Etnicidad y poder en los pa��ses andinos

La relaci��n entre etnicidad y poder ocupa un lugar central en la trayectoria de los pa��ses andinos. Esta relaci��n, de origen colonial, ha trazado las fronteras sociales de inclusi��n y exclusi��n en los procesos de construcci��n nacional, durante los siglos XIX y XX, y contin��a siendo decisiva en el debate pol��tico actual en diferentes escenarios de la regi��n andina. Los estudios incluidos en este volumen asumen que la identidad ��tnica es una construcci��n social, hist��ricamente situada, variable y de car��cter relaciona!�� Esta compilaci��n se propuso alentar la investigaci��n sobre la presencia de actores y sem��nticas ��tnicas en el espacio pol��tico del Ecuador y de la Am��rica Andina. Los diecis��is estudios que integran este volumen han sido agrupados en cinco secciones: enfoques generales; perspectivas hist��ricas; etnicidad y protesta social; etnicidad y participaci��n pol��tica; y etnicidad y religi��n. Este libro pone a disposici��n del p��blico las ponencias presentadas en el Coloquio Internacional ���El reto de la etnicidad en espacio pol��tico (siglos XIXXXI)���; realizado en Quito (2005) y organizado por la Universidad de Bielefeld (Alemania) y la Universidad Andina Sim��n Bol��var (Ecuador), dentro del convenio de cooperaci��n acad��mica impulsado por ambas instituciones. El evento reuni�� a un grupo de investigadores provenientes de diferentes pa��ses (Colombia, Ecuador, Per��, Bolivia, Canad��, Estados Unidos, Suecia, Francia y Alemania) y de varias disciplinas sociales (historiadores, antrop��logos, soci��logos y polit��logos).

Impact of estrogen replacement throughout childhood on growth, pituitary-gonadal axis and bone in a 46,XX patient with CYP19A1 deficiency

The adequate replacement dose of estrogens during infancy and childhood is still not known in girls. Aromatase deficiency offers an excellent model to study how much estrogens are needed during infancy, childhood and adulthood.

Ten novel mutations in the NR5A1 gene cause disordered sex development in 46,XY and ovarian insufficiency in 46,XX individuals

Steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1/NR5A1) is a nuclear receptor that regulates adrenal and reproductive development and function. NR5A1 mutations have been detected in 46,XY individuals with disorders of sexual development (DSD) but apparently normal adrenal function and in 46,XX women with normal sexual development yet primary ovarian insufficiency (POI).

Cascading climate effects and related ecological consequences during past centuries

The interface between climate and ecosystem structure and function is incompletely understood, partly because few ecological records start before the recent warming phase. Here, we analyse an exceptional 100-yr long record of the great tit (Parus major) population in Switzerland in relation to climate and habitat phenology. Using structural equation analysis, we demonstrate an uninterrupted cascade of significant influences of the large-scale atmospheric circulation (North-Atlantic Oscillation, NAO, and North-sea ��� Caspian Pattern, NCP) on habitat and breeding phenology, and further on fitness-relevant life history traits within great tit populations. We then apply the relationships of this analysis to reconstruct the circulation-driven component of fluctuations in great tit breeding phenology and productivity on the basis of new seasonal NAO and NCP indices back to 1500 AD. According to the structural equation model, the multi-decadal oscillation of the atmospheric circulation likely led to substantial variation in habitat phenology, productivity and consequently, tit population fluctuations with minima during the "Maunder Minimum" (��� 1650���1720) and the Little Ice Age Type Event I (1810���1850). The warming since 1975 was not only related with a quick shift towards earlier breeding, but also with the highest productivity since 1500, and thus, the impact of the NAO and NCP has contributed to an unprecedented increase of the population. A verification of the structural equation model against two independent data series (1970���2000 and 1750���1900) corroborates that the retrospective model reliably depicts the major long-term NAO/NCP impact on ecosystem parameters. The results suggest a complex cascade of climate effects beginning at a global scale and ending at the level of individual life histories. This sheds light on how large-scale climate conditions substantially affect major life history parameters within a population, and thus influence key ecosystem parameters at the scale of centuries.