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Harpoons are part of the composite technologies, widely dispersed throughout the world. In South America, a unique type of throwing harpoon reveals a limited distribution, primarily discovered in hunter‐gatherer archaeological sites within the lower La Plata basin. Specifically, they are found in two archaeological units named Incised Pottery and Plain Pottery which are defined by different material properties but share several common aspects as well. Regarding bone tools, the primary distinction lies in the decoration of the items, contrasting with the ornamentation of the pottery. While the processes underlying regional variability in the archaeological assemblages is not yet fully understood, various types of artifacts show differences in morphology and stylistic features that can be linked to archaeological units. For this purpose, we examined 13 archaeological samples of harpoon heads considering morphological, physical, and metrical variation, as well as the operational sequence. As result, we observed variations in both morphology and decoration, while the metrical structure, the selection of raw material and the operational sequence remain unaltered. This phenomenon could be attributed to a recent process of social differentiation affecting external features, whereas the internal characteristics are connected to technique behaviors resistant to recent changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small artifacts and miniatures are reduced objects that can be connected to rituals, children’s activities, and small game. Material correlates can be established for the aforementioned hypotheses. In the southern end of the La Plata basin, small artifacts were recovered from different late Holocene hunter-gatherer archaeological sites, but their functional explanation is not clear. The aim of this paper is to discuss the presence of small artifacts in the regional record from the regular morphological groups of harpoon heads, atlatl hooks, lithic spheroids, and labrets. Firstly, we statistically evaluate the metrical structure of the complete sample to identify small size outliers. Secondly, we analyze the physical, morphological, and functional structure of the small artifacts to discuss if they are different from the regular sample in other properties rather than only the size. The results show that a reduced number of artifacts qualify as different from the regular sample, although variability among morphological groups is noticed in the raw material and use-wear patterns. In the case of harpoons and atlatl hooks, variable behaviors are recorded where children’s use is a possibility, but raw material mediated strategies and recycling of tools cannot be discarded. Labrets were intended for small people; and a lithic spheroid could have been made by a novice. Although no conclusive statement can be made because of the multiple nature of the archaeological record, our interpretations constitute a first approximation to the presence of children in the hunter-gatherer societies under study, which must be confronted through new studies and samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pierced antlers, traditionally known as bâtons de commandement, are commonly found in many Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites in Europe. Despite their original association to symbolic uses, their function is in constant debate, having as many hypotheses as contexts of finding. Predominance of symbolic use was replaced by the emphasis of antler mechanical properties chosen to perform this type of artefact. In America, pierced antlers are practically absent, however, a large number of antlers with short branches and a central perforation were found in the Low Paraná wetland. They were recovered from hunter-gatherer sites dated in the Late Holocene. In this paper, we analyse their chronological and spatial distribution, the material association and the morphometrical and physical properties of the assemblages to discuss the functional significance of these items in the local contexts. Antlers with and without perforation are considered. As a result, we note that the assemblage under analysis is morphologically different from the European's ones with symmetrical branches, despite the same material properties being maintained in the selection of deer antler as raw material. In our case, antlers without perforation are interpreted as discarded from the manufacturing processes that involve other types of tools besides there is a different proposal for a near area as the República Oriental del Uruguay. Pierced antlers show fractures and use-wear patterns like those described in the international literature. Even if no functional identification can be confirmed, high stress and domestic activity can be proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, fracture orientations in carbonate reservoirs were determined using a multicomponent velocity analysis based on shear wave splitting. The analysis is based on the estimated velocities of large seismic events with different polarizations. In a fractured zone with a dominant orientation, weak amplitude split shear events, including shear noise, result in shear waves that are polarized toward the symmetry and anisotropy axes and propagate with a common fast and slow velocity, respectively. Thus, a velocity stack should show high coherency anomalies in directions parallel and orthogonal to the fracture strike. Furthermore, because the analysis is applied locally at a specific depth range, it is less susceptible to the effects of overburden anisotropy and noise. The dominant fracture orientations from carbonate reservoirs of four oilfields were compared to those interpreted from fullbore microimager and core data. Fractures in two offshore reservoirs strike NNE-SSW and NW-SE, which are related to Zagros stress. Fractures in two onshore reservoir strikes NE-SW, while in deeper onshore reservoir fractures are aligned with N-S direction. The findings of this study are promising, particularly for the fractured reservoirs especially those located in Abu Dhabi, which are characterized by high heterogeneity and complex fracture network related to complex tectonic history. In order to obtain geometrical parameters of fractures at seismic scale, it is recommended to implement the analysis adapted in this study after acquiring three component zero-offset vertical seismic profiling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several technological approaches to mitigate methane dairy emissions are available; however, assuming that technological change alone generates the necessary incentives to accelerate emissions reduction is risky. Without adequate market signals, producers might choose not to use the technologies available or to the desired extent. Addressing this economic problem requires altering producers' and consumers' behaviour by introducing incentives or constraints. Employing the livestock policy simulation model, we examine the effects of reducing methane emissions in the dairy sector under different market-based policy instruments. We used the primary dairy sector in Uruguay as a case study. The results show that a policy mix combining a set of market-based instruments can be more effective than a single policy instrument alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have analyzed the adsorption of nitric oxide molecules ((NO)n; n = 1, 5, 10, and 15) on carbon nitride fullerene (C36N24)− by means of calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT). These results indicate the largest value of EAds = − 1.06 and − 0.85 eV in gas and aqueous phases, respectively, for one adsorbed molecule. However, the saturation point occurs when ten nitric oxide molecules are adsorbed (EAds = − 0.80 eV (gas phase) and − 0.83 eV (aqueous phase)). These CNF–(NO)10 and CNF–(NO)15 systems present a high intrinsic magnetism (3.0 and 4.0 μB), as well as their quantum descriptors indicate a high polarity, low value in the work function and reactivity, and metallic behavior. The latter attractive physic-chemical features open the possibility of applying this anionic and magnetic fullerene as a vehicle/protector of nitric oxide and thus fulfill its correct biological functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the hunting patterns based on faunal records of horticultural groups from the Atlantic Forest grouped in the Guarani archaeological unit, which are the material and behavioural expression of populations of Amazon origin who practiced slash‐and‐burn agriculture in the Atlantic Forest of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. The analysed temporal block ranges from ca. 1373 to 1698 of the Common Era. The characteristics of the faunal assemblages are the high level of the taxa richness and the equitability, where no taxa predominate over the others. The capture decision was probably guided primarily by the weight of the potential prey (preferentially terrestrial mammals) considering thresholds above 10 kg per individual, which have provided the greatest biomass. Nevertheless, small preys are numerically important and taxonomically very diverse. Fish mostly comprise small individuals, with no taxonomic selectivity. The hunted animals were transported completely to the villages. Terrestrial prey and fish were preponderantly boiled in ceramic containers. All the best ranked preys locally available were hunted, so in the long term, there were no exceptions to consumption. The hunting strategies are concordant with historical and ethnographic observations that include a broad diet with low taxonomic selectivity, small foraging range, and garden hunting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous computers require a well-distributed workload to operate efficiently. When possible, this load balancing procedure should redistribute the workload with minimal knowledge of the system architecture, to reduce overhead. We propose a generic dynamic load balancing technique for iterative problems, independent from the resource to optimize. Proof of this generalization is given through formalization of the designed technique. A heuristic algorithm is defined based upon this formalization, with a structure that facilitates different objective functions. As a result, swapping the objective function can be done with relatively low effort. This heuristic is implemented to minimize energy consumption in an application. We use this application to solve three different dynamic programming problems with multiple GPUs. The implementation is described and then compared against two different workloads, the homogeneous distribution and another dynamic load balancing technique. Our experimentation shows good results in minimizing the overall energy consumption with low overhead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile devices have seen their performance increased in latest years due to improvements on System on Chip technologies. These shared memory systems now integrate multicore CPUs and accelerators, and obtaining the optimal performance from such heterogeneous architectures requires making use of accelerators in an efficient way. Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) are accelerators that often outperform multicore CPUs in data-parallel workloads by orders of magnitude, so their use for image processing applications on mobile devices is very important. In this work we explore tiling code optimizations for GPU applications running on mobile devices. A dynamic adaptive tile size selection methodology is created, which allows finding at runtime close-to-optimal parameterizations independently of the underlying architecture. Results demonstrate the performance benefits of these optimizations over a set of stencil-based image processing benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on animal health economics has emphasised the importance of accounting for the indirect economic effects of animal disease outbreaks. Although recent studies have advanced in this direction by assessing consumer and producer welfare losses due to asymmetric price adjustments, potential over-shifting effects along the supply chain and spill-overs to substitute markets have been under-examined. This study contributes to this field of research by assessing the direct and indirect effects of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak on the pork market in China. We employ impulse response functions estimated by local projection to calculate the price adjustments for consumers and producers, as well as the cross-effect in other meat markets. The results show that the ASF outbreak led to increases in both farmgate and retail prices but the rise in retail prices exceeded the corresponding change in farmgate prices. Furthermore, beef and chicken prices also rose, demonstrating the spill-over impacts of the outbreak to other markets. Overall, the evidence illustrates that a disruption in one part of a food system can have significant ripple effects across other parts of the system. • Animal disease outbreaks constitute a significant and increasing threat to food systems. • Impulse response functions used to capture cross effects within and between systems. • The effect on consumers was twice than on producers, displaying an over shifting effect. • The price of other markets also increased, displaying spillover effects into the system. • A disruption in one part of the system can have important ripple effects in other parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New records of pre-Columbian Canis familiaris (Carnivora, Canidae) in the Paraná Basin, Argentina. Five new confirmed Canis familiaris findings of pre-Columbian age are presented. The individuals were recovered in archaeological sites located in the lower basin of the Parana River, generated by complex hunter-gathererers. These individuals must be added to another finding previously reported, totaling 6 confirmed findings of this species recovered in the region. Direct dating performed on different bone elements corresponding to these specimens, as well as their associated contexts, show a chronological range for these specimens of 680 ± 80 to 1594 ± 59 radiocarbon years before present. The isotopic data indicate that the breeding area is not the wetland of the lower Parana basin, where they were recovered. Therefore, these specimens were not part as the local wildlife, and they had come to the region associated with exchange processes between human groups. Distinctive morphometric criteria for the axis, ulna and canines of C. familiaris are also presented in order to distinguish this species from other South American canids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case report of a 61 years patient is presented, with a history of active smoking who was referred from his health area to the Maxillofacial Surgery Service of "Dr. Joaquín Castillo Duany" Teaching Provincial Hospital in Santiago de Cuba, due to an injury in the red border of the upper lip whose clinical and histopathological exams revealed that it was a squamous-cell carcinoma. During the surgical treatment a modification of the Bernard-Burow technique was applied that allowed to avoid the loss of the subunit corresponding to the filtrum and the asymmetry of the labial corners, resulting from the traditional method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes some examples of evaluations that have emerged from comparative analysis from a concept developer and a conventional model, particularly in the course Linear Algebra with engineering and technology students of the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularity of the handheld systems ( smartphones, tablets , ...) and their computational capability open new challenges in terms of the efficient use of such devices. The heterogeneity of these SoCs and MPSoCs demands very specific knowledge of the devices, involving a very high learning curve for the programmers. To ease the development task we build Paralldroid, a framework oriented to general purpose programmers for mobile devices. Paralldroid unifies the Android programming models and allows for the automatic generation of parallel code. Sections of code to be optimized in a Java program can be annotated using Paralldroid annotations. Paralldroid automatically generates the native C or Renderscript code required to take advantage of the underlying parallel platform (GPU included). The code generated by Paralldroid offers a good performance with a very low cost of development, contributing to increased productivity when developing efficient code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall risk for toxoplasmosis in meat produced in Colombia is unknown. We analyzed by PCR assay meat samples for human consumption in two types of plants in Colombia: 120 samples from class I plants (60 samples from chicken, 30 from swine and 30 from beef) and 60 from class II plants (30 samples from beef and 30 from swine). Presence of Toxoplasma DNA was established by targeted B1 nested PCR assay. We detected 79 (43 %) samples that were positive by B1 nested PCR (33 from chicken, 22 from beef, and 24 from pork). No differences were found by region or species. Eleven positive samples were confirmed by sequencing of the B1 repeated region. Some polymorphisms were detected without relation with clonal groups nor meat species. Food animals are highly exposed to Toxoplasma in Colombia. Detailed studies are needed to establish the reasons for differences in Toxoplasma prevalence between farms, regarding practices of animal food production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Handheld systems (smartphones, tablets, …) are becoming highly used devices with an important market share. The underlying technology supporting them, is contributing with a significant increase of the computational capability on each new generation. The Android Ecosystem provides a development framework guaranteeing the portability of code over a wide range of platforms. However, the efficient use of such devices is a permanent challenge due to their heterogeneous nature and to the increasing computational demand of the end-user applications. We address the problem of the portability of efficiency trying to ensure also that the code will run efficiently across the different platforms. We propose a method that allows to derive an analytical model to obtain parameters for optimal executions of parallel Renderscript codes. The model has been successfully validated over a wide range of benchmark applications. The simplicity of the model makes it susceptible of being introduced into the Android Ecosystem so that the portability of the efficiency is also guaranteed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gnathostomiasis is an infection caused by nematodes of the genus Gnathostoma ssp, where the human becomes an accidental host. The disease is acquired mainly through the consumption of raw fish, causing most frequently a migratory eosinophilic panniculitis. Although the disease is endemic in Southeast Asia, its incidence has increased in several countries of Latin-America. We report a Colombian patient with this diagnosis and history of sushi consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of emergent systems on chip and MPSocs opens a new era in the small mobile devices (Smartphones, Tablets,...) in terms of computing capabilities and applications to be addressed. Currently, these devices have multicore processors and GPUs which provide high computational power. The efficient use of such devices, including the parallel power, is still a challenge for general-purpose programmers. In the last years Android has become the dominant platform in the small mobile devices. In addition, it has a large community of developers. For application development, Android provides two development kits, the Software Development Kit and Native Development Kit. To exploit the high computational capabilities on current devices, Android provides Renderscript, an API that allows the execution of parallel applications and it is designed to be used in applications that require high computing power. The development model used involves an important impact in the performance of the applications. In this paper, we address the evaluation of the performance on Android platforms. A set of benchmark applications has been implemented to evaluate the performance of the different development models. Sequential and parallel versions of the different development kits are considered in the computational experience. This benchmark and the computational experience achieved are greatly helpful to the programmer for understanding sources of overhead and bottlenecks in the developed code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An observational and descriptive study of 433 patients affected by polytrauma of the maxillofacial complex, assisted in the Emergencies Service of Maxillofacial Surgery in "Saturnino Lora Torres" Teaching Clinical Surgical Provincial Hospital at Santiago de Cuba was carried out from January, 2008 to December, 2009. The evaluative methods used were the clinical and/or radiological. The age group 20-29 (25.4%), male sex (61.2%), Saturdays and the early-night, as the most frequent schedules prevailed. The traffic accidents and the injuries taking place constituted the fundamental causes of the facial polytraumatism, associated to the ingestion of alcoholic drinks as inducers of a higher number of accidents and aggressions in the population. The mid-facial third was the anatomical region of more incidence of injuries, fundamentally of the soft tissue and combined injuries, which had a relationship with its predominant clinical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The modified Stöber method successfully control the morphology and size of the cores. • The etching on the surface of silicon oxide cores increase its porosity. • The surface porosity of cores enhances the formation of the TiO 2 shell systems. • With the lowest content of the conductive polymer the photodegradation of phenol increases. In this research, the surface modification has been studied as alternative to improve the photocatalytic properties of the materials. The principal novelty of the core/shell synthesis was the in situ oxidation of the monomer aniline in polyaniline over the TiO 2 surface, it gives an increase in the electron transport to enhance the photocatalytic activity of the SiO 2 /TiO 2 system. Thus, the step by step synthesis allow us to modify the superficial porosity of the SiO 2 cores for the further formation of the titanium dioxide shell, the resulting surface of the material was modified with different amounts of a conductive polymer polyaniline. The results indicate a successfully coverage by the titanium dioxide in the anatase phase (XRD), the extent of the coverage was confirmed by the FESEM and HRTEM images, it is clear the effect of the methodology on the porosity of the cores, with the highest porosity the more successfully covering, this also indicates an increased specific area creating more available sites for the reactive species formation for the photodegradation. The energy band gap of covered core/shell materials do not present significant modifications compared with pure anatase TiO 2 indicating that the photoactivity of the materials occurs by the electron conduction by the π-polaron transitions of polyaniline deposited on the surface of titanium dioxide. The photodegradation results indicate the possibility use of the materials for the of aromatic compounds decompositions under visible irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Applying methodologies of load balancing of heterogeneous clusters to multiGPU systems. [•] New version of the ULL_Calibrate_lib for multiGPU in shared memory systems. [•] Implementation of four parallelizations for Dynamic Programming optimization problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current parallel systems composed of mixed multi/manycore systems and/with GPUs become more complex due to their heterogeneous nature. The programmability barrier inherent to parallel systems increases almost with each new architecture delivery. The development of libraries, languages, and tools that allow an easy and efficient use in this new scenario is mandatory. Among the proposals found to broach this problem, skeletal programming appeared as a natural alternative to easy the programmability of parallel systems in general, but also the GPU programming in particular. In this paper, we develop a programming skeleton for Dynamic Programming on MultiGPU systems. The skeleton, implemented in CUDA, allows the user to execute parallel codes for MultiGPU just by providing sequential C++ specifications of her problems. The performance and easy of use of this skeleton has been tested on several optimization problems. The experimental results obtained over a cluster of Nvidia Fermi prove the advantages of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of multicore systems, joined to the potential acceleration of the graphics processing units, has given us a low cost computation capability unprecedented. The new systems alleviate some well-known important architectural problems at the expense of a considerable increment of the programmability wall. Heterogeneity, at both the architectural and programming levels, poses a great challenge to programmers. As a contribution, we propose a development methodology for the automatic source-to-source transformation on specific domains. This methodology is successfully instantiated as a framework to solve Dynamic Programming problems. As a result of applying our framework, the end user (a physicist, a mathematician or a biologist) can express her problem through a latex equation and automatically derive efficient parallel codes for current homogeneous or heterogeneous architectures. The approach allows an easy portability to new emergent architectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In (his work, the fermentative lactic acid (LA) production and its further separation by ionic exchange resins was evaluated. A Lactobacillus brevis strain was used to perform lab scale experiments under anaerobic conditions, using a low nutritional content media with cassava flour as carbon source (HY1). For a fermentation time of 120h in a 7.5-L bioreactor. the LA concentration was 24.3±0.07g LA/L and productivity Ü.2Ü g/L/h, at pH 6.5 and38°C. For LA recovery, the Amberlite 1RA-400 and 1R-120 exchange resins were used. First of all. a LA isothermal adsorption on Amberlite IRA-400. Cl\ OH" and HS042' activated form was performed at 25°C. The CI" activated resin was tested at pH 5. whereas the OH- activated form was tested at pH 3.5 and 6.3. The highest adsórbate content was 0.59±0.03 g LA/g resin at pH 6.3 when the resin was OH activated. Following, the breakthrough cunes were carried out in an Amberlite IRA-400 packed column at pH 3 and 5, and 0.5 and 1 mL/min; the maximum LA loaded was 0.109±0.005 g AL /g resin at pi 1 3 and 0.5 mL/min. Finally, the LA recovery was assessed in a system of series of columns packed with Amberlite 1RA-400 e IR-120; the LA recover)' was 77% and 73%, when the system was set at ().5mL/min, 25°C, and a feeding at pH 3 and 5. respectively, into the packed columns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements at the Nb K-edge of a NbSn single crystal, for temperatures across the martensitic structural transition temperature T. The Fourier transform amplitude of the peak associated with the second neighbor Nb-Nb and Nb-Sn pairs exhibits hysteresis across the martensitic transition under cooling and heating the sample across the transition. In contrast no such behavior was found for the Nb-Nb nearest neighbor distribution. The observed hysteresis can be attributed to the second neighbor Nb-Nb pairs as only the Debye-Waller factor of these pairs exhibits such a behavior. These results are consistent with a first-order phase transition, which has been previously proposed, and which suggests the possibility of an inhomogeneous ground state similar to other high-temperature superconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to create multimedia products such as smart-phones, media players, gaming consoles among others, developers need to optimize the low-level code. Currently, this code is written mostly in assembly language and must be rewritten for each different hardware platform. For this reason, the development of media infrastructure is very expensive, time consuming for integration and programming. Therefore, the media infrastructure portability is a multi-level industry problem. The application programmers need a crossplatform portable API (Application Programming Interface) for controlling high-level media operations. The system integrators need cross-vendor standard for media component integration with sophisticated data routing and robust synchronization. The software component vendors and the silicon vendors need a reliable way to accelerate diverse codecs on diverse silicon. OpenMAX helps solve this industry problem. OpenMAX was founded to meet the need to accelerate the growth of multimedia platforms and therefore the creation of final products. The end result is a standardized set of open APIs for a variety of multimedia applications. OpenMAX define a royalty-free cross-platform API that standardizes access to multimedia processing primitives used extensively in video codecs such as MPEG-4, H.264/AVC, audio and image codecs and 2D and 3D graphics. OpenMAX defines three media as an open standard, designed holistically to provide complete media infrastructure portability. The authors present a description of the OpenMAX standard and the three layers that form the structure of multimedia portability. Some implementations in the market are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) measurements at the Pr L1-edge of PrNiO3 exhibit a change across the metal insulator transition. This structural change is consistent with the observation of a lattice distortion, inferred from the Ni K-edge XANES spectra. Theoretical calculations of the XANES show that the observed features of the spectra are consistent with the orthorhombic structure in the metallic phase and a monoclinic structure in the insulating phase. The presence of such distortion provides a unified view of the structural change concurrent with the metal-insulator transition in the whole family RNiO3 (R being a rare earth atom). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cu -edge X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) on La2CuO4.1 has been used to study the radial Cu–O distribution function across the superconducting transition. Fits to the isolated Cu–O XAFS signal show the presence of a non-Gaussian distribution function for temperatures away from the superconducting transition temperature. However, this distribution becomes more harmonic in the vicinity of the superconducting transition temperature . The results provide evidence for the coupling between the local atomic dynamics and the particles involved in the superconductivity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Monthly visual surveys of reef fish populations in the Florida Keys were conducted from May to September of 1999 and April to December of 2000 using both strip transect and stationary point count sampling methods. Each month divers using SCUBA conducted three 10m×30m transect surveys and three 5m radius stationary point counts at 26 sites selected using a habitat based, stratified random design procedure. During both sampling procedures divers enumerated and assigned to 5cm size increments all groupers (Serranidae), snappers (Lutjanidae), hogfish (Labridae), angelfish (Pomacanthidae), butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae), triggerfish (Balistidae), and a few other species of recreational or commercial importance. The rationale behind this sampling design was to assess the differential vulnerability of the various species and size classes to the lower behavioral disturbance/smaller area point count technique as compared to the higher disturbance/larger area transect method, and to assess which method would produce the highest density estimates and census the largest number of individuals per unit of sampling effort for size structure determinations. Although both types of samples required about the same amount of diver effort to complete, approximately 1.5 times more individuals were recorded during transect surveys. However, since transect surveys encompassed 4.3 times as much area as point counts, observed densities averaged about three times higher for point count samples. There was considerable variation among species with respect to this pattern, with total numbers of individuals for the 10 most abundant species ranging from about equal to 4.5 times higher during transect surveys, while densities ranged from nearly equal to about 6 times higher during point counts. Length frequencies within species were generally very similar between the two methods, though a higher proportion of larger individuals was recorded for a few species during transect surveys. Since previous studies have strongly indicated that visual census techniques produce underestimates of true reef fish densities, the higher and presumably more accurate density estimates provided by the point count method, along with other factors such as presumed increases in accuracy of counts and size estimates associated with increased observation time of individual fishes, led us to select this method for our future surveys. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In-plane polarized Cu K-edge XAFS on La2CuO4.1 is presented, which indicates a radial in-plane Cu-O distribution function that is not a single Gaussian. Fits to the isolated Cu-O XAFS signal show the presence of a two-site radial distribution function, similar to that found in other La-based cuprate superconductors at temperatures below the temperature associated with the pseudogap appearance, T*. The appearance of the two-site distribution is interpreted as evidence of a non-homogeneous ground state, preceding the superconducting transition. Similar results found in other copper-oxide superconductors indicate that this non-homogeneous ground state is a general feature of these materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work has two purposes: on one side, reconstructing the historical period in Mexico during the 19th Century, age of strong fights between nacionalists and foreign governments, Civil War and other problems; the other side, it is an homage devoted to Jose Marti, the great cuban writer who wrote many beautiful pages for the children, adopting the style of his La edad de oro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an important historical figure, the Catalonian politician Francisco Pi y Margall, this essay analize the relation between Cuba and Spain in the last years of the colonial rule Pi y Margall, President of the first Spanish republic, express the federalist ideas according a new statement for the colonies, but his opinion was ignored systematically by the politic class in his country and provoque --among other causes-- the disaster of the old empire in America with Cuba and Puerto Rico and in Asia, with the filipinians islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Livestock portfolios play a significant role, as an income and consumption buffering strategy during severe droughts. • The buffering potential of livestock varies by income quintile, length of the climate shock, animal species, and region. • Households face trade-offs between using livestock assets to smooth the effect of the shock or protect future income generation. • Livestock oriented resilience interventions should carefully consider the relationships among species, droughts, and socioeconomic groups. • This study employs a unique dataset combining socioeconomic and livestock asset data from 150 000 households with a multi-scalar drought index. The effects of climate change are alarming, with projections suggesting that weather events will become more extreme and frequent, affecting households in regions that are already highly vulnerable. This study explores the role of livestock as a household coping strategy against climate shocks. Using quantile regression analysis, we examine the potential of different animal species to buffer the effects of drought on income and consumption. We assemble a unique global dataset that combines household-level socioeconomic information with a multi-scalar climatic drought index. Our study confirms the significant, yet context-dependent, role of livestock portfolios as a buffering mechanism against the effects of drought on household income and consumption. The effect is driven by the specific type of animal species, length of the shock, and socioeconomic features. These findings could assist the design of livestock-oriented policy interventions. The novel contributions of this study include the first cross-country analysis of the buffering effect of livestock against drought; use of the standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index as a multi-scalar drought indicator -; and a uniquely extensive dataset allowing for the analysis of interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence and rapid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has posed an unprecedented threat to both societies and economies. The dairy sector is an example of the challenges that food supply chains have faced due to the pandemic. This study aims to provide primary evidence of the immediate effects of COVID-19 on the global dairy sector, particularly focusing on the outcome of the implemented response mechanisms, and the potential medium and long-term implications of the pandemic on the sector. We employed a longitudinal qualitative analysis framework that combines the use of questionnaires, media-search, focus-group discussions, semi-structured interviews, and secondary evidence reviews. Information was gathered at two points in time: three months after the beginning of the outbreak and one year later. We applied this framework in five different geographical regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Our study indicates that the pandemic has been perceived as a series of episodes affecting the sector from both demand and supply sides. These waves have impacted the sector differently depending on regions and countries' trade profiles, relative resource scarcity, per capita income, and market structure. Although in one year the sector has mostly recovered from the shock, the analysis concludes that the pandemic has accelerated on-going structural changes taking place in the dairy sector. The study expands existing knowledge about the effects of the pandemic on the dairy sector and adds to the newly evolving literature about the medium and long-term effects of the COVID-19 on food systems across the globe. Despite the preliminary nature of the results, they provide important insights to inform sectorial policy discussions. [Display omitted] • The dairy sector is an example of the challenges that food supply chains have faced due to COVID-19. • The pandemic has impacted the sector depending on countries' trade profiles, per capita income, and market structure. • The study reveals that the pandemic has accelerated on-going structural changes taking place in the dairy sector. • Despite the preliminary nature of the results, they provide important insights to inform sectorial policy discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A protocol for analysing microwave pasteurization based on biological indicators is presented. • The methodology allows to evaluate intrinsic and extrinsic sources of variability. • In the cases studied, extrinsic sources of variability were more relevant than intrinsic ones. • Pasteurization by MW heating can be evaluated and optimized with the current methodology. Microwave processing can be a valid alternative to conventional heating for different types of products. It enables a more efficient heat transfer in the food matrix, resulting in higher quality products. However, for many food products a uniform temperature distribution is not possible because of heterogeneities in their physical properties and non-uniformtiy in the electric field pattern. Hence, the effectiveness of microwave inactivation treatments is influenced by both intrinsic (differences between cells) and extrinsic variability (non-uniform temperature). Interpreting the results of the process and considering its impact on microbial inactivation is essential to ensure effective and efficient processing. In this work, we quantified the variability in microbial inactivation attained in a microwave pasteurization treatment with a tunnel configuration at pilot-plant scale. The configuration of the equipment makes it impossible to measure the product temperature during treatment. For that reason, variability in microbial counts was measured using Biological Inactivation Indicators (BIIs) based on spherical particles of alginate inoculated with spores of Bacillus spp. The stability of the BIIs and the uncertainty associated to them was assessed using preliminary experiments in a thermoresistometer. Then, they were introduced in the food product to analyse the microbial inactivation in different points of the products during the microwave treatment. Experiments were made in a vegetable soup and a fish-based animal by-product (F-BP). The results show that the variation in the microbial counts was higher than expected based on the biological variability estimated in the thermoresistometer and the uncertainty of the BIIs. This is due to heterogeneities in the temperature field (measured using a thermographic camera), which were higher in the F-BP than in the vegetable soup. Therefore, for the process studied, extrinsic variability was more relevant than intrinsic variability. The methodology presented in this work can be a valid method to evaluate pasteurization treatments of foods processed by heating, providing valuable information of the microbial inactivation achieved. It can contribute to design microwave processes for different types of products and for product optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's industrial practice there is a wide range of customer needs affecting designers in many decisions on product design to find the most suitable alternatives. The activities involved in the integral development of a product, need as a preliminary stage a clear definition of the type of product to be designed. The literature related to a rational methodology that addresses product design and manufacturing issues is limited. The design of a product determines 80% of manufacturing cost, and different ways to manufacture it can be considered. It is proposed a product design framework that integrates Axiomatic Design (AD) and Cellular Manufacturing (CM) to creates associativit between the product and its manufacturing processes. In this case of study, the AD final product has two different components fabricated and transported in a manufacturing cell. The AD is based on the existence of 4 domains, which are zig-zagged for an optimal design. It uses matrix methods to systematically analyze the transformation of customer attributes into functional requirements, design parameters, and process variables. Summarizing, the proposed framework is a logical and systematic axiomatic approach for the product design in cellular manufacturing systems, which makes it easily portable into practice, providing the guidelines for the decomposition of the design problem and independent mappings between problems and solutions. The suggested methodology provides feasible solutions that best meets the design and manufacturing objectives. It establishes scientific basis to design and to improve design activities by providing the designer with a theoretical foundation based on logical and rational thought processes and tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• L-ergothioneine (EGT) treatments on age-related hearing loss were investigated. • Hearing measures improved in males with the EGT treatment, but not in females. • Biomarker measures indicated reductions in cochlear inflammation and apoptosis. • EGT blood levels were correlated with auditory system benefits in males. • In sum, EGT can attenuate the progression of age-linked hearing loss in aging males. The naturally occurring amino acid, l-ergothioneine (EGT), has immense potential as a therapeutic, having shown promise in the treatment of other disease models, including neurological disorders. EGT is naturally uptaken into cells via its specific receptor, OCTN1, to be utilized by cells as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. In our current study, EGT was administered over a period of 6 months to 25–26-month-old CBA/CaJ mice as a possible treatment for age-related hearing loss (ARHL), since presbycusis has been linked to higher levels of cochlear oxidative stress, apoptosis, and chronic inflammation. Results from the current study indicate that EGT can prevent aging declines of some key features of ARHL. However, we found a distinct sex difference for the response to the treatments, for hearing – Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABRs) and Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAEs). Males exhibited lower threshold declines in both low dose (LD) and high dose (HD) test groups throughout the testing period and did not display some of the characteristic aging declines in hearing seen in Control animals. In contrast, female mice did not show any therapeutic effects with either treatment dose. Further confirming this sex difference, EGT levels in whole blood sampling throughout the testing period showed greater uptake of EGT in males compared to females. Additionally, RT-PCR results from three tissue types of the inner ear confirmed EGT activity in the cochlea in both males and females. Males and females exhibited significant differences in biomarkers related to apoptosis (Cas-3), inflammation (TNF-a), oxidative stress (SOD2), and mitochondrial health (PGC1a).These changes were more prominent in males as compared to females, especially in stria vascularis tissue. Taken together, these findings suggest that EGT has the potential to be a naturally derived therapeutic for slowing down the progression of ARHL, and possibly other neurodegenerative diseases. EGT, while effective in the treatment of some features of presbycusis in aging males, could also be modified into a general prophylaxis for other age-related disorders where treatment protocols would include eating a larger proportion of EGT-rich foods or supplements. Lastly, the sex difference discovered here, needs further investigation to see if therapeutic conditions can be developed where aging females show better responsiveness to EGT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the dye/ZnO complex was prepared, using natural dyes extracted from the red tree (Haematoxylum campechianum L.) and mangrove tree (Rhizophora Mangle), with a concentration of 5 × 10−3 M, impregnation time of 2 and 6 h, using a mixture of ethanol-water and ethanol as solvents. The ZnO particles were obtained by sol gel method and deposited on Corning glass by the doctor blade technique. X-ray diffraction indicates that these particles belong to the wurtzite-type hexagonal crystalline structure. Anthraquinone and anthocyanin molecules were identified in the natural dyes used. The results of the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy of the complexes show the band associated with the functional group of the carboxyls, which represents evidence of the presence of the dyes in the semiconductor. X-ray absorption spectroscopy shows changes in the local environment around the Zn atoms. Both dyes introduce a greater quantity of electrons in the unoccupied p states of Zn. The simulation developed and the analysis of the EXAFS signals show the formation of new bonds between Zn and O with dye atoms thus reducing the Zn O and Zn–Zn bond lengths. Also, the distribution of the bonds of the neighbors closest to the Zn, in the ZnO matrix, is modified due to the generation of vacancies of O and Zn. These results imply that the obtained dyes can effectively be used as photosensitizers in ZnO-based solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the effects of aerobic exercise (AE) on patients with migraine in terms of pain intensity, frequency and duration of migraine, and quality of life. Methods: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials were conducted. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for relevant outcomes and were pooled in a meta‐analysis using the random‐effects model. Results: A total of 10 articles from 1950 to 2019 were included, involving 508 patients. The meta‐analysis showed statistically significant differences in the decrease in pain intensity (five studies, n = 166; SMD = 1.25; 95% CI 0.47‐2.04), frequency (six studies, n = 214; SMD = 0.76; 95% CI 0.32‐1.2) and duration of migraine (four studies, n = 106; SMD = 0.41; 95% CI 0.03‐0.8), in the short‐term. In addition, the meta‐analysis showed statistically significant differences in the increase in quality of life (four studies, n = 150; SMD = 2.7; 95% CI 1.17‐4.24), even though the Egger's test suggested significant evidence of publication bias for the analysis of quality of life (intercept = 5.81; t = 6.97; P =.02). Conclusions: There is low‐ and moderate‐quality evidence that in patients with migraine AE can decrease the pain intensity, frequency and duration of migraine and can also increase quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Al-doped Na-TiO2 nanorods (AlTi-nR-x) varying the Al2O3/TiO2 (Al/Ti) ratio was synthesized by hydrothermal method. TEM results revealed well-defined nanorod like shape morphology. XPS results confirmed the presence of Al inside the samples and a slight increase in electron density around the Ti atom. Calcined materials were evaluated in the CO2 hydrogenation (HYD) in a continuous flow-microreactor at 280–340 °C under atmospheric pressure. Results from this work exposed that all AlTi-nR-x materials have great potential to be used as CO2 HYD catalysts. However, the best catalytic performance was obtained with the AlTi-nR-0.5 catalysts, which also displayed high selectivity (82%) towards methanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A marine reserve’s effectiveness for sustaining transient spawning reef fish populations is dependent on inclusion of fish spawning aggregations and consideration of the natural spatial boundaries of the populations themselves. Seasonal migrations of Mutton Snapper Lutjanus analis between protected nearshore areas and spawning grounds on Riley’s Hump in Dry Tortugas, Florida, were assessed from 2008 to 2012 by acoustic telemetry. Individual fish showed synchronized reproductive migrations (up to 5 trips fish −1  yr −1 ) from resident habitats to spawning grounds swimming at an estimated 63 ± 18 cm s −1 (mean ± SD) over minimum linear distances up to 35.2 km. Migrations occurred from April to August, corresponding with the lunar cycle and an increase in water temperature from 25 to 30 °C. Fish arrived on spawning grounds on the full moon and stayed for 7 ± 2 d (mean ± SD). Observations of multiple spawning events made one to five days after the full moon in the late afternoon confirm these movements as spawning migrations. Functional migration areas (109.59 ± 61.01 km 2 ; mean ± SD), which included estimates of staging/courtship/spawning area (4.51 ± 1.84 km 2 [mean ± SD]) and home site area (2.50 ± 1.31 km 2 [mean ± SD]), were combined to estimate the minimum catchment area of the population studied (291.3 km 2 ). Although this study focuses on movements and habitat use of a single fish species in the Tortugas, the results are relevant to the design of marine reserve networks intended to protect and manage fishes that undergo transient spawning migrations in other locations as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a convolutional neural network to classify images of buildings using sparse features at the network's input in conjunction with primary color pixel values. As a result, a trained neuronal model is obtained to classify Mexican buildings in three classes according to the architectural styles: prehispanic, colonial, and modern with an accuracy of 88.01 %. The problem of poor information in a training dataset is faced due to the unequal availability of cultural material. We propose a data augmentation and oversampling method to solve this problem. The results are encouraging and allow for prefiltering of the content in the search tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cochlear post-translational changes are presented, with an emphasis on age changes. • Comparisons between changes due to aging and other ototoxicities are contrasted. • Translational implications and pathways are discussed. • These findings highlight novel approaches to attenuate age-related hearing loss and other types of hearing loss. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) affect nearly all systems of the human body due to their role in protein synthesis and functionality. These reversible and irreversible modifications control the structure, localization, activity, and properties of proteins. For this reason, PTMs are essential in regulating cellular processes and maintaining homeostasis. Diseases such as Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and many others have been linked to dysfunctions of PTMs. Recent research has also shown that irregularities in PTMs can be linked to hearing loss, including age-related hearing loss (ARHL) – the number one communication disorder and one of the top neurodegenerative diseases in our aging population. So far, there has been no FDA approved treatment for ARHL; however, translational studies investigating PTMs involvement in ARHL show promising results. In this review, we summarize key findings for PTMs within the auditory system, the involvement of PTMs with aging and ARHL, and lastly discuss potential treatment options focusing on utilizing PTMs as biomarkers and therapeutic pathway components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxoplasma protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) is a 52 KDa thioredoxin of interest because have a great immunogenicity for humans. We cloned and produced a recombinant protein (recTgPDI) used to test its effect during infection to different human cell lines (epithelial and retinal). We also determine if there were differences in gen expression during in vitro infection. Expression of the gen was lower after entry into the host cells. PDI's inhibitors bacitracin and nitroblue tetrazolium reduced the percent of infected cells and small amounts of recTgPDI proteins interfered with the invasion step. All these results support a role of Toxoplasma PDI during the first steps of infection (adhesion and invasion). Toxoplasma PDI is a protein linked to early steps of invasion, it would be of importance to identify the host proteins substrates during invasion steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to show some results obtained by research groups Teaching of Physics and Mathematics, ENFIMA, and Methodological Studies Teaching of Mathematics incorporating the Communications and Information Technology, EMEMATIC, on some of the challenges associated with students moving from secondary education to higher education. Difficulties do not allow adequate adaptation to university life and consequently lead to academic failure. Also, socializing the results of a classroom experience held at the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira with a group of students entering the engineering and technology in the second semester of 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal movement and resource use are essential considerations for effective environmental management, but they are challenging to quantify in expansive natural ecosystems such as oceans.We used a novel combination of fish tracking with expansive acoustic telemetry networks, stable isotope analysis and integrated modelling techniques to characterize the spatial and trophic ecology of a marine fish species, permit Trachinotus falcatus, and to address specific resource management needs in the Florida Keys.Tracking‐based movement patterns indicated that permit remained primarily within the designated fisheries management unit (92% of individuals), but they moved frequently among distinct habitat types and fisheries. Movement metrics from 109 individuals were integrated into Bayesian isotope mixing models, revealing variable reliance on seagrass‐ versus offshore/pelagic‐based energy channels amongst individuals. Variance was driven mainly by fish habitat use and home range size (km2).A telemetry‐based regional isoscape, informed by individual‐level estimates of resource use (% seagrass reliance; median = 70%, 29%–100% range), illustrated connectivity among habitats and fisheries. Specifically, seagrass flats were highly connected with the Florida reef tract, with frequent movements between these habitat types and a high reliance on seagrass‐based prey. There was a distinction between these fish and those occupying artificial reefs, with the latter showing high use of pelagic/offshore (i.e. planktonic) energy channels.Synthesis and applications. This study used a novel combination of telemetry, stable isotope analysis and integrated modelling techniques to identify two distinct ecotypes of a nearshore fish species, permit, in the Florida Keys. Of the two ecotypes, nearshore Florida Keys permit support multiple valuable fisheries; for these fish management should prioritize conservation of seagrass flats as a key permit food source, as well as fisheries protection measures at spawning sites on the Florida reef tract. This study highlights the capacity for integrated telemetry‐isotope models to provide key insights into animal ecology that has direct implications for applied environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]