Guanacaste Conservation Area is an administrative area which is managed by the Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservacion (SINAC) of Costa Rica for conservation in the northwestern part of Costa Rica. It contains three national parks, as well as wildlife refuges and other nature reserves. The area contains the Area de Conservación Guanacaste World Heritage Site, which comprises four areas.
The aim of this study is to analyze some epistemological and pedagogical aspects that can be used to construct a guiding framework intended to integrate research into the Law major curriculum. Thus, a literature review is conducted in order to contextualize research in the Law field and determine a basic outline that encompasses a variety of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and suggestions to guide its teaching approach. It can be concluded that students need to know how to interact with knowledge in order to learn how to do research. Therefore, in addition to including courses about research methodology into the curriculum, a comprehensive educational process should be directed towards the gradual development of the needs that are required for this practice; all these aspects must focus on a problem-posing education of Law and reality.
Wheat accepted as a strategic product in world countries and in Türkiye. Weed species are among the main factors directly affecting yield and quality in wheat production. Herbicides have great importance in the control against weeds that are a problem in wheat production. In this study, Empisa SL (MCPA 400 g/L) herbicide and the reference herbicide Handle EC (200 g/L bromoxynil octanoate + 200 g/L MCPA iso-octyl ester) were used. The field trials were conducted in a wheat field located in Oğuzeli District, Gaziantep Province, Southeastern Anatolia Region, Türkiye, during the 2020–2022 growing seasons. The experiment was established according to a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with six characters (four doses of the test herbicide, comparison drug, and an untreated control parcel) and four replications. During the second assessment, which was used as the basis for evaluating biological efficacy, the target weed in the untreated control plots was observed to be at the 4–6 leaf growth stage. The efficacy values were calculated based on the symptoms observed on the leaves and shoots of the weed 29 days after herbicide application (second assessment). Within the scope of this study, Empisa SL herbicide and Handle EC were found to exhibit similar levels of efficacy against wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.). Therefore, only their effects on wild mustard were evaluated and discussed separately in this study. In this study, the recommended application rates of Empisa SL (250 mL/da) and Handle EC (200 mL/da) provided 93.78% and 95.30% control of wild mustard, respectively. Statistical analysis indicated that the efficacy of the two herbicides did not differ significantly, as both treatments were classified within the same statistical group (b). Based on these findings, the biological efficacy of Empisa SL applied at 250 mL/da against wild mustard (S. arvensis) was considered satisfactory, and no phytotoxic effects were observed on wheat.
The ongoing decline of non-human primates places renewed emphasis on monitoring health in wild populations. Non-invasive monitoring of reliable biomarkers of inflammation and immune activation allows researchers to assess individual health status without capturing or interfering with wild animals, but studies are limited by the availability of such biomarkers that are measurable from fecal and urine samples. In the present study, we aimed to validate the measurement of fecal haptoglobin, a biomarker primarily studied in relation to gut-associated inflammation, in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus imitator), and to evaluate the relationship between fecal haptoglobin concentrations and age, sex, dominance rank, circadian effects and environmental factors including temperature and rainfall. We analytically validated the measurement of fecal haptoglobin in white-faced capuchins. Our subsequent results did not demonstrate a relationship between haptoglobin concentrations and age, sex, dominance rank or circadian effects. However, we found significant influences of environmental conditions on fecal haptoglobin concentrations, with an increase and more variation observed during drier conditions in the early dry season, when the animals are typically under greater environmental stress. We conclude that haptoglobin measurement is feasible in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys, and its concentrations vary in our study population, reflecting seasonal patterns of inflammation that are consistent with changes to environmental stressors associated with lower access to food and water.
Life expectancy is a fundamental indicator of population health and socio-economic well-being, yet accurately forecasting it remains challenging due to the interplay of demographic, environmental, and healthcare factors. This study evaluates three machine learning models – Linear Regression (LR), Regression Decision Tree (RDT), and Random Forest (RF), using a real-world dataset drawn from World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) sources. After extensive preprocessing to address missing values and inconsistencies, each model's performance was assessed with R^2, Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE). Results show that RF achieves the highest predictive accuracy (R^2 = 0.9423), significantly outperforming LR and RDT. Interpretability was prioritized through p-values for LR and feature importance metrics for the tree-based models, revealing immunization rates (diphtheria, measles) and demographic attributes (HIV/AIDS, adult mortality) as critical drivers of life-expectancy predictions. These insights underscore the synergy between ensemble methods and transparency in addressing public-health challenges. Future research should explore advanced imputation strategies, alternative algorithms (e.g., neural networks), and updated data to further refine predictive accuracy and support evidence-based policymaking in global health contexts.
As a result of continuing research on the ichneumonids of Costa Rica three new species of Labeninae are described: Apechoneura fuentesi Zuñiga & Hanson, Grotea acunae Zuñiga & Hanson, and Labena murilloi Zuñiga & Hanson. To aid in the identification of these new species illustrations and modifications to existing keys are provided. With the description of these new species, there are now 47 species known from the country. Updated summaries are provided of the biology of each genus.
