Common Nomenclature Research Articles

Thalamic nuclei segmentation from T1-weighted MRI: Unifying and benchmarking state-of-the-art methods

Abstract The thalamus and its constituent nuclei are critical for a broad range of cognitive, linguistic, and sensorimotor processes, and are implicated in many neurological and neurodegenerative conditions. However, the functional involvement and specificity of thalamic nuclei in human neuroimaging work is underappreciated and not well studied due, in part, to technical challenges of accurately identifying and segmenting nuclei. This challenge is further exacerbated by a lack of common nomenclature for comparing segmentation methods. Here, we use data from healthy young (Human Connectome Project, n = 100) and older healthy adults, plus those with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, n = 540), to benchmark four state-of-the-art thalamic segmentation methods for T1 MRI (FreeSurfer, histogram-based polynomial synthesis [HIPS]-THOMAS, synthesized contrast segmentation [SCS]-convolutional neural network [CNN], and T1-THOMAS) under a single segmentation framework. Segmentations were compared using overlap and dissimilarity metrics to the Morel stereotaxic atlas, a widely accepted thalamic atlas. We also quantified each method’s estimation of thalamic nuclear degeneration across Alzheimer’s disease progression, and how accurately early and late mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease could be distinguished from healthy controls. We show that the HIPS-THOMAS approach produced the most effective segmentations of individual thalamic nuclei relative to the Morel atlas, and was also most accurate in discriminating healthy controls from those with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease using individual nucleus volumes. This latter result was different when using whole thalamus volumes, where the SCS-CNN approach was the most accurate in classifying healthy controls. This work is the first to systematically compare the efficacy of anatomical thalamic segmentation approaches under a unified nomenclature. We also provide recommendations of which segmentation method to use for studying the functional relevance of specific thalamic nuclei, based on their overlap and dissimilarity with the Morel atlas.

Proposal for a classification system of radiographic bone changes after cervical disc replacement

BackgroundThe goal of this study is to propose a classification system with a common nomenclature for radiographic observations of periprosthetic bone changes following cTDR.MethodsAided by serial plain radiographs from recent cTDR cases (34 patients; 44 devices), a panel of experts assembled for the purpose of creating a classification system to aid in reproducibly and accurately identifying bony changes and assessing cTDR radiographic appearance. Subdividing the superior and inferior vertebral bodies into 3 equal sections, observed bone loss such as endplate rounding, cystic erosion adjacent to the endplate, and cystic erosion not adjacent to the endplate, is recorded. Determining if bone loss is progressive, based on serial radiographs, and estimating severity of bone loss (measured by the percentage of end plate involved) is recorded. Additional relevant bony changes and device observations include radiolucent lines, heterotopic ossification, vertebral body olisthesis, loss of core implant height, and presence of device migration, and subsidence.ResultsSerial radiographs from 19 patients (25 devices) implanted with a variety of cTDR designs were assessed by 6 investigators including clinicians and scientists experienced in cTDR or appendicular skeleton joint replacement. The overall agreement of assessments ranged from 49.9% (95% bootstrap confidence interval 45.1–73.1%) to 94.7% (95% CI 86.9–100.0%). There was reasonable agreement on the presence or absence of bone loss or radiolucencies (range: 58.4% (95% CI 51.5–82.7%) to 94.7% (95% CI 86.9–100.0%), as well as in the progression of radiolucent lines (82.9% (95% CI 74.4–96.5%)).ConclusionsThe novel classification system proposed demonstrated good concordance among experienced investigators in this field and represents a useful advancement for improving reporting in cTDR studies.

Current evidence for lung ultrasound elastography in the field of pneumology: a systematic review.

Elastography is a technology that has strongly impacted several medical specialties; however, it is not yet applied as part of standard clinical practice in the field of pulmonology. The objective of this systematic review is to analyse the evidence available to date in relation to pleuropulmonary ultrasound elastography, focusing on the three pathologies with the most publications: subpleural consolidations, interstitial lung diseases and pleural effusion. Original in vivo studies published up until 12 August 2023 in the Embase, MEDLINE or Web of Science databases were included. The QUADAS-2 tool was applied to analyse bias. We found 613 records in database search. After duplicates removal, we screened 246 records and finally included 18 papers. The average cohort sample size was 109 patients. The elastography modes most frequently used were strain (22.2%), transient elastography (22.2%), point shear-wave elastography (38.9%) and two-dimensional shear-wave elastography (22.2%). The possibility of a meta-analysis was ruled out because of the heterogeneity of the studies included. The currently available literature indicates that pleuropulmonary ultrasound elastography produces promising and consistent results, although the lack of standardisation in the use of the technique and in the elastography modes employed still impedes its use in daily clinical pneumology practice. The development of a clinical guideline establishing a common nomenclature and standardised techniques for pleuropulmonary elastography will be imperative to generate quality scientific evidence in this field.

MEDICINAL USES, PRESERVATION, PROMOTION AND CRITICAL STUDY OF DASHMOOLA: AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT DESCRIBED IN AYURVEDA SCRIPTURE

Ayurveda is a scientific method of ancient medicine, in which single and mixed medicines are used multiple times for medicine, in which Dashmoola has its special place. Ashtavarga, Pañcamūla, Trinapanchamoola and Dashmoola are widely used as mixed medicinal components. Dashmoola is made up of two words Dash and Moola, which means "root of ten medicines", i.e., roots of ten medicinal plants are taken in equal proportion. Generally, it is considered to be a combination of the Brihit and Laghu Pañcamūla. Of these ten roots, five roots are of trees known as Bṛhat Pañcamūla and five roots are of bushes known as Laghu Pañcamūla. Bṛhat Pañcamūla includes Bilva [Aegle marmelos (L.) Corrêa], Gambhari (Gmelina arborea Roxb. ex Sm.), Agnimantha (Clerodendrum phlomidis L.f.), Patla [Stereospermum chelonoides (L.f.) DC.], Shyonak [Oroxylum indicum (L.) Kurz] while Laghu Pañcamūla includes Brihati (Solanum indicum L.), Gokharu (Tribulus terrestris L.), Kantakari (Solanum virginianum L.), Prshniparni [Uraria picta (Jacq.) Desv. Ex DC.], Shalaparni [Pleurolobus gangeticus (L.) J.St.-Hil. ex H.Ohashi & K.Ohashi]. Dashmoola is used for the treatment of various diseases, sach as arthritis, asthma, headache, prenatal problems, Parkinson's disease, muscle cramps, lower back pain, etc. In the present review article, habitat, distribution, ecological note, common and vedic nomenclature, flowering and fruiting period, conservation status and medicinal properties of each plant in Dashmoola, have been discussed in detail and Herbarium sheet with field numbers of all plants are available in the Patanjali Research Foundation Herbarium

Degenerative Thoracic Myelopathy: A Scoping Review of Epidemiology, Genetics, and Pathogenesis.

Literature Review. Myelopathy affecting the thoracic spinal cord can arise secondary to several aetiologies which have similar presentation and management. Consequently, there are many uncertainties in this area, including optimal terminology and definitions. Recent collaborative cervical spinal research has led to the proposal and subsequent community adoption of the name degenerative cervical myelopathy(DCM), which has facilitated the establishment of internationally-agreed research priorities for DCM. We put forward the case for the introduction of the term degenerative thoracic myelopathy(DTM) and degenerative spinal myelopathy(DSM) as an umbrella term for both DCM and DTM. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search was performed to identify degenerative thoracic myelopathy literature in Embase and MEDLINE. Conditions encompassed within DTM include thoracic spondylotic myelopathy, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, ossification of the ligamentum flavum, calcification of ligaments, hypertrophy of ligaments, degenerative disc disease, thoracic osteoarthritis, intervertebral disc herniation, and posterior osteophytosis. The classic presentation includes girdle pain, gait disturbance, leg weakness, sensory disturbance, and bladder or bowel dysfunction, often with associated back pain. Surgical management is typically favoured with post-surgical outcomes dependent on many factors, including the causative pathology, and presence of additional stenosis. The clinical entities encompassed by the term DTM are interrelated, can manifest concurrently, and present similarly. Building on the consensus adoption of DCM in the cervical spine and the recent proposal of degenerative cervical radiculopathy(DCR), extending this common nomenclature framework to the terms degenerative spinal myelopathy and degenerative thoracic myelopathy will help improve recognition and communication.

SENNET CONSORTIUM: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Abstract The Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet) Program was established in 2021 by the NIH Director’s Office Common Fund with the goal of comprehensively identifying and characterizing senescent cells across human lifespan in numerous organs. Mapping senescent cells in mice was added in 2022 to leverage genetic and pharmacologic approaches to drive, report, and ablate senescence in vivo. Senescent cells are implicated in driving most if not all age-related chronic diseases as well as accelerated aging caused by chronic diseases and their treatments (e.g., cancer chemotherapy). Furthermore, therapeutics specifically targeting senescent cells (senotherapeutics) have been developed and are currently being tested in clinical trials for multiple disease and geriatric endpoints. Thus, identifying and characterizing senescent cells throughout human aging and disease states has the potential to significantly impact human health. The SenNet Consortium is a highly collaborative network of scientists across the globe jointly benchmarking tools, technologies, and data analytic approaches, and aligning their activities with other NIH Common Fund initiatives, such as HuBMAP. While mapping senescent cells holds great biomedical promise, there are challenges such as the absence of specific biomarker to identify senescent cells, the appearance of senescence under physiological and pathological conditions, and little knowledge of what drives senescence in vivo. Analogous to the Human Genome Project, to achieve SenNet goals, innovative tools and technologies for single cell and spatial tissue analysis must be developed. Products of SenNet, in addition these new approaches, will include common nomenclature to define senescent cells, novel biomarkers of senescent cells, and publicly accessible databases and 4D atlases of senescent cells in 18 human and murine organs that enables 4D visualization.

Child Fatality Individual Case Reports: A 24‐Year National State‐by‐State Review

AbstractThis study focused on the content of 1186 Child Fatality Review Board individual case reports collected nationally over a 24‐year period (1995–2019). This information, in contrast to group data, may yield important insights into the causative factors, especially for child fatality resulting from neglect and inflicted injury. The reports were collected from six of the 50 states and evaluated for the quality and amount of information. They were also surveyed for data identifying causative factors for neglect and inflicted injury. Only 25 (2 per cent) of 1186 reports that are publicly available contained sufficient information about the four major causative factors—cause of death, prior child protection agency involvement by the family, evidence of professional negligence or error and family history of at‐risk circumstances. The 25 cases were then reviewed and coded for presence of information about these factors. The findings demonstrate the need for federal intervention to provide specific guidelines for the states to track their cases, to use a common nomenclature, to investigate common causative factors and to practice common reporting procedures. In this way, a robust national database can be developed.

Standardized nomenclature for peripheral percutaneous cannulation of the pulmonary artery in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: Current uptake and recommendations for improvement.

The rising application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has emphasized the need for consistent and standardized terminology, especially concerning peripheral percutaneous cannulation of the pulmonary artery (PPC-PA). The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Nomenclature Task Force produced the ELSO Maastricht Treaty for extracorporeal life support (ECLS) Nomenclature to address this challenge. However, adherence to nomenclature recommendations has been poor in publications describing PPC-PA. We aim to describe common nomenclature errors and provide a user-guide for abbreviations that can be used by authors, reviewers, and journal staff to ensure properadherence to standardized nomenclature in publications describing PPC-PA.

Report of the CCU/CCQM Workshop on “The Metrology of Quantities Which Can Be Counted”

This article provides a report of the recent workshop on “The metrology of quantities which can be counted” organised jointly by the International Committee for Weights and Measures’ Consultative Committees for Amount of Substance (CCQM) and for Units (CCU). The workshop aimed to trigger a discussion on counting and number quantities across the metrological community so that a common understanding of counting and a common nomenclature could be achieved and there was clarity on the differences between these increasingly important concepts. This article details the background to the workshop, provides a summary of the presentations given and the discussions on the topics raised. It also reports the conclusions, agreed actions and next steps resulting from the workshop.

Common Data Elements for Disorders of Consciousness: Recommendations from the Working Group on Hospital Course, Confounders, and Medications.

The convergence of an interdisciplinary team of neurocritical care specialists to organize the Curing Coma Campaign is the first effort of its kind to coordinate national and international research efforts aimed at a deeper understanding of disorders of consciousness (DoC). This process of understanding includes translational research from bench to bedside, descriptions of systems of care delivery, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and ethical frameworks. The description and measurement of varying confounding factors related to hospital care was thought to be critical in furthering meaningful research in patients with DoC. Interdisciplinary hospital care is inherently varied across geographical areas as well as community and academic medical centers. Access to monitoring technologies, specialist consultation (medical, nursing, pharmacy, respiratory, and rehabilitation), staffing resources, specialty intensive and acute care units, specialty medications and specific surgical, diagnostic and interventional procedures, and imaging is variable, and the impact on patient outcome in terms of DoC is largely unknown. The heterogeneity of causes in DoC is the source of some expected variability in care and treatment of patients, which necessitated the development of a common nomenclature and set of data elements for meaningful measurement across studies. Guideline adherence in hemorrhagic stroke and severe traumatic brain injury may also be variable due to moderate or low levels of evidence for many recommendations. This article outlines the process of the development of common data elements for hospital course, confounders, and medications to streamline definitions and variables to collect for clinical studies of DoC.

Cross-National Generalizability of WISC-V and CHC Broad Ability Constructs across France, Spain, and the US.

The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model is based on psychometric cognitive ability research and is the most empirically supported model of cognitive ability constructs. This study is one in a series of cross-national comparisons investigating the equivalence and generalizability of psychological constructs which align with the CHC model. Previous research exploring the cross-cultural generalizability of cognitive ability measures concluded that the factor analytic models of cognitive abilities generalize across cultures and are compatible with well-established CHC constructs. The equivalence of the psychological constructs, as measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V), has been established across English-speaking samples. However, few studies have explored the equivalence of psychological constructs across non-English speaking, nationally representative samples. This study explored the equivalence of the WISC-V five-factor model across standardization samples from France, Spain, and the US. The five-factor scoring model demonstrated excellent fit across the three samples independently. Factorial invariance was investigated and the results demonstrated strict factorial invariance across France, Spain, and the US. The results provide further support for the generalizability of CHC constructs across Western cultural populations that speak different languages and support the continued use and development of the CHC model as a common nomenclature and blueprint for cognitive ability researchers and test developers. Suggestions for future research on the CHC model of intelligence are discussed.

Botulinum toxin preparations: areas for improvement and issues of standardisation

Scientific relevance. Botulinum toxin preparations are a good example of using a deadly toxin as a unique therapeutic agent. However, there are many unresolved issues related to biotechnology, biological activity, interchangeability, and standardisation of botulinum toxin preparations. Aim. To review current opportunities for improving therapeutic botulinum toxin preparations.Discussion. This review covers botulinum toxin type A preparations and unresolved issues related to them. In the absence of international non-proprietary names recommended by the World Health Organisation or by the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, domestic and imported botulinum toxin type A preparations approved in Russia have only similarity-based grouping names. In addition, manufacturers name botulinum toxin preparations at their discretion. Therefore, classifying these preparations under a common nomenclature is essential for clear identification, adequate selection, and correct prescription. Several studies have shown significant variability across botulinum toxin type A preparations. Due to the identified differences in qualitative and quantitative characteristics, botulinum toxin type A preparations cannot be considered similar, which raises the issue of their interchangeability and bioequivalence. To resolve this issue, a unified classification and naming system for botulinum toxin preparations should be established and documented in regulatory standards. According to the literature, manufacturers of botulinum toxin preparations use in-house reference standards. Hence, the same activity unit resulting from toxicity and efficacy studies may express a different protein load for each botulinum toxin preparation. Keeping that in mind, the authors discuss the development of a single international potency standard for existing and pipeline botulinum toxin type A preparations. Conclusions. The article describes novel pharmaceutical compositions containing botulinum toxin, including those in late development. Summarised data from clinical studies on the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of botulinum toxin type A preparations can guide prescribing decisions.

Regionalization in the Republic of Moldova: the essence and form of the manifestation

With the emergence and beginning of the consolidation of the contemporary Moldovan state, serious premises for spontaneous regionalization are created, by virtue of political actions initiated by the intelligentsia and part of the bureaucracy of the administrative system in the southern and eastern districts of the MSSR/Republic of Moldova. The process of spontaneous or „bottom-up” regionalization, which at that time was characterized by an open conflict between the „Political Center” and the „hotbeds” of the political movements in the respective areas, directed by the regional leaders in the bed of the autarchic movements, basically represented a strong „devolution” of the state of the Republic of Moldova, the consequences of which are felt until now. Apart from the manifestations of regionalization „from below”, starting from the second half of the 2010s, the process of regionalization from „above” is starting in the Republic of Moldova - through conscious political actions and the adoption of normative acts that also reflect the course of European integration. As a result of these actions undertaken by the Republic of Moldova and supported by representatives of civil society and the expert community, the territory of the Republic of Moldova was delimited into six „development regions”, which correspond to the European criteria set out in the Common Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). The first results of regionalization policies in the Republic of Moldova are measurable and promising. Government of the Republic of Moldova and supported by representatives of civil society and the expert community, the territory of the Republic of Moldova was delimited into six „development regions”, which correspond to the European criteria set out in the Common Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). The first results of regionalization policies in the Republic of Moldova are measurable and promising.

The classification of freezing cold injuries - a NATO research task group position paper

ABSTRACT Introduction: Freezing cold injuries (FCI) are a common risk in extreme cold weather operations. Although the risks have long been recognised, injury occurrences tend to be sparse and geographically distributed, with relatively few cases to study in a systematic way. The first challenge to improve FCI medical management is to develop a common nomenclature for FCI classification. This is critical for the development of meaningful epidemiological reports on the magnitude and severity of FCI, for the standardisation of patient inclusion criteria for treatment studies, and for the development of clinical diagnosis and treatment algorithms. Methodology: A scoping review of the literature using PubMed and cross-checked with Google Scholar, using search terms related to freezing cold injury and frostbite, highlighted a paucity of published clinical papers and little agreement on classification schemes. Results: A total of 74 papers were identified, and 28 were included in the review. Published reports and studies can be generally grouped into four different classification schemes that are based on (1) injury morphology; (2) signs and symptoms; (3) pathophysiology; and (4) clinical outcome. The nomenclature in the different classification systems is not coherent and the discrete classification limits are not evidence based. Conclusions: All the classification systems are necessary and relevant to FCI medical management for sustainment of soldier health and performance in cold weather operations and winter warfare. Future FCI reports should clearly characterise the nature of the FCI into existing classification schemes for surveillance (morphology, symptoms, and appearance), identifying risk-factors, clinical guidelines, and agreed inclusion/exclusion criteria for a future treatment trial.

MRF: a tool to overcome the barrier of inconsistent genome annotations and perform comparative genomics studies for the largest animal DNA virus

BackgroundThe genome of the largest known animal virus, the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) responsible for huge economic losses and loss of employment in aquaculture, suffers from inconsistent annotation nomenclature. Novel genome sequence, circular genome and variable genome length led to nomenclature inconsistencies. Since vast knowledge has already accumulated in the past two decades with inconsistent nomenclature, the insights gained on a genome could not be easily extendable to other genomes. Therefore, the present study aims to perform comparative genomics studies in WSSV on uniform nomenclature.MethodsWe have combined the standard mummer tool with custom scripts to develop missing regions finder (MRF) that documents the missing genome regions and coding sequences in virus genomes in comparison to a reference genome and in its annotation nomenclature. The procedure was implemented as web tool and in command-line interface. Using MRF, we have documented the missing coding sequences in WSSV and explored their role in virulence through application of phylogenomics, machine learning models and homologous genes.ResultsWe have tabulated and depicted the missing genome regions, missing coding sequences and deletion hotspots in WSSV on a common annotation nomenclature and attempted to link them to virus virulence. It was observed that the ubiquitination, transcription regulation and nucleotide metabolism might be essentially required for WSSV pathogenesis; and the structural proteins, VP19, VP26 and VP28 are essential for virus assembly. Few minor structural proteins in WSSV would act as envelope glycoproteins. We have also demonstrated the advantage of MRF in providing detailed graphic/tabular output in less time and also in handling of low-complexity, repeat-rich and highly similar regions of the genomes using other virus cases.ConclusionsPathogenic virus research benefits from tools that could directly indicate the missing genomic regions and coding sequences between isolates/strains. In virus research, the analyses performed in this study provides an advancement to find the differences between genomes and to quickly identify the important coding sequences/genomes that require early attention from researchers. To conclude, the approach implemented in MRF complements similarity-based tools in comparative genomics involving large, highly-similar, length-varying and/or inconsistently annotated viral genomes.

PurificationDB: database of purification conditions for proteins.

The isolation of proteins of interest from cell lysates is an integral step to study protein structure and function. Liquid chromatography is a technique commonly used for protein purification, where the separation is performed by exploiting the differences in physical and chemical characteristics of proteins. The complex nature of proteins requires researchers to carefully choose buffers that maintain stability and activity of the protein while also allowing for appropriate interaction with chromatography columns. To choose the proper buffer, biochemists often search for reports of successful purification in the literature; however, they often encounter roadblocks such as lack of accessibility to journals, non-exhaustive specification of components and unfamiliar naming conventions. To overcome such issues, we present PurificationDB (https://purificationdatabase.herokuapp.com/), an open-access and user-friendly knowledge base that contains 4732 curated and standardized entries of protein purification conditions. Buffer specifications were derived from the literature using named-entity recognition techniques developed using common nomenclature provided by protein biochemists. PurificationDB also incorporates information associated with well-known protein databases: Protein Data Bank and UniProt. PurificationDB facilitates easy access to data on protein purification techniques and contributes to the growing effort of creating open resources that organize experimental conditions and data for improved access and analysis. Database URL https://purificationdatabase.herokuapp.com/.

Classification and Management Considerations for Intraosseous Dural Arteriovenous Fistulae.

Intraosseous dural arteriovenous fistulas (IODAVFs) are rare DAVFs that communicate with marrow. Given their infrequency, common nomenclature is nonexistent. Patients may present with benign symptoms, such as tinnitus, or venous hypertension symptoms including hemorrhage depending on the venous outflow pattern. To describe all available cases of IODAVF in the literature, in addition to our cases, to better define presentation, and treatment outcomes. To advance a classification system to develop common language for these lesions for clinicians and researchers. Neurointerventional procedure logs at 2 high-volume neurovascular centers were reviewed for all cases of IODAVFs, as was the English-based literature available in PubMed. The angioarchitecture, symptoms, management, and demographics were reviewed and summarized. Four institutional cases were identified, 2 of which had shunting within the marrow (clival or petrous), with venous drainage toward the heart. One case involved the dorsum sella with drainage into the superior petrosal sinus with reflux into the anterior and posterior spinal venous plexuses, and one involved the left petroclival junction, resulting in communication with the cavernous sinus with retrograde drainage into the superior ophthalmic veins. Two patients were managed by observation, one was treated with radiosurgery and one with microsurgical skeletonization. Twenty additional cases from the literature are summarized. IODAVFs of the cerebrocranial vasculature may present incidentally, with tinnitus, or with symptoms related to mass effect or venous hypertension. We propose a classification which accounts for drainage patterns. Further study is needed for these rare lesions.

Proposal for a Common Nomenclature and Risk-Based Approach to Pediatric Eye Health Screening and Examinations: Why, Who, and How?

Proposal for a Common Nomenclature and Risk-Based Approach to Pediatric Eye Health Screening and Examinations: Why, Who, and How?

Beyond Settler Time: Temporal Sovereignty and Indigenous Self-Determination

Beyond Settler Time: Temporal Sovereignty and Indigenous Self-Determination

La carne bovina uruguaya: Acceso a mercados y desempeño exportador, 1980-2015

During the last decades, Uruguayan beef has improved the markets access, opening the door to higher value segments. The aim of this study is to identify the main changes in relation to exported products, importing markets and conditions for market access. The study is carried out based on statistical yearbooks of Instituto Nacional de Carnes (INAC) and information provided by Uruguayan customs, according to MERCOSUR Common Nomenclature (NCM) at the 10-digit level. The analysis goes from 1980 to 2015. According to the results of our research, an increase in the specificity of the exported beef products was found, associated with a greater diversification of markets. Three sub-periods are identified, associated with new destinations and changes in market access conditions. During the first sub period studied (1980-93), there were no significant changes in export performance. Between 1994 and 2005, the second sub-period, exports tripled, both in volume and value. During the third sub-period (2006-2015), the trend in volume reversed, and the substantial jump occurred in value.