The bulimulid genus Bostryx Troschel, 1847 is the most species-rich genus of land snails found in Chile, with the majority of its species found only in the northern part of the country, usually in arid coastal zones. This genus has been sparsely studied in Chile and there is little information on their distribution, diversity or ecology. Here, for the first time, a formal analysis of the divers...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether paper tape prevents foot blisters in multistage ultramarathon runners. DESIGN Multisite prospective randomized trial. SETTING The 2014 250-km (155-mile) 6-stage RacingThePlanet ultramarathons in Jordan, Gobi, Madagascar, and Atacama Deserts. PARTICIPANTS One hundred twenty-eight participants were enrolled: 19 (15%) from the Jordan, 35 (27%) from Gobi, 21 (16...

riparian vegetation is a component of river system that performs certain basic functions including primary vegetative production, protecting stream banks from erosion, trapping sediments, promoting water quality, wildlife habitat and fisheris, forage for livestock, etc. in this research, spatio-temporal change of vegetation riparian area of aghbolagh-river as an upstream of karoon-river for 65-...

Exceptionally well-preserved tufas located west of Calama, Atacama Desert, Chile, designated Santa Juana tufas, record episodic wetter conditions, relative to today, over the past 500,000 years. Globally, tufa architecture and depositional details are poorly understood as most described have been degraded by weathering erosion. In hyperarid Atacama, post-depositional alteration is negligible, t...

Introduction: Whether life ever existed on Mars or survived profound climate changes is unknown. However, all recent missions have returned evidence that thin films of liquid water or ground ice are present under current conditions [1]. Their presence supports the hypothesis that the martian subsurface could have provided a suitable refuge to life as surface conditions became hostile. Life migh...