Sowing the wheat seeds of Afghanistan's future

Nigel Poole Rajiv Sharma Orzala Nemat Jason Donovan Alison Bentley (2022, [Artículo])

Humanitarian Intervention CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA FOOD SECURITY IRRIGATION NUTRITION PLANT BREEDING SEED SYSTEMS

Optimización del proceso de estampado en la empresa Rivian: aplicación del método SMED

Diego Rodríguez Arroyo Luis Alberto Cáceres Díaz ISABEL PEREYRA LAGUNA (2023, [Artículo])

En la era actual, la industria automotriz se encuentra en un estado de transformación constante, impulsado principalmente por la rápida integración de tecnologías emergentes. Aquellas empresas que logran destacar son las que no sólo innovan en diseño y funcionalidad, sino también en la eficiencia productiva. Rivian, una prominente empresa estadounidense especializada en vehículos eléctricos destaca por sus audaces diseños y su compromiso con la sostenibilidad. No obstante, al adentrarse en el funcionamiento interno de sus plantas de producción, surgen ciertos desafíos. En particular, en las instalaciones de la planta de Rivian, se ha detectado que el proceso de estampado, esencial para modelar las piezas de acero de sus vehículos, representa un cuello de botella con gran área de oportunidad que requiere una pronta intervención debido al tiempo muerto que impacta a la producción, entre éstas, la alimentación del material a la prensa de estampado, donde actualmente existen muchas actividades manuales que ocasionan tiempo extra de operación, el cual se puede reducir mediante la automatización de algunas operaciones. En este artículo, se presenta un desarrollo detallado sobre la implementación y optimización del proceso en una prensa de estampado, utilizando la metodología intercambio de troqueles en un solo minuto (SMED por sus siglas en inglés) para maximizar y mejorar la eficiencia de los recursos y satisfacer la demanda de producción. A través de esta herramienta de Manufactura Esbelta, se aplican sistemáticamente las etapas y ciclos del SMED con el objetivo de realizar el cambio de modelo en una maquina en un tiempo objetivo de 12 minutos. Este trabajo de investigación describe una serie de desafíos y las soluciones implementadas en diferentes estaciones de la prensa, buscando incrementar su eficiencia y minimizar los riesgos para los operadores. Además, se enfoca en reducir el material defectuoso producido en la prensa, lo que contribuye a un aumento en la calidad y una disminución en los costos por unidad. Esto tuvo como resultado ahorros de miles de dólares en costos variables de la prensa.

In the current era, the automotive industry is in a state of constant transformation, caused primarily by the rapid integration of emerging technologies. Those companies that can stand out are those that not only innovate in design and functionality but also productive efficiency. Rivian, a prominent American company specializing in electric vehicles, is known for its bold designs and commitment to sustainability. However, when delving into the inner workings of your production plants, certain challenges arise. At the Rivian plant facilities, it has been detected that the stamping process, essential for modeling the steel parts of its vehicles, represents a bottleneck in the process with a large area of opportunity that requires prompt intervention due to high downtime in the press line that impacts production, specifically in the setting of material, there are a lot of manual operations that cause a lot of overtime that can be reduced with automated processes. In this article, a detailed development on the implementation and optimization of the process in a stamping press is presented, using the SMED methodology (Single Minute Exchange Die) to maximize and improve resource efficiency and meet production demand. Through this Lean Manufacturing tool, the stages, and cycles of the SMED are systematically applied to carry out the model change in a machine in a target time of 12 minutes. This research work describes a series of challenges and solutions implemented in different press stations, seeking to increase their efficiency and minimize the risks for operators. Additionally, it focuses on reducing defective material produced on the press, which contributes to an increase in quality and a decrease in unit costs. This resulted in savings of thousands of dollars in variable press costs.

El primer autor agradece el apoyo de CIATEQ y de la empresa y grupo de trabajo en Rivian, que con todo el análisis de datos y la instalación de las diversas mejoras siempre hubo el apoyo y la comunicación correcta como equipo de trabajo. Además de agradecer el gran apoyo del asesor el Dr. Luis Cáceres y la Dra. Isabel Pereyra por su constante retroalimentación y el fuerte apoyo durante estos meses de trabajo en este artículo sobre SMED, mejorando en el análisis y representación de datos ya que con los conocimientos y la experiencia de ambos se facilitó la realización y culminación de este proyecto. De igual manera los autores agradecen a la Revista Politécnica de Aguascalientes por permitir la publicación de este artículo.

Cambio de modelo SMED Automatización Optimización Technology stamping Automation SMED INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS OTRAS ESPECIALIDADES TECNOLÓGICAS OTRAS OTRAS

Perfil epidemiológico y características clínicas de la escleritis en una población del noreste de México

YOLANDA MACIAS RODRIGUEZ (2022, [Artículo])

La epiescleritis (ESC) y escleritis (SC) son enfermedades que se caracterizan por causar inflamación de la capa externa fibrosa del globo ocular, la esclera y epiesclera. Estos padecimientos fueron descritos desde el siglo XIX y el Dr. Watson proporcionó la clasificación clínica que se usa para ordenarlas en sus diferentes subtipos. La etiología de las ESC y SC puede ser idiopática o asociada a causas específicas, como enfermedades autoinmunes, traumatismos, cirugías o infecciones. En diversas poblaciones del mundo se han reportado previamente las características de las ESC y SC. Sin embargo, en la población mexicana solo existen reportes de casos de presentaciones inusuales de ESC y SC y una sola serie reportando las características de la SC. Por lo anterior, se decidió llevar a cabo el presente estudio para expandir el conocimiento acerca de las características de la ESC y SC en la población mexicana. Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo y observacional. El diseño metodológico corresponde a una serie de casos. Se incluyeron pacientes con diagnóstico de ESC y SC, que hubieran firmado el consentimiento informado para participación en investigación clínica. Se analizaron los expedientes físicos y electrónicos de los pacientes que cumplieran con los criterios de inclusión, se tomó la información correspondiente a las variables previamente establecidas y se vació en una hoja de Microsoft Excel y posteriormente se analizaron estadísticamente con el programa SPSS (IBM). Se encontraron y analizaron 55 casos de ESC y 130 casos de SC. En ambos grupos hubo una predominancia del sexo femenino y la edad media fue mayor en pacientes con SC que en ESC (52.26 vs. 44.78 años). El tipo más común de ESC fue la simple y en SC la anterior difusa. La SC posterior fue el subtipo menos frecuente. La etiología más frecuente en ESC y SC fue la idiopática, y la segunda en frecuencia fue la espondiloartropatía asociada al haplotipo HLA B27 y la artritis reumatoide respectivamente. Los motivos de consulta más frecuente fueron ojo rojo solamente y ojo rojo doloroso. Los síntomas más comúnmente descritos por los pacientes con ESC y SC fueron ojo rojo, sensación de cuerpo extraño, dolor, lagrimeo y visión borrosa. Asimismo, los datos clínicos más comúnmente encontrados en pacientes con ESC y SC fueron la ingurgitción de los plexos conjuntivales y epiesclerales, queratopatía punteada superficial y queratitis ulcerativa periférica. La agudeza visual promedio fue buena tanto en ESC como en SC, siendo de 20/25 y 20/30 respectivamente. Para el análisis de tratamiento y recurrencias, se consideraron a los pacientes con un seguimiento mayor a una consulta, consistiendo estos últimos en 35 ESC y 108 SC. En la ESC, 91.4% de los pacientes fueron tratados con un AINE oral, 57.1% con esteroide tópico y 5.7% con AINE tópico. En SC, 76.9% usaron un AINE oral, 62% un esteroide oral, 50% un esteroide tópico y 52.7% un agente imnunosupresor. 29.6% de los pacientes con SC tuvieron una recurrencia. Al comparar la presente serie con las series de ESC y SC reportadas previamente en la literatura se encontró una considerable cantidad de similitudes, como la predominancia del sexo femenino, la media de edad, la incidencia estimada, los síntomas y signos, el tratamiento empleado y la cantidad de recurrencias y su asociación a una edad menor. Debido a todos lo anterior, se concluyó que la presentación de las ESC y SC en la población mexicana es similar a la presentación en otras poblaciones del mundo, previamente reportadas.

Especialidad en Oftalmología

MEDICINA Y CIENCIAS DE LA SALUD CIENCIAS MÉDICAS CIENCIAS CLÍNICAS OFTALMOLOGÍA

Demonstration of service provider model of solar irrigation system for smallholder farmers

Md Abdul Matin (2023, [Objeto de congreso])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA IRRIGATION SMALLHOLDERS IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

Bundling subsurface drip irrigation with no-till provides a window to integrate mung bean with intensive cereal systems for improving resource use efficiency

Manish Kakraliya madhu choudhary Mahesh Gathala Parbodh Chander Sharma ML JAT (2024, [Artículo])

The future of South Asia’s major production system (rice–wheat rotation) is at stake due to continuously aggravating pressure on groundwater aquifers and other natural resources which will further intensify with climate change. Traditional practices, conventional tillage (CT) residue burning, and indiscriminate use of groundwater with flood irrigation are the major drivers of the non-sustainability of rice–wheat (RW) system in northwest (NW) India. For designing sustainable practices in intensive cereal systems, we conducted a study on bundled practices (zero tillage, residue mulch, precise irrigation, and mung bean integration) based on multi-indicator (system productivity, profitability, and efficiency of water, nitrogen, and energy) analysis in RW system. The study showed that bundling conservation agriculture (CA) practices with subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) saved ~70 and 45% (3-year mean) of irrigation water in rice and wheat, respectively, compared to farmers’ practice/CT practice (pooled data of Sc1 and Sc2; 1,035 and 318 mm ha−1). On a 3-year system basis, CA with SDI scenarios (mean of Sc5–Sc8) saved 35.4% irrigation water under RW systems compared to their respective CA with flood irrigation (FI) scenarios (mean of Sc3 and Sc4) during the investigation irrespective of residue management. CA with FI system increased the water productivity (WPi) and its use efficiency (WUE) by ~52 and 12.3% (3-year mean), whereas SDI improved by 221.2 and 39.2% compared to farmers practice (Sc1; 0.69 kg grain m−3 and 21.39 kg grain ha−1 cm−1), respectively. Based on the 3-year mean, CA with SDI (mean of Sc5–Sc8) recorded −2.5% rice yield, whereas wheat yield was +25% compared to farmers practice (Sc1; 5.44 and 3.79 Mg ha−1) and rice and wheat yield under CA with flood irrigation were increased by +7 and + 11%, compared to their respective CT practices. Mung bean integration in Sc7 and Sc8 contributed to ~26% in crop productivity and profitability compared to farmers’ practice (Sc1) as SDI facilitated advancing the sowing time by 1 week. On a system basis, CA with SDI improved energy use efficiency (EUE) by ~70% and partial factor productivity of N by 18.4% compared to CT practices. In the RW system of NW India, CA with SDI for precise water and N management proved to be a profitable solution to address the problems of groundwater, residue burning, sustainable intensification, and input (water and energy) use with the potential for replication in large areas in NW India.

Direct Seeded Rice Subsurface Drip Irrigation Economic Profitability Energy and Nitrogen Efficiency CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE RICE SUBSURFACE IRRIGATION IRRIGATION SYSTEMS WATER PRODUCTIVITY ECONOMIC VIABILITY ENERGY EFFICIENCY NITROGEN-USE EFFICIENCY

Solar Irrigation Pump (SIP) sizing tool: user manual (Beta version)

Santosh Mali Paresh Shirsath (2022, [Libro])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA SOLAR POWERED IRRIGATION SYSTEMS PUMPS IRRIGATION WATER MANUALS

Addressing agricultural labour issues is key to biodiversity-smart farming

Thomas Daum Frédéric Baudron Matin Qaim Ingo Grass (2023, [Artículo])

There is an urgent need for agricultural development strategies that reconcile agricultural production and biodiversity conservation. This is especially true in the Global South where population growth is rapid and much of the world's remaining biodiversity is located. Combining conceptual thoughts with empirical insights from case studies in Indonesia and Ethiopia, we argue that such strategies will have to pay more attention to agricultural labour dynamics. Farmers have a strong motivation to reduce the heavy toil associated with farming by adopting technologies that save labour but can negatively affect biodiversity. Labour constraints can also prevent farmers from adopting technologies that improve biodiversity but increase labour intensity. Without explicitly accounting for labour issues, conservation efforts can hardly be successful. We hence highlight the need for biodiversity-smart agriculture, that is farming practices or systems that reconcile biodiversity with land and labour productivity. Our empirical insights suggest that technological and institutional options to reconcile farmers' socio-economic goals and biodiversity conservation exist but that more needs to be done to implement such options at scale.

Land Sharing Trade-Offs CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION LABOUR SUSTAINABILITY

Precise irrigation water and nitrogen management improve water and nitrogen use efficiencies under conservation agriculture in the maize-wheat systems

Mahesh Gathala ML JAT (2023, [Artículo])

A 3-year field experiment was setup to address the threat of underground water depletion and sustainability of agrifood systems. Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system combined with nitrogen management under conservation agriculture-based (CA) maize-wheat system (MWS) effects on crop yields, irrigation water productivity (WPi), nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and profitability. Grain yields of maize, wheat, and MWS in the SDI with 100% recommended N were significantly higher by 15.8%, 5.2% and 11.2%, respectively, than conventional furrow/flood irrigation (CT-FI) system. System irrigation water savings (~ 55%) and the mean WPi were higher in maize, wheat, and MWS under the SDI than CT-FI system. There was saving of 25% of fertilizer N in maize and MWS whereas no saving of N was observed in wheat. Net returns from MWS were significantly higher (USD 265) under SDI with 100% N (with no subsidy) than CT-FI system despite with higher cost of production. The net returns were increased by 47% when considering a subsidy of 80% on laying SDI system. Our results showed a great potential of complementing CA with SDI and N management to maximize productivity, NUE, and WPi, which may be economically beneficial and environmentally sound in MWS in Trans-IGP of South Asia.

Subsurface Drip Irrigation Nitrogen Management Irrigation Water Productivity Water Savings CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA IRRIGATION WATER NITROGEN-USE EFFICIENCY CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE MAIZE WHEAT

Farmers’ perspectives as determinants for adoption of conservation agriculture practices in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

Ajay Kumar Mishra ML JAT (2022, [Artículo])

Understanding the farmer's perspective has traditionally been critical to influencing the adoption and out-scaling of CA-based climate-resilient practices. The objective of this study was to investigate the biophysical, socio-economic, and technical constraints in the adoption of CA by farmers in the Western- and Eastern-IGP, i.e., Karnal, Haryana, and Samastipur, Bihar, respectively. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was administered to 50 households practicing CA in Western- and Eastern-IGP. Smallholder farmers (<2 ha of landholding) in Karnal are 10% and Samastipur 66%. About 46% and 8% of households test soil periodically in Karnal and Samastipur, respectively. Results of PCA suggest economic profitability and soil health as core components from the farmer's motivational perspective in Karnal and Samastipur, respectively. Promotion and scaling up of CA technologies should be targeted per site-specific requirements, emphasizing biophysical resource availability, socio-economic constraints, and future impacts of such technology.

Smallholder Farmers Agents of Change Technology Diffusion Climate-Smart Practices CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA SMALLHOLDERS SOCIAL STRUCTURE IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE

Appraisal of complementarity of subsurface drip fertigation and conservation agriculture for physiological performance and water economy of maize

C.M. Parihar Hari Sankar Nayak Dipaka Ranjan Sena Renu Pandey Mahesh Gathala ML JAT (2023, [Artículo])

The Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) in north-west (NW) India are facing a severe decline in ground water due to prevalent rice-based cropping systems. To combat this issue, conservation agriculture (CA) with an alternative crop/s, such as maize, is being promoted. Recently, surface drip fertigation has also been evaluated as a viable option to address low-nutrient use efficiency and water scarcity problems for cereals. While the individual benefits of CA and sub-surface drip (SSD) irrigation on water economy are well-established, information regarding their combined effect in cereal-based systems is lacking. Therefore, we conducted a two-year field experiment in maize, under an ongoing CA-based maize-wheat system, to evaluate the complementarity of CA with SSD irrigation through two technological interventions–– CA+ (residue retained CA + SSD), PCA+ (partial CA without residue + SSD) – at different N rates (0, 120 and 150 kg N ha-1) in comparison to traditional furrow irrigated (FI) CA and conventional tillage (CT) at 120 kg N ha-1. Our results showed that CA+ had the highest grain yield (8.2 t ha-1), followed by PCA+ (8.1 t ha-1). The grain yield under CA+ at 150 kg N ha-1 was 27% and 30% higher than CA and CT, respectively. Even at the same N level (120 kg N ha-1), CA+ outperformed CA and CT by 16% and 18%, respectively. The physiological performance of maize also revealed that CA+ based plots with 120 kg N ha-1 had 12% and 3% higher photosynthesis rate at knee-high and silking, respectively compared to FI-CA and CT. Overall, compared to the FI-CA and CT, SSD-based CA+ and PCA+ saved 54% irrigation water and increased water productivity (WP) by more than twice. Similarly, a greater number of split N application through fertigation in PCA+ and CA+ increased agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and recover efficiency by 8–19% and 14–25%, respectively. Net returns from PCA+ and CA+ at 150 kg N ha-1 were significantly higher by US$ 491 and 456, respectively than the FI-CA and CT treatments. Therefore, CA coupled with SSD provided tangible benefits in terms of yield, irrigation water saving, WP, NUE and profitability. Efforts should be directed towards increasing farmers’ awareness of the benefits of such promising technology for the cultivating food grains and commercial crops such as maize. Concurrently, government support and strict policies are required to enhance the system adaptability.

Net Returns Subsurface Drip Irrigation Subsurface Drip Fertigation CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA EFFICIENCY GRAIN NITROGEN PHOTOSYNTHESIS PHYSIOLOGY WATER SUPPLY CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE CONVENTIONAL TILLAGE FERTIGATION GROUNDWATER NITROGEN-USE EFFICIENCY WATER PRODUCTIVITY