Evaluación de la potencialidad de suelos en sistemas productivos agrícolas, en dos fincas, comunidad El Bálsamo, Matagalpa II semestre 2013

El estudio Evaluación de la potencialidad de los suelos en sistemas productivos agrícolas en dos fincas, se realizó en la comunidad El Bálsamo, municipio de Matagalpa, durante el año 2013. Las variables medidas fueron: propiedades intrínsecas del suelo divididas en físicas, químicas y biológicas, propiedades extrínsecas (relieve y climatológica), situación socio económico (producción y financiamiento) y situación ambiental. Como objetivo principal se pretendía evaluar el estado de degradación de los suelos y su impacto en las condiciones socioeconómicas para determinar la potencialidad productiva de las finca, de tal forma que los resultados obtenidos sirvan como herramienta base para elaborar la propuesta de un plan de manejo conservacionista. En el estudio se involucraron 2 productores que se dedican a la producción de Maracuyá (Passiflora edullis), Pepino (cucumis sativus) y Chayote (Sechium edules), la población universo de estudio estaba constituida por 5 fincas. La muestra fue de 2 fincas, esta muestra es no probabilística ya que existieron criterios de selección específicos. Entre los principales resultados se encontró: el suelo respecto a sus propiedades Físicas se encuentra en estado favorable, excepto la profundidad de suelo y el drenaje interno, las propiedades químicas están en condiciones apropiadas, pero con bajos niveles de potasio, calcio y magnesio. Las condiciones climatológicas son propicias para la explotación de cultivos agrícolas a diferencia de las temperatura y humedad relativa para el cultivo de maracuyá (Passiflora edullis). Los rendimientos productivos en la mayoría de los cultivos son bajos con respecto a los rendimientos óptimo

Use of Remote Sensing/Geographical Information Systems (RS/GIS) to Identify the Distributional Limits of Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STHs) and Their Association to Prevalence of Intestinal Infection in School-Age Children in Four Rural Communities in Boaco, Nicaragua

STHs can infect all members of a population but school-age children living in poverty are at greater risk. Infection can be controlled with drug treatment, health education and sanitation. Helminth control programs often lack resources and reliable information to identify areas of highest risk to guide interventions and to monitor progress. Objectives: To use RS/GIS to identify the environmental variables that correlate with the ecology of STHs and with the prevalence of STH infections. Methods: Geo-referenced in situ prevalence data will be overlaid over an ecological map derived from the RS environmental data using ESRI s ArcGIS 9.3. Prevalence data and RS environmental data matching at the same geographical location will be analyzed for correlation and those RS environmental variables that better correlate with prevalence data will be included in a multivariate regression model. Temperature, vegetation, and distance to bodies of water will be inferred using data from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Terra and Aqua satellites, and Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhance Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) satellite sensors onboard Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 respectively. Elevation will be estimated with data from The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Prevalence and intensity of infections will be determined by parasitological survey (Kato Katz) of children enrolled in rural schools in Boaco, Nicaragua, in the communities of El Roblar, Cumaica Norte, Malacatoya 1, and Malacatoya 2). Expected Results: Associations between RS environmental data and prevalence in situ data will be determined and their applications to public health will be discussed. Discussion/Conclusions: The use of RS/GIS data to predict the prevalence of STH infections could be useful for helminth control programs, providing improved geographical guidance of interventions while increasing cost-effectiveness. Learning Objectives: (1) To identify the RS environmental variables that can help predict the prevalence of STH infections. (2) To understand potential applications of RS/GIS to national helminth control programs. (3) To asses the applicability of RS/GIS to control STH infections

Spectroscopic characterization of an Oxovanadium(IV) complex of Oxodiacetic acid and 2,2’-Bipyridine: bioactivity on Osteoblast-like cells in culture

The oxovanadium(IV) complex of oxodiacetic acid (H2ODA) and 2,2’-bipyridine (bipy) of stoichiometry [VO(ODA)(bipy)]⋅H2O, was thoroughly characterized by infrared, Raman and electronic spectroscopies. The biological activity of the complex on the cell proliferation was tested on osteoblast-like cells (MC3T3E1 osteoblastic mouse calvaria-derived cells and UMR106 rat osteosarcoma-derived cells) in culture. The complex caused inhibition of cellular proliferation in both osteoblast-like cells in culture, but its action was statistically stronger in the tumoral cells. This effect was specially marked with increasing concentrations of the complex. Based on these preliminary biological results, [VO(ODA)(bipy)]⋅H2O can be considered as a good candidate to be further investigated in relation to cancer treatment.El complejo de oxovanadio(IV) del ácido oxodiacético (H2ODA) y 2,2’-dipiridina (bipy) de estequiometría [VO(ODA)(bipy)]⋅H2O, fue caracterizado detalladamente por espectroscopia infrarroja, Raman y electrónica. La actividad biológica del complejo sobre la proliferación celular fue ensayada sobre células osteoblásticas de fenotipo normal (MC3T3-E1) y tumorales (UMR106) en cultivo. El complejo fue más deletéreo sobre los osteoblastos tumorales que sobre los de fenotipo normal, siendo este efecto más marcado con el aumento de la concentración del mismo. Los resultados de estos estudios biológicos permiten considerar al [VO(ODA)(bipy)]⋅H2O como un buen candidato para futuros estudios en relación a los tratamientos antitumorales.Fil: Leon, Ignacio Esteban. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Cs.exactas. Departamento de Cs.biologicas. Catedra Bioquimica Patologica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica; Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Etcheverry, Susana Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Cs.exactas. Departamento de Cs.biologicas. Catedra Bioquimica Patologica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica; Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Parajon Costa, Beatriz Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica; Argentina; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; ArgentinaFil: Baran, Enrique Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica; Argentina; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; Argentin

Capitalism Stakeholderism

Today’s corporate governance debates are replete with discussion of how best to operationalize so-called stakeholder capitalism—that is, a version of capitalism that considers the interests of employees, communities, suppliers, and the environment alongside (if not before) a company’s shareholders. So much focus has been dedicated to the question of capitalism’s reform that few have questioned a key underlying premise of stakeholder capitalism: that is, that competitive capitalism does not serve these various constituencies and groups. This Essay presents a different view and argues that capitalism is, in fact, the ultimate form of stakeholderism. As such, the Essay urges that the best way to elevate the welfare of all stakeholders in a society is to maximally free markets, leaving the State with limited responsibilities in the marketplace—namely, to calibrate incentives for pro-social innovation, regulate evident market-failures, and occasionally provide for public goods

Central Bank Activism

Today, the Federal Reserve is at a critical juncture in its evolution. Unlike any prior period in U.S. history, the Fed now faces increasing demands to expand its policy objectives to tackle a wide range of social and political problems—including climate change, inequality, and foreign and small business aid. This Article develops a framework for recognizing and identifying the problems with “central bank activism.” It refers to central bank activism as situations in which immediate public policy problems push the Fed to aggrandize its power beyond the text and purpose of its legal mandates, which Congress has established. To illustrate, this Article provides in-depth exploration of both contemporary and historic episodes of central bank activism, thus clarifying the indicia of central bank activism and drawing out the lessons that past episodes should teach us going forward. This Article urges that, while activism may be expedient in the near term, there are long-term social costs. Activism undermines the legitimacy of central bank authority, erodes central bank political independence, and ultimately renders a weaker central bank. In the end, this Article issues an urgent call to resist the allure of activism. And it places front and center the need for vibrant public discourse on the role of a central bank in American political and economic life today

Identifying Geographic Areas at Risk of Soil-transmitted Helminthes Infection Using Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems: Boaco, Nicaragua as a Case Study

Several types of intestinal nematodes, that can infect humans and specially school-age children living in poverty, develop part of their life cycle in soil. Presence and survival of these parasites in the soil depend on given environmental characteristics like temperature and moisture that can be inferred with remote sensing (RS) technology. Prevalence of diseases caused by these parasitic worms can be controlled and even eradicated with anthelmintic drug treatments and sanitation improvement. Reliable and updated identification of geographic areas at risk is required to implement effective public health programs; to calculate amount of drug required and to distribute funding for sanitation projects. RS technology and geographical information systems (GIS) will be used to analyze for associations between in situ prevalence and remotely sensed data in order to establish RS proxies of environmental parameters that indicate the presence of these parasits. In situ data on helminthisasis will be overlaid over an ecological map derived from RS data using ARC Map 9.3 (ESRI). Temperature, vegetation, and distance to bodies of water will be inferred using data from Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat TM and ETM+. Elevation will be estimated with data from The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Prevalence and intensity of infections are determined by parasitological survey (Kato Katz) of children enrolled in rural schools in Boaco, Nicaragua, in the communities of El Roblar, Cumaica Norte, Malacatoya 1, and Malacatoya 2). This study will demonstrate the importance of an integrated GIS/RS approach to define clusters and areas at risk. Such information will help to the implementation of time and cost efficient control programs and sanitation efforts

An International Law Response to Economic Cyber Espionage

Cyber threats have emerged as one of the most serious dangers to U.S. and global security. Increasingly, malicious actors—some private, but others that appear to be state-sponsored—seek to advance their strategic aims through violent or non-violent cyber-attacks. This Article considers the problem of non-violent, yet still destructive, economic cyber espionage, which targets the intellectual, industrial, and information property of major global powers like the United States. The Article argues that the international community’s reticence is owing to a stale set of international legal norms. The Article explains how existing principles of international law—such as state sovereignty, non-intervention, and state responsibility—should evolve to address the current threat of economic cyber espionage. The Article also discusses how norms against economic cyber espionage could also be interpreted to exist within the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements that deal with intellectual property. These WTO rules together with the relevant (and modernized) customary norms arguably provide WTO member states recourse to the Dispute Settlement Body to assert their claims of economic cyber espionage. The Article urges victim states to channel their legal complaints through this economic body and its dispute resolution mechanism. It concludes with a realist perspective on why the WTO would be the most effective institution to ensure compliance with these norms