Indigenous female entrepeneurship: a qualitative studies in the context of Bolivia

Indigenous entrepreneurship and the gender approach to entrepreneurship are areas that have grown in interest in the entrepreneurship literature in recent years. This paper combines both research streams with the aim of analysing the social and individual factors affecting indigenous quechua female entrepreneurs of Bolivia. Based on the analysis of qualitative data from forty-two face-to-face interviews to indigenous entreprenerurs (female and male), the specific characteristics of these entrepreneurs, the barriers and the facilitators of entrepreneurial activities by women, as well as the role of social capital were extracted. The existence of a sexist and patriarchal culture has been found. However, regarding production, family becomes the production unit; the woman and the man have specific and complementary roles. In addition, there is growing individualism that results in a loss of indigenous values

Special issue: G protein-coupled adenosine receptors: molecular aspects and beyond

Adenosine is a purine nucleoside present in all human cells where it plays many different physiological roles: From being a building block for nucleic acids to a key constituent of the biological energy currency ATP. Indeed, more than 90 years ago, Drury and Szent-Györgyi reported that adenosine produces profound hypotension and bradycardia, and until the present time, the list of physiological effects of adenosine has expanded considerably. In addition, adenosine is a well-known neuromodulator in the brain and has effects on other tissues, thus exerting its physiological actions through four different subtypes of G protein-coupled adenosine receptors (i.e., A1R, A2AR, A2BR and A3R) which, as expected, are expressed in a large variety of cells throughout the body. Consequently, ARs are potential therapeutic targets in a variety of pathophysiological conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases

Diversificación de la actividad agraria hacia el turismo rural. Un modelo de decisión basado en sociedades cooperativas agrarias oleícolas

The diversification of the agrarian activities towards different branches of the economy seems a viable alternative to clear the gray horizon of this type of organizations. An emergent activity, Rural Tourism, appears as a very interesting option to complement partners’ income, as well as the effective development of these companies. To demonstrate the viability of both activities within an organization, as well as to obtain the ideal cooperative profile for the development of theses activities, or better still, to establish the form to reach it, are some of the goal pursued with this paper. We follow an empirical analysis based on a qualitative and quantitative methodology, on the agrarian cooperatives integrated in the Hojiblanca group, and pertaining to Antequera, a Spanish region.Agrarian cooperatives, rural tourism, sustainable development, statistical models.

La función directiva en las cooperativas agrarias. Estudio empírico en las sociedades cooperativas cafetaleras de Costa Rica

In theory, the characteristics, values and principles of cooperative enterprises give them great potential in terms of their business and social development. However, in practice we actually find situations that stand in the way of their possibilities; for example, lack of involvement on the part of their members, or professional shortcomings in the running of cooperatives. This article focuses on the management role of coffee-growing agricultural cooperatives in Costa Rica, analysing their characteristics and defending the existence and professionalism of this management role as an essential requirement in dealing with the internal and external factors that essentially characterise the activity and running of this type of company, and in achieving the successful development of these companies. This analysis helps us to establish what we call an ideal profile of the cooperative agricultural manager, consisting of professional and personal features and forms of behaviour. The primary objective of this is to bring the economic criteria and purposes into line with the social and human criteria involved in the cooperativeÕs activity.Agricultural cooperative, future objectives, management role, ideal profile, Costa Rica.

Women entrepreneurs in indigenous communities. The case of Tiquipaya (Bolivia)

The paper continues as follows. After a literature review on gender and entrepreneurship and indigenous entrepreneurship, an integrated research framework is proposed. Next, the methods and main findings are summarized. The discussion and conclusions close the paper.This paper analyzes the factors that affect the activities of indigenous women entrepreneurs of the region of Tiquipaya (Bolivia). Enablers and barriers to entrepreneurship as well as social capital are considered. Based on the analysis of forty-two face-to-face interviews with female and male entrepreneurs, and intermediaries in the area of the valley and mountain range areas of the region of Tiquipaya, the characteristics of these entrepreneurs, the barriers and facilitators, and the role of social capital have been extracted. As main contributions, firstly, it has been proposed a comprehensive conceptual framework for the context. Secondly, it has been found that, contrary to what one might think being indigenous does not affect so much as the fact of being a woman, as a key element for developing successful entrepreneurial activities.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Editorial: Purinergic Pharmacology

The purine nucleotides and nucleosides constitute important extracellular signaling molecules acting as neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. Indeed, extracellular adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine, tightly controlled by nucleotidases, ribokinases, deaminases, and transporters, signal through a rich array of purinergic receptors. These receptors, which emerged early in evolution, are among the most abundant in living organisms controlling many physiological actions, thus becoming promising therapeutic targets in a wide range of pathological conditions. Thus, while P1 receptors are selective for adenosine, a breakdown product of ATP, P2 receptors are activated by purine nucleotides, as well as P2Y receptors being activated by pyrimidine nucleotides. Interestingly, purinergic receptors, both G protein-coupled (i.e., P1 and P2Y) and ligand-gated ion channel (i.e., P2X) receptors, are involved in many neuronal and non-neuronal mechanisms, including pain, immune responses, exocrine and endocrine secretion, platelet aggregation, endothelial-mediated vasodilatation and inflammation, among others

Las sociedades cooperativas y sociedades laborales como motor de desarrollo económico y social: Análisis de su impacto socioeconómico en la región de Andalucía

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la importancia de las Sociedades Cooperativas y Sociedades Laborales en Andalucía y su contribución a la Economía Social en España. El rol que están asumiendo estas organizaciones empresariales de la Economía Social en la actual situación de crisis económica hace destacar aún más sus funciones social y económica, manteniéndose plena su vigencia como modelos empresariales de desarrollo económico sostenible y solidario. Con este fin, se realiza un análisis de la creación de Cooperativas y Sociedades Laborales en la región de Andalucía, y mediante la observación de las principales magnitudes económicas y sociales, se tratará de poner de manifiesto su papel fundamental en la generación de valor, mostrando cómo el desarrollo de estas figuras empresariales supone un volumen de negocio y empleo satisfactorio, especialmente en tiempos de crisis. En otras palabras, este estudio trata de mostrar la creciente importancia de las Sociedades Cooperativas y Sociedades Laborales, destacando su relevancia económica y social

Prevalence of Sarcocystis calchasi in free-ranging host species: Accipiter hawks and Common Woodpigeon in Germany

The apicomplexan parasite Sarcocystis calchasi (S. calchasi) triggers pigeon protozoal encephalitis, a neurologic disease in columbids. Accipiter hawks have been identified as the final host, and Columbidae and Psittaciformes as intermediate hosts. In this study, 368 free-ranging Accipiter hawks and 647 free-ranging common woodpigeons were sampled in a country-wide study in order to identify the prevalence of S. calchasi in these populations. A semi-nested PCR specific for S. calchasi tested positive in 7.3% (4.9-10.5) of submitted samples from Accipiter hawks. Juvenile Accipiter hawks (13.7%; 7.7-22.0) had a significantly higher infection rate with S. calchasi than adult Accipiter hawks (5.8%; 2.7-9.3). The prevalence of S. calchasi in common woodpigeons was 3.3% (5.4-9.7). Positive pigeons were identified in 14/16 federal states, and a region-dependency was detected, with higher rates of infection in the eastern parts of Germany. The results of this study suggest that the common woodpigeon is a natural reservoir for S. calchasi. In a study of one region for four consecutive years, an increase in prevalence was not detected. Findings indicate that the parasite is not newly introduced to Germany, but rather long established. The prevalence suggests that there is a substantial risk of S. calchasi infections in other free-ranging as well as captive host species

Dopaminergic-cholinergic imbalance in movement disorders: a role for the novel striatal dopamine D2-muscarinic acetylcholine M1 receptor heteromer

The striatum is the primary input structure of the basal ganglia, which participates in motivational and goal-directed behaviors (Pisani et al., 2007). In physiological conditions, local cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) and dopaminergic afferents modulate basal ganglia output through striatal projection neurons, also called medium spiny neurons (MSNs). In general, the release of the neurotransmitters dopamine (DA) and acetylcholine (ACh) elicits contradictory effects on MSNs, which express their corresponding DA receptors (DARs) and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs), respectively (Ztaou and Amalric, 2019). Recently, we discovered a novel receptor-receptor interaction (i.e., heteromerization) between the dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) and the muscarinic acetylcholine M1 receptor (M1R), both expressed at striatopallidal MSNs (Crans et al., 2020). The putative striatal D2R-M1R complex coordinates a sophisticated interplay between the dopaminergic and cholinergic neurotransmission systems. Fuxe et al. (2012) foresaw that the existence of this heteromer within the striatum would mechanistically justify the use of anticholinergics in Parkinson's disease (PD) treatment, thus opening up the development of novel pharmacotherapeutic strategies for PD management. As a proof of concept, we demonstrated that an M1R-selective antagonist (i.e., VU0255035, 10 mg/kg, i.p.) potentiated the antiparkinsonian-like efficacy of an ineffective D2R-selective agonist dose (i.e., sumanirole, 3 mg/kg, i.p.) in a rodent model of experimental Parkinsonism (Crans et al., 2020). Overall, the novel D2R-M1R heteromer could serve as a specific drug target to alleviate motor deficits in PD, whereas it may avoid major adverse effects associated with traditional pharmacotherapies