NESTING BIOLOGY OF THE OCHRE‐BREASTED TANAGER (CHLOROTHRAUPIS STOLZMANNI) IN TATAMÁ NATIONAL NATURAL PARK, COLOMBIA

ABSTRACT ∙ Information on the nesting of the Ochre‐breasted Tanager (Chlorothraupis stolzmanni) is limited, only brief nest and egg descriptions are available. This study was based on two nests monitored between February and June 2014, in Tatamá National Park, Colombia. Both nests consisted of a bulky and deep cup and were placed on epiphytes that grew on tree branches or on tree ferns. Two white eggs with reddish‐brown spots concentrated at the larger end were found in each nest. The parents spent 68.8 ± 15.4% of their daytime incubating, and conducted 4.6 ± 0.5 off‐bout trips per day (N = 8 days) that lasted 44.6 ± 5.1 min (N = 36 off‐bouts). Overall, our results showed that C. stolzmanni had a small clutch size and low nest attentiveness typical of related species and other tropical passerines. However, further studies are needed to better understand factors that might contribute to similarities and differences in the nesting behavior among Chlorothraupis species.RESUMEN ∙ Biología de anidación del Guayabero Ocre (Chlorothraupis stolzmanni) en el Parque Nacional Natural Tatamá, Colombia La información acerca del anidamiento Guayabero Ocre (Chlorothraupis stolzmanni) es limitada, sólo existe una breve descripción del nido y los huevos. Este estudio está basado en dos nidos monitoreados entre febrero a junio durante 2014, dentro del Parque Nacional Natural Tatamá, Colombia. Estos nidos fueron copas voluminosas y profundas construidas entre epífitas que crecen sobre ramas de árboles y helechos arborescentes. En cada nido se encontraron dos huevos blancos con manchas color marrón rojizo, concentradas hacia el extremo más ancho. Durante la incubación, los padres realizaron 4,6 ± 0,5 (N = 8 días) viajes fuera del nido, los cuales tardaron 44,6 ± 5,1 min (N = 36 viajes). El porcentaje de atención al nido fue de 68,8 ± 15,4%. En general, nuestros resultados mostraron que C. stolzmanni presenta un pequeño tamaño de nidada y una baja atención al nido, típico de sus especies cercanas y otros passeriformes tropicales. Sin embargo, son necesarios más estudios que ayuden a comprender mejor los factores que contribuyen a las similitudes y diferencias del comportamiento de anidación entre las especies del genero Chlorothraupis

A novel Kluyveromyces marxianus strain with an inducible flocculation phenotype

Flocculation is a very useful phenotype for industrial yeast strains, since it facilitates cell harvest and represents an easy way of cell immobilization in continuous fermentation processes. The present work represents the first time that an inducible flocculation phenotype has been generated in a non flocculent strain of Kluyveromyces marxianus. This was accomplished by expressing Saccharomyces cerevisiae FLO5 gene in K. marxianus CECT 11769 strain. The FLO 5 gene was placed under the control of an EPG promoter, not repressed by glucose and induced by anoxia. Our experimental approach successfully generated two novel K. marxianus flocculent phenotypes: one inducible and one constitutive. The constitutive phenotype originated from deletions in the FLO5 promoter region, indicating the existence of putative upstream repressor site involved in oxygen regulation of the EPG1 promoter. The novel strains here generated had a unique set of characteristics that provided an advantage, over the wild-type strain, for the industrial co-production of ethanol and polygalacturonase.This work was supported by the AECID (Grant no. A/024951/09 and A/ 030029/10)S

Silicon oxides as alignment surfaces for vertically-aligned nematics in photonic devices

A comparative study on alignment performance and microstructure of inorganic layers used for liquid crystal cell conditioning has been carried out. The study has focused on two specific materials, SiOx and SiO2, deposited under different conditions. The purpose was to establish a relationship between layer microstructure and liquid crystal alignment. The surface morphology has been studied by FESEM and AFM. An analysis on liquid crystal alignment, pretilt angle, response time, contrast ratio and the conditions to develop backflow effect (significant rise time increase due to pure homeotropic alignment) on vertically-aligned nematic cells has been carried out. A technique to overcome the presence of backflow has been identified. The full comparative study of SiOx and SiO2 layer properties and their influence over liquid crystal alignment and electrooptic response is presented

Harmonic Order Tracking Analysis: A Speed-Sensorless Method for Condition Monitoring of Wound Rotor Induction Generators

"(c) 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works."[EN] This paper introduces a speed-sensorless method for detecting rotor asymmetries in wound rotor induction machines working under nonstationary conditions. The method is based on the time-frequency analysis of rotor currents and on a subsequent transformation, which leads to the following goals: unlike conventional spectrograms, it enables to show the diagnostic results as a simple graph, similar to a Fourier spectrum, but where the fault components are placed always at the same positions, regardless the working conditions of the machine; moreover, it enables to assess the machine condition through a very small set of parameters. These characteristics facilitate the understanding and processing of the diagnostic results, and thus, help to design improved monitoring and predictive maintenance systems. Also these features make the proposed method very suitable for condition monitoring of wind power generators, because it fits well with the usual non stationaryworking conditions ofwind turbines, and makes feasible the transmission of significant diagnostic information to the remote monitoring center using standard data transmission systems. Simulation results and experimental tests, carried out on a 5-kW laboratory rig, show the validity of the proposed method and illustrate its advantages regarding previously developed diagnostic methods under nonstationary conditions.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad in the framework of the Programa Estatal de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad under Project (DPI2014-60881-R).Sapena Bañó, Á.; Riera Guasp, M.; Puche Panadero, R.; Martínez Román, JA.; Pérez Cruz, J.; Pineda Sánchez, M. (2016). Harmonic Order Tracking Analysis: A Speed-Sensorless Method for Condition Monitoring of Wound Rotor Induction Generators. IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications. 52(6):4719-4729. https://doi.org/10.1109/TIA.2016.2597134S4719472952

Construction of a novel Pichia pastoris strain for production of xanthophylls

In this study, we used the yeast carotenogenic producer Pichia pastoris Pp-EBIL strain, which has been metabolically engineered, by heterologously expressing β-carotene-pathway enzymes to produce β-carotene, as a vessel for recombinant astaxanthin expression. For this purpose, we designed new P. pastoris recombinant-strains harboring astaxanthin-encoding genes from carotenogenic microorganism, and thus capable of producing xanthophyllic compounds. We designed and constructed a plasmid (pGAPZA-WZ) containing both the β-carotene ketolase (crtW) and β-carotene hydroxylase (crtZ) genes from Agrobacterium aurantiacum, under the control of the GAP promoter and containing an AOX-1 terminator. The plasmid was then integrated into the P. pastoris Pp-EBIL strain genomic DNA, producing clone Pp-EBILWZ. The recombinant P. pastoris (Pp-EBILWZ) cells exhibited a strong reddish carotenoid coloration and were confirmed, by HPLC, to produce not only the previous described carotenoids lycopene and β-carotene, but also de novo synthesized astaxanthin.J. M. A-G. is the recipient of an AECID scholarship from the Spanish Foreign Affairs MinistryS

Beef from Calves Finished with a Diet Based on Concentrate Rich in Agro-Industrial By-Products: Acceptability and Quality Label Preferences in Spanish Meat Consumers

Conjoint analysis was used to estimate the relative importance of some of the main extrinsic attributes and quality labels of beef in three Spanish cities (Córdoba, Marbella, and Santa Pola) in a study performed with 300 individuals. Consumers were segmented according to their frequency of consumption. Willingness to pay for different meats was also calculated from the conjoint analysis results. Consumer liking of beef that had been finished with an alternative concentrate rich in agro-industrial by-products and aged for three different durations as compared to conventionally finished beef was also evaluated using the same consumers. The most important attribute for Spanish consumers was the price (28%), followed by origin (25%), animal welfare certification (19%), protected geographical indication (14%), and organic agriculture certification (14%). Most consumers preferred beef from Spain at the lowest possible price and with the highest number of quality labels. Consumers were willing to pay a premium of 1.49, 3.61, and 5.53 EUR over 14 EUR/kg for organic certification, protected geographical indication, and animal welfare certification, respectively. Sensory analysis revealed that, for regular consumers, beef finished with an alternative concentrate rich in agro-industrial by-products offered several hedonic advantages (color, flavor, and tenderness) when compared to beef finished using a conventional diet, while occasional consumers did not find any difference between the two kinds of meat

Caracterización conjunta del basamento en Hontomín (España) empleando datos sísmicos y microgravimétricos

9ª Asamblea Hispano Portuguesa de Geodesia y Geofísica: Madrid 28-30 de junio 2016 / Organizado por la Comisión Española de Geodesia y Geofísica ; Secçao Portuguesa das Unios Internacionais Astronomica e Geodésica ; Universidad Complutense de MadridInstitut de Ciéncies de la Terra Jaume Almera, EspañaDepartment of Geology and Petroleum Geology, University of Aberdeen, Reino UnidoDepartamento de Geología, Universidad de Salamanca, EspañaInstituto Geológico y Minero de España, EspañaPeer reviewe

Holographic Data Storage Using Parallel-Aligned Liquid Crystal on Silicon Displays

The parallel-aligned liquid crystal on silicon (PA-LCoS) microdisplay has become a widely used device for the photonics community. It is a very versatile tool that can perform several tasks which transforms it into a key element in many different photonics applications. Since our group is interested in holography, in this chapter, we want to use these displays as the data entry point for a holographic data storage system (HDSS). Due to the novelty of this kind of device, we have done an intense work characterizing it. These efforts are reflected in this chapter where the reader will find two different characterization methods that will enable to predict the performance of the device in a specific application. Additionally, we present how a phase-only device can be used as a data pager using different modulation schemes and combined with a photopolymer as the holographic recording material