Effects of Accelerate Ageing and Low Temperatures on Germination of Range Grasses

Accelerated ageing and cold tests were used to determine the seed vigour of different valuable forage grasses from the temperate semiarid region of Argentina (Piptochaetium napostaense, Poa ligularis, Stipa longiglumis, Stipa tenuis, Digitaria californica, Pappophorum subbulbosum, Setaria leiantha, Sorghastrum pellitum, Trichloris crinita). In general, warm season species showed greater vigour than cool season species

Changes in volatile compounds of pork loin (fresh and marinated) with different irradiation and packaging during storage

The analysis of volatile compounds by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry after extraction by purge and trap has been used to investigate the volatile compounds of fresh and marinated pork loin after E-beam treatmet as a function of packaging type (air, vacuum and modified atmosphere), radiation dose (1 and 2 kGy) and storage temperature (4 and 8 °C). Major differences were found between fresh and marinated samples but, in general, only minor differences were found in the volatile compounds of both types of loin due to storage temperature, packaging method and doses of irradiation. It is concluded that the application of E-beam is a very useful way to extend the shelflife of fresh and marinated pork loin with no changes in the odor of the products.<br><br>Se ha utilizado la cromatografía de gases/espectrometría de masas, la extracción mediante purga y trampa para estudiar los compuestos volátiles de lomo de cerdo fresco y adobado, tratados con electrones acelerados (1 y 2 kGy) y almacenado en refrigeración (4 y 8 °C) bajo diferentes atmósferas (aire, vacío y atmósfera modificada). Se observaron diferencias importantes entre las muestras de lomo fresco y adobado pero, en general, solo pequeñas diferencias fueron observadas en algunos compuestos volátiles de ambos tipos de lomo debidas al efecto de la temperatura, tiempo de almacenamiento, tipo de atmósfera o dosis de radiación. Se ha concluido que la aplicación de electrones acelerados es una tecnología muy eficaz para ampliar la vida útil del lomo de cerdo fresco y adobado sin que se detecten cambios en el olor de los productos

Performance and challenges in the value chain of the Anadara tuberculosa bivalve mollusk in Ecuador

The bivalve mollusk, Anadara tuberculosa (Black Shell, in Spanish Concha Prieta), is found on America’s Pacific coast, where it is harvested for subsistence and commercial markets. This paper aims to diagnose the performance of the black shell’s value chain. We also identify several challenges that must be addressed to improve the sustainability of the black shell fishery in Ecuador. The applied methodology was quantitative and descriptive. Its design was non-experimental, field, cross-sectional and ex post facto. The investigation was carried out from January to October 2019 in the Jambelí archipelago, El Oro province, Ecuador. The study population consisted of 565 individuals, shellfish collectors, shellfish associations managers, traders, and restaurants from the A. tuberculosa production chain. The sample size was estimated at 222 informants. The type of sampling used was probabilistic, random, stratified, and with proportional allocation, with an effective participation rate of those selected of approximately 80%. The questionnaire was applied personally through the structured survey method, in writing, in the work area, and with their consent. The performance of the value chain was diagnosed in the dimensions of productivity, competitiveness, and quality of life, reaching a 75.1% index, a result that indicates that the value chain has a moderate to good performance level. The competitiveness dimension reached the highest performance, followed by productivity. Quality of life was the dimension with the lowest performance. The value chain can be improved if the following challenges are met: (1) Restoration of the mangrove ecosystem, (2) Promotion of low-intensity shellfish aquaculture, (3) Good sanitary management and purification, (4) Promotion of value-focused ventures, (5) Strengthening of organizations and agreements for the use and custody of mangroves, and (6) Strengthening of institutions that contribute to the advancement of these challenge

An overview of the ciao multiparadigm language and program development environment and its design philosophy

We describe some of the novel aspects and motivations behind the design and implementation of the Ciao multiparadigm programming system. An important aspect of Ciao is that it provides the programmer with a large number of useful features from different programming paradigms and styles, and that the use of each of these features can be turned on and off at will for each program module. Thus, a given module may be using e.g. higher order functions and constraints, while another module may be using objects, predicates, and concurrency. Furthermore, the language is designed to be extensible in a simple and modular way. Another important aspect of Ciao is its programming environment, which provides a powerful preprocessor (with an associated assertion language) capable of statically finding non-trivial bugs, verifying that programs comply with specifications, and performing many types of program optimizations. Such optimizations produce code that is highly competitive with other dynamic languages or, when the highest levéis of optimization are used, even that of static languages, all while retaining the interactive development environment of a dynamic language. The environment also includes a powerful auto-documenter. The paper provides an informal overview of the language and program development environment. It aims at illustrating the design philosophy rather than at being exhaustive, which would be impossible in the format of a paper, pointing instead to the existing literature on the system

Diaphragmatic paralysis, respiratory function, and postoperative pain after interscalene brachial plexus block with a reduced dose of 10 ml levobupivacaine 0.25% versus a 20 ml dose in patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery: study protocol for the randomized controlled double-blind Redole

Background: Arthroscopic shoulder surgery causes severe postoperative pain. An interscalene brachial plexus block provides adequate analgesia, but unintended spread of the local anesthetic administered may result in a phrenic nerve block, usually associated with a nonnegligible incidence of acute hemidiaphragmatic paralysis. The main purpose of this trial will be to analyze the incidence of hemidiaphragmatic paralysis ensuing after interscalene brachial plexus block in patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery administered a standard volume (20 ml) vs. a low volume (10 ml) of levobupivacaine 0.25%. Methods: This will be a prospective double-blind randomized controlled single-center two-arm comparative trial. Forty-eight patients will be included. The primary goal will be to ultrasonographically determine the incidence of hemidiaphragmatic paralysis by calculating the diaphragmatic thickness ratio in each group. The secondary goals will be to compare the two arms in terms of (1) decrease in forced vital capacity and (2) in forced expiratory volume at 1 s by spirometry; (3) decrease in diaphragmatic excursion by ultrasound; (4) 24-h total intravenous morphine consumption; (5) time to first opioid request of a patient-controlled analgesia pump; and (6) postoperative complications. Discussion: This trial will demonstrate that a low-volume interscalene brachial plexus block decreases hemidiaphragmatic paralysis following arthroscopic shoulder surgery according to spirometry and ultrasound measurements and does not provide inferior postoperative analgesia to the standard volume, as measured by opioid requirements. Trial registration: EudraCT and Spanish Trial Register (REec) registration number: 2019-003855-12 (registered on 7 January 2020). ClinicalTrials.gov identification number: NCT04385966 (retrospectively registered on 8 May 2020). Ethics Committee approval: EC19/093 (18 December 2019)

Cambio en la fracción de fosfolípidos de la grasa intramuscular del lomo de cerdo (fresco y adobado) con diferentes irradiaciones y empaquetados durante el almacenamiento

A study on the effect of E-beam (1 and 2 kGy) on the phospholipid classes of fresh and marinated pork loin stored at 4 °C and 8 °C under different atmospheres (air, vacuum and carbon dioxide enriched atmospheres) has been conducted. This is the first time that a study of this kind has been carried out on these types of samples. The combined statistical treatment of the distinct variables shows that minor changes (cardiolpin and sphingomyelin between both types of loin, cardiolipin vs storage temperatures and phosphatidylethanolamine vs the modified atmospheres) are produced in the individual phospholipids subjected to the different selected conditions. The more relevant result was that no effect of the irradiation doses on the phospholipids classes was found, so the E-beam can be considered a useful tool to extend the shelf-life of fresh meat without changes in the phospholipid fraction.Se ha realizado un estudio sobre el efecto de la radiación de electrones (E-beam) (1 y 2 kGy) en las clases de fosfolípidos del lomo de cerdo almacenado a 4 y 8 °C bajo diferentes atmósferas ( aire, vacío y dióxido de carbono). Este tipo de estudio ha sido llevado a cabo por primera vez en este tipo de muestras. El tratamiento estadístico combinado de distintas variables muestran que se producen cambios menores en los fosfolípidos individuales sujetos a las diferentes condiciones seleccionadas (la cardiolipina y la esfingomielina se ven afectadas por el tipo de lomo, la cardiolipina por la temperatura de almacenamiento y la fosfatidiletanolamina por las atmósferas modificadas). El resultado más relevante fue que no hubo efecto de la dosis de radiación en las diferentes clases de fosfolípidos, por lo que la radiación E-beam se convierte en una herramienta útil para prolongar la vida útil de la carne fresca sin producir cambios en la fracción de fosfolípidos de ésta

Cambios en los compuestos volátiles del lomo de cerdo (fresco y adobado) con diferentes irradiaciones y empaquetados durante el almacenamiento

The analysis of volatile compounds by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry after extraction by purge and trap has been used to investigate the volatile compounds of fresh and marinated pork loin after E-beam treatmet as a function of packaging type (air, vacuum and modified atmosphere), radiation dose (1 and 2 kGy) and storage temperature (4 and 8 °C). Major differences were found between fresh and marinated samples but, in general, only minor differences were found in the volatile compounds of both types of loin due to storage temperature, packaging method and doses of irradiation. It is concluded that the application of E-beam is a very useful way to extend the shelflife of fresh and marinated pork loin with no changes in the odor of the products.Se ha utilizado la cromatografía de gases/espectrometría de masas, la extracción mediante purga y trampa para estudiar los compuestos volátiles de lomo de cerdo fresco y adobado, tratados con electrones acelerados (1 y 2 kGy) y almacenado en refrigeración (4 y 8 °C) bajo diferentes atmósferas (aire, vacío y atmósfera modificada). Se observaron diferencias importantes entre las muestras de lomo fresco y adobado pero, en general, solo pequeñas diferencias fueron observadas en algunos compuestos volátiles de ambos tipos de lomo debidas al efecto de la temperatura, tiempo de almacenamiento, tipo de atmósfera o dosis de radiación. Se ha concluido que la aplicación de electrones acelerados es una tecnología muy eficaz para ampliar la vida útil del lomo de cerdo fresco y adobado sin que se detecten cambios en el olor de los productos

Multifunctional lanthanum tetraphosphonates: Flexible, ultramicroporous and proton-conducting hybrid frameworks

A new flexible ultramicroporous solid, La(H5DTMP)·7H2O (1), has been crystallized at room temperature using the tetraphosphonic acid H8DTMP, hexamethylenediamine-N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(methylenephosphonic acid). Its crystal structure, solved by synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction, is characterised by a 3D pillared open-framework containing 1D channels filled with water. Upon dehydration, a new related crystalline phase, La(H5DTMP) (2) is formed. Partial rehydration of 2 led to La(H5DTMP)·2H2O (3). These new phases contain highly corrugated layers showing different degrees of conformational flexibility of the long organic chain. The combination of the structural study and the gas adsorption characterization (N2 and CO2) suggests an ultramicroporous flexible framework. NO isotherms are indicative of a strong irreversible adsorption of NO within the pores. Impedance data indicates that 1 is a proton-conductor with a conductivity of 8 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 297 K and 98% of relative humidity, and an activation energy of 0.25 eV.Proyecto nacional MAT2010-15175 (MICINN, España