The Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Fog in French Guiana as a Precondition for the Appearance of a new Vegetation Type - the Tropical Lowland Cloud Forest

Tropical cloud forests are characterized by high epiphyte diversity and abundance with a crucial driver for this being the frequent occurrence of fog that constitutes an additional water source for epiphytic vegetation. The ecological value of fog in these ecosystems is widely recognized and although tropical cloud forests in montane regions are known to be biodiverse and abundant in epiphytes, recent work indicates similar levels of both diversity and abundance in tropical lowland systems. An important question is whether fog plays a similar role in lowland systems as it does in montane areas, particularly since the physical mechanisms for fog formation in the tropical lowland are not well understood. The major aim of the present study was to provide an in-depth investigation of the fog phenomenon in French Guiana, including the spatio-temporal fog dynamics, and with this, to enhance the understanding of the impact of fog on epiphytic vegetation in tropical lowland forests. The main hypotheses suggest the frequent occurrence of radiation fog in valley forests throughout French Guiana, supported by nocturnal katabatic flows, and the formation of the epiphyte-rich “tropical lowland cloud forest” (LCF) as a new vegetation unit, which is restricted to areas frequently affected by fog. Testing these hypotheses required a specific experimental setup, an interdisciplinary approach and the development of a novel fog detection scheme. The first hypothesis concerning the frequent spatio-temporal occurrence of valley fog could be verified by the statistical assessments of the meteorological data derived in the field and the results of the satellite-based fog-detection scheme. The identified meteorological processes confirm the hypothesised mechanism of radiation fog formation and demonstrated that katabatic flows play a role. Therefore, nocturnal cold air drainage, typical in complex terrains of the midlatitudes, should also be regarded as a trigger of fog formation in the tropical lowland. The integrative assessment of canopy microclimate and epiphyte parameters verifies the second hypothesis. It was demonstrated that epiphyte diversity, abundance and biomass are significantly higher in valley forest as a consequence of a more favourable canopy microclimate due to frequent fog episodes. These findings provide strong evidence for the existence of the hitherto neglected tropical lowland cloud forest as a novel forest type. Thus, the results indicate that LCF and LRF should no longer be viewed as a single formation. Epiphyte diversity and distribution in LCF and LRF may represent useful characteristics for discriminating these forests. Further, the results indicate that the region of frequent occurrence of radiation fog in French Guiana can be regarded as optimum habitat for tropical lowland cloud forests. Overall, both hypotheses of this study can be confirmed. The investigations of the presented work have shown that fog formation is a regularly occurring phenomenon in space and time in French Guiana with significant impacts for epiphytic vegetation

PROJECT ÉVORA 3D: RESEARCH, METHODOLOGY, RECONSTRUCTION AND VISUALIZATION

The Évora 3D project was born from the collaboration between the Municipality and the University of Évora, through the two research centres of CIDEHUS1 and CHAIA2, with the objective of completing a virtual reconstruction of the city in a longtime frame. In the national and international context, the use of new technologies has led to the diversification of this type of proposal, both at the urban level and in the reconstruction of concrete spaces. The application of this same model to Évora, contemplating several chronological layers, seems to impose itself in a city that, in the medieval and modern periods, was one of the most important of the kingdom, as Court city, and that today is classified as World Heritage Site

Defining Efficient Policies in a General Equilibrium Model: A Multiobjective Approach

Macroeconomic policy makers are typically concerned with several indicators of economic performance. We thus propose to tackle the design of macroeconomic policy using Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques. More specifically, we employ Multiobjective Programming (MP) to seek so-called efficient policies. The MP approach is combined with a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. We chose use of a CGE model since they have the dual advantage of being consistent with standard economic theory while allowing one to measure the effect(s) of a specific policy with real data. Applying the proposed methodology to Spain (via the 1995 Social Accounting Matrix) we first quantified the trade-offs between two specific policy objectives: growth and inflation, when designing fiscal policy. We then constructed a frontier of efficient policies involving real growth and inflation. In doing so, we found that policy in 1995 Spain displayed some degree of inefficiency with respect to these two policy objectives. We then offer two sets of policy recommendations that, ostensibly, could have helped Spain at the time. The first deals with efficiency independent of the importance given to both growth and inflation by policy makers (we label this set: general policy recommendations). A second set depends on which policy objective is seen as more important by policy makers: increasing growth or controlling inflation (we label this one: objective-specific recommendations)

Altitud geográfica como factor asociado al desarrollo de pterigión

Objetivo. Demostrar que la altitud geográfica constituye un factor asociado al desarrollo de Pterigión. Material y métodos. Estudio de corte transversal en los poblados de Trujillo (nivel del mar) y Huamachuco (3169 msnm), mediante una campaña de despistaje de Pterigión en 514 personas en Trujillo y en 158 de Huamachuco, mayores de edad, previo consentimiento informado. Se realizó evaluación ocular no invasiva con lámpara de hendidura portátil, buscando la presencia de patología, el ojo y polo ocular afectado y el grado. Se consultaron las variables demográficas (edad, sexo, estado civil, ocupación, exposición al polvo, residencia urbana o rural, consumo de bebidas alcohólicas y tabaco, nivel de instrucción e historia familiar de Pterigión) por medio de 10 preguntas directas de opción múltiple. Se procesó la información mediante el software IBM SPSS Statistics 23, realizando un análisis univariado, bivariado y multivariado, considerando IC 95% y p<0.05. Resultados. La prevalencia global del Pterigión es de 15.8% (≥ 3000msnm de 27.8%). El análisis bivariado arroja como factores asociados a la altitud geográfica ≥ 3000 msnm (OR: 2.460, p<0.001, IC 95% [1.70-3.54]), la edad ≥ 65 años, residencia en regiones rurales, la labor al aire libre, la exposición al polvo, el tabaquismo y el antecedente familiar de Pterigión. El análisis multivariado identificó como factores independientemente asociados a la edad ≥ 65 años, la residencia en región rural y el antecedente familiar de Pterigión. Conclusiones. El Pterigión es un problema de salud pública, en el que la altitud geográfica ≥ 3000 msnm multiplica por 2.46 el riesgo de desarrollarlo; sin embargo, no es un factor independientemente asociado.Purpose. Demonstrate that geographic altitude is a factor associated to Pterygium development. Methods. A cross-sectional study carried out in the villages of Trujillo (sea level) and Huamachuco (3169 masl), through a screening campaign conducted in 514 people in Trujillo and in 158 settlers in Huamachuco, with prior informed consent. A non invasive ocular evaluation with a portable slit lamp was performed, looking for the presence of pathology, the affected eye, the affected eye pole and the grade of Pterygium. We supplement the information with questions about demographic variables (age, sex, marital status, occupation, exposure to dust, urban or rural residence, consumption of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, instruction level and family history of Pterygium) by 10 direct questions. The information was processed with the IBM SPSS Statistics 23 software, performing an univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis, considering IC 95% and p<0.05. Results. The overall prevalence of the Pterygium is 15.8% (27.8% at ≥ 3000masl). The bivariate analysis shows as factors associated with Pterygium development the geographic altitude ≥ 3000masl (OR: 2.460, p <0.001, 95% CI [1.70-3.54]), age ≥ 65 years, residence in rural regions, outdoor work, exposure to dust, smoking and family history of Pterygium. The multivariate analysis identified as independent associated factors age ≥ 65 years, residence in rural region and family history of Pterygium. Conclusions. Pterygium is a public health problem. The altitude ≥ 3000msnm increases the risk of developing in 2.46 times; however, it is not an independent associated factor.Tesi

Efectividad de la irrigación subfrénica intraoperatoria con bupivacaina en la analgesia post colecistectomía laparoscópica

El control del dolor posterior a colecistectomía laparoscópica es un objetivo primordial y un reto en la evolución de un paciente quirúrgico. Por ello, es de importancia demostrar la efectividad de la irrigación subfrénica intraoperatoria con bupivacaina al 0.5% para la analgesia post colecistectomía laparoscópica. En este ensayo clínico pragmático, se incluirán 48 pacientes que serán sometidos a irrigación intraabdominal con 20ml de bupivacaina al 0.5% y 48 que recibirán irrigación intraperitoneal con solución salina fisiológica al 0.9%; todos intervenidos de colecistectomía laparoscópica con Anestesia General Balanceada y monitorizados mediante capnógrafo, electrocardiografía, pulsioximetría e índice espectral (BIS). Se analizará el dolor postoperatorio mediante la Escala Visual Análoga (EVA) a las 1, 4, 8, 12 y 24 horas y su posterior traducción cualitativa, tomando como punto de corte 4 para el rescate analgésico. Los datos obtenidos serán sometidos a análisis estadístico descriptivo e inferencial; mediante el test de T de Student para comparar promedios de dolor postoperatorio (EVA) si la variable sigue una distribución gaussiana, y por medio de la prueba no paramétrica de U de Mann Whitney para las variables que no. Finalmente se aplicará el Chi Cuadrado de Pearson para determinar si existe diferencia significativa entre proporciones (p < 0.05), esperando la confirmación de la hipótesis propuestaTesis de segunda especialida

Biomechanical behaviour of cancellous bone on patellofemoral arthroplasty with journey prosthesis : a finite element study

Isolated patellofemoral (PF) arthritis of the knee is a common cause of anterior knee pain and disability. Patellofemoral arthroplasty (PFA) is a bone conserving solution for patients with PF degeneration. Failure mechanisms of PFA include growing tibiofemoral arthritis and loosening of components. The implant loosening can be associated with bone resorption, or fatigue-failure of bone by overload. This research work aims at determining the structural effects of the implantation of PF prosthesis Journey PFJ (Smith&Nephew, USA) on femur cancellous bone. For this purpose, the finite element (FE) method is considered to perform computational simulations for different conditions, such as well-fixed and loosening scenarios. From the global results obtained, in the well-fixed scenario, a strain decrease on cancellous bone was noticed, which can be related to bone resorption. In the loosening scenario, when the cement layer becomes inefficient, a significant increase of cancellous bone strain was observed, which can be associated with bone fatigue-failure. These strain changes suggest a weakness of the femur after PFA.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

The role of poroelasticity on the biomechanics of the intervertebral disc : a finite element study

The major goal for the present work is to evaluate a biomimetic Finite Element (FE) model of the Intervertebral Disc (IVD). Recent studies have emphasized the importance of an accurate biomechanical modeling of the IVD, which is a highly complex biphasic medium. A novel biphasic poroelastic model was implemented and coupled with Wilson’s model (2005) for biphasic osmotic swelling behavior. Numerical tests were devoted to the analysis of the time- dependent behavior of the IVD. The results show good agreement with literature experimental data (Heuer et al., 2007 or O’Connell et al., 2011) and also with other numerical studies (Galbusera et al., 2011). In brief, this in-development IVD FE model aims to be a valuable tool to study the biomechanics of the IVD and its pathways for degeneration.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

A Goal Programming Approach for a Joint Design of Macroeconomic and Environmental Policies: a Methodological Proposal and an Application to the Spanish Economy

The economic policy needs to pay increasingly more attention to the environmental issues, which requires the development of methodologies able to incorporate environmental, as well as macroeconomic, goals in the design of public policies. Starting from this observation, this article proposes a methodology based upon a Simonian satisficing logic made operational with the help of goal programming (GP) models, to address the joint design of macroeconomic and environmental policies. The methodology is applied to the Spanish economy, where a joint policy is elicited, taking into consideration macroeconomic goals (economic growth, inflation, unemployment, public deficit) and environmental goals (CO2, NOx and SOx emissions) within the context of a computable general equilibrium model. The results show how the government can ‘‘fine-tune’’ its policy according to different criteria using GP models. The resulting policies aggregate the environmental and the economic goals in different ways: maximum aggregate performance, maximum balance and a lexicographic hierarchy of the goals

Using Compromise Programming for Macroeconomic Policy Making in a General Equilibrium Framework: Theory and Application to the Spanish Economy

This paper has a twofold purpose. First, to show how Compromise Programming, linked with some results connecting this approach with classic utility optimisation, can become a useful analytical tool for designing and assessing macroeconomic policies. Second, to apply the proposed methodology to a macroeconomic policy making problem in Spain. In this way, starting from a Computable General Equilibrium Model, a frontier of growth-inflation combinations for the Spanish economy is determined. After that, several Pareto-efficient policies that represent compromises between economic growth and inflation rate are established and interpreted in economic terms