MORPHOMETRIC TRAITS AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH SEX IN THE KEEL-BILLED TOUCAN RAMPHASTOS SULFURATUS

Sexing monomorphic birds is essential for reproduction in conservation programs. In ramphastids (toucans) species, males have longer beaks than females, making beak morphometry potentially useful for sexing. In this study, we measured the following traits: curved beak length, total culmen length, straight beak length, curved and straight length of the ventral line of the gnathotheca, beak width, lateral area of the rhinotheca, and cloacal opening in 44 Keel-billed Toucans, as well as previously reported morphometric data from 17 additional individuals. Measurements were obtained using two methods (manual and image processing software), and the reliability between the two methods was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Individuals of unknown sex were sexed via PCR tests. The ICC showed poor reliability between the two measurement methods, so we only used manual measurements for comparisons between the sexes. We used GLMMs to determine whether the morphometric traits we measured could be used to determine sex in keel-billed toucans. In addition, we evaluated GLMMs to determine which morphometric trait was the strongest predictor of sex in this species. Beak length was longer in adult males than in females. The GLMMs indicated that beak traits associated with sex in this species are beak curved length, beak straight length, straight length of the ventral line of the gnathotheca, and total culmen length. The straight length of the ventral line of the gnathotheca was the strongest predictor of sex in the Keel-billed Toucan. Unlike previous research, the development of GLMMs allows us to determine the probability of a toucan’s sex based on continuous variables, facilitating sexing and allowing us to evaluate the reliability of the estimation of the sexing of each toucan. This method is an alternative for situations where other sexing methodologies cannot be performed

Design of a singular roof 224 m long at La Sagrera High Speed train station

El proyecto contempla el proyecto estructural de una cubierta singular continua de 224 m de longitud según el diseño arquitectónico de Barcelona Sagrera Alta Velocidad así como la verificación de la compatibilidad estructural de los niveles inferiores de la estación con esta cubierta. Esta última verificación resulta necesaria pues los niveles inferiores de la estación respetan la modulación prevista en el proyecto original de la Estación, del año 2009, que contempla juntas de dilatación cada 48 m. Es decir, la nueva cubierta singular abarca 5 módulos de estación del proyecto original.Postprint (published version

GIARPS: the unique VIS-NIR high precision radial velocity facility in this world

GIARPS (GIAno & haRPS) is a project devoted to have on the same focal station of the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) both the high resolution spectrographs HARPS-N (VIS) and GIANO (NIR) working simultaneously. This could be considered the first and unique worldwide instrument providing cross-dispersed echelle spectroscopy at a high resolution (R=115,000 in the visual and R=50,000 in the IR) and over in a wide spectral range (0.383 - 2.45 micron) in a single exposure. The science case is very broad, given the versatility of such an instrument and the large wavelength range. A number of outstanding science cases encompassing mainly extra-solar planet science starting from rocky planet search and hot Jupiters, atmosphere characterization can be considered. Furthermore both instrument can measure high precision radial velocity by means the simultaneous thorium technique (HARPS - N) and absorbing cell technique (GIANO) in a single exposure. Other science cases are also possible. Young stars and proto-planetary disks, cool stars and stellar populations, moving minor bodies in the solar system, bursting young stellar objects, cataclysmic variables and X-ray binary transients in our Galaxy, supernovae up to gamma-ray bursts in the very distant and young Universe, can take advantage of the unicity of this facility both in terms of contemporaneous wide wavelength range and high resolution spectroscopy.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, SPIE Conference Proceeding

New MRI, 18F-DOPA and 11C-(+)-alpha-dihydrotetrabenazine templates for Macaca fascicularis neuroimaging: advantages to improve PET quantification

Normalization of neuroimaging studies to a stereotaxic space allows the utilization of standard volumes of interest (VOIs) and voxel-based analysis (SPM). Such spatial normalization of PET and MRI studies requires a high quality template image. The aim of this study was to create new MRI and PET templates of 18F-DOPA and 11C-(+)-α-dihydrotetrabenazine (11C-DTBZ) of the Macaca fascicularis brain, an important animal model of Parkinson's disease. MRI template was constructed as a smoothed average of the scans of 15 healthy animals, previously transformed into the space of one representative MRI. In order to create the PET templates, 18F-DOPA and 11C-DTBZ PET of the same subjects were acquired in a dedicated small animal PET scanner and transformed to the created MRI template space. To validate these templates for PET quantification, parametric values obtained with a standard VOI-map applied after spatial normalization to each template were statistically compared to results computed using individual VOIs drawn for each animal. The high correlation between both procedures validated the utilization of all the templates, improving the reproducibility of PET analysis. To prove the utility of the templates for voxel-based quantification, dopamine striatal depletion in a representative monkey treated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) was assessed by SPM analysis of 11C-DTBZ PET. A symmetric reduction in striatal 11C-DTBZ uptake was detected in accordance with the induced lesion. In conclusion, templates of M. fascicularis brain have been constructed and validated for reproducible and automated PET quantification. All templates are electronically available via the internet

Efecto de las prácticas agronómicas en las propiedades del suelo en laderas.

En un suelo Ultisol de textura arenosa, fuertemente erosionado, de baja fertilidad en fósforo, materia orgánica y ácido, ubicado en la localidad de La Leña en la provincia de Pinar del Río, en la República de Cuba, se realizó durante el año 1996 un ensayo en dos segmentos de microcuencas, en las que se implementaron medidas de conservación de suelos consistentes en barreras vivas de Gliricidia sepium L. (primer segmento) y Vetiveria zizanoide L. (segundo segmento) complementadas con coberturas de maíz asociado con Mucuna d. y Canavalia e., como precedentes del Frijol. Los resultados mostraron ligeros cambios de la pendiente intrabarreras con respecto al valor inicial (10 y 9%). Los valores de la biomasa seca total de las asociaciones fueron de 17 y 15 t/ha, la velocidad de cubrimiento a los 30 días fue mayor al 70%, la colonización radical profusa presentada por las asociaciones indican una mejora de la red poral del suelo, reflejándose en la tendencia positiva del estado interno de la estructura que evoluciona hacia un estado (G) poroso. Los rendimientos de maíz fueron de 2900 y 2500 kg/ha y los de frijol de 1800 y 1630 kg/ha. Valores considerados elevados, si se tiene en cuenta el grado de deterioro de este suelo

EVALUACIÓN DE OPCIONES DE MITIGACIÓN EN EL CONTEXTO DE LA SEGUNDA COMUNICACIÓN NACIONAL A LA CONVENCIÓN MARCO DE NACIONES UNIDAS SOBRE EL CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO/ Assessment of mitigation options in the context of Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change

El artículo presenta en detalle los resultados del Capítulo 4: “Programas que comprenden medidas para mitigar el Cambio Climático”, presentado como parte de la Segunda Comunicación de Cuba a la Convención Marco de Naciones Unidas sobre Cambio Climático (CMNUCC), aprobada por las autoridades nacionales y puesta a disposición de los interesados en la web de la Convención. La evaluación efectuada constituye una notable oportunidad para explorar las posibles consecuencias de diferentes sendas de desarrollo sobre el sistema socioeconómico y ambiental. Aunque su objetivo es identificar las opciones de mitigación de emisiones de Gases de Efecto Invernadero (GEI) y el potencial a éstas vinculadas, también se pone en evidencia los impactos sobre el uso, el comercio exterior, la eficiencia y los costos de tales escenarios. ABSTRACT The assessment is a remarkable opportunity to explore the possible consequences of different development paths on the socioeconomic and environmental system. Although its purpose is to identify mitigation options of GHG emissions and their potential linked to them, it highlights the impact on the use, foreign trade, efficiency and costs of such scenarios. On the other hand, it draws attention to the importance of incorporating methodologies and assessment techniques in the mitigation studies, especially to have robust scenarios, especially with a well-structured Baseline or Reference Scenario and to incorporate the trends of environment and the socio-economic system, along with the measures and policies identified in the implementation process, so that they do not only constitute an extrapolation of current data into the future

Harps-N: the new planet hunter at TNG

The Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG)[9] hosts, starting in April 2012, the visible spectrograph HARPS-N. It is based on the design of its predecessor working at ESO's 3.6m telescope, achieving unprecedented results on radial velocity measurements of extrasolar planetary systems. The spectrograph's ultra-stable environment, in a temperature-controlled vacuum chamber, will allow measurements under 1 m/s which will enable the characterization of rocky, Earth-like planets. Enhancements from the original HARPS include better scrambling using octagonal section fibers with a shorter length, as well as a native tip-tilt system to increase image sharpness, and an integrated pipeline providing a complete set of parameters. Observations in the Kepler field will be the main goal of HARPS-N, and a substantial fraction of TNG observing time will be devoted to this follow-up. The operation process of the observatory has been updated, from scheduling constraints to telescope control system. Here we describe the entire instrument, along with the results from the first technical commissioning