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Common bean is a poor symbiotic N-fixer, with a low response to inoculation owing to its promiscuous nodulation with competitive but inefficient resident rhizobia. Consequently, farmers prefer to fertilize them rather than rely on their capacity for Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF). However, when rhizobial inoculants are based on autochthonous strains, they often have superior BNF performance in the field due to their genetic adaptations to the local environment. Nevertheless, there is scant information at the genomic level explaining their superiority or on how their genomes may influence the inoculant performance. This information is especially important in technologically advanced agri-systems like Europe, where environmental concerns and increasingly stringent fertilizer regulations are encouraging a return to the use of rhizobial inoculants, but based upon strains that have been thoroughly characterized in terms of their symbiotic performance and their genetics. The aim of this study was to design an inoculant formulation based on a superior autochthonous strain, Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. phaseoli LCS0306, to assess its performance in the field, and to determine the genomic features contributing to the high effectiveness of its symbiosis with common bean. Plants inoculated with the autochthonous strain LCS0306 fixed significantly more nitrogen than those with the allochthonous strains R. phaseoli ATCC 14482T and R. etli CFN42T, and had grain yield similar to the nitrogen-fertilized controls. Inoculation with LCS0306 was particularly efficacious when formulated with a carrier based upon a mixture of perlite and biochar. Whole genome comparisons revealed no differences in the classical symbiotic genes of strain LCS0306 within the symbiovar phaseoli. However, its symbiotic superior performance might be due to its genomic versatility, as it harbors a large assortment of genes contributing to fitness and competitiveness. It is concluded that inoculation with elite rhizobia formulated with perlite-biochar carriers might constitute a step-change in the sustainable cultivation of common bean in Spanish soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion between Andrés Barrera-Gonzalez, of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and Anna Horolets, of the Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, on the topic of the trajectory of European anthropology. Topics include background on the study of the anthropology of Europe, problems faced by the field in terms of scientific legitimization, and the concept of identity problems in European anthropology.

The article presents the aims and expected impact of the anthropological project called "Anthropology in Europe." The author explains that the ambition of the initiators of this project is to analyze and identify the theoretic, epistemological, and methodological characteristics of the anthropological approach, in comparison with other disciplines.

The article focuses on the teaching of anthropology in European and analyzes its structure as a discipline. A reflection on the interaction between anthropology and other disciplines such as history, sociology and political science is presented. A book review of "Anthropology of Europe. Teaching and research," edited by Peter Skalnik, is also provided.

• An LCA tool for non-LCA experts building practitioners in Latin America is presented. • It meets several of literature requirements for LCA tools for first design phases. • A screening LCA of a bioclimatic building showed 30% reduction in carbon footprint. • Using local databases and a BIM-LCA integration are some of the tool's main features. • A carbon footprint benchmark for the Mexican housing use phase has been proposed. Several Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools have been generated seeking to facilitate its application in buildings. However, most of them are focused on Europe or the US, leaving aside the Latin American region. This paper presents the EVAMED (Building Environmental Assessment tool) framework, a new tool developed mainly for Latin America, aimed at non-LCA expert users. It is analyzed how this software addresses the requirements established in the literature for LCA tools in early design phases. A screening LCA of a bioclimatic project is presented as a case study. A validation has been made by comparing the results obtained with those of a commercial software. The difference between both tools does not exceed an average of 40% considering various environmental impact categories. The results show EVAMED covers several of the requirements established for LCA tools for buildings early design stages, like the use of regional and international databases, the BIM (Building Information Modeling)-LCA integration and its versatility during project configuration and results visualization. Bioclimatic strategies achieve a 30% reduction in the carbon footprint of the case study. The use phase has improved its rating in the Mexican housing carbon footprint benchmark, going from E (78.8 kgCO 2 e/m2-year) to C (54.7 kgCO 2 e/m2-year). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The epidemiological characteristics of patients with tuberculosis (TB) in European hospitals have changed in recent years., Methods: A prospective study of patients with culture-proven pulmonary TB admitted to our institution from 1997 to 2008 is shown., Results: We analyzed 661 patients with pulmonary TB. An increase in the incidence of TB was confirmed during the study period (P<.001). The proportion of patients with HIV infection decreased from 26% during 1997-2000 to 12% during 2005-2008. However, the proportions of older (>40 years old) and foreign-born patients increased significantly, from 37% to 59% and from 12% to 35%, respectively. Multivariate analysis confirmed previous antituberculous therapy and immigration as factors associated with resistance to isoniazid and to isoniazid+rifampin. After the year 2000, mortality was independently associated with extrapulmonary TB (OR: 3.1; CI 95%: 1.4-7.2), hepatitis C virus infection (OR: 6.0; CI 95%: 2.2-16.3), and diabetes (OR: 6.4; CI 95%: 2.4-16.8)., Conclusion: Immigration from countries with high rates of TB infection has replaced HIV infection as the most relevant risk factor associated with TB. The increase in the number of older patients with TB and the presence of specific comorbid conditions, especially chronic liver dysfunction, could explain the more difficult management and increased mortality., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.)