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Two new numerical schemes to approximate the Cahn-Hilliard equation with degenerate mobility (between stable values 0 and 1) are presented, by using two different non-centered approximation of the mobility. We prove that both schemes are energy stable and preserve the maximum principle approximately, i.e. the amount of the solution being outside of the interval [0,1] goes to zero in terms of a truncation parameter. Additionally, we present several numerical results in order to show the accuracy and the well behavior of the proposed schemes, comparing both schemes and the corresponding centered scheme.

The spotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, has emerged within the past decade as an invasive species on a global scale, and is one of the most economically important pests in fruit and berry production in Europe and North America. Insect ecology, to a strong degree, depends on the chemosensory modalities of smell and taste. Extensive research on the sensory receptors of the olfactory and gustatory systems in Drosophila melanogaster provide an excellent frame of reference to better understand the fundamentals of the chemosensory systems of D. suzukii. This knowledge may enhance the development of semiochemicals for sustainable management of D. suzukii, which is urgently needed. Here, using a transcriptomic approach we report the chemosensory receptor expression profiles in D. suzukii female and male antennae, and for the first time, in larval heads including the dorsal organ that houses larval olfactory sensory neurons. In D. suzukii adults, we generally observed a lack of sexually dimorphic expression levels in male and female antennae. While there was generally conservation of antennal expression of odorant and ionotropic receptor orthologues for D. melanogaster and D. suzukii, gustatory receptors showed more distinct species-specific profiles. In larval head tissues, for all three receptor gene fam-ilies, there was also a greater degree of species-specific gene expression patterns. Analysis of chemosensory re-ceptor repertoires in the pest species, D. suzukii relative to those of the genetic model D. melanogaster enables comparative studies of the chemosensory, physiology, and ecology of D. suzukii.

Background: The concept of clinical control has been proposed as an instrument for evaluating patients with COPD. However, the possible association between clinical control, reduced symptom severity and HRQoL has yet to be confirmed. Methods: This multicentre, prospective and observational study was carried out in 15 pulmonology clinics in Spain. The patients were followed up for six months, with a baseline visit (V0), followed by visits at three months (V1) and six months (V2). Clinical control was determined at V1, with the application of both clinical criteria and the COPD assessment test (CAT). All patients reported their symptoms by a validated symptom diary (E-RS) using a portable device, and their HRQoL was assessed using the EQ5D questionnaire. The relationship between clinical control and E-RS and HRQoL during follow-up was assessed with t-test. Results: A total of 126 patients were screened. After application of the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 93 were finally included (mean age 66 +/- 8 years, 84.9% male), with a mean FEV1 predicted of 49.8% +/- 16.5%. Of these patients, 44 (47.3%) achieved clinical control at V1, according to CAT criteria, and 50 (53.8%), according to clinical criteria. The E-RS scores differed between controlled and uncontrolled patients at all time points, both according to CAT (mean differences of -4.6, -5.6 and -6.2 units at V0, V1 and V2, respectively, p, This study was funded by an unrestricted grant from Novartis Spain. This company did not intervene in the development of the study, data collection, analysis of results or drafting of the manuscript.

Avances en el sector de la agrotecnología ofrecen la oportunidad de que los sistemas agroalimentarios contribuyan a conseguir objetivos políticos mundiales como lograr sistemas de carbono neto cero y reducir la huella ambiental mediante la eliminación de emisiones nocivas y el aumento de la biodiversidad. Una serie de sensores puede detectar la salud y el estrés de los cultivos debido a amenazas bióticas y abióticas. La detección precoz permite tomar medidas adecuadas antes de que el rendimiento de los cultivos se vea afectado o la presión de plagas y enfermedades no pueda controlarse sin el uso de pesticidas sintéticos. La tecnología de detección utiliza técnicas de imagen o detección de compuestos volátiles mediante e-nose y diagnóstico molecular en tiempo real, identificando patógenos vegetales recogidos en muestras de aire. Los datos generados por estas tecnologías proporcionan a los agricultores información temporal y espacial. Permite identificar plantas individualmente, incluso desde satélite, lo que posibilita aplicar con precisión fertilizantes y pesticidas, directamente a la planta o a la zona de cultivo afectada con técnicas de pulverización controladas a partir utilizando los datos adquiridos. Technological advances in the agri-tech sector offer the opportunity for food production systems to contribute to achieving global policy aims such as achieving net zero carbon systems and reducing environmental footprint through eliminating harmful emissions and increasing biodiversity. Arange of sensors can detect crop health and stress due to biotic and abiotic threats, often with an early detection which permits appropriate action to be taken before crop yield is affected or pest and disease pressure cannot be controlled without the use of synthetic pesticides. Detection technology uses imaging techniques, often beyond the visible spectrum, detection of volatile compounds using e-nose techniques and real time molecular diagnostic techniques to identify plant pathogens collected in air samples. The data generated by such technologies relies on connectivity of the hardware and subsequent analytical processes to provide growers with temporal and spatial information. It is possible to identify plant locations with great accuracy, even with satellite systems, which permits precision application of crop inputs, such as fertilisers and pesticides, directly to the plant or crop area as required. Spray application techniques can now treat individual plants, both crop and weeds, using data acquired to control the flow to individual nozzles.

De novo enzymes capable of efficiently catalysis of a non-natural reaction are obtained through minimalist design plus computationally-focused variant library screening., Directed evolution has revolutionized protein engineering. Still, enzyme optimization by random library screening remains sluggish, in large part due to futile probing of mutations that are catalytically neutral and/or impair stability and folding. FuncLib is a novel approach which uses phylogenetic analysis and Rosetta design to rank enzyme variants with multiple mutations, on the basis of predicted stability. Here, we use it to target the active site region of a minimalist-designed, de novo Kemp eliminase. The similarity between the Michaelis complex and transition state for the enzymatic reaction makes this system particularly challenging to optimize. Yet, experimental screening of a small number of active-site variants at the top of the predicted stability ranking leads to catalytic efficiencies and turnover numbers (∼2 × 104 M–1 s–1 and ∼102 s–1) for this anthropogenic reaction that compare favorably to those of modern natural enzymes. This result illustrates the promise of FuncLib as a powerful tool with which to speed up directed evolution, even on scaffolds that were not originally evolved for those functions, by guiding screening to regions of the sequence space that encode stable and catalytically diverse enzymes. Empirical valence bond calculations reproduce the experimental activation energies for the optimized eliminases to within ∼2 kcal mol–1 and indicate that the enhanced activity is linked to better geometric preorganization of the active site. This raises the possibility of further enhancing the stability-guidance of FuncLib by computational predictions of catalytic activity, as a generalized approach for computational enzyme design.

D2.2 Electromagnetic Study of Behaviour of Plasmonic Units

Food Security is an issue that will impact everyone by 2050 and it is projected there will be a global crisis unless action is taken. Currently the fall army worm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a new pest to the Sub-Saharan region and the outbreaks over the past two years have been devastating. A promising novel technology is the combination of a pheromone lure from ChemTica Internacional S.A. and yellow long-lasting insecticide treated ZeroFly Screen from Vestergaard SA. To test this technology, we compared the attraction and mortality of traps made of old soda bottles in five different sites of Zambia with maize and wheat crops. Besides the attraction of the pheromone-baited traps we also compared the effect of the colour of the insecticidal net, between black and yellow screens. Our results showed that in all sites there were significant differences in trap catches between lure baited and non-baited traps. A total of 1129 FAW adults were trapped, of which 51.20% were from baited traps with the yellow long-lasting insecticide treated screen, 41.45% from traps baited and the black long-lasting insecticide treated screen and 7.35% from trap without lure or the insecticide treated screen. The trap with yellow insecticide treated screen was able to trap 110 more FAW than the black treated screen and the control. Significant differences were also observed in number of moths caught from each location and district. The highest catches were recorded from wheat crops at Zambia National Service (ZNS) Farm in Chongwe and Chaloshi farm in Chisamba districts, respectively, whilst the lowest catch was recorded in a maize field at Tugama farm in Chilanga district. It was also noticed that the pheromone used is specific to FAW as no other insects were recorded in all the sites. Therefore, the pheromone lure from ChemTica and the yellow long lasting insecticide treated screen from Vestergaard SA can be used in the integrated pest management of FAW in Zambia in both, maize and wheat, these complimentary methods include but are not limited to; the use of Biopesticides – fungal, viral or bacteria based products such as Metarhizium anisopliae or bacteria-based Bacillus thuringiensis that have proven effective against fall armyworm and have been used to control it in the US and Brazil.

Supplementary Information

Integrated reflectivity for the full set of duty cycles (r=0,1 to r=0.9).

Las regiones ultraperiféricas de la Unión Europea son territorios específicos que poseen una identidad espacial diferenciadora, que les brinda unas características únicas y permanentes, generadas por su situación geográfica y dimensión. Para solventar estas diferencias – evitando que vayan en detrimento de su economía –, el artículo 299.2 del Tratado de Ámsterdam reconoce la ultraperificidad de las regiones según ciertas características estructurales, estableciendo una base jurídica sólida y estable con el fin de generar un tratamiento acorde a dichas características. En el Tratado sobre el Funcionamiento de la UE (TFUE) de 2007 se refuerza lo recogido en el artículo 299.2 del Tratado de Ámsterdam a través de los artículos 35, 107,349 y 355. Dentro de este trabajo estudiaremos la región de la Macaronesia, en la que encontramos las regiones ultraperiféricas de la Comunidad Autónoma de Canarias (España), las Regiones Autónomas de Madeira y Azores (Portugal); y un estado independiente: la República de Cabo Verde. Igualmente se analizará la evolución de los principales instrumentos tributarios de la Comunidad Autónoma de Canarias, y se realizará una comparación con las Regiones Autónomas de Madeira y Azores y la República de Cabo Verde en el periodo 2007-2020. Con ello queremos determinar el impacto que tiene este escenario concreto en la economía española, así como el efecto resultante de ser regiones especiales en el desarrollo económico local. The outermost regions of the European Union are specific territories that have a differentiating spatial identity, which gives them unique and permanent characteristics, generated by their geographical location and size. To solve these differences - avoiding that they are detrimental to its economy -, Article 299.2 of the Treaty of Amsterdam recognizes the ultra-peripherality of the regions according to certain structural characteristics, establishing a solid and stable legal basis to generate a treatment according to said features. The 2007 Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) reinforces the provisions of article 299.2 of the Treaty of Amsterdam through articles 35, 107, 349 and 355. Within this work we will study the Macaronesia region, in which we find the outermost regions of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (Spain), the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and Azores (Portugal); and an independent state: the Republic of Cape Verde. Likewise, the evolution of the main tax instruments of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands will be analyzed, and a comparison will be made with the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and Azores and the Republic of Cape Verde in the period 2007-2020. With this we want to determine the impact that this specific scenario has on the Spanish economy, as well as the resulting effect of being special regions on local economic development.

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information

Document including additional calculations and figures to support some of the results of the main text

Esta investigación tiene como objetivo general: Fortalecer el proceso de enseñanza de los monomios y polinomios algebraicos en los estudiantes del grado 8-4 de la Institución Educativa de Desarrollo Rural La Unión – Nariño desde la implementación de una estrategia didáctica. Para dar cumplimiento al objetivo general, se establecieron 3 objetivos específicos. Profundizar en la problemática de la enseñanza de los monomios y polinomios algebraicos desde una metodología investigativa propia para el estudio en los estudiantes del grado 8-4 de la Institución Educativa de Desarrollo Rural La Unión – Nariño, Diseñar una estrategia didáctica en el proceso de enseñanza de los monomios y polinomios en los estudiantes del grado 8-4 de la Institución Educativa de Desarrollo Rural La Unión – Nariño y Reflexionar sobre la implementación de una estrategia didáctica en el proceso de enseñanza de los estudiantes del grado 8-4 de la Institución Educativa de Desarrollo Rural La Unión – Nariño, frente al tema de los monomios y polinomios. En esta institución se hizo un diagnóstico de la manera en la que se venía impartiendo el área de matemáticas y el nivel de aceptación que ellos tienen. Lo encontrado en el diagnóstico evidenció una predisposición y poco interés por las matemáticas. Con esta información se diseñó una estrategia didáctica, integrada por unos juegos de mesa y se los implementó en el salón de clase. La temática fue los monomios y polinomios. Una vez aplicada la estrategia, se hizo un proceso de reflexión en el que se encuentra que los resultados son favorables, ya que los estudiantes sintieron motivación por el área de estudio, la evaluación indico mejorías en los resultados. Se concluye con esto que lo lúdico es un elemento fundamental en el proceso de enseñanza, de igual manera los maestros deben innovar constantemente sus estrategias, en especial la lúdicas, para fortalecer estos procesos. This research has the general objective of: Strengthening the teaching process of algebraic monomials and polynomials in students in grade 8-4 of the Educational Institution of Rural Development La Unión - Nariño from the implementation of a didactic strategy. To fulfill the general objective, 3 specific objectives were established. Deepen the problem of teaching algebraic monomials and polynomials from a research methodology of their own for the study of students in grade 8-4 of the Educational Institution of Rural Development La Unión - Nariño, Design a didactic strategy in the teaching process of the monomials and polynomials in the students of grade 8-4 of the Educational Institution of Rural Development La Unión - Nariño and Reflect on the implementation of a didactic strategy in the teaching process of students of grade 8-4 of the Educational Institution of Rural Development La Unión - Nariño, facing the issue of monomials and polynomials. In this institution, a diagnosis was made of the way in which the area of ​​mathematics was being taught and the level of acceptance they have. What was found in the diagnosis evidenced a predisposition and little interest in mathematics. With this information, a didactic strategy was designed, integrated by some board games and implemented in the classroom. The theme was monomials and polynomials. Once the strategy was applied, a reflection process was carried out in which it was found that the results are favorable, since the students felt motivated by the study area, the evaluation indicated improvements in the results. It is concluded with this that the playfulness is a fundamental element in the teaching process, in the same way the teachers must constantly innovate their strategies, especially the playful ones, to strengthen these processes. Magíster en Educación http://www.ustadistancia.edu.co/?page_id=3956 Maestría

En este estudio se realizó la estimación del carbono y CO2 almacenado en el bosque de pino de la comuna Paquizhapa, en donde se estimó el contenido mediante diferentes datos recolectados en campo y analizados en el laboratorio. En las tres unidades evaluadas, se encontró un contenido total almacenado de 392.35 tonC/ha y 1439.9 tonCO2/ha. In this study, the estimation of carbon and CO2 stored in the pine forest of the Paquizhapa commune was performed, where the content was estimated using different data collected in the field and analyzed in the laboratory. In the three units evaluated, a total stored content of 392.35 tonC / ha and 1439.9 tonCO2 / ha was found.

BISTÅNDSHANDLÄGGARENS RESPEKT FÖR DEN ENSKILDE – ETT ÖNSKETÄNKANDE? Författare: Francisco Mauricio De Leon Gonzalez, Maria Huynh Mälardalens Högskola Akademin för hälsa, vård och välfärd Socionomprogrammet Examensarbete inom socialt arbete, 15 högskolepoäng Vårtermin 2020 Sammanfattning Syftet med studien är att beskriva biståndshandläggarnas handlingsutrymme och uppmärksamma dilemman som kan uppstå under biståndshandläggningen med äldre som har en demenssjukdom samt hur biståndshandläggarna uppfattar sitt handlingsutrymme. Författarna till studien önskade även belysa självbestämmanderättens roll under handläggningsprocessen mellan en biståndshandläggare och en äldre som har en demenssjukdom. För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar använde sig författarna av en kvalitativ metod och genomförde sex semistrukturerade intervjuer. De semistrukturerade intervjuerna genomfördes bland fyra kommuner med sammanlagt sju biståndshandläggare inom äldreomsorgen som arbetar eller tidigare har arbetat med det. Författarna valde dessa informanter via ett målinriktat urval och använde de teoretiska perspektiven gräsrotsbyråkrati och konsekvensetik/utilitarismen. Resultatet visar att biståndshandläggare har skilda uppfattningar angående sitt handlingsutrymme och inställningar gentemot självbestämmanderätten. Olika dilemman kan uppstå i relation till den enskildes självbestämmanderätt och biståndshandläggarens handlingsutrymme, som biståndshandläggarna förhåller sig till på olika sätt. Vissa förhållningssätt riskerar att förbise den enskildes självbestämmanderätt mer än andra, i vilket anhöriga kan användas som stöd under biståndshandläggningen. BISTÅNDSHANDLÄGGARENS RESPEKT FÖR DEN ENSKILDE – ETT ÖNSKETÄNKANDE? Authors: Francisco Mauricio De Leon Gonzalez, Maria Huynh Mälardalen University School of Health, Care and Social Welfare The Social Work Program Thesis in Social Work, 15 credits Spring term 2020 Abstract The aim of this study has been to describe care managers’ discretion and pay attention to dilemmas that can arise during the need assessment with an elderly who has dementia and how the care managers perceive their discretion. The authors of the study wished to illustrate the role of right to self-determination during the need’s assessment between a care manager and an elderly who has dementia. To answer the aim of this study as well as the research questions, a qualitative method with six semi-structured interviews has been carried out. The semi-structured interviews were held with seven care managers from elderly care who work or have previously worked with it, from four different municipalities. The authors chose the interviewees through a target selection and has used the theoretical perspectives of street-level-bureaucracy and consequence ethics/utilitarianism. The result indicates that the care manager has different perceptions regarding their discretion and attitudes towards the right to self-determination. Different dilemmas can arise in relation to the individuals´ right to self-determination and the care managers´ discretion, which the care managers´ relate to in different ways. Certain approaches risks disregarding the individual’s right to self-determination more than others, in which the individual’s relatives can be utilized as support during the need’s assessment.

Mammal sex allocation research has focused almost exclusively on maternal traits, but it is now apparent that fathers can also influence offspring sex ratios. Parents that produce female offspring under conditions of the intense male–male competition can benefit with greater assurance of maximized grand-parentage. Adaptive adjustment in the sperm sex ratio, for example with an increase in the production of X-chromosome bearing sperm (CBS), is one potential paternal mechanism for achieving female-biased sex ratios. Here, we tested this mechanistic hypothesis by varying the risk of male–male competition that male house mice perceived during development, and quantifying sperm sex ratios at sexual maturity. Our analyses revealed that males exposed to a competitive ‘risk’ produced lower proportions of Y-CBS compared to males that matured under ‘no risk’ of competition. We also explored whether testosterone production was linked to sperm sex ratio variation, but found no evidence to support this. We discuss our findings in relation to the adaptive value of sperm sex ratio adjustments and the role of steroid hormones in socially induced sex allocation.

P-spline models have achieved great popularity both in statistical and in applied research. A possible drawback of P-spline is that they assume a smooth transition of the covariate effect across its whole domain. In some practical applications, however, it is desirable and needed to adapt smoothness locally to the data, and adaptive P-splines have been suggested. Yet, the extra flexibility afforded by adaptive P-spline models is obtained at the cost of a high computational burden, especially in a multidimensional setting. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, the literature lacks proposals for adaptive P-splines in more than two dimensions. Motivated by the need for analysing data derived from experiments conducted to study neurons' activity in the visual cortex, this work presents a novel locally adaptive anisotropic P-spline model in two (e.g., space) and three (space and time) dimensions. Estimation is based on the recently proposed SOP (Separation of Overlapping Precision matrices) method, which provides the speed we look for. The practical performance of the proposal is evaluated through simulations, and comparisons with alternative methods are reported. In addition to the spatio-temporal analysis of the data that motivated this work, we also discuss an application in two dimensions on the absenteeism of workers.

El objetivo principal del proyecto FEMENMAD es la evaluación de las desigualdades de género que se producen en los hogares que sufren pobreza energética en la ciudad de Madrid. A través del uso de la energía es posible una aproximación a la pobreza desde un enfoque alternativo al que habitualmente se utiliza para conocer la realidad de las personas que no disponen capacidad de acceder a los recursos necesarios para desarrollar su vida en condiciones adecuadas. La pobreza energética trata de identificar las situaciones en las que los hogares no pueden pagar la energía que es necesaria para que su vivienda tenga las condiciones adecuadas de habitabilidad.

Los autores cuentan sus experiencias con la formación utilizando como un medio la tecnología. Fil: Artaza, Anibal Iván. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional La Rioja; Argentina.

[ES] Actualmente existen numerosas herramientas que permiten estudiar el cuerpo humano en movimiento. Sin embargo, la mayoría de éstas requieren de una alta formación técnica para poder definir y llevar a cabo cualquier tipo de estudio. Kinemov/IBV es una solución que busca hacer fácil el análisis de movimientos humanos a usuarios sin conocimientos específicos en modelado biomecánico. La aplicación capta información mediante cámaras de fotogrametría, plataformas de fuerzas y electromiografía de superficie. Además, incluye modelos predefinidos y cálculos integrados de cinemática y dinámica, que permiten estudiar cualquier movimiento y generar informes de resultados configurables y exportables, de acuerdo a las necesidades del usuario

Background Research suggests that survivors of interpersonal violence have an increasing experience of bodily symptoms. This study aims to scrutinise the association between lifetime abuse and somatic symptoms among older women and men, considering demographics/socioeconomic, social support and health variables. Methods A sample of 4,467 community-dwelling persons aged 60-84 years (57.3% women) living in seven European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, Sweden) was recruited for this cross-sectional study. Lifetime abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial and injury) was assessed on the basis of the UK study of elder abuse and the Conflict Tactics Scale-2, while somatic symptoms were assessed by the Giessen Complaint List short version. Results Women reported somatic symptoms more frequently than men. Multiple regression analyses revealed that lifetime exposure to psychological abuse was associated with higher levels of somatic symptoms among both women and men, while experiencing lifetime sexual abuse was associated with somatic symptoms only among older women, after adjusting for other demographic and socio-economic variables. Country of residence, older age, and low socio-economic status were other independent factors contributing to a higher level of somatic symptoms. Conclusions The positive association between the experience of abuse during lifetime and the reporting of higher levels of somatic symptoms, in particular among older women, seems to suggest that such complaints in later life might also be related to the experience of mistreatment and not only to ageing and related diseases. Violence prevention throughout lifetime could help to prevent somatic symptoms in later life.

[ES] Un análisis completo de la marcha humana exige protocolos de instrumentación costosos y personal altísimamente cualificado. Esta situación limita el uso de esta técnica de evaluación biomecánica. Ante esta realidad, el Instituto de Biomecánica ha desarrollado la aplicación NedAMHplus/IBV basada en medidas cinemáticas, dinámicas y electromiográficas. A través de un protocolo ágil y sencillo, NedAMHplus/IBV ofrece información fácilmente interpretable para la toma de decisiones clínicas. Los estudios desarrollados han permitido concluir que los resultados de NedAMHplus/IBV son reproducibles y válidos para la evaluación de la marcha.

In the UCN{\tau} experiment, ultracold neutrons (UCN) are confined by magnetic fields and the Earth's gravitational field. Field-trapping mitigates the problem of UCN loss on material surfaces, which caused the largest correction in prior neutron experiments using material bottles. However, the neutron dynamics in field traps differ qualitatively from those in material bottles. In the latter case, neutrons bounce off material surfaces with significant diffusivity and the population quickly reaches a static spatial distribution with a density gradient induced by the gravitational potential. In contrast, the field-confined UCN -- whose dynamics can be described by Hamiltonian mechanics -- do not exhibit the stochastic behaviors typical of an ideal gas model as observed in material bottles. In this report, we will describe our efforts to simulate UCN trapping in the UCN{\tau} magneto-gravitational trap. We compare the simulation output to the experimental results to determine the parameters of the neutron detector and the input neutron distribution. The tuned model is then used to understand the phase space evolution of neutrons observed in the UCN{\tau} experiment. We will discuss the implications of chaotic dynamics on controlling the systematic effects, such as spectral cleaning and microphonic heating, for a successful UCN lifetime experiment to reach a 0.01% level of precision., Comment: 18 pages, 19 figures

Technological advances and Web applications have allowed extending the use of simulators or business games at university teaching. This is an active methodology to develop student skills that are included in curricula of administration and business management degrees and masters.In this paper, we describe the use of SIMBRAND simulator as a teaching methodology at Master in Marketing and Market Research at the University of Extremadura. The results were positively assessed by the students and teachers involved in the project. The experience also reveals the need of considering some key aspects for the proper use of this tool, such as the planning and definition of the evaluation system, continuous monitoring and guidance from teacher to students and learning that students should have received previously from both the simulator and the teams’ management.

Los Sigmodontinae se han diversificado para aprovechar todos los ambientes terrestres y para ocupar un amplio gradiente altitudinal dentro de su extensa distribución geográfica. En el noroeste argentino (NOA) este grupo constituye aproximadamente el 30% de los mamíferos registrados en la región. Numerosos trabajos en los últimos años han contribuido al conocimiento de la distribución de los roedores sigmodontinos del NOA. Sin embargo, muchas de las especies son conocidas solo a partir de registros antiguos, escasos, y/o fuertemente sesgados hacia las zonas más accesibles. Producto de los últimos tres años de relevamientos en el área, que inclu¬yeron capturas y colecta de regurgitados de aves estrigiformes, en este trabajo reportamos novedosos registros de distribución para especies de este grupo. En total aportamos nuevos registros para diez especies y para ocho localidades. Los nuevos registros implican la adición de Abrothrix illutea y Oxymycterus wayku para la provincia de Salta y de Andalgalomys cf. A. olrogi para la provincia de La Rioja, las primeras menciones de Calomys lepidus y Phyllotis tucumanus en pastizales de altura ubicados en el Monte de Sierras y Bolsones y de Akodon boliviensis en la Puna de Argentina y, por último, de numerosos registros de distribución para Abrothrix andina, Neotomys ebriosus, P. anitae y Reithrodon auritus, cuatro especies mal documentadas en el área de estudio. Finalmente, se discuten algunos aspectos metodológicos y taxonómicos y la relevancia de cada uno de los registros obtenidos. The Sigmodontinae have radiated to encompass all the terres- trial environments and a wide altitudinal gradient through its large geographic distribution. In Northwestern Argentina (NWA) this group constitutes approximately 30% of the mammals of the region. Several works in the last years have contributed to the knowledge of the geographic distribution of the sigmodontine rodents in NWA. Notwithstanding, many of the species are known only by old and scarce records, most of them heavily biased to- wards more accessible areas. From surveys conducted in the last three years in the area, which include captures and collections of pellets samples of strigiform birds, in this work we report novel distribution records for the species in this group. We contribute with new record for ten species and eight localities. The new records include the addition of Abrothrix illutea and Oxymycterus wayku for Salta province and Andalgalomys cf. A. olrogi for La Rioja province, the first mentions of Calomys lepidus and Phyllotis tucumanus in high altitudinal grasslands lo- cated in Monte de Sierras y Bolsones and Akodon boliviensis in the Puna of Argentina, and several distributional records for Abrothrix andina, Neotomys ebriosus, P. anitae, and Reithrodon auritus, four species not well docu- mented in the study area. Finally, we discussed some methodological and taxonomic aspects, and the relevance of each one of the obtained records. Fil: Jayat, Jorge Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Chilecito; Argentina Fil: Ortiz, Pablo Edmundo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Correlación Geológica. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Departamento de Geología. Cátedra Geología Estructural. Instituto Superior de Correlación Geológica; Argentina Fil: D' Elía, Guillermo. Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas; Chile Fil: Teta, Pablo Vicente. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; Argentina Fil: Gonzalez, Francisco Rodrigo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Cátedra de Paleozoología; Argentina

Humans have greatly benefited from their relationship with donkeys. Different roles that donkeys play in high- and low-income countries are two sides of the same coin. Their draft power is indispensable in low-income countries, and by contrast, their milk in Europe is fetching a premium. New productive niches are controversially being explored, for example, donkey meat and skin (ejiao); both are considered premium products and have increased value of donkeys in many developing regions of the world. New advances in human medicine are starting to consider possibilities of donkey serum and heart valves. Scientists and channels that they use to spread their knowledge directly influence public interest and implementation of welfare practices in domestic species, indirectly affecting their survival. The study's aim was to trace historical registry of www.sciendirect.com directory from 1896 to 2018 to assess trends followed by articles dealing with donkeys. Publications with 22 themes and 114 publications (91 JCR indexed journals) from 56 countries were included. JCR impact index was scored to study influence of publications dealing with donkeys. Chi-square test tested six variables, randomly influenced by the rest. Cramer's V measured strength of association between variables. Statistically significant differences were observed between almost every combination of variables except for year and JCR impact, year and area/topic and country of the corresponding author, and area/topic of submission. JCR impact and journal influences the area of the articles that are published. As some countries are more specialized in certain themes concerning donkey-related sciences, they are more likely to publish.

Model reduction of high-dimensional dynamical systems alleviates computational burdens faced in various tasks from design optimization to model predictive control. One popular model reduction approach is based on projecting the governing equations onto a subspace spanned by basis functions obtained from the compression of a dataset of solution snapshots. However, this method is intrusive since the projection requires access to the system operators. Further, some systems may require special treatment of nonlinearities to ensure computational efficiency or additional modeling to preserve stability. In this work we propose a deep learning-based strategy for nonlinear model reduction that is inspired by projection-based model reduction where the idea is to identify some optimal low-dimensional representation and evolve it in time. Our approach constructs a modular model consisting of a deep convolutional autoencoder and a modified LSTM network. The deep convolutional autoencoder returns a low-dimensional representation in terms of coordinates on some expressive nonlinear data-supporting manifold. The dynamics on this manifold are then modeled by the modified LSTM network in a computationally efficient manner. An offline unsupervised training strategy that exploits the model modularity is also developed. We demonstrate our model on three illustrative examples each highlighting the model's performance in prediction tasks for fluid systems with large parameter-variations and its stability in long-term prediction.

Presentation held in the INVADE Black Sea Workshop 2018 in Varna, Bulgaria

In the UCN�� experiment, ultracold neutrons (UCN) are confined by magnetic fields and the Earth's gravitational field. Field-trapping mitigates the problem of UCN loss on material surfaces, which caused the largest correction in prior neutron experiments using material bottles. However, the neutron dynamics in field traps differ qualitatively from those in material bottles. In the latter case, neutrons bounce off material surfaces with significant diffusivity and the population quickly reaches a static spatial distribution with a density gradient induced by the gravitational potential. In contrast, the field-confined UCN -- whose dynamics can be described by Hamiltonian mechanics -- do not exhibit the stochastic behaviors typical of an ideal gas model as observed in material bottles. In this report, we will describe our efforts to simulate UCN trapping in the UCN�� magneto-gravitational trap. We compare the simulation output to the experimental results to determine the parameters of the neutron detector and the input neutron distribution. The tuned model is then used to understand the phase space evolution of neutrons observed in the UCN�� experiment. We will discuss the implications of chaotic dynamics on controlling the systematic effects, such as spectral cleaning and microphonic heating, for a successful UCN lifetime experiment to reach a 0.01% level of precision., 18 pages, 19 figures

Olfaction plays a dominant role in the mate-finding and host selection behaviors of the codling moth (Cydia pomonella), an important pest of apple, pear and walnut orchards. Antennal transcriptome analysis (Bengtsson et al. 2012, Walker et al. 2016) revealed a number of abundantly expressed genes related to the moth olfactory system, including those encoding the olfactory receptors (ORs) CpomOR1, CpomOR3 and CpomOR6a, which belong to the putative pheromone receptor (PR) lineage, and the co-receptor (CpomOrco). Using heterologous expression, in both human embryonic kidney (HEK293T) cells and in Drosophila olfactory sensory neurons, coupled with calcium imaging and electrophysiological recording, respectively, we characterize the basic physiological and pharmacological properties of these receptors and demonstrate that they form functional ionotropic receptor channels.

We report a case of cortical blindness secondary to posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome, which was successfully treated by blood pressure management. A 66-year-old white man presented at the emergency room complaining of severe frontal headache, disorientation, and progressive blurred vision. The initial physical examination disclosed a blood pressure of 200/176 mmHg. One hour later the patient exhibited mental confusion and bilateral blindness. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were performed, and a systemic workup was conducted, resulting in a diagnosis of posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome. This syndrome is a rare manifestation of systemic hypertension that requires proper diagnosis and management to avoid irreversible brain damage. Early recognition of this condition and prompt control of the patient’s blood pressure are essential because they may bring about a reversal of the syndrome, which may otherwise result in permanent brain damage. RESUMO Relatamos um caso de cegueira cortical secundário à síndrome de leucoencefalopatia posterior recuperado pelo controle bem sucedido da pressão arterial. Um homem branco de 66 anos de idade compareceu à emergência com queixa de dor de cabeça frontal severa, desorientação e embaçamento progressivo da visão. O exame físico inicial revelou uma pressão arterial de 200/176 mmHg. Uma hora depois, o paciente apresentou confusão mental e cegueira bilateral. Após a tomografia e a ressonância nuclear magnética, o tratamento sistêmico foram realizados e o diagnóstico de síndrome da leucoencefalopatia posterior foi realizado. A síndrome de leucoencefalopatia posterior é uma manifestação rara de hipertensão sistêmica que requer um diagnóstico e gerenciamento adequados para evitar danos cerebrais irreversíveis. O reconhecimento precoce desta condição e o controle imediato da pressão arterial são essenciais porque podem levar à reversão da síndrome, o que, de outra forma, pode resultar em dano cerebral permanente.

Background Mate finding and recognition in animals evolves during niche adaptation and involves social signals and habitat cues. Drosophila melanogaster and related species are known to be attracted to fermenting fruit for feeding and egg-laying, which poses the question of whether species-specific fly odours contribute to long-range premating communication. Results We have discovered an olfactory channel in D. melanogaster with a dual affinity to sex and food odorants. Female flies release a pheromone, (Z)-4-undecenal (Z4-11Al), that elicits flight attraction in both sexes. Its biosynthetic precursor is the cuticular hydrocarbon (Z,Z)-7,11-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD), which is known to afford reproductive isolation between the sibling species D. melanogaster and D. simulans during courtship. Twin olfactory receptors, Or69aB and Or69aA, are tuned to Z4-11Al and food odorants, respectively. They are co-expressed in the same olfactory sensory neurons, and feed into a neural circuit mediating species-specific, long-range communication; however, the close relative D. simulans, which shares food resources with D. melanogaster, does not respond to Z4-11Al. Conclusion The Or69aA and Or69aB isoforms have adopted dual olfactory traits. The underlying gene yields a collaboration between natural and sexual selection, which has the potential to drive speciation.

Current effective medium theories for nano-shells are reviewed. A new method for calculating the effective dielectric function of a core-shell nanoparticle is presented and compared with existing theories showing clear advantages in most conditions. It consists of introducing radiating effects in the polariz- ability of the effective sphere, and considering the exact polarizability of the core-shell constructed from the Mie scattering coefficient. This new approach can be considered as an useful tool for designing coated particles with desired plasmonic properties and engineering the effective permittivity of composites with core-shell type inclusions which are used in photocatalysis and solar energy harvesting applications.

In the last decade, there has been a remarkable growth in the knowledge of thehabits and behaviour of the Andean Cat Leopardus jacobita. This cat is mainly restrictedto the Andean highlands. Most of the records from north-western Argentinaare based on indirect evidences. We provide a new record from Jujuy provincebased on photographs and a video of one of two cats seen in this area. We observedthe cat moving across rocky outcrops exhibiting a hunting behaviour during daylighthours. This filmic record is a valuable contribution for the promotion of theconservation of this species. Fil: Gonzalez, Francisco Rodrigo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo; Argentina Fil: Ortiz, Pablo Edmundo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Correlación Geológica. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Departamento de Geología. Cátedra Geología Estructural. Instituto Superior de Correlación Geológica; Argentina Fil: D'hiriart, Sofia. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto de Ecología Regional. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Chilecito; Argentina Fil: Jayat, Jorge Pablo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto de Ecología Regional. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Chilecito; Argentina

The last two decades have seen considerable research effort dedicated to understanding the molecular basis of insect olfaction. There are, however, many knowledge gaps, especially when it comes to how insects detect different olfactory stimuli from the environment. In this thesis I aim to deepen our understanding of the detection of social and environmental cues in two insect species. Codling moth, Cydia pomonella, is the foremost pest of apple. Following an initial identification of the chemoreceptors in male and female antennae, we provided an extensive annotation, transcript abundance quantification and repertoire completion of each of the three main chemoreceptor gene families. These results evidenced the importance of the candidate pheromone receptors (PRs), OR1, OR6 and OR3. Then, by heterologous expression in Drosophila melanogaster flies we functionally characterized some of these receptors. These experiments demonstrated that CpomOR3 is highly specific and sensitive toward pear ester, a strong kairomone and pheromone synergist of codling moth, which had not previously been found in apples. These results inspired a refined analysis of apple headspace which demonstrated the presence of this kairomone in apples. Furthermore, we show a putative microbial origin of this compound. We also characterized CpomOR6 as the receptor of the pheromone antagonist codlemone acetate, and CpomOR19 as a receptor tuned to indanones. Additionally, we provide a step-by-step description of the protocol to produce and characterize insect ORs and PRs through heterologous expression in D. melanogaster. Finally, we identified chemoreceptors from three tortricids and predict their function based on our results from codling moth. In addition, we investigated the common fruit fly D. melanogaster. In this species, an olfactory gene, OR69a, is expressed as two alternatively spliced variants: OR69aA and OR69aB. Through means of single sensillum recordings (SSRs) we characterized the non-overlapping response of both variants, showing that OR69aA responds to several plant compounds, while OR69aB detects a novel, long-range female-produced pheromone. Together our results show that insects possess elegant ways to detect species-specific signals and the habitat cues that interact with those signals.

We present an analogy between the one dimensional Poisson equation in inhomogeneous media and the Dirac equation in one space dimension with a Lorentz scalar potential for zero energy. We illustrate how the zero energy state in the Jackiw-Rebbi model can be implemented in a simple one dimensional electrostatic setting by using an inhomogeneous electric permittivity and an infinite charged sheet. Our approach provides a novel insight into the Jackiw-Rebbi zero energy state and provides a helpful view in teaching this important quantum field theory model using basic electrostatics., Comment: 4 pages. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1707.06743

[ES] El Instituto de biomecánica (IBV) ha desarrollado la aplicación software, Test FRP Lumbar, específicamente diseñada para personalizar y agilizar la ejecución y obtención de resultados del protocolo Flexión-Relajación Lumbar. La aplicación permite a los usuarios definir, de forma sencilla, mediante una interface gráfica e intuitiva, sus propios requisitos de ejecución del protocolo, y obtener los resutlados de forma automática e inmediata. Para registrar las variables que permiten evidenciar la aparición del fenómieno flexión-relajación lumbar, TestFRP/Lumbar utiliza un sistema de análisis de movimiento sde la comumna vertebral y miembros inferiores y utiliza un equipo de electromiografía de superfície (EMGS) para el registro de la actividad muscular.

Background: Being a victim of abuse during one's life course may affect social relations in later life. The aims of this study were to: (i) examine the association between lifetime abuse and perceived social support and (ii) identify correlates of perceived social support among older persons living in seven European countries. Methods: A sample of 4467 women and men aged 60-84 years living in Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain and Sweden was collected through a cross-sectional population-based study. Abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial and injury) was assessed through interviews or interviews/self-response questionnaire based on the Conflict Tactics Scale-2 and the UK study on elder abuse. Perceived social support was assessed by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Results: Victims of lifetime abuse perceived poorer social support in later life. Multivariate analyses showed that high levels of perceived social support were associated with being from Greece and Lithuania (compared to Germany), being female, not living alone, consuming alcohol and physical activity. Poorer perceived social support was associated with being from Portugal, being old, having social benefits as the main source of income, experiencing financial strain and being exposed to lifetime psychological abuse and injuries. Conclusions: Our findings showed that exposure to psychological abuse and injuries across the lifespan were associated with low levels of perceived social support, emphasizing the importance of detection and appropriate treatment of victims of abuse during their life course. Future research should focus on coping strategies buffering the negative effects of abuse on social relationships.