Los fondos revolventes comunales (FRC) impulsado por la Asociación para la Diversificación y el Desarrollo Agrícola Comunal (ADDAC) como alternativa al Desarrollo de las comunidades de El Chile, Barrial Colorado y Caño los Martínez En el municipio de Waslala, durante el periodo 2013

Esta investigación se realizó en el municipio de Waslala jurisdicción de la Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte (RAAN). La cual consistió en el estudio de los fondos revolventes comunitario (FRC), como alternativa al desarrollo, durante el período 2013. El método de estudio es la investigación acción participativa (IAP), pues está permite, promover una teoría y una práctica de ciudadanía activa y solidaria. Propone el estudio de la realidad como una forma de conocimiento y sensibilización de la propia población. Es de tipo explicativa y descriptiva, porque se da a conocer el funcionamiento y la organización de los fondos revolventes. El enfoque empleado es cualitativo y cuantitativo. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron: grupo focal, entrevista a la junta directiva de las comunidades El Chile, Barrial Colorado y Caño los Martínez. Este organismo (ADDAC) posee 80 fondos revolventes en su universo. Se realizó un muestreo intencional por la institución de 39 fondos revolventes, de los cuales abordamos en particular las tres comunidades antes mencionadas. Esta indagación se realizó en varias etapas, la primera fase consistió en la problematización y diagnóstico participativo, que se basaba en conocer la organización y el funcionamiento de los fondos revolventes, en la segunda una devolución reflexiva y sistematización comparativa, con el propósito de evaluar el comportamiento de dichos fondos luego de la primera visita la que fue evaluada por ADDAC con anterioridad, a continuación en la última etapa, se realizó el taller de intervención que residía en proponer nuevas alternativas para un mejor desempeño de los fondos. Estos fondos son impulsados, con el fin de proporcionar instrumentos financieros, organización campesina, desarrollo agropecuario, productivo, comercial, gestión empresarial, sentido de equidad de género y desde la perspectiva e incidencia en el desarrollo humano, con el objetivo de eliminar las barreras del asistencialism

Nutrient Composition, Forage Parameters, and Antioxidant Capacity of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa, L.) in Response to Saline Irrigation Water

Although alfalfa is moderately tolerant of salinity, the effects of salinity on nutrient composition and forage parameters are poorly understood. In addition, there are no data on the effect of salinity on the antioxidant capacity of alfalfa. We evaluated four non-dormant, salinity-tolerant commercial cultivars, irrigated with saline water with electrical conductivities of 3.1, 7.2, 12.7, 18.4, 24.0, and 30.0 dS·m−1, designed to simulate drainage waters from the California Central Valley. Alfalfa shoots were evaluated for nutrient composition, forage parameters, and antioxidant capacity. Salinity significantly increased shoot N, P, Mg, and S, but decreased Ca and K. Alfalfa micronutrients were also affected by salinity, but to a lesser extent. Na and Cl increased significantly with increasing salinity. Salinity slightly improved forage parameters by significantly increasing crude protein, the net energy of lactation, and the relative feed value. All cultivars maintained their antioxidant capacity regardless of salinity level. The results indicate that alfalfa can tolerate moderate to high salinity while maintaining nutrient composition, antioxidant capacity, and slightly improved forage parameters, thus meeting the standards required for dairy cattle feedEEA Santiago del EsteroFil: Ferreira, Jorge F.S. USDA. Agricultural Research Service. US Salinity Lab; Estados UnidosFil: Cornacchione, Monica. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santiago del Estero; ArgentinaFil: Xuan, Liu. USDA. Agricultural Research Service. US Salinity Lab; Estados UnidosFil: Suarez, Donald L. USDA. Agricultural Research Service. US Salinity Lab; Estados Unido

Variable salinity responses of 12 alfalfa genotypes and comparative expression analyses of salt-response genes

Twelve alfalfa genotypes that were selected for biomass under salinity, differences in Na and Cl concentrations in shoots and K/Na ratio were evaluated in this long-term salinity experiment. The selected plants were cloned to reduce genetic variability within each genotype. Salt tolerance (ST) index of the genotypes ranged from 0.39 to 1. The most salt-tolerant genotypes SISA14-1 (G03) and AZ-90ST (G10), the top performers for biomass, exhibited the least effect on shoot number and height. SISA14-1 (G03) accumulated low Na and Cl under salinity. Most genotypes exhibited a net reduction in shoot Ca, Mg, P, Fe, and Cu, while Mn and Zn increased under salinity. Salinity reduced foliar area and stomatal conductance; while net photosynthetic rate and transpiration were not affected. Interestingly, salinity increased chlorophyll and antioxidant capacity in most genotypes; however neither parameter correlated well to ST index. Salt-tolerant genotypes showed upregulation of the SOS1, SOS2, SOS3, HKT1, AKT1, NHX1, P5CS1, HSP90.7, HSP81.2, HSP71.1, HSPC025, OTS1, SGF29 and SAL1 genes. Gene expression analyses allowed us to classify genotypes based on their ability to regulate different components of the salt tolerance mechanism. Pyramiding different components of the salt tolerance mechanism may lead to superior salt-tolerant alfalfa genotypes.EEA Santiago del EsteroFil: Sandhu, Devinder. USDA. Agricultural Research Service. US Salinity Lab; Estados UnidosFil: Cornacchione, Monica. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santiago del Estero; ArgentinaFil: Ferreira, Jorge F.S. USDA. Agricultural Research Service. US Salinity Lab; Estados UnidosFil: Suarez, Donald L. USDA. Agricultural Research Service. US Salinity Lab; Estados Unido

The Combined Effects of Salinity and Drought on Young Almond Trees and Physiological Parameters

In drought years, almond growers have to restrict fresh water application, either stressing the trees with inadequate water or adding saline water and reducing water stress but causing salt stress. Tree response to combined water and salt stress are critical consideration on management decisions but there is no appropriate information currently. That’s why, it was investigated the water and salt stress and combined water-salt stress on two almond varieties in a two year (2015 and 2016) outdoor experiment with young trees. Trees were 1 year old at the beginning of the experiment. The experiment was conducted USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Salinity Laboratory, Riverside, California, USA. Drought treatments consisted of 100%, 80% and 60% of tree evapotranspiration (ET) and salt treatments of Electrical Conductivity (EC= 0.55, 1.20, 2.40 and 3.0 dS m-1), for a total of 120 trees in twelve treatments with two varieties and five replicates. We examined water use, trunk diameter and physiological parameters (leaf net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and leaf water potential). Photosynthetic rate values (Pn) ranged between 3.53 and 11.08 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1 for Nonpareil and 4.58 and 9.48 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1 for Aldridge. Stomatal conductance values ranged between 0.076 and 0.283 mol H2O m-2 s-1 for Nonpareil and 0.097 and 0.302 for Aldridge. All parameters showed significant decline starting at 80% water application and EC 1.2 dS m-1. In terms of growth rather than survival, almond was sensitive to water as well as salt stress. We evaluated combined stress using three stress response models: additive stress, dominant stress model and a multiplicative stress model where the predicted growth loss is obtained by multiplying the relative growth response for the individual stresses. Equation (2) for reduction in trunk growth were developed for treatments with either salinity only or water only stress. Both varieties grafted to Nemaguard rootstock were very sensitive to salinity with growth loss starting at EC 1.2 dS m-1. The results indicate that the Nonpareil is more sensitive to drought and salt stress than Aldridge. Aldridge almond variety can be recommended for areas where water supplies are scarce and salinized

A quantitative assessment of the role of the parasite Amoebophrya in the termination of Alexandrium fundyense blooms within a small coastal embayment

© The Author(s), 2013. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 8 (2013): e81150, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0081150.Parasitic dinoflagellates of the genus Amoebophrya infect free-living dinoflagellates, some of which can cause harmful algal blooms (HABs). High prevalence of Amoebophrya spp. has been linked to the decline of some HABs in marine systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of Amoebophrya spp. on the dynamics of dinoflagellate blooms in Salt Pond (MA, USA), particularly the harmful species Alexandrium fundyense. The abundance of Amoebophrya life stages was estimated 3–7 days per week through the full duration of an annual A. fundyense bloom using fluorescence in situ hybridization coupled with tyramide signal amplification (FISH- TSA). More than 20 potential hosts were recorded including Dinophysis spp., Protoperidinium spp. and Gonyaulax spp., but the only dinoflagellate cells infected by Amoebophrya spp. during the sampling period were A. fundyense. Maximum A. fundyense concentration co-occurred with an increase of infected hosts, followed by a massive release of Amoebophrya dinospores in the water column. On average, Amoebophrya spp. infected and killed ~30% of the A. fundyense population per day in the end phase of the bloom. The decline of the host A. fundyense population coincided with a dramatic life-cycle transition from vegetative division to sexual fusion. This transition occurred after maximum infected host concentrations and before peak infection percentages were observed, suggesting that most A. fundyense escaped parasite infection through sexual fusion. The results of this work highlight the importance of high frequency sampling of both parasite and host populations to accurately assess the impact of parasites on natural plankton assemblages.L. Velo-Sua´rez was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship (IOF; grant agreement: MOHAB PIOF-GA-252260). This work was supported in part by NSF grants OCE-0430724 and OCE-0911031 and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grants 1P50-ES01274201 and 1P01ES021923-01 to D.M. Anderson and D.J. McGillicuddy through the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health, National Park Service Cooperative Agreement H238015504 to D.M. Anderson

Phase- Specific Changes in Rate of Force Development and Muscle Morphology throughout a Block Periodized Training Cycle in Weightlifters

The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinetic and morphological adaptations that occur during distinct phases of a block periodized training cycle in weightlifters. Athlete monitoring data from nine experienced collegiate weightlifters was used. Isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) and ultrasonography (US) results were compared to examine the effects of three specific phases of a training cycle leading up to a competition. During the high volume strength-endurance phase (SE) small depressions in rate of force development (RFD) but statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) increases in vastus lateralis cross-sectional area (CSA), and body mass (BM) were observed. The lower volume higher intensity strength-power phase (SP) caused RFD to rebound above pre-training cycle values despite statistically significant reductions in CSA. Small to moderate increases only in the earlier RFD time bands (\u3c150 \u3ems) occurred during the peak/taper phase (PT) while CSA and BM were maintained. Changes in IMTP RFD and CSA from US reflected the expected adaptations of block periodized training phases. Changes in early (\u3c100 \u3ems) and late (≥150 ms) RFD time bands may not occur proportionally throughout different training phases. Small increases in RFD and CSA can be expected in well-trained weightlifters throughout a single block periodized training cycle

Capital Mobility and Exchange Market Intervention in Developing Countries

This paper develops a new technique for measuring changes in the degree of capital mobility confronting a developing country that has restrictions on capital flows and official ceilings on domestic interest rates. Because such official controls rule out the use of traditional interest rate parity conditions to measure changes in the degree of capital mobility, the analysis first examines an intertemporal model of an open economy. This model describes the linkages between the cost of undertaking disguised capital flows, the current account, capital controls, domestic and external financial market conditions, and the authorities' foreign exchange market interventions. The model suggests a means of measuring changes in the cost of undertaking disguised capital flows, based on the past history of differentials between external interest rates (adjusted for exchange rate changes) and domestic ceiling interest rates, provided that the authorities' foreign exchange market activities are incorporated into the analysis. Parameter estimates for Korea, Mexico, and the Philippines indicate that the real cost of undertaking disguised capital flows declined on average by nearly 70 percent between the early 1970s and the late 1980s.

Rapid growth and concerted sexual transitions by a bloom of the harmful dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense (Dinophyceae)

© The Author(s), 2015. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Limnology and Oceanography 60 (2015): 2059–2078, doi:10.1002/lno.10155.Transitions between life cycle stages by the harmful dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense are critical for the initiation and termination of its blooms. To quantify these transitions in a single population, an Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB), was deployed in Salt Pond (Eastham, Massachusetts), a small, tidally flushed kettle pond that hosts near annual, localized A. fundyense blooms. Machine-based image classifiers differentiating A. fundyense life cycle stages were developed and results were compared to manually corrected IFCB samples, manual microscopy-based estimates of A. fundyense abundance, previously published data describing prevalence of the parasite Amoebophrya, and a continuous culture of A. fundyense infected with Amoebophrya. In Salt Pond, a development phase of sustained vegetative division lasted approximately 3 weeks and was followed by a rapid and near complete conversion to small, gamete cells. The gametic period (∼3 d) coincided with a spike in the frequency of fusing gametes (up to 5% of A. fundyense images) and was followed by a zygotic phase (∼4 d) during which cell sizes returned to their normal range but cell division and diel vertical migration ceased. Cell division during bloom development was strongly phased, enabling estimation of daily rates of division, which were more than twice those predicted from batch cultures grown at similar temperatures in replete medium. Data from the Salt Pond deployment provide the first continuous record of an A. fundyense population through its complete bloom cycle and demonstrate growth and sexual induction rates much higher than are typically observed in culture.National Science Foundation Grant Number: OCE-0430724, OCE-0911031, and OCE-1314642; National Institutes of Health Grant Number: NIEHS-1P50-ES021923-01; National Park Service (NPS) Cooperative Agreement Grant Number: H238015504; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Grant Number: #2649 to HMS; IOF Grant Number: MOHAB PIOF-GA-25226