How do countries specialize in agricultural production? A complex network analysis of the global agricultural product space

Using a complex-network perspective, this paper empirically explores the determinants of the process through which countries, given their capabilities, specialize in agricultural production. Using production data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the period 1993-2013, we characterize the agricultural production space as a time-sequence of bipartite networks, connecting countries to the agricultural products they produce. We then project this representation in the agricultural production spaces, linking countries or products according to their similarity in production profiles, and we identify properties and determinants underlying their evolution. We find that, despite the unprecedented pressure that food systems have been undergoing in recent years, the agricultural production space is a very dense network displaying well-defined and stable communities of countries and products. We also show that the observed country community structures are not only shaped by environmental conditions, but also by economic, socio-political, and technological factors. We conclude by discussing the implications of such findings on our understanding of the complex relationships involving production capabilities and specialization patterns.Fil: Campi, Mercedes Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Dueñas, Marco. Universidad de Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano; ColombiaFil: Fagiolo, Giorgio. Scuola Superiore Sant' Anna; Itali

Changes in mobility and socioeconomic conditions during the COVID-19 outbreak

Since the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, governments have been implementing containment measures aimed at mitigating the spread of the virus, including restrictions to human mobility. The ability to adapt to the pandemic and respond to containment measures can be bound by socioeconomic conditions, which are heterogeneous in large urban areas of low-income and middle-income countries. In this paper, we analyse mobility changes following the implementation of containment measures in Bogotá, Colombia. We characterise the mobility network before and during the pandemic and analyse its evolution and changes between January and July 2020. We observe a general reduction in mobility trends, but the overall connectivity between different areas of the city remains after the lockdown, reflecting the resilience of the mobility network. Then, we estimate a gravity model to assess the effect of socioeconomic conditions on mobility flows. We find that the responses to lockdown policies depend on the socioeconomic conditions of the population. Before the pandemic, the population with better socioeconomic conditions shows higher mobility flows. Since the lockdown, mobility presents a general decrease, but the population with worse socioeconomic conditions shows lower reductions in mobility flows. We conclude by deriving policy implications.Fil: Dueñas, Marco. Universidad de Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano; ColombiaFil: Campi, Mercedes Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Olmos, Luis E.. University of California; Estados Unidos. Universidad de Medellin; Colombi

Checklist of the nematode parasites of wild birds of Argentina

A commented checklist of the nematodes parasites of Argentinean wild birds is presented. This is the first compilation of parasitological papers about nematodes of Argentinean birds published between 1873 and November 2019. This review includes information about 64 nematode nominal species and 13 taxa identified at generic level, belonging to five orders, 16 superfamilies, 20 families, and 44 genera. Five species were considered incertae sedis, because they were described based only on larval stages, and one species was maintained as species inquirenda. The highest number of taxa of nematodes was recorded in the family Acuariidae with 20 nominal species and two taxa identified at generic level, followed by Anisakidae with eight nominal species and one taxon identified at generic level, and Tetrarneridae with eight nominal species and two taxa identified at generic level. Of the 1042 species of birds reported in Argentina, only 65 (6.24%) were reported as hosts of adult nematodes. The families of birds with the highest number of reported taxa were Tinamidae (12 nematode taxa), Laridae (11), Anatidae (8) and Phalacrocoracidae (7). The present review provides data on hosts, geographical distribution, sites of infection, location of material deposited in Helminthologicaj Collections, references, and taxonomic comments. A host/parasite list is also provided.Fil: Drago, Fabiana Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Nuñez, Maria Veronica. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Dueñas Díaz, Mariano. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentin

Are sustainable mobility firms reshaping the traditional relationships in the automotive industry value Chain?

The rules of the automotive industry are changing due to sustainable mobility firms linked to essential products and technologies supplied to produce low environmental impact vehicles. Among others, these include batteries and their components (e.g., materials, cells), power electric systems, or technologies for recycling and reuse (e.g., mineral processing, de-pollution waste). Under the global value chain (GVC) approach, the research analyzed these changes through data collected from a survey comparing the relationships established by a sample of 27 sustainable mobility firms and 130 traditional components firms in the Spanish automotive industry value chain. The results indicate that the new players linked to sustainable mobility have greater decision-making power on the value chain in terms of price, product design, and geographical location. Moreover, these firms have broken the traditional asymmetrical dependence on leading buyers. As a result, they lead some of the key products in this industry, and show a high performance that favors a profitable return on investment in sustainable technologies. The main novelty of our findings lies in how to understand the new automotive industry value chain. Although this value chain continues to be governed by the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), the sustainable mobility suppliers control the main value-added activities and have the power to take relevant decisions in key sustainable technologies.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion | Ref. PID2020-116040RB-I00Universidade de Vigo/CISU

3D MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging of a Single Cell: Spatial Mapping of Lipids in the Embryonic Development of Zebrafish

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has been widely used as a model vertebrate system to study lipid metabolism, the roles of lipids in diseases, and lipid dynamics in embryonic development. Here, we applied high-spatial resolution matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) to map and visualize the three-dimensional spatial distribution of phospholipid classes, phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamines (PE), and phosphatidylinositol (PI), in newly fertilized individual zebrafish embryos. This is the first time MALDI-MSI has been applied for three dimensional chemical imaging of a single cell. PC molecular species are present inside the yolk in addition to the blastodisc, while PE and PI species are mostly absent in the yolk. Two-dimensional MSI was also studied for embryos at different cell stages (1-, 2-, 4-, 8-, and 16-cell stage) to investigate the localization changes of some lipids at various cell developmental stages. Four different normalization approaches were compared to find reliable relative quantification in 2D- and 3D- MALDI MSI data sets

Diseño de un sistema de logística inversa aplicando la metodología Design Thinking para desarrollar ventaja competitiva sostenible en una empresa embotelladora en Arequipa al 2021

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo diseñar un sistema de logística inversa para desarrollar ventaja competitiva sostenible en una empresa embotelladora y de esta manera destacar tanto en el aspecto económico, ambiental y social frente a sus competidores. Para lo cual se utilizó lametodología Design thinking basada en cinco etapas: empatizar, definir, idear, prototipar y evaluar. En la primera etapa se realizó un diagnóstico de los procesos relacionados a la logística inversa que se desarrollan actualmente en la empresa. Luego en la segunda etapa se identificó el manejo ineficiente de los residuos sólidos. A continuación, en la tercera etapa se desarrolló un Brainstorming junto con los trabajadores de la embotelladora para proporcionar ideas de solución al problema. De esta manera en la cuarta etapa se diseñó un sistema de logística inversa basado en la recuperación de botellas y tapas postconsumo. Para lo cual se propone la implementación de trece módulos de rejilla y dos máquinas expendedoras inversas localizadas estratégicamente según una ruta de acopio. Además de los residuos yamencionados, el sistema también considera los residuos sólidos generados dentro de la empresa para su segregación, almacenamiento y posterior comercialización con una Empresa Operadora de Residuos Sólidos, la cual se encargará de la valorización de los residuos mediante el reciclaje. Finalmente, en la quinta etapa los resultados obtenidos reflejaron el desarrollo de ventaja competitiva sostenible mediante la obtención de un ingreso mensual de S./1.297.44 por la comercialización de los residuos de plástico, los cuales representan un incremento del 80% en relación al ingreso actual. Asimismo, la evaluación ambiental refleja un 89.29% de impacto ambiental positivo, con un incremento del 60% de la cantidad de envases postconsumo recuperados, lo cual se evitará la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero en su degradación o la formación de microplásticos. Finalmente se genera un impacto social efectivo al promover un consumo responsable, en donde las máquinas expendedoras inversas juegan un rol importante al potenciar la predisposición por el reciclaje y por último la empresa transmite una buena imagen al actuar con Responsabilidad Social Empresarial

Apropiación Social del Conocimiento en Colombia. Una interpretación desde la política pública (1990-2021)

Este articulo aporta elementos para comprender el alcance y la orientación de las políticas públicas en la apropiación social del conocimiento, en los últimos 30 años en Colombia. La construcción metodológica es de tipo cualitativo mediante el análisis comparativo y de contenido de documentos gubernamentales, normatividad, planes y programas de repositorios institucionales del país, desde la política de ciencia y tecnología de 1990 y la Misión de Sabios: “Colombia al filo de la Oportunidad” (1993), hasta la política pública “Apropiación Social del Conocimiento en el marco de la Ciencia, la Tecnología y la Innovación” del año 2021, resultado de las recomendaciones de la Misión internacional de sabios (2020) “Colombia hacia una Sociedad del Conocimiento”. Su análisis se concentró en cuatro periodos de tiempo determinados por hitos específicos, tomando la noción de conocimiento e interés propuesto por Habermas. Por su trasversalidad, la trayectoria de la ASC es reconocida por la popularización de la ciencia y procesos de divulgación en políticas y programas. Sin embargo, estos avances no son significativos en la integración de la Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación al servicio de la sociedad, por cuanto se necesita de la construcción colectiva de conocimiento con la valoración de los saberes tradicionales y la orientación de los sistemas de conocimiento según su impacto y pertinencia. Preocupa el papel de la formación universitaria centrada en competencias y habilidades para fines investigativos con objetivos económicos, con menor importancia del desarrollo integral capaz de aportar de manera crítica al progreso del país como sociedad de conocimiento. De ahí se sostiene la prioridad en la nueva política en fortalecer la comprensión del concepto de la apropiación social del conocimiento y su alcance en los territorios

Prácticas de realización de documentos audiovisuales de los acompañantes comunitarios de Misión País Colombia

En el presente proyecto se realizó una investigación en pro de construir una guía básica para la realización de un documento audiovisual, como la gestión de un proyecto de comunicación, para los acompañantes comunitarios de Misión País Colombia. Es una guía con herramientas comunicativas, narrativas y técnicas que permite a los acompañantes comunitarios reflexionar sobre su rol como gestores de comunicación en el Programa.In the present project, an investigation was carried out in order to build a basic guide for the realization of an audiovisual document, such as the management of a communication project, for the community accompanied of Misión País Colombia. It is a guide with communication tools, narratives and techniques that allow community chaplains to reflect on their role as communication managers in the Program.Comunicador (a) SocialPregrad

Toward Mass Spectrometry Imaging in the Metabolomics Scale: Increasing Metabolic Coverage Through Multiple On-Tissue Chemical Modifications

Exploring the metabolic differences directly on tissues is essential for the comprehensive understanding of how multicellular organisms function. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is an attractive technique toward this goal; however, MSI in metabolomics scale has been hindered by multiple limitations. This is most notable for single cell level high-spatial resolution imaging because of the limited number of molecules in small sampling size and the low ionization yields of many metabolites. Several on-tissue chemical derivatization approaches have been reported to increase MSI signals of targeted compounds, especially in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)- MSI. Herein, we adopt a combination of chemical derivatization reactions, to selectively enhance metabolite signals of a specific functional group for each consecutive tissue section. Three well-known on-tissue derivatization methods were used as a proof of concept experiment: coniferyl aldehyde for primary amines, Girard’s reagent T for carbonyl groups, and 2-picolylamine for carboxylic acids. This strategy was applied to the cross-sections of leaves and roots from two different maize genotypes (B73 and Mo17), and enabled the detection of over six hundred new unique metabolite features compared to without modification. Statistical analysis indicated quantitative variation between metabolites in the tissue sections, while MS images revealed differences in localization of these metabolites. Combined, this untargeted approach facilitated the visualization of various classes of compounds, demonstrating the potential for untargeted MSI in the metabolomics scale