Los Molinos Observatory (Spanish: Observatorio Astronómico Los Molinos, OALM; obs. code: 844) is an astronomical observatory owned by the Ministerio de Educación y Cultura de Uruguay and operated in collaboration with the University of the Republic's Astronomy Department. It is located near the city of Las Piedras, on the outskirts of Montevideo, Uruguay.The observatory is actively involved in follow-up observations of small bodies in the Solar System such as asteroids and comets. It has the observatory code 844.The main-belt asteroid 10476 Los Molinos, discovered by American astronomer Schelte Bus at the Siding Spring Observatory in 1981, was named after this observatory. The official naming citation was published on 13 April 2017 by the Minor Planet Center (M.P.C. 103975).
Floras and botanical collections are essential tools for understanding plant diversity, promoting its conservation, and supporting a wide range of scientific applications. Uruguay, located in the biodiverse grassland region of southern South America, has had only an incomplete Flora, the most comprehensive of which was published more than a century ago. We review the country's flora and the history of its study, and introduce the new Flora Uruguaya Online (FUO; https://florauruguaya.org ), which when completed will provide a comprehensive record of all vascular plant species, including information on their distribution, morphological, ecological, and phenological characteristics. This online Flora presently contains information on 182 families, 1053 genera, and 3112 species, 85.4% of which are native to Uruguay and 2.2% endemic. Although Uruguay accounts for only 25% of the surface area of the Río de la Plata Grasslands, it contains over 60% of their species and more than 50% of their endemic taxa, reflecting its core geographical position. Uruguay's flora faces increasing pressure from land‐use change, habitat fragmentation, and invasive species. FUO provides critical support for addressing these challenges, offering systematic botanical data for basic and applied research, conservation, sustainable uses, and land management, including practical applications such as the identification of toxic plants affecting livestock production. We highlight key features of FUO with its research‐enabling tools for the exploration of Uruguay's botanical richness by scientists, as well as by policymakers, educators, conservationists, and citizens. These features include its accessibility, interactivity, multiple filters (e.g., geographic regions, ecological characteristics, conservation status, or specific species attributes), rich graphics, and multiple sources of data inputs tied to herbarium specimens.
La investigación objeto de este artículo se enmarca en un curso de investigación brindado para las carreras universitarias de Ingeniero agrimensor y de Tecnólogo en cartografía de la Universidad de la República, Uruguay. El objetivo de la investigación era incursionar sobre la medición de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) en Uruguay; en particular, se plantea analizar los indicadores con componente geográfico.Para dar cumplimiento a esta propuesta, ha sido necesario realizar una comprensión y análisis detallado de los indicadores con componente espacial y sus correspondientes guías metodológicas internacionales propuestas por la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU). Complementariamente, se realiza un abordaje nacional sobre los ODS, identificando las instituciones responsables y vinculadas, para con ello, realizar un análisis comparativo entre la propuesta de dichas guías y la metodología empleada en nuestro país. Particularmente, se realizó la medición de algunos indicadores geográficos para una región del país.Esta propuesta pedagógica ha permitido visualizar el posicionamiento de Uruguay frente a la medición de dichos indicadores mediante los resultados obtenidos, así como por los debates e intercambio de opiniones entre los estudiantes y docentes a cargo con base en la revisión de literatura, análisis crítico, aplicación de procedimientos y lecciones aprendidas a lo largo del curso.
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by toxicogenic fungi species. They can contaminate humans and animals’ food and once ingested can cause health harms. There are more than 250 mycotoxins, being aflatoxins one of the most studied due to their potential carcinogenic effect. It is known that the aflatoxins consumed by animals are metabolized and excreted in part by milk as aflatoxin M1 , representing a potential risk for human health. Aflatoxins source for animals is feed, therefore, the maximum permitted levels are regulated, as well as the presence of aflatoxin M1 in milk and derivatives. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the natural presence of aflatoxins in the feeds destined to dairy cows in production in 18 commercial dairy farms of Uruguay. It also aimed to determine the correlation between the consumption of those feeds and the presence of aflatoxin M1 in the milk of the animals. In order to achieve this objective, feed and milk samples were taken randomly from 18 dairy farms located in the south central area and the east region of Uruguay. Milk was taken from the cold tank. Aflatoxins were quantified by Elisa technique. The totally of the feed samples and 91.8% of the milk samples were contaminated with some aflatoxin levels. The levels of aflatoxins did not correlate with those of aflatoxin M1 . The levels of aflatoxin M1 in milk did not exceed the maximum consumption levels allowed in Uruguay, thus did not represent a risk for human health.
