Use of Agro-Waste as a Source of Crop Nutrients in Intensive Horticulture System

The inadequate management of agro-waste in intensive agriculture has a severe negative impact on the environment. The valorization of crop residue as a source of crop nutrients is a valid alternative to close the nutrient cycle and reduce the use of external input. In this study, plant material was incorporated into the soil as fresh crop residue, after either composting and vermicomposting processes, to evaluate their effects on tomato yield and nutritional status (petiole sap analysis: NO3 and K+ concentration) over three crop cycles. A control treatment with mineral fertigation and an organic control treatment with goat manure were also included. Enzymatic activity and microbial population in the soil were evaluated. Although no differences between treatments were observed in the first cycle, in the second and third cycles, the yield obtained with the application of organic amendments derived from agro-waste was comparable to the yield obtained with mineral fertilizers. Overall, the sap analysis did not reveal a clear relationship with yield performances. The compost treatment resulted in higher microorganism presence in the soil. Soil dehydrogenase activity (DHA), acid phosphatase activity (ACP), and β-glucosidase activity (β-GLU) were generally more stimulated when organic amendments were used. The study confirms the applicability of soil fertilizers derived from agro-waste as a good alternative to mineral fertilizers

STRUCTURAL WEAKNESS OF THE TWENTY EYES AQUEDUCT IN THE WADI OF CARCAUZ (ALMERIA, SPAIN)

The Twenty Eyes Aqueduct is a work of hydraulic engineering with several centuries of history. In the present work, the innovative Cloud-to-BIM-to-FEM methodology is applied, capable of converting BIM models, generated from point clouds, into finite element models. The point cloud was obtained using UAV photogrammetry, carrying out a 3D survey of the current state of the aqueduct and its surroundings. The point cloud obtained has served as the basis for the generation of an HBIM model that accurately represents the geometry of the aqueduct (Cloud-to-BIM). The HBIM model has been transformed into a finite element model that respects the uniqueness of the monument without excessive geometric simplifications (BIM-to-FEM). The structural analysis of the FEM model has been able to evaluate the instability conditions of the assembly in the event of an earthquake, although it does behave adequately in the face of wind actions

A comparison of different methods for assessing leaf area index in four canopy types

The agreement of Leaf Area Index (LAI) assessments from three indirect methods, i.e. the LAI–2200 Plant Canopy Analyzer, the SS1 SunScan Canopy Analysis System and Digital Hemispherical Photography (DHP) was evaluated for four canopy types, i.e. a short rotation coppice plantation (SRC) with poplar, a Scots pine stand, a Pedunculate oak stand and amaize field. In the SRC and in the maize field, the indirect measurements were compared with direct measurements (litter fall and harvesting). In the low LAI range (0 to 2) the discrepancies of the SS1 were partly explained by the inability to properly account for clumping and the uncertainty of the ellipsoidal leaf angle distribu tion parameter. The higher values for SS1 in the medium (2 to 6) to high (6 to 8) ranges might be explained by gap fraction saturation for LAI–2200 and DHP above certain values. Wood area index –understood as the woody light blocking elements from the canopy with respect to diameter growth– accounted for overestimation by all indirect methods when compared to direct methods in the SRC. The inter-comparison of the three indirect methods in the four canopy types showed a general agreement for all methods in the medium LAI range (2 to 6). LAI–2200 and DHP revealed the best agreement among the indirect methods along the entire range of LAI (0 to 8) in all canopy types. SS1 showed some discrepancies with the LAI–2200 and DHP at low (0 to 2) and high ranges of LAI (6 to 8

Análisis de las predicciones climáticas a partir de distintos servicios climáticos para la programación del riego

Comunicación presentada al XXXVII Congreso Nacional de Riegos, celebrado en Don Benito del 4 al 6 de Junio de 2019 y organizada por la Asociación Española de Riegos y Drenajes y la Universidad de ExtremaduraEl objetivo del estudio es analizar la precisión de los servicios climáticos disponibles mediante su comparación con los datos reales registrados, y mejorar su estimación para el cálculo de la ETo a la hora de efectuar la programación del riego a corto plazo.Generalitat Valenciana, Consellería de Educación, Investigación, Cultura y Deportes: Proyecto AICO 201

Analysis of the use of actual evapotranspiration calculated with Landsat and climate forecasts for irrigation scheduling in fruit crops.

La evapotranspiración de la vegetación (ET) es un componente clave del balance hidrológico. Se han propuesto varias herramientas y modelos para estimar la evapotranspiración en cultivos frutales. Entre ellos, el enfoque más utilizado es el propuesto por la Organización para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO) que tiene en cuenta las variables climáticas incluidas en la evapotranspiración de referencia (ETo) y el tipo de cultivo y sus características incluidas en un único coeficiente de cultivo (Kc). Sin embargo, existe evidencia de que, en copas altas y discontinuas, como los huertos de cítricos, con un alto grado de acoplamiento con el medio ambiente, Kc puede cambiar dependiendo de las condiciones ambientales locales y la cantidad de vegetación. Un enfoque aplicado con éxito en la gestión del agua es el uso de modelos que calculan el calor latente como un residuo del balance de energía superficial (SEB). En este trabajo se ha aplicado un balance de energía para el cálculo de la ET a un distrito de riego. El sitio de estudio está ubicado en la región de Valencia (España; 39º22'43'' N, 0º28'20'' W) con riego localizado donde la mayoría de los cultivos son cítricos. Se utilizaron imágenes Landsat 8 para el período 2015‐2106 para estimar la ET instantánea extrapolando los valores diarios de ET utilizando datos climáticos. Estos datos climáticos corresponden a las predicciones ofrecidas por el Globlal Forecast System (GFS). De esta manera se utilizan las predicciones climáticas para realizar la programación frente a la metodología clásica de utilizar los datos del pasado para restituir el agua evapotranspirada. El objetivo del trabajo es analizar los resultados utilizando un kc dinámico obtenido a partir del estado real de los cultivos y las predicciones climáticas para cada parcela, frente al uso de un kc genérico obtenido para unas condiciones estándares y los datos climáticos pasados. Los resultados ofrecen para las parcelas estudiadas que la relación entre la ET calculada con las predicciones climáticas y SEB frente a la ET real para una semana es de un 9% frente a un 35 % de la metodología FAO y utilizar los datos climáticos de la semana anterior. Del mismo modo, la metodología permite conocer el grado de estrés de los cultivos y mantenerlo dentro de los límites recomendables

Prospective evaluation of intravitreal bevacizumab for ischemic central retinal vein occlusion

Abstract Background Although previous studies have evaluated the effect of anti-VEGF therapies for central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) patients, the majority of previous studies have excluded or included a very small number of patients with ischemic CRVO (iCRVO). The aim of our study is to examine the effects of bevacizumab on macular edema secondary to ischemic central retinal vein occlusion, as well as the effects on central choroidal thickness and best-corrected visual acuity. Methods In this prospective, interventional case series, iCRVO was defined by the presence of ≥ 10 or more disc diameter areas of retinal nonperfusion by fluorescein angiography (FA) and by the presence of a b/a ratio less than 1.5 by full-field electroretinogram (ffERG). Nine eyes with iCRVO received monthly bevacizumab 0.5 mg injections at baseline and months 1 to 5 for a maximum of six injections. Main outcome measures were visual acuity (Snellen), central foveal thickness, and central choroidal thickness as measured by Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) at baseline and at 6 month following initial intravitreal bevacizumab injection. Pairwise t-tests and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were conducted to compare the outcome measures. Results After intravitreal administration of bevacizumab, there was a significant reduction of central foveal thickness from 858 ± 311 μm at baseline to 243 ± 106 μm at the 6-month follow-up, as well as a significant reduction of central choroidal thickness from 282 ± 38 μm at baseline to 227 ± 56 μm at the 6-month follow-up (p = 0.0006, p = 0.0003 respectively). The visual acuity worsened from a median of 1.3 to 1.7 (p = 0.02). Conclusion In patients with iCRVO, intravitreal bevacizumab led to a reduction of central macular edema and central choroidal thickness, but a worsening of visual acuity. Intravitreal bevacizumab reduces macular edema but is not able to overcome the poor prognosis of iCRVO.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152181/1/40942_2019_Article_183.pd

High cell-free DNA is associated with disease progression, inflammasome activation and elevated levels of inflammasome-related cytokine IL-18 in patients with myelofibrosis

Myelofibrosis (MF) is a clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorder classified among chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms, characterized by exacerbated myeloid and megakaryocytic proliferation and bone marrow fibrosis. It is induced by driver (JAK2/CALR/MPL) and high molecular risk mutations coupled to a sustained inflammatory state that contributes to disease pathogenesis. Patient outcome is determined by stratification into risk groups and refinement of current prognostic systems may help individualize treatment decisions. Circulating cell-free (cf)DNA comprises short fragments of double-stranded DNA, which promotes inflammation by stimulating several pathways, including inflammasome activation, which is responsible for IL-1β and IL-18 maturation and release. In this work, we assessed the contribution of cfDNA as a marker of disease progression and mediator of inflammation in MF. cfDNA was increased in MF patients and higher levels were associated with adverse clinical outcome, a high-risk molecular profile, advanced disease stages and inferior overall survival, indicating its potential value as a prognostic marker. Cell-free DNA levels correlated with tumor burden parameters and markers of systemic inflammation. To mimic the effects of cfDNA, monocytes were stimulated with poly(dA:dT), a synthetic double-stranded DNA. Following stimulation, patient monocytes released higher amounts of inflammasome-processed cytokine, IL-18 to the culture supernatant, reflecting enhanced inflammasome function. Despite overexpression of cytosolic DNA inflammasome sensor AIM2, IL-18 release from MF monocytes was shown to rely mainly on the NLRP3 inflammasome, as it was prevented by NLRP3-specific inhibitor MCC950. Circulating IL-18 levels were increased in MF plasma, reflecting in vivo inflammasome activation, and highlighting the previously unrecognized involvement of this cytokine in MF cytokine network. Monocyte counts were higher in patients and showed a trend towards correlation with IL-18 levels, suggesting monocytes represent a source of circulating IL-18. The close correlation shown between IL-18 and cfDNA levels, together with the finding of enhanced DNA-triggered IL-18 release from monocytes, suggest that cfDNA promotes inflammation, at least in part, through inflammasome activation. This work highlights cfDNA, the inflammasome and IL-18 as additional players in the complex inflammatory circuit that fosters MF progression, potentially providing new therapeutic targets.Fil: de Luca, Geraldine. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Lev, Paola Roxana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Camacho, Maria F.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Goette, Nora Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Sackmann, Federico. Fundación Para Combatir la Leucemia; ArgentinaFil: Castro Ríos, Miguel A.. No especifíca;Fil: Moiraghi, Beatriz. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Ramos Mejía"; ArgentinaFil: Cortes Guerrieri, Veronica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Bendek, Georgina. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Carricondo, Emiliano. Universidad Austral. Hospital Universitario Austral; ArgentinaFil: Enrico, Alicia. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Vallejo, Veronica. Instituto Cardiovascular de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Varela, Ana. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Ramos Mejía"; ArgentinaFil: Khoury, Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Gutierrez, Marina. Laboratorio Stamboulian; ArgentinaFil: Larripa, Irene Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Marta, Rosana Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Glembotsky, Ana Claudia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Heller, Paula Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentin

High cell-free DNA is associated with disease progression, inflammasome activation and elevated levels of inflammasome-related cytokine IL-18 in patients with myelofibrosis

Myelofibrosis (MF) is a clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorder classified among chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms, characterized by exacerbated myeloid and megakaryocytic proliferation and bone marrow fibrosis. It is induced by driver (JAK2/CALR/MPL) and high molecular risk mutations coupled to a sustained inflammatory state that contributes to disease pathogenesis. Patient outcome is determined by stratification into risk groups and refinement of current prognostic systems may help individualize treatment decisions. Circulating cell-free (cf)DNA comprises short fragments of double-stranded DNA, which promotes inflammation by stimulating several pathways, including inflammasome activation, which is responsible for IL-1β and IL-18 maturation and release. In this work, we assessed the contribution of cfDNA as a marker of disease progression and mediator of inflammation in MF. cfDNA was increased in MF patients and higher levels were associated with adverse clinical outcome, a high-risk molecular profile, advanced disease stages and inferior overall survival, indicating its potential value as a prognostic marker. Cell-free DNA levels correlated with tumor burden parameters and markers of systemic inflammation. To mimic the effects of cfDNA, monocytes were stimulated with poly(dA:dT), a synthetic double-stranded DNA. Following stimulation, patient monocytes released higher amounts of inflammasome-processed cytokine, IL-18 to the culture supernatant, reflecting enhanced inflammasome function. Despite overexpression of cytosolic DNA inflammasome sensor AIM2, IL-18 release from MF monocytes was shown to rely mainly on the NLRP3 inflammasome, as it was prevented by NLRP3-specific inhibitor MCC950. Circulating IL-18 levels were increased in MF plasma, reflecting in vivo inflammasome activation, and highlighting the previously unrecognized involvement of this cytokine in MF cytokine network. Monocyte counts were higher in patients and showed a trend towards correlation with IL-18 levels, suggesting monocytes represent a source of circulating IL-18. The close correlation shown between IL-18 and cfDNA levels, together with the finding of enhanced DNA-triggered IL-18 release from monocytes, suggest that cfDNA promotes inflammation, at least in part, through inflammasome activation. This work highlights cfDNA, the inflammasome and IL-18 as additional players in the complex inflammatory circuit that fosters MF progression, potentially providing new therapeutic targets

A comparative analysis of phytovolume estimation methods based on UAV-Photogrammetry and multispectral imagery in a Mediterranean forest

Management and control operations are crucial for preventing forest fires, especially in Mediterranean forest areas with dry climatic periods. One of them is prescribed fires, in which the biomass fuel present in the controlled plot area must be accurately estimated. The most used methods for estimating biomass are time-consuming and demand too much manpower. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) carrying multispectral sensors can be used to carry out accurate indirect measurements of terrain and vegetation morphology and their radiometric characteristics. Based on the UAV-photogrammetric project products, four estimators of phytovolume were compared in a Mediterranean forest area, all obtained using the difference between a digital surface model (DSM) and a digital terrain model (DTM). The DSM was derived from a UAV-photogrammetric project based on the structure from a motion algorithm. Four different methods for obtaining a DTM were used based on an unclassified dense point cloud produced through a UAV-photogrammetric project (FFU), an unsupervised classified dense point cloud (FFC), a multispectral vegetation index (FMI), and a cloth simulation filter (FCS). Qualitative and quantitative comparisons determined the ability of the phytovolume estimators for vegetation detection and occupied volume. The results show that there are no significant differences in surface vegetation detection between all the pairwise possible comparisons of the four estimators at a 95% confidence level, but FMI presented the best kappa value (0.678) in an error matrix analysis with reference data obtained from photointerpretation and supervised classification. Concerning the accuracy of phytovolume estimation, only FFU and FFC presented differences higher than two standard deviations in a pairwise comparison, and FMI presented the best RMSE (12.3 m) when the estimators were compared to 768 observed data points grouped in four 500 m2 sample plots. The FMI was the best phytovolume estimator of the four compared for low vegetation height in a Mediterranean forest. The use of FMI based on UAV data provides accurate phytovolume estimations that can be applied on several environment management activities, including wildfire prevention. Multitemporal phytovolume estimations based on FMI could help to model the forest resources evolution in a very realistic way

Effects of point cloud density, interpolation method and grid size on derived Digital Terrain Model accuracy at micro topography level

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the three dimensional (3D) point cloud density derived from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry (using Structure from Motion (SfM) and Multi-View Stereopsis (MVS) techniques), the interpolation method for generating a digital terrain model (DTM), and the resolution (grid size (GS)) of the derived DTM on the accuracy of estimated heights in small areas, where a very accurate high spatial resolution is required. A UAV-photogrammetry project was carried out on 13 m × 13 m bare soil with a rotatory wing UAV at 10 m flight altitude (equivalent ground sample distance = 0.4 cm), and the 3D point cloud was derived. A stratified random sample (200 points in each square metre) was extracted and from the rest of the cloud, 15 stratified random samples representing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90% were extracted. Five replications of each percentage were extracted to analyse the effect of cloud density on DTM accuracy. For each of these 15 × 5 = 75 samples, DTMs were derived using four different interpolation methods (Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW), Multiquadric Radial Basis Function (MRBF), Kriging (KR), and Triangulation with Linear Interpolation (TLI)) and 15 DTM GS values (20, 15, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.67, 0.50, and 0.40 cm). Then, 75 × 4 × 15 = 4500 DTMs were analysed. The results showed an optimal GS value for each interpolation method and each density (most of the cases were equal to 1 cm) for which the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was the minimum. IDW was the interpolator that yielded the best accuracies for all combinations of densities and GS. Its RMSE when considering the raw cloud was 1.054 cm and increased by 3% when a point cloud with 80% extracted from the raw cloud was used to generate the DTM. When the point cloud included 40% of the raw cloud, RMSE increased by 5%. For densities lower than 15%, RMSE increased exponentially (45% for 1% of raw cloud). The GS minimizing RMSE for densities of 20% or higher was 1 cm, which represents 2.5 times the ground sample distance of the pictures used for developing the photogrammetry project