Rice Straw Mulch Installation in a Vineyard Improves Weed Control and Modifies Soil Characteristics

[EN] After harvesting rice paddy fields, rice straw is a significant problem due to uncontrolled CO2 emissions when the straw is burned. One solution to this problem is to use this rice by-product for mulching planting lines of fruit trees or vineyards with the purpose of controlling weeds and improving soil characteristics. A 3-year experiment was conducted at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain) demonstration vineyard, where rice-straw mulch was installed at three rates in 2021, 24.0, 43.1, and 63.1 t ha¿1, and in 2022, 25.0, 37.5, and 50.0 t ha¿1. Weeds were mainly controlled with the highest treatment rate (50.0¿63.1 t ha¿1), as the time of the year for mulch installation is decisive for achieving different weed control rates. On average, mulch decreased soil bulk density (5.4%), and increased the soil organic carbon (24.3%) and water-soluble organic carbon (24.3%) compared to bare soil. Soil temperature changes were observed due to the mulch treatment, with soil temperature lower in bare soil than in mulched soil during the cold season, and higher during the warm season. This effect was highly dependent on the mulch application rate. Soil moisture content was also higher under the mulch treatment, showing a mulch-rate response during the four seasons of the year. The changes in the physical and biological soil properties induced a higher soil respiration rate when mulched soil was compared to bare soil. This study concludes that the use of rice straw as a mulch had positive effects on weed control and soil properties, although three factors concerning mulch management were paramount: rate, the timing of installation, and replacement rate.This research was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación, grant number RTC-2017-6249-2 titled ¿Desarrollo de un nuevo insumo para la agricultura sostenible: mulch de paja de arroz con incorporación de bacterias promotoras del crecimiento de las plantas (PGPB) y mecanización integral de procesos (SMART MULCH)¿.Gómez De Barreda, D.; Bautista, I.; Castell-Zeising, V.; Lidón, A. (2023). Rice Straw Mulch Installation in a Vineyard Improves Weed Control and Modifies Soil Characteristics. Agronomy. 13(12):1-12. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13123068112131

Monitorización del acceso abierto en la UPV : indicadores y herramienta de gestión del acceso abierto

[EN] In last years, the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) has created an authentic information ecosystem around Open Access (OA). In this system the starting point is the CRIS and the destination of the repository. Both CRIS and other content management applications such as thesis, academic work, learning objects, OJS, OCS, etc., download the records in the repository through internal gateways. Monitoring the level of open access to UPV production is necessary to optimize management. But this measurement becomes essential when funding agencies begin to penalize non-compliance with the open access demanded by calls. In response to this need, the UPV has developed a tool for the management of open access and its monitoring at institutional level. This contribution justifies the project based on the state of the art, describes the functionalities of the application and the workflow, highlights the main contributions and presents future challenges.[ES] La Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) ha configurado en los últimos años un auténtico ecosistema de información entorno al acceso abierto (Open Access o OA en inglés). En este sistema el punto de partida es el CRIS y el destino el repositorio. Tanto el CRIS como el resto de aplicaciones de gestión de contenidos tales como tesis, trabajos académicos, objetos de aprendizaje, OJS, OCS, etc. vierten los registros en el repositorio a través de pasarelas internas. Monitorizar el nivel de acceso abierto de la producción UPV resulta necesario para optimizar la gestión. Pero esta medición se convierte en imprescindible cuando las agencias financiadoras comienzan a penalizar el incumplimiento del acceso abierto exigido en las convocatorias. Atendiendo a esta necesidad la UPV ha desarrollado una herramienta para la gestión del acceso abierto y la monitorización del mismo a nivel institucional. En la contribución se fundamenta el proyecto a partir del estado del arte, se describen las funcionalidades de la aplicación y el flujo de trabajo, se resaltan las principales aportaciones y se presentan retos de futuroRibes Llopes, I.; Pardo Gómez, V.; Martínez Galindo, FJ. (2017). Monitorización del acceso abierto en la UPV : indicadores y herramienta de gestión del acceso abierto. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/9103

Monitorización del acceso abierto en la UPV. Indicadores y herramientas de gestión del acceso abierto

In last years, the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) has created an authentic information ecosystem around Open Access (OA). In this system the starting point is the CRIS and the destination of the repository. Both CRIS and other content management applications such as thesis, academic work, learning objects, OJS, OCS, etc., download the records in the repository through internal gateways. Monitoring the level of open access to UPV production is necessary to optimize management. But this measurement becomes essential when funding agencies begin to penalize non-compliance with the open access demanded by calls. In response to this need, the UPV has developed a tool for the management of open access and its monitoring at institutional level. This contribution justifies the project based on the state of the art, describes the functionalities of the application and the workflow, highlights the main contributions and presents future challenges.[ES] La Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) ha configurado en los últimos años un auténtico ecosistema de información entorno al acceso abierto (Open Access o OA en inglés). En este sistema el punto de partida es el CRIS y el destino el repositorio. Tanto el CRIS como el resto de aplicaciones de gestión de contenidos tales como tesis, trabajos académicos, objetos de aprendizaje, OJS, OCS, etc. vierten los registros en el repositorio a través de pasarelas internas. Monitorizar el nivel de acceso abierto de la producción UPV resulta necesario para optimizar la gestión. Pero esta medición se convierte en imprescindible cuando las agencias financiadoras comienzan a penalizar el incumplimiento del acceso abierto exigido en las convocatorias. Atendiendo a esta necesidad la UPV ha desarrollado una herramienta para la gestión del acceso abierto y la monitorización del mismo a nivel institucional. En la contribución se fundamenta el proyecto a partir del estado del arte, se describen las funcionalidades de la aplicación y el flujo de trabajo, se resaltan las principales aportaciones y se presentan retos de futuroRibes Llopes, I.; Pardo Gómez, V.; Martínez Galindo, FJ. (2018). Monitorización del acceso abierto en la UPV. Indicadores y herramientas de gestión del acceso abierto. En Ecosistemas del acceso abierto. Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca. 213-228. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/11153821322

Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae from Urine Cultures

Objective: Determine the evolution of antibiotic resistance of symptomatic bacteriuria caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) in Granada. Material and method: A descriptive retrospective study was carried out, including antibiograms of urine cultures in which microorganisms identified as E. coli and K. pneumoniae, were isolated in the Microbiology laboratory of the Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves (Granada, Spain) between January 2016 and June 2021. Results: E. coli was the most frequent isolate (10,048) and its resistance to ampicillin (59.45%) and ticarcillin (59.59%), and the increase to cefepime (15.07%) and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (17.67%) is noteworthy. K. pneumoniae (2222) is notable for resistance to Fosfomycin (27.91%) and an increase to ciprofloxacin (37.79%) and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (36.63%). Resistance is generally higher in hospitalized patients, males, and adults. Conclusions: Antibiotic resistance to the studied Enterobacteriaceae is on the rise, requiring empirical treatment targeted to the population area

Associations of serum phthalate metabolites with thyroid hormones in GraMo cohort, Southern Spain

These results would not have been achieved without the selfless collaboration of the staff from Santa Ana and San Cecilio Hospitals and the participants who took part in the study. Dr. JP Arrebola is under contract within the Ramon y Cajal Program (RYC-2016-20155, Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Spain) and Dr. C Donat-Vargas is under contract within the Atraccion de Talento (from the community of Madrid, Spain) . This study was supported by research grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI20/01568, PI16/01858) .The general population is continuously exposed to phthalates via various consumer products. Epidemiological research relating phthalate exposure to thyroid function during non-developmental periods is limited. This study aimed to investigate the associations between specific serum phthalate metabolites and indicators of thyroid function in adults. We measured 10 serum phthalate metabolites and thyroid hormones - total triiodothymnine (TT3), free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) - in a subsample of 207 adults from the GraMo cohort. This subsample was made up of men and women (in equal proportions) of middle age (49 +/- 17 years) and from Southern Spain (province of Granada). Data on age, sex, body mass index, residence area, tobacco use, alcohol consumption and attained education were obtained from a questionnaire. Phthalate metabolites were log-transformed and categorized into tertiles. Cross-sectional associations of each metabolite with thyroid hormones were analyzed using multivariable-adjusted linear regression models. The mixture effect of metabolite phthalates was assessed using weighted quantile sum regression. After multivariable-adjustment, the following phthalate metabolites were significantly associated with TT3 in a dose-response manner: MMP (beta = 0.90: 95% confidence interval 0.68,1.12), MEP (beta = 0.67: 0.44, 0.90), MiBP (beta = 0.49: 0.21, 0.77), MiDP (beta = 0.27: 0.03, 0.52), MBzP (beta = 0.51: 0.28, 0.73), MEHP (beta = -0.59: -0.82, -0.35) and MiNP (beta = -0.43: -0.71, -0.14), when comparing highest vs. lowest exposed. The sum of all metabolites was also linked to FT4 levels. No significant associations were observed for TSH except for MiNP. Although phthalate metabolites with different molecular weight showed opposite associations, overall metabolite concentrations seem to associate with increased TT3 and FT4 serum levels. The cross-sectional nature of this analysis limits causal inference.Ramon y Cajal Program (Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Spain) RYC-2016-20155Instituto de Salud Carlos III European Commission PI20/01568 PI16/0185

Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex field infections in cattle using fecal volatile organic compound analysis through gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry combined with chemometrics

Bovine tuberculosis is considered a re-emerging disease caused by different species from the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC), important not only for the livestock sector but also for public health due to its zoonotic character. Despite the numerous efforts that have been carried out to improve the performance of the current antemortem diagnostic procedures, nowadays, they still pose several drawbacks, such as moderate to low sensitivity, highlighting the necessity to develop alternative and innovative tools to complement control and surveillance frameworks. Volatilome analysis is considered an innovative approach which has been widely employed in animal science, including animal health field and diagnosis, due to the useful and interesting information provided by volatile metabolites. Therefore, this study assesses the potential of gas chromatography coupled to ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) to discriminate cattle naturally infected (field infections) by MTC from non-infected animals. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced from feces were analyzed, employing the subsequent information through chemometrics. After the evaluation of variable importance for the projection of compounds, the final discriminant models achieved a robust performance in cross-validation, as well as high percentages of correct classification (>90%) and optimal data of sensitivity (91.66%) and specificity (99.99%) in external validation. The tentative identification of some VOCs revealed some coincidences with previous studies, although potential new compounds associated with the discrimination of infected and non-infected subjects were also addressed. These results provide strong evidence that a volatilome analysis of feces through GC-IMS coupled to chemometrics could become a valuable methodology to discriminate the infection by MTC in cattle. IMPORTANCE Bovine tuberculosis is endemic in many countries worldwide and poses important concerns for public health because of their zoonotic condition. However, current diagnostic techniques present several hurdles, such as low sensitivity and complexity, among others. In this regard, the development of new approaches to improve the diagnosis and control of this disease is considered crucial. Volatile organic compounds are small molecular mass metabolites which compose volatilome, whose analysis has been widely employed with success in different areas of animal science including animal health. The present study seeks to evaluate the combination of fecal volatilome analysis with chemometrics to detect field infections by bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex) in cattle. The good robust performance of discriminant models as well as the optimal data of sensitivity and specificity achieved highlight volatilome analysis as an innovative approach with huge potential.European Commission GOP2I-CO-16-001

Implementación de flipped learning y evaluación entre iguales en la enseñanza de la genética clínica a través de las redes sociales

Memoria ID2022-109. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2022-2023