Ethnomycological knowledge among Kaqchikel, indigenous Maya people of Guatemalan Highlands

Background: The Guatemalan Highlands is a region of great but so far poorly known mycological diversity. People living in this area have long used wild fungi as a source of food and income. However, our knowledge of the ethnomycological practices of the Mayan peoples of Guatemala is still rudimental, especially if compared with information reported for the neighboring region of Mexico. Among the main indigenous groups of the Maya people inhabiting the highlands of Central Guatemala, stand the Kaqchikel, accounting for nearly 8% of the entire Guatemalan population. The main aim of this study was to record the traditional knowledge and use of edible wild mushrooms by inhabitants of the municipality of San Juan Sacatepéquez that lies at the heart of the Kaqchikel area in the central highlands of Guatemala, also describing the relevant selling practices and dynamics. A secondary aim was to compare the diversity and composition of the mushroom assemblage offered at the market with the macrofungal diversity of woods in the area. Methodology: This study is the result of 4 years of ethnomycological research, conducted through continuous visits to the municipal market and focused interviews with collectors and vendors. Field sampling in pine-oak forested areas surrounding San Juan Sacatepéquez, from where the mushrooms sold at the market are foraged, were also conducted, in the presence of local collectors. Results: The results show a significant richness of species sold in the market, a network of commerce of purchase, sale, and resale of several species, with relatively stable prices, and knowledge about edible and inedible species that is transmitted mainly within the family nucleus. The business of selling mushrooms in the market is an exclusive activity of women, who are supplied by collectors or by other vendors. Fungi are sold and bought only as food, while no consumption of hallucinogenic mushrooms or medicinal mushrooms was recorded. Several species of Amanita, Cantharellus, Boletus, Lactarius, and Russula were those most commercialized in the 4 years of the study, but we also spotted fungi never reported before as consumed in the country, including Gastropila aff. fumosa (= Calvatia fumosa) and several species of Cortinarius. Field sampling in nearby pine-oak forests confirmed an elevated local macrofungal diversity. Conclusion: Our study unveiled the contemporary wealth of Kaqchikel culture for what concerns mushrooms, demonstrating that mushrooms continue to be culturally and economically important for these communities despite the erosion of traditional knowledge. Our results also confirmed the need to investigate in greater detail the Guatemalan mycodiversity that is vast and poorly known

From cocoa waste to sustainable bioink: valorising pectin for circular economy-driven tissue engineering

\ua9 2024 The Author(s)Cocoa bean production, a cornerstone of many developing economies, currently adheres to a linear economic model, giving rise to sustainability concerns. The expansion of cocoa butter and liquor consumption has resulted in the increased generation of residual biomass, constituting 60–70 % of fresh fruit. The absence of management plans for this biomass in cocoa-producing countries poses a risk of phytosanitary issues. This study proposed a circular economy approach by valorising cocoa pod husk-derived pectin for tissue engineering. The study optimised an alkaline-based protocol to extract pectin from cocoa pod husk, resulting in ∼ 20 % yield with a ∼ 47 % degree of esterification. Methacrylation transformed extracted pectin into pectin methacrylate (PECMA), confirmed by FTIR-ATR and NMR analyses. PECMA hydrogels, crosslinked with CaCO3 and UV, exhibited rapid gelation and superior water uptake properties. SEM revealed distinct morphological differences with UV exposure, showing improved interconnectivity and anisotropic porosity while the mechanical testing demonstrated enhanced compressive modulus and rheological properties with UV crosslinking. PECMA-based bioink encapsulated chondrocytes, maintaining cell viability over 6 days. This innovative bioink, derived from cocoa waste, holds promise for sustainable tissue engineering applications

Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph Observations of Magellanic Cloud Planetary Nebulae: the nature of dust in low metallicity circumstellar ejecta

We present 5 - 40 micron spectroscopy of 41 planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Magellanic Clouds, observed with the Infrared Spectrograph on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. The spectra show the presence of a combination of nebular emission lines and solid-state features from dust, superimposed on the thermal IR continuum. By analyzing the 25 LMC and 16 SMC PNe in our sample we found that the IR spectra of 14 LMC and 4 SMC PNe are dominated by nebular emission lines, while the other spectra show solid-state features. We observed that the solid-state features are compatible with carbon-rich dust grains (SiC, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), etc.) in most cases, except in three PNe showing oxygen-rich dust features. The frequency of carbonaceous dust features is generally higher in LMC than in SMC PNe. The spectral analysis allowed the correlations of the dust characteristics with the gas composition and morphology, and the properties of the central stars. We found that: 1) all PNe with carbonaceous dust features have C/O>1, none of these being bipolar or otherwise highly asymmetric; 2) all PNe with oxygen-rich dust features have C/O<1, with probable high mass progenitors if derived from single-star evolution (these PNe are either bipolar or highly asymmetric); 3) the dust temperature tracks the nebular and stellar evolution; and 4) the dust production efficiency depends on metallicity, with low metallicity environments not favoring dust production.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, in pres

Walls talk: Microbial biogeography of homes spanning urbanization.

Westernization has propelled changes in urbanization and architecture, altering our exposure to the outdoor environment from that experienced during most of human evolution. These changes might affect the developmental exposure of infants to bacteria, immune development, and human microbiome diversity. Contemporary urban humans spend most of their time indoors, and little is known about the microbes associated with different designs of the built environment and their interaction with the human immune system. This study addresses the associations between architectural design and the microbial biogeography of households across a gradient of urbanization in South America. Urbanization was associated with households' increased isolation from outdoor environments, with additional indoor space isolation by walls. Microbes from house walls and floors segregate by location, and urban indoor walls contain human bacterial markers of space use. Urbanized spaces uniquely increase the content of human-associated microbes-which could increase transmission of potential pathogens-and decrease exposure to the environmental microbes with which humans have coevolved

Cancer Survivors\u27 Self-Efficacy and Spirituality Outcomes Following a Holistic Integrative Intervention

Cancer treatments often negatively impact health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) for cancer survivors (CS), ignoring the multi-dimensional nature of the human experience of cancer and its impact on mental and spiritual domains. A holistic integrative approach was implemented on a heterogenous population of cancer survivors during the COVID epidemic with the goal of improving their overall well-being by looking beyond physical functioning. PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between spirituality and self-efficacy of cancer survivors of all types of cancer following a holistic intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Subjects were recruited via network partners and self-referral. Subjects were eligible to participate if they were cancer survivors of any type at any stage of cancer treatment; subjects were ineligible to participate if they presented with any absolute contraindications to exercise testing as per ACSM guidelines. For 16 weeks, subjects were asked to participate in three 75-minute sessions of therapeutic yoga-based with loving kindness meditation per week. Psychosocial support text messages were sent daily to subjects based on their motivational state to encourage participation in these health enhancing behaviors. Data was collected through numerous channels including BlueJay Mobile Telehealth medicine application. RESULTS: A total of 29 survivors provided informed consent. The average age of the subjects was 58.9 years, 25 female survivors and 4 male survivors; 11 of the 29 self-reported as Latino/ Hispanic. The 29 subjects were survivors of the following primary cancers: breast cancer (n=21), cervical cancer (n=2), ovarian cancer (n=1), prostate cancer (n=1), sarcoma (n=1), lymphoma (n=1), thyroid cancer (n=1), or leukemia (n=1). There is a positive association between how confident a cancer survivor feels towards performing exercise in various situations and the amount of social support they receive from their family (p\u3c.001) and friends (p\u3c.001). The individual’s confidence to overcome the obstacle to exercise and their level of hope are associated with the support they receive from loved ones. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that to improve exercise behavior in adult cancer survivors, one should incorporate social support to strengthen barriers self-efficacy to improve outcome expectations. To further understand these associations, longitudinal research is needed and should include more survivors

High-K dielectric sulfur-selenium alloys.

Upcoming advancements in flexible technology require mechanically compliant dielectric materials. Current dielectrics have either high dielectric constant, K (e.g., metal oxides) or good flexibility (e.g., polymers). Here, we achieve a golden mean of these properties and obtain a lightweight, viscoelastic, high-K dielectric material by combining two nonpolar, brittle constituents, namely, sulfur (S) and selenium (Se). This S-Se alloy retains polymer-like mechanical flexibility along with a dielectric strength (40 kV/mm) and a high dielectric constant (K = 74 at 1 MHz) similar to those of established metal oxides. Our theoretical model suggests that the principal reason is the strong dipole moment generated due to the unique structural orientation between S and Se atoms. The S-Se alloys can bridge the chasm between mechanically soft and high-K dielectric materials toward several flexible device applications

Young Stellar Object Variability (YSOVAR): Long Timescale Variations in the Mid-Infrared

The YSOVAR (Young Stellar Object VARiability) Spitzer Space Telescope observing program obtained the first extensive mid-infrared (3.6 & 4.5 um) time-series photometry of the Orion Nebula Cluster plus smaller footprints in eleven other star-forming cores (AFGL490, NGC1333, MonR2, GGD 12-15, NGC2264, L1688, Serpens Main, Serpens South, IRAS 20050+2720, IC1396A, and Ceph C). There are ~29,000 unique objects with light curves in either or both IRAC channels in the YSOVAR data set. We present the data collection and reduction for the Spitzer and ancillary data, and define the "standard sample" on which we calculate statistics, consisting of fast cadence data, with epochs about twice per day for ~40d. We also define a "standard sample of members", consisting of all the IR-selected members and X-ray selected members. We characterize the standard sample in terms of other properties, such as spectral energy distribution shape. We use three mechanisms to identify variables in the fast cadence data--the Stetson index, a chi^2 fit to a flat light curve, and significant periodicity. We also identified variables on the longest timescales possible of ~6 years, by comparing measurements taken early in the Spitzer mission with the mean from our YSOVAR campaign. The fraction of members in each cluster that are variable on these longest timescales is a function of the ratio of Class I/total members in each cluster, such that clusters with a higher fraction of Class I objects also have a higher fraction of long-term variables. For objects with a YSOVAR-determined period and a [3.6]-[8] color, we find that a star with a longer period is more likely than those with shorter periods to have an IR excess. We do not find any evidence for variability that causes [3.6]-[4.5] excesses to appear or vanish within our data; out of members and field objects combined, at most 0.02% may have transient IR excesses.Comment: Accepted to AJ; 38 figures, 93 page

Irreversible Quantum Mechanics in the Neutral K-System

The neutral Kaon system is used to test the quantum theory of resonance scattering and decay phenomena. The two dimensional Lee-Oehme-Yang theory with complex Hamiltonian is obtained by truncating the complex basis vector expansion of the exact theory in Rigged Hilbert space. This can be done for K_1 and K_2 as well as for K_S and K_L, depending upon whether one chooses the (self-adjoint, semi-bounded) Hamiltonian as commuting or non-commuting with CP. As an unexpected curiosity one can show that the exact theory (without truncation) predicts long-time 2 pion decays of the neutral Kaon system even if the Hamiltonian conserves CP.Comment: 36 pages, 1 PostScript figure include