Silvopastoral systems established with Pinus radiate D. Don and Betula pubescens Ehrh.: Tree growth, understorey biomass and vascular plant biodiversity

In the European Union, the majority of afforestation is carried out on former agricultural land. This afforestation causes fundamental changes in ecosystem structure and functioning, with the trees intercepting light and precipitation, producing litterfall and competing for soil nutrients. All of these effects could potentially have a negative impact on understorey biomass and vascular plant biodiversity in a relatively short time span. This study aims to evaluate the effects of afforestation with Pinus radiata D. Don (Monterey pine: pine) and Betula pubescens Ehrh. (Downy birch: birch), established at two different densities (2500 and 833 trees ha21) and sown with two different pasture mixtures (Dactylis glomerata L. + Trifolium repens L. + Trifolium pratense L. and Lolium perenne L. + T. repens L. + T. pratense L.), on understorey biomass, alpha plant biodiversity, life cycle type (annuals vs. perennials) and beta biodiversity over a period of 11 years. Pine showed better development than birch throughout the study, although both species were very sensitive to tree density. While increasing density increased pine height and decreased pine diameter, both aspects of birch development were reduced by higher tree densities. Aboveground biomass increased throughout the study. Alpha plant biodiversity was drastically reduced under pine established at high density, 11 years after afforestation. However, the similarities in species richness, species composition and the low beta growth rates found under pine at low density, and birch at both high and low density suggest that, in these cases, the choice of canopy tree has little consequence for understorey biodiversity at this stage of system development.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Stability of Tilo® tablets formulation obtained from dry extract of Justice pectoralis Jacq.

Justicia pectoralis Jacq., Acanthaceae, is a herb known popularly in Cuba as Tilo and used traditionally as sedative. The development in a solid pharmaceutical (Tablets 100 mg) using dry extract of Justicia pectolaris aqueous extract is of interest for the development of phytomedicines, which uses this active raw material. The aim of the present study was to carry out chemical and biological stability studies to the formulation. A method of coumarin determination by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used and validated. The stability studies during different periods of time (24 months) showed a stability of the product stored at 32 ± 2 °C, and protected of the light.Justicia pectoralis Jacq., Acanthaceae é uma erva conhecida popularmente em Cuba como Tilo e utilizada tradicionalmente como sedativo. O desenvolvimento de formas farmacêuticas sólidas (comprimido 100 mg) usando extrato aquoso seco de J. pectoralis é de interesse no desenvolvimento de fitoterápicos que empreguem esse princípio ativo. O objetivo do presente estudo foi realizar estudos de estabilidade químicos e biológicos da formulação. Um método de determinação de cumarinas por Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Eficiência (CLAE) foi usado e devidamente validado. Os estudos de estabilidade durante diferentes períodos de tempo (24 meses) mostraram a estabilidade do produto preservado a 32 ± 2 °C e protegido da luz

Effect of Tree Species and Density on Pasture Production in Galicia, Spain

Galicia produces 50% of the forest products of Spain. Livestock production earns 62% of the income of the agrarian sector in Galicia. Afforestation has been very important in the last decade to such an extent that the area of forest and woodlands now covers 62% of Galicia. It is necessary to increase the rate of return on investments in planted forests in order to avoid rural depopulation through improvement of rural development and welfare. This paper reports on the effect of combining pastures with trees

Seasonal Variation of Crude Protein Content of Different Herbaceous, Shrub and Tree Species

Silvopastoralism is a sustainable way of land management that reduces fire risk due to the reduction of fuel under trees when plants are used as animal food. This is particularly important in areas like Galicia that have 16% of the fired area of Europe. Silvopastoral systems can contribute to environment conservation and provide feed for autochthonous breeds more adapted to mountain conditions, enhancing biodiversity conservation. In formation on seasonal changes in crude protein content of spontaneous species will indicate better management of pasture resources in mountain areas

Propagation of Rayleighs waves in cracked media

Este trabajo está enfocado a la obtención de resultados numéricos que permitan la detección y caracterización de grietas sub-superficiales en sólidos mediante la incidencia de ondas elásticas de Rayleigh. Los resultados se obtienen a partir de ecuaciones integrales de frontera, que pertenecen al campo de la elastodinámica. Una vez que se aplican las condiciones de frontera se obtiene un sistema de ecuaciones integrales del tipo Fredholm de segunda especie y orden cero, el cual es resuelto mediante eliminación gaussiana. El método que se emplea para la discretización de dichas ecuaciones es conocido como «método indirecto de elementos frontera», el cual puede ser visto como una derivación del teorema clásico de Somigliana. A partir de los análisis realizados en el dominio de la frecuencia emergen picos de resonancia que permiten inferir la presencia de grietas mediante los cocientes espectrales. Se analizaron varios modelos de medios agrietados donde se pretende evidenciar la gran utilidad que presenta el uso de los cocientes espectrales para identificar grietas. Se estudiaron los efectos de la orientación y la localización de las grietas. Los resultados obtenidos presentan buena concordancia con los publicados previamente.This work is focused on the finding of numerical results for detection and characterization of sub-surface cracks in solids under the incidence of Rayleighs elastic waves. The results are obtained from boundary integral equations, which belong to the field of dynamics of elasticity. Once applied the boundary conditions, a system of Fredholms integral equations of second kind and zero order is obtained, which is solved using Gaussian elimination. The method that is used for the solution of such integral equations is known as the Indirect Boundary Element Method, which can be seen as a derivation of the Somiglianas classic theorem. On the basis of the analysis made in the frequency domain, resonance peaks emerge and allow us to infer the presence of cracks through the spectral ratios. Several models of cracked media were analyzed, where analyses reveal the great utility that displays the use of spectral ratios to identify cracks. We studied the effects of orientation and location of cracks. The results show good agreement with the previously published.Peer Reviewe

Endoglin-mediated angiogenic responses are regulated by its cytosolic domain

1 p.This work was supported by grants from Czech Science foundation GACR number 15-24015S, the Grant Agency of Charles University in Prague (1284214/C and 1158413/C), Charles University in Prague (SVV/2014/260064), European Regional Development Fund under the Innovative Economy Program of the European Union (grant coordinated by JCET-UJ, No POIG.01.01.02- 00-069/09), Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain (SAF2010-19222 and SAF2013-43421-R and SAF2010-1588), Junta de Castilla y Leon (GR100), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) and Red de Investigación Cooperativa en Enfermedades Renales (RD12/0021/0032; REDINREN). CIBERER and REDINREN are initiatives of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) of Spain supported by FEDER funds. The Cardiovascular Phenotyping Unit of the University of Salamanca, including the telemetry equipment, was acquired with the support of the European Regional Development Funds (FEDER). Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (BES-2008-005550). The publication is co-financed by the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic (Project No.CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0061).Peer reviewe

Noble gas variation during partial crustal melting and magma ascent processes

Noble gas isotopes, although present in trace amounts, are generally more reliable and less ambiguous recorders of their source than the major volatile species. In volcanic settings in particular, this advantage derives from their chemical inertness, as noble gas isotopic and elemental fractionations are strongly coupled to their source and modified only by physical processes during magma ascent and eruption. The Neogene volcano El Hoyazo (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain) is a highly favourable natural laboratory to study the links between partial crustal melting processes occurring at depth and the eruptive products at the surface, because partially melted crustal xenoliths are preserved in silicic lavas. Comparing the noble gas isotopic compositions of xenoliths and lavas has the potential to yield new insights into volatile behaviour during melting processes at inaccessible depths in the crust. At El Hoyazo, noble gases trapped in lava glasses, and the fluid/melt inclusions within xeno- and phenocrysts, provide novel information on: (i) their response to the crustal melting process including mechanisms such as magma mixing (and crustal assimilation) of two endmembers: i.e. the extracted felsic melt from the country metapelitic crust, and the basic-intermediate magma from the underplating in the region. The results reveal significant modification of magmatic noble gases by the interaction with the partially melted crust; (ii) noble gas variations during degassing and magma ascent, showing higher atmospheric influence in the lava samples from shallower depths than in the deeper lavas and minerals; and (iii) higher magmatic influence in crystals of garnet from deeper lava than in both shallower crystals of amphibole, and garnet crystals within the crustal xenoliths. In addition, we find that noble gases in melt inclusions are also likely accumulating in their shrinkage bubbles, and not only remaining dissolved in the melt.Postprint3,51

Effects of formalin fixation on polarimetric properties of brain tissue: fresh or fixed?

Imaging Mueller polarimetry (IMP) appears as a promising technique for real-time delineation of healthy and neoplastic tissue during neurosurgery. The training of machine learning algorithms used for the image post-processing requires large data sets typically derived from the measurements of formalin-fixed brain sections. However, the success of the transfer of such algorithms from fixed to fresh brain tissue depends on the degree of alterations of polarimetric properties induced by formalin fixation (FF). Comprehensive studies were performed on the FF induced changes in fresh pig brain tissue polarimetric properties. Polarimetric properties of pig brain were assessed in 30 coronal thick sections before and after FF using a wide-field IMP system. The width of the uncertainty region between gray and white matter was also estimated. The depolarization increased by 5% in gray matter and remained constant in white matter following FF, whereas the linear retardance decreased by 27% in gray matter and by 28% in white matter after FF. The visual contrast between gray and white matter and fiber tracking remained preserved after FF. Tissue shrinkage induced by FF did not have a significant effect on the uncertainty region width. Similar polarimetric properties were observed in both fresh and fixed brain tissues, indicating a high potential for transfer learning

Organic farming in northeast of Portugal: effects of soil fertility management on DM yield and nutrients composition of pastures

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of six types of soil fertility management: no fertiliser (NF), lime inputs (Ca), mineral fertilisation combined with hming (CaP (lime and phosphorous), CaPB (lime, phosphorous and boron), manure (M), and manure+lime+mineral fertilisation (MCaPB), and two types of pasture (unsown and sown) on DM yield, botanical composition and nutrients content of pasture during two years of study. DM yield was significantly increased when plots were fertilised with manure (M and MCaPB), which also improved the proportion of legumes, mainly in the sown pasture