ANÁLISIS DE LA ESTIMACIÓN DEL ÍNDICE DE VULNERABILIDAD COSTERA DE PANAMÁ OESTE MEDIANTE SISTEMAS DE INFORMACIÓN GEOGRÁFICA

The objective of this work is focused on presenting an assessment of the coastal vulnerability of the West Panama sector. For this purpose, the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) proposed by Thieler (2000) was used, based on reports made by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). This index uses: historical rate of coastal erosion, geomorphology, relative rates of rise in sea level, coastal slope, wave height, tidal range and any indicator that is incorporated; These elements are of vital importance for the determination of the coastal vulnerability, and therefore in the simulation of scenarios that will be affected by Climate Change through the Rise of the Sea Level. The preliminary results obtained in this work were subjected to tests validity and show that the coasts in front of Punta Chame are the most vulnerable in the West Panama sector  El objetivo de este trabajo se focaliza en presentar una evaluación de la vulnerabilidad costera del sector de Panamá Oeste. Para tal propósito se utilizó el Índice de Vulnerabilidad Costera (CVI) planteada por Thieler (2000), sustentado en informes realizados por el Servicio Geológico de los Estados Unidos (USGS). Este índice emplea: tasa histórica de erosión de la costa, geomorfología, tasas relativas de ascenso del nivel del mar, pendiente costera, altura de las olas, amplitud de marea y cualquier indicador que se incorpore; estos elementos son de vital importancia para la determinación de la vulnerabilidad costera, y por ende en la simulación de escenarios que se verán afectados por el Cambio Climático a través del Ascenso del Nivel del Mar. Los resultados preliminares obtenidos en este trabajo fueron sometidos a pruebas de validez y muestran que las costas frente a Punta Chame son las más vulnerables en el sector de Panamá Oeste

DIAGNÓSTICO DE LAS ACTIVIDADES EXTRACTIVAS EN EL ÁREA PROTEGIDA DE LOS MANGLARES DE LA BAHÍA DE CHAME, PANAMÁ, AÑO 2010

This work considers the study of settlement evaluated by ANAM and OIMT in 1994 during the Project Mangrove (ANAM, 2009; CONFOREC, 2007), as part of the Investigation of Management, Conservation and Development of the Mangrove (Diagnostic Social and Economical of Benefits from Mangrove in Chame). With this background, the data is compiled from National Census to determinate socioeconomic basis of the selected communities. Additionally, 43 surveys were conducted and over 30 interviews with users of the mangrove (woodcutters, colliers, fishermen and crabbers) of the communities of: Sajalices, El Espavé, y La Cresta, ANAM’s staff, CEDESAN’s members and mangrove product’s dealers. There are multiple benefits of mangroves ((Lugo and Snedaker, 1974), that this   work aims to know the extractive human activities of the Chame Mangrove, for this it is carried out through a survey in 2011 in three (3) villages of the district of Chame. Where it was found that the communities make extractive activities of the Chame Mangrove as a complement to their income and do not depend directly as an economic means.Este trabajo considera el estudio de las comunidades estudiadas por Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM) y la Organización Internacional de Maderas Tropicales (OIMT) en 1994 durante la ejecución del Proyecto Manglares (ANAM, 2009; CONFOREC, 2007), como parte del Proyecto de Investigación de Manejo, Conservación y Desarrollo de los Manglares (Diagnóstico Socioeconómico de los Beneficiarios del Manglar del Área de Chame). Con este antecedente se recaba información proveniente de los censos nacionales, para determinar la base socioeconómica de las comunidades elegidas. Adicionalmente, se realizaron 43 encuestas y más de 30 entrevistas a los usuarios del manglar (leñadoras, carboneros, pescadores, concheros y cangrejeros) de las comunidades de Sajalices, El Espavé, y La Cresta, funcionarios de ANAM y CEDESAN, S.A, e intermediarios de productos del manglar. Son múltiples los beneficios de los manglares (Lugo y Snedaker, 1974), que este trabajo tiene como objetivo conocer las actividades humanas extractivas del Manglar de Chame, para ello se realiza por medio de una encuesta en el año 2011 en tres (3) poblados del distrito de Chame. Donde se encontró que las comunidades hacen actividades extractivas del Manglar de Chame como complemento a sus ingresos y no dependen directamente como medio económico

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level.

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale. Objectives: To report the retinoblastoma stage at diagnosis in patients across the world during a single year, to investigate associations between clinical variables and national income level, and to investigate risk factors for advanced disease at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 278 retinoblastoma treatment centers were recruited from June 2017 through December 2018 to participate in a cross-sectional analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age at presentation, proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, and tumor stage and metastasis. Results: The cohort included 4351 new patients from 153 countries; the median age at diagnosis was 30.5 (interquartile range, 18.3-45.9) months, and 1976 patients (45.4%) were female. Most patients (n = 3685 [84.7%]) were from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, the most common indication for referral was leukocoria (n = 2638 [62.8%]), followed by strabismus (n = 429 [10.2%]) and proptosis (n = 309 [7.4%]). Patients from high-income countries (HICs) were diagnosed at a median age of 14.1 months, with 656 of 666 (98.5%) patients having intraocular retinoblastoma and 2 (0.3%) having metastasis. Patients from low-income countries were diagnosed at a median age of 30.5 months, with 256 of 521 (49.1%) having extraocular retinoblastoma and 94 of 498 (18.9%) having metastasis. Lower national income level was associated with older presentation age, higher proportion of locally advanced disease and distant metastasis, and smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma. Advanced disease at diagnosis was more common in LMICs even after adjusting for age (odds ratio for low-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 17.92 [95% CI, 12.94-24.80], and for lower-middle-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 5.74 [95% CI, 4.30-7.68]). Conclusions and Relevance: This study is estimated to have included more than half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017. Children from LMICs, where the main global retinoblastoma burden lies, presented at an older age with more advanced disease and demonstrated a smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, likely because many do not reach a childbearing age. Given that retinoblastoma is curable, these data are concerning and mandate intervention at national and international levels. Further studies are needed to investigate factors, other than age at presentation, that may be associated with advanced disease in LMICs

Malaria vector species in Colombia: a review

Here we present a comprehensive review of the literature on the vectorial importance of the major Anopheles malaria vectors in Colombia. We provide basic information on the geographical distribution, altitudinal range, immature habitats, adult behaviour, feeding preferences and anthropophily, endophily and infectivity rates. We additionally review information on the life cycle, longevity and population fluctuation of Colombian Anopheles species. Emphasis was placed on the primary vectors that have been epidemiologically incriminated in malaria transmission: Anopheles darlingi, Anopheles albimanus and Anopheles nuneztovari. The role of a selection of local, regional or secondary vectors (e.g., Anopheles pseudopunctipennis and Anopheles neivai) is also discussed. We highlight the importance of combining biological, morphological and molecular data for the correct taxonomical determination of a given species, particularly for members of the species complexes. We likewise emphasise the importance of studying the bionomics of primary and secondary vectors along with an examination of the local conditions affecting the transmission of malaria. The presence and spread of the major vectors and the emergence of secondary species capable of transmitting human Plasmodia are of great interest. When selecting control measures, the anopheline diversity in the region must be considered. Variation in macroclimate conditions over a species' geographical range must be well understood and targeted to plan effective control measures based on the population dynamics of the local Anopheles species

The Helicobacter pylori Genome Project : insights into H. pylori population structure from analysis of a worldwide collection of complete genomes

Helicobacter pylori, a dominant member of the gastric microbiota, shares co-evolutionary history with humans. This has led to the development of genetically distinct H. pylori subpopulations associated with the geographic origin of the host and with differential gastric disease risk. Here, we provide insights into H. pylori population structure as a part of the Helicobacter pylori Genome Project (HpGP), a multi-disciplinary initiative aimed at elucidating H. pylori pathogenesis and identifying new therapeutic targets. We collected 1011 well-characterized clinical strains from 50 countries and generated high-quality genome sequences. We analysed core genome diversity and population structure of the HpGP dataset and 255 worldwide reference genomes to outline the ancestral contribution to Eurasian, African, and American populations. We found evidence of substantial contribution of population hpNorthAsia and subpopulation hspUral in Northern European H. pylori. The genomes of H. pylori isolated from northern and southern Indigenous Americans differed in that bacteria isolated in northern Indigenous communities were more similar to North Asian H. pylori while the southern had higher relatedness to hpEastAsia. Notably, we also found a highly clonal yet geographically dispersed North American subpopulation, which is negative for the cag pathogenicity island, and present in 7% of sequenced US genomes. We expect the HpGP dataset and the corresponding strains to become a major asset for H. pylori genomics

Taking the pulse of Earth's tropical forests using networks of highly distributed plots

Tropical forests are the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth. While better understanding of these forests is critical for our collective future, until quite recently efforts to measure and monitor them have been largely disconnected. Networking is essential to discover the answers to questions that transcend borders and the horizons of funding agencies. Here we show how a global community is responding to the challenges of tropical ecosystem research with diverse teams measuring forests tree-by-tree in thousands of long-term plots. We review the major scientific discoveries of this work and show how this process is changing tropical forest science. Our core approach involves linking long-term grassroots initiatives with standardized protocols and data management to generate robust scaled-up results. By connecting tropical researchers and elevating their status, our Social Research Network model recognises the key role of the data originator in scientific discovery. Conceived in 1999 with RAINFOR (South America), our permanent plot networks have been adapted to Africa (AfriTRON) and Southeast Asia (T-FORCES) and widely emulated worldwide. Now these multiple initiatives are integrated via ForestPlots.net cyber-infrastructure, linking colleagues from 54 countries across 24 plot networks. Collectively these are transforming understanding of tropical forests and their biospheric role. Together we have discovered how, where and why forest carbon and biodiversity are responding to climate change, and how they feedback on it. This long-term pan-tropical collaboration has revealed a large long-term carbon sink and its trends, as well as making clear which drivers are most important, which forest processes are affected, where they are changing, what the lags are, and the likely future responses of tropical forests as the climate continues to change. By leveraging a remarkably old technology, plot networks are sparking a very modern revolution in tropical forest science. In the future, humanity can benefit greatly by nurturing the grassroots communities now collectively capable of generating unique, long-term understanding of Earth's most precious forests.Additional co-authors: Susan Laurance, William Laurance, Francoise Yoko Ishida, Andrew Marshall, Catherine Waite, Hannsjoerg Woell, Jean-Francois Bastin, Marijn Bauters, Hans Beeckman, Pfascal Boeckx, Jan Bogaert, Charles De Canniere, Thales de Haulleville, Jean-Louis Doucet, Olivier Hardy, Wannes Hubau, Elizabeth Kearsley, Hans Verbeeck, Jason Vleminckx, Steven W. Brewer, Alfredo Alarcón, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Eric Arets, Luzmila Arroyo, Ezequiel Chavez, Todd Fredericksen, René Guillén Villaroel, Gloria Gutierrez Sibauty, Timothy Killeen, Juan Carlos Licona, John Lleigue, Casimiro Mendoza, Samaria Murakami, Alexander Parada Gutierrez, Guido Pardo, Marielos Peña-Claros, Lourens Poorter, Marisol Toledo, Jeanneth Villalobos Cayo, Laura Jessica Viscarra, Vincent Vos, Jorge Ahumada, Everton Almeida, Jarcilene Almeida, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, Wesley Alves da Cruz, Atila Alves de Oliveira, Fabrício Alvim Carvalho, Flávio Amorim Obermuller, Ana Andrade, Fernanda Antunes Carvalho, Simone Aparecida Vieira, Ana Carla Aquino, Luiz Aragão, Ana Claudia Araújo, Marco Antonio Assis, Jose Ataliba Mantelli Aboin Gomes, Fabrício Baccaro, Plínio Barbosa de Camargo, Paulo Barni, Jorcely Barroso, Luis Carlos Bernacci, Kauane Bordin, Marcelo Brilhante de Medeiros, Igor Broggio, José Luís Camargo, Domingos Cardoso, Maria Antonia Carniello, Andre Luis Casarin Rochelle, Carolina Castilho, Antonio Alberto Jorge Farias Castro, Wendeson Castro, Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro, Flávia Costa, Rodrigo Costa de Oliveira, Italo Coutinho, John Cunha, Lola da Costa, Lucia da Costa Ferreira, Richarlly da Costa Silva, Marta da Graça Zacarias Simbine, Vitor de Andrade Kamimura, Haroldo Cavalcante de Lima, Lia de Oliveira Melo, Luciano de Queiroz, José Romualdo de Sousa Lima, Mário do Espírito Santo, Tomas Domingues, Nayane Cristina dos Santos Prestes, Steffan Eduardo Silva Carneiro, Fernando Elias, Gabriel Eliseu, Thaise Emilio, Camila Laís Farrapo, Letícia Fernandes, Gustavo Ferreira, Joice Ferreira, Leandro Ferreira, Socorro Ferreira, Marcelo Fragomeni Simon, Maria Aparecida Freitas, Queila S. García, Angelo Gilberto Manzatto, Paulo Graça, Frederico Guilherme, Eduardo Hase, Niro Higuchi, Mariana Iguatemy, Reinaldo Imbrozio Barbosa, Margarita Jaramillo, Carlos Joly, Joice Klipel, Iêda Leão do Amaral, Carolina Levis, Antonio S. Lima, Maurício Lima Dan, Aline Lopes, Herison Madeiros, William E. Magnusson, Rubens Manoel dos Santos, Beatriz Marimon, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, Roberta Marotti Martelletti Grillo, Luiz Martinelli, Simone Matias Reis, Salomão Medeiros, Milton Meira-Junior, Thiago Metzker, Paulo Morandi, Natanael Moreira do Nascimento, Magna Moura, Sandra Cristina Müller, Laszlo Nagy, Henrique Nascimento, Marcelo Nascimento, Adriano Nogueira Lima, Raimunda Oliveira de Araújo, Jhonathan Oliveira Silva, Marcelo Pansonato, Gabriel Pavan Sabino, Karla Maria Pedra de Abreu, Pablo José Francisco Pena Rodrigues, Maria Piedade, Domingos Rodrigues, José Roberto Rodrigues Pinto, Carlos Quesada, Eliana Ramos, Rafael Ramos, Priscyla Rodrigues, Thaiane Rodrigues de Sousa, Rafael Salomão, Flávia Santana, Marcos Scaranello, Rodrigo Scarton Bergamin, Juliana Schietti, Jochen Schöngart, Gustavo Schwartz, Natalino Silva, Marcos Silveira, Cristiana Simão Seixas, Marta Simbine, Ana Claudia Souza, Priscila Souza, Rodolfo Souza, Tereza Sposito, Edson Stefani Junior, Julio Daniel do Vale, Ima Célia Guimarães Vieira, Dora Villela, Marcos Vital, Haron Xaud, Katia Zanini, Charles Eugene Zartman, Nur Khalish Hafizhah Ideris, Faizah binti Hj Metali, Kamariah Abu Salim, Muhd Shahruney Saparudin, Rafizah Mat Serudin, Rahayu Sukmaria Sukri, Serge Begne, George Chuyong, Marie Noel Djuikouo, Christelle Gonmadje, Murielle Simo-Droissart, Bonaventure Sonké, Hermann Taedoumg, Lise Zemagho, Sean Thomas, Fidèle Baya, Gustavo Saiz, Javier Silva Espejo, Dexiang Chen, Alan Hamilton, Yide Li, Tushou Luo, Shukui Niu, Han Xu, Zhang Zhou, Esteban Álvarez-Dávila, Juan Carlos Andrés Escobar, Henry Arellano-Peña, Jaime Cabezas Duarte, Jhon Calderón, Lina Maria Corrales Bravo, Borish Cuadrado, Hermes Cuadros, Alvaro Duque, Luisa Fernanda Duque, Sandra Milena Espinosa, Rebeca Franke-Ante, Hernando García, Alejandro Gómez, Roy González-M., Álvaro Idárraga-Piedrahíta, Eliana Jimenez, Rubén Jurado, Wilmar López Oviedo, René López-Camacho, Omar Aurelio Melo Cruz, Irina Mendoza Polo, Edwin Paky, Karen Pérez, Angel Pijachi, Camila Pizano, Adriana Prieto, Laura Ramos, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, James Richardson, Elkin Rodríguez, Gina M. Rodriguez M., Agustín Rudas, Pablo Stevenson, Markéta Chudomelová, Martin Dancak, Radim Hédl, Stanislav Lhota, Martin Svatek, Jacques Mukinzi, Corneille Ewango, Terese Hart, Emmanuel Kasongo Yakusu, Janvier Lisingo, Jean-Remy Makana, Faustin Mbayu, Benjamin Toirambe, John Tshibamba Mukendi, Lars Kvist, Gustav Nebel, Selene Báez, Carlos Céron, Daniel M. Griffith, Juan Ernesto Guevara Andino, David Neill, Walter Palacios, Maria Cristina Peñuela-Mora, Gonzalo Rivas-Torres, Gorky Villa, Sheleme Demissie, Tadesse Gole, Techane Gonfa, Kalle Ruokolainen, Michel Baisie, Fabrice Bénédet, Wemo Betian, Vincent Bezard, Damien Bonal, Jerôme Chave, Vincent Droissart, Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury, Annette Hladik, Nicolas Labrière, Pétrus Naisso, Maxime Réjou-Méchain, Plinio Sist, Lilian Blanc, Benoit Burban, Géraldine Derroire, Aurélie Dourdain, Clement Stahl, Natacha Nssi Bengone, Eric Chezeaux, Fidèle Evouna Ondo, Vincent Medjibe, Vianet Mihindou, Lee White, Heike Culmsee, Cristabel Durán Rangel, Viviana Horna, Florian Wittmann, Stephen Adu-Bredu, Kofi Affum-Baffoe, Ernest Foli, Michael Balinga, Anand Roopsind, James Singh, Raquel Thomas, Roderick Zagt, Indu K. Murthy, Kuswata Kartawinata, Edi Mirmanto, Hari Priyadi, Ismayadi Samsoedin, Terry Sunderland, Ishak Yassir, Francesco Rovero, Barbara Vinceti, Bruno Hérault, Shin-Ichiro Aiba, Kanehiro Kitayama, Armandu Daniels, Darlington Tuagben, John T. Woods, Muhammad Fitriadi, Alexander Karolus, Kho Lip Khoon, Noreen Majalap, Colin Maycock, Reuben Nilus, Sylvester Tan, Almeida Sitoe, Indiana Coronado G., Lucas Ojo, Rafael de Assis, Axel Dalberg Poulsen, Douglas Sheil, Karen Arévalo Pezo, Hans Buttgenbach Verde, Victor Chama Moscoso, Jimmy Cesar Cordova Oroche, Fernando Cornejo Valverde, Massiel Corrales Medina, Nallaret Davila Cardozo, Jano de Rutte Corzo, Jhon del Aguila Pasquel, Gerardo Flores Llampazo, Luis Freitas, Darcy Galiano Cabrera, Roosevelt García Villacorta, Karina Garcia Cabrera, Diego García Soria, Leticia Gatica Saboya, Julio Miguel Grandez Rios, Gabriel Hidalgo Pizango, Eurídice Honorio Coronado, Isau Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, Walter Huaraca Huasco, Yuri Tomas Huillca Aedo, Jose Luis Marcelo Peña, Abel Monteagudo Mendoza, Vanesa Moreano Rodriguez, Percy Núñez Vargas, Sonia Cesarina Palacios Ramos, Nadir Pallqui Camacho, Antonio Peña Cruz, Freddy Ramirez Arevalo, José Reyna Huaymacari, Carlos Reynel Rodriguez, Marcos Antonio Ríos Paredes, Lily Rodriguez Bayona, Rocio del Pilar Rojas Gonzales, Maria Elena Rojas Peña, Norma Salinas Revilla, Yahn Carlos Soto Shareva, Raul Tupayachi Trujillo, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Rodolfo Vasquez Martinez, Jim Vega Arenas, Christian Amani, Suspense Averti Ifo, Yannick Bocko, Patrick Boundja, Romeo Ekoungoulou, Mireille Hockemba, Donatien Nzala, Alusine Fofanah, David Taylor, Guillermo Bañares-de Dios, Luis Cayuela, Íñigo Granzow-de la Cerda, Manuel Macía, Juliana Stropp, Maureen Playfair, Verginia Wortel, Toby Gardner, Robert Muscarella, Hari Priyadi, Ervan Rutishauser, Kuo-Jung Chao, Pantaleo Munishi, Olaf Bánki, Frans Bongers, Rene Boot, Gabriella Fredriksson, Jan Reitsma, Hans ter Steege, Tinde van Andel, Peter van de Meer, Peter van der Hout, Mark van Nieuwstadt, Bert van Ulft, Elmar Veenendaal, Ronald Vernimmen, Pieter Zuidema, Joeri Zwerts, Perpetra Akite, Robert Bitariho, Colin Chapman, Eilu Gerald, Miguel Leal, Patrick Mucunguzi, Miguel Alexiades, Timothy R. Baker, Karina Banda, Lindsay Banin, Jos Barlow, Amy Bennett, Erika Berenguer, Nicholas Berry, Neil M. Bird, George A. Blackburn, Francis Brearley, Roel Brienen, David Burslem, Lidiany Carvalho, Percival Cho, Fernanda Coelho, Murray Collins, David Coomes, Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Greta Dargie, Kyle Dexter, Mat Disney, Freddie Draper, Muying Duan, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Robert Ewers, Belen Fadrique, Sophie Fauset, Ted R. Feldpausch, Filipe França, David Galbraith, Martin Gilpin, Emanuel Gloor, John Grace, Keith Hamer, David Harris, Tommaso Jucker, Michelle Kalamandeen, Bente Klitgaard, Aurora Levesley, Simon L. Lewis, Jeremy Lindsell, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Jon Lovett, Yadvinder Malhi, Toby Marthews, Emma McIntosh, Karina Melgaço, William Milliken, Edward Mitchard, Peter Moonlight, Sam Moore, Alexandra Morel, Julie Peacock, Kelvin Peh, Colin Pendry, R. Toby Pennington, Luciana de Oliveira Pereira, Carlos Peres, Oliver L. Phillips, Georgia Pickavance, Thomas Pugh, Lan Qie, Terhi Riutta, Katherine Roucoux, Casey Ryan, Tiina Sarkinen, Camila Silva Valeria, Dominick Spracklen, Suzanne Stas, Martin Sullivan, Michael Swaine, Joey Talbot, James Taplin, Geertje van der Heijden, Laura Vedovato, Simon Willcock, Mathew Williams, Luciana Alves, Patricia Alvarez Loayza, Gabriel Arellano, Cheryl Asa, Peter Ashton, Gregory Asner, Terry Brncic, Foster Brown, Robyn Burnham, Connie Clark, James Comiskey, Gabriel Damasco, Stuart Davies, Tony Di Fiore, Terry Erwin, William Farfan-Rios, Jefferson Hall, David Kenfack, Thomas Lovejoy, Roberta Martin, Olga Martha Montiel, John Pipoly, Nigel Pitman, John Poulsen, Richard Primack, Miles Silman, Marc Steininger, Varun Swamy, John Terborgh, Duncan Thomas, Peter Umunay, Maria Uriarte, Emilio Vilanova Torre, Ophelia Wang, Kenneth Young, Gerardo A. Aymard C., Lionel Hernández, Rafael Herrera Fernández, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Pedro Salcedo, Elio Sanoja, Julio Serrano, Armando Torres-Lezama, Tinh Cong Le, Trai Trong Le, Hieu Dang Tra

Conceptos epistemológicos de la geografía: sus saberes y métodos para la enseñanza e investigación

Dentro de la historia humana siempre ha existido la discusión del carácter científico de la Geografía. Según (Bacon, 1623) la geografía era la ciencia de la memoria de los países; por otro lado, ha recibido fuertes cuestionamientos a su cuerpo científico (Bunge, 1967), pues no hay duda que la Geografía maneja datos científicos y que son sometidos a un rigor científico, donde la Geografía comprende aspectos de otras ciencias y comprende la relación humano-entorno en sus estudios regionales y que no es abordado por otras ciencias (Capel, 1977). De este último punto surge la interrogante ¿Cual es el cuerpo de la Geografía como Ciencia? Sumado a esto las propias barreras entre el conocimiento que han puesto los mismos geógrafos (Capel, 1980), pues muchos geógrafos asumen las diferentes corrientes como paradigmas. Donde los paradigmas de la Geografía de acuerdo a (Capel, 1980) estriba en: 1) el estudio de la diferenciación del espacio en la superficie terrestre, 2) el estudio de la relación hombre-medio. Por ello, es necesario que la Geografía se someta a un auto cuestionamiento epistemológico: ¿Cómo construimos en el plano mental del Mundo para conceptualizar el Territorio? ¿Cómo podemos tipificar e institucionalizar el conocimiento de la Geografía? Y ¿Cómo se estructura la Geografía como Ciencia? Con la finalidad sostener el carácter de Ciencia en la Geografía

CONCEPTOS EPISTEMOLÓGICOS DE LA GEOGRAFÍA: SUS SABERES Y MÉTODOS PARA LA ENSEÑANZA E INVESTIGACIÓN

In the human history there has always been discussion about the scientific nature of Geography. (Bacon, 1623) argued that geography was the science to memorize countries; added to strong questioning about its scientific body (Bunge, 1967), because there is no doubt about that Geography manages scientific data and are subject to scientific rigor, where Geography includes aspects of other sciences and human-environment includes regional studies in their relationship and that is not addressed by other sciences (Capel, 1977). From this last point the question arises: What is the body of Geography as a Science? Added to this the own barriers between knowledge who have placed by the same geographers (Capel, 1980), because many geographers assume the different trends as paradigms. Where the paradigms of Geography according to (Capel, 1980) are to: 1) the study of differentiation of space on the Earth's surface, 2) the study of the relationship man-environment. Therefore it is necessary that geography is subjected to an epistemological self-questioning: How do we build the mental plane of the World to conceptualize the Territory? How can we establish and institutionalize knowledge of geography? and How Geography is structured as Science? For the purpose to sustain the character of Science in Geography.Dentro de la historia humana siempre ha existido la discusión del carácter científico de la Geografía. Según (Bacon, 1623) la geografía era la ciencia de la memoria de los países; por otro lado, ha recibido fuertes cuestionamientos a su cuerpo científico (Bunge, 1967), pues no hay duda que la Geografía maneja datos científicos y que son sometidos a un rigor científico, donde la Geografía comprende aspectos de otras ciencias y comprende la relación humano-entorno en sus  estudios regionales y que no es abordado por otras ciencias (Capel, 1977). De este último punto surge la interrogante ¿Cual es el cuerpo de la Geografía como Ciencia? Sumado a esto las propias barreras entre el conocimiento que han puesto los mismos geógrafos (Capel, 1980), pues muchos geógrafos asumen las diferentes corrientes como paradigmas. Donde los paradigmas de la Geografía de acuerdo a (Capel, 1980) estriba en: 1) el estudio de la diferenciación del espacio en la superficie terrestre, 2) el estudio de la relación hombre-medio. Por ello, es necesario que la Geografía se someta a un auto cuestionamiento epistemológico: ¿Cómo construimos en el plano mental del Mundo para conceptualizar el Territorio? ¿Cómo podemos tipificar e institucionalizar el conocimiento de la Geografía? Y ¿Cómo se estructura la Geografía como Ciencia? Con la finalidad sostener el carácter de Ciencia en la Geografía

Análisis de la estimación del índice de vulnerabilidad costera de panamá oeste mediante sistemas de información geográfica

El objetivo de este trabajo se focaliza en presentar una evaluación de la vulnerabilidad costera del sector de Panamá Oeste. Para tal propósito se utilizó el Índice de Vulnerabilidad Costera (CVI) planteada por Thieler (2000), sustentado en informes realizados por el Servicio Geológico de los Estados Unidos (USGS). Este índice emplea: tasa histórica de erosión de la costa, geomorfología, tasas relativas de ascenso del nivel del mar, pendiente costera, altura de las olas, amplitud de marea y cualquier indicador que se incorpore; estos elementos son de vital importancia para la determinación de la vulnerabilidad costera, y por ende en la simulación de escenarios que se verán afectados por el Cambio Climático a través del Ascenso del Nivel del Mar. Los resultados preliminares obtenidos en este trabajo fueron sometidos a pruebas de validez y muestran que las costas frente a Punta Chame son las más vulnerables en el sector de Panamá Oeste