Caracterizaci?n silvicultural de Carludovica palmata Ruiz & Pav. en la Reserva Ind?gena K?k??ldi. Presentado en el Congreso Forestal Centroamericano del 15-17 de setiembre, 1997.

Tesis (M. Sc) -- CATIE, Turrialba (Costa Rica), 199

FIRST REPORT OF COMMON BEAN FLOWER THRIPS Megalurothrips usitatus Bagnall IN COSTA RICA

Background: The species Megalurothrips usitatus is a thrips insect that has been recorded in Asia, Oceania, Australia and recently in America, attacking legume crops. Objective: to report Megalurothrips usitatus as species associated with flowers of common bean plants in Costa Rica. Methodology: the thrips from three growing bean locations were sampled and characterized through light microscopy in Costa Rica. Furthermore, a phylogenetic analysis of the COI gene compared with the databases of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) was performed. Results: The species was recorded in three bean growing areas (Sardinal of Guanacaste, Estación Experimental Agrícola Fabio Baudrit Moreno in Alajuela and La Managua in Quepos). Implications: the new report of the insect in flowers of Phaseolus vulgaris implies future monitoring actions and respective integrated management; ignoring thrips populations could cause losses in the bean's regional production. Conclusion: the bean flower thrips is reported for the first time in Costa Rica

Reciclaje de baterías de plomo ácido en Costa Rica: un estudio de caso

This work describes the production of secondary lead in a smelter located in Costa Rica. The only input of the plant is scrap automotive batteries. We describe the environmental management strategies used for waste minimization, including the waste characterization and minimization of gaseous emissions. The waste characterization included the sulphidic slag containing varying quantities of lead (total lead content and TCLP), along with the gaseous analysis (SO2, TSP and P-Pb). Through process improvement, we reduced both the quantity of slag produced and the lead loss to the slag, as well as the concentrations of gas pollutants in the gaseous emissions.Este trabajo describe la producción de plomo secundario en una fundición ubicada en Costa Rica. El único insumo de la planta son las baterías de automóviles de desecho. Nosotros describir las estrategias de gestión ambiental utilizadas para la minimización de residuos, incluyendo la caracterización de residuos y minimización de emisiones gaseosas. los la caracterización de residuos incluyó la escoria sulfídica que contiene cantidades variables de plomo (contenido total de plomo y TCLP), junto con el análisis gaseoso (SO2, TSP y P-Pb). A través de la mejora del proceso, redujimos tanto la cantidad de escoria producido y la pérdida de plomo a la escoria, así como las concentraciones de gas contaminantes en las emisiones gaseosasUniversidad Nacional, Costa RicaEscuela de Químic

Toward a coordinated understanding of hydro‐biogeochemical root functions in tropical forests for application in vegetation models

Tropical forest root characteristics and resource acquisition strategies are underrepresented in vegetation and global models, hampering the prediction of forest–climate feedbacks for these carbon-rich ecosystems. Lowland tropical forests often have globally unique combinations of high taxonomic and functional biodiversity, rainfall seasonality, and strongly weathered infertile soils, giving rise to distinct patterns in root traits and functions compared with higher latitude ecosystems. We provide a roadmap for integrating recent advances in our understanding of tropical forest belowground function into vegetation models, focusing on water and nutrient acquisition. We offer comparisons of recent advances in empirical and model understanding of root characteristics that represent important functional processes in tropical forests. We focus on: (1) fine-root strategies for soil resource exploration, (2) coupling and trade-offs in fine-root water vs nutrient acquisition, and (3) aboveground–belowground linkages in plant resource acquisition and use. We suggest avenues for representing these extremely diverse plant communities in computationally manageable and ecologically meaningful groups in models for linked aboveground–belowground hydro-nutrient functions. Tropical forests are undergoing warming, shifting rainfall regimes, and exacerbation of soil nutrient scarcity caused by elevated atmospheric CO2. The accurate model representation of tropical forest functions is crucial for understanding the interactions of this biome with the climate

The Network Structure of Schizotypal Personality Traits

Elucidating schizotypal traits is important if we are to understand the various manifestations of psychosis spectrum liability and to reliably identify individuals at high risk for psychosis. The present study examined the network structures of (1) 9 schizotypal personality domains and (2) 74 individual schizotypal items, and (3) explored whether networks differed across gender and culture (North America vs China). The study was conducted in a sample of 27001 participants from 12 countries and 21 sites (M age = 22.12; SD = 6.28; 37.5% males). The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) was used to assess 74 self-report items aggregated in 9 domains. We used network models to estimate conditional dependence relations among variables. In the domain-level network, schizotypal traits were strongly interconnected. Predictability (explained variance of each node) ranged from 31% (odd/magical beliefs) to 55% (constricted affect), with a mean of 43.7%. In the item-level network, variables showed relations both within and across domains, although within-domain associations were generally stronger. The average predictability of SPQ items was 27.8%. The network structures of men and women were similar (r = .74), node centrality was similar across networks (r = .90), as was connectivity (195.59 and 199.70, respectively). North American and Chinese participants networks showed lower similarity in terms of structure (r = 0.44), node centrality (r = 0.56), and connectivity (180.35 and 153.97, respectively). In sum, the present article points to the value of conceptualizing schizotypal personality as a complex system of interacting cognitive, emotional, and affective characteristics