Biodiversity Informatics
Not a member yet
16515 research outputs found
Sort by
"Bertita" Cáceres en el teatro: Entrevista con Hermes Reyes y su lucha por la justicia social en Honduras
No full textEl 20 de agosto de 2024 me reuní con Hermes Reyes, uno de los artistas escénicos más versátiles que tiene Honduras, para charlar sobre su carrera que abarca desde la dramaturgia, actuación, dirección, producción, títeres, pantomima y cine, así como defensor de los derechos humanos y de los pueblos originarios, lucha que ha sido central en su práctica artística. Su vida ha sido dedicada a los grupos marginados en Honduras, al servicio y protección de los demás. Sus visiones personales, políticas y de gestión cultural reflejan su evidente motivación por construir un mundo más humano en el que las artes son centrales. En nuestra charla abarcamos sus inicios como actor, dramaturgo, activista político, así como su colaboración y amistad con Berta Cáceres, activista ambiental y líder de la comunidad indígena Lenca en Honduras quien fue asesinada el 3 de marzo de 2016. Reyes me compartió como a Bertita, (como aún la llama cariñosamente) le gustaba el teatro, especialmente los títeres y la pantomima y con frecuencia invitaba a Reyes a presentar obras en los territorios lencas que dramatizaban su lucha. Como resultado de esta colaboración y tras el asesinato de Berta Cáceres, Reyes escribió y dirigió la obra de teatro Ancestras. Ancestras se compone de cortas escenas donde personajes míticos y reales representan la vida y el legado de Cáceres. Bajo la dirección de Reyes y posteriormente de Mario Jaén, Teatro Taller Tegucigalpa ha recorrido territorios lencas y ocho municipios de Honduras difundiendo el mensaje de justicia para Cáceres. Su recepción ha cambiado con el tiempo: del duelo silencioso, al miedo y la condena. Esta entrevista es parte de mi compromiso y amistad con Reyes de mantener viva la memoria de Bertita a través del teatro
100 Adults with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at the Dawn of Treatment: A Bone Health Focus
Get PDFIntroduction
As disease-modifying treatments for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are implemented, co-morbidities in adults including osteo-pathologies are increasingly recognised. Guidance for managing such issues is incomplete.
We present data on bone health from, to our knowledge, the UK’s largest single-centre adult SMA cohort.
Objectives
We aimed to quantify the following in our cohort:
Fracture incidence and location
Implementation of bone density scanning
Vitamin D status and supplementation
Methods
Retrospective case note review was performed for 100 adult patients (51% male; 49% female, average age 32), at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery from 2022-2025. SMA subtypes were SMA3 (N=55), SMA2 (N=44) and SMA1 (N=1). Where available ethnicities were: White (N=57), Asian (N=13), Black (N=4), Mixed (N=2) and Other (N=4).
Results
Fracture incidence was 25% (N=25), of which 85% (N=29) affected the lower limb(s). Most fractures (80%) (N=20) occurred in SMA3 patients. 50% (N=10) of SMA3 patients with a history of fractures, subsequently lost the ability to walk.
Bone density scans were recorded in 40% (N=10) of patients who had fractures (90% of scans occurred post fracture), and in 17% (N=13) of non-fracture patients.
Of the overall cohort, 39% (N=39) were vitamin D deficient or insufficient, and 60% (N=60) were prescribed cholecalciferol.
Conclusions
The high fracture rate is particularly pertinent, given that lower limb fractures can accelerate ambulation loss in SMA3 patients. Consistency in bone-density scanning is lacking and generally reactive to fracture occurrence. This highlights the importance of bone health considerations in adult SMA patients
DO YOU HAVE FAITH IN PSYCHOANALYSIS? Imagination as the key ingredient for the effectiveness of psychotherapy
Get PDFAccording to Isabelle Stengers, modern medicine has expelled hypnosis and suggestion in order to achieve scientificity. However, imagination is always present in treatments – especially those related to mental health – so it might be worthwhile to explain this phenomenon instead of reducing it or ruling it out. In this article, we shall explore how classic psychoanalysis has remained within this rationale and some alternatives to be found in contemporary authors. This requires a profound revision of the notions of factuality and fictionality that have determined the development of psychoanalysis, a discipline oscillating between scientific aspirations and literary sensitivities. Guided by the emphasis in ontology given by philosophers such as Michel Serres, Bruno Latour and Donna Haraway, we will provide a constructivist and prospective account of psychotherapy as a process in which imagination is not bounded to the human mind and as a refined practice that enables the patient to embrace her becoming. Thus, imagination can be reintroduced as the chief cornerstone for the parallel healing of the patient’s illness and psychoanalysis’ epistemological paradoxes
Mirror, Mirror, on the Big Screen: North Americanization in Colombia through Film
Get PDFThis article examines Colombian cultural productions to test the theory of North Americanization through film. The theory of North Americanization stems from the study of how different aspects of international interactions shape national identity and cultural shifts, specifically between North and Latin America. Previous literature investigated different Colombian films and how they do or do not portray Colombian cultural values or norms. The data in this project consists of 10 Colombian films, one from each of the last ten years, all with Colombian directors or production teams. When watching the films, I paid attention to dialogue, behavior, and cinematic decisions reminiscent of North Americanization as defined by previous scholars in the field. The present and missing aspects of North American influence indicate how Colombian filmmakers, and by extension the Colombian population, interact with North American norms and values and identify with them. This article affirms the presence of North Americanization in Colombia and adds to the research on cultural productions as a medium of understanding a population
The South African bee Capicola diversipes Cockerell, 1932 is a junior synonym of Samba (Haplomelitta) ogilviei (Cockerell, 1932) (Hymenoptera: Melittidae)
Get PDFThe South African bee Capicola diversipes Cockerell, 1932, is currently placed in the genus Scrapter Lepeletier & Serville. However, examination of the holotype reveals that it is a junior synonym of Samba (Haplomelitta) ogilviei (Cockerell, 1932). This synonym is formally established in this contribution
65 degrees of bee thermal biology
Get PDFAddressing global bee declines requires multidisciplinary, coordinated, and collaborative action. This contribution highlights ongoing efforts to build multidisciplinary and international partnerships among researchers from the University of Wyoming, the University of Kansas, and the Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, spanning nearly 65 degrees of latitude, to explore how bees respond to changing temperatures. This document summarizes key insights from a mini-symposium held on May 12, 2025, and preliminary collaborative studies conducted between May 8 and 15, 2025, at the Universidade de São Paulo. The mini-symposium brought together faculty and researchers from different Brazilian universities, along with both undergraduate and graduate students, creating a dynamic exchange of ideas across institutions and career stages. Emerging themes from the discussions included the inconsistent use of terminology and methods for assessing thermal biology, critical gaps in taxonomic and life-history coverage, restricted access to expensive equipment and the need for more accessible approaches, and the opportunity to incorporate alternative metrics of thermal tolerance in future studies.
Resumo. Ações coordenadas, colaborativas e multidisciplinares são essenciais para enfrentar o declínio global das abelhas. Esta contribuição destaca um esforço atual para estabelecer parcerias internacionais e interdisciplinares entre pesquisadores da Universidade de Wyoming, da Universidade do Kansas e da Universidade de São Paulo (Brasil), abrangendo quase 65 graus de latitude, com o objetivo de investigar como as abelhas respondem às mudanças de temperatura. O documento apresenta os principais insights de um mini-simpósio realizado em 12 de maio de 2025, bem como de estudos colaborativos preliminares conduzidos entre 8 e 15 de maio de 2025, na Universidade de São Paulo. O evento reuniu docentes e pesquisadores de diversas universidades brasileiras, além de alunos de graduação e pós-graduação, promovendo uma troca rica e dinâmica de ideias entre diferentes instituições e níveis de experiência acadêmica. Entre os temas emergentes das discussões destacaram-se: o uso inconsistente de terminologias e métodos na avaliação da biologia térmica, lacunas significativas na cobertura taxonômica e de história de vida, o acesso limitado a equipamentos caros e a consequente necessidade de metodologias mais acessíveis e a oportunidade de incorporar métricas alternativas de tolerância térmica em pesquisas futuras
Institutional Barriers Impeding Collegiate Sport Club Operational Effectiveness
Get PDFCollegiate sport clubs constitute an important sport outlet for college students, with club operations managed by member students serving in governing roles. While clubs are given autonomy to operate, they must navigate a complex institutional environment with regulative pressures that can impede club operations. This research explored the institutional barriers that impede collegiate sport clubs from operating effectively. Guided by a bioecological framework and social constructivist epistemology, we facilitated focus groups with 29 collegiate sports clubs, interviewed four recreational sport administrators, and collected 29 public documents pertaining to club operations across three universities in the United States. Thematic analysis across the data sources revealed three overarching themes, pointing to institutional rules, policies, and procedures (regulations on club eligibility, executive boards, resource allocations, financial activities, risk, travel, marketing); university constraints (limited university resources, organizational problems, interorganizational conflict); and club constraints (poor communication, poor planning and documentation, poor decisions, centralized leadership) as factors impeding club operations. Study implications include reducing bureaucratic red tape, training club leaders, creating a sport club council, supporting club resource acquisition, and increasing club’s division of labor and communication
Unraveling the Role of N6-Methyladenosine in Prostate Cancer: Implications for Prognosis and Tumor Aggression
Get PDFThe epitranscriptomic modification N6-methyladenosine (m6A) has emerged as a central regulator of RNA metabolism, influencing diverse physiological and pathological processes. As the most abundant RNA modification in eukaryotic cells, m6A dynamically modulates gene expression by regulating RNA processing, stability, and translation. Dysregulation of m6A has been implicated in key oncogenic processes, including tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, therapy resistance, and interactions within the tumor microenvironment. Despite these advances, the role of m6A in prostate cancer remains poorly understood, highlighting the need for further investigation. In a recent study, Xu et al. utilized refined m6A meRIP-seq to profile 162 primary prostate cancer patient samples, unveiling novel insights into the epitranscriptomic landscape of this malignancy. These findings not only enhance our understanding of m6A regulation in cancer biology but also underscore its potential to inform diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer