RESUMEN
Introduction: Acute leukemias (AL) are the main types of cancer in children worldwide. In Mexico, they represent one of the main causes of death in children under 20 years of age. Most of the studies on the incidence of AL in Mexico have been developed in the urban context of Greater Mexico City and no previous studies have been conducted in the central-south of the country through a population-based study. The aim of the present work was to identify the general and specific incidence rates of pediatric AL in three states of the south-central region of Mexico considered as some of the marginalized populations of Mexico (Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Oaxaca). Methods: A population-based study was conducted. Children aged less than 20 years, resident in these states, and newly diagnosed with AL in public/private hospitals during the period 2021-2022 were identified. Crude incidence rates (cIR), standardized incidence rates (ASIRw), and incidence rates by state subregions (ASIRsr) were calculated. Rates were calculated using the direct and indirect method and reported per million children under 20 years of age. In addition, specific rates were calculated by age group, sex, leukemia subtype, and immunophenotype. Results: A total of 388 cases with AL were registered. In the three states, the ASIRw for AL was 51.5 cases per million (0-14 years); in Puebla, it was 53.2, Tlaxcala 54.7, and Oaxaca de 47.7. In the age group between 0-19 years, the ASIRw were 44.3, 46.4, 48.2, and 49.6, in Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Oaxaca, respectively. B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia was the most common subtype across the three states. Conclusion: The incidence of childhood AL in the central-south region of Mexico is within the range of rates reported in other populations of Latin American origin. Two incidence peaks were identified for lymphoblastic and myeloid leukemias. In addition, differences in the incidence of the disease were observed among state subregions which could be attributed to social factors linked to the ethnic origin of the inhabitants. Nonetheless, this hypothesis requires further investigation.
RESUMEN
Bioenergy crops are forecast to play a significant role if Ireland is to reach the 2020 and beyond targets set by the European Union's Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The aim of this study is to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with the cultivation of bioenergy crops in Ireland including land-use change (LUC) emissions by using geographical information systems (GIS) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). In this study, GIS is used to identify, and measure LUC changes associated with cultivation of Miscanthus and Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) willow. An LCA study was carried out to estimate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the LUC caused by the cultivation of bioenergy crops. The results find that miscanthus caused 86% of all LUC with SRC Willow accounting for 14%. The LCA results identify two major processes that contribute to total GHG emissions; field operations and loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. Land preparation, harvesting and the production of synthetic fertiliser are found to be the most significant contributors to field emissions. SOC emission for the conversion of pasture to SRC willow accounts for a large proportion of the overall GHG emissions. Conversion of arable land to miscanthus and SRC willow both cause a net reduction of GHG emissions. Sensitivity analysis on the type of fertilisers used and the inclusion of indirect land-use changes (iLUC), highlight the impacts that these have on the overall system performance. The replacement of synthetic fertiliser with biogenic fertiliser reduced overall GHG emissions. The inclusion of general iLUC data results in a large increase in total GHG emissions because of displaced food crops that must be grown elsewhere. The study shows that conversion of arable to miscanthus and SRC willow is preferable when cultivating bioenergy crops while conversion of pasture to SRC willow should be avoided.