Native rodent species are unlikely sources of infection for Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis along the Transoceanic Highway in Madre de Dios, Peru.

An estimated 2.3 million disability-adjusted life years are lost globally from leishmaniasis. In Peru's Amazon region, the department of Madre de Dios (MDD) rises above the rest of the country in terms of the annual incidence rates of human leishmaniasis. Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is the species most frequently responsible for the form of disease that results in tissue destruction of the nose and mouth. However, essentially nothing is known regarding the reservoirs of this vector-borne, zoonotic parasite in MDD. Wild rodents have been suspected, or proven, to be reservoirs of several Leishmania spp. in various ecosystems and countries. Additionally, people who live or work in forested terrain, especially those who are not regionally local and whose immune systems are thus naïve to the parasite, are at most risk for contracting L. (V.) braziliensis. Hence, the objective of this study was to collect tissues from wild rodents captured at several study sites along the Amazonian segment of the newly constructed Transoceanic Highway and to use molecular laboratory techniques to analyze samples for the presence of Leishmania parasites. Liver tissues were tested via polymerase chain reaction from a total of 217 rodents; bone marrow and skin biopsies (ear and tail) were also tested from a subset of these same animals. The most numerous rodent species captured and tested were Oligoryzomys microtis (40.7%), Hylaeamys perenensis (15.7%), and Proechimys spp. (12%). All samples were negative for Leishmania, implying that although incidental infections may occur, these abundant rodent species are unlikely to serve as primary reservoirs of L. (V.) braziliensis along the Transoceanic Highway in MDD. Therefore, although these rodent species may persist and even thrive in moderately altered landscapes, we did not find any evidence to suggest they pose a risk for L. (V.) braziliensis transmission to human inhabitants in this highly prevalent region

Participatory modelling for holistic understanding of catchment health and human health in Andean rural microcatchments :the case of Calabazas

PhD ThesisIn rural catchments of developing countries, land use change, inadequate access to education, health care, water and sanitation, and lack of institutional support are common problems which affect poor people. Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) which advocates for the coordinated management of water, land and related resources, and EcoHealth which holds that human health and wellbeing are outcomes of effective ecosystem management, promote catchments as tangible contexts to fulfil overlapping objectives across fields. This research links IWRM and EcoHealth using System Dynamics (SD) as a tool to increase the level of shared understanding of the socioeconomic and environmental factors influencing environmental health and human health and wellbeing in an Andean rural microcatchment in Colombia. Stakeholders´ knowledge was elicited through semi-structured interviews and documents. A Causal Loop Diagram was prepared to organize this knowledge and to identify the model structure. Information on socioeconomic and environmental variables was collected through three surveys: i) household; ii) stream water, and iii) drinking water. The household survey captured relevant social determinants of health. The stream water survey investigated stream health in relation to point and non-point pollution sources. The drinking water survey identified risks to water quality. Using SD principles and the Stella software, a series of focus groups enabled stakeholders to develop a semi-quantitative model. The resultant model comprised six interrelated sectors: population, economic, land use, stream health, human health, and management. The modelling process increased stakeholders´ understanding of their system, and helped them to identify interactions of distal and proximal factors to produce outcomes on catchment and human health. The model was a strategy for integration and a communication tool. The process allowed the incorporation of knowledge, concerns and perceptions from the different actors, disciplines, institutions and sectors involved. The process facilitated identification of limitations and benefits of existing policies and the need for policies to address neglected problems. The research contributed to methodology development in the field of IWRM – EcoHealth, testing System Dynamics Modelling as a strategy to elucidate complex social, economic and environmental linkages at the catchment scale that could be applicable to similar rural mountainous contexts.COLCIENCIAS: IFS

Effects of Seasonality and Upwelling on Coral Reef Functioning in Tayrona National Natural Park, Colombian Caribbean

The Tayrona National Natural Park (TNNP) is located at the Northeast coast of Colombia and belongs to the biodiversity hotspots in the Colombian Caribbean. Especially the effects of alternating rainy and dry seasons, going along with seasonal upwelling on the reef ecosystem are unknown. This dissertation therefore deals with the seasonal effects on local coral reefs addressing each component of the reef ecosystem: water column, marine sediments and benthic communities. Global (e.g. temperature-induced coral bleaching) and local threats (e.g. water quality decline and lionfish invasion) for TNNP coral reefs were investigated. Results suggest that while threats of global warming may be counteracted by the presence of seasonal upwelling coinciding with highest heat stress, the effects of local threats may only be avoided by improved management actions and conservation. The dissertation highlights that TNNP is a unique environment in which coral reefs, naturally exposed to harsh seasonal changes, likely have developed an increased local resilience to climate change and anthropogenic disturbances

Energy in the Americas; Energy in the Americas

Understanding the history of energy and the evolving place of energy in society is essential to facing the changing future of energy production. Across North and South America, national and localized understandings of energy as a common, public, or market good have influenced the development of energy industries. Energy in the Americas brings the diverse energy histories of North and South American nations into dialogue with one another, presenting an integrated hemispheric framework for understanding the historical constructions of contemporary debates on the role of energy in society. Rejecting pat truisms, this collection historicizes the experiences of producers and policymakers and assesses the interplay between environmental, technological, political, and ideological influences within and between countries and continents. Breaking down assumptions about the evolution of national energy histories, Energy in the Americas broadens and opens the conversation. De-emphasizing the traditional focus on national peculiarities, it favours an international, integrated approach that brings together the work of established and emerging scholars. This is an essential step in understanding the circumstances that have created current energy policy and practice, and the historical narratives that underpin how energy production is conceptualized and understood

Malignant melanoma of the urethra: a rare histologic subdivision of vulvar cancer with a poor prognosis

Malignant melanoma of the urethra is a rare tumour that is difficult to diagnose and treat, resulting in a poor prognosis. In this paper, we present the case of a 65-year-old woman who was referred to a gynaecologist because of a urethral mass that mimicked a caruncle. The tumour was removed by local excision, and a pathological analysis revealed a malignant melanoma. Distal urethrectomy was performed after three months with no evidence of residual tumour. There was no evidence of disease at a six-year followup. In this paper, we compare the epidemiology, treatment, staging, and prognosis of vulvar cancer in general to malignant melanoma of the vulva in particular

Assessing sedimentary evolution by means of Sr-isotope ratios : 3 case studies on the Caribbean plate : (Cretaceous: Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, Tertiary: Hess Rise, and La Désirade, Guadeloupe, France)

The understanding of sedimentary evolution is intimately related to the knowledge of the exact ages of the sediments. When working on carbonate sediments, age dating is commonly based on paleontological observations and established biozonations, which may prove to be relatively imprecise. Dating by means of strontium isotope ratios in marine bioclasts is the probably best method in order to precisely date carbonate successions, provided that the sample reflects original marine geochemical characteristics. This requires a precise study of the samples including its petrography, SEM and cathodoluminescence observations, stable carbon and oxygen isotope geochemistry and finally the strontium isotope measurement itself. On the Nicoya Peninsula (Northwestern Costa Rica) sediments from the Piedras Blancas Formation, Nambi Formation and Quebrada Pavas Formation were dated by the means of strontium isotope ratios measured in Upper Cretaceous Inoceramus shell fragments. Results have shown average 87Sr/86Sr values of 0.707654 (middle late Campanian) for the Piedras Blancas Formation, 0.707322 (Turonian-Coniacian) for the Nambi Formation and 0.707721 (late Campanian-Maastrichtian) for the Quebrada Pavas Formation. Abundant detrital components in the studied formations constitute a difficulty to strontium isotope dating. In fact, the fossil bearing sediments can easily contaminate the target fossil with strontium mobilized form basalts during diagenesis and thus the obtained strontium isotope ratios may be influenced significantly and so will the obtained ages. The new and more precise age assignments allow for more precision in the chronostratigraphic chart of the sedimentary and tectonic evolution of the Nicoya Peninsula, providing a better insight on the evolution of this region. Meteor Cruise M81 dredged shallow water carbonates from the Hess Rise and Hess Escarpment during March 2010. Several of these shallow water carbonates contain abundant Larger Foraminifera that indicates an Eocene-Oligocene age. In this study the strontium isotope values ranging from 0.707847 to 0.708238 can be interpreted as a Rupelian to Chattian age of these sediments. These platform sediments are placed on seamounts, now located at depths reaching 1600 m. Observation of sedimentologic characteristics of these sediments has helped to resolve apparent discrepancies between fossil and strontium isotope ages. Hence, it is possible to show that the subsidence was active during early Miocene times. On La Désirade (Guadeloupe France), the Neogene to Quaternary carbonate cover has been dated by microfossils and some U/Th-ages. Disagreements subsisted in the paleontological ages of the formations. Strontium isotope ratios ranging from 0.709047 to 0.709076 showed the Limestone Table of La Désirade to range from an Early Pliocene to Late Pliocene/early Pleistocene age. A very late Miocene age (87Sr/86Sr =0.709013) can be determined to the Detrital Offshore Limestone. The flat volcanic basement had to be eroded by wave-action during a long-term stable relative sea-level. Sediments of the Table Limestone on La Désirade show both low-stand and high-stand facies that encroach on the igneous basement, implying deposition during a major phase of subsidence creating accommodation space. Subsidence is followed by tectonic uplift documented by fringing reefs and beach rocks that young from the top of the Table Limestone (180 m) towards the present coastline. Strontium isotope ratios from two different fringing reefs (0.707172 and 0.709145) and from a beach rock (0.709163) allow tentative dating, (125ky, ~ 400ky, 945ky) and indicate an uplift rate of about 5cm/ky for this time period of La Désirade Island. The documented subsidence and uplift history calls for a new model of tectonic evolution of the area

Overcoming marginality on the margins: mapping, logging, and coca in the Amazon borderlands

textThe ecologically and culturally rich Amazonian border zones are increasingly targeted for development and the exploitation of natural resources, even as these zones often double as existing or proposed sites for the conservation of biodiversity and protection of indigenous lands. Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations alike project their goals from central offices onto borderland landscapes assumed to be empty of local people but full of valuable resources, biodiversity or development potential. Simultaneously, loggers, miners, drug traffickers, and others operate illegally or quasi-legally within these border zones and, in the absence of a strong governmental presence, cultivate the borderland's reputation as a violent hinterland. Within this complex borderland reality, the local people (indigenous and non-indigenous), largely invisible to authorities, struggle to survive with subsistence strategies while either negotiating with illegal interlopers to supplement their income or resisting them for their very survival. The resulting landscape is a tangle of overlapping and competing concessions, conservation units, and indigenous territories whose contestation and resulting confusion advances the agenda of illegal extractivists and drug traffickers. This study highlights the continued importance of fieldwork in geography. Here, field-based research provides insight into the poorly understood borderlands of Peru and Brazil. Research used a combination of participatory methods, Geographic Information Systems, ethnography, document research, and remote sensing to analyze mapping, logging, and coca cultivation within four borderland watersheds. These data were combined with regional data on coca eradication, resource concessions, conservation units, and indigenous territories from both Brazil and Peru. Field-based results demonstrate these borderlands to be highly contested and poorly mapped with an exploitative and poorly managed timber industry and a dynamic front of coca cultivation contributing to social disruption and environmental degradation. More fieldwork is needed to generate the geographic information necessary for sustainable development and conservation planning and to help local people defend their territory from illegal operators and the imposition of state resource concessions. Ecological Economic Zoning is recommended as a participatory policy framework to improve geographic information and long term planning.Geography and the Environmen