Awareness, actions, drivers and barriers of sustainable construction in Chile

The socio-economic conditions of a country and the overall practices of the construction industry towards Sustainable Construction (SC) are critical factors to define the foundations for developing and carrying out a strategic plan to advance in sustainable construction. This paper reports the results of a study about SC practices currently implemented by construction companies and discusses the level of awareness and knowledge, barriers and drivers of SC that were found in building and infrastructure construction companies. In addition, it analyses the influence of the company size on SC practices. Research results show that Chilean construction firms are in an early stage of the path for achieving SC. Their practices towards SC are highly dependent of the company's size and its core business. Main barriers towards SC are the lack of financial incentives, lack of integrated design, and affordability whereas company's tax reduction incentives related to the level of investment effort on SC would be a key governmental policy to promote sustainability. The results of this study might be particularly useful for other countries, particularly developing ones, and for government policy making

Phenotypic heterogeneity of the fibroblast-like cells in the dermis

peer reviewedThe fibroblast-like cell population of the dermis is heterogeneous. The name "fibroblast" appears to be out-dated and should be replaced by terms reflecting with precision the immunophenotype of the cells. Among them, dendrocytes type I (Factor XIIIa - positive) and dendrocytes type II (CD34 - positive) are involved in a wealth of pathologic conditions

High SNP diversity in the non-toxic indigenous Jatropha curcas germplasm widens the potential of this upcoming major biofuel crop species

Background and Aims: Jatropha curcas (jatropha) is an oil crop cultivated in (sub)tropical regions around the world, and holds great promise as a renewable energy source. However, efforts to fully commercialize jatropha are currently hampered by the lack of genetic diversity in the extant breeding germplasm, and by the toxicity of its seeds meaning that its seed cake cannot be used as a protein source in animal feed, among other constraints. In Mexico, the species’ native range, there are jatropha plants whose seeds are used to prepare traditional meals. This non-toxic jatropha ‘type’ is considered to harbour low genetic variation due to a presumed domestication bottleneck and therefore to be of limited breeding value; yet, very little is known regarding its origin and genetic diversity. Methods: Using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), we extensively genotyped both indigenous toxic and non-toxic jatropha collected along roads and home gardens throughout southern Mexico. Key Results: Single nucleotide polymorphism diversity in non-toxic jatropha is relatively high, particularly in northern Veracruz state, the probable origin of this germplasm. Genetic differences between toxic and non-toxic indigenous genotypes are overall quite small. A a genome-wide association study supported a genomic region (on LG 8, scaffold NW_012130064), probably involved in the suppression of seed toxicity. Conclusions: Conservation actions are urgently needed to preserve this non-toxic indigenous, relatively wild germplasm, having potential as a fuel feedstock, animal feed and food source among other uses. More generally, this work demonstrates the value of conservation genomic research on the indigenous gene pool of economically important plant species