Habitat preferences of the Tawny owl (Strix aluco) in a Special Conservancy Area of eastern Spain.

The Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) is the most abundant nocturnal raptor in Europe. It has been thoroughly studied in various regions, but its habitat preferences in Mediterranean environments remain poorly understood. With the aim to present novel information about this aspect of the ecology of the Tawny Owl, we established 115 survey stations in the Special Conservancy Area 'Sierras de Talayuelas y Aliaguilla' (Castilla-La Mancha region, eastern Spain) and carried out nocturnal surveys by recording spontaneous calls and vocal responses to call playbacks. We then assessed environmental characteristics (vegetation types, soil type, altitude, potential competitors, and anthropic disturbance) in areas where owls were detected or not detected during the breeding season. Overall, we detected 60 responding owls at 49 survey stations during breeding season in the study area (i.e., density 1.22 owls/km2). We found that Tawny Owls preferred lower altitudes and patchy heterogeneous areas. Owls seemed to avoid natural grasslands and areas characterized by limestone soils and associated vegetation, and preferred areas characterized by clay soils and associated vegetation. Interestingly, we did not detect owls close to wind farms, which seem to create a buffer effect on owls' occurrence. The noise generated by the turbines might be a limiting factor that could account for this avoidance. Our multivariate results showed that Tawny Owls preferred heterogeneous patchy habitat but avoided non-irrigated arable land. Tawny Owls inhabit Mediterranean landscapes where conditions are favorable, but human activities such as wind farms may limit their distribution. Additional research is needed to determine the drivers of this avoidance and whether Tawny Owls also avoid wind farms in other regions of their range

Tri-axial accelerometry shows differences in energy expenditure and parental effort throughout the breeding season in long-lived raptors

Cutting-edge technologies are extremely useful to develop new workflows in studying ecological data, particularly to understand animal behavior and movement trajectories at the individual level. Although parental care is a well-studied phenomenon, most studies have been focused on direct observational or video recording data, as well as experimental manipulation. Therefore, what happens out of our sight still remains unknown. Using high-frequency GPS/GSM dataloggers and tri-axial accelerometers we monitored 25 Bonelli’s eagles Aquila fasciata during the breeding season to understand parental activities from a broader perspective. We used recursive data, measured as number of visits and residence time, to reveal nest attendance patterns of biparental care with role specialization between sexes. Accelerometry data interpreted as the overall dynamic body acceleration, a proxy of energy expenditure, showed strong differences in parental effort throughout the breeding season and between sexes. Thereby, males increased substantially their energetic requirements, due to the increased workload, while females spent most of the time on the nest. Furthermore, during critical phases of the breeding season, a low percentage of suitable hunting spots in eagles’ territories led them to increase their ranging behavior in order to find food, with important consequences in energy consumption and mortality risk. Our results highlight the crucial role of males in raptor species exhibiting biparental care. Finally, we exemplify how biologging technologies are an adequate and objective method to study parental care in raptors as well as to get deeper insight into breeding ecology of birds in general.This work was supported by Red Eléctrica de España, Iberdrola Foundation, and Wildlife Service of the Valencian Community Regional Government (Conselleria d’Agricultura, Desenvolupament Rural, Emergència Climàtica i Transició Ecològica, Generalitat Valenciana, Spain). A.M.P. and J.M.E. were supported by predoctoral grants of the University of Valencia [Grant Number 0113/2019] and the Basque Government [Grant Number PRE_2018_2_0112], respectively

3D interactive applications on tablets for preschoolers: Exploring the human skeleton and the senses

Early years education is an important aspect for the future success of children in the education system. From this perspective, this paper describes the results of a study with preschool children using an interactive learning application on tablets. The project is arranged according to a three-phase process to promote the development of: (1) emergent literacy, (2) digital access for early years learners and (3) basic concepts in knowledge of the environment. The study was conducted with six classes of 87 students aged between 3 years to 6 years, over a 6-week period. During this period, the students were introduced to and engaged in the knowledge of the human skeleton and five senses by using a 3D interactive application on tablets. The quasi-experimental design was based on a nonequivalent groups pretest and posttest design. The interactive learning application was designed around three distinct interaction modes: presentation, exploration, manipulation and evaluation. These phases provided scaffolding for the students to engage with the technology and for the class teacher to develop her own skills. The results on the normalization tests for both control/experimental groups before the experiment were similar. The results after the experiment indicate that students who worked with tablets showed a slight improvement in results of learning outcomesCascales, A.; Laguna, I.; Pérez Lopez, DC.; Perona Ruiz, PD.; Contero, M. (2013). 3D interactive applications on tablets for preschoolers: Exploring the human skeleton and the senses. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. 8095:71-83. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-40814-4_7S71838095OECD: Investing in high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC), http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/0/28/48980282.pdfChou, C.: Interactivity and interactive functions in web-based learning systems: A technical framework for designers. British Journal of Educational Technology 34, 265–279 (2003)Crowther, K., Waddoups, G.L.: Improving the quality and effectiveness of computer-mediated instruction through usability evaluations. British Journal of Educational Technology 35, 289–303 (2004)Hinostroza, J.E., Mellar, H.: Pedagogy embedded in educational software design: Report of a case study. Computers & Education 37, 27–40 (2001)Kearney, J.: Educating Young Children - Learning and teaching in the early childhood years. Early Childhood Teachers’ Association (ECTA Inc.) 3(18) (2012)Marco, J., Cerezo, E.: Bringing tabletop technologies to kindergarten children. In: HCI 2009 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction– Celebrating people and technology, pp. 103–111. Springer, Heidelberg (2009)Heft, T.M., Swaminathan, S.: Using computers in early childhood classrooms: Teachers’ attitudes, skills and practices. Journal of Early Childhood Research 6(4), 169–188 (2006)Wang, X.C., Ching, C.C.: Social construction of computer experience in a first-grade classroom: Social processes and mediating artifacts. Early Education and Development 14(3), 335–361 (2003)Kearney, J.: Educating young children: Learning and teaching in the early childhood years. Early Childhood Teachers’ Association (ECTA Inc.) 3(17), 35–38 (2012)Couse, L.J., Chen, D.W.: A Tablet Computer for Young Children? Exploring Its Viability for Early Childhood Education. Journal of Research on Technology in Education 43(1), 75–98 (2012)Rankothge, W.H., Sendanayake, S.V., Sudarshana, R.G.P., Balasooriya, B.G.G.H., Alahapperuma, D.R., Mallawarachchi, Y.: Technology assisted tool for learning skills development in early childhood. In: 2012 International Conference on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions (ICTer), pp. 165–168. IEEE (2012)Sandvik, M., Smørdal, O., Østerud, S.: Exploring iPads in practitioners’ repertoires for language learning and literacy practices in kindergarten. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy 3(7), 204–221 (2012)Papert, S.: A critique of technocentrism in thinking about the shool of the future. MIT.Media, Cambridge (1990)Cook, T.D., Campbell, D.T., Day, A.: Quasi-experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings, pp. 19–21. Houghton Mifflin, Boston (1979)Buendía, L., Colás, P., Hernández-Pina, F.: Métodos de Investigación en Psicopedagogía. McGraw Hill, Madrid (1997

First passage time statistics of Brownian motion with purely time dependent drift and diffusion

Systems where resource availability approaches a critical threshold are common to many engineering and scientific applications and often necessitate the estimation of first passage time statistics of a Brownian motion (Bm) driven by time-dependent drift and diffusion coefficients. Modeling such systems requires solving the associated Fokker-Planck equation subject to an absorbing barrier. Transitional probabilities are derived via the method of images, whose applicability to time dependent problems is shown to be limited to state-independent drift and diffusion coefficients that only depend on time and are proportional to each other. First passage time statistics, such as the survival probabilities and first passage time densities are obtained analytically. The analysis includes the study of different functional forms of the time dependent drift and diffusion, including power-law time dependence and different periodic drivers. As a case study of these theoretical results, a stochastic model for water availability from surface runoff in snowmelt dominated regions is presented, where both temperature effects and snow-precipitation input are incorporated

"Bioinformática con Ñ v1.0": a collaborative project of young Spanish scientists to write a complete book about Bioinformatics

Here we present a project aiming to provide specialized educational bibliography on Bioinformatics for Spanish speakers. The idea of writing a book in Spanish language covering the most important topics in the field of Bioinformatics was born in the XIth Spanish Symposium on Bioinformatics in Barcelona two years ago. Different scientists have been involved in the project, from senior scientists to PhD students from different countries. The book intends to be the beginning of an open project, where all the chapters are susceptible of being updated and new topics can be incorporated in future versions. Current book version can be accessed online at http://goo.gl/UYG0o7.Peer Reviewe

Pro-Survival Role for Parkinson's Associated Gene DJ-1 Revealed in Trophically Impaired Dopaminergic Neurons

A mouse genetic study reveals a novel cell-survival role for the Parkinson's disease-associated gene DJ-1 in dopaminergic neurons that have reduced support from endogenous survival factors

CIBERER: Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

13 páginas,1 figura, 3 tablas, 1 apéndice. Se extraen los autores pertenecientes a The CIBERER network que trabajan en Centros del CSIC del Appendix ACIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research.This study has been funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and Spanish Ministry of Science and InnovationPeer reviewe

Técnicas de ingeniería inversa y realidad aumentada en el proceso del diseño : aplicación al desarrollo de un juguete de acción articulado

Consulta en la Biblioteca ETSI Industriales (8189)Perona Ruiz, PD. (2009). Técnicas de ingeniería inversa y realidad aumentada en el proceso del diseño : aplicación al desarrollo de un juguete de acción articulado. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/33445.Archivo delegad