The Diversification of Organized Crime into Gold Mining: Domination, Crime Convergence, and Ecocide in Darién, Colombia

“Gold mining has become a significant new form of organized crime activity in Colombia, where criminal groups continue to shift their operations from cocaine trafficking into gold mining. This chapter focuses on how the Gulf Clan has diversified into gold mining in Colombia, why gold extraction is embedded in other organized crime activities, and how diversification accelerates ecocide. By positioning theoretical concepts within the environmental crime continuum and reflected on the ecocidal harms related to gold production, this chapter contributes to organized crime theory and green criminology. The empirical findings presented in this chapter are based on fieldwork carried out in Colombia’s Darién jungle between 2017 and 2019. The information gathered shows how the Gulf Clan transformed their features in order to diversify into the gold business. Key issues discussed include the legal-illegal interface, the role of social embeddedness, and how the local communities are impacted by ecocidal harms

Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSCs) in Aged Mice: Focus on Inflammation

As people get older, the homeostatic functions of many systems in the body like the immune system decline, which contributes to increase susceptibility to disease. The bone marrow of healthy individuals continually generates myeloid cells, which differentiate into mature cells like granulocytes, macrophages, or dendritic cells. However, under inflammatory conditions, there is an increased frequency of immature myeloid cells that can suppress T cell responses in peripheral secondary lymph organs in both human and murine hosts. The heterogeneous population of cells known as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), consisting of myeloid progenitors and immature myeloid cells, share a biological function: immunosuppression. This chapter reviews novel findings in mice about the nature of MDSCs and, in this context, discusses current knowledge about these cells during the aging process. MDSCs may have an important role in the regulation of the immune response during aging. MDSC dysfunction in aged mice may compromise the innate and adaptive immune systems, and thus understanding their role during aging may be useful for potential future therapeutics.Fil: Pistoresi, Maria Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Harman, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Castell, Sofía Daiana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; Argentin