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The objective of this study is to use DNA barcoding to link cystacanths and adults belonging to the acanthocephalans Corynosoma australe found in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean off the coast central from Peru. We sampled three species of commercial fish (Paralichthys adspersus (Steindachner), Paralabrax humeralis (Valenciennes), and Cheilodactylus variegatus (Valenciennes)) and two South American sea lions, Otaria byronia, stranded on the beaches of the city of Huacho and Barranca, Lima province. A total of 509 acanthocephalan larvae were found in the body cavity of 95 fish (prevalence 54.28%, total mean intensity 8.64). A total of 127 adult worms were found in the large intestine from two South American sea lions (P= 100%, MI= 63.5). A total of 203 larvae from P. humeralis were isolates (P=65.71%; MI= 8.83; MA=5.8), 235 (P=54.29%; MI= 12.37; MA= 6.71) from C. variegatus, and 71 (P=42.86%; MI= 4.73; MA= 2.03) from P. adspersus. All adult and larval specimens were morphologically identified as C. australe. They were generated cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene sequences of specimens and were compared with available data from GenBank. Molecular phylogenetic analysis supported our morphological identification, where the Peruvian isolates formed a clade with other isolates of C. australe from other countries of the American continent. Of the sequences obtained, two haplotypes were detected and were not identical with previous reports. Based on both DNA barcoding and morphological analyses, our finding represents the first molecular data of C. australe from Peru and the report of Cheilodactylus variegatus as a new paratenic host on the central coast, extending the knowledge and distribution range of this acanthocephalan in Southeastern Pacific Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illustrates the process of program evaluation for ProJoven, the Peruvian youth labor training program. The program provides beneficiaries with basic three-month training in low-skill occupations and with internship opportunities. ProJoven's design promotes gender equality by encouraging female participation in training for traditionally male-dominated occupations and by providing subsidies so mothers with children can participate. Complementing detailed fieldwork in search of the appropriate control group, the econometric work implements a two-stage matching procedure that includes propensity scores (on the first stage), and gender and labor income (on the second one). The matching on gender allows identification of differentiated program impacts on men and women. The matching on income attacks the problem of Ashenfelter's Dips. The evaluation shows substantial differences in ProJoven's impact for men and women. Eighteen months after participation in the program, employment rates for women improved by about 15% (while employment for men reduced by 11%), gender occupational segregation reduced by 30% and women's labor income improved by 93% (while men's earnings increased by 11%). On the other hand, the cost of the promotion of gender equality represented only 1.5% of ProJoven's total budget. These results suggest that labor training programs that promote equal gender participation have disproportionately positive effects on outcomes for women trainees in a labor market with substantial gender differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]