Croando bajo la lluvia

Esta obra es parte de la colección de cuatro libros de cuentos creada en el marco del Proyecto de Comunicación y Divulgación de Ciencia y Tecnología “Guardianes de la noche: Una mirada científica a los animales nocturnos y su importancia en los ecosistemas (COMU01-10)” cofinanciado por el Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) con el apoyo del Fondo para la Excelencia de la Educación y la Investigación (FEEI).La ciencia y la literatura se unen para brindarnos una mirada diferente sobre animales nocturnos que, a pesar de su gran importancia en los ecosistemas, suelen ser incomprendidos y, además, despertar temor. Los cuentos, narrados en español y guaraní, relatan las aventuras de animales que habitan en diversos ecosistemas de Paraguay, brindando información sobre sus características, comportamiento y amenazas que enfrentan. Esta obra forma parte de una colección de cuatro libros de cuentos creados en el marco del Proyecto de Comunicación y Divulgación de Ciencia y Tecnología “Guardianes de la noche: Una mirada científica a los animales nocturnos y su importancia en los ecosistemas (COMU01-10)”. Cada libro contiene dos cuentos que se enfocan en un grupo de animales nocturnos: anfibios, reptiles, aves y murciélagos, e incluyen guías didácticas para docentes. ¡Adéntrate en el misterio y la magia de la vida nocturna, y descubre el verdadero valor de estos asombrosos animales a través de una cautivadora lectura!Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPrograma Paraguayo para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología. Programa de apoyo a proyectos de comunicación de la ciencia y la tecnologí

Understanding the genetic variation and structure of the Rustipollos chicken synthetic population locally adapted to Paraguay : opportunities for a sustainable chicken productivity

Correspondence: [email protected] (L.A.C.R.); [email protected] (S.C.)The production of backyard chickens is an activity of great importance in the economy of rural families in Paraguay. The Rustipollos population was created through directed crosses between a commercial meat line and a local population belonging to non-specific breeds but phenotypically assimilated to Creole breeds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity, relationship, and structure of Rustipollos using 29 microsatellite markers. Analysis was performed on 50 Rustipollos animals and 926 other individuals as reference breeds/populations from Europe, Africa, South, and North America. A total of 318 alleles were detected, with a mean of 10.97 per locus. The polymorphic information content indicated that 80% of all loci were highly to moderately informative. Only two breeds/populations showed loci that did not deviate from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The results of genetic diversity indexes suggested moderate levels of genetic variability in Rustipollos population and low inbreeding level. The genetic differentiation index indicates a high genetic differentiation between populations. The results of the Neighbor-Net tree and STRUCTURE analyses indicate the existence of distinct gene pools, with some genetic relationships between Rustipollos, the commercial chicken strain, and south Spanish breeds. The Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components confirmed the observed genetic distances between breeds/populations. The results will be useful for sustainable use and official recognition of this population.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPrograma Paraguayo para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología. Proyectos de investigación y desarroll

Analysis of patterns related to wildlife roadkill in the Humid Chaco of Paraguay

Corresponding author: José Luis Cartes Yegros ([email protected]), Pier Cacciali ([email protected])Paved roads are a solution for communication between human societies, but at the same time, their expansion is detrimental to wildlife. In this work, vertebrate mortality events due to traffic collisions on National Route N° 5, in a 50 km stretch from the town of Pozo Colorado to the east, are evaluated. Vehicle journeys were carried out at a constant speed of 40 km/h every two months, from November 2020 to May 2022. All findings of roadkill were recorded by photograph. To analyse spatial patterns, the Kernel density was estimated, assessing the randomness of Ripley's K collisions and standardised roadkill rates were assessed for each species. A total of 272 individuals were recorded, corresponding to 87 amphibians, 38 birds and 35 mammals. In terms of the number of species, the composition was as follows: reptiles with 20 species, birds with 13 species, mammals with 11 and amphibians with at least 12 species. The species with the highest number of dead individuals was the common toad (Rhinella diptycha), followed by snakes. According to the standardised roadkill rates, the most affected animals are Cerdocyon thous, Rhinella diptycha, Caiman yacare and Dryophylax hypoconia with more than 200 individuals per kilometre per year. A bat, Lasiurus ega, was identified for the first time for Paraguay. Climatic conditions seems to have no strong effect on the occurrence pattern of the different taxa, with the exception of birds that decrease with stronger winds. The greatest coincidences occurred in three sections: km 5–5.5, km 33.5–34.5 and km 40–43. There was a correlation with crossroads areas, watercourses and forest islands. In view of the road development policy in the region, it is necessary to carry out studies of its impacts in the longer term.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPrograma Paraguayo para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología. Programa Nacional de Incentivo a los Investigadore

Jaguar at the Edge : movement patterns in human-altered landscapes

Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (V. Bejarano Alegre)Human-caused habitat loss and fragmentation have significantly impacted the natural environments of large carnivores, altering their movement patterns and increasing risks such as hunting and road collisions. This study aims to understand the movement of jaguars (Panthera onca) through forests, agriculture of varying patch sizes, their distances to these structures, and roads and drainages. By analyzing movement speed, revisits, time spent inside these structures, and the timing of the last visit, data from 54 GPS-tagged jaguars in South America reveal a pronounced tendency to revisit the edges of these landscape variables. Additionally, jaguars showed a stronger affinity for natural areas, spending more time in large forest patches and reducing their speed in natural drainages. Areas with extensive agriculture had fewer revisits, and jaguars moved faster near roads. These results demonstrate the level of tolerance and the dangers this species faces in a landscape with anthropogenic aspects. This comprehensive assessment of movement patterns and landscape use provides valuable insights into how landscape structure influences habitat preference and mobility rates, which is crucial for future jaguar conservation and management strategies.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPrograma Paraguayo para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología. Programa Nacional de Incentivo a los Investigadore

Estructura espacial policéntrica del Área Metropolitana de Asunción (AMA)

El policentrismo en el área metropolitana es un fenómeno relativamente nuevo, que comprende la coexistencia de varios centros de empleo o subcentros. Esta línea de estudio se basa en variables de localización y densidad de empleo para la determinación de la estructura espacial de los territorios. El hallazgo principal corresponde a la identificación de dos subcentros de empleo: Fernando de la Mora y San Lorenzo. El modelo de estructura espacial del empleo en el AMA confirma que esta tiende al policentrismo, con mayor densidad de empleo en zonas cercanas a los subcentros. Por la relevancia económica, social y ambiental que tiene el vínculo entre el lugar donde trabajan las personas y el lugar donde residen, se requiere un mayor énfasis de las políticas públicas en la planificación del territorio. Las recomendaciones de este estudio giran en torno a la coordinación vertical y horizontal, la planificación del transporte urbano en un escenario policéntrico (reconociendo a Asunción y los subcentros de empleo como destinos clave en el día a día), el aprovechamiento de las ventajas del policentrismo en términos de menores costos y la generación de datos de empleo con mayor desagregación espacial. Finalmente, se logró obtener una descripción global de la estructura espacial del empleo en el AMA. Los resultados, obtenidos con base científica, sirven como soporte teórico para la posterior generación de políticas públicas basadas en evidencias.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPrograma Paraguayo para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología. Proyectos de investigación y desarroll

Draft genome sequence of Agrobacterium pusense strain CMT1 : a promising growth-promoting bacterium isolated from nodules of soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) crops for the One Health approach in Paraguay

Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (H. Nakayama), [email protected] (S. de los Santos Villalobos).Strain CMT1 was isolated from nodules of non-inoculated Roundup Ready (RR) soybean plants (Glycine max L. Merrill), which were collected in fields in Itauguá, Paraguay. The genome of this strain had 338,984,909 bp; 59.2 % G + C content; 377648 bp N50; 5 L50; 55 contigs; 51 RNAs and 5,272 predicted coding DNA sequences (CDS) distributed in 327 subsystems. Based on overall genome-relatedness indices (OGRIs), this strain was taxonomically affiliated with Agrobacterium pusense. Based on genome mining, strain CMT1 is a promising plant growth-promoting bacterium that could be validated in agricultural fields for increasing soybean yield and quality, diminishing the economic, environmental, and health costs of non-sustainable food production.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPrograma de Innovación en Empresas Paraguayas. Servicios tecnológico

Desafíos y oportunidades de la computación en Paraguay

Un nuevo horizonte. En el escenario latinoamericano, Paraguay ha sido históricamente conocido como un productor de alimentos, desempeñando un papel relevante en la producción agrícola y ganadera de la región. También se lo conoce como exportador de energía hidroeléctrica. Sin embargo, en los últimos años, Paraguay ha comenzado a trazar un nuevo camino que lo posiciona no sólo como un productor de electricidad limpia, granos o carne, sino también como un centro emergente de conocimiento y tecnología. Esto, gracias al ascenso de Paraguay en el ámbito de las ciencias en general y muy particularmente en el área de computación, una disciplina que promete transformar su economía y su posición en el mapa global del conocimiento

Characterization of dengue virus 4 cases in Paraguay, 2019–2020

Correspondence: [email protected] (A.R.); [email protected] (J.J.W.)In 2019–2020, dengue virus (DENV) type 4 emerged to cause the largest DENV outbreak in Paraguay’s history. This study sought to characterize dengue relative to other acute illness cases and use phylogenetic analysis to understand the outbreak’s origin. Individuals with an acute illness (≤7 days) were enrolled and tested for DENV nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) and viral RNA by real-time RT-PCR. Near-complete genome sequences were obtained from 62 DENV-4 positive samples. From January 2019 to March 2020, 799 participants were enrolled: 253 dengue (14 severe dengue, 5.5%) and 546 other acute illness cases. DENV-4 was detected in 238 dengue cases (94.1%). NS1 detection by rapid test was 52.5% sensitive (53/101) and 96.5% specific (387/401) for dengue compared to rRT-PCR. DENV-4 sequences were grouped into two clades within genotype II. No clustering was observed based on dengue severity, location, or date. Sequences obtained here were most closely related to 2018 DENV-4 sequences from Paraguay, followed by a 2013 sequence from southern Brazil. DENV-4 can result in large outbreaks, including severe cases, and is poorly detected with available rapid diagnostics. Outbreak strains seem to have been circulating in Paraguay and Brazil prior to 2018, highlighting the importance of sustained DENV genomic surveillance.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPrograma Paraguayo para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología. Proyectos de investigación y desarroll

Genomic epidemiology of the primary methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clones causing invasive infections in Paraguayan children

Address correspondence to Fátima Rodríguez, [email protected] Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the major human pathogens. It could carry numerous resistance genes and virulence factors in its genome, some of which are related to the severity of the infection. An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study was designed to molecularly analyze MRSA isolates that cause invasive infections in Paraguayan children from 2009 to 2013. Ten representative MRSA isolates of the main clonal complex identified were analyzed with short-read paired-end sequencing and assessed for the virulome, resistome, and phylogenetic relationships. All the genetically linked MRSA isolates were recovered from diverse clinical sources, patients, and hospitals at broad gap periods. The pan-genomic analysis of these clones revealed three major and different clonal complexes (CC30, CC5, and CC8), each composed of clones closely related to each other. The CC30 genomes prove to be a successful clone, strongly installed and disseminated throughout our country, and closely related to other CC30 public genomes from the region and the world. The CC5 shows the highest genetic variability, and the CC8 carried the complete arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME), closely related to the USA300-NAE-ACME+, identified as the major cause of CA-MRSA infections in North America. Multiple virulence and resistance genes were identified for the first time in this study, highlighting the complex virulence profiles of MRSA circulating in the country. This study opens a wide range of new possibilities for future projects and trials to improve the existing knowledge on the epidemiology of MRSA circulating in Paraguay.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPrograma Paraguayo para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología. Financiamiento para la vinculación de científicos y tecnólogo

Improving steady state accuracy in field-weakened six-phase induction machines with integrator and modulated predictive control

Correspondence: [email protected] (M.A.); [email protected] (J.D.-G.)This article belongs to the Section Power Electronics.Finite-control-set model predictive control techniques are considered an exciting option for high-performance control multiphase drives due to their fast dynamic response, ability to handle multiple targets and constraints, and adaptability to different power converters or machine models. However, these techniques have some drawbacks, such as poor current reduction (−) and steady-state error (−), especially in the field weakening zone. Although some proposals have addressed these issues by adding modulation stages or designing new cost functions, there is still room for improvement, especially in steady-state error reduction. Therefore, this article proposes to include an integrator attached to a modulated predictive current controller applied to a six-phase induction machine to improve its performance throughout the entire speed range regarding steady-state error mitigation. Experimental tests were carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed controller. Tests were carried out evaluating the reduction of the steady-state error (−), the current tracking, the (−) currents reduction and the total harmonic distortion.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPrograma Paraguayo para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología. Proyectos de investigación y desarrolloPrograma Paraguayo para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología. Programa Nacional de Incentivo a los Investigadore