TANGO I: ISM in nearby radio galaxies. Molecular gas

Powerful radio-AGN are hosted by massive elliptical galaxies which are usually very poor in molecular gas. Nevertheless gas is needed in the very center to feed the nuclear activity. We aim to study the molecular gas properties (mass, kinematics, distribution, origin) in such objects, and to compare them with results of other known samples. We have performed at the IRAM-30m telescope a survey of the CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) emission in the most powerful radio galaxies of the Local Universe, selected only on the basis of their radio continuum fluxes. The main result of our survey is the very low content in molecular gas of such galaxies compared to spiral or FIR-selected galaxies. The median value of the molecular gas mass, including detections and upper limits, is 2.2x10^8 Msun. If separated into FR-I and FR-II types, a difference in H_2 masses between them is found. The median value of FR-I galaxies is about 1.9x10^8 and higher for FR-II galaxies, about 4.5x10^8 Msun but this is very probably entirely due to a Malmquist bias. Our results contrast with previous surveys, mainly selected through the FIR emission, implying larger observed masses of molecular gas. Moreover, the shape of CO spectra suggest the presence of a central molecular gas disk in 30% of these radio galaxies, a lower rate than in other active galaxy samples.Comment: 20 pages, 20 figures plus Online Material that can be found at the following address: http://www.iram.es/IRAMES/personal/ocana/TanGoI_v13.pdf Accepted for publication in A&

Ecosystem Viable Yields

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002) encouraged the application of the ecosystem approach by 2010. However, at the same Summit, the signatory States undertook to restore and exploit their stocks at maximum sustainable yield (MSY), a concept and practice without ecosystemic dimension, since MSY is computed species by species, on the basis of a monospecific model. Acknowledging this gap, we propose a definition of "ecosystem viable yields" (EVY) as yields compatible i) with guaranteed biological safety levels for all time and ii) with an ecosystem dynamics. To the difference of MSY, this notion is not based on equilibrium, but on viability theory, which offers advantages for robustness. For a generic class of multispecies models with harvesting, we provide explicit expressions for the EVY. We apply our approach to the anchovy--hake couple in the Peruvian upwelling ecosystem

COVID-19 highlights need for feminist human rights approach to ensure socio-economic gender equality

Economics and human rights have never been close friends. Human rights advocates have rarely engaged with financial systems. Economists, in turn, seldom consider human rights principles. However, COVID-19 intensified the need for mutual cooperation to safeguard the most disadvantaged, particularly women, who have suffered disproportionate negative socio-economic impact from the pandemic, which accentuated female overrepresentation in frontline health and public sector employment as well as unpaid caring responsibilities. This article examines a series of UN reports and other research which contend that inherent economic gender bias and neoliberal financial austerity policies unduly damage women’s socio-economic rights. It recommends that human rights principles be combined with comprehensive feminist economic analysis in order to achieve gender equality and afford women more financial security in preparation for future crises

Neurocysticercosis in patients presenting with epilepsy at St Elizabeth’s Hospital, Lusikisiki

Objective. To survey the prevalence of neurocysticercosis in patients treated for epilepsy in Lusikisiki, E Cape.Design. This was a descriptive study. Variables considered were age, gender, symptoms and type of seizure, serological data,  electroencephalogram and computed tomography (CT) findings, treatment, and ownership of pigs. Prevalence and risk assessment were determined by statistical analysis. Subjects and setting. 113 patients presenting with epilepsy at St Elizabeth’s Hospital, Lusikisiki, E Cape.Outcome measures. Prevalence of neurocysticercosis in patientspresenting with epilepsy.Results. CT scans indicated that 61.1% of the patients hadneurocysticercosis-associated epilepsy, the prevalence beinghighest in the 10 - 19-year-old age group (12.4% of the total).Neuro-imaging studies showed that calcified lesions were frequent, while active lesions were often associated with positive serological results. Non-commercial pig farming was not a significant risk factor for neurocysticercosis in the sample studied.Conclusion. Neurocysticercosis was common in patientspresenting with and undergoing treatment for epilepsy

Taxonomic Revision and Morphometric Analysis of Selected Anthurium (Araceae) Species From Bolivia and Peru

The genus Anthurium (Araceae) consists of around 1,200 species distributed in the Neotropics, particularly in Central and South America. The montane forests in the eastern flank of the Andes, ranging from northern Ecuador to central Bolivia; hereafter, the East Andes Gradient region, are particularly rich in terms of species diversity, and include an understudied group of Anthurium species endemic to the region. Within this group of species, some taxa are difficult to distinguish from each other mainly due to the lack of identification keys, incomplete species descriptions and unknown synonyms. In this study, a combination of traditional taxonomic techniques and linear morphometric was used to better delimit species within the East Andes Gradient region. A total of 135 morphological characters, including leaf, reproductive, qualitative and quantitative characters were measured for more than 100 herbarium specimens from the Missouri Botanical Garden herbarium. This revision of Anthurium species occurring in the East Andes Gradient region includes a total of 24 species and 1 subspecies. Standardized descriptions, photographs and distribution maps are presented for each taxa. Additionally, summary descriptions of each section considered in this study are also included. Considerations regarding similar species and how to distinguish them are provided to avoid confusion while identifying herbarium specimens from the region. Identification keys to all species and all sections included in this revision are also provided

First record of the Central Indo-Pacific reef coral Oulastrea crispata in the Mediterranean Sea

A live colony of a non-indigenous zooxanthellate scleractinian coral was found in shallow water at the west coast of Corsica, western Mediterranean. Its diameter of 6 cm suggests that it has already survived for some years. It was identified as Oulastrea crispata, a species native on near-shore coral reefs in the central Indo-Pacific with a high tolerance for low water temperatures at high latitudes. Based on its morphology it can be distinguished from other zooxanthellate colonial scleractinians in the Mediterranean. O. crispata has a reputation of being a successful colonizer because it is able to settle on a wide variety of substrata and because it utilizes various reproductive strategies as simultaneous hermaphrodite and producer of asexually derived planulae. Owing to its original distribution range in temperate and subtropical waters, it is likely that it will be able to meet a suitable temperature regime in the Mediterranean for further range expansion

Feeding of Sciaenid (Pisces: Sciaenidae) Larvae in Two Coastal Lagoons of the Gulf of Mexico

Stomach contents analyses showed that Leiostomus xanthurus (8.50-12.90 mm SL) had a wide trophic spectrum (15 food categories) with copepods and eggs of invertebrates as main components. In contrast, Micropogonias undulutus (6.65-12.20 mm SL) ingested only six food categories (copepods, eggs of invertebrates, crustacean nauplii, bamacle nauplii, amphipods and other crustaceans). There is an overlap of 73.2 to 83.0% in the diet of these two species. Bairdiella chrysoura (1.17-1.92 mm SL) fed primarily on juvenile pelecypods, crustacean nauplii, eggs of invertebrates, including gasteropods and copepods. Cynoscion nebulosus (1.50-2.42 mm SL) ingested juvenile pelecypods, copepods, crustacean nauplii, eggs of invertebrates and tintinnids, variability in overlap (47.4 to 79.5%) between these species was affected by size of the larvae