Microphallus fonti sp. n. (Digenea: Microphaliidae) from the red swamp crawfish in southern United States

A new species of digenean, Microphallus fonti, is described from the red swamp crawfish in Lousiania, U.S.A. It has a small pharynx and a rudimentary gut like M. opacus and a possibly related species from crayfishes, but it differs from them by its relatively large male copulatory papilla and a conspicuous metraterm.

Kaos en la Red 2.0

La página Web de Kaosenlared es un medio de comunicación libre y alternativo. Se quiere dar un paso adelante y profundizar en lo que se llama Web 2.0. La aplicación Web deberá permitir a usuarios registrarse, iniciar sesión, hacerse un perfil, consultar, editar y eliminar sus noticias y comentarios, hacerse su “Kaos” personalizando la página principal y tener un blog. Es un proyecto que va dirigido principalmente a más de 25.000 usuarios de IP’s diferentes que se conectan a la página Web para informarse de noticias de interés.

Proyecto de salud communitaria en un barrio marginal de Quito : evaluación de las necesidades y planteamiento de una red de prevención y attención primaria : documento para la acción local

Résumé du document de thèse Quito, capitale andine de près de deux millions d'habitants, a vu se développer des quartiers ghettos réunissant une population en constante évolution. Mouvements migratoires mal connus, hétérogénéité ethnique et socioculturelle, accès limité aux services publics et conditions de vie difficiles jouent un rôle essentiel mais complexe dans la planification des services de santé. L'étude ciblée de cette problématique est un sérieux défi à relever car les mégalopoles latino-américaines connaissent une importante urbanisation avec pour corollaire une augmentation de la pauvreté urbaine. Les indicateurs de santé tels que mortalité infantile, espérance de vie ou incidence des maladies infectieuses montrent une amélioration globale qui ne reflète toutefois pas les importantes disparités caractéristiques du continent. La démarche exposée dans ce document est une réponse à la demande d'un appui médical par une communauté urbaine défavorisée, pour laquelle peu de données étaient disponibles. Une évaluation des conditions de vie et des besoins en soins a donc été effectuée par trois étudiants en médecine de Lausanne au moyen d'une enquête et d'ateliers qui ont permis de réunir les opinions des différents acteurs sociaux et sanitaires. Cette étude a pu identifier et mesurer les déterminants de santé, comprendre certaines dynamiques locales pour enfin cibler les principales lignes d'actions d'un centre de santé communautaire. Ce document décrit l'ensemble du processus conduit durant cinq ans et expose les données brutes ainsi que leur analyse ; il propose des recommandations concrètes pour une promotion de la santé adaptée aux besoins d'une communauté urbaine défavorisée d'Amérique du Sud. Son objectif est de fournir des données utilisables par les acteurs de santé locaux et de participer ainsi à la réflexion en cours sur la réforme du système de santé équatorien. Il comporte également une bibliographie, point de départ pour d'autres études sur le sujet. Le dossier, construit de manière chronologique, présente l'information de façon accessible et cohérente. Il se veut un témoignage utile, avec ses forces et ses faiblesses, à l'action locale sous forme d'une publication en espagnol qui sera distribuée aux différents acteurs sociaux et sanitaires concernés.

Genotype-level interactions determine the degree of reduction of leaf rust on wheat by seed application of beneficial Pseudomonas spp.

Some bacteria have the capacity to reduce incidence and severity of plant diseases either by inhibiting the pathogen or by modulating the resistance response of the plant. Plants dispose of different resistance mechanisms that are influenced by the biotic and abiotic environment. The present experiments explored the effects of biocontrol strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens on the resistance of wheat varieties against brown rust disease caused by Puccinia triticina. Root inoculation with biocontrol pseudomonads reduced the disease severity on the leaves. The plant response depended on the genotype of both the microbes and the wheat varieties, suggesting a straight interaction at the molecular level.

Immature stages of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) Collected during the autumn-winter period in Cordoba Province, Argentina

Eggs, immature mosquito collections were made at Cosquin, La Calera ( Chaco phytogeographic region), Villa Allende and Villa del Rosario (Espinal phytogeographic region) during April/September of two consecutive years 1989, 1990. Specific immature habitats in each locality were identified and sampled monthly. Eggs and/or immatures of Aedes albifasciatus, Ae. fluviatilis, Anopheles albitarsis, culex acharistus, Cx. apicinus, Cx. bidens, Cx. coronator, Cx. chidesteri, Cx. dolosus, Cx. maxi, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. saltanensis, Psorophora ciliata and Uranotaenia lowii were collected. Three species (Cx. acharistus, Cx. dolosus and Cx. quinquefasciatus) were collected during the sampling period for all developmental stages. This suggests that immature of these species do not overwinter but continue to develop throughout the cold autumn and winter seasons.

Tritordeum, wheat and triticale yield components under multi-local mediterranean drought conditions

The species x location interaction was of great importance in explaining the behaviour of genetic material. The study presented here shows, for the first time, the performance, under field conditions of the new tritordeum species, compared to wheat and triticale in a wide range of Mediterranean countries (Spain, Lebanon and Tunisia). The results obtained revealed that despite the diversity of environmental conditions, the main differences in yield were due to genotypes, especially to differences between species. The multi-local study with different growth conditions revealed important information about the water availability effect on yield. In the lowest yielding environments (Tunisia rainfed), Tritordeum and triticale yields were equivalent. However under better growth conditions (Spain), tritordeum yield was shown to be lower than wheat and triticale. Interestingly, when water limitation was extended during the pre-anthesis period, differences in tritordeum versus wheat-triticale yield rate were larger than when water stress occurred during anthesis. These variations were explained by the fact that kernel weight has been found as the limiting factor for yield determination in tritordeum, and a delay in the anthesis date may have been the cause for the low kernel weight and low yield under Mediterranean drought conditions. Such differences in yield between tritordeum and wheat or triticale could be explained by the fact that tritordeum is a relatively new species and far fewer resources have been devoted to its improvement when compared to wheat and triticale. Our results suggest that breeding efforts should be directed to an earlier anthesis date and a longer grain filling period. tritordeum proved to have possibilities to be grown under drought environments as a new crop, since its performance was quite close to wheat and triticale. Besides, it has qualitative added values that may improve farmers' income per unit land.

Modelo de red de interconexión basado en enlace

La computación de altas prestaciones es una área de la informática que evoluciona rápidamente, en la que actualmente aparecen nuevos computadores que llegan a los petaflops. Al principio del trabajo, se estudian los distintos tipos de redes de interconexión y los modelos de red que se utilizan para medir su latencia. El objetivo de este trabajo, es el diseño, implementación y simulación de un modelo de red de interconexión basado en enlace, que tiene en cuenta la información de topología y enrutamiento de la red de interconexión. Teniendo en cuenta que los modelos son una abstracción del sistema, en éste trabajo se hace la verificación y validación del modelo, para asegurar que éste se aproxima a lo planteado en el diseño y también que se parece al sistema que se quiere modelar.

Voces del pasado, ecos del presente. la Red de Trabajo Contra la Violencia Sobre las Mujeres en Tiempos de Guerra y su labor en la sociedad japonesa

Gracias al trabajo de las redes transnacionales de defensa los marcos legales internacionales se han adaptado a las nuevas dimensiones que han alcanzado los conflictos armados en los últimos veinte años. Esta investigación estudia el papel de la Violence Against Women in War Network, Japan y del Women's Active Museum on War and Peace, como ejemplos de cómo los actores no gubernamentales pueden sensibilizar y transformar las normas nacionales e internacionales, el comportamiento de los Estados, los organismos supraestatales y a la sociedad en la que desarrollan su labor

La red literaria de París no se acaba nunca de Enrique Vila-Matas: un acto de lectura e interpretación

Este trabajo pretende realizar un acto de lectura e interpretación del texto de Enrique Vila-Matas París no se acaba nunca (2003). La lectura se sitúa desde la perspectiva concreta y delimitada de la red literaria que se teje en el novela. La metáfora de la red, atendiendo a sus tres acepciones: red como tejido, red como ardid y red como conexión, da las directrices del trabajo que intenta responder a estas cuestiones: a) qué hilos forman su tejido narrativo, b) cómo se configura la red, c) qué posibles mecanismos establecen la red como conexión. La lectura se inscribe en el doble marco de la intertextualidad y de la ironía. A través de las citas, alusiones y referencias literarias se destacan algunos procedimientos e intencionalidades en la configuración de la novelística de Enrique Vila-Matas, en su Manifiesto estético

Winter biology of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus say, (Diptera: Culicidae) from Córdoba, Argentina

Adult cohorts and immature stages were kept under field conditions during the autumn and winter of three consecutive years. Survival, oviposition and development time from egg to adult were considered. The adult cohorts were studied under three experimental conditions: unfed cohorts, cohorts fed with sugar solution ansd cohorts fed with both sugar solution and blood (chicken). Female longevity showed significant differences among the three treatments. Females of unfed cohorts lived up to three weeks; females fed with sugar solution survived until six weeks, while those fed both with sugar and blood lived at most fourteen weeks; after the blood intake eggs were laid. In the immature stages, the highest relative mortality rates occurred during the egg and larval stages. Total pre-adult mortality varied between 59.09 and 89.71%. The developmental duration from egg to adult was between 43-62 days; there were no differences among results obtained for the three years.

Conjugative Transfer of Chromosomal Genes between Fluorescent Pseudomonads in the Rhizosphere of Wheat.

Bacteria released in large numbers for biocontrol or bioremediation purposes might exchange genes with other microorganisms. Two model systems were designed to investigate the likelihood of such an exchange and some factors which govern the conjugative exchange of chromosomal genes between root-colonizing pseudomonads in the rhizosphere of wheat. The first model consisted of the biocontrol strain CHA0 of Pseudomonas fluorescens and transposon-facilitated recombination (Tfr). A conjugative IncP plasmid loaded with transposon Tn5, in a CHA0 derivative carrying a chromosomal Tn5 insertion, promoted chromosome transfer to auxotrophic CHA0 recipients in vitro. A chromosomal marker (pro) was transferred at a frequency of about 10(sup-6) per donor on wheat roots under gnotobiotic conditions, provided that the Tfr donor and recipient populations each contained 10(sup6) to 10(sup7) CFU per g of root. In contrast, no conjugative gene transfer was detected in soil, illustrating that the root surface stimulates conjugation. The second model system was based on the genetically well-characterized strain PAO of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the chromosome mobilizing IncP plasmid R68.45. Although originally isolated from a human wound, strain PAO1 was found to be an excellent root colonizer, even under natural, nonsterile conditions. Matings between an auxotrophic R68.45 donor and auxotrophic recipients produced prototrophic chromosomal recombinants at 10(sup-4) to 10(sup-5) per donor on wheat roots in artificial soil under gnotobiotic conditions and at about 10(sup-6) per donor on wheat roots in natural, nonsterile soil microcosms after 2 weeks of incubation. The frequencies of chromosomal recombinants were as high as or higher than the frequencies of R68.45 transconjugants, reflecting mainly the selective growth advantage of the prototrophic recombinants over the auxotrophic parental strains in the rhizosphere. Although under field conditions the formation of chromosomal recombinants is expected to be reduced by several factors, we conclude that chromosomal genes, whether present naturally or introduced by genetic modification, may be transmissible between rhizosphere bacteria.

Time and temperature dependant changes in red blood cell analytes used for testing recombinant erythropoietin abuse in sports.

There has been a long debate since the introduction of blood analysis prior to major sports events, to find out whether blood samples should be analysed right away on the site of competition or whether they should be transported and analysed in an anti-doping laboratory. Therefore, it was necessary to measure blood samples and compare the results obtained right after the blood withdrawal with those obtained after a few hours delay. Furthermore, it was interesting to determine the effect of temperature on the possible deterioration of red blood cell analytes used for testing recombinant erythropoietin abuse. Healthy volunteers were asked to give two blood samples and one of these was kept at room temperature whereas the second one was put into a refrigerator. On a regular basis, the samples were rolled for homogenisation and temperature stabilisation and were analysed with the same haematological apparatus. The results confirmed that blood controls prior to competition should be performed as soon as possible with standardised pre-analytical conditions to avoid too many variations notably on the haematocrit and the reticulocyte count. These recommendations should ideally also be applied to the all the blood controls compulsory for the medical follow up, otherwise unexplainable values could be misinterpreted and could for instance lead to a period of incapacity.

Artificial Snow Optimization in Winter Sport Destinations Using a Multi-agent Simulation

This paper presents the Juste-Neige system for predicting the snow height on the ski runs of a resort using a multi-agent simulation software. Its aim is to facilitate snow cover management in order to i) reduce the production cost of artificial snow and to improve the profit margin for the companies managing the ski resorts; and ii) to reduce the water and energy consumption, and thus to reduce the environmental impact, by producing only the snow needed for a good skiing experience. The software provides maps with the predicted snow heights for up to 13 days. On these maps, the areas most exposed to snow erosion are highlighted. The software proceeds in three steps: i) interpolation of snow height measurements with a neural network; ii) local meteorological forecasts for every ski resort; iii) simulation of the impact caused by skiers using a multi-agent system. The software has been evaluated in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier and provides useful predictions.