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Murú a, R., González, L. A. and Lima, M. 2003. Population dynamics of rice rats (a Hantavirus reservoir) in southern Chile: feedback structure and non-linear effects of climatic oscillations. -Oikos 102: 137-145.We studied a fluctuating population of the long-tail rice rat (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus), the main Hantavirus vector in southern Chile, and spanning 19 years of monitoring. We determined that a first-order feedback structure and non-linear effects of Antarctic Oscillation Index (AAOI) and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) explain 96% of the variation in annual per capita population growth rates. One important result of this study is that first-order feedback structure captures the essential features of population dynamics of long-tailed rice rats. This regulatory structure suggests that rice rats are limited by food, space or predators and regulated by intra-specific competition. The first-order dynamics observed in long-tailed rice rats strongly suggests that Hantavirus have no harmful effects on survival or reproductive processes. Besides the non-linear climatic signature in population dynamics, the periodic event of bamboo-flowering and mast seeding strongly influence rice rats population growth rates. Because of this, bamboo flowering may be used as a signal for forecasting long-tail rice rats outbreaks and for implementing information and health policies to avoid human-rodent contacts in specific areas. The observed effects of the two large-scale climatic indexes that influence climatic variability along southern Pacific Ocean, the AAOI and the SOI, emphasizes the role of considering non-linear feedback structures and climatic forces for understanding small rodent population dynamics. Because long-tailed rice rats represent the major Hantavirus reservoir in southern Chile and Argentina, we need to gain an in-depth understanding of the structure and functioning of these small rodent populations in face of the potential consequences of global change and climatic fluctuations.

A discriminant analysis on vegetational variables was performed in order to determine differences in habitat utilization by two sympatric Chilean rodents. Akodon olivaceus brachiotis is associated with vegetational variables that provide greater cover from above. Oryzomys longicaudatus philippii, on the other hand, is related with structural variables such as foliage density, which provide dense areas with thick understory that offer protection from a horizontal viewing. A clear relationship was found between shrub and herbaceous cover and length of species hindfoot.

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The direction of care delivery goes from the action to the being; a process built from professional experience, which gains special characteristics when the service is delivered by telephone. The goal of this research was to understand the interaction between professionals and users in a remote care service; to do so, a research is presented, using Grounded Theory La construcción imaginativa del cuidado: la experiencia del profesional de enfermería en un servicio de asistencia remotaBrindar cuidados es una cuestión que transcurre desde la acción hasta el ser; un proceso construido desde la experiencia profesional, que cobra características especiales al ser brindado a través del teléfono. El objetivo de este estudio fue comprender la experiencia de interacción de los profesionales y los usuarios en un servicio de asistencia remota; para ello, se presenta una investigación utilizando la metodología de la Teoría Fundamentada y el Interaccionismo Simbólico como referente teórico. La recolección de datos se realizó mediante ocho entrevistas a profesionales que brindan atención telefónica. La comprensión teórica permitió la construcción del modelo teórico de la Construcción Imaginativa del Cuidado, el cual refleja los procesos interaccionales que experiencia el profesional cuando brinda cuidados a través del teléfono. En el modelo se incorporan los fenómenos individuales y sociales, demostrando la vinculación entre sus conceptos y destacando la incertidumbre, la sensibilidad y la responsabilidad del profesional como componentes esenciales de la experiencia.