Comparison of nitrification inhibitors to restrict nitrate leaching in a maize crop irrigated under mediterranean conditions

The aim of this paper was to compare dicyandiamide (DCD) and 3,4 dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) as inhibitors of ammonium oxidation and nitrate leaching after applying fertilizer to a maize (Zea mays L.) crop grown under Mediterranean conditions. The effects of nitrification inhibitors were also compared to those of N fertilization without inhibitors and with split N application. In plots fertilized with ammonium sulphate nitrate (ASN), either DCD or DMPP lengthened ammonium presence in soil and produced lower soil NO3- concentrations (30% lower than in plots with no inhibitor). The use of DCD or DMPP achieved significant reductions in nitrate leaching. DCD showed excellent properties for controlling nitrate leaching, taking into account the fact that grain yield and N accumulated by plant were similar for the ASN-DCD and ASN treatments applied at the same N doses. The split N treatment did not offer any advantages in terms of leached nitrate, either with the use of single ammonium sulphate nitrate (ASN) or with single application of nitrification inhibitors. The nitrification inhibitors did not increase the yield but did not reduce it either. The drainage rate was the most important component of nitrate leaching. The low drainage values of the first year resulted in a sharp decline of nitrate leaching. However, the experiment of the second year, showed clear differences in nitrate leaching between treatments due to the greater drainage

The Credit Portfolio and Its Impact on the Liquidity of Savings and Credit Cooperatives Segment 3, Province of Chimborazo, Case: San Miguel de Pallatanga Cooperative, 2017– 2019

The objective of this research is to analyze the credit portfolio and its impact on the Liquidity of the Savings and Credit Cooperatives Segment 3, Province of Chimborazo, during the period 2017–2019 Case: Cooperativa San Miguel de Pallatanga. The design of this research refers to a set of systematic and empirical processes, since the diagnostic processes are dynamic and evolutionary, which allowed the information to be quantitative in nature, further allowing deriving a deductive thinking scheme based on the logic and reasoning of the researcher. After analyzing the accounting balances disclosed in the 2017–2018 and 2019 Statements of Financial Position, the joint liquidity calculation was proceeded to the financial analysis from which the highest liquidity indicator registered in the Cooperativa San Jorge LTDA corresponding to a greater capacity for responding to immediate cash requirements by its depositors or reserve requirements, followed by Cooperativa San Miguel de Pallatanga, Cooperativa Nueva Esperanza LTDA, and Cooperativa Minga LTDA. In addition, according to the data obtained in 2019, the San Miguel de Pallatanga Cooperative reports 100% non-payments in the priority commercial portfolio, which indicates that the institution has serious problems to recover the priority commercial loan portfolio. Keywords: credit portfolio, liquidity, cash-outs, financial analysis, savings and credit cooperatives. Resumen El objetivo de la investigación es analizar la Cartera de Crédito y su incidencia en la Liquidez de las Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito Segmento 3, Provincia de Chimborazo, periodo 2017 – 2019 Caso: Cooperativa San Miguel de Pallatanga. El diseño de esta investigación refiere un conjunto de procesos sistemáticos y empíricos, ya que los procesos de diagnóstico son dinámicos y evolutivos, lo cual permitió que la información al ser de carácter cuantitativa permita derivar un esquema de pensamiento deductivo, basado en lógica y el razonamiento del investigador. Luego de analizar los saldos contables revelados en los Estados de Situación Financiera 2017-2018 y 2019 se procedió al cálculo de liquidez conjunto al análisis financiero del cual se obtuvo el indicador de liquidez más alto registrado en la Cooperativa San Jorge LTDA correspondiente a mayor capacidad para responder los requerimientos de efectivo inmediatos por parte de sus depositantes o requerimientos de encaje, seguido de la Cooperativa San Miguel de Pallatanga, la Cooperativa Nueva Esperanza LTDA y Cooperativa Minga LTDA. Además, según los datos obtenidos en el año 2019 la Cooperativa San Miguel de Pallatanga reporta el 100% de morosidad de cartera comercial prioritaria lo que indica que la institución tiene graves problemas para recuperar la cartera de créditos comerciales prioritarios. Palabras Clave: cartera de crédito, liquidez, cobranza, análisis financiero, cooperativas de ahorro y crédit

Temperature Sensor Placement Including Routing Overhead and Sampling Inaccuracies

Dynamic thermal management techniques require a collection of on-chip thermal sensors that imply a significant area and power overhead. Finding the optimum number of temperature monitors and their location on the chip surface to optimize accuracy is an NP-hard problem. In this work we improve the modeling of the problem by including area, power and networking constraints along with the consideration of three inaccuracy terms: spatial errors, sampling rate errors and monitor-inherent errors. The problem is solved by the simulated annealing algorithm. We apply the algorithm to a test case employing three different types of monitors to highlight the importance of the different metrics. Finally we present a case study of the Alpha 21364 processor under two different constraint scenarios

Estimation of Triticum aestivum in pasta flour: interspecific limits for sitosteryl palmitate content

Sitosteryl palmitate (SP) content of flour was shown to be not significantly affected by normal variations in milling yield. Since the distribution of fat in a wheat kernel does not follow the same pattern as does SP, it is preferable to consider SP content on the basis of DM content of the flour. A survey of 46 Triticum aestivum and 24 T. durum flours showed that the latter contained SP, but its level did not exceed 1.5 mg/100 g. T. aestivum varieties show a two-peak distribution, with the maxima at approximately 4 mg/100 g and at 12 mg/100 g, respectively. Three T. aestivum flours were within the T. durum range and three others were close to it. Limits for sitosteryl palmitate content in T. aestivum and T. durum were tentatively established at 16.5 mg/100 g and 1.5 mg/100 g respectively. Based on these limits, a method is proposed for the estimation of the minimum amount of T. Aestivum in a mixture

Com impartir una Unitat Didàctica per augmentar l’atenció, l’interès i la participació de l’alumnat a les classes?

Treball Final del Màster Universitari en Professor/a d'Educació Secundària Obligatòria i Batxillerat, Formació Professional i Ensenyaments d'Idiomes. Codi: SAP119. Curs acadèmic 2014-2015El Treball Fi de Màster (TFM) desenvolupat correspon a la modalitat 1 de la normativa de TFM de la Universitat Jaume I titulada “Millora Educativa”. Aquesta proposta de millora va dirigida als alumnes de l’assignatura de Ciències de la Naturalesa d’un grup de 1r d’ESO de l’IES Violant de Casalduch en Benicàssim per tal d’acabar o, almenys, minimitzar la pèrdua d’atenció detectada en les classes, augmentant la participació i l’interès d’aquests en les mateixes. La metodologia que s’utilitza per realitzar aquest projecte és l’anomenada “investigació-acció”, la qual es basa en proposar i aplicar un pla d’acció que puga resoldre la problemàtica detectada, observar-lo contínuament per tal d’avaluar i reflexionar sobre els canvis que es van produint, i seguidament proposar noves millores educatives per començar el cicle de nou. El pla d’acció que es proposa consisteix en elaborar una unitat didàctica (Les Plantes) estructurant les classes de tal forma que s’aconseguisca que aquestes siguin més dinàmiques i actives per l’alumnat, i que augmenti així el seu interès per l’assignatura. Per poder assolir aquest objectiu es fa ús de les Tecnologies de la Informació i Comunicació (TIC) per explicar d’una manera més vistosa, acolorida i esquematitzada els continguts de la unitat didàctica. A banda, els alumnes realitzen activitats, tant individuals com col·lectives, a classe i participen en jocs per recordar i repassar els conceptes explicats. A més, seguint aquest propòsit, els alumnes realitzen manualment un “blog” a casa com a resum dels continguts que s’expliquen a classe diàriament. L’avaluació del projecte es basa en valorar la participació de l’alumnat en les activitats fetes a l’aula a partir de les anotacions diàries de l’alumna en pràctiques i la visió externa de la professora-tutora, en l’elaboració a casa del “blog”, en els resultats dels exàmens i en la valoració de l’alumnat a la metodologia emprada a partir d’enquestes. Finalment, després d’haver posat en pràctica aquest pla, hi ha que indicar que ha sigut valorat positivament per part de l’alumnat i de la pròpia alumna en pràctiques ja que s’ha pogut aconseguir els propòsits establerts inicialment. Concretament, ha contribuït a augmentar l’atenció, la participació i l’interès cap a l’assignatura per part dels alumnes, la qual cosa ha donat lloc a una millora en les qualificacions dels mateixos

Distribution of sitosteryl palmitate in the wheat grain/Pie Verteilung von Sitosterylpalmitat im Weizenkorn

Sitosteryl palmitate content of most T. aestivum varieties is considerably higher than ^hat of T. durum. This sharp difference allows the semiquantitative determination of T, aestivum products when mixed with T. durum products such as semolina, flour or macaroni. Distribution of this substance in the wheat kernel has been investigated in order to check its influence on the estimated valúes for different products and mixtures» Nine fractions obtained by experimental milling, as well as the whole kernel, have been analize<? in three T. aestivum varieties and one T. durum. Puré germ and degerminated seed obtained by hand dissection also have been analized. A thin layer enromatography method on silica gel plates impregnated with silver nitrate, as previously described by us, has been employed in the sitosteryl palmitate determinations. Somewhat higher valúes are obtained for the germ as compared with endosperm, the content of the seed coats being lower. Considering the relative proportion of each fraction studied and their sitosteryl palmiíate content it can be concluded that variations within normal limits of extraction rate have no significant influence on sitosteryl palmitate content

Effect of integrated fertilization and cover cropping on N2O losses in an irrigated mediterranean maize field

Agronomical and environmental benefits are associated with replacing winter fallow by cover crops (CC). Yet, the effect of this practice on nitrous oxide (N2 O) emissions remains poorly understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of two different CC species (barley and vetch) and fallow on N2O emissions during the CC period and during the following maize cash crop period in an Integrated Soil Fertility management (ISFM) system. We also aimed to study the contribution of synthetic fertilizer and other N sources to N2O emissions through a parallel 15N labelled fertilizer experiment

Evaluación de prácticas agrícolas (laboreo y rotación) para mitigar gases de efecto invernadero en clima mediterráneo

El laboreo de conservación (Mínimo Laboreo, ML; No Laboreo, NL) y la rotación de cultivos están consideradas como Buenas Prácticas Agrícolas, y contribuyen a mejorar las propiedades físicas y la fertilidad del suelo, así como a reducir el empleo de algunos insumos agrarios (Follet y Schimel 1989). Sin embargo, existe gran controversia sobre el efecto de estas prácticas sobre las emisiones de Gases de Efecto Invernadero (GEI), a las que la agricultura contribuye en un 13.5 %, siendo normalmente el óxido nitroso (N2O) el mayor determinante del Poder de Calentamiento Global derivado de los agrosistemas (IPCC, 2006). La variabilidad de resultados y la escasez de estudios en zonas mediterráneas, especialmente sobre el efecto de la rotación de cultivos, justifican la necesidad de nuevos estudios sobre este tema. El objetivo principal de este ensayo ha sido evaluar la influencia de las prácticas de laboreo de conservación frente al Laboreo Tradicional (LT) mediante vertedera; así como la rotación barbecho - trigo (Tritucum aestivum L. var. ́Marius`) frente a monocultivo de trigo, sobre las emisiones de GEI(N2O, CH4 y CO2) desde el suelo

Ranking factors affecting emissions of GHG from incubated agricultural soils

Agriculture significantly contributes to global greenhouse gas (GHG) missions and there is a need to develop effective mitigation strategies. The efficacy of methods to reduce GHG fluxes from agricultural soils can be affected by a range of interacting management and environmental factors. Uniquely, we used the Taguchi experimental design methodology to rank the relative importance of six factors known to affect the emission of GHG from soil: nitrate (NO3?) addition, carbon quality (labile and non-labile C), soil temperature, water-filled pore space (WFPS) and extent of soil compaction. Grassland soil was incubated in jars where selected factors, considered at two or three amounts within the experimental range, were combined in an orthogonal array to determine the importance and interactions between factors with a L16 design, comprising 16 experimental units. Within this L16 design, 216 combinations of the full factorial experimental design were represented. Headspace nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations were measured and used to calculate fluxes. Results found for the relative influence of factors (WFPS and NO3? addition were the main factors affecting N2O fluxes, whilst glucose, NO3? and soil temperature were the main factors affecting CO2 and CH4 fluxes) were consistent with those already well documented. Interactions between factors were also studied and results showed that factors with Little individual influence became more influential in combination. The proposed methodology offers new possibilities for GHG researchers to study interactions between influential factors and address the optimized sets of conditions to reduce GHG emissions in agro-ecosystems, while reducing the number of experimental units required compared with conventional experimental procedures that adjust one variable at a time