Detection of integron integrase genes on King George Island, Antarctica

The presence and diversity of class 1 integrase gene (intI) sequences were evaluated by PCR using previously designed primers. Two clone libraries were constructed from DNA in sediment and microbial mat samples collected on Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica.The libraries constructed from samples collected at Halfthree Point (HP) and Norma Cove (NC) contained 62 and 36 partial intI sequences, respectively. These sequences clustered into 10 different groups with <95% amino acid identity. Alignment of the deduced amino acid sequences with those from recognized integron-encoded integrases demonstrated the presence of highly conserved motifs characteristic of intI integrases. The HP library contained 42 nucleotide sequences identical to the class 1 intI gene found in a collection of trimethoprim-resistant (Tmpr) Antarctic Enterobacter sp. isolates, previously collected in the same area. These integrons, located on plasmids, had a genetic organization similar to that of pKOX105 from Klebsiella oxytoca. The 20 remaining HP and NC library sequences were similar to integrase sequences previously determined in a metagenomic analysis of environmental samples. We have demonstrated the presence of integron integrase genes in Antarctic sediment samples. About half these genes were very similar to the class 1 integrons found in humanassociated microbiota, suggesting that they originated from human-dominated ecosystems. The remaining integrase genes were probably associated with endemic bacteria

ORINOCO CROCODILE CROCODYLUS INTERMEDIUS

The Orinoco crocodile is a large, relatively long-nosed crocodile restricted to the middle and lower reaches of the Orinoco River and its tributaries in Venezuela and Colombia Although this crocodile was found in a wide variety of habitats, including rivers in tropical evergreen forest and piedmont streams in the foothills of the Andes, it reached its greatest numbers in the seasonal rivers of the Llanos savanna regio

Thermal Transformation of Natural Schwertmannite in the Presence of Chromium

Schwertmannite is a metastable mineral playing a crucial role in the immobilization of metal(oid)s in acid mine drainage (AMD) systems. High temperatures associated with wildfires could lead to a sudden schwertmannite transformation, changing the mobility of metal(oid)s. The objective of the present study was to examine the thermal transformation from schwertmannite to hematite, and the subsequent effect on the chromium partitioning. The immobilization of arsenate after thermal transformation and its implications on chromium mobility was also evaluated. Natural schwertmannite, with increasing contents of chromium, was thermally treated between 200 to 800 °C. Transformation products were characterized by solid-phase techniques and selective chemical extractions. Results indicated a transformation to hematite at temperatures above 400 °C. The presence of chromium barely affected the temperature at which the transformation occurred, although partitioning of chromium in the mineral changed with temperature. As the temperature increased from 25 °C to 400 °C, chromium was less mobile and less outcompeted by arsenic adsorption, suggesting a larger contribution of inner-sphere complexes with increasing temperature. At temperatures above 600 °C, non-mobile forms strongly associated with neo-formed hematite were found. Finally, neo-formation of hematite led to a decrease in arsenic adsorption, implying a potentially enhanced arsenic mobility in AMD systems upon wildfires

Agentes y lazos sociales: la experiencia de volverse comunidad

En la colonia Lomas de Polanco, al sur de la ciudad de Guadalajara, México, entre 1970 y 1990 se generó un movimiento ciudadano, enraizado en las Comunidades Eclesiales de Base y la educación popular, que emprendió una lucha exitosa para conseguir los servicios de infraestructura urbana ante las promesas incumplidas de autoridades y fraccionadores. La confluencia de actores, individuales y colectivos, de distintos contextos, contribuyeron a la reconstitución del tejido social y la creación de los lazos que dieron sentido de comunidad a los colonos y al desarrollo de su capacidad de agencia para la trasformación positiva de su entorno y de su vida. Esta experiencia se recupera en esta obra, a partir de una serie de entrevistas con los actores del movimiento, mediante un análisis retrospectivo y desde varias perspectivas teóricas. Su estudio permite comprender mejor las dinámicas sociales acontecidas y posibilita su reproducción para enfrentar de manera organizada y con éxito problemas en contextos urbanos y sociales particulares.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaGobierno del Estado de Jalisc

Economic contribution and social welfare of recreational charter boat fisheries in the northeast Atlantic: The cases of Galicia (Spain) and Madeira archipelago (Portugal)

Recreational charter boat fisheries provide alternative economic development to traditional commercial fisheries, especially to coastal communities in warm seas. Charter boat fishing has been little studied in temperate regions, and the factors that trigger its development and social contribution to fishing communities are unknown. We performed an economic analysis of recreational charter boat fisheries in the Eastern North Atlantic to assess their contribution to social welfare. We selected two case studies located in Galicia (NW Spain) and Madeira archipelago (Portugal). The two cases differ in the socioecological attributes in which recreational charter boat fishing is developed (e.g., relevance of commercial fishing, tourism, or targeted species), that were included in the assessment. Up to 7 charter fishing companies were identified in Galicia (10 boats) and 14 in Madeira (18 boats), and information on the costs and benefits of the activity were collected by a questionnaire answered by company managers and skippers. Charter boats in Galicia are operating throughout the year, and anglers mostly engage in bottom fishing targeting demersal predators like ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) and European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) that they retain. Despite the strong seasonality of the fishery in Madeira, focused on summers, the fishing effort is higher than in Galicia. On average, charter boats go fishing for 39.3 ± 41.5 (SD) fishing journeys and take 2 500 anglers on board per year in Galicia, while in Madeira they fish 63.7 ± 32.7 journeys and take 3 200 anglers on board. Anglers target in Madeira pelagic top predators like blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), or some tuna species, e.g., bigeye (Thunnus obesus), by trolling in a catch and release fishery. The economic balance of companies was more favorable in Madeira, with an average gross annual profit of € 28 883 ± 30 755, while economic yield in Galicia was € 4 444 ± 7 916. We also applied a travel cost method to assess the recreation demand of recreational fishing trips based on a questionnaire answered by 150 clients in Galicia and 55 in Madeira. We estimated the visitor surplus mean value to be € 1 385 per year in Galicia (95% confidence interval, CI95%= € 1 219 – € 1 550), and € 1 738 in Madeira (CI95%= € 1 433 – 2 043). The social annual recreation value of Galician fishery was worth € 3.4 Million, ranging between € 3.0 M and € 3.8 M, a value well below the annual economic impact generated by commercial fishing (€ 700 M). The recreation value of the charter boat fishery in Madeira, € 6.3 M, ranging between € 5.2 M and € 7.5 M, is comparable to the annual economic impact of commercial fishing, that contributes to the local economy with € 12 M

High levels of population genetic differentiation in the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)

The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a widely distributed species across coastal and brackish areas of the Neotropical region of the Americas and the Greater Antilles. Available information on patterns of genetic differentiation in C. acutus shows a complex structuring influenced by interspecific interactions (mainly hybridization) and anthropogenic actions (mostly historical hunting, recent poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation, and unintentional translocation of individuals). In this study, we used data on mitochondrial DNA control region and 11 nuclear polymorphic microsatellite loci to assess the degree of population structure of C. acutus in South America, North America, Central America and the Greater Antilles. We used traditional genetic differentiation indices, Bayesian clustering and multivariate methods to create a more comprehensive picture of the genetic relationships within the species across its range. Analyses of mtDNA and microsatellite loci show evidence of a strong population genetic structure in the American crocodile, with unique populations in each sampling locality. Our results support previous findings showing large degrees of genetic differentiation between the continental and the Greater Antillean C. acutus. We report three new haplotypes unique to Venezuela, which are considerably less distant from the Central and North American haplotypes than to the Greater Antillean ones. Our findings reveal genetic population differentiation between Cuban and Jamaican C. acutus and offer the first evidence of strong genetic differentiation among the populations of Greater Antillean C. acutus

Climatic groups in Ibero-America viticulture compared to worldwide wine producer regions.

The wine production is an important activity in many Ibero-American countries. The wine producer regions of these countries configure a large use of different climate types and viticultural climates. In a vitivinicultural zoning project of CYTED (Ibero-American Program for Science, Technology and Development), a viticultural climatic characterization was done in this macro viticultural region. The project have assembled a climatic database that characterizes the viticultural regions, including relevant variables for viticulture: air temperature (mean, maximum, and minimum), precipitation, relative humidity, solar radiation, number of sunshine hours, wind speed, and evapotranspiration. Using indices of the Geoviticulture MCC System (HI, CI and DI), more than 70 viticultural regions in different countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Spain, Mexico, Peru, Portugal and Uruguay) were characterized according to its viticultural climatic. The results, which will be integrated to the worldwide database of the MCC System, showed that the Ibero-American viticulture is placed in a wide range of climatic groups of the wine producing regions around the world. This article presents the climatic groups found in Ibero-America, identifying also some new climatic groups not yet found in other regions of the world. This work also identifies some climatic groups not found in Ibero-America viticulture. The research has also highlighted viticultural areas characterized by climates with ?intra-annual climatic variability?, with the potential to produce more than one growing cycle per year. The results allow to conclude that the wide variability and climatic diversity present in Ibero-America may be one of the reasons to explain the diversity in terms of wine types, sensorial characteristics, typicity and uniqueness of wines produced on this macro-region

Do bad borrowers hurt good borrowers? A model of biased banking competition

This paper explores a two-bank model in which, first, one bank correctly estimates the probability of low-quality loan repayment while the other overestimates it, and second, both banks have identical convex costs when granting loans. In this context of optimistically biased banking competition, we show how the unbiased bank follows the biased competitor as long as the bias of the latter is not too large. This would favour bad borrowers, who get better credit conditions at the expense of good borrowers. As a consequence, the presence of a biased bank increases welfare as long as the expected default rate is sufficiently high. Contrariwise, in subprime markets, biased banking competition would be socially harmful.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Catalysis in flow: Operando study of Pd catalyst speciation and leaching

A custom-made plug flow reactor was designed and constructed to examine the behaviour of Pd catalysts during Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions. Spatial-temporal resolution of catalyst activation, deactivation and leaching processes can be obtained by single-pass experiments. Subsequent deployment of the flow reactor in a XAS beam line revealed speciation of Pd along the catalyst bed

Viticultural climate and climatic groups in Ibero-American wine producer regions.

A produção de vinhos constitui-se numa importante atividade sócio-econômica em diversos países Ibero-Americanos. As regiões vitivinícolas nestes países localizam-se em diversos tipos de clima