National Institute of Industrial Technology

Bacillus thuringiensis is the most extensively studied entomopathogenic bacterium worldwide; however, its sublethal effects on beetles remain poorly characterized. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of a previously selected Argentine strain of B. thuringiensis on second-instar Alphitobius diaperinus larvae during an initial 14 days of exposure, and to assess its effects at day 14 and throughout the remainder of the life cycle until death. Three treatments were applied: control, LC30, and LC50. Larval, pupal, and adult weight and body surface area were recorded, and nutritional composition was quantified using colorimetric methods. Insect status was monitored every 48-72 h over a total period of 540 days, until the death of the last individual. Among the evaluated variables, statistically significant differences between control and treatment groups were detected in larval area and weight, in the survival analysis and in two nutritional components: total protein and lipid content per larva. Overall, the results demonstrate that initial sublethal exposure to B. thuringiensis induces chronic lethal effects with delayed mortality in A. diaperinus, indicating irreversible physiological damage. This provides valuable information not only for understanding the biology of this insect but also for stakeholders involved in the productive scaling of beetle-targeted bioinputs.

Abstract. In times of digital transformation, machines are expected to operate exclusively using the International System of Units (SI), something that humans have not yet fully achieved. The same should include sensor systems feeding data to those machines. This requires an internationally authoritative database for converting the non-SI units that humans enter to SI units at the level of the human–machine interface or human–sensor interface.

Climate hazards impact pastoral communities due to their dependency on nature for their primary livelihoods. This study analyzes climate risk in ten pastoral livestock farming communities in Patagonia drylands of Argentina. A participatory impact chains (PICs) approach was used as a qualitative and participatory bottom-up methodology allowing for the identification and contextualization of climate hazards, exposure, intermediate impacts and vulnerability dimensions through knowledge co-production with local stakeholders. Results show that, although drought is the predominant climate hazard across the region, its impacts are heterogeneous and mediated by local socio-environmental conditions. The analysis underlines that vulnerability is not evenly distributed but is shaped by specific historical, political and environmental pathways. These findings challenge standardized top-down risk assessments, and highlight the need for adaptation strategies that are context-sensitive, territorially differentiated and that integrate local knowledge. The study also contributes to advancing qualitative participatory methodologies for climate risk assessment in pastoral systems in arid areas of Latin America, showing the regional heterogeneity and social inequalities.

Abstract Modern machine learning (ML) systems, particularly deep neural networks, have become increasingly complex and opaque, making reliable uncertainty quantification (UQ) essential. Conventional UQ methods often prove inadequate for black-box model evaluation scenarios, either because model internals are not accessible or because the resulting uncertainty is expressed in terms of a related predictor rather than the model under evaluation. We introduce U-TraCE (Uncertainty Tracking for Complex Estimators), a novel UQ method built on the Conformal Prediction (CP) framework that provides formal and traceable uncertainty bounds for opaque ML systems. Unlike existing CP approaches, which describe uncertainty through confidence intervals or prediction set sizes at a fixed uncertainty level, U-TraCE yields an explicit numerical bound on the error probability of the standalone black-box model. U-TraCE was evaluated on diverse tasks, including MNIST classification and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) segmentation, representing both benchmark and real-world domains. Across these settings, it produced conservative yet well-calibrated uncertainty bounds that closely follow empirical uncertainty, even with limited calibration data. By bridging theoretical UQ and operational model validation, U-TraCE establishes a foundation for objective and automated conformity assessment of complex ML systems, supporting trustworthy deployment in safety-critical environments.

Climate hazards impact pastoral communities due to their dependency on nature for their primary livelihoods. This study analyzes climate risk in ten pastoral livestock farming communities in Patagonia drylands of Argentina. A participatory impact chains (PICs) approach was used as a qualitative and participatory bottom-up methodology allowing for the identification and contextualization of climate hazards, exposure, intermediate impacts and vulnerability dimensions through knowledge co-production with local stakeholders. Results show that, although drought is the predominant climate hazard across the region, its impacts are heterogeneous and mediated by local socio-environmental conditions. The analysis underlines that vulnerability is not evenly distributed but is shaped by specific historical, political and environmental pathways. These findings challenge standardized top-down risk assessments, and highlight the need for adaptation strategies that are context-sensitive, territorially differentiated and that integrate local knowledge. The study also contributes to advancing qualitative participatory methodologies for climate risk assessment in pastoral systems in arid areas of Latin America, showing the regional heterogeneity and social inequalities.

ABSTRACT Biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) films were developed with 13% w/w ethanol extract from industrial peanut skin residues (PSE), a rich source of natural antioxidants and antimicrobials. Films retain actives during processing. Antioxidant activity was evaluated via total phenolics, flavonoids, condensed tannins, and radical scavenging assays (DPPH, ABTS). PSE incorporation enhances oxidative thermal stability, increasing oxidation onset temperature (OOT) by 61°C—eliminating the early oxidative stage of neat PCL—and extending oxidation induction time (OIT), without compromising suitability for food packaging. Oxidative stability is maintained after accelerated storage (90 days at 40°C) and repeated migration tests simulating contact with refrigerated fatty foods. Migration assays confirm effective release of actives under repeated use. Mass transfer parameters were obtained by fitting experimental data to Fick's second law and the Arrhenius model, yielding intrinsic diffusion coefficients in 95% ethanol from 5°C to 40°C (4.17 × 10 −15 –7.1 × 10 −14 m 2 ·s −1 ), eliminating swelling at 40°C. Coefficients fall within typical polymer–antioxidant ranges, reflecting strong retention and controlled release due to the PCL matrix and complex PSE mixture. Overall, the films demonstrate long‐term chemical and functional stability, enhanced thermo‐oxidative resistance, and controlled antioxidant release, supporting their application in refrigerated, lipid‐rich foods within a circular economy framework.

Abstract Sugarcane is one of the most important crops worldwide because it is key for the economy of numerous countries and because of the size of its cultivated land area. It can play a major role in a circular bioeconomy because it can be a raw material for a variety of products not only in the food and beverage industries but also for animal feed, biodegradable packaging, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and bioplastics. Furthermore, it is a source of bioenergy both through bioelectricity from its biomass and ethanol as a biofuel. The aim of this chapter is to present its importance, progress to date, and its future potential in Latin America, where it has been an important crop for centuries. Circularity is key as there are environmental concerns such as water use and pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and agrochemical use. Different cases throughout the region of sustainable management practices addressing those issues are presented. Some practices are somewhat common in the region, whereas others are carried out only in some countries or companies. Hence, the future pathway includes the adoption of best practices in the region and beyond, as well as new areas that require research and development to attain their potential.

The transition toward a circular plastics economy requires materials that reduce fossil dependency while ensuring realistic end-of-life solutions. Agro-industrial byproducts such as wheat gluten (WG) represent promising feedstocks, although their poor processability and high moisture sensitivity limit practical use. In this work, wheat gluten was plasticized with glycerol and urea to obtain plasticized wheat gluten (fWG), which was then blended with 30 wt % poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), and reinforced with 5 wt % montmorillonite (MMT) clays─either unmodified (CNa), organo-modified (C30B), or a 1:1 mixture─to assess the role of clay chemistry in structural organization and functional performance. PBAT incorporation generated interfacial discontinuities and increased water vapor permeability, whereas clay addition improved phase compatibility and reduced PBAT-dispersed domain size, particularly for C30B. Spectroscopic, diffraction, and scattering analyses revealed that clay incorporation further modified the structural organization of the blends, introducing subtle nanostructural rearrangements without altering the crystalline fraction of the polymers. At the macroscopic level, all clay-containing composites exhibited markedly reduced water vapor permeability, achieving values comparable to neat PBAT despite the lower polyester content, and showed modest improvements in mechanical response. In contrast, solubility was governed primarily by the protein fraction and was not further affected by clays. Under home-composting conditions, PBAT exhibited only minor surface deterioration and remained largely intact, yet the fWG–PBAT blend disintegrated at a rate comparable to the protein matrix alone. Clay-containing composites fragmented more gradually, but all WG-based formulations achieved extensive disintegration within 4 weeks. Altogether, these findings indicate that WG–PBAT–clay composites emerge as a sustainable alternative for the development of films formulated with high agro-industrial byproduct content and realistic end-of-life performance.

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) play essential roles in eukaryotic cell biology, yet their evolutionary diversity across alveolates remains poorly understood. Here, we conducted a comparative genomic analysis of GPI biosynthetic pathways and GPI-AP repertoires across representative species of Ciliophora, Apicomplexa, and Dinoflagellata. Our findings reveal lineage-specific patterns of gene loss, expansion, and functional divergence, with ciliates exhibiting reduced canonical enzyme sets but expanded trafficking components. Using a benchmarked pipeline of GPI-AP predictors combined with signal peptide detection, we identified candidate GPI-anchored proteins and performed functional annotation to determine enriched Gene Ontology terms. To complement the bioinformatic analyses, we expressed the apicomplexan GPI-anchored antigen GPI4 from Babesia bovis in Tetrahymena thermophila. This approach extends previous efforts that used Tetrahymena as a heterologous expression system for parasite surface antigens. The recombinant protein localized to ciliary membranes and showed features consistent with proper processing. This study highlights the evolutionary plasticity of GPI systems in alveolates and reinforces the utility of Tetrahymena as a eukaryotic platform for the production and analysis of GPI-anchored proteins with potential diagnostic or immunoprophylactic applications.

In the Patagonian drylands, extensive sheep production coexists with guanaco, the most abundant native herbivore. While sheep’s impacts on vegetation are well known, guanaco effects remain poorly understood, limiting effective management. We evaluated the influence of both species on grassland regeneration at two representative sites by comparing areas grazed by sheep or guanaco and applying short-term herbivore exclusions. We analyzed pre- and post-dispersal soil seed banks in vegetated patches and bare soil, and measured seedling emergence and tiller production of dominant perennial grasses. The soil seed bank was dominated by annual species, and vegetated patches showed higher perennial abundance after seed dispersal, but no significant differences emerged between herbivores. Seedling emergence was similar for sheep and guanaco, increasing notably after short-term exclusion. However, perennial grass regeneration through tillering responded differently: guanaco exclusion enhanced tillering of Nassella tenuis and Pappostipa speciosa, whereas sheep exclusion produced no significant effect. Overall, most regeneration mechanisms showed comparable patterns under both herbivores. These findings suggest that, although guanaco and sheep exert similar pressures on seedling dynamics, guanaco grazing may differently affect perennial grass recovery. We emphasize the need for careful monitoring of guanaco stocking rates to ensure sustainable management of Patagonian shrub-steppe ecosystems.