FAULT MORPHOLOGY WITHIN THE SOUTHERN KENYAN PORTION OF THE EAST AFRICAN RIFT VALLEY

Faults form quickly, geologically speaking, with sharp, crisp step-like profiles. Logic dictates that erosion wears away this "sharpness" or angularity creating more rounded features. As erosion occurs, debris accumulates at the base of the scarp slope. The stable end point of this process is when the scarp slope approaches an ideal sigmoid shape. This theory of fault end process, in combination with a new method developed in this report for fault profile delineation, has the potential to enable observation and categorization of fault profiles over large, diverse swaths of fault formation-- in remote areas such as the Southern Kenyan Rift Valley. This up-to date method uses remote sensing data and the digitizer tool in Global Mapper to create shape files of fault segments. This method can provide further evidence to support the notion that sigmoidal- shaped profiles represent a natural endpoint of the erosional process of fault scarps. Over time, faults of many different ages would exist in this similar shape over a wide region. However, keeping in mind that other processes can be at work on scarps-- most notably drainage patterns, when anomalies in profiles are observed, reactivation in some form possibly has occurred.

Feeding habits of the velvet belly lanternshark Etmopterus spinax (Chondrichthyes : Etmopteridae) off the Algarve, southern Portugal

Etmopterus spinax is one of the most abundant predators of the upper continental slope off the Algarve (southern Portugal), where it is captured in large quantities in deep-water fisheries. The feeding habits of E. spinax off the Algarve were investigated through the analysis of stomach contents of 376 individuals. Prey composition was described and maturity, sex and size related variations in the diet analysed. The overall diet of E. spinax suggested a fairly generalized benthopelagic foraging behaviour primarily tuned to pelagic macroplankton/microneckton, teleost fish and cephalopods. Sex and maturity related differences in the diet were not significant. Two main ontogenic diet shifts were observed at about 17 and 28 cm total length. Small and medium sized immature sharks had a diet dominated by eurybathic crustaceans, chiefly Meganyctiphanes norvegica and Pasiphaea sivado. Larger individuals consumed more teleosts and cephalopods, in part associated with scavenging as a new feeding strategy. With increasing shark size the diet diversified both in terms of resources exploited and prey size.

Ascidonia Flavomaculata (Heller, 1864), a new record for the Portuguese marine invertebrate fauna (Decapoda, Pontoniidae)

Several specimens of Ascidonia flavomaculata were collected during experimental fishing trials along the southern coast of Portugal. All specimens were associated with the solitary ascidian, Phallusia mammillata. The pontoniinae shrimp, A. flavomaculata is here recorded from the Portuguese coast for the first time, extending the species’ known distribution range further north along the coast of the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

Desórdenes muscoloesqueléticos en el trabajador avícola – intervenciones en salud

Introducción: El trabajador avícola presenta un alto riesgo de sufrir de Desórdenes Musculo esqueléticos, debido a la realización de trabajos manuales repetitivos; posición bípeda prolongada, posturas por fuera de ángulos de confort de miembros superiores Objetivo: Establecer las recomendaciones basadas en la evidencia de las intervenciones en salud para los Desórdenes Musculoesqueléticos (DME) en el trabajador avícola. Metodología: Se realizó una revisión de la literatura de los estudios primarios publicados en las bases de datos Medline, Scient Direct y Scielo desde 1990. Los artículos se clasificaron de acuerdo con: el tipo de estudio, la calidad de éste y el nivel de evidencia que aportaba. Resultados: Dentro de las recomendaciones de la evidencia disponible para el manejo integral de los pacientes de la industria avícola con riesgos o eventos asociados a DME se encuentran las siguientes: 1) incorporar un enfoque sistémico en la atención a dichos trabajadores, 2) incluir aspectos psicosociales en la identificación y explicación de los riesgos y eventos en salud, 3) permitir los descansos, microrupturas y pautas para el ejercicio, 4) facilitar la rotación y ampliación de puestos de trabajo, 5) mejorar las herramientas de trabajo - especialmente el corte de los cuchillos. Conclusiones: Las intervenciones descritas en la presente revisión, apuntan hacia el mejoramiento de la incidencia y la prevalencia de los DMS, la disminución de incapacidad temporal y definitiva por los DMS, el mejoramiento en la producción industrial y la reducción de costos tanto económicos como humanos. Sin embargo, se debe plantear la necesidad de continuar impulsando el desarrollo de investigaciones y estudios que permitan tener mayores elementos de juicio para poder realizar recomendaciones a los tipos de intervenciones propuestas. A pesar de lo anterior, las intervenciones en salud para los trabajadores de la industria avícola deben ser enfocadas desde la prestación integral de los servicios de salud.

European lampreys: new insights on postglacial colonization, gene flow and speciation.

Ice ages are known to be the most dominant palaeoclimatic feature occurring on Earth, producing severe climatic oscillations and consequently shaping the distribution and the population structure of several species. Lampreys constitute excellent models to study the colonization of freshwater systems, as they commonly appear in pairs of closely related species of anadromous versus freshwater resident adults, thus having the ability to colonize new habitats, through the anadromous species, and establish freshwater resident derivates. We used 10 microsatellite loci to investigate the spatial structure, patterns of gene flow and migration routes of Lampetra populations in Europe. We sampled 11 populations including the migratory L. fluviatilis and four resident species, L. planeri, L. alavariensis, L. auremensis and L. lusitanica, the last three endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. In this southern glacial refugium almost all sampled populations represent a distinct genetic cluster, showing high levels of allopatric differentiation, reflecting long periods of isolation. As result of their more recent common ancestor, populations from northern Europe are less divergent among them, they are represented by fewer genetic clusters, and there is evidence of strong recent gene flow among populations. These previously glaciated areas from northern Europe may have been colonized from lampreys expanding out of the Iberian refugia. The pair L. fluviatilis/L. planeri is apparently at different stages of speciation in different locations, showing evidences of high reproductive isolation in the southern refugium, and low differentiation in the north.

The Impacts of Climate Change on Irrigated Agriculture in Southern Portugal

Climate change projections point to increasing air temperature and reduced precipitation in southern Portugal, which would affect farming systems. This study aims to assess the impacts of climate change on irrigated agriculture in southern Portugal. These impacts were assessed by combining climate model data with a soil water balance model and a numerical model for the design of irrigation systems. Meteorological data from two weather stations were used along with three climate models (HadRM3P, HIRHAMh and HIRHAMhh; 2071–2100). The crop rotations studied included sugar beet–maize–tomato–wheat and sunflower–wheat–barley. Two adaptation measures were considered: (i) maintaining the current crop varieties; (ii) using new crop varieties. The results from the considered climate change scenarios indicated that the impacts of climate change on irrigation requirements depend on the adopted adaptation measures. On average, the seasonal irrigation requirements increased by 13–70% when new crop varieties were used and by −13 to 7% when the current crop varieties were maintained. The impacts of climate change on irrigation system design were considerable, with the design flow rate increasing by 5–24%.

Genetic structure and mating type analysis of the Pyricularia oryzae population causing widespread epidemics in southern Brazil.

Blast is a major disease of rice in Brazil, the largest rice-producing country outside Asia. This study aimed to assess the genetic structure and mating-type frequency in a contemporary Pyricularia oryzae population, which caused widespread epidemics during the 2012/13 season in the Brazilian lowland subtropical region. Symptomatic leaves and panicles were sampled at flooded rice fields in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (RS, 34 fields) and Santa Catarina (SC, 21 fields). The polymorphism at ten simple sequence repeats (SSR or microsatellite) loci and the presence of MAT1-1 or MAT1-2 idiomorphs were assessed in a population comprised of 187 isolates. Only the MAT1-2 idiomorph was found and 162 genotypes were identified by the SSR analysis. A discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) of SSR data resolved four genetic groups, which were strongly associated with the cultivar of origin of the isolates. There was high level of genotypic diversity and moderate level of gene diversity regardless whether isolates were grouped in subpopulations based on geographic region, cultivar host or cultivar within region. While regional subpopulations were weakly differentiated, high genetic differentiation was found among subpopulations comprised of isolates from different cultivars. The data suggest that the rice blast pathogen population in southern Brazil is comprised of clonal lineages that are adapting to specific cultivar hosts. Farmers should avoid the use of susceptible cultivars over large areas and breeders should focus at enlarging the genetic basis of new cultivars.

Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) associated with persimmon Diospyros kaki L. (Ebenaceae) in Southern Brazil.

Temperate fruit production is an important economic activity in Southern Brazil. In this region, persimmon Diospyros kaki L. (Ebenaceae) is grown in small farms for domestic consumption and internal market. Mealybugs are o*en found in at least 50% of the orchards causing damages on fruits due to the honeydew secretion. However, there is a lack of informatin about species composition damaging orchards in Southern Brazil. In this work, we present a survey of mealybugs associated with persimmon trees in the Serra Gaúcha Region, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

New dimeric supramolecular structure of mixed (phthalocyaninato)(porphyrinato)-europium(III) sandwiches : preparation and spectroscopic characteristics

The mixed double-decker Eu\[Pc(15C5)4](TPP) (1) was obtained by base-catalysed tetramerisation of 4,5-dicyanobenzo-15-crown-5 using the half-sandwich complex Eu(TPP)(acac) (acac = acetylacetonate), generated in situ, as the template. For comparative studies, the mixed triple-decker complexes Eu2\[Pc(15C5)4](TPP)2 (2) and Eu2\[Pc(15C5)4]2(TPP) (3) were also synthesised by the raise-by-one-story method. These mixed ring sandwich complexes were characterised by various spectroscopic methods. Up to four one-electron oxidations and two one-electron reductions were revealed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). As shown by electronic absorption and infrared spectroscopy, supramolecular dimers (SM1 and SM3) were formed from the corresponding double-decker 1 and triple-decker 3 in the presence of potassium ions in MeOH/CHCl3.

Disorderly categories in picture postcards from colonial Papua and New Guinea

At the turn of the century in Melbourne, a notice typed on the verso of a postcard stated that the South Yarra Baptist Young Men's class was meeting on the following Sunday at 2.45 p.m. The card, published in the United Kingdom, was numbered 51828 in the Valentine series of Papuan postcards.1 The image, a photograph of Hanuabada village taken in the early 1880s, and the text, written early in 1900, are contradictory and constitute separate realms of evidence that invite a renegotiation of meaning, analysis, and interpretation of the relationships between images, tourism, colonial rule, and ethnographic knowing. The visual evidence suggests the postcard may have played an ethnographic, educative role in the public understanding of Papua, which had just become an Australian Territory and was not yet well known. It is also suggestive of educative roles related to mission endeavours, subimperialist ambitions and the new tourist traffic through the ports of Port Moresby, Samarai, and Rabaul.

A new low temperature synthesis route of fraipontite (Zn,Al)3(Si,Al)2O5(OH)4

A low temperature synthesis method based on the decomposition of urea at 90°C in water has been developed to synthesise fraipontite. This material is characterised by a basal reflection 001 at 7.44 Å. The trioctahedral nature of the fraipontite is shown by the presence of a 06l band around 1.54 Å, while a minor band around 1.51 Å indicates some cation ordering between Zn and Al resulting in Al-rich areas with a more dioctahedral nature. TEM and IR indicate that no separate kaolinite phase is present. An increase in the Al content however, did result in the formation of some SiO2 in the form of quartz. Minor impurities of carbonate salts were observed during the synthesis caused by to the formation of CO32- during the decomposition of urea.