Lesiones traumáticas en cráneos aislados de los poblados ibéricos de Ullastret (Girona)

X Congreso Nacional de Paleopatología. Univesidad Autónoma de Madrid, septiembre de 200

Groupoïdes riemanniens

We propose a definition of a riemannian groupoid, and we show that the Stefan foliation that it induces is a riemannian (singular) foliation. We also prove that the homotopy groupoid of a riemannian (regular) foliation is a riemannian groupoid

¿Para qué acumulas? Gestionar los recursos no utilizados ante una recesión económica generalizada

Research to date has shown that a company can accumulate slack resources for a variety of reasons. But how do managers use this excess of resources in a general economic crisis? This study aims to ascertain how companies apply these resources when faced with a financial crisis and economic meltdown, in order to provide answers to the underexplored questions regarding the ways in which firms consume their slack resources. Through the analysis of a sample of 449 Spanish industrial companies during the 2006-2017period, and the application of Latent Growth Modelling, the evolution of the different slack and performance indicators is observed for the identification of disparate behaviour between companies with high and lowinitial endowments of slack resources. The results also show that each type of slack serves a differentpurpose and, therefore, their consumption or use shows clear divergences.Las investigaciones realizadas hasta la fecha han demostrado que una empresa puede acumular un exceso de recursos por diversas razones. Pero, ¿cómo utilizan los directivos este exceso de recursos en una crisis económica generalizada? Este estudio pretende averiguar cómo aplican las empresas estos recursos cuando se enfrentan a una crisis financiera y a un colapso económico, con el fin de dar respuesta a las cuestiones poco exploradas sobre las formas en que las empresas consumen sus recursos holgados. Mediante el análisis de una muestra de 449 empresas industriales españolas durante el periodo 2006-2017, y la aplicación de la Modelización Latente del Crecimiento, se observa la evolución de los distintos indicadores de holgura y rendimiento para la identificación de comportamientos dispares entre empresas con altas y bajas dotaciones iniciales de recursos de holgura. Los resultados también muestran que cada tipo de holgura sirve a un propósito diferente y, por tanto, su consumo o utilización muestra claras divergencias

Comparison of the qCON and qNOX indices for the assessment of unconsciousness level and noxious stimulation response during surgery

The objective of this work is to compare the performances of two electroencephalogram based indices for detecting loss of consciousness and loss of response to nociceptive stimulation. Specifically, their behaviour after drug induction and during recovery of consciousness was pointed out. Data was recorded from 140 patients scheduled for general anaesthesia with a combination of propofol and remifentanil. The qCON 2000 monitor (Quantium Medical, Barcelona, Spain) was used to calculate the qCON and qNOX. Loss of response to verbal command and loss of eye-lash reflex were assessed during the transition from awake to anesthetized, defining the state of loss of consciousness. Movement as a response to laryngeal mask (LMA) insertion was interpreted as the response to the nociceptive stimuli. The patients were classified as movers or non-movers. The values of qCON and qNOX were statistically compared. Their fall times and rise times defined at the start and at the end of the surgery were calculated and compared. The results showed that the qCON was able to predict loss of consciousness such as loss of verbal command and eyelash reflex better than qNOX, while the qNOX has a better predictive value for response to noxious stimulation such as LMA insertion. From the analysis of the fall and rise times, it was found that the qNOX fall time (median: 217 s) was significantly longer (p value <0.05) than the qCON fall time (median: 150 s). At the end of the surgery, the qNOX started to increase in median at 45 s before the first annotation related to response to stimuli or recovery of consciousness, while the qCON at 88 s after the first annotation related to response to stimuli or recovery of consciousness (p value <0.05). The indices qCON and qNOX showed different performances in the detection of loss of consciousness and loss of response to stimuli during induction and recovery of consciousness. Furthermore, the qCON showed faster decrease during induction. This behaviour is associated with the hypothesis that the loss of response to stimuli (analgesic effect) might be reached after the loss of consciousness (hypnotic effect). On the contrary, the qNOX showed a faster increase at the end of the surgery, associated with the hypothesis that a higher probability of response to stimuli might be reached before the recovery of consciousness.Postprint (author's final draft

Controls on boundary layer ventilation: Boundary layer processes and large-scale dynamics

Midlatitude cyclones are important contributors to boundary layer ventilation. However, it is uncertain how efficient such systems are at transporting pollutants out of the boundary layer, and variations between cyclones are unexplained. In this study 15 idealized baroclinic life cycles, with a passive tracer included, are simulated to identify the relative importance of two transport processes: horizontal divergence and convergence within the boundary layer and large-scale advection by the warm conveyor belt. Results show that the amount of ventilation is insensitive to surface drag over a realistic range of values. This indicates that although boundary layer processes are necessary for ventilation they do not control the magnitude of ventilation. A diagnostic for the mass flux out of the boundary layer has been developed to identify the synoptic-scale variables controlling the strength of ascent in the warm conveyor belt. A very high level of correlation (R-2 values exceeding 0.98) is found between the diagnostic and the actual mass flux computed from the simulations. This demonstrates that the large-scale dynamics control the amount of ventilation, and the efficiency of midlatitude cyclones to ventilate the boundary layer can be estimated using the new mass flux diagnostic. We conclude that meteorological analyses, such as ERA-40, are sufficient to quantify boundary layer ventilation by the large-scale dynamics

Application of bayesian networks to assess water poverty

The conventional approaches to water assessment are inappropriate for describing the increasing complexity of water issues. Instead, an integrated and holistic framework is required to capture the wide range of aspects which are influencing sustainable development of water resources. It is with this in mind that the Water Poverty Index (WPI) was created, as an interdisciplinary policy tool to assess water stress that links physical estimates of water availability with the socio-economic drivers of poverty. In parallel, in light of the investments envisaged for the next decade to reach the sector targets set by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), appropriate Decision Support Systems (DSS) are required to inform about the expected impacts to be achieved throughout these interventions. This would provide water managers with adequate information to define strategies that are efficient, effective, and sustainable. The paper explores the use of object oriented Bayesian networks (ooBn) as a valid approach for supporting decision making in water resource planning and management. On the basis of the WPI, a simple ooBn model has been designed and applied to reflect the main issues that determine access to safe water and improved sanitation. A pilot case study is presented for the Turkana district, in Kenya, where the Government has launched a national program to meet sector targets set out in the MDGs. Main impacts of this initiative are evaluated and compared with respect to the present condition. The study concludes that this new approach is able to accommodate local conditions and represent an accurate reflection of the complexities of water issues. Such a tool helps decision-makers to assess the effects of sector-related development policies on the variables of the index, as well as to analyse different future scenarios.Postprint (published version

A calibrated mammal scale for the Neogene of Western Europe. State of the art

A magnetobiostratigraphically calibrated mammal scale for the Neogene of Western Europe is presented in this paper. The Mammal Neogene MN units originally proposed by Mein [Report on activity RCMNS-Working groups] 1975 have been re-defined here on the basis of first appearances of selected small and large mammal taxa. The chronology of the lower boundaries of each unit had been established mostly after the significant magnetobiostratigraphic framework developed in the last decade in a number of Spanish basins: Ebro, Calatayud-Daroca, Vallès-Penedès, Teruel, Fortuna, Cabriel and Guadix-Baza. In the case of the early and middle Miocene particularly, MN 1, MN 2 and MN 3 , the authors have also taken into account the magnetobiostratigraphic framework developed in the North Alpine Foreland Basin. Some alternative correlations of the magnetostratigraphic data from this last basin are proposed in order to achieve a higher degree of consistence with the data from the Iberian basins. A quite well established magnetostratigraphic calibration of the MN boundaries can be proposed for most of the Neogene, from Middle Miocene to Late Pliocene. On the other hand, the chronological boundaries of the Early Miocene MN units are still poorly constrained due to: (1) scarcity of well-studied, continuous, thick magnetostratigraphic sections; (2) the difficulty in defining the boundaries of the MN zones for this time-span due to the relative homogeneity and persistence of the fossil rodent faunas and the absence of significant large mammal dispersal events. Some of the troubles which arise with the application of the MN units strengthen the need to take into account the palaeobiogeographical meaning of these units and their real suitability to date and correlate through extensive geographic areas

Pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: understanding the contributions of gene-environment interactions across the lifespan

The traditional view of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as a self-inflicted disease caused by tobaccosmoking in genetically susceptible individuals has been challenged by recent research findings. COPD can instead beunderstood as the potential end result of the accumulation of gene–environment interactions encountered by anindividual over the lifetime. Integration of a time axis in pathogenic models of COPD is necessary because thebiological responses to and clinical consequences of different exposures might vary according to the age of anindividual at which a given gene–environment interaction occurs, as well as to the cumulative history of previousgene–environment interactions. Future research should aim to understand the effects of dynamic interactionsbetween genes (G) and the environment (E) by integrating information from basic omics (eg, genomics, epigenomics,proteomics) and clinical omics (eg, phenomics, physiomics, radiomics) with exposures (the exposome) over time(T)—an approach that we refer to as GETomics. In the context of this approach, we argue that COPD should beviewed not as a single disease, but as a clinical syndrome characterised by a recognisable pattern of chronic symptomsand structural or functional impairments due to gene–environment interactions across the lifespan that influencenormal lung development and ageing

Phototoxic effects of PAH and UVA exposure on molecular responses and developmental success in coral larvae

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic carbons (PAHs) poses a growing risk to coral reefs due to increasing shipping and petroleum extraction in tropical waters. Damaging effects of specific PAHs can be further enhanced by the presence of ultraviolet radiation, known as phototoxicity. We tested phototoxic effects of the PAHs anthracene and phenanthrene on larvae of the scleractinian coral Acropora tenuis in the presence and absence of UVA (320–400 nm). Activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme was reduced by anthracene while phenanthrene and UVA exposure did not have any effect. Gene expression of MnSod remained constant across all treatments. The genes Catalase, Hsp70 and Hsp90 showed increased expression levels in larvae exposed to anthracene, but not phenanthrene. Gene expression of p53 was upregulated in the presence of UVA, but downregulated when exposed to PAHs. The influence on stress-related biochemical pathways and gene expresson in A. tenuis larvae was considerably greater for anthracene than phenanthrene, and UVA-induced phototoxicity was only evident for anthracene. The combined effects of UVA and PAH exposure on larval survival and metamorphosis paralleled the sub-lethal stress responses, clearly highlighting the interaction of UVA on anthracene toxicity and ultimately the coral's development