Affectation of COVID-19 pandemic on the use and abundance of wild resources in Tabasco, Mexico: A qualitative assessment.

Southern Mexico is particularly rich in natural resources, yet unemployment has risen to 8% during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of the pandemic on the use and abundance of Tabasco's wild resources was examined through personal surveys. By using Microsoft Forms® with cell phones 1,963 surveys were collected. Cronbach's alpha, Z-value, and chi2 were calculated using the MAXQDA Analytics Pro program. A higher abundance of wild resources before the pandemic than today (57% vs. 11%) was observed. During the pandemic, people referred more to a high use (28%) of resources than to a low use (20%). This caused the low abundance or scarcity of wild products to be greater during the pandemic than before the pandemic (43% vs. 4%). Wild foods and timber were the most used products. The pandemic has produced a greater use of natural resources probably due to the high unemployment rate in rural areas. Future studies of wild products should address the relevant products in the locality and their even sampling. Finding suitable respondents is highly recommended.

Plant management and biodiversity conservation in Náhuatl homegardens of the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico.

BACKGROUND: The Tehuacán Valley is one of the areas of Mesoamerica with the oldest history of plant management. Homegardens are among the most ancient management systems that currently provide economic benefits to people and are reservoirs of native biodiversity. Previous studies estimated that 30% of the plant richness of homegardens of the region are native plant species from wild populations. We studied in Náhuatl communities the proportion of native plant species maintained in homegardens, hypothesizing to find a proportion similar to that estimated at regional level, mainly plant resources maintained for edible, medicinal and ornamental purposes. METHODS: We analysed the composition of plant species of homegardens and their similarity with surrounding Cloud Forest (CF), Tropical Rainforest (TRF), Tropical Dry forest (TDF), and Thorn-Scrub Forest (TSF). We determined density, frequency and biomass of plant species composing homegardens and forests through vegetation sampling of a total of 30 homegardens and nine plots of forests, and documented ethnobotanical information on use, management, and economic benefits from plants maintained in homegardens. RESULTS: A total of 281 plant species was recorded with 12 use categories, 115 ornamental, 92 edible, and 50 medicinal plant species. We recorded 49.8 ± 23.2 (average ± S.D.) woody plant species (shrubs and trees) per homegarden. In total, 34% species are native to the Tehuacán Valley and nearly 16% are components of the surrounding forests. A total of 176 species were cultivated through seeds, vegetative propagules or transplanted entire individual plants, 71 tolerated, and 23 enhanced. The highest species richness and diversity were recorded in homegardens from the CF zone (199 species), followed by those from the TRF (157) and those from the TDF (141) zones. CONCLUSION: Homegardens provide a high diversity of resources for subsistence of local households and significantly contribute to conservation of native biodiversity. The highest diversity was recorded in homegardens where the neighbouring forests had the least diversity, suggesting that management of homegardens aims at compensating scarcity of naturally available plant resources. Cultivated species were markedly more abundant than plants under other management forms. Diversity harboured and management techniques make homegardens keystones in strategies for regional biodiversity conservation.

Basic diagnosis of solid waste generated at Agua Blanca State Park to propose waste management strategies.

State parks are highly sensitive areas of great natural importance and tourism value. Herein a case study involving a basic survey of solid waste which was carried out in 2006 in Agua Blanca State Park, Macuspana, Tabasco, Mexico with two sampling periods representing the high and low tourist season is presented. The survey had five objectives: to find out the number of visitors in the different seasons, to consider the daily generation of solid waste from tourist activities, to determine bulk density, to select and quantify sub-products; and to suggest a possible treatment. A daily average of 368 people visited the park: 18,862 people in 14 days during the high season holiday (in just one day, Easter Sunday, up to 4425 visitors) and 2092 visitors in 43 days during the low season. The average weight of the generated solid waste was 61.267 kg day(-1) and the generated solid waste average per person was 0.155 kg person(-1 ) day(-1). During the high season, the average increased to 0.188 kg person(-1 ) day(-1) and during the low season, the average decreased to 0.144 kg person(-1 ) day(-1). The bulk density average was 75.014 kg m(-3), the maximum value was 92.472 kg m(-3) and the minimum was 68.274 kg m(-3). The sub-products comprised 54.52% inorganic matter; 32.03% organic matter, 10.60% non-recyclable and 2.85% others. Based on these results, waste management strategies such as reuse/recycling, aerobic and anaerobic digestion, the construction of a manual landfill and the employment of a specialist firm were suggested.

Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections in a tertiary-care center in Mexico City: 2003-2007.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the epidemiology, clinical variables, outcome and molecular characteristics between methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) bloodstream infections (BSI) of patients from a tertiary-care center. METHODS: We conducted a five-year retrospective cohort analysis of all patients with at least one peripherally-drawn blood culture positive for S. aureus. Patient characteristics, clinical data and outcome were analyzed, as well as microbiologic data. RESULTS: We included 444 isolates derived from 172 patients. The highest rate of MRSA BSI was observed in 2005 (4.9 cases per 1,000 patients). MRSA BSIs were more likely to be originated from a skin and soft tissue infection (OR 2.44, CI 95% 1.05-5.67, p = 0.03). The only significant risk factor for MRSA BSI was the mean length of hospital stay (OR 1.01; CI 95% 1.00-1.02, p = 0.002). A difference in inadequate initial treatment was noticed in MRSA BSI (OR 8.35 CI 95% 1.55-8.39, p = 0.002); but it had no impact on mortality. All MRSA isolates were SCCmec type II, and we did not find any resistance to vancomycin or linezolid. CONCLUSION: MRSA BSIs were associated with a prolonged hospital stay. We did not observe any difference in mortality between MRSA and MSSA BSIs. During the study period, we only identified SCCmec type II in MRSA isolates, which suggests that this infection was hospital- acquired.