The problem-solving system: Another problem-content system

The aim of this article is to obtain specific and general learning lessons pertaining to Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and related human activities. Some of these activities, which are of particular concern in this paper, occur within a problem-solving system (PSS), i.e., when an analyst playing the role of problem solver tackles a problem-situation (P-S)-here known as the problem-content system (PCS). It is postulated that on many occasions, depending on the way the P-S is faced, the PSS may become another PCS depending on the behavior of the solvers when facing that P-S. Such behavior is subject not only to intellectuality but also to ethics and beliefs. Initially I draw up distinctions between a PSS and a PCS and, at once, define several important terms used in SSM. An overview of three case studies carried out in Peru is presented next. Some specific and general learning lessons obtained from the analysis are then presented. Although the studies relate to concepts of SSM, the conclusions that emerge are equally applicable to many P-S's and problem-solving approaches.     

Climate-driven trends in contemporary ocean productivity

Contributing roughly half of the biosphere's net primary production (NPP), photosynthesis by oceanic phytoplankton is a vital link in the cycling of carbon between living and inorganic stocks. Each day, more than a hundred million tons of carbon in the form of CO2 are fixed into organic material by these ubiquitous, microscopic plants of the upper ocean, and each day a similar amount of organic carbon is transferred into marine ecosystems by sinking and grazing. The distribution of phytoplankton biomass and NPP is defined by the availability of light and nutrients (nitrogen, phosphate, iron). These growth-limiting factors are in turn regulated by physical processes of ocean circulation, mixed-layer dynamics, upwelling, atmospheric dust deposition, and the solar cycle. Satellite measurements of ocean colour provide a means of quantifying ocean productivity on a global scale and linking its variability to environmental factors. Here we describe global ocean NPP changes detected from space over the past decade. The period is dominated by an initial increase in NPP of 1,930 teragrams of carbon a year (Tg C yr(-1)), followed by a prolonged decrease averaging 190 Tg C yr(-1). These trends are driven by changes occurring in the expansive stratified low-latitude oceans and are tightly coupled to coincident climate variability. This link between the physical environment and ocean biology functions through changes in upper-ocean temperature and stratification, which influence the availability of nutrients for phytoplankton growth. The observed reductions in ocean productivity during the recent post-1999 warming period provide insight on how future climate change can alter marine food webs.     

Sexual reproduction selects for robustness and negative epistasis in artificial gene networks

The mutational deterministic hypothesis for the origin and maintenance of sexual reproduction posits that sex enhances the ability of natural selection to purge deleterious mutations after recombination brings them together into single genomes. This explanation requires negative epistasis, a type of genetic interaction where mutations are more harmful in combination than expected from their separate effects. The conceptual appeal of the mutational deterministic hypothesis has been offset by our inability to identify the mechanistic and evolutionary bases of negative epistasis. Here we show that negative epistasis can evolve as a consequence of sexual reproduction itself. Using an artificial gene network model, we find that recombination between gene networks imposes selection for genetic robustness, and that negative epistasis evolves as a by-product of this selection. Our results suggest that sexual reproduction selects for conditions that favour its own maintenance, a case of evolution forging its own path.     

Do IMF fiscal forecasts add value?

We used a panel of 29 advanced and emerging market countries to investigate whether the IMF's World Economic Outlook (WEO) fiscal forecasts add value in terms of forecast accuracy and information content, relative to private sector forecasts (from Consensus Economics). We find that: (i) WEO forecasts are not significantly less accurate than Consensus forecasts; (ii) WEO and Consensus forecasts tend to mutually encompass one another; and (iii) each source of forecasts appears to contain some information that is not embedded in the other source.     

Competency-Based Model Through It: An Action Research Project

Competency-based management is a strategic approach for Human Resources Management and organizational change. Additionally, in business environment, information technologies competencies are a significant factor to organizational success (Bharadwaj, MIS Q 24(1):169–196, 2006). However the implementation of a model of competency-based management in business environment is difficult and complex (Lawler, J Organ Behav 15(1):3–15, 1993). In this context, Information systems are a suitable tool to manage individual and organizational knowledge (Alavi and Leidner, MIS Q 25(1):107–136, 2001; Bowman, Inf Syst Manag 19(3):32–40, 2002). This paper introduces a dynamic approach to a competency-based model through IT. We validate such approach through an action research project in RTVE, the largest company and reference public corporation of radio and television in Spain. The action research process in this organization is presented, and the findings highlight the potential benefits of the proposed model, and may be used in facilitating organizational change.     

Inventory of Sarcophaginae (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) for the Humid Chaco,a poorly surveyed ecoregion of South America

ABSTRACT

Sarcophaginae is a large subfamily of sarcophagid flies (Diptera: Calyptratae: Oestroidea: Sarcophagidae) which have diverse habits, mainly sarcosaprophagous, and have forensic and sanitary importance. This is the first work that analyzes the fauna of Sarcophaginae exclusively in the Humid Chaco ecoregion where diversity of flies has scarcely been studied. This inventory was based on: a) samplings at different locations in the province of Chaco, Argentina, and in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil; b) examination of entomological collections and c) bibliographic records. Sixty-two species of Sarcophaginae flies are included in this paper, of which 31 species are recorded for the first time in the Humid Chaco ecoregion. Ten species are new records for Argentina, two for Brazil and three for Paraguay. Lepidodexia (Neophytodes) lindneri Townsend, 1931, Lepidodexia (Notochaeta) adelina Mulieri, Schaefer, Duré and González, 2018, Lepidodexia (Pachygraphomima) lenti Lopes, 1980, Oxysarcodexia berthet Dufek and Mulieri, 2017, Oxysarcodexia ibera Dufek and Mulieri, 2017 and Retrocitomyia paraguayensis Lopes, 1985 are registered as endemic species of the Humid Chaco ecoregion. Species with forensically and sanitary importance are listed. Some comments on species distribution previously published in catalogues are provided.     

Inhibition of carbonate synthesis in acidic oceans on early Mars

Several lines of evidence have recently reinforced the hypothesis that an ocean existed on early Mars. Carbonates are accordingly expected to have formed from oceanic sedimentation of carbon dioxide from the ancient martian atmosphere. But spectral imaging of the martian surface has revealed the presence of only a small amount of carbonate, widely distributed in the martian dust. Here we examine the feasibility of carbonate synthesis in ancient martian oceans using aqueous equilibrium calculations. We show that partial pressures of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the range 0.8-4 bar, in the presence of up to 13.5 mM sulphate and 0.8 mM iron in sea water, result in an acidic oceanic environment with a pH of less than 6.2. This precludes the formation of siderite, usually expected to be the first major carbonate mineral to precipitate. We conclude that extensive interaction between an atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide and a lasting sulphate- and iron-enriched acidic ocean on early Mars is a plausible explanation for the observed absence of carbonates.     

Ectopic human chorionic gonadotropin in breast carcinoma

Summary Immunoreactive human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) was found in 9 of 65 surgically removed malignant breast tumors. Concentrations ranged from 5 to greater than 500 mIU hCG/g tumor. hCG was measured by a -chain specific radioimmunoassay. In further study of these specimens, an immunoperoxidase staining technique was used to stain for hCG in formalin-fixed sections. The hCG was shown to be localized within the cytoplasm and on the surface of the malignant cells.     

Functional mechanisms of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) associated anti-HIV-1 properties

The cellular prion protein PrP(C)/CD230 is a GPI-anchor protein highly expressed in cells from the nervous and immune systems and well conserved among vertebrates. In the last decade, several studies suggested that PrP(C) displays antiviral properties by restricting the replication of different viruses, and in particular retroviruses such as murine leukemia virus (MuLV) and the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). In this context, we previously showed that PrP(C) displays important similarities with the HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein and found that PrP(C) expression in a human cell line strongly reduced HIV-1 expression and virus production. Using different PrP(C) mutants, we report here that the anti-HIV-1 properties are mostly associated with the amino-terminal 24-KRPKP-28 basic domain. In agreement with its reported RNA chaperone activity, we found that PrP(C) binds to the viral genomic RNA of HIV-1 and negatively affects its translation. Using a combination of biochemical and cell imaging strategies, we found that PrP(C) colocalizes with the virus assembly machinery at the plasma membrane and at the virological synapse in infected T cells. Depletion of PrP(C) in infected T cells and microglial cells favors HIV-1 replication, confirming its negative impact on the HIV-1 life cycle.