Fish community turnover in a dammed Andean River over time

We describe the change in the fish community of the Porce River in Magdalena River Basin, Colombia, following the construction of the Porce III hydropower reservoir based on 13 years of monitoring data. The results show a clear reduction of the number of native species, which have been supplanted by colonizing non-native species, especially in the reservoir. Four native species detected prior to dam construction have apparently disappeared, but 12 new species were registered post-construction. We analyzed spatial changes in beta diversity in the aquatic environments surrounding the dam. The new environment generated by the reservoir presents a unique species composition and contributes significantly to the total beta diversity of the system. Altogether three distinct new fish assemblages emerged following reservoir formation and there are now six assemblages where there had previously been three. This dramatic change, already visible within a decade of construction, highlights just how strong of an impact dam construction has on habitats and how rapidly fish communities react in this hotspot for endemic fish diversity. Our findings demonstrate the importance of monitoring fish communities for revealing the impact of damming on river ecosystems and informs potential complementary fish diversity inventories elsewhere in the Magdalena River basin.(AU)

Describimos el cambio en la comunidad de peces del río Porce en la cuenca del río Magdalena en Colombia luego de la construcción del embalse hidroeléctrico Porce III con base en 13 años de datos de monitoreo. Los resultados mostraron una reducción de especies nativas y, el embalse ha sido colonizado por especies no nativas. A lo largo del monitoreo cuatro especies desaparecieron de las capturas, y se registró la aparición de 12 especies nuevas después de la construcción del embalse. Analizamos los cambios espaciales en la diversidad beta en los ambientes acuáticos que rodean la presa. El nuevo entorno generado por el embalse presenta una composición de especies única; en total, surgieron tres nuevos ensamblajes de peces distintos después de la formación del embalse y ahora hay seis ensamblajes. Este cambio, ya visible a una década de la construcción, resalta cuán fuerte es el impacto que tiene la construcción de presas en los hábitats y cuán rápido reaccionan las comunidades de peces. Nuestros hallazgos demuestran la importancia de monitorear las comunidades de peces para revelar el impacto de las represas en los ecosistemas fluviales, además permite complementar los inventarios de diversidad en la cuenca del río Magdalena.(AU)

Impact of a tire fire accident on soil pollution and the use of clay minerals as natural geo-indicators.

Following the occurrence of a fire at a tire landfill in the surrounding area of Madrid City (Spain), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace elements present in soils were analyzed to assess the impact of the fire. The capacity of the soils' clay mineral fraction to reflect this air pollution incident was studied. Fourteen soil samples were collected at different distances under the smoke plume, and they were subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and X-ray diffraction analyses. Clay minerals content showed a strong correlation with the pollutants potentially released in the tire fire, acenaphthene, pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(a)fluoranthene. Trace metals Zn and Se were related to the proximity of the tire fire without any relationship with clay minerals content. This work suggests the use of natural clay minerals as potential PAHs geo-indicators in response to air pollution, complementary to current air and biological analyses.

Evolutionary and food supply implications of ongoing maize domestication by Mexican campesinos.

Maize evolution under domestication is a process that continues today. Case studies suggest that Mexican smallholder family farmers, known as campesinos, contribute importantly to this, but their significance has not been explicitly quantified and analysed as a whole. Here, we examine the evolutionary and food security implications of the scale and scope under which campesinos produce maize. We gathered official municipal-level data on maize production under rainfed conditions and identified campesino agriculture as occurring in municipalities with average yields of less than or equal to 3 t ha-1 Environmental conditions vary widely in those municipalities and are associated with a great diversity of maize races, representing 85.3% of native maize samples collected in the country. We estimate that in those municipalities, around 1.38 × 1011 genetically different individual plants are subjected to evolution under domestication each season. This implies that 5.24 × 108 mother plants contribute to the next generation with their standing genetic diversity and rare alleles. Such a large breeding population size also increases the total number of adaptive mutations that may appear and be selected for. We also estimate that campesino agriculture could potentially feed around 54.7 million people in Mexico. These analyses provide insights about the contributions of smallholder agriculture around the world.

Stevensite-based geofilter for the retention of tetracycline from water.

The antibiotic tetracycline, is considered a contaminant of emerging concern due to its presence in wastewater effluents, surface waters and groundwaters. Adsorption of tetracycline on soils and clays has been extensively studied to remove the contaminant from the water. A decreasing adsorption as the pH increases is normally reported in the pH range 3-9. However, adsorption isotherms performed on a commercial stevensite presented increasing adsorption with the increasing pH, in the pH range 2-8. This is very interesting since the pH in natural and wasterwaters are normally in the range 6-8. A laboratory design of a geofilter using a mixture of sand and stevensite was tested against an inflow solution of tetracycline 1 g/L, NaNO3 0.1 M and pH = 7 in an advective transport cell experiment. The number of tetracycline molecules exceed by >3 times the number exchangeable positions in the stevensite geofilter. Under these conditions, the TC adsorption on the geofilter reaches 590 mg/g, surpassing the retention capacity of most adsorbents found in literature. Besides, the tetracycline is completely desorbed by the inflow of a saline solution (Mg(NO3)2 0.5 M, at pH = 2) with capacity to replace the exchangeable positions, thus, recovering the geofilter and the tetracycline.

Gestión de la Atención Primaria de la Salud en un contexto de mercado: análisis de caso en un hospital público de Bogotá, Colombia, 2008-2011 / Management of primary health care in a market context: a case analysis in a public hospital in Bogota - Colombia, 2008 - 2011 / Gestão da Atenção Primaria da Saúde num contexto de mercado: Análises de caso num hospital público de Bogotá - Colômbia, 2008 - 2011

RESUMEN La política de salud de Bogotá (2004-2011) se orientó hacia la materialización del derecho a la salud a partir de la implementación de la estrategia de Atención Primaria en Salud, lo cual se realizó en abierta controversia con la política nacional basada en mecanismos de focalización y aseguramiento. Algunos de los hospitales públicos de la ciudad emprendieron procesos de transformación institucional para adoptar la nueva política sectorial. Con la intención de evidenciar la experiencia concreta de uno de estos hospitales se realizó un estudio de caso para reconocer los procesos involucrados en la gestión del modelo de Atención Primaria en Salud del Hospital del Sur en Bogotá entre los años 2008-2011, identificando aquellos factores que lo viabilizaron , así como los obstáculos, tensiones y contradicciones que se presentaron. Es así, como se realizó una revisión documental, construcción de relatos y entrevistas semi-estructuradas con actores clave. Se describe el proceso de construcción del modelo, los dispositivos que facilitaron su desarrollo y las contradicciones emergentes en el intento de transformar la gestión de un hospital público desde una perspectiva del derecho a la salud.

ABSTRACT The health policy of Bogotá (2004 - 2011) proposed a management which aimed to guarantee the right to health through a primary health care strategy. This policy was implemented under open controversy with the national policy, which was based on assurance and focalization mechanisms. Some public hospitals of Bogotá underwent institutional transformation processes in order to adopt the new sectoral policy. A case study was thus conducted to show the particular experience of one of these hospitals. This project made it possible to identify the processes involved in the management of the Primary Health Care Model of the Hospital del Sur Hospital in Bogotá between 2008 and 2011. The study showed the factors that made it feasible as well as the hindrances, tensions and contradictions that arose during the process. The methodology included a literature review, the creation of narratives and semi-structured interviews with key actors. This paper describes the model's construction process, the devices that facilitated its development and the contradictions that emerged during the attempt to transform the management of a public hospital from the perspective of the right to health.

RESUMO A política de saúde de Bogotá ( 2004 - 2011) se orientou visada na materialização do direito á saúde a partir da implementação da estratégia de Atenção Primaria em Saúde, a qual se realizou em aberta controvérsia com a política nacional baseada em mecanismos de focalização e segurança. Alguns dos hospitais públicos da cidade empreenderam processos de transformação institucional para adotar a nova política setorial. Com a intenção de evidenciar a experiência concreta dum destes hospitais se realizou um estudo de caso para reconhecer os processos involucrados na gestão do modelo de Atenção Primaria em Saúde do Hospital do Sul em Bogotá entre os anos 2008-2011, identificando aqueles fatores que o viabilizaram , assim como os obstáculos, tensões e contradições que se presentaram. Para isto se realizou uma revisão documental, a construção de relatos e entrevistas semiestruturadas com atores chave. Se descreve o processo de construção do modelo, os dispositivos que facilitaram o seu desenvolvimento e as contradições emergentes no intento de transformar a gestão dum hospital público desde uma perspectiva do direito á saúde.

Algunos aspecto sobre la introducción de especies, y estado del conocimiento sobre los peces introducidos en el departamento de caldas, Colombia / Some aspects aouut the introduction of species, and state of knowledge on the non-native fish in the department of caldas, Colombia

La introducción de especies de peces ha sido considerada como uno de los problemas más difíciles de conservación de la biodiversidad, ya que la degradación de los ecosistemas naturales que ha venido ocurriendo en todo el mundo ha provocado que las especies no nativas se establezcan y se conviertan en invasoras con mayor facilidad. Objetivo: dada la importancia de la introducción de especies de peces y el papel que desempeñan sobre las especies nativas, realizamos una revisión bibliográfica, donde introducimos al lector a cerca del concepto de introducción de especies, algunos aspectos en la introducción de peces no nativos, describimos el conocimiento actual de las especies de peces introducidos en Colombia, y por último determinamos el estado actual de conocimiento sobre las especies de peces introducidas en los ecosistemas fluviales del departamento de Caldas. Metodología: Se realizo un compendio de información con base en artículos, libros e informes técnicos, acerca de la introducción de peces en el departamento de Caldas. Resultados: se registran 18 especies introducidas en aguas naturales de carácter invasor y 72 introducidas en cuerpos de agua artificiales (acuarios y estaques). Del total de especies no nativas 33 pertenecen al orden Perciformes, seguido de los Cypriniformes (12 especies),Characiformes (8 especies) y Cyprinodontiformes (8 especies). Las familias con mayor número de especies no nativas corresponden en su orden: Cichlidae con 24, Cyprinidae con 12 y Poeciliidae con ocho. Conclusiones: la permanencia de estas especies en el departamento de Caldas puede desencadenar efectos en los ecosistemas fluviales, por lo que hay que aplicar normas preventivas para llevar a cabo introducciones de especies en la región.

The introduction of fish species has been considered as one of the most difficult issues of biodiversity conservation since the degradation of natural ecosystems which has been occurring all around the world has caused that non- native species establish themselves and easily become invaders. Objective: Because of the importance of introducing fish species and their role in native species, a bibliographic review was carried out in which the reader gets introduced to the concept of introduction of species, some aspects of introduction of non- native fish species, describing the current knowledge about the introduced species of fish in Colombia, and finally, the present state of the knowledge of introduced species in the fluvial ecosystems of the department of Caldas is determined. Methodology: A summary of information based on articles, books and technical reports dealing with the introduction of fish in the department of Caldas was carried out. Results: Eighteen species were registered as introduced in natural water as invaders and 72 were registered as introduced in artificial water tanks (aquariums and ponds). From the total of non- native species, 33 belong to the Perciformes order, 12 to Cypriniformes order, 8 species to Characiformes order and 8 species to Cyprinodontiformes order. The families with the greatest number of non-native species are: Cichlidae (24 species), Cyprinidae (12 species) and Poeciliidae (8 species). Conclusions: the permanence of these species in the department of Caldas can trigger effects in the fluvial ecosystems, reason why it is necessary to apply preventive regulations in order to carry out introduction of species in this region.

Assessment of oxidative damage induced by acute doses of morphine sulfate in postnatal and adult rat brain.

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the oxidative damage in rats of different ages. Weaned rats of 25 g and adults of 300 g were used in groups of 6, a single i.p. dose of morphine sulfate of 3, 6 or 12 mg/kg was administered. All animals were sacrificed to measure GSH and 5-HT levels in brain by liquid chromatography, as well as Na(+), K(+)-ATPase and total ATPase enzymatic activity. 5-HT levels decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in adult animals that received 3 and 6 mg morphine. Na(+), K(+)-ATPase activity increased significantly (p < 0.05) in all groups of weaned animals. In adult animals, Na(+), K(+)-ATPase and total ATPase partially diminished. GSH levels diminished significantly (p < 0.05) both in weaned and in adult groups. The results indicate age-induced changes in cellular regulation and biochemical responses to oxidative stress induced by morphine.

Epidemiological, clinical, and prognostic differences between the diseases caused by Mycobacterium kansasii and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus: a multicenter study.

A multicenter, comparative study was performed to determine the epidemiological, clinical, and prognostic differences between the diseases caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium kansasii in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. From 1 January 1995 through 31 December 1999, 25 HIV-infected patients received diagnoses of M. kansasii infection, and another 75 were selected as control subjects from among patients who had M. tuberculosis infection. Variables associated with M. tuberculosis disease in the multivariate analysis were previous intravenous drug use (odds ratio [OR], 8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-41.4) and interstitial radiologic pattern (OR, 12.7; 95% CI, 1.7-94.3). Variables associated with M. kansasii were previous diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (OR, 15.8; 95% CI, 4.2-59.6) and concomitant opportunistic infections (OR, 14.2; 95% CI, 2-105.7). Clinical and radiologic features were similar for both groups, but epidemiological characteristics and prognosis were different. M. kansasii disease was associated more closely with level of immunosuppression and progression of HIV infection than was disease caused by M. tuberculosis.