Funcionalidad familiar y satisfacción con la vida post desastre natural en una comunidad de San Antonio del Pedregal, Perú

Natural disasters, apart from economic losses, can also affect family functioning and life satisfaction due to the adverse events that are experienced. Therefore, the main purpose of the research was to know the relation between the family functionality and satisfaction with life in the community of San Antonio del Pedregal - Sector 1 in Lurigancho-Chosica, Peru; one of the geographical areas most affected by the presence of huaicos (frequent large floods in the Andean highlands) since the 1980s and that has recently experienced the adverse effects of the El Niño phenomenon of 2017. The research was correlational and transversal; furthermore, the study sample consisted of 180 local people. The results indicate that, despite the events experienced, people show moderate family functioning and are satisfied with their life. Women had a higher score in both variables compared to men, those over 60 years of age reported greater family functionality, and those under 30 years of age showed better results in life satisfaction.

Origins of Food Production in the High Andes

Vertical topography, high altitude, infertile soils, and an arid climate make the Andes of South America a difficult region for agriculture. Nonetheless, archaeologists have found that potatoes, oca, quinoa, and kañawa were first domesticated by ancient famers in and near a region known as the Altiplano. Research indicates that approximately 6,000 years ago hunter-gatherers began to cultivate wild ancestors of these crops. Shortler thereafter, llama and alpaca herders played an important role in developing crop cultivation strategies; potatoes were uniquely adapted to a mobile pastoral lifestyle. By about 1,500 bce there is archaeological evidence that these crops were fully domesticated and supported early village life. Eventually tubers and chenopods were foundational sustenance for civilization and cities across the pre-Hispanic Andean highlands. Breeding over the last four millennia by generations of Indigenous Andean farmers in the diverse environments and climatic conditions of the Andes has resulted in a hugely diverse array of these crops. The outcome of these efforts is that hundreds of varieties of quinoa and over 5,000 varieties of potatoes are grown by Andean farmers in the 21st century. Potatoes in particular are a unique case of domestication for two reasons: (a) ancient farmers figured out how to store them long term through a freeze-drying process; (b) chemicals that are toxic to humans were not bred out of all varieties; rather, ancient people figured out that eating particular clays made the toxic potatoes less bitter and edible. Through paleoethnobotanical and genetic research, archaeologists have begun to shed light on the tangled history of Andean peoples and their crops.

Why Did Projectile-Point Size Increase in the Andean Altiplano Archaic? An Experimental Atlatl Analysis

Archaic projectile points from the Andean Altiplano exhibit a curious trend of increasing size over time, in contrast to a well-documented size reduction throughout North America. Although a number of hypotheses exist to account for decreasing projectile-point size, there are currently no explicit explanations for increasing size. We consider several hypotheses and interrogate two techno-economic hypotheses. We posit that increasing point size compensated for lost dart momentum or accuracy that resulted from the shortening of atlatls or atlatl darts as wood became increasingly scarce on the tree-sparse Altiplano. We evaluate these hypotheses using a replicated Andean atlatl system in ballistic trials. Contrary to expectation, results show that point enlargement significantly reduces penetration depth, allowing us to confidently reject the momentum hypothesis. Point enlargement, in contrast, tentatively correlates positively with accuracy. Our experiment further shows that camelid bone is an effective and economical alternative to wood for atlatl production. Despite suboptimal lengths, camelid radioulna atlatls have a convenient morphology that requires low production time, which helps explain empirically observed camelid bone atlatls from the Andean highlands. More generally, our observations lead us to consider that central tendencies in archaeologically observed projectile-point size may reflect a trade-off between penetration and accuracy.

A new species of Bosmina (Liederobosmina) Brték, 1997 (Cladocera: Bosminidae) from high mountain lakes of Colombia

Insufficient attention has been recently paid by the taxonomists to the family Bosminidae Baird (Crustacea: Cladocera). Here we describe a new species of Bosmina (Liederobosmina) Brték from high mountain water bodies of Colombia which is unique among all bosminids having heavily striated valves. Most probably, this taxon has a narrow distribution area in the Andean high mountains. It is obvious that the Andean highlands must be studied in detail, i.e. using molecular methods, and more new taxa might be detected in the future.

Morphological and eco-geographic diversity analysis of maize germplasm in the high altitude Andes region of Ecuador

The Andean region of Ecuador is the place of origin of many maize landraces grouped into 24 races. Definition of priorities for maize diversity conservation in this region can be supported by the spatial identification of areas with a high eco-geographical and phenotypic diversity. Six hundred thirty-six maize samples were morphologically characterized using 14 descriptors and assigned to a distinctive race. Additionally, sampled farms were characterized by 12 environmental variables. From these data, maps of morphological and eco-geographical diversity were obtained by using techniques to determine eco-geographical and phenotypic distances and applying them to each geographical neighbourhood. The races Patillo Ecuatoriano, Racimo de Uva and Uchima exhibited high intra-racial morphological variation, particularly in the shape of the ear, kernel row layout, cob diameter and total kernel number. The highest number of different races was observed in Imbabura, Azuay and Chimborazo provinces. The highest levels of morphological diversity were found in three cells (10 × 10 km), located in Pichincha, Chimborazo and Loja provinces. Two ecological niches, located in Loja province, showed high levels of eco-geographical diversity. A comparison between diversity maps revealed shared hotspots of morphological and eco-geographical diversity in the central and southwest areas of Imbabura province. The Andean highlands of Ecuador are an optimal refuge for the conservation of maize diversity, and the criteria of eco-geographical and morphological diversity and race richness should be considered when defining priority in situ conservation areas.

First report of Peronospora variabilis causing downy mildew disease in cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule) in Bolivia

Cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) is a semi-domesticated grain cultivated in the Andean highlands for millennia. Cañahua seeds have high nutritional value and it has become attractive because of its high resistance to frost, drought and saline soils. In May 2018, cañahua plants showed symptoms of the downy mildew disease caused by Peronospora variabilis which is known to heavily affect its tetraploid-relative quinoa. Besides the typical symptoms in the plant, visual confirmation of P. variabilis reproductive structures by microscopy was achieved. In order to verify the ability of P. variabilis to infect cañahua, an artificial infection in three cañahua varieties was performed. The three cañahua varieties were infected by P. variabilis and developed downy mildew disease symptoms. The pathogen identity was confirmed by PCR and Sanger sequencing of the PvCox2 and PvITS region. DNA sequence identification confirmed that the P. variabilis that usually infects quinoa can also infect cañahua plants. Therefore, cañahua when grown next to quinoa must be carefully watched for downy mildew disease symptoms because P. variabilis can be a potential threat for future large scale cañahua agriculture.

Emergence and Development of Pottery in the Andean Early Formative Period: New Insights from an Improved Wairajirca Pottery Chronology at the Jancao Site in the Huánuco Region, Peru

This article presents a high-resolution chronology of Wairajirca pottery in the Huánuco basin, which has been identified as a frontier region between the Andean highlands and the Amazonian rain forests: its pottery is known for having mixed features from both areas. However, the lack of fine-grained pottery and radiocarbon datasets has handicapped comparative studies’ attempts to track in detail its early development process. Our new high-resolution chronology of Wairajirca pottery is based on stratigraphic excavation data, a detailed ceramic typology, and a Bayesian analysis of the radiocarbon date from the Jancao site. The five-staged ceramic sequence from the late eighteenth to late twelfth century cal BC displays specific features of this development, including radical changes in vessel type over several centuries and connections with other pottery traditions. The earliest phase shows close relation with highlands traditions, whereas the influence of tropical rain forest patterns intensified in later phases alongside the continuation of local pottery traditions. This indicates that frontier dynamics based on fluid interactions across different ecological zones and regional sociopolitical movements played a crucial role in this long-term social process.

Identification of New Helicobacter pylori Subpopulations in Native Americans and Mestizos From Peru

Region-specific Helicobacter pylori subpopulations have been identified. It is proposed that the hspAmerind subpopulation is being displaced from the Americans by an hpEurope population following the conquest. Our study aimed to describe the genomes and methylomes of H. pylori isolates from distinct Peruvian communities: 23 strains collected from three groups of Native Americans (Asháninkas [ASHA, n = 9], Shimaas [SHIM, n = 5] from Amazonas, and Punos from the Andean highlands [PUNO, n = 9]) and 9 modern mestizos from Lima (LIM). Closed genomes and DNA modification calls were obtained using SMRT/PacBio sequencing. We performed evolutionary analyses and evaluated genomic/epigenomic differences among strain groups. We also evaluated human genome-wide data from 74 individuals from the selected Native communities (including the 23 H. pylori strains donors) to compare host and bacterial backgrounds. There were varying degrees of hspAmerind ancestry in all strains, ranging from 7% in LIM to 99% in SHIM. We identified three H. pylori subpopulations corresponding to each of the Native groups and a novel hspEuropePeru which evolved in the modern mestizos. The divergence of the indigenous H. pylori strains recapitulated the genetic structure of Native Americans. Phylogenetic profiling showed that Orthogroups in the indigenous strains seem to have evolved differentially toward epigenomic regulation and chromosome maintenance, whereas OGs in the modern mestizo (LIM) seem to have evolved toward virulence and adherence. The prevalence of cagA+/vacA s1i1m1 genotype was similar across populations (p = 0.32): 89% in ASHA, 67% in PUNO, 56% in LIM and 40% in SHIM. Both cagA and vacA sequences showed that LIM strains were genetically differentiated (p < 0.001) as compared to indigenous strains. We identified 642 R-M systems with 39% of the associated genes located in the core genome. We found 692 methylation motifs, including 254 population-specific sequences not previously described. In Peru, hspAmerind is not extinct, with traces found even in a heavily admixed mestizo population. Notably, our study identified three new hspAmerind subpopulations, one per Native group; and a new subpopulation among mestizos that we named hspEuropePeru. This subpopulation seems to have more virulence-related elements than hspAmerind. Purifying selection driven by variable host immune response may have shaped the evolution of Peruvian subpopulations, potentially impacting disease outcomes.

Physicochemical properties and acceptability of three formulations containing fava bean, quinoa and corn flour extrudates

Andean grains, widely distributed in the high areas of the Andean Highlands, can help to reduce malnutrition owing to their high content of protein and balance of essential amino acids. Recently, their consumption has changed as they are increasingly used for instant food mixtures. However, a better design and formulation are necessary to maintain Andean grains’ nutritional value and characteristics. In this study, we evaluated the physicochemical properties and acceptability of three formulations containing extruded corn (Zea mays L.), fava bean (Vicia faba L.), and quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) flours. Grain samples were collected from Choclococha, Acobamba, Huancavelica, Peru, and extruded at 95°C. Subsequently, three flour formulations were prepared. The formulation comprising 30% fava bean flour, 58% quinoa flour, and 12% corn flour consisted of 18.64% protein, 4.87% fat, 8.4% humidity, 2.99% ash, and 62.44% carbohydrates. This formulation with the highest quinoa flour content presented the highest acceptability in terms of color odor and flavor, and the highest protein content and digestibility (72.6%) of all analyzed formulations. Thermal analysis and pasting testing indicated that the formulation with the highest acceptability did not contain native starch; moreover, the proteins in this formulation were denatured.