Analysis of the rotational properties of Kuiper belt objects

We use optical data on 10 Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) to investigate their rotational properties. Of the 10, three (30%) exhibit light variations with amplitude delta_m >= 0.15 mag, and 1 out of 10 (10%) has delta_m >= 0.40 mag, which is in good agreement with previous surveys. These data, in combination with the existing database, are used to discuss the rotational periods, shapes, and densities of Kuiper Belt objects. We find that, in the sampled size range, Kuiper Belt objects have a higher fraction of low amplitude lightcurves and rotate slower than main belt asteroids. The data also show that the rotational properties and the shapes of KBOs depend on size. If we split the database of KBO rotational properties into two size ranges with diameter larger and smaller than 400 km, we find that: (1) the mean lightcurve amplitudes of the two groups are different with 98.5% confidence, (2) the corresponding power-law shape distributions seem to be different, although the existing data are too sparse to render this difference significant, and (3) the two groups occupy different regions on a spin period vs. lightcurve amplitude diagram. These differences are interpreted in the context of KBO collisional evolution.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, LaTeX. Astronomical Journal in pres

Construcción compartida de conocimientos en redes de innovación

Ponencia presentada en el IV Congreso de Ciencias Sociales Agrarias: “La innovación y el desarrollo: oportunidades y retos en los territorios y las cadenas”. Montevideo, Uruguay, 7 al 9 de agosto de 2019.Fil: Catullo, Julio Cesar. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (CIAP); Argentina.Fil: Argüello Caro, Evangelina B. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (CIAP). Instituto de Patología Vegetal (IPAVE); Argentina.Fil: Narmona, Luis. Fundación ArgenINTA; Argentina.Fil: Muñoz, Nacira Belen. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (CIAP). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales (IFRGV); Argentina.Fil: Prado, Agustín. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca. Subsecretaria de Agricultura Familiar y Desarrollo Territorial. Delegación Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Scifo, Alejo. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca. Subsecretaria de Agricultura Familiar y Desarrollo Territorial. Delegación Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Pietrarelli, Liliana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Yosviak, Iohanna. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Agencia de Extensión Rural Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Videla, Martín. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV); Argentina.Fil: Videla, Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV); Argentina.Fil: Silbert, V. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial (INTI); Argentina.Fil: Viale, V. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (CIAP). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales (IFRGV); Argentina.La producción y el abastecimiento de alimentos frescos en las cercanías a las grandes ciudades argentinas, presentan diversas problemáticas: pérdidas de rendimiento por efecto de enfermedades y plagas, restricciones en el uso de agroquímicos por contaminación ambiental y degradación física, química y biológica de suelos, entre otros. Los riesgos que sufren estos sistemas se acrecientan por el avance de la frontera urbana y de la agricultura extensiva con pérdida significativa de funciones eco sistémicas, fundamentales para la sustentabilidad de los territorios. El enfoque sistémico e interactivo de la innovación se caracteriza por ser un proceso continuo y acumulativo y se sustenta en el fortalecimiento de vínculos multidireccionales y simultáneos entre actividades y agentes y donde el aprendizaje continuo juega un papel central en la construcción de conocimientos a fin de encontrar soluciones a las crecientes complejidades de los sistemas agroalimentarios. Con el objeto de contribuir a mejorar la sustentabilidad productiva, ambiental y social del Cinturón Verde de la ciudad de Córdoba –Argentina. (CVC), se inició hacia fines del 2015 un proceso que involucra actividades de investigación participativa, desarrollo tecnológico, y extensión rural, para promover la transición hacia la agroecología en productores hortícolas familiares. El “Equipo interinstitucional de apoyo a la intensificación ecológica de la producción de alimentos de proximidad” en el CVC, es una innovación organizativa institucional y es el resultado de un proceso colectivo de construcción, donde múltiples actores del sector público de Ciencia y Tecnología interactúan con el sector productivo para la generación de conocimiento para la acción. El equipo focaliza sus acciones en “aprender haciendo” a través de la metodología Investigación Acción Participativa (IAP), construyendo redes, confiriendo importancia al conocimiento tácito, científico, experimental y situado, co-construido entre todos los actores. El punto de partida de las interacciones fue la identificación de problemas sanitarios y de fertilidad de suelos en las fincas hortícolas, tanto en sistemas convencionales como en transición agroecológica. Los resultados alcanzados con el empleo de bioinsumos contribuyen a la expansión del conocimiento útil a las problemáticas de la agricultura familiar en relación con la intensificación agroecológica. Asimismo, ha posibilitado acercar a dos mundos diferentes: investigación y extensión, desestructurando rigidices, derribando barreras entre las disciplinas y tratando de encontrar la manera de unir lo que hasta ahora ha estado separado.Fil: Catullo, Julio Cesar. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (CIAP); Argentina.Fil: Argüello Caro, Evangelina B. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (CIAP). Instituto de Patología Vegetal (IPAVE); Argentina.Fil: Narmona, Luis. Fundación ArgenINTA; Argentina.Fil: Muñoz, Nacira Belen. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (CIAP). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales (IFRGV); Argentina.Fil: Prado, Agustín. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca. Subsecretaria de Agricultura Familiar y Desarrollo Territorial. Delegación Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Scifo, Alejo. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca. Subsecretaria de Agricultura Familiar y Desarrollo Territorial. Delegación Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Pietrarelli, Liliana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Yosviak, Iohanna. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Agencia de Extensión Rural Córdoba; Argentina.Fil: Videla, Martín. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV); Argentina.Fil: Videla, Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV); Argentina.Fil: Silbert, V. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial (INTI); Argentina.Fil: Viale, V. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (CIAP). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales (IFRGV); Argentina

The Kuiper Belt and Other Debris Disks

We discuss the current knowledge of the Solar system, focusing on bodies in the outer regions, on the information they provide concerning Solar system formation, and on the possible relationships that may exist between our system and the debris disks of other stars. Beyond the domains of the Terrestrial and giant planets, the comets in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud preserve some of our most pristine materials. The Kuiper belt, in particular, is a collisional dust source and a scientific bridge to the dusty "debris disks" observed around many nearby main-sequence stars. Study of the Solar system provides a level of detail that we cannot discern in the distant disks while observations of the disks may help to set the Solar system in proper context.Comment: 50 pages, 25 Figures. To appear in conference proceedings book "Astrophysics in the Next Decade

Open Science principles for accelerating trait-based science across the Tree of Life

Synthesizing trait observations and knowledge across the Tree of Life remains a grand challenge for biodiversity science. Species traits are widely used in ecological and evolutionary science, and new data and methods have proliferated rapidly. Yet accessing and integrating disparate data sources remains a considerable challenge, slowing progress toward a global synthesis to integrate trait data across organisms. Trait science needs a vision for achieving global integration across all organisms. Here, we outline how the adoption of key Open Science principles-open data, open source and open methods-is transforming trait science, increasing transparency, democratizing access and accelerating global synthesis. To enhance widespread adoption of these principles, we introduce the Open Traits Network (OTN), a global, decentralized community welcoming all researchers and institutions pursuing the collaborative goal of standardizing and integrating trait data across organisms. We demonstrate how adherence to Open Science principles is key to the OTN community and outline five activities that can accelerate the synthesis of trait data across the Tree of Life, thereby facilitating rapid advances to address scientific inquiries and environmental issues. Lessons learned along the path to a global synthesis of trait data will provide a framework for addressing similarly complex data science and informatics challenges

Assessing trends in wolf impact on livestock through verified claims in historical vs. recent areas of occurrence in Italy

As wolves in Europe are expanding in range, their impact on economic activities through predation on livestock is increasing. In this context, the effectiveness of damage compensation programs is being debated and requires adequate assessment. With this aim, we performed a survey of wolf depredation on livestock in Italy during the years 2010 − 2014, comparing regions of historical and more recent wolf occurrence. We collected data on livestock depredations, prevalent husbandry practices and the main features of compensation schemes. We investigated the effect of several ecological and management-related variables on the extent of wolf impact. On average, 3274 (± 195.2 SD) wolf depredation events were compensated across Italy each year, comprising 7809 (± 1278.9 SD) livestock heads, and corresponding to € 1,450,814 (± € 184,762 SD) annual compensation costs. Regions recently recolonized by wolves reported lower and decreasing levels of impact compared to those with historical wolf presence. Half of all depredations occurred in 121 municipalities (9.7% of the total), which emerged as hotspots of impact and economic cost for the system. The proportion of farms with chronically recurring damage increased by 80% in the southern Apennines, where wolves never disappeared, whereas it declined by 100% in the Alps, due to effective prevention measures implemented following wolf recolonization in the mid-1990s. Long-term human-wolf coexistence does not necessarily correspond to lower damage levels and effective conflict management, casting doubts on the effectiveness and sustainability of compensation programs, if applied without reference to a context of adaptive management

A bird-like genome from a frog:Mechanisms of genome size reduction in the ornate burrowing frog, Platyplectrum ornatum

The diversity of genome sizes across the tree of life is of key interest in evolutionary biology. Various correlates of variation in genome size, such as accumulation of transposable elements (TEs) or rate of DNA gain and loss, are well known, but the underlying molecular mechanisms driving or constraining genome size are poorly understood. Here, we study one of the smallest genomes among frogs characterized thus far, that of the ornate burrowing frog (Platyplectrum ornatum) from Australia, and compare it to other published frog and vertebrate genomes to examine the forces driving reduction in genome size. At ∼1.06 gigabases (Gb), the P. ornatum genome is like that of birds, revealing four major mechanisms underlying TE dynamics: reduced abundance of all major classes of TEs; increased net deletion bias in TEs; drastic reduction in intron lengths; and expansion via gene duplication of the repertoire of TE-suppressing Piwi genes, accompanied by increased expression of Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA)-based TE-silencing pathway genes in germline cells. Transcriptomes from multiple tissues in both sexes corroborate these results and provide insight into sex-differentiation pathways in Platyplectrum. Genome skimming of two closely related frog species (Lechriodus fletcheri and Limnodynastes fletcheri) confirms a reduction in TEs as a major driver of genome reduction in Platyplectrum and supports a macroevolutionary scenario of small genome size in frogs driven by convergence in life history, especially rapid tadpole development and tadpole diet. The P. ornatum genome offers a model for future comparative studies on mechanisms of genome size reduction in amphibians and vertebrates generally