Gender and aquaculture: sharing the benefits equitably

Aquaculture is the fastest growing agricultural sector in the world; it can meet both the food security and cash needs of poor households in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. Women’s involvement in aquaculture is more significant than often assumed. In many developing countries formal statistics often overlook the nature and extent of their vital contribution. Research on gender and aquaculture at the WorldFish Center identifies five key themes for consideration. 1) Market, trade and migration 2)Capabilities and well being 3)Identities and networks 4)Governance and rights 5)Climate change, disaster and resilience.Aquaculture, Women

Inadequacies in the water reforms in the Kyrgyz Republic: an institutional analysis

Water resource management / Analysis / Irrigation management / Participatory management / Water users’ associations / Research methods / Agrarian reform / Irrigation programs / Operations / Maintenance / Conflict / Rivers / Kyrgyzstan

Winter hydrology and soil erosion processes in an agricultural catchment in Norway

In regions with a Nordic climate, soil erosion rates in winter and early spring can exceed those occurring during other seasons of the year. In this context, this study was initiated to improve our understanding of the interaction between agricultural soils and occurring winter conditions. The main objective was to better understand how hydrological processes in a catchment are influenced by snow, ice, and freeze-thaw cycles of soils, leading to runoff and soil erosion in winter and spring conditions. For this purpose, detailed spatially and temporally distributed measurements and observations in a small catchment in Norway were executed during three consecutive winter/spring periods. During the winter/spring periods of 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, soil water content, soil temperature, and snow cover properties were measured. In addition, numerous soil samples were taken to determine the soil hydraulic characteristics of the investigated soils and to quantify the changes in their macropore networks due to freeze-thaw events, using X-ray imaging. With the collected data and deduced process understanding, it was possible to model and quantify the spatial and temporal development of snow packs. Furthermore, the field observations revealed how the interaction of tillage, state of the soils and snow cover at a certain time can lead to none or extensive surface runoff and soil erosion. Integrating acquired data, observations and process knowledge facilitated advances in simulating and quantifying surface runoff and soil erosion rates across the catchment under investigation. The models applied and the maps and output derived are crucial elements for presenting current state and problems in the catchment to stakeholders (such as farmers), providing a starting point for discussing ways to prevent and reduce further runoff and erosion. For model calibration and validation, including interpretation of modelling results, good knowledge of the area and availability of detailed data are essential, especially when processes such as freezing-thawing of soils and ice layer and snow-pack dynamics have to be considered also. In order to reduce runoff and soil erosion during winter and snowmelt conditions in the future, more targeted research is required in order to address the full range of existing knowledge gaps in this field, as identified in this particular study also.</p

Combining FDR and ERT for monitoring soil moisture and temperature patterns in undulating terrain in south-eastern Norway

The occurrence of freeze–thaw cycles modifies water infiltration processes and surface runoff generation. Related processes are complex and are not yet fully investigated at field scale. While local weather conditions and soil management practices are the most important factors in both runoff generation and surface erosion processes, local terrain heterogeneities may significantly influence soil erosion processes in catchments with undulating terrain. This paper presents a field-based investigation of spatial and temporal heterogeneities in subsurface soil moisture and soil temperature associated with freezing, thawing, and snowmelt infiltration. The field setup consists of a combination of traditional point measurements performed with frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). The transect was approximately 70 m long and spanned an entire depression with a north-facing slope (average slope of 11.5%) and a south-facing slope (average slope of 9.7%). The whole depression was entirely covered with stubble. Observed resistivity patterns correspond well to the measured soil moisture patterns. During the observation period, the north facing slope froze earlier and deeper compared with the south facing slope. Freeze–thaw cycles were less pronounced in the north-facing slope than in the south-facing slope. There were also differences in soil temperature and soil moisture patterns between lower and upper parts of the monitored depression. These indicate that initiation and development of runoff related processes, and consequently soil erosion, in regions with freeze–thaw cycles may differ significantly depending on local terrain characteristics. Consequently, it indicates that spatial terrain heterogeneities, especially slope aspects, may be important when studying soil erosion processes, water flow and nutrient leaching in lowlands where patchy snowpacks and dynamic freeze–thaw cycles are predominating.publishedVersio

Nanosuspensions: particle size reduction as tool to improve lipophilic drugs bioavailability

En los últimos años, las nanosuspensiones han sido objeto de numerosos estudios con el n de evaluar sus propiedades biofarmacéuticas, demostrando en muchos casos valiosas ventajas frente a las formulaciones utilizadas convencionalmente. El uso de esta novedosa tecnología ha permitido el desarrollo de formas farmacéuticas para ser administradas por diferentes vías y también su aplicación ha demostrado ventajas en el desarrollo de estudios toxicológicos. En el presente trabajo se plantea una revisión de los aportes que brinda la obtención de partículas nanométricas de principios activos a la tecnología farmacéutica, los procesos de obtención de las mismas, así como su caracterización y principales aplicaciones en diferentes vías de administración de fármacos.In recent years, nanosuspensions have been subject of numerous studies in order to evaluate their biopharmaceutical properties, demonstrating in many cases valuable advantages over the conventional formulations. The application of this innovative technology has allowed the development of pharmaceutical dosage forms designed to be administrated by di erent routes, and its application has also demonstrated some advantages in the development of toxicological studies. This paper presents a review of the contributions that nanometric particles provide to the pharmaceutical technology area, the design and formulation procedures, characterization studies and principal applications.Fil: Starkloff, Walter Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biologia, Bioquimica y Farmacia. Catedra de Control de Calidad de Medicamentos; ArgentinaFil: Palma, Santiago Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Cordoba. Unidad de Investigacion y Desarrollo en Tecnologia Farmaceutica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas. Departamento de Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez Vidal, Noelia Lujan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biologia, Bioquimica y Farmacia. Catedra de Control de Calidad de Medicamentos; Argentin

Coinfection rates of avian blood parasites increase with latitude in parapatric host species

Animals are frequently coinfected with multiple parasites concurrently, and advances in our sampling of these complex intra-host parasite communities have revealed important ecological impacts on their hosts. However, the spatial distributions and environmental determinants of parasite coinfection remain infrequently studied. Here, we investigated the drivers of haemosporidian blood parasite coinfection in the Bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli) and grey-cheeked thrush (Catharus minimus), parapatric sister species that occur across a broad latitudinal range in northern North America. Using 298 samples from across the distributions of these species, we found high overall infection (86%) and coinfection (41%) rates within host populations. Coinfection rates within populations were highly variable across sampling sites, ranging from 7 to 75%. Latitude was a more important predictor of coinfection frequency than host species identity, with coinfections becoming more abundant at higher latitudes. The 2 host species exhibited similar parasite faunas, and an analysis of the co-occurrence patterns among haemosporidians showed that host species identity was largely not a factor in structuring which parasites were found within coinfections. To our knowledge, this is the first study to illustrate a reverse latitudinal gradient in coinfection frequency in a eukaryotic parasite system. Further work is necessary to determine whether vector ecology or some other factor is the primary proximate driver of this pattern

Farmers' participation, empowerment and the institutional reform of Pakistan's irrigation and drainage sector: key concepts and farmers' perceptions

Irrigation programs / Farmer participation / Drainage / Farmers' attitudes / Equity / Social organization / Water users' associations / Farmers' associations / Research methods / Leadership / Water distribution / Maintenance / Privatization / Institution building / Pakistan / Fordwah Eastern Sadiqia South