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La digitalización ha crecido considerablemente en los últimos años y con ello el Growth Hacking. El objetivo del presente estudio es analizar de forma teórica del Growth Hacking, como pilar resultante de la transición digital moderna. Como metodología, la investigación se basa en un meta análisis, permitiendo recopilar y generar información desde varios enfoques para poder entender la variable. Se sustenta en un estudio descriptivo-exploratorio y en una investigación bibliográfica, donde se utilizó la página Open Knowdledge Maps y la herramienta Google Trends para el análisis de las variables. Para finalizar se empleó el software especializado de Publish or Perish para ver los 20 autores más citados en Google Scholar refiriendo el término. Se concluye que, el término de Growth Hacking a lo largo de los últimos años ha permanecido constante, pero, el estudio del término se ha hecho profundo aterrizando a lo largo del contenido.

Después de la pandemia por Covid-19, las empresas se han enfrentado a un desafío en sus actividades económicas, sobre todo en el perfil de los recursos humanos. El objetivo principal de esta investigación fue diagnosticar las competencias gerenciales de las Mipymes de Consumo Masivo en la Zona 3-Ecuador necesarias para una transición digital durante la pospandemia. Se concibe como un estudio de carácter descriptivo, con un enfoque prospectivo que utilizó una encuesta estructurada para la recolección de datos, enfocada en una muestra de 371 Mipymes en la zona 3. Para ello, se utilizaron herramientas estadísticas para un análisis cuantitativo. En los resultados, se presentan dos apartados, el primero enfocado al diagnóstico de la situación actual de las empresas, y segundo alineado a un análisis estadístico donde se comprobó que las competencias gerenciales influyen en una transición digital adecuada. Se concluye que se evidenció que estas son de vital importancia porque apoyan en la mejora de la preparación y conocimientos que poseen tanto el personal directivo como el operativo; así como, afrontar los desafíos frente a los eventos inesperados.

La adopción de nuevas medidas Post COVID es fundamental para desarrollar estrategias con las cuales se reactive la economía de las empresas de bienes y servicios que están compuestas por la zona 3 de Ecuador. Objetivo: Analizar de qué manera los estilos de liderazgo de los empresarios incide en el proceso Post COVID de las PYMES zona 3. Metodología: este tipo de investigación se desarrollara empleado la metodología descriptiva de la información, así como la adopción de los métodos de investigación bibliográfica para profundizar en el marco teórico, se obtuvo la muestra compuesta por 384 empresas de una población de 243651 instituciones, para lo cual se estableció el respectivo contacto vía correo electrónico con miembros activos de estas organizaciones para obtener datos que proporcionen validez a la información obtenida, esta a su vez fueron validades por el coeficiente llamado Alpha de Cronbach. Resultados: el 50% de los gerentes de las Pymes de la zona 3 afirman que las jornadas de capacitación son una de las mejores herramientas para mejorar el funcionamiento de la empresa, existen un 70% de las empresas que desconocen el funcionamiento de los metadatos dentro de las actividades comerciales de la empresa. Conclusión: un buen líder es capaz de modificar el clima organizacional con el fin de aprovechar al máximo las capacidades de cada miembro de un equipo de trabajo.

Resumen Introducción. Los sistemas tradicionales de producción ganadera en Colombia se basan en el establecimiento de pasturas en grandes extensiones de tierra, que generan gases de efecto invernadero, como el metano. Objetivo. El objetivo del presente estudio fue vigilar los flujos mensuales de metano que se producen en las praderas con tres cubiertas de suelo y tres niveles de fertilización de nitrógeno. Materiales y métodos. Se realizó un monitoreo a los flujos de metano durante un año comprendido entre noviembre de 2014 y noviembre de 2015, en un suelo Vertic Endoaquepts, ubicado en el Valle medio del río Sinú, Colombia. Se usó un diseño de bloques completos al azar, en arreglo en parcelas divididas, con dos repeticiones. Las parcelas principales constituidas por dos gramíneas (Brachiaria humidicola CIAT679 y Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania) y una con suelo descubierto, y las subparcelas por tres niveles de fertilización nitrogenada (0, 150, 300 kg N ha-1). Adicionalmente, se evaluaron las propiedades fisicoquímicas del suelo. Resultados. Durante la mayor parte del año (época de lluvias y seca) ocurrió oxidación de metano, asociado con la textura franca y porosidad del suelo en el área de estudio, que permitió la difusión libre de gases en el suelo. Los análisis de correlación mostraron estrecha relación entre los flujos de metano, porosidad, humedad, densidad aparente del suelo y la temperatura ambiente, sugiriendo a estos parámetros como los principales factores que afectan el flujo mensual de metano. Conclusiones. Los flujos de metano fueron independientes del tipo material vegetal y de la fertilización nitrogenada evaluada. Estos flujos dependieron de la época del año (seca y lluviosa) y exhibieron un balance anual negativo en el área de estudio, lo que sugiere que estos sistemas tienen las condiciones para comportarse como sumideros de metano durante la mayor parte del año. Abstract Introduction. Traditional livestock production systems in Colombia are based on the establishment of pastures on large tracts of land, which generate greenhouse gases such as methane. Objective. The objective of the present study was to monitor the monthly methane fluxes that occur in meadows with three soil covers and three levels of nitrogen fertilization. Materials and methods. Methane fluxes were monitored for a year from November 2014 to November 2015, on a Vertic Endoaquepts soil, placed in the middle valley of the Sinu river, Colombia. A full block design was used at random, arranged in divided plots, with two replications. The main plots constituted of two grasses (Brachiaria humidicola CIAT679 and Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania) and one with bare soil, and the subplots by three nitrogen fertilization levels (0, 150, 300 kg N ha-1). Additionally, soil physicochemical properties were evaluated. Results. During most of the year (rainy and dry season) methane oxidation occurred, associated with the loam texture and porosity of the soil in the study area, which allowed the free diffusion of gases in the soil. Correlation analyzes showed a close relationship between methane fluxes, porosity, moisture, soil bulk density, and ambient temperature, suggesting these parameters as the main factors that affect the monthly methane flow. Conclusions. Methane fluxes were independent of the type of plant material and nitrogen fertilization evaluated. These flows depended on the time of year (dry and rainy) and exhibited a negative annual balance in the study area, which suggests that these systems have the conditions to behave as methane sinks during most of the year.

Water use traits in lichens are important attributes that determine the duration of hydration and metabolically active periods. In this study, the water holding capacity (WHC) and specific thallus mass (STM) were measured for seven macrolichen species (Parmelia sulcata, Parmelina tiliacea, Evernia prunastri, Ramalina farinacea, Lobaria pulmonaria, Lobarina scrobiculata and Nephroma resupinatum) from a Temperate-Mediterranean fragmented landscape. Twenty Quercus forests with different environmental conditions were selected to gather therein five lichen samples of each species in order to analyse their interspecific and intraspecific variation in WHC and STM. The type of photobiont was mainly responsible for differences in the WHC and the water content per biomass among species. Lichens with cyanobacteria as the main or secondary photobiont showed the highest value for both parameters. However, particular features of species were more important in modulating STM, while growth form had a minor explanatory importance. At the intraspecific level, variation in WHC relied on climatic, microclimatic and forest structure factors, while STM variability was only dependent on the two last predictors. Future research should be focused on other drivers at the microscale to unveil the environmental conditions that shape WHC and STM in lichens.

Biocrusts are major contributors to dryland diversity, functioning, and services. However, little is known about how habitat degradation will impact multiple facets of biocrust diversity and measurable functional traits. We evaluated changes in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of biocrust-forming lichens along a habitat degradation gradient related to the presence of linear infrastructure (i.e., a road) and a profound agricultural driven transformation. To do so, we selected 50 remnants of a Mediterranean shrubland. We considered several surrogates of habitat quality and causal disturbance on the various diversity facets of biocrusts by using structural equation modeling, hypothesizing that habitat degradation primarily affects functional diversity, which in turn regulates changes in taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities, and also that taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities are coupled. Fragment connectivity, distance to linear infrastructure (i.e., a road) and, particularly, soil fertility (i.e., soil P concentration), had mostly negative effects on biocrust functional diversity, which in turn affected both taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities. However, we found no direct effects of habitat degradation variables on the taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities. We also found that increases in phylogenetic diversity had a positive effect on taxonomic diversity along the habitat degradation gradient. Our results indicate that functional diversity of biocrusts is strongly affected by habitat degradation, which may profoundly alter their contribution to ecosystem functioning and services. Furthermore, functional diversity regulates the response of biocrust taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity to habitat degradation. These findings indicate that habitat degradation alters and simplifies the diversity of functional traits of biocrust-forming lichens, leading to biodiversity loss, with important consequences for the conservation of global drylands biodiversity.

Assessing the response of biological communities to contrasting environmental conditions is crucial to predict the effects of global change drivers. The influence of multiple environmental factors may differ depending on the diversity facet considered, which emphasizes the need to simultaneously evaluate the functional (FD), phylogenetic (PD) and taxonomic (TD) diversity. To examine how these facets of biodiversity respond to environmental changes, we studied lichen epiphytic communities across 47 beech forest fragments from two biogeographic regions. We applied structural equation modelling to relate habitat fragmentation, climate and habitat quality with FD, PD and TD. We compared the community response to contrasting climatic conditions by analysing independently Atlantic and Mediterranean communities. We found different major drivers of biodiversity patterns across biogeographic regions. Habitat fragmentation performed the highest effect on lichen communities, with a reduction of FD, PD and TD at both regions. However, the influence of climate was stronger in the Atlantic region than in the Mediterranean region, where the effect of habitat quality was superior. The effect of the environmental predictors over PD and TD was both direct and indirect through the different components of FD, and their intensity and sign differed across regions. Changes in PD were not related to changes in TD. Synthesis. Our results evidenced that the major environmental drivers affecting epiphytic communities were geographically structured. These drivers modified the diversity of the epiphytic community directly but also indirectly through changes in FD, which emerged as a causal but not unique determinant of PD and TD. Our findings also showed the difficulty for inferring TD through PD. These results emphasize the essential role of FD predicting part of the response of lichen communities to global change drivers but also highlight the importance of considering multiple biodiversity facets to understand the effects of environmental change on community structure.

Community ecology has experienced a major transition, from a focus on patterns in taxonomic composition, to revealing the processes underlying community assembly through the analysis of species functional traits. The power of the functional trait approach is its generality, predictive capacity such as with respect to environmental change, and, through linkage of response and effect traits, the synthesis of community assembly with ecosystem function and services. Lichens are a potentially rich source of information about how traits govern community structure and function, thereby creating opportunity to better integrate lichens into ‘mainstream’ ecological studies, while lichen ecology and conservation can also benefit from using the trait approach as an investigative tool. This paper brings together a range of author perspectives to review the use of traits in lichenology, particularly with respect to European ecosystems from the Mediterranean to the Arctic-Alpine. It emphasizes the types of traits that lichenologists have used in their studies, both response and effect, the bundling of traits towards the evolution of life-history strategies, and the critical importance of scale (both spatial and temporal) in functional trait ecology.

Introduction: Enhancement of exercise capacity (EC) and physical activity (PA) are core components of preoperative programs for optimization of multimorbid patients undergoing major surgery. However, the relationship between these 2 components has never been explored in this population. Aim: To explore baseline relationship of EC & PA in multimorbid patients included in a preoperative optimization program. Methods: Main inclusion criteria: 1) Undergoing major surgery; 2) High-risk for surgical complications defined by age≥70 and/or American Society of Anesthesiologists risk scale 3-4. Six-minute walk distance Results: 106 patients were included in the study. Main univariate analysis results are shown in table 1. Multivariate analysis results, taking fit & active as a reference group, are shown in table 2. Conclusions: Age, morbidity and frailty are factors associated to EC and PA in multimorbid elderly patients undergoing major surgery. These findings may contribute to enhance personalisation of preoperative optimization programs.

Introduction: Preoperative optimization programs are effective interventions to improve postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing major surgery. However, customization of these programs to multimorbid patients’ is an unmet need. The current study aims to identify factors associated to program completion, and to postoperative complications, in multimorbid patients undergoing major surgery. Methods: Inclusion criteria: 1) Undergoing to major surgery; 2) high-risk for surgical complications defined by age≥ 70 and/or American Society of Anesthesiologists risk scale 3-4. The program included 6 interventions: 1) Cardiorespiratory training; 2) Promotion of physical activity; 3) Volumetric inspirometer teaching; 4) Cognitive behavioural therapy; 5) Nutritional optimization; 6) Mindfulness. Program completion was defined as attending ≥80% of appointments. Results: From 200 patients, 120 (60%) completed the program. Among completers, 62 did not suffer from postoperative complications (52%). Undergoing oncologic surgery (24.5[3.9-153.8];p=0.001), suffering from endocrine and metabolic diseases (3.8[1.2-12.3];p=0.025) and willingness to participate in mindfulness sessions (3.1[1.03-9.15];p=0.044) were associated with program completion, while being older (0.93[0.88-0.97];p=0.002) was related to lower probability of completion. Among completers, higher baseline fitness (Duke Activity Status Index) (0.95[0.91-0.999];p=0.019) and higher risk of malnutrition (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool) (1.8[1.1-3.1];p=0.023) were related to postoperative morbidity. Conclusions: The current study identifies actionable factors useful to personalize these programs which may facilitate its effectiveness.

Characterizing functional trait variation and covariation, and its drivers, is critical to understand the response of species to changing environmental conditions. Evolutionary and environmental factors determine how traits vary among and within species at multiple scales. However, disentangling their relative contribution is challenging and a comprehensive trait–environment framework addressing such questions is missing in lichens. We investigated the variation in nine traits related to photosynthetic performance, water use and nutrient acquisition applying phylogenetic comparative analyses in lichen epiphytic communities on beech across Europe. These poikilohydric organisms offer a valuable model owing to their inherent limitations to buffer contrasting environmental conditions. Photobiont type and growth form captured differences in certain physiological traits whose variation was largely determined by evolutionary processes (i.e. phylogenetic history), although the intraspecific component was non-negligible. Seasonal temperature fluctuations also had an impact on trait variation, while nitrogen content depended on photobiont type rather than nitrogen deposition. The inconsistency of trait covariation among and within species prevented establishing major resource use strategies in lichens. However, we did identify a general pattern related to the water-use strategy. Thus, to robustly unveil lichen responses under different climatic scenarios, it is necessary to incorporate both among and within-species trait variation and covariation.

Assessing the ecological impacts of environmental change on biological communities requires knowledge of the factors driving the spatial patterns of the three diversity facets along extensive environmental gradients. We quantified the taxonomic (TD), functional (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD) of lichen epiphytic communities in 23 beech forests along Europe to examine their response to environmental variation (climate, habitat quality, spatial predictors) at a continental geographic scale. We selected six traits related to the climatic conditions in forest ecosystems, the water-use strategy and the nutrient uptake, and we built a phylogenetic tree based on four molecular markers. FD and climate determined TD and PD, with spatial variables also affecting PD. The three diversity facets were primarily shaped by distinct critical predictors, with the temperature diurnal range affecting FD and PD, and precipitation of the wettest month determining TD. Our results emphasize the value of FD for explaining part of TD and PD variation in lichen communities at a broad geographic scale, while highlighting that these diversity facets provide complementary information about the communities&rsquo, response under changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, traits such as growth form, photobiont type, and reproductive strategy mediated the response of lichen communities to abiotic factors emerging as useful indicators of macroclimatic variations.

In this contribution, new data concerning red algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the algal genus Thorea, for the bryophyte genera Ephemerum, Hedwigia, Pogonatum, Riccia, Sphagnum, and Tortella, the fungal genera Pileolaria and Sporisorium, and the lichen genera Bacidia, Cerothallia, Chaenotheca, Cladonia, Halecania, Lecanora, Phylloblastia, Physcia, Protoparmelia, Pycnora, Segestria, and Sphaerophorus.

Adopting an integrative approach that explicitly includes the different facets of biodiversity is crucial to assess the response of biological communities to changing environments. The identification of the optimal climatic conditions where communities maximize their functional, phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity is useful to compare whether the optima of the different facets of biodiversity match. Using a wide climatic gradient across Europe, we quantified the functional, phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity of epiphytic macrolichen communities, which are valuable early-warning ecological indicators. We ordinated 22 environmental variables and simultaneously illustrated non-parametric regressions of the diversity metrics against the climatic space using the 'hilltop plot' method to detect the climatic conditions in which the different diversity facets peaked and to compare the match between them. Functional diversity predicted at least part of the peaks of phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity, but phylogenetic and taxonomic hotspots did not overlap. Epiphytic macrolichen communities maximized their functional and phylogenetic diversity in the southernmost forests, with the Mediterranean region appearing as a biodiversity hotspot. Regarding the studied traits, photobiont type and growth form showed clearly defined optima while the quantitative physiological traits and families' optima did not show this pattern in response to climate. The different facets of biodiversity were not surrogates of each other highlighting the need for an integrative approach to assess the effect of environmental changes on communities and to establish conservation priorities. As functional traits mediated the response of lichen communities to climate, preserving high functional diversity might indirectly preserve high phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity. Relevant ecological indicators useful to develop rapid assessment methods to evaluate the effects of climatic changes include the photobiont type and growth form. The lack of relation between quantitative traits and climate call for further research to unveil their role as ecological indicators of small-scale variables or as effect traits.

Traditional approaches in trait‐based community ecology typically expect that trait filtering across broad environmental gradients is largely due to replacement of species, rather than intraspecific trait adjustments. Recently, the role of intraspecific trait variability has been largely highlighted as an important contributor mediating the ability of communities to persist under changing conditions and determining the community‐level trait variation, particularly across limited environmental gradients. Unfortunately, few studies quantify the relative importance of species turnover versus intraspecific variability mediating the response of communities different from vascular plants. Here, we studied the functional changes in epiphytic lichen communities within 23 beech forests across large latitudinal (ca. 3,000 km) and environmental gradients in Europe to quantify the relative contribution of species turnover and intraspecific variability and the role of climate controlling community‐level trait changes. For 58 lichen species, we focused on a set of 10 quantitative functional traits potentially affected by climatic conditions and related to photosynthetic performance (n = 1,184 thalli), water use strategy (n = 1,018 thalli), and nutrient uptake (n = 1,179 thalli). Our results showed that intraspecific trait variability explained most of the functional changes in lichen communities in response to the latitudinal gradient. Further, such functional changes were determined by the covariation between intraspecific trait variability and species turnover, which varied in sign depending on the trait considered. Finally, different climatic predictors explained functional variation due to both intraspecific trait variability and species turnover. We propose that lichen communities cope with contrasting climatic conditions by adjusting the functional trait values of the most abundant species within the communities rather than by the replacement of the species. Consequently, intraspecific variability should be explicitly incorporated to understand the effect of environmental changes on lichen communities, even over large environmental variations, better. Our results challenge the universality of the hypothesis that species turnover chiefly drives functional trait changes across large environmental gradients and call for a wider test of such important assumptions in trait ecology in different organism types and ecosystems., Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. Grant Numbers: CGL2013‐47010‐P, CGL2016‐80562‐P, EEBB‐I‐17‐12573 REMEDINAL TE-CM. Grant Number: S2018/ EMT-4338

El objetivo de este estudio es valorar los primeros resultados del programa de mindfulness basado en prácticas breves integradas (M-PBI) en cuanto a su efecto sobre la capacidad de mindfulness (mediante el Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, FFMQ), descentramiento (Experiences Questionnaire-Decentering, EQ-D) y síntomas de depresión, ansiedad y estrés (Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale, DASS-21). Se incluyeron 74 participantes y la totalidad finalizaron el estudio. La media de edad fue de 38.9 años (DE = 9), el 74.3% fueron mujeres y el 87% estaban laboralmente en activo. Las puntuaciones medias del FFMQ y EQ-D aumentaron significativamente y las del DASS-21 disminuyeron de forma también significativa en la medición post-entrenamiento vs. pre-entrenamiento (p

Little is known about the life cycle of Rhembobius parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Known host records are mainly from saprophagous species of hoverflies of the tribe Eristalini (Diptera: Syrphidae), whose larvae develop in a wide range of aquatic and semi-aquatic breeding sites that are rich in microbial decay. We present an account of the biology and important details of the life cycle of the pupal parasitoid R. quadrispinus in both natural and controlled conditions. Host suitability, the influence of host pupal age and age of the female parasitoid on her production of progeny was evaluated in laboratory tests. Our results showed that the percentage of pupae of E. tenax that were parasitized by R. quadrispinus decreased as pupae matured, and the optimal age for successful parasitism ranged from 1 to 3 days. This biological information could be useful in the biological control of anthropophilic saprophagous eristalines that can act as potential mechanical vectors of pathogens on farms.

In the Orinoco River Basin of eastern Colombia large scale and rapid conversion of natural savannas into commercial agriculture exists as a critical threat for the ecological integrity of this fragile region. The highly acidic and compacted soils inherent to this region require thorough physical and chemical conditioning in order for intensive cropping systems to be established. Assessing the impact of this dramatic soil perturbation on biodiversity, ecosystem services and other elements of the natural capital is an urgent task for designing sustainable management options in the region. To address this need, we evaluated soil macro invertebrate communities and soil-based ecosystem services (climate regulation, hydrologic functions, soil stability provided by macro aggregation and nutrient provision potential) in four major production systems: improved pastures, annual crops (rice, corn and soy bean), oil palm and rubber plantations, and compared them to the original savanna. Fifteen plots of each system were sampled along a 200 km natural gradient of soil and climatic conditions. In each plot, we assessed climate regulation by measuring green house gas emissions (N2O, CH4 and CO2) and C storage in aboveground plant biomass and soil (0–20 cm). Soil biodiversity (macro invertebrate communities) and three other soil-based ecosystem services, were assessed using sets of 12–20 relevant variables associated with each service and synthesized via multivariate analyses into a single indicator for each ecosystem function, adjusted in a range of 0.1–1.0. Savannas yielded intermediate values for most indicators, while each production system appeared to improve at least one ecosystem service. For example, nutrient provision (chemical fertility) was highest in annual cropping systems (0.78 ± 0.03) due to relatively high concentrations of Ca, Mg, N, K, and available P and low Al saturation. Hydrological functions and climate regulation (C storage and GHG emissions) were generally improved by perennial crops (oil palm and rubber), while indicators for macro invertebrate biodiversity and activity (0.73 ± 0.05) and soil macro aggregation (0.76 ± 0.02) were highest within improved pastures. High variability within each system indicates the potential to make improvements in fields with lowest indicator values, while differences among systems suggest the potential to mitigate negative impacts by combining plots with contrasted functions in a strategically designed landscape mosaic.

Epiphytic richness is continuously declining due to forest fragmentation, logging, burning, agriculture, and livestock. The rate of species loss caused by habitat degradation and loss is more pronounced in Central and South America. Considering the extreme difficulty and time required to identify the more inconspicuous species, rapid diversity assessment methods need to be extrapolated throughout the world. This study correlated lichen growth forms and total epiphytic abundance across 119 forests located in Europe and Central-South America. A total of 54 papers were selected from specific databases focused on lichens. Additionally, data from several unpublished ecological studies were included. Linear regression models showed that epiphytic lichen abundance was highly and positively correlated with the number of growth forms at all geographical levels considered (i.e., Central-South American and European forests, and the combination of both). Thus, the use of growth forms may provide an alternative and complementary way to evaluate epiphytic diversity because most growth forms have cosmopolitan distribution and are easily recognizable.

El presente escrito tiene como propósito brindar orientaciones de la gestión financiera desde la perspectiva del liderazgo transformacional. Actualmente, en varias PYMES en Tungurahua se despliega un liderazgo rutinario que no se incluye a la realidad sociocultural y económico acoplado al entorno local. Actualmente las PYMES manejan un liderazgo tradicional y empírico lo cual se refleja en el manejo de la gestión financiera, mediante el crecimiento de activos e ingresos, fundamentados en esto, la metodología utilizada permitió analizar el comportamiento del sistema, en el cual se analizó cómo se comporta el objeto de estudio. Se pretende evaluar el funcionamiento del caso de estudio como es la gestión financiera en la realidad empresarial de la ciudad. En los resultados se evidencia que no todas las empresas presentan como base su sostenibilidad los activos y los ingresos, es importante determinar que no son manejadas bajo un proceso sinérgico que permita acceder a un desarrollo organizacional, en este sentido el liderazgo transformacional se presenta como un instrumento dinamizador de toda empresa que accede a nuevas oportunidades de negocio. Con este artículo se espera apoyar la gestión financiera a través del necesario liderazgo organizacional adecuado a la realidad social, económica y cultural ecuatoriana.

Adult drone flies (Syrphidae: Eristalis spp.) resemble male honeybees in appearance. Their immature stages are commonly known as rat-tailed maggots due to the presence of a very long anal segment and a telescopic breathing tube. The larvae are associated with decaying organic material in liquid or semi-liquid media, as in the case of other saprophagous eristalines. Biological and morphological data were obtained from both laboratory cultures and sampling in the field. Drone flies are important pollinators for wild flowers and crops. In fact, mass rearing protocols of Eristalis species are being developed to be used as efficient alternative pollinators. However, deeper knowledge of larval morphology and biology is required to improve artificial rearing. The production quality control of artificial rearing must manage the consistency and reliability of the production output avoiding, for example contamination with similar species. This article presents the first description of the larva and puparium of E. similis, including a comparative morphological study of preimaginal stages of the anthropophilic and ubiquitous European hoverfly species E. tenax. Scanning electron microscopy has been used for the first time to describe larvae and puparia of both species. Moreover, the preimaginal morphology of E. similis has been compared with all known descriptions of the genus Eristalis. The main diagnostic characters of the preimaginal stages of E. similis are the morphology of the anterior spiracles (shape of clear area and arrangement of facets) and pupal spiracles (length, shape, and arrangement of tubercles). Microsc. Res. Tech. 76:853–861, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

International audience; In Amazonia, our knowledge of the trade-offs and possible thresholds in the relationships among social, economic and environmental parameters remains quite limited and hinders the design of sustainable socio-environmental systems. To fill this gap, we analyzed relationships among landscape metrics, socio- economic patterns, biodiversity and soil-based ecosystem services within a total of 51 farms located at 6 sites of the Colombian and Brazilian Amazon. Farms were representative of an initial set of 274 and they represented colonization ages from 10 to 80 years and a range of public policies found in the region. Two farms were abandoned in Colombia for local reasons.Cluster analysis separated farms in 7 types of production systems according to 5 main criteria (size of the farm, human capital, incomes, farm products and production intensity) selected from an initial set of 18 criteria. Biodiversity was summarized into a composite index Bd built with data from 8 different groups: trees, shrubs, grasses and forbs, birds, Saturnidae and Sphingidae moths, Drosophilidae, earthworms and ants. Provision of ecosystem services was quantified by a composite indicator of 6 sub- indicators of soil hydrological functions, C storage and chemical fertility. Increasing intensity of production systems was linked to a significant decrease of indicators of natural capital biodiversity (Bd) and soil based ecosystem services (Es) with 20% and 37.3% variance explained, respectively. No relationship was observed between production systems and an indicator of human wellbeing (Sb) based on a set of 5 criteria identified with the farmers. Findings indicate that early colonizers migrate when a certain level of development has been achieved (as a result of their activities) and are replaced by wealthier populations.An overall indicator of sustainability (Su) – that combines production efficiency (Ep), Sb, Bd and Es indices (ranging from 0.1–1.0) – decreases significantly with the landscape intensification (Li) with 18.7% variance directly explained by this relationship. Su was also significantly related to production systems (36.4% variance explained): while this indicator remained relatively stable with a value of 0.5 across the early and intermediate phases following deforestation, it dropped down considerably (0.2) for production systems based on cattle ranching on highly degraded pastures with less than 2% forest cover remaining. Restoration with sylvopastoral systems allowed some farms of this former group to increase sustainability to a value of 0.35 after less than 5 years. Agroforestry systems on sites deforested at the same time maintained values around 0.5, as they allowed the maximum production efficiencies and maintained relatively high values of the Biodiversity (Bd) and Ecosystem services (Es) indexes. This is evidence that beyond the general negative trade-off between human development and natural capital observed in Amazonia, agro ecological options to revert the trend are quite promising. A general methodological approach for the reconstruction of sustainable landscapes in farms of the deforested Amazonian region is proposed as a conclusion.

Nitrification, a key process in the global nitrogen cycle that generates nitrate through microbial activity, may enhance losses of fertilizer nitrogen by leaching and denitrification. Certain plants can suppress soil-nitrification by releasing inhibitors from roots, a phenomenon termed biological nitrification inhibition (BNI). Here, we report the discovery of an effective nitrification inhibitor in the root-exudates of the tropical forage grass Brachiaria humidicola (Rendle) Schweick. Named “brachialactone,” this inhibitor is a recently discovered cyclic diterpene with a unique 5-8-5-membered ring system and a γ-lactone ring. It contributed 60–90% of the inhibitory activity released from the roots of this tropical grass. Unlike nitrapyrin (a synthetic nitrification inhibitor), which affects only the ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) pathway, brachialactone appears to block both AMO and hydroxylamine oxidoreductase enzymatic pathways in Nitrosomonas . Release of this inhibitor is a regulated plant function, triggered and sustained by the availability of ammonium (NH 4 + ) in the root environment. Brachialactone release is restricted to those roots that are directly exposed to NH 4 + . Within 3 years of establishment, Brachiaria pastures have suppressed soil nitrifier populations (determined as amoA genes; ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and ammonia-oxidizing archaea), along with nitrification and nitrous oxide emissions. These findings provide direct evidence for the existence and active regulation of a nitrification inhibitor (or inhibitors) release from tropical pasture root systems. Exploiting the BNI function could become a powerful strategy toward the development of low-nitrifying agronomic systems, benefiting both agriculture and the environment.

p. 26 - 41 Este trabajo plantea una reflexión sobre el uso del pensamiento de diseño (design thinking) en procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje, en disciplinas relacionadas con el diseño. Presenta una propuesta metodológica para complementar el pensamiento de diseño con el aprendizaje basado en proyectos y la inmersión en procesos de investigación. Para contar con más elementos de discusión, se realizó una experiencia con aprendices del programa Tecnología en Diseño, del Centro de Diseño y Manufactura del Cuero, SENA, a quienes se les propuso el lanzamiento de una marca para usuarios neotradicionales. Los aprendices consideraron enriquecedora la oportunidad de examinar las soluciones de diseño de manera directa con los usuarios y detectar sus necesidades, recopilando información en tiempo real, con la que elaboraron prototipos para ser evaluados con los usuarios. La aplicación del pensamiento de diseño confirmó la obtención de resultados positivos ya planteados en la literatura, pero también implicó cambios en la manera como la entidad aborda los procesos de formación en los programas relacionados con diseño. Se presenta también una propuesta para que el uso de pensamiento de diseño impacte la actividad investigativa en el centro de formación. This work presents a reflection on the use of design thinking in teaching and learning processes, in disciplines related with design. It presents a methodological proposal to complement design thinking with project-based learning and immersion in research processes. To have more elements of discussion, an experience with learners of the Technology Program in Design, from the Design and Leather Manufacturing Center at SENA took place, for whom was proposed the launch of a brand for neotraditional users. The learners considered enriching the opportunity to examine the solutions of design in a direct way with the users and to detect their needs, by collecting information in time real, with which they developed prototypes to be evaluated with the users. The application of design thinking confirmed positive results previously raised in the literature, but it also involved changes in the way the organization tackles the processes of training in design-related programs. Also a proposal for the use of design thinking to impact the investigative activity in the center of training is presented. Medellín

Because of its importance as a pollinator and its potential economic usefulness for the biodegradation of organic animal waste, the genetic and phenotypic diversity of the drone fly, Eristalis tenax L. (Diptera: Syrphidae), was studied in both wild and captive populations from southeastern Europe. Wild specimens from a natural protected habitat (with low human impact), field crop habitat (semisynanthropic condition), and intensive pig farming habitat (synanthropic condition) were compared with a laboratory colony reared on artificial media. An integrative approach was applied based on allozyme loci, cytochrome c oxidase I mitochondrial DNA, wing traits (size and shape), and abdominal color patterns. Our results indicate that the fourth and eighth generations of the laboratory colony show a severe lack of genetic diversity compared with natural populations. Reduced genetic diversity in subsequent generations (F4 and F8) of the laboratory colony was found to be linked with phenotypic divergence. Loss of genetic variability associated with phenotypic differentiation in laboratory samples suggests a founder effect, followed by stochastic genetic processes and inbreeding. Hence, our results have implications for captive bred Eristalis flies, which have been used in crop pollination and biodegradation of organic waste under synanthropic conditions. This work was supported in part by the Ministry of Science of Serbia (Dynamics of gene pool, genetic and phenotypic variability of populations, determined by the environmental changes, No. 173012), and the Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development (Molecular and phenotypic diversity of taxa of economical and epidemiological importance, and endangered and endemic species in Europe). This study was partially funded by project LIFE-ECODIPTERA (LIFE05-ENV/E/000302).

International audience; Landscape dynamics result from forestry and farming practices, both of which are expected to have diverse impacts on ecosystem services (ES). In this study, we investigated this general statement for regulating and supporting services via an assessment of ecosystem functions: climate regulation via carbon sequestration in soil and plant biomass, water cycle and soil erosion regulation via water infiltration in soil, and support for primary production via soil chemical quality and water storage. We tested the hypothesis that patterns of land-cover composition and structure significantly alter ES metrics at two different scales. We surveyed 54 farms in two Amazonian regions of Brazil and Colombia and assessed land-cover composition and structure from remote sensing data (farm scale) from 1990 to 2007. Simple and well-established methods were used to characterize soil and vegetation from five points in each farm (plot scale). Most ES metrics were significantly correlated with land-use (plot scale) and land-cover (farm scale) classifications; however, spatial variability in inherent soil properties, alone or in interaction with land-use or land-cover changes, contributed greatly to variability in ES metrics. Carbon stock in above-ground plant biomass and water infiltration rate decreased from forest to pasture land covers, whereas soil chemical quality and plant-available water storage capacity increased. Land-cover classifications based on structure metrics explained significantly less ES metric variation than those based on composition metrics. Land-cover composition dynamics explained 45 % (P < 0.001) of ES metric variance, 15 % by itself and 30 % in interaction with inherent soil properties. This study describes how ES evolve with landscape changes, specifying the contribution of spatial variability in the physical environment and highlighting trade-offs and synergies among ES.

Adult drone flies (Syrphidae: Eristalis spp.) resemble male honeybees in appearance. Their immature stages are commonly known as rat-tailed maggots due to the presence of a very long anal segment and a telescopic breathing tube. The larvae are associated with decaying organic material in liquid or semi-liquid media, as in the case of other saprophagous eristalines. Biological and morphological data were obtained from both laboratory cultures and sampling in the field. Drone flies are important pollinators for wild flowers and crops. In fact, mass rearing protocols of Eristalis species are being developed to be used as efficient alternative pollinators. However, deeper knowledge of larval morphology and biology is required to improve artificial rearing. The production quality control of artificial rearing must manage the consistency and reliability of the production output avoiding, for example contamination with similar species. This article presents the first description of the larva and puparium of E. similis, including a comparative morphological study of preimaginal stages of the anthropophilic and ubiquitous European hoverfly species E. tenax. Scanning electron microscopy has been used for the first time to describe larvae and puparia of both species. Moreover, the preimaginal morphology of E. similis has been compared with all known descriptions of the genus Eristalis. The main diagnostic characters of the preimaginal stages of E. similis are the morphology of the anterior spiracles (shape of clear area and arrangement of facets) and pupal spiracles (length, shape, and arrangement of tubercles).