This paper contributes to a long-standing debate in development practice: under what conditions can externally established participatory groups engage in the collective management of services beyond the life of a project? Using 10 years of panel data on water point functionality from Indonesia’s rural water program, the Program for Community-Based Water Supply and Sanitation, the paper explored the determinants of subnational variation in infrastructure sustainability. It then investigated positive and negative deviance cases to answer why some communities successfully engaged in system management despite being located in difficult conditions as per quantitative findings and vice versa. The findings show that differences in the implementation of community participation, driven by local social relations between frontline service providers, that is, village authorities and water user groups, explain sustainable management. This initial condition of state-society relations influences how the project is initiated, kicking off negative or positive reinforcing pathways, leading to community collective action or exit. The paper concludes that the relationships between frontline government representatives and community actors are important and are an underexamined aspect of the ability of external projects to generate successful community-led management of public goods.

The wide distribution of the common beech (Fagus sylvatica) in Europe reveals its great adaptation to diverse conditions of temperature and humidity. This interesting aspect explains the context of the main objective of this work: to carry out a dendroclimatic analysis of the species Fagus sylvatica in the Polaciones valley (Cantabria), an area of transition with environmental conditions from a characteristic Atlantic type to more Mediterranean, at the southern limit of its growth. The methodology developed is based on the analysis of 25 local chronologies of growth rings sampled at different altitudes along the valley, generating a reference chronology for the study area. Subsequently, the patterns of growth and response to climatic variations are estimated through the response and correlation function, and the most significant monthly variables in the annual growth of the species are obtained. Finally, these are introduced into a Geographic Information System (GIS) where they are cartographically modeled in the altitudinal gradient through multivariate analysis, taking into account the different geographic and topographic variables that influence the zonal variability of the species response. The results of the analyses and cartographic models show which variables are most determinant in the annual growth of the species and the distribution of its climatic response according to the variables considered.

The Guacimal River catchment has an area of 181 km² and is located in the NW of Costa Rica, between the coordinates 84.745° W-10.016° N and 84.909° W-10.325° N. In this territory, as in most of the country, detailed geomorphological studies are scarce; therefore, the objective of this paper is to present the geomorphological mapping at a scale of 1:25,000 of the Guacimal River, which allows us to explain the dynamics of the agents involved in the modeling of the catchment. The work methodology consisted of three stages: pre-mapping, field activity and post-mapping, which resulted in a map in which ten relief forms are represented, ordered according to their morphogenesis in endogenous modeled and exogenous (fluvial, gravitational and littoral). This document will be the base line for land use planning, both continental and coastal, and for local risk management.

The performance of five cauliflower cultivars in conventional and alternative phytosanitary management—without the use of synthetic pesticides—was evaluated. Two experiments were conducted at Epagri, Ituporanga Experimental Station in February 2018 and 2019. A randomized block design with four repetitions was adopted, with twenty plants of each cultivar as plots. The seedlings were transplanted on millet and mucuna straw at a spacing of 0.5 m × 0.8 m. We evaluated agronomic yield, inflorescence quality, pest damage and plant diseases, especially bacterial and fungal rots. The cauliflower hybrids Vera, Verona and Serena stood out in productivity and quality, being the most indicated for sowing in off-season crops, in the Alto Vale do Itajaí region. The most productive cultivars were less damaged by bacterial diseases and defoliating caterpillars and without interference of whitefly infestation on yield. The results also reveal that it is possible to control pests and diseases with phytosanitary products of lower toxicity, i.e., with lower residues of synthetic pesticides.

In the last several decades, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have emerged as a major hazard to human life and health. Conventional formulations for the treatment of CVD are available, but they are far from ideal because of poor water solubility, limited biological activity, non-targeting, and drug resistance. With the advancement of nanotechnology, a novel drug delivery approach for the treatment of CVDs has emerged: nano-drug delivery systems (NDDSs). NDDSs have shown significant advantages in tackling the difficulties listed above. Cytotoxicity is a difficulty with the use of non-destructive DNA sequences. NDDS categories and targeted tactics were outlined, as well as current research advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of CVDs. It’s possible that gene therapy might be included into nano-carriers in the delivery of cardiovascular medications in the future. In addition, the evaluation addressed the drug’s safety.