Abelisaurids are among the most abundant and diverse Patagonian Late Cretaceous theropods. Here, we present a new furileusaurian abelisaurid, Llukalkan aliocranianus gen. et sp. nov., represented by ...cranial remains from the Bajo de la Carpa Formation (Santonian) at La Invernada fossil area, northwestern Patagonia. Features characterizing this taxon include a possible caudal tympanic recess posterior to the columellar recess, a T-shaped lacrimal with jugal ramus lacking a suborbital process, and large foramina for caudal middle cerebral veins widely separated from the median supraoccipital crest. In addition to this, a bulge on the anteromedial border of the supratemporal fossa, tall and posteriorly projected paroccipital processes, basal tubera interconnected distally, a triangular basisphenoid recess, and a single foramen for the sphenoidal artery on the basisphenoid, differentiate Llukalkan from Viavenator exxoni. The latter is the other furileusaurian taxon from the same area and stratigraphic unit. Although the holotype of Llukalkan probably corresponds to a sub-adult—as the lacrimal morphology suggests— the possibility that it represents a juvenile of V. exxoni is discarded based mainly on the presence of a caudal tympanic recess (which is absent in V. exxoni). The probable coexistence of two abelisaurid taxa demonstrates that the abelisaurids were one of the most important—and likely the main—predator component of the ecosystems, not only in this area, but also in all of Patagonia, during the Late Cretaceous.
The Argentinean Central Andes region (31°S to 35°S) exhibits one of the largest densities of rock glaciers on Earth. However, few studies have focused on the knowledge of the internal structure of ...these landforms. In the present paper, a characterization of the internal structure of two rock glaciers has been achieved by using Seismic Refraction Tomography and Vertical Electrical Sounding. In one of the rock glaciers, the thickness of the active layer is quite homogeneous, while in the other said thickness diminishes towards the front. In both rock glaciers, near the top of the active layer, the P-wave velocity values vary between 350 and 600 m/s, while in the bottom of the layer the P-values range from 800 to 1700 m/s. As regards the permafrost layer, it shows an irregular thickness with values varying between 4 and 27 m approximately. In addition, P-wave values ranging from 1600 to 3300 m/s and a few kΩm values of electrical resistivity have been recorded. The increase of geophysical surveys in rock glaciers in the Andes region is expected to give a better understanding of the characteristics, distribution and origin of the ice present in these landforms. It should also allow researchers to estimate with certainty their ice content as solid-state reserves.
Four million people in Argentina are exposed to arsenic contamination from drinking waters of several center-northern provinces. A systematic review to examine the geographical distribution of ...arsenic-related diseases in Argentina was conducted, searching electronic databases and gray literature up to November 2013. Key informants were also contacted. Of the 430 references identified, 47 (mostly cross-sectional and ecological designs) referred to arsenic concentration in water and its relationship with the incidence and mortality of cancer, dermatological diseases and genetic disorders. A high percentage of the water samples had arsenic concentrations above the WHO threshold value of 10μg/L, especially in the province of Buenos Aires. The median prevalence of arsenicosis was 2.6% in exposed areas. The proportion of skin cancer in patients with arsenicosis reached 88% in case-series from the Buenos Aires province. We found higher incidence rate ratios per 100μg/L increment in inorganic arsenic concentration for colorectal, lung, breast, prostate and skin cancer, for both genders. Liver and skin cancer mortality risk ratios were higher in regions with medium/high concentrations than in those with low concentrations. The relative risk of mortality by skin cancer associated to arsenic exposure in the province of Buenos Aires ranged from 2.5 to 5.2. In the north of this province, high levels of arsenic in drinking water were reported; however, removal interventions were scarcely documented. Arsenic contamination in Argentina is associated with an increased risk of serious chronic diseases, including cancer, showing the need for adequate and timely actions.
•Arsenic content in Argentina was associated with increased risk of chronic diseases.•The median arsenicosis prevalence was 2.6% in exposed areas.•The relative risk of mortality by skin cancer was 2.5 to 5.2 in affected areas.•The median percentage of water samples above the cut-off point value was 87% in BA.•We found important gaps in literature regarding the impact of arsenic on health.
This paper aimed to identify indicators of soil degradation in volcanic soils developed in the ecotone between the Andean Forests and the Patagonian steppe. The study area is located in the Percy ...River Basin, Argentine, on alluvial fans with volcanic soils. Sampling was conducted in two adjacent hillslopes where native forest was replaced by a rangeland with grass-shrub vegetation and a 32-years old Pinus radiata plantation. Sectioned and bulk soil samples were collected along three transects in each land cover up to 40 cm depth. Two forest patches of Maytenus boaria were selected as controls. Physical, chemical and magnetic properties were analyzed. Native forest soils were rich in silt fraction, organic matter and non-crystalline minerals, and presented the lowest values of magnetic susceptibility. Rangeland and plantation soils differed from forest soils in these properties. Soil changes were mainly associated to changes in mineralogy resulting from soil desiccation and to the selective removal of fine particles by erosion, together with differences in the effects of recent volcanic events on the soils. Changes in soils associated with land use affected key properties related to pedogenetic processes. Magnetic susceptibility, organic matter content, texture, and pH NaF were key for understanding soil degradation processes in this dynamic environment.
•Native forest soils were rich in silt fraction, organic matter and imogolite.•Land use affected physical, chemical and magnetic properties of soils.•Soil changes were associated to changes in mineralogy resulting from soil desiccation.•Soil changes were associated to selective removal of fine particles by erosion.•χLF summarized information on mineralogy, pedogenesis and history of fire.
Today, an increasing number of people from all over the world travel to Buenos Aires to dance tango. To accommodate these intimate voyagers, tourist agencies offer travel packages, including classes ...in tango instruction, dance shoe shopping, and special city maps pointing out the tango clubs in town. Some of these agencies even provide "taxi dancers" - mainly Argentine men, who make a living by selling themselves as dance escorts to foreign women on a short term stay. Based on a cheek-to-cheek ethnography of intimate life in the tango clubs of Buenos Aires, this book provides a passionate exploration of tango - its sentiments and symbolic orders - as well as a critical investigation of the effects of globalization on intimate economies. Throughout the chapters, the author assesses how, in an explosive economic and political context, people's emotional lives intermingle with a tourism industry that has formed at the intersection of close embrace dances and dollars. Bringing economies of intimacy centre stage, the book describes how a global condition is lived bodily, emotionally and politically, and offers a rich, provocative contribution to theorizing today's global flows of people, money, and fragile dreams. As the narrative charts a course across a sea of intense, immediate emotional sensations, taken-for-granted ideas about sex, romance and power twist and turn like the steps of the tango.
Although putative corals of uncertain affinities occur in the early Cambrian, the earliest definite tabulate corals have not been described prior to the Early Ordovician in North America. This paper ...reports a new finding of a tabulate-like coralomorph forming part of biostratigraphically well-constrained reef mounds in the latest Cambrian–Early Ordovician La Silla Formation in the Argentine Precordillera. The oldest record of the coralomorph genus Amsassia is reported and a new species, A. argentina, is erected. The discovery of this genus in the lowermost Ordovician modifies the previously proposed paleogeographic distribution and patterns of origination and migration routes of this coral-like organism. Amsassia argentina n. sp. constitutes a main framework builder together with a complex microbial consortium. This oldest occurrence of Amsassia as a reef builder represents a new record of a skeletal organism in the gap of metazoan reef constructors after the demise of archaeocyaths in the late early Cambrian.
In this book, Roberto Cortés Conde describes and explains the decline of the Argentine economy in the twentieth century, its evolution, and its consequences. At the beginning of the century, the ...economy grew at a sustained rate, a modern transport system united the country, a massive influx of immigrants populated the land, and education expanded, leading to a dramatic fall in illiteracy. However, by the second half of the century, growth not only stalled, but a dramatic reversal occurred, and the perspectives in the median and long term turned negative, and growth eventually collapsed. This work of historical analysis defines the most important problems faced by the Argentine economy. Some of these problems were fundamental, while others occurred without being properly considered, but in their entirety, Cortés Conde demonstrates how they had a deleterious effect on the country.
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