Sterile Insect Technique: Successful Suppression of an Aedes aegypti Field Population in Cuba.

Dengue virus infections are a serious public health problem worldwide. Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of dengue in Cuba. As there is no vaccine or specific treatment, the control efforts are directed to the reduction of mosquito populations. The indiscriminate use of insecticides can lead to adverse effects on ecosystems, including human health. The sterile insect technique is a species-specific and environment-friendly method of insect population control based on the release of large numbers of sterile insects, ideally males only. The success of this technique for the sustainable management of agricultural pests has encouraged its evaluation for the population suppression of mosquito vector species. Here, we describe an open field trial to evaluate the effect of the release of irradiated male Ae. aegypti on a wild population. The pilot trial was carried out in a suburb of Havana and compared the mosquito population density before and after the intervention, in both untreated control and release areas. The wild population was monitored by an ovitrap network, recording frequency and density of eggs as well as their hatch rate. A significant amount of sterility was induced in the field population of the release area, as compared with the untreated control area. The ovitrap index and the mean number of eggs/trap declined dramatically after 12 and 5 weeks of releases, respectively. For the last 3 weeks, no eggs were collected in the treatment area, clearly indicating a significant suppression of the wild target population. We conclude that the sterile males released competed successfully and induced enough sterility to suppress the local Ae. aegypti population.

La experiencia moral y ética en tiempos de guerra: una aproximación a la antropología de las moralidades / Moral and Ethical Experience in Times of War: An Approach to the Anthropology of Moralities

Resumen La paz, como posibilidad y horizonte ontológico, requiere para ser realizable reconocer la dimensión simbólica de la violencia y las maneras en que esta es una guía para la formación ética y moral de los sujetos. El reconocimiento de estas secuelas nos permite diseñar estrategias pedagógicas orientadas a crear un ecosistema social que respalde la paz, a saber, una comunidad política capaz de comprender las realidades sociales fuera de los parámetros de la violencia.

Abstract In order to achieve a sustainable peace over time, it is necessary to recognize the symbolic dimension of violence and the ways in which it is a guideline for the ethical and moral formation of subjects. Recognition of these sequels allows us to design pedagogical strategies aimed at creating a social ecosystem, which supports peace, namely, a political community capable of understanding social realities outside the parameters of violence.

Entre vecinos: Retos de la justicia transicional a nivel local: el caso de la sierra de la Macarena, Colombia / Between neighbors: challenges in the local transitional justice: the case of the “ la sierra de la macarena, ” colombia

El actual proceso de paz entre el Gobierno Colombiano y las FARC- EP en la Habana ha reavivado el debate en torno a los límites y alcances de la justicia transicional. Fenómenos como la victimización horizontal, consecuencia de la participación indirecta de los civiles en el conflicto, plantea una serie de retos para el modelo de justicia transicional que sedefina en la mesa; en particular cómo proceder cuando la violencia ha sido utilizada entre vecinos. Este artículo se centra en esta tensión y para ello presenta una caracterización de los límites de la justicia transicional y analiza los contextos de oportunidad donde la victimización horizontal ha tenido lugar en una región colombiana fuertemente afectada por el conflicto armado, la Sierra de La Macarena. El artículo concluye con la formulación de una hipótesis orientada a proponer una posible alternativa para superar la violencia horizontal en el post conflicto: la posible complementariedad entre los mecanismos de transición y las experiencias locales de justicia comunitaria.

The current peace process between the Colombian Government and FARC - EP in Havana has rekindled the debate over the limits and scope of transitional justice. Phenomena suchas horizontal victimization, result of the indirect participation of civilians in the conflict, poses a number of challenges for the transitional justice model, which is defined at the table; in particular how to proceed when violence has been used among neighbors. This article focuses on this tension and, for that, this presents a description of the boundariesof transitional justice and discusses the contexts of opportunity where the horizontal victimization has taken place in a Colombian region strongly affected by the armed conflict, la Sierra de La Macarena. The article concludes with the formulation of a hypothesis aimedat proposing a possible alternative in order to overcome the horizontal violence in the post conflict:, which is the possible complementarity between transitional mechanisms and thelocal experiences of community justice.