Análisis y caracterización de dos especies nativas del área metropolitana de Monterrey para su uso como bioindicadores de sitios contaminados por plomo.

En este estudio se analiza el efecto del plomo (Pb) en el crecimiento y la bioquímica de dos especies de plantas, con la finalidad de ser utilizadas como especies bioindicadoras de contaminación en el área metropolitana de Monterrey. Una especie, Hellianthus annuus (girasol) como individuo ya estudiado por otros autores y Caesalpinia mexicana (hierba del potro) como especie nativa de la región y que no cuenta con ninguna documentación para este tipo de estudios. Las plantas fueron tratadas con una solución de Pb(NO3)2 a diferentes concentraciones de 0, 10, 100 y 400 ppm durante 15 y 30 días. En la duración del experimento se observó los efectos visuales que tiene el plomo sobre las plantas en las diferentes concentraciones. Por otra parte, se analizó la cantidad de compuesto que se acumuló dentro de las especies, separando el tallo y raíz para determinar en qué parte se acumula la mayor concentración del metal mediante absorción atómica resultando que en la parte inferior es donde existe la mayor cantidad acumulada del contaminante. En la parte bioquímica se determinó la actividad específica de Ureasa, dado que algunos autores citan que las plantas expuestas a contaminantes como metales pesados aumentan la actividad de esa enzima como respuesta a la absorción del metal y acelerando su metabolismo como parte del mismo. Durante el tiempo de exposición al contaminante, se llevó un control sobre los cambios físicos que fueran sufriendo cada individuo, como coloración, pudrición, y tomando nota del mismo. Al momento de terminar el experimento se tomó el peso húmedo de los individuos, para pasarlos a la estufa a 105° C constantes, durante 24 horas para el secado y obtención de la materia seca. Para la parte de absorción atómica se realizó una digestión de las muestras utilizando 10 ml de Ácido Nítrico en vasos de precipitados y aplicando calor para acelerar el proceso, al terminar esto se pasó al equipo de medición Varian SpectrAA 50, para tomar las lecturas correspondientes, utilizando el método marcado por la NOM-147-SEMARNAT/SSA1-2004. Para la parte bioquímica se realizó un ensayo de indofenol (método de Berthelot) para determinar la actividad específica de la ureasa en las plantas. Utilizando muestras de extracto del tejido vegetal (3g aproximadamente) extrayéndolo mediante un mortero, agregando etanol para después pasar a incubar en la estufa a 37°C durante 30 min, para después pasar a la medición de la actividad. Los efectos nocivos del plomo se vieron reflejados en las diferentes concentraciones de la solución a la que estuvieron expuestos, viéndose más claramente en la Caesalpinia mexicana, los cambios morfológicos que sufrieron los individuos a medida que fueron aumentando las concentraciones, en comparación a las plantas de control las que contenían solución se vieron afectadas en el crecimiento de las hojas y tallo. El Hellianthus annuus sufrió alteraciones en su crecimiento en las concentraciones más bajas, en las más altas al contrario se notó que los individuos crecían con mayor rapidez y presentado un peso seco más alto que en las demás. Como argumentan otros autores el girasol mostró ser una especie acumuladora, al absorber casi el 90% del plomo en cualquiera de las concentraciones a 30 días, 60% en 15 días de exposición siendo una excelente especie biocacumuladora de este metal. Mientras tanto la Caesalpinia mexicana absorbió alrededor de un 60% en las concentraciones a la que se estuvo expuesta, indicándonos que es una especie que no soporta altas concentraciones del metal. Cada uno de los métodos utilizados nos muestra que a medida que aumenta la concentración del metal la planta acelera su metabolismo para contrarrestar Hemos demostrado que la Caesalpinia mexicana puede ser utilizada como un bioindicador debido a su susceptibilidad a altas concentraciones de plomo, debido a esto se puede considerar continuar con el análisis de esta especie para fines de detección de contaminantes en zonas específicas que sufran contaminación por este elemento. Por su parte el Hellianthus annuus demostró ser una especie acumuladora y resistente a las condiciones de contaminación altas que puedan presentarse

Comparing hysteretic energy and ductility uniform annual failure rate spectra for traditional and a spectral shape-based intensity measure

In this study, with the objective to develop a reliability-based seismic design tool, ductility and dissipated hysteretic energy uniform annual failure rate (UAFR) spectra are obtained and compared using the spectral acceleration at first mode of vibration of the structure Sa(T1) and the well-known spectral shape-based intensity measure INp. Notice that this is the first time in the literature that UAFR spectra are obtained for the advanced spectral shape intensity measure INp. For this aim, 110 simulated ground motions recorded from the soft soil of Mexico City were selected due to their large energy amount demanded to the structures; moreover, four elastoplastic hysteretic behavior models are considered for the dynamic analyses with post-yielding stiffness of 0, 3, 5, and 10%. It is observed that the use of elasto-perfectly plastic models provided similar UAFR spectra in comparison with hysteretic models with different post-yielding stiffness. This conclusion is valid for the two selected intensity measures. In addition, the lateral resistance required to achieve similar structural reliability levels is larger when the INp intensity measure is used, especially for buildings with vibration periods equal or larger than the soil period, in such a way that the traditional use of Sa(T1) could provide structures with less structural reliability levels.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Severe early onset preeclampsia: short and long term clinical, psychosocial and biochemical aspects

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder commonly defined as de novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks gestational age. It occurs in approximately 3-5% of pregnancies and it is still a major cause of both foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide1. As extensive research has not yet elucidated the aetiology of preeclampsia, there are no rational preventive or therapeutic interventions available. The only rational treatment is delivery, which benefits the mother but is not in the interest of the foetus, if remote from term. Early onset preeclampsia (<32 weeks’ gestational age) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. It is, however often associated with maternal morbidity as the risk of progression to severe maternal disease is inversely related with gestational age at onset2. Resulting prematurity is therefore the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in patients with severe preeclampsia3. Although the discussion is ongoing, perinatal survival is suggested to be increased in patients with preterm preeclampsia by expectant, non-interventional management. This temporising treatment option to lengthen pregnancy includes the use of antihypertensive medication to control hypertension, magnesium sulphate to prevent eclampsia and corticosteroids to enhance foetal lung maturity4. With optimal maternal haemodynamic status and reassuring foetal condition this results on average in an extension of 2 weeks. Prolongation of these pregnancies is a great challenge for clinicians to balance between potential maternal risks on one the eve hand and possible foetal benefits on the other. Clinical controversies regarding prolongation of preterm preeclamptic pregnancies still exist – also taking into account that preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the Netherlands5 - a debate which is even more pronounced in very preterm pregnancies with questionable foetal viability6-9. Do maternal risks of prolongation of these very early pregnancies outweigh the chances of neonatal survival? Counselling of women with very early onset preeclampsia not only comprises of knowledge of the outcome of those particular pregnancies, but also knowledge of outcomes of future pregnancies of these women is of major clinical importance. This thesis opens with a review of the literature on identifiable risk factors of preeclampsia

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Search for anomalous production of events with three or more leptons in pp collisions at √s = 8TeV

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published articles title, journal citation, and DOI.A search for physics beyond the standard model in events with at least three leptons is presented. The data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5fb-1 of proton-proton collisions with center-of-mass energy s=8TeV, was collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC during 2012. The data are divided into exclusive categories based on the number of leptons and their flavor, the presence or absence of an opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pair (OSSF), the invariant mass of the OSSF pair, the presence or absence of a tagged bottom-quark jet, the number of identified hadronically decaying τ leptons, and the magnitude of the missing transverse energy and of the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta. The numbers of observed events are found to be consistent with the expected numbers from standard model processes, and limits are placed on new-physics scenarios that yield multilepton final states. In particular, scenarios that predict Higgs boson production in the context of supersymmetric decay chains are examined. We also place a 95% confidence level upper limit of 1.3% on the branching fraction for the decay of a top quark to a charm quark and a Higgs boson (t→cH), which translates to a bound on the left- and right-handed top-charm flavor-violating Higgs Yukawa couplings, λtcH and λctH, respectively, of |λtcH|2+|λctH|2<0.21