Water use by the agricultural sector along with inefficient irrigation methods and climate change has led to the depletion and insecurity of water resources and consequent instability of the agricultural system. Defining benchmarks and comparing them is essential for sustainable system management performance. The sustainability performance of an agricultural system depends on various factors related to water, energy, and food. This study selects and ranks sustainability performance indicators (SPIs) of agricultural systems with the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Expert opinions on agricultural sustainability were obtained from Iran's Regional Water Organization. The factors and variables affecting the management of water resources in agricultural systems in a basin area are evaluated with 17 SPIs (10 indicators of water resources sustainability, 3 energy sustainability indicators, and 4 food sustainability indicators) that measure the sustainability of agricultural systems. The AHP reduced the number of indicators to a small number of effective indicators. Results of pairwise comparison and the subsequent determination of the weight of each indicator show that the indicators of water consumption, groundwater level stability, vulnerability of water resources, and water stress have the largest weights (i.e., importance) for agricultural system sustainability at the basin scale. These selected indicators can be applied to agricultural water systems (AWSs).

Abstract: Water, energy, and food are primary resources on which human life is dependent. This paper presents a review of the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus considering the environmental impacts generated by humans' reliance on water, energy, and food for their subsistence. Our review assesses the WEF with respect to the agricultural, industrial, and urban sectors and their use of water, energy, and food. The multi-sectorial assessment addresses options for improved management that avoids or mitigates adverse impacts in the agricultural, industrial, and urban sectors. Activities such as the use of fertilizers and pesticides in the agricultural sector, for instance, cause water, air, and soil pollution, which leads to social calamities and environmental degradation. Therefore, examining the effects of mismanagement in one sector on other sectors from the perspective of the WEF nexus is necessary for improved resource management and environmental protection. A literature review revealed that factors or practices of resources use influence sectors differently and with varying degrees of effectiveness in reducing the environmental damage caused by resources use. Improved social awareness on resource consumption, the use of renewable energy, improved energy efficiency, the reduction of food waste, improved animal husbandry, and other factors involved in the WEF nexus are herein examined. This paper's analysis demonstrates that every action and manner of resource use in one sector also affects other sectors and their resources use, thus calling for a unified analysis of the WE nexus.

OBJECTIVE: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive tumour thought to arise from ductal cells via pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) precursor lesions. Modelling of different genetic events in mice suggests both ductal and acinar cells can give rise to PDAC. However, the impact of cellular context alone on tumour development and phenotype is unknown. DESIGN: We examined the contribution of cellular origin to PDAC development by inducing PDAC-associated mutations, KrasG12D expression and Trp53 loss, specifically in ductal cells (Sox9CreER;KrasLSL-G12D;Trp53flox/flox (Duct:KPcKO )) or acinar cells (Ptf1aCreER;KrasLSL-G12D;Trp53flox/flox (Acinar:KPcKO )) in mice. We then performed a thorough analysis of the resulting histopathological changes. RESULTS: Both mouse models developed PDAC, but Duct:KPcKO mice developed PDAC earlier than Acinar:KPcKO mice. Tumour development was more rapid and associated with high-grade murine PanIN (mPanIN) lesions in Duct:KPcKO mice. In contrast, Acinar:KPcKO mice exhibited widespread metaplasia and low-grade as well as high-grade mPanINs with delayed progression to PDAC. Acinar-cell-derived tumours also had a higher prevalence of mucinous glandular features reminiscent of early mPanIN lesions. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that ductal cells are primed to form carcinoma in situ that become invasive PDAC in the presence of oncogenic Kras and Trp53 deletion, while acinar cells with the same mutations appear to require a prolonged period of transition or reprogramming to initiate PDAC. Our findings illustrate that PDAC can develop in multiple ways and the cellular context in which mutations are acquired has significant impact on precursor lesion initiation, disease progression and tumour phenotype.