An analysis of existing production frameworks for statistical and geographic information: Synergies, gaps and integration

The production of official statistical and geospatial data is often in the hands of highly specialized public agencies that have traditionally followed their own paths and established their own production frameworks. In this article, we present the main frameworks of these two areas and focus on the possibility and need to achieve a better integration between them through the interoperability of systems, processes, and data. The statistical area is well led and has well-defined frameworks. The geospatial area does not have clear leadership and the large number of standards establish a framework that is not always obvious. On the other hand, the lack of a general and common legal framework is also highlighted. Additionally, three examples are offered: the first is the application of the spatial data quality model to the case of statistical data, the second of the application of the statistical process model to the geospatial case, and the third is the use of linked geospatial and statistical data. These examples demonstrate the possibility of transferring experiences/advances from one area to another. In this way, we emphasize the conceptual proximity of these two areas, highlighting synergies, gaps, and potential integration. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Submarine deltaic geometries linked to steep, mountainous drainage basins in the northern shelf of the Alboran Sea: Filling the gaps in the spectrum of deltaic deposition

A comprehensive analysis of small deltaic environments linked to short, mountainous, and seasonal fluvial systems in the northern shelf of the Alboran Sea was undertaken in order to define the controlling parameters of the geomorphological variability. The database includes multibeam and backscatter imagery, surficial sediment samples, and high-resolution seismic profiles. Additionally, geomorphological and hydrodynamic modeling and statistical analysis (principal component and cluster analysis) of hydrological and physiographic variables were performed.Most of the studied deltaic systems have high-gradient, coarse-grained deposits with preferential development of the submarine portions to the detriment of the deltaic plains. The geomorphological analysis identified three basic types of plan-viewdistributions according to the length-to-width ratios: elongate, linguoid and lobate. Cross-slope profiles evidence dominant concave-upward geometries, fewer occurrences of planar geometries, and no sigmoid profiles. Sediment depocenters are extremely thick in proximal locations, but thin out rapidly seawards. The geometric distribution patterns of the deltaic systems are characterized by a predictable pattern in plan-view according to the type of fluvial system, ranging from a relatively large river to ephemeral creeks. Prevailing concave and secondary planar profiles support strong sediment progradation in the submarine realmand lowsediment retention in the emerged deltaic environment. Two different types of systems are distinguished: (1) larger rivers,where deltaic deposition is largely controlled by basin dimensions, ultimately dictating themagnitude of water and sediment discharges; and (2) smaller rivers and creeks,where deltaic geometries are related to the basin slopes. The influence of hydrodynamic variables on defining the submarine deltaic geometry has been observed in the case of concave-upward geometries, where geomorphological boundaries are defined by medium- and high-energy wave conditions.Versión del editor2,520

Seabed morphology and bottom water masses related to benthic habitats at the Cristóbal Colón diapir (NW of the Guadalquivir ridge, Gulf of Cádiz)

The seabed morphology and the sub-superficial characteristics of the Cristóbal Colón diapir located on the continental slope of the Gulf of Cadiz have been analysed from data obtained in the framework of the LIFE+INDEMARES/CHICA project. The aim of this study is to recognize the morphological features and the geological processes generated by the bottom water masses and their influence on the habitats and associated benthic communities. The NACW affects the generation of morphological features on the summit, revealing that different oceanographic conditions favoured the carbonate mound growth in the past. The interface between the NACW and the MOW sweeps the bottom from the SE to the NW and the presence of benthic communities dominated by filter feeders on the contouritic drift indicates that this current is strong enough to favour the availability of nutrients and organic particles and to develop both the contouritic deposits on the SE flank and the moats on the N and W flanks.Versión del edito

Episodios de construcción de un delta mediterráneo: Cambio climático y modificaciones antropogénicas en el delta del río Adra

The evolutionary stages of the submarine delta off the Adra River are investigated in this study, under the context of climatic fluctuations entangled with increasing human activities and interventions in the drainage basins and adjacent shores during the Middle to Late Holocene. To achieve that goal, we used an extensive database comprising a set of bathymetric data covering different time slices, a dense grid of high-resolution seismic data and several sediment cores collected in the two submarine lobes of the Adra River delta. Two main evolutionary phases can be identified. The first one extended through most of the construction history and was mediated by major climatic events at the Mediterranean scale; this phase included three major progradational events occurring during the Mid Holocene, the Roman time and the Little Ice Age. The most recent phase is strongly determined by human modifications of the fluvial channels, and resulted in a drastic transformation of the submarine sedimentary environment.Versión del edito

Observation of the black widow B1957+20 millisecond pulsar binary system with the MAGIC telescopes

Spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry at energies on the order of the Planck energy or lower is predicted by many quantum gravity theories, implying non-trivial dispersion relations for the photon in vacuum. Consequently, gamma-rays of different energies, emitted simultaneously from astrophysical sources, could accumulate measurable differences in their time of flight until they reach the Earth. Such tests have been carried out in the past using fast variations of gamma-ray flux from pulsars, and more recently from active galactic nuclei and gamma-ray bursts. We present new constraints studying the gamma-ray emission of the galactic Crab Pulsar, recently observed up to TeV energies by the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) collaboration. A profile likelihood analysis of pulsar events reconstructed for energies above 400. GeV finds no significant variation in arrival time as their energy increases.. Ninety-five percent CL limits are obtained on the effective Lorentz invariance violating energy scale at the level of E-QG1 > 5.5 x 10(17) GeV (4.5 x 10(17) GeV) for a linear, and E-QG2 > 5.9 x 10(10) GeV (5.3 x 10(10) GeV) for a quadratic scenario, for the subluminal and the superluminal cases, respectively. A substantial part of this study is dedicated to calibration of the test statistic, with respect to bias and coverage properties. Moreover, the limits take into account systematic uncertainties, which are found to worsen the statistical limits by about 36%-42%. Our constraints would have been much more stringent if the intrinsic pulse shape of the pulsar between 200 GeV and 400 GeV was understood in sufficient detail and allowed inclusion of events well below 400 GeV

Multidisciplinary study of mud volcanoes and diapirs and their relationship to seepages and bottom currents in the Gulf of Cádiz continental slope (northeastern sector)

The seabed morphology, type of sediments, and dominant benthic species on eleven mud volcanoes and diapirs located on the northern sector of the Gulf of Cádiz continental slope have been studied. The morphological characteristics were grouped as: (i) fluid-escape-related features, (ii) bottom current features, (iii) mass movement features, (iv) tectonic features and (v) biogenic-related features. The dominant benthic species associated with fluid escape, hard substrates or soft bottoms, have also been mapped. A bottom current velocity analysis allowed, the morphological features to be correlated with the benthic habitats and the different sedimentary and oceanographic characteristics. The major factors controlling these features and the benthic habitats are mud flows and fluid-escape-related processes, as well as the interaction of deep water masses with the seafloor topography. Mud volcano eruptions give rise to mud flows and/or aqueous fluid seepage. These processes sustain chemosynthesis-based communities, closely associated with fluid seepage. Large depressions in the nearby area are influenced by collapse-related phenomena, where active fluid escape and the erosive effect of bottom currents have been identified. When the extrusion activity of the mud volcano is low and the seepage is diffuse, authigenic carbonates form within the edifice sediments. The bottom current sweeps the seafloor from the SE to the NW. When the velocity is moderate, sedimentary contourite processes take place on both sides of the edifices. At high velocities, the authigenic carbonates may be exhumed and colonised by species associated with hard substrates. Small carbonate mounds are found at the summits of some volcanoes and diapirs. Living corals have been found on the tops of the shallowest mud volcanoes, revealing different oceanographic conditions and strong bottom currents that favour the availability of nutrients and organic particles. The edifices affected by very high current velocities are located in the channels where erosive processes dominate.Postprint2,517

Revista de Vertebrados de la Estación Biológica de Doñana

Dimorfismo sexual en Microtus cabrerae en base a los caracteres de su pelvis.Notas sobre la distribución y ecología de Microtus cabreae, Thomas, 1906.Alimentación de la culebra bastarda (Malpolon monspessulanus, Ophidia, Colubridae) en el S. O. de España.Selectividad en la predación de la lechuza común (Tyto alba) sobre Rano ridibunda.Variations in the food habits of the european Eagle Owl. (Bubo bubo)Contaminación en huevos de aves silvestres de lSuroeste de España por residuos organoclorados (Insecticidas y bifenilos policlorados)Sobre el status taxonómico del águila imperial ibéricaEstudio filogenético y comparativo de Microtus cabrerae y Microtus brecciensisDescripción de una nueva especie de liebre (Lepus castroviejoi), endémica de la Cordillera CantábricaPeer reviewe

Tectónica superficial del talud continental medio del margen continental del Golfo de Cádiz nororiental (SO de Iberia)

The northeastern sector of the Gulf of Cadiz continental margin has been deeply studied the last two decades. The seafloor is characterized by the Gulf of Cadiz Contourite Depositional System, strong diapirism and seepage related to the mobility of the frontal units of the Gibraltar Arc. Since 2010 high resolution bathymetric data and high and very high resolution seismic reflection and parametric echosounder profiles have improved the resolution of the previous collected data set. These data allow to analyze the middle continental slope morphology and its shallow structure with the aim to know the active tectonic processes on the seafloor. Two types of structures have been considered: (a) anticline domes and (b) normal faults which produce linear scarps and tectonic depressions. The shallow tectonics in this region is mainly related to the high mobility of geological formations in the subsoil and their ductile mechanical behaviour.Versión del edito

From chemosynthesis-based communities to cold-water corals: Vulnerable deep-sea habitats of the Gulf of Cádiz

The Gulf of Cádiz (GoC) represents an area of ecological importance within the northeastern Atlantic Ocean due to the presence of Mediterranean and Atlantic water masses, a heterogeneous seafloor and a biological confluence. Nevertheless, information on the presence of vulnerable deep-sea habitats is still very scarce and it is of importance for further habitat monitoring within the context of the Habitats and Marine Strategy Framework Directives and for improving conservation and resource extraction management. From 2010 to 2012, fluid migration and emission related edifices (e.g., mud volcanoes, diapirs) from the Spanish continental margin of the GoC have been explored using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV; Liropus 2000) and an underwater camera sled (UCS; APHIA 2012) as well as several devices for collecting sediment and fauna. Different vulnerable deep-sea habitats have been observed, including anoxic bottoms with bacterial mats, sea-pen communities, sponge aggregations, antipatharian and gorgonian communities and also cold-water coral banks. Some of these habitats are included in conservation lists of the habitat directive and in international conventions (OSPAR, RAC/SPA), however some of them are located in areas of the GoC that are exposed to intense trawling. The diversity of habitats detected in the Spanish continental margin of the GoC highlights the importance of seepage related edifices as inducers of seabed and habitat heterogeneity in deep-sea areas.En prens

Robustness of dead Cas9 activators in human pluripotent and mesenchymal stem cells

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (hMSCs) are clinically relevant sources for cellular therapies and for modeling human development and disease. Many stem cell-based applications rely on the ability to activate several endogenous genes simultaneously to modify cell fate. However, genetic intervention of these cells remains challenging. Several catalytically dead Cas9 (dCas9) proteins fused to distinct activation domains can modulate gene expression when directed to their regulatory regions by a specific single-guide RNA (sgRNA). In this study, we have compared the ability of the first-generation dCas9-VP64 activator and the second-generation systems, dCas9-SAM and dCas9-SunTag, to induce gene expression in hPSCs and hMSCs. Several stem cell lines were tested for single and multiplexed gene activation. When the activation of several genes was compared, all three systems induced specific and potent gene expression in both single and multiplexed settings, but the dCas9-SAM and dCas9-SunTag systems resulted in the highest and most consistent level of gene expression. Simultaneous targeting of the same gene with multiple sgRNAs did not result in additive levels of gene expression in hPSCs nor hMSCs. We demonstrate the robustness and specificity of second-generation dCas9 activators as tools to simultaneously activate several endogenous genes in clinically relevant human stem cells.We thank CERCA/Generalitat de Catalunya and Fundació Josep Carreras-Obra Social la Caixa for their institutional support. We thank Jose Luis Sardina (IJC, Barcelona) for technical assistance with the teratoma assays. Financial support for this work was obtained from the Catalunya Goverment (SGR330 and PERIS 2017-2019), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2016-80481-R), the European Research Council (CoG-2014-646903), and the Fundación Leo Messi to P.M.; the Spanish Association against Cancer (AECC-CI-2015) and the Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII/FEDER, PI17/01028) to C.B.; the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBRSC) to L.M.F. and A.F.; and the Spanish National Research and Development Plan (ISCIII/FEDER, PI17/02303) and the AEI/MICIU EXPLORA Project (BIO2017-91272-EXP) to S.R.-P. P.M. is an investigator of the Spanish Cell Therapy Cooperative Network (TERCEL). R.T.-R. is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC).S