Spatiotemporal analysis of the atmospheric and surface urban heat islands of the Metropolitan Area of Toluca, Mexico

The growth of urban populations around the globe is undeniable and consolidates in Latin America and the Caribbean, which nowadays is considered the most urbanized region in the world, for almost 80% of its population lives in cities (UN HABITAT 2012). However, many cities expanded without taking into consideration a proper planning that ensured the population’s quality of life. The expansion of the city modified land use and land cover and changed the albedo of the surface as the coverage of green areas decreased, and with this evapotranspiration, wind regime and surface runoff modified; besides, the sources of anthropogenic heat increased (Oke 1987; Lo´pez et al. 1993; Ferna´ndez and Martilli 2012). This impacts the regional conditions of climate, generating a local urban weather. According to Romero et al. (2010) ‘‘Urban climate comes from unnoticed and intentional transformations introduced into local and regional climates, which directly relate with the social construction of spaces and places.’’ All urban climates present common characteristics, being urban heat island its main feature (Oke 1987; Lo´pez et al. 1993; Monta´vez et al. 2000). An urban heat island is defined as an urban area with higher temperature conditions than neighboring non-developable areas (Voogt and Oke 2003). There are two sorts of urban heat islands. The first, atmospheric urban heat island (UHI), represents the differences in air temperature between urban and rural areas. The second, known as surface urban heat island (SUHI), shows termal differences between artificial surfaces (such as asphalt and rooftops) and the natural ones (such as vegetation and cultivations) (Ferna´ndez and Martilli 2012). The most significant when analyzing a heat island features is the shape, intensity and variations in space and time (Lo´pez et al. 1993; Voogt 2008).The dynamic of consolidation of urban areas in Latin America has allowed that almost 80% of the population concentrates in cities; this has produced changes in land covers and modified regional climate, propitiating the appearance of urban heat islands. The Metropolitan Area of Toluca, State of Mexico, Mexico, holds the fifth national place in population size and experiences this process, because of this, the objective is to analyze and compare the spatiotemporal characteristics of the atmospheric urban heat island obtained from data gathered from 12 urban and rural weather stations with the surface urban heat island obtained from the digital processing of four Landsat 8 images. Results show the year-round presence of night-time atmospheric urban heat islands, which reach a peak in autumn (up to 6 _C). Daytime atmospheric urban heat islands occur in summer and autumn with a maximum intensity of 4 _C. For their part, surface urban heat islands occur in spring, summer and autumn and reach maximums of 19 _C in intensity. A strong correlation was found between wetness and Surface temperature (coefficient of determination, 0.8) in spring and winter. Soil wetness directly impacts the formation of weak urban heat islands in dry season, and intense ones in wet season, while the green areas and the winds affect the spatial distribution of the same.Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México - CONACY

The Limited Effect of Graphic Elements in Video and Augmented Reality on Children’s Listening Comprehension

There is currently significant interest in the use of instructional strategies in learning environments thanks to the emergence of new multimedia systems that combine text, audio, graphics and video, such as augmented reality (AR). In this light, this study compares the effectiveness of AR and video for listening comprehension tasks. The sample consisted of thirty-two elementary school students with different reading comprehension. Firstly, the experience, instructions and objectives were introduced to all the students. Next, they were divided into two groups to perform activities—one group performed an activity involving watching an Educational Video Story of the Laika dog and her Space Journey available by mobile devices app Blue Planet Tales, while the other performed an activity involving the use of AR, whose contents of the same history were visualized by means of the app Augment Sales. Once the activities were completed participants answered a comprehension test. Results (p = 0.180) indicate there are no meaningful differences between the lesson format and test performance. But there are differences between the participants of the AR group according to their reading comprehension level. With respect to the time taken to perform the comprehension test, there is no significant difference between the two groups but there is a difference between participants with a high and low level of comprehension. To conclude SUS (System Usability Scale) questionnaire was used to establish the measure usability for the AR app on a smartphone. An average score of 77.5 out of 100 was obtained in this questionnaire, which indicates that the app has fairly good user-centered design

Mechanisms involved in the remyelinating effect of sildenafil

Remyelination occurs in demyelinated lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS) and pharmacological treatments that enhance this process will critically impact the long term functional outcome in the disease. Sildenafil, a cyclic GMP (cGMP)-specific phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor (PDE5-I), is an oral vasodilator drug extensively used in humans for treatment of erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. PDE5 is expressed in central nervous system (CNS) neuronal and glial populations and in endothelial cells and numerous studies in rodent models of neurological disease have evidenced the neuroprotective potential of PDE5-Is. Using myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) as a MS model, we previously showed that daily administration of sildenafil starting at peak disease rapidly ameliorates clinical symptoms while administration at symptoms onset prevents disease progression. These beneficial effects of the drug involved down-regulation of adaptive and innate immune responses, protection of axons and oligodendrocytes (OLs) and promotion of remyelination. In this work we have investigated mechanisms involved in the remyelinating effect of sildenafil. Using demyelinated organotypic cerebellar slice cultures we demonstrate that sildenafil stimulates remyelination by direct effects on CNS cells in a nitric oxide (NO)-cGMP-protein kinase G (PKG)-dependent manner. We also show that sildenafil treatment enhances OL maturation and induces expression of the promyelinating factor ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) in spinal cord of EAE mice and in cerebellar slice cultures. Furthermore, we demonstrate that sildenafil promotes a M2 phenotype in bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDM) and increases myelin phagocytosis in these cells and in M2 microglia/macrophages in the spinal cord of EAE mice. Taken together these data indicate that promotion of OL maturation directly or through induction of growth factor expression, regulation of microglia/macrophage inflammatory phenotype and clearance of myelin debris may be relevant mechanisms involved in sildenafil enhancement of remyelination in demyelinated tissue and further support the contention that this well tolerated drug could be useful for ameliorating MS pathology

Estudios sobre las Rubiáceas de México, L

Abstract The new Guettarda species of Oaxaca (Mexico) is related to G. foliacea Standl. of a distribution from Tabasco and Chiapas to Panama, but differs by having long acuminate and falcate leaves with lineolate quaternary nerves on the abaxial surface, inflorescences with very short ovate and glabrous bracteoles and much shorter flowers with 8–9 mm long corolla tube

THE WATERCOLOR ARTIST AND THE ARCHITECT. Three watercolours by José María Manuel Cortina. Valencia 1868-1950

El artículo describe y analiza tres acuarelas del arquitecto valenciano Manuel Cortina (1868-1950) tituladas Iglesia Parroquial, Casa de Recreo en una posesión de caza y Fuente Monumental. Anota, como antecedentes-consecuentes respectivos, los dibujos de E. E. Viollet-le-Duc, C. N. Ledoux y O. Wagner. Y discurre acerca de este procedimiento pictórico, transparente y distante, como emblema de un tiempo, la belle époque, y un estilo, la Sezession vienesa alrededor de 1900, con alusión a sus relaciones fotográficas, cinematográficas y oníricas.This paper describes and analyzes three watercolors by the Valencian architect Manuel Cortina (1868-1950) titled Iglesia Parroquial (Parish Church) Casa de Recreo en una posesión de caza. (Country house in a private hunting preserve) and Fuente Monumental. (Monumental Fountain), focusing on the influence of C. N. Ledoux, O. Wagner and E. E. Viollet-le-Duc¿s drawings on Cortina¿s paintings. The paper also describes this transparent and distant painting method as emblematic of a period, the Belle Époque, and a movement, the Vienna Sezession of the late 19th century, and its photographic, cinematographic and oneiric imagery.Arnau Amo, J.; Gutiérrez Mozo, E.; Martínez Medina, A. (2011). LA ACUARELA Y EL ARQUITECTO. Tres acuarelas de José María Manuel Cortina. Valencia 1868-1950. EGA. Revista de Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica. 16(18):90-101. doi:10.4995/ega.2011.985SWORD90101161

Database desing tool

La aplicación DataBase Design Tool es una herramienta para el diseño gráfico de bases de datos relacionales. El objetivo de la misma es facilitar el diseño de bases de datos relacionales de una forma visual y simple para completar el aprendizaje en asignaturas que lo requieran o realizarlo de forma particular. Dado que la herramienta está orientada a entornos académicos, tiene una implementación multiplataforma que permite ejecutarla tanto en sistemas Windows como en distribuciones GNU/Linux (Debian y Ubuntu). Al poseer un interfaz gráfico, similar al expuesto en la mayor parte de la bibliografía de uso común, evita la complejidad del desarrollo sobre papel de diagramas que pueden llevar a equívocos o errores, y permite la corrección de dichos esquemas. De la misma forma, el profesor puede desempeñar su función de una forma más cómoda proponiendo soluciones o corrigiendo ejercicios de una manera clara y eficaz. La aplicación, además de permitir diseñar y comprobar un esquema, realiza la tarea de generar del script en lenguaje SQL para la creación de la base de datos física diseñada. Dicho proceso es automático y simplifica tanto el tiempo como la complejidad de un diseño teórico llevado a la práctica. El objetivo principal de la herramienta es su uso y desempeño con fines docentes, proporcionando una gran ayuda tanto para enseñar como para aprender la teoría de las bases de datos. [ABSTRACT] The application DataBase Design Tool is a tool for graphic design of relational databases. Its purpose is to facilitate the design of relational databases in a simple and visual form to complete the learning in subjects that require it or to do it on your own. Having in mind that the tool is aimed to an academic environment, it has a multi-platform implementation, that make possible to use it whether in Windows systems or in GNU/Linux distributions (Debian and Ubuntu) By having a graphical interface, similar to the one described in the most commonly used literature, it avoids the complexity of development on paper charts that can lead to misunderstandings or mistakes, and allows the verification of the correctness of such schemes. In the same way, the teacher can perform his function in a more comfortable way proposing solutions or correcting exercises in a clear and effective way. The application, in addition to make possible to design and test a scheme, performs the task of generating a SQL language script for the creation of the physical database designed. This process is automatic and simplifies both time and complexity of a theoretical design implemented in practice. The main purpose of the tool is its use and performance for teaching purposes, in order to help either the teaching or the learning of databases theory

Trajectory optimization for exposure to minimal electromagnetic pollution using genetic algorithms approach: A case study

Low-frequency electromagnetic pollution associated with electricity supplies and electrical appliances creates broad and specific challenges. Among them, knowing the values of this pollution in urban areas to prevent long exposure in the daily life human beings is rising in today's information society. This paper presents a comprehensive approach for, first, mapping electromagnetic pollution of complete urban areas and, second, based on the former data, the trajectories planning of commuting with minimal electromagnetic exposure. In the first stage, the proposed approach reduces the number of necessary measurements for the pollution mapping, estimating their value by optimizing functional criteria using genetic algorithms (GAs) and considering the superposition effect of different sources. In the second stage, a combination of a specifically designed search space and GA as optimization algorithm makes it possible to determine an optimized trajectory that represents a balanced solution between distance and exposure to magnetic fields. The results verify the obtaining of a complete mapping with less error, between 1% and 2.5%, in power lines and medium/low voltage (MV/LV) substations, respectively. The proposed approach obtains optimized trajectories for different types of commuting (pedestrians, bikers, and vehicles), and it can be integrated into mobile applications. Finally, the method was tested on an actual urban area in Malaga (Spain).Financing for open access position: University of Malaga / CBUA