• Title/Summary/Keyword: Baja California

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Species-specific biomass drives macroalgal benthic primary production on temperate rocky reefs

  • Spector, Michael;Edwards, Matthew S.
    • ALGAE
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    • v.35 no.3
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    • pp.237-252
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    • 2020
  • Temperate rocky reefs dominated by the giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, support diverse assemblages of benthic macroalgae that provide a suite of ecosystem services, including high rates of primary production in aquatic ecosystems. These forests and the benthic macroalgae that inhabit them are facing both short-term losses and long-term declines throughout much of their range in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Here, we quantified patterns of benthic macroalgal biomass and irradiance on rocky reefs that had intact kelp forests and nearby reefs where the benthic macroalgae had been lost due to deforestation at three sites along the California, USA and Baja California, MEX coasts during the springs and summers of 2017 and 2018. We then modeled how the loss of macroalgae from these reefs impacted net benthic productivity using species-specific, mass-dependent rates of photosynthesis and respiration that we measured in the laboratory. Our results show that the macroalgal assemblages at these sites were dominated by a few species of stipitate kelps and fleshy red algae whose relative abundances were spatially and temporally variable, and which exhibited variable rates of photosynthesis and respiration. Together, our model estimates that the dominant macroalgae on these reefs contribute 15 to 4,300 mg C m-2 d-1 to net benthic primary production, and that this is driven primarily by a few dominant taxa that have large biomasses and high rates of photosynthesis and / or respiration. Consequently, we propose that the loss of these macroalgae results in the loss of an important contribution to primary production and overall ecosystem function.

A taxonomic and distributional study of the rhodolith-forming species Lithothamnion muelleri (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

  • Robinson, Nestor M.;Hansen, G.I.;Fernandez-Garcia, C.;Riosmena-Rodriguez, R.
    • ALGAE
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    • v.28 no.1
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    • pp.63-71
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    • 2013
  • Lithothamnion muelleri is reported for the first time as one of the main components of rhodolith beds along the Eastern Pacific Ocean based on samples from Washington State (USA), Pacific Baja California (M$\acute{e}$xico), southern Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Individual rhodoliths ranged from fruticose to lumpy in morphology, and bi-sporangial, tetrasporangial, and gametangial plants were similar to those described from Australia and Brazil. Our study revealed a surprisingly wide latitudinal distribution of this species along the American continent. Its documentation in the Eastern Pacific will facilitate a more accurate interpretation of the ecology, biology, and biogeography of rhodolith beds worldwide.

Production of Platinum Nanoparticles and Nanoaggregates Using Neurospora crassa

  • Castro-Longoria, E.;Moreno-Velasquez, S.D.;Vilchis-Nestor, A.R.;Arenas-Berumen, E.;Avalos-Borja, M.
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.22 no.7
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    • pp.1000-1004
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    • 2012
  • Fungal biomass and fungal extract of the nonpathogenic fungus Neurospora crassa were successfully used as reducing agents for the biosynthesis of platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs). The experiment was carried out by exposing the fungal biomass or the fungal extract to a 0.001 M precursor solution of hexachloroplatinic(IV) acid ($H_2PtCl_6$). A change of color of the biomass from pale yellow to dark brown was the first indication of possible formation of PtNPs by the fungus. Subsequent analyses confirmed the intracellular biosynthesis of single PtNPs (4-35 nm in diameter) and spherical nanoaggregates (20-110 nm in diameter). Using the fungal extract, similar results were obtained, producing rounded nanoaggregates of Pt single crystals in the range of 17-76 nm.

Growth performance, carcass traits, muscle fiber characteristics and skeletal muscle mRNA abundance in hair lambs supplemented with ferulic acid

  • Pena-Torres, Edgar Fernando;Castillo-Salas, Candelario;Jimenez-Estrada, Ismael;Muhlia-Almazan, Adriana;Pena-Ramos, Etna Aida;Pinelli-Saavedra, Araceli;Avendano-Reyes, Leonel;Hinojosa-Rodriguez, Cindy;Valenzuela-Melendres, Martin;Macias-Cruz, Ulises;Gonzalez-Rios, Humberto
    • Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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    • v.64 no.1
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    • pp.52-69
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    • 2022
  • Ferulic acid (FA) is a phytochemical with various bioactive properties. It has recently been proposed that due to its phytogenic action it can be used as an alternative growth promoter additive to synthetic compounds. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the growth performance, carcass traits, fiber characterization and skeletal muscle gene expression on hair-lambs supplemented with two doses of FA. Thirty-two male lambs (n = 8 per treatment) were individually housed during a 32 d feeding trial to evaluate the effect of FA (300 and 600 mg d-1) or zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH; 6 mg d-1) on growth performance, and then slaughtered to evaluate the effects on carcass traits, and muscle fibers morphometry from Longissimus thoracis (LT) and mRNA abundance of β2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR), MHC-I, MHC-IIX and IGF-I genes. FA increased final weight and average daily gain with respect to non-supplemented animals (p < 0.05). The ZH supplementation increased LT muscle area, with respect to FA doses and control (p < 0.05). Cross-sectional area (CSA) of oxidative fibers was larger with FA doses and ZH (p < 0.05). Feeding ZH increased mRNA abundance for β2-AR compared to FA and control (p < 0.05), and expression of MHC-I was affected by FA doses and ZH (p < 0.05). Overall, FA supplementation of male hair lambs enhanced productive variables due to skeletal muscle hypertrophy caused by MHC-I up-regulation. Results suggest that FA has the potential like a growth promoter in lambs.

Phylogenetic Relationships of Soranthera ulvoidea (Chordariaceae, Phaeophyceae) on the Basis of Morphology and Molecular Data

  • Cho, Ga-Youn;Kim, Myung-Sook;Boo, Sung-Min
    • ALGAE
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    • v.20 no.2
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    • pp.91-97
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    • 2005
  • The brown algal family Chordariaceae sensu lato is a focus of taxonomy because recent studies suggest a broad concept of the family, including genera formerly classified in the Dictyosiphonales. Using morphology, plastid rbcL and nrDNA ITS sequences, we evaluated relationships of the monotyic genus Soranthera (S. ulvoidea), which has been classified in the Punctariaceae. The species occurs in Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, Alaska to Baja California. Thalli are globose to lobed, hollow, 3-5 cm in diameter, and covered with evenly distributed sori. However, two forms within the species are recognized: f. ulvoidea for globose forms and f. difformis for lobed forms. Plastid rbcL and nuclear ITS region sequences were newly determined in samples of S. ulvoidea from the Pacific coast of the North America. We found little variations in the ITS sequences among samples of S. ulvoidea from five different locations and in the rbcL region from two different locations. These results do not support previous classification of f. ulvoidea and f. difformis within the species. All analyses of our rbcL sequence dataset show that Soranthera was placed in the Chordariaceae s.l., but more related to Botrytella than Punctaria and Asperococcus.

Identification of a Bacillus thuringiensis Surface Layer Protein with Cytotoxic Activity against MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells

  • Rubio, Viviana P.;Bravo, Alejandra;Olmos, Jorge
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.27 no.1
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    • pp.36-42
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    • 2017
  • In this work, we isolated a surface layer protein (SLP) from a Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strain to evaluate it cytotoxic effects against MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. AP11 was selected from a g roup of Bt strains using SLP olig onucleotides developed from Bacillus conserved regions. The AP11 strain was grown in Luria Bertani medium until the late exponential phase; an 86 kDa protein was extracted using 5 M LiCl and identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. It corresponded to a multispecies SLP highly similar to previously described SLPs in Bt. The MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells $LC_{50}$ was obtained using $0.25{\mu}g/ml$ of the isolated SLP. HaCat non-cancerous cells presented 90% survival using the same protein concentration. Our data suggest that SLP cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 could be induced by an interaction with the CDH11 cell membrane receptor.

Control of peak floor accelerations of buildings under wind loads using tuned mass damper

  • Acosta, Juan;Bojorquez, Eden;Bojorquez, Juan;Reyes-Salazar, Alfredo;Payan, Omar;Barraza, Manuel;Serrano, Juan
    • Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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    • v.81 no.1
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    • pp.1-9
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    • 2022
  • Due to the frequency and magnitude of some loads produced by gusts of turbulent wind, building floors can develop lateral displacements and significant accelerations which can produce strong inertial forces on structural, non-structural elements and occupants. A device that can help to reduce the floor accelerations is the well-known Tuned Mass Damper (TMD); however, nowadays there is no enough information about its capacity in order to dissipate energy of turbulent wind loads. For this reason, in this paper different buildings with and without TMD are modeled and dynamically analyzed under simulated wind loads in order to study the reduction of peak floor accelerations. The results indicate that peak floor accelerations can be reduced up to 40% when TMD are incorporated in the buildings, which demonstrated that the Tuned Mass Damper is an efficient device to reduce the wind effects on tall buildings.

Effect of scanning strategies on the accuracy of digital intraoral scanners: a meta-analysis of in vitro studies

  • Louis Hardan;Rim Bourgi;Monika Lukomska-Szymanska;Juan Carlos Hernandez-Cabanillas;Juan Eliezer Zamarripa-Calderon;Gilbert Jorquera;Sinan Ghishan;Carlos Enrique Cuevas-Suarez
    • The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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    • v.15 no.6
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    • pp.315-332
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    • 2023
  • PURPOSE. This study aimed to investigate whether the accuracy of intraoral scanners is influenced by different scanning strategies in an in vitro setting, through a systematic review and meta-analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS. This review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 standard. The following PICOS approach was used: population, tooth impressions; intervention, the use of intraoral scanners with scanning strategies different from the manufacturer's instructions; control, the use of intraoral scanners following the manufacturers' requirements; outcome, accuracy of intraoral scanners; type of studies, in vitro. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across various databases including Embase, SciELO, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The inclusion criteria were based on in vitro studies that reported the accuracy of digital impressions using intraoral scanners. Analysis was performed using Review Manager software (version 5.3.5; Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark). Global comparisons were made using a standardized mean difference based on random-effect models, with a significance level of α = 0.05. RESULTS. The meta-analysis included 15 articles. Digital impression accuracy significantly improved under dry conditions (P < 0.001). Moreover, trueness and precision were enhanced when artificial landmarks were used (P ≤ 0.02) and when an S-shaped pattern was followed (P ≤ 0.01). However, the type of light used did not have a significant impact on the accuracy of the digital intraoral scanners (P ≥ 0.16). CONCLUSION. The accuracy of digital intraoral scanners can be enhanced by employing scanning processes using artificial landmarks and digital impressions under dry conditions.

The influence of shade allocation or total shade plus overhead fan on growth performance, efficiency of dietary energy utilization, and carcass characteristics of feedlot cattle under tropical ambient conditions

  • Castro-Perez, Beatriz I.;Estrada-Angulo, Alfredo;Rios-Rincon, Francisco G.;Nunez-Benitez, Victor H.;Rivera-Mendez, Carlos R.;Urias-Estrada, Jesus D.;Zinn, Richard A.;Barreras, Alberto;Plascencia, Alejandro
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.33 no.6
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    • pp.1034-1041
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    • 2020
  • Objective: The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of shade allocation and shade plus fan on growth performance, dietary energy utilization and carcass characteristics of feedlot cattle under tropical ambient conditions Methods: Two trials were conducted, involving a total of 1,560 young bulls (289±22 kg BW) assigned to 24 pens (65 bulls/pen and 6 pens/treatment). Pens were 585 ㎡ with 15 m fence line feed bunks. Shade treatments (㎡ shade/animal) were: i) limited shade (LS) to 1.2 ㎡ shade/animal (LS1.2); ii) limited shade to 2.4 ㎡ shade/animal (LS2.4); iii) total shade (TS) which correspond to 9 ㎡/animal, and iv) total shade equipped with fans (TS+F). Trials lasted 158 and 183 days. In both studies, the average weekly maximum temperature exceeded 34℃. Results: Increasing shade allocation tended (p = 0.08) to linearly increases average daily gain (ADG), and dry matter intake (DMI, quadratic effect, p = 0.03). This effect was most apparent between LS1.2 and LS2.4. Shade allocation, per se, did not affect gain efficiency or estimated dietary net energy (NE). Compared with TS, TS+F increased (p<0.05) ADG, gain efficiency, and tended (p = 0.06) to increase dietary NE. There was a quadratic effect of shade on longissimus area and marbling score, with values being lower (p<0.01) for LS2.4 than for LS1.2 or TS. Likewise, marbling score was lower for TS+F than for TS. Percentage kidney, pelvic, and heart (KPH) linearly decreased with increasing shade. In contrast, KPH was greater for TS than for TS+F. Conclusion: Providing more than 2.4 ㎡ shade/animal will not further enhance feedlot performance. The use of fans in combination with shade increases ADG and gain efficiency beyond that of shade, alone. These enhancements were not associated with increased DMI, but rather, to an amelioration of ambient temperature humidity index on maintenance energy requirement.

The Changes in the Characteristics and Distribution of Maquiladora Industries in Mexico (멕시코 마낄라도라산업의 특성과 분포 변화)

  • Kim, Hee-Soon
    • Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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    • v.11 no.2
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    • pp.251-271
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    • 2008
  • Maquiladora industries have grown due to the decrease in labor costs caused by Mexico's economic crisis and the increase in possibility of Mexico's advance into North American markets caused by the NAFTA that come into effect since the 1980s and 1990s. Early Marquiladora industries have started to be located in the Northern borders of Mexico using young-female labor forces centered on the textile and electronic part industries. However, after the 1980s, the port soared, and the regional range of Maquiladora industries has also enlarged to 25 states. The most important regions of Maquiladora industries in Mexico are Chihuahua and Baja California and their cities are Ciudad Juares and Tijuana. Maquiladora industries had grown in terms of the cost of product and the employment until the end of the 1990s. However, Maquiladora industries have decreased in the cost of product and the employment since the 2000s. The regional range of Maquiladora industries has enlarged into the entire of Mexico, but most of Maquilador industries is still located in Northern border regions centered on six states. The textile industry is a representative one of Maquiladora industries and the early Maquilador industries have been focused on the textile industry. Thus, the textile industry in Maquiladora shows the same pattern as any other industries in Mexico. However, machinery and electronic part industries have been concentrated on the Northern border states and existing manufacturing zones. In terms of the change in employment by industry, machinery and electronic part industries occupied most high employment proportion and the textile industry sector was the next. The distinguished point is that service industries are growing.

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