Tree diversity and species composition of tropical dry forests in Vietnam's Central Highlands Region

Abstract Tree species inventories, particularly of poorly known dry forests, are necessary to protect and restore them in degraded landscapes. The present research has been conducted to compare taxonomic diversity and community composition in four dry forests (DF) categories with different standing volume levels: very low (DFV), low (DFP), medium (DFM) and high (DFR). This quantitative assessment of taxonomic diversity, forest structure and species composition were obtained from 103 sample plots (0.1 ha each). The regeneration potential of trees was assessed in 515 subplots (4 m × 4 m) located within the 103 plots. A total of 1,072 trees representing 87 species belonging to 37 families were recorded in 10.3 ha of total sampled area. The ranges of diversity indices observed in the four forest types were: Margalef's (5.44–8.43), Shannon-Wiener (1.80–2.29), Simpson diversity (0.76–0.87) and evenness (0.32–0.35). The regeneration potential of rare and threatened species Dalbergia oliveri, Hopea recopei, Dalbergia bariensis, Sindora siamensis, Parashorea stellata was observed to be poor. Conversely, Cratoxylon formosum, Shorea obtusa, Dipterocarpus tuberculatus, Dipterocarpus obtusifolius, Terminalia alata, Shorea siamensis and Xylia xylocarpa were the most dominant species at the seedling and sapling stage, showing a strong potential for regeneration. Overall, this study provides useful information on tree species diversity and composition for tropical dry forests which can be used as baseline data to develop incoming plans for forest management and conservation in Vietnam's Central Highlands Region

A New Approach to Energy Calculation of Road Accidents against Fixed Small Section Elements Based on Close-Range Photogrammetry

[EN] This paper presents a new approach for energetic analyses of traffic accidents against fixed road elements using close-range photogrammetry. The main contributions of the developed approach are related to the quality of the 3D photogrammetric models, which enable objective and accurate energetic analyses through the in-house tool CRASHMAP. As a result, security forces can reconstruct the accident in a simple and comprehensive way without requiring spreadsheets or external tools, and thus avoid the subjectivity and imprecisions of the traditional protocol. The tool has already been validated, and is being used by the Local Police of Salamanca (Salamanca, Spain) for the resolution of numerous accidents. In this paper, a real accident of a car against a fixed metallic pole is analysed, and significant discrepancies are obtained between the new approach and the traditional protocol of data acquisition regarding collision speed and absorbed energy.S

Two-step ATP-driven opening of cohesin head.

The cohesin ring is a protein complex composed of four core subunits: Smc1A, Smc3, Rad21 and Stag1/2. It is involved in chromosome segregation, DNA repair, chromatin organization and transcription regulation. Opening of the ring occurs at the “head” structure, formed of the ATPase domains of Smc1A and Smc3 and Rad21. We investigate the mechanisms of the cohesin ring opening using techniques of free molecular dynamics (MD), steered MD and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics MD (QM/MM MD). The study allows the thorough analysis of the opening events at the atomic scale: i) ATP hydrolysis at the Smc1A site, evaluating the role of the carboxy-terminal domain of Rad21 in the process; ii) the activation of the Smc3 site potentially mediated by the movement of specific amino acids; and iii) opening of the head domains after the two ATP hydrolysis events. Our study suggests that the cohesin ring opening is triggered by a sequential activation of the ATP sites in which ATP hydrolysis at the Smc1A site induces ATPase activity at the Smc3 site. Our analysis also provides an explanation for the effect of pathogenic variants related to cohesinopathies and cancer.post-print4709 K

A new approach to energy calculation of road accidents against fixed small section elements based on close-range Photogrammetry

This paper presents a new approach for energetic analyses of traffic accidents against fixed road elements using close-range photogrammetry. The main contributions of the developed approach are related to the quality of the 3D photogrammetric models, which enable objective and accurate energetic analyses through the in-house tool CRASHMAP. As a result, security forces can reconstruct the accident in a simple and comprehensive way without requiring spreadsheets or external tools, and thus avoid the subjectivity and imprecisions of the traditional protocol. The tool has already been validated, and is being used by the Local Police of Salamanca (Salamanca, Spain) for the resolution of numerous accidents. In this paper, a real accident of a car against a fixed metallic pole is analysed, and significant discrepancies are obtained between the new approach and the traditional protocol of data acquisition regarding collision speed and absorbed energ

Las relaciones internacionales de la pobreza en América Latina y el Caribe

La pobreza es uno de los grandes desafíos del Siglo XXI. Este flagelo ha sido reconocido internacionalmente por los países miembros de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas y expuesto en los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio, donde figura como primera meta, reducir a la mitad, entre 1990 y 2015, la proporción de personas viviendo en pobreza extrema. Más allá de la modestia de este objetivo y los severos cuestionamientos que se han realizado sobre su medición y cumplimiento, el conjunto del sistema internacional se ha pronunciado sobre la inaceptabilidad de la pobreza y el hambre. Los principales actores formales del sistema internacional, los Estados y las organizaciones internacionales, establecieron metas e indicadores de cumplimiento para alcanzar las metas fijadas. Pocas dudas caben entonces sobre la relevancia del tema en la presente agenda de las relaciones internacionales. Sin embargo, resulta significativo que la disciplina de las Relaciones Internacionales no haya reflejado todavía la importancia del problema de la pobreza (y sus eventuales soluciones) en las corrientes predominantes del pensamiento teórico. El presente libro busca otorgar visibilidad a la problemática de la pobreza en las relaciones internacionales contemporáneas. Este es, sin duda, un objetivo ambicioso dado que el universo posible de las relaciones internacionales hoy trasciende las clásicas relaciones inter-estatales o inter-gubernamentales, para abarcar las relaciones transgubernamentales, transnacionales e intersocietales. Múltiples y complejos actores, canales y temas que cruzan distintos niveles de análisis (local, subnacional, nacional, subregional, regional, global) tornan todo un desafío la inclusión de la pobreza en un espacio central del estudio de las relaciones internacionales de los países latinoamericanos y caribeños. El conjunto de trabajos exhiben los desafíos metodológicos y teóricos que existen para definir apropiadamente y articular los niveles de análisis en los estudios sobre pobreza. Lo internacional y lo global inciden o afectan a lo local, quizás con más fuerza que la relación inversa cuando se está en presencia de relaciones de poder asimétricas (políticas y económicas) que caracterizan a la pobreza. Es por ello que resulta crucial profundizar los estudios que incluyan metodológica y teóricamente variables internacionales que explican y contribuyen a perpetuar las relaciones de pobreza (y desigualdad). Esta obra sólo pretende plantear la problemática y comenzar a andar el camino que acerque la temática de la pobreza a la disciplina de las relaciones internacionales, para así buscar soluciones a la misma en el contexto de los desafíos que ofrece esta época de cambio global.Presentación Las Relaciones Internacionales de la Pobreza Alberto D. Cimadamore 11 Parte 1 La responsabilidad jurídica internacional de los Estados y la pobreza Ana Gabriela Contreras García 31 ¿La gestión colateral? Políticas públicas de cultura y pobreza como condición cultural en Cuba Lázaro I. Rodríguez Oliva 63 Frontera, pobreza y vulnerabilidades Hernán Moreano Urigüen 101 Parte 2 La estrategia del Banco de Desarrollo de América del Norte (BDAN) en proyectos de infraestructura de impacto social en la región Sonora Arizona Liz Ileana Rodríguez Gámez 153 Agendas y actores internacionales y su incidencia en la política social. La presencia del BID y la CEPAL en la política social costarricense (1998- 2004) Lenin Mondol-López 191 Parte 3 Emigración internacional, bienestar y ciudadanía en el entorno del migrante pobre en Uruguay Diego Hernández 225 Volveré para regar el campo. Familias transnacionales y productoras del Valle Alto cochabambino Leonardo de la Torre Ávila 257 Elaboración y negociación de la pobreza indígena. Jugosas ganancias para el desarrollo capitalista en Ecuador y Colombia Jairzinho Francisco Panqueba Cifuentes 291 Parte 4 La economía de la coca: la dimensión silenciada de la dependencia Mayarí Castillo Gallardo 329 Procesos de intervención con enfoque de Cadena Productiva y su contribución a la articulación a mercados de productores de pequeña escala Diana Marcela Córdoba 36

Caribbean Corals in Crisis: Record Thermal Stress, Bleaching, and Mortality in 2005

BACKGROUND The rising temperature of the world's oceans has become a major threat to coral reefs globally as the severity and frequency of mass coral bleaching and mortality events increase. In 2005, high ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean resulted in the most severe bleaching event ever recorded in the basin. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Satellite-based tools provided warnings for coral reef managers and scientists, guiding both the timing and location of researchers' field observations as anomalously warm conditions developed and spread across the greater Caribbean region from June to October 2005. Field surveys of bleaching and mortality exceeded prior efforts in detail and extent, and provided a new standard for documenting the effects of bleaching and for testing nowcast and forecast products. Collaborators from 22 countries undertook the most comprehensive documentation of basin-scale bleaching to date and found that over 80% of corals bleached and over 40% died at many sites. The most severe bleaching coincided with waters nearest a western Atlantic warm pool that was centered off the northern end of the Lesser Antilles. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Thermal stress during the 2005 event exceeded any observed from the Caribbean in the prior 20 years, and regionally-averaged temperatures were the warmest in over 150 years. Comparison of satellite data against field surveys demonstrated a significant predictive relationship between accumulated heat stress (measured using NOAA Coral Reef Watch's Degree Heating Weeks) and bleaching intensity. This severe, widespread bleaching and mortality will undoubtedly have long-term consequences for reef ecosystems and suggests a troubled future for tropical marine ecosystems under a warming climate.This work was partially supported by salaries from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program to the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program authors. NOAA provided funding to Caribbean ReefCheck investigators to undertake surveys of bleaching and mortality. Otherwise, no funding from outside authors' institutions was necessary for the undertaking of this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

allodb: An R package for biomass estimation at globally distributed extratropical forest plots

Allometric equations for calculation of tree above-ground biomass (AGB) form the basis for estimates of forest carbon storage and exchange with the atmosphere. While standard models exist to calculate forest biomass across the tropics, we lack a standardized tool for computing AGB across boreal and temperate regions that comprise the global extratropics. Here we present an integrated R package, allodb, containing systematically selected published allometric equations and proposed functions to compute AGB. The data component of the package is based on 701 woody species identified at 24 large Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) forest dynamics plots representing a wide diversity of extratropical forests. A total of 570 parsed allometric equations to estimate individual tree biomass were retrieved, checked and combined using a weighting function designed to ensure optimal equation selection over the full tree size range with smooth transitions across equations. The equation dataset can be customized with built-in functions that subset the original dataset and add new equations. Although equations were curated based on a limited set of forest communities and number of species, this resource is appropriate for large portions of the global extratropics and can easily be expanded to cover novel forest types

Good practice regarding smoking cessation management in Spain: Challenges and opportunities for primary care physicians and nurses

INTRODUCTION We analyze the activities carried out by primary care (PC) physicians and nurses with respect to smoking cessation and evaluate their self-reported training, knowledge, and behavior. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted including 1514 PC physicians and nurses from June 2016 to March 2017, in Spain. The main variable was Good Practice (GP) in attention to smokers. To identify associated factors, a multilevel logistic regression model was used adjusted for sex, age, type of center, contract, years of employment, tobacco consumption, and self-reported training/knowledge. RESULTS Of the 792 physicians and 722 nurses, 48.6% referred to GP in smoking cessation management. The finding related to: being a non-smoker (OR=1.8; 95% CI: 1.2-2.5) or ex-smoker (OR= 1.4; 95% CI: 1.02-2.1), having a good level of knowledge (OR=1.8; 95% CI: 1.3-2.4) and training (OR=2.4; 95% CI: 1.8-3.2), and, to a lesser extent, being female (OR=1.3; 95% CI: 1.03-1.7), and work experience >10 years (OR=1.4; 95% CI: 1.03-1.9). The main GP barriers were: lack of time (45.5%), organizational problems (48.4%), and 35.4% lack of training. CONCLUSIONS The GP of PC physicians and nurses regarding smoking cessation management is related to being non-smokers or ex-smokers, and having sufficient training and knowledge. Lack of time and organizational problems were considered to be the main barriers. The promotion of training activities in the Spanish National Health Service with the support of scientific societies is required

Integrated flow cytometry and sequencing to reconstruct evolutionary patterns from dysplasia to acute myeloid leukemia

Clonal evolution in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) originates long before diagnosis and is a dynamic process that may affect survival. However, it remains uninvestigated during routine diagnostic workups. We hypothesized that the mutational status of bone marrow dysplastic cells and leukemic blasts, analyzed at the onset of AML using integrated multidimensional flow cytometry (MFC) immunophenotyping and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) with next-generation sequencing (NGS), could reconstruct leukemogenesis. Dysplastic cells were detected by MFC in 285 of 348 (82%) newly diagnosed patients with AML. Presence of dysplasia according to MFC and World Health Organization criteria had no prognostic value in older adults. NGS of dysplastic cells and blasts isolated at diagnosis identified 3 evolutionary patterns: stable (n = 12 of 21), branching (n = 4 of 21), and clonal evolution (n = 5 of 21). In patients achieving complete response (CR), integrated MFC and FACS with NGS showed persistent measurable residual disease (MRD) in phenotypically normal cell types, as well as the acquisition of genetic traits associated with treatment resistance. Furthermore, whole-exome sequencing of dysplastic and leukemic cells at diagnosis and of MRD uncovered different clonal involvement in dysplastic myelo-erythropoiesis, leukemic transformation, and chemoresistance. Altogether, we showed that it is possible to reconstruct leukemogenesis in ∼80% of patients with newly diagnosed AML, using techniques other than single-cell multiomics.This work was supported by grants from the Área de Oncología del Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER-ONC) (CB16/12/00369, CB16/12/00233, CB16/12/00489, and CB16/12/00284), Instituto de Salud Carlos III/Subdirección General de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS numbers PI16/01661, PI16/00517, and PI19/01518), and the Plan de Investigación de la Universidad de Navarra (PIUNA 2014-18). This work was supported internationally by the Cancer Research UK, FCAECC, and AIRC under the Accelerator Award Program (EDITOR)