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Middle class studies have gained relevance in the economic literature. Nevertheless, a profound lack of agreement on conceptual and methodological issues for its identification remains. Furthermore, it has mostly relied on only one dimension: income. In this paper we present a new multidimensional approach for identifying the middle class based on multivariate quantiles. Moreover, this approach allows for a more general assessment of welfare given that it allows for identifying other groups -the poor and the upper class- overcoming existing strategies. We provide an empirical application for the case of Argentina in the 2004-2014 period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Caldasia is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica is the property of Sociedad Argentina de Botanica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Chilean water penny genus Tychepsephus Waterhouse, 1876 is revised, with descriptions and photographic illustrations of life stages including two larval morphotypes, the pupa of one morphotype, and adults of two species. The pupa of Tychepsephus has not been reported previously. Tychepsephus cekalovici sp. nov. is described, and Ectopria (Chilectopria) grandis Pic, 1947, syn. nov. is proposed as a new synonym of Tychepsephus felix Waterhouse, 1876, which is redescribed. Taxonomic treatment of the adults of both species includes images of the habitus of males and females, morphological variation, and male and female genitalia. Males and females are sexually dimorphic. Information on the habitat of Tychepsephus is provided and illustrated with photographs, and the known geographic distribution of the two species is mapped. The occurrence of Tychepsephus in Argentina is reported; therefore, the genus no longer can be considered endemic to Chile. The taxonomic status and geographic distribution in South America of other species of Psephenidae, particularly members of the subfamily Eubriinae, is reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the study to determine potential of paleartic tamarix leafhopper, Opsius stactogalus (O. stactogalus) in biologically controlling the excess growth of Tamarix species in Argentina. It mentions introduction of Tamarix in Argentina to control soil erosion, dunes and provide shade but its adverse effect due to invasion in Pampean grasslands has raised the need for preventing its growth. The article further informs about the insignificant damage caused to Tamarix by leafhopper.

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Biology is the property of Instituto Internacional de Ecologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Pomacea canaliculata is a freshwater snail native to southern South America. The aims of this work are to update its distribution in Argentina and to analyze through niche models whether the environmental conditions from its original distribution can anticipate its recently expanded range. Almost all records of P. canaliculata before 1958 (original records) belong to del Plata or connected basins. A quarter of the new present records are located in basins not connected to del Plata, indicating a recent expansion of the distribution range of P. canaliculata in Argentina. Recently colonized areas are mostly environmentally suitable according to the projection of the original distribution model, thus natural barriers were probably the main limits to its distribution in the past. According to the model, many regions outside its original range, including several not yet colonized, are suitable for the establishment of P. canaliculata. Consequently, it is likely that this species will continue establishing new populations in Argentina, especially if fishermen and aquarists continue to move snails to new locations. Our study revealed that an extensive but overlooked invasion is in process in its native range, where the impacts on diversity and ecosystems functioning may differ from those already described elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precipitation is a meteorological variable studied in Argentina mainly in annual, seasonal and monthly scales. Its variability is a significant climate element and also a critical socioeconomic factor. This study aims to contribute to the knowledge of daily rainfall in Argentina. Daily records of precipitation for 66 stations provided by the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional are used (period 1991-2014). The spatial distribution of the annual precipitation presents an east-west gradient in the north of the country. In monthly scale, there are different precipitation distributions such as a double maximum in the centre-east zone or a single maximum in the northwest in summer time and in the southern Andes range during the winter. To carry out the study, the concentration index (CI) of daily precipitation with a resolution of 1 mm is used. Precipitation in Argentina, given its vast territory, presents a great variability with a wide range of rainfall regimes; CI values are found between 0.54 and 0.68. These values are categorized as high (greater than 0.61) and low (less than 0.58). The north of the country and the Atlantic coast show the highest CI values. The lower values are present in the Andes range and in the south of the country. The results are compared with other studies in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Argentina, five genera and 14 species are recorded in the subfamilies Prostemmatinae and Nabinae: Hoplistoscelis sordidus Reuter, Lasiomerus constrictus Champion, Metatropiphorus alvarengai Reuter, Nabis argentinus Meyer-Dür, Nabis (Tropiconabis) capsiformis Germar, Nabis faminei Stål, Nabis paranensis Harris, Nabis punctipennis Blanchard, Nabis roripes Stål, Nabis setricus Harris, Nabis tandilensis Berg, Pagasa (Pagasa) costalis Reuter, Pagasa (Lampropagasa) fuscipennis Reuter and Pagasa (Pagasa) signatipennis Reuter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eight genera and 13 species of the tribe Acanthocerini are recorded in Argentina, i.e., Athaumastus haematicus (Stål), A. macer Brailovsky, A. subcarinatus (Stål), A. subterlineatus Bergroth, Beutelspacoris sanchezi Brailovsky, B. dilatata Casini, Camptischium clavipes (Fabricius), Crinocerus sanctus (Fabricius), Dersagrena flaviventris (Berg), D. lacerdae (Signoret), D. subfoveolata (Berg), Thlastocoris hernandezi Brailovsky and Zoreva dentipes Fabricius. Redescriptions are given for A. haematicus, A. subcarinatus and D. flaviventris with photographs of male and female genitalia of D. subfoveolata. Zoreva recorded from Argentina the first time. New locality records are given for Buenos Aires, Chaco, Formosa, Misiones, and Tucumán. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 1st step in understanding the ecology of rodents as reservoirs and their relation with the disease they transmit is to determine their geographical distribution. This distribution can be modeled as a function of environmental variables. We georeferenced an extensive database of records of the hantavirus reservoir Oligoryzomys longicaudatus (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) in Argentina and used generalized linear models to model the probability of the presence of this reservoir as a function of environmental variables. The variables used in the multiple logistic regression were temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration, altitude, tree cover, grass cover, bare soil cover, and distance to rivers, to water bodies, and to roads; 2 phytogeographic classifications also were included. Spatial autocorrelation was considered in the model by including a spatial dependence covariate. The best model included temperature and precipitation as explanatory variables. External validation showed that the model without the space covariate correctly classified 95% of the sites with the rodent and 70% of the sites without it; the model including the spatial term correctly classified 100% of the sites with the rodent and 70% of the sites without it. A secondary model included days with frost and percent cover by bare soil as explanatory variables. O. longicaudatus was recorded in 97% of sites in the High Andean-Subantarctic regions, 65% of sites in the Monte-Espinal-Patagonian regions, and 0% of sites in the Pampean region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]