Northern Part Of Chile Research Articles

Herbivorous fish (Medialuna ancietae) as a sustainable alternative for nutrition security in Northern Chile

Sustainability in aquaculture is a necessity of the future, not only as the most promising means of supplying the protein that the world will require to feed its growing population but to offer needed conservation of the world’s ocean resources. The use of wild fish inputs in farm-raised fish outputs has been a primary concern of sustainability in aquaculture production. Herbivorous fish are more efficient converters of protein into fish flesh. Species of the genus Medialuna fish have been reported as a fast-growing, short-lived species. The native fish Acha (Medialuna ancietae Chirichigno 1987) in the Northern part of Chile is an over-exploited fish that has been associated with aquatic vegetation as a food source. We studied the feeding habits and nutritional composition of M. ancietae. For this, we developed a reference collection of marine macroalga (epidermis and nutritional composition) observed in the diet of individuals of this species for the study of digestive material. More than 90% of the components found were marine macroalgae, indicating that M. ancietae is an herbivorous fish. Compared to non-herbivorous fish our results showed that most of the nutrients present in the Medialuna diet are found at much lower levels including n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (49.7%) and protein (13–60%). M. ancietae meat provides essential components of human nutrition with a significant protein content (18.99 ± 0.26%) and 268 ± 5.9 mg/100 g of the essential n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Most fed aquaculture non-herbivorous species rely on wild-captured fish for these essential nutrients, while M. ancietae can obtain and concentrate them from potentially cultivable macroalgae. M. ancietae has potential for sustainable aquaculture production as a contribution to nutrition security and the re-stocking of wild populations.

Topological Navigation and Localization in Tunnels—Application to Autonomous Load-Haul-Dump Vehicles Operating in Underground Mines

Mobile robots are no longer used exclusively in research laboratories and indoor controlled environments, but are now also used in dynamic industrial environments, including outdoor sites. Mining is one industry where robots and autonomous vehicles are increasingly used to increase the safety of the workers, as well as to augment the productivity, efficiency, and predictability of the processes. Since autonomous vehicles navigate inside tunnels in underground mines, this kind of navigation has different precision requirements than navigating in an open environment. When driving inside tunnels, it is not relevant to have accurate self-localization, but it is necessary for autonomous vehicles to be able to move safely through the tunnel and to make appropriate decisions at its intersections and access points in the tunnel. To address these needs, a topological navigation system for mining vehicles operating in tunnels is proposed and validated in this paper. This system was specially designed to be used by Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) vehicles, also known as scoop trams, operating in underground mines. In addition, a localization system, specifically designed to be used with the topological navigation system and its associated topological map, is also proposed. The proposed topological navigation and localization systems were validated using a commercial LHD during several months at a copper sub-level stoping mine located in the Coquimbo Region in the northern part of Chile. An important aspect to be addressed when working with heavy-duty machinery, such as LHDs, is the way in which automation systems are developed and tested. For this reason, the development and testing methodology, which includes the use of simulators, scale-models of LHDs, validation, and testing using a commercial LHD in test-fields, and its final validation in a mine, are described.

Los desafíos de la televisión de proximidad en el norte de Chile: El caso de la región de Coquimbo

La televisión de proximidad son medios de comunicación llamados a apoyar el acceso a la información y puesta en valor de los territorios, buscan representar en sus contenidos a un público local, rescatar su identidad y contrarrestar el monopolio informativo que ejercen las cadenas nacionales. El presente trabajo tiene por objetivo analizar los desafíos de la televisión de proximidad en la Región de Coquimbo, norte de Chile. Analizar su estructura, funcionamiento y sistema de producción de contenidos, en un contexto particular de transición tecnológica por el que atraviesa el país. Después de un catastro que permitió saber el número de canales que estaban al aire a la fecha de la investigación, se utilizó una metodología mixta compuesta por un análisis documental y entrevistas a los productores y encargados de contenido de cada canal -seis medios que corresponden al cien por ciento del universo- para luego aplicar un cuestionario al personal de producción de las televisoras. Entre los resultados destaca que las televisoras de proximidad operan con un mínimo de recursos humanos y económicos. Que cuentan con un apoyo nulo o derechamente inalcanzable para la mayoría de los canales. Su escaso financiamiento publicitario impide mejorar la calidad de los contenidos, como también su periodicidad y cantidad. Pese a estas dificultades y al escaso apoyo desde las políticas públicas gubernamentales, estos medios son indispensables para cautelar la cultura e identidad local y colocar en la agenda temas y problemas que de otra manera no serían atendidos por las autoridades centrales.

Methodology for Monitoring Sustainable Development of Isolated Microgrids in Rural Communities

Microgrids are a rapidly evolving and increasingly common form of local power generation used to serve the needs of both rural and urban communities. In this paper, we present a methodology to evaluate the evolution of the sustainability of stand-alone microgrids projects. The proposed methodology considers a composite sustainability index (CSI) that includes both positive and negative impacts of the operation of the microgrid in a given community. The CSI is constructed along environmental, social, economic and technical dimensions of the microgrid. The sub-indexes of each dimension are aggregated into the CSI via a set of adaptive weighting factors, which indicate the relative importance of the corresponding dimension in the sustainability goals. The proposed methodology aims to be a support instrument for policy makers especially when defining sound corrective measures to guarantee the sustainability of small, isolated microgrid projects. To validate the performance of the proposed methodology, a microgrid installed in the northern part of Chile (Huatacondo) has been used as a benchmarking project.

EDUCACIÓN PARVULARIA E INCLUSIÓN EN EL NORTE DE CHILE: FORMANDO PEQUEÑOS CHILENOS EN LAS AULAS DE TARAPACÁ

This paper describes the teaching practices of pre-school teachers who play a reproductive role of nationalism internalized in children as Chilean citizenships. This happens as the result of a ludic scenario that ritualizes civic and patriotic conduct, through civic commemorations based on the Pacific war, regardless both the cosmopolitan reality and cultural diversity present in classrooms in the Northern part of Chile. Considering this, we propose a new perspective on conducting civic events in early childhood education, to make them more inclusive and consistent with the cultural reality of the region of Tarapaca, Chile's most multicultural region.

Problem construction in uncertain situations:The case of the Chilean miners rescue operation

On August 5th 2010, 33 miners working at the San Jose mine in the northern part of Chile, were trapped more than half a mile underground when a 700,000 ton rock collapsed and blocked the mine. The ...

EFFECTS OF SALINE WATER ON WATER STATUS, YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY OF WILD (SOLANUM CHILENSE) AND DOMESTICATED (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUM VAR. CERASIFORME) TOMATOES

SUMMARYFarmers around the world are concerned about the effects of human-induced salinity on crop yield and quality. Therefore, researchers are actively testing wild relatives of cultivated plants to identify candidates to improve crop performance under salt stress. A study was conducted to understand the effects of salt stress (Sodium chloride, NaCl) on cultivated tomato species (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme L.) and a wild tomato relative (Solanum chilense Dun.) from the Northern part of Chile. Plants were cultivated hydroponically under controlled environmental conditions for 112 days with nutrient solution containing 0 mM (3 dS m−1), 40 mM (6 dS m−1) and 80-mM (9 dS m−1) NaCl. Salt stress reduced the shoot biomass in S. lycopersicum but not in S. chilense. Both species were able to maintain the leaf water content; however, the cultivated S. lycopersicum showed osmotic adjustment, while S. chilense did not. Salt stress reduced the total fruit yield in S. lycopersicum based on a decrease in the mean fruit weight, but it had no impact on the number of fruits per plant. In contrast, salt stress had no significant impact on the fruit yield in S. chilense. Salt stress increased the total soluble solids content in S. lycopersicum and the titratable acidity in S. chilense. It was concluded that S. chilense displays a contrasting behaviour in response to prolonged exposure to moderate salinity compared with S. lycopersicum, and that this related species could be an interesting plant for breeding purposes.

National control and eradication program of bovine tuberculosis in Chile

There have been reports of the presence of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in Chile for more than 100 years. Several prevalence studies have revealed that there is a wide spectrum of disease across the country with certain geographic areas where the disease is endemic through to other geographic areas where infection is sporadic and at very low prevalence. In 2009, this information was used to divide Chile into different geographic zones based on prevalence rates. This will enable the correct actions to be undertaken to reduce the prevalence of TB. Thus the northern part of Chile which has a medium to high prevalence of TB will be categorized as a control zone. In contrast, the southern part of Chile which has a high proportion of the bovine population, has a low prevalence of TB and will be classified as an eradication zone ( Paredes, 2008). Although there have been several past attempts to create a national control and eradication program in Chile, none has been successful. A national program is proposed, and outlined in this paper. Progress toward program initiation in 2009 has been difficult, mostly because of the global economic crisis, difficulties in the milk and meat industry, and social and political issues.

¿Qué es el multiculturalismo? La nueva cuestión étnica en el Chile neoliberal

Since the end of the dictatorship, there has been a redefinition of the relationships between the Chilean State and the indigenous peoples. A new political, legal and ideological framework has been implemented in order to deal with the so-called «indigenous problem» and multiculturalism has become the buzzword of official discourses. In this essay, we shall focus on the political nature of this new national and nationalizing project called multiculturalism through the examination of its everyday practices and representations in specific ethnographic sites. Drawing on the critical anthropology of development and of the neoliberal state, we shall concentrate on the brand new IDB-sponsored ethnodevelopment program called Origenes as well as on the structuring of the intercultural health field in the northern part of Chile. We shall then draw some general conclusions about the nature of neoliberal multiculturalism and the shaping of what we shall call ethnogovernmentality.

DEVELOPMENT OF RIVER RUNOFF MODEL WHICH CAN REPRODUCE SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS AND GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF WATER SCARCITY, USING THE MODEL

We developed a new global river discharge model by merging existing methods and tuning parameters in the model for better reproduction of observed monthly river discharges. The developed model enabled us to estimate amount of renewable water resource witha spatially finer scale than the previous studies. After verifying the effect of the parameter tuning, we appliedthe developed model to the assessment of water scarcity. The regions judged to have high risk of water scarcityare Sahara desert, Arabian Peninsula, Indus river basin, the northern part ofChile and California Peninsula. Though the regions judged to have high risk of water scarcity were similar to the results of the previous studies, we additionally succeeded in depicting inhomogeneous distribution of water scarcity risk inside the river basins. Since the developed model estimates monthly renewable water resources, monthly variation of water scarcity can be also assessed.

Major Earthquakes of Chile: A Historical Survey, 1535-1960

This paper is an update of a 1970 publication, “Major Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Chile” (Lomnitz, 1970), which appeared in the Geologische Rundschau , now International Journal of Earth Sciences. The reference has always been hard to find and in recent years has become almost impossible to locate. Additionally, the database was overdue for revision in light of more recent results. The earlier conclusion of the paper, that “Chile emerges as perhaps the most highly seismic region in the world, with the possible exception of Japan”, still stands. One might add that Chilean earthquakes have provided data for important historical advances in the Earth sciences. For example, the 1835 earthquake in southern Chile was described by Darwin (1845) and has provided the earliest reliable observations of geodetic uplift along a subduction zone. The 1960 Chile earthquake ( Mw 9.5), possibly the largest earthquake in world history, continues to provide invaluable data and challenges for research. Tectonic changes in the coastal morphology of Chile may well be unique (Lomnitz, 1969). As part of a 5,000-km subduction system and with a subduction rate of more than 7 cm/year, Chile is located atop one of the most highly active subduction zones in the world. Available information on the history of earthquakes in Chile is limited. This is partly due to the nature of the terrain. The northern part of Chile is a desert, where rain falls about once every 25 years. The southern part is extremely rainy and is covered with a dense rain forest. Farther south along the coast one finds glaciers. The country is also wedged between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains. With the exception of a few scattered ports, most of the population lives in a narrow longitudinal valley between latitudes 32° and 45° south. I have experienced …

Composición genética de la población chilena: Distribución de polimorfismos de DNA mitocondrial en grupos originarios y en la población mixta de Santiago

The analysis of mitochondrial DNA restriction site polymorphisms assigns most Latin American aborgines to four haplogroups. These are characterized by determined polymorphic restriction sites and a deletion of 9 base pairs in the intergenic region V. To study the distribution of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups in Chilean aboriginal groups, as well as in the mixed population of Santiago. One hundred twenty Aymara subjects and 23 Atacameño subjects from the Northern part of Chile and 162 randomly chosen subjects residing in Santiago were studied. DNA was extracted from peripheral lymphocytes. Mitochondrial DNA was amplified by means of polymerase chain reaction. The frequency of haplogroup B decreases from north to south. Aymaras in the north have the highest frequency (64%) and it is absent among the Yamanas (previously studied) in the extreme South. Haplogroups C and D show an inverse tendency. It is noteworthy that 84% of mitochondrial haplogroups of the mixed population of Santiago are of Amerindian origin whereas the Y-chromosomes are mainly European. The peculiar distribution of haplotypes indicate that the population of Santiago is the result of an asymmetric mating system in which the females ancestors were mainly Amerindian and the male ancestors mainly European.

FLOWERING GEOPHYTES FROM CHILE

FLOWERING GEOPHYTES FROM CHILE

Nuevas evidencias incas entre Collahuasi y Río Frío (I y II Regiones del norte de Chile)

El llamado “gran despoblado”, se sitúa en un inmenso desierto de altura, con escasa agua y casi totalmente desocupado, pero rico en vestigios bien conservados tanto de los períodos prehistóricos tempranos como tardíos. Desafortunadamente, la explotación de sus recursos en la actualidad, especialmente la exploración y desarrollo de su riqueza minera, amenaza sus delicados caracteres superficiales y por lo tanto requiere de un rápido registro. Por eso, hemos trabajado en torno a la ocupación inca, en proyectos originalmente vinculados con el uso arcaico de las cuencas de Atacama y Punta Negra. La presencia inca hacia el sur, especialmente en el Norte Chico, es conocida por los estudios pioneros de Iribarren y Bergholz (1971), Niemeyer y Silva (1977), Rivera e Hyslop (1984) y, más recientemente, a través del trabajo de Stehberg y Carvajal (1988). En esta oportunidad se presentan nuevas evidencias correspondientes al sector Collahuasi-Río Negro, en las tierras altas de la I y II regiones de Chile, como un avance preliminar del Proyecto Inca patrocinado por The National Geographic Society.ABSTRACTThe northern part of Chile, called “gran despoblado”, is located in a immense and high desert with scarse water and totally unpopulated, but it has wellkept remains belonging both early and late prehistoric periods. Unfortunately, the present working and development of its mineral wealth threaten its fine superficial features and it has to be recorded as soon as possible. For that reason we have worked around the inca occupation, we have worked in projects originally related to the arcaic use of the Atacama and Punta Negra basins. The inca presence towards the south lands, specially in the Norte Chico, is known through the pioneer investigation carried out by Iribarren and Bergholz (1971), Niemeyer and Silva (1977), Rivera and Hyslop (1984) and recently through the study made by Stehberg and Carvajal (1988). In this opportunity new evidences belonging to the Collahuasi area-Río Negro, in the highlands of the first and second regions are shown, and also the preliminary advance of the Inca Project by The National Geographic Society. This essay constitutes a synthesis of the preliminary results of an investigation of the Inca Road, its exact route, structures, and purpose, as supported by The National Geographic Society (4654-91, Mapping inca installations in the Atacama: Relations with local peoples). Attention has focussed on Catarpe Tambo, which appears to have been an administrative center for the road complex between at least 22° and 25° S Lat. Large parts of the system between Turi and Chiu Chiu in the north, and Río Frío in the south, were located and recorded by the authors, specially from 1991 through 1993. Abandoned after the Inca Period, Catarpe evidences storage, metallurgy, protective fortifications, ritual, concentration of precious goods, and even administrative functions (quipu) that are often absent at the smaller tambos. Much of the road system was rerouted during the Spanish Period, so that it could be traversed by groups with horses and mules, leaving other, subsequently unused parts of the original Inca Road inperfect condition. Untrodden portions of the original roadway often feature distinctive intact hitos, curbing stones, stairs, and associated artifacts such as pottery and sandals.