The National University of Saint Augustine, known locally as Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (U.N.S.A.) is a public university in Arequipa, Peru. The National University of Saint Augustine has been consistently ranked as one of the top public schools in Peru and it is one of the oldest public universities in Latin America with continuous operation since its founding on November 11, 1828.The university comprises three campuses, 17 colleges, and 45 professional schools from the fields of humanities, natural sciences, biological, social sciences and engineering..
Water-related ritual practices constitute a central axis through which many Andean communities articulate cosmology, social organization, and collective identity. This study examines the Fiesta del Agua (Layimama), an ancestral ritual cycle celebrated in the inter-Andean valley of Ticsani (Moquegua, southern Peru), focusing on its symbolic structure, social roles, and implications for water governance and cultural continuity. Using a qualitative, interpretive research design based on documentary analysis of ethnographic, historical, and anthropological sources, the study analyzes how ritual practices surrounding water function as mechanisms of social cohesion, moral regulation, and symbolic management of a shared natural resource. The findings show that the Fiesta del Agua operates as a cyclical system composed of four interrelated stages (preparation, ritual performance, festive redistribution, and communal closure) through which water is sacralized as an axis mundi linking cosmology, agricultural production, and social prestige. Far from being a residual tradition, the festival actively reproduces collective identity, regulates communal access to water, and integrates Andean cosmology with Catholic symbolism through dynamic forms of religious syncretism. The article argues that the ritual management of water in Ticsani represents a culturally embedded governance system whose documentation and protection are essential in contexts of increasing hydrosocial stress and cultural erosion, indicating social, ecological, and political relevance of the findings and contributing to broader debates on human–environment relations, intangible cultural heritage, and the role of ritual in sustaining communal resource management.
BACKGROUND:Peru recorded one of the world's highest COVID-19 mortality rates, with nearly 4.5 million reported cases and 220,000 deaths by March 2024. Understanding the emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants in this context is key to informing effective public health responses. This study describes the genomic diversity, transmission dynamics, and geographic spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Peru from 2020 to 2024. METHODS:We analyzed nearly 50,000 high-quality public SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences collected nationwide between March 2020 and March 2024. Phylogeographic and mutational analyses were performed to identify variant lineages, trace their origins, and map viral movements within and beyond Peru. RESULTS:We show that Peru's epidemic waves were shaped by the emergence of locally evolved variants, including Lambda (C.37), Gamma (P.1.12), and Omicron (XBB.2.6 and DJ.1) sub-lineages. The city of Lima acted as the primary hub for inter-regional spread, accounting for 47.3% of inferred viral movements to other departments, notably Ancash, Cusco, and Piura. Peru was the source of various lineages that spread internationally, primarily to Chile, the USA, and Europe. Mutational analysis highlighted critical mutations in the spike protein, including L452Q and F490S in Lambda, associated with immune evasion and increased transmissibility. CONCLUSIONS:This work demonstrates the capacity of genomic surveillance in Peru to detect and track emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, providing insights into regional and global transmission dynamics in a high-transmission, middle-income country setting. Sustained, cost-effective genomic monitoring, combined with strengthened bioinformatics and laboratory capacity, is essential for pandemic preparedness in resource-limited settings.
Los enteroparásitos en perros y gatos son importantes en salud, algunos son zoonóticos, favorecidos por el contacto con las mascotas, afectando la salud humana. Se realizó el estudio con el objetivo de determinar la presencia de enteroparásitos en perros y gatos, el estado de salud y la asociación con las características epidemiológicas de los propietarios, de la Asociación Ramiro Prialé, Se examinaron 200 muestras de heces, mediante el método de Teleman modificado, los factores epidemiológicos fueron encuesta a cada propietario, evaluación del estado de salud de las mascotas. Se encontró que la presencia de enteroparásitos en perros y gatos fue de 11,0% distribuidos en perros Giardia lamblia 1,2%, Isospora sp. 0,6%, Blastocystis spp. 3,6%, coccidias 1,2%, Toxocara canis 3,4% y Toxocara leonina 1,8%; la presencia en gatos es Blastocystis spp. 12,5% y Toxocara cati con 3,1%. Las características epidemiológicas de los propietarios estuvieron asociadas a la presencia de enteroparásitos en las mascotas y fueron: el nivel de conocimiento, la edad y sexo. El estado de salud de los perros y gatos fue bueno 61,0%, regular 38,5% y muy bueno 0,5% y el nivel de conocimientos de los propietarios estuvo asociado con el estado de salud y el uso de vacunas.
Introduction Soil salinization and alkalinization in the arid zones of southern Peru pose major challenges to agricultural sustainability, particularly in the olive orchards of Bella Uni & oacute;n, where irrigation relies on surface and groundwater of variable quality. This study aimed to assess soil quality and its spatial variability to support site-specific management in olive (Olea europaea L L.) orchards.Methods A total of 160 composite soil samples (0-30 cm) were collected from representative olive orchards and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (ECe), organic matter (OM), available phosphorus (Pav), available potassium (Kav), texture, and calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE). The Soil Quality Index (SQIw) was calculated and combined with multivariate and geostatistical analyses to identify key soil quality indicators and characterize their spatial variability.Results Soils showed high variability in salinity (ECe = 1.30-24.61 dS m-& sup1;) and organic matter content (0.50-3.10%), while pH was relatively homogeneous (6.90-8.40). According to the SQIw, 1.26% of soils were classified as Very Poor, 44.96% as Poor, 51.49% as Acceptable, 2.28% as Good, and 0.01% as Optimal. Electrical conductivity was the main factor controlling the SQIw.Discussion These results indicate that salinity represents a major constraint for olive growth and productivity in the study area. Despite its lower weight in the SQIw, the generally low organic matter levels suggest limitations for soil fertility, water retention, and nutrient cycling, highlighting the need for organic amendments with low electrical conductivity. Nutrient management should also account for reduced nutrient availability under alkaline-saline conditions and the widespread organic matter deficiency. This study represents the first application of SQIw in Peruvian olive orchards and demonstrates its usefulness for delineating low-quality zones, guiding fertilization and soil recovery strategies, and promoting sustainable soil management in arid agroecosystems.
Background/Objectives: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Emerging evidence highlights the role of the gut microbiota in the development and progression of CRC. Microbial dysbiosis is hypothesized to contribute to chronic inflammation through a variety of mechanisms, such as the production of free radicals, which induce mutagenesis and immune dysregulation in the host, ultimately leading to diseases such as cancer. Methods: Tumor tissue samples or healthy mucosa tissue were collected for bacterial DNA extraction. The V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Bioinformatics analysis was performed with QIIME2, including quality control, DADA2 denoising, alpha and beta diversity calculation, and taxonomic classification using the SILVA database. Results: Differences in microbial composition were observed between groups. The healthy controls exhibited high relative abundances of beneficial genera such as Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides, and Asteroleplasma, whereas the patients with CRC showed enrichment of atypical genera including Novosphingobium, Bradyrhizobium, and Undibacterium. Alpha diversity was lower in the CRC group, and clear clustering by group was observed in the beta diversity analysis. LEfSe analysis identified potential bacterial biomarkers associated with CRC at both the species and genus levels. Conclusions: The findings of this study support the hypothesis that colorectal cancer is associated with distinct alterations in gut microbiota composition, such as an increase in the Novosphingobium genus and a decrease in the Bacteroides genus. An exploratory description of these microbial profiles may aid in the development of microbiome-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies and contribute to current knowledge of the role of the gut microbiota in CRC in southern Peru.
