The dawn of ethnomicrobiology: an interdisciplinary research field on interactions between humans and microorganisms.

BACKGROUND: Ethnobiologists commonly analyze local knowledge systems related to plants, animals, fungi, and ecosystems. However, microbes (bacteria, yeasts, molds, viruses, and other organisms), often considered invisible in their interactions with humans, are often neglected. Microorganisms were the earliest life forms on Earth, and humans have interacted with them throughout history. Over time, humans have accumulated ecological knowledge about microbes through attributes such as smell, taste, and texture that guide the management of contexts in which microorganisms evolve. These human-microbe interactions are, in fact, expressions of biocultural diversity. Thus, we propose that ethnomicrobiology is a distinct interdisciplinary field within ethnobiology that examines the management practices and knowledge surrounding human-microbe interactions, along with the theoretical contributions that such an approach can offer. METHODS: We reviewed scientific journals, books, and chapters exploring human-microbe relationships. Our search included databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and specific journal websites, using keywords related to ethnomicrobiology and ethnozymology. To categorize activities involving deliberate human-microbial interactions, we examined topics such as fermentation, pickling, food preservation, silaging, tanning, drying, salting, smoking, traditional medicine, folk medicine, agricultural practices, composting, and other related practices. RESULTS: Our research identified important precedents for ethnomicrobiology through practical and theoretical insights into human-microbe interactions, particularly in their impact on health, soil, and food systems. We also found that these interactions contribute to biodiversity conservation and co-evolutionary processes. This emerging interdisciplinary field has implications for food ecology, public health, and the biocultural conservation of hidden microbial landscapes and communities. It is essential to explore the socioecological implications of the interwoven relationships between microbial communities and humans. Equally important is the promotion of the conservation and recovery of this vast biocultural diversity, along with sustainable management practices informed by local ecological knowledge. CONCLUSION: Recognizing the dawn of ethnomicrobiology is essential as the field evolves from a descriptive to a more theoretical and integrative biological approach. We emphasize the critical role that traditional communities have played in conserving food, agriculture, and health systems. This emerging field highlights that the future of ethnobiological sciences will focus not on individual organisms or cultures, but on the symbiosis between microorganisms and humans that has shaped invisible but often complex biocultural landscapes.

Genetic analyses and dispersal patterns unveil the Amazonian origin of guava domestication.

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is a semi-domesticated fruit tree of moderate importance in the Neotropics, utilized for millennia due to its nutritional and medicinal benefits, but its origin of domestication remains unknown. In this study, we examine genetic diversity and population structure in 215 plants from 11 countries in Mesoamerica, the Andes, and Amazonia using 25 nuclear microsatellite loci to propose an origin of domestication. Genetic analyses reveal one gene pool in Mesoamerica (Mexico) and four in South America (Brazilian Amazonia, Peruvian Amazonia and Andes, and Colombia), indicating greater differentiation among localities, possibly due to isolation between guava populations, particularly in the Amazonian and Andean regions. Moreover, Mesoamerican populations show high genetic diversity, with moderate genetic structure due to gene flow from northern South American populations. Dispersal scenarios suggest that Brazilian Amazonia is the probable origin of guava domestication, spreading from there to the Peruvian Andes, northern South America, Central America, and Mexico. These findings present the first evidence of guava domestication in the Americas, contributing to a deeper understanding of its evolutionary history.

Gathering, agriculture, and exchange: an ethnoecological approach to the study of food patterns and feedstuff sources in communities of the Central Andes, Peru.

BACKGROUND: Historically, the Andean people have experienced uncertainty in terms of the availability of food resources because of climatic and ecological variations that are typical of mountainous environments. Risk management strategies, including the diversified and complementary use and management of species and ecosystems at different elevations, have faced such uncertainty. The current effects of climate change on food security motivate studies on subsistence adaptative strategies. TEK offers extraordinary experience and local biocultural memory to meet present and future needs. From an ethnoecological perspective, we aim to identify the variety of local foods in Andean communities, their cultural and nutritional value for local people, their use frequencies, and their forms to obtain them from different environments, productive systems, and interchanges. We expected to identify traditional Andean diversified subsistence patterns despite the pressure of modern food and interchange systems. METHODS: This study was conducted in two communities in the highlands of the Department of Huánuco, Peru. We conducted 24 semistructured interviews with households sampled through the snowball method. We asked about their daily life food, plant and animal components of diet, frequencies and seasons in which they are consumed, and ways to obtain them. We complemented the information through ethnobotanical collection of wild, weedy, and ruderal edible plants and records on domestic and wild animals included in the diet. RESULTS: We recorded 37 crop species, 13 domestic animals, 151 wild, weedy, and ruderal food plant species, the 3 most commonly consumed wild animals, and 52 processed products obtained from local stores and markets. The main crops are potato and maize, while the main domestic animals included in the diet are cattle, pigs, and sheep. Rice, pasta, and bread are the main raw and processed foods included in the diet. Crops represent nearly half of the food consumed and purchased (in kg/year), and tubers and cereals provide most of the kilocalories, carbohydrates and proteins. Wild, weedy, and ruderal plants are consumed in relatively low amounts and at relatively low frequencies per species, but overall, they constitute a significant proportion of the kg of annually consumed food (14.4% in Cani and 9.6% in Monte Azul). Knowledge and use of these resources play a key role in local cuisine and nutrition. CONCLUSION: The current food patterns studied are based on diverse diets, including multiple feedstuffs, sources, and practices to obtain them, which reflects the traditional Andean subsistence pattern. The increasing adoption of processed food has influenced the declining consumption of local food, mainly among young people. Communication and policies to promote local food, emphasizing the role of wild plants and their adequate consumption, and provide information on their nutritional value are recommended to support efforts toward food sovereignty and conservation of Andean biocultural diversity.

Does commercialization lead to more intensive management strategies? Decision-making for the utilization of non-timber forest products in a Nahua area of the Sierra Negra, Mexico.

BACKGROUND: The commercialization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) provides income for rural indigenous households. The integration of NTFPs into formal markets tends to intensify management practices to ensure production and monetary benefits. However, more research is needed to understand the motivations for managing of commercialized species. We examine the influence of social, ecological, and economic factors on traditional management and how they drive the adoption of more or less intensive practices for subsistence and commercially traded NTFPs. METHODS: The study was conducted in the Nahua community of Ixtacxochitla, in the Sierra Negra of central Mexico, where we conducted free lists and semi-structured interviews in 32% of the 88 households to assess socio-ecological variables related to management practices. In addition, we interviewed local traders to assess commercial variables used in a cost-benefit model to calculate the net annual income of commercialized species. Non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to analyze relationships between socio-ecological variables and management practices. We also explored the relationship between management and commercial factors using principal component analysis. RESULTS: We recorded 64 plant and mushroom species of NTFPs used for medicinal, ornamental, ceremonial, and edible purposes, 36 of which are commercialized in the municipal market of Coyomeapan. The commercialized species generated an average annual net income of MXN 67,526 (USD 3924) per family, with five species contributing the most. Species both used for both subsistence and commercialization were managed through incipient in situ gathering, tolerance in ex situ anthropogenic areas, and intensive protection and propagation efforts in ex situ environments. Even the five species with the highest commercial returns were managed across this gradient of practices. Key factors influencing the adoption of more intensive species management practices were feasibility of management, type of species use, ecological abundance, frequency of consumption, and cultural importance. CONCLUSIONS: The intensification of NTFPs management is not solely driven by the commercial value of the products or the level of income generated. Instead, the interaction between socio-ecological and economic factors determines the extent of management practices. The main constraint to the implementation of intensive practices has been the inability to manage species outside their natural habitats, despite their cultural significance and frequent consumption. Understanding the factors involved in the harvesting of NTFPs can serve as the basis for future research aimed at analyzing the conditions for successful and sustainable NTFPs commercialization.

Association between Increased Risk of Pneumonia with ICS in COPD: A Continuous Variable Analysis of Patient Factors from the IMPACT Study.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the proven benefits of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)-containing triple therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), clinicians limit patient exposure to ICS due to the risk of pneumonia. However, there are multiple factors associated with the risk of pneumonia in patients with COPD. This post hoc analysis of IMPACT trial data aims to set the risks associated with ICS into a context of specific patient-related factors that contribute to the risk of pneumonia. METHODS: The 52-week, double-blind IMPACT trial randomized patients with symptomatic COPD and ≥1 exacerbation in the prior year 2:2:1 to once-daily fluticasone furoate (FF)/umeclidinium (UMEC)/vilanterol (VI), FF/VI or UMEC/VI. Annual rate of on-treatment pneumonias in the intent-to-treat population associated with age, body mass index (BMI), percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and blood eosinophil count (BEC) was evaluated. RESULTS: This analysis revealed that the annual rate of pneumonia showed the lowest risk at the age of 50 years. The 95% confidence intervals (CI) between ICS-containing and non-ICS containing treatments diverged in ages > 63 years, suggesting a significantly increased ICS-related risk in older patients. In contrast, the annual rate of pneumonia rose in both groups below BMI of 22.5 kg/m2, but above that, there was no relationship to pneumonia rate and no differential effect between the two groups. The relationship between BEC and pneumonia was flat up to > 300/µL cells with ICS-containing treatment and then rose. In contrast, the rate of pneumonia with non-ICS containing treatment appeared to increase at a lower level of BEC (~ 200/µL). CONCLUSIONS: There was little evidence of a differential effect of older age, lower BMI, lower FEV1 and BEC on the pneumonia rate between ICS-containing and non-ICS containing treatments. This analysis points to the need for a balanced approach to risk versus benefit in the use of ICS-containing treatments in COPD. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: IMPACT ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02164513.

Underlying and proximate drivers of biodiversity changes in Mesoamerican biosphere reserves.

Protected areas are of paramount relevance to conserving wildlife and ecosystem contributions to people. Yet, their conservation success is increasingly threatened by human activities including habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and species overexploitation. Thus, understanding the underlying and proximate drivers of anthropogenic threats is urgently needed to improve protected areas' effectiveness, especially in the biodiversity-rich tropics. We addressed this issue by analyzing expert-provided data on long-term biodiversity change (last three decades) over 14 biosphere reserves from the Mesoamerican Biodiversity Hotspot. Using multivariate analyses and structural equation modeling, we tested the influence of major socioeconomic drivers (demographic, economic, and political factors), spatial indicators of human activities (agriculture expansion and road extension), and forest landscape modifications (forest loss and isolation) as drivers of biodiversity change. We uncovered a significant proliferation of disturbance-tolerant guilds and the loss or decline of disturbance-sensitive guilds within reserves causing a "winner and loser" species replacement over time. Guild change was directly related to forest spatial changes promoted by the expansion of agriculture and roads within reserves. High human population density and low nonfarming occupation were identified as the main underlying drivers of biodiversity change. Our findings suggest that to mitigate anthropogenic threats to biodiversity within biosphere reserves, fostering human population well-being via sustainable, nonfarming livelihood opportunities around reserves is imperative.

Knowledge of Vaccination Against Influenza and Pneumococcus in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in an Integrated Care Program.

Purpose: To compare the level of knowledge in vaccination against influenza and pneumococcus of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are managed in an Integrated Care Program (ICP) with those who receive usual care (UC). Methods: A telephone survey of patients diagnosed with COPD registered in public care networks or private institutions was done. A descriptive and comparative analysis of the characteristics of the ICP and UC groups was carried out. The relationship between belonging to an ICP and the level of knowledge about vaccination was evaluated using Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and multivariate logistic and ordinal regression models. Results: Of 674 study participants, 27.2% were from the ICP group. ICP patients were older, more frequently men, from a higher socioeconomic stratum and a higher educational level (p<0.05). 75.5% of the patients in the ICP group had a high level of vaccination knowledge compared to 42.7% in the UC group (p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, adjusting for sociodemographic variables, years of COPD diagnosis, and comorbidities, belonging to the ICP was associated with a higher probability of answering questions about vaccination correctly and having a high level of knowledge (OR 3.397, IC 95% 2.058-5.608, p<0.001). Conclusion: Patients with COPD managed in an ICP have a higher level of knowledge in vaccination against influenza and pneumococcus, compared to patients in usual care.

Alternatives for mushroom poisoning timely care in Mexico and Central America.

BACKGROUND: In countries where the consumption of mushrooms is common, hundreds of mushroom poisonings occur every year, which represents a public health problem. In Mexico, mushroom poisoning is classified as a non-bacterial gastrointestinal poisoning, which prevents timely care. OBJECTIVE: To create a free-access platform that synthesizes and standardizes the information on mycetism cases and offers tools for diagnosis and timely treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In locations where cases of mycetism have occurred, information was obtained on the fungi involved, the poisonings that occurred, care protocols, and sample processing. RESULTS: Records were generated that synthesize and describe the types of mycetism with the highest probability of occurrence in Mexico. Therein, the biological characteristics of fungi, the symptoms they cause and their treatment are described. A protocol proposal for patient care and for the processing of biological samples is presented. Finally, a form is included to collect information on cases of poisoning. CONCLUSIONS: Systematized and analyzed information on mycetism allows to simplify its diagnosis, attention and treatment. The protocols for clinical care and sample processing are the basis for generating strategies that prevent deaths due to mycetism.

ANTECEDENTES: En países donde el consumo de hongos es frecuente ocurren cientos de casos de micetismos al año, por lo que representan un problema de salud pública. En México, los micetismos son clasificados como una intoxicación gastrointestinal de tipo no bacteriano, lo que impide su atención oportuna. OBJETIVO: Crear una plataforma de libre acceso que sintetice y estandarice la información de los casos de micetismos y ofrezca herramientas para su diagnóstico y tratamiento oportuno. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: En localidades donde han ocurrido casos de micetismos se obtuvo información sobre los hongos involucrados, las intoxicaciones ocurridas, protocolos de atención y procesamiento de muestras. RESULTADOS: Se generaron cédulas que sintetizan y describen las intoxicaciones por hongos con mayor probabilidad de ocurrencia en México. En ellas se describen las características biológicas de los hongos, síntomas que provocan y su tratamiento. Se presenta una propuesta de protocolo para la atención del paciente y para el procesamiento de muestras biológicas. Por último, se incluye un formulario para recopilar información sobre los casos de intoxicaciones. CONCLUSIONES: La información sistematizada y analizada sobre los micetismos permite simplificar su diagnóstico, atención y tratamiento. Los protocolos para la atención clínica y el procesamiento de muestras son la base para generar estrategias que eviten decesos por micetismo.

Agri-silvicultures of Mexican Arid America.

BACKGROUND: Agri-silvicultures (ASC) are biocultural practices procuring either the maintenance of wild diversity in predominantly agricultural spaces or introducing agrobiodiversity into forests. In the Mesoamerican region, ASC contribute to food sovereignty and territorial conservation and provide strategies for dealing with global changes. Previous inventories of ASC identified gaps in information about these systems in the Mexican Arid America region. This article raises the general question: How have human interactions between cultural, wild, and domesticated biodiversity in this territory? The particular questions in this paper are: (i) How have historical processes shaped human interactions between wild and domesticated biodiversity in the region? and (ii) What types of agri-silvicultures have emerged in Mexican Arid America since these relationships? METHODS: We trace a methodological border where archaeologists have identified the Mesoamerican region to define our study area as Arid America northern of this line in Mexico. We analyzed agriculturalization processes in Arid America through a historical review. Then, we carry out an inventory of Arid America ASC based on academic papers and other documented experiences. We constructed a spatial database and a typology to understand what kinds of agri-silviculture occur in the region. RESULTS: We identified several pre-Hispanic agri-silvicultural practices in the region, like hunting, fishing, terraces, gathering, and irrigation systems. The cultivation of native species of maize, beans, and squash even was registered. The Spanish colonization forced the agriculturization in arid northern Mexico, where itinerant hunting-gathering patterns predominated. In the twentieth century, the Green Revolution adopted this area as the principal setting for industrialized agriculture. The industrialized irrigated systems expansion and other political strategies provoked the simplification of productive landscapes. The practices that integrate wild and agricultural diversity systems were marginalized and invisibilized in such a context. Our research group proposes seven types of agri-silvicultural systems (natives agrisilvicultures, the oases agroforestry, Mesquite and Huisache ASC, homegardens and other traditional forms of agroforestry or agri-silvicultures). These agri-silvicultures provide food, medicine, fodder, and other contributions, as income to the families that practice them and protect native and exotic species. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The agriculturization of the arid environments initiated during Spanish colonization and the subsequent modernizing projects shaped dominant actors and ideologies in the arid north of Mexico. However, aridity has favored ancestral and agroecological relationships between cultures and biodiversity, emerging and subsisting Arid American agri-silvicultures. These agri-silvicultures deserve to be understood, adopted, and adapted to new contexts. They could be essential alternatives in the context of environmental changes.

Alternativas para la atención oportuna de las intoxicaciones por consumo de hongos en México y Centroamérica / Alternatives for mushroom poisoning timely care in Mexico and Central America

Resumen Antecedentes: En países donde el consumo de hongos es frecuente ocurren cientos de casos de micetismos al año, por lo que representan un problema de salud pública. En México, los micetismos son clasificados como una intoxicación gastrointestinal de tipo no bacteriano, lo que impide su atención oportuna. Objetivo: Crear una plataforma de libre acceso que sintetice y estandarice la información de los casos de micetismos y ofrezca herramientas para su diagnóstico y tratamiento oportuno. Material y métodos: En localidades donde han ocurrido casos de micetismos se obtuvo información sobre los hongos involucrados, las intoxicaciones ocurridas, protocolos de atención y procesamiento de muestras. Resultados: Se generaron cédulas que sintetizan y describen las intoxicaciones por hongos con mayor probabilidad de ocurrencia en México. En ellas se describen las características biológicas de los hongos, síntomas que provocan y su tratamiento. Se presenta una propuesta de protocolo para la atención del paciente y para el procesamiento de muestras biológicas. Por último, se incluye un formulario para recopilar información sobre los casos de intoxicaciones. Conclusiones: La información sistematizada y analizada sobre los micetismos permite simplificar su diagnóstico, atención y tratamiento. Los protocolos para la atención clínica y el procesamiento de muestras son la base para generar estrategias que eviten decesos por micetismo.

Abstract Background: In countries where the consumption of mushrooms is common, hundreds of mushroom poisonings occur every year, which represents a public health problem. In Mexico, mushroom poisoning is classified as a non-bacterial gastrointestinal poisoning, which prevents timely care. Objective: To create a free-access platform that synthesizes and standardizes the information on mycetism cases and offers tools for diagnosis and timely treatment. Material and methods: In locations where cases of mycetism have occurred, information was obtained on the fungi involved, the poisonings that occurred, care protocols, and sample processing. Results: Infographics were generated that synthesize and describe the types of mycetism with the highest probability of occurrence in Mexico. Therein, the biological characteristics of fungi, the symptoms they cause and their treatment are described. A protocol proposal for patient care and for the processing of biological samples is presented. Finally, a form is included to collect information on cases of poisoning. Conclusions: Systematized and analyzed information on mycetism allows to simplify its diagnosis, attention and treatment. The protocols for clinical care and sample processing are the basis for generating strategies that prevent deaths due to mycetism.

Multiple domestication events explain the origin of Gossypium hirsutum landraces in Mexico.

Several Mesoamerican crops constitute wild-to-domesticated complexes generated by multiple initial domestication events, and continuous gene flow among crop populations and between these populations and their wild relatives. It has been suggested that the domestication of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) started in the northwest of the Yucatán Peninsula, from where it spread to other regions inside and outside of Mexico. We tested this hypothesis by assembling chloroplast genomes of 23 wild, landraces, and breeding lines (transgene-introgressed and conventional). The phylogenetic analysis showed that the evolutionary history of cotton in Mexico involves multiple events of introgression and genetic divergence. From this, we conclude that Mexican landraces arose from multiple wild populations. Our results also revealed that their structural and functional chloroplast organizations had been preserved. However, genetic diversity decreases as a consequence of domestication, mainly in transgene-introgressed (TI) individuals (π = 0.00020, 0.00001, 0.00016, 0, and 0, of wild, TI-wild, landraces, TI-landraces, and breeding lines, respectively). We identified homologous regions that differentiate wild from domesticated plants and indicate a relationship among the samples. A decrease in genetic diversity associated with transgene introgression in cotton was identified for the first time, and our outcomes are therefore relevant to both biosecurity and agrobiodiversity conservation.

Risk factors for persistent tomographic abnormalities at 6 months of follow-up in a cohort of hospitalized patients with moderate and severe COVID-19 living at high altitude.

Introduction: After COVID-19, functional and tomographic lung alterations may occur, but there are no studies at high altitude where, due to lower barometric pressure, there are lower levels of arterial oxygen pressure and saturation in both normal subjects and patients with respiratory disease. In this study, we evaluated the computed tomographic (CT), clinical, and functional involvement at 3 and 6 months post-hospitalization in survivors with moderate-severe COVID-19, as well the risk factors associated with abnormal lung computed tomography (ALCT) at 6 months of follow-up. Materials and methods: Prospective cohort, after hospitalization for COVID-19, of patients older than 18 years residing at high altitude. Follow-up at 3 and 6 months with lung CT, spirometry, diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO), six-minute walk test (6MWT), and oxygen saturation (SpO2). Comparisons between ALCT and normal lung computed tomography (NLCT) groups with X2 and Mann-Whitney U test, and paired test for changes between 3 and 6 months. A multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the variables associated with ALCT at 6-month follow-up. Results: We included 158 patients, 22.2% hospitalized in intensive care unit (ICU), 92.4% with typical COVID CT scan (peripheral, bilateral, or multifocal ground glass, with or without consolidation or findings of organizing pneumonia), and median hospitalization of 7 days. At 6 months, 53 patients (33.5%) had ALCT. There were no differences between ALCT and NLCT groups in symptoms or comorbidities on admission. ALCT patients were older and more frequently men, smokers and hospitalized in ICU. At 3 months, ALCT patients had more frequently a reduced forced vital capacity (< 80%), and lower meters walked (6MWT) and SpO2. At 6 months, all patients improved lung function with no differences between groups, but there were more dyspnea and lower exercise SpO2 in ALCT group. The variables associated with ALCT at 6 months were age, sex, ICU stay, and typical CT scan. Conclusion: At 6-month follow-up, 33.5% of patients with moderate and severe COVID had ALCT. These patients had more dyspnea and lower SpO2 in exercise. Regardless of the persistence of tomographic abnormalities, lung function and 6MWT improved. We identified the variables associated with ALCT.

Neonatal infrared thermography images in the hypothermic ruminant model: Anatomical-morphological-physiological aspects and mechanisms for thermoregulation.

Hypothermia is one factor associated with mortality in newborn ruminants due to the drastic temperature change upon exposure to the extrauterine environment in the first hours after birth. Ruminants are precocial whose mechanisms for generating heat or preventing heat loss involve genetic characteristics, the degree of neurodevelopment at birth and environmental aspects. These elements combine to form a more efficient mechanism than those found in altricial species. Although the degree of neurodevelopment is an important advantage for these species, their greater mobility helps them to search for the udder and consume colostrum after birth. However, anatomical differences such as the distribution of adipose tissue or the presence of type II muscle fibers could lead to the understanding that these species use their energy resources more efficiently for heat production. The introduction of unconventional ruminant species, such as the water buffalo, has led to rethinking other characteristics like the skin thickness or the coat type that could intervene in the thermoregulation capacity of the newborn. Implementing tools to analyze species-specific characteristics that help prevent a critical decline in temperature is deemed a fundamental strategy for avoiding the adverse effects of a compromised thermoregulatory function. Although thermography is a non-invasive method to assess superficial temperature in several non-human animal species, in newborn ruminants there is limited information about its application, making it necessary to discuss the usefulness of this tool. This review aims to analyze the effects of hypothermia in newborn ruminants, their thermoregulation mechanisms that compensate for this condition, and the application of infrared thermography (IRT) to identify cases with hypothermia.

Adaptation and biocultural conservation of traditional agroforestry systems in the Tehuacán Valley: access to resources and livelihoods strategies.

Traditional agroforestry systems (TAFS) are important areas for conserving biodiversity, ecosystems benefits and biocultural heritage, outstandingly local knowledge, management techniques, and domestication processes. These systems have adapted to environmental, social, technological, and cultural changes throughout history. However, contemporary drastic socio-environmental changes as climate variability, economic inequality, migration, among others, have caused a productive crisis, with several consequences as productive land abandonment, threaten the sustainability of TAFS and vulnerating livelihoods. In such context, the question arises of what kind of adaptations are needed to face these changes, and how access to water and land, should be managed to improve adaptation of TAFS? The study analyzes TAFS in the Tehuacán Valley, a region with high biological and cultural diversity and early signs of agriculture in Mexico, where TAFS have remained active until present. The study analyzes the capacity of TAFS to conserve biodiversity and sustain local livelihoods, despite socio-environmental threats. It is based on a political ecology approach, which proposes that socio-ecological systems degradation is linked to unequal access to land and natural resources. Looking for an integral study of adaptations of TAFS to socio-environmental changes, this study combines qualitative and historical research methodology with quantitative methods evaluating plant diversity and spatial analysis. The study findings show that differentiated access to resources, water, land, and forest, is a key factor that limits adaptation of TAFS, impacting livelihood strategies, changing management patterns, and constraining social capacities for coping with socio-environmental changes. TAFS have significantly higher species richness than forests but lower diversity. The main contribution of the study is the methodological approach looking for an integral analysis of natural resources management and biocultural conservation in agroecosystems, and the identification of the unequal access to resources, as a keystone to understand and act for improving adaptive strategies of TAFS to socio-environmental changes.

The role of attentional shifting in the relation between error monitoring and anxiety in youth.

The error-related negativity (ERN), a well-established neural marker of anxiety, reflects enhanced attention to internal threat signals. While attention to threat plays a crucial role in the development and maintenance of anxiety, it is unclear how attentional control influences the ERN-anxiety association. To address this, 37 youths (Mage = 10.89 years) completed self-report measures of attentional control and anxiety symptoms. To obtain ERN amplitude, youth completed a flanker task while simultaneous EEG was collected. Attentional control, specifically attentional shifting rather than focusing, moderated the relation between ERN amplitude and anxiety. Youth who displayed smaller neural responses to making an error and higher ability to shift attention experienced lower levels of anxiety, relative to those who exhibited larger neural responses to making an error or lower attention-shifting ability. These findings highlight that response magnitude to internal threat and ability to flexibly shift attention may jointly contribute to anxiety in youth.

Experimental Applications and Factors Involved in Validating Thermal Windows Using Infrared Thermography to Assess the Health and Thermostability of Laboratory Animals.

Evaluating laboratory animals' health and thermostability are fundamental components of all experimental designs. Alterations in either one of these parameters have been shown to trigger physiological changes that can compromise the welfare of the species and the replicability and robustness of the results obtained. Due to the nature and complexity of evaluating and managing the species involved in research protocols, non-invasive tools such as infrared thermography (IRT) have been adopted to quantify these parameters without altering them or inducing stress responses in the animals. IRT technology makes it possible to quantify changes in surface temperatures that are derived from alterations in blood flow that can result from inflammatory, stressful, or pathological processes; changes can be measured in diverse regions, called thermal windows, according to their specific characteristics. The principal body regions that were employed for this purpose in laboratory animals were the orbital zone (regio orbitalis), auricular pavilion (regio auricularis), tail (cauda), and the interscapular area (regio scapularis). However, depending on the species and certain external factors, the sensitivity and specificity of these windows are still subject to controversy due to contradictory results published in the available literature. For these reasons, the objectives of the present review are to discuss the neurophysiological mechanisms involved in vasomotor responses and thermogenesis via BAT in laboratory animals and to evaluate the scientific usefulness of IRT and the thermal windows that are currently used in research involving laboratory animals.

Efficacy and Function of Feathers, Hair, and Glabrous Skin in the Thermoregulation Strategies of Domestic Animals.

The objective of this review is to describe and analyze the effect of feathers, hair, and glabrous (hairless) skin on the thermoregulation of domestic and endotherm animals, especially concerning the uses and scope of infrared thermography (IRT), scientific findings on heat and cold stress, and differences among species of domestic animals. Clinical medicine considers thermoregulation a mechanism that allows animals to adapt to varying thermal environmental conditions, a process in which the presence of feathers, hair, or glabrous skin influences heat loss or heat retention, respectively, under hot and cold environmental conditions. Evaluating body temperature provides vital information on an individual's physiological state and health status since variations in euthermia maintenance in vertebrates reflect a significant cellular metabolism deviation that needs to be assessed and quantified. IRT is a non-invasive tool for evaluating thermal responses under thermal stress conditions in animals, where the presence or absence of feathers, hair, and glabrous skin can affect readings and the differences detected. Therefore, anatomical regions, the characteristics of feathers, hair, glabrous skin such as structure, length, color, and extension, and strategies for dissipating or retaining heat together constitute a broad area of opportunity for future research into the phenomena of dermal thermoregulation in domestic species.

Current Advances in Assessment of Dog's Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of Pain.

Animals' facial expressions are involuntary responses that serve to communicate the emotions that individuals feel. Due to their close co-existence with humans, broad attention has been given to identifying these expressions in certain species, especially dogs. This review aims to analyze and discuss the advances in identifying the facial expressions of domestic dogs and their clinical utility in recognizing pain as a method to improve daily practice and, in an accessible and effective way, assess the health outcome of dogs. This study focuses on aspects related to the anatomy and physiology of facial expressions in dogs, their emotions, and evaluations of their eyebrows, eyes, lips, and ear positions as changes that reflect pain or nociception. In this regard, research has found that dogs have anatomical configurations that allow them to generate changes in their expressions that similar canids-wolves, for example-cannot produce. Additionally, dogs can perceive emotions similar to those of their human tutors due to close human-animal interaction. This phenomenon-called "emotional contagion"-is triggered precisely by the dog's capacity to identify their owners' gestures and then react by emitting responses with either similar or opposed expressions that correspond to positive or negative stimuli, respectively. In conclusion, facial expressions are essential to maintaining social interaction between dogs and other species, as in their bond with humans. Moreover, this provides valuable information on emotions and the perception of pain, so in dogs, they can serve as valuable elements for recognizing and evaluating pain in clinical settings.

The Taming of Psidium guajava: Natural and Cultural History of a Neotropical Fruit.

Guava (Psidium guajava L., Myrtaceae) is a Neotropical fruit that is widely consumed around the world. However, its evolutionary history and domestication process are unknown. Here we examine available ecological, taxonomic, genetic, archeological, and historical evidence about guava. Guava needs full sunlight, warm temperatures, and well-distributed rainfall throughout the year to grow, but tolerates drought. Zoochory and anthropochory are the main forms of dispersal. Guava's phylogenetic relationships with other species of the genus Psidium are unclear. A group of six species that share several morphological characteristics are tentatively accepted as the Psidium guajava complex. DNA analyses are limited to the characterization of crop genetic diversity within localities and do not account for possible evolutionary and domestication scenarios. A significant amount of archeological information exists, with a greater number and older records in South America than in Mesoamerica, where there are also numerous historical records. From this information, we propose that: (1) the guava ancestor may have originated during the Middle or Late Miocene, and the savannas and semi-deciduous forests of South America formed during the Late Pleistocene would have been the most appropriate ecosystems for its growth, (2) the megafauna were important dispersers for guava, (3) dispersal by humans during the Holocene expanded guava's geographic range, including to the southwestern Amazonian lowlands, (4) where its domestication may have started, and (5) with the European conquest of the Neotropics, accompanied by their domestic animals, new contact routes between previously remote guava populations were established. These proposals could direct future research on the evolutionary and domestication process of guava.

Traditional Fermented Beverages of Mexico: A Biocultural Unseen Foodscape.

Mexico is one of the main regions of the world where the domestication of numerous edible plant species originated. Its cuisine is considered an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and ferments are important components but have been poorly studied. Traditional fermented foods are still diverse, but some are endangered, requiring actions to promote their preservation. Our study aimed to (1) systematize information on the diversity and cultural history of traditional Mexican fermented beverages (TMFB), (2) document their spatial distribution, and (3) identify the main research trends and topics needed for their conservation and recovery. We reviewed information and constructed a database with biocultural information about TMFB prepared and consumed in Mexico, and we analyzed the information through network approaches and mapped it. We identified 16 TMFB and 143 plant species involved in their production, species of Cactaceae, Asparagaceae, and Poaceae being the most common substrates. Microbiological research has been directed to the potential biotechnological applications of Lactobacillus, Bacillus, and Saccharomyces. We identified a major gap of research on uncommon beverages and poor attention on the cultural and technological aspects. TMFB are dynamic and heterogenous foodscapes that are valuable biocultural reservoirs. Policies should include their promotion for conservation. The main needs of research and policies are discussed.