University of Los Andes

About: University of Los Andes is a education organization based out in Bogotá, Colombia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Large Hadron Collider. The organization has 17616 authors who have published 25555 publications receiving 413463 citations.

RESEARCH: Managing Mountainous Degraded Landscapes After Farmland Abandonment in the Central Spanish Pyrenees

Abstract: / Plant succession and pasture resources have been studied in abandoned fields of the central Spanish Pyrenees, in an environment severely affected by strong demographic pressure in the past Several hydromorphological features (runoff and sediment yield) were also analyzed for different environments of the abandoned fields, in order to forecast the effects of their reclamation and transformation into areas for livestock use The availability and accessibility of pastures as well as soil and water conservation is related to the process of colonization of Genista scorpius Under a dense shrub cover both runoff and sediment yield are strongly controlled As the shrub cover becomes open, sediment yield and runoff increase greatly A dense herbaceous cover yields high runoff coefficients but moderate soil losses From the results obtained, the possibility of abandoned field reclamation by means of selective clearing of scrub is discussedKEY WORDS: Abandoned fields; Plant succession; Degraded environments; Soil erosion; Runoff; Spanish Pyrenees

Prions in the Urine of Patients with Variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease

Abstract: Background Prions, the infectious agents responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, consist mainly of the misfolded prion protein (PrPSc). The unique mechanism of transmission and the appearance of a variant form of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, which has been linked to consumption of prion-contaminated cattle meat, have raised concerns about public health. Evidence suggests that variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease prions circulate in body fluids from people in whom the disease is silently incubating. Methods To investigate whether PrPSc can be detected in the urine of patients with variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, we used the protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) technique to amplify minute quantities of PrPSc, enabling highly sensitive detection of the protein. We analyzed urine samples from several patients with various transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (variant and sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and genetic forms of prion disease), patients with other degenerative or ...

Armed Conflict Exposure, Human Capital Investments, And Child Labor: Evidence From Colombia

Abstract: This article estimates the effect of armed conflict exposure on school drop-out and labor decisions of Colombian children between the ages of 6 and 17. The empirical strategy is based on two-stage duration analysis and biprobit estimations that take into account the endogeneity of conflict. We find that conflict affects children older than 11, inducing them to drop out of school and enter the labor market too early. We find that short-term exposure to violence is the most relevant for these decisions and probable channels of transmission include higher mortality risks, negative economic shocks, and lesser school quality.