Decomposition and nutrient release of leguminous plants in coffee agroforestry systems.

Leguminous plants used as green manure are an important nutrient source for coffee plantations, especially for soils with low nutrient levels. Field experiments were conducted in the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais State, Brazil to evaluate the decomposition and nutrient release rates of four leguminous species used as green manures (Arachis pintoi, Calopogonium mucunoides, Stizolobium aterrimum and Stylosanthes guianensis) in a coffee agroforestry system under two different climate conditions. The initial N contents in plant residues varied from 25.7 to 37.0 g kg-1 and P from 2.4 to 3.0 g kg-1. The lignin/N, lignin/polyphenol and(lignin+polyphenol)/N ratios were low in all residues studied. Mass loss rates were highest in the first 15 days, when 25 % of the residues were decomposed. From 15 to 30 days, the decomposition rate decreased on both farms. On the farm in Pedra Dourada (PD), the decomposition constant k increased in the order C. mucunoides < S. aterrimum < S. guianensis < A. pintoi. On the farm in Araponga (ARA), there was no difference in the decomposition rate among leguminous plants. The N release rates varied from 0.0036 to 0.0096 d-1. Around 32 % of the total N content in the plant material was released in the first 15 days. In ARA, the N concentration in the S. aterrimum residues was always significantly higher than in the other residues. At the end of 360 days, the N released was 78 % in ARA and 89 % in PD of the initial content. Phosphorus was the most rapidly released nutrient (k values from 0.0165 to 0.0394 d-1). Residue decomposition and nutrient release did not correlate with initial residue chemistry and biochemistry, but differences in climatic conditions between the two study sites modified the decomposition rate constants

Actinobacterial Diversity in Volcanic Caves and Associated Geomicrobiological Interactions

16 páginas.-- 8 figuras.-- 2 tablas.-- 66 referencias.-- Material suplementario http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01342Volcanic caves are filled with colorful microbial mats on the walls and ceilings. These volcanic caves are found worldwide, and studies are finding vast bacteria diversity within these caves. One group of bacteria that can be abundant in volcanic caves, as well as other caves, is Actinobacteria. As Actinobacteria are valued for their ability to produce a variety of secondary metabolites, rare and novel Actinobacteria are being sought in underexplored environments. The abundance of novel Actinobacteria in volcanic caves makes this environment an excellent location to study these bacteria. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) from several volcanic caves worldwide revealed diversity in the morphologies present. Spores, coccoid, and filamentous cells, many with hair-like or knobby extensions, were some of the microbial structures observed within the microbial mat samples. In addition, the SEM study pointed out that these features figure prominently in both constructive and destructive mineral processes. To further investigate this diversity, we conducted both Sanger sequencing and 454 pyrosequencing of the Actinobacteria in volcanic caves from four locations, two islands in the Azores, Portugal, and Hawai'i and New Mexico, USA. This comparison represents one of the largest sequencing efforts of Actinobacteria in volcanic caves to date. The diversity was shown to be dominated by Actinomycetales, but also included several newly described orders, such as Euzebyales, and Gaiellales. Sixty-two percent of the clones from the four locations shared less than 97% similarity to known sequences, and nearly 71% of the clones were singletons, supporting the commonly held belief that volcanic caves are an untapped resource for novel and rare Actinobacteria. The amplicon libraries depicted a wider view of the microbial diversity in Azorean volcanic caves revealing three additional orders, Rubrobacterales, Solirubrobacterales, and Coriobacteriales. Studies of microbial ecology in volcanic caves are still very limited. To rectify this deficiency, the results from our study help fill in the gaps in our knowledge of actinobacterial diversity and their potential roles in the volcanic cave ecosystems.The authors acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (project CGL2013-41674-P) and FEDER Funds for financial support. AM acknowledges the support from the Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship of the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme (PIEF-GA-2012-328689). CR was funded by the Regional Fund for Science and Technology and Pro-Emprego program of the Regional Government of the Azores, Portugal [M3.1.7/F/013/2011, M3.1.7/F/030/2011]. Her work was partly supported by National funds from the Foundation for Science and Technology of the Portuguese Government, [Understanding Underground Biodiversity: Studies in Azorean Lava Tubes (reference PTDC/AMB/70801/2006]. The authors would like to thank the TRU Innovation in Research Grant, TRU UREAP Fund, Western Economic Diversification Canada Fund, Kent Watson (assisted with the Helmcken Falls Cave sample collection), Derrick Horne (UBC BioImaging Facility for the SEM work). We acknowledged the Canadian Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations for Park Use Permit#102172. This work was also supported by the Cave Conservancy of the Virginias, the Graduate Research Allocation Committee at UNM Biology, UNM Biology Grove Scholarship, the Student Research Allocation Committee at UNM, the National Speleological Society, the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium, the New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation Program, the New Mexico Geological Society, and Kenneth Ingham Consulting. We acknowledge support from the UNM Molecular Biology Facility, which is supported by NIH grant number P20GM103452. The authors also wish to thank Fernando Pereira, Ana Rita Varela, Pedro Correia, Berta Borges, and Guida Pires for help during field and lab work in the Azores. The authors gratefully acknowledge the photographic contributions of Kenneth Ingham and Pedro Cardoso and Michael Spilde (SEM images). The authors would like to thank Dr. Steven Van Wagoner (TRU) and Drs. Julian Davies and Vivian Miao (UBC) for their invaluable comments in manuscript preparation. We gratefully acknowledge the help and collecting permits granted by the staff of El Malpais National Monument and Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park (USA).Peer reviewe

In vitro efficacy of pro- and anticoagulant strategies in compensated and acutely ill patients with cirrhosis

BACKGROUND & AIMS: A simultaneous decline in pro- and anticoagulant drivers in patients with liver diseases results in a "rebalanced" haemostatic system, even in acutely ill patients. Nevertheless, both bleeding and thrombotic events are common. Here, we explored efficacy of pro- and antihaemostatic strategies in compensated and acutely ill cirrhotics which may be unpredictable given the profound haemostatic changes. METHODS: We tested the effects in vitro of the addition of clinically relevant doses of commonly used pro- and antihaemostatic strategies in plasma from healthy individuals (n = 30) and patients with compensated (n = 18) and acutely decompensated cirrhosis (n = 18), and acute-on-chronic liver failure (n = 10). We used thrombin generation tests and fibrin clot permeability assays to assess potency of various approaches. RESULTS: Fresh frozen plasma and recombinant factor VIIa modestly increased thrombin generation (10%-20%). Prothrombin complex concentrate increased thrombin generation two-fold in controls and 2-4-fold in patients. Clot permeability decreased after addition of fibrinogen concentrate by 51% in controls and by 50%-60% in patients. Low molecular weight heparin decreased thrombin generation by 18% in controls and by 23%-54% in patients. Similarly, dabigatran decreased thrombin generation by 33% in controls and by 47%-100% in patients. In contrast, rivaroxaban decreased thrombin generation by 55% in controls, but only by 11%-38% in patients. CONCLUSIONS: These in vitro data suggest little prohaemostatic effect of fresh frozen plasma and recombinant factor VIIa in acutely ill cirrhotics, whereas prothrombin complex concentrate and fibrinogen concentrate clearly improved haemostasis. Furthermore, our data suggest the requirement for dose adjustments of commonly used anticoagulants in these patients

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Search for new physics with dijet angular distributions in proton-proton collisions at root S = 13 TeV

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Search for narrow resonances in dilepton mass spectra in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV and combination with 8 TeV data

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