Evolución geomorfológica del Llano de Azua (Sur de la República Dominicana)

The Llano de Azua region is located in the eastern border of the Hispaniola Neogene basins, in the Ocoa Bay sector. During the Quaternary its relief has been modelled by active tectonics and destructive exogenous processes. The tectonic activity have originated a variety of structural landforms related to the thrusting of the Cordillera Central over the Azua basin, to the NE-displacement of the Beata ridge indenter, and to the strike-slip faults of the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden system. The exogenous processes created larger variety of landforms, mainly of fluvial character. The relief in the area evolved by regional uplift, backward movement of the coastline, variations of drainage pattern and the tectonic curvature of the central-eastern landforms

Facteurs de croissance et cytokines au cours du développment embryonnaire précoce chez les bovins: interéts pour la mise au point d'un milieu de culture synthetique.

Ganadería bovinaDoctorDoctorad

Concentrations of total phenols and antioxidant activity in apple do not differ between conventional and organic orchard Management

Reprint Address: Yuri, JA (reprint author), Talca Univ, Agr Sci Fac, Pomaceas Ctr, Talca, Chile.The apple is one of the most widely consumed fresh fruits in the world. It constitutes a major contribution of phytochemical compounds to the diet, which are associated with a reduced risk to develop degenerative diseases. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of conventional and organic management of apple cultivation, the stage of development and sunburn damage on polyphenol concentrations, antioxidant activity and pigments in three apple cultivars. Two experiments were carried out during the 2009/2010 season to study (1) the effect of the type of management and the development stage of the fruit during the season on the concentration and content of total and specific phenolics, antioxidant activity in the whole fruit, and pigments (chlorophylls, carotenoids and anthocyanins) in the peel of cvs. Gala (Galaxy and Brookfield), Granny Smith and Fuji (Raku Raku and Stripped) and (2) the effect of the type of management and the presence of sunburn at harvest on phenolics concentrations and antioxidant activity in both the whole fruit and peel, as well as pigments in peel, in two cultivars. Phenolics concentrations and antioxidant activity increased in the First weeks of fruit development and then decreased until harvest. The concentration of chlorophyll and carotenoids tended to decrease throughout the season, while anthocyanin concentration increased. In the case of tissue damaged by sunburn, phenolics concentrations and antioxidant activity were higher in damaged fruit, while changes in pigment concentrations varied according to the cultivar. The practices of conventional and organic management did neither influence significantly phenolics and pigments concentrations and antioxidant activity, except at certain stages of fruit development

Corporate social responsibility in micro and small companies in southwest Finland : involvement, contribution and benefits

Corporate social responsibility offers companies tools for managing the prevailing role change due to globalization that is recognized as a force steered by businesses worldwide. The tools assist the companies to meet the stakeholder demands and shareholder expectations of producing more with fever resources in a sustainable way and being accountable for the company’s impact on society and environment. In Finland corporate social responsibility is mainly enclosed to big companies in forms of annual CSR reports, programs and codes of conduct. Micro and small companies offer ideal settings for corporate social responsibility because of flexible management systems and suitable corporate governance. Micro and small companies in Finland are not really involved in corporate social responsibility in a desired way regardless of the existing potential. The objective of this research was to study the contribution and involvement of micro and small companies in southwest Finland to CSR and sustainability and the benefits of the contribution to the companies. To conduct the research the quantitative research method was chosen in the form of a questionnaire that was distributed to micro and small companies in southwest Finland. The findings of this research indicate that micro and small companies in southwest Finland contribute to corporate social responsibility by recycling, corporate philanthropy, creating codes of conduct and reshaping the supply chain. The motives of contributing consist of personal values of the CEO and the availability of resources. The obtained advantages concentrate on the formation of a steady business environment, new business opportunities and enhanced image and reputation. Inside this research and the chosen population the results and analysis can be regarded as reliable, valid and generalized.Yhteiskuntavastuu tarjoaa yrityksille keinoja globalisaation vauhdittaman yritysten roolinmuutoksen toteuttamiseen. Nykypäivänä globalisaatio tiedostetaan voimaksi, jota liiketoiminta maailmanlaajuisesti ohjaa. Keinot auttavat yrityksiä vastaamaan sidosryhmälähtöisiin vaatimuksiin ja yhtiön osakkaiden odotuksiin tuottamalla enemmän vähemmillä resursseilla kestävänkehityksen periaatteiden mukaisesti ja olemaan vastuussa yritysten vaikutuksista yhteiskuntaan ja ympäristöön. Suomessa yhteiskuntavastuu liitetään isoihin yrityksiin yhteiskuntavastuu raporttien, yhteiskunnallisten ohjelmien ja toimintaperiaatteiden muodossa. Mikro- ja pienyritysten ominaisuudet tarjoavat ihanteellisen alustan yhteiskuntavastuun toteuttamiselle joustavien johtamismallien ansiosta. Olemassa olevasta potentiaalista huolimatta mikro- ja pienyritykset Suomessa eivät osallistu yhteiskuntavastuuseen halutulla tavalla. Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on kartoittaa Varsinaissuomalaisten mikro- ja pienyritysten tapoja ja motiiveja osallistua yhteiskuntavastuuseen sekä osallistumisesta seuranneita hyötyjä. Tutkimusmenetelmäksi tämän opinnäytetyön toteuttamiseksi valikoitui kvantitatiivinen tutkimus kyselyn muodossa. Kysely lähetettiin Varsinaissuomalaisiin mikro- ja pienyrityksiin. Suoritetun tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että Varsinaissuomalaiset mikro- ja pienyritykset osallistuvat yhteiskuntavastuuseen kierrättämällä, lahjoituksin, luomalla toimintamalleja ja sääntöjä sekä toimitusketjun uudelleen muotoilun keinoin. Motiivit osallistumiselle koostuvat yrityksen toimitusjohtajan arvomaailmasta ja resurssien käytettävyydestä. Saavutetut hyödyt koostuvat vakaan liiketoimintaympäristön muodostumisesta, uusien liiketoimintamahdollisuuksien esiintymisestä ja yrityksen parantuneesta maineesta sekä imagosta. Vain tämän opinnäytetyön puitteissa saavutetut tulokset ja päätelmät voidaan tulkita luotettaviksi, voimassaoleviksi ja yleistettäviksi

The stratigraphy of Sierra de Neiba (Dominican Republic)

La reciente cartografía a escala 1:50.000 de los sectores centrales y meridionales, más desconocidos, de la Sierra de Neiba ha permitido establecer con mayor precisión su estratigrafía. Los materiales más antiguos corresponden a la Unidad de El Manguito, del Cretácico Superior. Son calizas y lutitas pizarrosas con intercalaciones de basaltos que afloran como un fragmento o bloque tectónico de interpretación estructural dudosa en el núcleo de un anticlinal. Por su edad, se considera que esta unidad debe constituir el sustrato de las series paleógenas de la Sierra de Neiba; la composición geoquímica de los basaltos (OIB-basaltos alcalinos intraplaca) sugiere su correlación con la meseta oceánica del Caribe. El registro estratigráfico más o menos continuo comienza en el Eoceno Inferior con el desarrollo de una extensa plataforma carbonatada, relativamente uniforme, que fue el medio de depósito de la Fm Neiba (sensu lato) y sus equivalentes, hasta el Mioceno Inferior. Durante buena parte del Eoceno, estos depósitos carbonatados coexistieron o fueron sustituidos por materiales volcánicos de signatura toleítica a alcalina (OIT a OIA) que se agrupan bajo la nueva denominación de Complejo Volcanosedimentario de El Aguacate de Neiba y se interpretan como generados en un contexto de intraplaca asociados al desarrollo de una pluma mantélica. La sedimentación de la Fm Sombrerito durante el Mioceno muestra los primeros signos de inestabilidad en la región: mientras que en los sectores septentrionales y centrales de la sierra sus facies más típicas se depositan en una cuenca turbidítica, en su extremo suroccidental afloran las calizas arrecifales de su Mb Barahona, propias de ambientes de plataforma somera, que se extienden con gran uniformidad hacia el sur hasta los dominios de la Sierra de Bahoruco. La Unidad de Cortadero, de nueva denominación y equivalente en edad a la Fm Sombrerito, con una posición intermedia entre ambos tipos de facies, puede representar el tránsito entre ellas.The recent 1:50.0000 scale mapping of the central and southern, most unknown, parts of the Sierra de Neiba, has allowed to establish its stratigraphy with higher precision. The oldest materials belong to the El Manguito Unit, of Upper Cretaceous age. They are limestones and shales with interbedded basalts that outcrop as part of a fragment or tectonic block of unknown structural origin in the core of an anticline. In view of its age, this unit may be considered to be the substratum of the Sierra de Neiba Palaeogene formations. The geochemical signature of the basalts (OIB-alkaline intraplate basalts) suggests their correlation to the Caribbean oceanic plateau. The continuous stratigraphic record starts in the Lower Eocene with the onset of an extensive relatively uniform carbonate platform that was the depositional environment for the Neiba Fm (sensu lato) and equivalent units up to the Lower Miocene. During most of the Eocene, these carbonate deposits coexisted with, or were replaced by, volcanic materials of a tholeitic to alkaline signature (OIT to OIA) grouped under the new denomination of El Aguacate de Neiba Volcanosedimentary Complex, and interpreted to originate in an intraplate context under the effect of a mantel plume. The sedimentation of the Sombrerito Fm during the Miocene reveals the first signs of regional instability: whereas in the northern and central areas of the sierra its most typical facies were deposited in a turbiditic basin, in its southwest margin the coral reef limestones of the Barahona Mb represent shallow platform environments that extended farther south to the domains of Sierra de Bahoruco. It is suggested that the Cortadero Unit, with the same age as the Sombrerito Fm and an intermediate position between these two extreme kind of facies, may represent the transition from one to the other.Depto. de Mineralogía y PetrologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUERepública Dominicana. Dirección General de MineríaUnidad Técnica de Gestión del programa SYSMINpu

FGF receptor genes and breast cancer susceptibility: results from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium

Background:Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women. Genome-wide association studies have identified FGFR2 as a breast cancer susceptibility gene. Common variation in other fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors might also modify risk. We tested this hypothesis by studying genotyped single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and imputed SNPs in FGFR1, FGFR3, FGFR4 and FGFRL1 in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Methods:Data were combined from 49 studies, including 53 835 cases and 50 156 controls, of which 89 050 (46 450 cases and 42 600 controls) were of European ancestry, 12 893 (6269 cases and 6624 controls) of Asian and 2048 (1116 cases and 932 controls) of African ancestry. Associations with risk of breast cancer, overall and by disease sub-type, were assessed using unconditional logistic regression. Results:Little evidence of association with breast cancer risk was observed for SNPs in the FGF receptor genes. The strongest evidence in European women was for rs743682 in FGFR3; the estimated per-allele odds ratio was 1.05 (95 confidence interval=1.02-1.09, P=0.0020), which is substantially lower than that observed for SNPs in FGFR2. Conclusion:Our results suggest that common variants in the other FGF receptors are not associated with risk of breast cancer to the degree observed for FGFR2. © 2014 Cancer Research UK

Central Amygdala Prepronociceptin-Expressing Neurons Mediate Palatable Food Consumption and Reward

Food palatability is one of many factors that drives food consumption, and the hedonic drive to feed is a key contributor to obesity and binge eating. In this study, we identified a population of prepronociceptin-expressing cells in the central amygdala (PnocCeA)that are activated by palatable food consumption. Ablation or chemogenetic inhibition of these cells reduces palatable food consumption. Additionally, ablation of PnocCeA cells reduces high-fat-diet-driven increases in bodyweight and adiposity. PnocCeA neurons project to the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (vBNST), parabrachial nucleus (PBN), and nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), and activation of cell bodies in the central amygdala (CeA)or axons in the vBNST, PBN, and NTS produces reward behavior but did not promote feeding of palatable food. These data suggest that the PnocCeA network is necessary for promoting the reinforcing and rewarding properties of palatable food, but activation of this network itself is not sufficient to promote feeding