According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the world population will reach nine billion people in 2050, of which 75% will live in urban settlements. One of the biggest challenges will be meeting the demand for food, as farmland is being lost to climate change, water scarcity, soil pollution, among other factors. In this context, hydroponics, an agricultural method that dispenses with soil, provides a viable alternative to address this problem. Although hydroponics has proven its effectiveness on a large scale, there are still challenges in implementing this technique on a small scale, specifically in urban and suburban settings. Also, in rural communities, where the availability of suitable technologies is scarce. Paradigms such as the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0, promote Precision Agriculture on a small scale, allowing the control of variables such as pH, electrical conductivity, temperature, among others, resulting in higher production and resource savings.

Ursolic acid (1) and a new flavanone, 5-O-(6-rhamnosylglucoside)-7-hydroxy-4'-methoxyflavanone (2), were isolated from the leaves of Salvia elegans Vahl. These natural products displayed antidepressant activity in mice as determined by means of a forced swimming test (FST) evaluation. Structural elucidation was carried out by chemical derivatization (acetylation) and spectroscopic analyses, such as ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR and two-dimensional (2-D) COSY, heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence (HMQC), and heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation (HMBC) spectroscopy experiments.

Quinolizidine alkaloids (QAs) are synthesized by the genus Lupinus as a defense against herbivores. Synthesis of QAs in lupins is species- and organ-specific. Knowledge about their biosynthesis and their corresponding pathways are still fragmentary, in part because lupins of commercial importance were mainly investigated, representing a small sample of the chemodiversity of the genus. Here, we explore the use of three Mexican lupins: Lupinus aschenbornii, Lupinus montanus, and Lupinus bilineatus as a model to study the physiology of QA biosynthesis. The corresponding QA patterns cover widely and narrowly distributed tetracyclic QAs. Quinolizidine alkaloid patterns of seeds and plantlets at different developmental stages were determined by GLC–MS and compared to identify the onset of de novo QA synthesis and to gain insight into specific and common biosynthesis trends. Onset of de novo QA biosynthesis occurred after the metabolization of seed QA during germination and was species-specific, as expected. A common QA pattern, from which the diversity of QA observed in these species is generated, was not found; however, lupanine and 3β-lupanine were found in the three specieswhile sparteine was not found in Lupinus bilineatus, suggesting that this simplest tetracyclic QA is not the precursor of more complex QAs. Similar patterns of metabolization and biosynthesis of structurally related QAs were observed, suggesting a common regulation.

The genus Pyricularia includes species that are phytopathogenic fungi, which infect different species of Poaceae, such as rice and sorghum. However, few isolates have been genetically characterized in North America. The current study addresses this lack of information by characterizing an additional 57 strains of three grasses (Stenotaphrum secundatum, Cenchrus ciliaris and Digitaria ciliaris) from two distant regions of Mexico. A Pyricularia dataset with ITS sequences retrieved from GenBank and the studied sequences were used to build a haplotype network that allowed us to identify a few redundant haplotypes highly related to P. oryzae species. An analysis considering only the Mexican sequences allowed us to identify non-redundant haplotypes in the isolates of C. ciliaris and D. ciliaris, with a high identity with P. pennisetigena. The Pot2-TIR genomic fingerprinting technique resulted in high variability and allowed for the isolates to be grouped according to their host grass, whilst the ERIC-PCR technique was able to separate the isolates according to their host grass and their region of collection. Representative isolates from different host grasses were chosen to explore the pathogenic potential of these isolates. The selected isolates showed a differential pathogenic profile. Cross-infection with representative isolates from S. secundatum and C. ciliaris showed that these were unable to infect D. ciliaris grass and that the DY1 isolate from D. ciliaris was only able to infect its host grass. The results support the identification of pathogenic strains of Pyricularia isolates and their cross-infection potential in different grasses surrounding important crops in Mexico.

Objetivo: Analizar la prevalencia de inseguridad alimentaria y la diversidad de la dieta de los hogares de una localidad de alta marginalidad. Materiales y métodos: Estudio observacional analítico realizado en la localidad La Nopalera de Yautepec, Morelos. En una muestra de hogares seleccionados por conveniencia, mediante una encuesta estructurada, se recolectó y analizó información para establecer la asociación entre la prevalencia de Inseguridad alimentaria con las características sociodemográficas de los hogares y de consumo familiar de alimentos en la semana previa. Se usaron estadísticas paramétricas y no paramétricas a un nivel de significancia p<0.05. Resultados: Se analizó información de106 hogares, donde la prevalencia general de IA fue del 60%. Fue más frecuente en hogares dirigidos por mujeres, personas mayores, con discapacidad o baja escolaridad y cuando se convive con menores de 18 años, todos con p<0.05. Interesantemente, en hogares con menores, la IA fue más frecuente y se asoció significativamente al consumo poco frecuente de diversos alimentos básicos (quelites, jugos naturales, frijoles, carnes) y no recomendados (dulces, botanas, refrescos y jugos artificiales) todos con valores p<0.05. Se observó una tendencia negativa entre la diversidad de la dieta y el nivel de inseguridad alimentaria (p<0.05). Conclusiones: Seis de cada diez hogares de la Nopalera se perciben con inseguridad alimentaria. Se encontró asociada al sexo, edad, nivel educativo y presencia de discapacidad del jefe del hogar, y cuando se convive con menores de edad. Se observó que cuando persiste la IA, la diversidad de la dieta se compromete explícitamente. Palabras Clave: Inseguridad Alimentaria; Consumo de alimentos; Hogares.