How Bees Respond Differently to Field Margins of Shrubby and Herbaceous Plants in Intensive Agricultural Crops of the Mediterranean Area

(1) Intensive agriculture has a high impact on pollinating insects, and conservation strategies targeting agricultural landscapes may greatly contribute to their maintenance. The aim of this work was to quantify the effect that the vegetation of crop margins, with either herbaceous or shrubby plants, had on the abundance and diversity of bees in comparison to non-restored margins. (2) The work was carried out in an area of intensive agriculture in southern Spain. Bees were monitored visually and using pan traps, and floral resources were quantified in crop margins for two years. (3) An increase in the abundance and diversity of wild bees in restored margins was registered, compared to non-restored margins. Significant differences in the structure of bee communities were found between shrubby and herbaceous margins. Apis mellifera and mining bees were found to be more polylectic than wild Apidae and Megachilidae. The abundance of A. mellifera and mining bees was correlated to the total floral resources, in particular, to those offered by the Boraginaceae and Brassicaceae; wild Apidae and Megachilidae were associated with the Lamiaceae. (4) This work emphasises the importance of floral diversity and shrubby plants for the maintenance of rich bee communities in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes

Rubicon: The Dialectic

Rubicon: The Dialectic is a virtual reality (VR), multi-channel, video-art installation, created after researching interactivity, virtual reality, 2D and 3D animation, filmmaking, philosophy, and music. I intend to manifest my feelings as a Venezuelan, a Latin-American, and a free thinker by sharing with the spectator a VR immersive piece representing my inner struggle in these times of political meltdown. Attempting to go beyond the two orders that structure reality according to French structuralist psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, The Imaginary and The Symbolic, I am searching to approach the third Lacanian order that structures human existence--the one that opposes and exists beyond reality, The Real (in this case my Real). This order is the negative space of reality and cannot be defined into the symbolic or the imaginary (Macey 324). This attempt to represent The Real transcends narrative standards and mainstream commercial use of VR, using instead artistic abstraction and freedom of visual language and expression. This paper is a way for me to describe and share my journey and artistic process on extrapolating my psyche into an immersive VR art piece, Rubicon: The Dialectic

Estimation of vineyard water requirements using satellite-based surface energy balance

115 p.Since the 90's as a consequence of the Global Warming and the “La Niña” (ENSO) phenomena, the Chilean wine industry has been forced to increase irrigation systems investments, adopting new strategies of irrigation scheduling to improve the vineyard water use efficiency without affecting the grapes yield and quality. To develop an adequate irrigation strategy, the first step has been to estimate the vineyard water uptake or actual evapotranspiration ETa).Traditionally, vineyard ETa has been estimated by multiplying the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) by a single crop coefficient (Kc). Unfortunately, a major uncertainty in this approach is that many Kc values reported in literature are empirically determined from point-based measurements, and they are unable to describe the spatial variability of vineyard Kc, for each phenological stage. Recent advancements in using satellite remote sensing to determine ETa over space and time have made it possible to assess the variation in crop ETa at low-cost. One of the most cited remote sensing-based algorithms is METRIC (Mapping EvapoTranspiration at high Resolution with Internalized Calibration) which is a onedimensional surface energy based residual model that has been extensively customized for application in full covered crops. For sparse crops such vineyards, as far as we know the application of METRIC to estimate ETa and Kc is still unexplored. In this way, this thesis was developed with the aim of critically study the applicability of METRIC over a drip-irrigated Merlot vineyard. To meet this, a study was carried out during the 2006-2007, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 growing seasons. METRIC-based estimations were compared against ground measurements of vegetation indexes, surface energy balance components and vineyard ETa. Results indicated that METRIC’s semi-empirical sub-models for estimate vegetation indexes should be calibrated before its direct application to vineyards (Chapter 2). On the other hand, in the evaluation of METRIC to estimate the different components of the vineyard surface energy balance, results indicated that the compensation between the instantaneous fluxes of net radiation, soil heat fluxes and latent heath fluxes produced acceptable estimations of latent heat luxes (error less than 10%) to extrapolate them to daily (24 h) evapotranspiration (ETa) (Chapter 3). Finally for the main phenological stages of the Merlot vineyard, METRIC overestimated the Kc by about 10% in relation to ground measurements. However, those errors did not significantly affect the overall performance of METRIC during the study period into the estimation of daily (24 h) ETa and Kc (Chapter 4). Results exposed from Chapters two to four suggest that it is possible to confirm that the METRIC model can be used for obtain relatively good estimations of the vineyard ETa during the complete growing season

Local and Widespread Pressure Pain Hyperalgesia Is Not Side Specific in Females with Unilateral Neck Pain that Can Be Reproduced during Passive Neck Rotation

Current evidence for widespread hyperalgesia in non-specific neck pain (NSNP) is unclear. It is currently recommended to group NSNP patients according to pain-provoking movements. The aim of this study was to investigate local and widespread pain sensitivity in females with unilateral NSNP that is reproducible during passive neck rotation compared with matched controls, and to compare the side specific effect of pain location on pressure pain sensitivity among females with unilateral NSNP. Thirty-six females with unilateral NSNP evoked during passive ipsilateral (n = 20) or contralateral (n = 16) rotation toward the painful side were compared with 20 controls. Participants reported their pain intensity at rest and during passive neck rotation and completed the Neck Disability Index. Pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were assessed bilaterally over the anterior scalene; the sternocleidomastoid; the levator scapulae; lateral to the spinous process of C6; the median, ulnar, and radial nerves; and the tibialis anterior. The ANOVA revealed lower PPTs in females with unilateral NSNP compared with the controls (all at p < 0.001), but no differences were found between the sides, nor was there any Groupside interaction. Among females with NSNP, those with higher pain intensity during ipsilateral rotation toward the painful side showed lower PPTs over the anterior scalene, median nerve, ulnar nerve, and tibialis anterior (all, p < 0.05) than females with higher pain intensity during contralateral rotation toward the painful side. These findings demonstrated bilateral local and widespread pressure pain hyperalgesia in females with unilateral NSNP that was reproducible during passive neck rotation compared with controls. There was no side specific effect of pain location on PPTs among females with unilateral NSNP.Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (CAS 16/00046

Four new species of Chaetodermatidae (Mollusca, Caudofoveata) from bathyal bottoms of the NW Iberian Peninsula

Caudofoveata is a class of vermiform molluscs with bilateral symmetry and circular transverse section. There are at least 135 described species of Caudofoveata. Fourteen species have been reported from the coast of the Iberian Peninsula, four of which belong to the family Chaetodermatidae. Of these four species, three are endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and one to the NW Iberian Peninsula. The Chaetodermatidae specimens studied were collected off the NW Iberian Peninsula during several expeditions. Four new species of Caudofoveata are described from the NW Iberian Peninsula. They belong to the family Chaetodermatidae, one of them to the genus Chaetoderma and three to Falcidens. Chaetoderma galiciense sp. nov. has a body divided in 5 regions: anterior, neck, trunk, tail and tassel, each region is covered by typical sclerites. Falcidens urgorrii sp. nov. has a narrow body divided in four regions: anterior, neck, trunk and tassel, each region covered by typical sclerites, and a radula bears a pair of teeth and two pairs of lateral supports. Falcidens garcialvarezi sp. nov. has a body with four regions, each body region covered by characteristic sclerites. The radula bears a pair of falciform teeth, a long and narrow radular cone, a triangular central plate and a pair of lateral supports. Falcidens valdubrensis sp. nov. has a short body divided in four regions, each of which covered by characteristic sclerites; the radula bears two falciform teeth.The four new species described herein increase the number of known described species of Caudofoveata to 138. Thus, the Iberian Peninsula becomes one of the best known areas in the world. Also, the first species of the genus Chaetoderma from the Iberian Peninsula is described. This paper is registered in Zoobank under: http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:628A29EE-B45D-4D1A-8955-F84FEDAD9013This communication is a contribution to the following projects carried out by the Estación de Bioloxía Mariña da Graña from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela: PGIDT01PXI20008PR, PGIDIT05PXIC20001P, PGIDIT07PXB000120PR, A Selva-08 and ForSaGal-09 (Xunta de Galicia, Regional Government); VEM2003-20070-C04-04, CGL2004-22429-E and CTM2004-00740 (MEC, Spanish Government)S

Servicio de agua potable y condición sanitaria en los pobladores del asentamiento humano San Isidro, Distrito de Piura

El presente proyecto de tesis se desarrolló bajo un tipo de investigación básica de tipo descriptivo, con un diseño correlacional y un nivel de investigación cuantitativo para determinar la relación que existe entre el servicio de agua potable y la condición sanitaria en los pobladores de Asentamiento Humano San Isidro del distrito de Piura. La muestra obtenida fue de 128 personas pertenecientes al Asentamiento Humano San Isidro, mayores de 18 años. Para la recolección de datos se utilizó una encuesta elaborada y aplicada por el autor de la presente investigación y se encuentra validada por el asesor y los profesionales de la Universidad Católica de Trujillo Benedicto XVI, esta encuesta consta de 12 preguntas según sus variables e indicadores. Los resultados indicaron que no existe relación significativa entre el servicio de agua potable y la condición sanitaria. La variable dependiente se abrió en 3 dimensiones de las cuales se determinaron indicadores para su medición. Así mismo se obtuvo que si existe relación significativa entre el servicio de agua potable y sus tres dimensiones (cantidad, calidad y continuidad). Estos resultados fueron determinados mediante el uso del software estadístico SPSS-V25 y se utilizó el test del CHI CUADRADO, de la misma manera se utilizó el programa Microsoft Excel para ordenar y determinar los resultados de la investigaciónTesi

USCID fourth international conference

Presented at the Role of irrigation and drainage in a sustainable future: USCID fourth international conference on irrigation and drainage on October 3-6, 2007 in Sacramento, California.Includes bibliographical references.The two-layer model of Shuttlerworth and Wallace (SW) was evaluated to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ETa) above a drip-irrigated Merlot vineyard, located in the Talca Valley, Region del Maule, Chile (35° 25' LS; 71° 32' LW ; 136m above the sea level). An automatic weather system was installed in the center of the vineyard to measure climatic variables (air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed) and energy balance components (solar radiation, net radiation, latent heat flux, sensible heat flux, and soil heat flux) during November and December 2006. Values of ETa estimated by the SW model were tested with latent heat flux measurements obtained from an eddy-covariance system on a 30 minute time interval. Results indicated that SW model was able to predict ETa with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.44 mm d-1 and mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.36 mm d-1. Furthermore, SW model predicted latent heat flux with RMSE and MAE of 32 W m-2 and 19W m-1, respectively

Respuestas de adecuación ante los escenarios de cambio climático

La perspectiva del cambio climático abre numerosos interrogantes sobre las políticas de adaptación que resultarán más apropiadas a medio y largo plazo en el sector de la gestión de recursos hídricos. A pesar de que existe un amplio consenso en el mundo científico sobre la posible evolución de las temperaturas y precipitaciones a escala regional, resulta todavía muy difícil cuantificar el impacto que éstas tendrán sobre la disponibilidad de recursos hídricos a escala local. Los últimos estudios realizados en España concluyen que el cambio climático supondrá una presión adicional a las muchas que ya se ejercen sobre los sistemas de explotación de recursos hídricos. En esta ponencia se pasa revista a un abanico de medidas de adaptación que se consideran apropiadas para reaccionar a la nueva situación creada por el cambio climático. Estas políticas pueden verse como una colección de buenas prácticas o principios generales, cuya aplicación en el tiempo dependerá en gran medida de la iniciativa de los poderes públicos, de la evolución de la situación climática y de su percepción por parte de los usuarios

A synthetic data generation system for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome questionnaires

Computational models; Data acquisitionModelos computacionales; Adquisición de datosModels computacionals; Adquisició de dadesArtificial intelligence or machine-learning-based models have proven useful for better understanding various diseases in all areas of health science. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) lacks objective diagnostic tests. Some validated questionnaires are used for diagnosis and assessment of disease progression. The availability of a sufficiently large database of these questionnaires facilitates research into new models that can predict profiles that help to understand the etiology of the disease. A synthetic data generator provides the scientific community with databases that preserve the statistical properties of the original, free of legal restrictions, for use in research and education. The initial databases came from the Vall Hebron Hospital Specialized Unit in Barcelona, Spain. 2522 patients diagnosed with ME/CFS were analyzed. Their answers to questionnaires related to the symptoms of this complex disease were used as training datasets. They have been fed for deep learning algorithms that provide models with high accuracy [0.69–0.81]. The final model requires SF-36 responses and returns responses from HAD, SCL-90R, FIS8, FIS40, and PSQI questionnaires. A highly reliable and easy-to-use synthetic data generator is offered for research and educational use in this disease, for which there is currently no approved treatment

Previsiones para España según los últimos estudios de cambio climático

En este capítulo se describen las perspectivas de evolución de los recursos hídricos en España según los últimos estudios realizados sobre cambio climático. Se analizan los resultados del proyecto PRUDENCE, que es un proyecto europeo reciente, dedicado a la elaboración de proyecciones regionalizadas de cambio climático en Europa para finales del siglo XXI, basadas en los escenarios de emisiones A2 y B2 del Informe Especial de Escenarios de Emisiones del Panel Intergubernamental para el Cambio Climático (IPCC). Se ha procedido al análisis de datos de escorrentía media mensual resultantes del citado proyecto relativos a la España peninsular, comparándolos con los datos de aportaciones medias mensuales del estudio de recursos recogido en el Libro Blanco del Agua en España, con la doble finalidad de evaluar la capacidad de los modelos para reproducir la hidrología española y de analizar sus proyecciones sobre el impacto global del cambio climático en los recursos hídricos de España. Los resultados obtenidos indican que, a pesar del alto grado de incertidumbre que tienen las proyecciones climáticas, la mayor parte de los modelos regionales de clima utilizados en el proyecto Prudence coinciden en señalar disminuciones muy significativas de las aportaciones en régimen natural, lo que tendrá indudables impactos sobre la futura gestión de nuestros recursos hídrico