Nitrogen metabolism in forest trees

NITROGEN METABOLISM IN FOREST TREES Francisco Cánovas, Concepción Ávila, Fernando N de la Torre, Rafael Cañas, Belén Pascual. Universidad de Málaga Email:[email protected] Forests are essential components of the ecosystems covering approximately one-third of the Earth’s land area and playing a fundamental role in the regulation of terrestrial carbon sinks. Forest trees are also of significant economic importance, as they are used for timber and paper production worldwide. A sustainable management of forest resources is needed to preserve natural forest and to meet the increasing international demands in the production of wood and the other forest-derived products. New advances and developments in biotechnology will contribute to accelerate the domestication of important traits for forest productivity. It is critical to identify the fundamental constraints on forest productivity to addressing these constraints with modern genomic tools. Nitrogen availability extremely low in forest ecosystems, and consequently, forest trees have evolved adaptive mechanism and biotic interactions to guarantee the strict economy of this essential nutrient. Nitrogen assimilation and recycling play a key role in the tree growth and biomass production and we firmly believe that knowledge on nitrogen metabolism will lead to approaches aimed at increasing forest productivity. In our laboratory, we are interested in studying nitrogen metabolism and its regulation the conifer maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton), a forest tree species of great economic and ecological importance in the Mediterranean area and relevant model for conifer genomic research in Europe. Current research efforts are focused on improving the understanding of the response of conifer trees to ammonium availability and the transcriptional control of ammonium assimilation into amino acids. An overview and update of our research programme will be presented and discussed. Research supported by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and Junta de Andalucía (Grants BIO2012-33797, PLE2009-016 and research group BIO-114).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Impactos ambientais do manejo agroecológico da caatinga no Rio Grande do Norte.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os impactos ambientais do manejo agroecológico da caatinga, em unidades de produção familiar no Rio Grande do Norte, pelo método Ambitec de produção animal - dimensão ambiental, desenvolvido pela Embrapa Meio Ambiente. Foram avaliadas sete unidades de produção familiar, em quatro projetos de assentamentos de reforma agrária do Município de Apodi, RN. Os dados para o levantamento foram obtidos por meio de questionários aplicados aos representantes das unidades produtivas familiares, que atribuíram, a cada variável estudada, um valor que representou a alteração proporcionada pela implementação da tecnologia. Após a inserção dos coeficientes de alteração de cada variável dos indicadores por unidade de produção, o coeficiente de impacto foi automaticamente calculado por meio da planilha Ambitec. O manejo agroecológico da caatinga resultou num impacto ambiental positivo, e suas maiores contribuições foram relacionadas aos efeitos positivos dos seguintes indicadores: capacidade produtiva do solo, uso de insumos materiais, qualidade do produto e diminuição da emissão de poluentes à atmosfera. Dois indicadores geraram efeitos negativos: o uso de energia e o uso de recursos naturais. Pela superioridade dos benefícios gerados, o manejo agroecológico da caatinga é uma inovação tecnológica geradora de impactos ambientais positivos

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Recuperação de oócitos e produção in vitro de embriões de vacas estimuladas com fsh ou ecg

It was evaluated the oocyte and embryo in vitro production of 42 Nellore mixed breed cows (Bos taurus indicus) come from de same genetic group, aging from 4 to 9 years, with mean body weight of 420 kg, stimulated with FSH and eCG. The animals were distributed into three groups: group 1, control (n= 14), only with follicular aspi- ration (OPU); group 2, treated with 1400 UI of eCG in a single dose plus OPU (n= 14); and group 3, treated with 120 UI of FSH administered four times plus OPU with 12 h of interval (n= 14). All groups received auricular implant with 3 mg of Norgestomet on the first day (D0) associated with 2 mg of estradiol benzoate intramuscularly. At the seventh day (D7) the implants were removed and the ovarian aspirations were realized on the cows of group 1(OPU). Group 2 had the eCG applied at the fifth day and the OPU was performed at D7. The animals from group 3 were treated with FSH at fifth and sixth day and the aspiration occurred at D7 (OPU). The follicular aspiration procedure was done via transvaginal guided with ultrasound. It was performed 42 aspirations obtaining 627 oocytes, where 502 were viable and 125 non- viable. Then, it was realized the in vitro maturation and fecundation. The cleavage, blastocyst and eclosion rate were evaluated. There were no significant difference (p>0.05) at these parameters between the groups. In conclusion, the gona- dotrophic stimulation with FSH and eCG, at the doses used in this study, was insufficient to increase the quality of the viable oocytes submitted to in vitro fertilization to produce embryos.Avaliou-se a recuperação de oócitos e produção de embriões in vitro de 42 vacas, mestiça Nelore proveniente de grupo genético homogêneo, com idade de 4 a 9 anos, com peso médio de 420 kg, estimuladas com FSH ou eCG. Estas foram distribuídas em três grupos: grupo 1, controle (n=14), apenas OPU, grupo 2, tratadas com 1400 UI de eCG, em dose única seguida de aspiração folicular (OPU) (n= 14); e, grupo 3, tratadas com 120 UI de FSH, administrados com intervalo de 12 horas em quatro doses seguida de OPU (n= 14). Todos os grupos receberam implante auricular contendo 3 mg de Norgestomet no primeiro dia (D0) associado a administração de 2 mg de benzoato de estradiol via intramuscular. No sétimo dia (D7) foram retirados todos os implantes e na sequência foram realizadas as aspirações ovarianas das vacas do grupo 1. O grupo 2 recebeu a aplicação de eCG no quinto dia e a OPU foi realizada no D7. Já o grupo 3 recebeu o tratamento com FSH no quinto e sexto dia, e foram aspiradas em D7. O procedimento de aspiração folicular foi realizado via transvaginal guiada por ultrassom. Foram rea- lizadas 42 aspirações com obtenção de 627 oócitos, sendo 502 viáveis e 125 inviáveis. Realizou-se a maturação e fecundação in vitro. Avaliaram-se as taxas de clivagem, blastocisto e eclosão. Não houve diferenças significativas (p>0,05) nos parâmetros avaliados entre os grupos. Conclui-se que o estímulo ovariano com FSH ou com eCG nas doses utilizadas, foram insuficientes para incre- mentar o número e a qualidade de oócitos viáveis submetidos a fertilização in vitro para produção de embriões