Influence of legumes on N cycling in a heathland in northwest Spain

Nitrogen availability frequently limits plant growth in natural ecosystems. N-fixers should have a substantial competitive advantage in N-limited systems, and as a byproduct of their activity they should increase the quantity and availability of N in the system as a whole. However, this effect has rarely been quantified in natural ecosystems. Heathlands in northwest Spain are frequently occupied by legume scrubs. We tested whether the presence of these legumes affected the N cycle in these communities. Specifically, we addressed the following questions: is nitrogen availability higher beneath legume canopies than beneath non-legume canopies? Is soil microbial biomass acting as a sink of extra N mineralized beneath legume canopies? Does the presence of legume scrubs change the soil pools of labile N and P? Is N plant uptake different under N-fixer scrubs than under non-N-fixer scrubs? <br><br> To answer these questions, we sampled soil beneath the canopy of randomly selected individuals of <i>Erica umbellata</i>, <i>Ulex gallii</i>, and <i>Genista tridentata</i> twice during the growing season. Soil samples were analyzed for organic matter, NH<sub>4</sub>-N, NO<sub>3</sub>-N, DON, PO<sub>4</sub>-P, N mineralization and nitrification rates, and soil microbial biomass-N. In addition, we estimated N uptake by plants and the N concentration in green tissue to compare internal N cycles between legume and non-legume scrubs. Nitrification rates, DON (dissolved organic nitrogen), soil NO<sub>3</sub> concentration, and N uptake were significantly higher beneath legume canopies. However, soil microbial biomass-N and extractable-P were significantly lower under legumes. Our results showed that the presence of legume scrubs modify the size of N pools and the dominant form of available N for plants, increasing spatial heterogeneity in mixed stands

Myocardial trabeculation in embryos of Scyliorhinus canicula (Elasmobranchii, Chondrichthyans)

Currently, three types of ventricular myoarchitecture are recognized in vertebrates, namely compact, spongy (trabeculated) and mixed myocardium. Mixed myocardium, which has been recently proposed as the primitive condition in gnathostomes, is composed of two myocardial layers: an inner trabeculated and an outer compact one. The trabeculation process has been studied in teleosts, showing exclusively spongy myocardium, and mammals and birds, characterized by a compact myocardial ventricular wall. In zebrafish, mouse and chicken embryos, the trabeculae develop as luminal myocardial ridges protruding into the lumen. In mammals and birds, further compactation of trabeculae leads to the formation of a compact layer. The potential mechanisms that may contribute to the formation of the ridges are under discussion and include myocardial proliferation, endocardial invagination, and bending of the entire myocardial layer. However, no description of the development of the mixed myocardium is available. To shed some light on this issue, we have studied the heart development of an elasmobranch species with mixed myocardium, the lesser spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula; Chondrichthyes), by means of histological and immunohistochemical techniques for light microscopy, semithin sections, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Our results suggest that in the dogfish the intertrabecular spaces develop by connections between early intramyocardial spaces and the lumen of the ventricle through invaginations of the endocardial line. Chondrichthyans are the earliest diverged lineage of gnathostomes and, consequently, they have the most primitive cardiac design. Although chicken, mouse, and recently zebrafish have been considered powerful vertebrate models to study heart development, we propose that the trabeculation process in the dogfish is representative of the early steps of the ventricular morphogenesis in vertebrates.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.Study supported by grant CGL2017-85090-P and CGL2014-52356-P (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad), FPU15/03209 (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte), FEDER, and Universidad de Málaga

The bulbus arteriosus of the holocephalan heart

El resumen aparece en el Program & Abstracts of the 10th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Barcelona 2013.Anatomical Record, Volume 296, Special Feature — 1: P-074.Previous work has shown that the outflow tract of the elasmobranch heart, namely the cardiac portion intercalated between the ventricle and the ventral aorta, does not consist of a single component, the conus arteriosus, as has classically been assumed, but two, the myocardial conus arteriosus and the non-myocardial bulbus arteriosus. From the evolutionary perspective, knowledge of the anatomy of the cardiac outflow tract of the holocephali is important, as they are the sister group of elasmobranchs. Our aim is to describe the cardiac outflow tract of four holocephalan species, two of them, Chimaera monstrosa and Hydrolagus affinis of the family Chimaeridae, and the other two, Harriotta raleighana and Rhinochimaera atlantica, of the family Rhinochimaeridae. The cardiac outflow tract of the four species consisted of a myocardial conus arteriosus, furnished with valves, and a bulbus arteriosus devoid of cardiac muscle. Both the bulbus and conus are tubular in shape. The length of the bulbus relative to the total length of the outflow tract is somewhat smaller in the rhinochimaerids (15%-19%) than in the chimaerids (19%-23%). The bulbus is covered by epicardium and is crossed by the main coronary artery trunks. Histologically, the bulbus is mainly composed of elastin and collagen, and, to a lesser extent, by smooth muscle. This suggests that in holocephalans, the bulbus actively helps to protect the gill vasculature from exposure to high-pressure pulses of blood. Our results prove that the bulbus arteriosus is common to chondrichthyans. In addition, they support the hypothesis that the cardiac outflow tract consisted of a conus arteriosus and a bulbus arteriosus from the beginning of the jawed vertebrate radiation, contributing to our understanding of the morphological changes that have occurred at the arterial pole of the heart in both actinopterygians and sarcopterygians.Proyecto CGL2010-16417/BOS; Fondos FEDE

MYOCARDIAL STRUCTURE AND VASCULARIZATION OF THE HEART VENTRICLE IN HOLOCEPHALI: IMPLICATIONS FOR HEART EVOLUTION

El resumen aparece en el Program & Abstracts of the 10th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Barcelona 2013. Anatomical Record, Volume 296, Special Feature — 1: P-075.It has been classically assumed that the ventricle of the primitive vertebrate heart is composed of spongy myocardium, supplied exclusively by oxygen-poor, luminal blood. This idea is on two facts: (1) extant agnathans have a spongy ventricular myocardium, and (2) in avian and mammalian embryos, the formation of trabeculated myocardium precedes the appearance of compact myocardium. Recently, it has been proposed that, like elasmobranchs, the early gnathostomes possess a fully vascularised ventricle composed of mixed myocardium. We tested this idea by studying the structure and vascularisation of the ventricular myocardium in four holocephalan species of the families Chimaeridae and Rhinochimaeridae. Chimaera monstrosa, Hidrolagus affinis and Harriotta raleighana have a spongy myocardium covered by a thin layer of cardiac muscle. In H. raleighana, the compacta is reduced to an extremely fine rim. In all three species there is a well-developed coronary artery system consisting of subepicardial vessels which give off branches that penetrate the myocardial trabeculae. Rhinochimaera atlantica has no compacta and its ventricular coronary artery system is reduced to subepicardial vessels that do not enter the spongy layer. This report is the first to show that in wild living vertebrates, a coronary artery system supplying the whole myocardium exists in the absence of a well-developed compacta, which supports experimental work that shows that myocardial cell proliferation and coronary vascular growth rely on genetically separated programs. We conclude that the mixed ventricular myocardium is primitive for chondrichthyans, and that the lack of compacta in some holocephalans is a derived character. Moreover our results support the hypotheses that the mixed myocardium is the primitive condition in gnathostomes, and that the absence of a compacta in different actinopterygian taxa is the result of its repeated loss during evolution.Proyecto CGL2010-16417/BOS; Fondos FEDE

Anatomical, histochemical and immunohistochemical characterization of the outflow tract of ray hearts (Rajiformes; Chondrichthyes)

El resumen aparece en el Program & Abstracts of the 11th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Washington DC 2016. Anatomical Record, Volume 299, Special Feature: 264.Recent work has shown that the cardiac outflow tract of sharks and chimaeras does not consist of a single myocardial component, the conus arteriosus, as classically accepted, but two, namely, the myocardial conus arteriosus and the non-myocardial bulbus arteriosus. However, the anatomical composition of the outflow tract of the batoid hearts remains unknown. The present study was designed to fill this gap. The material examined consisted of hearts of two species of rays, namely, the Mediterranean starry ray (Raja asterias) and sandy ray (Leucoraja circularis). They were studied using scanning electron microscopy, and histochemical and inmunohistochemical techniques. In both species, the outflow tract consists of two components, proximal and distal with regard to the ventricle. The proximal component is the conus arteriosus; it is characterized by the presence of compact myocardium in its wall and several transverse rows of pocket-shaped valves at its luminal side. Each valve consists of a leaflet and its supporting sinus. Histologically, the leaflet has two fibrosas, inner and outer, and a middle coat, the spongiosa. The distal component lacks myocardium. Its wall consists of smooth muscle cells, elastic fibers and collagen. Thus, it shows an arterial-like structure. However, it differs from the aorta because it is covered by the epicardium and crossed by coronary arteries. These findings indicate that the distal component is morphologically equivalent to the bulbus arteriosus of sharks and chimaeras. In contrast to foregoing descriptions, the valves of the first transverse row are distally anchored to the bulbus arteriosus and not to the ventral aorta. Our findings give added support to the notion that presence of a bulbus arteriosus at the arterial pole of the heart is common to all chondrichtyans, and not an apomorphy of actinopterygians as classically thought.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. CGL2014-52356-P, CEIMAR, BIO 203, FEDE

Approach to anaerobic bio-degradation of natural and synthetic fabrics: Physico-chemical study of the alteration processes

In this paper, the mesophilic Biochemical Methane Potential of several fabrics was assessed at different Total Solid concentrations (1–4%TS). Physico-chemical techniques were applied to explore the arising structural changes on fibers during the anaerobic digestion process. Additionally, the modified Gompertz model was used to assess and compare the AD performance of the fabrics. In cellulose-based fibers the production of biogas was enhanced thanks to the easy solubilization of acetate, which is generated upon partial breakage of cellulose bonds. The crystallinity of vegetal fibers decreased significantly from day 19. The highest methane yields were attained for silk and wool fabrics at the lowest TS concentrations. Conformational changes in fibroin and keratin were detected. The highest degrees of degradation were observed in solid samples with lower solid concentrations. Accordingly, the maximum methane yields were reported in the reactors operating with lower TS

Despliegue de redes inalámbricas (WI-FI): planificación radio

Desde hace apenas tres años, una tecnología, o quizás sería más exacto, un protocolo de comunicaciones empezó a despuntar con éxito y vistas de un tremendo futuro. Esta tecnología basada en el estándar IEEE 802.11b y conocida como Wi-Fi (“Wireless Fidelity”) ha conseguido unos altos niveles de implantación, desbordar el ámbito de aplicaciones y servicios para los que fue inicialmente concebida y ser un poderoso complemento a otras tecnologías que requieren importantes infraestructuras y altos niveles de inversión

Good practice in Higher Education and Virtual Learning

[EN] Changes in faculty behavior patterns can occur either from surface modifications (change 1) or from changes supported by modifications of the teacher’s thinking and pedagogical knowledge (change 2). The present manuscript aims to motivate change 2 through a guide that invites teachers to reflect, how to address good teaching practices, from profound changes in their thinking and teaching style, specifically in university virtual modality. This proposal is based on a literature review: (1) good practices in different verticals, (2) good educational practices in virtual education and (3) models of good educational practices to identify a set of practices for virtual education. Subsequently, a guide of three moments is introduced, so teachers can use as an exercise for self-evaluation to determine whether good educational practices have been accepted only to fulfill an administrative – academic requirement or if these practices are part of a change in their thinking and pedagogical knowledge . Virtual education still faces great challenges in the knowledge society, as its quality is questioned, mostly because of the lack of physical interaction that characterizes the classroom education. Thus, an invitation is extended to faculty, to use the guide and iteratively question himself, what kind of change would faculty wants to embrace for his teaching career path?[ES] Los cambios en los patrones conductuales del docente se pueden dar a partir de modificaciones superficiales (cambio 1) o si este cambio viene acompañado de modificaciones en su pensamiento y conocimiento pedagógico en que se apoya (cambio 2). El presente artículo tiene como propósito promover el cambio 2, a través de una guía que invite al docente a la reflexión, de manera que pueda abordar las buenas prácticas docentes a partir de cambios profundos en su pensamiento y estilo de enseñanza específicamente en la educación virtual universitaria. Esta propuesta se sustenta en una revisión literaria sobre: (1) las buenas prácticas en diferentes verticales, (2) las buenas prácticas educativas en la educación virtual y (3) modelos de buenas prácticas educativas para identificar un conjunto de prácticas para la educación virtual. Posteriormente, se presenta una guía de tres momentos, que el docente podrá utilizar como ejercicio de autoevaluación y así determinar si la adopción de buenas prácticas educativas es del tipo cambio 1 o del tipo cambio 2. La educación virtual aún enfrenta retos y desafíos en la Sociedad del Conocimiento, ya que se cuestiona su calidad por la falta de interacción física, que por naturaleza, la educación presencial posee. Por ende, se invita al docente universitario a que utilice la guía y a la vez preguntarse iterativamente, ¿qué tipo de cambio desea asumir en su patrón conductual? Del tipo de cambio que asuma, dependerá su contribución a la calidad de la educación virtual.Durán Rodríguez, R.; Estay-Niculcar, CA. (2016). Las buenas prácticas docentes en la educación virtual universitaria. REDU. Revista de Docencia Universitaria. 14(2):159-186. doi:10.4995/redu.2016.5905.SWORD15918614

Protection of Rabbits against Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus by Immunization with the VP60 Protein Expressed in Plants with a Potyvirus-Based Vector

AbstractA new plum pox potyvirus (PPV)-based vector has been constructed for the expression of full-length individual foreign proteins. The foreign sequences are cloned between the NIb replicase and capsid protein (CP) cistrons. The heterologous protein is split from the rest of the potyviral polyprotein by cleavage at the site that originally separated the NIb and CP proteins and at an additional NIa protease recognition site engineered at its amino-terminal end. This vector (PPV–NK) has been used to clone different genes, engendering stable chimeras with practical applications. We have constructed a chimera expressing high levels of jellyfish green fluorescent protein, which can be very useful for the study of PPV molecular biology. The VP60 structural protein of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) was also successfully expressed by making use of the PPV–NK vector. Inoculation of extracts from VP60-expressing plants induced a remarkable immune response against RHDV in rabbits, its natural host. Moreover, these animals were protected against a lethal challenge with RHDV