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Obesity is a public health problem with a growing prevalence worldwide. In Mexico, it is estimated that one out of three adults suffer from obesity. In these patients, the intestinal microbiota (IM) undergoes pathological changes that are associated with a dysbiotic state; however, the microbiota profile of adult subjects with obesity from western Mexico has not been described. To assess this, fecal samples were obtained from 65 participants (Obese = 38; Control = 27). The microbial composition was characterized by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The IM of the group with obesity revealed a clear decrease in richness and diversity ( p < 0.001), as well as a significant increase in proinflammatory bacterial groups, mainly genera belonging to the Negativicutes class, Escherichia / Shigella , and Prevotella . Likewise, an increase in short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria was found, especially the genus Lachnoclostridium . Additionally, PICRUSt2 analysis showed a depletion of vitamin B9 metabolism and an increase in saccharolytic pathways. The IM of patients with obesity possesses a dysbiotic, proinflammatory environment, possibly contributing to lipogenesis and adiposity. Thus, assessing the IM will allow for a better understanding of the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases of high prevalence, such as obesity. These findings are described for the first time in the adult population of western Mexico.

HLA-G is a physiology and pathologic immunomodulator detrimentally related to cancer. Its gene is heavily transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally regulated by variants located in regulator regions like 3'UTR, being the most studied Ins/Del of 14-bp (rs66554220), which is known to influence the effects of endogen cell factors; nevertheless, the reports are discrepant and controversial. Herein, the relationship of the 14-bp Ins/Del variant (rs66554220) with breast cancer (BC) and its clinical characteristics were analyzed in 182 women with non-familial BC and 221 disease-free women as a reference group. Both groups from western Mexico and sex-age-matched (sm-RG). The rs66554220 variant was amplified by SSP-PCR and the fragments were visualized in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The variant rs66554220 was not associated with BC in our population. However, we suggest the Ins allele as a possible risk factor for developing BC at clinical stage IV (OR = 3.05, 95% CI = 1.16-7.96, p = 0.01); nevertheless, given the small stratified sample size (n = 11, statistical power = 41%), this is inconclusive. In conclusion, the 14-bp Ins/Del (rs66554220) variant of HLA-G is not associated with BC in the Mexican population, but might be related to advanced breast tumors. Further studies are required.

Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis in humans and animals. The sexual reproductive cycle of Toxoplasma takes place in the small intestine of felines, the definitive hosts. In the final part of the sexual cycle, T. gondii forms oocysts in infected cats. Oocysts transferred via the faeces to the environment are highly infectious to both animals and humans. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with T. gondii infection in cats from the metropolitan region of Guadalajara in western Mexico. Western blotting and ELISA for anti- Toxoplasma IgG antibodies was performed, and Toxoplasma DNA was identified using polymerase chain reaction. Prevalence of anti- T. gondii antibodies was 14.8% (44/297), and only 2/297 cases were positive for PCR. Cats older than one year were at an increased risk of infection (OR = 3.9, 95% CI 1.844-8.362). Sex, raw meat feeding, hunting habits, vaccination status, and body condition were not associated with positivity. The prevalence of T. gondii infection determined with Western blot in cats in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, was lower than that reported in previous studies.

Continuum monitoring of mangrove ecosystems is required to maintain and improve upon national mangrove conservation strategies. In particular, mangrove canopy assessments using remote sensing methods can be undertaken rapidly and, if freely available, optimize costs. Although such spaceborne data have been used for such purposes, their application to map mangroves at the species level has been limited by the capacity to provide continuous data. The objective of this study was to assess mangrove seasonal patterns using seven multispectral vegetation indices based on a Sentinel-2 (S2) time series (July 2018 to October 2019) to assess phenological trajectories of various semiarid mangrove classes in the Google Earth Engine platform using Fourier analysis for an area located in Western Mexico. The results indicate that the months from November through December and from May through July were critical in mangrove species discrimination using the EVI2, NDVI, and VARI series. The Random Forest classification accuracy for the S2 image was calculated at 79% during the optimal acquisition period (June 25, 2019), whereas only 55% accuracy was calculated for the non-optimal image acquired date (March 2, 2019). Although mangroves are considered evergreen forests, the phenological pattern of various mangrove canopies, based on these indices, were shown to be very similar to the surrounding land-based semiarid deciduous forest. Consequently, it is believed that the rainfall pattern is likely to be the key environmental factor driving mangrove phenology in this semiarid coastal system and thus the degree of success in mangrove remote sensing classification endeavors. Identifying the optimal dates when canopy spectral conditions are ideal in achieving mangrove species discrimination could be of utmost importance when purchasing more expensive very-high spatial resolution satellite images or collecting spatial data from UAVs., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: The islands and islets of Bahía de Chamela, in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, were declared as the first marine sanctuary in Mexico and has been protected since 2002. Their marine biodiversity has been documented in a series of papers in the last decade, but only three species of polychaete worms have been reported., New Information: Sixteen species of sedentary polychaete worms belonging to the families Maldanidae, Oweniidae, Sabellariidae, Sabellidae and Serpulidae are reported to the Bahía de Chamela Islands Sanctuary, 15 of these species constituting the first records in the area. Isocirrus tropicus (Monro, 1928) (Monro 1928) and Notaulax californica (Treadwell, 1906) (Treadwell 1906) constitute new records to Mexico; Idanthyrsus mexicanus Kirtley, 1904 (Kirtley 1994) is first recorded since its description and one species of bamboo worm (Maldanidae) is described as new to science. The new species belongs to the genus Clymenura Verril, 1900 (Verrill 1900) and its characterised by the presence of a glandular shield on chaetiger 8; a cephalic plaque oval with smooth margins and a rounded palpode; nuchal organs straight, parallel, almost full length of plaque; manubriavicular uncini present from chaetiger 1 with 3-4 teeth above the main fang without hairs or bristles; two pre-anal achaetous segments with tori; an anal funnel with alternating triangular cirri, being the longest that are located mid-ventrally., (Beatriz Yáñez-Rivera, María Ana Tovar-Hernández, Cristian Moisés Galván-Villa, Eduardo Ríos-Jara.)

Aims: Polymorphisms in the CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 genes confer potential risk for specific adverse drug reactions and therapeutic effect failure. Their frequencies differ among ethnic groups. This study was aimed to describe the distribution of CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 alleles and haplotypes in four Mestizo populations from Western Mexico and their comparison with the reported data from other ethnic groups., Methods: The CYP2C alleles (CYP2C9*2, CYP2C9*3, CYP2C19*2, and CYP2C19*3) were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms analyses using DNA samples from 477 healthy Mestizo individuals of Colima (n = 100), Jalisco (n = 147), Michoacán (n = 117), and Nayarit (n = 113)., Results: Frequencies ranged from 2.2-3.0% and 4.8-8.9% for CYP2C9*3 and CYP2C9*2 alleles, respectively, and 5.4-12.0% for CYP2C19*2, whereas the CYP2C19*3 allele was not found. Haplotype GACA, which harbors the loss-of-function allele CYP2C19*2, was the second most frequent (8.7%). Genetic heterogeneity between the Western Mexican populations studied here and the global population was evident (p < 0.05), except for most American populations and other Mexican Mestizo populations., Conclusion: Our findings increase the evidence for genetic variability at relevant pharmacogenetic loci and could be useful in association studies involving drugs that are substrates for CYP2C enzymes in the Western Mexican population.