Mechanisms of follow-up to the Programme of Action on Population and Development in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Alterations in the fat body cells of rhinocricus padbergi (Diplopoda) resulting from exposure to substrate containing sewage sludge

Abstract The final disposal of residues generated at sewage treatment plants (STPs) has become a major problem for cities, due to the increase in the amount of treated sewage. One of the alternatives for the residue, labeled sewage sludge, is its reuse in agriculture and in degraded soil. However, not all pathogens and metals present in it are eliminated during treatment. Diplopods have been used as bioindicators in ecotoxicological tests as they are constantly in close contact with the soil. Owing to this fact, the purpose of this study was to expose specimens of the diplopod Rhinocricus padbergi to substrate containing sewage sludge collected at STPs to analyze morphological alterations in their parietal and perivisceral fat body, where substances are stored. The exposures were held for 7, 15, or 90 days at different concentrations of sewage sludge (control, 1%, 10%, and 50%). The parietal fat body showed no alterations in any of the three exposure periods or concentrations. Alterations in the perivisceral fat body were observed for all exposure periods. According to the results, we suggest that the sludge used has toxic agents responsible for changing the animal's perivisceral fat body. © 2012 Microscopy Society of America.

Investing better in order to invest more. Finance and management of education in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Adaptation to climate change in megacities of Latin America: Regional Learning Network of the research project ClimateAdaptationSantiago (CAS)

The main objective of this publication is to document the current state of urban climate change adaptation practice in Latin America. It is a summary of the three workshops of the Regional Learning Network that was set up under the ClimateAdaptationSantiago project (CAS), encompassing six large Latin American cities (Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City, São Paulo and Santiago). It aims to synthesize information on the manifestations and impacts of climate change in those Latin American cities that participated in the network, and above all, governance in the form of concrete actions. The publication is based on information obtained from the participants in the three workshops, but also includes additional scientific input and reflections by the editors. All of this information makes a major contribution to highlighting the different paths these six cities are pursuing in response to climate change. To that end, the publication discusses the various courses of action on climate change adaptation, with the aim of learning from these cases and highlighting practical examples.

Evolutionary Insights from Bat Trypanosomes: Morphological, Developmental and Phylogenetic Evidence of a New Species, Trypanosoma (Schizotrypanum) erneyi sp nov., in African Bats Closely Related to Trypanosoma (Schizotrypanum) cruzi and Allied Species

Parasites of the genus Trypanosoma are common in bats and those of the subgenus Schizotrypanum are restricted to bats throughout the world, with the exception of Trypanosoma (Schizotrypanum) cruzi that also infects other mammals and is restricted to the American Continent. We have characterized trypanosome isolates from Molossidae bats captured in Mozambique, Africa. Morphology and behaviour in culture, supported by phylogenetic inferences using SSU (small subunit) rRNA, gGAPDH (glycosomal glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase) and Cyt b (cytochrome b) genes, allowed to classify the isolates as a new Schizotrypanum species named Trypanosoma (Schizotrypanum) erneyi sp. nov. This is the first report of a Schizotrypanum species from African bats cultured, characterized morphologically and biologically, and positioned in phylogenetic trees. The unprecedented finding of a new species of the subgenus Schizotrypanum from Africa that is closest related to the America-restricted Trypanosoma (Schizotrypanum) cruzi marinkellei and T. cruzi provides new insights into the origin and evolutionary history of T. cruzi and closely related bat trypanosomes. Altogether, data from our study support the hypothesis of an ancestor trypanosome parasite of bats evolving to infect other mammals, even humans, and adapted to transmission by triatomine bugs in the evolutionary history of T. cruzi in the New World. (c) 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Pb pollution from leaded gasoline in South America in the context of a 2000-year metallurgical history

Exploitation of the extensive polymetallic deposits of the Andean Altiplano in South America since precolonial times has caused substantial emissions of neurotoxic lead (Pb) into the atmosphere; however, its historical significance compared to recent Pb pollution from leaded gasoline is not yet resolved. We present a comprehensive Pb emission history for the last two millennia for South America, based on a continuous, high-resolution, ice core record from Illimani glacier. Illimani is the highest mountain of the eastern Bolivian Andes and is located at the northeastern margin of the Andean Altiplano. The ice core Pb deposition history revealed enhanced Pb enrichment factors (EFs) due to metallurgical processing for silver production during periods of the Tiwanaku/Wari culture (AD 450–950), the Inca empires (AD 1450–1532), colonial times (AD 1532–1900), and tin production at the beginning of the 20th century. After the 1960s, Pb EFs increased by a factor of 3 compared to the emission level from metal production, which we attribute to gasoline-related Pb emissions. Our results show that anthropogenic Pb pollution levels from road traffic in South America exceed those of any historical metallurgy in the last two millennia, even in regions with exceptional high local metallurgical activity.

All Alone, Without Money, No Language--Just Yiddish": An Immigrant's Letters from Missouri to Galicia

In June 1891, Shimshon Gerye, a Jewish immigrant from Galicia (a region that now falls across the border of Ukraine and Poland) living in Sedalia, Missouri, received a letter from a cousin back home. The content of the letter was probably rather mundane (a request to send money, inquiries about health), but its timing was somewhat unusual: in the thirty-five years that Shimshon had been living in America, this was apparently the first he had heard from his family in Europe. What survives of the ensuing correspondence, written in Yiddish and spanning a one-year period, provides an interesting view of the situation of the immigrant and the pressures of assimilation, as well as the Yiddish language in America at the end of the nineteenth century.

Letter from William Croswell to George Richards, 1794 September 1

One-page letter from Croswell to George Richards, the Pastor of the Universal Society in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, requesting information about teaching opportunities in the area.

Letter from William Croswell to Dr. Dingley, 1795 July 9

One-page letter from Croswell to Dr. Dingley in New York City, requesting information on teaching opportunities in the area.

Letter from William Croswell to an unidentified recipient, [1808]

Draft of a page-and-a-half letter regarding Croswell's employment situation in Liverpool.

Letter from William Croswell to an unidentified recipient, 1808 April 5

Draft of a letter requesting help in publishing a map.