The purpose of my research is to identify the legal actions and/or administrative mechanisms established by the Colombian regulation that seek the prevention of the so-called orphan environmental damages caused by the exploration and exploitation of minerals by illegal miners within the territory. Moreover, I will determine whether or not landowners should be responsible for the environmental damage caused by illegal miners, in the case where they do not denounce the illegal activities occurring on their property to the government. In other words, the idea is to review the current regulation, and determine whether landowners should be responsible for the activities caused by third parties (illegal miners) on their properties, and if so, which legal actions should be filed by landowners in order to avoid responsibility in those cases. Hence, I will review which special duties landowners may have with respect to illegal mining on their properties, and which legal actions they should file before competent governmental authorities in order to inform them of these illegal activities. This would have the purpose of helping the government to stop the illegal activities by having the information about where these activities are being carried out, and therefore, prevent the appearance of new environmental damages. By this point, it may be clear that denouncing illegal activities is just a small part of the solution. In order to stop illegal mining it would be also necessary to reflect on the current environmental, social, economical, and cultural policies, strategies and programs. However, the law might contribute to find out a plausible solution. Notwithstanding the above, it is important to point out that I will focus my research only on the identification of the different legal actions, and not on their application and enforcement. Hence, the questions that I will try to resolve will be: (i) whether or not landowners have any special duty of denouncing the illegal mining activities that might take place on their properties (based on the ecological function of the property constitutional principle) (ii) which are the available legal actions and administrative mechanisms under Colombian regulation that should be used by a landowner in order to avoid responsibility and prevent orphan environmental damages caused by the performance of illegal mining activities on their property. I will however not analyze the application of these actions on a day-to-day basis; I will address some of the concerns with respect to the current system.

This article examines the existing arguments of the Democratic Peace Theory on why democracies do not fight each other. It aims to summarize the most important aspects of the theory, and to provide adequate counterarguments. First, it explains the general implications of the theory, including its origins and explanations. Second, it explores the related critiques and controversies. Third, it identifies the theory’s practical application. Finally, it offers conclusions on how effective this theory could be during the present days.

Incisive interpretations of urban-forest sustainability are important in furthering our understanding of how to sustain the myriad values associated with urban forests. Our analysis of earlier interpretations reveals conceptual gaps. These interpretations are attached to restrictive definitions of a sustainable urban forest and limited to a rather mechanical view of maintaining the biophysical structure of trees. The probing of three conceptual domains (urban forest concepts, sustainable development, and sustainable forest management) leads to a broader interpretation of urban-forest sustainability as the process of sustaining urban forest values through time and across space. We propose that values—and not services, benefits, functions or goods—is a superior concept to refer to what is to be sustained in and by an urban forest.

Abstract: We investigate how to formalize reasoning that takes account of time by using connectives like “before” and “after.” We develop semantics for a formal logic, which we axiomatize. In proving that the axiomatization is strongly complete we show how a temporal ordering of propositions can yield a linear timeline. We formalize examples of ordinary language sentences to illustrate the scope and limitations of this method. We then discuss ways to deal with some of those limitations. Resumen: Investigamos sobre cómo al formalizar el razonamiento se puede tener el cuenta el tiempo al usar conectivos de tiempo tales como « antes » y « después ». Nosotros desarrollamos la semantica para un sistema formal, el cal podemos axiomatizar. Al probar la axiomatización es fuertemente completo mostramos cómo un orden temporal de prosiciones pueden dejar un tiempo lineal. Formalizamos algunos ejemplos de las frases del lenguaje natural para ilustrar el alcance y las limitaciones de este métodos. Nosotros discutiremos entonces cómo lidiar con dichas limitaciones.

Abstract: Bone remodeling is a continuous physiological process that requires constant generation of new osteoblasts from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Differentiation of MSCs to osteoblast requires a metabolic switch from glycolysis to increased mitochondrial respiration to ensure the sufficient energy supply to complete this process. As a consequence of this increased mitochondrial metabolism, the levels of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) rise. In the current study we analyzed the role of forkhead box O3 (FOXO3) in the control of ROS levels in human MSCs (hMSCs) during osteogenic differentiation. Treatment of hMSCs with H2O2 induced FOXO3 phosphorylation at Ser294 and nuclear translocation. This ROS-mediated activation of FOXO3 was dependent on mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 (MAPK8/JNK) activity. Upon FOXO3 downregulation, osteoblastic differentiation was impaired and hMSCs lost their ability to control elevated ROS levels. Our results also demonstrate that in response to elevated ROS levels, FOXO3 induces autophagy in hMSCs. In line with this, impairment of autophagy by autophagy-related 7 (ATG7) knockdown resulted in a reduced capacity of hMSCs to regulate elevated ROS levels, together with a reduced osteoblast differentiation. Taken together our findings are consistent with a model where in hMSCs, FOXO3 is required to induce autophagy and thereby reduce elevated ROS levels resulting from the increased mitochondrial respiration during osteoblast differentiation. These new molecular insights provide an important contribution to our better understanding of bone physiology. Resumen: La remodelación ósea es un proceso fisiológico continuo que demanda la generación constante de nuevos osteoblastos a partir de células madre mesenquimales (CMMs). La diferenciación de las CMMs a osteoblastos requiere un cambio de glicólisis a respiración mitocondrial para así asegurar la obtención de suficiente energía. Como consecuencia, los niveles endógenos de especies reactivas del oxígeno (ERO) se elevan siendo perjudiciales para la integridad celular. En el presente estudio hemos analizado el papel de FOXO3 en el control de ERO en las CMMs durante la diferenciación osteogénica. El tratamiento de las CMMs con H2O2 induce la fosforilacion de FOXO3 en la serina 294 resultando en la translocación de FOXO3 al núcleo. Dicha activación mediada por el aumento de ERO es dependiente de la actividad de JNK. Al disminuir los niveles de FOXO3, la diferenciación osteoblástica se deteriora y las CMMs pierden su capacidad para controlar los niveles de ERO. Adicionalmente, nuestros resultados demuestran que en presencia de ERO, FOXO3 induce la autofagia en CMMs. En este orden de ideas, la disminución en los niveles de ATG7 da lugar a una reducción de la capacidad de las CMMs para regular los niveles elevados de ERO, junto con una reducción de la diferenciación de osteoblastos. Tomados en conjunto, nuestros resultados son consistentes con un modelo en el que FOXO3 es necesario para inducir la autofagia y por lo tanto reducir los niveles elevados de ERO que resultan del aumento de la respiración mitocondrial durante la diferenciación de osteoblastos. Estos nuevos conocimientos moleculares son importantes para una mejor comprensión de la fisiología ósea.

There are several theories of cognition, each taking a different position on the nature of cognition, what a cognitive system should do, and how a cognitive system should be analyzed and synthesized. From these, it is possible to discern three broad classes: the cognitivist approach based on symbolic information processing representational systems; the emergent systems approach embracing connectionist systems, dynamical systems, and enactive systems, all based on a lesser or greater extent of principles of self-organization, and the hybrid approach which combine the best of the emergent systems and cognitivist systems. Our research focuses on implementing a hybrid architecture for cognitive agents supported by both cognitivist and emergent approaches. On the one hand, the cognitivist approach provides an explicit knowledge representation through the use of symbolic AI techniques. On the other hand, the emergent approach defines three evolutionary strategies as observed in nature: Epigenesis, Ontogenesis, and Phylogenesis, endowing the architecture with implicit knowledge learning, sub-symbolic representations, and emergent behavior guided by bio-inspired computational intelligence techniques.

This article attempts to analyze the discourse underlying the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the confronting voices of the four countries that voted against this instrument. Through a frame analysis, the conception of (human) rights, development, well-being, lands, and the very notion of nation-state will be presented with regard to the two opposing views. Frames change throughout time; they are dynamic. Thus, what appears to be not negotiable today can be debated in the future. The very fact that indigenous peoples are regarded as an important actor in the international fora is something which was not thought some decades ago. The recognition of different ways of being developed is gaining interest. This article explores the pros and cons of this political struggle. To determine which position is the most convincing would depend on the reader’s background, values, and interests.

The authors seek to investigate the articulation of human / environmental security agenda to justify military action under ‘Plan Colombia / Plan Andino’ (PC/PA), the USA anti drugs trafficking strategy for Amazonia. It is observed that PC/PA exacerbates existing inequities in the region and are ineffective at controlling ‘narco-trafficking’. The paper explores the relation between culture and human/environmental security. The discussion illustrates how cultural and aesthetics beliefs provide the background for agroecological practices adopted by indigenous Amazonian peoples. It is argued that political developments in the region have undermined the ability of this people to maintain their livelihood strategies. It is conclude that PC/PA, which effectively exclude indigenous peoples from the management of the rainforest environments where they have lived for centuries, is justified by the Colombian and USA governments on the ground that they improve security of the very people they displace.

Abstract: Mass transportation and citizen mobility is one of the most relevant topics in urban planning nowadays. A brief analysis shows the importance of bicycle promotion as a mean of transportation not only for the low implementation costs, but also because of the environmental gains for the city and its inhabitants. This analysis is focused on bicycle promotion policies in Bogotá, Colombia, and states some brief conclusions about the next steps. Resumen: El transporte masivo y la movilidad de la ciudadanía es uno de los ítems más importantes a tener en cuenta en cuanto a planeación urbana. Un corto análisis muestra la importancia de la promoción del uso de la bicicleta como medio de transporte, no sólo por los bajos costos de implementación, sino por los logros medioambientales que benefician a la ciudad y a sus habitantes. El presente análisis se enfoca en las políticas de promoción del uso de la bicicleta en Bogotá, Colombia, y plantea unas cortas conclusiones así como pasos a seguir.

This is the final result of an investigation. This paper seeks to engage in a general exploration about some possible theoretical understandings about indigenous peoples’ rights, since there is the concern that their group rights have been systematically neglected by the nation-state and the international community. Concretely, there is the perception that the interests of the indigenous peoples have not been adequately addressed by the Colombian state due to a uni-dimensional framework for defining the meaning of being developed. In that sense, the main objective of this document consists of providing a conceptual interconnection between the right to development (R2D) and collective rights, group rights, minority rights and cultural rights of indigenous peoples. The justification of this paper is the necessity of exploring the ways through which the indigenous peoples can take advantage of their R2D, as it encompasses other rights, i.e., individual, collective, group, minority, and cultural rights. In other words, I seek to stress the potential of the R2D for justifying different views of being developed, since some core human rights instruments can be easily embedded in the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development (DRD).