A new key locality for the Pliocene vertebrate record of Europe : the Camp dels Ninots maar (NE Spain)

A new Pliocene Konservat-Lagerstätte in north-eastern Spain is described here for the first time. It is referred to as Camp dels Ninots. The particular geological conditions of the site, which correspond to lacustrine sedimentation in a maar, made it ideal for the preservation of fossils. At present, five large mammal skeletons in anatomical connection have been recovered: three individuals of Alephis tigneresi, one of Stephanorhinus jeanvireti and one of Tapirus arvernenis, as well as isolated remains. A minimum of five individuals of the chelonian Mauremys leprosa have been recovered, some of them in anatomical connection. The rodent Apodemus atavus, the amphibians cf. Pleurodeles sp., Lissotriton aff. helveticus and Pelophylax cf. perezi and freshwater fishes (Leuciscus ?) complete the vertebrate assemblage uncovered up to the present time. The coexistence of Stephanorhinus jeanvireti and Alephis tigneresi suggests an age of about 3.2Ma for the Camp dels Ninots, near the MN15-MN16 transition. The Camp del Ninots fossil record enables one to extend the biogeographic range of some vertebrate taxa, such as Stephanorhinus jeanvireti, Tapirus arvernensis or Mauremys leprosa to the Iberian Peninsula. Taphonomic evidences of the skeletal remains indicates minimal (if any) weathering. Deposition at the lake bottom seems to have taken place in oxygen depleted layers. In this way, Camp dels Ninots is comparable to other remarkable maar sites such as Messel, the Eocene site situated in Germany

Structure of a complex carbonate aquifer by magnetic, gravity and TDEM prospecting in the Jaén area, Southern Spain

Knowledge of aquifer geometry is essential for efficient and sustainable groundwater management, particularly in carbonate aquifers due to uncertainties inherent to karstic systems. The geological structure and hydrogeological continuity of Los Chotos-Sazadilla-Los Nacimientos and La Serreta-Gante-Cabeza Montosa carbonate aquifers (Jaén; SE Spain) have been established through structural measurements, geophysical prospecting –magnetic, gravity and time-domain electromagnetics (TDEM)– and the study of piezometric levels. Yet the scarce hydrogeological data, the complexity of the tectonic structure and the presence of Plio-Quaternary rocks covering the highly permeable carbonate rocks make it difficult to establish a robust conceptual hydrogeological model of the aquifer. This study focuses on an area where hydrogeological disconnection between the two aquifers was traditionally assumed, given the diapiric emplacement of low permeable rocks between them. The new geophysical data demonstrate connection between aquifers that implies greater groundwater reserves than previously supposed. This field example supports the suitability of the combined use of electromagnetic methods with gravity and magnetic research that have been poorly combined up to recent times for hydrogeological studies

Vertical variation in the amplitude of the seasonal isotopic content of rainfall as a tool to jointly estimate the groundwater recharge zone and transit times in the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park aquifer system, north-eastern Spain

The time series of stable water isotope composition relative to meteorological stations and springs located in the high mountainous zone of the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park are analyzed in order to study how the seasonal isotopic content of precipitation propagates through the hydrogeological system in terms of the aquifer recharge zone elevation and transit time. The amplitude of the seasonal isotopic composition of precipitation and the mean isotopic content in rainfall vary along a vertical transect, with altitudinal slopes for d18O of 0.9‰/km for seasonal amplitude and - 2.2‰/km for isotopic content. The main recharge zone elevation for the sampled springs is between 1950 and 2600 m·a.s.l. The water transit time for the sampled springs ranges from 1.1 to 4.5 yr, with an average value of 1.85 yr and a standard deviation of 0.8 yr. The hydrological system tends to behave as a mixing reservoir.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Constraints on redshifts of blazars from extragalactic background light attenuation using Fermi-LAT data

The extragalactic high-energy $\gamma$-ray sky is dominated by blazars, which are active galactic nuclei with their jets pointing towards us. Distance measurements are of fundamental importance yet for some of these sources are challenging because any spectral signature from the host galaxy may be outshone by the non-thermal emission from the jet. In this paper, we present a method to constrain redshifts for these sources that relies only on data from the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. This method takes advantage of the signatures that the pair-production interaction between photons with energies larger than approximately 10 GeV and the extragalactic background light leaves on $\gamma$-ray spectra. We find upper limits for the distances of 303 $\gamma$-ray blazars, classified as 157 BL Lacertae objects, 145 of uncertain class, and 1 flat-spectrum-radio quasar, whose redshifts are otherwise unknown. These derivations can be useful for planning observations with imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes and also for testing theories of supermassive black hole evolution. Our results are applied to estimate the detectability of these blazars with the future Cherenkov Telescope Array, finding that at least 21 of them could be studied in a reasonable exposure of 20 h.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 1 table; Accepted by MNRA

Use of canopy coefficients obtained from satellite data to estimate evapotranspiration over high mountain Mediterranean watersheds

This work explores the dynamics of the water consumed by the vegetation in two Mediterranean watersheds of Sierra Nevada Mountains (Southern Spain). This region has experienced an increase in the demand of water in the last years due to the growth of irrigated areas, and a new water resources plan is required. The evapotranspiration (ET) of irrigated horticultural crops and natural communities were monitored for the hydrological years 2013/14 and 2014/15, using an approach based on the concept of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and canopy coefficients derived from the computation of vegetation indices (VIs), which we will call the VI-ETo approach. A set of Landsat-8 and MODIS images has been used as remote input data. The results were used for the spatial analysis of water consumption in terms of the main land cover types in the area. The annual runoff obtained with a simple surface water balance, using the ET values estimated by the VI-ETo approach, was comparable to that obtained by the HBV (Hydrologiska Byrans Vattenbalansavdelning) model, a precipitation-runoff generation model that reproduces the observed river discharge at the outlet of the watershed.</p

Surface redox chemistry and mechanochemistry of insulating polystyrene nanospheres

Cyclic voltammetry (CV) of polystyrene nanospheres was carried out after immobilisation onto boron-doped diamond electrodes. Although the polystyrene is insulating, a voltammetric response was obtained. This was attributed to the high surface area of the nanospheres, allowing the redox chemistry of the polystyrene surface to be probed despite the non-conducting nature of the bulk. The polystyrene redox response was found to be strongly dependent on prior mechanical agitation. Centrifuged, sonicated and vortexed polystyrene nanospheres all exhibited significantly higher oxidation currents than the non-agitated polystyrene. Mechanical treatment by sonication and centrifugation was found to bring about changes to surface chemistry of the polystyrene spheres, in particular the introduction of oxygen functionalities. For these samples the CV response is attributed to the presence of surface phenol functionalities. On the non-agitated and vortex treated polystyrene surfaces X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed an absence of oxygen functionalities that could explain the redox response. Repetition of the CV experiment in the presence of a solution spin trap suggests that radical species play a role in the observed response. For the vortexed sample the increased oxidation currents were attributed to significant surface roughening and deformation, as revealed by Transmission Electron Microscopy

Observations of Sagittarius A* during the pericenter passage of the G2 object with MAGIC

Context. We present the results of a multi-year monitoring campaign of the Galactic center (GC) with the MAGIC telescopes. These observations were primarily motivated by reports that a putative gas cloud (G2) would be passing in close proximity to the super-massive black hole (SMBH), associated with Sagittarius A*, located at the center of our galaxy. This event was expected to give astronomers a unique chance to study the effect of in-falling matter on the broad-band emission of a SMBH. Aims. We search for potential flaring emission of very-high-energy (VHE; >= 100 GeV) gamma rays from the direction of the SMBH at the GC due to the passage of the G2 object. Using these data we also study the morphology of this complex region. Methods. We observed the GC region with the MAGIC Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes during the period 2012-2015, collecting 67 h of good-quality data. In addition to a search for variability in the flux and spectral shape of the GC gamma-ray source, we use a point-source subtraction technique to remove the known gamma-ray emitters located around the GC in order to reveal the TeV morphology of the extended emission inside that region. Results. No effect of the G2 object on the VHE gamma-ray emission from the GC was detected during the 4 yr observation campaign. We confirm previous measurements of the VHE spectrum of Sagittarius A*, and do not detect any significant variability of the emission from the source. Furthermore, the known VHE gamma-ray emitter at the location of the supernova remnant G0.9+0.1 was detected, as well as the recently discovered VHE source close to the GG radio arc

Contribution of isotopic research techniques to characterize highmountain-Mediterranean karst aquifers: The Port del Comte (Eastern Pyrenees) aquifer.

Water resources in high mountain karst aquifers are usually characterized by high rainfall, recharge and discharge that leads to the sustainability of the downstream ecosystems. Nevertheless, these hydrological systems are vulnerable to the global change impact. The mean transit time (MTT) is a key parameter to describe the behavior of these hydrologic systems and also to assess their vulnerability. This work is focused on estimating MTT by using water stable isotopes in the framework of high-mountain karst systems with a very thick unsaturated zone (USZ). To this end, it is adapted to alpine zones an existing methodology that combines in a row a semi-distributed rainfall-runoff model used to estimate recharge time series, and a lumped-parameter model to obtain through a convolution integral. The methodology has been applied to the Port del Comte Massif (PCM) hydrological system (Southeastern Pyrenees, NE Spain), a karst aquifer system with an overlying1000 m thick USZ. Six catchment areas corresponding to most important springs of the system are considered. The obtained results show that hydrologically the behavior of the system can be described by an exponential flow model (EM), with MTT ranging between 1.9 and 2.9 years. These values are shorter than those obtained by considering a constant recharge rate along time, which is the easiest and most applied aquifer recharge hypothesis when estimating through lumped-parameter models. This methodology can be useful to improve the characterization and understanding of other high mountain karst aquifers with an overlying thick USZ that are common in many alpine zones elsewhere the globe

Liturgusa maya, Saussure & Zehntner, 1894 (Mantodea-Liturgusidae), una especie de mantis frecuente en cultivos de cacao en la región Tumbes, Perú

Liturgusa maya es una especie criptica que se desplaza sobre tallos de cacao y cítricos. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar algunos aspectos de su biología y comportamiento e identificar parasitoides de ootecas. Se colectaron ninfas y adultos en los tallos de cacao para obtener ootecas y determinar el periodo de incubación y el número de individuos por ooteca, igualmente se colectaron ootecas para determinar la presencia de parasitoides. La incubación fluctúa entre 15 y 17 días y los individuos por ooteca entre 23 y 37. El estado adulto hembra mide en promedio 25,30 mm de longitud y el macho 20,38. De las ootecas colectadas en campo se recuperaron tres especies de parasitoides: Podagrion sp., Eupelmus sp., y Horismenus sp., pertenecientes a las familias Torymidae, Eupelmidae y Eulophidae, la especie más importante pertenece al género Horismenus.  Con el presente estudio se busca establecer las interacciones que L. maya cumple en el agroecosistema de cacao y definir si su presencia guarda relación en el manejo de cultivos orgánicos

Resective surgery prevents progressive cortical thinning in temporal lobe epilepsy

Focal epilepsy in adults is associated with progressive atrophy of the cortex at a rate more than double that of normal ageing. We aimed to determine whether successful epilepsy surgery interrupts progressive cortical thinning. In this longitudinal case-control neuroimaging study, we included subjects with unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) before (n = 29) or after (n = 56) anterior temporal lobe resection and healthy volunteers (n = 124) comparable regarding age and sex. We measured cortical thickness on paired structural MRI scans in all participants and compared progressive thinning between groups using linear mixed effects models. Compared to ageing-related cortical thinning in healthy subjects, we found progressive cortical atrophy on vertex-wise analysis in TLE before surgery that was bilateral and localized beyond the ipsilateral temporal lobe. In these regions, we observed accelerated annualized thinning in left (left TLE 0.0192 ± 0.0014 versus healthy volunteers 0.0032 ± 0.0013 mm/year, P < 0.0001) and right (right TLE 0.0198 ± 0.0016 versus healthy volunteers 0.0037 ± 0.0016 mm/year, P < 0.0001) presurgical TLE cases. Cortical thinning in these areas was reduced after surgical resection of the left (0.0074 ± 0.0016 mm/year, P = 0.0006) or right (0.0052 ± 0.0020 mm/year, P = 0.0006) anterior temporal lobe. Directly comparing the post- versus presurgical TLE groups on vertex-wise analysis, the areas of postoperatively reduced thinning were in both hemispheres, particularly, but not exclusively, in regions that were affected preoperatively. Participants who remained completely seizure-free after surgery had no more progressive thinning than that observed during normal ageing. Those with postoperative seizures had small areas of continued accelerated thinning after surgery. Thus, successful epilepsy surgery prevents progressive cortical atrophy that is observed in TLE and may be potentially neuroprotective. This effect was more pronounced in those who remained seizure-free after temporal lobe resection, normalizing the rate of atrophy to that of normal ageing. These results provide evidence of epilepsy surgery preventing further cerebral damage and provide incentives for offering early surgery in refractory TLE