University of Alcalá

About: University of Alcalá is a education organization based out in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 10795 authors who have published 20718 publications receiving 410089 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Alcala & University of Alcala de Henares.

Searches for anisotropies in the arrival directions of the highest energy cosmic rays detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory

Abstract: Fil: Almela, Daniel Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Tecnologias en Deteccion y Astroparticulas; Argentina

An empirical analysis of the impact of renewable energy deployment on local sustainability

Abstract: It is usually mentioned that renewable energy sources (RES) have a large potential to contribute to the sustainable development of specific territories by providing them with a wide variety of socioeconomic benefits, including diversification of energy supply, enhanced regional and rural development opportunities, creation of a domestic industry and employment opportunities. The analysis of these benefits has usually been too general (i.e., mostly at the national level) and a focus on the regional and especially the local level has been lacking. This paper empirically analyses those benefits, by applying a conceptual and methodological framework previously developed by the authors to three renewable energy technologies in three different places in Spain. With the help of case studies, the paper shows that the contribution of RES to the economic and social dimensions of sustainable development might be significant. Particularly important is employment creation in these areas. Although, in absolute terms, the number of jobs created may not be high, it may be so with respect to the existing jobs in the areas considered. Socioeconomic benefits depend on several factors, and not only on the type of renewable energy, as has usually been mentioned. The specific socioeconomic features of the territories, including the productive structure of the area, the relationships between the stakeholders and the involvement of the local actors in the renewable energy project may play a relevant role in this regard. Furthermore, other local (socioeconomic) sustainability aspects beyond employment creation should be considered.

The role of health extension workers in improving utilization of maternal health services in rural areas in Ethiopia: a cross sectional study

Abstract: Community health workers are widely used to provide care for a broad range of health issues. Since 2003 the government of Ethiopia has been deploying specially trained new cadres of community based health workers named health extension workers (HEWs). This initiative has been called the health extension program. Very few studies have investigated the role of these community health workers in improving utilization of maternal health services. A cross sectional survey of 725 randomly selected women with under-five children from three districts in Northern Ethiopia. We investigated women’s utilization of family planning, antenatal care, birth assistance, postnatal care, HIV testing and use of iodized salt and compared our results to findings of a previous national survey from 2005. In addition, we investigated the association between several variables and utilization of maternal health services using logistic regression analysis. HEWs have contributed substantially to the improvement in women’s utilization of family planning, antenatal care and HIV testing. However, their contribution to the improvement in health facility delivery, postnatal check up and use of iodized salt seems insignificant. Women who were literate (OR, 1.85), listened to the radio (OR, 1.45), had income generating activities (OR, 1.43) and had been working towards graduation or graduated as model family (OR, 2.13) were more likely to demonstrate good utilization of maternal health services. A model family is by definition a family which has fulfilled all the packages of the HEP. The HEWs seem to have substantial contribution in several aspects of utilization of maternal health services but their insignificant contribution in improving health facility delivery and skilled birth attendance remains an important problem. More effort is needed to improve the effectiveness of HEWs in these regards. For example, strengthening HEWs’ support for pregnant women for birth planning and preparedness and referral from HEWs to midwives at health centers should be strengthened. In addition, women’s participation in income generating activities, access to radio and education could be targets for future interventions.

Vegetation cover reduces erosion and enhances soil organic carbon in a vineyard in the central Spain

Abstract: Land degradation, and soil and nutrient loss, are significant environmental problems in semi-arid agricultural environments in the Mediterranean Basin. One land use that is particularly associated with the highest rates of erosion in Spain is extensive vineyards. We examined the effectiveness of two cover crops for improving soil physical properties and reducing erosion in a vineyard located in the Henares River basin southeast of Madrid, Spain. We assessed erosion from three replicate plots of 2 m 2 each with three treatments that comprised: traditional tillage, permanent cover of Brachypodium distachyon and spring-mown crop of Secale cereale . Erosion plots under traditional tillage yielded substantially more erosion (5.88 t ha − 1 yr − 1 ) than Brachypodium (0.78 t ha − 1 yr − 1 ) or Secale (1.27 t ha − 1 yr − 1 ). While the concentration of SOC in sediments was greater for the cover crops, the mass-corrected loss of SOC was greater under tillage (0.06 t ha − 1 yr − 1 ) than under Brachypodium or Secale (0.02 t ha − 1 yr − 1 ). Root biomass was two- to four-times greater under the vegetation treatments. Our measure of aggregate stability for the tillage treatment remained between 7.9 and 5.4 drops over the four years of study and values for both cover crops exceeded that for Tillage by the end of the second year. The vegetation cover treatments increased SOC by 1.2% and intrapedal SOC by 10–60% compared with Tillage. By the end of the study, steady-state infiltration in the cover treatments was 45% greater than that under tillage, with the largest increase under Brachypodium . We attribute the greater infiltration on cover treatments to a greater abundance of larger pores on vegetated compared with tilled plots. Our study reinforces the notion that there are considerable benefits of using cover crops in rainfed vineyards, not only for prevention of soil erosion, but to enhance soil condition and potentially reduce the heavy reliance on industrial fertilisers.

Preserving accuracy in GenBank

Abstract: GenBank, the public repository for nucleotide and protein sequences, is a critical resource for molecular biology, evolutionary biology, and ecology. While some attention has been drawn to sequence errors ([1][1]), common annotation errors also reduce the value of this database. In fact, for