précisément parce qu'elle est objective, précise et sans équivoque, elle peut s'averer être un instrument très utile pour l'observation de l'écriture et la communication des résultats, et finalement, aussi pour la compréhension de l'écriture et son développementEine abstrakte, fast mathematische Beschreibung einer Schrift ist selbst keine historisch gültige Beschreibung. Aber, eben weil sie objektiv, prazise und eindeutig ist, kann sie ein wertvolles Instrument sein um Schrift zu beobachten und die Ergebnisse mitzuteilen, und letzten Endes auch zum Verstehen von Schriften und ihrer Entwicklung beitrage

Letras y coordenadas : enfoque cartesiano a una disciplina humana

Una descripción abstracta, casi matemática de una escritura no constituye por sí misma una descripción histórica válida. Pero precisamente porque es objetiva, precisa e inequívoca puede resultar un instrumento muy útil para la observación de la escritura y para la comunicación de resultados, y, finalmente, también para la comprensión de la escritura y de su desarrollo.An abstract, almost mathematical description of script does not itself produce a historically valid description. But just because it is objective, precise and unequivocal, it can be a very useful instrument to observe script and to communicate the results and, in the end, it can contribute to the understanding of script and their developmentUne description abstraite, presque mathématique d'une écriture ne constitue pas en elle-même une description historique valide. Mais précisément parce qu'elle est objective, précise et sans équivoque, elle peut s'averer être un instrument très utile pour l'observation de l'écriture et la communication des résultats, et finalement, aussi pour la compréhension de l'écriture et son développementEine abstrakte, fast mathematische Beschreibung einer Schrift ist selbst keine historisch gültige Beschreibung. Aber, eben weil sie objektiv, prazise und eindeutig ist, kann sie ein wertvolles Instrument sein um Schrift zu beobachten und die Ergebnisse mitzuteilen, und letzten Endes auch zum Verstehen von Schriften und ihrer Entwicklung beitrage

Patterns of geohelminth infection, impact of albendazole treatment and re-infection after treatment in schoolchildren from rural KwaZulu-Natal/South-Africa

BACKGROUND: Geohelminth infection is a major health problem of children from rural areas of developing countries. In an attempt to reduce this burden, the Department of Health of the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) established in 1998 a programme for helminth control that aimed at regularly treating primary school children for schistosomiasis and intestinal helminths. This article describes the baseline situation and the effect of treatment on geohelminth infection in a rural part of the province. METHODS: Grade 3 schoolchildren from Maputaland in northern KZN were examined for infections with hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, and Trichuris trichiura, treated twice with 400 mg albendazole and re-examined several times over one year after the first treatment in order to assess the impact of treatment and patterns of infection and re-infection. RESULTS: The hookworm prevalence in the study population (83.2%) was considerably higher than in other parts of the province whereas T. trichiura and especially A. lumbricoides prevalences (57.2 and 19.4%, respectively) were much lower than elsewhere on the KZN coastal plain. Single dose treatment with albendazole was very effective against hookworm and A. lumbricoides with cure rates (CR) of 78.8 and 96.4% and egg reduction rates (ERR) of 93.2 and 97.7%, respectively. It was exceptionally ineffective against T. trichiura (CR = 12.7%, ERR = 24.8%). Re-infection with hookworm and A. lumbricoides over 29 weeks after treatment was considerable but still well below pre-treatment levels. CONCLUSION: High geohelminth prevalences and re-infection rates in the study population confirm the need for regular treatment of primary school children in the area. The low effectiveness of single course albendazole treatment against T. trichiura infection however demands consideration of alternative treatment approaches

Bird pollination of Canary Island endemic plants

The Canary Islands are home to a guild of endemic, threatened bird pollinated plants. Previous work has suggested that these plants evolved floral traits as adaptations to pollination by flower specialist sunbirds, but subsequently they appear to be have co-opted passerine birds as sub-optimal pollinators. To test this idea we carried out a quantitative study of the pollination biology of three of the bird pollinated plants, Canarina canariensis (Campanulaceae), Isoplexis canariensis (Veronicaceae) and Lotus berthelotii (Fabaceae), on the island of Tenerife. Using colour vision models, we predicted the detectability of flowers to bird and bee pollinators. We measured pollinator visitation rates, nectar standing crops, as well as seed set and pollen removal and deposition. These data showed that the plants are effectively pollinated by non-flower specialist passerine birds that only occasionally visit flowers. The large nectar standing crops and extended flower longevities (>10days) of Canarina and Isoplexis suggests that they have evolved bird pollination system that effectively exploits these low frequency non-specialist pollen vectors and is in no way suboptimal. Seed set in two of the three species was high, and was significantly reduced or zero in flowers where pollinator access was restricted. In L. berthelotii, however, no fruit set was observed, probably because the plants were self incompatible horticultural clones of a single genet. We also show that, while all three species are easily detectable for birds, the orange Canarina and the red Lotus (but less so the yellow-orange Isoplexis) should be difficult to detect for insect pollinators without specialised red receptors, such as bumblebees. Contrary to expectations if we accept that the flowers are primarily adapted to sunbird pollination, the chiffchaff (Phylloscopus canariensis) was an effective pollinator of these species

Lifetime and performance of the very latest microchannel-plate photomultipliers

The PANDA experiment at the FAIR facility at GSI will study hadron physics using a high intensity antiproton beam of up to 15 GeV/c momentum to perform high precision spectroscopy. Two DIRC detectors with their image planes residing in an $\sim$1 T magnetic field will be used in the experiment. The only suitable photon detectors for both DIRCs were identified to be Microchannel-Plate Photomultipliers (MCP-PMTs). Since the aging problems of MCP-PMTs were solved recently by coating the MCPs with the so-called ALD-technique (atomic layer deposition) we are investigating devices which are significantly improved with respect to other parameters, as, e.g., the collection efficiency (CE) and the quantum efficiency (QE). The latest generation of MCP-PMTs can reach a detective quantum efficiency DQE = QE - CE of 30%. This paper will present the performance of the most advanced 53 $\times$ 53 mm$^2$ ALD-coated MCP-PMTs from Photonis (8 $\times$ 8 and 3 $\times$ 100 anodes) and Photek (8 $\times$ 8 anodes), also inside the magnetic field. With a picosecond laser and a multi-hit capable DAQ system which allows read out up to 300 pixels simultaneously, parameters like darkcount rate, afterpulse probability and time resolution can be investigated as a function of incident photon position.Comment: Proceedings contribution to NDIP20 (9th Conference on New Developments in Photodetection

Performance of the most recent Microchannel-Plate PMTs for the PANDA DIRC detectors at FAIR

In the PANDA experiment at the FAIR facility at GSI two DIRC (Detection of Internally Reflected Cherenkov light) detectors will be used for $\pi$/K separation up to 4 GeV/c. Due to their location in a high magnetic field and other stringent requirements like high detection efficiency, low dark count rate, radiation hardness, long lifetime and good timing, MCP-PMTs (microchannel-plate photomultiplier) were the best choice of photon sensors for the DIRC detectors in the PANDA experiment. This paper will present the performance of some of the latest 2$\times$2 inch$^2$ MCP-PMTs from Photek and Photonis, including the first mass production tubes for the PANDA Barrel DIRC from Photonis. Performance parameters like the collection efficiency (CE), quantum efficiency (QE), and gain homogeneity were determined. The effect of magnetic fields on some properties like gain and charge cloud width was investigated as well. Apart from that the spatial distribution of many internal parameters like time resolution, dark count rate, afterpulse ratio, charge sharing crosstalk and recoil electrons were measured simultaneously with a multihit capable DAQ system. The latest generation of Photonis MCP-PMTs shows an unexpected "escalation" effect where the MCP-PMT itself produces photons.Comment: Proceedings contribution to RICH2022 (11th International Workshop on Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detectors

EU-wide methodology to map and assess ecosystem condition

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 calls for developing an EU-wide methodology to map, assess and achieve good condition of ecosystems, so they can deliver benefits to society through the provision of ecosystem services. The EU-wide methodology presented in this report addresses this methodological gap. The EU-wide methodology has adopted the System of Environmental Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) as reference framework. The SEEA EA is an integrated framework for organizing biophysical information about ecosystems, adopted as a global statistical standard by the United Nations. The SEEA EA is also the reference framework under the proposal for the amendment of Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts. Building on previous work done within the MAES initiative, the EU-wide methodology presents useful insights to operationalise the SEEA EA at EU level by integrating different EU data streams in a consistent way with this global statistical standard to consistently map and assess ecosystem condition in the EU across all ecosystem types. The adoption of the SEEA EA framework offers the flexibility to integrate different data flows, leveraging the use of available EU data, such as data reported by MS under EU legislation and EU geospatial data. The EU-wide methodology. The implementation of the EU-wide methodology, making use of available data, will provide the scientific knowledge base to support a range of policies and legal instruments

Bumblebees exhibit the memory spacing effect

Associative learning is key to how bees recognize and return to rewarding floral resources. It thus plays a major role in pollinator floral constancy and plant gene flow. Honeybees are the primary model for pollinator associative learning, but bumblebees play an important ecological role in a wider range of habitats, and their associative learning abilities are less well understood. We assayed learning with the proboscis extension reflex (PER), using a novel method for restraining bees (capsules) designed to improve bumblebee learning. We present the first results demonstrating that bumblebees exhibit the memory spacing effect. They improve their associative learning of odor and nectar reward by exhibiting increased memory acquisition, a component of long-term memory formation, when the time interval between rewarding trials is increased. Bombus impatiens forager memory acquisition (average discrimination index values) improved by 129% and 65% at inter-trial intervals (ITI) of 5 and 3 min, respectively, as compared to an ITI of 1 min. Memory acquisition rate also increased with increasing ITI. Encapsulation significantly increases olfactory memory acquisition. Ten times more foragers exhibited at least one PER response during training in capsules as compared to traditional PER harnesses. Thus, a novel conditioning assay, encapsulation, enabled us to improve bumblebee-learning acquisition and demonstrate that spaced learning results in better memory consolidation. Such spaced learning likely plays a role in forming long-term memories of rewarding floral resources

FReD: the Floral Reflectance Database - a web portal for analyses of flower colour

Background: Flower colour is of great importance in various fields relating to floral biology and pollinator behaviour. However, subjective human judgements of flower colour may be inaccurate and are irrelevant to the ecology and vision of the flower's pollinators. For precise, detailed information about the colours of flowers, a full reflectance spectrum for the flower of interest should be used rather than relying on such human assessments. Methodology/Principal Findings: The Floral Reflectance Database (FReD) has been developed to make an extensive collection of such data available to researchers. It is freely available at http://www.reflectance.co.uk. The database allows users to download spectral reflectance data for flower species collected from all over the world. These could, for example, be used in modelling interactions between pollinator vision and plant signals, or analyses of flower colours in various habitats. The database contains functions for calculating flower colour loci according to widely-used models of bee colour space, reflectance graphs of the spectra and an option to search for flowers with similar colours in bee colour space. Conclusions/Significance: The Floral Reflectance Database is a valuable new tool for researchers interested in the colours of flowers and their association with pollinator colour vision, containing raw spectral reflectance data for a large number of flower species

Do Queens of Bumblebee Species Differ In Their Choice Of Flower Colour Morphs Of Corydalis Cava (Fumariaceae)?

International audienceAbstractBumblebee queens require a continuous supply of flowering food plants from early spring for the successful development of annual colonies. Early in spring, Corydalis cava provides essential nectar and pollen resources and a choice of flower colour. In this paper, we examine flower colour choice (purple or white) in C. cava and verify the hypothesis that bumblebee queens differ in their choice of flower colour. A total of 10,615 observations of flower visits were made in spring 2011 and spring 2014 near Poznań, western Poland. Our results suggest that Bombus lucorum/cryptarum used purple flowers less, while Bombus terrestris used purple flowers more and Bombus hortorum showed no preference. Therefore, the colour morphs of C. cava are probably co-evolutionary adaptations to the development of another part of the insect community which has different colour preferences