In Danger One of the Largest Aquifers in the World, the Great Mayan Aquifer, Based on Monitoring the Cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The aquifer flowing beneath the Yucatan Peninsula, México, is one of the largest in the world and is in direct contact with the surface through "cenotes" (sinkholes) that have been documented to be contaminated with various classes of pollutants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the environmental status of the Great Mayan Aquifer through a review of data published on pollution of the cenotes. Approximately 1000 known georeferenced cenotes on the Yucatan Peninsula were geographically located. A map was generated using the geographic information system software. High-resolution satellite images were processed to complement the "QuickMap Services" and the formatting service of the Environmental Systems Research Institute. From the literature, 173 cenotes were identified as being sampled for various pollutants, and of these, one or more classes of pollutants were detected in 160 (i.e., greater than 92%) of the cenotes. Pollutants reported to be present included bacteria and viruses of human origin, fecal sterols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs and personal care products. From the review of the literature, only 13 cenotes were reported to be free of the target pollutants. From this study, it can be concluded that the aquifer system with the Yucatan Peninsula is vulnerable to contamination from pollutants originating from wastewater, as well as surface runoff and infiltration from urban and agricultural lands.

Spatial and temporal distribution of tuberculosis in the State of Mexico, Mexico.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the oldest human diseases that still affects large population groups. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were approximately 9.4 million new cases worldwide in the year 2010. In Mexico, there were 18,848 new cases of TB of all clinical variants in 2010. The identification of clusters in space-time is of great interest in epidemiological studies. The objective of this research was to identify the spatial and temporal distribution of TB during the period 2006-2010 in the State of Mexico, using geographic information system (GIS) and SCAN statistics program. Nine significant clusters (P < 0.05) were identified using spatial and space-time analysis. The conclusion is that TB in the State of Mexico is not randomly distributed but is concentrated in areas close to Mexico City.

Estimación de la capacidad nutricional de carga para cyrtonyx montezumae / Estimation of nutritional carrying capacity for cyrtonyx montezumae

Se estimo la capacidad nutricional de carga para la codorniz montezuma (Cyrtonyx montezumae) en las estaciones de invierno y primavera en el municipio Aculco, estado de México. Se evaluó la disponibilidad de biomasa de bulbos de Oxalis en zonas de transición entre pastizal y bosque, determinando la cantidad de bulbos a una profundidad de 5 cm. El consumo se estimó con base al requerimiento energético y el contenido dietario de energía metabolizable, obteniendo un consumo de 17 g/día de Oxalis por cordorniz adulta. La disponibilidad de materia seca (MS) de bulbos de Oxalis tuvo una gran variación entre localidades y estaciones. No se detectó interacción sitio por estación (P>0,05). Se encontró una mayor disponiblidad en la primavera (3,02) que en invierno (1,29 g MS/m²). La capacidad nutricional de carga por hectárea de hábitat fue de 8,14 y 19,06 codornices en invierno y primavera, respectivamente