Value chain research and development: The quest for impact

Jason Donovan (2023, [Artículo])

Motivation: For decades, governments, donors, and practitioners have promoted market-based development approaches (MBDA), most recently in the form of value chain development (VCD), to spur economic growth and reduce poverty. Changes in approaches have been shaped by funders, practitioners and researchers in ways that are incompletely appreciated. Purpose: We address the following questions: (1) how have researchers and practitioners shaped discussions on MBDA?; and (2) how has research stimulated practice, and how has practice informed research? We hypothesize that stronger exchange between researchers and practitioners increases the relevance and impact of value chain research and development. Methods and approach: We adopt Downs' (1972) concept of issue-attention cycles, which posits that attention to a particular issue follows a pattern where, first, excitement builds over potential solutions; followed by disenchantment as the inherent complexity, trade-offs, and resources required to solve it become apparent; and consequently attention moves on to a new issue. We review the literature on MBDA to see how far this framing applies. Findings: We identify five cycles of approaches to market-based development over the last 40 or more years: (1) non-traditional agricultural exports; (2) small and medium enterprise development; (3) value chains with a globalization perspective; (4) value chains with an agri-business perspective; and (5) value chain development. The shaping and sequencing of these cycles reflect researchers' tendency to analyse and criticize MBDA, while providing limited guidance on workable improvements; practitioners' reluctance to engage in critical reflection on their programmes; and an institutional and funding environment that encourages new approaches. Policy implications: Future MBDA will benefit from stronger engagement between researchers, practitioners, and funders. Before shifting attention to new concepts and approaches, achievements and failures in previous cycles need to be scrutinized. Evidence-based practice should extend for the length of the issue-attention cycle; preferably it should arrest the cycling of attention. Funders can help by requiring grantees to critically reflect on past action, by providing “safe spaces” for sharing such reflections, and by engaging in joint learning with practitioners and researchers.

Agri-Food Value Chains Issue-Attention Cycles Market-Based Development Approaches CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA VALUE CHAINS PRIVATE SECTOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT SMALLHOLDERS

Alternative cropping and feeding options to enhance sustainability of mixed crop-livestock farms in Bangladesh

Timothy Joseph Krupnik Jeroen Groot (2024, [Artículo])

We investigated alternative cropping and feeding options for large (>10 cows), medium (5–10 cows) and small (≤4 cows) mixed crop – livestock farm types, to enhance economic and environmental performance in Jhenaidha and Meherpur districts – locations with increasing dairy production – in south western Bangladesh. Following focus group discussions with farmers on constraints and opportunities, we collected baseline data from one representative farm from each farm size class per district (six in total) to parameterize the whole-farm model FarmDESIGN. The six modelled farms were subjected to Pareto-based multi-objective (differential evolution algorithm) optimization to generate alternative dairy farm and fodder configurations. The objectives were to maximize farm profit, soil organic matter balance, and feed self-reliance, in addition to minimizing feed costs and soil nitrogen losses as indicators of sustainability. The cropped areas of the six baseline farms ranged from 0.6 to 4.0 ha and milk production per cow was between 1,640 and 3,560 kg year−1. Feed self-reliance was low (17%–57%) and soil N losses were high (74–342 kg ha−1 year−1). Subsequent trade-off analysis showed that increasing profit and soil organic matter balance was associated with higher risks of N losses. However, we found opportunities to improve economic and environmental performance simultaneously. Feed self-reliance could be increased by intensifying cropping and substituting fallow periods with appropriate fodder crops. For the farm type with the largest opportunity space and room to manoeuvre, we identified four strategies. Three strategies could be economically and environmentally benign, showing different opportunities for farm development with locally available resources.

Ruminant Feed Pareto-Based Optimization Farm Bioeconomic Model CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA RUMINANT FEEDING BIOECONOMIC MODELS MIXED CROPPING FARMS LIVESTOCK

DIW1 encoding a clade I PP2C phosphatase negatively regulates drought tolerance by de-phosphorylating TaSnRK1.1 in wheat

Jingyi Wang Chaonan Li Long Li Matthew Paul Reynolds Jizeng Jia Xinguo Mao Ruilian Jing (2023, [Artículo])

Association Analysis Elite Genetic Resources Map‐Based Clones Protein Phosphatase 2C CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA DROUGHT GENETIC RESOURCES PROTEINS WHEAT WILTING

High-throughput plot-level quantitative phenotyping using convolutional neural networks on very high-resolution satellite images

Francisco Pinto Matthew Paul Reynolds Robert Furbank (2024, [Artículo])

Deep Learning Object-Based Image Analysis Optical Imagery CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURE IMAGE ANALYSIS PLANT BREEDING REMOTE SENSING MACHINE LEARNING

Using homosoils for quantitative extrapolation of soil mapping models

Andree Nenkam Alexandre Wadoux Budiman Minasny Alex McBratney Pierre C. Sibiry Traore Gatien Falconnier Anthony Whitbread (2022, [Artículo])

Cubist Digital Soil Mapping Model-Based Validation Soil Spatial Variation Soil-Forming Factors CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA LAND USE ORGANIC CARBON SOIL SURVEYS SPATIAL VARIATIONS

Trade-off in the design of sustainable cropping systems at a regional level: A case study on the North China plain

Jeroen Groot XiaoLin Yang (2022, [Artículo])

Holistic Analysis Model-Based Analysis CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CROP ROTATION FOOD SECURITY WATER USE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ECONOMIC VIABILITY

Unsupervised segmentation and clustering time series approach to Southern Africa rainfall regime changes

Lovemore  Chipindu Walter Mupangwa Isaiah Nyagumbo Mainassara Zaman-Allah (2023, [Artículo])

Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Facebook Prophet Hidden Markov Model Regression Regression with Hidden Logistic Process CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA COASTAL AREAS SEMIARID ZONES SUBHUMID ZONES RAINFALL CLIMATE CHANGE

Procesos oceanográficos asociados al desarrollo y dispersión de florecimientos de Gymnodinium catenatum en el norte del Golfo de California

Oceanographic processes associated with harmful algal blooms of Gymnodinium catenatum development and dispersal in the northern Gulf of California

GABRIELA RESENDIZ COLORADO (2023, [Tesis de doctorado])

Durante los últimos años, durante la temporada de invierno y primavera, se ha detectado la presencia de florecimientos algales nocivos (FAN) causados por el dinoflagelado Gymnodinium catenatum en el norte del golfo de California (NGC). Estos eventos tienen impactos ecológicos, económicos y sociales negativos porque G. catenatum es una especie productora de saxitoxina, la cual, está asociada al envenenamiento paralítico por consumo de mariscos, lo que origina que la autoridad sanitaria se vea en la necesidad de implementar vedas en áreas de extracción de almeja generosa en el NGC al detectar producto contaminado. Por lo tanto, es necesario conocer los procesos físicos que provocan la ocurrencia y recurrencia de estos eventos, así como contar con un sistema de monitoreo y alerta temprana que permita tomar decisiones y acciones oportunas de mitigación contra los efectos perjudiciales de estos fenómenos. En este trabajo se abordaron estas necesidades de investigación por medio de la implementación de un método de detección remota de estos FAN, utilizando la clasificación de máxima verosimilitud basada en los datos de dos eventos sucedidos en 2015 y 2017. Los resultados de este enfoque fueron satisfactorios al reproducir la temporalidad de la presencia de la especie documentada por medio de muestreos semanales en la bahía de San Felipe, así como de la detección geográfica en las áreas que se conocen que son afectadas recurrentemente. Para estudiar los procesos físicos asociados a estos FAN, se implementó un modelo hidrodinámico usando el Sistema de Modelación Oceánica Regional (ROMS) para el norte del golfo de California. A partir de este modelo se obtuvieron datos de variables como energía cinética turbulenta, temperatura, corrientes y se complementaron con datos de esfuerzo de fondo producido por oleaje estimados a partir de datos de la quinta generación del reanálisis atmosférico del clima global del ECMWF (ERA-5), los análisis de estas variables y la abundancia semanal de G. catenatum permitieron identificar que los principales procesos asociados a la formación de estos florecimientos es el incremento del esfuerzo de fondo asociado al oleaje y la turbulencia. Estos, a su vez, tienen una relación con el cambio en el patrón del viento que se caracteriza por ser del noroeste durante las temporadas de invierno y primavera. Respecto a la dispersión de los florecimientos algales, con base en los datos obtenidos del modelo hidrodinámico, se realizaron experimentos

During the recent winter and spring seasons, harmful algal blooms (HABs) caused by the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum have been detected in the northern Gulf of California (NGC). These events have negative ecological, economic, and social impacts because G. catenatum is a species producer of saxitoxin, which is associated with paralytic shellfish poisoning, which causes the need to implement bans by the health authority in extraction areas of generous clam in the NGC when detecting contaminated products. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the physical processes that cause the occurrence and recurrence of these events and have a monitoring and early warning system that allows timely decisions and mitigation actions to be taken against the harmful effects of these henomena. In this work, these research gaps are approached by implementing a remote detection method for these HABs, using maximum likelihood classification based on data from two events in 2015 and 2017. The results of this approach were satisfactory by reproducing the temporality presence of Gymnodinium catenatum documented through weekly sampling in San Felipe Bay, as well as geographic detection in areas known to be recurrently affected. To study the physical processes associated with these HABs, a hydrodynamic model was implemented using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) for the northern Gulf of California. From this model, variables such as turbulent kinetic energy, temperature, and currents were obtained and were complemented with data on bottom stress produced by waves estimated from the fifth generation ECMWF atmospheric reanalysis of the global climate (ERA-5) data. Analyzing these variables and the weekly abundance of G. catenatum, it was possible that the processes associated with forming these blooms are the increase in bottom stress related to waves and turbulence. These processes are related to the change in the wind pattern characterized by northwest winds during the winter and spring seasons. Regarding the dispersion of algal blooms, based on the data obtained from the hydrodynamic model, lagrangian experiments were carried out to estimate the transport of the HAB. The results showed that the modeled dispersion corresponds with the detection carried out with the remote sensing method mplemented in this work for the 2017 event. The results obtained from this work are essential knowledge for the operational implementation of monitoring and early warning systems ..

Gymnodinium catenatum, florecimientos algales nocivos, percepción remota, modelación hidrodinámica, norte del golfo de California : Gymnodinium catenatum, harmful algal bloom, remote sensing, hydrodynamic modeling, northern Gulf of California BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA OTRAS ESPECIALIDADES DE LA BIOLOGÍA OTRAS OTRAS

Detección de eventos violentos en publicaciones de redes sociales

Detection of violent events in social media publications

Esteban Ponce León (2023, [Tesis de maestría])

En los últimos años, ha habido un interés creciente en el monitoreo de redes sociales para recopilar información y, en algunos casos, para examinar la ocurrencia de delitos. Sin embargo, gran parte de las investigaciones hasta ahora solo se han centrado en ciudades de EE. UU. o extranjeras, y por ende, en publicaciones y conjuntos de datos en inglés El objetivo principal de esta tesis es diseñar un método que permita la identificación de publicaciones de eventos violentos en español y en Twitter, utilizando información multimodal y técnicas de aumento de datos que mejoren el rendimiento de los modelos. Para esto, el trabajo de investigación se dividió en dos fases experimentales. La primera orientada a identificar publicaciones a partir de solo texto, explorando diferentes técnicas de aumento de datos para texto y modelos de aprendizaje máquina y profundo. En la segunda fase, se extendió el método propuesto para abordar la identificación en un contexto multimodal, es decir, considerando tanto los textos de los tweets como las imágenes compartidas que los acompañan. En este caso el método propuesto consideró utilizar descripciones textuales de las imágenes y abordar la problemática desde el dominio textual, además se hicieron 2 tipos de aumento de datos para cada tipo de información. La evaluación de los métodos se hizo utilizando las colecciones de la tarea de evaluación DA-VINCIS 2022 y 2023. Los resultados demostraron una mejora en el rendimiento de los modelos al considerar el uso de información multimodal y el uso de aumento de datos.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in monitoring social networks to gather information and, in some cases, to examine the occurrence of crime. However, much of the research so far has only focused on US or foreign cities, and thus on English-language publications and data sets. The main objective of this thesis is to design a method that allows the identification of publications of violent events in Spanish and on Twitter, using multimodal information and data augmentation techniques that improve the performance of the models. For this, the research work was divided into two experimental phases. The first aimed at identifying publications from only text, exploring different data augmentation techniques for text and machine and deep learning models. In the second phase, the proposed method was extended to address identification in a multimodal context, that is, considering both the texts of the tweets and the shared images that accompany them. In this case, the proposed method considered using textual descriptions of the images and addressing the problem from the textual domain, in addition, 2 types of data augmentation were made for each type of information. The evaluation of the methods was done using the collections of the DA-VINCIS 2022 and 2023 evaluation task. The results demonstrated an improvement in the performance of the models when considering the use of multimodal information and the use of data augmentation.

Detección de Violencia, Redes Sociales, Aumento de Datos, Procesamiento del Lenguaje Natural, BERT, BETO, Descripción de Imágenes Violence Detection, Social Networks, Data Augmentation, Natural Language Processing, BERT, BETO, Image Captioning INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS TECNOLOGÍA DE LOS ORDENADORES MODELOS CAUSALES MODELOS CAUSALES

Variability of Microcirculation Detected by Blood Pulsation Imaging

Alexei Kamshilin (2013, [Artículo])

The non-invasive assessment of blood flow is invaluable for the diagnostic and monitoring treatment of numerous vascular and neurological diseases. We developed a non-invasive and non-contact method of blood pulsation imaging capable of visualizing and monitoring of the two-dimensional distribution of two key parameters of peripheral blood flow: the blood pulsation amplitude and blood pulsation phase. The method is based on the photoplethysmographic imaging in the reflection mode. In contrast with previous imaging systems we use new algorithm for data processing which allows two dimensional mapping of blood pulsations in large object's areas after every cardiac cycle. In our study we carried out the occlusion test of the arm and found (i) the extensive variability of 2D-distribution of blood pulsation amplitude from one cardiac cycle to another, and (ii) existence of the adjacent spots to which the blood is asynchronously supplied. These observations show that the method can be used for studying of the multicomponent regulation of peripheral blood circulation. The proposed technique is technologically simple and cost-effective, which makes it applicable for monitoring the peripheral microcirculation in clinical settings for example, in diagnostics or testing the efficiency of new medicines. © 2013 Kamshilin et al.

algorithm, article, blood analysis, heart cycle, human, human experiment, image analysis, imaging system, male, microcirculation, peripheral circulation, photoelectric plethysmography, process development, Algorithms, Diagnostic Imaging, Diagnostic T CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA MATEMÁTICAS ANÁLISIS NUMÉRICO ANÁLISIS NUMÉRICO