An exploration of the potential benefits of integrated pest management systems and the use of insect resistant potatoes to control the Guatemalan Tuber Moth (Tecia solanivora Povolny) in Ventaquemada, Colombia:

"CORPOICA and IFPRI implemented a research project in Ventaquemada, Colombia. The project's goal was to asses the benefits of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices and the potential of Genetically Modified insect resistant (Bt) potatoes to manage damage caused by the Guatemalan Tuber Moth (Tecia solanivora Povolny). The Guatemalan Tuber Moth is particularly destructive because field spraying on the adult stage is ineffective and there exists damage specificity to the tubers. Excessive pesticide sprays have resulted in resistance to several insecticides. Insect resistant (Bt) potatoes has been shown an effective means to control other members of the Tuber Moth complex. Thus a Bt potato may play a role in managing Tecia in Colombia. This is an ex ante study as there are no Bt potatoes currently under field conditions in Colombia.. To examine this issue, we conducted a survey in 2003 of 78 farmers in the region to estimate a baseline of traditionally and IPM managed systems. The first year survey was supplemented with focus groups to examine damage and production costs in 2003 and 2004. We also implemented activities such as field verification of IPM practices and damage, a Farmer Field School and other participatory methods. Our analysis uses methods such partial budgeting analysis, a production function input abatement expectations model, and an economic surplus model augmented by stochastic simulations. Results of the analysis presented here outlines estimated losses under field and storage conditions, likely range of benefits accrued by farmers in the region due to the potential adoption of a portfolio of IPM management practices and Bt potatoes. Results from the survey conducted in 2003 show that producers in the area have endured significant field and storage losses within the previous 10 years, but were low in that particular year. Initial results where confirmed by results of focus groups in 2003 and 2004 which show very low field and storage damage. Sustained precipitation explains the observed low levels of damage by the Tuber Moth. Low levels of damage induced zero (or even negative) cost differences between conventional and IPM management. In contrast, using the proposed expectation model to estimate expected payoffs to IPM investments show that even with low levels of damage it still pays for producers to invest in IPM practices. The economic surplus estimates show that even considering variability of field and storage losses, as well as of other critical parameters, the use of Bt potatoes in Colombia creates a positive return to investment to Bt potato research, assuming that damage is present under field conditions. We finalize by discussing some of the institutional and strategic considerations for the potential use of Bt potatoes in the country." Authors' abstractPotatoes Economic aspects, Genetically modified crops, Economic surplus model, Risk, Research and development, Bt-potatoes,

Plan de negocios para la Estación Experimental Tunshi- Facultad de Ciencias Pecuarias de la ESPOCH

La presente investigación denominada plan de negocios para la estación experimental Tunshi- Facultad de Ciencias Pecuarias de la ESPOCH tiene como objetivo mejorar la rentabilidad, gestión administrativa empresarial y ayudará al manejo adecuado, óptimo de los recursos financieros, materiales y humanos que están a su disposición, esto se logró mediante la implementación de una metodología cualitativa y cuantitativa aplicada mediante una encuesta a los consumidores de productos pecuarios de la provincia de Chimborazo, Cantón Riobamba. En la cual se detalla que se debe mejorar las instalaciones, existe carencia de tecnología y maquinaria para mejorar la producción, no cuentan con suficiente personal para poder incrementar su producción. Mediante un estudio de mercado se pudo identificar la demanda insatisfecha, se realizó el estudio técnico, administrativo legal y el estudio económico financiero que permitió establecer la viabilidad y rentabilidad del proyecto, donde se determinó la estructura del capital más adecuado, se realizó el punto de equilibrio de 134.451,63, accesible para cubrir los costos; mientras que el Valor Actual Neto (VAN) positivo de $19.681.287,67 y la Tasa Interna de Retorno (TIR) de 99,54$ 19,681,287.67 and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) was of 99.54% respectively, an investment recovery is projected in a period of 2 years, 1 month, 26 days. Through the market study, it was proven that in Riobamba city there is a high percentage of households that regularly acquire and consume livestock and dairy products, as well as the acquisition of composts and fertilizers, among those that stand out within the Tunshi Experimental Station, milk, cattle, pigs, calf, sheep, goats, foals, wool, honey, worm humus, and balanced food. Early execution of the presented business plan is recommended, to evaluate its compliance, to diagnose the periodical performance of the station, applying the necessary corrections for the productive and commercial improvement, as well as a market positioning and increasing of financial profitability, in this way profitability will be generated and it will be possible to contribute to the socio-economic development of the canton and the associate

Trends of inflammatory markers and cytokines after one month of phototherapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Objective. to evaluate changes in the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α in patients with rheumatoid arthritis submitted to phototherapy. Materials and methods. This was an open label study, enrolling ten patients. The phototherapy scheme within a range of 425 to 650 nm, 11.33 Joules/cm2, 30 cm above the chest was as follows: a) 45-min daily sessions from Monday to Friday for 2 to 3 months; b) three, 45-min weekly sessions for 1 to 2 months; c) twice weekly 45-min sessions for 1 to 2 months, and d) one weekly session for 1 to 2 months until completion. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and rheumatoid factor were measured in peripheral blood and tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-10 in leukocytes by quantitative real-time Reverse transcriptase-Polymerase chain reaction. In all the patients the next indexes: Karnofsky scale, Rheumatoid Arthritis-specific quality of life instrument, Steinbrocker Functional Capacity Rating and the Visual Analog Scale were evaluated. Results. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and rheumatoid factor declined notoriously after the indicated sessions. In gene expression, there was a tendency in tumor necrosis factor-α to decrease after 1 month, from 24.5±11.4 to 18±9.2 relative units, without reaching a significant statistical difference. The four tested indexes showed improvement. Conclusion. Phototherapy appears to be a plausible complementary option to reduce the inflammatory component in rheumatoid arthritis

Life and Death of Business. Empirical Studies of Sustainability: The Nutresa Group

Based on the behavior of firms as dynamic organisms, chilean biologist and epistemologist Humberto Maturana (2010) makes an analogy between the theory of Cultural Biology, which says that living organisms are modified, because they need to adapt in order to keep on living. The same goes for companies, which must be changed according to the requirements of the times to survive. This research took as a framework developed theories on corporate sustainability, which have been associated with the term “survival” and thr thought of authors such as Peters and Waterman (1982) who were the first who published a text related to business success. The article results of the study for the companies that make the Nutresa business group.Basado en el comportamiento de las empresas como organismos dinámicos, el biólogo y epistemólogo chileno Humberto Maturana (2010) hace una analogía entre la teoría de la Biología Cultural, la cual dice que los organismos vivos se van modificando porque necesitan adaptarse para poder seguir viviendo. Lo mismo sucede con las empresas, las cuales deben ir cambiando según los requerimientos de los nuevos tiempos para poder sobrevivir. Esta investigación tomó como marco de referencia teorías desarrolladas sobre la perdurabilidad empresarial que se han asociado con el término “supervivencia” y con el pensamiento de autores como Peters y Waterman (1982), quienes fueron los primeros que publicaron un texto relacionado con el éxito empresarial. En el artículo se muestran los resultados del estudio para las empresas que conforman el grupo empresarial Nutresa

Political subjectivity in women from Ricaurte, Nariño, from the perspective of human scale development

La movilización social que se da en procesos organizativos de mujeres campesinas tiene un fuerte componente que vincula aspectos estructurales del desarrollo humano, esta particularidad supera las demandas emergentes de las discriminaciones de género propias de las culturas patriarcales. En este sentido, la acción política de las mujeres campesinas evidencia una postura política y ciudadana fundamentada en un conjunto de saberes, sentimientos, deseos y proyectos de vida que se constituyen a partir de la subjetividad de la mujer en relación constante con la producción sostenible en el campo; significa esto que su movilización social y la postura política emergen de la constante tensión entre las configuraciones institucionales que limitan y excluyen la participación de la mujer en contextos rurales y, en respuesta, las organizaciones de mujeres campesinas empoderan a las mujeres desde su condición cultural y en armonía con el proyecto de vida como sujetos políticos y como mujeres campesinasSocial mobilization that occurs in organizational processes of rural women has a strong component, linking structural aspects of human development, this feature overcomes the emerging demands of gender discrimination belonging patriarchal cultures. In this sense, the political action of rural women evidence a civic and political position based on a set of knowledge, feelings, desires and life plans that are created from women subjectivity in constant relation to sustainable production fields. This means that their social mobilization and political position emerge from the constant tension between institutional configurations that limit and exclude the participation of women in rural contexts and, as a response, organizations of rural women empower other women from their cultural condition, in harmony to a life plan as political person as rural women

Cryptococcus neoformans em torres de igrejas da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil

Cryptococcosis has been a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with Aids. Many reservoirs of the agent Cryptococcus neoformans have been reported, but the ecology of this yeast must be elucidated in order to establish surveillance programs and to prevent infections. The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of C. neoformans in Rio de Janeiro City, RJ, Brazil. Ten churches were selected for sampling and detection of the yeast collecting pigeon dropping, air samples from church towers and neighboring areas during one year. The data demonstrated that C. neoformans has been present in every church selected and was present in 37.8% of 219 pigeon dropping samples. As well as, the yeast was isolated from soil, insects, eggs, pigeon nests and feathers. Fifteen air samples (4.9%) were positive. The growth on C.G.B. medium showed that all strains belonged to C. neoformans var. neoformans, with 98.8% of the strains belonging to serotype A.Cryptococcus neoformans é um fungo que ocasiona micose de alta morbidade e mortalidade, especialmente em pacientes com Aids. Muitos reservatórios de C. neoformans têm sido relatados, mas a ecologia desta levedura deve ser ainda elucidada para se estabelecer programas de vigilância e prevenção desta infecção. O objetivo deste estudo foi o de avaliar a presença de C. neoformans no Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. Dez igrejas foram selecionadas para este estudo, coletando-se fezes de pombo, amostras de ar, das torres das igrejas e de áreas vizinhas, durante um ano. Os resultados revelaram que C. neoformans estava presente em todas as igrejas e em 37,8% das 219 amostras das excretas das aves. Ao mesmo tempo, o fungo foi isolado do solo, insetos, ovos e ninhos de pombos. Quinze (4,9%) do total das amostras de ar foram positivas. O crescimento no meio de CGB revelou que todas as amostras pertenciam a C. neoformans var. neoformans, e 98,8% destas amostras pertenciam ao sorotipo A

Universidad y sociedad. Innovación social desde la universidad

“Nuestras universidades deben ir mucho más allá: a las obligaciones con el espacio nación donde directivos, profesores, estudiantes y egresados seamos capaces de comprometernos con el futuro de nuestra sociedad, entregándolo todo en el presente. Es decir, que jamás tengamos que decir: “Todo está ya dicho y llegamos demasiado tarde”, sino, más bien, debemos luchar por darle un impulso al optimismo y afirmar con Gilberto de Tournai: “Nunca encontraremos la verdad si nos contentamos con lo que ya se ha hallado […] Los que escribieron antes que nosotros no son para nosotros señores sino que son guías. La verdad está abierta a todos y todavía no ha sido poseída por entero”. Debemos levantarnos en los hombros de quienes nos han precedido en la tarea de formar y educar para poder ver mucho más lejos. La transformación de la universidad debe comenzar por hacer de la búsqueda y transmisión del saber un medio de emancipación mediante el disfrute colectivo del progreso y de la calidad de vida individual y social. Los trabajos que se publican en este volumen son tan notables: la interdisciplinariedad, los procesos de innovación, el emprendimiento, la participación social en procesos productivos, la protección de sujetos especiales, pues se enmarcan en la idea de lograr una cooperación social entre diferentes actores con el fin de reequilibrar un orden injusto. Son este tipo de reflexiones las que deberían invadir los planes de estudio que siguen orientándose a impartir conocimientos, en vez de presentar problemas alrededor del cual se debe empezar a articular la formación de una universidad comprometida con la sociedad”

Lower IgG somatic hypermutation rates during acute dengue virus infection is compatible with a germinal center-independent B cell response

Reads, clonal groups, and lineages numbers per individual and condition. The table shows the number of raw and used sequences as well as the number of clonotypes and lineages per individual. (XLS 30 kb

Development of a Panel of Genome-Wide Ancestry Informative Markers to Study Admixture Throughout the Americas

Most individuals throughout the Americas are admixed descendants of Native American, European, and African ancestors. Complex historical factors have resulted in varying proportions of ancestral contributions between individuals within and among ethnic groups. We developed a panel of 446 ancestry informative markers (AIMs) optimized to estimate ancestral proportions in individuals and populations throughout Latin America. We used genome-wide data from 953 individuals from diverse African, European, and Native American populations to select AIMs optimized for each of the three main continental populations that form the basis of modern Latin American populations. We selected markers on the basis of locus-specific branch length to be informative, well distributed throughout the genome, capable of being genotyped on widely available commercial platforms, and applicable throughout the Americas by minimizing within-continent heterogeneity. We then validated the panel in samples from four admixed populations by comparing ancestry estimates based on the AIMs panel to estimates based on genome-wide association study (GWAS) data. The panel provided balanced discriminatory power among the three ancestral populations and accurate estimates of individual ancestry proportions (R2>0.9 for ancestral components with significant between-subject variance). Finally, we genotyped samples from 18 populations from Latin America using the AIMs panel and estimated variability in ancestry within and between these populations. This panel and its reference genotype information will be useful resources to explore population history of admixture in Latin America and to correct for the potential effects of population stratification in admixed samples in the region