Edge effects in a forest mosaic: implications for oak regeneration in the Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico.

Forest edges created by scattered-patch clear-cutting have become a common landscape feature in tropical montane forests, including pine-oak and evergreen cloud forests. Forest-edge-pasture gradients were characterised with respect to changes in vegetation structure and ecological function in the Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. In this study two edge types were recognised by assessing vegetation structure and floristic composition along a gradient from adjacent clearings into the forest interior. The influence of edge type (either “hard” or “soft”) was investigated with respect to acorn production, predation, dispersal and germination, seedling establishment and abundance of small mammals during two consecutive years. There was no significant difference between the forest interior and the edge in plant density and basal area. Floristic richness and composition did not vary with depth-of edge influence. Edge type influenced the relationship between probability of acorn removal by small mammals and distance from the edge in both mast fruiting and non-mast fruiting years. Movements of metal-tagged acorns supported the hypothesis that soft edges are permeable to acorn predators and/or dispersers, and that rodents move acorns up to 15 m into the grasslands in soft edges. In hard edges, acorn dispersal and removal was greater within the forest. Peromyscus spp. were the main acorn predators and/or dispersers of acorns. The intensity and rate of acorn removal varied with the year, demonstrating that in mast-fruiting years some seeds may escape predation by animals, according to the predator satiation hypothesis. Grasslands presented fewer insect damaged acorns and higher seedling emergence than the edge and the forest, emphasising the importance of acorn dispersal. Seedling survival and growth were higher for 12 m into grassland from the soft edges, suggesting that the probability of oak expansion into the grassland increases when the grasslands have been abandoned and have a scattered cover of shrubs. The results indicate that edge structure alters edge function (edge permeability), which determines the probabilities of tree invasion into old-fields. These findings have implications for the conservation of montane forest in Mexico where scattered patch clear-cutting is widespread. Recommendations are made for different restoration practices to accelerate tree colonisation into the grasslands across hard and soft edges

Nivel de conformidad de los estudiantes de ingeniería en agronomía respecto a los servicios académicos-administrativos brindados por el TECNM-Roque campus Apaseo

In every higher level educational institution, the service offered must be oriented towards the comprehensive training of students, focusing on their professional, personal and human training, which is why considering this approach, also the attention given to students must be cared for and based on quality standards, both in the classroom and in all academic-administrative processes, which also accompany the student throughout their training process and during their stay at the educational institution. It is interesting to observe that the Universities, or most of them, focus on evaluating teachers by students, measuring academic processes and participating in various types of evaluation processes, including by external agents. Note that evaluating customer service comprehensively by students is not such a common practice, specifically applying a comparison that combines measurements of academic services with administrative services. This research arises from this concern. The Department of Agricultural Sciences of TecNM-Roque, specifically the area of ​​agronomy, needs to know, in February 2022, what is the perception that the students of the Apaseo el Alto Guanajuato extension have, both of the administrative and academic services, which have accompanied during his stay in Agronomy Engineering at TecNM-Roque.En toda institución educativa de nivel superior, el servicio que se ofrece debe ser orientado hacia la formación integral de los estudiantes, enfocarse a su formación profesional, personal y humana, es por ello que considerando este enfoque, también la atención que se les brinda a los estudiantes debe ser cuidada  y basada en estándares de calidad, tanto en las aulas de clase como en todos los procesos académico-administrativos, los cuales, también acompañan al estudiante en todo su proceso formativo y durante su estancia en la Institución educativa. Es interesante observar que las Universidades o la mayoría de ellas, se enfocan en realizar valoraciones a los docentes por parte de los estudiantes, a medir los procesos académicos y a participar en varios tipos de procesos de evaluación incluso por agentes externos, sin embargo, llama la atención que evaluar el servicio al cliente de manera integral por parte de los estudiantes, no es una práctica tan común, específicamente el aplicar una comparación que combine mediciones de servicios académicos con servicios administrativos. De esta inquietud surge la presente investigación. El Departamento de Ciencias Agropecuarias del TecNM-Roque, específicamente el área de agronomía precisa conocer, en febrero del 2022, cual es la percepción que los estudiantes de la extensión Apaseo el Alto Guanajuato tienen, tanto de los servicios administrativos como académicos, que los han acompañado durante su estadía en la Ingeniería en Agronomía en el TecNM- Roque

Economic Consequences of The COVID 19 Pandemic on Agronomy Engineering Students at Tecnm-Roque, Cycle 2022

La pandemia que sacudió al mundo, tuvo muchas consecuencias, y el ámbito académico no quedó exento, esta situación además de afectar el núcleo familiar, se manifestó de manera directa en el sistema educativo, incluyendo a todos los actores de este sector que van desde: el alumno, maestro, unidad directiva e incluso instalaciones. El Tecnológico Nacional de México en Roque (TECNM de Roque), cuenta con diferentes carreras de nivel superior. La Ingeniería en Agronomía es la carrera con mayor demanda, reflejando así, un ingreso ininterrumpido semestralmente, participando con una matrícula de 550 estudiantes repartidos en 9 semestres. Este estudio consideró a 136 encuestados, repartidos entre alumnos del tercer y quinto semestre, representando un 24.70% del total de la matricula. Los alumnos inscritos en la carrera de agronomía en su mayoría son alumnos de clase media, media baja y baja, donde el recurso económico regularmente representa el factor detonante en el indicador de deserción escolar. Así mismo, este estudio considera 13 ítems, los cuales se les aplicó a alumnos de semestres intermedios, considerados como “estudiantes adaptados al sistema profesional”. Estos alumnos en promedio cursan de 6 a 7 materias por semestre, en turno matutino o vespertino, la mayoría de los alumnos toman en promedio dos vehículos de transporte público para llegar a las instalaciones del TecNM en Roque. Así mismo, el estudio también busca tener elementos para entender los gastos que realizan comúnmente los estudiantes, su afectación que causan, con la finalidad de buscar apoyos en cuestiones académicas que pudieran estar al alcance del docente, atención psicológica y de la unidad directiva de la institución. Las afectaciones con mayor repercusión en el proceso enseñanza- aprendizaje son: el aprendizaje, la salud y la economía, por tal motivo, la relevancia de este estudio, es tratar de obtener elementos para la toma de decisiones. El SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) cambió las estructuras de vida, estas condiciones se vieron afectadas en el aspecto económico, desde despidos del principal proveedor del recurso económico, llámese el padre o tutor, además, han orillado a que el estudiante tenga la necesidad imperante de incluirse en el ámbito laboral para poder cubrir los gastos que demandan sus estudios.The pandemic that shook the world had many consequences, and the academic field was not exempt. This situation, in addition to affecting the family unit, manifested itself directly in the educational system, including all the actors in this sector ranging from: the student, teacher, management unit and even facilities. The National Technology of Mexico in Roque (TECNM de Roque), has different higher level careers. Agronomy Engineering is the career with the highest demand, thus reflecting an uninterrupted semester of admission, participating with an enrollment of 550 students spread over 9 semesters. This study considered 136 respondents, distributed among students from the third and fifth semester, representing 24.70% of the total enrollment. The students enrolled in the agronomy degree are mostly middle, lower middle and lower class students, where economic resources regularly represent the triggering factor in the school dropout indicator. Likewise, this study considers 13 items, which were applied to students in intermediate semesters, considered as “students adapted to the professional system.” These students, on average, take 6 to 7 subjects per semester, in the morning or afternoon shift. Most students take an average of two public transportation vehicles to get to the TecNM facilities in Roque. Likewise, the study also seeks to have elements to understand the expenses commonly incurred by students, the impact they cause, in order to seek support on academic issues that could be within the reach of the teacher, psychological care and the management unit of the school. institution. The effects with the greatest impact on the teaching-learning process are: learning, health and the economy, for this reason, the relevance of this study is to try to obtain elements for decision making. The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) changed the structures of life, these conditions were affected economically, from layoffs of the main provider of the economic resource, call it the parent or guardian, in addition, they have led to the student has the prevailing need to be included in the workplace in order to cover the expenses required for their studie

La imagen y la narrativa como herramientas para el abordaje psicosocial en escenarios de violencia Departamento de Boyacá

“Colombia”, al nombrar nuestro país nos quedaríamos cortos en exaltar lo bueno y bello que encontramos a lo largo del territorio nacional, en el presente escrito socializaremos una problemática que tristemente cuenta con una historia, una memoria y un presente que día a día aqueja a la población vulnerable, donde se desprenden muchas problemáticas que hace que aumenten los casos de violación de derechos humanos, dilatándose las garantías de una verdadera reparación integral a víctimas con las que cuenta el estado colombiano. Relatos de victimas tenemos por cantidades y al escuchar es inevitable no sentir esa empatía por determinada víctima, como lo es Ana Ligia, una víctima más del conflicto interno armando en Colombia, que nos hace reflexionar, ella ha tenido que pasar por escenarios atroces y traumáticos donde no solo ella es víctima también su núcleo familiar, este fragmento de vida nos enseña el verdadero significado de perdonar, transformar y empoderar, no solo por beneficio propio, sino grupal. Al día de hoy se habla de garantes, cuya creación ha tenido como objetivo la protección de la vida de cada colombiano y en general los derechos que como persona le corresponden, tristemente no pasa siempre así, encontramos el caso de “Peñas Coloradas” donde en cada historia es inevitable no reflexionar, el estado los ha olvidado y al contrario de tener una atención psicosocial dirigía a sus necesidades fueron desterrados, ignorados y olvidados. El departamento de Boyacá no ha sido ajeno a estos conflictos, encontrándonos en nuestra comunidad testimonios que guardan la memoria de los hechos , voces que no se pueden olvidar, dentro nuestro proceso académico logramos dar inicio desde a la adquisición del sustento teórico llevándolo a la praxis, al identificar espacios que fueron o son afectados por algún tipo de violencia verbal, sexual, psicológica, económica, física, cultural, entre otras, logramos aplicar el instrumento de foto voz captando imágenes creativas, acompañadas con una narrativa donde se resaltan aspectos psicosociales, yendo más allá y reflexionando sobre lo que ocurrió en diferentes lugares, con objetos y protagonistas diferentes, todo gracias a un flash e interpretación de lo que queremos mostrar, construir y miles historias que no se deben olvidar."Colombia", by naming our country we would fall short in extolling the good and beautiful that we find throughout the national territory, in this writing we will socialize a problem that sadly has a history, a memory and a present that day by day afflicts to the vulnerable population, where many problems arise that cause an increase in cases of human rights violations, dilating the guarantees of a true comprehensive reparation to victims that the Colombian state has. We have lots of stories of victims and when listening it is inevitable not to feel that empathy for a certain victim, such as Ana Ligia, one more victim of the armed internal conflict in Colombia, which makes us reflect, she has had to go through atrocious and traumatic scenarios where not only she is a victim but also her family nucleus, this fragment of life teaches us the true meaning of forgiving, transforming and empowering, not only for her own benefit, but also for the group. Today we speak of guarantors, whose creation has had as its objective the protection of the life of each Colombian and in general the rights that correspond to him as a person, sadly this is not always the case, we find the case of "Peñas Coloradas" where in each story is inevitable not to reflect, the state has forgotten them and contrary to having a psychosocial attention directed to their needs they were banished, ignored and forgotten. The department of Boyacá has not been oblivious to these conflicts, finding in our community testimonies that keep the memory of the facts, voices that cannot be forgotten, within our academic process we managed to start from the acquisition of the theoretical support taking it to the praxis , by identifying spaces that were or are affected by some type of verbal, sexual, psychological, economic, physical, cultural violence, among others, we managed to apply the photo voice instrument capturing creative images, accompanied by a narrative where psychosocial aspects are highlighted , going further and reflecting on what happened in different places, with different objects and protagonists, all thanks to a flash and interpretation of what we want to show, build and thousands of stories that should not be forgotten

Toward integrated analysis of human impacts on forest biodiversity: lessons from Latin America.

Although sustainable forest management (SFM) has been widely adopted as a policy and management goal, high rates of forest loss and degradation are still occurring in many areas. Human activities such as logging, livestock husbandry, crop cultivation, infrastructural development, and use of fire are causing widespread loss of biodiversity, restricting progress toward SFM. In such situations, there is an urgent need for tools that can provide an integrated assessment of human impacts on forest biodiversity and that can support decision making related to forest use. This paper summarizes the experience gained by an international collaborative research effort spanning more than a decade, focusing on the tropical montane forests of Mexico and the temperate rain forests of southern South America, both of which are global conservation priorities. The lessons learned from this research are identified, specifically in relation to developing an integrated modeling framework for achieving SFM. Experience has highlighted a number of challenges that need to be overcome in such areas, including the lack of information regarding ecological processes and species characteristics and a lack of forest inventory data, which hinders model parameterization. Quantitative models are poorly developed for some ecological phenomena, such as edge effects and genetic diversity, limiting model integration. Establishment of participatory approaches to forest management is difficult, as a supportive institutional and policy environment is often lacking. However, experience to date suggests that the modeling toolkit approach suggested by Sturvetant et al. (2008) could be of value in such areas. Suggestions are made regarding desirable elements of such a toolkit to support participatory-research approaches in domains characterized by high uncertainty, including Bayesian Belief Networks, spatial multi-criteria analysis, and scenario planning.Most of the research described here was undertaken in three projects supported by the European Commission (INCO programme), namely SUCRE (ERBIC18CT970146), BIOCORES (ICA4- CT-2001-10095), and ReForLan (INCO-DEV-3 N° 032132), and three Darwin Initiative (DEFRA, UK Government) grants to the senior author. Additional funding was provided by a variety of sources within the partner countries. All sources of financial support are gratefully acknowledged

Toward integrated analysis of human impacts on forest biodiversity: lessons from Latin America.

Although sustainable forest management (SFM) has been widely adopted as a policy and management goal, high rates of forest loss and degradation are still occurring in many areas. Human activities such as logging, livestock husbandry, crop cultivation, infrastructural development, and use of fire are causing widespread loss of biodiversity, restricting progress toward SFM. In such situations, there is an urgent need for tools that can provide an integrated assessment of human impacts on forest biodiversity and that can support decision making related to forest use. This paper summarizes the experience gained by an international collaborative research effort spanning more than a decade, focusing on the tropical montane forests of Mexico and the temperate rain forests of southern South America, both of which are global conservation priorities. The lessons learned from this research are identified, specifically in relation to developing an integrated modeling framework for achieving SFM. Experience has highlighted a number of challenges that need to be overcome in such areas, including the lack of information regarding ecological processes and species characteristics and a lack of forest inventory data, which hinders model parameterization. Quantitative models are poorly developed for some ecological phenomena, such as edge effects and genetic diversity, limiting model integration. Establishment of participatory approaches to forest management is difficult, as a supportive institutional and policy environment is often lacking. However, experience to date suggests that the modeling toolkit approach suggested by Sturvetant et al. (2008) could be of value in such areas. Suggestions are made regarding desirable elements of such a toolkit to support participatory-research approaches in domains characterized by high uncertainty, including Bayesian Belief Networks, spatial multi-criteria analysis, and scenario planning.Most of the research described here was undertaken in three projects supported by the European Commission (INCO programme), namely SUCRE (ERBIC18CT970146), BIOCORES (ICA4- CT-2001-10095), and ReForLan (INCO-DEV-3 N° 032132), and three Darwin Initiative (DEFRA, UK Government) grants to the senior author. Additional funding was provided by a variety of sources within the partner countries. All sources of financial support are gratefully acknowledged

Towards precision medicine: defining and characterizing adipose tissue dysfunction to identify early immunometabolic risk in symptom-free adults from the GEMM family study

Interactions between macrophages and adipocytes are early molecular factors influencing adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction, resulting in high leptin, low adiponectin circulating levels and low-grade metaflammation, leading to insulin resistance (IR) with increased cardiovascular risk. We report the characterization of AT dysfunction through measurements of the adiponectin/leptin ratio (ALR), the adipo-insulin resistance index (Adipo-IRi), fasting/postprandial (F/P) immunometabolic phenotyping and direct F/P differential gene expression in AT biopsies obtained from symptom-free adults from the GEMM family study. AT dysfunction was evaluated through associations of the ALR with F/P insulin-glucose axis, lipid-lipoprotein metabolism, and inflammatory markers. A relevant pattern of negative associations between decreased ALR and markers of systemic low-grade metaflammation, HOMA, and postprandial cardiovascular risk hyperinsulinemic, triglyceride and GLP-1 curves was found. We also analysed their plasma non-coding microRNAs and shotgun lipidomics profiles finding trends that may reflect a pattern of adipose tissue dysfunction in the fed and fasted state. Direct gene differential expression data showed initial patterns of AT molecular signatures of key immunometabolic genes involved in AT expansion, angiogenic remodelling and immune cell migration. These data reinforce the central, early role of AT dysfunction at the molecular and systemic level in the pathogenesis of IR and immunometabolic disorders

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality