Agroecology feminisms: Gender, social movements and alternatives to industrial agriculture in Paraguay

As plantations of mono-cropped cash crops continue to expand globally, small farmers and peasants continue to make out a living at the edges of plantations. Though it draws on long histories of traditional farming, agroecology emerged as alternative set of agricultural practices to counter industrial agriculture in the 1990s. It encapsulates both the diversity of traditional agricultural systems and the systematization of these practices, making it a response of campesinos (peasants) to plantation expansion. In Paraguay, agroecology has been taken up by several campesino social movements, including the women’s and indigenous movement known as Conamuri. For twenty years, Conamuri has advocated for agroecology as a means of both protecting campesino livelihoods and addressing power inequities along gendered lines. By looking at the ways Conamuri participants practice and experience agroecology, I argue that these movements are shaped by multiple relations of power which condition the possibilities and limitations of engaging in agroecological practices. Using ethnographic and archival research, this thesis explores two of Conamuri’s major projects – the National Seed Campaign and a yerba mate co-operative. The ways agroecology is practiced and experienced by Conamuri participants reveals both the potential and limitations of agroecology for feminist organizing. The fragility of campesino lives at the edge of plantations illustrates that agroecology as an alternative to industrial agriculture and means of addressing gendered inequalities remains fraught

Epigenetics in Glaucoma

Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is defined as a “genetically complex trait”, where modifying factors act on a genetic predisposing background. For the majority of glaucomatous conditions, DNA variants are not sufficient to explain pathogenesis. Some genes are clearly underlying the more “Mendelian” forms, while a growing number of related polymorphisms in other genes have been identified in recent years. Environmental, dietary, or biological factors are known to influence the development of the condition, but interactions between these factors and the genetic background are poorly understood. Several studies conducted in recent years have led to evidence that epigenetics, that is, changes in the pattern of gene expression without any changes in the DNA sequence, appear to be the missing link. Different epigenetic mechanisms have been proven to lead to glaucomatous changes in the eye, principally DNA methylation, post-translational histone modification, and RNA-associated gene regulation by non-coding RNAs. The aim of this work is to define the principal epigenetic actors in glaucoma pathogenesis. The identification of such mechanisms could potentially lead to new perspectives on therapeutic strategies

A geographic information method for managing urban energy use

This paper presents a geographical information method to support urban-level energy policies. It proposes using a geographical information system to store, display, edit, share and analyse geographical information for territorial decision-making. The method was used to help develop a sustainable energy action plan for the municipality of Randazzo in Sicily, Italy, by providing an accurate representation of actual energy consumption. Based on this case study, the use of a geographical information system appears to be a suitable support tool for both developing and managing sustainable energy action plans, regardless of the geographical area or context. This method will help municipalities estimate and monitor the energy consumption of residential, commercial and industrial buildings and, by taking into account the approaches of different stakeholders, help develop more accurate models for reducing urban carbon dioxide emissions

Gas Geochemistry and Fractionation Processes in Florina Basin, Greece

Florina Basin is located in northern Greece, close to Mount Voras where the volcanic activity of Late Messinian age began. In the area, many CO2-rich gas emissions are present as a bubbling free-phase in groundwater (both springs and wells) and soil gases. Volcanism along with the geological and geodynamic regime of the basin, created the ideal conditions for CO2 accumulation in vertically stacked reservoirs. One of these, industrially exploited by the company Air Liquide Greece, produces 30,000 t/a of CO2. Results show that CO2 concentrations in the gases of Florina can arrive up to 99.8% and are mostly above 90%. Moreover, C-isotope composition (-2.1 to + 0.3 h vs. VPDB) indicates a mixed mantle-limestone origin for CO2, while He isotope composition (R/RA from 0.21 to 1.20) shows a prevailing crustal origin with an up to 15% mantle contribution. Helium and methane, with concentrations spanning over three orders of magnitude, show a positive correlation and a consequent high variability of He/CO2 and CH4/CO2 ratios. This variability can be attributed to the interaction of the uprising gases with groundwater that chemically fractionates them due to their different solubility. Based on the CO2, CH4 and He concentrations, gas samples collected in the basin can be divided in 3 groups: a) deep reservoir gases, b) enriched in less soluble gases and c) depleted in less soluble gases. The first group consists of gas samples collected at the Air Liquide extraction wells, which tap a 300m deep reservoir. This group can be considered as the least affected by fractionation processes due to interaction with groundwater. The gases of the second group due to their interaction with shallower unsaturated aquifers, become progressively enriched in less soluble gases (He and CH4). Finally, the third group represents residual gas phases after extensive degassing of the groundwater during its hydrological pathway

Charge and spin excitations of insulating lamellar copper oxides

A consistent description of low-energy charge and spin responses of the insulating Sr_2CuO_2Cl_2 lamellar system is found in the framework of a one-band Hubbard model which besides $U$ includes hoppings up to 3^{rd} nearest-neighbors. By combining mean-field calculations, exact diagonalization (ED) results, and Quantum Monte Carlo simulations (QMC), we analyze both charge and spin degrees of freedom responses as observed by optical conductivity, ARPES, Raman and inelastic neutron scattering experiments. Within this effective model, long-range hopping processes flatten the quasiparticle band around $(0,\pi)$. We calculate also the non-resonant A_{1g} and B_{1g} Raman profiles and show that the latter is composed by two main features, which are attributed to 2- and 4-magnon scattering.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, To be published in PRB (july

Clinical characteristics, neuroimaging findings, and neuropsychological functioning in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: Sex differences

Recent clinical studies, in both children/adolescents and adults, have shown the extreme neuropsychological heterogeneity of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): specific neuropsychological deficits have been found only in a minority of individuals, with no direct correlation between discrete cognitive performances and the trajectory of clinical symptoms. Deficits in specific neuropsychological functions may be common in ADHD, but nevertheless no cognitive or neuropsychological profile may fully explain the disorder. Sex differences in the ADHD presentation, both at a neuropsychological and clinical level, also contribute to this clinical and neuropsychological heterogeneity. At a neuropsychological level, females with ADHD may show greater working memory problems, poorer vocabulary skills and worse visual spatial reasoning. Structural and functional imaging study also show discrete differences across sex; however, the great majority of clinical studies mainly or exclusively include male participants with insufficient data to draw firm conclusions on sex differences within the disorder. Here, we report the recent literature data, discussing still open research questions about the clinical presentation, neuroimaging findings, and neuropsychological functioning in ADHD with a focus on the impact of sex differences—a deeper insight in these unresolved issues may have relevant clinical and therapeutic implications for tailored, effective, and long-lasting interventions