El problema de drogas en Colombia y la crisis interna de Ecuador amenazas para la seguridad en la Región Andina 1999-2005

Para este trabajo se tomaron como casos de estudio dos amenazas de diferente naturaleza y que de alguna manera son relevantes en la región Andina, en primer lugar se tomó el caso del problema de drogas en Colombia, dado que el Estado colombiano se configura dentro de la región andina como el mayor productor de drogas ilícitas. Además el problema de drogas se caracteriza por ser una amenaza compartida, es decir, una amenaza que responde a una lógica de carácter transnacional, que va más allá de las fronteras de un Estado. Aunque este problema tiene consecuencias en la esfera política, económica y social, para nuestro caso de estudio el problema de drogas se constituye como una de las causas que amenazan al media ambiente, y este hecho comprende un riesgo para la seguridad andina. En segundo lugar, se optó por las crisis política interna de Ecuador, porque la inestabilidad política es una de las amenazas más visibles que presentan los estados de la región andina. Esta situación interna de la nación ecuatoriana puede ser catalogada como amenaza común, es decir, que está presente en varios países, pero cuya naturaleza responde a una lógica domestica de cada uno de los estados afectando su propia seguridad. Aunque una crisis interna tenga efectos o repercusiones en los países de la región, no necesariamente es considerada como una amenaza a la seguridad de los Estados colindantes.

Piecemeal Oligopoly, Exchange Rate Uncertainty, and Trade Policy.

Este artículo analiza el efecto sistemático de la volatilidad de la tasa de cambio, cuando un gobierno local debe evaluar políticas comerciales estratégicas lineales y cuadráticas. Este ejercicio se realiza para modelos de mercado Cournot y Bertran. El modelo prueba que tanto el esquema lineal como el cuadrático tienen el mismo efecto sobre el bienestar social de los países, y que la volatilidad de la tasa de cambio domestica lleva a los gobiernos a reducir los subsidios a las exportaciones o bajan los impuestos a las exportaciones, de acuerdo a la variable estratégica elegida por las firmas. La tasa de cambio extranjera tiene diferentes efectos dependiendo de si las firmas producen bajos rendimientos a escalas constantes o decrecientes.

Nuevas orientaciones en educación preescolar.

Descubrir nuevas orientaciones pedagógicas en la educación preescolar. Analiza la situación actual de la educación preescolar, propone una alternativa pedagógica y explica dos unidades didácticas elaboradas en forma de cuentos. 1) Existe en el niño preescolar una constante y continua dialéctica entre su pensamiento y acción. Basta con detenernos a su lado, permanecer cerca de ellos, observarlos, seguir el curso de su actividad, para darnos cuenta hasta que punto, su hacer, su movimiento y su pensar discurren en una permanente dialéctica. Esto conlleva a un nuevo planteamiento en el hacer educativo con ellos, con unos niños en los que el cuerpo, el objeto, la acción, el pensamiento, el otro, el yo, la percepción, la expresión, lo afectivo, lo racional, lo real, lo imaginario, están estrechamente imbricados. El pensamiento no es más que un momento de la acción motriz, el objeto es a la vez real e imaginario y el cuerpo se halla aún mal separado del mundo exterior. 2) La práctica de una educación vivenciada, la práctica de una educación psicomotriz en preescolar debe ocupar un lugar en todo el contexto educativo. Pero no es un lugar o un rincón, un área o una parte, sino que debe estar encuadrada y estructurada en una educación vivenciada que tenga en cuenta todas las dimensiones del niño. Que descubra su cuerpo, sus posibilidades y capacidades en el orden de los movimientos, de la expresión, de la relación, de la comunicación, que descubra al otro, a los otros, que descubra el medio y la realidad que le rodea, son objetivos primordiales en educación preescolar, pues así se consiguen después otros muchos, válidos e indispensables para posteriores condiciones. 3) El ambiente en que se desenvuelve la unidad didáctica, la cual es utilizada como recurso pedagógico, es un ambiente de cogestión en el que se pretende que el niño sea un sujeto activo de su propio desarrollo y el protagonista de su propia educación, pero con un punto de apoyo, el hacer en grupo todas las unidades y promoverlo con la realización de un cuento que en su dinámica cree un sustrato de formación social y compromiso compartido. El protagonista de la unidad es el niño y el grupo, de ahí que quede establecido un óptimo clima para conseguir un primer paso en el proceso educativo de interrelación personal. 4) Para elaborar un cuento, hay que reproducir las situaciones inventadas conjuntamente en el transcurso de la elaboración del mismo, se rememoran vivencialmente las situaciones surgidas con ayuda de todos los elementos posibles, sacando del mismo cuento las nociones que el niño debe asimilar. Todas las nociones surgidas del cuento y vivenciadas, deben ser trascritas al papel por el niño para convertirlas en trabajo de preescritura. El niño con folio y pinturas plasma su vivencia diaria sobre la elaboración del cuento. De esta forma, se pueden exponer todos los dibujos y elegir entre todos uno, el que más votos tenga será el dibujo que quede archivado. El resultado material será un libro de imágenes, un libro de lectura, en el cual todos colaboraron en la tarea de crearlo, vivenciarlo, gesticularlo, dramatizarlo, entonarlo, confeccionarlo y plasmarlo. 5) No es tan importante el método o la técnica como el espíritu que lo guía. Las técnicas o líneas de trabajo completas en un determinado entorno educativo, con determinados niños y cierta maestra, a veces fallan cuando las circunstancias varían. Sin embargo los fundamentos y las bases sobre las que se asienta la técnica y que la justifican permanecen invariables ante las distintas circunstancias. Es preciso que la educación deje de ser una actividad forzada y domesticante, que mata a la creatividad y anula, manipula y domestica la intencionalidad de la conciencia, y se convierta en algo tan exigible humanamente, como es la práctica de una actividad natural y dialogal que se fundamente en la creatividad y estimule la reflexión y la acción verdaderas de los hombres sobre la realidad. Se hace preciso, pues el planteamiento de una educación preescolar que tenga en cuenta al niño al que va dirigida y sus posibilidades psicobiológicas, y cuya práctica pedagógica signifique conseguir una educación total para el niño preescolar favoreciendo su desarrollo y dándole los medios para utilizar al máximo las aptitudes y capacidades de su persona.

II Jornadas de Cooperaci??n Educativa sobre Mujeres, Paz y Educaci??n

Las Jornadas contaron con la participaci??n de representantes de los Ministerios y Secretar??as de Educaci??n y de los Organismos de Igualdad de Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Espa??a, Guatemala, Honduras, M??xico, Nicaragua, Panam??, Paraguay, Rep??blica Dominicana, Uruguay y Venezuela. En las distintas ponencias y talleres se exploran las posibles acciones que por parte de los Ministerios se realizan dentro de los sistemas educativos iberoamericanos, para colaborar eficiente y eficazmente con las tareas de los organismos o mecanismos gubernamentales de igualdad en la prevenci??n y atenci??n de las formas diversas de la violencia de g??nero y domestica.

La tutoría y el currículo como instrumentos para el reconocimiento de los valores que determinan la violencia doméstica y la discriminación genérica, y para corregir conductas de agresión y-o de victimización en el alumnado

Convocatoria de Premios 'IRENE : la paz empieza en casa' 2007, mención honorífica. Incluye innovación, anexos (entrevista, cuestionarios ...)y resumen en papel y en CD en formato word.

PGR forum: serving the crop wild relative user community

The Euro-Mediterranean region is an important centre for the diversity of crop wild relatives. Crops, such as oats (Avena sativa), sugar beet (Beta vulgaris), apple (Malus domestica), annual meadow grass (Festuca pratensis), white clover (Trifolium repens), arnica (Arnica montana), asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), and sage (Salvia officinalis) etc., all have wild relatives in the region. The European Community funded project, PGR Forum (www.pgrforum.org) is building an online information system to provide access to crop wild relative data to a broad user community; including plant breeders, protected area managers, policy-makers, conservationists, taxonomists and the wider public. The system will include data on uses, geographical distribution, biology, population and habitat information, threats (including IUCN Red List assessments) and conservation actions. This information is vital for the continued sustainable utilisation and conservation of crop wild relatives. Two major databases have been utilised as the backbone to a Euro-Mediterranean crop wild relative catalogue, which forms the core of the information system: Euro+Med PlantBase (www.euromed.org.uk) and Mansfeld’s World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops (http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de). By matching the genera found within the two databases, a preliminary list of crop wild relatives has been produced. Around 20,000 of the 30,000+ species listed in Euro+Med PlantBase can be considered crop wild relatives, i.e. those species found within the same genus as a crop. The list is currently being refined by implementing a priority ranking system based on the degree of relatedness of taxa to the associated crop.

Learning and natal host influence host preference, handling time and sex allocation behaviour in a pupal parasitoid

The host choice and sex allocation decisions of a foraging female parasitoid will have an enormous influence on the life-history characteristics of her offspring. The pteromalid Pachycrepoideus vindemiae is a generalist idiobiont pupal parasitoid of many species of cyclorrhaphous Diptera. Wasps reared in Musca domestica were larger, had higher attack rates and greater male mating success than those reared in Drosophila melanogaster. In no-choice situations, naive female R vindemiae took significantly less time to accept hosts conspecific with their natal host. Parasitoids that emerged from M. domestica pupae spent similar amounts of time ovipositing in both D. melanogaster and M. domestica. Those parasitoids that had emerged from D. melanogaster spent significantly longer attacking M. domestica pupae. The host choice behaviour of female P. vindemiae was influenced by an interaction between natal host and experience. Female R vindemiae reared in M. domestica only showed a preference among hosts when allowed to gain experience attacking M. domestica, preferentially attacking that species. Similarly, female parasitoids reared on D. melanogaster only showed a preference among hosts when allowed to gain experience attacking D. melanogaster, again preferentially attacking that species. Wasp natal host also influenced sex allocation behaviour. While wasps from both hosts oviposited more females in the larger host, M. domestica, wasps that emerged from M. domestica had significantly more male-biased offspring sex ratios. These results indicate the importance of learning and natal host size in determining R vindemiae attack rates. mating success, host preference and sex allocation behaviour, all critical components of parasitoid fitness.

Cryopreservation of winter-dormant apple buds: 1 - variation in recovery with cultivar and winter conditions

The widely-adopted protocol for the cryopreservation of winter buds of fruit trees, such as Malus and Pyrus, was developed in a region with a continental climate, that provides relatively hard winters with a consequent effect on adaptive plant hardiness. In this study the protocol was evaluated in a typical maritime climate (eastern Denmark) where milder winters can be expected. The survival over two winters was evaluated, looking at variation between seasons and cultivars together with the progressive reduction in survival due to individual steps in the protocol. The study confirms that under such conditions significant variation in survival can be expected and that an extended period of imposed dehydration at -4oC is critical for bud survival. The occurrence of freezing events during this treatment suggests that cryodehydration may be involved, as well as evaporative water loss. To optimize the protocol for maritime environments, further investigation into the water status of the explants during cryopreservation is proposed. Keywords: Malus x domestica, cryopreservation, dormant bud, survival, grafting

Genetic diversity of red-fleshed apples (Malus)

Anthocyanins are flavonoid pigments imparting red, blue, or purple pigmentation to fruits, flowers and foliage. These compounds are powerful antioxidants in vitro, and are widely believed to contribute to human health. The fruit of the domestic apple (Malus x domestica) is a popular and important source of nutrients, and is considered one of the top ‘functional foods’—those foods that have inherent health-promoting benefits beyond basic nutritional value. The pigmentation of typical red apple fruits results from accumulation of anthocyanin in the skin. However, numerous genotypes of Malus are known that synthesize anthocyanin in additional fruit tissues including the core and cortex (flesh). Red-fleshed apple genotypes are an attractive starting point for development of novel varieties for consumption and nutraceutical use through traditional breeding and biotechnology. However, cultivar development is limited by lack of characterization of the diversity of genetic backgrounds showing this trait. We identified and cataloged red-fleshed apple genotypes from four Malus diversity collections representing over 3,000 accessions including domestic cultivars, wild species, and named hybrids. We found a striking range of flesh color intensity and pattern among accessions, including those carrying the MYB10 R 6 allele conferring ectopic expression of a key transcriptional regulator of anthocyanin biosynthesis. Although MYB10 R 6 was strongly associated with red-fleshed fruit among genotypes, this allele was neither sufficient nor required for this trait in all genotypes. Nearly all red-fleshed accessions tested could be traced back to ‘Niedzwetzkyana’, a presumed natural form of M. sieversii native to central Asia.

Characterization of the lipoxygenase (LOX) gene family in the Chinese white pear (Pyrus bretschneideri) and comparison with other members of the Rosaceae

Background Lipoxygenases (LOXs), a type of non-haem iron-containing dioxygenase, are ubiquitous enzymes in plants and participate in the formation of fruit aroma which is a very important aspect of fruit quality. Amongst the various aroma volatiles, saturated and unsaturated alcohols and aldehydes provide the characteristic aroma of the fruit. These compounds are formed from unsaturated fatty acids through oxidation, pyrolysis and reduction steps. This biosynthetic pathway involves at least four enzymes, including LOX, the enzyme responsible for lipid oxidation. Although some studies have been conducted on the LOX gene family in several species including Arabidopsis, soybean, cucumber and apple, there is no information from pear; and the evolutionary history of this gene family in the Rosaceae is still not resolved. Results In this study we identified 107 LOX homologous genes from five Rosaceous species (Pyrus bretschneideri, Malus × domestica, Fragaria vesca, Prunus mume and Prunus persica); 23 of these sequences were from pear. By using structure analysis, phylogenic analysis and collinearity analysis, we identified variation in gene structure and revealed the phylogenetic evolutionary relationship of this gene family. Expression of certain pear LOX genes during fruit development was verified by analysis of transcriptome data. Conclusions 23 LOX genes were identified in pear and these genes were found to have undergone a duplication 30–45 MYA; most of these 23 genes are functional. Specific gene duplication was found on chromosome4 in the pear genome. Useful information was provided for future research on the evolutionary history and transgenic research on LOX genes.

Abundance and seasonality of Diptera (Insecta) in a poultry house in the northeast region of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Modem production systems accommodate broody hens in high densities, leading to the accumulation of excrement under the cages. This substrate is excellent for the development of sinantropic flies. Thus, the accomplishment of surveys in these places becomes essential, in order to plan better strategies of control. The present work aimed at studying the entornofauna and the seasonality of the species of dipterous present in the Crisdan poultry house located in the Municipality of Sao Joao da Boa Vista, the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. In the period of January of 2001 to December of 2002, 1,012,595 flies were captured using the ""jug-trap"". The species were identified: Drosophi-la repleta (Wollaston, 1858), Musca domestica (Linnaeus, 1758), Ophyra spp., Hennetria illucens (Linnaeus, 1758), Fannia canicularis (Linnaeus, 1761), Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794), and Sepsidae. More frequently D. repleta and M. domestica had added 99.47% of the dipterous. Increased rainfall and the collection months influenced the sampling of dipterous (P < 0.05). Drosophila repleta was the most abundant species, representing 91% of all captured flies. However, this diptera did not develop at the surveyed site since immatures were not captured therein.

Diet and food selection by small mammals in an old-growth Atlantic forest of south-eastern Brazil

Here we describe the stomach contents of nine small mammal species (seven rodents and two didelphid marsupials) co-occurring in an old-growth Atlantic forest area. For four terrestrial rodents, we also compared the importance of arthropods in the diet and the selection of arthropod groups by comparing consumption with availability. Small mammals and arthropods were sampled in a 36-ha grid containing 25 sampling stations spaced every 150 m, and 47 stomach contents were analysed. While plant matter was the predominant item in the stomach contents of two rodents (Oligoryzomys nigripes and Rhipidomys mastacalis), four species presented arthropods as the main food item (the rodents Brucepattersonius soricinus and Oxymycterus dasytrichus, and the marsupials Monodelphis n. sp. and Marmosops incanus) and three consumed more plant matter than arthropods, but had significant amounts of both items (the rodents Delomys sublineatus, Euryoryzomys russatus and Thaptomys nigrita). Our results suggest that differences in diet, coupled with differences in habit and microhabitat preferences, are important factors allowing resource partition among species of the diverse group of co-occurring terrestrial small mammals in Atlantic forest areas. Moreover, arthropods were not preyed opportunistically by any of the four terrestrial rodents, since consumption was not proportional to availability. Rather, selection or rejection of arthropod groups seems to be determined by aspects other than availability, such as nutritional value, easiness of capture and handling or palatability.

Permanent Genetic Resources added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 May 2009-31 July 2009

This article documents the addition of 512 microsatellite marker loci and nine pairs of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Alcippe morrisonia morrisonia, Bashania fangiana, Bashania fargesii, Chaetodon vagabundus, Colletes floralis, Coluber constrictor flaviventris, Coptotermes gestroi, Crotophaga major, Cyprinella lutrensis, Danaus plexippus, Fagus grandifolia, Falco tinnunculus, Fletcherimyia fletcheri, Hydrilla verticillata, Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus, Leavenworthia alabamica, Marmosops incanus, Miichthys miiuy, Nasua nasua, Noturus exilis, Odontesthes bonariensis, Quadrula fragosa, Pinctada maxima, Pseudaletia separata, Pseudoperonospora cubensis, Podocarpus elatus, Portunus trituberculatus, Rhagoletis cerasi, Rhinella schneideri, Sarracenia alata, Skeletonema marinoi, Sminthurus viridis, Syngnathus abaster, Uroteuthis (Photololigo) chinensis, Verticillium dahliae, Wasmannia auropunctata, and Zygochlamys patagonica. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Chaetodon baronessa, Falco columbarius, Falco eleonorae, Falco naumanni, Falco peregrinus, Falco subbuteo, Didelphis aurita, Gracilinanus microtarsus, Marmosops paulensis, Monodelphis Americana, Odontesthes hatcheri, Podocarpus grayi, Podocarpus lawrencei, Podocarpus smithii, Portunus pelagicus, Syngnathus acus, Syngnathus typhle,Uroteuthis (Photololigo) edulis, Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvauceli and Verticillium albo-atrum. This article also documents the addition of nine sequencing primer pairs and sixteen allele specific primers or probes for Oncorhynchus mykiss and Oncorhynchus tshawytscha; these primers and assays were cross-tested in both species.

Peritrophic membrane role in enhancing digestive efficiency Theoretical and experimental models

The pentrophic membrane (PM) is an anatomical structure surrounding the food bolus in most insects. Rejecting the idea that PM has evolved from coating mucus to play the same protective role as it, novel functions were proposed and experimentally tested. The theoretical principles underlying the digestive enzyme recycling mechanism were described and used to develop an algorithm to calculate enzyme distributions along the midgut and to infer secretory and absorptive sites. The activity of a Spodoptera frugiperda microvillar aminopeptidase decreases by 50% if placed in the presence of midgut contents. S. frugiperda trypsin preparations placed into dialysis bags in stirred and unstirred media have activities of 210 and 160%, respectively, over the activities of samples in a test tube. The ectoperitrophic fluid (EF) present in the midgut caeca of Rhynchosciara americana may be collected. If the enzymes restricted to this fluid are assayed in the presence of PM contents (PMC) their activities decrease by at least 58%. The lack of PM caused by calcofluor feeding impairs growth due to an increase in the metabolic cost associated with the conversion of food into body mass. This probably results from an increase in digestive enzyme excretion and useless homeostatic attempt to reestablish destroyed midgut gradients. The experimental models support the view that PM enhances digestive efficiency by: (a) prevention of non-specific binding of undigested material onto cell Surface; (b) prevention of excretion by allowing enzyme recycling powered by an ectoperitrophic counterflux of fluid; (c) removal from inside PM of the oligomeric molecules that may inhibit the enzymes involved in initial digestion; (d) restriction of oligomer hydrolases to ectoperitrophic space (ECS) to avoid probable partial inhibition by non-dispersed undigested food. Finally,PM functions are discussed regarding insects feeding on any diet. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dichlorvos exposure impedes extraction and amplification of DNA from insects in museum collections

Background: The insecticides dichlorvos, paradichlorobenzene and naphthalene have been commonly used to eradicate pest insects from natural history collections. However, it is not known how these chemicals affect the DNA of the specimens in the collections. We thus tested the effect of dichlorvos, paradichlorobenzene and naphthalene on DNA of insects (Musca domestica) by extracting and amplifying DNA from specimens exposed to insecticides in two different concentrations over increasing time intervals. Results: The results clearly show that dichlorvos impedes both extraction and amplification of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA after relatively short time, whereas paradichlorobenzene and naphthalene do not. Conclusion: Collections treated with paradichlorobenzene and naphthalene, are better preserved concerning DNA, than those treated with dichlorvos. Non toxic pest control methods should, however, be preferred due to physical damage of specimens and putative health risks by chemicals.