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As the effects of global climate change intensify, it is increasingly important to implement more effective water management practices, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions such as Meoqui, Chihuahua, situated in the arid northern center of Mexico. The objective of this study was to identify the optimal time-series model for analyzing the pattern of water extraction volumes and predicting a one-year forecast. It was hypothesized that the volume of water extracted over time could be explained by a statistical time-series model, with the objective of predicting future trends. To achieve this objective, three time-series models were evaluated. To assess the pattern of groundwater extraction, three time-series models were employed: the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA), Prophet, and Prophet with extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). The mean extraction volume for the entire period was 50,935 ± 47,540 m3, with a total of 67,233,578 m3 extracted from all wells. The greatest volume of water extracted has historically been from urban wells, with an average extraction of 55,720 ± 48,865 m3 and a total of 63,520,284 m3. The mean extraction volume for raw water wells was determined to be 20,629 ± 19,767 m3, with a total extraction volume of 3,713,294 m3. The SARIMA(1,1,1)(1,0,0)12 model was identified as the optimal time-series model for general extraction, while a "white noise" model, an ARIMA(0,1,0) for raw water, and an SARIMA(2,1,1)(2,0,0)12 model were identified as optimal for urban wells. These findings serve to reinforce the efficacy of the SARIMA model in forecasting and provide a basis for water resource managers in the region to develop policies that promote sustainable water management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is a vital resource for sustaining life and for numerous processes within the transformation industry. It is a finite resource, albeit one that can be renewed, and thus sustainable management is imperative. To achieve this objective, it is necessary to have the appropriate tools to assist with the planning policies for its management. This paper presents a time series analysis approach to measure and predict the pattern of water consumption by humans throughout subsectors (domestic, commercial, public sector, education, industry, and raw water) and total water consumption in Meoqui, Chihuahua, Mexico with data from 2011 to 2023, applying calibration model techniques to measure uncertainty in the forecasting. The municipality of Meoqui encompasses an area of 342 km2. The climate is semi-arid, with an average annual rainfall of 272 mm and average temperatures of 26.4 °C in summer and 9.7 °C in winter. The municipal seat, which has a population of 23,140, is supplied with water from ten wells, with an average consumption of 20 ± 579 m3 per user. The consumption of the general population indicates the existence of a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) (0,1,2)(0,0,2)12 model. (Sen's Slope = 682.7, p < 0.001). The domestic sector exhibited the highest overall consumption, with a total volume of 17,169,009 m3 (13 ± 93). A SARIMA (2,1,0)(2,0,0)12 model was estimated, with a Sen's slope of 221.65 and a p-value of less than 0.001. The second-largest consumer of total water was the "raw water" sector, which consumed 5,124,795 (30,146 ± 35,841) m3 and exhibited an SARIMA (0,1,1)(2,0,0)12 model with no statistically significant trend. The resulting models will facilitate the company's ability to define water resource management strategies in a sustainable manner, in alignment with projected consumption trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the richness, abundance, and diversity of bacteria in stray dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) infested by ticks in Comarca Lagunera, northern Mexico, and to establish their pathogenic and or/zoonotic potential. Materials and Methods: Blood samples from 12 dogs were collected, and their deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted. The V3-V4 region of the 16S ribosomal ribunocleic acid gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was performed on a MiSeq Illumina platform, and the data were analyzed using quantitative insights into microbial ecology. Results: The operational taxonomic units resulted in 23 phyla, 54 classes, 89 orders, 189 families, 586 genera, and 620 bacterial species; among them, 64 species and/or bacterial genera with pathogenic or zoonotic potential were identified, some of which have been reported in the literature as relevant to public health (Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Brucella spp., Clostridium spp., Corynebacterium affermentants, Cutibacterium spp., Dietzia spp., Ehrlichia canis, Fusobacterium necrophorum, Leptotrichia spp., Mycobacterium spp., Paracoccus spp., and Roseomonas gilardii). Conclusion: This research offers relevant information on the prevalence of tick-borne diseases as well as other potential zoonotic diseases in the blood of stray dogs parasitized by ticks in northern Mexico. New molecular biology and massive NGS techniques may play an important role in the study and documentation of bacterial profiles from animals in close proximity to humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social hierarchies among animal species are based on the animal´s dominance-aggressiveness level aligned with the subordination of their mates. Social order is mostly defined by animal size, live weight, or age. This study aimed to evaluate the association between odor score (OS), horn presence (HP), horn size (HS), and body temperature on social rank hierarchy, scrotal circumference (SC), semen quality (SQ), and sexual drive (SD). Adult Dorper rams (n=24) with similar live weight (LW), body condition score (BCS), and age (AG) were subjected to a behavioral test to define a success index (SI) based on male-to-male interactions. OS was highest (P<0.05) for rams with high social rank (HSR; 2.5±0.4) and lowest for rams with low social status (LSR; 0.75±0.01). Scrotal circumference was highest (P<0.05) for HSR rams (40.0±3.5) and lowest for rams with medium social rank (MSR; 29.3±1.20). Sperm cell concentration/mL was highest (P<0.05) for HSR rams (3848±187) and lowest for LSR (2660±463). 80% of the HSR rams had horns, while 33.3 of the LSR rams were hornless. The percentage of rejection to mount an estrous ewe was 77.7 for LSR and 20% for HSR and MSR rams (P <0.05). To conclude, the HSR rams presented the highest successful copulation, scrotal circumference, and sperm cell concentration compared to rams with lesser social rank scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fermented prickly pear (Opuntia megacantha) has been used as forage in goats and sheep. Thus, the objectives of this study were to assess bimonthly production of cladodes var. Narro, compare the quality of those fermented versus non-fermented, and assess the effect of fermented cladodes in milk production of Holstein cows in stables (La Partida, Matamoros, Coahuila, México). Central pivot irrigation was used to water prickly pear plantation with a density of 17,500 plants ha-1. To assess cladode quality (proximal analysis) before and after fermentation, a completely randomized bifactorial design was used -non-fermented (N-0) and fermented (N-F) cladodes- with three replicates each. To assess the fermented cladode effect in milk production, a completely randomized design was established with first-calving Holstein cows where each one represented one replicate. The treatments were two diets, Dnor (normal) and Dnop (fermented cladodes). The results showed sufficient bimonthly production (14,380.8±1,676 kg t ha-1) of fresh prickly pear leaves for daily bio-digestor functioning (200 kg). Crude protein content and metabolizable energy showed significantly greater and contrasting values compared with non-fiber carbohydrate content (sugars and starch), showing a significant decrease in fermented cladodes with respect to non-fermented. Other proximal components did not show significant differences between both N-F vs N-0 cladodes. Average milk production increased when cows changed from Dnor (26.08 ± 4.8 L Day-1) to Dnop (30.07 ± 5.3 L Day-1) diets, recording three groups with less, medium, and greater significant increase in milk production. No correlation was found between production and increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphometric characteristics of blood cells were examined in 44 (16 males, 28 females) Bolson tortoises (Gopherus flavomarginatus) in Mapimí, Mexico. Blood samples were drawn from the subcarapacial vein, and smear stains were used to differentiate and measure the diameter and surface area of cells. Mature and polychromatophilic erythrocytes were identified, as well as five types of leukocytes (lymphocytes, heterophils, eosinophils, basophils and monocytes), and thrombocytes. The shape and color of G. flavomarginatus blood cells were similar to those reported for the G. agassizii, and G. polyphemus species. Blood cell sizes fitted related data from other reptile species. The information generated in this study can help monitor the health status of G. flavomarginatus individuals in the wild, thus advancing efforts to protect this endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]