The Minimum Food Security Quota (MFS-Quota) in Food Security Policy Modelling

This paper proposes the construction of the Minimum Food Security Quota (MFSQuota)using mathematical economic modelling in real time. The MFS-Quota fixes a certain amount of annual food storage to prepare a country for any natural or social disasters. Any country can construct its own MFS-Quota for “food security policy”.- econographicology, food security, economic development

A New Multi-Dimensional Framework for Analyzing Regional Integration: Regional Integration Evaluation (RIE) Methodology

Theories of regional integration typically analyze the regional integration process from the perspective of a single discipline, usually economics. However, such one-dimensional analytical frameworks cannot fully capture the richness and complexity of the inherently multi-dimensional regional integration process. To address the problem, we propose the regional integration evaluation (RIE) methodology which is based on four dimensions of development – economic, political, social and technological. The central idea behind the RIE methodology is that regional development promotes regional integration. Our RIE methodology differs from the existing literature in that it is based on a more comprehensive definition of development than just economic development. Our definition of a region's development incorporates the development levels of all regional countries as well as differences in development levels among regional countries. We apply the RIE methodology to assess the regional development and hence integration prospects of NAFTA, ASEAN, MERCOSUR and EU.Economic integration; economic modeling; NAFTA; ASEAN; MERCOSUR; EU

Inclusiones de flores de Podopterus (Polygonaceae) del ámbar del Mioceno de Simojovel de Allende, Chiapas, México

Background and Aims: The Miocene amber from Chiapas, Mexico, shows high diversity of biological inclusions such as plants, fungi, arthropods, and vertebrates, being one of the most important amber-bearing areas worldwide. The aim of this work is to describe a new record based on four bisexual flowers belonging to the fossil species Podopterus mijangosae, that has been described recently based on its winged fruits only.Methods: The morphological and anatomical characteristics of the four fossil flowers were observed using a binocular stereoscopic microscope. The taxonomic affinity was decided by consulting specialized literature, as well as the review of herbarium material of the genera Podopterus, Fallopia, and Neomillspaughia of Polygonaceae.Key results: The four fossil specimens are bisexual, small, and have actinomorphic flowers, with differentiated perianth, three petals and three sepals per series, stamens are free and with thread-like filaments, anthers are dithecal and basifixed, the ovary is superior, syncarpous, 3-angular, with three free styles, and capitate stigmas. Conclusions: This new report of flowers of Podopterus adds more evidence that the family Polygonaceae was an important component of the tropical forest of Simojovel de Allende, Chiapas, Mexico, during the Miocene.Antecedentes y Objetivos: El ámbar del Mioceno de Chiapas, México, presenta una alta diversidad de inclusiones biológicas como plantas, hongos, artrópodos y vertebrados, siendo una de las áreas productoras de ámbar más importantes a nivel mundial. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir un nuevo registro basado en cuatro flores bisexuales pertenecientes a la especie fósil Podopterus mijangosae, que ha sido descrito recientemente con base solo en sus frutos alados. Métodos: Las características morfológicas y anatómicas de cuatro flores fósiles fueron observadas utilizando un microscopio estereoscópico. La afinidad taxonómica se realizó consultando literatura especializada, así como la revisión de material de herbario de los géneros Podopterus, Fallopia y Neomillspaughia de Polygonaceae.Resultados clave: Los cuatro especímenes fósiles están representadas por flores bisexuales, pequeñas, actinomorfas, con perianto diferenciado, tres pétalos y tres sépalos por serie, estambres libres con filamentos filiformes, anteras ditecas, basifijas, ovario súpero, sincarpo, tri-angular, con tres estilos libres y estigmas capitados. Conclusiones: Este nuevo reporte de flores de Podopterus agrega más evidencia de que la familia Polygonaceae fue un componente importante del bosque tropical de Simojovel de Allende, Chiapas, México, durante el Mioceno

Jóvenes y participación social en la educación. Una experiencia en el nivel medio superior de Chiapas, México

Se presenta una experiencia de Participación Social (PS) implementada por el Consejo Municipal de Participación Social en la Educación de Las Margaritas, Chiapas (CMPSE), que tuvo por objetivo detectar los liderazgos juveniles comunitarios para incorporarlos, como representantes de sus centros escolares, al trabajo que viene desarrollando el Consejo. Se expone el marco legal y los límites de la Participación Social en la Educación (PSE); el proceso seguido durante la consulta en los bachilleratos del municipio y la estrategia seguida a través del “Encuentro de Jóvenes y participación social”, espacio donde los estudiantes se constituyeron como comunidad escolar de decisión. Asimismo, se exponen las representaciones y sentidos de la acción que los jóvenes asumen hacia la participación social, destacando que los atributos escolares inciden en el liderazgo juvenil que suscriben, también los sentidos otorgados a la PSE, resaltando la comprensión de ésta como la esfera de las decisiones para la mejora de la calidad educativa; y el sentido práctico de su incorporación al CMPSE quedando enmarcado en dicha mejora y como aporte a su ciudadanía. Encontramos que las posibilidades del protagonismo juvenil están presentes en estas valoraciones, y que la PSE no encuentra sus condiciones de imposibilidad en una supuesta apatía o despolitización juvenil

Scenes From Tick Physiology: Proteins of Sialome Talk About Their Biological Processes

Ticks are blood-sucking parasites with different strategies of feeding depending on the tick family. The major families are Ixodidae or Argasidae, being slow or fast feeders, respectively. In the recent years, the advances in molecular sequencing techniques have enabled to gain knowledge about the proteome of the tick''s salivary glands. But an holistic view of the biological processes underlying the expression of the sialome has been neglected. In this study we propose the use of standard biological processes as a tool to draw the physiology of the tick''s salivary glands. We used published data on the sialome of Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Ixodidae) and Ornithodoros rostratus (Argasidae). A partial set of proteins obtained by these studies were used to define the biological process(es) in which proteins are involved. We used a directed network construction in which the nodes are proteins (source) and biological processes (target), separately for the low-level processes ("children") and the top-level ones ("parents"). We applied the method to feeding R. sanguineus at different time slices, and to different organs of O. rostratus. The network connects the proteins and the processes with a strength directly proportional to the transcript per millions of each protein. We used PageRank as a measure of the importance of each biological process. As suggested in previous studies, the sialome of unfed R. sanguineus express about 30% less biological processes than feeding ticks. Another decrease (25%) is noticed at the middle of the feeding and before detachment. However, top-level processes are deeply affected only at the onset of feeding, demonstrating a redundancy in the feeding. When ixodid-argasid are compared, large differences were observed: they do not share 91% of proteins, but share 90% of the biological processes. However, caution must be observed when examining these results. The hypothesis of different proteins linked to similar biological process(es) in both ticks is an extreme not confirmed in this study. Considering the limitations of this study, carried out with a selected set of proteins, we propose the networks of proteins of sialome linked to their biological processes as a tool aimed to explain the biological processes behind families of proteins

Is composition of vertebrates an indicator of the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens?

Communities of vertebrates tend to appear together under similar ranges of environmental features. This study explores whether an explicit combination of vertebrates and their contact rates with a tick vector might constitute an indicator of the prevalence of a pathogen in the quest for ticks at the western Palearctic scale. We asked how ‘indicator’ communities could be ‘markers’ of the actual infection rates of the tick in the field of two species of Borrelia (a bacterium transmitted by the tick Ixodes ricinus). We approached an unsupervised classification of the territory to obtain clusters on the grounds of abundance of each vertebrate and contact rates with the tick. Statistical models based on Neural Networks, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting, and AdaBoost were detect the best correlation between communities’ composition and the prevalence of Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia gariniii in questing ticks. Both Gradient Boosting and AdaBoost produced the best results, predicting tick infection rates from the indicator communities. A ranking algorithm demonstrated that the prevalence of these bacteria in the tick is correlated with indicator communities of vertebrates on sites selected as a proof-of-concept. We acknowledge that our findings are supported by statistical outcomes, but they provide consistency for a framework that should be deeper explored at the large scale. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

An Agenda for Research of Uncovered Epidemiological Patterns of Tick-Borne Pathogens Affecting Human Health

The panorama of ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBP) is complex due to the many interactions among vertebrates, vectors, and habitats, occurring at different scales. At a broad spatial range, climate and host availability regulate most tick processes, including questing activity, development, and survival. At a local scale, interactions are obscured by a high indeterminacy, making it arduous to record in field surveys. A solid modelling framework could translate the local/regional empirical findings into larger scales, shedding light on the processes governing the circulation of TBP. In this opinion paper, we advocate for a re-formulation of some paradigms in the research of these outstanding cycles of transmission. We propose revisiting concepts that faced criticisms or lacked solid support, together with the development of a conceptual scheme exploring the circulation of TBP under a range of conditions. We encourage (i) an adequate interpretation of the niche concept of both ticks and vertebrate/reservoir hosts interpreting the (a)biotic components that shape the tick’s niche, (ii) an assessment of the role played by the communities of wild vertebrates on the circulation of pathogens, and (iii) the development of new approaches, based on state-of-the-art epidemiological concepts, to integrate findings and modelling efforts on TBP over large regions