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Export of goods and services is one of the most common ways of internationalization performed by companies. This activity associates various obstacles, internal factors that depend of the firm’s performance, and external environment factors in which firm is involved. Based on the perspective of flower firms located in Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador, this article prioritizes the barriers they face for positioning themselves in the global market. Governmental factors are the obstacle perceived greater interference in external forces, while in the internal forces are the operational factors, although there are considerable differences in the assigned weights in each country. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

By means of the GLM procedure of the SAS statistical package, the effects of the genetic groups (GG) Boer x local (BL), Nubian x local (NL) and local x local (LL) kids, sex of kid (SK), type of birth (TB), age of dam (AD), season (SB) and year (YB) of birth, as well as genotype x environment interactions on birth weight (BW), adjusted weaning weight (AWW) and adjusted yearling weight (AYW) were evaluated. Likewise, the effect of GG on slaughter weight (SW), chilled carcass weight (CW) and dressing percentage (DP) was evaluated in a sample of kids of each genotype. Overall least-squares means for BW, AWW, AYW, SW, CW and DP were 3.3 ± 0.5 kg, 14.4 ± 1.8 kg, 26.6 ± 2.5 kg, 26.1 ± 4.6 kg, 11.1 ± 2.1 kg, and 42.3 ± 3.3%, respectively. Generally, the effects of GG, SK, TB, SB, YB, as well as some genotype x environment interactions influenced (P < 0.05) the variation of BW, AWW and AYW. Regarding the carcasses, an effect of GG on SW and CW was found (P < 0.05). In general, the BL kids had the highest averages for all of the traits analyzed, followed by the NL kids, and finally by the LL kids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine whether maternal iron and/or folate status influences human milk folate secretion and is responsible for growth faltering of Otomi infants in Capulhuac, Mexico. Breast-feeding mothers (n = 71) were randomized at 22 +/- 13 d (baseline) postpartum to receive a daily multivitamin supplement containing folic acid (400 microg) with and without iron (18 mg). Mothers provided blood and milk samples at baseline, and at 82 +/- 15 and 138 +/- 18 d postpartum. Iron supplementation significantly improved hematocrit and transferrin receptor concentrations but had no influence on maternal folate status or milk folate or iron concentrations. Forty-three percent of mothers (29/68) had low blood folate concentrations at baseline, whereas only 6% (4/66) had low blood folate concentrations at approximately 138 d postpartum. Milk folate concentrations did not differ between Fe-deficient and Fe-sufficient women and provided adequate levels of dietary folate by approximately 82 d postpartum. While milk iron concentrations were unrelated to maternal iron status, they decreased during lactation, and, by approximately 138 d, they provided only 55% of the current recommendation. In conclusion, milk folate concentrations appear to be well preserved during maternal iron deficiency; hence, faltering growth among infants in Capulhuac, Mexico is unlikely the result of reduced milk folate concentration secondary to maternal Fe deficiency. However, milk Fe concentrations showed a temporal decline. Whether the disjuncture between recommended and actual Fe intakes among infants born with low Fe reserves and weaned to foods low in bioavailable Fe has functional consequences is worthy of further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of soluble serum transferrin receptor (TfR) concentration, TfR index and log TfR:ferritin ratio (TfR outcomes) in detecting tissue Fe deficiency among breast-feeding Otomi women residing in Capulhuac, Mexico (2800 m above sea level) and to determine whether folate deficiency modifies the interpretation of these data. Lactating women (n = 68) provided blood samples at 22 +/- 13 d (mean +/- SD) postpartum. Using the 3-index Fe assessment model with and without Hb, 2 women (3%) had Fe-deficient erythropoiesis, 24 (36%) Fe deficiency anemia, and 19 (29%) indeterminate Fe status; 29 (43%) and 5 (7.5%) women had plasma and erythrocyte folate concentrations below normative cutoff values, respectively. Mean values for TfR outcomes were higher among women classified as Fe deficient than those who were Fe sufficient, but did not differ with low or normal blood folate concentrations. Similarly, TfR outcomes did not differ among women with normocytic or macrocytic erythrocytes. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves generated for TfR outcomes yielded areas under the curve from 0.62 to 0.68, indicating that each of these measures, on its own, is a poor predictor of tissue Fe deficiency in lactating women. In conclusion, low blood folate concentrations or the presence of macrocytosis in Otomi women from Capulhuac, Mexico (moderate altitude) did not influence the utility of TfR outcomes for the detection of Fe deficiency during early lactation. Further, on their own, TfR, TfR index, and TfR:ferritin ratio were poor predictors of tissue Fe deficiency for any given individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Varroa destructor parasitism and DWV kill developing Africanized bees. • Varroa destructor parasitism and DWV inhibit immunity in developing Africanized bees. • Varroa destructor parasitism and DWV cause deformities in wings of Africanized bees. • Varroa destructor parasitism and DWV shorten the lifespan of adult Africanized bees. • Africanized bee tolerance to V. destructor might not reside in brood-related mechanisms. The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor is the primary health problem of honey bees (Apis mellifera) worldwide. Africanized honey bees in Brazil have demonstrated tolerance to the mite, but there is controversy about the degree of mite tolerance of Africanized bees in other countries. This study was conducted to quantify the effect of V. destructor parasitism on emergence, hemocyte concentration, wing integrity and longevity of Africanized honey bees in Mexico. Africanized bee brood were artificially infested with V. destructor mites and held in an incubator until emergence as adults and compared to non-infested controls. Deformed wing virus (DWV) presence was determined in the mites used to infest the bees. After emergence, the bees were maintained in an incubator to determine survivorship. The percentage of worker bees that emerged from parasitized cells (69%) was significantly lower than that of bees emerged from non-infested cells (96%). Newly-emerged parasitized bees had a significantly lower concentration of hemocytes in the hemolymph than non-parasitized bees. Additionally, the proportion of bees with deformed wings that emerged from V. destructor -parasitized cells was significantly higher (54%) than that of the control group (0%). The mean survival time of bees that emerged from infested and non-infested cells was 8.5 ± 0.3 and 14.4 ± 0.4 days, respectively, and the difference was significant. We conclude that V. destructor parasitism and DWV infections kill, cause deformities and inhibit cellular immunity in developing Africanized honey bees, and significantly reduce the lifespan of adult bees in Mexico. These results suggest that the tolerance of Africanized bees to V. destructor is related to adult bee mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]