Actas del I Congreso en Investigación en Agricultura para el desarrollo

La importancia de las actividades en Investigación en Agricultura para el Desarrollo (IApD) realizadas por grupos de investigación españoles contrasta con el desconocimiento que la sociedad tiene del valor de este esfuerzo y, más sorprendente aún, con el desconocimiento entre los grupos directamente involucrados. Esto es así porque la IApD en España depende fundamentalmente de la inquietud, esfuerzo y motivación personales de los investigadores, sin que exista un marco que los ampare y coordine. Sin embargo, la recientemente creada Red Española de Investigación en Agricultura para el Desarrollo representa el inicio del cambio y como primera actividad importante organiza este primer Congreso en Investigación en Agricultura para el Desarrollo.Este I Congreso tiene como objetivo principal la puesta en valor y la visibilidad del esfuerzo español en investigación en agricultura, realizada en y para los países en vías de desarrollo a nivel internacional. Queremos poner en común, debatir y buscar sinergias entre los diferentes grupos de investigación y facilitar la transferencia de resultados. Las disciplinas en las que se ha divido el congreso, y este libro, son: agricultura, ganadería, sistemas agroforestales, desarrollo rural, acuicultura, tecnología de alimentos y agroindustria. Como disciplinas transversales se incluye entre otros: género, políticas, sostenibilidad ambiental y formación. Con este Congreso se espera aumentar la eficiencia y el impacto de la investigación en agricultura para el desarrollo, que como meta tiene alcanzar los objetivos del milenio en las zonas más desfavorecidas. Estas Actas presentan más de 60 contribuciones que recogen el trabajo de más de 180 autores. Además, el Congreso cuenta con la presencia de representantes de las principales entidades que impulsan la investigación en agricultura para el desarrollo en España, como son la AECID, el MICINN, el INIA el CSIC y las Universidades. La actividad investigadora presentada se desarrolla en 22 países cuya población se aproxima a 2000 millones, el 27% del total mundial. El índice de desarrollo humano medio ponderado que representan estos países es del 0,59. Muchos de los estudios aquí presentados contribuyen a paliar esta situación pero pasan inadvertidos disminuyendo su impacto. Nos gustaría que este documento suponga el punto de partida de futuras alianzas que permitan optimizar los recursos y esfuerzos, tanto por parte de los investigadores como de las entidades de desarrollo

Relationship of Weather Types on the Seasonal and Spatial Variability of Rainfall, Runoff, and Sediment Yield in the Western Mediterranean Basin

Rainfall is the key factor to understand soil erosion processes, mechanisms, and rates. Most research was conducted to determine rainfall characteristics and their relationship with soil erosion (erosivity) but there is little information about how atmospheric patterns control soil losses, and this is important to enable sustainable environmental planning and risk prevention. We investigated the temporal and spatial variability of the relationships of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield with atmospheric patterns (weather types, WTs) in the western Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, we analyzed a large database of rainfall events collected between 1985 and 2015 in 46 experimental plots and catchments with the aim to: (i) evaluate seasonal differences in the contribution of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield produced by the WTs; and (ii) to analyze the seasonal efficiency of the different WTs (relation frequency and magnitude) related to rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield. The results indicate two different temporal patterns: the first weather type exhibits (during the cold period: autumn and winter) westerly flows that produce the highest rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield values throughout the territory; the second weather type exhibits easterly flows that predominate during the warm period (spring and summer) and it is located on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. However, the cyclonic situations present high frequency throughout the whole year with a large influence extended around the western Mediterranean basin. Contrary, the anticyclonic situations, despite of its high frequency, do not contribute significantly to the total rainfall, runoff, and sediment (showing the lowest efficiency) because of atmospheric stability that currently characterize this atmospheric pattern. Our approach helps to better understand the relationship of WTs on the seasonal and spatial variability of rainfall, runoff and sediment yield with a regional scale based on the large dataset and number of soil erosion experimental stations

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Conservation agriculture: a complex avenue to conserve and improve soils

Material complementari del cas estudi "Conservation agriculture: a complex avenue to conserve and improve soils", part component del llibre "Case studies for developing globally responsible engineersPostprint (author's final draft

Conservation agriculture: a complex avenue to conserve and improve soils

Material complementari del cas estudi "Conservation agriculture: a complex avenue to conserve and improve soils", part component del llibre "Case studies for developing globally responsible engineer

Conservation agriculture: a complex avenue to conserve and improve soils

Material complementari del cas estudi "Conservation agriculture: a complex avenue to conserve and improve soils", part component del llibre "Case studies for developing globally responsible engineer

L'intensification agroécologique, genre et développement agricole: cas des défis de la zone sèche au Burkina Faso

Trabajo presentado en la 3ème édition de la Conférence Intensification Durable (CID), celebrada en Dakar del 24 al 26 de noviembre de 2021

Irrigation performance before and after rehabilitation of a representative, small irrigation scheme besides the Senegal River, Mauritania

Postprint (published version