Cuba is the most populated country in the Caribbean and has a rich and heterogeneous genetic heritage. Here, we take advantage of dense genomic data from 860 Cuban individuals to reconstruct the ...genetic structure and ancestral origins of this population. We found distinct admixture patterns between and within the Cuban provinces. Eastern provinces have higher African and Native American ancestry contributions (average 26% and 10%, respectively) than the rest of the Cuban provinces (average 17% and 5%, respectively). Furthermore, in the Eastern Cuban region, we identified more intense sex-specific admixture patterns, strongly biased towards European male and African/Native American female ancestries. Our subcontinental ancestry analyses in Cuba highlight the Iberian population as the best proxy European source population, South American and Mesoamerican populations as the closest Native American ancestral component, and populations from West Central and Central Africa as the best proxy sources of the African ancestral component. Finally, we found complex admixture processes involving two migration pulses from both Native American and African sources. Most of the inferred Native American admixture events happened early during the Cuban colonial period, whereas the African admixture took place during the slave trade and more recently as a probable result of large-scale migrations from Haiti.
Tropical cyclones are natural events that transform into natural disasters as they approach and reach land. In 2017 alone, tropical cyclones caused an estimated $215 billion in damage. While MODIS ...data are regularly used in the analysis of hurricanes and typhoons, damage studies typically focus on just a few events without providing a comprehensive overview and comparison across events. The MODIS record is now sufficiently long to enable standardization in time, allowing us to extend previously developed disturbance methodology and to remove dependency on land cover datasets. We apply this new approach to detect the impact of both droughts and hurricanes on the four largest Caribbean islands since 2001. We find that the percentage of disturbed land on the four islands varies from approximately 0–50% between 2001 and 2017, with the highest percentages coinciding with major droughts in Cuba, and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. We demonstrate that (1) Hurricane Maria resulted in significant disturbance across 50% of Puerto Rico (4549 km2), and (2) gradual recovery started about 2.5 months after the hurricane hit. While our approach focuses on the identification of damage arising from hurricanes, it is also capable of identifying the damage from droughts. This approach ultimately enables a better understanding of the combined effects of these two natural hazards across island landscapes.
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•Disturbance index allows for standardized detection of droughts and hurricane damage.•Hurricane Maria caused significant disturbance across 50% of Puerto Rico (4549 km2).•Gradual recovery started about 2.5 months after hurricane Maria hit.
Despite over seven decades of production and hundreds of oil spills per year, there were no comprehensive baselines for petroleum contamination in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) prior to this study. ...Subsequent to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill, we implemented Gulf-wide fish surveys extending over seven years (2011-2018). A total of 2,503 fishes, comprised of 91 species, were sampled from 359 locations and evaluated for biliary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations. The northern GoM had significantly higher total biliary PAH concentrations than the West Florida Shelf, and coastal regions off Mexico and Cuba. The highest concentrations of biliary PAH metabolites occurred in Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares), Golden Tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps), and Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus). Conversely, biliary PAH concentrations were relatively low for most other species including economically important snappers and groupers. While oil contamination in most demersal species in the north central GoM declined in the first few years following DWH, more recent increases in exposure to PAHs in some species suggest a complex interaction between multiple input sources and possible re-suspension or bioturbation of oil-contaminated sediments. This study provides the most comprehensive baselines of PAH exposure in fishes ever conducted for a large marine ecosystem.
•Sagua la Grande river and its adjacent coastal zone are impacted by the Chlor-Alkali Plant Hg release.•Hg isotopic signature in sediments exhibits a clear binary mixing between CAP pollution and ...regional background end-member.•Hg speciation with isotopes in biota and sediments allows to trace Hg bio-environmental contamination pathways.•Different Hg methylation and demethylation extent are observed in river and coastal sites before Hg species bioaccumulation.
Chlor–alkali plants (CAP) are recognized as major sources of mercury (Hg) in the environment. In this work, Hg concentration, speciation and isotopic signature were determined in sediments and biota (fish and oyster) from Sagua La Grande River (SG River) and the adjacent coastal zone in the vicinity of a CAP (Cuba). High Hg concentrations in surface sediments (up to 5072 ng g−1), mainly occurring as inorganic Hg, decrease with the distance from the CAP along the SG River and seaward. Meanwhile, Hg concentration and speciation in riverine catfish (Claria gariepinus) muscle (1093 ± 319 ng g−1, ˜70% as MeHg) and coastal oysters (Crassostrea rizophorae) (596 ± 233 ng g−1, ˜50% as MeHg) indicate a direct impact from CAP. Hg isotopic signature in sediments, following both mass dependent (MDF) and mass independent fractionation (MIF), exhibits a clear binary mixing between CAP pollution (+0.42‰, δ202Hg; -0.18‰, Δ201Hg) and regional background end-member (˜ -0.49‰, δ202Hg; +0.01‰, Δ201Hg). The combination of speciation and isotopic information in biota and sediments allows to trace Hg contamination pathways from contaminated sediments to the biota, establishing the importance of both methylation and demethylation extent in both river and coastal sites before Hg species bioaccumulation.
The origins of the first peoples to colonize the Caribbean Islands have been the subject of intense debate for over 30 years. Competing hypotheses have identified five separate migrations from the ...mainland with a separate debate concerning the colonization of The Bahamas. Significant differences in the facial morphology of the pre-Columbian inhabitants of Hispaniola and Cuba led to the present study of Lucayan skulls from The Bahamas. The goal was to determine which group the native Lucayans more closely resembled to resolve this long-standing dispute. The results indicate that they are related to groups from Hispaniola and Jamaica and not to Cuban inhabitants. This study clarified the larger picture of Caribbean migrations and supports evidence for a Carib invasion of the Greater Antilles around AD 800.
We can find several studies analyzing the scientific production of Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Peru, Venezuela etc throughout the scientific ...literature. There are many papers focusing on scientific disciplines, institutions and journals from these countries. However, to the best of our knowledge, we have not found any article that analyzes the scientific production of Mexico, global or recent and with Scopus as a specific database, nor the production in collaboration with its strategic countries in science and technology. For this reason, the present work intends to give Mexico the prominence it deserves by studying its productivity in research by using a bibliometric approach. To perform this study, the international bibliographic database Scopus was used within a ten year publication window from 2007 to 2016. With this sample, we analyzed the production in general, the scientific production in scientific disciplines, and production in collaboration with its strategic countries in science and technology, without forgetting the variables of the citations received from Scival as a parameter of impact on research. This study aims to serve as a precedent for later studies and contribute as a reference of Mexican production to the scientific community and as a tool to elaboration of national public policy in science and technology.
Postcolonialism Young, Robert J. C
2016/01/01, 2016, 2016-09-20, 2016-10-12
eBook
This seminal work—now available in a 15 th anniversary edition with a new preface—is a thorough introduction to the historical and theoretical origins of postcolonial theory. * Provides a clearly ...written and wide-ranging account of postcolonialism, empire, imperialism, and colonialism, written by one of the leading scholars on the topic * Details the history of anti-colonial movements and their leaders around the world, from Europe and Latin America to Africa and Asia * Analyzes the ways in which freedom struggles contributed to postcolonial discourse by producing fundamental ideas about the relationship between non-western and western societies and cultures * Offers an engaging yet accessible style that will appeal to scholars as well as introductory students
Based on extensive research at the Cuban National Archive, Cuba: Past and Present examines how the Spanish Administration established the embargo of properties during the Ten Years War in April 1869. ...Results of training in pregraduate and postgraduate studies in the universities of HolguÃ-n and Cienfuegos are examined in an effort to study the processes of inclusion in higher education. The authors investigate inequality trends in Cuba in recent decades through applying quantitative and qualitative methodologies on existing household/individuals surveys.
The emissions of greenhouse gases stand as a major threat of today. Moving towards CO2 neutral or low-carbon economies is a need to achieve sustainable development. This study assesses the ...potentialities to move Cuba towards a low-carbon economy by replacing the current electricity mix, dominated by fossil fuel based electricity generation, with biomass-based electricity generation. Because of their significant potential, the study focusses on the use of sugarcane, energy cane and marabu (dichrostachys cinerea) based biomass. Results show that biomass can support over 97% of the electricity generation planned by the Cuban government for 2030. Replacing fossil fuel based electricity with biomass-based electricity today potentially reduces up to 81% of the greenhouse gas emissions as compared to the emission levels of 2012. Implementing biomass-based electricity generation in Cuba can also reduce the costs of electricity generation by 1–30% (depending on the market price of fossil fuels).
•Government policy foresees a 24% of renewable-based electricity for 2030.•Biomass can support from 48 to 99% of the Cuban electricity demand in 2030.•Biomass account for the main renewable energy source in Cuba.•Biomass based electricity can reduce up to 81% of the 2012 GHG emission level.
The presented article takes up the issue of missionary accommodation on the example of the Church in Cuba. It is shown in both theoretical (theology, conciliar teaching, papal teaching with special ...reference to Pope Francis) and practical (consultation with missionaries and the author’s own experience) assumptions. The purpose of the article is to reflect pastorally on the involvement of missionaries in pastoral ministry and to identify the essential accommodative ways used by them. The final conclusions point to the need for missionaries to be creative and open-minded in their search for new ways to evangelize, and to overcome obstacles in the way of proclaiming the Good News.
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