Integrating trees and shrubs into agroecosystems increases soil nutrients and organic matter, which helps in the recovery of degraded tropical soils. However, selecting the most appropriate tree and shrub species as sources of nutrients and organic matter requires knowledge of their productive potential. The study aimed to evaluate litter productivity and nutrient input to the soil of three tropical silvopastoral fodder bank species. Litter input from Tithonia diversifolia, Leucaena leucocephala, and Moringa oleifera was quantified monthly for one year. We found that the litterfall amount was greatest (p < 0.05) from T. diversifolia (1.81 t ha–1 yr–1) compared to L. leucocephala (1.26 t ha–1 yr–1) and M. oleifera (118 t ha–1 yr–1). Indeed, T. diversifolia had a greater (p < 0.05) input of biomass from leaves (1.36 t ha–1 yr–1) compared to L. leucocephala (0.901 t ha–1 yr–1) and M. oleifera (0.869 t ha–1 yr–1). The highest biomass input (p < 0.05) occurred in September to the three species, T. diversifolia (0.516 t ha–1), L. leucocephala (0.243 t ha–1), and M. oleifera (0.233 t ha–1), and the lowest biomass input occurred in March. Furthermore, the greatest annual input of carbon (0.687 t ha–1 yr–1), nitrogen (0.030 t ha–1 yr–1), and phosphorus (0.006 t ha–1 yr–1) to the soil originated from T. diversifolia. Our study showed that T. diversifolia had the greatest capacity to produce biomass that potentially can reintroduce nutrients and contribute to the recovery process of degraded soil due to its high litter productivity, besides, a combination of these three species also improves soil nutrients in fodder banks when do not hauling forage for livestock, contributing to sustainability of system.

We investigated which objective language proficiency tests best predict the language dominance, balance, English and Spanish proficiency scores relative to Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) scores (averaged across 5–6 raters). Eighty Spanish–English bilinguals completed OPIs, picture naming, semantic and letter fluency, lexical decision tests and a language history questionnaire. Except for letter fluency, objective measures explained more variance than self-report variables, which seldom and negligibly improved proficiency prediction beyond objective measures in forward regression models. Picture naming (the Multilingual Naming Test (MINT) Sprint 2.0) was the strongest predictor for most purposes. Lexical decision and category fluency were next best predictors, but the latter was time-consuming to score, while the former was easiest to administer (and does not require bilingual examiners). Surprisingly, self-rated proficiency better predicted the OPI scores when averaged across modalities (i.e., including reading/writing instead of just spoken proficiency), and lexical-decision (a written test) was as powerful as picture naming for predicting spoken Spanish (but not language dominance).

In this article, we provide the first quantitative account of the frequent use of embedding in Shawi, a Kawapanan language spoken in Peruvian Northwestern Amazonia. We collected a corpus of ninety-two Frog Stories (Mayer 1969) from three different field sites in 2015 and 2016. Using the glossed corpus as our data, we conducted a generalised mixed model analysis, where we predicted the use of embedding with several macrosocial variables, such as gender, age, and education level. We show that bilingualism (Amazonian Spanish-Shawi) and education, mostly restricted by complex gender differences in Shawi communities, play a significant role in the establishment of linguistic preferences in narration. Moreover, we argue that the use of embedding reflects the impact of the mestizo1 society from the nineteenth century until today in Santa Maria de Cahuapanas, reshaping not only Shawi demographics but also linguistic practices. (Post-colonial societies, Amazonian linguistics, Kawapanan, Shawi, embedding, language variation and change, contact linguistics)*

Lidar reveals the presence of a precinct at the Classic Maya city of Tikal that probably reproduces the Ciudadela and Temple of the Feathered Serpent at the imperial capital of Teotihuacan.

A conventional conservation strategy is establishing protected areas to help combat anthropogenic and climate change impacts on tropical ecosystems, but the effectiveness of these measures is often hampered in upland areas by resource conflicts among armed groups, citizens and government institutions. Improved governance and community participation are key to effectively conserving these areas, yet little is known regarding citizen perceptions in such places. Here, a representative protected area in Colombia is used in order to analyse rural and urban citizen perceptions regarding conservation, conflicts with guerrilla groups and nature’s contributions to people (NCPs) around Chingaza National Natural Park. We used on-site, semi-structured in-person surveys, geospatial data and statistics to understand these perceptions and the roles of armed conflict and deforestation. Perceptions on ecosystem degradation were correlated with deforestation and past guerrilla attacks. Age and place of residence were influential pro-conservation factors, while younger respondents were most willing to invest time in conservation activities. Air purification and water supply and quality were the most identified NCPs and citizens differentiated conservation-related recreation activities from natural resource extraction. We suggest that the legacy of past armed conflict still affects conservation strategies and communities living near tropical highland protected areas.

The disease caused by the influenza virus is a global public health problem due to its high rates of morbidity and mortality. Thus, analysis of the information generated by epidemiological surveillance systems has vital importance for health decision making. A retrospective analysis was performed using data generated by the four molecular diagnostic laboratories of the Mexican Social Security Institute between 2010 and 2016. Demographics, influenza positivity, seasonality, treatment choices and vaccination status analyses were performed for the vaccine according to its composition for each season. In all cases, both the different influenza subtypes and different age groups were considered separately. The circulation of A/H1N1pdm09 (48.7%), influenza A/H3N2 (21.1%), influenza B (12.6%), influenza A not subtyped (11%) and influenza A/H1N1 (6.6%) exhibited well-defined annual seasonality between November and March, and there were significant increases in the number of cases every 2 years. An inadequate use of oseltamivir was determined in 38% of cases, and the vaccination status in general varied between 12.1 and 18.5% depending on the season. Our results provide current information about influenza in Mexico and demonstrate the need to update both operational case definitions and medical practice guidelines to reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics and antivirals.

Physical conditions and chemical abundances of two H II regions and a planetary nebula in the dIrr galaxy Leo A are presented. These determinations were performed using the direct method (Te measured) and the ONS method. We also constructed photoionization models for the three nebulae to determine the abundances and to analyse the ionizing stars. The O abundance was determined to be 12+log(O/H) = 7.4±0.2 in all cases.

Although Giardia, the aetiological agent of giardiasis, is one of the most prevalent intestinal parasitic infections world-wide, for industrialised countries, it is mainly appreciated as an imported disease with the minimal local transmission. However, the current evidence challenges this perception; Giardia has relevance beyond the high prevalence areas. This infection may be asymptomatic or cause gastrointestinal complains and long-term sequelae, including irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue and impaired child growth and cognitive development. Its detection and diagnosis present a challenge to physicians who may not be familiar with this infection. To improve interventions to control this parasitosis, it is necessary to maintain a high index of suspicion and remain vigilant in finding cases at risk for infection. A better understanding of the characteristics of populations importing infections alongside improved methods to reliably classify infections as imported or acquired locally will help to ensure early and accurate diagnosis. The evidence shows that public health problems like giardiasis are global issues that need to be addressed collectively by both high and low prevalence countries.

We assessed pre- and posteradication nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in longleaf pine sandhill stands severely affected by cogongrass. Across a 7-yr posteradication (glyphosate + imazapyr) “recovery chronosequence,” which included untreated cogongrass, uninvaded reference, and treated plots, we analyzed soils for total N, potentially available P (Mehlich-1 [M1]), pH, and organic matter content. We also used resin bags to assess fluxes of plant available N and P in the soil solution. Additionally, we used litterbags to monitor the decomposition and nutrient mineralization patterns of dead rhizome and foliage tissue. Our results indicate similar total N and M1-P contents in both cogongrass-invaded and uninvaded reference plots, with levels of M1-P being lower than in cogongrass plots for 5 yr after eradication. Soil organic matter did not differ between treatments. Resin bag analyses suggest that cogongrass invasion did not affect soil nitrate availability, although a pulse of NO2 + NO3 occurred in the first 3 yr after eradication. No such trends were observed for ammonium. Resin-adsorbed PO4 was lowest 3 yr after eradication, and pH was highest 5 yr after eradication. Our litterbag study showed that approximately 55% of foliar biomass and 23% of rhizome tissue biomass remained 18 mo after herbicide treatment. Substantial N immobilization was observed in rhizomes for the first 12 mo, with slow mineralization occurring thereafter. Rapid P mineralization occurred, with 15.4 and 20.5% of initial P remaining after 18 mo in rhizomes and foliage, respectively. Overall, our findings indicate that cogongrass invasion has little to no effect on soil nutrient cycling processes, although some significant—but ephemeral—alterations develop after eradication.