Non-random distribution of biocrust in a natural arid environment in the northern mexican plateau

Abstract. Biocrust, as photosynthetic organisms, has been considered to show an inversely proportional relationship with vascular plant cover. However, some studies report association and facilitation relationships between them. This research explores whether i) biocrust is associated with shrub species, ii) biocrust cover is higher in undershrub microenvironments than in open areas between plants and, iii) soil moisture and solar radiation affect biocrust distribution. Biocrust cover was analyzed by morphotype in microenvironments under the canopy of two dominant shrub species (Larrea tridentata and Parthenium incanum) and in open areas. Soil moisture and solar radiation were recorded at each microenvironment. Thirty-three interception lines (975 points) were used to analyze the association between vascular plants and biocrust and 20 sampling plots to estimate morphotype cover. Results reveal a positive association between biocrust and plant species compared to open areas. Lichens and cyanobacteria showed a higher cover under L. tridentata than under P. incanum and in open areas, suggesting a species-specific facilitative association with L. tridentata, maybe due to a higher soil water content in this microenvironment. Mosses had lower cover in the open area where the highest solar radiation was recorded. Lichens and cyanobacteria distribution appeared to be related to soil moisture. Keywords: creosote bush, cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, northeastern Mexic

DIMENSIONES CONCEPTUALES DEL BIENESTAR DE PERSONAS CON PADECIMIENTOS CRÓNICOS

Se explora las dimensiones conceptuales del bienestar de personas con padecimientos crónicos de la ciudad de Guadalajara, México, a fin de generar propuestas de intervención educativa en salud en materia de enfermedades crónicas. Estudio transversal exploratorio realizado entre marzo y mayo de 2006 con 40 personas con Diabetes Mellitus e Hipertensión Arterial que participan en grupos de apoyo en Centros de Salud de la ciudad de Guadalajara, México, seleccionadas por muestreo propositivo. Se aplicaron entrevistas semiestructuradas mediante técnicas de listados libres y sorteo de montones. Se indagaron términos asociados al concepto de bienestar y grupos de dimensiones conceptuales. Se aplicó análisis de consenso mediante factorización de componentes principales y análisis dimensional, mediante conglomerados jerárquicos y escalas multidimensionales. El modelo de consenso mostró alta homogeneidad en las concepciones del bienestar (valor de 8.22). Las dimensiones comunes en las concepciones fueron: ser responsable, la felicidad (con las subdimensiones de tranquilidad, tener fe y tener salud), la disciplina (subdimensiones: desarrollo y mantenimiento así como prolongar la vida) y el vivir a gusto (valor de verosimilitud: stress<0.28). Las personas participantes mostraron en dichas dimensiones una visión holística del concepto de bienestar. Las dimensiones de responsabilidad y disciplina hacen referencia decisiones voluntarias de tipo más bien personal, donde la familia y el aspecto comunitario no son incluidos. La segunda dimensión es sobre elementos de tipo mental y social donde se incluyó a la felicidad y el vivir a gusto. Ello implica la práctica de acciones y cuidados de la salud mental, la vida espiritual y social. Se encontró además asociación del concepto de bienestar con el de salud mental.Palabras clave: bienestar, enfermedad crónica, concepciones culturaleswell-being, chronic illness, cultural conception

Airborne dust and high temperatures are risk factors for invasive bacterial disease

Background The Sahel region of West Africa has the highest bacterial meningitis attack and case fatality rate in the world. The effect of climatic factors on patterns of invasive respiratory bacterial disease is not well documented. Objective We aimed to assess the link between climatic factors and occurrence of invasive respiratory bacterial disease in a Sahel region of Niger. Methods We conducted daily disease surveillance and climatic monitoring over an 8-year period between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2010, in Niamey, Niger, to determine risk factors for bacterial meningitis and invasive bacterial disease. We investigated the mechanistic effects of these factors on Streptococcus pneumoniae infection in mice. Results High temperatures and low visibility (resulting from high concentrations of airborne dust) were identified as significant risk factors for bacterial meningitis. Dust inhalation or exposure to high temperatures promoted progression of stable asymptomatic pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage to pneumonia and invasive disease. Dust exposure significantly reduced phagocyte-mediated bacterial killing, and exposure to high temperatures increased release of the key pneumococcal toxin pneumolysin through increased bacterial autolysis. Conclusion Our findings show that climatic factors can have a substantial influence on infectious disease patterns, altering density of pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage, reducing phagocytic killing, and resulting in increased inflammation and tissue damage and consequent invasiveness. Climatic surveillance should be used to forecast invasive bacterial disease epidemics, and simple control measures to reduce particulate inhalation might reduce the incidence of invasive bacterial disease in regions of the world exposed to high temperatures and increased airborne dust

Archaeological Evidence of Pre-Industrial Worked Bone Activity in 18th Century Seville, Spain

8 páginas, 9 figuras.-- Edited by Alexandra Legrand-Pineau, Isabelle Sidéra and Natacha Buc, Eva David, Vivian Scheinsohn.A rich bone debris assemblage derived from the manufacture of objects from this raw material was recovered from a blind drain in C/ San Luis (Plaza de El Pumarejo), Seville, Spain. The archaeological sequence of the site, represented in multiple structures, spreads from the 2nd century AD up until the present, with a hiatus between the 6th and 9th centuries. The worked bone waste, dated to the 18th century, attests to the occurrence of pre-industrial craft activity on the site. The morphological analysis of the discarded bone material indicates a high degree of standardisation - multifaceted cylindrical pieces were hand-carved from cattle metapodials that had previously been split in fine strips. The tiny perforation right in the centre that some of them have suggests the use of a lathe to produce the final objects – bone beads for rosaries. In spite of the volume of bone debris very few finished items were recovered.Peer reviewe

"Blood and sugar": social representations of diabetes mellitus by chronic patients in Guadalajara, Mexico ["Sangre y azúcar": representaciones sobre la diabetes de los enfermos crónicos en un barrio de Guadalajara, México.]

The objective of this study was to analyze social representations of diabetes mellitus by chronic patients in a neighborhood in Guadalajara, Mexico. The methodology was qualitative and ethnographic. Thirty patients were interviewed at four moments over the course of two years, and the interviews were transcribed and analyzed with a dialectic hermeneutic focus using the Ethnograph software. The main results include a holistic representation of the disease, with multi-causality and key differences according to gender, allowing the expression of body sensations, pain, images, and individual meanings, the perception of a contaminated, unnatural physical environment, and a social context with economic limitations and affective, family, and marital problems. Diabetes is a means of expression, a vehicle, and a catalyst in an adverse environment which allows organizing what are perceived as negative internal and external events

"Blood and sugar": social representations of diabetes mellitus by chronic patients in Guadalajara, Mexico ["Sangre y az�car": representaciones sobre la diabetes de los enfermos cr�nicos en un barrio de Guadalajara, M�xico.]

The objective of this study was to analyze social representations of diabetes mellitus by chronic patients in a neighborhood in Guadalajara, Mexico. The methodology was qualitative and ethnographic. Thirty patients were interviewed at four moments over the course of two years, and the interviews were transcribed and analyzed with a dialectic hermeneutic focus using the Ethnograph software. The main results include a holistic representation of the disease, with multi-causality and key differences according to gender, allowing the expression of body sensations, pain, images, and individual meanings, the perception of a contaminated, unnatural physical environment, and a social context with economic limitations and affective, family, and marital problems. Diabetes is a means of expression, a vehicle, and a catalyst in an adverse environment which allows organizing what are perceived as negative internal and external events

Forecasting plant range collapse in a mediterranean hotspot: when dispersal uncertainties matter

Aim The Mediterranean Basin is threatened by climate change, and there is an urgent need for studies to determine the risk of plant range shift and potential extinction. In this study, we simulate potential range shifts of 176 plant species to perform a detailed prognosis of critical range decline and extinction in a transformed mediterranean landscape. Particularly, we seek to answer two pivotal questions: (1) what are the general plant-extinction patterns we should expect in mediterranean landscapes during the 21st century? and (2) does dispersal ability prevent extinction under climate change? Location Andalusia: southern Iberian Peninsula; 87,597 km2; 300 by 520 km. Methods We gathered information on the dispersal traits of 176 plant species (dispersal vector, average and maximum dispersal distances, shape of the dispersal kernel). We used these data to feed a stochastic dynamic species distribution model (a combination of a cellular automaton with an ensemble of species distribution models) to simulate plant range shift under climate change with realistic dispersal under two different warming scenarios. We compared dispersal and non-dispersal simulations to assess the influence that climate change and species-distribution characteristics exert on plant-extinction patterns. Results The dispersal simulation showed a lower percentage of extinct (−1%) and quasi-extinct species (−19%) than did the non-dispersal simulation. Summer temperatures of 37 °C and 33 °C, respectively, accelerated the critical range decline and extinction rates. The average elevation of the plant populations was the variable with the highest influence on extinction probability. Main conclusions Stochastic dynamic species distribution models proved to be useful when there was lack of data on dispersal distances and population dynamics. Dispersal ability showed minor effectiveness in preventing extinction, but greatly reduced the likelihood of critical range decline for a significant percentage of species.Funding for B.M.B. was from the 'Consejería de Economía, Innovación y Ciencia, Junta de Andalucía' project RNM-6734 (MIGRAME).Peer reviewe

[Stress profile and chronic stress in Mexican immigrants in Canada]

OBJECTIVE: Establishing an association between high chronic stress levels and variables considered to be negative regarding the stress profile for Mexican migrants living in Edmonton, Canada. METHODS: A simple random technique was used for choosing the target population; the sample size involved 58 migrants. The Nowack Stress Profile and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to identify immigrants' stress symptoms during 2010-2011. RESULTS: Chronic stress levels were classified as being 24 % high, 45 % medium and 21 % low. Statistical regression analysis determined that a stressful situation and threat minimisation were predictors for developing high levels of chronic stress. CONCLUSIONS: Stress situation and threat minimisation were predictors for developing high levels of chronic stress; migrant women (unlike males) tended not to use threat minimisation to deal with stress