Combined use of the GGSFT data base and on Board Marine Collected Data to Model the Moho Beneath the Powell Basin, Antarctica

The Powell Basin is a small oceanic basin located at the NE end of the Antarctic Peninsula developed during the Early Miocene and mostly surrounded by the continental crusts of the South Orkney Microcontinent, South Scotia Ridge and Antarctic Peninsula margins. Gravity data from the SCAN 97 cruise obtained with the R/V Hespérides and data from the Global Gravity Grid and Sea Floor Topography (GGSFT) database (Sandwell and Smith, 1997) are used to determine the 3D geometry of the crustal-mantle interface (CMI) by numerical inversion methods. Water layer contribution and sedimentary effects were eliminated from the Free Air anomaly to obtain the total anomaly. Sedimentary effects were obtained from the analysis of existing and new SCAN 97 multichannel seismic profiles (MCS). The regional anomaly was obtained after spectral and filtering processes. The smooth 3D geometry of the crustal mantle interface obtained after inversion of the regional anomaly shows an increase in the thickness of the crust towards the continental margins and a NW-SE oriented axis of symmetry coinciding with the position of an older oceanic spreading axis. This interface shows a moderate uplift towards the western part and depicts two main uplifts to the northern and eastern sectors

Speciation dynamics in the SE Asian tropics: Putting a time perspective on the phylogeny and biogeography of Sundaland tree squirrels, Sundasciurus

Tropical rainforests are well known for their extraordinarily high levels of biodiversity. The origin of this species richness is still debated. For instance, the museum hypothesis states that over evolutionary time more and more species will accumulate with relatively few extinctions. In contrast, the Pleistocene diver- sification model argues that during the last 2 million years, climatic factors (glaciations) caused environ- mental changes that drove isolation and vicariant speciation events. In this study, we construct a molecular phylogeny of the Sundaland (Malay Peninsula, Sumata, Borneo, Palawan) and Greater Minda- nao (Mindanao, Samar, Leyte) tree squirrels (genus Sundasciurus). Our results show that most speciation events in this forest dependent taxon occurred before the Pleistocene and that even the timing of intra- specific splits among populations from different landmasses are relatively old. Additionally, we found unexpectedly high divergence within and between highland populations of S. tenuis on Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, highlighting the importance of Pliocene events in both speciation and within species divergences in this regionPeer reviewe

Inbreeding Avoidance Influences the Viability of Reintroduced Populations of African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus)

The conservation of many fragmented and small populations of endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) relies on understanding the natural processes affecting genetic diversity, demographics, and future viability. We used extensive behavioural, life-history, and genetic data from reintroduced African wild dogs in South Africa to (1) test for inbreeding avoidance via mate selection and (2) model the potential consequences of avoidance on population persistence. Results suggested that wild dogs avoided mating with kin. Inbreeding was rare in natal packs, after reproductive vacancies, and between sibling cohorts (observed on 0.8%, 12.5%, and 3.8% of occasions, respectively). Only one of the six (16.7%) breeding pairs confirmed as third-order (or closer) kin consisted of animals that were familiar with each other, while no other paired individuals had any prior association. Computer-simulated populations allowed to experience inbreeding had only a 1.6% probability of extinction within 100 years, whereas all populations avoiding incestuous matings became extinct due to the absence of unrelated mates. Populations that avoided mating with first-order relatives became extinct after 63 years compared with persistence of 37 and 19 years for those also prevented from second-order and third-order matings, respectively. Although stronger inbreeding avoidance maintains significantly more genetic variation, our results demonstrate the potentially severe demographic impacts of reduced numbers of suitable mates on the future viability of small, isolated wild dog populations. The rapid rate of population decline suggests that extinction may occur before inbreeding depression is observed

MEGARA main optics opto-mechanics

MEGARA is the future integral-field and multi-object spectrograph for the GTC 10.4m telescope located in the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos in La Palma. INAOE is a member of the MEGARA Consortium and it is in charge of the Optics Manufacturing work package. In addition to the manufacturing of 73 elements, the work package includes the opto-mechanics i.e. the opto-mechanical design, manufacture, tests and integration of the complete assembly of the main optics composed by the collimator and camera subsystems. MEGARA passed the Optics Detailed Design Review in May 2013 and will have the Detailed Design Review of the complete instrument early 2014. Here we describe the detailed design of the collimator and camera barrels. We also present the finite elements models developed to simulate the behavior of the barrel, sub-cells and other mechanical elements. These models verify that the expected stress fields and the gravitational displacements on the lenses are compatible with the optical quality tolerances. The design is finished and ready for fabrication

Maned wolves retain moderate levels of genetic diversity and gene flow despite drastic habitat fragmentation

The maned wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus is the largest South American canid and categorized as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. The major threat to conservation efforts is the drastic reduction of suitable habitat for the species. A large portion of its range has been converted into farm and ranch lands as well as urban areas. To better understand the impact that these anthropogenic activities are having over the remaining populations across their current distribution range, we evaluated patterns of genetic variability and differentiation between them. We also compared these results with those obtained from captive maned wolves in order to make proper ex situ recommendations. We cross-amplified 12 microsatellite loci in maned wolf samples collected throughout their range (from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Bolivia) and from captive stocks (from captive breeding centers and zoos in Brazil, Argentina and the USA). We found that wild populations retain moderate levels of genetic variability compared with other microsatellite studies on wild canids, and our structure analysis revealed 2 genetic clusters in wild samples, one of which included samples exclusively from Bolivia. This cluster could represent a different management unit with conservation priority. The captive stock population showed higher levels of genetic variability, with the ones from Brazil being the most genetically diverse stock. The USA stock showed strong genetic differences with all other groups. This is the first study to examine the patterns of genetic diversity of both wild and captive populations of maned wolves. These results should be incorporated into further population viability assessments and in the Maned Wolf Species Survival Plan.Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovació

Grosor de la corteza oceánica en dorsales de expansión y alrededores en el Paso del Drake (Antártida) a partir de inversión numérica de datos gravimétricos

The high density of geophysical data (gravity, bathymetry...) collected in the ANTPAC 97/98 cruise by the Spanish BIO Hespérides allows us to obtain the crustal thickness of the areas near the intersection of the Shackleton Fracture Zone and the West Scotia Ridge (Z1), and the P2 segment of the Phoenix-Antarctic Ridge (Z2) by means of inversion methods. Data were merged with that of the Global Gravity Grid and the Global Sea Floor Topography (Sandwell and Smith, 1997). The effect of the bathymetry on the Free Air anomaly was eliminated previously. Differences in the crustal thickness in both areas are presented

Emphysema model in rats exposed to tobacco smoke. Morphometric and functional analysis

Several models of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in mice have been developed; the most similar to the habit of smoking is the inhalation of the smoke in mice. The objective was to develop and implement an experimental model of COPD in mice through the passive inhalation of smoke and demonstrate the physiological changes on ventilatory function and its correlation with 3 emphysema quantification methods. Materials and methods: Twenty Wistar mice were included in an experimental and control group. The experimental group was exposed to tobacco smoke, and we performed several pulmonary functional tests and imaging techniques. Results: Pulmonary function tests showed the volume expiration in the first second (VEF1) differs significantly between groups (p < 0.001). Pulmonary compliance was reduced in the experimental group by 50% in comparison to the control group (male vs control p < 0.001). Morphometric analysis: 17% reduction in lung volume with a destructive index (DI) of 45%. The intersection test had a DI of 43%. The free point test showed a DI of 44%. Conclusions: The implementation of our model generated the presence of emphysema and alterations in the lung physiology in the experimental group. We demonstrated evidence of 90% with emphysem

MEGARA detector test bench at LICA-UCM

LICA (Laboratorio de Instrumentaci´on Cient´ıfica Avanzada) is an initiative of the Campus de Excelencia Internacional of UCM. Among the facilities within LICA, a new laboratory has been assigned to MEGARA project for subsystem tests and AIV. This paper presents the current facilities installed at LICA for detector characterization, which will be used to test and characterize MEGARA detectors

MEGARA. Large pupil element tests and performance

MEGARA is a third generation spectrograph for the Spanish 10.4m telescope (GTC) providing two observing modes: a large central Integral Field Unit (IFU), called the Large Compact Bundle (LCB), covering a FOV of 12.5 × 11.3 arcsec^(2) , and a Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) with a FOV of 3.5 × 3.5 arcmin^(2) . MEGARA will observe the whole visible range from 3650A to 10000A allowing different spectral resolutions (low, medium and high) with R = 6000, 11000 and 18000 respectively. The dispersive elements are placed at the spectrograph pupil position in the path of the collimated beam and they are composed of a set of volume phase hologram gratings (VPHs) sandwiched between two flat windows and coupled in addition to two prisms in the case of the medium- and high-resolution units. We will describe the tests and setups developed to check the requirements of all units, as well as the obtained performance at laboratory

Enfermedad diarreica aguda asociada a Campilobacterias en Cumaná, Venezuela | Acute Diarrheal Disease associated to Campilobacterium in Cumaná, Venezuela

Se investigó la presencia de Campylobacter en 208 niños menores de 5 años con enfermedad diarreica aguda y 43 niños asintomáticos en Cumaná, Venezuela. Campylobacter se aisló en medio sin sangre Oxoid adicionado con cefoperazona y anfotericina, realizándose la identificación bacteriana por pruebas bioquímicas diferenciales y serológicas. Se detectó Campylobacter en 65 casos de diarrea (31,25%) y 12 controles (27,90%). En los casos con diarrea se aisló Campylobacter como único patógeno bacteriano en un 52,31%, y el mayor porcentaje de asociación fue con Klebsiella pneumoniae (26,15%). En estos pacientes el 61,04% correspondió a C. jejuni, 29,87% a C. coli y 9,09% a C. lari (previamente C. laridis). Se observó asociación muy significativa (p < 0,01) entre los casos de diarrea positivos a Campylobacter y la edad, correspondiendo al grupo de edad de 0-6 meses la mayor frecuencia (50,5%). Con respecto al sexo, nivel socioeconómico y estado nutricional de los niños no se observó asociación significativa. La resistencia a la eritromicina fue de 64,44% para C. jejuni, 68,18% para C. coli y 42,86% para C. lari. En conclusión, Campylobacter es un importante agente etiológico de la enfermedad diarreica en niños menores de 5 años en Cumaná, lo que amerita su búsqueda rutinaria en los coprocultivos. Palabras clave: Campylobacter, diarrea aguda, niños. ABSTRACT The presence of Campylobacter was investigated in 208 children under 5 years with acute diarrheal disease and 43 asymptomatic children, in Cumaná, Venezuela. Campylobacter was isolated in the Oxoid medium without blood added with cefoperazone and anphotericin, making the bacterial identification through differential biochemical tests and serology. Campylobacter was detected in 65 (31.25%) cases of diarrhea and 12 (27.90%) controls. In cases with diarrhea Campylobacter was isolated as the only bacterial pathogen in 52.31% and the largest percentaje of association (26.15%) was with K. pneumoniae. In these patients, 61.04% corresponded to C. jejuni, 29.87% to C. coli and 9.09% to C. lari (previously C. laridis). Significant association (p<0,01) was observed among cases of diarrhea by Campylobacter and age, corresponding to the age group 0-6 months the highest frequency (50.5%). However, there was no significant association with respect to sex, socioeconomic and nutritional status of children. Resistance to erythromycin was 64.44% for C. jejuni, 68.18% for C. coli and 42.86 % for C. lari. In conclusion, Campylobacter is an important etiologic agent of diarrheal disease in children under 5 years in Cumaná, which merits its routine search in stool cultures. Key words: Campylobacter, acute diarrhea, children