Soil moisture content determines the effectiveness of the urease inhibitor NBPT on N2O emissions

Among the mitigation strategies to prevent nitrogen (N) losses from ureic fertilizers, urease inhibitors (UIs) have been demonstrated to promote high N use efficiency by reducing ammonia (NH3) volatilization. In the last few years, some field experiments have also shown its effectiveness in reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) losses from fertilized soils under conditions of low soil moisture. An incubation experiment was carried out with the aim of assessing the main biotic mechanisms behind N2O emissions once that the UIs N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamid (NBPT) and phenil phosphorodiamidate (PPDA) were applied with Urea (U) under different soil moisture conditions (40, 60 and 80 % water-filled pore space, WFPS). In the same study we tried to analyze to what extent soil WFPS regulates the effect of these inhibitors on N2O emissions. The use of PPDA in our study allowed us to compare the effect of NBPT with that of another commercially available urease inhibitor, aiming to see if the results were inhibitor-specific or not. Based on the results from this experiment, a WFPS (i.e. 60 %) was chosen for a second study (i.e. mesocosm experiment) aiming to assess the efficiency of the UIs to indirectly affect N2O emissions through influencing the pool of soil mineral N. The N2O emissions at 40 % WFPS were almost negligible, being significantly lower from all fertilized treatments than that produced at 60 and 80 % WFPS. When compared to U alone, NBPT+U reduced the N2O emissions at 60 % WFPS but had no effect at 80 % WFPS. The application of PPDA significantly increased the emissions with respect to U at 80 % WFPS whereas no significant effect was found at 60 %. At 80 % WFPS, denitrification was the main source of N2O emissions for all treatments. In the mesocosm study, the application of NBPT+U was an effective strategy to reduce N2O emissions (75 % reduction compared to U alone), due to a lower soil ammonium (NH4 +) content induced by the inhibitor. These results suggest that adequate management of the UI NBPT could provide, under certain soil conditions, an opportunity for mitigation of N2O emissions from fertilized soils

Estudio de la accesibilidad de las interfaces gráficas en la televisión de alta definición

La televisión digital permite un incremento del número de servicios difundidos. Esto puede derivar en que la gestión de los mismos se dificulte de manera notable para el usuario con discapacidad. Así mismo, la televisión digital se caracteriza por la proliferación de interfaces gráficas, por ejemplo, menús de configuración, guías de programas y miniguías, aplicaciones interactivas... Las interfaces gráficas de usuario suponen una de las barreras más importantes que las personas ciegas y con discapacidad visual encuentran al interactuar con estos nuevos servicios. Por otra parte, teniendo en cuenta las necesidades de las personas con resto visual, también se habría de considerar la posibilidad de poder configurar por parte del usuario aquellos elementos gráficos y textuales que aparecen en su pantalla, fundamentalmente, el tamaño y color de letra, así como el adecuado contraste de ésta con el color de fondo sobre el que aparezc

Access Services Based on MHP Interactive Applications

In this paper it is described how interactive applications can be used to provide access services for people with disabilities in digital television. MHP (Multimedia Home Platform) is a standardized middleware to develop interactive applications in digital television. In this way, the interactive applications become tools for the provision of the access services. These features have been exploited in a research project to create a subtitle application for the deaf and hard of hearing people and an accessible electronic program guide for blind people

Deployment of access services based on HbbTV standard technology: Project HBB4ALL

This paper presents an overview of the European project HBB4ALL. It explains: how access services can be provided by means of HbbTV applications, why connected TV features become useful for this purpose, and how to get fully satisfying access services for the citizens

Leptin concentration and risk of impaired physical function in older adults: the Seniors-ENRICA cohort

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Age and Ageing following peer review. The version of record Alberto Lana, Ellen Struijk, Pilar Guallar-Castillón, Jose María Martín-Moreno, Fernando Rodríguez Artalejo, Esther Lopez-Garcia; Leptin concentration and risk of impaired physical function in older adults: the Seniors-ENRICA cohort. Age Ageing 45.6 (2016): 819-826 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1093/ageing/afw142Leptin resistance, which may develop during the aging process, stimulates the production of proinflammatory cytokines and insulin resistance that could impair the muscle function. However, the role of leptin on physical functioning among older adults has not yet been elucidated. Objective: To examine the association between serum leptin levels and physical function impairment in older adults. Design and setting: Prospective study of 1,556 individuals aged ≥60 years from the Seniors-ENRICA cohort, who were free of physical function limitation at baseline. Main outcome measure: Serum leptin was measured in 2008-2010, and incident functional limitation was assessed through 2012. Self-reported limitations in agility and mobility were assessed with the Rosow and Breslau scale, limitation in the lower extremity function was measured with the Short Physical Performance Battery, and impairment in the overall physical performance with the physical component summary of the SF-12. Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, and compared to individuals in the lowest quartile of leptin concentration, those in the highest quartile showed increased risk of impaired physical function; the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) and p-trend was: 1.95 (1.11-3.43), p=0.006 for self-reported impaired mobility; 1.76 (1.08-2.87), p=0.02 for self-reported impaired agility; 1.48 (1.02-2.15), p=0.04 for limitation in the lower extremity function; and 1.97 (1.20-3.22), p=0.01 for decreased overall physical performance. These associations were only modestly explained by C-reactive protein and insulin resistance. Moreover, the associations held across groups with varying health status and were independent of estimated total body fat. Conclusions: Higher leptin concentration was associated with increased risk of impaired physical function. Preserving metabolic function during the old age could help delaying physical function declineThis work was supported by FIS grants 12/1166 and 13/0288 (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, State Secretary of R+D+I, and FEDER/FSE), the CIBERESP, the FRAILOMIC Initiative (FP7-HEALTH-2012-Proposal no. 305483-2) and the ATHLOS project (EU H2020- Project ID: 635316

Comparison of bioinspired algorithms applied to the timetabling problem in sport

The problems of timetabling tasks or events, in general, are subject to sets of restrictions such as: creation of work roles, operation of different teams, operation personnel, among others. These types of problems are classified as NP class [1]. In this study, special attention is paid to the scheduling problem applied to sports clubs, for which different bioinspired algorithms are implemented and compared

Next Generation Mashups: Cómo Crear mis Propios Servicios en un Mundo Convergente.

Mashups have become a mainstream of the Web. Recently, several mashup platforms have introduced the usercentric paradigm, thus allowing end-users to create, share and enjoy their own services. However, these platforms still lack the advanced features that the mobile Web is able to support, other than just browsing on the mobile telephone. Advanced location features and the possibility of communicating from anywhere at anytime will leverage new business models thus providing end-users with amazing new services. This paper introduces a platform that merges user-centricity and mobile Web services with a mashup environment, and describes its main features

Modelo de factores que afectan el interés individual de los estudiantes en las ciencias básicas: diseño y validación de un cuestionario: Model of factors affecting the individual interest of students in basic sciences: design and validation of a questionnaire

The purpose was to design and validate an instrument to measure a set of endogenous and exogenous factors that affect the individual interest of students in learning basic science in secondary school. In the first stage, a multivariate factor model was developed using the grounded theory method. Based on the model, the questionnaire was designed and then content validation was carried out, with the participation of judges and a pilot test. The initial version of the instrument contains 21 items, each of them represents an endogenous or exogenous causal factor; the construct validation was done with students from 1st to 5th year of secondary school. The exploratory factor analysis was carried out with a sample of 274 students, identifying 6 latent dimensions and the confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of 336 students. The results show optimal evidences of the questionnaire that corroborate its validity. It is a practical instrument that, through the perceptual evaluations of the students, empirical inquiries can be made about the effects of each of the factors that affect the individual interest of the students, giving rise to multivariate diagnoses. Keywords: Endogenous and exogenous factors, interest, basic sciences, validation, questionnaire.Resumen: El propósito fue diseñar y validar un instrumento para medir a un conjunto de factores endógenos y exógenos que afectan el interés individual de los estudiantes en el aprendizaje de las ciencias básicas. Primeramente, se elaboró un modelo multivariado de factores y luego se diseñó el cuestionario, que fue sometido a validación de contenido con la participación de jueces y una prueba piloto. La validación de constructo se hizo mediante el análisis factorial exploratorio, con una muestra de 274 alumnos de educación secundaria, se identificaron cinco dimensiones latentes. El análisis factorial confirmatorio se realizó con una muestra de 336 alumnos. Los resultados muestran evidencias óptimas del cuestionario que corroboran su validez con 18 ítems. Es un instrumento práctico que permite realizar indagaciones empíricas sobre los efectos de cada uno de los factores que afectan el interés individual mediante las valoraciones perceptivas de los alumnos, dando lugar a diagnósticos multivariados. Palabras clave: factores endógenos y exógenos, interés hacia las ciencias básicas, validación.     Abstract: The purpose was to design and validate an instrument to measure a set of endogenous and exogenous factors that affect the individual interest of students in learning basic sciences. First, a multivariate factor model was developed and then the questionnaire was designed, which was submitted to content validation with the participation of judges and a pilot test. The construct validation was done through exploratory factor analysis, with a sample of 274 secondary school students, five latent dimensions were identified. The confirmatory factor analysis was carried out with a sample of 336 students. The results show optimal evidence of the questionnaire that corroborates its validity with 18 items. It is a practical instrument that allows empirical inquiries to be made about the effects of each of the factors that affect individual interest through perceptual evaluations of the students, giving rise to multivariate diagnoses. Keywords: endogenous and exogenous factors, interest in basic sciences, validation

Ontology Based Integration of Distributed and Heterogeneous Data Sources in ACGT.

In this work, we describe the set of tools comprising the Data Access Infrastructure within Advancing Clinic-genomic Trials on Cancer (ACGT), a R&D Project funded in part by the European. This infrastructure aims at improving Post-genomic clinical trials by providing seamless access to integrated clinical, genetic, and image databases. A data access layer, based on OGSA-DAI, has been developed in order to cope with syntactic heterogeneities in databases. The semantic problems present in data sources with different nature are tackled by two core tools, namely the Semantic Mediator and the Master Ontology on Cancer. The ontology is used as a common framework for semantics, modeling the domain and acting as giving support to homogenization. SPARQL has been selected as query language for the Data Access Services and the Mediator. Two experiments have been carried out in order to test the suitability of the selected approach, integrating clinical and DICOM image databases

Structuring Climate Service Co-Creation Using a Business Model Approach

[EN] Climate services are tools or products that aim to support climate-informed decision making for the adaptation to climate change. The market for climate services is dominated by public institutions, despite the efforts made by the European Commission to increase private enterprise in the market. The business model perspective has been proposed as a framework for enabling market growth through the development of appropriate business models for the provision of climate services. However, there is a lack of structured knowledge on how to approach climate service design and development from a business model standpoint. In this contribution, we first analyze the role of stakeholders in the design and development of climate services and identify opportunities for engaging users in the creation process. Afterwards, we explain our approach to climate service design and development using a business model perspective. To illustrate the proposed approach, we describe the co-creation of a climate service to support the adaptation to climate change of the urban water supply system in Valencia, Spain, and discuss the main findings and lessons learned from applying this approach.We acknowledge the European Research Area for Climate Services consortium (ER4CS) and the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion for their financial support to this research under the INNOVA project (Grant Agreement: 690462; PCIN-2017-066). This study has also been partially funded by the ADAPTAMED project (RTI2018-101483-B-I00) from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (MICIU) of Spain.Rubio-Martín, A.; Máñez-Costa, M.; Pulido-Velazquez, M.; Garcia-Prats, A.; Celliers, L.; Llario, F.; Macián Cervera, VJ. (2021). Structuring Climate Service Co-Creation Using a Business Model Approach. Earth's Future. 9(10):1-18. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002181S11891