Sistema “mixto” de producción de semilla de papa entre el INIAP y el CONPAPA.

La papa representa el 7.4% del Producto Interno Bruto Agropecuario (PIBA) del Ecuador. Se estima que 30.000 t es el volumen anual de papa procesada. Utiliza mano de obra en forma intensiva. El 10,5% de los trabajadores agropecuarios están involucrados en este cultivo. En el período 2002 a 2006, se reporta una producción de 409.733 t de papa al año, con una superficie de cultivo de 43.300 ha y un rendimiento de 9,5 t/ha. Menos del 2% de la superficie de papa se siembra con semilla del sistema formal. El resto se lo hace con material proveniente del sistema informal, el cual presenta deficiencias de calidad, cantidad, oportunidad. El CONPAPA es una organización que busca el posicionamiento de productores de pequeña y mediana escala en segmentos de mercado de alto valor agregado, lo que constituye un reto para este nivel de agricultores. En este esquema, el principal limitante resultó ser la falta de semilla de calidad, cantidad, oportunidad y estado fisiológico en que necesitan los socios, lo que obligó a la construcción de un sistema “mixto” de semilla. Dicho sistema funciona así: INIAP genera una nueva variedad y determina los usos más adecuados para la misma, promueve su uso en nichos específicos de manera que se induzca a la utilización de la misma. Una vez que se ha generado demanda se limpia de virus y patógenos, se produce semilla limpia y se entrega al CONPAPA de la provincia de Tungurahua, el cual se encarga de multiplicar semilla por dos o tres generaciones con sus semilleristas. Posteriormente realiza el Control Interno de Calidad (CIC) y entrega a sus socios para que produzcan papa comercial. Los actores del sistema son: el INIAP como proveedor de nuevas variedades, tecnología, semilla inicial limpia; el CONPAPA de la provincia de Tungurahua quien compra la semilla y distribuye para sus semilleristas y luego adquiere el material que ha sido multiplicado; los semilleristas quienes la multiplican a partir del material limpio; y finalmente los agricultores productores de papa comercial. El CIC se realiza entre el técnico de la organización, el promotor y el semillerista. Para la comercialización se utiliza un esquema de contratación, mayoritariamente verbal. Los precios se basan en los costos de producción más una ganancia. Los resultados relevantes son: el CONPAPA produce y comercializa entre 150 a 200 t por año y la organización es reconocida y sostenible. Las fortalezas son: semilleristas capacitados y experimentados, posicionamiento en el mercado, capital propio, infraestructura para procesamiento y almacenamiento y protocolo de CIC. Las oportunidades son: demanda de semilla por parte de organizaciones de productores, ONGs, OGs. Las debilidades son: falta consolidación de la organización, éxodo de productores. Finalmente, las amenazas son: inestabilidad del precio de la papa y de la semilla, disminución del consum

EEG Theta Power Activity Reflects Workload among Army Combat Drivers: An Experimental Study

We thank Héctor Rieiro, Eduardo Bailon, and Jose M. Morales, (University of Granada) for their help in data processing. We also thank Lieutenant Colonel Francisco de Asís Vázquez Prieto (Training and Doctrine Command, Spanish Army) for his help in organizing the study.We aimed to evaluate the effects of mental workload variations, as a function of the road environment, on the brain activity of army drivers performing combat and non-combat scenarios in a light multirole vehicle dynamic simulator. Forty-one non-commissioned officers completed three standardized driving exercises with different terrain complexities (low, medium, and high) while we recorded their electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. We focused on variations in the theta EEG power spectrum, a well-known index of mental workload. We also assessed performance and subjective ratings of task load. The theta EEG power spectrum in the frontal, temporal, and occipital areas were higher during the most complex scenarios. Performance (number of engine stops) and subjective data supported these findings. Our findings strengthen previous results found in civilians on the relationship between driver mental workload and the theta EEG power spectrum. This suggests that EEG activity can give relevant insight into mental workload variations in an objective, unbiased fashion, even during real training and/or operations. The continuous monitoring of the warfighter not only allows instantaneous detection of over/underload but also might provide online feedback to the system (either automated equipment or the crew) to take countermeasures and prevent fatal errors.This work was supported by Santander Bank–CEMIX UGR-MADOC (grant number PINs2018-15 to CDP & LLDS) and the Centro Universitario de la Defensa–Zaragoza (grant numbers 2015-05 and 2017-03 to MVS). Additional support was obtained from the Unit of Excellence on Brain, Behavior, and Health (SC2), funded by the Excellence actions program of the University of Granada. The funding organizations had no role in the design or conduct of this research. Research by LLDS is supported by the Ramón y Cajal fellowship program from the Spanish State Research Agency (RYC-2015-17483)

Oculomotor Assessment of Diurnal Arousal Variations

Saccadic and pupillary responses are reliable indices of arousal decrement (e.g. fatigue), that might be exploited to improve work schedule guidelines. In this study, we tested the sensitivity of a short 30-s oculomotor test to detect diurnal arousal variations. Twelve participants (5 females, 7 males, 37.7+-11.9 years) volunteered to be assessed every hour (66+-20 min) for three consecutive working days, during their regular office-hours. We used a fully automated testing system, the FIT 2000 Fitness Impairment Tester (Pulse Medical Instruments Inc., Rockville, MD, USA), to measure and record saccadic peak velocity, pupil diameter, and latency and amplitude of the pupillary light reflex. In addition, we collected subjective levels of arousal using the Stanford Sleepiness Scale, and body core temperature. We analyzed the data using a linear mixed model approach for longitudinal data. Both saccadic velocity and subjective alertness decreased over the course of a day, while body core temperature increased (all p-values.05). The data also weakly suggested an increase of the pupil diameter (p 07). The findings support the use of oculomotor indices in the assessment of arousal and fatigue in applied settings

A Silvopastoral System in the North Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica: Combining Indigenous Timber Species with Dairy Pasture Swards

The objective of this study was to design, establish and monitor a silvo pastoral experiment on a dairy farm in the northern Atlantic region of Costa Rica. Indigenous timber species, Vochysia guatemalensis and Hyeronima alchorneoides were used together with or without the tropical pasture legume, Arachis pintoi in a split plot design with a 4 x 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. First year establishment was good for the tree component (2.3 to 10 % mortality) but poor for A. pintoi (4 to 5 % of sward). Poor legume establishment was attributed to lax grazing management and excess competition from existing Brachiaria sp. A. Pintoi was reestablished in July 1996 after an adjustment of stocking rate. This experimental project is planned for a 10 year period which corresponds to the expected rotation length for harvesting the indigenous timber species

The effect of traffic light spacing and signal congruency on drivers’ responses at urban intersections

Traffic lights are critical in regulating traffic flow and modulate the level of service and road user safety. As suggested by studies conducted with pedestrians, traffic light spacing and signal congruency could also impact a driver's decision-making process. However, requirements related to designing signalized intersections do not always consider the spacing between two consecutive traffic lights or the congruency of the information displayed. Here, using a classic traffic psychology paradigm, we developed a hybrid Go/No-go Flanker PC-based task to explore how traffic light spacing and signal congruency modulate drivers’ decisions in urban intersections. Real images of road intersections were edited to reproduce two specific conditions between traffic lights. Specifically, we manipulated both spacing (short vs. long) and congruency (congruent [e.g., red-red/green-green steady light] vs. incongruent [e.g., red-green/green-red steady light]). We found that incongruent information, displayed on short spacing traffic signals, delayed drivers’ responses without being detrimental to their decision-making processes. The results of this exploratory study could offer guidance to transportation engineers to simplify traffic light information readability and increase drivers’ awareness of traffic conditions and road safety