Planning and Management of Mobility in Natural Protected Areas

The paper describes some relevant results of an on-going research aiming to elaborate a methodology to help the mobility management in natural parks, compatible with their protection missions: it has been developed a procedure to reproduce the mobility-environment relationships in various operational conditions. The final purpose is the identification of: a) the effects of various choices in transport planning, both at long term and strategic level; b) the most effective policies of mobility management. The work is articulated in the following steps: 1) definition of protected area on the basis of ecological and socio-economic criteria and legislative constraints; 2) analysis of mobility needs in the protected areas; 3) reconstruction of the state of the art of mobility management in natural parks at European level; 4) analysis of used traffic flows measurement methods; 5) analysis of environmental impacts due to transport systems modelling (air pollution and noise only); 6) identification of mitigation measures to be potentially applied. The whole methodology has been tested and validated on Italian case studies: i) the concerned area has been zoned according to the land-use peculiarities; ii) the local situations of transport infrastructure (roads and parking), services (public transport systems) and rules (traffic regulations) have been mapped with references to physical and functional attributes; iii) the mobility, both systematic and touristic, has been represented in an origin-destination matrix. By means of an assignment model the flows have been distributed and the corresponding average speeds to quantify gaseous and noise emissions was calculated, the criticalities in the reference scenario have been highlighted, as well as some alternative scenarios, including both operational and infrastructural measures have been identified. The comparison between projects and reference scenario allowed the quantification of effects (variation of emissions) for each scenario and a selection of the most effective management actions to be taken.

Natural production of Tuber aestivum in central Spain: Pinus spp. versus Quercus spp. brûles

Aim of study: Tuber aestivum is the most widespread edible truffle, with increasing commercial interest. This species can produce carpophores with conifer hosts, in contrast with the inability of Pinus spp. to induce fruiting in other truffle species such as Tuber melanosporum. Therefore the objective is to compare the characteristics and carpophore production of T. aestivum brûlés associated with Pinus spp. versus Quercus spp. Area of study: We studied the natural habitats of T. aestivum in the Alto Tajo Nature Reserve in central Spain. Material and methods: During 5 years, we monitored the production of carpophores and brûlé size of 145 T. aestivum brûlés associated with Pinus nigra subsp. salzmanni and P. sylvestris and Quercus ilex subsp. ballota and Q. faginea hosts. Statistical treatment was performed using the Statistica Program v. 6. Main results: The size of brûlés associated with Pinus was significantly smaller than that of brûlés associated with Quercus. However, carpophore production per brûlé, and especially for brûlés of similar size, was greater when the host plant was a pine. After accounting for brûlé size, the production of brûlés associated with Pinus spp. was 2.23 (95% CI, between 1.35 and 3.69) and 1.61 (95% CI, between 1.02 and 2.54) times greater than the production of brûlés associated with Quercus faginea and Q. ilex subsp. ballota, respectively. Research highlights: The considerable ability of Pinus nigra subsp. salzmanni and P. sylvestris to form effective brûlés and to produce carpophores of Tuber aestivum in natural conditions was clearly demonstrated, and suggest that those species can be of use in the culture of T. aestivum.

Effectiveness of improved cookstoves to reduce indoor air pollution in developing countries. The case of the Cassamance Natural Subregion, Western Africa

The Spanish NGO "Alianza por la Solidaridad" has installed improved cookstoves in 3000 households during 2012 and 2013 to improve energy efficiency reducing fuelwood consumption and to improve indoor air quality. The type of cookstoves were Noflaye Jeeg and Noflaye Jaboot and were installed in the Cassamance Natural Subregion covering part of Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. The Technical University of Madrid (UPM) has conducted a field study on a sample of these households to assess the effect of improved cookstoves on kitchen air quality. Measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) and fine particle matter (PM2.5) were taken for 24-hr period before and after the installation of improved cookstoves. The 24-hr mean CO concentrations were lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for Guinea-Bissau but higher for Senegal and Gambia, even after the installation of improved cookstoves. As for PM2.5 concentrations, 24-hr mean were always higher than these guidelines. However, improved cookstoves produced significant reductions on 24-hr mean CO and PM2.5 concentrations in Senegal and for mean and maximum PM2.5 concentration on Gambia. Although this variability needs to be explained by further research to determine which other factors could affect indoor air pollution, the study provided a better understanding of the problem and envisaged alternatives to be implemented in future phases of the NGO project.

Context modelling for natural Human Computer Interaction applications in e-health

The conception of IoT (Internet of Things) is accepted as the future tendency of Internet among academia and industry. It will enable people and things to be connected at anytime and anyplace, with anything and anyone. IoT has been proposed to be applied into many areas such as Healthcare, Transportation，Logistics, and Smart environment etc. However, this thesis emphasizes on the home healthcare area as it is the potential healthcare model to solve many problems such as the limited medical resources, the increasing demands for healthcare from elderly and chronic patients which the traditional model is not capable of. A remarkable change in IoT in semantic oriented vision is that vast sensors or devices are involved which could generate enormous data. Methods to manage the data including acquiring, interpreting, processing and storing data need to be implemented. Apart from this, other abilities that IoT is not capable of are concluded, namely, interoperation, context awareness and security & privacy. Context awareness is an emerging technology to manage and take advantage of context to enable any type of system to provide personalized services. The aim of this thesis is to explore ways to facilitate context awareness in IoT. In order to realize this objective, a preliminary research is carried out in this thesis. The most basic premise to realize context awareness is to collect, model, understand, reason and make use of context. A complete literature review for the existing context modelling and context reasoning techniques is conducted. The conclusion is that the ontology-based context modelling and ontology-based context reasoning are the most promising and efficient techniques to manage context. In order to fuse ontology into IoT, a specific ontology-based context awareness framework is proposed for IoT applications. In general, the framework is composed of eight components which are hardware, UI (User Interface), Context modelling, Context fusion, Context reasoning, Context repository, Security unit and Context dissemination. Moreover, on the basis of TOVE (Toronto Virtual Enterprise), a formal ontology developing methodology is proposed and illustrated which consists of four stages: Specification & Conceptualization, Competency Formulation, Implementation and Validation & Documentation. In addition, a home healthcare scenario is elaborated by listing its well-defined functionalities. Aiming at representing this specific scenario, the proposed ontology developing methodology is applied and the ontology-based model is developed in a free and open-source ontology editor called Protégé. Finally, the accuracy and completeness of the proposed ontology are validated to show that this proposed ontology is able to accurately represent the scenario of interest.

Natural regeneration in mediterranean mixed forests: effect of environmental conditions on the physiological optimum niche of the species = Regeneración natural en masas mixtas mediterráneas: efecto de las condiciones ambientales en el nicho óptimo fisiológico de las especies

Los montes Mediterráneos han experimentado múltiples cambios en las últimas décadas (tanto en clima como en usos), lo que ha conducido a variaciones en la distribución de especies. El aumento previsto de las temperaturas medias junto con la mayor variabilidad intra e inter anual en cuanto a la ocurrencia de eventos extremos o disturbios naturales (como periodos prolongados de sequía, olas de frío o calor, incendios forestales o vendavales) pueden dañar significativamente al regenerado, llevándolo hasta la muerte, y jugando un papel decisivo en la composición de especies y en la dinámica del monte. La amplitud ecológica de muchas especies forestales puede verse afectada, de forma que se esperan cambios en sus nichos actuales de regeneración. Sin embargo, la migración latitudinal de las especies en busca de mejores condiciones, podría ser una explicación demasiado simplista de un proceso mucho más complejo de interacción entre la temperatura y la precipitación, que afectaría a cada especie de un modo distinto. En este sentido tanto la capacidad de adaptación al estrés ambiental de una determinada especie, así como su habilidad para competir por los recursos limitados, podría significar variaciones dentro de una comunidad. Las características fisiológicas y morfológicas propias de cada especie se encuentran fuertemente relacionadas con el lugar donde cada una puede surgir, qué especies pueden convivir y como éstas responden a las condiciones ambientales. En este sentido, el conocimiento sobre las distintas respuestas ecofisiológicas observadas ante cambios ambientales puede ser fundamentales para la predicción de variaciones en la distribución de especies, composición de la comunidad y productividad del monte ante el cambio global. En esta tesis investigamos el grado de tolerancia y sensibilidad que cada una de las tres especies de estudio, coexistentes en el interior peninsular ibérico (Pinus pinea, Quercus ilex y Juniperus oxycedrus), muestra ante los factores abióticos de estrés típicos de la región Mediterránea. Nuestro trabajo se ha basado en la definición del nicho óptimo fisiológico para el regenerado de cada especie a través de la investigación en profundidad del efecto de la sequía, la temperatura y el ambiente lumínico. Para ello, hemos desarrollado un modelo de predicción de la tasa de asimilación de carbono que nos ha permitido identificar las condiciones óptimas ambientales donde el regenerado de cada especie podría establecerse con mayor facilidad. En apoyo a este trabajo y con la idea de estudiar el efecto de la sequía a nivel de toda la planta hemos desarrollado un experimento paralelo en invernadero. Aquí se han aplicado dos regímenes hídricos para estudiar las características fisiológicas y morfológicas de cada especie, sobre todo a nivel de raíz y crecimiento del tallo, y relacionarlas con las diferentes estrategias en el uso del agua de las especies. Por último, hemos estudiado los patrones de aclimatación y desaclimatación al frio de cada especie, identificando los periodos de sensibilidad a heladas, así como cuellos de botella donde la competencia entre especies podría surgir. A pesar de que el pino piñonero ha sido la especie objeto de la gestión de estas masas durante siglos, actualmente se encuentra en la posición más desfavorable para combatir el cambio global, presentado el nicho fisiológico más estrecho de las tres especies. La encina sin embargo, ha resultado ser la especie mejor cualificada para afrontar este cambio, seguida muy de cerca por el enebro. Nuestros resultados sugieren una posible expansión en el rango de distribución de la encina, un aumento en la presencia del enebro y una disminución progresiva del pino piñonero a medio plazo en estas masas. ABSTRACT Mediterranean forests have undergone multiple changes over the last decades (in both climate and land use), which have lead to variations in the distribution of species. The expected increase in mean annual temperature together with the greater inter and intra-annual variability in extreme events and disturbances occurrence (such as prolonged drought periods, cold or heat waves, wildfires or strong winds) can significantly damage natural regeneration, up to causing death, playing a decisive role on species composition and forest dynamics. The ecological amplitude for adaptation of many species can be affected in such a way that changes in the current regeneration niches of many species are expected. However, the forecasted poleward migration of species seeking better conditions could be an oversimplification of what is a more complex phenomenon of interactions among temperature and precipitation, that would affect different species in different ways. In this regard, either the ability to adapt to environmental stresses or to compete for limited resources of a single species in a mixed forest could lead to variations within a community. The ecophysiological and morphological traits specific to each species are strongly related to the place where each species can emerge, which species can coexist, and how they respond to environmental conditions. In this regard, the understanding of the ecophysiological responses observed against changes in environmental conditions can be essential for predicting variations in species distribution, community composition, and forest productivity in the context of global change. In this thesis we investigated the degree of tolerance and sensitivity that each of the three studied species, co-occurring in central of the Iberian Peninsula (Pinus pinea, Quercus ilex and Juniperus oxycedrus), show against the typical abiotic stress factors in the Mediterranean region. Our work is based on the optimal physiological niche for regeneration of each species through in-depth research on the effect of drought, temperature and light environment. For this purpose, we developed a model to predict the carbon assimilation rate which allows us to identify the optimal environmental conditions where regeneration from each species could establish itself more easily. To obtain a better understanding about the effect of low temperature on regeneration, we studied the acclimation and deacclimation patterns to cold of each species, identifying period of frost sensitivity, as well as bottlenecks where competition between species can arise. Finally, to support our results about the effect of water availabilty, we conducted a greenhouse experiment with a view of studying the drought effect at the whole plant level. Here, two watering regimes were applied in order to study the physiological and morphological traits of each species, mainly at the level of the root system and stem growth, and so relate them to the different water use strategies of the species. Despite the fact that stone pine has been the target species for centuries, nowadays this species is in the most unfavorable position to cope with climate change. Holm oak, however, resulted the species that is best adapted to tolerate the predicted changes, followed closely by prickly juniper. Our results suggest a feasible expansion of the distribution range in holm oak, an increase in the prickly juniper presence and a progressive decreasing of stone pine presence in the medium term in these stone pine-holm oak-prickly juniper mixed forests.

A multi-scale analysis of transforming agricultural markets in the context of globalization: implications for natural resources, food prices and rural poverty in Latin America

Vivimos una época en la que el mundo se transforma aceleradamente. La globalización está siguiendo un curso imparable, la población mundial así como la población urbana siguen creciendo, y en los países emergentes los ingresos promedios aumentan, resultando en un cambio también acelerado de las dietas y hábitos alimentarios. En conjunto esos factores están causando un aumento fundamental de la demanda de alimentos. Junto con la apertura de los mercados agrícolas, estos procesos han provocado un crecimiento del comercio internacional de alimentos durante la última década. Dado que muchos países de América Latina están dotados de abundancia de recursos naturales, estas tendencias han producido un crecimiento rápido de las exportaciones de bienes primarios desde América Latina al resto del mundo. En sólo 30 años la participación en el mercado agrícola de América Latina casi se ha duplicado, desde 10% en 1980 a 18% en 2010. Este aumento del comercio agrícola ha dado lugar a un debate sobre una serie de cuestiones cruciales relacionadas con los impactos del comercio en la seguridad alimentaria mundial, en el medio ambiente o en la reducción de la pobreza rural en países en desarrollo. Esta tesis aplica un marco integrado para analizar varios impactos relacionados con la transformación de los mercados agrícolas y los mercados rurales debidos a la globalización y, en particular, al progresivo aumento del comercio internacional. En concreto, la tesis aborda los siguientes temas: En primer lugar, la producción mundial de alimentos tendrá que aumentar considerablemente para poder satisfacer la demanda de una población mundial de 9000 millones personas en 2050, lo cual plantea grandes desafíos sobre los sistemas de la producción de alimentos. Alcanzar este logro, sin comprometer la integridad del medio ambiente en regiones exportadoras, es un reto aún mayor. En este contexto, la tesis analiza los efectos de la liberalización del comercio mundial, considerando distintas tecnologías de producción agraria, sobre unos indicadores de seguridad alimentaria en diferentes regiones del mundo y sobre distintos indicadores ambientales, teniendo en cuenta escalas diferentes en América Latina y el Caribe. La tesis utiliza el modelo “International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT)” – un modelo dinámico de equilibrio parcial del sector agrícola a escala global – para modelar la apertura de los mercados agrícolas así como diferentes escenarios de la producción hasta el año 2050. Los resultados del modelo están vinculados a modelos biofísicos para poder evaluar los cambios en la huella hídrica y la calidad del agua, así como para cuantificar los impactos del cambio en el uso del suelo sobre la biodiversidad y los stocks de carbono en 2050. Los resultados indican que la apertura de los mercados agrícolas es muy importante para mejorar la seguridad alimentaria a nivel mundial, sin embargo, produce también presiones ambientales indeseables en algunas regiones de América Latina. Contrastando dos escenarios que consideran distintas modos de producción, la expansión de la tierra agrícola frente a un escenario de la producción más intensiva, se demuestra que las mejoras de productividad son generalmente superiores a la expansión de las tierras agrícolas, desde un punto de vista económico e ambiental. En cambio, los escenarios de intensificación sostenible no sólo hacen posible una mayor producción de alimentos, sino que también generan menos impactos medioambientales que los otros escenarios futuros en todas sus dimensiones: biodiversidad, carbono, emisiones de nitratos y uso del agua. El análisis muestra que hay un “trade-off” entre el objetivo de alcanzar la sostenibilidad ambiental y el objetivo de la seguridad alimentaria, independiente del manejo agrícola en el futuro. En segundo lugar, a la luz de la reciente crisis de los precios de alimentos en los años 2007/08, la tesis analiza los impactos de la apertura de los mercados agrícolas en la transmisión de precios de los alimentos en seis países de América Latina: Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, México y el Perú. Para identificar las posibles relaciones de cointegración entre los índices de precios al consumidor de alimentos y los índices de precios de agrarios internacionales, sujetos a diferentes grados de apertura de mercados agrícolas en los seis países de América Latina, se utiliza un modelo simple de corrección de error (single equation error correction). Los resultados indican que la integración global de los mercados agrícolas ha dado lugar a diferentes tasas de transmisión de precios en los países investigados. Sobre todo en el corto plazo, las tasas de transmisión dependen del grado de apertura comercial, mientras que en el largo plazo las tasas de transmisión son elevadas, pero en gran medida independientes del régimen de comercio. Por lo tanto, durante un período de shocks de precios mundiales una mayor apertura del comercio trae consigo más inestabilidad de los precios domésticos a corto plazo y la resultante persistencia en el largo plazo. Sin embargo, estos resultados no verifican necesariamente la utilidad de las políticas comerciales, aplicadas frecuentemente por los gobiernos para amortiguar los shocks de precios. Primero, porque existe un riesgo considerable de volatilidad de los precios debido a cambios bruscos de la oferta nacional si se promueve la autosuficiencia en el país; y segundo, la política de proteccionismo asume el riesgo de excluir el país de participar en las cadenas de suministro de alto valor del sector agrícola, y por lo tanto esa política podría obstaculizar el desarrollo económico. Sin embargo, es indispensable establecer políticas efectivas para reducir la vulnerabilidad de los hogares a los aumentos repentinos de precios de alimentos, lo cual requiere una planificación gubernamental precisa con el presupuesto requerido disponible. En tercer lugar, la globalización afecta a la estructura de una economía y, por medios distintos, la distribución de los ingreso en un país. Perú sirve como ejemplo para investigar más profundamente las cuestiones relacionadas con los cambios en la distribución de los ingresos en zonas rurales. Perú, que es un país que está cada vez más integrado en los mercados mundiales, consiguió importantes descensos en la pobreza extrema en sus zonas rurales, pero a la vez adolece de alta incidencia de pobreza moderada y de desigualdad de los ingresos en zonas rural al menos durante el periodo comprendido entre 2004 y 2012. Esta parte de la tesis tiene como objetivo identificar las fuerzas impulsoras detrás de estas dinámicas en el Perú mediante el uso de un modelo de microsimulación basado en modelos de generación de ingresos aplicado a nivel los hogares rurales. Los resultados indican que la fuerza principal detrás de la reducción de la pobreza ha sido el crecimiento económico general de la economía, debido a las condiciones macroeconómicas favorables durante el periodo de estudio. Estos efectos de crecimiento beneficiaron a casi todos los sectores rurales, y dieron lugar a la disminución de la pobreza rural extrema, especialmente entre los agricultores de papas y de maíz. En parte, estos agricultores probablemente se beneficiaron de la apertura de los mercados agrícolas, que es lo que podría haber provocado un aumento de los precios al productor en tiempos de altos precios mundiales de los alimentos. Sin embargo, los resultados también sugieren que para una gran parte de la población más pobre existían barreras de entrada a la hora de poder participar en el empleo asalariado fuera de la agricultura o en la producción de cultivos de alto valor. Esto podría explicarse por la falta de acceso a unos activos importantes: por ejemplo, el nivel de educación de los pobres era apenas mejor en 2012 que en 2004; y también las dotaciones de tierra y de mano de obra, sobre todo de los productores pobres de maíz y patata, disminuyeron entre 2004 y 2012. Esto lleva a la conclusión de que aún hay margen para aplicar políticas para facilitar el acceso a estos activos, que podría contribuir a la erradicación de la pobreza rural. La tesis concluye que el comercio agrícola puede ser un importante medio para abastecer una población mundial creciente y más rica con una cantidad suficiente de calorías. Para evitar adversos efectos ambientales e impactos negativos para los consumidores y de los productores pobres, el enfoque debe centrarse en las mejoras de la productividad agrícola, teniendo en cuenta los límites ambientales y ser socialmente inclusivo. En este sentido, será indispensable seguir desarrollando soluciones tecnológicas que garanticen prácticas de producción agrícola minimizando el uso de recursos naturales. Además, para los pequeños pobres agricultores será fundamental eliminar las barreras de entrada a los mercados de exportación que podría tener efectos indirectos favorables a través de la adopción de nuevas tecnologías alcanzables a través de mercados internacionales. ABSTRACT The world is in a state of rapid transition. Ongoing globalization, population growth, rising living standards and increasing urbanization, accompanied by changing dietary patterns throughout the world, are increasing the demand for food. Together with more open trade regimes, this has triggered growing international agricultural trade during the last decade. For many Latin American countries, which are gifted with relative natural resource abundance, these trends have fueled rapid export growth of primary goods. In just 30 years, the Latin American agricultural market share has almost doubled from 10% in 1980 to 18% in 2010. These market developments have given rise to a debate around a number of crucial issues related to the role of agricultural trade for global food security, for the environment or for poverty reduction in developing countries. This thesis uses an integrated framework to analyze a broad array of possible impacts related to transforming agricultural and rural markets in light of globalization, and in particular of increasing trade activity. Specifically, the following issues are approached: First, global food production will have to rise substantially by the year 2050 to meet effective demand of a nine billion people world population which poses major challenges to food production systems. Doing so without compromising environmental integrity in exporting regions is an even greater challenge. In this context, the thesis explores the effects of future global trade liberalization on food security indicators in different world regions and on a variety of environmental indicators at different scales in Latin America and the Caribbean, in due consideration of different future agricultural production practices. The International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT) –a global dynamic partial equilibrium model of the agricultural sector developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)– is applied to run different future production scenarios, and agricultural trade regimes out to 2050. Model results are linked to biophysical models, used to assess changes in water footprints and water quality, as well as impacts on biodiversity and carbon stocks from land use change by 2050. Results indicate that further trade liberalization is crucial for improving food security globally, but that it would also lead to more environmental pressures in some regions across Latin America. Contrasting land expansion versus more intensified agriculture shows that productivity improvements are generally superior to agricultural land expansion, from an economic and environmental point of view. Most promising for achieving food security and environmental goals, in equal measure, is the sustainable intensification scenario. However, the analysis shows that there are trade-offs between environmental and food security goals for all agricultural development paths. Second, in light of the recent food price crisis of 2007/08, the thesis looks at the impacts of increasing agricultural market integration on food price transmission from global to domestic markets in six Latin American countries, namely Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. To identify possible cointegrating relationships between the domestic food consumer price indices and world food price levels, subject to different degrees of agricultural market integration in the six Latin American countries, a single equation error correction model is used. Results suggest that global agricultural market integration has led to different levels of price path-through in the studied countries. Especially in the short-run, transmission rates depend on the degree of trade openness, while in the long-run transmission rates are high, but largely independent of the country-specific trade regime. Hence, under world price shocks more trade openness brings with it more price instability in the short-term and the resulting persistence in the long-term. However, these findings do not necessarily verify the usefulness of trade policies, often applied by governments to buffer such price shocks. First, because there is a considerable risk of price volatility due to domestic supply shocks if self-sufficiency is promoted. Second, protectionism bears the risk of excluding a country from participating in beneficial high-value agricultural supply chains, thereby hampering economic development. Nevertheless, to reduce households’ vulnerability to sudden and large increases of food prices, effective policies to buffer food price shocks should be put in place, but must be carefully planned with the required budget readily available. Third, globalization affects the structure of an economy and, by different means, the distribution of income in a country. Peru serves as an example to dive deeper into questions related to changes in the income distribution in rural areas. Peru, a country being increasingly integrated into global food markets, experienced large drops in extreme rural poverty, but persistently high rates of moderate rural poverty and rural income inequality between 2004 and 2012. The thesis aims at disentangling the driving forces behind these dynamics by using a microsimulation model based on rural household income generation models. Results provide evidence that the main force behind poverty reduction was overall economic growth of the economy due to generally favorable macroeconomic market conditions. These growth effects benefited almost all rural sectors, and led to declines in extreme rural poverty, especially among potato and maize farmers. In part, these farmers probably benefited from policy changes towards more open trade regimes and the resulting higher producer prices in times of elevated global food price levels. However, the results also suggest that entry barriers existed for the poorer part of the population to participate in well-paid wage-employment outside of agriculture or in high-value crop production. This could be explained by a lack of sufficient access to important rural assets. For example, poor people’s educational attainment was hardly better in 2012 than in 2004. Also land and labor endowments, especially of (poor) maize and potato growers, rather decreased than increased over time. This leads to the conclusion that there is still scope for policy action to facilitate access to these assets, which could contribute to the eradication of rural poverty. The thesis concludes that agricultural trade can be one important means to provide a growing and richer world population with sufficient amounts of calories. To avoid adverse environmental effects and negative impacts for poor food consumers and producers, the focus should lie on agricultural productivity improvements, considering environmental limits and be socially inclusive. In this sense, it will be crucial to further develop technological solutions that guarantee resource-sparing agricultural production practices, and to remove entry barriers for small poor farmers to export markets which might allow for technological spill-over effects from high-value global agricultural supply chains.

Protocolos de diseño y cálculo de luz natural en arquitectura

Esta tesis doctoral aborda el problema de la falta de un protocolo que conecte las elevadas y variadas expectativas formales que plantea la arquitectura singular respecto de la luz natural con las distintas herramientas de cálculo y sus métricas asociadas disponibles. La pregunta que la tesis responde es la siguiente “¿Es posible definir un protocolo que ordene las decisiones de diseño y cálculo en la resolución de los problemas de luz natural en la arquitectura singular en forma de procesos, de modo suficientemente genérico y operativo, creando conocimiento útil sobre el problema de que se trate en cada etapa del mismo?” Metodológicamente se desarrolla en dos ciclos de investigación enlazados: primero se DEFINE de modo científico el protocolo y luego se EVALÚA SU APLICABILIDAD. La construcción del protocolo se resuelve utilizando el método inductivo a partir de un corpus previo de problemas de luz natural ya resueltos por el autor. Son analizados de modo sistemático y aplicando diversas estrategias de reducción y síntesis. conducen a un enunciado inicial del protocolo. Una vez enunciado el protocolo, que se denomina DAYLIGHTING CANVAS, se valora su la aplicabilidad mediante experimentación directa, que se realiza a través de tres experiencias diferentes. En la primera evaluamos su aplicabilidad en un problema representativo, en la segunda su aplicabilidad para resolución de problemas planteados de modo aleatorio, y por último su aplicabilidad en el caso de ser empleado por diferentes autores. ABSTRACT The Ph.D. thesis address the lack of a protocol capable to link the higher expectations regarding daylighting of the singular architecture practice with the available daylighting calculation tools and metrics. The thesis question is as follows: “Is it possible to define a protocol capable to arrange the design and calculation decisions needed to be made to solve a daylighting problem for a singular architecture project, as a process, in a way as generic as operational, by building daylighting related knowledge in each step of it?” Methodologically the research is developed in two linked stages: first the protocol is scientifically DEFINED and then its APPLICABILITY is tested. The protocol is built up by using the inductive method over a group of previously solved daylighting projects provided by the thesis author. Those projects has been systematically analyzed by applying some reduction and synthesis strategies, which leads to a preliminary protocol formulation. Once the protocol is fully formulated under the name of “DAYLIGHTING CANVAS”, its applicability is assessed by direct experimentation, done through three different experiments. In the first one the applicability to a complex problem is assessed; in the second one its applicability to non predicted daylighting problems; and finally its applicability for different users.

Determinación y caracterización de los indicadores que intervienen en un sistema integral de iluminación natural y protección solar : aplicado a la incorporación de bandejas en los huecos de fachadas existentes

En esta tesis se estudia cómo lograr el equilibrio entre dos fenómenos naturales que afectan a los huecos de fachadas: la iluminación natural y la ganancia solar. Es decir, el cómo, conseguir la optimización de la iluminación natural que se introduce a través de las ventanas existentes, sin realizar una laboriosa intervención de sustitución de las mismas y el cómo, conseguir la protección de la radiación solar directa de la zona acristalada, para evitar tanto las ganancias térmicas innecesarias como el deslumbramiento que afecta a la calidad lumínica de los recintos. Para el desarrollo esta investigación se ha propuesto una metodología de estudio dividida en dos fases: La primera, de Análisis y Diagnóstico, en la que se han de definir los estándares a cumplir y las variables con las que se evaluarán las bandejas. Y, la segunda, de Evaluación y Comprobación en la que se han de establecer los criterios de valoración y ponderación de cada variable. En la primera fase, se definirán las variables físico-ambientales, para lo que se seleccionarán algunas ciudades a estudiar, a las cuales se les estudiará las necesidades de confort térmico, se determinarán las dimensiones que deben tener las protecciones solares en esas ciudades, además se determinarán las actuaciones a realizar en los huecos de fachada según sea su posición en el plano vertical de la misma. Así mismo, se plantea hacer un análisis de casos reales, para lo que se caracterizarán desde el punto de vista lumínico algunas viviendas, realizando medidas “in situ” y comparando resultados con los que se obtienen de los programas de simulación, para seleccionar las viviendas en las que la realidad y la simulación se aproximen más, una de estas viviendas servirá de modelo en las simulaciones que se realizará en la segunda fase. También, en esta primera fase, mediante un modelo neutro, se estudiará el comportamiento térmico y lumínico del tamaño del hueco en el que se insertará la bandeja posteriormente, para luego estudiar la posición de la bandeja en el plano vertical de la ventana, desde el punto de vista ergonómico. Y finalmente se estudiará, el comportamiento térmico y lumínico del modelo con la bandeja ubicada a 40, 50 y 60cm del techo. En la segunda fase, se establecerá la valoración y ponderación de las variables con las que seleccionar la bandeja que mejor equilibre los aspectos térmicos y lumínicos, teniendo en cuenta estrategias pasivas de acondicionamiento ambiental, como favorecer las ganancias solares en invierno en horas diurnas y evitar las pérdidas de calor en horas nocturnas; y en verano implementar sistemas de sombreamiento en la zona acristalada para evitar las ganancias de calor; y, tanto en verano como en invierno, aprovechar la iluminación natural, para favorecer la iluminancia útil y evitar el deslumbramiento. Una vez definidos los criterios de valoración y ponderación se aplicará a la evaluación térmica y lumínica del modelo neutro con la bandeja, consiguiendo seleccionar la bandeja con mejor comportamiento. Posteriormente se comprobará la metodología de estudio desarrollada en el modelo seleccionado, se evaluará el comportamiento térmico y lumínico, con la incorporación de algunas alternativas de bandeja. Con esta investigación se quiere demostrar que mediante la aplicación de esta metodología de estudio, es posible evaluar y seleccionar bandejas que respondan a las necesidades requeridas en distintos casos de estudio, por lo que se considera que, la bandeja puede ser un elemento arquitectónico aplicable tanto en rehabilitación como en nueva construcción, de espacios en los que sea necesario mejorar sus condiciones lumínicas y térmicas simultáneamente. ABSTRACT This thesis studies how to balance two natural events that affect the window opening of facades: daylighting and solar gain. That is to say, how to achieve optimization of natural light that gets in through the existing windows, without making a laborious intervention of replacing them and how to get protection from direct solar radiation from the glass area, to avoid unnecessary heat gain and glare affecting the light quality of the enclosures. To develop this research, it has been proposed a methodology of study divided into two phases: First phase, Analysis and Diagnostics, in which the variables with which the light shelf are evaluated will be defined along with the standards the light shelves will meet. The second phase, Assessment and Verification, in which the assessment criteria and weighting of each variable will be established. In the first phase, the physical and environmental variables shall be defined, various cities will be selected to be studied, and in each the needs of thermal comfort will be determined along with the dimensions of shading devices in the cities. In addition the actions to be taken in the window opening of the façade will be determined, depending on their position in the vertical plane. An analysis of real cases will be undertaken, which will be characterized from the luminous point of view, performing "in situ" measurements and comparing results with those obtained from simulation programs, to select places/dwellings where reality and simulation are closer, one of these places/dwellings will be a model, in the simulations to perform at the second phase. Also, in this first phase, by a neutral model, the thermal and light behavior of the size of the window opening will be studied, in which the light shelf is inserted later, the position of the light shelf in the vertical plane of the window is studied, from an ergonomic point of view. And finally to study the thermal and light behavior of the model with the light shelf located at 40, 50 and 60cm from the ceiling. In the second phase, the evaluation and weighting of the variables will be established selecting the light shelf that best balances the thermal and daylighting aspects, taking into account passive environmental conditioning strategies; such as getting solar gains in winter during daylight hours, and preventing heat loss during the night hours; and in summer implementing shading systems in the glazing area to avoid heat gains. And in both summer and winter, taking advantage of natural lighting, to improve useful illuminance and avoid glare. Once defined, the evaluation criteria and weighting will be applied to thermal and daylighting evaluation to the neutral model with the light shelf, the best performing light shelf will be selected. The study methodology developed in the selected model will be verified the thermal and daylighting performance with the addition of some light shelf alternative will also be studied. With this research, we want to show that by applying this study methodology it is possible to evaluate and select the light shelf that meets the needs required in different case studies, so it is considered that the light shelf may be an applicable architectural element in both refurbishment and new construction of spaces where necessary to improve their daylighting and thermal conditions simultaneously.

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of the Conventional Façade SOS Natura and the Natural Water Tank Façade

The construction industry produces great environmental impacts to the planet. In order to tackle this problem, the European Union has put into effect Regulation No 305/2011, which compels the construction products manufacturers to carry out environmental performance studies of these products and thus make public the impact they cause on the environment. The aim of this research is to make known the environmental impacts of the SOS Natura Conventional Façade (CF) solution, obtained within the research project "SOS Natura, Vegetal Architectural Solutions" developed by the Department of Construction and Technology in Architecture of the School of Architecture of the Technical University of Madrid (Spain). In addition, we report an environmental comparative with the Natural Water Tank Façade (NWTF), studied previously by the same work group and included in the same research project.We present as well an uncertainty analysis for both façades. Following the study conducted we conclude that the NWTF profile has a slightly better environmental behaviour when compared to the CF profile for the entire life cycle in most of the impact categories analysed in this study. However it should also be noted that, in detail and at stage level, the NWTF presents a higher environmental impact than the CF.

Zeta potential in intact natural sandstones at elevated temperatures

Supporting data are included in PDF and CSV files; any additional data may be obtained from the corresponding author (e-mail: j.vinogradov@imperial.ac.uk). TOTAL is thanked for partial support of Jackson's Chair in Geological Fluid Mechanics and for supporting the activities of the TOTAL Laboratory for Reservoir Physics at Imperial College London where these experiments were conducted. The Editor thanks Andre Revil and Paul Glover for their assistance in evaluating this paper.

Natural Genetic Transformation by Agrobacterium rhizogenes : Annual Flowering in Two Biennials, Belgian Endive and Carrot

Genetic transformation of Belgian endive (Cichorium intybus) and carrot (Daucus carota) by Agrobacterium rhizogenes resulted in a transformed phenotype, including annual flowering. Back-crossing of transformed (R1) endive plants produced a line that retained annual flowering in the absence of the other traits associated with A. rhizogenes transformation. Annualism was correlated with the segregation of a truncated transferred DNA (T-DNA) insertion. During vegetative growth, carbohydrate reserves accumulated normally in these annuals, and they were properly mobilized prior to anthesis. The effects of individual root-inducing left-hand T-DNA genes on flowering were tested in carrot, in which rolC (root locus) was the primary promoter of annualism and rolD caused extreme dwarfism. We discuss the possible adaptive significance of this attenuation of the phenotypic effects of root-inducing left-hand T-DNA.

Amphipathic domains in the C terminus of the transmembrane protein (gp41) permeabilize HIV-1 virions: a molecular mechanism underlying natural endogenous reverse transcription.

Reverse transcription of HIV-1, without detergent or amphipathic peptide-induced permeability of the viral envelope, has been demonstrated to occur in the intact HIV-1 virion. In this report, we demonstrate that the amphipathic domains in the C terminus of the transmembrane glycoprotein (gp41) account for the natural permeability of the HIV-1 envelope to deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, the substrates for DNA polymerization. In addition, nonphysiological deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, such as 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine 5'-triphosphate and 3'-deoxythymidine 5'-triphosphate, can also penetrate the viral envelope, incorporate into, and irreversibly terminate reverse transcripts. As a result, viral infectivity is potently inhibited. Since the lentiviral envelope with these newly demonstrated characteristics can serve as a delivery pathway for anti-reverse transcription agents, we propose a unique strategy to prevent HIV-1 interand, possibly, intrahost transmission.

A natural experiment on plant acclimation: lifetime stomatal frequency response of an individual tree to annual atmospheric CO2 increase.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been increasing in atmospheric concentration since the Industrial Revolution. A decreasing number of stomata on leaves of land plants still provides the only morphological evidence that this man-made increase has already affected the biosphere. The current rate of CO2 responsiveness in individual long-lived species cannot be accurately determined from field studies or by controlled-environment experiments. However, the required long-term data sets can be obtained from continuous records of buried leaves from living trees in wetland ecosystems. Fine-resolution analysis of the lifetime leaf record of an individual birch (Betula pendula) indicates a gradual reduction of stomatal frequency as a phenotypic acclimation to CO2 increase. During the past four decades, CO2 increments of 1 part per million by volume resulted in a stomatal density decline of approximately 0.6%. It may be hypothesized that this plastic stomatal frequency response of deciduous tree species has evolved in conjunction with the overall Cenozoic reduction of atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

Multiple paternity in two natural populations (orchard and vineyard) of Drosophila.

Male mating success is an important fitness component in Drosophila. The seminal fluid conveyed with the sperm inhibits the proclivity of the female to remate and reduces her fitness. Nevertheless, females may remate before they have exhausted the sperm from the first male and consequently use sperm from both males. We have studied concurrent multiple paternity (CMP) in two Drosophila melanogaster populations, from an apple orchard and a vineyard just after harvest. CMP is high in both populations, somewhat greater than 50%; but it is not significantly higher in the vineyard, where the population density is much greater than in the orchard. Population density had been thought to be an important determinant of CMP incidence. We have used four gene loci coding for enzymes as independent markers for detecting CMP.

T-cell alpha beta + and gamma delta + deficient mice display abnormal but distinct phenotypes toward a natural, widespread infection of the intestinal epithelium.

Vertebrate immune systems contain T cells bearing either alpha beta or gamma delta T-cell antigen receptors (TCRs). alpha beta T cells perform all well-characterized T-cell effector functions, while the biological functions of gamma delta + cells remain unclear. Of particular interest is the role of gamma delta + cells during epithelial infections, since gamma delta + cells are commonly abundant within epithelia. Eimeria spp. are intracellular protozoa that infect epithelia of most vertebrates, causing coccidiosis. This study shows that in response to Eimeria vermiformis, mice lacking alpha beta T cells display defects in protective immunity, while mice lacking gamma delta + cells display exaggerated intestinal damage, apparently due to a failure to regulate the consequences of the alpha beta T cell response. An immuno-downregulatory role during infection, and during autoimmune disease, may be a general one for gamma delta + cells.