Bird conservation status and cultural values in Indigenous Mexican communities: towards a bioculturally informed conservation policy.

BACKGROUND: We summarize comparative ethnoornithological data for ten Mexican Indigenous communities, an initial step towards a comprehensive archive of the avian diversity conserved within Mexico's Indigenous territories. We do so by counting highlighted species listed for bird conservation status on widely recognized "red lists" and their cultural value to build biocultural policies in Mexico for their conservation. METHODS: Indigenous bird names for each study site were determined to allow calculation of the "Scientific Species Recognition Ratio" (SSRR) for high cultural value birds obtained across communities. This demonstrated patterns of cultural prominence. A matrix of 1275 bird versus seven biocultural values was analysed using a correspondence analysis (InfoStat/L-v2020) to illustrate patterns of concordance between bird conservation status and cultural values. RESULTS: This paper contributes to quantitative and qualitative data on the role of ethnoornithology and ethnobiology in biocultural conservation. The areas studied provide refugia for almost 70% of the Mexican avifauna within a fraction of 1% of the national territory, that is 769 bird species recorded for all communities. The global correspondence of regions of biological and linguistic megadiversity is well established, while linguistic diversity is widely accepted as a good proxy for general cultural diversity. Our correspondence analysis explained 81.55% of the variation, indicating a strong relation between cultural importance and bird conservation status. We propose three main categories to establish a bioculturally informed public policy in Mexico for the conservation of what we described as high, medium, and bioculturally prominent bird species all include cultural value in any material or symbolic aspect. High are those species appearing on any threatened list, but also considered in any endemic status, while medium include threatened listed species. The last category included species not necessarily listed on any threat list, but with a wide range of social and cultural uses. We suggest that the concept might be extended to other species of biocultural importance. CONCLUSIONS: We argue that bird conservation policies should be biocultural, that is they should recognize birds of cultural value on a par with bird species "of special interest" because they are most critical for biodiversity conservation. The desire of local people to protect their traditional community lands and livelihoods can be an effective biodiversity conservation strategy, which should be recognized in national biocultural policies.

New achievements on biological aspects of copper complexes Casiopeínas®: interaction with DNA and proteins and anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity.

The mixed-chelate copper(II) complexes Casiopeínas® have been tested in several models in vitro and in vivo, showing promising antitumoral results. However, their mechanism of action remains to be defined. Trying to get a deeper insight into their molecular mode of action, further analyses, including gel electrophoresis, atomic force microscopy and circular dichroism were carried out to study their interaction with DNA and some cytoskeleton proteins. Our results revealed that the interaction of Casiopeínas triggers DNA cleavage by a free radical mechanism. The tested complexes showed a differential response to reducing and scavenger agents. Differences on target preference were also evident using double stranded oligonucleotides as sequence competitors. Surprisingly, distamycin A, a minor groove binder, enhanced the Casiopeínas' action on DNA. On the other hand, the tested Casiopeínas produce strong changes in protein structure of tubulin, integrin and fibronectin. All together these results suggest a multiple mode of action for these metal-based drugs. In addition, since it has been proposed that antitumor drugs efficiently interacting with DNA could also show activity against Trypanosoma cruzi, etiologic agent of Chagas disease, we evaluated the activity of these compounds on this protozoan parasite. The tested complexes showed in vitro anti-T. cruzi activity similar to the anti-trypanosomal reference drug Nifurtimox.

Efectos del entrenamiento en mujeres que realizan trabajo sedentario / Effects of training on women performing sedentary work

Se estudian 25 trabajadoras sedentarias del Instituto de Medicina del Trabajo, a las cuales se le hacen mediciones antropométricas y se les determinan variables fisiológicas en el reposo, capacidad física, lactacidemia en ejercicio sub-máximo y volúmenes pulmonares. Catorce de las trabajadoras realizan un programa de entrenamiento de 12 semanas en bicicloergómetro. Se comprueba la baja capacidad física promedio del grupo inicial: PWC170 de 73,5 W, así como la eficacia del entrenamiento que provocó un aumento del parámetro del 75%. Se registraron otros indicadores diferentes que apoyan la conclusión del efecto beneficioso del ejercicio sistemático, como la lactacidemia posesfuerzo

Efectos del entrenamiento en mujeres que realizan trabajo sedentario / Effects of training on woen performing sedentary work

Se estudian 25 trabajadoras sedentarias del Instituto de Medicina del Trabajo, a las cuales se le hacen mediciones antropométricas y se les determinan variables fisiológicas en el reposo, capacidad física, lactacidemia en ejercicio sub-máximo y volúmenes pulmonares. Catorce de las trabajadoras realizan un programa de entrenamiento de 12 semanas en bicicloergómetro. Se comprueba la baja capacidad física promedio del grupo inicial: PWC170 de 73,5 W, así como la eficacia del entrenamiento que provocó un aumento del parámetro del 75%. Se registraron otros indicadores diferentes que apoyan la conclusión del efecto beneficioso del ejercicio sistemático, como la lactacidemia posesfuerzo (AU)