A Study on the Impact of Climate Variability/Change on Water Resources in the Philippines

This paper presents an effort toward a better understanding of the potential impact of climate variability and change on the hydrology and water resources in the Philippines. Impacts of extreme events such as droughts are discussed. A preliminary study on the variability of inflow in relation to rainfall at the major dams in Luzon and the natural water reservoir of Lake Lanao is presented. Areas for future study are also mentioned.watershed

A Study on the Impact of Climate Variability/Change on Water Resources in the Philippines

This paper presents an effort toward a better understanding of the potential impact of climate variability and change on the hydrology and water resources in the Philippines. Impacts of extreme events such as droughts are discussed. A preliminary study on the variability of inflow in relation to rainfall at the major dams in Luzon and the natural water reservoir of Lake Lanao is presented. Areas for future study are also mentioned.watershed

Maturation level in adolescents: effects on body composition and physical activity changes

Background and aims: Longitudinal studies help move researchers closer to understanding determinants and mediators of maturation, physical activity (PA) and adiposity. The aim of this study was to longitudinally explore the influence of maturation on PA and adiposity changes in adolescents. Methods: Eighty healthy adolescents (42 girls and 38 boys) were followed over three academic years. A PA score was estimated using the Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ-A). Fat mass percentage (FMP) was assessed by anthropometric measurements. Sexual maturity was estimated by percentage of predicted adult stature and adolescents were classified into three changes groups: C0, change from on time to late maturation; C1, no change; C2, change from late/on time to on time/early maturation. A stepwise linear regression was conducted in order to estimate the predictors of PA and FMP changes. Results: An interaction between PA and maturation was statically significant (P<0.05). A non-significant trend was observed between three stages of change with a progressive reduction of FMP across the three stages of change in maturation level (C0 = 0.2752.70%; C1= -1.4901.10%; C2= -6.4172.57%; pairwise comparisons: C0 - C2 = 6.69%, P=0.081 and C1-C2 = 4.93%, P=0.080). Conclusions: Our results suggest that body composition changes observed during adolescence are not driven by changes in PA. PA alteration patterns were influenced by sex but not by maturation.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (AP2010-0583); the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (DEP2011-30565

Discovery and characterisation of socially polarised communities on social media

Social polarisation processes have become a central phenomenon for the explanation of population behavioural dynamics in today's societies. Although recent works offer solutions for the detection of polarised political communities in social media, there is still a lack of works that allow an adequate characterization of the specific topics on which these divides between social groups are articulated. Our study aims to discover and characterise antagonistic communities on Twitter based on a method that combines the identification of authorities and textual classifiers around three public debates that have recently produced major controversies: (1) vaccination; (2) climate change; and (3) abortion. The proposed method allows the capture of polarised communities with little effort, requiring only the selection of some terms that characterise the topic and some initial authorities. Our findings show that the processes of social polarisation can vary considerably depending on the subject on which the debates are articulated. Specifically, polarisation manifests more prominently in the realms of vaccination and abortion, whereas this divide is less apparent in the context of climate change

Reference values of total and regional skeletal muscle mass in children and adolescents

Introduction: The acquisition of skeletal muscle mass (SMM) during childhood and adolescence must be a main concern to ensure healthy growth and improved motor development. Moreover, peak SMM increment must happen during youth, which would determine adulthood health and performance. Although some indicators of SMM have been using for assessment of nutrition status since the seventies like upper arm circumference or arm areas there is insuffi cient SMM data throughout childhood and adolescence to establish references norms. The first aim of this study, therefore, was to analyze trends of fat free mass (FFM) and regional and total SMM. The second objective was to compare trends between SMM and FFM by age and gender. Method: Cross-sectional data of 1103 healthy volunteers were analyzed (13.3 ± 2.5 yrs, BMI=20.1 ± 3.4 kg/m2; 323 girls and 780 boys). They were recruited from local primary schools, high-schools and local sport clubs. Anthropometry in accordance with ISAK guidelines was used to measure: triceps, thigh and calf skinfolds, and arm, thigh and calf circumferences were assessed by a caliper and tape respectively. Regional muscle areas were calculated from the corrected limb circumferences. FFM was estimated by anthropometric-derived equation. Validated age-specifi c models were applied to obtain SMM based on anthropometric variables (Poortmans’ (0.000) while FFM showed 688.7 (P>0.000). Sex interaction was found. Conclusions: Our fi ndings show that there is a diff erence between boys and girls in the relationship between total SMM and age. Regional muscle areas from the upper limbs don’t develop in linear fashion with age in contrast to development in the lower extremity areas. These results suggest that upper and lower muscle areas growth is diff erent in terms of timing. Longitudinal studies are required to confirm these results.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech