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

Synthetic libraries of shark vNAR domains with different cysteine numbers within the CDR3

OLIVIA CABANILLAS BERNAL (2019, [Artículo])

The variable domain of New Antigen Receptors (vNAR) from sharks, present special characteristics in comparison to the conventional antibody molecules such as: small size (12–15 kDa), thermal and chemical stability and great tissue penetration, that makes them a good alternative source as therapeutic or diagnostic agents. Therefore, it is essential to improve techniques used for the development and selection of vNAR antibodies that recognize distinct antigens. The development of synthetic antibody libraries offers a fast option for the generation of antibodies with the desired characteristics. In this work three synthetic antibody libraries were constructed; without cysteines (Cys), with one Cys and with two Cys residues within its CDR3, with the objective of determining whether the presence or absence of Cys in the CDR3 favors the isolation of vNAR clones from a synthetic library. The libraries were validated selecting against six mammalian proteins. At least one vNAR was found for each of the antigens, and a clone coming from the library without Cys in the CDR3 was selected with all the antigens. In vitro angiogenesis assay with the isolated anti-VEGF antibodies, suggest that these vNARs are capable of inhibiting in vitro angiogenesis. In silico analysis of anti-VEGF antibodies showed that vNARs from synthetic libraries could rival antibodies with affinity maturation by in silico modeling. © 2019 Cabanillas-Bernal et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

aquaporin 1, carcinoembryonic antigen, cysteine, fibroblast growth factor 2, glycophorin A, leukemia inhibitory factor, vasculotropin, vasculotropin antibody, angiogenesis inhibitor, antibody, cysteine, lymphocyte antigen receptor, vasculotropin A, a BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOFÍSICA BIOFÍSICA

Community ecology across bacteria, archaea and microbial eukaryotes in the sediment and seawater of coastal Puerto Nuevo, Baja California

Sabah Ul-Hasan (2019, [Artículo])

Microbial communities control numerous biogeochemical processes critical for ecosystem function and health. Most analyses of coastal microbial communities focus on the characterization of bacteria present in either sediment or seawater, with fewer studies characterizing both sediment and seawater together at a given site, and even fewer studies including information about non-bacterial microbial communities. As a result, knowledge about the ecological patterns of microbial biodiversity across domains and habitats in coastal communities is limited–despite the fact that archaea, bacteria, and microbial eukaryotes are present and known to interact in coastal habitats. To better understand microbial biodiversity patterns in coastal ecosystems, we characterized sediment and seawater microbial communities for three sites along the coastline of Puerto Nuevo, Baja California, Mexico using both 16S and 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We found that sediment hosted approximately 500-fold more operational taxonomic units (OTUs) for bacteria, archaea, and microbial eukaryotes than seawater (p < 0.001). Distinct phyla were found in sediment versus seawater samples. Of the top ten most abundant classes, Cytophagia (bacterial) and Chromadorea (eukaryal) were specific to the sediment environment, whereas Cyanobacteria and Bacteroidia (bacterial) and Chlorophyceae (eukaryal) were specific to the seawater environment. A total of 47 unique genera were observed to comprise the core taxa community across environment types and sites. No archaeal taxa were observed as part of either the abundant or core taxa. No significant differences were observed for sediment community composition across domains or between sites. For seawater, the bacterial and archaeal community composition was statistically different for the Major Outlet site (p < 0.05), the site closest to a residential area, and the eukaryal community composition was statistically different between all sites (p < 0.05). Our findings highlight the distinct patterns and spatial heterogeneity in microbial communities of a coastal region in Baja California, Mexico. This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.

BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOFÍSICA BIOFÍSICA

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

La relación entre el crimen y ciclo económico en México: un enfoque espacial

Ricardo Masahiro Solis Ichien (2021, [Tesis de maestría])

En este trabajo se analiza la influencia del ciclo económico sobre los niveles de crimen en México desde el marco conceptual de la teoría de Cantor y Land (1985), los cuales distinguen el efecto de oportunidad y motivación criminal. Se presenta el análisis para el caso mexicano y se evalúa empíricamente el modelo de Cantor y Land para las 32 entidades federativas con datos trimestrales del 2010 a 2019. Utilizando un modelo econométrico que incorpora la interacción espacial en la tasa de crímenes y en el término de error, así como su rezago temporal, al que se le denomina como modelo espacial autorregresivo con errores autorregresivos de orden 1 (SARAR (1,1)) dinámico, se evalúa el modelo para siete tipos de crímenes: homicidios dolosos, secuestros, extorsiones, robo a negocios, robo a casa-habitación, robo de vehículo y robo a transeúnte. Los resultados muestran que se verifica la teoría de Cantor y Land (1985) para cuatro de los siete tipos de delitos. Los robos analizados se caracterizan como robos de necesidad y robos de especialización. Se encuentra evidencia del comportamiento espacial de la actividad criminal donde algunos delitos tienen un efecto regional y otros se concentran.

Crime -- Effect of business cycles on -- Mexico -- Econometric models. Violence -- Effect of business cycles on -- Mexico -- Econometric models. CIENCIAS SOCIALES CIENCIAS SOCIALES

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

Chapter 11. Genomic insights on global journeys of adaptive wheat genes that brought us to modern wheat

deepmala sehgal Laura Dixon Diego Pequeno Jose Crossa Alison Bentley Susanne Dreisigacker (2024, [Capítulo de libro])

Hexaploid Wheat Adaptive Genes Novel Genomic Regions Gene-Based Modeling Process-Based Modeling Global Food Security CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA HEXAPLOIDY WHEAT QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI MODELLING FOOD SECURITY

Impact of different on-farm management practices on bread wheat quality: a case study in the Yaqui Valley

Facundo Tabbita Iván Ortíz-Monasterios Francisco Javier Pinera-Chavez Maria Itria Ibba Carlos Guzman (2023, [Artículo])

BACKGROUND: Continuous development of new wheat varieties is necessary to satisfy the demands of farmers, industry, and consumers. The evaluation of candidate genotypes for commercial release under different on-farm conditions is a strategy that has been strongly recommended to assess the performance and stability of new cultivars in heterogeneous environments and under different farming systems. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the grain yield and quality performance of ten different genotypes across six contrasting farmers' field conditions with different irrigation and nitrogen fertilization levels, and to develop suggestions to aid breeding programs and farmers to use resources more efficiently. Genotype and genotype by environment (GGE) interaction biplot analyses were used to identify the genotypes with the strongest performance and greatest stability in the Yaqui Valley. RESULTS: Analyses showed that some traits were mainly explained by the genotype effect, others by the field management conditions, and the rest by combined effects. The most representative and diverse field conditions in the Yaqui Valley were also identified, a useful strategy when breeders have limited resources. The independent effects of irrigation and nitrogen levels and their interaction were analyzed for each trait. The results showed that full irrigation was not always necessary to maximize grain yield in the Yaqui Valley. Other suggestions for more efficient use of resources are proposed. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of on-farm trials with GGE interaction analyses is an effective strategy to include in breeding programs to improve processes and resources. Identifying the most outstanding and stable genotypes under real on-farm systems is key to the development of novel cultivars adapted to different management and environmental conditions.

Wheat Quality Bread Wheat Bread-Making CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA SOFT WHEAT QUALITY FARMING SYSTEMS

The new proletariat of the north at Ciudad Juarez: Current trends.

Nolberto Tlacaelel Acosta Pérez (2022, [Artículo, Artículo])

The arrival of the nowadays renamed Manufacturing, Maquiladora and Export Service Industry brought within the formation of a new labor subject in the region: the new proletariat of the north. The proposal of the present article is to identify and describe the specific traits of this working class sub-fraction, by a reevaluation of its meaning, the most relevant socioeconomic indicators which serve to understand it, the political organization chapters that it has undertaken in the past years, and its most characteristic cultural attributes.

new proletariat of the north maquiladora U.S.-Mexico border social classes Ciudad Juarez nuevo proletariado del norte frontera norte clases sociales Ciudad Juárez CIENCIAS SOCIALES CIENCIAS SOCIALES

Evaluación del uso de vibriófagos encapsulados en el alimento para el control de Vibrio parahaemolitycus causante de AHPND en el camarón Penaeus vannamei

Esther Imelda Ponce García (2023, [Tesis de maestría])

"Las enfermedades causadas por bacterias del género Vibrio en el cultivo de camarón son de gran importancia debido a su impacto negativo en la industria acuícola. Estas bacterias pueden causar diversas enfermedades en camarones, como la necrosis hepatopancreática aguda (AHPND). La fagoterapia es una alternativa para el biocontrol de estas bacterias patógenas que presenta importantes ventajas, como la alta especificidad a sus huéspedes, la replicación en el sitio de infección, y la capacidad de infectar a bacterias resistentes a antibióticos. Sin embargo, la estabilidad de los fagos en el sistema de cultivo es una preocupación latente, ya que los fagos presentan una estabilidad limitada en solución y experimentan una caída significativa en el título de fagos durante el procesamiento y almacenamiento. El método de encapsulación de bacteriófagos, un área que aún no se estudia del todo, se presenta como una potencial alternativa para atender esta problemática. En el presente estudio se evaluó la eficacia terapéutica de un cóctel de bacteriófagos (vB_Vp_PvVp05, vB_Vp_PvVp07 y vB_Vp_PvVp11), encapsulados en alginato de sodio comercial y de mediana viscosidad, pectina, carboxilmetilcelulosa, liposomas y liofilizado en pectina como agente de biocontrol de Vibrio parahaemolyticus para su uso en terapias fagicas pasiva y activa. Se observó que el encapsulado en alginato de sodio de mediana viscosidad presentó la mayor liberación de fagos activos y al momento de ser incorporado a alimento para camarón y horneados a 80 – 100°C, se mantuvo una concentración de 1.3 x105 UFP/g después de 100 días de almacenamiento. Para la evaluación de las terapias pasiva y activa se realizó una infección experimental en juveniles de Penaeus vannamei para conocer la efectividad de los encapsulados, utilizando para la terapia pasiva la cepa Vp M0904 y para la activa la cepa Vp M0605. El experimento de terapia pasiva mostró una mortalidad del 80.6% en los camarones a las 48 hpi (p > 0.05) y una concentración de 5 x102 UFC/mL de Vibrio spp. no fermentativos en TCBS. En el caso de la terapia activa no se presentó mortalidades, pero hubo una disminución de la concentración de Vibrio spp. no fermentativos en TCBS con 5.56 x101 UFC/mL a las 48 hpi (p < 0.05) y aumentó la densidad de vibriófagos en 1.4 x102 UFP/mL en el agua de los acuarios (p < 0.05)..."

"Diseases caused by bacteria of the Vibrio genus in shrimp farming are of great importance due to their negative impact on the aquaculture industry. These bacteria can cause various diseases in shrimp, such as acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND). Phage therapy is an alternative for the biocontrol of these pathogenic bacteria, offering significant advantages, including high specificity to their hosts, replication at the infection site, and the ability to infect antibiotic-resistant bacteria. However, the stability of phages in the farming system is a persistent concern, as phages have limited stability in solution and undergo a significant drop in phage titer during processing and storage. The method of bacteriophage encapsulation, an area that is not yet fully explored, emerges as a potential alternative to address this issue. In this study, the therapeutic efficacy of a cocktail of bacteriophages (vB_Vp_PvVp05, vB_Vp_PvVp07, and vB_Vp_PvVp11), encapsulated in commercial medium-viscosity sodium alginate, pectin, carboxymethylcellulose, liposomes, and lyophilized pectin, was evaluated as a biocontrol agent against Vibrio parahaemolyticus for use in passive and active phage therapies. It was observed that encapsulation in medium-viscosity sodium alginate showed the highest release of active phages, maintaining a concentration of 1.3 x 105 PFU/g after 100 days of storage when incorporated into shrimp feed and baked at 80–100°C.For the evaluation of passive and active therapies, an experimental infection was conducted on Penaeus vannamei juveniles to assess the effectiveness of the encapsulated phages. The passive therapy experiment showed a mortality rate of 80.6% in shrimp at 48 hpi (p > 0.05) and a concentration of 5 x 102 CFU/mL of non-fermentative Vibrio spp. on TCBS agar. In the case of active therapy, no mortalities were observed, but there was a decrease in the concentration of non-fermentative Vibrio sp. on TCBS agar to 5.56 x 101 CFU/mL at 48 hpi (p < 0.05), and the density of vibriophages increased to 1.4 x 102 PFU/mL in the aquarium water (p < 0.05). It was determined that passive therapy offered no advantage for the control of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, unlike active therapy, which proved to be effective in controlling this bacterium."

vibriófagos, encapsulado, Penaeus vannamei, terapia activa, terapia pasiva vibriophages, encapsulated, active therapy, passive therapy BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA MICROBIOLOGÍA BACTERIÓFAGOS BACTERIÓFAGOS