Biofuels Potential in Latin America and the Caribbean: Quantitative Considerations and Policy Implications for the Agricultural Sector

Rising oil prices has led to increased interest to replace domestic demand for liquid fuels for transport (petrol and diesel) with biofuel production (ethanol and biodiesel). One of the pioneers in biofuel production is Brazil, which since the 1970s has established a government program that promotes the production and consumption of ethanol. Currently, Brazil is the leading producer of ethanol in the world and has started also programs for biodiesel production based on soybeans, oil palm and other crops. Other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have also expressed interest in biofuel production, and have started programs, and in some cases the legislation that promotes biofuel production. However, most of the analysis of biofuel crops has been focused in the major countries such as Brazil and Argentina. As most countries in the region embark in biofuel projects and establish national policies on biofuels, there is a need for a roadmap that looks into the technical considerations that biofuel production will require. Most government policies are driven by politics, and in some cases such as the discussion of food production versus biofuel production, there should be technical analysis of increased production of biofuels. For those reasons, this study offers the first complete assessment of the potential of biofuels in Latin America and the Caribbean for 28 countries in the region, based on 12 agricultural and forestry crops. We first identify the biofuel production potential based on current surplus production, as a catalyst of biofuel production in the region. We then estimate the land requirements based on a 5% replacement of domestic liquid fuel demand, and the suitable available area in each country for such replacement. We also project biofuel production and available land area needed to meet food and nutrition targets for countries in the region to 2025. The results of this study show that the crops with the largest potential in Latin America and the Caribbean are sugar canes and cassava. Based on current production levels the conversion of sugar cane into bioethanol could surpass the 5% mix in more than half of the domestic markets of the countries surveyed. For biodiesel, countries with current surplus production that could be transformed to biodiesel and exceed the 5% mix include Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Honduras. For land, Latin America, particularly South America may have enough suitable land for production of biofuels, specially sugar cane, soybeans and oil palm, the main crops identified in this study. As for food supply and security and the future production of biofuels to 2025, we find that for major food exporters, there is enough land for both food and energy crop production. However, there are some smaller countries, especially in Central America and the Caribbean that may have to decide whether to import food and produce energy from crops. In term of the effect on prices, we find that increased biofuel production may have important price effects the effect may depend we analyze energy crops, traditional crops or byproducts of biofuel production. Finally, in terms of the impact on agricultural structure and land ownership, the most significant structural changes consist in a higher concentration in production and tenure as well as the establishment of new kind of actors and norms. Policies and institutions should be established that enables small producers to take advantage of increased biofuel production, so they can benefit in terms of employment, income, as means for poverty reduction in rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean.Biofuels, land availability, price effect, agricultural structure, Latin America, Caribbean, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q42, Q48, Q11, Q15,

The Code Stroke: medical evaluation by a pre-hospital attention service

In 1996, the NINDS (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Treatment of Acute Stroke) published targets for the management of patients with acute cerebrovascular events, setting a time of 3 h or less for administration of thrombolytics, creating the Code Stroke. Objective: Evaluate the time between onset of symptoms and arrival at the emergency department of a hospital as prognostic factors in patients with cerebrovascular events attended by the prehospital emergency medical service in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Materials and methods: Calls received in the ED (EMME) between January and December 2012 were included in a retrospective cross-sectional study, with symptoms showing within the first 8 h or with an unknown onset. The Mann---Whitney test and Fisher’s exact test were used. Results: Thirty-six patients were included in the study. In 21, the final diagnosis was cerebral infarction, 5 patients were treated with thrombolysis (23.8%). They were divided into two groups: group 1 died or were left with severe neurological sequelae (n = 9) and Group 2 survived without sequelae or mild neurological sequelae (n = 12). The door hospital arrival time was 67 (29---116) min (Group 1) versus 54 (24---86) min (Group 2) (p = 0.110). The neurological status at the start of the event affected prognosis and mortality (p = 0.018). Conclusions: There are few studies analyzing the time between the inception of the symptomatology and the arrival to the emergency room. In our study 23.8% of this series were thrombolyzed, which puts us in the range of international statistics, compared to the series published by Geffner-Sclarsky et al. The population of this study is small so it is not able to show statistical differences, but the few studies that evaluate the Code Stroke in Mexico open the doors to future work with a larger population in Latin American society

Fuels treatment and wildfire effects on runoff from Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forests

We applied an eco-hydrologic model (Regional Hydro-Ecologic Simulation System [RHESSys]), constrained with spatially distributed field measurements, to assess the impacts of forest-fuel treatments and wildfire on hydrologic fluxes in two Sierra Nevada firesheds. Strategically placed fuels treatments were implemented during 2011–2012 in the upper American River in the central Sierra Nevada (43 km2) and in the upper Fresno River in the southern Sierra Nevada (24 km2). This study used the measured vegetation changes from mechanical treatments and modelled vegetation change from wildfire to determine impacts on the water balance. The well-constrained headwater model was transferred to larger catchments based on geologic and hydrologic similarities. Fuels treatments covered 18% of the American and 29% of the Lewis catchment. Averaged over the entire catchment, treatments in the wetter central Sierra Nevada resulted in a relatively light vegetation decrease (8%), leading to a 12% runoff increase, averaged over wet and dry years. Wildfire with and without forest treatments reduced vegetation by 38% and 50% and increased runoff by 55% and 67%, respectively. Treatments in the drier southern Sierra Nevada also reduced the spatially averaged vegetation by 8%, but the runoff response was limited to an increase of less than 3% compared with no treatment. Wildfire following treatments reduced vegetation by 40%, increasing runoff by 13%. Changes to catchment-scale water-balance simulations were more sensitive to canopy cover than to leaf area index, indicating that the pattern as well as amount of vegetation treatment is important to hydrologic response

Amplitude Modulation and Relaxation-Oscillation of Counterpropagating Rolls within a Broken-Symmetry Laser-Induced Electroconvection Strip

We report a liquid-crystal pattern-formation experiment in which we break the lateral (translational) symmetry of a nematic medium with a laser-induced thermal gradient. The work is motivated by an improved measurement (reported here) of the temperature dependence of the electroconvection threshold voltage in planar-nematic 4-methoxybenzylidene-4-butylaniline (MBBA). In contrast with other broken-symmetry-pattern studies that report a uniform drift, we observe a strip of counterpropagating rolls that collide at a sink point, and a strong temporally periodic amplitude modulation within a width of 3-4 rolls about the sink point. The time dependence of the amplitude at a fixed position is periodic but displays a nonsinusoidal relaxation-oscillation profile. After reporting experimental results based on spacetime contours and wavenumber profiles, along with a measurement of the change in the drift frequency with applied voltage at a fixed control parameter, we propose some potential guidelines for a theoretical model based on saddle-point solutions for Eckhaus-unstable states and coupled complex Ginzburg-Landau equations. Published in PRE 73, 036317 (2006).Comment: Published in Physical Review E in March 200

Nivel de conocimiento de las enfermeras y médicos acerca de normas y leyes de atención de violencia intrafamiliar y la presencia de estereotipos de género y violencia relacionados a la aplicación de las normas y leyes. Hospital Cecilio A. Castillero y centros de salud de la provincia de Herrera.

El problema de la violencia intrafamiliar que en gran medida es un problema de violencia de género es cada vez más frecuente y cada vez menos visibilizado por el personal de salud tal como lo demuestran el poco registro de los casos en nuestra región de salud de Herrera. En la mayoría de los casos las instalaciones de salud es la única institución que visitan las mujeres que son víctimas de algún tipo de maltrato en algún momento de su vida. De allí que los y las funcionarias de salud nos encontremos en una excelente posición para reconocer y ayudar a las víctimas. Además, como la exposición de la violencia lleva a que aumenten los riesgos de otros problemas de salud para la mujer, la ayuda temprana permite prevenir serios trastornos posteriores al abuso. Además de los costos humanos, la violencia contra la mujer dificulta la participación de ésta en la vida pública y socava el bienestar económico de las sociedades sin contar con el daño que se provoca a los niños, niñas y adolescentes los cuales están en alto riesgo de sufrir trastornos emocionales y de comportamiento. Siendo este asunto un problema de salud pública el personal de salud debe afrontar la necesidad de su intervención y esto sólo lo podrá hacer conociendo las implicaciones de la violencia, afrontando sus propios mitos y utilizando las Normas de atención de la violencia intrafamiliar las cuales están basadas en una amplia legislación en nuestro país. Este estudio procura investigar si la falta de conocimientos sobre género y violencia y la presencia de estereotipos de género y violencia en el personal de salud, afectan la aplicación de las Normas de atención de la violencia intrafamiliar. Del mismo modo los resultados de esta investigación se utilizarán para promover un sistema de capacitación continua que permita a los y las funcionarias fortalecer el conocimiento sobre el problema de la violencia y ofrecer los cimientos que promuevan una participación asertiva y comprometida del recurso humano del sector salud en la atención, prevención y tratamiento de la violencia

Influence of environmental factors on the reproductive cycle of the eared ark Anadara notabilis (Röding, 1798) in Northeastern Venezuela

5 figuras, 2 tablasThe reproductive cycle of the eared ark Anadara notabilis and its relationship with environmental factors was evaluated every 15 days between March 2004 and February 2005 at the northern part of the Peninsula de Araya, Venezuela. Environmental factors measured included temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a, and total seston, including the particulate organic matter and particulate inorganic matter fractions. Adult specimens were collected using a net drag and then randomly selected to estimate wet live biomass and dry biomass of soft body tissues. Gonad samples were processed with histological analysis to determine sex ratio, developmental stages, and variations of follicle size. Reproduction in A. notabilis was continuous throughout the year, with spawning peaks occurring in June and October, coinciding with the lowest water temperatures. In March, September, and November 2004, specimens attained the highest dry biomass values, whereas lowest dry biomass occurred in June and October 2004. Stepwise regression analyses demonstrated that temperature and particulate organic matter values are the main modulators of reproductive events. When temperature decreased, dribble spawning was detected in this species, possibly inducing a survival strategy whereby the spawning period is extended to increase reproductive successPeer reviewe

REGISTRO DE YAGUARUNDI (Herpailurus yagouarondi) EN EL BOSQUE COMUNAL EL COLMÓN DE MACARACAS, LOS SANTOS, PANAMÁ

The yaguarundí (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), belongs to the family Felidae, occupies a great variety of habitats with a wide geographical distribution from the United States to the south of Argentina. It is found in the forested region of the Isthmus of Panama, with few records in the Azuero Peninsula region, southwestern Panama. The study site comprised seven points within the protected area Bosque Comunal el Colmón de Macaracas located in Province of Los Santos, Macaracas district, Panama, with an area of 1.36 km2. 4 camera traps were used, obtaining data every 15 days over a period of three months. Of the seven-observation point, evidence of the presence of H. yagouaroundi was obtained for the first time; in four of them, with a total of six visual captures.  El yaguarundí (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), pertenece a la familia Felidae, ocupa una gran variedad de hábitats con una amplia distribución geográfica desde Estados Unidos hasta el sur de Argentina. Se encuentra en la región boscosa del istmo de Panamá, con pocos registros en la región de la península de Azuero, suroeste de Panamá. El sitio de estudio comprendió siete puntos, dentro del área protegida Bosque Comunal el Colmón de   Macaracas; ubicada en la provincia de Los Santos, distrito de Macaracas, Panamá; con una extensión de 1.36 km2. Se usó 4 cámaras trampas, obteniendo datos cada 15 días durante un período de tres meses. De los siete sitios de observación, se obtuvo por primera vez evidencias de la presencia del H. yagouaroundi; en cuatro de ellos, con un total de seis capturas visuales

REGISTRO DE YAGUARUNDI (Herpailurus yagouarondi) EN EL BOSQUE COMUNAL EL COLMÓN DE MACARACAS, LOS SANTOS, PANAMÁ

El yaguarundí (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), pertenece a la familia Felidae, ocupa una gran variedad de hábitats con una amplia distribución geográfica desde Estados Unidos hasta el sur de Argentina. Se encuentra en la región boscosa del istmo de Panamá, con pocos registros en la región de la península de Azuero, suroeste de Panamá. El sitio de estudio comprendió siete puntos, dentro del área protegida Bosque Comunal el Colmón de   Macaracas; ubicada en la provincia de Los Santos, distrito de Macaracas, Panamá; con una extensión de 1.36 km2. Se usó 4 cámaras trampas, obteniendo datos cada 15 días durante un período de tres meses. De los siete sitios de observación, se obtuvo por primera vez evidencias de la presencia del H. yagouaroundi; en cuatro de ellos, con un total de seis capturas visuales