Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

The work proposes to examine the results that measures to redevelopment of the cultural heritage brought to the rural architecture and the Sicilian landscape. Attention is focused on the landscape retraining and the possible ability to return centrality and appropriate value to the earth, understood as a multifunctional resource, able to assure essential services for the comfort of the local communities and to preserve the historical, cultural and landscape patrimony. For this purpose, a case study on the subject of the renovation of a Sicilian architectural building is analysed. 

The growth of the population, industrialization, agricultural practices and urbanization increases the demand for water and, therefore, the amount of waste water generated. The purpose of this paper is to determine the main environmental impacts of the wastewater treatment plant construction for the Pindo Chico subsystem in the Puyo city. Baseline information was collected by checklists, and for the identification and evaluation of impacts, a network diagram was made and double-entry matrix structures based on the original Leopold system were used. Seven project activities and 12 environmental components were analyzed, a total of the 24 interactions were determined, of which 11 were categorized as significant and two very significant environmental impacts. The most affected component is the soil alteration, due to the vegetation cover removal, the ditches opening, the access routes creation, and the plant construction. Finally, corrective measures in an environmental management plan have been proposed to mitigate, prevent and monitoring the negative impacts they are generated.

Hibiscus sabdariffa-based infusions or drinks are characterized by their high content of bioactive compounds that provide them with an antioxidant capacity that is of great interest in the scientific world. The research consisted in evaluating the antioxidant effect of an aqueous extract of H. sabdariffa, by inducing Saccharomyces cerevisiae to an oxidative stress due to the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The Folin-Ciocalteu method was used for the determination of total phenols in the extract. To evaluate the antioxidant capacity, the extract was diluted, a concentration of 4.5 106 cells/mL of S. cerevisiae was adjusted, and then aliquots of pure and diluted extract were added. Oxidative stress inhibition was observed in each of the assays with statistical difference, relative to the positive control. These results show that H. sabdariffa has an antioxidant capacity that favors the biological activity of S. cerevisiae, contributing to the decrease of the levels of reactive oxygen species and minimizing oxidative damage.

This study determined the level of suspended particles with diameters ≤10 µm and ≤ 2.5 µm, and associated fungal opportunists in the urban parks of Mirador Sur, Iberoamericano and Colón in the city of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. For this purpose, two samples were taken with a 24-hour interval, using a PCE-MPC 10 sampler to quantify the particulate and a Kestrel 5500 for atmospheric variables. Spores were collected by means of the Sabouraud agar plate sedimentation technique and identified using an Olimpus CX33 microscope. According to the results of both samples, the level of the PM 2.5 µm and 10 µm range particles in the parks does not exceed the limit present in the Environmental Technical Regulation of Air Quality of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic. Among the fungi identified are Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus sp. 1, Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium, Dreschlera, Penicillium sp. 1, P. sp. 2, and Paecilomyces sp., Nattrasia sp., Fusarium sp., Rhizophus sp., and Ulocladium sp.

After its discovery in China, in December 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing the COVID-19 disease began to spread through countries around the world, causing a significant number of infected and dead. This situation has put high pressure on the health systems and governments of the different countries, which in many cases did not have the resources and infrastructure to face a pandemic caused by the virus, as was the case in the Dominican Republic. Using the public data of the advance of the pandemic in the Dominican Republic, from March 1 to April 30, the possible evolution of COVID-19 in this country was modeled and predicted, using three mathematical models SIR, SEIR-Extended, and log-linear. These models made it possible to project the different scenarios of infection and disease evolution, in addition to calculating the peak and decrease in the case curve. According to the results obtained, the country presented an exponential growth process of infections, with the peak of infections being projected to occur between the second half of May and the first half of June, with an estimated infected between 100,000 and 200,000 individuals. The results obtained in this study allow us to get an idea of what COVID-19 could have in human and social impact in the Dominican Republic.

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In communities on the central coast of Venezuela, massive poisonings occur that cause fish mortality and effects on the health of people and domestic animals. To understand the dynamics of these phenomena, it is necessary to know the community structure of phytoplankton during events. With the support of the community, samples of phytoplankton were collected during three massive poisonings that occurred in 2010, 2014 and 2015. And also, physicochemical variables of the water were determined. As a result, a diverse community was obtained with the presence of diatoms, dinoflagellates, cyanobacteria, and euglenophytes with significant differences in the composition in each event. However, in the three massive poisonings, an overgrowth of dinoflagellates of the genus Ostreopsis coincides, accompanied by the euglenophyte Eutreptiella gymnastica, which are widely known for their toxic effects on algal blooms when they reach densities greater than 1,000 cell/liter. When comparing these conditions with those in which there is no intoxication, it can be seen that the proportion of the density of Ostreopsis spp with respect to the rest of the dinoflagellates exceeds 50%, which could serve as an indicator during harmful algal blooms of these species.

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Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic chemicals capable of persisting in the environment, traveling long distances, bioaccumulate and biomagnify in ecosystems. The harmful effects of these compounds on the environment and the health of living beings are alarming. In particular, humans can be exposed POPs by consuming contaminated fatty animal foods. In the Dominican Republic these compounds have been widely used and generated. However, the degree of POPs exposure to which the population is exposed is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the presence of 34 POPs in five main brands of nationally produced cow’s milk. The preparation of the samples was carried out using the QuEChERS extraction method and the analytical technique used was GC/MS. The results obtained indicate that there is no presence of the POPs evaluated in any of the cow’s milk samples. These findings suggest that the consumption of this product does not represent a threat to the health of consumers. Furthermore, this study contributes to the knowledge on the evaluation of POPs in the Dominican Republic.