Some acoustic and articulatory correlates of phrasal stress in Spanish

All spoken languages show rhythmic patterns. Recent work with a number of different languages (English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and French) suggests that metrically (hierarchically) assigned stress levels of the utterance show strong correlations with the amount of jaw displacement, and corresponding F1 values. This paper examines some articulatory and acoustic correlates of Spanish rhythm; specifically, we ask if there is a correlation between phrasal stress values metrically assigned to each syllable and acoustic/articulatory values. We used video recordings of three Salvadoran Spanish speakers to measure maximum jaw displacement, mean F0, mean intensity, mean duration, and mid-vowel F1 for each vowel in two Spanish sentences. The results show strong correlations between stress and duration, and between stress and F1, but weak correlations between stress and both mean vowel intensity and maximum jaw displacement. We also found weak correlations between jaw displacement and both mean vowel intensity and F1

Climate change impacts on African crop production

According to the most recent IPCC report, changes in climates over the last 30 years have already reduced global agricultural production in the range 1-5 % per decade globally, with particularly negative effects for tropical cereal crops such as maize and rice (Porter et al., 2014). In addition, there is now mounting evidence suggesting that even at low (+2 ºC) levels of warming, agricultural productivity is likely to decline across the globe, but particularly across tropical areas (Challinor et al., 2014). This Working Paper provides an overview of projected climate change impacts on crop production and suitability across Africa, using a combination of literature review, models and new data analysis

Environmental characterisation to guide breeding decisions in a changing climate

Substantial evidence now exists suggesting that agricultural yields will have to increase significantly in order to meet food needs during the 21st century. One such way of increasing yields is to develop high yielding cultivars through crop improvement. This Working Paper summarises the results of a CCAFS project named Target Population of Environments (TPE). The project aimed at providing actionable information to crop breeders and, therefore, inform breeding decisions. We developed and applied a methodology for classifying crop growing environments, determining stress profiles and, finally, assessing the potential benefit of improved breeding practice. We present two contrasting case studies, one for upland rice in central Brazil and another for common beans in Goiás (Brazil). Analyses are also currently being conducted for lowland irrigated rice in Colombia, and plans to conduct research on rice in sub-Saharan Africa. Results of the TPE project are publicly available in the form of dynamic maps and graphs at http://www.ccafs-tpe.org

Métodos alternativos para evaluar expresión diferencial sin réplicas de los tratamientos de materiales rubus glaucus benth tolerantes al ataque de colletotrichum gloesporiodes con el fin de identificar genes de importancia asociados a tolerancia

El cultivo de mora de la zona andina, conocido científicamente como Rubus glaucus se cultiva masivamente en Colombia donde se pueden encontrar diferentes variedades, los cuales pertenecen a la familia Rosacea que incluye otros miembros de gran importancia económica a nivel mundial como la fresa, la pera, la cereza, el durazno, la frambuesa y la rosa, entre otras.Muchas familias de la zona andina dependen del cultivo de mora (Rubus glaucus, BENTH), sin embargo, la productividad de este cultivo no es la ideal debido a las enfermedades que lo afectan, entre las que se encuentra la antracnosis causada por Colletotrichum gloeosporioides como una de las de mayor relevancia (López-Vásquez et al., 2013). En la región cafetera de Colombia se ha identificado que en el 52,9% de los casos esta enfermedad afecta la productividad de los cultivos de mora, catalogándola como una de las más importantes (Botero et al., 2002). Este trabajo se enfoca en identificar los genes en Rubus glaucus, BENTH tolerantes al ataque de Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, a partir de un análisis de expresión diferencial. Se usaron 3 grupos, un material tolerante inoculado con el patógeno, un material susceptible inoculado con el patógeno y un material susceptible sin inocular. El análisis de expresión diferencial viene después de realizar la secuenciación por RNA-seq y el ensamblaje del transcriptoma de Rubus glaucus, BENTH, los cuales fueron desarrollados por el grupo de investigación en Biodiversidad y Biotecnológica de la Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira. Por los altos costos que representan los análisis de secuenciación RNA-seq, sólo se contó con una réplica de este experimento. El presente proyecto parte con un estudio del estado del arte de los experimentos RNA-seq para identificar métodos que permitan hacer análisis de expresión diferencial cuando sólo se cuenta con una réplica, después de ser identificados

Analysis of threats to South American flora and its implications for conservation

South America houses a significant proportion of the world's plant diversity and therefore merits conservation attention. However, ongoing habitat fragmentation, degradation and destruction of natural habitats threaten biodiversity. A set of seven threats to natural ecosystems derived from a previous study (Jarvis et al. 2010), combined with a dataset of occurrences from 16,339 species, and also with the World Database of Protected Areas were used to analyse the patterns of threats to flora in South America and its conservation. Species richness per ?50 km side cell ranged from 1 to 2149 taxa, but with most of the areas presenting between 1 and 58 taxa. Population accessibility, expansion of agriculture and grazing pressure were found to be the key drivers of immediate extinction risk. A considerable (78.4%) number of species presented at least one population under high threat due to the expansion and intensification of these anthropogenic activities. In addition, some 13.8% of the analysed species presented up to 80% of their populations at risk of extinction (high threat index). On the conservation side, 82.3% of the analysed taxa have at least one population occurring within a protected site. However, it is important to note that for a protected area system to be effective and efficient, the conservation of within-taxon genetic diversity is required. The expansion, monitoring and strengthening of 24 existing protected areas holding up to 70% of South American plant diversity is suggested; as is the revision of seven additional sites where up to 200 species not currently conserved are present. Critical areas to monitor, expand and strengthen are mainly located in the Ecuadorian and Colombian Andes, southern Paraguay, the Guyana shield, southern Brazil, and Bolivia

Empirical approaches for assessing impacts of climate change on agriculture: The EcoCrop model and a case study with grain sorghum

Climate has been changing in the last three decades and will continue changing regardless of any mitigation strategy. Agriculture is a climate-dependent activity and hence is highly sensitive to climatic changes and climate variability. Nevertheless, there is a knowledge gap when agricultural researchers intend to assess the production of minor crops for which data or models are not available. Therefore, we integrated the current expert knowledge reported in the FAO-EcoCrop database, with the basic mechanistic model (also named EcoCrop), originally developed by Hijmans et al. (2001). We further developed the model, providing calibration and evaluation procedures. To that aim, we used sorghum (Sorghum bicolor Moench) as a case study and both calibrated EcoCrop for the sorghum crop and analyzed the impacts of the SRES-A1B 2030s climate on sorghum climatic suitability. The model performed well, with a high true positive rate (TPR) and a low false negative rate (FNR) under present conditions when assessed against national and subnational agricultural statistics (min TPR = 0.967, max FNR = 0.026). The model predicted high sorghum climatic suitability in areas where it grows optimally and matched the sorghum geographic distribution fairly well. Negative impacts were predicted by 2030s. Vulnerabilities in countries where sorghum cultivation is already marginal are likely (with a high degree of certainty): the western Sahel region, southern Africa, northern India, and the western coast of India are particularly vulnerable. We highlight the considerable opportunity of using EcoCrop to assess global food security issues, broad climatic constraints and regional crop-suitability shifts in the context of climate change and the possibility of coupling it with other large-area approaches

Gris

Gris se presenta como una oportunidad de autoexploración más allá del requisito académico que este inevitablemente es. Es la posibilidad de enfrentarme al miedo de lo que fui, lo que soy, pero sobre todo de lo que puedo llegar a ser y la oportunidad de exorcizar los demonios que me persiguen desde mi adolescencia. Este proyecto no es un retrato hiperrealista del universo psiquiátrico ni una critica del retrato del enfermo mental en el cine, sino un relato contado desde la subjetividad de alguien que ha experimentado el dolor producto del aislamiento y la autodestrucción. Es una historia introspectiva que tiene como escenario un mundo gris, lejano del bien o el mal y que por cosas de la vida conozco y he experimentado.Gris presents itself as a self-exploration opportunity beyond its inevitable academic nature. It is the possibility to deal with the fear of what I was, what I am, but most of all the terror of what I could become, as well as the chance to exorcize the demons that have chased me ever since my teenage years. This project is neither a hyper realistic portrait of the psychiatric world nor a criticism of its portrayal in film, but a story told from the subjectivity of someone who has experienced the pain product of confinement and self-destruction. It is an introspective tale staged in a gray world far from good or evil, that by the twist and turns of life I happen to know.Comunicador (a) SocialPregrad