Late Bronze Age in Eastern Iberian Peninsula: Archaeological Bases and Periodization

Research surrounding the transition from II to I millennium cal BC in Eastern Iberian Peninsula has a large and extensive tradition of investigation. However, the chances to do research on this historical process have been limited by the lack of a well contextualized and dated stratigraphic sequence. For this reason, recent studies in this topic have followed the periodic proposals which were developed in closer regions and areas, especially in the South East and North East of the Peninsula. The investigation perspective about the Late Bronze in Eastern Iberian has however now improved, with the development of several archaeological investigations, the increase in the number of sites being dated and more recent studies into the region helping to bring about this change. As such, it is now in the correct state to be able to propose a new periodization and delve into the changes which occurred in the transition between 1500 and 725 cal BC.

Discovery and settlement of Alaska coaster

Tsar Peter the Great ruled Russia between 1689 and 1725. Its domains, stretching from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. From north to south, its empire stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the borders with China and India. Tsar Peter I tried to extend the geographical knowledge of his government and the rest of the world. He was also interested in the expansion of trade in Russia and in the control of trade routes. Feodor Luzhin and Ivan Yeverinov explored the eastern border of the Russian Empire, the trip between 1719 and 1721 and reported to the Tsar. They had crossed the peninsula of Kamchatka, from west to east and had traveled from the west coast of Kamchatka to the Kuril Islands. The information collected led to the first map of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands. Tsar Peter ordered Bering surf the Russian Pacific coast, build ships and sail the seas north along the coast to regions of America. The second expedition found equal to those of the previous explorers difficulties. Two ships were eventually thrown away in Okhotsk in 1740. The explorers spent the winter of 1740-1741 stockpiling supplies and then navigate to Petropavlovsk. The two ships sailed eastward and did together until June 20, then separated by fog. After searching Chirikov and his boat for several days, Bering ordered the San Pedro continue to the northeast. There the Russian sailors first sighted Alaska. According to the log, "At 12:30 (pm July 17) in sight of snow-capped mountains and between them a high volcano." This finding came the day of St. Elijah and so named the mountain.

Estados Unidos y la guerra por el desarrollo: el control de la natalidad en Chile, 1960-1970

Bajo el paradigma de modernización y desarrollo norteamericano -y en un contexto de Guerra Fría-, durante la década de 1960 se adecuaron a la realidad chilena programas de control de natalidad que no sólo buscaron disminuir las altas tasas de mortalidad materno infantil, sino que además respondieron al proyecto de seguridad hemisférica norteamericana de contención a posibles revoluciones populares en países del Tercer Mundo.

Controversy over the Taxation of Recogidas in the Philippines in the mid- 18th Century. The Case of Santa Rita de Pasig’s Spiritual Absorption

This article studies the house of seclusion established for devout Indian and mestizo laywomen in the town of Pasig in 1740, and the dispute over tribute obligations that affected retreated or “pious” women. Founded outside of the Royal Patronato, this house of seclusion was extraordinarily attractive as a place for voluntary retreat and as an educational center. The dispute over tribute payments brought to light misgivings and conflicts of interest between the parties involved, while revealing the fundamental problem: the traditionally undefined juridical status of this type of establishment on the Islands. The solution given to the problem (tribute exemption) was to be extended to other similar centers in the Philippines. This article, realized with the use of unpublished documentation from the General Archives of the Indies, contributes therefore to our knowledge of the world of women in the Philippine archipelago; an ambit of great complexity that, as of yet, has been insufficiently studied.

The Communicative Dimension and Security in Asia-Pacific: A communicative-viewing proposal for reform of the Japanese Intelligence Services

The postwar development of the Intelligence Services in Japan has been based on two contrasting models: the centralized model of the USA and the collegiality of UK, neither of which has been fully developed. This has led to clashes of institutional competencies and poor anticipation of threats towards national security. This problem of opposing models has been partially overcome through two dimensions: externally through the cooperation with the US Intelligence Service under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security; and internally though the pre-eminence in the national sphere of the Department of Public Safety. However, the emergence of a new global communicative dimension requires that a communicative-viewing remodeling of this dual model is necessary due to the increasing capacity of the individual actors to determine the dynamics of international events. This article examines these challenges for the Intelligence Services of Japan and proposes a reform based on this new global communicative dimension.

¿Doble reaseguro o doble inestabilidad?: El papel de EEUU en Asia y el conflicto por las islas Senkaku/Diaoyu

Durante décadas, tras la II Guerra Mundial, EEUU ha jugado un papel clave en la seguridad de Asia Pacífico como estabilizador exterior.En el contexto actual de lucha por la hegemonía en Asia entre los propios Estados Unidos y la República Popular de China esa situación puede estar cambiando. Así parece ponerse de manifiesto en los distintos conflictos planteados en la región y en concreto de las islas Senkaku/Diaoyu divide la República Popular de China y Japón, aliado en el área de Estados Unidos

Estado del sistema de alerta: Alerta de El Niño Costero

El Comité Multisectorial encargado del Estudio Nacional del Fenómeno El Niño (ENFEN) mantiene el estado de Alerta, debido al evento El Niño costero que se viene presentando con condiciones cálidas en la costa peruana desde otoño del 2015. Continúa la fase de declinación del evento El Niño costero. Sin embargo, en la última semana de marzo e inicios de abril se registró un calentamiento frente a la costa central y norte, debido a la presencia de anomalías positivas de vientos del oeste en el Pacífico Ecuatorial Oriental. Asimismo, se han registrado precipitaciones aisladas de moderada intensidad (15-40 mm/día) en Tumbes, Piura y Lambayeque.

Despliegue de boyas ARGO para el estudio y monitoreo del fenómeno El Niño.

Entre el 07 y el 23 de marzo, el IMARPE y la Dirección de Hidrografía y Navegación (DHN) de la Marina de Guerra del Perú realizaron el despliegue de 12 boyas oceanográficas ARGO, donadas por la Armada y por el Woods Hole Institute of Oceanography (WHOI) de E.E.U.U. Modelo Solo2X). Las boyas ARGO (modelo Solo2X), fueron donadas al IMARPE luego de coordinaciones realizadas con el gobierno de los EEUU y la NOAA por parte del Comité ENFEN, a fin de registrar de forma continua información oceanográfica en el extremo este del Pacífico Ecuatorial, zona donde dicha información es escasa. Con el uso de estas boyas, Perú participará activamente en el programa ARGO, junto con 50 agencias operacionales y de investigación de 21 países, incluyendo los Estados Unidos, Chile y Argentina.

Nuevos datos sobre la distribución de Bufo viridis Laurenti, 1786, en el noroeste de África.

[ES] Se indica la presencia de Bufo viridis en los territorios del Sáhara Occidental, unos 400 km al Sureste del área de distribución conocida para la especie.

Variaciones en el color de los lagartos ocelados; aproximación a la distribución de Lacerta lepida nevadensis, Buchholz 1963

[ES] El grado de melanismo en Lacerta lepida, definido por la presencia de escamas negras en el dorso, es un carácter que varía a lo largo de su área de distribución ajustándose bien a las condiciones climáticas de las regiones donde está presente. Los lagartos ocelados son más oscuros en zonas con bajo número de horas de sol al año en el noroeste ibérico, y carecen de escamas negras en aquellas zonas del sureste donde las precipitaciones son menores. Se ha cartografiado la presencia de lagartos con escamas negras o sin ellas para relacionar este carácter con la distribución de Lacerta lepida nevadensis, ya que es el que mejor define a los adultos de esta subespecie.

Assessment of toxigenic fungi in poultry feed

Introduction - Feed supplies the necessary nutrients for the growth of healthy animals, which are a part of the human diet. The presence of toxigenic fungi in animal feed such as Aspergillus spp. may contribute to 1) the loss of nutritional value of feedstuff, since fungi will assimilate the most readily available nutrients present in the feed, and 2) the development of mycotoxicoses and chronic conditions, which can raise economic issues due to animal disease and contamination of animal derived products. Aim of the study - The goal of this work was to evaluate the incidence of Aspergilli, particularly from the Circumdati, Flavi and Fumigati sections, through real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) in 11 feed samples.

Fungi distribution in poultry feed

Feed can easily be contaminated and colonized by fungi that use up the nutrients for their own metabolism and growth, producing secondary metabolites such as mycotoxins that are not eliminated throughout the feed processing. The major problems associated with mycotoxin contaminated animal feed are metabolic disturbances resulting in poor animal productivity. In addition, handling contaminated animal feed can also raise health issues regarding workers exposure to fungi and mycotoxins. The scope of this work was to characterize fungal distribution in 11 poultry feed samples. Twenty grams of feed were suspended in 180 mL of distilled water and homogenized during 20 minutes at 200 rpm. The washed supernatant was plated in malt extract agar (MEA) and dichloran glycerol agar base (DG18) media for morphological identification of the mycobiota present. Using macro- and microscopic analysis of the colonies, fungal contamination was evident in 72.7% of the analyzed poultry feed samples. Fungal load ranged from 0 to 13140 CFU/g, and the most prevalent species/genera were F. graminearum complex (71.1%), Penicillium sp. (11.6%), Cladosporium sp. (8.8%), and Fusarium poae (3.6%). In addition to these species, we also isolated Aspergillus sections Circumdati, Nigri and Aspergilli, and Mucor and Rhizopus genus albeit at a lower abundance. The data obtained showed that, besides high fungal contamination, mycotoxins contamination is probably a reality, particularly in the final product since mycotoxins resist to all the processing operations including thermal treatment. Additionally, data claimed attention for the probable co-exposure to fungi and mycotoxins of the workers in feed industries.

Microbiota assessment in optical shops: an ignored concern to public health

The presence of microorganisms in ophthalmic instruments and surfaces can lead to the exposure of patients to several infections. However, there is no information regarding fungal and bacteria contamination in optical shops. This study aims to characterize fungi and bacteria contamination in air and surfaces from 10 optical shops covering also ophthalmic instruments. Air samples were collected through an impaction method onto malt extract agar (MEA) supplemented with chloramphenicol (0.05%) used for fungi and Tryptic Soy Agar (TSA) supplemented with nystatin (0.2%) used for bacteria. Outdoor samples were also performed to be used as reference. Surface and equipment’s swab samples were also collected side-by-side. All the collected samples were incubated at 27ºC for 5 to 7 days (fungi) or at 30º for 7 days (bacteria). Regarding fungal distribution, thirteen different species/genera were found in the air, being the most common Alternaria sp. (62.0%). Eight different species/genera were identified in the surfaces, ranging from 2 to 5x104 CFU/m2, being the most common A. versicolor complex and Penicillium sp. (40.0%). The trial frames were the most contaminated equipment, since 50.0% of the collected samples were with countless colonies. The airborne bacterial population indicated higher concentrations in the contactology office (average: 133 CFU/m3) than in the client’s waiting rooms (average: 126 CFU/m3). The surface samples indicated bacterial concentrations ranging from 2x104 to 1x106 CFU/m2, pointing out the automatic refractometer as the surface with higher bacterial load.

Toxigenic fungi in coffee samples: a menace to public health

Introduction - Mycotoxin contamination was reported to occur in some food and commodities, such as coffee, particularly due to the presence of toxigenic fungi such as Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium spp. Aspergilli are known to produce high levels of mycotoxins, such as ochratoxin and aflatoxin. Aspergillus ochraceus has been proposed as the major cause of ochratoxin A contamination in coffee beans. Aim of the study - The aim of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of Aspergillus sections Circumdati, Flavi and Fumigati in 28 green coffee samples to be used by Portuguese coffee industry, from Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee) and Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee) species from different origins.

Fungal contamination in coffee samples: a public health concern

Introduction - Fungi are natural coffee contaminants and under certain environmental conditions have the potential to produce toxins. Many studies revealed that the important toxigenic fungal genera (Aspergillus and Penicillium) are natural coffee contaminants, and are present from the field to storage. Aspergilli from the Circumdati and Nigri sections are known to produce high levels of ochratoxin A, a mycotoxin known as nephrotoxic for animals and humans. This work aimed to evaluate fungal distribution and also the prevalence of Aspergillus sections Fumigati, Flavi, Nigri and Circumdati from Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee) and Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee) green samples.