Diversidad y endemismos de reptiles en la Puna del NOA

La conservación de la biodiversidad es uno de los grandes objetivos y desafíos de los biólogos contemporáneos. Los principales problemas que enfrentan quienes deben cumplir este objetivo es que los recursos y la capacidad de conservar son limitados y por ello se deben aplicar criterios que permitan elegir áreas que maximicen el esfuerzo de protección. La identificación de áreas de endemismo es uno de ellos.Fil: Diaz Gomez, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del Noroeste Argentino; Argentina; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta; ArgentinaFil: Quinteros, Andres Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del Noroeste Argentino; Argentina; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentin

Determination of priority conservation areas in the Puna and Prepuna of northern Argentina

Actualmente existe una gran preocupación debido a la pérdida de la biodiversidad como resultado de la destrucción y modificación de los hábitats naturales causada por las actividades del hombre. Una de las soluciones más comunes a este problema es el establecimiento de redes de áreas protegidas, con el objetivo de conservar la mayor cantidad y diversidad de hábitats posibles. El objetivo de este trabajo fue realizar una determinación de áreas de endemismo y riqueza específica para 16 especies de peces, 11 especies de anfibios, 24 especies de reptiles y 46 especies de plantas en la región de Puna y Prepuna del Noroeste Argentino. Se identificaron áreas de endemismo utilizando el criterio de endemicidad implementado en el programa NDM, y para la estimación de riqueza se utilizó el programa DIVA-GIS. Las áreas identificadas mediante los dos análisis son congruentes entre sí, resultando en 5 áreas, donde 4 de ellas coinciden con áreas que ya poseen políticas de conservación, mientras que 1 no coincide con ninguna reserva, por lo que a futuro podría ser considerada en nuevos planes de conservación. Este enfoque constituye un aporte novedoso para abordar una planificación sistemática de Áreas Prioritarias que junto a otros aportes filogenéticos, geográficos, ecológicos conformen una herramienta eficaz y útil, para los organismos encargados de la toma de decisiones en políticas de conservación.There exists a great concern about the loss of biodiversity as a result of destruction and modification of natural habitats caused by human activities. One of the most common solutions to this problem is to establish protected area networks to conserve as many habitats as possible. The objective of this work was to determine areas of endemism and specific richness for 16 species of fish, 11 of amphibians, 24 of reptiles, and 46 species of plants in the Puna and Prepuna region of Northwestern Argentina. Areas of endemism were identified using the endemicity criterion implemented in the software NDM, and DIVA-GIS was used for richness estimation. Five congruent areas were identified by the two analyses, four of them coincide with areas that already have conservation policies, while one does not coincide with any protected area. In the future this area could be considered in new conservation programs. This approach constitutes a novel contribution to a systematic planning of Priority Areas, which together with other contributions (ecological, geographic, and phylogenetic) constitute an effective and useful tool for decision-making agencies in conservation policies.Fil: Portelli, Sabrina Noelia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; ArgentinaFil: Diaz Gomez, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentin

Historical Biogeography of the Leptodactylus fuscus Group (Anura, Leptodactylidae): Identification of Ancestral Areas and Events that Modeled their Distribution

The objective of the present study was to reconstruct the biogeographic history of the monophyletic group Leptodactylus fuscus. We carried out two complementary historical biogeographic approaches: one estimates the ancestral areas with the statistical dispersion and vicariance method (S-DIVA). The other detects disjoint distributions among sister groups, which provides information about barriers that separate populations through a spatial analysis of vicariance (VIP method). For that, we used a database of species presence records and a topology of a phylogenetic cladogram, both obtained from updated published data that incorporates the current phylogenetic, taxonomic and distributional arrangements for the group. For the analysis of ancestral areas, the following areas of the L. fuscus group distribution were used: the Carribean, Chacoan, Parana, Amazonian and North American in Pacific subregions. The optimal reconstruction obtained with S-DIVA showed five vicariance events, two extinctions and 50 dispersals. The spatial analysis of vicariance revealed 19 disjointed sibling nodes and two distributions on nodes removed in the consensus tree. The results suggest that the ancestor of the Leptodactylus fuscus group occupied large areas within the Amazon and Chacoan subregions. Due to several dispersal events, the ancestor distribution range may have expanded to the Caribbean subregion. This expansion could have occurred during wetter periods, when forests were more extensive, which would have allowed the invasion of open habitats within humid forest systems. It is important to note that ecological factors and marine transgressions that occurred during the Miocene could have had a great influence on the current distribution of the group.Fil: Caffaro, Matias Exequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; ArgentinaFil: Medina, Regina Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Biodiversidad Neotropical. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de Biodiversidad Neotropical. Instituto de Biodiversidad Neotropical; Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Ponssa, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Diaz Gomez, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentin

Expansion of the agricultural frontier in the largest South American Dry Forest: Identifying priority conservation areas for snakes before everything is lost

Conservation planning relies on integrating existing knowledge, social-environmental contexts, and potential threats to identify gaps and opportunities for action. Here we present a case study on how priority areas for conservation can be determined using existing information on biodiversity occurrence and threats. Specifically, our goals are: (1) to model the ecological niche of twelve endemic snake species in the Dry Chaco Forest, (2) to quantify the impact of the deforestation rates on their distributions, (3) to propose high priority areas for conservation in order to improve the actual protected area system, and (4) to evaluate the influence of the human footprint on the optimization of selected priority areas. Our results demonstrate that Argentinian Dry Chaco represent, on average, ~74% of the distribution of endemic snake species and deforestation has reduced suitable areas of all snake species in the region. Further, the current protected areas are likely insufficient to conserve these species as only very low percentages (3.27%) of snakes’ ranges occur within existing protected areas. Our models identified high priority areas in the north of the Chaco forest where continuous, well-conserved forest still exists. These high priority areas include transition zones within the foothill forest and areas that could connect patches of forest between the western and eastern Chaco forest. Our findings identify spatial priorities that minimize conflicts with human activities, a key issue for this biodiversity hotspot area. We argue that consultation with stakeholders and decision-makers are urgently needed in order to take concrete actions to protect the habitat, or we risk losing the best conservation opportunities to protect endemic snakes that inhabit the Argentinian Dry Chaco.Fil: Andrade Díaz, Soledad María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del Noroeste Argentino. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del Noroeste Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Sarquis, Juan Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Loiselle, Bette A.. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Giraudo, Alejandro Raul. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; Argentina. University of Florida; Estados Unidos. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias; ArgentinaFil: Diaz Gomez, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del Noroeste Argentino. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del Noroeste Argentino; Argentin

Construcción y puesta en marcha de una planta para transformación de plástico reciclado en Ocaña, Norte de Santander

En la región del Catatumbo se han manejado dificultades en el manejo de residuos sólidos por su costo en el transporte y vertiéndolos en puntos de focalizados en cada municipio o cabecera a cielo abierto afectando las fuentes hídricas, flora y fauna, con consecuencias en enfermedades a sus pobladores. De La evaluación de las alternativas presentadas y calificadas en términos de costos, riesgos, relación con la política social y tiempo de implementación, entre otros se definió la construcción de una planta de transformación de plástico reciclado en el municipio de Ocaña, implementando métodos o mecanismos y herramientas que no dificulten la disposición correcta de los residuos plásticos de manera que se comience su separación en la fuente

Susceptibility patterns and molecular identification of Trichosporon species

The physiological patterns, the sequence polymorphisms of the internal transcriber spacer (ITS), and intergenic spacer regions (IGS) of the rRNA genes and the antifungal susceptibility profile were evaluated for their ability to identify Trichosporon spp. and their specificity for the identification of 49 clinical isolates of Trichosporon spp. Morphological and biochemical methodologies were unable to differentiate among the Trichosporon species. ITS sequencing was also unable to differentiate several species. However, IGS1 sequencing unambiguously identified all Trichosporon isolates. Following the results of DNA-based identification, Trichosporon asahii was the species most frequently isolated from deep sites (15 of 25 strains; 60%). In the main, other Trichosporon species were recovered from cutaneous samples. The majority of T. asahii, T. faecale, and T. coremiiforme clinical isolates exhibited resistance in vitro to amphotericin B, with geometric mean (GM) MICs >4 mug/ml. The other species of Trichosporon did not show high MICs of amphotericin B, and GM MICs were <1 mug/ml. Azole agents were active in vitro against the majority of clinical strains. The most potent compound in vitro was voriconazole, with a GM MIC </=0.14 mug/ml. The sequencing of IGS correctly identified Trichosporon isolates; however, this technique is not available in many clinical laboratories, and strains should be dispatched to reference centers where these complex methods are available. Therefore, it seems to be more practical to perform antifungal susceptibility testing of all isolates belonging to Trichosporon spp., since correct identification could take several weeks, delaying the indication of an antifungal agent which exhibits activity against the infectious strain.S

Validation of the Online Sexual Experience Questionnaire (OSEQ) in Mexican University Students

Antecedentes: el Cuestionario de Experiencia Sexual en Línea (OSEQ) es un instrumento diseñado para medir las actividades sexuales en línea en población canadiense. Por la novedad del tema y el impacto en las prácticas y conductas sexuales de los jóvenes adultos, es relevante su estudio en población mexicana, en donde la investiga-ción es incipiente, a pesar de que la contingencia sani-taria, generada por la COVID-19, haya provocado un aumento en el consumo de esta clase de conductas. Objetivo: adaptar, confiabilizar y validar en población universitaria de México el Online Sexual Experience Questionnaire. Método: participaron 483 estudiantes (145 hombres y 338 mujeres) del sistema de universidad a distancia, de entre 18 y 69 años (M= 32.58, D. E.=9.21), quienes fueron seleccionados a partir de un muestreo no proba-bilístico por conveniencia y se les aplicaron los cuestio-narios vía internet. Resultados: del análisis factorial exploratorio se respe-taron los factores originales del instrumento, reduciendo de 48 a 13 ítems, con una alfa de .85; del análisis factorial confirmatorio, los valores obtenidos (Chi= 134.72, gl= 58, Cmin/Df=2.323.135, p= .000, NFI= .961, RFI= .948, CFI= .977 y RMSEA= .052) fueron adecuados. Conclusión: el instrumento muestra niveles aceptables, similares a los obtenidos en el cuestionario original.Introduction: The Online Sexual Experience Question-naire (OSEQ) is an instrument designed to measure online sexual activities in the Canadian population. Due to the novelty of the subject and the impact on the sexual practices and behaviors of young adults, its study in the Mexican population is relevant, where research is incipient, despite the fact that the health contingency generated by COVID-19 has caused an increase in the consumption of this kind of behaviors. Objective: To adapt, make reliable and validate the Online Sexual Experience Questionnaire in the univer-sity population of Mexico. Method: 483 students (145 men and 338 women) of the distance university system participated, between 18 and 69 years old (M= 32.58, D. E.=9.21), who were selected from a non-probabilistic sampling, for convenience, to whom the questionnaires were applied via the Internet. Results: from the exploratory factorial analysis the original factors of the instrument were respected, reducing from 48 to 13 items, with an alpha of .85, from the confirma-tory factorial analysis the values obtained (Chi= 134.72, gl= 58, Cmin/Df=2.323. 135, p= .000, NFI= .961, RFI= .948, CFI= .977 and RMSEA= .052) were adequate. Conclusion: the instrument shows an acceptable level, similar to those obtained in the original questionnaire

Predictive Power of the "Trigger Tool" for the detection of adverse events in general surgery: a multicenter observational validation study

Background In spite of the global implementation of standardized surgical safety checklists and evidence-based practices, general surgery remains associated with a high residual risk of preventable perioperative complications and adverse events. This study was designed to validate the hypothesis that a new “Trigger Tool” represents a sensitive predictor of adverse events in general surgery. Methods An observational multicenter validation study was performed among 31 hospitals in Spain. The previously described “Trigger Tool” based on 40 specific triggers was applied to validate the predictive power of predicting adverse events in the perioperative care of surgical patients. A prediction model was used by means of a binary logistic regression analysis. Results The prevalence of adverse events among a total of 1,132 surgical cases included in this study was 31.53%. The “Trigger Tool” had a sensitivity and specificity of 86.27% and 79.55% respectively for predicting these adverse events. A total of 12 selected triggers of overall 40 triggers were identified for optimizing the predictive power of the “Trigger Tool”. Conclusions The “Trigger Tool” has a high predictive capacity for predicting adverse events in surgical procedures. We recommend a revision of the original 40 triggers to 12 selected triggers to optimize the predictive power of this tool, which will have to be validated in future studies

Comparison of seven prognostic tools to identify low-risk pulmonary embolism in patients aged <50 years

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