Taller para los Coordinadores Nacionales del Protocolo de Nagoya y del Tratado Internacional en América Latina y el Caribe

El Taller de capacitación para los Coordinadores Nacionales en América Latina y el Caribe sobre la implementación del Protocolo de Nagoya del Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica (Protocolo de Nagoya) y del Tratado Internacional sobre los Recursos Fitogenéticos para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (Tratado Internacional) de forma que ambos se apoyen mutuamente se celebró del 25 al 28 de septiembre de 2018 en el Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP), Lima, Perú. La asistencia al taller fue de más de 60 participantes, incluidos los Coordinadores Nacionales del Protocolo de Nagoya y del Tratado Internacional de 16 países de América Latina y el Caribe. También asistieron representantes de las Secretarías del Tratado Internacional y del Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica, de la Federación Internacional de Semillas, representantes de organizaciones de agricultores y de pueblos indígenas, organizaciones de investigación agrícola nacionales e internacionales, así como expertos de la región que han trabajado durante décadas en políticas de acceso a recursos genéticos y participación en el reparto de beneficios derivados de su uso. Los objetivos del taller eran: 1) Fortalecer las relaciones entre los Coordinadores Nacionales de cada país y de la región; 2) Analizar los retos y las oportunidades para implementar el Tratado Internacional y el Protocolo de Nagoya de forma que se apoyen mutuamente y de forma que promuevan objetivos políticos complementarios, tales como la adaptación al cambio climático o la mejora de los medios de vida de los pueblos indígenas y de las comunidades locales; 3) Dotar a los participantes de herramientas útiles para abordar situaciones de la vida real en las que es importante la implementación de los dos instrumentos de forma que se apoyen mutuamente; 4) Identificar modos de apoyar a los países para que puedan implementar el Tratado Internacional y el Protocolo de Nagoya de forma que se apoyen mutuamente. English version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/10660

A lower bound on the right-handed neutrino mass from leptogenesis

In the seesaw model, the baryon asymmetry of the Universe can be generated by the decay of the lightest right-handed neutrino, nu_R. For a hierarchical spectrum of right-handed neutrinos, we show that there is a model independent upper bound on the CP asymmetry produced in these decays: epsilon < 3 m_{nu_3} M_{nu_R}/(8 pi ^2). This implies that epsilon and the mass M_{nu_R} of the lightest right-handed neutrino are not independent parameters, as is commonly assumed. If m_{nu_3} = sqrt{Delta m^2_{atm}} and the nu_R are produced thermally, then leptogenesis requires a reheat temperature of the Universe T_{reh} > M_{nu_R} > 10^8 GeV. Reasonable estimates of nu_R production and the subsequent washout of the asymmetry, as made by Buchmuller and Plumacher, imply M_{nu_R} > 10^9 GeV, and T_{reh} > 10^{10} GeV. Implications for the gravitino problem are also discussed.Comment: 9 pages. References added. Version to appear in Phys. Lett.

Tachyonic Squarks in Split Supersymmetry

The decoupling of scalar particles in split supersymmetry makes the spectrum of squarks irrelevant for low energy processes. Nevertheless, the structure of the vacuum is sensitive to the spectrum of squarks, even when the supersymmetry breaking scale is large. In this note, we show that in certain regions of the parameter space, squarks could develop radiatively tachyonic masses, thus breaking electric charge and color. We discuss the constraints that follow from the requirement of charge and color conservation, and we comment on the implications for model building.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. Extended discussion, typos corrected, references added. Version to appear in Phys. Lett.

Fungal biodeterioration of colour cinematographic films of the cultural heritage of Cuba

Until recently, cinematographic film was largely cellulose-triacetate-based. However, this material is highly susceptible to biodeterioration, thus placing historic film collections, an important part of the cultural heritage of many countries, at risk. In the present study, samples taken from several biodeteriorated color cinematographic films belonging to the collection of the Cuban Institute for Cinematographic Industry and Arts (ICAIC) were investigated. Infrared spectroscopy showed that all films were of the same composition, i.e., a gelatin emulsion coating one side of a cellulose-triacetate-based film support. The films were analyzed by environmental scanning electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to determine the degree of biodeterioration and the type of colonizing microorganisms. Significant fungal colonization was found on both sides of the films in all samples, with a higher concentration of fungi on the gelatin emulsion side. Epifluorescence microscopy of fluorochrome-dyed films demonstrated that some of the fungi were still active, indicating that the films under study, and probably others at the ICAIC, are at risk of further deterioration. Fungi were identified by molecular biology techniques. The fungi mainly responsible for the observed biodeterioration were those belonging to the genera Aspergillus and Cladosporium, although other genera, such as Microascus and Penicillium, were identified as well. In accordance with the findings described herein, the existing guidelines for the prevention and control of film biodeterioration are discussed

Leptogenesis and low-energy phases

In supersymmetric models, the CP asymmetry produced in the decay of the lightest right-handed neutrino, $\equiv epsilon$, can be written as a function of weak scale parameters. We introduce a way of separating epsilon into contributions from the various weak-scale phases, and study the contribution of potentially measurable neutrino phases to leptogenesis. We find that the Majorana phase phi', which could have observable effects on neutrinoless double beta decay, is important for epsilon unless there are cancellations among phases. If the phase delta can be measured at a neutrino factory, then it contributes significantly to epsilon over much of parameter space.Comment: amplified discussion, minor comments added (33 pages, 3 figures

Exploring the origins of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in amorphous Tb-Co via changes in medium-range ordering

Amorphous thin films of Tb$_{17}$Co$_{83}$ (a-Tb-Co) grown by magnetron co-sputtering exhibit changes in magnetic anisotropy with varying growth and annealing temperatures. The magnetic anisotropy constant increases with increasing growth temperature, which is reduced or vanishes upon annealing at temperatures above the growth temperature. The proposed explanation for this growth-induced anisotropy in high orbital moment Tb-based transition metal alloys such as a-Tb-Co is an amorphous phase texturing with preferential in-plane and out-of-plane local bonding configurations for the rare-earth and transition metal atoms. Scanning nanodiffraction performed in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) is applied to a-Tb$_{17}$Co$_{83}$ films deposited over a range of temperatures to measure relative changes in medium-range ordering (MRO). These measurements reveal an increase in MRO with higher growth temperatures and a decrease in MRO with higher annealing temperatures. The trend in MRO indicates a relationship between the magnetic anisotropy and local atomic ordering. Tilting select films between 0$^{\circ}$ and 40$^{\circ}$ in the TEM measures variations in the local atomic structure a function of orientation within the films. The findings support claims that preferential ordering along the growth direction results from temperature-mediated adatom configurations during deposition, and that oriented MRO correlates with the larger anisotropy constants.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

Detection and Characterization of Leptospira Infection and Exposure in Rats on the Caribbean Island of Saint Kitts

In this study, we detected and characterized Leptospira infection and exposure in rats on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts for the first time. We detected Leptospira infection in 17/29 (59%), 14/29 (48) %, and 11/29 (38) % of rats by RT-PCR, culture, and immunofluorescence assay, respectively. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) and analysis and serogrouping of 17 Leptospira strains isolated from rats revealed their close relationship with L. interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae (n = 10) and L. borgpetersenii serogroup Ballum (n = 7). WGS, serogrouping, and additional PCR tests on rat kidneys confirmed mixed infections with L. interrogans and L. borgpetersenii in the kidneys of three rats. Microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was positive for 25/29 (87%) of the rats tested, and the response was restricted to serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae {24/29(83%)}, Mankarso {4/29(14%)}, Copenhageni {4/29(14%)}, Grippotyphosa {2/29(7%)}, and Wolffi {1/29(3%)}. Interestingly, there was no agglutinating antibody response to serovar Ballum. We observed a similar pattern in the serologic response using Leptospira isolates obtained from this study with each of the rat sera, with strong response to L. interrogans isolates but minimal reactivity to L. borgpetersenii isolates. Our findings suggest the use of multiple complementary diagnostic tests for Leptospira surveillance and diagnosis to improve the accuracy of the dataIn this study, we detected and characterized Leptospira infection and exposure in rats on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts for the first time. We detected Leptospira infection in 17/29 (59%), 14/29 (48) %, and 11/29 (38) % of rats by RT-PCR, culture, and immunofluorescence assay, respectively. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) and analysis and serogrouping of 17 Leptospira strains isolated from rats revealed their close relationship with L. interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae (n = 10) and L. borgpetersenii serogroup Ballum (n = 7). WGS, serogrouping, and additional PCR tests on rat kidneys confirmed mixed infections with L. interrogans and L. borgpetersenii in the kidneys of three rats. Microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was positive for 25/29 (87%) of the rats tested, and the response was restricted to serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae {24/29(83%)}, Mankarso {4/29(14%)}, Copenhageni {4/29(14%)}, Grippotyphosa {2/29(7%)}, and Wolffi {1/29(3%)}. Interestingly, there was no agglutinating antibody response to serovar Ballum. We observed a similar pattern in the serologic response using Leptospira isolates obtained from this study with each of the rat sera, with strong response to L. interrogans isolates but minimal reactivity to L. borgpetersenii isolates. Our findings suggest the use of multiple complementary diagnostic tests for Leptospira surveillance and diagnosis to improve the accuracy of the dat

Varying c and Particle Horizons

We explore what restrictions may impose the second law of thermodynamics on varying speed of light theories. We find that the attractor scenario solving the flatness problem is consistent with the generalized second law at late time.Comment: Latex file, 8 pages, to be published in Physics Letters

Probing lepton flavour violation in slepton NLSP scenarios

In supersymmetric models where the gravitino is the lightest superparticle, the next-to-lightest superparticle (NLSP) is long-lived, and hence could be collected and studied in detail. We study the prospects of direct detection of lepton flavour violation in charged slepton NLSP decays. Mixing angles in the slepton sector as small as ~ 3\times 10^{-2} (9\times 10^{-3}) could be probed at the 90% confidence level if 3\times 10^3 (3\times 10^4) sleptons could be collected.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. v2:Comments and references are adde