Spanish National Research Council

About: Spanish National Research Council is a government organization based out in Madrid, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Galaxy. The organization has 79563 authors who have published 220470 publications receiving 7698991 citations. The organization is also known as: CSIC & Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas.

The paradigm of body condition: a critical reappraisal of current methods based on mass and length

Abstract: Summary 1. Body condition is a major concept in ecology addressed in countless studies, and a variety of non-destructive methods are used to estimate the condition of individuals based on the relationship between body mass M and measures of length L. There is currently no consensus about the most appropriate condition index (CI) method, and various traditions have been established within subdisciplines in which ecologists tend to apply that method used previously by their peers. 2. Here, we present a reappraisal of six conventional CI methods: Fulton’s index (K = M/L3), Quetelet’s index (BMI = M/L2), Relative condition (Kn, computed as the observed individual mass divided by the predicted mass Mi* = a Lib where a and b are determined by ordinary least squares (OLS) regression of M against L), Relative mass (Wr, where a and b above are determined from a reference population), the Residual index (Ri, the residuals from an OLS regression of M against L) and ancova. We compare the performance of these methods with that of the Scaled mass index, a novel method which was previously shown to perform better than Ri as a predictor of fat and other body components [J. Peig & A.J. Green (2009) Oikos, 118, 1883]. 3. To be reliable, a CI method must successfully account for the changing relationship between M and L as body size changes and growth occurs (i.e. for the scaling relationship between M and L). Using data from three species of small mammals we show that, unlike the Scaled mass index, all six conventional methods fail to do this, and as a result they consistently lead to significant differences in CIs between age classes and sex that are a mere consequence of changes in body size. The Scaled mass index was also particularly successful at detecting changes in CI resulting from high levels of contaminants.

Description and performance of track and primary-vertex reconstruction with the CMS tracker

Abstract: A description is provided of the software algorithms developed for the CMS tracker both for reconstructing charged-particle trajectories in proton-proton interactions and for using the resulting tracks to estimate the positions of the LHC luminous region and individual primary-interaction vertices. Despite the very hostile environment at the LHC, the performance obtained with these algorithms is found to be excellent. For tt events under typical 2011 pileup conditions, the average track-reconstruction efficiency for promptly-produced charged particles with transverse momenta of p_T > 0.9GeV is 94% for pseudorapidities of |η| < 0.9 and 85% for 0.9 < |η| < 2.5. The inefficiency is caused mainly by hadrons that undergo nuclear interactions in the tracker material. For isolated muons, the corresponding efficiencies are essentially 100%. For isolated muons of p_T = 100GeV emitted at |η| < 1.4, the resolutions are approximately 2.8% in p_T, and respectively, 10μm and 30μm in the transverse and longitudinal impact parameters. The position resolution achieved for reconstructed primary vertices that correspond to interesting pp collisions is 10–12μm in each of the three spatial dimensions. The tracking and vertexing software is fast and flexible, and easily adaptable to other functions, such as fast tracking for the trigger, or dedicated tracking for electrons that takes into account bremsstrahlung.

Synthesis and surface modification of uniform MFe2O4 (M = Fe, Mn, and Co) nanoparticles with tunable sizes and functionalities

Abstract: Cubic monodisperse MFe2O4 ferrite nanoparticles (M = Fe, Co, and Mn) with tunable sizes between 7 and 20 nm and a narrow size distribution have been achieved in a one step synthesis by thermal decomposition of Fe(III), Co (II), and Mn(II) oleates. These nanoparticles have been functionalized with dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA), and bis(carboxymethyl)(2-maleimidylethyl)ammonium 4-toluenesulfonate (MATS) to grant them aqueous stability and the possibility for further functionalization with different biomolecules. Their structural, magnetic, and colloidal properties have also been studied to determine their chemical and physical properties and the degree of stability under physiological conditions that will determine their future use in biomedical applications.

Potential antioxidant capacity of sulfated polysaccharides from the edible marine brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus.

Abstract: Fucus vesiculosus was sequentially extracted with water at 22 degrees C (fraction 1 (F1)) and 60 degrees C (F2), and with 0.1 M HCl (F3) and 2 M KOH (F4) at 37 degrees C. Soluble fractions (42.3% yield) were composed of neutral sugars (18.9-48 g/100 g), uronic acids (8.8-52.8 g/100 g), sulfate (2.4-11.5 g/100 g), small amounts of protein (< 1-6.1 g/100 g), and nondialyzable polyphenols (0.1-2.7 g/100 g). The main neutral sugars were fucose, glucose, galactose, and xylose. Infrared (IR) spectra of the fractions showed absorption bands at 820-850 and 1225-1250 cm(-1) for sulfate. F1, F2, and F4 also exhibited an absorption band at 1425 cm(-1), due to uronic acids, and their IR spectra resembled that of alginate. F3 had an IR spectrum similar to that of fucoidan with an average molecular weight of 1.6 x 10(6) Da, calculated by molecular exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography. The presence of fucose in this polysaccharide was confirmed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. This fraction showed the highest potential to be antioxidant by the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, followed by the alkali- and water-soluble fractions. Sulfated polysaccharides from edible seaweeds potentially could be used as natural antioxidants by the food industry.