Determination of Sarcocystis lamacanis microcysts in the cardiac muscle of alpacas (Vicugna pacos) and their correlation with troponin cTnI. A study performed in the high Andean region of southern Peru

The breeding of alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is one of the most important economic activities in the high Andean areas of Peru. The commercialization of products derived from alpaca represents more than 80% of the income of high-Andean families. However, the infestation of parasites such as Sarcocystis lamacanis in the alpacas causes economic losses that deteriorate the already diminished quality of life of the alpaca breeder. The search for biomarkers that allow the early detection of these parasites is one of the most critical challenges in Peru, a country with the largest population of alpacas worldwide. This work aimed to analyze and quantify the microcysts formed by the parasite and relate them to the troponin cTnI level in the blood serum. Troponins are proteins secreted when there is damage to the cardiac muscle. 60 blood and cardiac tissue samples were collected from Tisco and La Raya slaughterhouses, localities of Caylloma Province in Arequipa, and Chucuito District in Puno, both regions in southern Peru. The cardiac muscle samples were processed with the routine histology technique and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. In addition, serum samples were processed with the ELISA and immunochromatography methods for troponin cTnI. Results were 100% positive for the presence of Sarcocystis lamacanis microcysts in all cardiac muscle samples. The average microcyst quantification per field of 100x were 3.5 and 5.7 for the Tisco and La Raya samples. In addition, several microscopic lesions were observed in the cardiac muscles: microcyst infiltration between muscle fibers, basophilic microcysts with a thick outer membrane and bradyzoites inside, and tissue displacement. On the other hand, all serum blood samples were negative for troponin cTnI, with both methods, ELISA and immunochromatography. For results, we infer troponin cTnI do not can be used as a biomarker for heart damage caused by Sarcocystis lamacanis parasite in alpacas.Fil: Fernandez F., Fernando. Universidad Católica de Santa María; PerúFil: Gutiérrez A., Roxana. Universidad Católica de Santa María; PerúFil: Pacheco S., Víctor. Universidad Católica de Santa María; PerúFil: Chirinos T., José. Universidad Católica de Santa María; PerúFil: Lombardo, Daniel Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Investigacion y Tecnología en Reproducción Animal; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Cátedra de Histología y Embriologías; ArgentinaFil: Olivera, Luis V. M.. Universidad Nacional del Altiplano; PerúFil: Bernabe Ortiz, Julio Cesar. Universidad Católica de Santa María; PerúFil: López Casaperalta, Patricia. Universidad Católica de Santa María; Per

Síntesis de la investigación sobre el bosque de niebla del centro de Veracruz, revisión de 2015 al 2021

Síntesis de la investigación sobre el bosque de niebla del centro de Veracruz, revisión de 2015 al 2021a) Introducción/Antecedentes/JustificaciónEl bosque mesófilo de montaña es uno de los ecosistemas más diversos del país. Su distribución original se ha ido reduciendo por el cambio de uso de suelo asociado a las actividades productivas. La investigación ecológica sobre este ecosistema ha crecido considerablemente en las últimas décadas, sin embargo aún no se consolidan estrategias efectivas de conservación para este ecosistema que logren tener la sustitución de espacios forestales o bien mejorar la calidad del hábitat de los fragmentos que aún se mantienen.b) Objetivo(s)/HipótesisEl objetivo de este trabajo fue recopilar las investigaciones publicadas en los últimos siete años sobre el bosque de niebla en el centro del estado de Veracruz.c) MétodosSe realizaron búsquedas en revistas especializadas y un compilador de publicaciones científicas con las palabras clave ‘bosque de niebla’, ‘bosque mesófilo’, ‘cloud forest’, ‘veracruz’. Se localizaron los sitios de estudio de las publicaciones en un mapa y se analizaron las temáticas que agrupan las investigaciones durante este lapso de tiempo.d) ResultadosSe recopilaron 90 publicaciones con los criterios de la búsqueda. Las temáticas más frecuentes fueron inventarios de diversidad por grupos taxonómicos, seguimiento experimental de restauración o monitoreo de procesos ecológicos de largo plazo, descripción de nuevas especies, ecología del paisaje y procesos hidrológicos. Destacan los resultados de estudios multipropósito y de monitoreo de gradientes altitudinales aunque gran parte de las investigaciones son de carácter focal con pocas localidades de estudio en uno o dos municipios. e) Implicaciones/ConclusionesLos bosques del centro de Veracruz concentran una gran cantidad de investigaciones ecológicas, asociadas principalmente a la presencia de centros e institutos de investigación localizados en la ciudad de Xalapa, particularmente INECOL y Universidad Veracruzana. Si bien existe una amplísima diversidad de investigaciones ecológicas en el contexto del bosque de niebla, estas aún parecen estar desarticuladas en el contexto de la región. Dicha desarticulación podría explicarse por la ausencia de un marco de priorización del estado de conservación de los remanentes forestales en la región. Este marco tendría que responder a un enfoque de cuenca y la identificación detallada de los fragmentos de bosques conservados y bosques manejados, principalmente diferenciando cafetales de sombra. Tampoco se encontraron investigaciones asociadas a las áreas naturales protegidas estatales, que si bien son poco representativas de los espacios forestales y son más periurbanas aún necesitan ser consideradas como sitios de interés para la investigación ecológica. palabras clave: bosque mesófilo, revisión, cafetales, Xalapa, ecología del paisaje<br/

Political Conflict and Economic Growth in Post-Independence Venezuela

Venezuela has suffered three economic catastrophes since independence: one each in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. Prominent explanations for this trilogy point to the interaction of class conflict and resource dependence. We turn attention to intra-class conflict, arguing that the most destructive policy choices stemmed not from the rich defending themselves against the masses but rather from pitched battles among elites. Others posit that Venezuelan political institutions failed to sustain growth because they were insufficiently inclusive; we suggest in addition that they inadequately mediated intra-elite conflict

Generating punctured surface triangulations with degree at least 4

As a sequel of a previous paper by the authors, we present here a generating theorem for the family of triangulations of an arbitrary punctured surface with vertex degree ≥ 4. The method is based on a series of reversible operations termed reductions which lead to a minimal set of triangulations in such a way that all intermediate triangulations throughout the reduction process remain within the family. Besides contractible edges and octahedra, the reduction operations act on two new configurations near the surface boundary named quasi-octahedra and N-components. It is also observed that another configuration called M-component remains unaltered under any sequence of reduction operations. We show that one gets rid of M-components by flipping appropriate edges

The incidence of some critical cognitive factors that prevent change of order in university students: uncertainty analysis

School performance depends on cognitive impact while academic performance depends on how the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of students is carried out, which is open to a wide range of very complex criteria. Students’ emotional intelligence is put to the test by the intense and constant completion of tasks to achieve the required credits. However, students do not manage to adapt to this system, which causes rejection and procrastination in completing tasks, and is evident from their really bad state of mind and stress intolerance. These factors can be so strong that they prevent adequate development; school commitments and obligations are neglected, affecting academic performance, which remains in the first order. Consequently, we aim to identify the critical cognitive factors that prevent the change of order and process them through fuzzy cognitive maps. To do so, a survey of students and teachers from Spanish and Mexican universities was carried out. Through confirmatory factor analysis, the number of items to be analysed was reduced. The variance analysis detected significant differences between students’ attitude and what teachers thought, and an assignment matrix was obtained. Finally, by obtaining Hamming distance, the critical factors that prevent good academic performance could be found. The main result obtained is that the critical factors that prevent change of order in cognitive elements are mainly problem solving, stress tolerance, reality testing , empathy, self-concept and happiness

Genetic variability and structure of jaguar (Panthera onca) in Mexican zoos

ArtículoGenealogical records of animals (studbook) are created to avoid reproduction between closely related individuals, which could cause inbreeding, particularly for such endangered species as the Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758). Jaguar is the largest felid in the Americas and is considered an important ecological key species. In Mexico, wild jaguar populations have been significantly reduced in recent decades, and population decline typically accompany decreases in genetic variation. There is no current census of captive jaguars in Mexico, and zoos do not follow a standardized protocol in breeding programs based on genetic studies. Here, we emphasise the importance of maintaining an adequate level of genetic variation and propose the implementation of standardised studbooks for jaguars in Mexico, mainly to avoid inbreeding. In addition, achieving the aims of studbook registration would provide a population genetic characterisation that could serve as a basis for ex situ conservation programmes