Seagrass epiphytic assemblages are strong indicators of agricultural discharge but weak indicators of host features

Wastewater pulses from rice agriculture are persistently discharged into the northern shore of the Alfacs Bay (Ebro Delta, NW Mediterranean) from April to November. The bay also receives water from coastal lagoons which are subjected to freshwater inputs from the Ebro River mixed to an unknown extent with agricultural wastewater during the same period. This paper compares epiphyte assemblages growing on leaves of Cymodocea nodosa in sites exposed to agricultural drainage channels, lagoon connection channels, and control sites in the Ebro Delta Natural Park (southern shore of the bay). Leaf epiphytic assemblages of Zostera noltii patches in the northern shore of the bay were also compared with those of adjacent beds of C. nodosa. Drainage channel sites had consistently distinctive assemblages (higher species richness, biomass load, and taxa composition) than control sites. Assemblages from lagoon channel sites were more variable, with three sites showing particularly high covers of epiphytic algae and two sites more similar to controls. Epiphyte patterns clearly matched in situ measures of nutrient availability, and were consistent with decreased shoot densities in discharge sites. In contrast, differences in epiphyte assemblages between seagrass species were minor, and mostly a result of higher epiphytic loads on C. nodosa than on Z. noltii, which features thinner leaves. Further research is needed to investigate the consequences of these plant and epiphyte alterations in important ecosystem processes such as decomposition and export rates, as well as overall effects of nutrients and salinity in secondary producers such as associated macroinvertebrate assemblages supporting locally important marine fisheries.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Determinants of eco-innovations in Brazilian firms : a review

For many years, the imperatives of innovation have been oriented to competitiveness achievement, not to environmental concerns. The debates about the role of governments, business, citizens and the diversity of global and social actors in seeking answers to short and long term environmental problems, especially related to greenhouse gases emissions have increased. This paper provides an overview of the recent body of literature in the field of eco-innovations in Brazil, identifying determinants and impacts of the adoption by the firms. It also contributes to the discussion of the relationship between Brazilian policies and regulations and the implementation of eco-innovations by Brazilian firms. The study analysed data from empirical studies in three databases: Scopus, Web of Science and SciELO. Although ecological issues became part of the innovation agenda and eco-innovation is already a crucial field, Brazil lacks specific literature on the area and needs to advance a local discussion. With a tradition of having a very bureaucratic public administration which is sensitive to political interference, the innovation policies did not deal with environmental issues until very recently. Environmental and innovation policies should be aligned, complementing each other

Sphingolipids as emerging mediators in retina degeneration

The sphingolipids ceramide (Cer), sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), sphingosine (Sph), and ceramide-1-phosphate (C1P) are key signaling molecules that regulate major cellular functions. Their roles in the retina have gained increasing attention during the last decade since they emerge as mediators of proliferation, survival, migration, neovascularization, inflammation and death in retina cells. As exacerbation of these processes is central to retina degenerative diseases, they appear as crucial players in their progression. This review analyzes the functions of these sphingolipids in retina cell types and their possible pathological roles. Cer appears as a key arbitrator in diverse retinal pathologies; it promotes inflammation in endothelial and retina pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and its increase is a common feature in photoreceptor death in vitro and in animal models of retina degeneration; noteworthy, inhibiting Cer synthesis preserves photoreceptor viability and functionality. In turn, S1P acts as a double edge sword in the retina. It is essential for retina development, promoting the survival of photoreceptors and ganglion cells and regulating proliferation and differentiation of photoreceptor progenitors. However, S1P has also deleterious effects, stimulating migration of Müller glial cells, angiogenesis and fibrosis, contributing to the inflammatory scenario of proliferative retinopathies and age related macular degeneration (AMD). C1P, as S1P, promotes photoreceptor survival and differentiation. Collectively, the expanding role for these sphingolipids in the regulation of critical processes in retina cell types and in their dysregulation in retina degenerations makes them attractive targets for treating these diseases.Fil: Simon, Maria Victoria. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Prado Spalm, Facundo Heber. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Vera, Marcela Sonia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Rotstein, Nora Patricia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentin

Uso del hábitat por una gran población superficial de Pinna nobilis

We investigated the habitat use and size structure of the fan mussel, Pinna nobilis L. in the Alfacs Bay (Ebro Delta, Spain, NW Mediterranean). Shore-parallel transects were conducted to assess the abundance, size, and orientation of individuals and to record habitat features along the Banya Sandspit, at depths of 20 to 130 cm. Results showed two distinctive areas in terms of population density, marked by the end of local salt pan dikes that we named Good Habitat (GH) and Bad Habitat (BH). To extrapolate these results to the full area of BH and GH, perpendicular transects were conducted to determine the local bathymetry. Then, the underestimation of individuals due to the effects of distance, depth and seagrass cover (Distance 6 computer package) was added to raw abundances to obtain a corrected population of 90303 individuals (12085 in the BH and 782018 in the GH), the largest so far reported at such low depths. Most recorded individuals were adults (40 to 60 cm shell length), with no occurrence of sizes < 20 cm, and with a strong association with Cymodocea nodosa seagrass beds. Given the shallow distribution of the population, the absence of small sizes during the study period, and the presence of human activities that may damage P. nobilis and its habitat, the development of a management plan appears imperative for the conservation of the species.El uso del hábitat y la estructura poblacional de la nacra, Pinna nobilis L. fue investigado en la bahía dels Alfacs (Delta del Ebro, Spain, Mediterráneo noroccidental). La abundancia, talla, y orientación de los individuos, así como las características del hábitat se evaluaron mediante transectos paralelos a la costa, a profundidades comprendidas entre los 20 y los 130 cm. Los resultados evidenciaron la presencia de dos áreas con densidades poblacionales diferenciadas, delimitadas por el final de los diques de las salinas locales, a las que se denominó Good Habitat (GH) y Bad Habitat (BH). Para extrapolar los resultados a toda el área del BH y el GH, se realizaron transectos perpendiculares para determinar la batimetría local. A continuación, las tasas de infravaloración de individuos debido al efecto de la distancia, la profundidad, y la cobertura de fanerógamas marinas obtenidas con el paquete informático Distance 6 se añadieron a los valores no corregidos, y resultaron en una estima de 90.303 individuos (12.085 en el BH y 78.2018 en el GH, la mayor hasta ahora registrada en aguas poco profundas. La mayoría de los individuos observados eran adultos (40 a 60 cm de longitud de valvas), sin ocurrencia de tallas < 20 cm, y con una fuerte asociación a la pradera de Cymodocea nodosa. Dada su distribución poco profunda, la ausencia de individuos juveniles durante el periodo de estudio, y la presencia de actividades humanas en la zona que potencialmente pueden perjudicar a P. nobilis y a su hábitat, la implantación de un plan de gestión es prioritario para la conservación de la población local

Boletín DTCENS de actualidad jurídico laboral nº 11

Este boletín recopila normativa y jurisprudencia comunitaria en materia social, normativa jurídico-laboral estatal publicada en el BOE, así como las principales sentencias del Tribunal Constitucional.No publicad

Habitat and scale shape the demographic fate of the keystone sea urchin <i>Paracentrotus lividus</i> in Mediterranean macrophyte communities

Demographic processes exert different degrees of control as individuals grow, and in species that span several habitats and spatial scales, this can influence our ability to predict their population at a particular life-history stage given the previous life stage. In particular, when keystone species are involved, this relative coupling between demographic stages can have significant implications for the functioning of ecosystems. We examined benthic and pelagic abundances of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus in order to: 1) understand the main life-history bottlenecks by observing the degree of coupling between demographic stages; and 2) explore the processes driving these linkages. P. lividus is the dominant invertebrate herbivore in the Mediterranean Sea, and has been repeatedly observed to overgraze shallow beds of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica and rocky macroalgal communities. We used a hierarchical sampling design at different spatial scales (100 s, 10 s and &lt;1 km) and habitats (seagrass and rocky macroalgae) to describe the spatial patterns in the abundance of different demographic stages (larvae, settlers, recruits and adults). Our results indicate that large-scale factors (potentially currents, nutrients, temperature, etc.) determine larval availability and settlement in the pelagic stages of urchin life history. In rocky macroalgal habitats, benthic processes (like predation) acting at large or medium scales drive adult abundances. In contrast, adult numbers in seagrass meadows are most likely influenced by factors like local migration (from adjoining rocky habitats) functioning at much smaller scales. The complexity of spatial and habitat-dependent processes shaping urchin populations demands a multiplicity of approaches when addressing habitat conservation actions, yet such actions are currently mostly aimed at managing predation processes and fish numbers. We argue that a more holistic ecosystem management also needs to incorporate the landscape and habitat-quality level processes (eutrophication, fragmentation, etc.) that together regulate the populations of this keystone herbivore

Under what conditions is the bioethanol and biodiesel produced entirely in the Basque Country sustainable?

4 p.*The process of agricultural production, and especially anything related to the management of fertilisation, largely determines the uncertainty in the estimation of the different environmental impact of biofuel production. *The most widely used methodologies for estimating the impact on biofuel production are not sufficiently precise for the production agricultural stage of the same. *The handling of nitrogen fertilisers and the effect of climatology during the cultivation stage greatly affects nitrous oxide emissions and are the major determinants of the carbon footprint during biofuel production. *Organic fertilisation promotes the reduction of the carbon footprint during the production of biofuels such as wheat-derived ethanol and rapeseed-derived diesel. They in turn increase other effects such as water contamination or the acidification of ecosystems. *There is very little likelihood of meeting the requirement of legislation on biofuel sustainability, which recommends a reduction of at least 35 % in greenhouse gases compared to its equivalent fossil fuel, in the case of the production of ethanol and diesel through the use of crops such as wheat and rapeseed for the current limited fertilisation conditions in those areas vulnerable to nitrate contamination and especially in the case of mineral fertilisers . *While organic fertilisation is more likely to meet the standards of sustainability, the direct impact on the use of the land is even greater than in the case of minerally fertilised crops

Diagnóstico y propuesta para el desarrollo turístico del cantón chunchi, provincia del Chimborazo

Este trabajo empieza por describir los cambios que han suscitado en el turista con respecto a los gustos al momento de escoger un destino para vacacionar, en este ítem se observa también cuál es la inclinación y qué lo motiva a trasladarse a lugares donde la naturaleza y la comunidad son los principales factores de entretenimiento. Se presenta luego, el objetivo general de esta investigación y los pasos que se siguieron para alcanzarlo, el primero consistió en identificar y valorar los componentes del sistema turístico de Chunchi, con esto se pudo constatar la realidad en la que se encuentran los elementos estáticos y dinámicos del sistema turístico; luego se procedió a realizar un Diagnóstico al Sistema Turístico del cantón, en este punto se da la Valorización de los Recursos y Atractivos Turísticos de Chunchi más detallada, se analiza el “Sistema Turístico Chunchi”, mediante la elaboración de un FODA, aquí se pudo apreciar de que forma funcionan y se interrelacionan los elementos del sistema turístico y es de este punto que se identificaron los problemas que no permiten que sea óptimo su funcionamiento; después se procedió a la elaboración de la propuesta que tiene como fin solucionar los problemas del sistema y ayudar al desarrollo del Turismo en este cantón, además se elaboró estrategia de promoción turística, que ayudara a alcanzar nuestro objetivo

Are the LPRs focusing on real life communication issues?

More than a decade after the ICAO LPRs were announced, most international pilots and controllers have been through aviation English training and testing cycles, but can we state that aviation communications have really improved because of that? This workshop was presented twice in a row in the session Have air-ground communications improved? and aimed at addressing some in-depth topics such as: is communication more effective nowadays?; have the LPRs increased native speakers’ awareness of the needs of non-native English pilots & ATCOs?; is phraseology being overshadowed by plain English? and how effective is communication among personnel with varying proficiency levels? In order to shed new light onto these questions and to raise awareness on how to analyze fluency and interaction in a radiotelephony corpus, on top of relating the findings to the Proficiency Scale provided by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the workshop presented five authentic samples of air-ground communications that have happened recently, each of them presenting a different non-routine or emergency situation. To support the analysis, some resources from corpus linguistics were provided. The proponents started the workshop by presenting data from aviation English corpora with over 100 communications from pilots and controllers from all over the world, to bring some insights about elements collected from an automated analysis of inputted language. For instance, a word cloud and a table were presented with the 36 most frequent three-word clusters, which revealed the frequent use of modalized language, in expressions such as if you can, if you need, \u27d like to, able to do, and do you want. The use of gonna was very frequent, too, in chunks such as I\u27m gonna, you\u27re gonna, we\u27re gonna, which reveals the immediate character of the decisions that are made in real time. But there is some room for politeness too, which can be attested in expressions like thank you, thank you very much, okay, that\u27s fine and the use of honorifics. After these general comments about characteristics of aviation English, participants were invited to work together in the analysis of 5 transcripts of samples of communications taken from the abovementioned corpus. They were split in groups of 4-5, with different backgrounds (pilots, controllers, trainers, raters, civil aviation authorities, etc.) and had to analyze the linguistic strategies used by pilots and controllers in their effort to communicate effectively in non-routine or emergency situations. To guide the analysis, participants were encouraged to look at the use of modalizers to soften language; any switches from phraseology to plain English; assumptions of peer proficiency; and assumptions of shared knowledge. It is important to emphasize that, so as to prevent their identification and avoid any nationality or accent influence in the judgment, the call signs and ATC facilities were replaced by fictional names based on birds (seagull, lark, dove, etc.). To represent the features of spoken language, symbols were used in the scripts (/ for prosodic breaks, … for removed parts, \u3c\u3e for tagged information, uh for hesitations). There was a time limit of 10 minutes for the discussion of each transcript. The workshop presenters monitored the groups to guide the discussions and control time and pace. After the time was over, groups had to share their answers with the audience and, for each of the five transcripts, the comments were presented on a slide. Afterwards, the audio of each transcript was played, so that the audience could listen to the actual events and be exposed to features such as prosody and accents – which were facilitated by the identification of the airlines, facilities and presumed nationalities. Then, they were asked whether would change any of their answers or ideas after listening to the audios. After the four scripts were discussed, a 5th transcript was presented, this time with new information: when the audio was played, the audience realized that pilot and controller were non-native English speakers from the same nationality; but, even though they were experiencing stressful moments, they opted for speaking English instead of switching to their shared language. There was consensus about the proficiency of these professionals, who were able to manage the communication and use linguistic strategies effectively in a clear, concise and precise way. The aim of this discussion was to raise issues questioning the relevance of classifying pilots and ATCOs as native or non-native speakers or aiming at near-native proficiency , and promote a new view – that of proficient (or non-proficient) aviation professionals should be attested in a situation of peer communication – and what should be considered good examples (models) of fluency and interaction on the radiotelephony. To end the workshop, another word cloud was presented, this time showing the most frequent words taken from the five scripts altogether. Some graphs were designed based the most frequent expressions along with some communicative functions such as: sharing information on future actions; sharing information on capacity; making requests and offers and exchanging information, based on Mell’s aviation language competences (2004) which are mentioned in Doc 9835 (ICAO, 2010). But, due to time constraints, they were not demonstrated to the audience of either workshop. By exploring real life communications beyond the triad pronunciation-structure-vocabulary (usually the linguistic criteria most dealt with), the main objective of the workshop was to lead participants to a discussion and personal reflection about whether the LPRs could contemplate these fluency and interaction elements and how to improve them with more specific guidelines concerning training and testing. The overall impression was that there is much emphasis on individual performance, when there is a need for a more integrated approach, including pragmatic elements which will enhance a more complete language competence. Stakeholders must take into account not only the speaker´s communication skills, but also the importance of the interlocutors\u27 role in linguistic and non-linguistic aspects, particularly for this voice-only communication context

Propiedades psicométricas del inventario de creencias sobre violencia de pareja íntima

This study analysed the psychometric properties of the Inventory of Beliefs about Intimate Partner Violence (IBIPV) which is designed to measure general and specific attitudes to violence against women in intimate relationships. The participants were 1169 people aged from 18 to 77 years. We found that the IBIPV has a three-factor structure, the factors identified were: a) Justifying Partner Violence (JPV), b) Victims Responsible for Violence (VRV) and c) Abuser Responsible for Violence (ARV). Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed three levels of measurement invariance across gender: configural, metric and scalar invariance. As expected, evidence of the convergent and divergent validity of the inventory was provided by comparisons with the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) and Ambivalence toward Men Inventory (AMI). Potential applications of the scale in the field of partner violence are discussed.  Este estudio analiza las propiedades psicométricas del Inventa-rio de Creencias sobre la violencia de pareja. En concreto, este inventario mide actitudes generales y específicas hacia la violencia contra las mujeres dentro de las relaciones de pareja. En el estudio participan 1169 personas con una edad comprendida entre 18 y 77 años. Los resultados muestran tres factores: a) Justificación de la violencia de género, b) Responsabilidad de la víctima y c) Responsabilidad del maltratador. El análisis factorial con-firmatorio mostró índices de ajuste apropiados: CFI = .952, NFI = .942 y RMSEA = .062 (90% CI [.058 - .065]). Además, los resultados muestran validez convergente y divergente con el sexismo ambivalente hacia las mu-jeres y hacia los hombres. Se discute la utilidad de esta escala en el ámbito de la violencia contra la pareja.