A checklist of Lichen-forming, Lichenicolous and Allied Fungi of Ecuador is presented with a total of 2599 species, of which 39 are reported for the first time from the country. The names of three species, Hypotrachyna montufariensis, H. subpartita and Sticta hypoglabra, previously not validly published, are validated. Pertusaria oahuensis, originally introduced by Magnusson as ‘ad interim’, is validated as Lepra oahuensis. The form Leucodermia leucomelos f. albociliata is validated. Two new combinations, Fissurina tectigera and F. timida, are made, and Physcia mobergii is introduced as a replacement name for the illegitimate P. lobulata Moberg non (Flörke) Arnold. In an initial step, the checklist was compiled by reviewing literature records of Ecuadorian lichen biota spanning from the late 19th century to the present day. Subsequently, records were added based on vouchers from 56 collections participating in the Consortium of Lichen Herbaria, a Symbiota-based biodiversity platform with particular focus on, but not exclusive to, North and South America. Symbiota provides sophisticated tools to manage biodiversity data, such as occurrence records, a taxonomic thesaurus, and checklists. The thesaurus keeps track of frequently changing names, distinguishing taxa currently accepted from ones considered synonyms. The software also provides tools to create and manage checklists, with an emphasis on selecting vouchers based on occurrence records that can be verified for identification accuracy. Advantages and limitations of creating checklists in Symbiota versus traditional ways of compiling these lists are discussed. Traditional checklists are well suited to document current knowledge as a ‘snapshot in time’. They are important baselines, frequently used by ecologists and conservation scientists as an established naming convention for citing species reported from a country. Compiling these lists, however, requires an immense effort, only to inadequately address the dynamic nature of scientific discovery. Traditional checklists are thus quickly out of date, particularly in groups with rapidly changing taxonomy, such as lichenized fungi. Especially in megadiverse countries, where new species and new occurrences continue to be discovered, traditional checklists are not easily updated; these lists necessarily fall short of efficiently managing immense data sets, and they rely primarily on secondary evidence (i.e. literature records rather than specimens). Ideally, best practices make use of dynamic database platforms such as Symbiota to assess occurrence records based both on literature citations and voucher specimens. Using modern data management tools comes with a learning curve. Systems like Symbiota are not necessarily intuitive and their functionality can still be improved, especially when handling literature records. However, online biodiversity data platforms have much potential in more efficiently managing and assessing large biodiversity data sets, particularly when investigating the lichen biota of megadiverse countries such as Ecuador.

This paper proposes a proper compass adjustment method using only a GPS (or any other GNSS receiver) and a single visual reference to enhance the efficiency of compass adjustment. During compass adjustment, the ship proceeds on magnetic courses using a gyroscopic or satellite compass and considering magnetic declination. However, non-magnetic compasses are only compulsory for ships of 500 gross tonnage or upwards (SOLAS V/19.2.5.1). Many ships of less than 500 gross tonnage have only a magnetic compass to indicate heading. In these cases, a minimum of five leading lines or a minimum of five bearings of conspicuous and distant points or sun azimuths are necessary to adjust the compass. This makes compass adjustment more laborious and time consuming. To expedite this process, a reliable and practical method was developed to use the courses over ground given by a GNSS receiver and a single visual reference instead of the headings provided by a gyroscopic or satellite compass. The method is valid for all ships, but is primarily intended for those equipped with only a magnetic compass to indicate heading.

Image-processing pipelines require the design of complex workflows combining many different steps that bring the raw acquired data to a final result with biological meaning. In the image-processing domain of cryo-electron microscopy single-particle analysis (cryo-EM SPA), hundreds of steps must be performed to obtain the three-dimensional structure of a biological macromolecule by integrating data spread over thousands of micrographs containing millions of copies of allegedly the same macromolecule. The execution of such complicated workflows demands a specific tool to keep track of all these steps performed. Additionally, due to the extremely low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the estimation of any image parameter is heavily affected by noise resulting in a significant fraction of incorrect estimates. Although low SNR and processing millions of images by hundreds of sequential steps requiring substantial computational resources are specific to cryo-EM, these characteristics may be shared by other biological imaging domains. Here, we present Scipion, a Python generic open-source workflow engine specifically adapted for image processing. Its main characteristics are: (a) interoperability, (b) smart object model, (c) gluing operations, (d) comparison operations, (e) wide set of domain-specific operations, (f) execution in streaming, (g) smooth integration in high-performance computing environments, (h) execution with and without graphical capabilities, (i) flexible visualization, (j) user authentication and private access to private data, (k) scripting capabilities, (l) high performance, (m) traceability, (n) reproducibility, (o) self-reporting, (p) reusability, (q) extensibility, (r) software updates, and (s) non-restrictive software licensing.

This paper tests whether logically equivalent risk formats can lead to different health state utilities elicited by means of the traditional standard gamble (SG) method and a modified version of the method that we call “double lottery.” We compare utilities for health states elicited when probabilities are framed in terms of frequencies with respect to 100 people in the population (i.e., X out of 100 who follow a medical treatment will die) with SG utilities elicited for frequencies with respect to 1,000 people in the population (i.e., Y out of 1,000 who follow a medical treatment will die). We found that people accepted a lower risk of death when success and failure probabilities were framed as frequencies type “Y deaths out of 1,000” rather than as frequencies type “X deaths out of 100” and hence the utilities for health outcomes were higher when the denominator was 1000 than when it was 100. This framing effect, known as Ratio Bias, may have important consequences in resource allocation decisions.

La dictadura ha predominado como forma fundamental de organización política en la mayoría de las repúblicas hispanoamericanas, desde el logro de la Independencia hasta nuestros días. Las fuerzas democráticas, siempre presentes y muchas veces heroicamente activas, por lo general han llevado la peor parte en el conflicto con la tiranía. Por eso resulta comprensible que la novela hispanoamericana refleje, desde sus comienzos, esa característica básica de la vida social del Continente. El número de novelas que, directa o indirectamente, se refieren al tema dictatorial es enorme. Curiosa y (en apariencia) contradictoriamente, por larguísimos años el dictador no ha sido protagonista de estas obras. Aparece en ellas como un personaje más, importante, pero secundario, en el desarrollo de la trama. No es sino en la década del 70 de este siglo, con las novelas dedicadas a este tema por Alejo Carpentier, Augusto Roa Bastos, Gabriel García Márquez y Arturo Uslar Pietri, cuando el dictador ocupa el centro de la atención del autor y su personalidad es examinada en todas sus aristas. O sea que hasta 1970 no existió mas que el género (la novela de dictadura), de orientación sociológica y política, más que psicológica. Sólo en la década del 70 aparece la especie (la novela de dictadores), que además de retratar un régimen se concentra en el estudio de la compleja personalidad tiránica de un individuo. Al examen del proceso histórico y literario que explica ese fundamental cambio de orientación estética está dedicado este artículo.

In this report, we present a new 14C of 9627–9490 cal BC (8640 ± 30 BP) obtained at the Intihuasi Cave, San Luis, Argentina. The sample was obtained during fieldwork conducted as part of a new management plan for tourist use of the site. Intihuasi has played a central role in the history of archaeological investigations in South America. There, in 1951 González applied for the first time a systematic methodology for archaeological excavations in Argentina. Moreover, he complemented his field results with the obtainment of the first radiocarbon dates for the Southern Cone of South America. These achievements allowed him to build the first macroregional chronological sequence, which is still partially used. The new radiocarbon date presented in this article aims to reconsider the importance of the Intihuasi Cave for the discussion of the macroregional peopling of the Southern Cone of South America. We believe that the site ratifies the occurrence of an Andean population vector in the region.

Wild birds are hosts of Culicoides from as early on as the nesting stage when constrained to their nests. However, the environmental factors which determine the abundance and composition of Culicoides species within each bird nest are still understudied. We sampled Culicoides from Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nests found in 2 types of forests located in southern Spain. Firstly, we monitored the abundance of Culicoides species in bird nests from a dry Pyrenean oak deciduous forest and a humid mixed forest comprising Pyrenean and Holm oaks throughout 2 consecutive years. During the 3rd year, we performed a cross-fostering experiment between synchronous nests to differentiate the role of rearing environment conditions from that of the genetically determined or maternally transmitted cues released by nestlings from each forest. We found 147 female Culicoides from 5 different species in the birds' nests. The abundance of Culicoides was higher in the dry forest than in the humid forest. Culicoides abundance, species richness and prevalence were greater when the nestlings were hatched later in the season. The same pattern was observed in the cross-fostering experiment, but we did not find evidence that nestling's features determined by the forest of origin had any effect on the Culicoides collected. These results support the notion that habitat type has a strong influence on the Culicoides affecting birds in their nests, while some life history traits of birds, such as the timing of reproduction, also influence Culicoides abundance and species composition.

Nowadays, the world is shifting towards a more sustainable way of life, and product designers have an important part in this change. They have to eco(re)design their products to make them environmentally conscious throughout their lifecycle, and especially at their end-of-life (EoL). However, one can observe that synergy between product designers and recycling-chains stakeholders is lacking, mainly due to their weak communication. While many design-for-EoL approaches coexist in the literature, design from EoL must also be taken into account to fully develop a circular economy.

RE-CYCLING is an innovative design approach that supports both design for and from EoL. This paper focuses on the recycling EoL-option and the validation of the associated indicators. To validate the design-for-recycling indicators, the recyclability of three smartphones is assessed. It is expected that indicators provide a similar score as none of them was designed to be recycled; results comply with expectations. In parallel, the convenience of using recycled materials in smartphones is analysed to validate our design-from-recycling indicators. It is found that the proposed indicators can indeed support designers integrating recycled materials in products.

This study presents an individualized coaching approach tailored to the stages of proximity of promising scientists interested in becoming independently funded researchers in the context of a minority-serving institution. This strategy defined the participant’s stage of proximity by their number of first-author publications in peer-reviewed journals and their track record in submitting research grants. We argue that coaching tailored by stages is an asset to maintain the enthusiasm, persistence, and positive attitude of promising scientists as they try to reach independent investigator status. Furthermore, this valuable educational approach supports the development of management and leadership skills in defined scientific domains.

Muchos animales se encuentran entretejidos en las visiones cósmicas de diferentes culturas del mundo. En este contexto varias especies han sido idealizadas como referentes que sintetizan atributos apreciados por el hombre como poder, valor, nobleza, así como fuerzas de la naturaleza o de lo desconocido. Con frecuencia son animales grandes los que han capturado la atención humana desde sus orígenes, como lo refleja el arte parietal antiguo. Probablemente esto obedece a que se les consideró importantes para la vida cotidiana y también a su supuesta influencia en mitos de mundos paralelos.

En varias culturas alrededor del mundo se ha asignado a los osos un sitio prominente. Se conocen rituales y cultos relacionados con la presencia del oso en distintos grupos humanos en Asia, en pueblos originarios de Norteamérica y culturas de los Andes. Estas manifestaciones ocurren, por lo general, en sociedades que se encuentran asentadas en territorios dentro las principales áreas de distintas especies de osos. Sin embargo, en partes marginales de territorios ocupados por osos, las referencias culturales a ellos son escasas. Por ejemplo, no se había reportado la representación de estos mamíferos en las culturas que se desarrollaron en Mesoamérica.

Trabajos arqueológicos recientes en el sitio de Tancama (Querétaro, México), ocupado por un grupo de afinidad Huasteca cuya mayor actividad se dio en el período clásico (entre 500 y 700 d.C.; fechas de C14), han revelado una escultura de barro asociada con restos de uno de los edificios principales, que representa un oso de cuerpo entero (se determinó como un oso negro, Ursus americanus, dado que es la única especie presente en el área). Además de la escultura, se encontraron vasijas y fragmentos cerámicos, excavados en otros edificios, que muestran rasgos diagnósticos de la cabeza de un oso.

El presente estudio analiza este primer y singular hallazgo para Mesoamérica, enfatizando su relevancia para la región. Se analizan las relaciones entre la efigie principal de oso como parte de un edificio y las numerosas vasijas con representaciones ursiformes, para explorar el posible significado cultural local de esta especie animal.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic diseases with very high morbidity and mortality worldwide; associated with obesity and hypertension and representing at least 90% of all cases of diabetes. It is characterized by insulin resistance in peripheral tissues and a deterioration in its secretion by the pancreatic β-cell. The control and treatment of these patients is a low-carbohydrate diet, for which non-nutritive sweeteners such as sucralose and stevia are being used, maintaining the sweet taste. It is known that these sweeteners are harmless, but the results so far are still controversial. To identify alterations in the secretion of cytokines and adipokines in db/db mice with consumption of sweeteners. We conducted a randomized, controlled study, with 24 eight week-old male db/db mice. They were divided into 4 groups: a) Control (CL), b) Sucrose (SUC), c) Sucralose (SUCL) and c) Stevia (ST). The animals were fed a normal diet and water ad libitum. The sweeteners were administered for 8 weeks diluted in purified water at 41.66 mg/mL of Sucrose and 4.16 mg/mL of Sucralose or Stevia. Blood glucose was quantified daily; water consumption with and without sweetener, food, and BMI, were quantified weekly. The concentration of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17, INF-γ, TGF-β and TNF-α, insulin, adiponectin, resistin and peptide-C in plasma were determined by luminometry. Glucose was found increased at the end of 8 weeks in the SUC group, compared to CL. They consumed more food, water with and without sweetener in the SUC group (p < 0.001), compared with the controls. BMI was higher in the SUC group, compared with the ST group (p < 0.019). ST decreased the secretion of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17, INF-γ and TNF-α, adiponectin and insulin (p < 0.001), but it increased TGF-β, without modifications in resistin (p < 0.051). On the other hand, SUC decreased the secretion of IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, INF-γ, TNF-α, adiponectin, insulin and C-peptide (p < 0.028), but increased IL-6, IL-17 and resistin (p < 0.001), without modifications in TGF-β. Sucralose is a non-nutritive sweetener that caused an increase in the BMI of db/db mice, this because it increased the consumption of food. It also modified the secretion of adipokines; while Stevia decreased the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17, INF-γ and TNF-α. Our results suggest that sweetener consumption may alter the inflammatory profile and the production of adipokines in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Landscape evolution studies enable us to understand site formation processes affecting past hunter-gatherer settlements. This work presents a landscape reconstruction of Roca dels Bous site (RB), which is a reference site for the Late Mousterian occupation of the incised valleys of the southeastern Pyrenees. For this purpose, we combined geomorphological studies, stratigraphic descriptions, new single-grain optically stimulated luminescence datasets, statistical methods, and geophysical surveys. RB formed by gravitational processes induced by fluvial undermining of the Segre River during changing late Pleistocene climatic conditions. Geomorphological and chronological data combined with fluvial age-incision models suggest that, during Late Mousterian occupation, RB was located very near the Segre floodplain level and closer to water and raw material natural resources than at present. The accumulation of gravitational deposits associated with the archaeological levels occurred at rates of 0.16–0.44 m ka-1, between 55 and 47 ka, coinciding with Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (MIS3). More detailed comparison with available climatic curves suggests that the dated RB layers were potentially deposited during cold phases within MIS3. This work provides new landscape-based evidence to examine the paleoenvironmental context of Neanderthal presence in the southeastern Pre-Pyrenees, an important region in the debate regarding Neanderthal demise in Western Europe around 40 ka.

Living standards capabilities are an important determinant of healthy ageing. The Living Standards Capabilities for Elders scale (LSCAPE) is the main instrument available to assess living standards capabilities among older adults based on Sen's Capability Approach. The objectives of this study were: (a) to adapt and validate LSCAPE for use in the Spanish population; (b) to examine the dimensionality, validity and reliability; and (c) to establish the convergent validity of LSCAPE using self-reported measures of quality of life and income. The LSCAPE was administered to 441 Spanish seniors aged 65 and over. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to analyse the dimensionality, validity and reliability. Discriminant and convergent validity of the model were assessed using Average Variance Extracted (AVE). Reliability was shown by Composite Reliability (CR) and Cronbach's alpha. Convergent validity was tested by correlating the LSCAPE scales and sub-scales with the Short-form Health Survey (SF-12) sub-scales. CFA showed that the LSCAPE Six-factor Model fits well to the data, showing Standardised Root Mean Square Residual < 0.09 (0.084), Comparative Fit Index and Tucker–Lewis Index > 0.9 (0.925 and 0.917, respectively). LSCAPE showed also good reliability (CR indices > 0.7) and validity (AVE > 0.5) measures. Finally, LSCAPE had moderate to strong associations with SF-12 sub-scales (>0.6) and a moderate relationship with income (>0.3). Thus, LSCAPE has been demonstrated to be a reliable and valid instrument in measuring living standards capabilities among the Spanish older population.