Human-Horse Relationships, Horse Welfare, and Abuse in Mexico: A Social Representation Approach

Drawing on social representation theory, this study explored horse handlers’ understandings of “good” treatment, abuse, and human-horse relationships in tourism, leisure, and sport events in Mexico to examine the ways in which attitudes toward horse welfare are shaped by both national and cultural discourses and wider norms of the global equestrian community. Based on in-depth interviews, the study revealed that national and subcultural norms of the equestrian social world shape people’s attitudes to what is deemed “good treatment” and what is “abuse.” It suggests the need to understand better how cultural factors shape different people’s attitudes to those standards and look for ways to safeguard horse welfare while valuing local heritage

A tetraiodo cuprate NHC-MIC biscarbene proligand: coordination chemistry and preliminary catalysis

La preparación de una sal híbrida conteniendo cationes imidazolio/triazolio [NHC-MIC]²+ fue llevada a cabo en tres pasos sintéticos utilizando la cicloadición de azida-alquino catalizada por cobre (CuAAC) y la subsecuente N-metilación del 1,2,-3 triazol. Deprotonación selectiva de la sal mixta con NaH en presencia de un precursor metálico (M= Pd, Rh) permite la síntesis de NHC-metálicos conteniendo fragmentos catiónicos de tipo triazolio [NHC∙(M)-MIC]+. La subsecuente deprotonación del triazolio con KOᵗBu en presencia de Mpermite entonces la síntesis de complejos inusuales tipo quelato conteniendo carbenos clásicos tipo NHC y carbenos mesoiónicos MIC con estructura general [NHC∙(M)∙MIC]+MX₂-. Todos los compuestos han sido caracterizados mediante RMN de ¹H y ¹³C, FT-IR y cristalografía de rayos-X de monocristal. Estudios catalíticos preliminares de los nuevos complejos en procesos de formación de α-cetoamidas serán discutidos.A novel linked imidazolium/triazolium salt [NHC-MIC]²+ was preparedin three synthetic stepsusing copper catalyzed alkyne azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) and N-methylation protocols. Metallation of the imidazolium moiety using KHMDS in presence of a metallic precursor (M = Pd, Rh) yields NHC-anchored/pendent triazolium species [NHC∙(M)-MIC]+ in good yields. The subsequent deprotonation of the triazolium fragment with KOᵗBu in presence of one equivalent of M delivers the rare chelating mixed classical NHC/mesionic biscarbene complexes with the general formula [NHC∙(M)∙MIC]+MX₂-. All the complexes were fully characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR, FT-IR and single crystal X-ray diffraction. Preliminary catalytic performances of the new complexes in the oxidativepreparation of α-ketoamides will be discussed

Evaluación económica de los compromises de Colombia en el marco de COP21

The document presents the economic impacts from the fulfillment of Colombia’s commitment of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The traditional analysis is done with marginal curves of abatement costs. However, this technique has a set of limitations, which can be solved with a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. Using the CGE for Colombia (MEG4C), the results show that growth rate of GDP would increase by 0.15% annually, for the period 2020-2040. On the other hand, the structural unemployment rate is reduced by the implementation of mitigation measures in the medium and long term. Due to the economic structure and the emissions matrix, the implementation of measures should be associated with energy efficiency in the transport, industrial and residential sectors, which will generate positive impacts on economic growth. © 2017, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economia. All rights reserved

Variation in the Extraction Efficiency of Estradiol and Progesterone in Moist and Lyophilized Feces of the Black Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra): Alternative Methods

Several fecal steroid extraction techniques have been developed to measure the ovary function in different species of mammals. However, regardless of the method of extraction and the sample type chosen, it has been observed that they can yield results with different percentages of recuperation. The objective of this study was to determine whether the type of substratum, solvent and extraction method used have any influence on the extraction efficiency in the feces of Alouatta pigra (black howler monkey). For this purpose we used two methods: agitation and ebullition. With each method, we utilized moist and lyophilized feces. The validation of radioimmunoassay method was accurate and precise for quantify estradiol and progesterone in lyophilized feces of A. pigra. To both of which ethanol and methanol, absolute and at 80%, were added, besides the hormones 125I-Estradiol and 125I-Progesterone. The extraction efficiency for 125I-Estradiol was from 87.72 ± 3.97 to 41.24 ± 2.67%, and for 125I-Progesterone from 71.15 ± 4.24 to 42.30 ± 1.19% when we used the agitation method. Whereas with the ebullition method, the extraction efficiency for 125I-Estradiol ranged from 86.89 ± 2.66 to 71.68 ± 3.02% and for 125I-Progesterone from 98.31 ± 1.26 to 85.40 ± 1.98%. Due to the differences found in these assays, which depend on the method used, the type of feces employed and the type of solvent added to them, we recommend the ebullition method and the lyophilized feces of A. pigra for extracting the hormones, since in moist feces there may exist variables which might interfere in the quantification of 125I-Estradiol and 125I-Progesterone

Tractor_DB (version 2.0): a database of regulatory interactions in gamma-proteobacterial genomes

The version 2.0 of Tractor_DB is now accessible at its three international mirrors: , and . This database contains a collection of computationally predicted Transcription Factors' binding sites in gamma-proteobacterial genomes. These data should aid researchers in the design of microarray experiments and the interpretation of their results. They should also facilitate studies of Comparative Genomics of the regulatory networks of this group of organisms. In this paper we describe the main improvements incorporated to the database in the past year and a half which include incorporating information on the regulatory networks of 13—increasing to 30—new gamma-proteobacteria and developing a new computational strategy to complement the putative sites identified by the original weight matrix-based approach. We have also added dynamically generated navigation tabs to the navigation interfaces. Moreover, we developed a new interface that allows users to directly retrieve information on the conservation of regulatory interactions in the 30 genomes included in the database by navigating a map that represents a core of the known Escherichia coli regulatory network

Prospective study of urinary tract infection surveillance after kidney transplantation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Urinary tract infection (UTI) remains one of the main complications after kidney transplantation and it has serious consequences.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty-two patients with kidney transplantation were evaluated for UTI at 3-145 days (mean 40.0 days) after surgery.. Forty-two received a graft from a live donor and 10 from a deceased donor. There were 22 female and 30 male patients, aged 11-47 years. Microscopic examinations, leukocyte esterase stick, and urinary culture were performed every third day and weekly after hospitalization. A positive culture was consider when patients presented bacterial counts up to 10⁵ counts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>UTI developed in 19/52 (37%) patients at 3-75 days (mean 19.5 days after transplantation. Recurrent infection was observed in 7/52 (13.4%) patients at days 17-65. UTI was more frequent in patients who received deceased grafts compared with live grafts (7/10, 70% <it>vs</it>. 12/42, 28%; p < 0.007). Female patients were more susceptible than male (11/22, 50% <it>vs</it>. 8/22, 36.35%; p < 0.042). Five-year survival rate was 94.5% (49/52 patients). Kidney Graft exit update is 47/52 (90.2%), and there were no significant differences between graft rejection and UTI (p = 0.2518). Isolated bacteria were <it>Escherichia coli </it>(31.5%), <it>Candida albicans </it>(21.0%) and <it>Enterococcus </it>spp. (10.5%), followed by <it>Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Morganella </it><it>morganii, Enterobacter cloacae </it>and <it>Micrococcus </it>spp. Secondary infections were produced by (7/19, 36.8%). <it>Enterococcus </it>spp. (57%), <it>E. coli </it>(28%) and <it>Micrococcus </it>spp. (14.2%). Antibiotic resistance was 22% for ciprofloxacin and 33% for ampicillin. Therapeutic alternatives were aztreonam, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, netilmicin and fosfomycin.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Surveillance of UTI for the first 3 months is a good option for improving quality of life of kidney transplantation patients and the exit of graft function especially for female patients and those receiving deceased grafts. Antibiograms provided a good therapeutic alternative to patients who presented with UTIs after receiving a kidney allograft.</p

Pd and Pd-Cu supported on different carbon materials and immobilized as flow-through catalytic membranes for the chemical reduction of NO3, NO2-and BrO3- in drinking water treatment

Powdered catalysts are commonly used in lab-scale tests for the catalytic reduction of oxoanions in drinking water, but their powder nature limits their application at full scale. In this work, Pd and Pd-Cu catalysts (5% wt.) supported on carbon materials with different structural properties, in powder form, were used to prepare catalytic membranes that were tested in a reactor with flow-through configuration (FTCMR) to study their performance in the reduction of NO3-, NO2- and BrO3-. Pd catalytic membranes showed high activity in the reduction of NO2-, being the selectivity to NH4+ lower than 2% at 80% NO2- conversion in all cases. In BrO3- reduction, they exhibited a wide range of conversions being the catalyst supported on materials with high conductivity the most active ones, which may be ascribed to the charge distribution at the metal-carbon interface. NO3- reduction using Pd-Cu catalytic membranes showed that catalysts supported on materials with small nanoparticle size and low electrical conductivity exhibited higher selectivity to NH4+. FTCMR led to a good control of H2 transfer and availability in the active sites, facilitating the tuning of H2 availability conditions to preserve the activity, while maintaining/diminishing selectivity to NH4+. In simultaneous oxoanions reduction tests, NO3- reduction was inhibited by Br species, probably by affection of the Pd-Cu redox cycle. This fact could be crucial to the future development of drinking water treatment processes, as conditions the order of the disinfection and NO3- reduction stepsThe authors greatly appreciate the support from Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigacion ´ (AEI, RTI2018–098431-BI00). Adrian ´ Marí thanks the Spanish AEI for a research grant (PRE-2019-088601). This work was also financially supported by: LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE), UIDB/50020/2020 and UIDP/50020/2020 (LSRE-LCM) and funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), and project NORTE01–0145-FEDER-000069 (Healthy Waters) co-funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through North Portugal Regional Operational Program (NORTE2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreemen