Effect of Sunflower and Marine Oils on Ruminal Microbiota, In vitro Fermentation and Digesta Fatty Acid Profile

Funding This work has been funded by Consejería de Educación, Junta de Castilla y León (research project LE007A07). Acknowledgments We acknowledge support of the publication fee by the CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI). Support received from CICYT project AGL2005-04760-C02-02 is gratefully acknowledged.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Preschool children’s biophilia and attitudes toward nature: The effect of personal experiences

Regular engagement outside may promote healthy physical and psychological development as well as a respect and appreciation for nature. This exploratory study compared biophilia and attitudes toward nature between young children living in an urban area to those in a rural area. Urban and rural areas may offer different opportunities for exposure and engagement with elements such as water, plants, and animals. A comparison between young children in these settings may determine if experience in these different environments affects their attitudes and biophilia. Thirty-six children (urban n = 27; rural n = 9) participated in one-on-one structured interviews about their attitudes toward and being in nature. Results revealed no significant difference in biophilia between children by geographical area. Common themes in children’s attitudes emerged: 1) young children define nature by identifying specific elements; 2) young children are aware that their actions have consequences for the condition of the natural environment; and 3) children understood that the expectations guiding behavior in the natural environment apply to everyone. Preschool children’s level of cognitive maturity and individual preferences may be better predictors of biophilia and attitude than location alone. Authors suggest implications for teachers and parents

Preschool children’s biophilia and attitudes toward nature: The effect of personal experiences

Regular engagement outside may promote healthy physical and psychological development as well as a respect and appreciation for nature. This exploratory study compared biophilia and attitudes toward nature between young children living in an urban area to those in a rural area. Urban and rural areas may offer different opportunities for exposure and engagement with elements such as water, plants, and animals. A comparison between young children in these settings may determine if experience in these different environments affects their attitudes and biophilia. Thirty-six children (urban n = 27; rural n = 9) participated in one-on-one structured interviews about their attitudes toward and being in nature. Results revealed no significant difference in biophilia between children by geographical area. Common themes in children’s attitudes emerged: 1) young children define nature by identifying specific elements; 2) young children are aware that their actions have consequences for the condition of the natural environment; and 3) children understood that the expectations guiding behavior in the natural environment apply to everyone. Preschool children’s level of cognitive maturity and individual preferences may be better predictors of biophilia and attitude than location alone. Authors suggest implications for teachers and parents

Estetica Urbana de una polarizacion

This work examines the changes in the Venezuelan city of Caracas during the Bolivarian Revolution during the years 1999 through 2013, under the rule of Hugo Chavez Frias (1954-2013). Stressed by a profound polarization (commonly interpreted as political), this period brought aesthetic and spatial changes, which have affected the life and perception of the city. From a neo-populist discourse inspired by the idea of the establishment of the republic under a socialist model, the Bolivarian Revolution has stripped issues that affect the sense and urban rooting such as identity, racial segregation or class struggle in addition to political differences. Reflecting on changes occurred in the urban space and the study of the production of art, it is proposed that the social and political polarizations, linked to problems rooted in the culture of Venezuelans, have defined Caracas’s landscape to a larger extent than any architectural or urban intervention made during this period. Through a semiotic approach, these and other issues such as new urban imaginaries, intolerance, fear of violence and a new conception of private property, are problematized to argue that according to the notions of the “signifying practice,” and “satisfaction of desire,” proposed by Julia Kristeva from literature and psychoanalysis, Caracas has been redefined in several ways, which are collected and analyzed in this work

Correlation Effects in Side-Coupled Quantum Dots

Using Wilson's numerical renormalization group (NRG) technique we compute zero-bias conductance and various correlation functions of a double quantum dot (DQD) system. We present different regimes within a phase diagram of the DQD system. By introducing a negative Hubbard U on one of the quantum dots, we simulate the effect of electron-phonon coupling and explore the properties of the coexisting spin and charge Kondo state. In a triple quantum dot (TQD) system a multi-stage Kondo effect appears where localized moments on quantum dots are screened successively at exponentially distinct Kondo temperatures.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure

Essays on Macroeconomic Uncertainty and Capital Flows

This dissertation studies the effects of uncertainty shocks in emerging economies in a context where these economies increased their participation in international financial markets. The first chapter provides a review of the literature on how the study of uncertainty shocks recently became more relevant as a result of higher financial integration experienced by emerging economies. The second chapter aims to investigate the quantitative effects on key domestic macroeconomic variables of implementing a foreign reserves accumulation policy with full sterilization. It extends an asymmetric two-country model by introducing a global interbank market and an active domestic central bank. The goal of this policy is to mitigate the effect on the real economy of capital inflows that travel from a global bank in a large-advanced economy to a commercial bank located in a small-emerging economy. In the presence of volatility shocks, the model shows that an aggressive policy of foreign reserves accumulation diminishes the volatility of output and the real exchange rate but reduces the welfare of the households. In the case of a sudden reversal of capital flows, the model indicates how the domestic central bank helps to restore the flow of funds towards the real economy when it functions as a lender of last resort. The third chapter investigates how higher global financial integration recently experienced by emerging countries affects their accumulation of foreign assets. It extends a standard asymmetric two-country general-equilibrium model by adding a time-varying total factor productivity (TFP) volatility process and recursive preferences. The results show that the domestic household can accumulate more foreign assets, but also hedge better against domestic risk. The trade-off is a more volatile consumption (both in absolute terms and relative to output volatility). Higher integration improves households\u27 welfare, but there seems to be no effect on risk-sharing in the model. The persistence of the volatility shock strengthens the precautionary saving motive and encourages a more significant accumulation of foreign assets in the small open economy

Performance of the PROSPECT leaf radiative transfer model version 4 for Norway spruce needles

Leaf optical properties (LOPs) are a key input parameter for vegetation canopy radiative transfer models. The uncertainty introduced in the measurement and/or the simulation of this spectral information determines a final reliability of the modelled canopy reflectance. The broad-leaf radiative transfer model PROSPECT version 3.01 has been previously applied for some needle-leaf type species (e.g. pine trees) to estimate biochemical parameters through its inversion. Nevertheless, in a particular case of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) PROSPECT 3.01 showed a poor performance in near infrared wavelengths and had to be recalibrated. Therefore, the applicability of PROSPECT version 4, which has been recently released, is verified for this type of leaves in this experiment. Forward simulations of an optimized version of the original PROSPECT 4 suggest that it is possible to reduce the average RMSE of reflectance and transmittance from 8% to 3.5- 4 % in the near infrared domain. For this achievement, the absorption coefficients for chlorophyll and dry matter together with the refractive index had to be simultaneously optimized via model inversion using measured LOPs of Norway spruce needles

Presence of Adult Companion Goats Favors the Rumen Microbial and Functional Development in Artificially Reared Kids

Newborn dairy ruminants are usually separated from their dams after birth and fed on milk replacer. This lack of contact with adult animals may hinder the rumen microbiological and physiological development. This study evaluates the effects of rearing newborn goat kids in contact with adult companions on the rumen development. Thirty-two newborn goat kids were randomly allocated to two experimental groups which were reared either in the absence (CTL) or in the presence of non-lactating adult goats (CMP) and weaned at 7 weeks of age. Blood and rumen samples were taken at 5, 7, and 9 weeks of age to evaluate blood metabolites and rumen microbial fermentation. Next-generation sequencing was carried out on rumen samples collected at 7 weeks of age. Results showed that CTL kids lacked rumen protozoa, whereas CMP kids had an abundant and complex protozoal community as well as higher methanogen abundance which positively correlated with the body weight and blood beta-hydroxybutyrate as indicators of the physiological development. CMP kids also had a more diverse bacterial community (+132 ASVs) and a different structure of the bacterial and methanogen communities than CTL kids. The core rumen bacterial community in CMP animals had 53 more ASVs than that of CTL animals. Furthermore, the number of ASVs shared with the adult companions was over 4-fold higher in CMP kids than in CTL kids. Greater levels of early rumen colonizers Proteobacteria and Spirochaetes were found in CTL kids, while CMP kids had higher levels of Bacteroidetes and other less abundant taxa (Veillonellaceae, Cyanobacteria, and Selenomonas). These findings suggest that the presence of adult companions facilitated the rumen microbial development prior to weaning. This accelerated microbial development had no effect on the animal growth, but CMP animals presented higher rumen pH and butyrate (+45%) and ammonia concentrations than CTL kids, suggesting higher fibrolytic and proteolytic activities. CMP kids also had higher blood beta-hydroxybutyrate (+79%) and lower blood glucose concentrations (-23%) at weaning, indicating an earlier metabolic development which could favor the transition from pre-ruminant to ruminant after the weaning process. Further research is needed to determine the effects of this intervention in more challenging farm conditions