The University of Caldas (Spanish: Universidad de Caldas), is a public, coeducational, research university based in Manizales, Caldas, Colombia. It is the most important higher education institution in the Department of Caldas. It is a public university of national character, subject to inspection and surveillance through Law 1740 of 2014 and Law 30 of 1992 of the Ministry of Education of Colombia; it houses students from all corners of Colombia and abroad; It is considered the best university in the "eje cafetero" and one of the best in Colombia.
Plantain is a staple food in Colombia, with a per capita consumption of 72 kg/year. The crop covers 438,051 ha, producing 4.61 million tons and yielding 10.53 t/ha. In this study, we aimed to quantify and identify the plant-parasitic nematodes associated with Musa AAB 'Hart & oacute;n' in Puerto Salgar, Cundinamarca, Colombia. Composite samples of 2 kg of roots and 3 kg of soil were collected from succession suckers of recently flowered plants in 20 farms (one sample per hectare, each comprising 10 subsamples). The nematodes were extracted in the Nematology Laboratory of Universidad de Caldas using the blending-centrifugation-sugar flotation method. We identified six plant-parasitic nematode genera: Pratylenchus, Helicotylenchus, Meloidogyne, Tylenchus, Dorylaimus, and Criconemoides. Pratylenchus was predominant in both soil and root samples, with a population frequency of 85% and maximum densities of 24,796 individuals/100 g of roots, followed by Helicotylenchus (50%; 7,670 individuals/100 g of roots) and Meloidogyne (40%; 10,451 individuals/100 g of roots). Root dysfunction ranged from 40% to 87%, characterized by cortical cylinder damage, reddish discoloration, necrosis, and gall formation caused by these genera. Nematode populations were positively correlated with the percentage of non-functional roots (Pearson's r = 0.68). This study constitutes the first report of plant-parasitic nematodes associated with Musa AAB (plantain subgroup) 'Hart & oacute;n' in the municipality of Puerto Salgar. It provides a baseline for developing integrated nematode management strategies to mitigate yield losses.
The Paletara Caldera deposits represent the only well-defined geological and geomorphological evidence in Colombia of a large caldera-forming eruption. The deposits are composed mostly of ignimbrite, reach up to 300 m in thickness, crop out in an area of 2300 km, and yield an estimated bulk volume of 258-275 km3. Physical descriptions indicate lag breccias near the caldera rim, welded eutaxitic facies at the base of the deposit and nonwelded facies at the top. Lithofacies variations suggest fluctuations in flow boundary zones during the progressive aggradation of a sustained pyroclastic density current. Further petrographic analyses revealed an ignimbrite deposit composed of pumice and lithic fragments embedded in a fine ash matrix of glass shards, plagioclase, quartz, and biotite. Devitrification textures, columnar jointing, lithophysae, spherulites, and welding ranks III-IV suggest high-temperature emplacement and slow cooling. The estimated volume of 258-275 km3 corresponds to a VEI 7, demonstrating that the Paletara Caldera was formed by the most voluminous eruptive event documented so far in the geological history of the Colombian Andes.
The ways in which people understand disability can influence how disabled people are treated and taught. As such, and grounded in critical disability theory, the purpose of this study was to explore Colombian pre-service physical education (PE) teachers' conceptualizations of disability when teaching disabled students in integrated PE. This study used a story completion method and participants were 29 pre-service teachers (12 females; 17 males) from a public university in central Colombia. Pre-service teachers were randomly presented with one of two versions of a hypothetical story stem representing the presence of a disabled child in an integrated PE class and asked to complete the rest of the story. All data collected were subjected to thematic analysis which informed the construction of three themes: (a) understandings of disability based on deficit, (b) disabled students as inspirational role models, and (c) pedagogical practice informed by the individuality of disabled students. This study contributes to further understand cultural conceptualizations of disability within South American PE, and how these conceptualizations and understandings contribute, or not, to the wellbeing of disabled students in the Global South.
This article examines a campesino women's interspecies reconciliation initiative in Caquet & aacute;, Colombia, that promotes community processes of healing and peacebuilding through medicinal plants. Drawing on collaborative ethnography, we analyze how medicinal plants become nodes of socioecological relations that enable former combatants, victims, and local communities to rebuild trust, solidarity, and everyday practices of care. We argue that peacebuilding efforts require reimagining territories as relational assemblages of humans and other-than-human beings that mutually co-constitute one another. By positioning plants as mediators of these relationships, the article shows how everyday practices of cultivation, healing, and storytelling generate memories and alternative futures that resist the logics of war.
Background and aims-Gustavia santanderiensis is a tree species from the Magdalena Valley described around a century ago. Despite the species' morphological plasticity, restricted range, and ecology, the species has been greatly understudied. This study aims to establish a clear taxonomic framework for the species based on its morphology and to determine its distribution and predicted range, ecological niche, and conservation status. Material and methods-A careful revision of herbarium specimens was performed along with field work in the type locality. We used the occurrence records to build an Ecological Niche Model (ENM) using the maximum entropy algorithm through the kuenm package. The accessibility area was constructed by overlapping the records with the ecoregions that encompass the Magdalena Valley. The model was generated using a unique set of bioclimatic variables, with their contributions and permutation importance estimated. Key results-The flower colour in Gustavia santanderiensis, previously described by Knuth and Mori as white petals, varies considerably. Surprisingly, none of the specimens cited by Mori and Prance (1979) in their monograph corresponds to G. santanderiensis. Its geographic range is more restricted than previously known, excluding its occurrence in Brazil, and it is now endemic to Colombia. According to the ENM, the species occurs between 100 and 680 m in areas where the annual mean temperature and annual precipitation range do not vary significantly. The annual mean temperature, isothermality, and temperature seasonality were the variables with the highest contributions and permutation importance in the model. Conclusion-Gustavia santanderiensis is an endangered, endemic species of the Magdalena Valley, characterised by remarkable flower colour variation that warrants further investigation. In addition to redescribing this species, we provide the first taxonomic key for Gustavia in the Magdalena Valley, which will serve as a diagnostic tool for the species in one of Colombia's most diverse yet fragmented regions.
