Registros de Streblidae (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) en un fragmento de bosque seco tropical en Colombia

Streblidae is a highly specialized fly family, which feeds exclusively on bats. Here we present information about the species of streblids occurring in two fragments of tropical dry forest in Cauca, Colombia. Between April and November 2012, we conducted 16 capture events of bats using mist nets, which were open from 18:00 until 06:00. Each captured bat was identified and the ectoparasites found were preserved in 90% alcohol solution. A total of 85 ectoparasites were collected and 10 species of streblids were identified in seven bat species. Our analysis showed that these parasites are locally specialized, which strongly contrasts with the high number of host species that have been reported for them. We hypothesize that this discrepancy is due to local constraints that filter the fundamental niche of these flies. This work enriches the inventories of the entomofauna in remnants of tropical dry forest, an ecosystem in a critical state of conservation.Streblidae es una familia de moscas altamente especializada, la cual se alimenta exclusivamente de murciélagos. Aquí se presenta información sobre las especies de Streblidae presentes en dos fragmentos de bosque seco tropical en Cauca, Colombia. Entre abril y noviembre de 2012 se realizaron 16 jornadas de captura de murciélagos, utilizando redes de niebla, las cuales estuvieron abiertas desde las 18:00 hasta las 06:00. Cada murciélago capturado se revisó y los ectoparásitos encontrados se conservaron en alcohol al 90%. Se recolectaron 85 ectoparásitos y se identificaron 10 especies de estréblidos en siete especies de murciélagos. El análisis mostró que estos parásitos son localmente especializados, lo cual contrasta fuertemente con el alto número de especies hospederas que han sido reportadas para ellos. Se hipotetiza que esta diferencia se debe a restricciones locales que filtran el nicho fundamental de estas moscas. Este trabajo enriquece los inventarios de la entomofauna en remanentes de bosque seco tropical, un ecosistema en estado crítico de conservación

Design, construction and study of the efficiency of green panels with a monitoring system for physical variables

de un grupo de variables dentro de un prototipo a escala de un panel verde, las variables seleccionadas fueron; temperatura, humedad relativa, humedad del substrato, cantidad de luz, vibraciones mecánicas y telúricas, para luego estudiar el comportamiento de las variables mencionadas anteriormente. Para preparar el sistema para capturar y adquirir los datos y almacenarlos, se construyó un complejo electrónico que comprenda diversos sensores electrónicos acoplados a una tarjeta de hardware libre para elaborar prototipos denominada “Arduino Uno” y que mandara los datos a un ordenador vía alámbrica (cable USB) y creaba hojas de cálculo en Microsoft Excel, con un intervalo de tiempo definido por código abierto, creando inmensas bases de datos, después de 44 días de monitorización, para posteriormente, sus cifras fueran procesadas mediante software “R studio” de código de fuentes abiertas, obteniendo las medidas de tendencia central, gráficas, histogramas, curvas de densidad y se demostraron las relaciones entre variables con el coeficiente (R) de correlación se obtuvo mediante el método “Pearson”. El estudio de series de tiempo se logró desarrollar mediante ecuaciones lineales y no lineales; y se efectuó mediante el método de mínimos cuadrados y el método GARCH, corriendo una regresión simple que incluyó términos cuadráticos, logarítmicos, primeras diferencias, variables “dummy” o falsas y constantes, en este caso el software de elección fue E views, secundariamente Minitab, SPSS, SAS y STATA. Al terminar el análisis de regresión lineal, se obtuvieron resultados que confirmaron la eficiencia de los paneles verdes en el prototipo que se construyó, dando resultados que reforzaban la hipótesis del experimento, demostrando que las cubiertas vegetales instaladas en edificios reducen hasta en 8 °C la temperatura atmosférica y la humedad relativa del viento se potencializa hasta en 15 % más que en un edificio común y la disminución del efecto “Isla de Calor Urbana” por área verde determinada.The present work had some challenges such as to design and then construct an electronic system for monitoring the values of a select group of physical variables in a prototype of a green panel, the selected variables were temperature, relative humidity, soil humidity, mechanic and telluric vibrations and quantity of light, then study their behaviors of these variables mentioned before. To get the system ready for data acquisition and saving the data, it became necessary the construction of an electronically arrangement that understands; Open Source code, diverse types of electronic sensors and a free hardware device named “Arduino Uno board”. The prototype of a green panel in which we installed the electronic system with sensors that recorded the changes in an automatic way, then they were sent to a computer connected to the system with an USB wire for capturing data in Microsoft Excel, with an interval defined by Open Source Code, constructing a database, after 44 days of monitoring, for processing the data we occupied the software “R studio” of Open Source for continuing the study with a statistical analysis giving the central tendency measures, graphs, histograms, density curves and proving the correlation between variables with correlation coefficient (R) obtained by “Pearson” methodology. The study of time series and for developing linear and non-linear equations were done with the least squares’ methodology and GARCH method, running a simple regression, that included: logarithmic terms, quadratic terms, first differences, “dummies” and constants, in this case the statistical suites of choice were primarily E views, secondarily Minitab, SPSS, SAS and STATA. At the end of the regression, the results were in favor for the implementation of green panels in buildings, because they can bring several benefits to the environment. The conclusion was that the experiment generated atmospheric conditions that reduced in 8 °C of atmospheric temperature and the relative humidity in air is augmented in 15% and reduces carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide and the diminution of the “Urban Heat Island” effect in weather for a determined green area.SIEA UAME

Transportability of non-target arthropod field data for the use in environmental risk assessment of genetically modified maize in Northern Mexico

In country, non-target arthropod (NTA) field evaluations are required to comply with the regulatory process for cultivation of genetically modified (GM) maize in Mexico. Two sets of field trials, Experimental Phase and Pilot Phase, were conducted to identify any potential harm of insect-protected and glyphosate-tolerant maize (MON89Ø34-3 × MON-88Ø17-3 and MON-89Ø34-3 × MON-ØØ6Ø3-6) and glyphosatetolerant maize (MON-ØØ6Ø3-6) to local NTAs compared to conventional maize. NTA abundance data were collected at 32 sites, providing high geographic and environmental diversity within maize production areas from four ecological regions (ecoregions) in northern Mexico. The most abundant herbivorous taxa collected included field crickets, corn flea beetles, rootworm beetles, cornsilk flies, aphids, leafhoppers, plant bugs and thrips while the most abundant beneficial taxa captured were soil mites, spiders, predatory ground beetles, rove beetles, springtails (Collembola), predatory earwigs, ladybird beetles, syrphid flies, tachinid flies, minute pirate bugs, parasitic wasps and lacewings. Across the taxa analysed, no statistically significant differences in abundance were detected between GM maize and the conventional maize control for 69 of the 74 comparisons (93.2%) indicating thatthe single or stacked insect-protected and herbicide-tolerant GM traits generally exert no marked adverse effects on the arthropod populations compared with conventional maize. The distribution of taxa observed in this study provides evidence that irrespective of variations in overall biodiversity of a given ecoregion, important herbivore, predatory and parasitic arthropod taxa within the commercial maize agroecosystem are highly similar indicating that relevant data generated in one ecoregion can be transportable for the risk assessment of the same or similar GM crop in another ecoregion

Plant characterization of genetically modified maize hybrids MON-89Ø34-3 × MON-88Ø17-3, MON-89Ø34-3 × MON-ØØ6Ø3-6, and MON-ØØ6Ø3-6: alternatives for maize production in Mexico

Environmental risk assessment (ERA) of genetically modified (GM) crops is a process to evaluate whether the biotechnology trait(s) in a GM crop may result in increased pest potential or harm to the environment. In this analysis, two GM insect-resistant (IR) herbicide-tolerant maize hybrids (MON-89Ø34-3 9 MON-88Ø17-3 and MON-89Ø34-3 9 MON-ØØ6Ø3-6) and one herbicide-tolerant GM hybrid (MON-ØØ6Ø3-6) were compared with conventional maize hybrids of similar genetic backgrounds. Two sets of studies, Experimental Phase and Pilot Phase, were conducted across five ecological regions (ecoregions) in Mexico during 2009–2013, and data were subject to meta-analysis. Results from the Experimental Phase studies, which were used for ERA, indicated that the three GM hybrids were not different from conventional maize for early stand count, days-tosilking, days-to-anthesis, root lodging, stalk lodging, or final stand count. Statistically significant differences were observed for seedling vigor, ear height, plant height, grain moisture, and grain yield, particularly in the IR hybrids; however, none of these phenotypic differences are expected to contribute to a biological or ecological change that would result in an increased pest potential or ecological risk when cultivating these GM hybrids. Overall, results from the Experimental Phase studies are consistent with those from other world regions, confirming that there are no additional risks compared to conventional maize. Results from Pilot Phase studies indicated that, compared to conventional maize hybrids, no differences were detected for the agronomic and phenotypic characteristics measured on the three GM maize hybrids, with the exception of grain moisture and grain yield in the IR hybrids. Since MON-89Ø34- 3 9 MON-88Ø17-3 and MON-89Ø34-3 9 MONØØ6Ø3- 6 confer resistance to target insect pests, they are an alternative for farmers in Mexico to protect the crop from insect damage. Additionally, the herbicide tolerance conferred by all three GM hybrids enables more cost-effective weed management

Pollen-Mediated Gene Flow in Maize: Implications for Isolation Requirements and Coexistence in Mexico, the Center of Origin of Maize

Mexico, the center of origin of maize (Zea mays L.), has taken actions to preserve the identity and diversity of maize landraces and wild relatives. Historically, spatial isolation has been used in seed production to maintain seed purity. Spatial isolation can also be a key component for a strategy to minimize pollen-mediated gene flow in Mexico between transgenic maize and sexually compatible plants of maize conventional hybrids, landraces, and wild relatives. The objective of this research was to generate field maize-to-maize outcrossing data to help guide coexistence discussions in Mexico. In this study, outcrossing rates were determined and modeled from eight locations in six northern states, which represent the most economically important areas for the cultivation of hybrid maize in Mexico. At each site, pollen source plots were planted with a yellow-kernel maize hybrid and surrounded by plots with a white-kernel conventional maize hybrid (pollen recipient) of the same maturity. Outcrossing rates were then quantified by assessing the number of yellow kernels harvested from white-kernel hybrid plots. The highest outcrossing values were observed near the pollen source (12.9% at 1 m distance). The outcrossing levels declined sharply to 4.6, 2.7, 1.4, 1.0, 0.9, 0.5, and 0.5% as the distance from the pollen source increased to 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 25 m, respectively. At distances beyond 20 m outcrossing values at all locations were below 1%. These trends are consistent with studies conducted in other world regions. The results suggest that coexistence measures that have been implemented in other geographies, such as spatial isolation, would be successful in Mexico to minimize transgenic maize pollen flow to conventional maize hybrids, landraces and wild relatives

Worldwide trends in hypertension prevalence and progress in treatment and control from 1990 to 2019: a pooled analysis of 1201 population-representative studies with 104 million participants

Background Hypertension can be detected at the primary health-care level and low-cost treatments can effectively control hypertension. We aimed to measure the prevalence of hypertension and progress in its detection, treatment, and control from 1990 to 2019 for 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 1990 to 2019 on people aged 30–79 years from population-representative studies with measurement of blood pressure and data on blood pressure treatment. We defined hypertension as having systolic blood pressure 140 mm Hg or greater, diastolic blood pressure 90 mm Hg or greater, or taking medication for hypertension. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate the prevalence of hypertension and the proportion of people with hypertension who had a previous diagnosis (detection), who were taking medication for hypertension (treatment), and whose hypertension was controlled to below 140/90 mm Hg (control). The model allowed for trends over time to be non-linear and to vary by age. Findings The number of people aged 30–79 years with hypertension doubled from 1990 to 2019, from 331 (95% credible interval 306–359) million women and 317 (292–344) million men in 1990 to 626 (584–668) million women and 652 (604–698) million men in 2019, despite stable global age-standardised prevalence. In 2019, age-standardised hypertension prevalence was lowest in Canada and Peru for both men and women; in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and some countries in western Europe including Switzerland, Spain, and the UK for women; and in several low-income and middle-income countries such as Eritrea, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Solomon Islands for men. Hypertension prevalence surpassed 50% for women in two countries and men in nine countries, in central and eastern Europe, central Asia, Oceania, and Latin America. Globally, 59% (55–62) of women and 49% (46–52) of men with hypertension reported a previous diagnosis of hypertension in 2019, and 47% (43–51) of women and 38% (35–41) of men were treated. Control rates among people with hypertension in 2019 were 23% (20–27) for women and 18% (16–21) for men. In 2019, treatment and control rates were highest in South Korea, Canada, and Iceland (treatment >70%; control >50%), followed by the USA, Costa Rica, Germany, Portugal, and Taiwan. Treatment rates were less than 25% for women and less than 20% for men in Nepal, Indonesia, and some countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. Control rates were below 10% for women and men in these countries and for men in some countries in north Africa, central and south Asia, and eastern Europe. Treatment and control rates have improved in most countries since 1990, but we found little change in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. Improvements were largest in high-income countries, central Europe, and some upper-middle-income and recently high-income countries including Costa Rica, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Turkey, and Iran. Interpretation Improvements in the detection, treatment, and control of hypertension have varied substantially across countries, with some middle-income countries now outperforming most high-income nations. The dual approach of reducing hypertension prevalence through primary prevention and enhancing its treatment and control is achievable not only in high-income countries but also in low-income and middle-income settings

Records of streblidae (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) in a tropical dry forest fragment in Colombia

Streblidae es una familia de moscas altamente especializada, la cual se alimenta exclusivamente de murciélagos. Aquí se presenta información sobre las especies de Streblidae presentes en dos fragmentos de bosque seco tropical en Cauca, Colombia. Entre abril y noviembre de 2012 se realizaron 16 jornadas de captura de murciélagos, utilizando redes de niebla, las cuales estuvieron abiertas desde las 18:00 hasta las 06:00. Cada murciélago capturado se revisó y los ectoparásitos encontrados se conservaron en alcohol al 90%. Se recolectaron 85 ectoparásitos y se identificaron 10 especies de estréblidos en siete especies de murciélagos. El análisis mostró que estos parásitos son localmente especializados, lo cual contrasta fuertemente con el alto número de especies hospederas que han sido reportadas para ellos. Se hipotetiza que esta diferencia se debe a restricciones locales que filtran el nicho fundamental de estas moscas. Este trabajo enriquece los inventarios de la entomofauna en remanentes de bosque seco tropical, un ecosistema en estado crítico de conservación.Streblidae is a highly specialized fly family, which feeds exclusively on bats. Here we present information about the species of streblids occurring in two fragments of tropical dry forest in Cauca, Colombia. Between April and November 2012, we conducted 16 capture events of bats using mist nets, which were open from 18:00 until 06:00. Each captured bat was identified and the ectoparasites found were preserved in 90% alcohol solution. A total of 85 ectoparasites were collected and 10 species of streblids were identified in seven bat species. Our analysis showed that these parasites are locally specialized, which strongly contrasts with the high number of host species that have been reported for them. We hypothesize that this discrepancy is due to local constraints that filter the fundamental niche of these flies. This work enriches the inventories of the entomofauna in remnants of tropical dry forest, an ecosystem in a critical state of conservation.Fil: Ascuntar Osnas, Oscar. Universidad del Valle; ColombiaFil: Montoya Bustamante, Sebastián. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: González Chávez, Baltazar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica; Argentin

Diseño, Construcción y Estudio de la Eficiencia de los Paneles Verdes, Mediante un Sistema de Monitorización de Variables Físicas

Para el presente artículo, se realizó una tarea, de diseñar, construir y estudiar, el comportamiento de las variables; temperatura, humedad relativa, humedad del substrato, cantidad de luxes,vibraciones mecánicas y telúricas, por medio de un sistema de monitoreo automático que realizaba capturas de dichas variables desde sensores acoplados a una tarjeta Arduino y mandaba los datos a un ordenador vía alámbrica, con un intervalo de tiempo deinido por código abierto, creando inmensas bases de datos para que sus cifras fueran estudiadas, mediante medidas de tendencia central y estudio de series de tiempo, aplicando modelos de regresión lineal simple y múltiple con ecuaciones logarítmicas, cuadráticas, etc. Al graficar las observaciones por medio de software estadístico como R estudio de código abierto, se demostró la relación que existía entre variables y sus frecuencias, densidades e histogramas, los cuales ayudaron a la interpretación de los datos. Al terminar el análisis de regresión lineal, se obtuvieron resultados que confirman la eficiencia de los paneles verdes en la maqueta que se construyó, dando resultados que reforzaban la hipótesis del experimento, demostrando que las cubiertas vegetales instaladas en edificios reducen hasta en 8 °C la temperatura atmosférica y la humedad relativa del viento se potencializa hasta en 15 % más que en un edificio común

Planting dates, pollen source and pollen recipient areas, and geographic coordinates of each study site.

<p>¹ m/d/y = month/day/year.</p><p>² Experimental trials.</p><p>³Pilot trials.</p><p>Planting dates, pollen source and pollen recipient areas, and geographic coordinates of each study site.</p