For any transition towards sustainability to be successful, it is necessary to understand the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) – related to sustainability – in different populations. A systematic review was conducted to identify and analyse KAP studies on sustainability that were reported in the scientific literature during the period of 1990–2016. Ten studies were found, of which half were conducted among populations in educational environments, i.e., teachers, students and graduates. The KAP results vary among the studies; however, there is a general tendency to investigate aspects related to ecosystems, natural resources, environmental protection and conservation. The present study concludes that it is necessary to conduct KAP studies that include categories that reflect on the wide range of meanings of sustainability and the attitudes and practices that would arise from such perspectives. This finding also reveals dimensions of sustainability usually omitted by KAP studies of sustainability.
<p>Una de las limitaciones más importantes de la producción de cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) a nivel mundial es la presencia de enfermedades causadas principalmente por hongos fitopatógenos del género Moniliophthora sp., especialmente, Moniliophthora roreri y Moniliophthora perniciosa, causantes de las enfermedades moniliasis y escoba de bruja, respectivamente. Ambas enfermedades son altamente invasivas y endémicas del cacao. El objetivo de este estudio fue describir las estrategias de control implementadas para manejar dichas enfermedades. Este sondeo se llevó a cabo en conformidad con la declaración Prisma (ítems de información con mayor reconocimiento para las revisiones sistemáticas y los metaanálisis), con base en una búsqueda sistemática de literatura en las bases de datos ScienceDirect, Springer Link y Scopus. Se incluyeron artículos originales de investigación reportados en la literatura científica en los últimos 12 años y se aplicaron criterios de inclusión y exclusión. Se encontró que el año en que más artículos se reportaron sobre el tema fue el 2008, en países como Brasil y Costa Rica. Las estrategias más utilizadas para el control de estas enfermedades son la remoción de mazorcas con signos de enfermedad, el empleo de fungidas a base de cobre y los controladores biológicos como Trichoderma sp. y Bacillus sp. Una de las metodologías más recomendadas es la optimización de los tratamientos mediante la combinación de agentes químicos, físicos y biológicos.</p>
Agroecology is a recent scientific field that has become increasingly active since 1990. It has moved away from conventional emphasis on crops and productivity and has embraced a systemic, multidisciplinary approach that focuses on agroecosystems or food systems and their sustainability. Here, we analyze original articles in agroecology that have been published in eight major global databases in order to establish where agroecology is taking place and what topics focus on agroecology. For this, a systematic review was conducted with original articles with the word "agroecological" in the title and published in English, Spanish, and/or Portuguese as inclusion criteria. One hundred thirty-one articles were found but we were able to access 116. Area of study, country of affiliation of the researchers, publication countries, and topic of the paper were analyzed. It was found that Brazil (18 articles out of 131), Cuba (8), and Nigeria (8) are the most studied countries; Brazil (19 in 116 articles), the USA (12), and Cuba (9) are the countries with more affiliated researchers; and the Netherlands (26 out of 131), Brazil (19), and Germany (12) are the countries that publish articles the most. Additionally, it was found that the most popular topics of research are behavior of crops and species in function of environmental conditions (15 out of 116), soils (12), and production in agroecological systems (13), while sustainability (3), agroecological transition (1), and biodiversity (1) are rare. Our findings show that research follows a colonial pattern where industrialized countries lead publishing, conduct research studies both in industrialized and non-industrialized countries, and do not publish in non-industrialized countries, while nonindustrialized countries publish in industrialized and nonindustrialized countries and do not conduct research studies in foreign regions. In addition, they show that food systems and sustainability are still not common subjects of study although they are main concerns in agroecology.
Triatoma dimidiata Latreille is the second most important vector of Chagas' disease in Colombia and is found in urban and periurban areas. From January 2007 to June 2008, we performed field work in 8 departments, 18 municipalities, and 44 rural villages, covering most of its known distribution and all of its ecological zones in the country. The goal was to determine the geographical distribution, the ecology, and house infestation indices of T. dimidiata over its range and hence the Chagas' disease transmission risk. In Colombia, T. dimidiata occupies a wide variety of ecosystems, from transformed ecosystems in the Andean biome with shrub and xerofitic vegetation to very dense forests in the humid tropical forests in the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. According to genetic and ecological criteria, at least two T. dimidiata forms of this species are present: populations from the northwest of the country (Caribbean plains) are restricted to palm tree habitats, and domestic involvement is limited to sporadic visits because of attraction by light; and populations of the east region (Andean mountains) presenting a complex distributional pattern including sylvatic, peridomestic, and domiciliated ecotopes, and occupying a great variety of life zones. The latter population is of epidemiological importance due to the demonstrated migration and genetical flow of individuals among the different habitats. Control, therefore, must take into account its diversity of habitats.
Bacteria belonging to Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia and Coxiella genera are considered emerging pathogens and livestock is one of the contexts where the transmission of these microorganisms can occur. The goal of this study was to determine serological evidence for the exposure to these bacteria in cattle and humans with occupational exposure to livestock in the subregions North and Magdalena Medio, Antioquia, Colombia, and to explore related factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 48 livestock farms distributed in six municipalities from both subregions: Belmira, Entrerríos and San Pedro de los Milagros (North), and Puerto Berrío, Puerto Nare and Puerto Triunfo (Magdalena Medio). Blood samples from 332 people and 384 bovines were evaluated by serology (IgM and IgG) screening for bacteria from the Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, and Coxiella genera. Seropositivity in humans from both regions was 42.4% (95%CI: 31.2-55.1) for Anaplasma, 74.2% (95%CI: 66.0-84.4) for Ehrlichia, 72.5% (95%CI: 62.1-82.0) for Rickettsia, and 60.7% (95%CI: 59.7-69.1) for Coxiella burnetii. In cattle, seropositivity was 31.6% (95%CI: 19.9-44.2), 66.8% (95%CI: 55.2-78.1), 64.6% (95%CI: 53.8-74.5), and 61.6% (95%CI: 51.9-69.2), respectively. History of biting by ticks, milking, vaccination, having dogs and hens in the residence, as well as the consumption of raw milk derivatives were some factors associated with the infection by the bacteria studied. The results suggest a previous and recent exposure to these zoonotic bacteria genera in people with occupational exposure to livestock, as well as in cattle in the two studied subregions.
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