“La hoz y el machete. La internacional Comunista y Centroamérica". (Rodolfo Cerdas Cruz)

IntroducciónHace aproximadamente una década Rodolfo Cerdas Cruz presentó una tesis de doctorado en Francia titulada "Strategie et Tactique de l'Internationale Communiste en Amérique Lanite" de la cual La hoz y el Machete, presumiblemente, es su versión española en forma de libro; acutalizada a juzgar por algunas de las referencias bibliográficas...

POLÍTICA ECONÓMICA COSTARRICENSE: TRANSFORMACIÓN Y DINÁMICA AGROPECUARIA: CASO ESPECÍFICO DE LAS COMUNIDADES COSTERAS DE LA CRUZ, GUANACASTE

El presente artículo aborda desde una perspectiva analítica, las políticas económicas y sectoriales de gobierno, que han afectado el sector agropecuario  en los últimos 20 años, destacándose las principales características que estas  han tenido en los marcos de transformación y ajuste de las estructuras productivas, económicas y sociales; así como su incidencia en los niveles producción, en los productores y en sus comunidades Además de un esfuerzo teórico y reflexivo por explicar la coyuntura económica productiva del agro costarricense, se pretende destacar, cómo este se ha venido transformando en los últimos años, a partir de la aplicación de los Programas de Ajuste Estructural (PAE); su incidencia en el área de la producción de los granos básicos y las transformaciones que se desarrollan luego para el sector, las cuales van a depender fundamentalmente de los recursos sociales e individuales con los que cuenten estos productores.En este contexto, entonces, las políticas de gobierno, en materia económica, inciden en la dinámica productiva de los pequeños productores; de manera que las comunidades aledañas a las zonas costeras se convierten en un referente analítico para un estudio de caso, que posibilita evidenciar precisamente lo anterior, por esta razón se aborda la experiencia de las comunidades costeras del cantón de La Cruz en la provincia de Guanacaste.ABSTRACTS: This article approaches from an analytical perspective, the economic and sectorial policies of the government affecting the agriculture in the last 20 years. It highlights the main characteristics of these approaches that have transform and adjust the framework of the production within the economic and social structures; such as the outcome on the production levels of the producers and their communities. In addition to theoretically and reflectively explaining the economic situation of the Costa Rican farmers, this article also attempts to focus on how this process has been directly impacting the outcome since the restructuring of the programs, its repercussion in the area of production of the basic grains and the end results in which establishes the social and individual resources in which these producers depend upon It is within this context that the govemment policies in economic matters directly affect the profitability dynamics of small producers. In the matter of the coastal communities, as a case study, it is possible to demonstrate precisely what was previously stated. For this reason, the illustration of the coastal communities of canton La Cruz in the Province of Guanacaste is undertaken.

EL PROCESO DE URBANIZACION EN LA PERIFERIA DEL AREA METROPOLITANA: LOS CASOS DE TURRUCARES Y MONTE DE LA CRUZ

Este avance de investigación pretende ofrecer una visión preliminar de un fenómeno bastante reciente que se está dando en Costa Rica y particularmente en el Valle Central: la urbanización del espacio agrícola. Este proceso se está desarrollando más allá del espacio suburbano y presenta una especialidad diferente, ya que aquí la organización social campesina y las actividades agropecuarias siguen siendo predominantes. Sin embargo, esta extremadamente vinculado con el proceso de metropolizacion que surge en el país. Se está asistiendo, pues, a una reubicación de los espacios residenciales de las clases de mejores ingresos, las cuales influenciadas tal vez por un modelo ideológico importado, buscan poder disfrutar de las ventajas que ofrece el espacio rural pero con la posibilidad de seguir trabajando en la ciudad y seguir gozando de los servicios urbanos. La  rural-urbanización dentro de una estrategia global de estructuración del espacio puede ser considerada como un mecanismo de selección y una apropiación de los mejores lugares donde se dará la futura de expansión urbana. Desde esta perspectiva, resulta interesante llamar la atención de cómo ciertos sectores sociales están proyectando desde ahora la futura expansión del espacio metropolitano.   SUMMARY This preliminary investigative report presents a viewpoint about a very recent phenomenon that is occurring in Costa Rica and especially in the Central Valley: the urbanization of the agrarian space. This process is developing beyond the suburban areas and presents a different spacial structure because in these areas, the rural social structures and the livestock and agricultural activities are still predominant. Nevertheless, such activities are very much related to the urbanization process occurring in the country. As such, we are witnessing a reubication of the residential structure of the high-income classes, of which, influenced perhaps by an improved idiologic model, hope to enjoy the advantages offered by a rural area but also taking advantage of the convenience offered by the urban benefits; plus the opportunity to keep working in the city. The process of rural urbanization conceived in a global strategy of spatial structures, can be considered as a selection and appropriation mechanism of the best areas for the future urban expansion. From this perspective, it is interesting to call attention to the process by which certain social sectors are now projecting the future organization of the metropolitan area.  In reference to the real-estate capital invested in the study areas, and specifically to Costa Rica capital, this investment in the promotion of real-estate, acts as a shelter sector, by changing the course of direction of the capital accumulated in the other economic sectors, especially considering that the real-estate sector insures more secure profits in spite of the relatively insignificant recuperation rate of the capital investment comparison to the industrial sector, where more capital risks occur, above all during an economic crisis.  At present, the zones influenced by rural urbanization are affected by a modification in their productive structure, in other words, what were once agricultural zones, are now converted to residential zones. This produces spectacular changes in the composition of the work force by producing service-oriented employment that leads to the following abandonment of the agricultural activities.  From a social point of view, this rural urbanization pattern provokes a marked spatial segregation, in which an exclusive high income social group with a particularly consuming life style is noted at one level, and on the other, social groups that inhered patterns of rural life with more traditional lifestyles. In reference to the community level in the study areas, localized conflicts have emerged between local people and the new residents. These conflicts are highly conditioned by the insertion in the communities of these new residents.       RESUME   Ce document préliminaire décrit un phénomène assez récent au Costa Rica, qui affecte plus particulièrement la « Vallée Centrale ». il s’agit de l’urbanisation de l’espace agricole.  Ce sont des espaces franchement ruraux, bien au-delà des banlieues, qui sont affectés par ce processus qui, en conséquence, montre des caractères différents: comme se maintien de la organisation social liée aux activités agricoles; en face l’infiltration d’un autre mode de vie dû à sa transformation en espace résidentiel pour classes aux revenus élevés qui, peut-être, influencées par un modèle culturel importé, préfèrent une localisation qui puisée leus offrir à  la fois les avantages de vivre dans un espace rural avec ceux de la ville, lieu de travail suffisamment proche dont elles continuent à pouvoir utiliser ses services. Ce modèle culturel doit être considère en fonction du processus de métropolitain apparu dan le pays. L’urbanisation de l’espace rural, dans une stratégie globale de structuration de l’espace peut se considérer comme un mécanisme de sélection et d’appropriation des meilleurs sites de l’expansion urbaine future.  Dans cette perspective, il est intéressant de constater qu’il existe déjà, de la part certains secteurs sociaux, un projet d’organisation de l’espace métropolitain futur. Le foncier est considéré comme un secteur refuge pour les capitaux nationaux d’où l’intérêt de la spéculation pour ces zones. En effet, ce placement, plus sûr, malgré un plus faible taux de récupération du capital, est préfère à d’ autres- comme l’investissement industriel- plus rentables, mais plus risqués, surtout en temps de crise. L’urbanisation de l’espace rural s’accompagne d’une modification des structures productives : moins d’agriculture et évolution de l’emploi vers le tertiaire liée à la présence de nouveaux résidents. Du point de vue social, cette situation se traduit par une très nette ségrégation spatiale. D’un côte, un group socio-économique aux revenus élèves représentant  la société de consommation ; de l’autre, les ruraux au style de vie plus traditionnel. Il en résulte une certaine tension entre les deux groupes.

Genetic Analysis of Tolerance to Rice Tungro Bacilliform Virus in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Through Agroinoculation

Balimau Putih [an Indonesian cultivar tolerant to rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV)] was crossed with IR64 (RTBV, susceptible variety) to produce the three filial generations F1, F2 and F3. Agroinoculation was used to introduce RTBV into the test plants. RTBV tolerance was based on the RTBV level in plants by analysis of coat protein using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The level of RTBV in cv. Balimau Putih was significantly lower than that of IR64 and the susceptible control, Taichung Native 1. Mean RTBV levels of the F1, F2 and F3 populations were comparable with one another and with the average of the parents. Results indicate that there was no dominance and an additive gene action may control the expression of tolerance to RTBV. Tolerance based on the level of RTBV coat protein was highly heritable (0.67) as estimated using the mean values of F3 lines, suggesting that selection for tolerance to RTBV can be performed in the early selfing generations using the technique employed in this study. The RTBV level had a negative correlation with plant height, but positive relationship with disease index value

Changes in Level of Virus Accumulation and Incidence of Infection are Critical in the Characterization of Rice Tungro Bacilliform Virus (RTBV) Resistance in Rice

Analysis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) accumulated in a cyclic pattern from early to late stages of infection in tungro-susceptible variety, Taichung Native 1 (TN1), and resistant variety, Balimau Putih, singly infected with RTBV or co-infected with RTBV+Rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV). These changes in virus accumulation resulted in differences in RTBV levels and incidence of infection. The virus levels were expressed relative to those of the susceptible variety and the incidence of infection was assessed at different weeks after inoculation. At a particular time point, RTBV levels in TN1 or Balimau Putih singly infected with RTBV were not significantly different from the virus level in plants co-infected with RTBV+RTSV. The relative RTBV levels in Balimau Putih either singly infected with RTBV or co-infected with RTBV+RTSV were significantly lower than those in TN1. The incidence of RTBV infection varied at different times in Balimau Putih but not in TN1, and to determine the actual infection, the number of plants that became infected at least once anytime during the 4wk observation period was considered. Considering the changes in RTBV accumulation, new parameters for analyzing RTBV resistance were established. Based on these parameters, Balimau Putih was characterized having resistance to virus accumulation although the actual incidence of infection was >75%.

Genetic Composition and Complexity of Virus Populations at Tungro-Endemic and Outbreak Rice Sites

We have recently demonstrated the geographic isolation of rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) populations in the tungro-endemic provinces of Isabela and North Cotabato, Philippines. In this study, we examined the genetic structure of the virus populations at the tungro-outbreak sites of Lanao del Norte, a province adjacent to North Cotabato. We also analyzed the virus populations at the tungro-endemic sites of Subang, Indonesia, and Dien Khanh, Vietnam. Total DNA extracts from 274 isolates were digested with EcoRV restriction enzyme and hybridized with a full-length probe of RTBV. In the total population, 22 EcoRV-restricted genome profiles (genotypes) were identified. Although overlapping genotypes could be observed, the outbreak sites of Lanao del Norte had a genotype combination distinct from that of Subang or Dien Khanh but a genotype combination similar to that identified earlier from North Cotabato, the adjacent endemic province. Sequence analysis of the intergenic region and part of the ORF1 RTBV genome from randomly selected genotypes confirms the geographic clustering of RTBV genotypes and, combined with restriction analysis, the results suggest a fragmented spatial distribution of RTBV local populations in the three countries. Because RTBV depends on rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV) for transmission, the population dynamics of both tungro viruses were then examined at the endemic and outbreak sites within the Philippines. The RTBV genotypes and the coat protein RTSV genotypes were used as indicators for virus diversity. A shift in population structure of both viruses was observed at the outbreak sites with a reduced RTBV but increased RTSV gene diversity

Agroinoculation Allows the Screening of Rice for Resistance to Rice Tungro Bacilliform Virus

A system for agroinoculating rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV), one of the two viruses of the rice tungro disease complex, has been optimised. A nontumour-inducing strain of Agrobacterium (pGV3850) was used in order to conform with biosafety regulations. Fourteen-day-old seedlings survived the mechanical damage of the technique and were still young enough to support virus replication. The level of the bacterial inoculum was important to obtain maximum infection, with a high inoculum level (0.5 × 1012 cells/ml) resulting in up to 100% infection of a susceptible variety that was comparable with infection by insect transmission. Agroinoculation with RTBV was successful for all three rice cultivarss tested; TN1 (tungro susceptible), Balimau Putih (tungro tolerant), and IR26 (RTSV and vector resistant). Agroinoculation enables resistance to RTBV to be distinguished from resistance to the leafhopper vector of the virus, and should prove useful in screening rice germplasm, breeding materials, and transgenic rice lines.

In-depth analysis of the J.A.C.K. model

The Texas Transportation Commission (“the Commission”) is responsible for planning and making policies for the location, construction, and maintenance of a comprehensive system of highways and public roads in Texas. In order for the Commission to carry out its legislative mandate, the Texas Constitution requires that most revenue generated by motor vehicle registration fees and motor fuel taxes be used for constructing and maintaining public roadways and other designated purposes. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) assists the Commission in executing state transportation policy. It is the responsibility of the legislature to appropriate money for TxDOT’s operation and maintenance expenses. All money authorized to be appropriated for TxDOT’s operations must come from the State Highway Fund (also known as Fund 6, Fund 006, or Fund 0006). The Commission can then use the balance in the fund to fulfill its responsibilities. However, the value of the revenue received in Fund 6 is not keeping pace with growing demand for transportation infrastructure in Texas. Additionally, diversion of revenue to nontransportation uses now exceeds $600 million per year. As shown in Figure 1.1, revenues and expenditures of the State Highway Fund per vehicle mile traveled (VMT) in Texas have remained almost flat since 1993. In the meantime, construction cost inflation has gone up more than 100%, effectively halving the value of expenditure.

Evaluation of TxDOT’s J.A.C.K. model for revenue and expenditure projections

This research report documents work conducted by the Center for Transportation (CTR) at The University of Texas at Austin in analyzing the Joint Analysis using the Combined Knowledge (J.A.C.K.) program. This program was developed by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to make projections of revenues and expenditures. This research effort was to span from September 2008 to August 2009, but the bulk of the work was completed and presented by December 2008. J.A.C.K. was subsequently renamed TRENDS, but for consistency with the scope of work, the original name is used throughout this report.

Communications materials on methods of development of revenue and cost estimates to non-technical audiences

This CDROM includes PDFs of presentations on the following topics: "TXDOT Revenue and Expenditure Trends;" "Examine Highway Fund Diversions, & Benchmark Texas Vehicle Registration Fees;" "Evaluation of the JACK Model;" "Future highway construction cost trends;" "Fuel Efficiency Trends and Revenue Impact"

WebPut : Efficient web-based data imputation

In this paper, we present WebPut, a prototype system that adopts a novel web-based approach to the data imputation problem. Towards this, Webput utilizes the available information in an incomplete database in conjunction with the data consistency principle. Moreover, WebPut extends effective Information Extraction (IE) methods for the purpose of formulating web search queries that are capable of effectively retrieving missing values with high accuracy. WebPut employs a confidence-based scheme that efficiently leverages our suite of data imputation queries to automatically select the most effective imputation query for each missing value. A greedy iterative algorithm is also proposed to schedule the imputation order of the different missing values in a database, and in turn the issuing of their corresponding imputation queries, for improving the accuracy and efficiency of WebPut. Experiments based on several real-world data collections demonstrate that WebPut outperforms existing approaches.

Study of new particle formation in subtropical urban environment in Brisbane, Australia

Atmospheric ultrafine particles play an important role in affecting human health, altering climate and degrading visibility. Numerous studies have been conducted to better understand the formation process of these particles, including field measurements, laboratory chamber studies and mathematical modeling approaches. Field studies on new particle formation found that formation processes were significantly affected by atmospheric conditions, such as the availability of particle precursors and meteorological conditions. However, those studies were mainly carried out in rural areas of the northern hemisphere and information on new particle formation in urban areas, especially those in subtropical regions, is limited. In general, subtropical regions display a higher level of solar radiation, along with stronger photochemical reactivity, than those regions investigated in previous studies. However, based on the results of these studies, the mechanisms involved in the new particle formation process remain unclear, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, in order to fill this gap in knowledge, a new particle formation study was conducted in a subtropical urban area in the Southern Hemisphere during 2009, which measured particle size distribution in different locations in Brisbane, Australia. Characterisation of nucleation events was conducted at the campus building of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), located in an urban area of Brisbane. Overall, the annual average number concentrations of ultrafine, Aitken and nucleation mode particles were found to be 9.3 x 103, 3.7 x 103 and 5.6 x 103 cm-3, respectively. This was comparable to levels measured in urban areas of northern Europe, but lower than those from polluted urban areas such as the Yangtze River Delta, China and Huelva and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. Average particle number concentration (PNC) in the Brisbane region did not show significant seasonal variation, however a relatively large variation was observed during the warmer season. Diurnal variation of Aitken and nucleation mode particles displayed different patterns, which suggested that direct vehicle exhaust emissions were a major contributor of Aitken mode particles, while nucleation mode particles originated from vehicle exhaust emissions in the morning and photochemical production at around noon. A total of 65 nucleation events were observed during 2009, in which 40 events were classified as nucleation growth events and the remainder were nucleation burst events. An interesting observation in this study was that all nucleation growth events were associated with vehicle exhaust emission plumes, while the nucleation burst events were associated with industrial emission plumes from an industrial area. The average particle growth rate for nucleation events was found to be 4.6 nm hr-1 (ranging from 1.79-7.78 nm hr-1), which is comparable to other urban studies conducted in the United States, while monthly particle growth rates were found to be positively related to monthly solar radiation (r = 0.76, p <0.05). The particle growth rate values reported in this work are the first of their kind to be reported for the subtropical urban area of Australia. Furthermore, the influence of nucleation events on PNC within the urban airshed was also investigated. PNC was simultaneously measured at urban (QUT), roadside (Woolloongabba) and semi-urban (Rocklea) sites in Brisbane during 2009. Total PNC at these sites was found to be significantly affected by regional nucleation events. The relative fractions of PNC to total daily PNC observed at QUT, Woolloongabba and Rocklea were found to be 12%, 9% and 14%, respectively, during regional nucleation events. These values were higher than those observed as a result of vehicle exhaust emissions during weekday mornings, which ranged from 5.1-5.5% at QUT and Woolloongabba. In addition, PNC in the semi-urban area of Rocklea increased by a factor of 15.4 when it was upwind from urban pollution sources under the influence of nucleation burst events. Finally, we investigated the influence of sulfuric acid on new particle formation in the study region. A H2SO4 proxy was calculated by using [SO2], solar radiation and particle condensation sink data to represent the new particle production strength for the urban, roadside and semi-urban areas of Brisbane during the period June-July of 2009. The temporal variations of the H2SO4 proxies and the nucleation mode particle concentration were found to be in phase during nucleation events in the urban and roadside areas. In contrast, the peak of proxy concentration occurred 1-2 hr prior to the observed peak in nucleation mode particle concentration at the downwind semi-urban area of Brisbane. A moderate to strong linear relationship was found between the proxy and the freshly formed particles, with r2 values of 0.26-0.77 during the nucleation events. In addition, the log[H2SO4 proxy] required to produce new particles was found to be ~1.0 ppb Wm-2 s and below 0.5 ppb Wm-2 s for the urban and semi-urban areas, respectively. The particle growth rates were similar during nucleation events at the three study locations, with an average value of 2.7 ± 0.5 nm hr-1. This result suggested that a similar nucleation mechanism dominated in the study region, which was strongly related to sulphuric acid concentration, however the relationship between the proxy and PNC was poor in the semi-urban area of Rocklea. This can be explained by the fact that the nucleation process was initiated upwind of the site and the resultant particles were transported via the wind to Rocklea. This explanation is also supported by the higher geometric mean diameter value observed for particles during the nucleation event and the time lag relationship between the H2SO4 proxy and PNC observed at Rocklea. In summary, particle size distribution was continuously measured in a subtropical urban area of southern hemisphere during 2009, the findings from which formed the first particle size distribution dataset in the study region. The characteristics of nucleation events in the Brisbane region were quantified and the properties of the nucleation growth and burst events are discussed in detail using a case studies approach. To further investigate the influence of nucleation events on PNC in the study region, PNC was simultaneously measured at three locations to examine the spatial variation of PNC during the regional nucleation events. In addition, the impact of upwind urban pollution on the downwind semi-urban area was quantified during these nucleation events. Sulphuric acid was found to be an important factor influencing new particle formation in the urban and roadside areas of the study region, however, a direct relationship with nucleation events at the semi-urban site was not observed. This study provided an overview of new particle formation in the Brisbane region, and its influence on PNC in the surrounding area. The findings of this work are the first of their kind for an urban area in the southern hemisphere.

Re-strengthening 20th century architectural heritage : A case study of Brisbane City Hall restoration

Restoring old buildings to conform the current building policies and standards is a great challenge to engineers and architects. The restoration of the Brisbane City Hall, a heritage building listed by the State of Queensland in Australia, developed an innovative approach to upgrade the building using the method called ‘concrete overlay’ following the guidelines of both the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the Burra Charter of Australia. Concrete overlay is a new method of structural strengthening by drilling new reinforcement and placing new concrete on top of the existing structure, akin to a bone transplant or bone grafting in the case of a human being. This method is popularly used for newer bridges which have suffered load stresses. However, this method had never been used on any heritage buildings which were built on different conditions and standards. The compatibility of this method is currently being monitored. Most of the modern historic buildings are rapidly deteriorating and require immediate interventions in order to be saved. As most of these heritage buildings are on the stage of advanced deterioration, significant attempts are being made and several innovations are being applied to upgrade these structures to conform with the current building requirements. To date, the knowledge and literature in regarding ‘concrete cancer’ in relation to rehabilitating these reinforced concrete heritage structures is significantly lacking. It is hoped that the method of concrete overlay and the case study of Brisbane City Hall restoration will contribute to the development of restoration techniques and policies for Modern Heritage Buildings.