Vertical geotechnical engineering techniques applied to the rehabilitation of Pleistocene sites

La aplicación de una serie de técnicas propias de la geotecnia vertical y de la consolidación de taludes y laderas inestables se presenta por primera vez aplicada a la rehabilitación de yacimientos pleistocenos ubicados en antiguas canteras. Un conjunto de actuaciones especializadas permite garantizar la seguridad en los trabajos así como la preservación de la integridad de los yacimientos ubicados en cortes verticales y laderas rocosas. La rehabilitación realizada en el yacimiento de la Cova del Rinoceront (macizo del Garraf, NE de España), ubicado en el frente de explotación de una antigua cantera de piedra caliza, es el primer ejemplo conocido en la Península Ibérica donde la geotecnia vertical ha sido utilizada en este tipo de contextos y, por lo tanto, los resultados pueden ser utilizados como un posible modelo de futuro para próximas intervenciones.La aplicación de una serie de técnicas propias de la geotecnia vertical y de la consolidación de taludes y laderas inestables se presenta por primera vez aplicada a la rehabilitación de yacimientos pleistocenos ubicados en antiguas canteras. Un conjunto de actuaciones especializadas permite garantizar la seguridad en los trabajos así como la preservación de la integridad de los yacimientos ubicados en cortes verticales y laderas rocosas. La rehabilitación realizada en el yacimiento de la Cova del Rinoceront (macizo del Garraf, NE de España), ubicado en el frente de explotación de una antigua cantera de piedra caliza, es el primer ejemplo conocido en la Península Ibérica donde la geotecnia vertical ha sido utilizada en este tipo de contextos y, por lo tanto, los resultados pueden ser utilizados como un posible modelo de futuro para próximas intervenciones.Over the last two decades of the nineteenth century and part of the twentieth century, many Pleistocene sites in the Iberian Peninsula have been discovered through quarrying, mining and railways construction, amongst other industrial activities. This paper describes a new methodology for rehabilitating Pleistocene sites, based on the application of geotechnical engineering and unstable slope treatment. These techniques guarantee site preservation and fieldwork safety conditions for sites inside quarries or on slopes. The repair work carried out in Cova del Rinoceront (Garraf massif, NE Spain) is the first example of the geotechnical restoration process in action in archaeological sites in the Iberian Peninsula. Furthermore, the Cova del Rinoceront rehabilitation serves as a model for other similar Pleistocene sites

The usefulness of different tools for learning Anatomy: what the students think

Resúmenes IV Congreso VetDoc de Docencia Veterinaria, León 2017 (6-7 de Julio)v[ES] La Anatomía es una ciencia básica en la enseñanza tanto médica como veterinaria que, hasta hace no mucho tiempo, utilizaba como únicas herramientas pedagógicas las clases magistrales y las disecciones. Sin embargo, en los últimos años se han empezado a utilizar modelos, simuladores o métodos relacionados con el diagnóstico por imagen, que están cambiando la manera de enseñar esta ciencia (Sugand et al., 2010). En este sentido, siempre es interesante conocer cómo aprovechan los alumnos para su aprendizaje los diferentes materiales a los que tienen acceso

The weather roulette: a game to communicate the usefulness of probabilistic climate predictions

Climate predictions, from three weeks to a decade into the future, can provide invaluable information for climate-sensitive socioeconomic sectors, such as renewable energy, agriculture, or insurance. However, communicating and interpreting these predictions is not straightforward. Barriers hindering user uptake include a terminology gap between climate scientists and users, the difficulties of dealing with probabilistic outcomes for decision-making, and the lower skill of climate predictions compared to the skill of weather forecasts. This paper presents a gaming approach to break communication and understanding barriers through the application of the Weather Roulette conceptual framework. In the game, the player can choose between two forecast options, one that uses ECMWF seasonal predictions against one using climatology-derived probabilities. For each forecast option, the bet is spread proportionally to the predicted probabilities, either in a single year game or a game for the whole period of 33 past years. This paper provides skill maps of forecast quality metrics commonly used by the climate prediction community (e.g., ignorance skill score and ranked probability skill score), which in the game are linked to metrics easily understood by the business sector (e.g., interest rate and return on investment). In a simplified context, we illustrate how in skillful regions the economic benefits of using ECMWF predictions arise in the long term and are higher than using climatology. This paper provides an example of how to convey the usefulness of climate predictions and transfer the knowledge from climate science to potential users. If applied, this approach could provide the basis for a better integration of knowledge about climate anomalies into operational and managerial processes.The research leading to these results has received funding from the EU FP7 Programme under Grant Agreement 308291 (EUPORIAS), the EU H2020 Programme under Grant Agreements 776787 (S2S4E) and 776613 (EUCP), and the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) as part of the CLINSA Project CGL2017-85791-R. It is also part of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) (Framework Agreement C3S_441_Lot2_CEA), a program being implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the European Commission

Bacterivory by phototrophic picoplankton and nanoplankton in Arctic waters

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of John Wiley & Sons for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in FEMS Microbiology Ecology 82 (2012): 242–253, doi:10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01253.x.Mixotrophy, the combination of phototrophy and heterotrophy within the same individual, is widespread in oceanic systems. Yet, neither the presence nor ecological impact of mixotrophs has been identified in an Arctic marine environment. We quantified nano- and picoplankton during early autumn in the Beaufort Sea and Canada Basin and determined relative rates of bacterivory by heterotrophs and mixotrophs. Results confirmed previous reports of low microbial biomass for Arctic communities in autumn. The impact of bacterivory was relatively low, ranging from 0.6 x 103 to 42.8 x 103 bacteria mL-1 day-1, but it was often dominated by pico- or nano-mixotrophs. From 1-7% of the photosynthetic picoeukaryotes were bacterivorous, while mixotrophic nanoplankton abundance comprised 1-22% of the heterotrophic and 2-32% of the phototrophic nanoplankton abundance, respectively. The estimated daily grazing impact was usually < 5% of the bacterial standing stock, but impacts as high as 25% occurred. Analysis of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis band patterns indicated that communities from different depths at the same site were appreciably different, and that there was a shift in community diversity at the midpoint of the cruise. Sequence information from DGGE bands reflected microbes related to ones from other Arctic studies, particularly from the Beaufort Sea.Funding for participation in the 2008 cruise was provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Arctic Research Initiative, with additional support from National Science Foundation Grants OPP-0838847 (RWS) and OPP-0838955 (RJG)

Autotrophic and heterotrophic acquisition of carbon and nitrogen by a mixotrophic chrysophyte established through stable isotope analysis

Collectively, phagotrophic algae (mixotrophs) form a functional continuum of nutritional modes between autotrophy and heterotrophy, but the specific physiological benefits of mixotrophic nutrition differ among taxa. Ochromonas spp. are ubiquitous chrysophytes that exhibit high nutritional flexibility, although most species generally fall towards the heterotrophic end of the mixotrophy spectrum. We assessed the sources of carbon and nitrogen in Ochromonas sp. strain BG-1 growing mixotrophically via short-term stable isotope probing. An axenic culture was grown in the presence of either heat-killed bacteria enriched with ^(15)N and ^(13)C, or unlabeled heat-killed bacteria and labeled inorganic substrates (^(13)C-bicarbonate and ^(15)N-ammonium). The alga exhibited high growth rates (up to 2 divisions per day) only until heat-killed bacteria were depleted. NanoSIMS and bulk IRMS isotope analyses revealed that Ochromonas obtained 84–99% of its carbon and 88–95% of its nitrogen from consumed bacteria. The chrysophyte assimilated inorganic ^(13)C-carbon and ^(15)N-nitrogen when bacterial abundances were very low, but autotrophic (photosynthetic) activity was insufficient to support net population growth of the alga. Our use of nanoSIMS represents its first application towards the study of a mixotrophic alga, enabling a better understanding and quantitative assessment of carbon and nutrient acquisition by this species

Variability in ecosystem service measurement: A pollination service case study

Research quantifying ecosystem services (ES) - collectively, the benefits that society obtains from ecosystems - is rapidly increasing. Despite the seemingly straightforward definition, a wide variety of methods are used to measure ES. This methodological variability has largely been ignored, and standard protocols to select measures that capture ES provision have yet to be established. Furthermore, most published papers do not include explicit definitions of individual ES. We surveyed the literature on pollination ES to assess the range of measurement approaches, focusing on three essential steps: (1) definition of the ES, (2) identification of components contributing to ES delivery, and (3) selection of metrics to represent these components. We found considerable variation in how pollination as an ES - a relatively well-defined service - is measured. We discuss potential causes of this variability and provide suggestions to address this issue. Consistency in ES measurement, or a clear explanation of selected definitions and metrics, is critical to facilitate comparisons among studies and inform ecosystem management

Climateurope festival: an innovative way of linking science and society

The Climateurope Festivals were designed to create synergies between different European, national and international initiatives in the fields of Earth-system modelling & Climate Services and enhance the transfer of information between suppliers and users. It gave an opportunity to display best in class outcomes and engage in world class networking in a less rigid environment than a scientific conference. A number of formats were adopted in the Festival, from traditional impulse talks to innovative interactive sessions, and the thought-provoking discussions allowed the participants to share their experiences and knowledge around the advantages and challenges that Climate Services face within different sectors. Three Climateurope Festivals were originally planned to be held across Europe. Two Festivals were successfully organised, the first in Valencia in 2017, and the second in Belgrade in 2018. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns and travel restrictions, the third and final Festival was held online as a series of virtual web-based Festivals in 2020/2021. The Festivals were highly valued by participants. There was a strong desire by the Climateurope network to continue a science-stakeholder dialogue and make the Climateurope Festivals a regular event

Soil Contamination Interpretation by the Use of Monitoring Data Analysis

The presented study deals with the interpretation of soil quality monitoring data using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal components analysis (PCA). Both statistical methods contributed to the correct data classification and projection of the surface (0–20 cm) and subsurface (20–40 cm) soil layers of 36 sampling sites in the region of Burgas, Bulgaria. Clustering of the variables led to formation of four significant clusters corresponding to possible sources defining the soil quality like agricultural activity, industrial impact, fertilizing, etc. Two major clusters were found to explain the sampling site locations according to soil composition—one cluster for coastal and mountain sites and another—for typical rural and industrial sites. Analogous results were obtained by the use of PCA. The advantage of the latter was the opportunity to offer more quantitative interpretation of the role of identified soil quality sources by the level of explained total variance. The score plots and the dendrogram of the sampling sites indicated a relative spatial homogeneity according to geographical location and soil layer depth. The high-risk areas and pollution profiles were detected and visualized using surface maps based on Kriging algorithm

RhoE Deficiency Produces Postnatal Lethality, Profound Motor Deficits and Neurodevelopmental Delay in Mice

Rnd proteins are a subfamily of Rho GTPases involved in the control of actin cytoskeleton dynamics and other cell functions such as motility, proliferation and survival. Unlike other members of the Rho family, Rnd proteins lack GTPase activity and therefore remain constitutively active. We have recently described that RhoE/Rnd3 is expressed in the Central Nervous System and that it has a role in promoting neurite formation. Despite their possible relevance during development, the role of Rnd proteins in vivo is not known. To get insight into the in vivo function of RhoE we have generated mice lacking RhoE expression by an exon trapping cassette. RhoE null mice (RhoE gt/gt) are smaller at birth, display growth retardation and early postnatal death since only half of RhoE gt/gt mice survive beyond postnatal day (PD) 15 and 100% are dead by PD 29. RhoE gt/gt mice show an abnormal body position with profound motor impairment and impaired performance in most neurobehavioral tests. Null mutant mice are hypoactive, show an immature locomotor pattern and display a significant delay in the appearance of the hindlimb mature responses. Moreover, they perform worse than the control littermates in the wire suspension, vertical climbing and clinging, righting reflex and negative geotaxis tests. Also, RhoE ablation results in a delay of neuromuscular maturation and in a reduction in the number of spinal motor neurons. Finally, RhoE gt/gt mice lack the common peroneal nerve and, consequently, show a complete atrophy of the target muscles. This is the first model to study the in vivo functions of a member of the Rnd subfamily of proteins, revealing the important role of Rnd3/RhoE in the normal development and suggesting the possible involvement of this protein in neurological disorders