How much of the Mexican agricultural supply is produced by small farms, and how?

The contribution of small farms to the global food supply is in debate due to lack of empirical evidence. In Mexico, small farms have been relatively important for national food supply due to an agrarian reform in the first half of the 20th century, but their role has been decreasing in the last decades. The aim of this study is to quantify how much small farms produce of the Mexican agricultural supply, and with which farming practices, using the 2019 National Agricultural Survey. The results show that small farms produce 19% of the national agricultural production with similar farming practices to those of medium and large farms. When considering imports and exports, small farms produce 15% of the national agricultural supply. The production of small farms consists mainly of cash crops (e.g. sugar cane, fruits & vegetables, animal products, fodder crops) and, to a lesser extent, staple crops such as maize and beans. The fact that small farms produce one fifth of the national production after decades of governmental support towards large farms suggests that they have resilient production systems. The results of this study support that stronger efforts should be made to enhance the role of small farms in achieving Mexican food sovereignty. This will not only have benefits in terms of food supply but may also have a wide range of social and environmental benefits.

Anticoagulación en paciente con síndrome de Lemierre y embolias sépticas pulmonares / Anticoagulation in a patient with Lemierre syndrome and pulmonary septic embolisms

Resumen El síndrome de Lemierre, también denominado trom boflebitis séptica de la vena yugular interna, necrobaci losis o sepsis postanginal es una infección que inicia en el espacio orofaríngeo, se complica con tromboflebitis séptica de la vena yugular interna y metástasis infeccio sas. La rápida progresión a cuadros clínicos graves que comprometen la vida del paciente y su baja frecuencia justifican la divulgación de casos clínicos. Se presenta el caso de una mujer de 27 años de edad, que a las 48 horas de completar el tratamiento con fenoximetilpenicilina por una infección odontógena evolucionó con edema facial y trismus. En la angio-TC de macizo craneofacial se evidenció extenso trombo en la vena yugular interna y en la tomografía computarizada de tórax, embolias sépticas pulmonares. El tratamiento consistió en antibió ticos endovenosos de amplio espectro y anticoagulación de manera precoz.

Abstract Lemierre's syndrome, also called septic thrombo phlebitis of the internal jugular vein, necrobacillosis or postanginal sepsis, is an infection that begins in the oropharyngeal space, is complicated by septic throm bophlebitis of the internal jugular vein and infectious metastases. The rapid progression to serious clinical conditions that compromise the patient's life and its low frequency justify the disclosure of clinical cases. We present the case of a 27-year-old woman who de veloped facial edema and trismus 48 hours after com pleting treatment with phenoxymethylpenicillin for an odontogenic infection. An angio-CT of the craniofacial massif revealed an extensive thrombus in the internal jugular vein and a computed tomography of the chest showed septic pulmonary emboli. Treatment consisted of broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics and early anticoagulation.

Global shocks, cascading disruptions, and (re-)connections: viewing the COVID-19 pandemic as concurrent natural experiments to understand land system dynamics.

Context: For nearly three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted human well-being and livelihoods, communities, and economies in myriad ways with consequences for social-ecological systems across the planet. The pandemic represents a global shock in multiple dimensions that has already, and is likely to continue to have, far-reaching effects on land systems and on those depending on them for their livelihoods. Objectives: We focus on the observed effects of the pandemic on landscapes and people composing diverse land systems across the globe. Methods: We highlight the interrelated impacts of the pandemic shock on the economic, health, and mobility dimensions of land systems using six vignettes from different land systems on four continents, analyzed through the lens of socio-ecological resilience and the telecoupling framework. We present preliminary comparative insights gathered through interviews, surveys, key informants, and authors' observations and propose new research avenues for land system scientists. Results: The pandemic's effects have been unevenly distributed, context-specific, and dependent on the multiple connections that link land systems across the globe. Conclusions: We argue that the pandemic presents concurrent "natural experiments" that can advance our understanding of the intricate ways in which global shocks produce direct, indirect, and spillover effects on local and regional landscapes and land systems. These propagating shock effects disrupt existing connections, forge new connections, and re-establish former connections between peoples, landscapes, and land systems. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10980-023-01604-2.

[Anticoagulation in a patient with Lemierre syndrome and pulmonary septic embolisms]. / Anticoagulación en paciente con síndrome de Lemierre y embolias sépticas pulmonares.

Lemierre's syndrome, also called septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein, necrobacillosis or postanginal sepsis, is an infection that begins in the oropharyngeal space, is complicated by septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein and infectious metastases. The rapid progression to serious clinical conditions that compromise the patient's life and its low frequency justify the disclosure of clinical cases. We present the case of a 27-year-old woman who developed facial edema and trismus 48 hours after completing treatment with phenoxymethylpenicillin for an odontogenic infection. An angio-CT of the craniofacial massif revealed an extensive thrombus in the internal jugular vein and a computed tomography of the chest showed septic pulmonary emboli. Treatment consisted of broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics and early anticoagulation.

El síndrome de Lemierre, también denominado tromboflebitis séptica de la vena yugular interna, necrobacilosis o sepsis postanginal es una infección que inicia en el espacio orofaríngeo, se complica con tromboflebitis séptica de la vena yugular interna y metástasis infecciosas. La rápida progresión a cuadros clínicos graves que comprometen la vida del paciente y su baja frecuencia justifican la divulgación de casos clínicos. Se presenta el caso de una mujer de 27 años de edad, que a las 48 horas de completar el tratamiento con fenoximetilpenicilina por una infección odontógena evolucionó con edema facial y trismus. En la angio-TC de macizo craneofacial se evidenció extenso trombo en la vena yugular interna y en la tomografía computarizada de tórax, embolias sépticas pulmonares. El tratamiento consistió en antibióticos endovenosos de amplio espectro y anticoagulación de manera precoz.

Landscape products for sustainable agricultural landscapes.

Landscape products link to low-input practices and traditional ecological knowledge, and have multiple functions supporting human well-being and sustainability. Here we explore seven landscape products worldwide to identify these multiple functions in the context of food commodification and landscape sustainability. We show that a landscape products lens can improve food systems by fostering sustainability strategies and standards that are place-sensitive, and as such can mitigate conflicts related to food production, social justice and the environment. Co-management strategies and information policies, such as certification, labelling, product information and raising of awareness could accelerate, incentivize and catalyse actions to support landscape products in the context of sustainability strategies.

[Utility of prenatal screening for Congenital Chagas Disease in Chile]. / Utilidad del tamizaje prenatal de enfermedad de Chagas congénita en Chile.

Chagas Disease is a pathology caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. It is considered a public health issue, especially its congenital transmission, not only in endemic countries but also in non endemic ones, being the main form of transmission in Chile. Objectives: To describe a congenital Chagas Disease case and to report about the usefulness of prenatal screening for Chagas Disease. Cli nical Case: A 29-week preterm newborn of a multiparous mother with Chagas Disease detected in the perinatal screening of current pregnancy. Due to history of Trypanosoma cruzi, PCR was performed on the 4th day of life resulting undetectable. At the 6th and the 8th week of life, a macular erythema tous rash and fever and respiratory distress were observed, respectively, both self-limited. At the 8th week of life, as a routine prematurity follow-up, a fundus examination was performed which showed bilateral retinal granulation, therefore, a TORCH study was performed with a negative result. Also, in this same week, a second Trypanosoma cruzi PCR was performed, with a positive result. Lab tests reported visualization of trypomastigotes, confirming the Congenital Chagas Disease diagnosis. The patient was treated with Nifurtimox, presenting an adverse reaction at 35 days of treatment with neu tropenia, vomiting, and poor weight gain. The treating drug was replaced by Benznidazole, achieving 60 days of treatment. At 22 months of chronologic age, the patient has remained asymptomatic. Con clusions: It is necessary to increase efforts in prevention, early detection, and study of direct relatives. This report is an example of the usefulness of Chagas disease prenatal screening for the detection and early treatment of new cases.

Epidemiology and Genetic Variability of Circulating Influenza B Viruses in Uruguay, 2012-2019.

Influenza B viruses (IBV) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality during interpandemic periods in the human population. Two phylogenetically distinct IBV lineages, B/Yamagata and B/Victoria, co-circulate worldwide and they present challenges for vaccine strain selection. Until the present study, there was little information regarding the pattern of the circulating strains of IBV in Uruguay. A subset of positive influenza B samples from influenza-like illness (ILI) outpatients and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) inpatients detected in sentinel hospitals in Uruguay during 2012-2019 were selected. The sequencing of the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes showed substitutions at the amino acid level. Phylogenetic analysis reveals the co-circulation of both lineages in almost all seasonal epidemics in Uruguay, and allows recognizing a lineage-level vaccine mismatch in approximately one-third of the seasons studied. The epidemiological results show that the proportion of IBV found in ILI was significantly higher than the observed in SARI cases across different groups of age (9.7% ILI, 3.2% SARI) and patients between 5-14 years constituted the majority (33%) of all influenza B infection (p < 0.05). Interestingly, we found that individuals >25 years were particularly vulnerable to Yamagata lineage infections.

Population genomics of parallel evolution in gene expression and gene sequence during ecological adaptation.

Natural selection often produces parallel phenotypic changes in response to a similar adaptive challenge. However, the extent to which parallel gene expression differences and genomic divergence underlie parallel phenotypic traits and whether they are decoupled or not remains largely unexplored. We performed a population genomic study of parallel ecological adaptation among replicate ecotype pairs of the rough periwinkle (Littorina saxatilis) at a regional geographical scale (NW Spain). We show that genomic changes underlying parallel phenotypic divergence followed a complex pattern of both repeatable differences and of differences unique to specific ecotype pairs, in which parallel changes in expression or sequence are restricted to a limited set of genes. Yet, the majority of divergent genes were divergent either for gene expression or coding sequence, but not for both simultaneously. Overall, our findings suggest that divergent selection significantly contributed to the process of parallel molecular differentiation among ecotype pairs, and that changes in expression and gene sequence underlying phenotypic divergence could, at least to a certain extent, be considered decoupled processes.

Assessing variability in compliance with recommendations given by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) for patients with type 2 diabetes in primary care using electronic records. The APNA study.

OBJECTIVE: Assess compliance with the IDF recommendations for patients with Diabetes Type2 (DM2), and its variability, by groups of doctors and nurses who provide primary care services in Navarre (Spain). MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGIES: A cross-sectional study of a population of 462,568 inhabitants, aged ≥18 years in 2013, attended by 381 units of doctor/nurse (quota). Clinical data were collected retrospectively through electronic records. Using cluster analysis, we identified two groups of units according to the score for each indicator. We calculated the Odds Ratio, adjusted for age sex, BMI, socioeconomic status and smoking, for complying with each recommendation whether a patient was treated by one of the quota from the highest score to the lowest. 30,312 patients with DM2 were identified: prevalence: 6.39%; coefficient of variation between UDN: 22.8%; biggest cluster 7.7% and smallest 5.3%; OR=1.54 (1.50-1.58). The HbA1c control at ≤8% was 82.8% (82.2-83.3) and >9% was 7.6% (7.3-8.0), with OR 1.79 (1.69-1.89) and 2.62 (2.36-2.91) respectively. Control of BP and LDL-C show significant differences between the clusters. CONCLUSIONS: An important variability was identified according to the doctor treating patients. The average HbA1c control is acceptable being limited in BP and LDL-C.

Size selection by a gape-limited predator of a marine snail: Insights into magic traits for speciation.

The intertidal snail Littorina saxatilis has repeatedly evolved two parallel ecotypes assumed to be wave adapted and predatory shore crab adapted, but the magnitude and targets of predator-driven selection are unknown. In Spain, a small, wave ecotype with a large aperture from the lower shore and a large, thick-shelled crab ecotype from the upper shore meet in the mid-shore and show partial size-assortative mating. We performed complementary field tethering and laboratory predation experiments; the first set compared the survival of two different size-classes of the crab ecotype while the second compared the same size-class of the two ecotypes. In the first set, the large size-class of the crab ecotype survived significantly better than the small size-class both on the upper shore and in the laboratory. In the second set, the small size-class of the crab ecotype survived substantially better than that of the wave ecotype both on the upper shore and in the laboratory. Shell-breaking predation on tethered snails was almost absent within the lower shore. In the laboratory shore crabs (Pachygrapsus marmoratus) with larger claw heights selected most strongly against the small size-class of the crab ecotype, whereas those with medium claw heights selected most strongly against the thin-shelled wave ecotype. Sexual maturity occurred at a much larger size in the crab ecotype than in the wave ecotype. Our results showed that selection on the upper shore for rapid attainment of a size refuge from this gape-limited predator favors large size, thick shells, and late maturity. Model parameterization showed that size-selective predation restricted to the upper shore resulted in the evolution of the crab ecotype despite gene flow from the wave ecotype snails living on the lower shore. These results on gape-limited predation and previous ones showing size-assortative mating between ecotypes suggest that size may represent a magic trait for the thick-shelled ecotype.

Development of a customized whiteness index for dentistry based on CIELAB color space.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a customized CIELAB-based whiteness index for dentistry that accurately correlates to perception of tooth whiteness. METHODS: Four psychophysical experiments (PE1-4) were conducted by three panels of observers (OP1-3) under diffuse/0° observation/measuring conditions and under typical clinical viewing conditions. Nine whiteness indices (WI, Z%, WIC, WIO, W31, W64, W, WLAB, W*), two yellowness indices (YID1925, YIE313) and tint of white in the CIELAB color system (T) were compared with regard to their ability to measure the perceived whiteness of human teeth. Determination coefficient (R(2)) and '% wrong decision' (%WD) method were used as direct measures of the quality of the indices for whiteness perception in dentistry. RESULTS: CIELAB-based whiteness index (WID=0.511L* -2.324a* -1.100b*) was developed through optimization from the data obtained in PE1. The proposed WID performed better than all the CIELAB and CIE1931 XYZ-based indices under laboratory and clinical conditions (only WIO was comparable to WID in PE2 and PE4). CONCLUSION: The validation experiments under laboratory and typical clinical conditions revealed that the proposed index WID outperformed previous indices, being the only CIELAB-based index developed for evaluation of whiteness in dentistry.

Global changes in diets and the consequences for land requirements for food.

Provision of food is a prerequisite for the functioning of human society. Cropland where food and feed are grown is the central, limiting resource for food production. The amount of cropland needed depends on population numbers, average food consumption patterns, and output per unit of land. Around the globe, these factors show large differences. We use data from the Food and Agriculture Organization to consistently assess subcontinental dynamics of how much land was needed to supply the prevailing diets during a span of 46 y, from 1961 to 2007. We find that, in most regions, diets became richer while the land needed to feed one person decreased. A decomposition approach is used to quantify the contributions of the main drivers of cropland requirements for food: changes in population, agricultural technology, and diet. We compare the impact of these drivers for different subcontinents and find that potential land savings through yield increases were offset by a combination of population growth and dietary change. The dynamics of the three factors were the largest in developing regions and emerging economies. The results indicate an inverse relationship between the two main drivers behind increased land requirements for food: with socioeconomic development, population growth decreases and, at the same time, diets become richer. In many regions, dietary change may override population growth as major driver behind land requirements for food in the near future.

Color difference thresholds in dental ceramics.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to determine the perceptibility and acceptability thresholds for dental ceramics using CIEDE2000 (ΔE(00)) and CIELAB (ΔE(ab)(*)) color difference formulas and a novel TSK Fuzzy Approximation. METHODS: A 13-observer panel performed independent observations of perceptibility and acceptability judgments on 105 pairs of ceramic discs (14mm in diameter and 3mm thick). Color differences of the disc pairs were calculated using both color difference formulas (ΔE(00) ranged from 0.10 to 9.91). Two fitting procedures were used: S-shaped curve and TSK Fuzzy Approximation. For both procedures, from the resultant fitting curves, the 95% confidence intervals were estimated and the 50:50% thresholds were calculated (50% positive and 50% negative answers). RESULTS: With the S-shaped fitting procedure, a 50:50% acceptability threshold was found to be ΔE(00)=2.25 (r(2)=0.88) and ΔE(ab)(*)=3.46 (r(2)=0.85). Corresponding values with a TSK Fuzzy Approximation were ΔE(00)=2.23 (r(2)=0.89) and ΔE(ab)(*)=3.48 (r(2)=0.86). The perceptibility thresholds for fitted S-shape curves were ΔE(00)=1.30 (r(2)=0.74) and ΔE(ab)(*)=1.80 (r(2)=0.70) and ΔE(00)=1.25 (r(2)=0.75), and ΔE(ab)(*)=1.74 (r(2)=0.71) for the TSK Fuzzy Approximation. The ΔL', ΔC', ΔH' values corresponding to a 50% acceptability threshold were ΔL'=2.44, ΔC'=3.15 and ΔH'=3.24 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The CIEDE2000 color difference formula provided a better fit than CIELAB formula in the evaluation of color difference thresholds of dental ceramics. There was a statistically significant difference between perceptibility and acceptability thresholds for dental ceramics. The TSK Fuzzy Approximation has been proved to be a reliable alternative approach for the color threshold calculation procedure.