Summary: The floodplain of the San Pedro River, a fluvial-delta formation, is one of the coastal areas affected by marine intrusion during the last glaciation. In this region, agriculture is the main economic activity; however, intensive agricultural practices, the geological past, current interactions with the marine system and the transport of salts through sediments and water make this area susceptible to soil salinization. To characterize the salinity of the agricultural area of the San Pedro River floodplain, two soil samplings were carried out at 91 sites over a period of two years. Samples were taken from depths of 0.0 to 0.3 m and from 0.0 to 0.1 m to depths of 1 m and 3 m. Fifty groundwater samples were collected. Saturation extracts were obtained (1: θsat) from the soil samples. For the soil and groundwater extracts, the pH, EC, and major cations and anions were determined, the sodium adsorption ratio was calculated in the original and adjusted formulations (SAR or and SAR adj ), and the exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) was ascertained. The pH, EC and SAR or of the groundwater ranged from 6.94 to 8.37, 199 to 4660 µS cm-1 and 0.16 to 32.30 (mmolc L-1)1/2, while in the saturation extracts, the pH, EC and SAR or ranged from 4.81 to 8.58, 0.08 to 72.4 dS m-1 and 0.11 to 33.09 (mmolc L-1)1/2, respectively. The salinity problems in the study area are closely related to the intrusion of salts from the marine system.

Resumen: La planicie del río San Pedro, que tiene una formación fluvio-deltaica, es una de las superficies costeras que fueron afectadas por la intrusión marina durante la última glaciación. En esta zona, la agricultura es la principal actividad económica, sin embargo, las actividades agrícolas intensivas, su pasado geo-morfológico, la actual interdependencia con el sistema marino y el transporte de sales a través de los sedimentos y aguas, hacen que esta región sea susceptible a la acumulación de sales en los suelos. Con el objetivo de caracterizar la salinidad de la superficie agrícola de la planicie del río San Pedro, se hicieron dos muestreos de suelos en 91 sitios en un periodo de dos años. Se tomaron muestras de 0.0 a 0.3 m y de 0.0 a cada 0.1 m hasta profundidades de 1 m y 3 m. Se recolectaron 50 muestras de agua freática, además se obtuvieron extractos de saturación (1: θsat) de las distintas muestras de suelos. A los extractos de suelo y aguas freáticas, se les determinó el pH, CE, cationes y aniones mayoritarios, se calculó el parámetro relación de adsorción de sodio en su formulación original y ajustada (RAS or , RAS aj ) y el porciento de sodio intercambiable (PSI). El pH, CE y RAS or del agua freática estuvieron dentro de los intervalos de 6.94-8.37, 199-4660 µS cm-1 y 0.16-32.30 (mmolc L-1)1/2, mientras que en los extractos de saturación entre 4.81-8.58, 0.08-72.4 dS m-1 y 0.11-33.09 (mmolc L-1)1/2 respectivamente. Los problemas de salinidad en la zona de estudio están estrechamente relacionados con la intrusión de sales provenientes del sistema marino.

Resumo Isla Arena está localizada na coordenada 20°70’N - 90°45’W, de Campeche, México. Nesses estuários, o oceano se mistura com a água doce e os ecossistemas se concentram onde proliferam petenos e flamingos rosa. Crustáceos e moluscos abundam no mar. Apesar de sua enorme riqueza marinha, não há estudos realizados sobre a presença de microrganismos halofílicos nessas águas. Neste trabalho, a diversidade e estrutura da comunidade microbiana foram investigadas através de uma abordagem metagenômica e corroboradas para o sequenciamento de genes 16S rRNA. Verificou-se que o filo Fimicutes predomina com mais de 50%, quase na mesma proporção da classe Bacilli e com quase 41% de abundância relativa da ordem Bacillales. Os resultados do sequenciamento mostraram que uma das amostras apresentou alto percentual de similaridade (99,75%) pelo programa Nucleotide BLAST com um microrganismo peculiar: Bacillus subtilis. Nossos resultados demonstram que B. subtilis pode ser uma fonte eficiente de proteases, lipases e celulases, provenientes de comunidades microbianas halofílicas localizadas em áreas pouco exploradas.

Abstract Isla Arena is located in the coordinate 20° 70´ N - 90° 45´ W, from Campeche, Mexico. In these estuaries, the ocean mixes with fresh water, and ecosystems are concentrated where petenes and pink flamingos proliferate. Crustaceans and mollusks abound in the sea. Despite its enormous marine wealth, there are no studies carried out on which halophilic microorganisms are present in these waters. In this work, the diversity and structure of the microbial community was investigated through a metagenomics approach and corroborated for sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. It was found that the phylum Fimicutes predominates with more than 50%, in almost the same proportion of the class Bacilli and with almost 41% of relative abundance of the order Bacillales. The sequencing results showed that one of the samples presented a high percentage of similarity (99.75%) using the Nucleotide BLAST program with a peculiar microorganism: Bacillus subtilis. This microorganism is one of the best characterized bacteria among the gram-positive ones. Our results demonstrate that B. subtilis can be an efficient source of proteases, lipases and cellulases, from halophilic microbial communities located in poorly explored areas.

Abstract The objective of the study was to determine the nutritional value, ruminal fermentation, and in vitro methane production of foliage of tree and shrubs species with forage potential as feeding strategies in dry season and mitigation of methane emissions. The rumen liquor was taken by an esophageal tube. A repeated block design overtime was used. The content of crude protein (CP) and neutral and acid detergent fiber ranged from 6.14% to 21.78%, 44.34% to 77.43% and 16.12% to 49.53% of dry matter (DM). No difference was found in the maximum volume of gas (p > 0.05). The degradability was different among species, and it was higher for Tithonia diversifolia (760.40 g/kg DM), Morus alba (800.66 g/kg DM) and Hibuscus rosa-sinensis (800.16 g/kg DM), whilst the lower was for Megathyrsus maximus (390.40 g/kg DM and 287.40 g/kg organic matter (OM)) (p < 0.05). No difference in methane (CH4) production was observed (p > 0.05). It is concluded that L. leucocephala, P. piscipula, B. alicastrum and G. ulmifolia, T. diversifolia, and M. alba have a high potential to be included in the ruminant diet as sources of protein in the dry season and strategies to mitigate methane emissions.

Resumen El objetivo del estudio fue determinar el valor nutritivo, la fermentación ruminal y la producción de metano in vitro del follaje de especies arbóreas y arbustivas con potencial forrajero como estrategias de alimentación en época de secas y mitigación de las emisiones de metano. El líquido ruminal fue extraído por medio de una sonda esofágica. Se utilizó un diseño en bloques repetidos en el tiempo. El contenido de proteína cruda (PC) y fibra detergente neutro y acida fluctuaron de 6.14% a 21.78, 44.34% a 77.43% y 16.12% a 49.53% de materia seca (MS). No se encontró diferencia en el volumen máximo de gas (p > 0.05). La degradabilidad fue diferente, observando la mejor en Tithonia diversifolia (760.40 g/kg de MS), Morus alba (800.66 g/kg de MS) y Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (800.16 g/kg de MS), mientras que la más baja fue Megatryrsus maximus (390.40 g/kg de MS y 287.40 g/kg de materia orgánica (MO)) (p < 0.05). No se observó diferencia en la producción de metano (CH4) (p > 0.05). Se concluye que L. leucocephala, P. piscipula, B. alicastrum y G. ulmifolia, T. diversifolia y M. alba tienen un alto potencial para ser incluidos en la dieta de rumiantes como fuentes de proteína en época de secas y estrategias para mitigar las emisiones de metano.

Abstract The functionality of coastal structures depends on the forces exerted by waves in combination with the mean sea level. Nevertheless, the study of wave structure requires determining the flow during the wave breaking processes, which cannot be solved analytically. Therefore, this work aims to extend an existing methodology to determine the service life of coastal structures using a 30-year wave hindcast and numerical models. For this, we used a maximum dissimilarity algorithm to select 600 representative combinations of waves, and the mean sea level, to simulate the wave-structure interaction using a non-hydrostatic non-linear shallow water equations model, coupled with a structural model. Subsequently, we quantified the failures due to overtopping and sliding associated to the simulated cases. An interpolation technique allowed us to reconstruct the 30-year time series of wave overtopping and wave-forces. Thus, the approach presented made it possible to characterize the failure of structures based on return periods. Moreover, numerical results were employed to calibrate existing semi-analytical models in order to quickly assess structural failure in the study area.

Resumen La vida útil de las estructuras costeras está en función de las fuerzas ejercidas por la acción combinada del oleaje y el nivel medio del mar. Sin embargo, el estudio de la interacción oleaje-estructura requiere conocer el papel de la rotura, el cual es en un fenómeno complejo que no se puede estudiar de forma analítica. Por tanto, en el presente trabajo propone extender una metodología existente para determinar la vida útil de los diques verticales, utilizando datos de un retroanálisis de oleaje y modelación numérica. Se empleó un algoritmo de máxima disimilitud para seleccionar 600 casos representativos de las condiciones de oleaje y nivel del mar en la zona de estudio, que fueron utilizados para el forzamiento de un modelo de propagación de oleaje. El modelo de propagación de oleaje se encadenó con un modelo no lineal, basado en las ecuaciones no hidrostáticas de aguas someras para calcular las fuerzas sobre la estructura y el rebase. Las fuerzas calculadas fueron utilizadas por un modelo de análisis estructural para cuantificar los movimientos asociados con la interacción oleaje-estructura. Los resultados de rebase y fuerzas fueron interpolados para las condiciones no modeladas, con el fin de reconstruir la serie temporal de 30 años. Estos resultados permiten caracterizar el fallo asociado con diferentes periodos de retorno. Finalmente, los resultados numéricos fueron utilizados para calibrar modelos semianalíticos y paramétricos para su uso en la zona de estudio.

The skin test with purified protein derivatives (PPD) from Mycobacterium bovis has been used for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis. However, due to the suboptimal specificity of this protein mixture, improved tests based on defined specific antigens are needed. In the present study, recombinant proteins from M. bovis were evaluated as antigens in the skin test. Among these proteins, EsxI, Mb0143, PE5, and PE13 are antigens tested for the first time in skin test on cattle. Sensitised and non-sensitised cattle to the inactivated AN5 strain of M. bovis were simultaneously injected with each recombinant protein, a cocktail with all recombinant proteins, M. bovis PPD, M. avium PPD and saline. Only the proteins EsxI, Mb0143 and PE5 were able to differentiate sensitised and non-sensitised cattle when 320 irg of protein was used and the reading done 24 hours post-injection. EsxI and PE5 exhibited a sensitivity level of 83.33% and specificity of 100% and 80%, respectively. The results of the present study suggest that the recombinant proteins have potential to be assessed as antigens in skin tests in cattle.

La prueba itradérmica de la piel con derivados de proteína (PPD) purificada a partir de Mycobacterium bovis se ha utilizado para el diagnóstico de la tuberculosis bovina. Sin embargo, debido a la especificidad subóptima de esta mezcla de proteínas, la mejora de las pruebas basadas en antígenos específicos definidos son necesarias. En el presente estudio, las proteínas recombinantes de M. bovis se evaluaron como antígenos en la prueba cutánea. Entre estas, EsxI, Mb0143, PE5 y PE13 son antígenos probados por primera vez en el ganado. Bovinos sensibilizados y no sensibilizados con la cepa AN5 inactivada de M. bovis fueron inyectados simultáneamente con cada proteína recombinante, un cóctel con todas las proteínas recombinantes, PPD de M. bovis, PPD de M. avium y salina. Solo las proteínas EsxI, Mb0143 y PE5 fueron capaces de diferenciar ganado sensibilizado de lo no sensibilizado cuando se usó 320 irg de proteína y la lectura realizada 24 horas después de la inyección. EsxI y PE5 exhibieron un nivel de sensibilidad de 83,33% y una especificidad de 100% y 80%, respectivamente. Los resultados del presente estudio sugieren que las proteínas recombinantes tienen el potencial de ser evaluadas como antígenos en las pruebas cutáneas en el ganado.

Calliandra ricoana, a new species of Leguminosae (Mimosoideae, Ingeae), from the state of Chiapas, Mexico, is described and illustrated. Critical examination of C. ricoana in comparison with members of Calliandra section Androcallis, series Macrophyllae shows that it is morphologically similar and presumably closely related to C. macqueenii and C. trinervia var. arborea, but it can be distinguished from these and the other members of the series by a combination of characters, namely the arborescent habit, relatively larger leaflets, short peduncles, homomorphic flowers, longer corollas and longer, exserted staminal tubes.

Se describe e ilustra a Calliandra ricoana, una nueva especie de Leguminosae (Mimosoideae, Ingeae), del estado de Chiapas, México. El examen crítico de C. ricoana en comparación con los miembros de Calliandra sección Androcallis, serie Macrophyllae muestra que la nueva especie es morfológicamente similar y, presumiblemente, estrechamente relacionada con C. macqueenii y C. trinervia var. arborea, pero puede ser distinguida de éstos y los demás miembros de la serie por una combinación de caracteres; a saber, el hábito arborescente, los folíolos relativamente más grandes, los pedúnculos cortos, las flores homomórficas, la corola más larga y los tubos estaminales más largos y exertos.

Ionizing radiation causes its biological effects mainly through oxidative damage induced by reactive oxygen species. Previous studies showed that ozone oxidative preconditioning attenuated pathophysiological events mediated by reactive oxygen species. As inhalation of ozone induces lung injury, the aim of this study was to examine whether ozone oxidative preconditioning potentiates or attenuates the effects of irradiation on the lung. Rats were subjected to total body irradiation, with or without treatment with ozone oxidative preconditioning (0.72 mg/kg). Serum proinflammatory cytokine levels, oxidative damage markers, and histopathological analysis were compared at 6 and 72 h after total body irradiation. Irradiation significantly increased lung malondialdehyde levels as an end-product of lipoperoxidation. Irradiation also significantly decreased lung superoxide dismutase activity, which is an indicator of the generation of oxidative stress and an early protective response to oxidative damage. Ozone oxidative preconditioning plus irradiation significantly decreased malondialdehyde levels and increased the activity of superoxide dismutase, which might indicate protection of the lung from radiation-induced lung injury. Serum tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1 beta levels, which increased significantly following total body irradiation, were decreased with ozone oxidative preconditioning. Moreover, ozone oxidative preconditioning was able to ameliorate radiation-induced lung injury assessed by histopathological evaluation. In conclusion, ozone oxidative preconditioning, repeated low-dose intraperitoneal administration of ozone, did not exacerbate radiation-induced lung injury, and, on the contrary, it provided protection against radiation-induced lung damage.

Purpose To evaluate the long term efficacy and safety of the use of propiverine and terazosine combination in patients with LUTS and DO by a placebo controlled study. Materials and Methods One hundred patients were enrolled in the study. They were randomized into two groups (each group consisted of 50 patients). Terazosine and placebo were administered to the patients in Group 1 and terazosine plus propiverine HCL was administered to Group 2. The patients were evaluated by international prostate symptom score (IPSS), the first four questions of IPSS (IPSS4), the 8th question of IPSS (quality of life-QoL), overactive bladder symptom score questionnaire (OAB-q V8), PSA test, urodynamic studies, post voiding residue (PVR). All patients were followed for one year and were reassessed for comparison. Results IPSS, IPSS4, OAB symptoms, QoL score, PVR, and Qmax scores of the groups did not differ. After one year treatment, there was significant improvement in IPSS, IPSS4, OAB symptoms, QoL and Qmax values in Group 2. No significant improvement was noted for the same parameters in Group 1. Conclusion This is the first study to show long term safety and efficacy of anticholinergic therapy for patients with LUTS. In patients with OAB or DO, long term anticholinergic treatment may be regarded as a treatment option.

PurposeTo compare totally tubeless and standard percutaneous nephrolitotomy procedures on many parameters.Materials and MethodsPercutaneous nephrolitotomy was performed on 195 patients between June 2009 and May 2012. The data of those patients were evaluated retrospectively. Totally tubeless cases were enrolled to Group 1, and Group 2 consisted of non-tubeless cases (re-entry or Foley catheter).ResultsGroup 1 included 85 cases and group 2 a total of 110 patients. Paper tracing values for the kidney stones were 321.25 ± 102.4 mm2 and 324.10 ± 169.5 mm2 respectively. Mean fluoroscopy time was 4.9 ± 1.9 min and 5.08 ± 2.7 min, mean operation time was 78.8 ± 27.9 min and 81.9 ± 28.77 min and mean decrease in hematocrit was 2.6 ± 1.6 and 3.74 ± 1.9 respectively. All these comparisons were statistically significant. Length of hospitalization was 1.6 ± 1.1 and 3.5 ± 1.5 days for Groups 1 and 2 respectively. Mean superficial pain score was 5.8 ± 1.6 and 6.7 ± 1.2 respectively for both groups after 1 hour. At 6 hours, the scores changed to 3.87 ± 1.22 and 4.84 ± 1.3 respectively. The analgesic dose was 1.00 ± 0.7 and 1.53 ± 0.6 for the groups respectively at 6 hours. All the statistical differences were significant for these three parameters.ConclusionsWe believe that, because of their post operative patient comfort and decreased length of hospital stay, totally tubeless procedures should be considered as an alternative to standard percutaneous nephrolitotomy.

This study was carried out to investigate the possibility of using frozen rumen fluid (RF) as an inoculum source in the determination the in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of ruminant feeds. In the first experiment six roughages (barley straw, wheat straw, lentil straw, wheat silage, maize silage and lucerne hay) and six different compound feeds (two dairy cattle, two beef cattle, one ram lamb and one lamb finishing compound feeds) were chosen as test material. Two different types of cryoprotectants (5% glycerol vs. 5% dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO) and two types of freezing methods (liquid nitrogen vs. deep freezing) were used to preserve the RF. Fresh RF was used as the control. In response to the results of the first experiment, a second experiment was conducted to establish if microbial digestibility could be improved by extending the duration of incubation of the roughages from 48 to 60, 72 or 96 h. When using the RF inoculum treated with 5% DMSO and frozen in liquid nitrogen, the IVDMD of the compound feeds were similar to those of the control. However, when the 5% DMSO treated inoculum was frozen in the deep freezer, some of the compound feeds had similar IVDMD values to the control but not all. Lower IVDMD values were recorded when glycerol was used as a cryoprotectant. In the case of the roughages the use of both freezing methods and cryoprotectants resulted in lower IVDMD values compared to the control. In the second experiment the increasing of the duration of incubation of roughages from 48 to 72 h improved their IVDMD to values similar to that of the control. This suggested that the length of the incubation of roughages should be 72 h instead of 48 h when using inocula treated with 5% DMSO as a cryoprotectant and frozen in a deep freezer. However, further research is required before frozen RF can be recommended as source of inoculum.

In this study dietary boron at different doses (0, 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg feed) was supplemented to layers from 4 to 64 weeks of age. There was no significant difference between treatments with respect of mortality, egg production, egg weight, egg mass and cracked eggs. Significant increases were observed in body weight as age rose. Body weight was not affected by dietary boron supplementation at 16 and 40 weeks of age. At 64 weeks of age boron additions of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg to the diet resulted in significant lower body weights than that of the control group. Egg quality parameters; albumen height and Haugh units, were improved when 25 or 50 mg boron/kg diet was supplemented above the other treatments. Shape index, shell thickness, shell breaking strength were not affected by treatments, though 25 mg boron/kg diet tended to increase shell breaking strength. Tibia bone strength and phosphorus content in the tibia and femur were not affected by boron supplementation. Boron supplementation at 25 and 50 mg/kg significantly increased femur bone strength, and ash and calcium content of the tibia and femur bones. Concentration of boron in bone increased with the increase in dietary boron.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of thermal conditioning of broiler chickens during embryonic development on subsequent performance under standard rearing conditions. During incubation eggs from 32-, 45- and 56-week old Ross 308 broiler parent stock were subjected to a 2 h heat shock of 39 °C on days 14 and 15 of incubation. Eggs in the control were incubated throughout incubation at 37 °C. Chicks were feather sexed and equal numbers of each sex were placed in each pen per treatment, and reared for 42 days. Live weight, mortality and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were used as measures of performance. The final (six-week) live weights of broilers from young, mid and older parents for the treatment and control groups were 2113 ± 13.8 vs. 2159 ± 20.0, 2084 ± 29.2 vs. 2139 ± 20.0 and 2096 ± 17.6 vs. 2131 ± 24.3 g, respectively. The six-week live weight of the heat-treated group (2098 ± 12.0 g) was significantly lower than that of the control (2143 ± 12.2 g). The 1-6 week mortality figure was significantly lower in the heat-treated group of chickens from the young (83) and mid parent (77) groups compared to their controls (130 and 119), respectively. However, in the treatment group the incidence of mortality in broilers from the older parent group was significantly higher (105) than that of the control (79). The overall mortality without considering the parent age group was significantly lower in the treatment group (265) than in the control group (328). Mean FCR (g feed/g gain) of the chickens of the three parent groups was 1.79 ± 0.02 vs. 1.75 ± 0.03, 1.85 ± 0.03 vs. 1.77 ± 0.02 and 1.80 ± 0.03 vs. 1.77 ± 0.03 for the treatment vs. control groups, respectively, but the difference was significant only in the mid age parent group. These results suggest that prenatal thermal conditioning is not detrimental to broiler growth under standard rearing conditions in the absence of thermal stress. However, survival rate was improved but live weight and FCR were in some cases significantly poorer.

This paper analyzes the relationship between source of income and type of expenditure through the decisions made by 92 peasant women from Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico during an entire agricultural cycle. Results show that even amongst women with little money, income generated or obtained independently by this gender is spent more on capital goods, children's education, and luxury goods than the money they obtain from their husbands and other relatives. We use these results to discusse that the empowerment of women and the source of income they represent are of mayor importance to family economy.

Se analizó la relación entre fuente de ingreso y gasto, asociando las decisiones que tomaron 92 mujeres campesinas de Calakmul, Campeche, sobre qué hacer con el dinero que obtuvieron de cada fuente. Se encontró que el dinero que obtuvieron las mujeres de trabajo, ventas y subsidios propios se gastó en bienes de capital, gasto de lujo y educación de los hijos en mayor proporción que el dinero proveniente de transferencias hechas por sus maridos y otros familiares, que se gastó en bienes de consumo. Esta relación nos permitió discutir la importancia de la fuente de ingreso de las mujeres y su empoderamiento.

The methanolic extracts of roots and leaves of Jatropha gaumeri showed antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, respectively. The bioassay-guided purification of the root extract resulted in the isolation and identification of 2-epi-jatrogrossidione (1), a rhamnofolane diterpene with antimicrobial activity, and of 15-epi-4E-jatrogrossidentadione (2), a lathyrane diterpene without biological activity. Similarly, the bioassay-guided purification of the crude leaf extract allowed the identification of β-sitosterol and the triterpenes α-amyrin, β-amyrin and taraxasterol, as the metabolites responsible for the antioxidant activity. We wish to report here the isolation of the metabolites mentioned above and the complete assignment, not reported to date, of the 13C NMR signals for 1.

Los extractos metanólicos de la raíz y hojas de Jatropha gaumeri mostraron actividad antimicrobiana y antioxidante, respectivamente. La purificación biodirigida del extracto de la raíz resultó en el aislamiento e identificación de 2-epi-jatrogrossidiona (1), un diterpeno tipo rhamnofolano con actividad antimicrobiana contra B. subtilis, y de 15-epi-4E-jatrogrossidentadiona (2), un diterpeno tipo lathyrano sin actividad en este ensayo. De manera similar, la purificación biodirigida del extracto crudo de las hojas permitió identificar al β-sitosterol y a los triterpenos α-amirina, β-amirina y taraxasterol como los responsables de la actividad antioxidante. En este trabajo se reporta el aislamiento de los productos mencionados y la asignación completa, no reportada hasta ahora, de las señales de RMN-13C de 1.