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Citrate-coated cobalt ferrite nanoparticles enhance wheat's nutritional quality by improving grain yield and increasing Fe concentration, contributing to sustainable agri-food systems and combating hidden hunger.

Agricultural soils generally do not provide enough N to satisfy crop needs, so it is necessary to apply it as fertilizer. This supply can be estimated by chemical analysis of the soil and, based on this and the needs of the plant, nitrogen fertilization recommendations are made for the crops. The objective of this study was to determine economic optimum N rates for maize (Zea mays L.), based on attainable yield and soil organic matter content as an estimator of soil N supply, with the current and increased N/maize price ratio, to reduce economic optimum N rates and fertilization costs, as well as N losses and environmental pollution. In 2011, 2012, and 2013, 67 experiments on maize response to N were distributed and conducted in five edaphoclimatic regions of Mexico, with native and improved maize in rainfed and irrigation conditions. The treatments were: (1) fertilization with N, P, and K; (2) omission of each nutrient; and (3) no fertilization. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design, without replications. Production functions were estimated for rainfed and irrigation conditions in edaphoclimatic regions, for yield as a function of attainable yield classes, amount of N applied, and soil organic matter content. The production functions were used to estimate economic optimum N rates, with: (1) the current N/maize price ratio for the attainable yield classes and soil organic matter contents, as well as optimum economic yields and net income; and (2) the increased N/maize price ratio, that reduced the economic optimum N rates and fertilization costs, without significantly decrease of the economic optimum yields and the net income; this also reduces N losses and environmental pollution.

Reconstruction of midfacial traumatic defects secondary to a gunshot wound (GSW) is one of the most challenging head surgeries. The high impact on the functional and aesthetic quality of life, and the small margin of error to achieve a successful outcome are significant hurdles in the surgical treatment of these cases. Here we report a 33-years old patient who suffered a GSW with an entrance wound penetrating between the soft and hard palate and an exit wound on the right malar region. A description of the case and a systematic review of the literature were conducted. The treatment depends on the type of weapon used, deforming characteristics of the bullet, kinetic energy, place of impact, and general conditions of the patient. GSW generate a particular injury due to their special trauma kinematics. In this case, our patient required extensive reconstructive surgery with interposition of costal cartilage to recover velopharyngeal structure and function, patients treated with this surgical strategy develop fewer complications such as infection, shrinkage, scarring. As demonstrated by this case report, the result can be satisfactory. In order to provide the most beneficial results for the patient, surgical techniques are evolving continuously, improving both structure and function, and increasing the quality of life of the patients. Free flaps are preferred because of the good results reported. Patients treated with this surgical strategy develop fewer complications such as infection, shrinkage, scarring. As demonstrated by this case report, the result can be satisfactory.

Resumen Introducción y Objetivo La trigonocefalia, originada por la sinostosis prematura de la sutura metópica, en sus formas más graves presenta mayor restricción del crecimiento lateral de los huesos frontales y temporales, afectando a los rebordes supraorbitarios, limitando el crecimiento y condicionando un hipoteleorbitisimo aparente. Los principales problemas de las técnicas quirúrgicas empleadas para su tratamiento son: falta de corrección del defecto, vaciamiento temporal, daño de suturas no afectadas al hacer transposiciones que producen defectos de crecimiento (sinostosis secundarias), sobrecorrección del hipoteleorbitisimo y defectos óseos. El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar nuestra experiencia en una serie de casos tratados de forma temprana con modificaciones propias a las técnicas abiertas propuestas por Dhellemmes en Francia. Material y método Entre 2010 y 2018 operamos 7 pacientes con trigonocefalia no sindrómica severa, con una media de 7 meses de edad. Todos fueron estudiados con tomografía computerizada de cráneo con reconstrucción ósea en tres dimensiones (TCC-3D) preoperatoria, postoperatoria inmediata y al año de evolución, electroencefalograma, valoración del neurodesarrollo y por Pediatría y Oftalmología. Resecamos la sutura metópica estenosada y efectuamos craneotomías frontales en forma de alas de escarabajo respetando la sutura coronal. Remodelamos la barra frontoorbitaria con injerto óseo para corregir la angulación y la fijamos con un injerto de hueso. Finalmente practicamos osteotomías radiadas en parietal para modificar la restricción del crecimiento de la bóveda. Resultados Los resultados funcionales y estéticos fueron excelentes, sin defectos de osificación ni vacío de la fosa temporal, ni morbimortalidad, con cicatriz oculta por el cabello. El desarrollo neurocognitivo de los niños tuvo una mejoría notable de la irritabilidad y de la actividad e interacción con los padres. Conclusiones En trigonocefalia, la cirugía temprana logra la corrección total del defecto en un solo tiempo quirúrgico, obteniendo una remodelación ósea y un crecimiento armónico del cráneo al respetar el crecimiento del sistema suturario. Las modificaciones a la técnica que proponemos evitan el defecto de vaciamiento temporal y permiten no utilizar material de osteosíntesis.

Sustainable crop production systems can be attained by using inputs efficiently and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) parameters are indirect measurements of sustainability of production systems. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of selected nitrogen (N) management treatments on wheat yields, grain and straw N concentration, and NUE parameters, under conservation agriculture (CA). The present study was conducted at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in northwest, Mexico. Seventeen treatments were tested which included urea sources, timing, and methods of fertilizer application. Orthogonal contrasts were used to compare groups of treatments and correlation and regression analyses were used to look at the relationships between wheat yields and NUE parameters. Contrasts run to compare wheat yields or agronomic efficiency of N (AEN) performed similarly. Sources of urea or timing of fertilizer application had a significant effect on yields or AEN (p &gt, 0.050). However, methods of application resulted in a highly significant (p &lt, 0.0001) difference on wheat yields and agronomic efficiency of N. NUE parameters recorded in this study were average but the productivity associated to NUE levels was high. Results in this study indicate that wheat grew under non-critically limiting N supply levels, suggesting that N mineralization and reduced N losses from the soil under CA contributed to this favorable nutritional condition, thus minimizing the importance of N management practices under stable, mature CA systems.

A pesar de su importancia económica, la producción de trigo en el valle de Mexicali, B.C., México, atraviesa por dificultades debido a su baja rentabilidad. Una de las causas radica en que los productores podrían estar utilizando más fertilizantes nitrogenados de los necesarios. Además, el nitrógeno (N) que no es recuperado por el cultivo se pierde al ambiente por lixiviación, volatilización, desnitrificación o escurrimiento, acentuando los problemas de contaminación. Una esvalidación,trategia innovadora, es el uso de sensores ópticos (GreenSeeker®) en combinación con un algoritmo matemático y una franja rica en nitrógeno, lo cual está actualmente demostrando eficacia en el manejo sustentable de los fertilizantes a nivel mundial. Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron: (1) generar una ecuación de predicción confiable de los rendimientos de trigo cultivados localmente y (2) comparar los rendimientos de trigo, dosis de fertilizante y costos de fertilización química, obtenidos mediante la estrategia basada en el uso de sensores, contra la práctica de fertilización convencional de los productores. Se establecieron trabajos de calibración, validación y transferencia de tecnología de 2010 a 2012. Se obtuvo una ecuación de predicción del rendimiento, que demostró ser útil en la recomendación de dosis óptimas de fertilizante nitrogenado. No se detectó reducción en los rendimientos al comparar la práctica convencional de los productores y el uso de sensores (P = 0.2713), la fertilización media aplicada, de acuerdo con la tecnología del uso de sensores, fue inferior en 68 kg de N ha-1 en comparación con la aplicada por los productores acorde a la pr áctica convencional (P = 0.0015). Estos ahorros representaron $1339 ha-1. Se concluye que en Mexicali, a través del uso de la tecnología de sensores, es posible obtener ahorros sustanciales en los costos de fertilización nitrogenada de trigo, contribuir a incrementar la rentabilidad para los productores y reducir los impactos ambientales al evitar la aplicación de fertilizantes innecesarios.

Genotype × environment interactions of most concern to plant breeders involve cultivar rank change across environments, i.e., crossover interaction (COI). When COIs are present, cluster strategies can be used to group environments without significant changes in cultivar ranks. Several methods for classifying environments without COI have recently been proposed. In this study, the shifted multiplicative model (SHMM) fusion method based on a building block principle is used for grouping environments which rank cultivars similarly. The SHMM fusion selects the best action by computing for each new cluster formed, a new set of distance measures with the other clusters and with the unclustered individuals. Experimental data were collected on 55 cultivars evaluated under five irrigation levels in each of two trials (10 environments). Groups of environments obtained with SHMM fusion were compared with those obtained using cluster analysis based on Euclidean distances computed from unstandardized and standardized data. The SHMM fusion formed four final clusters of environments. The final clusters grouped environments with similar irrigation levels. Conventional cluster analysis based on Euclidean distances produced final clusters with much larger percentage of COIs than SHMM fusion. Results show that SHMM fusion is a useful strategy for classifying environments without cultivar rank change