Options to support sustainable trajectories in a rural landscape : drivers, rural processes, and local perceptions in a colombian coffee-growing region

Altres ajuts: Ean UnivesityUnidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MTrajectories of many rural landscapes in Latin America remain unsustainable. Options to support sustainable rural trajectories should be comprehensive and rooted in the interests of rural actors. We selected a municipality in a coffee-growing region in Colombia with an increasing urban- rural nexus to describe interactions between rural processes and their drivers while identifying and contextualising the perceptions of local actors on major constraints and opportunities for more inclusive and sustainable rural trajectories. We described these interactions by combining secondary data on main drivers, agricultural census data, and interviews with different local actors. Changes in population structure, volatility in coffee prices, in-/out-migration, deagrarianisation, and rurbanisation, among others, are reconfiguring the rural trajectories of the study area. Despite not being a major coffee region, farmers in the study area have developed different strategies, including intensification, diversification, replacement or abandonment of coffee production, and commercialisation. The perceptions of local actors and the multiplicity of agricultural households, food/land use systems, rural processes, and drivers described in this study suggest that more sustainable rural transitions need to be supported by inclusive, integrated, and transformative landscape planning approaches that align with local priorities. However, this transformation needs to be accompanied by changes at a systemic level that address the fundamental bottlenecks to real sustainability

Structural determinants of mechanical resistance against breakage of a virus-based protein nanoparticle at a resolution of single amino acids

Virus particles and other protein-based supramolecular complexes have a vast nanotechnological potential. However, protein nanostructures are “soft” materials prone to disruption by force. Whereas some non-biological nanoparticles (NPs) may be stronger, for certain applications protein- and virus-based NPs have potential advantages related to their structure, self-assembly, production, engineering, and/or inbuilt functions. Thus, it may be desirable to acquire the knowledge needed to engineer protein-based nanomaterials with a higher strength against mechanical breakage. Here we have used the capsid of the minute virus of mice to experimentally identify individual chemical groups that determine breakage-related properties of a virus particle. Individual amino acid side chains that establish interactions between building blocks in the viral particle were truncated using protein engineering. Indentation experiments using atomic force microscopy were carried out to investigate the role of each targeted side chain in determining capsid strength and brittleness, by comparing the maximum force and deformation each modified capsid withstood before breaking apart. Side chains with major roles in determining capsid strength against breakage included polar groups located in solvent-exposed positions, and did not generally correspond with those previously identified as determinants of mechanical stiffness. In contrast, apolar side chains buried along the intersubunit interfaces that generally determined capsid stiffness had, at most, a minor influence on strength against disruption. Whereas no correlated variations between strength and either stiffness or brittleness were found, brittleness and stiffness were quantitatively correlated. Implications for developing robust protein-based NPs and for acquiring a deeper physics-based perspective of viruses are discussedM. M. and A. V. were the respective recipients of a FPI fellowship from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and a postdoctoral contract from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO). M. G. M. is an associate member of the Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems, Zaragoza, Spain. This work was funded by a grant from MINECO/FEDER EU (BIO2015-69928-R) and by an institutional grant from Fundación Ramón Areces. We also acknowledge support of the publication fee by the CSIC Open Access Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Researc

Spinal cord metabolic signatures in models of fast- and slow-progressing SOD1G93A Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

The rate of disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is highly variable, even between patients with the same genetic mutations. Metabolic alterations may affect disease course variability in ALS patients, but challenges in identifying the preclinical and early phases of the disease limit our understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying differences in the rate of disease progression. We examined effects of SOD1G93A on thoracic and lumbar spinal cord metabolites in two mouse ALS models with different rates of disease progression: the transgenic SOD1G93A-C57BL/6JOlaHsd (C57-G93A, slow progression) and transgenic SOD1G93A-129SvHsd (129S-G93A, fast progression) strains. Samples from three timepoints (presymptomatic, disease onset, and late stage disease) were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry metabolomics. Tissue metabolome differences in the lumbar spinal cord were driven primarily by mouse genetic background, although larger responses were observed in metabolic trajectories after the onset of symptoms. The significantly affected lumbar spinal cord metabolites were involved in energy and lipid metabolism. In the thoracic spinal cord, metabolic differences related to genetic background, background-SOD1 genotype interactions, and longitudinal SOD1G93A effects. The largest responses in thoracic spinal cord metabolic trajectories related to SOD1G93A effects before onset of visible symptoms. More metabolites were significantly affected in the thoracic segment, which were involved in energy homeostasis, neurotransmitter synthesis and utilization, and the oxidative stress response. We find evidence that initial metabolic alterations in SOD1G93A mice confer disadvantages for maintaining neuronal viability under ALS-related stressors, with slow-progressing C57-G93A mice potentially having more favorable spinal cord bioenergetic profiles than 129S-G93A. These genetic background-associated metabolic differences together with the different early metabolic responses underscore the need to better characterize the impact of germline genetic variation on cellular responses to ALS gene mutations both before and after the onset of symptoms in order to understand their impact on disease development

Visualization of Single Molecules Building a Viral Capsid Protein Lattice through Stochastic Pathways

Direct visualization of pathways followed by single molecules while they spontaneously self-assemble into supramolecular biological machines may provide fundamental knowledge to guide molecular therapeutics and the bottom-up design of nanomaterials and nanodevices. Here, high-speed atomic force microscopy is used to visualize self-assembly of the bidimensional lattice of protein molecules that constitutes the framework of the mature human immunodeficiency virus capsid. By real-time imaging of the assembly reaction, individual transient intermediates and reaction pathways followed by single molecules could be revealed. As when assembling a jigsaw puzzle, the capsid protein lattice is randomly built. Lattice patches grow independently from separate nucleation events whereby individual molecules follow different paths. Protein subunits can be added individually, while others form oligomers before joining a lattice or are occasionally removed from the latter. Direct real-time imaging of supramolecular self-assembly has revealed a complex, chaotic process involving multiple routes followed by individual molecules that are inaccessible to bulk (averaging) techniques

Dos décadas de publicaciones: análisis bibliométrico de la producción investigativa en psicología en la Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz.

15 Páginas: Figuras; Tablas.El objetivo general de este estudio fue analizar la producción investigativa de la Facultad de Psicología de la Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz (KL) a partir de las publicaciones hechas en revistas catalogadas por Publindex. Se desarrolló un estudio documental de tipo bibliométrico en el cual se contempló la información concerniente a la especialidad del artículo (área de la psicología), el autor, el año de publicación, la revista de publicación, y el tipo de estudio desarrollado. En total se recopilaron 120 artículos originales, publicados por 160 autores, entre los años de 1991 y 2012, en 9 revistas nacionales. Destacan los años de 1994 (16 artículos), 2010 (11 artículos) y 2011 (11 artículos), como los años con mayor cantidad de publicaciones durante el periodo analizado; las revistas Suma Psicológica (86 artículos) y Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología (13 artículos) fueron los medios con mayor cantidad de publicaciones de la universidad.Trabajo de práctica investigativaPsicologoPregrad

V2: Integrated management of rainwater for crop-livestock agroecosystems

With mixed crop-livestock systems projected to remain the main providers of food in the coming decades, opportunities exist for smallholders to participate and benefit from emerging crop and livestock markets in the Volta Basin. This project intends to identify, evaluate, adapt, and disseminate best-fit integrated rainwater management strategies (RMS), targeted to different biophysical and socio-economic domains. The integrated RMS are comprised of technological solutions, directed at different components of the agroecosystems, underpinned by enabling institutional and policy environments and linked to market incentives that can drive adoptio

Derecho Ambiental y aplicativos

El presente informe es un avance del trabajo que se viene realizando dentro del proyecto denominado Programas de Gestión y Auditoría Ambiental en el grupo de investigación Sistemas de Información y Control Organizacional –SICO– de la Facultad de Contaduría de la Universidad Externado de Colombia. El problema planteado consiste en desarrollar herramientas para contribuir a la defensa del medio ambiente y plantea retos a la Contaduría Pública como profesión y al contador público como ser humano comprometido. El presente documento es una aproximación inicial al Derecho Ambiental y se refiere a los orígenes de instituciones ambientales, al Código de Recursos Naturales no Renovables, a la Constitución de 1991 y a la Ley 99 de 1993, de manera especial

Nemátodos parásitos de lutjanus synagris (linneaus, 1758) y lutjanus analis (cuvier, 1828) (perciformes, lutjanidae) en las zonas de santa marta y neguanje, caribe colombiano

Se describen los nemátodos encontrados en el sistema digestivo de las especies de pargo Lutjanus synagris y Lutjanus analis. Esta investigación se orientó principalmente a la clasificación taxonómica de los parásitos y no a los efectos o patologías que estos puedan ocasionar en los peces. Se tuvo en cuenta que en Colombia los pargos constituyen uno de los recursos de mayor importancia para la comercialización; Lutjanus synagris y Lutjanus analis son especies demersales explotadas a lo largo de toda la región costera e insular del Caribe colombiano. Los tractos digestivos se colectaron de los pargos capturados artesanalmente (nasa, cordel) por pescadores de las zonas de Santa Marta y Neguanje; se identificaron los siguientes géneros de nemátodos: Capillaria spp., Contracaecum spp., Cucullanus spp. y Raphidascaris spp.; el último género fue el más representativo

La instilación nasal como vía de infección experimental de estomatitis vesicular tipo indiana, en bovinos.

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo principal conocer el comportamiento clínico y serológico de bovinos adultos libres de anticuerpos contra la estomatitis vesicular (E.V.), inoculados por instilación nasal con el virus de la E.V. tipo I-Antioquia 15577/85. Dos bovinos escarificados previamente en la mucosa nasal fueron instilados en cada ollar con un ml de virus que contenía 10 elevado a la 6 DICT50 (dosis infectante cultivo de tejido 50), otros 2 bovinos sin escarificar fueron inoculados en forma similar. Se dejó un bovino como control en contacto con los 4 animales inoculados. Los bovinos escarificados y no escarificados desarrollaron lesiones vesiculares en la lengua y encías a los 5 y 7 días post-infección respectivamente, mientras que el bovino control no mostró signos de enfermedad. El virus fue aislado a partir de muestras de sangre de uno de los bovinos escarificados a las 48 horas post-inoculación y de muestras de moco nasal y saliva de ambos grupos de animales los días 2,3,5,7,8,10 y 11 post-inoculación. Del bovino control se aisló el virus de secreción nasal los días 4 y 7 post-contacto. Niveles de anticuerpos seroneutralizantes fueron detectados a los 5 días post-infección en los bovinos inoculados y a los 7 días en el bovino controlGanado de leche-Ganadería lech

The soil seed bank role in mountainous heathland ecosystems after fire and inorganic nitrogen fertilization

Artículo incluido en el número especial: The Soil Seed Bank and Its Importance in Burnt Zones Recuperation Strategies[EN] Calluna vulgaris-dominated heathlands are a priority habitat type in Annex I of the Habitats Directive (92/43/ECC, habitat code 4060). In the Iberian Peninsula, the landscape of the Cantabrian Mountain range has great heterogeneity due to human management during the last 10,000 years. Another factor that can affect these communities is the increase in human-induced atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition. During the last century, there has been a dramatic increase in N deposition rates. For all these reasons, it is important to know the regeneration dynamics of the heathlands in the context of the disturbances that these communities currently face (i.e., N deposition, fire, and decrease in sheep grazing) in the Cantabrian Mountain range. In this study, we characterized the plant species composition and soil seed bank after prescribed burning in three heathlands on their southern distribution limit in Spain, to gain insights into regenerative capacity and conservation of these communities. The results obtained suggest that the post-burn soil seed bank could restore Calluna-dominated vegetation in these habitats, indicating that the restoration potential from the soil seed bank after wildfires of these habitats is high. Our results also suggest that, in the short term after burning, the main characteristic species such as Calluna and Erica are recovered, which is fundamental to maintain the heathland community structure.S