Ampliación del área de distribución del zorrillo manchado del sur Spilogale angustifrons Howell 1902 en el estado de Campeche, México.

We report the range expansion of the southern spotted skunk (Spilogale angustifrons) in Campeche, Mexico. Using photo-trapping we obtained four records of southern spotted skunks in three different localities in the coastal area of the San Pablo Pixtún Ejido. These records increase the range of this spotted skunk 100 km west of their previously reported distribution area

EXPRO: exoesqueleto para rehabilitación de miembro superior

In the upper limb rehabilitation field, assisting to various patients per day, in different kinds of therapies is an exhausting task which can be achieved in a semiautomated or automated manner.  The ExPro is an exoskeleton of 3 degrees of freedom designed and created to support rehabilitation treatments for patients with little or no mobility in their arms. The device consists in a machine able to move forearm and wrist according to prone-supination, ulnar and radial deflection and flex-extension of wrist movements. The proposed prototype was designed to assist therapists in the first step of rehabilitation treatments, thus, passive therapies. Each mechanical component was designed in the Inventor 3D software and printed on PLA materials (polylactic acid). The controlling step is a Raspberry Pi 3 that receives information, interprets and connects power, and control PCBs. The design and calculations were tasted with the finite elements tool of inventor software. The work result presents an exoskeleton prototype easy to operate and transport, safe for the patient and able to carry out several preprogramed movements.En el campo de la rehabilitación, asistir a varios pacientes por día en diferentes tipos de terapias es una tarea extenuante que puede ser llevada a cabo de manera semiautomatizado o automatizada. El ExPro es un exoesqueleto de tres grados de libertad diseñado y construido para asistir tratamientos de rehabilitación en pacientes con poca o nula movilidad en sus brazos. El dispositivo consiste en una máquina capaz de mover el antebrazo y la muñeca acorde a los movimientos de pronosupinación, flexión ulnar y radial y flexo-extensión de muñeca

Evaluacion de aplicaciones foliares de productos con distintas formulaciones de potasio y magnesio en un vinedo en produccion (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Carmenere)

Resumen (Spanish, English)49 p.El equilibrio entre la expresión vegetativa y la calidad y cantidad de fruta que esta produce, esta fuertemente ligado a la nutrición mineral y a la interacción de los distintos elementos entre sí. Por varias razones, a menudo las necesidades nutricionales no son satisfechas por la aplicación de fertilizantes al suelo o por la utilización de las reservas naturales de éste. Esto cobra especial importancia en viñedos establecidos en suelos de muy baja fertilidad y en cultivares con sistemas de raíces muy poco eficientes en cuanto a extracción de nutrientes del suelo. Bajo estas condiciones el aporte de algunos nutrientes minerales vía foliar podría suplir solucionar, al menos temporalmente, las necesidades por parte de la planta en etapas específicas de su desarrollo fenológico. De acuerdo a lo anterior se estableció un ensayo con el objetivo de evaluar el efecto de aplicaciones foliares de productos comerciales con distintas formulaciones de K, Mg, P y N, aplicados en pinta o cercano a esta, sobre los componentes del rendimiento, calidad de la fruta y características analíticas de los vinos resultantes de microvinificación. El experimento se realizó durante la temporada 2000-2001 en la zona de Marchigue, VI región en un viñedo cv. Carménère y se condujo en un diseño de bloques al azar con 7 tratamientos (combinaciones de productos comerciales) y 4 repeticiones de 10 plantas cada una. Los resultados obtenidos en este ensayo indicaron que las aplicaciones foliares en base a las formulaciones comerciales evaluadas no tuvieron efecto sobre los componentes del rendimiento ni sobre la productividad del viñedo. Del mismo modo, con respecto a las características químicas del mosto y las evaluaciones realizadas a los vinos no se observó diferencias significativas para ninguno de los tratamientos aplicados. Lo anterior indica que las aplicaciones foliares de macroelementos no tendrían efecto sobre la productividad ni calidad de los viñedos salvo en condiciones de extrema deficiencia de algún elemento, lo que debería hacer re-evaluar la utilización de este tipo de aplicaciones como una práctica rutinaria de manejo

In vitro and in vivo trypanosomicidal activity of pyrazole-containing macrocyclic and macrobicyclic polyamines: Their action on acute and chronic phases of chagas disease

The in vitro and in vivo anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity of the pyrazole-containing macrobicyclic polyamine 1 and N-methyl- and N-benzyl-substituted monocyclic polyamines 2 and 3 was studied. Activity against both the acute and chronic phases of Chagas disease was considered. The compounds were more active against the parasite and less toxic against Vero cells than the reference drug benznidazole, but 1 and 2 were especially effective, where cryptand 1 was the most active, particularly in the chronic phase. The activity results found for these compounds were complemented and discussed by considering their inhibitory effect on the iron superoxide dismutase enzyme of the parasite, the nature of the metabolites excreted after treatment, and the ultrastructural alterations produced. A complementary histopathological analysis confirmed that the compounds tested were significantly less toxic to mammals than the reference drug and that 1 and 2 exhibited lower levels of damage than 3.The authors thank the MCINN Projects: Consolider Ingenio CSD2010-00065 and CTQ2009-14288-C04-01, the FEDER funds and Generalitat Valenciana PROMETEO 2011/008, the Santander-Universidad Complutense Research Program GR58/08-921371-891, and the Spanish MEC Project CGL2008-03687-E/BOS for financial support. J.P. thanks MCINN for a predoctoral fellowship

Primer registro de la comadreja (Mustela frenata) en el estado de Campeche, México

In this paper, we report three different records of the long tail weasel (Mustela frenata) using camera traps in the western portion of Campeche; thus confirming the presence of the species in this Mexican state

Efficient inhibition of iron superoxide dismutase and of Trypanosoma cruzi growth by benzo[g]phthalazine derivatives functionalized with one or two imidazole rings

The synthesis and trypanosomatic behavior of a new series of 1,4-bis(alkylamino)benzo[g]phthalazines 1−4 containing the biologically significant imidazole ring are reported. In vitro antiparasitic activity against Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes is remarkable, especially for compound 2, whereas toxicity against Vero cells is very low. Conversion of epimastigotes to metacyclic forms in the presence of the tested compounds causes significant decreases in the amastigote and trypomastigote numbers. Fe-SOD inhibition is noteworthy, whereas effect on human Cu/Zn-SOD is negligible.The authors thank the Spanish CICYT for the financial support

Climatic control on the Holocene hydrology of a playa-lake system in the western Mediterranean

Evaporitic lakes such as playa-lakes are characteristic of many arid regions and are unique environments with respect to fauna and flora, while being very vulnerable to climate and environmental fluctuations and threatened by the current global change scenario. Water balance oscillations in these systems can trigger the precipitation or dissolution of different evaporitic minerals, negatively impacting local biodiversity and economic activities. Here, we study the sedimentary record of a small saline pond from a playa-lake complex in southwestern Iberia in order to reconstruct the paleohydrological evolution of this area and assess potential anthropogenic disturbances. The different proxies studied in the-11.9 ky old sedimentary record of the Laguna de la Ballestera suggest that the greatest lake extension and the highest water levels occurred during the Early Holocene, pointing to the wettest period of the record. Climate transitioned towards more arid conditions during the Middle Holocene, and even more dramatically during the Late Holocene. In this last stage the wetland surface and the water level largely diminished and gypsum precipitation gradually increased pointing towards a negative precipitation/ evapotranspiration balance and lowest water levels. Summer desiccation likely occurred under this scenario, especially after-1.0-0.9 cal ky BP coeval with the Medieval Climate Anomaly, when gypsum content started to rise abruptly. However, this significant gypsum precipitation was only associated with a massive drop in the siliciclastic content and scarce carbonates (dolomite and calcite) during the last-400 years. This evidence suggests a shift from a (semi) permanent to a temporal/seasonal hydrological regime. The environmental evolution of this wetland responded to the general climatic evolution of the western Mediterranean during the Holocene, being mostly controlled by changes in insolation. Our data also show that the environmental response of the studied wetland to natural climate variations was only significantly disturbed by human activities since the 20th century, especially in the second half of the century, deduced by abrupt fluctuations in the siliciclastic, gypsum and organic content in the sediments, as well as by the enhanced sedimentary accumulation rates, probably as a response to changes in the hydroperiod of the lake and in the catchment land use.Peer reviewe

1,4-Bis(alkylamino)benzo[g]phthalazines able to form dinuclear complexes of Cu(II) which as free ligands behave as SOD inhibitors and show efficient in vitro activity against Trypanosoma cruzi

The synthesis of a new series of 1,4-bis(alkylamino)benzo[g]phthalazines 1–3 is reported, and their ability to form dinuclear complexes with Cu(II) assayed. The geometry of the complexes is dependent on the nature of the electron-donor sites at the sidechains. Compounds 1 and 2, that contain sp3 or sp2 nitrogens at the end of the alkylamino groups, originate monopodal dinuclear complexes which seem to include endogenous OH bridges, and the sidechains seem to actively participate in complexation. However, the substitution of nitrogen by oxygen in 3 leads to a tripodal dinuclear complex in which the sidechains are not involved. The in vitro antiparasitic activity on Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes and amastigotes and the SOD activity inhibition have been evaluated for compounds 1–3, and, as expected, 1 and 2 show in all cases relevant results, whereas 3 is always the less active among the three substrates tested.The authors thank the Spanish Comision Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologia for the economical support given to this work (SAF99-0066)

In vivo trypanosomicidal activity of imidazole- or pyrazole-based benzo[ g ]phthalazine derivatives against acute and chronic phases of chagas disease

The in vivo trypanosomicidal activity of the imidazole-based benzo[g]phthalazine derivatives 1−4 and of the new related pyrazole-based compounds 5 and 6 has been studied in both the acute and chronic phases of Chagas disease. As a rule, compounds 1−6 were more active and less toxic than benznidazole in the two stages of the disease, and the monosubstituted derivatives 2, 4, and 6 were more effective than their disubstituted analogs. Feasible mechanisms of action of compounds 1−6 against the parasite have been explored by considering their inhibitory effect on the Fe-SOD enzyme, the nature of the excreted metabolites and the ultrastructural alterations produced. A complementary histopathological analysis has confirmed that the monosubstituted derivatives are less toxic than the reference drug, with the behavior of the imidazole-based compound 4 being especially noteworthy.The authors thank the Santander-Universidad Complutense Research Program (Grant GR58/08-921371-891), the Spanish MEC Project (Grant CGL2008-03687-E/BOS), and the MCINN Projects (CTQ2009-14288-C04-01 and Consolider CSD2010-00065) for financial support

Registro fotográfico de un murciélago capturado por Leopardus pardalis (Carnivora: Felidae) en la Reserva de la Biosfera de Calakmul, México

The ocelot faces conservation problems throughout its distribution, mainly due to illegal hunting and habitat transformation. It has been documented that the ocelot diet consists mainly of small nocturnal terrestrial mammals, especially rodents, although it has also been recorded that they can feed on possums, squirrels, rabbits, primates, iguanas, frogs, birds, fish, insects and terrestrial crabs.This note is relevant to the feeding behavior of ocelots in Mexico because it describes a photographic event of an ocelot feeding on a bat, the record was obtained with camera traps placed in the southern core zone of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. These cameras were installed to record that species of fauna visitrificiales drinkers (water sources constantly supplied by members of the project) that were placed as part of a pilot project in the years 2018 and 2019 and aim to supply water in the RBC for use of wildlife. As a result of this effort, this photographic record was obtained of an ocelot individual feeding on a bat associated with an artificial drinker.El ocelote enfrenta problemas de conservación a lo largo de su distribución, debido principalmente a la caza ilegal y transformación del hábitat. Se ha documentado que la dieta del ocelote consiste principalmente de pequeños mamíferos terrestres nocturnos, especialmente roedores , aunque también se ha registrado que pueden alimentarse de zarigüeyas, ardillas, conejos, primates, iguanas, ranas, aves, peces, insectos y cangrejos terrestres. La presente nota resulta relevante sobre el comportamiento alimentario de los ocelotes en Mexico debido a que se describe un evento fotográfico de un ocelote alimentándose de un murciélago, el registro fue obtenido con trampas cámara colocadas en la zona nucleo sur de la Reserva de la Biosfera de Calakmul . Estas camaras fueron instaladas para registrar que especies de fauna visitan a los bebederos ariticiales (fuentes de agua abastecidas constantemente por miembros del proyecto) que fueron colocados como parte de un proyecto piloto en los años 2018 y 2019 y tienen como objetivo el abastecimiento de agua en la RBC para uso de la fauna silvestre. Cómo resultado de este esfuerzo, se obtuvo el presente registro fotográfico de un individuo de ocelote alimentandose de un murcielago asociado a un bebedero artificial. &nbsp