New inductive urban and peripheral constructions of diffuse landscapes: about certain observable forms in the region of Monastir

Ponència presentada a: Session 7: Participación en planeamiento / Participation in planning: enviromental and hermeneutic plannin

Influence of tank bottom surface on growth and welfare of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis)

Tank bottom surface is an important question to take into account in flatfish aquaculture considering the intimate contact that the fish have with it. The most usual materials in aquaculture tank surfaces are inert materials such as epoxy resins or plastics with null porosity, and cement that presents a high alkalinity, roughness and porosity. To improve the cement characteristics, silica fume admixture is usually added in construction industry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of three types of tank bottom surfaces on growth and welfare over a Solea senegalensis population. Moreover, the degree of fin erosion, the appearance of skin lesions and malpigmentation patterns were also monitored. The bottom surfaces tested were plain cement (CE), the same plain cement blended with silica fume (10%) (SF) and epoxy coated surface (EP). Specific growth rate for each bottom surface were compared. The Image Processing Activity Index (IPAI) was used to evaluate the Senegalese sole welfare. Higher SGR and lower IPAI values were obtained in the surface of cement with silica fume, suggesting a higher welfare. The use of plain cement affected negatively the performance of fish, probably due to the high pH and alkalinity of the water in direct contact with fish skin. The null porosity of EP seems to be related to the main cause of higher activity level of fish kept on it outcoming in lower growth. Silica fume that is frequently use to improve the mechanical characteristics of plain cement, also provides benefits in terms of fish welfare.Postprint (author's final draft

Maritime data integration and analysis: Recent progress and research challenges

The correlated exploitation of heterogeneous data sources offering very large historical as well as streaming data is important to increasing the accuracy of computations when analysing and predicting future states of moving entities. This is particularly critical in the maritime domain, where online tracking, early recognition of events, and real-time forecast of anticipated trajectories of vessels are crucial to safety and operations at sea. The objective of this paper is to review current research challenges and trends tied to the integration, management, analysis, and visualization of objects moving at sea as well as a few suggestions for a successful development of maritime forecasting and decision-support systems

A conceptual framework for studying collective reactions to events in location-based social media

Events are a core concept of spatial information, but location-based social media (LBSM) provide information on reactions to events. Individuals have varied degrees of agency in initiating, reacting to or modifying the course of events, and reactions include observations of occurrence, expressions containing sentiment or emotions, or a call to action. Key characteristics of reactions include referent events and information about who reacted, when, where and how. Collective reactions are composed of multiple individual reactions sharing common referents. They can be characterized according to the following dimensions: spatial, temporal, social, thematic and interlinkage. We present a conceptual framework, which allows characterization and comparison of collective reactions. For a thematically well-defined class of event such as storms, we can explore differences and similarities in collective attribution of meaning across space and time. Other events may have very complex spatio-temporal signatures (e.g. political processes such as Brexit or elections), which can be decomposed into series of individual events (e.g. a temporal window around the result of a vote). The purpose of our framework is to explore ways in which collective reactions to events in LBSM can be described and underpin the development of methods for analysing and understanding collective reactions to events

Fast degenerate double proton transfer in the solid state between two indazolinone tautomers

The neutral dimer formed by 4,6-difluoro-1H,2H-indazolin-3-one and 3-hydroxy-4,6-difluoro-1H-indazole linked by two hydrogen bonds presents a very fast intermolecular double proton transfer in the solid state (ISSPT). The combined use of crystallography, solid state NMR and DFT [B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p)] calculations supports this interesting observation and allows us to estimate a barrier of about 20 kJ mol-1. © 2010 The Royal Society of Chemistry.Peer Reviewe

Defining principles for mobile apps and platforms development in citizen science

Apps for mobile devices and web-based platforms are increasingly used in citizen science projects. While extensive research has been done in multiple areas of studies, from Human-Computer Interaction to public engagement in science, we are not aware of a collection of recommendations specific for citizen science that provides support and advice for planning, design and data management of mobile apps and platforms that will assist learning from best practice and successful implementations. In two workshops, citizen science practitioners with experience in mobile application and web-platform development and implementation came together to analyse, discuss and define recommendations for the initiators of technology based citizen science projects. Many of the recommendations produced during the two workshops are applicable to citizen science project that do not use mobile devices to collect data. Therefore, we propose to closely connect the results presented here with ECSA’s Ten Principles of Citizen Science

¿Adelantan el diagnóstico de la diabetes tipo 2 los nuevos criterios de la Asociación Americana de Diabetes?

ObjetivoAnalizar el intervalo temporal entre la primera hiperglucemia basal ocasional (HBO) y el diagnóstico de diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2) al aplicar los criterios de la OMS y de la Asociación Americana de Diabetes (ADA).DiseñoEstudio observacional, retrospectivo. Ámbito del estudio. Centro de atención primaria urbano.SujetosUn total de 104 pacientes con DM2, diagnosticados entre 1991 y 1995, con antecedentes de HBO.Mediciones o intervencionesEdad, género y otros factores de riesgo, fechas de la primera HBO (glucemia basal 3 110 mg/dl), del diagnóstico según criterios OMS (2 glucemias basales 3 140 mg/dl o 3 200 mg/dl a las 2 horas de la sobrecarga oral de glucosa [SOG]) y aplicando criterios ADA (2 glucemias basales 3 126 mg/dl) y los intervalos en meses entre ellas.ResultadosDe los 222 pacientes diagnosticados, 104 (47%) presentaban antecedentes de HBO. La edad en el momento del diagnóstico fue 60,8 años (DE, 10,1), siendo un 53% mujeres. En 51 casos (49%) se realizó SOG. La mediana (rango) del intervalo entre la primera HBO y el diagnóstico fue de 16 meses (0–101) en los que se realizó la SOG y de 45 (1–104) en los que no se practicó (p = 0,003). En estos últimos, los criterios ADA lo redujeron a 31 meses (0–97) (p < 0,001) y en 27 de ellos que no cumplían ambos criterios a la vez el intervalo fue de sólo 10 meses (0–93) (p < 0,001). Conclusiones. La no realización de la SOG comporta un retraso en el diagnóstico que puede ser contrarrestado con la aplicación de los criterios de la ADA.ObjectiveTo analyze the period of time between the first occasional fasting hyperglycaemia (OFH) and the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2), using the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria or the American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria.DesignRetrospective, observational study.SettingUrban primary care centre.Subjects104 patients with DM2 diagnosed between 1991 and 1995 who had a previous OFH.MeasurementsAge, gender and other risk factors, dates of the first OFH (fasting plasma glucose 3 110 mg/dl), the diagnosis according to WHO criteria (2 fasting plasma glucose 3 140 mg/dl or 3 200 mg/dl two hours after the oral glucose test tolerance (OGTT)) or with the ADA criteria (2 fasting plasma glucose 3 126 mg/dl), and the intervals in months between them.ResultsOf the 222 diagnosed patients, 104 (47%) had previous OFH. Age at diagnosis was 60.8 (SD 10.1) and 53% were women. OGTT was performed in 51 cases (49%). The median (range) of the interval between the first OFH and diagnosis was 16 months (0–101) for those who were undertaken an OGTT, and 45 months (1–104) for those who were not (p = 0.003). In these last ones, ADA criteria reduced the interval to 31 months (0–97) (p < 0.001). In 27 of these patients who did not satisfy both criteria at the same time, ADA criteria reduced the interval to 10 months (0–93) (p < 0.001).ConclusionsNot performing the OGTT means a delay in diagnosis which can be countered by applying the ADA criteria

Morphological adaptations linked to flight efficiency and aerial lifestyle determine natal dispersal distance in birds

Natal dispersal—the movement from birthplace to breeding location—is often considered the most significant dispersal event in an animal's lifetime. Natal dispersal distances may be shaped by a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and remain poorly quantified in most groups, highlighting the need for indices that capture variation in dispersal among species. In birds, it is hypothesized that dispersal distance can be predicted by flight efficiency, which can be estimated using wing morphology. However, the use of morphological indices to predict dispersal remains contentious and the mechanistic links between flight efficiency and natal dispersal are unclear. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative models to test whether hand-wing index (HWI, a morphological proxy for wing aspect ratio) predicts natal dispersal distance across a global sample of 114 bird species. In addition, we assess whether HWI is correlated with flight usage in foraging and daily routines. We find that HWI is a strong predictor of both natal dispersal distance and a more aerial lifestyle. Our results support the use of HWI as a valid proxy for relative natal dispersal distance, and also suggest that evolutionary adaptation to aerial lifestyles is a major factor connecting flight efficiency with patterns of natal dispersal

Synthesis of N-arylpyridinium salts bearing a nitrone spin trap as potential mitochondria-targeted antioxidants

The generation of excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mitochondria is responsible for much of the oxidative stress associated with ageing (aging), and mitochondrial dysfunction is part of the pathology of neurodegeneration and type 2 diabetes. Lipophilic pyridinium ions are known to accumulate in mitochondria and this paper describes a general route for the preparation of nitrone-containing N-arylpyridinium salts having a range of lipophilicities, as potential therapeutic antioxidants. The compatibility of nitrones with the Zincke reaction is the key to their synthesis. Their trapping of carbon-centred radicals and the EPR spectra of the resulting nitroxides are reported