Mitigation of phytotoxic effect of compost by application of optimized aqueous extraction protocols

The abuse of chemical fertilizers in recent decades has led the promotion of less harmful alternatives, such as compost or aqueous extracts obtained from it. Therefore, it is essential to develop liquid biofertilizers, which in addition of being stable and useful for fertigation and foliar application in intensive agriculture had a remarkable phytostimulant extracts. For this purpose, a collection of aqueous extracts was obtained by applying four different Compost Extraction Protocols (CEP1, CEP2, CEP3, CEP4) in terms of incubation time, temperature and agitation of compost samples from agri-food waste, olive mill waste, sewage sludge and vegetable waste. Subsequently, a physicochemical characterization of the obtained set was performed in which pH, electrical conductivity and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) were measured. In addition, a biological characterization was also carried out by calculating the Germination Index (GI) and determining the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5). Furthermore, functional diversity was studied using the Biolog EcoPlates technique. The results obtained confirmed the great heterogeneity of the selected raw materials. However, it was observed that the less aggressive treatments in terms of temperature and incubation time, such as CEP1 (48 h, room temperature (RT)) or CEP4 (14 days, RT), provided aqueous compost extracts with better phytostimulant characteristics than the starting composts. It was even possible to find a compost extraction protocol that maximize the beneficial effects of compost. This was the case of CEP1, which improved the GI and reduced the phytotoxicity in most of the raw materials analyzed. Therefore, the use of this type of liquid organic amendment could mitigate the phytotoxic effect of several composts being a good alternative to the use of chemical fertilizers

Plankton food webs of the Gulf of Mexico spawning grounds of Atlantic Bluefin tuna

We used linear inverse ecosystem modeling techniques to assimilate data from extensive Lagrangian field experiments into a mass-balance constrained food web for the Gulf of Mexico open-ocean ecosystem. This region is highly oligotrophic, yet Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABT) travel long distances from feeding grounds in the North Atlantic to spawn there. Our results show extensive nutrient regeneration fueling primary productivity (mostly by cyanobacteria and other picophytoplankton) in the upper euphotic zone. The food web is dominated by themicrobial loop (>70% of net primary productivity is respired by heterotrophic bacteria and protists that feed on them). By contrast, herbivorous food web pathways from phytoplankton to metazoan zooplankton process <10% of the net primary production in the mixed layer. Nevertheless, ABT larvae feed preferentially on podonid cladocerans and other suspensionfeeding zooplankton, which in turn derive much of their nutrition from nano- and micro-phytoplankton (mixotrophic flagellates, and to a lesser extent, diatoms). This allows ABT larvae to maintain a comparatively low trophic level (∼4.2 for preflexion and postflexion larvae), which increases trophic transfer from phytoplankton to larval fish.ECOLATUNECOlogía trófica comparativa de LArvas de aTUN rojo atlántico (Thunnus thynnus) de las áreas de puesta del Medterraneo-NO y el Golfo de México.S

Tomato: a crop species amenable to improvement by cellular and molecular methods

Tomato is a crop plant with a relatively small DNA content per haploid genome and a well developed genetics. Plant regeneration from explants and protoplasts is feasable which led to the development of efficient transformation procedures. In view of the current data, the isolation of useful mutants at the cellular level probably will be of limited value in the genetic improvement of tomato. Protoplast fusion may lead to novel combinations of organelle and nuclear DNA (cybrids), whereas this technique also provides a means of introducing genetic information from alien species into tomato. Important developments have come from molecular approaches. Following the construction of an RFLP map, these RFLP markers can be used in tomato to tag quantitative traits bred in from related species. Both RFLP's and transposons are in the process of being used to clone desired genes for which no gene products are known. Cloned genes can be introduced and potentially improve specific properties of tomato especially those controlled by single genes. Recent results suggest that, in principle, phenotypic mutants can be created for cloned and characterized genes and will prove their value in further improving the cultivated tomato.

Adecuación de ranelato de estroncio tras alertas de farmacovigilancia en un área de gestión sanitaria

Objetivo: Analizar el impacto de una estrategia de adecuación de ranelato de estroncio tras la emisión de recomendaciones, en base a las notas de farmacovigilancia emitidas por la Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios, así como el grado de aceptación. Diseño: Estudio prospectivo de intervención desde abril de 2012 a noviembre de 2014. Emplazamiento: Área de Gestión Sanitaria Sur de Sevilla. Participantes: Pacientes con prescripción activa de ranelato de estroncio. Intervenciones: Se realizó en cuatro fases, ligada a la emisión de notas de farmacovigilancia sobre ranelato de estroncio por la Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios, listados de pacientes y recomendaciones de adecuación. Mediciones principales: Adecuación del tratamiento con ranelato de estroncio y grado de aceptación de las recomendaciones por los facultativos. Resultados: Desde el inicio del estudio, con 182 pacientes incluidos, hasta el comienzo de la revisión de la adecuación por farmacia, se produjo una reducción del 87,9%. La prescripción de ranelato de estroncio era inadecuada en 16 pacientes de los 22; 11 por no cumplir criterios de tratamiento, tres por no haber tenido tratamiento previo con otros medicamentos para prevención de fracturas y dos por contraindicación. El grado de aceptación de las recomendaciones fue del 87,5%, produciéndose en diez pacientes la suspensión de ranelato de estroncio y en cuatro, el cambio a alendrónico o alendrónico/colecalciferol. Conclusiones: El número de pacientes con prescripción de ranelato de estroncio ha disminuido considerablemente. Las intervenciones dirigidas a la revisión de la adecuación del tratamiento, en base a las alertas de farmacovigilancia han sido efectivas

Interannual variability of maternal isotopic niche of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) estimated by the isotopic signatures of Preflexion larvae of the Gulf of Mexico.

ECOlogía trófica comparativa de LArvas de aTUN rojo atlántico (Thunnus thynnus) de las áreas de puesta del Medterraneo-NO y el Golfo de México.ECOLATU

Variable Atlantic bluefin tuna larval growth in the Gulf of Mexico: Importance of preferred prey.

ECOlogía trófica comparativa de LArvas de aTUN rojo atlántico (Thunnus thynnus) de las áreas de puesta del Medterraneo-NO y el Golfo de México.ECOLATU

Comparison of performance measures for multivariate discrete models

Discrete copula model, Multivariate probit model, Goodness of fit measures, Simulation,