The rise of the technobionts: toward a new ontology to understand current planetary crisis

Inhere we expand the concept of Holobiont to incorporate niche construction theory in order to increase our understanding of the current planetary crisis. By this, we propose a new ontology, the Ecobiont, as the basic evolutionary unit of analysis. We make the case of Homo Sapiens organized around modern cities (technobionts) as a different Ecobiont from classical Homo Sapiens (i.e. Hunter- gatherers Homo Sapiens). We consider that Ecobiont ontology helps to make visible the coupling of Homo Sapiens with other biological entities under processes of natural and cultural evolution. Not to see this coupling hidden systemic risks and enhance the probability of catastrophic events. So Ecobiont ontology is necessary to understand and respond to the current planetary crisis

Self-organization, scaling and collapse in a coupled automaton model of foragers and vegetation resources with seed dispersal

We introduce a model of traveling agents ({\it e.g.} frugivorous animals) who feed on randomly located vegetation patches and disperse their seeds, thus modifying the spatial distribution of resources in the long term. It is assumed that the survival probability of a seed increases with the distance to the parent patch and decreases with the size of the colonized patch. In turn, the foraging agents use a deterministic strategy with memory, that makes them visit the largest possible patches accessible within minimal travelling distances. The combination of these interactions produce complex spatio-temporal patterns. If the patches have a small initial size, the vegetation total mass (biomass) increases with time and reaches a maximum corresponding to a self-organized critical state with power-law distributed patch sizes and L\'evy-like movement patterns for the foragers. However, this state collapses as the biomass sharply decreases to reach a noisy stationary regime characterized by corrections to scaling. In systems with low plant competition, the efficiency of the foraging rules leads to the formation of heterogeneous vegetation patterns with $1/f^{\alpha}$ frequency spectra, and contributes, rather counter-intuitively, to lower the biomass levels.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Comparación de la percepción social en playas recreativas arenosas de dos bahías localizadas en el Pacífico Mexicano

En el presente trabajo se desarrollaron dos formatos de encuesta, para incorporar la percepción de los usuarios a la evaluación de la calidad de las playas (Cervantes, 2006 y Silva-Iñiguez, 2006); ambos basados en un modelo cuantitativo para revelar la percepción social de las playas localizadas en la bahía de Santiago, Manzanillo, Col (MZO) y en Acapulco, Gro (ACA). Se aplicaron un total de 790 encuestas (ACA: 390 y MZO: 400), que permitieron conocer el perfil de los usuarios, sus hábitos de recreación y sus opiniones sobre las condiciones biofísicas y de infraestructura de cada playa. En ambas playas la mayoría prefirieron asistir acompañados por sus familias; las principales actividades recreativas fueron nadar, descansar, comer y beber. En general las demandas en ambos sitios coincidieron con incrementar el número de botes de basura, la frecuencia en el servicio de recolección y limpieza, baños y regaderas. Las razones por la que los usuarios seleccionaron la playa a visitar fueron la seguridad y vigilancia, así como las características biofísicas de la misma. La incorporación de esta información a modelos y/o esquemas de evaluación y gestión de playa (a través de índices ambientales) permitió realizar la valoración integral de la playa.In this paper it was developed two survey formats, to include the perception of users on the assessment of the quality of the beaches (Cervantes, 2006 and Silva-Iñiguez, 2006), both based on a quantitative model to reveal the social perception of the beaches on Santiago Bay, Manzanillo, Col (MZO) and Acapulco, Guerrero (ACA). We did a total of 790 surveys (ACA: 390 and MZO: 400), which allowed the user profile, recreation habits and their views on the biophysical and infrastructure of each beach. In both beaches, most people, attended with their families, the main recreational activities were swimming, resting, eating and drinking. In general the demands on both sites agreed to increase the number of waste baskets, the frequency of collection service and cleaning bathrooms and showers. The reasons why the users selected to visit the beach were the safety and security, as well as the biophysical characteristics of the same. Incorporating this information to models and / or evaluation schemes and beach management (through environmental ratings) allowed the comprehensive assessment of the beach

Effective antimicrobial activity of ZnO and Yb-doped ZnO nanoparticles against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli

Nanostructured Zn1-xYbxO (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) powders were prepared by the solution method using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sucrose. The effect of the ytterbium doping content on the structural, morphological, optical and antimicrobial properties was analyzed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the hexagonal wurtzite structure was retained, and no secondary phases due to doping were observed. The crystallite size was under 20nm for all the Zn1-xYbxO (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) powders. The optical band gap was calculated, and the results revealed that this value increased with the ytterbium content, and the Eg values varied from 3.06 to 3.10 eV. The surface chemistry of the powders was analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the results confirmed the oxidation state of ytterbium as 3+ for all the samples. Zn1-xYbxO (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) nanoparticles were tested as antimicrobial agents against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, resulting in a potential antimicrobial effect at most of the tested concentrations. These results were used in an artificial neural network (ANN). The results showed that it is possible to generate a model capable of forecasting the absorbance with good precision (error of 1–2%)

Experimental and theoretical assessment of native oxide in the superconducting TaN

In this manuscript, we show through an experimental-computational proof of concept the native oxide formation into superconducting TaN films. First, TaN was synthesized at an ultra-high vacuum system by reactive pulsed laser deposition and characterized in situ by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The material was also characterized ex situ by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and the four-point probe method. It was detected that TaN contained considerable oxygen impurities (up to 26 %O) even though it was grown in an ultra-high vacuum chamber. Furthermore, the impurified TaN evidence a face-centered cubic crystalline structure only and exhibits superconductivity at 2.99 K. To understand the feasibility of the native oxide in TaN, we study the effect of incorporating different amounts of O atoms in TaN using ab-initio calculations. A thermodynamic stability analysis shows that a TaOxN1-x model increases its stability as oxygen is added, demonstrating that oxygen may always be present in TaN, even when obtained at ultra-high vacuum conditions. All analyzed models exhibit metallic behavior. Charge density difference maps reveal that N and O atoms have a higher charge density redistribution than Ta atoms. The electron localization function maps and line profiles indicate that Ta-O and Ta-N bonds are mainly ionic. As expected, stronger ionic behavior is observed in the Ta-O bonds due to the electronegativity difference between O and N atoms. Recent evidence points to superconductivity in bulk TaO, confirming the asseverations of superconductivity in our samples. The results discussed here highlight the importance of considering native oxide when reporting superconductivity in TaN films since the TaO regions formed in the compound may be key to understanding the different critical temperatures reported in the literature.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figure

Assessing sustainability in North America’s ecosystems using criticality and information theory

Sustainability is a key concept in economic and policy debates. Nevertheless, it is usually treated only in a qualitative way and has eluded quantitative analysis. Here, we propose a sustainability index based on the premise that sustainable systems do not lose or gain Fisher Information over time. We test this approach using time series data from the AmeriFlux network that measures ecosystem respiration, water and energy fluxes in order to elucidate two key sustainability features: ecosystem health and stability. A novel definition of ecosystem health is developed based on the concept of criticality, which implies that if a system’s fluctuations are scale invariant then the system is in a balance between robustness and adaptability. We define ecosystem stability by taking an information theory approach that measures its entropy and Fisher information. Analysis of the Ameriflux consortium big data set of ecosystem respiration time series is contrasted with land condition data. In general we find a good agreement between the sustainability index and land condition data. However, we acknowledge that the results are a preliminary test of the approach and further verification will require a multi-signal analysis. For example, high values of the sustainability index for some croplands are counter-intuitive and we interpret these results as ecosystems maintained in artificial health due to continuous human-induced inflows of matter and energy in the form of soil nutrients and control of competition, pests and disease

Research priorities for maintaining biodiversity’s contributions to people in Latin America

Maintaining biodiversity is crucial for ensuring human well-being. The authors participated in a workshop held in Palenque, Mexico, in August 2018, that brought together 30 mostly early-career scientists working in different disciplines (natural, social and economic sciences) with the aim of identifying research priorities for studying the contributions of biodiversity to people and how these contributions might be impacted by environmental change. Five main groups of questions emerged: (1) Enhancing the quantity, quality, and availability of biodiversity data; (2) Integrating different knowledge systems; (3) Improved methods for integrating diverse data; (4) Fundamental questions in ecology and evolution; and (5) Multi-level governance across boundaries. We discuss the need for increased capacity building and investment in research programmes to address these challenges

Artistas sobre outras obras

Sobre arte e viagem pode-se estabelecer um paralelo continuado, irónico, expressivo. Entre as duas, a síntese do signo, a justaposição associativa. A viagem mostra o mundo, a viagem mostra quem somos. A caminho se desenha, se imagina, se fantasia, se mente. Neste ensejo, e neste mote da descoberta, se apreentam os 16 artigos que compõem o número 26 da revista Estúdio.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio