Wind pumps for irrigating greenhouse crops: Comparison in different socio-economical frameworks

A methodology is applied for economic evaluation of water pumping technologies. Different socioeconomic frameworks are considered for Spain, Cuba and Pakistan. The levelised cost of energy is used to determine the best technology. Wind speed, distance to grid, water storage size and elevation are considered. The water elevation has greater influence on wind pumps than on solar PV pumping

Determinants of Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Pain Among Nurses in a Tertiary Hospital in Spain

Background: All nurses should receive training and education regarding pain as part of their pre-graduate stage, as its assessment and appropriate management when treating patients largely depends on them. With the right knowledge it is possible to reduce its high prevalence, as well as the serious consequences it can lead to. Aim: To determine the level of knowledge and attitudes towards pain of final-year nursing students in Spain. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study using a convenience sample of five Spanish universities during the academic year 2020-2021. The Spanish version of the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) was used. In addition, socio-demographic variables such as age, sex, relationship status, employment status, and the number of dependants were collected. The specific palliative or oncology subjects of each university was also assessed. Results: A total of 224 questionnaires were collected. One of the nursing universities obtained the best score in the KASRP (59.75%) which was significant (p = .001). This university was the only one that offers specific subjects in palliative or oncologic care. A training deficit in aspects related to pain assessment and pharmacologic concepts was detected. We found no relationship between the KASRP and the different sociodemographic variables. Conclusions: Specific training in palliative care improves the students' knowledge regarding pain, although the results did not reach an acceptable minimum. The universities' training programs for Spanish students need to be adapted in order to achieve better results

Nuclear receptors: Lipid and hormone sensors with essential roles in the control of cancer development

Nuclear receptors (NRs) are a superfamily of ligand-activated transcription factors that act as biological sensors and use a combination of mechanisms to modulate positively and negatively gene expression in a spatial and temporal manner. The highly orchestrated biological actions of several NRs influence the proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis of many different cell types. Synthetic ligands for several NRs have been the focus of extensive drug discovery efforts for cancer intervention. This review summarizes the roles in tumour growth and metastasis of several relevant NR family members, namely androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor (ER), glucocorticoid receptor (GR), thyroid hormone receptor (TR), retinoic acid receptors (RARs), retinoid X receptors (RXRs), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), and liver X receptors (LXRs). These studies are key to develop improved therapeutic agents based on novel modes of action with reduced side effects and overcoming resistance

DEPM 2014. Preliminary Egg Results for the Atlanto-Iberian Sardine ICES VIII and IXa

The triennial DEPM for estimation of sardine spawning biomass for the Atlanto-Iberian stock areas IXa – VIIIc and VIIIb up to 45 º N took place in the S and W (IPMA) from 15th March to 26th April and in the N (Galicia, Cantabrian Sea and French coast, IEO) between 29th March and 21st April. The whole area was surveyed however the Portuguese survey occurred much later than usual and suffered several interruptions; part of IPMA´s DEPM survey was conducted simultaneously to the acoustics survey onboard the same vessel. The number of fishing samples was maintained at levels similar to other years but it was evident that sardine schools were less available than during previous surveys in particular in the western and northern shores. Preliminary estimates highlighted a sharp decrease in egg production from 2011 to 2014; this pattern was particularly clear in the northern stratum

N2O and CH4 fluxes in Undisturbed and Burned Holm oak, Scots pine and Pyrenean oak forests in Central Spain

We investigated N2O and CH4 fluxes from soils of Quercus ilex, Quercus pyrenaica and Pinus sylvestris stands located in the surrounding area of Madrid (Spain). The fluxes were measured for 18 months from both mature stands and post fire stands using the static chamber technique. Simultaneously with gas fluxes, soil temperature, soil water content, soil C and soil N were measured in the stands. Nitrous oxide fluxes ranged from −11.43 to 8.34 μg N2O–N m−2 h−1 in Q.ilex, −7.74 to 13.52 μg N2O–N m−2 h−1 in Q. pyrenaica and −28.17 to 21.89 μg N2O–N m−2 h−1 in P. sylvestris. Fluxes of CH4 ranged from −8.12 to 4.11 μg CH4–C m−2 h−1 in Q.ilex, −7.74 to 3.0 μg CH4–C m−2 h−1 in Q. pyrenaica and −24.46 to 6.07 μg CH4–C m−2 h−1 in P. sylvestris. Seasonal differences were detected; N2O fluxes being higher in wet months whereas N2O fluxes declined in dry months. Net consumption of N2O was related to low N availability, high soil C contents, high soil temperatures and low moisture content. Fire decreased N2O fluxes in spring. N2O emissions were closely correlated with previous day’s rainfall and soil moisture. Our ecosystems generally were a sink for methane in the dry season and a source of CH4 during wet months. The available water in the soil influenced the observed seasonal trend. The burned sites showed higher CH4 oxidation rates in Q. ilex, and lower rates in P. sylvestris. Overall, the data suggest that fire alters both N2O and CH4 fluxes. However, the magnitude of such variation depends on the site, soil characteristics and seasonal climatic conditions

Panorama of the argentine horticultural sector: 2. Commercialization in the internal and external market

La horticultura constituye un motor de desarrollo para países como Argentina que tienen el desafío de optimizar el consumo de hortalizas en cantidad y diversidad, dado que tradicionalmente es muy limitada la pluralidad en especies y variedades consumidas. En tal sentido, es el objetivo del presente trabajo analizar la importancia actual del sector hortícola argentino, tomando como referencia la información generada, en 2018, por el principal mercado concentrador argentino: Mercado Central de Buenos Aires (MCBA), en el que se comercializa anualmente entre 17-20% del total nacional, destinado al mercado fresco. Las variables consideradas fueron: diversidad y volúmenes (t.ha-1 ) de hortalizas comercializadas, principales hortalizas consumidas (PHC) (papa, tomate, zapallo, cebolla y zanahoria) y evolución mensual de la comercialización de hortalizas de hoja (EHH), por provincia y principales variedades comercializadas, en 2018. Se registraron 69 especies totales entre hortalizas (60) y aromáticas (9). En hortalizas, el 80% del volumen total comercializado, correspondió a 5 especies: papa (38%), tomate (14%), cebolla (12%), zapallo (6%), zanahoria (6%), zapallito (3%), pimiento (3%); seguido de lechuga, batata, maíz dulce, melón, mandioca, sandia, berenjena, acelga, repollo, pepino, espinaca, remolacha, cebolla de verdeo, ajo, brócoli, perejil, chaucha, apio, coliflor, arveja, rúcula, puerro, maíz dulce, hinojo, hakusai, esparrago, alcaucil, escarola, radicheta, col, haba, nabo, repollito de Bruselas, rabanito, packchoy, achicoria, salsifí, hongos, papas, radicha, radicchio, poroto, endibia, grelo, brote soja, berro, kale, mastuerzo, ciboullete, echalote, achojcha, cardo, cúrcuma y perifolio. Respecto de las aromáticas, el orden de importancia correspondió a: albahaca, jengibre, cilandro, menta, orégano, salvia, nabiza, romero y otras aromáticas. Si bien resulta alentador la diversidad de especies comercializadas, resulta prioritario un mayor equilibrio en el consumo.Horticulture constitutes an engine of development for countries like Argentina that have the challenge of optimizing the consumption of vegetables in quantity and diversity, given that the plurality of species and varieties consumed is traditionally very limited. In this sense, the objective of this work is to analyze the current importance of the Argentine horticultural sector, taking as reference the information generated by the main Argentine concentrator market: Mercado Central de Buenos Aires (MCBA), where annually between 17- 20% of the national total is commercialized. The variables considered were: diversity and volume (t.ha-1 ) of vegetables marketed, main vegetables consumed (PHC) (potato, tomato, squash, onion and carrot) and monthly evolution of the marketing of leafy vegetables (EHH), by province and main varieties marketed, in 2018. A total of 69 species was recorded among vegetables (60) and aromatics (9). In vegetables, 80% of the total volume marketed corresponded to 5 species: potato (38%), tomato (14%), onion (12%), squash (6%), carrot (6%), summer squash (3% ), pepper (3%); followed by lettuce, sweet potato, corn, melon, cassava, watermelon, eggplant, chard, cabbage, cucumber, spinach, beets, green onion, garlic, broccoli, parsley, green bean, celery, cauliflower, pea, arugula, leek, sweet corn , fennel, accuse, asparagus, artichoke, endive, radicheta, cabbage, bean, turnip, Brussels sprout, radish, pack-choy, chicory, salsify, mushrooms, potatoes, radicchio, radicchio, bean, endive, grelo, soybean sprout, kale, cress, ciboullete, shallot, achojcha, thistle, turmeric and chervil. Regarding aromatics, the order of importance corresponded to: basil, ginger, coriander, mint, oregano, sage, turnip, rosemary and other aromatics. Although the diversity of commercialized species is encouraging, a greater balance in consumption is a priority.Fil: Castagnino, Ana Maria. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Centro Regional de Estudios Sistémico de Cadenas Agroalimentarias; ArgentinaFil: Díaz, K.. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Centro Regional de Estudios Sistémico de Cadenas Agroalimentarias; ArgentinaFil: Fernández Lozano, J.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Guisolis, Andrea Paola. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Centro Regional de Estudios Sistémico de Cadenas Agroalimentarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Liverotti, O.. Corporación del Mercado Central de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Rosini, María Belén. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Centro Regional de Estudios Sistémico de Cadenas Agroalimentarias; ArgentinaFil: Sasale, S.. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Centro Regional de Estudios Sistémico de Cadenas Agroalimentarias; Argentin

C2-Domain Abscisic Acid-Related Proteins Mediate the Interaction of PYR/PYL/RCAR Abscisic Acid Receptors with the Plasma Membrane and Regulate Abscisic Acid Sensitivity in Arabidopsis

Supplemental Data: http://www.plantcell.org/content/26/12/4802/suppl/DC1© 2014 American Society of Plant BiologistsMembrane-delimited abscisic acid (ABA) signal transduction plays a critical role in early ABA signaling, but the molecular mechanisms linking core signaling components to the plasma membrane are unclear. We show that transient calcium-dependent interactions of PYR/PYL ABA receptors with membranes are mediated through a 10-member family of C2-domain ABA-related (CAR) proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana. Specifically, we found that PYL4 interacted in an ABA-independent manner with CAR1 in both the plasma membrane and nucleus of plant cells. CAR1 belongs to a plant-specific gene family encoding CAR1 to CAR10 proteins, and bimolecular fluorescence complementation and coimmunoprecipitation assays showed that PYL4-CAR1 as well as other PYR/PYL-CAR pairs interacted in plant cells. The crystal structure of CAR4 was solved, which revealed that, in addition to a classical calcium-dependent lipid binding C2 domain, a specific CAR signature is likely responsible for the interaction with PYR/PYL receptors and their recruitment to phospholipid vesicles. This interaction is relevant for PYR/PYL function and ABA signaling, since different car triple mutants affected in CAR1, CAR4, CAR5, and CAR9 genes showed reduced sensitivity to ABA in seedling establishment and root growth assays. In summary, we identified PYR/PYL-interacting partners that mediate a transient Ca2+-dependent interaction with phospholipid vesicles, which affects PYR/PYL subcellular localization and positively regulates ABA signaling.We thank Joerg Kudla (University of Munster) for kindly providing plasma membrane markers. This work was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (Grants BIO2011-23446 to P.L.R and BFU2011-25384 to A. A.; fellowships to L.R., R.A., and A.C.I.-G.; BES-2009- 016569; JAE-DOC contract to M.G.-G.) as well as the Senacyt-Ifarhu (Panama) (fellowship to M.D.).Rodriguez, L.; Gonzalez Guzman, M.; Díaz, M.; Rodrigues, A.; Izquierdo Garcia, AC.; Peirats-Llobet, M.; Fernández López, MA.... (2014). C2-Domain Abscisic Acid-Related Proteins Mediate the Interaction of PYR/PYL/RCAR Abscisic Acid Receptors with the Plasma Membrane and Regulate Abscisic Acid Sensitivity in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell. 26(12):4802-4820. doi:10.1105/tpc.114.129973S48024820261

El proyecto GLOSARIO-SEA. Traducción y adapatación del glosario de la Clay Minerals Society (CMS)

El proyecto de realización de un glosario relacionado con las arcillas se planteó como objetivo de la Sociedad Española de Arcillas (SEA) durante su reunión en Madrid en 2016. Para el proyecto se propuso como coordinador al profesor Manuel Pozo, miembro del “Nomenclature Committee” de la CMS en 2014-2017. Por la magnitud del glosario, fue necesaria la creación de un grupo de trabajo constituido, en 2019, por miembros de la SEA, para llevar a cabo la tarea de traducción y adaptación al español del documento original en inglés. El equipo de trabajo estaba formado por los firmantes de este trabajo. La traducción y adaptación se ha realizado de la versión en inglés del glosario de la Clay Minerals Society (2018) dentro del denominado “The Clay Minerals Society Glossary for Clay Science Project”, cuyos objetivos y restricciones son las siguientes: (1) La inclusión de términos sobre la arcilla. Las definiciones se refieren a términos que se utilizan en la ciencia de la arcilla no apartándose de las definiciones de la ciencia básica, como se haría en química y física. 2) Evitar las definiciones provisionales o tentativas, incluyéndose solo los términos bien definidos. (3) No son objetos de debate las definiciones establecidas por los Comités de Nomenclatura de la Asociación Internacional de Mineralogía (IMA), la CMS y la Asociación Internacional para el Estudio de las Arcillas (AIPEA), o cualquier otro organismo internacional. (4) En general, los nombres de programas informáticos y otros nombres similares no forman parte del glosario. Tras seis envíos para la traducción de términos y tres revisiones del manuscrito se ha conseguido finalizar la versión en español del glosario, que se ha enriquecido con la adición de una selección de imágenes de campo y de microscopía óptica y electrónica. El resultado actual es un documento con 491 entradas referidas a términos relacionados con las arcillas y minerales de la arcilla.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Autonomous self-healing pneumatic McKibben muscle based on a new hydrogel material

In this paper we present a hydrogel with self-healing capabilities and its application for the development of a Pneumatic Artificial Muscle (PAM). Unlike other hydrogels, our material can be used outside of aqueous environments and does not need any external stimulus to self-heal, which makes it an interesting alternative for the manufacturing of soft robots. First, the mechanical properties of the hydrogel and its self-healing ability are analyzed. Second, we present the development of a pneumatic muscle based on the classic McKibben design but including our material. Finally, we analyze the capabilities of our self-repairing muscles before and after being punctured. The results show a good performance of our actuators even after low healing periods (10 minutes).En este trabajo presentamos un hidrogel con capacidad de autocuración y su aplicación para el desarrollo de un músculo artificial neumático (PAM). A diferencia de otros hidrogeles, nuestro material puede utilizarse fuera de entornos acuosos y no necesita ningún estímulo externo para autocurarse, lo que hace que sea una alternativa interesante para la fabricación de robots blandos. En primer lugar, se analizan las propiedades mecánicas del hidrogel y su capacidad de autocuración de autocuración. En segundo lugar, se presenta el desarrollo de un músculo neumático basado en el diseño clásico de McKibben pero incluyendo nuestro material. Por último analizamos las capacidades de nuestros músculos autorreparadores antes y después de de ser pinchados. Los resultados muestran un buen rendimiento de nuestros actuadores incluso después de periodos de curación bajos (10 minutos)