Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango- Cuando-Zambezi river drainages. Part 2 : Lizards (Sauria), chelonians, and crocodiles

This work is the second report of the results obtained from a series of rapid biodiversity surveys of the upper Cuito, Cubango, Cuando, Zambezi, and Kwanza River basins in Angola, which were conducted between 2015 and 2019 in conjunction with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project. The herpetofauna of this region are poorly documented and the results of these surveys help to address the knowledge gap regarding the conservation importance of this region. Here, an updated checklist is provided for the current and historical records of lizards, chelonians, and crocodiles from the southeastern region of Angola. A total of 369 new records were documented comprising 40 species, bringing the total number of recognized lizard, chelonian, and crocodile species in this region to 58. These surveys documented four new country records (i.e., Lygodactylus chobiensis, Agama armata, Pachydactylus wahlbergii, and Ichnotropis cf. grandiceps) and increased the total number of reptile species known to occur in Angola (excluding snakes) from approximately 157 to 161. Finally, updated distribution maps for the whole country are provided for all of the species encountered in this study.Este trabalho é a segunda parte dos resultados de uma série de levantamentos rápidos de biodiversidade realizados nas bacias dos rios Cuito, Cubango, Cuando, Zambeze e Kwanza em Angola, entre 2015 e 2019, em conjunto com o National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project. A herpetofauna desta região está pouco documentada, e os resultados destes levantamentos ajudarão a colmatar a lacuna de conhecimento sobre a importância da sua conservação. Aqui apresentamos uma lista atualizada de registos históricos e recentes dos lagartos, quelónios e crocodilos do sudeste de Angola. Ao todo, foram documentado 369 novos registros, relativos a 40 espécies, elevando o número total de espécies desses três grupos na região para 58. Nestes levantamentos foram registadas em Angola pela primeira vez quatro as espécies de lagartos (Lygodactylus chobiensis, Agama armata, Pachydactylus wahlbergii, Ichnotropis cf. grandiceps), aumentando o número total de espécies conhecidas de répteis (excluindo cobras) de Angola de 157 para 161. Por fim, apresentamos mapas de ocorrência/distribuição atualizados das espécies encontradas neste estudo para todo o país.The Wild Bird Trust, which administers the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project.amphibian-reptile-conservation.orgam2023Zoology and Entomolog

Presupuesto por Resultados en la Gestión de Inversiones de la Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, periodo 2011-2020

El objetivo del a investigación fue determinar los resultados obtenidos en la gestión de inversiones, con la aplicación del Presupuesto por Resultados en la ejecución de los gastos de capital en la Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, entre los años 2011 a 2020. En el proceso metodológico se ha utilizado el modelo básico de presupuestación por resultados, que se sustenta en la vinculación entre la asignación de recursos y la información de desempeño, siendo importante la obtención de la información sobre los objetivos o resultados que se han propuesto en los proyectos vinculados a los gastos de capital. Además, se ha utilizado el modelo de cadena de resultados; así como los indicadores de eficacia y eficiencia logrados en los proyectos de inversión. Se pudo demostrar que en el modelo de la cadena de resultados, cada uno de los proyectos de inversión de la universidad, seleccionados como representativos, en el eslabón de insumos tenían asegurado la asignación presupuestal y los recursos necesarios; cumplieron con el eslabón de actividades transformando los insumos en productos; dando lugar al tercer eslabón que se expresa en la generación del producto con conclusión y entrega del proyecto a la población usuaria; cada uno de los proyectos se encuentran en operación, lográndose el objetivo o resultado esperado; a excepción del proyecto Mejoramiento de los Servicios Académicos en la Formación Básica, Informática y Virtual en las Escuelas Profesionales que solo ha alcanzado hasta el tercer eslabón que se refiere a la generación del producto

Visual-tactile manipulation to collect household waste in outdoor

[EN] This work presents a perception system applied to robotic manipulation, that is able to assist in navegation, household waste classification and collection in outdoor environments. This system is made up of optical tactile sensors, RGBD cameras and a LiDAR. These sensors are integrated on a mobile platform with a robot manipulator and a robotic gripper. Our system is divided in three software modules, two of them are vision-based and the last one is tactile-based. The vision-based modules use CNNs to localize and recognize solid household waste, together with the grasping points estimation. The tactile-based module, which also uses CNNs and image processing, adjusts the gripper opening to control the grasping from touch data. Our proposal achieves localization errors around 6 %, a recognition accuracy of 98% and ensures the grasping stability the 91% of the attempts. The sum of runtimes of the three modules is less than 750 ms.[ES] Este artículo presenta un sistema de percepcion orientado a la manipulación robótica, capaz de asistir en tareas de navegación, clasificacion y recogida de residuos domésticos en exterior. El sistema está compuesto de sensores táctiles ópticos, cámaras RGBD y un LiDAR. Estos se integran en una plataforma móvil que transporta un robot manipulador con pinza. El sistema consta de tres modulos software, dos visuales y uno táctil. Los módulos visuales implementan arquitecturas CNNs para la localización y reconocimiento de residuos sólidos, además de estimar puntos de agarre. El módulo táctil, también basado en CNNs y procesamiento de imagen, regula la apertura de la pinza para controlar el agarre a partir de informacion de contacto. Nuestra propuesta tiene errores de localizacion entorno al 6 %, una precisión de reconocimiento del 98 %, y garantiza estabilidad de agarre el 91 % de las veces. Los tres modulos trabajan en tiempos inferiores a los 750 ms.Este trabajo ha sido financiado con Fondos Europeos de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), el gobierno de la Generalitat Valenciana a través del proyecto PROMETEO/2021/075, y los recursos computaciones fueron financiados a traves de la ayuda IDIFEDER/2020/003.Castaño-Amorós, J.; Páez-Ubieta, IDL.; Gil, P.; Puente, ST. (2023). Manipulación visual-táctil para la recogida de residuos domésticos en exteriores. Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática industrial. 20(2):163-174. https://doi.org/10.4995/riai.2022.1853416317420

New insights into the taxonomic status, distribution and natural history of De Witte’s Clicking Frog (Kassinula wittei Laurent, 1940)

Kassinula is a monotypic genus of small frog in the family Hyperoliidae, only represented by Kassinula wittei. This species morphologically resembles both Kassina Girard, 1853 and Afrixalus Laurent, 1944, and its taxonomic status has been debated for decades. It has previously been subsumed within Kassina, and is currently placed as a sister genus to Afrixalus, although it has not been included in any phylogenetic studies until now. This species is poorly represented in museum collections and is only known from fewer than 35 specimens from southern Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjacent Zambia. Newly collected material from central Angola, a range extension of 400–800 km west of previously known localities, allowed us to revisit the taxonomic placement of the genus with the aid of phylogenetic analysis and shed light on its geographic distribution, morphology and natural history. Although our phylogenetic analysis is limited to a single mitochondrial gene (16S), we place Kassinula in the subfamily Hyperoliinae and closely related to Afrixalus, with a high degree of confidence. Further phylogenetic studies are needed before formally synonymising Afrixalus with Kassinula.Genetic analyses were funded by The Wild Bird Trust National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project and by FCT through the BIODIV Africa Doctoral Programme at CIBIO.https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tafz202021-11-11hj2021Zoology and Entomolog

Association between breakfast frequency and physical activity and sedentary time : a cross-sectional study in children from 12 countries

BackgroundExisting research has documented inconsistent findings for the associations among breakfast frequency, physical activity (PA), and sedentary time in children. The primary aim of this study was to examine the associations among breakfast frequency and objectively-measured PA and sedentary time in a sample of children from 12 countries representing a wide range of human development, economic development and inequality. The secondary aim was to examine interactions of these associations between study sites.MethodsThis multinational, cross-sectional study included 6228 children aged 9-11years from the 12 International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment sites. Multilevel statistical models were used to examine associations between self-reported habitual breakfast frequency defined using three categories (breakfast consumed 0 to 2days/week [rare], 3 to 5days/week [occasional] or 6 to 7days/week [frequent]) or two categories (breakfast consumed less than daily or daily) and accelerometry-derived PA and sedentary time during the morning (wake time to 1200h) and afternoon (1200h to bed time) with study site included as an interaction term. Model covariates included age, sex, highest parental education, body mass index z-score, and accelerometer waking wear time.ResultsParticipants averaged 60 (s.d. 25) min/day in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), 315 (s.d. 53) min/day in light PA and 513 (s.d. 69) min/day sedentary. Controlling for covariates, breakfast frequency was not significantly associated with total daily or afternoon PA and sedentary time. For the morning, frequent breakfast consumption was associated witha higher proportion of time in MVPA (0.3%), higher proportion of time in light PA (1.0%) and lower min/day and proportion of time sedentary (3.4min/day and 1.3%) than rare breakfast consumption (all p0.05). No significant associations were found when comparing occasional with rare or frequent breakfast consumption, or daily with less than daily breakfast consumption. Very few significant interactions with study site were found.ConclusionsIn this multinational sample of children, frequent breakfast consumption was associated with higher MVPA and light PA time and lower sedentary time in the morning when compared with rare breakfast consumption, although the small magnitude of the associations may lack clinical relevance.Trial registrationThe International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE) is registered at(Identifier NCT01722500).Peer reviewe