(Table 1) Quantitative analysis of mollusk taxa from surface sediment samples in the Golfe d'Arguin

Ecological and taxonomic study of the mollusk-rich fauna of the Golfe d'Arguin, North Mauritania, investigates the various environmental influences affecting this tropical shelf. The upwelling of nutrient-rich waters leads to a highly productive environment under tropical conditions. The resulting mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sediment contains a large portion of calcareous components produced by heterotrophic organisms-e.g., mollusks, foraminifers, worms, barnacles-that are reworked on the open shelf. On the basis of mollusk assemblages, six taphocoenoses are defined, all being characterized by a mixed fauna of tropical (e.g., Tellina densestriata), subtropical (e.g., Macoma cumana) and temperate (e.g., Spisula subtruncata) species. Differences between the assemblages are related to the medium-grain size ranging from mud to gravel-that results from local hydrodynamic conditions and water depth. Among carbonate grains, Donax burnupi shells are very abundant in the swell-exposed, northern part of the Golfe d'Arguin and reflect the tropical to subtropical, high-energy, and high-nutrient waters. Mollusk assemblages are demonstrated to be a sensitive tool for deciphering complex environmental conditions in sedimentary archives.

Distribution of benthic foraminifera in surface sediments of the Portuguese continental margin

Living and dead benthic Foraminifera of 26 sediment surface samples from the East Atlantic continental margin (off Portugal) are studied. The stations are located on two profiles off Cape Mondego and off Cape Sines, ranging in water depth from 45 to 3905 meters. The highest values of standing crop are on the shelf (200 m) (up to 420 specimens/10 cm**3). Below 1000 m water depth standing crop is low (5 -24 specimens/10 cm**3). 151species and species groups are distinguished. Most of the living species do occur in a wide depth range. Faunal depth boundaries are at 50/100m, at 600/800 m, and at 1000 m. Results published from the North Atlantic and the East Mediterranean do not differ from those obtained in samples off Portugal. Depth of water (e.g. hydrostatic pressure) or another factor being controlled by depth (e.g. limitation of food supply) seems to be the most important factor of the benthic foraminiferal distribution.

Totius philosophiae : hoc est, logicae, moralis, physicae, et metaphysicae, brevis et accurata ... disposita tractatio ... /

Mode of access: Internet.

Changes to porcine blastocyst vitrification methods and improved litter size after transfer

The objective was to improve the protocol that was used to obtain the first reported piglets from transferred vitrified and warmed zona-intact blastocysts. Blastocysts were collected from superovulated sows and gilts, centrifuged to polarize lipid, vitrified, warmed and cultured for 24 h or transferred immediately. Removing the zona pellucida after warming increased the number of cells in the surviving blastocysts (zona-free 60.8 +/- 4.3, zona-intact 39.1 +/- 2.8; P < 0.05). Thinning the zona pellucida produced similar results to zona removal. Changing the basal medium of the vitrification and warming solutions from modified PBS to phosphate buffered NCSU-23 increased the number of cells (44.7 +/- 2.2 versus 56.0 +/- 3.9, respectively; P < 0.05). Reducing the plunge temperature of the liquid nitrogen from - 196 degrees C to less than -204 degrees C improved the embryo survival rate (61.9% versus 82.9%, respectively; P < 0.05). These modifications were incorporated into the vitrification protocol that was used to vitrify and warm 105 blastocysts (that were subsequently transferred into four recipients). Three recipients became pregnant, farrowing three litters (average litter size, 5.3; 18.8% embryo survival in farrowing sows). Changing the warming protocol to using sucrose rather than ethylene glycol resulted in a trend towards improved embryo survival (73.5% versus 91.2%) but this was not statistically significant. Incorporating this modification, 203 blastocysts were vitrified, warmed and transferred into seven recipients. Five became pregnant and 36 fetuses were recovered (average litter size 7.2; 24.8% embryo survival in pregnant sows) at Day 40 of pregnancy. In conclusion, changes made to the vitrification protocol improved pregnancy rate and in vivo embryo survival compared to an earlier study using the original protocol. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Uso do índice de pobreza hídrica (WPI) através da análise de componentes principais

To contribute in the performance of policies and strategies formulated by development agencies, indexes have been created in anticipation of expressing the multiple dimensions of water resources in an easily interpretable form. Use of Hydro Poverty Index ( WPI) is spreading worldwide , with the same formed by the combination of sub - indices Resource, access, capacity , use and environment. S ome critics a s to its formation have emerged, a mong them stands out the allo cation of weights of sub - indexes , made by an arbitrary process attributing subjectivity to the selection criteria. By involving statistical analysis, when considering the characteristics of the variables generated by the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), it turns out that it is able to solve this problem. The objective of this study is to compare the results of the original WPI with content generated by Principal Com ponent Analysis (PCA) for the indicati on of the weights of sub - indec es applicable in the Seridó River hydrographic Basin . We conclude that the use of Principal Component Analysis in the allocation of weights of Water Poverty Index has identified the sub - indices Resources, Access and Environment are the most representative for the river basin Seridó , and that this new index, WPI' , presented the most comprehensive ranges of values , allowing more easily identify disparities among municipalities. In addition, t he evaluation of the sub - indec es in the study area has great potential to inform the decision - maker in the management of water resources, the most critical locations and deserve greater investments in the aspects analyzed, as the index itself can not cap ture this information.

Diatom abundance in surface sediments of the northern North Pacific

In order to map the modern distribution of diatoms and to establish a reliable reference data set for paleoenvironmental reconstruction in the northern North Pacific, a new data set including the relative abundance of diatom species preserved in a total of 422 surface sediments was generated, which covers a broad range of environmental variables characteristic of the subarctic North Pacific, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea between 30° and 70°N. The biogeographic distribution patterns as well as the preferences in sea surface temperature of 38 diatom species and species groups are documented. A Q-mode factor analysis yields a three-factor model representing assemblages associated with the Arctic, Subarctic and Subtropical water mass, indicating a close relationship between the diatom composition and the sea surface temperatures. The relative abundance pattern of 38 diatom species and species groups was statistically compared with nine environmental variables, i.e. the summer sea surface temperature and salinity, annual surface nutrient concentration (nitrate, phosphate, silicate), summer and winter mixed layer depth and summer and winter sea ice concentrations. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicates 32 species and species groups have strong correspondence with the pattern of summer sea surface temperature. In addition, the total diatom flux data compiled from ten sediment traps reveal that the seasonal signals preserved in the surface sediments are mostly from spring through autumn. This close relationship between diatom composition and the summer sea surface temperature will be useful in deriving a transfer function in the subarctic North Pacific for the quantitative paleoceanographic and paleoenvironmental studies. The relative abundance of the sea-ice indicator diatoms Fragilariopsis cylindrus and F. oceanica of >20% in the diatom composition is used to represent the winter sea ice edge in the Bering Sea. The northern boundary of the distribution of F. doliolus in the open ocean is suggested to be an indicator of the Subarctic Front, while the abundance of Chaetoceros resting spores may indicate iron input from nearby continents and shelves and induced productivity events in the study area.

La investigación socioantropológica en educación física desde el enfoque de investigación participativa

La investigación educativa en las carreras de formación de docentes en el área de la Educación Física. Desde la perspectiva de la Pedagogía social, en el horizonte formativo del profesor de Educación Física se reconocen varios propósitos: el posicionamiento activo del maestro como trabajador de la cultura; la construcción del maestro como productor colectivo del discurso pedagógico; el fortalecimiento de la identidad y la significación social del docente como partícipe en la transformación de la comunidad. Frente a la tradicional separación entre investigación educativa y los problemas prácticos escolares sostenemos que el docente es productor de saberes en su campo de trabajo, tanto en la construcción de discursos pedagógicos como en la producción de discursos culturales. Por lo tanto, debe promoverse el trabajo en investigación como una metodología básica para la recuperación de esos saberes y su uso en la formación de grado de los nuevos docentes. La Investigación Educativa, en estos momentos, no se plantea como un patrimonio único o exclusivo de las instituciones universitarias y de altos organismos oficiales; cada vez, con mayor fuerza se impone como una necesidad básica e ineludible, para la formación del profesorado en ejercicio y el desarrollo de los currícula de formación docente Calahorrano (2004) describe y analiza la situación de los institutos en general y del instituto No 47 en particular, destacando que: "Problematizar la enseñanza de la Educación Física implica dar cuenta de su complejidad y diversidad mediante programas de investigación en la práctica que posibilite constituir una teoría que de respuesta a los problemas de la práctica, y a la vez, abra nuevos interrogantes" (sic). Los nuevos modelos curriculares de formación docente de la provincia de Buenos Aires, producen un corrimiento de la mirada netamente escolar hacia prácticas educativas no escolarizadas. En primer lugar, abordaremos algunas cuestiones centrales respecto al conocimiento científico en el área, luego nos referiremos a las formas de apropiarse del mismo, y los modos de "hacer" investigación, planteando algunas características centrales de un enfoque investigativo participativo-crítico. Por último, haremos mención de algunos de las prácticas investigativas desarrolladas por los alumnos del profesorado desde esta perspectiva epistémico-metodológica

La investigación socioantropológica en educación física desde el enfoque de investigación participativa

La investigación educativa en las carreras de formación de docentes en el área de la Educación Física. Desde la perspectiva de la Pedagogía social, en el horizonte formativo del profesor de Educación Física se reconocen varios propósitos: el posicionamiento activo del maestro como trabajador de la cultura; la construcción del maestro como productor colectivo del discurso pedagógico; el fortalecimiento de la identidad y la significación social del docente como partícipe en la transformación de la comunidad. Frente a la tradicional separación entre investigación educativa y los problemas prácticos escolares sostenemos que el docente es productor de saberes en su campo de trabajo, tanto en la construcción de discursos pedagógicos como en la producción de discursos culturales. Por lo tanto, debe promoverse el trabajo en investigación como una metodología básica para la recuperación de esos saberes y su uso en la formación de grado de los nuevos docentes. La Investigación Educativa, en estos momentos, no se plantea como un patrimonio único o exclusivo de las instituciones universitarias y de altos organismos oficiales; cada vez, con mayor fuerza se impone como una necesidad básica e ineludible, para la formación del profesorado en ejercicio y el desarrollo de los currícula de formación docente Calahorrano (2004) describe y analiza la situación de los institutos en general y del instituto No 47 en particular, destacando que: "Problematizar la enseñanza de la Educación Física implica dar cuenta de su complejidad y diversidad mediante programas de investigación en la práctica que posibilite constituir una teoría que de respuesta a los problemas de la práctica, y a la vez, abra nuevos interrogantes" (sic). Los nuevos modelos curriculares de formación docente de la provincia de Buenos Aires, producen un corrimiento de la mirada netamente escolar hacia prácticas educativas no escolarizadas. En primer lugar, abordaremos algunas cuestiones centrales respecto al conocimiento científico en el área, luego nos referiremos a las formas de apropiarse del mismo, y los modos de "hacer" investigación, planteando algunas características centrales de un enfoque investigativo participativo-crítico. Por último, haremos mención de algunos de las prácticas investigativas desarrolladas por los alumnos del profesorado desde esta perspectiva epistémico-metodológica

De la conflictiva hermenéutica a la semántica del reconocimiento : Marco teórico de la práctica de los derechos humanos

La elaboración que Paul Ricoeur hiciera insistentemente para proponer una ética a la vez posible y justa tiene un rico desarrollo en la que cruza esas tesis con las de la identidad humana y las abre a preocupaciones presentes y conflictivas. El encuadre teórico es el que combina la descripción fenomenológica con una hermenéutica rigurosa pero que se define por la necesidad de aceptar su conflictiva y pluralidad -que es preciso explicar y comprender-. Este estilo dialéctico e itinerante puede encontrarse, a nuestro juicio, en varias obras como son: "Sí mismo como otro" donde encontramos la tensión y relación entre la identidad idem y la identidad ipse, mediadas por la identidad narrativa y entre los niveles de la eticidad y la moralidad, tal como aparecen allí, fundados en el deseo. También en una obra anterior donde el fundamento es la libertad, "conjugada" en primera, segunda y tercera persona. Y entre lo que podríamos llamar su "cuarteto" de la ontología del hombre capaz y su cruce con la experiencia del sufrimiento. En la síntesis que es su "Recorridos del reconocimiento" se recogen esas tensiones y aperturas y se las corona con las tesis que desarrollara al comparar el amor y la justicia, en especial, el mandamiento del amor al enemigo. Partiendo de la riqueza y polisemia del verbo reconocer recorre el camino de su conjugación en voz activa, en la forma reflexiva y en la voz pasiva. Todo este entramado paciente y sostenido durante tantos años nos proporciona un marco teórico precioso para pensar el actual fenómeno de los derechos humanos: por su condición de históricos, pactados, parciales y sucesivos y, a la vez, universales -o, como dice Ricoeur, con pretensión de universalidad-. No pueden ser pensados en profundidad y honestamente sino con una filosofía que acepte la conflictiva hermenéutica, transite las tensiones presentes y se abra a una propuesta a la vez amplia, crítica y situada, dado que no parece posible pensar hoy la vida buena sin referirnos a este sistema de derechos humanos

La investigación socioantropológica en educación física desde el enfoque de investigación participativa

La investigación educativa en las carreras de formación de docentes en el área de la Educación Física. Desde la perspectiva de la Pedagogía social, en el horizonte formativo del profesor de Educación Física se reconocen varios propósitos: el posicionamiento activo del maestro como trabajador de la cultura; la construcción del maestro como productor colectivo del discurso pedagógico; el fortalecimiento de la identidad y la significación social del docente como partícipe en la transformación de la comunidad. Frente a la tradicional separación entre investigación educativa y los problemas prácticos escolares sostenemos que el docente es productor de saberes en su campo de trabajo, tanto en la construcción de discursos pedagógicos como en la producción de discursos culturales. Por lo tanto, debe promoverse el trabajo en investigación como una metodología básica para la recuperación de esos saberes y su uso en la formación de grado de los nuevos docentes. La Investigación Educativa, en estos momentos, no se plantea como un patrimonio único o exclusivo de las instituciones universitarias y de altos organismos oficiales; cada vez, con mayor fuerza se impone como una necesidad básica e ineludible, para la formación del profesorado en ejercicio y el desarrollo de los currícula de formación docente Calahorrano (2004) describe y analiza la situación de los institutos en general y del instituto No 47 en particular, destacando que: "Problematizar la enseñanza de la Educación Física implica dar cuenta de su complejidad y diversidad mediante programas de investigación en la práctica que posibilite constituir una teoría que de respuesta a los problemas de la práctica, y a la vez, abra nuevos interrogantes" (sic). Los nuevos modelos curriculares de formación docente de la provincia de Buenos Aires, producen un corrimiento de la mirada netamente escolar hacia prácticas educativas no escolarizadas. En primer lugar, abordaremos algunas cuestiones centrales respecto al conocimiento científico en el área, luego nos referiremos a las formas de apropiarse del mismo, y los modos de ?hacer? investigación, planteando algunas características centrales de un enfoque investigativo participativo-crítico. Por último, haremos mención de algunos de las prácticas investigativas desarrolladas por los alumnos del profesorado desde esta perspectiva epistémico-metodológica

Benthic foraminifera of the Red Sea

The distribution of living (Rose Bengal-stained), dead and fossil benthic foraminifera was investigated in six short cores (multicores, 30-32 cm total length) recovered from the central Red Sea. The ecological preferences as well as the relationship between the live and dead/fossil assemblages (preserved down-core) were examined. The sites, located along a W-E profile and between the depth of 366 and 1782 m, extend from the center of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ, ~200-650 m), through its margin at ~600 m, and down to the well-aerated deep-water environment. Live (Rose-Bengal stained) and coexisting dead foraminifera were studied in the upper 5 cm of each of the sites, and the fossil record was studied down to ~32 cm. Q-mode Principal Component Analysis was used and four distinct foraminiferal fossil assemblages were determined. These assemblages follow different water mass properties. In the center of the OMZ, where the organic carbon content is highest and the oxygen concentration is lowest (<=0.5 ml O2/l), the Bolivina persiensis-Bulimina marginata-Discorbinella rhodiensis assemblage dominates. The slightly more aerated and lower organic-carbon-content seafloor, at the margin of the OMZ, is characterized by the Neouvigerina porrecta-Gyroidinoides cf. G. soldanii assemblage. The transitional environment, between 900-1200 m, with its well-aerated and oligotrophic seafloor, is dominated by the Neouvigerina ampullacea-Cibicides mabahethi assemblage. The deeper water (>1500 m), characterized by the most oxygenated and oligotrophic seafloor conditions, is associated with the Astrononion sp. A-Hanzawaia sp. A assemblage. Throughout the Red Sea extremely high values of temperature and salinity are constant below ~200 m depth, but the flux of organic matter to the sea floor varies considerably with bathymetry and appears to be the main controlling factor governing the distribution pattern of the benthic foraminifera. Comparison between live and the dead/fossil assemblages reveals a large difference between the two. Processes that may control this difference include species-specific high turnover rates, and preferential predation and loss of fragile taxa (either by chemical or microbial processes). Significant variations in the degree of loss of the organic-cemented agglutinants were observed down core. This group is preserved down to 5-10 cm at the shallow OMZ sites and down to greater depths at well-aerated and oligotrophic sites. The lower rate of disintegration of these forms, in the deeper locations of the Red Sea, may be related to low microbial activity. This results in the preservation of increasing numbers of organic-cemented shells down-core.

The Appendicularia and Chaetognatha from the Great Meteor Bank, Northeast Atlantic

At a longtime station near the "Grosse Meteor Bank" in the North Atlantic 41 subsequent hauls were made in April 1967 with the Helgoland larva net with changing bucket device. In addition 9 hauls were made during July 1967. The catches from the depth ranges of 900-700 m, 700-500 m, 500-300 m, 300-200 m, 200-100 m, and 100-0 m were collected in separate buckets during each catch series. Contamination, though possible on principle, does not seem to be of much consequence in appendicularia. After some comments on certain species caught it is shown that at this station in the open ocean the density of appendicularia not only varies with the season, but that clouds of plankton may pass by it within a few hours, in which the density may vary at a ratio of ten or more to one. In the composition of species as many as four species may in turn be the most abundant. For one species the composition as to size and stage of maturity may change in the same way. Regarding the depth distribution there are no species restricted to deeper layers. Below 100 m the number falls to about 1 % of the uppermost layer. Oikopkura longicauda, O. cophocerca, O.parva and Althoffia tumida as well as Fritillaria species are found between 900 and 100 m in comparatively higher numbers than Stegosoma magnum, Oikopleura albicans and O. intermedia. The Chaetognaths were collected in the depth of 900-0 m in vertical hauls with the Helgoland larva net with changing bucket device; buckets had been changed in the depth of 700, 500, 300, 200,1 00 m. In the course of the investigation it appeared that for Chaetognaths the sampling method with changing bucket device is insufficient. Many specimens remained in the net and entered the bucket at a higher level than that in which they had lived, mostly during flushing the net (sample 100-0 m); this means considerable contamination. In spite of this difficulty deep layers of higher abundance could be traced for Sagitta lyra and some other species. For some species large local variations in the number of specimens within a short time were found. Moreover notes have been made of foodorganisms, parasits and anatornic metamorphoses during maturing.

Sedimentology of a Middle Jurassic Base-of-Slope environment, Cutri Formation, Mallorca

The Cutri Formation’s, type location, exposed in the NW of Mallorca, Spain has previously been described by Álvaro et al., (1989) and further interpreted by Abbots (1989) unpublished PhD thesis as a base-of-slope carbonate apron. Incorporating new field and laboratory analysis this paper enhances this interpretation. From this analysis, it can be shown without reasonable doubt that the Cutri Formation was deposited in a carbonate base-of-slope environment on the palaeowindward side of a Mid-Jurassic Tethyan platform. Key evidence such as laterally extensive exposures, abundant deposits of calciturbidtes and debris flows amongst hemipelagic deposits strongly support this interpretation.

What do school principals do? Leadership practices in Spain drawn from PISA and TALIS international studies

Principals play a key role in schools. Their actions affect the efficacy of schools and indirectly on the students’ academic performance. Numerous studies describe the different activities that principals perform in their daily practice, grouping them in dimensions, not existing unanimity neither around the practices carried out nor the dimensions. In Spain, the new educational law, LOMCE, emphasizes the importance of looking into what international research says regarding the field of education to support the need for change and justify the ones that are being made, and develops an extended list of competences of the principal. This study is a synthesis of a narrative research with the following analysis unit: the results of the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Study) international reports, and the data provided on school leadership and their practices, from which conclusions are inferred, comparing them with the competences stated in the LOMCE. The comparative analysis of the leadership practices presented depicts a still uneven and heterogeneous scenario, not existing agreement neither for the setting of boundaries for the leadership dimensions, nor for the number of practices that constitute them. Such a scenario points towards the need for further empirical research, in order to accurately obtain a homogeneous catalogue of the actions carried out by principal, that may open the door to the development of the role of principal, and to the improvement of effectiveness and performance of schools, as it is suggested internationally, and it is an objective of the new educational law.