El paisaje agrario, en-clave para pensar Aproximación socio-ecológica a la conexión entre la sociedad y los paisajes agrarios en la comarca de las Vegas, Madrid

Tesis Doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Ecología. Fecha de Lectura: 26-07-2022El desarrollo de las investigaciones ha sido posible gracias a los proyectos: Evaluación de los Servicios Ecosistémicos proporcionados por los Agroecosistemas (FP16-ECO, FP17 COLAB) y Servicios ambientales y sociales prestados por los sistemas agrarios agroecológicos (FP20-SERVIAGROECO) del Instituto Madrileño de Investigación y Desarrollo Rural, Agrario y Alimentario (IMIDRA). Y al proyecto SAVIA-Sembrando Alternativas de Innovación Agroecológica (SI1/PJI/2019-00444

Land transformation changes people´s values of ecosystem services in Las Vegas agrarian landscapes of Madrid Spain

Agrarian landscapes play a vital role in securing ecosystem services to people. These environments in central rural Spain are threatened by urban and industrial expansion, as expansion has and continues to cause the exile of young people to cities and rural abandonment. Land transformation in these environments not only alters the diversity of the services the ecosystems provide to people but may also change the values people hold on these landscapes. Incorporating people´s perceptions regarding trade-offs and synergies associated with land transformation is thus key for designing land use policies that mitigate these impacts. The general objective of this research is to explore whether the values that people attribute to land use and ecosystem service changes can inform land-related decision-making. To do so, we first 1) characterized and mapped major land use change trajectories that occurred for the 1990–2018 period, 2) assessed social perceptions regarding the impacts of land use change trajectories on ecosystem services, 3)explored the vulnerability level of ecosystem services, and 4) assessed the social importance of ecosystem services for the wellbeing of locals. From the results, we identified three major land use change trajectories, including agricultural abandonment, aggregate industry and agricultural intensification. The results identified that agricultural abandonment is generally perceived to negatively impact food from agriculture, soil fertility, and maintenance of the gene pool through local varieties. We also found that agricultural intensification is recognized as negatively impacting the gene pool through local varieties and soil fertility. Our findings indicate the need to study the impacts of land use changes beyond biophysical changes, and link them to changes in people´s values. We finally argue that this research will be crucial for identifying socially resilient pathways of European agricultural landscape

Unraveling complex relations between forest-cover change and conflicts through spatial and relational analyses

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Despite the increasing prevalence of forest-cover change and conflicts, most studies have been unable to unravel the complex relations between the two processes. We attribute this failure to methodological limitations. We put forward an alternative approach that combines different datasets (remote sensing, GIS, local narratives, official censuses, newspaper articles), methods (spatial and relational analyses), and scales (subregions, economic sectors, land-based activities) to create a robust explanation of the relations between different intensities of forest-cover change and conflict in the Meseta Purépecha region, central Mexico. This is an important forest region, inhabited by indigenous and mestizo peasants; it has a worldwide reputation for community forestry and is also the epicenter of international avocado production. Forest-cover change is intense and there are recurrent episodes of conflict. We clustered communities in three subregions according to their patterns of forest-cover change. We analyzed the spatial patterns of forest-cover change and conflicts and we characterized the structure and function of the different economic sectors to unravel the nonlinear, interdependent (and sometimes contradictory) relations among these processes. We found that avocado production has differentially shaped the composition and working of society within each subregion, leading to three diverging patterns. Avocado production has provoked conflicts over landownership and over illegal logging in nearby areas. In some areas, a low incidence of conflicts over forest clearance might be explained by high profits, coercion, and violence. We suggest that, by combining spatial and relational analyses, we can integrate and check the congruence of nonequivalent representations from quantitative sources and observant participation at different scales and explain the heterogeneity that processes display across space. Our methodological approach can thus improve our understanding of similar and other complex and uncertain environmental problems elsewhere, especially when accurate or appropriate data are missing

Participatory collective farming as a leverage point for fostering human-nature connectedness

Human-nature connectedness is key to foster environmental and socio-cultural sustainability in agricultural landscapes since it promotes the establishment of belonging, stewardship, and connections to nature. Cooperation, collective action, and the role of women at sustainable agroecological practices could be leverage points in which small interventions may hold great potential for system transformation. We analyse the different types of human-nature connectedness mediated by the Agrolab participatory collective farming initiative running in Madrid (Spain). Our results described and quantified a participatory collective farming initiative using the leverage point perspective, and identified factors explaining nature relatedness of participants (i.e. social importance of agricultural landscapes, linkages with farming activities, time spent outdoors, gender and a negative relationship with the rural residence). We found that women showed a stronger and broader worldview on the philosophical arguments about their connection with nature, while men identified themselves and nature through more cognitive responses. Our results give indication of participatory collecting farming as a leverage point to foster human-nature connectedness. Finally, we discussed how participatory collective farming activities are suitable for introducing nature into people’s daily lives and may help to identify pathways towards a stronger human-nature connectedness.This study received funding from: (1) Environmental and social services provided by agroecological farming systems (FP20-SERVIAGROECO), (2) from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N◦ 81819, by the project entitled: Co-design of novel contract models for innovative agri-environmental-climate measures and for valorisation of environmental public goods, and from (3) the Madrid Government (Comunidad de Madrid-Spain) under the Multiannual Agreement with Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in the line of action encouraging youth research doctors, in the context of the V PRICIT (Regional Programme of Research and Technological Innovation) (SI1/PJI/2019-00444), through SAVIA-Sowing Alternatives for Agroecological Innovation project

Key advantages of the leverage points perspective to shape human-nature relations

This perspective paper synthesises the special issue 'Human-nature connectedness as a leverage point for sustainability transformation'. Based on the articles in this special issue, we aim to foster the operationalisation of the leverage points perspective to shape human-nature relations to enable sustainability transformations. Specifically, we draw on four key advantages of the leverage points perspective: (i) the explicit recognition of deep leverage points; (ii) the ability to examine the interactions between shallow and deep system changes; (iii) the combination of causal and teleological modes of research; and (iv) the ability to function as a methodological boundary object. The contributions to this special issue revealed three deep leverage points addressing paradigm shifts in research and beyond: relational thinking and values, stewardship philosophy and shifting the economic growth paradigm to focus on human well-being. We highlight interlinkages between leverage points to further strengthen the transformative potential of interventions that aim at triggering shifts in our understanding about human-nature relations. Further, we show a way to bridge causal and teleological approaches by envisioning desired futures. Lastly, we emphasise the potential of arts-based methodologies, including participatory, transdisciplinary research to foster sustainability transformation and how this can be combined within the leverage points perspective.Peer reviewe

Effects of golimumab and ustekinumab on circulating dendritic cell migratory capacity in inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition which includes ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), the origins of which are not yet fully understood. Both conditions involve an exacerbated immune response in the intestinal tract, leading to tissue inflammation. Dendritic cells (DCs) are antigen-presenting cells crucial for maintaining tolerance in the gastrointestinal mucosa. Previous research has indicated that DC recruitment to the intestinal mucosa is more pronounced in individuals with IBD, but the specific mechanisms governing this migration remain unclear. This study aimed to assess the expression of various homing markers and the migratory abilities of circulating DC subsets in response to intestinal chemotactic signals. Additionally, this study examined how golimumab and ustekinumab impact these characteristics in individuals with IBD compared to healthy controls. The findings revealed that a particular subset of DCs known as type 2 conventional DCs (cDC2) displayed a more pronounced migratory profile compared to other DC subsets. Furthermore, the study observed that golimumab and ustekinumab had varying effects on the migratory profile of cDC1 in individuals with CD and UC. While CCL2 did not exert a chemoattractant effect on DC subsets in this patient cohort, treatment with golimumab and ustekinumab enhanced their migratory capacity towards CCL2 and CCL25 while reducing their migration towards MadCam1. In conclusion, this study highlights that cDC2 exhibits a heightened migratory profile towards the gastrointestinal mucosa compared to other DC subsets. This finding could be explored further for the development of new diagnostic biomarkers or the identification of potential immunomodulatory targets in the context of IB

Doctor profesor Ángel Fernando Sánchez Vicente. Paradigma docente en la enseñanza de histologia

RESUMEN El Dr. Ángel Sánchez Vicente es un paradigma de docente en la enseñanza en el Instituto de Ciencias Básicas y Preclínicas «Victoria de Girón», en particular de la Histología. Excelente profesor en el uso del pizarrón y precursor de las tecnologías de avanzadas vinculadas a la docencia. Inició su larga carrera en la docencia Médica, como Profesor Auxiliar en la Cátedra de Histología-Embriología, en el año 1966, en el ICBP «Victoria de Girón». En 1976 fue promovido a la categoría de Profesor Titular. Su larga experiencia como profesor de pre-universitario y en la especialidad de Histología, ponen en evidencia, su vocación por la enseñanza. Por todos los años que dedicó a la docencia, el Doctor Ángel Sánchez contribuyó a la formación de muchos bachilleres y médicos que lo recuerdan con cariño y orgullo por haber sido sus alumnos.  Palabras clave: excelente profesor, paradigma de la docencia, extraordinario maestro.</p

El Proceso de Adopción cuando el Adoptante es Extranjero en El Salvador y el Consejo Nacional de la Niñez y Adolescencia como Garante del Proceso

El presente trabajo tiene como finalidad analizar y proponer posibles soluciones referente a la gran cantidad de niños, niñas y adolescentes que no tienen una familia. La institución de la adopción internacional es una herramienta que ofrece al menor una familia, con la finalidad de proteger el bien superior de los mismos, derecho que no debe de ser vulnerado para su pleno desarrollo. Está claro que existe un principio de subsidiariedad en cuanto a la adopción internacional, y justamente aquí es en donde surte la problemática ya que teniendo esta herramienta el Estado para otorgar una familia a los menores salvadoreños que carecen de ella, las adopciones realizadas por un extranjero en territorio salvadoreño son casi nulas; por ello relevante estudiar, analizar y dar a conocer aquellos factores que inciden o dificultan que los extranjeros tanto residentes o no residentes en El Salvador puedan adoptar, sin dejar de lado que la motivación de los mismos es brindarles una verdadera familia. También, para poder determinar que dicha familia sea la adecuada para el adoptado, se necesita un control por parte del Estado para dar seguimiento tanto al proceso de adopción como al otorgamiento de la misma, es así que las instituciones gubernamentales juegan un papel muy importante como entidades garantes del proceso, como lo es el Consejo Nacional de la Niñez y de la Adolescencia cuya misión es ser la máxima autoridad del sistema Nacional de Protección Integral y la Institución rectora de la Política Nacional de Protección Integral de la Niñez y de la Adolescencia, que con la participación de la familia, el Estado y la sociedad debe garantizar el goce de los derechos del adoptado. Es así que se pretende dar un aporte coyuntural, jurídico y doctrinario, al hacer un estudio profundo y sistemático de los factores que inciden en la poca práctica de la Adopción Internacional, debido al resabio histórico estos factores se podían identificar por los trámites engorrosos, burocráticos, el incumplimiento de los plazos administrativos y judiciales, cuya consecuencia era que las personas extranjeras desistieran del proceso por considerarlo muy extenso

Percolation thresholds in chemical disordered excitable media

The behavior of chemical waves advancing through a disordered excitable medium is investigated in terms of percolation theory and autowave properties in the framework of the light-sensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. By controlling the number of sites with a given illumination, different percolation thresholds for propagation are observed, which depend on the relative wave transmittances of the two-state medium considered