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SARS-CoV-2 variants with concerning characteristics have emerged since the end of 2020. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants was performed on a total of 4,851 samples from the capital city and 10 provinces of Argentina, during 51 epidemiological weeks (EWs) that covered the end of the first wave and the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country (EW 44/2020 to EW 41/2021). The surveillance strategy was mainly based on Sanger sequencing of a Spike coding region that allows the identification of signature mutations associated with variants. In addition, whole-genome sequences were obtained from 637 samples. The main variants found were Gamma and Lambda, and to a lesser extent, Alpha, Zeta, and Epsilon, and more recently, Delta. Whereas, Gamma dominated in different regions of the country, both Gamma and Lambda prevailed in the most populated area, the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires. The lineages that circulated on the first wave were replaced by emergent variants in a term of a few weeks. At the end of the ongoing second wave, Delta began to be detected, replacing Gamma and Lambda. This scenario is consistent with the Latin American variant landscape, so far characterized by a concurrent increase in Delta circulation and a stabilization in the number of cases. The cost-effective surveillance protocol presented here allowed for a rapid response in a resource-limited setting, added information on the expansion of Lambda in South America, and contributed to the implementation of public health measures to control the disease spread in Argentina.

The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), native to Europe and Asia, has been introduced globally and is now one of the most ubiquitous birds in the world. In North America, these invasive passerines compete with native species for nest cavities, which are often limited. Because of the difficulties of extirpating an invasive species and the growing desire from the public to help in conservation matters, we sought to test a potential technique for managing invasive cavity-nesting passerines that could be successfully deployed by professionals and citizen scientists alike. Previous studies demonstrate that applying vegetable oil to eggs is a nontoxic management technique often used to manage unwanted waterfowl. Further, egg oiling is a technique that is acceptable to a large segment of the public. This study assesses the efficacy of applying vegetable oil for preventing House Sparrow eggs from hatching, reducing the number of fledged young, prolonging incubation time, and delaying renesting attempts by the adults. We sprayed treatment clutches once with approximately 0.8 ml of vegetable oil early in the developmental period and subsequently monitored nests every 3-4 days. The application of vegetable oil to treated eggs was 100% effective at preventing hatching and, thus, preventing any offspring from fledging. Furthermore, the adults in the treatment group incubated their eggs for nearly twice as long as the adults at control nests, reducing their opportunity to produce more clutches later in the season. Given the availability, low cost, and effectiveness of applying vegetable oil to eggs to prevent the reproductive output of invasive cavity-nesting passerines, we propose that this method can be easily implemented by wildlife managers as well as trained nest box stewards.

This paper investigates the participation of the Argentine Navy in the repression of political dissidents abroad during State terrorism. Based on a historical reconstruction of the extraterritorial operations that involved the Navy, one of the three military forces that played a leading role in the last Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983), the paper questions the conditions and characteristics of its performance in transnational repression. It is hypothesized that the Navy developed an increasing degree of influence and autonomy in the deployment of the Argentine repressive apparatus beyond national borders. This type of development, observable in the case investigated, suggests a general key of analysis for studies on transnational repression: just as the action of the repressive agencies within the national territory was neither monolithic nor unidirectional, their cross-border action acquired a similar dynamic, characterized by a margin of relative autonomy of the forces involved, although without deviating from the strategic objective of persecuting political dissidents.

Background: A number of published reports have linked agricultural pesticides (AP) to different illnesses, one of which is cancer. Our objectives were to estimate cancer incidence and death rates in small Argentine rural towns affected by AP; and to compare these estimations with indexes from Argentina's general population. Methodology: An epidemiologic house-to-house health survey conducted by last-year medical students was implemented in 8 small rural towns of the Province of Santa Fe- Argentina (8 T), each surrounded by fields sprayed with AP. The survey covered 27,644 people, accounting for 68% of the total 8 T population. Results: Odd-ratio between cancer incidence rate in 8 T and the general population was 1.37 (P

Revisión del libro La Contraofensiva: el final de Montoneros por H. Confino

Este artículo propone una reconstrucción integral de la historia del Centro Piloto de París, una oficina creada en la capital francesa por la dictadura militar argentina en 1977. Su misión oficial fue difundir la propaganda del régimen para mejorar su imagen en Europa, donde crecían las denuncias de los exiliados por las violaciones a los derechos humanos en la Argentina. Sin embargo, durante una etapa de su existencia, el Centro Piloto no sólo atendió esa labor sino que, además, cobijó operaciones secretas de los represores de la Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada (ESMA) que respondían a los planes políticos del almirante Emilio Massera. A partir del uso de fuentes testimoniales y documentales, este trabajo traza una cronología detallada de la historia de la oficina creada en Francia, en la que se distinguen los momentos diferenciados de su actividad. A su vez, este despliegue en perspectiva permite observar la proyección en el Centro Piloto de tres rasgos definitorios del régimen militar: el carácter imbricado de la relación entre las dimensiones legal y clandestina del aparato represivo; la existencia de una interna política feroz en el seno de las Fuerzas Armadas que impactaba en el “frente externo” de la dictadura; y el desarrollo de una “dimensión productiva” de la represión clandestina.

Problematizar lo que acontece en un concierto de tango es reconstruir las relaciones que establecen las personas y los objetos desde una dimensión musical y social. A partir de la noción de concierto, se realiza una geografía de los lugares del tango donde actúan los grupos del género. En la primera década del siglo XXI el circuito de tango porteño ha mutado para configurarse de forma híbrida e integrada por dos flujos de circulación diferenciados pero vinculantes: uno legítimo y otro autogestivo. Cada uno con sus respectivos mediadores, estos lugares dan fuerza al género en la ciudad porteña.

This article analyses the involvement of the Argentine Foreign Service in the kidnapping and forced disappearance operation of four Argentine activists in Peru, in June of 1980. Based on the approach to a specific case of extraterritorial repression, this analysis intends to contribute to the historical knowledge of repressive coordination between the dictatorships in the Southern Cone and to inquire into the role fulfilled therein by the formal and regular agencies of the Terrorist State, so as to supplement historiographical research which has focused on the role of irregular and clandestine structures involved in said regional cooperation.