Comparación de la disponibilidad de hongos comestibles en tierras altas y bajas de Chiapas y sus implicaciones en las estrategias tradicionales de aprovechamiento

Background and Aims: Wild edible mushroom traditional management strategies have been described for both highlands and lowlands in Mexico. It seems that, in the lowlands, the usage of this resource is lower than in the highlands. Ecological ethnomycology is concerned with understanding how certain ecological patterns in mushrooms influence traditional management strategies. In this study we present a comparison between the edible mushrooms’ fruit body availability in two distinct ecological units: The Highlands of Chiapas and the Lacandon Rainforest. Our hypothesis was that the fruit body availability is higher in both the highlands and preserved vegetation, which might explain a greater usage in these ecosystems, as well as the opportunistic usage of mushrooms in the lowlands.Methods: During 2009 and 2010, we monitored the fruit body abundance, biomass, spatial and temporal frequencies, as indicators of edible mushroom availability in rectangular transects in three sites per ecological setting (highlands/lowlands) both in preserved vegetation sites and agroecosystems in Chiapas, Mexico.Key results: In the highlands, a greater richness (35 ethnotaxa) and biomass production (12,345.2 g) was recorded, but the lowlands yielded a greater number of fruit bodies (3212) and a higher spatial and temporal frequency (76.6% and 40% respectively).Conclusions: In both ecological settings, edible mushroom availability allow their use; however, it has different ecological traits. This may explain why, in the highlands, people use a more diverse array of species and prefer those of greater biomass. Contrastingly, in the lowlands less species are used, but they are more abundant and have a greater spatial and temporal frequency. Our data demonstrate that the lowlands and agroecosystems are spaces with edible mushroom availability comparable to that of highland forests.Antecedentes y Objetivos: Las estrategias tradicionales de aprovechamiento de hongos silvestres comestibles han sido descritas de tierras altas y bajas en México. No obstante, al parecer en las tierras bajas el aprovechamiento de especies es menor que en las altas. La etnomicología ecológica se interesa en comprender cómo ciertos patrones ecológicos en los hongos pueden orientar las estrategias tradicionales de aprovechamiento. Este estudio presenta una comparación entre la disponibilidad de esporomas de hongos comestibles en dos condiciones ecológicas, Los Altos de Chiapas y la Selva Lacandona. Se plantea la hipótesis de que la disponibilidad de esporomas es mayor tanto en tierras altas como en sitios con vegetación conservada y, por tanto, esto podría explicar un mayor beneficio en dicho piso ecológico y el aprovechamiento oportunista en tierras bajas. Métodos: Durante 2009 y 2010 se monitoreó la abundancia, biomasa, frecuencia espacial y temporal como indicadores de disponibilidad, en transectos rectangulares en tres localidades de cada piso en Chiapas, México, en vegetación conservada y agroecosistemas. Resultados clave: En tierras altas existió una mayor riqueza (35 etnotaxones) y una mayor producción de biomasa (12,345.2 g), mientras que en tierras bajas se registró una mayor abundancia de esporomas (3212), frecuencia espacial (76.6%) y temporal (40%).Conclusiones: En ambos pisos ecológicos existe disponibilidad del recurso que permite su aprovechamiento; sin embargo, este se comporta diferente en términos ecológicos. Esto puede explicar porque en tierras altas las personas utilizan una mayor cantidad de especies y la preferencia por aquellas de mayor biomasa. Por el contrario, en tierras bajas se aprovecha un menor número de especies, pero más abundantes, y con mayor presencia espacial y temporal. Los datos aquí presentados muestran que las tierras bajas y los agroecosistemas son espacios con una disponibilidad de hongos tan importante como la de los bosques de tierras altas

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Notes on mating systems of Auriscalpium vulgare and A. villipes.

The geographical range of in vitro sexually compatible populations of Auriscalpium vulgare is extended to include Asia, Europe, western and eastern North America, and Central America. A. villipes, a neotropical species, shows a bifactorial mating system. The implications of these data on systematic placement and species concepts are discussed