Carbon nanotube filters for removal of air pollutants from mobile sources

The aim of this work was the assessment of the removal of air pollutants from mobile sources by commercial carbon nanotubes (CNTs). For this, the nanomaterial was characterized by different techniques: SEM, EDS, TEM, XRD, BET, and Raman. Subsequently, the CNTs were packed in a stainless steel filters which was designed from different prototypes that were developed during the investigation.The aim of this work was the assessment of the removal of air pollutants from mobile sources by commercial carbon nanotubes (CNTs). For this, the nanomaterial was characterized by different techniques: SEM, EDS, TEM, XRD, BET, and Raman. Subsequently, the CNTs were packed in a stainless steel filters which was designed from different prototypes that were developed during the investigation

Evidencia de depredación en una vértebra de un dinosaurio hadrosáurido del Cretácico Superior (Campaniano) de Coahuila, México

Dans des sédiments appartenant à la Formation Aguja (Crétacé supérieur : Campanian) près de La Salada dans le nord de l’état de Coahuila, Mexique, plusieurs fossiles de vertébrés parmi lesquels des Hadrosauridae ont été découverts. Une vertèbre d’hadrosaure suggère une prédation, probablement par un crocodilien géant Deinosuchus riograndensis.En los sedimentos relacionados a la Formación Aguja (Cretácico Tardío: Campaniano) cerca de La Salada en el norte del Estado de Coahuila, México, se han descubierto diversos fósiles de vertebrados incluyendo Hadrosauridae. Una vértebra de hadrosáurido muestra evidencia de depredación posiblemente por Deinosuchus riograndensis.In sediments of the Aguja Formation (Late Cretaceous: Campanian) at La Salada in northern part of the state of Coahuila, Mexico, numerous fossils of vertebrates have been discovered including Hadrosauridae. One hadrosaur vertebra provides evidence of predation probably by a giant alligator Deinosuchus riograndensis

Colonization of Vitis vinifera L. by the Endophyte Trichoderma sp. Strain T154: Biocontrol Activity Against Phaeoacremonium minimum

[EN] Trichoderma strains used in biological control products usually exhibit high efficiency in the control of plant diseases. However, their behavior under field conditions is difficult to predict. In addition, the potential of indigenous strains has been poorly assayed as well as their possible behavior as endophytes. Hence, niche colonization is a key feature for an effective protection. In this study, we aimed to: (i) explore the possibility of using a new Trichoderma strain isolated from vine to control pathogens, (ii) study the in planta interaction with the pathogen Phaeoacremonium minimum W. Gams, Crous, M.J. Wingf. & L. Mugnai (formerly Phaeoacremonium aleophilum), a pioneer fungus involved in Grapevine Trunk Diseases (GTDs) such as esca. For this purpose, fluorescently tagged Trichoderma sp. T154 and a P. minimum strain were used for scanning electron microscopy and confocal scanning laser microscopy analyses. Data showed that the Trichoderma strain is able to colonize plants up to 12 weeks post inoculation and is located in xylem, fibers, as well as in parenchymatic tissues inside the wood. The beneficial fungus reduced colonization of the esca-related pathogen colonizing the same niches. The main observed mechanism involved in biocontrol of Trichoderma against the esca pathogen was spore adhesion, niche exclusion and only few typical hypha coiling was found between Trichoderma and the pathogen. These results suggest that the Trichoderma strain has potential for reducing the colonization of Phaeoacremonium minimum and thus, an inoculation of this biological control agent can protect the plant by limiting the development of GTD, and the strain can behave as an endophyte.SIThe grant awarded to GC-H (FPU15/04681) comes from the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport (Spain). We thank Pago de Carraovejas winery for the project “GLOBALVITI IDI- 20120746” “Solució n global para mejorar la producció n vitivinı́ cola frente al cambio climá tico basada en robó tica, tecnologı́ a IT y en estrategias biotecnoló gicas y de manejo del viñedo” (Global solution for enhancing viticulture production against: climatic change based on: robotics, IT technology, biotechnological strategies, and vineyard management) that was granted by the Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnoló gico Industrial –CDTI-. SC and MG received funding via DaFNE Project Nr. 101384 from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism (BMNT)

Vineyard Management and Physicochemical Parameters of Soil Affect Native Trichoderma Populations, Sources of Biocontrol Agents against Phaeoacremonium minimum

[EN] Native strains of Trichoderma in vineyard soil represent an opportunity for reducing the incidence of grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) in vineyards. Moreover, its relationship with the environment (physicochemical soil characteristics and farming management practices) remains unclear. In the current study, a survey was carried out on farming management used by viticulturists, and soil samples were studied to analyze their physicochemical properties and to isolate Trichoderma strains. Later, statistical analyses were performed to identify possible correlations between Trichoderma populations, soil management and soil characteristics. In addition, in vitro tests, including antibiosis and mycoparasitism, were performed to select those Trichoderma strains able to antagonize Phaeoacremonium minimum. In this study a positive correlation was found between the iron content and pH in the soil, and a lower pH increases Trichoderma populations in soils. Vineyard management also affects Trichoderma populations in the soil, negatively in the case of fertilization and tillage and positively in the case of herbicide spraying. Two Trichoderma native strains were selected as potential biocontrol agents (Trichoderma gamsii T065 and Trichoderma harzianum T087) using antibiosis and mycoparasitism as mechanisms of action. These results led to the conclusion that native Trichoderma strains hold great potential as biological control agents and as producers of secondary metabolites.SIThis research was funded by project GLOBALVITI ‘Solución global para mejorar la’ Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial–CDTI—(Madrid, Spain) Project, GLOBALVITI project (CIEN Program) IDI-20160746, the project LowpHwine (CIEN Program) IDI ‘Estudio de nuevos factores relacionados con el suelo, la planta y la microbiota enológica que influyen en el equilibrio de la acidez de los vinos y en su garantía de calidad y estabilidad en climas cálidos’ and Bodega Pago de Carraovejas S.L.U. Thanks to all the wineries and viticulturists who kindly let us sample their vineyards. Thanks also to the research staff of the GUIIAS group for their technical support

STEPAR: an automatic code to infer stellar atmospheric parameters

Context. StePar is an automatic code written in Python 3.X designed to compute the stellar atmospheric parameters T_(eff), log g, [Fe/H], and ξ of FGK-type stars by means of the equivalent width (EW) method. This code has already been extensively tested in different spectroscopic studies of FGK-type stars with several spectrographs and against thousands of Gaia-ESO Survey UVES U580 spectra of late-type, low-mass stars as one of its 13 pipelines. Aims. We describe the code that we tested against a library of well characterised Gaia benchmark stars. We also release the code to the community and provide the link for download. Methods. We carried out the required EW determination of Fe i and Fe ii spectral lines using the automatic tool TAME. StePar implements a grid of MARCS model atmospheres and the MOOG radiative transfer code to compute stellar atmospheric parameters by means of a Downhill Simplex minimisation algorithm. Results. We show the results of the benchmark star test and also discuss the limitations of the EW method, and hence the code. In addition, we find a small internal scatter for the benchmark stars of 9 ± 32 K in T_(eff), 0.00 ± 0.07 dex in log g, and 0.00 ± 0.03 dex in [Fe/H]. Finally, we advise against using StePar on double-lined spectroscopic binaries or spectra with R 15 km s^(−1) , and on stars later than K4 or earlier than F6

Eosinophilic peritonitis in a patient under continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis successfully treated with steroids

A 28 year-old woman with chronic kidney disease stage 5 and hemodialysis in 2007. She received a first kidney transplant from related live donor and suffered chronic graft rejection returning to hemodialysis in 2011. In 2015, the patient entered to continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and ten days after the placement of the catheter, while she was in the training of the technique of peritoneal dialysis, she presented a murky dialysis fluid, without an abdominal pain or fever, with eosinophilia in the peritoneal fluid and peripheral blood. She received prednisone with resolution of the problem.Mujer de 28 años de edad con enfermedad renal crónica en estadio 5 y en hemodiálisis desde el 2007. Recibió un primer trasplante renal de donante vivo relacionado, del cual sufrió rechazo crónico del injerto, y retornó a hemodiálisis en el 2011. En el 2015, la paciente ingresó a diálisis peritoneal continua ambulatoria y diez días después de la colocación del catéter, mientras se encontraba en entrenamiento de la técnica de diálisis peritoneal, presentó líquido de diálisis turbio, sin dolor abdominal ni fiebre, y con eosinofilia en el líquido ascítico y en sangre periférica. Recibió prednisona y se resolvió el cuadro

Sublittoral soft bottom communities and diversity of Mejillones Bay in northern Chile (Humboldt Current upwelling system)

The macrozoobenthos of Mejillones Bay (23°S; Humboldt Current) was quantitatively investigated over a 7-year period from austral summer 1995/1996 to winter 2002. About 78 van Veen grab samples taken at six stations (5, 10, 20 m depth) provided the basis for the analysis of the distribution of 60 species and 28 families of benthic invertebrates, as well as of their abundance and biomass. Mean abundance (2,119 individuals m-2) was in the same order compared to a previous investigation; mean biomass (966 g formalin wet mass m-2), however, exceeded prior estimations mainly due to the dominance of the bivalve Aulacomya ater. About 43% of the taxa inhabited the complete depth range. Mean taxonomic Shannon diversity (H', Log e) was 1.54 ± 0.58 with a maximum at 20 m (1.95 ± 0.33); evenness increased with depth. The fauna was numerically dominated by carnivorous gastropods, polychaetes and crustaceans (48%). About 15% of the species were suspensivorous, 13% sedimentivorous, 11% detritivorous, 7% omnivorous and 6% herbivorous. Cluster analyses showed a significant difference between the shallow and the deeper stations. Gammarid amphipods and the polychaete family Nephtyidae characterized the 5-mzone, the molluscs Aulacomya ater, Mitrella unifasciata and gammarids the intermediate zone, while the gastropod Nassarius gayi and the polychaete family Nereidae were most prominent at the deeper stations. The communities of the three depth zones did not appear to be limited by hypoxia during non-El Niño conditions. Therefore, no typical change in community structure occurred during El Niño 1997–1998, in contrast to what was observed for deeper faunal assemblages and hypoxic bays elsewhere in the coastal Humboldt Current system

Effect of Farnesol in Trichoderma Physiology and in Fungal–Plant Interaction

[EN] Farnesol is an isoprenoid intermediate in the mevalonate (MVA) pathway and is produced by the dephosphorylation of farnesyl diphosphate. Farnesol plays a central role in cell growth and differentiation, controls production of ubiquinone and ergosterol, and participates in the regulation of filamentation and biofilm formation. Despite these important functions, studies of farnesol in filamentous fungi are limited, and information on its effects on antifungal and/or biocontrol activity is scarce. In the present article, we identified the Trichoderma harzianum gene dpp1, encoding a diacylglycerol pyrophosphatase that catalyzes production of farnesol from farnesol diphosphate. We analyzed the function of dpp1 to address the importance of farnesol in Trichoderma physiology and ecology. Overexpression of dpp1 in T. harzianum caused an expected increase in farnesol production as well as a marked change in squalene and ergosterol levels, but overexpression did not affect antifungal activity. In interaction with plants, a dpp1-overexpressing transformant acted as a sensitizing agent in that it up-regulated expression of plant defense salicylate-related genes in the presence of a fungal plant pathogen. In addition, toxicity of farnesol on Trichoderma and plants was examined. Finally, a phylogenetic study of dpp1 was performed to understand its evolutionary history as a primary metabolite gene. This article represents a step forward in the acquisition of knowledge on the role of farnesol in fungal physiology and in fungus-environment interactionsSIThis research was funded by the Spanish I+D+i Grants AGL2012-40041-C02-02, AGL2015-70671-C2-2-R, RTI2018-099600-B-I00 and PID2021-123874OB-I00, financed by the MCIN/ AEI/10.13039/501100011033. GC-H was awarded with a Grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport (Spain) (Grant number FPU15/04681). NM-R was awarded with a Grant from the Junta de Castilla y León (Spain) (ORDEN EDU/875/2021, 13 July 2021

Effects of trichothecene production by Trichoderma arundinaceum isolates from bean-field soils on the defense response, growth and development of bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris)

[EN] The trichothecene toxin-producing fungus Trichoderma arundinaceum has potential as a biological control agent. However, most biocontrol studies have focused only on one strain, IBT 40837. In the current study, three Trichoderma isolates recovered from bean-field soils produced the trichothecene harzianum A (HA) and trichodermol, the latter being an intermediate in the HA biosynthesis. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the three isolates were assigned to the species T. arundinaceum. Their genome sequences had a high degree of similarity to the reference IBT 40837 strain, in terms of total genome size, number of predicted genes, and diversity of putative secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters. HA production by these bean-field isolates conferred significant in vitro antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, which are some of the most important bean pathogens. Furthermore, the bean-field isolates stimulated germination of bean seeds and subsequent growth of above ground parts of the bean plant. Transcriptomic analysis of bean plants inoculated with these T. arundinaceum bean-field soil isolates indicated that HA production significantly affected expression of plant defense-related genes; this effect was particularly significant in the expression of chitinase-encoding genes. Together, these results indicate that Trichoderma species producing non-phytotoxic trichothecenes can induce defenses in plants without negatively affecting germination and developmentSIThis work is a part of the Spanish I+D+i Grants RTI2018-099600-B-I00 and PID2021-123874OB-I00, financed by the MCIN/ AEI/10.13039/501100011033. GC-H was awarded with a Grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport (Spain) (Grant number FPU15/04681). NM-R was awarded with a Grant from the Junta de Castilla y León (Spain) (ORDEN EDU/875/2021, July 13th, 2021

Subtidal macrozoobenthos communities from northern Chile during and post El Niño 1997–1998

Despite a large amount of climatic and oceanographic information dealing with the recurring climate phenomenon El Niño (EN) and its well known impact on diversity of marine benthic communities, most published data are rather descriptive and consequently our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and processes that drive community structure during EN are still very scarce. In this study, we address two questions on the effects of EN on macrozoobenthic communities: (1) how does EN affect species diversity of the communities in northern Chile? and (2) is EN a phenomenon that restarts community assembling processes by affecting species interactions in northern Chile? To answer these questions, we compared species diversity and co-occurrence patterns of soft-bottoms macrozoobenthos communities from the continental shelf off northern Chile during (March 1998) and after (September 1998) the strong EN event 1997–1998. The methods used varied from species diversity and species co-occurrence analyses to multivariate ordination methods. Our results indicate that EN positively affects diversity of macrozoobenthos communities in the study area, increasing the species richness and diversity and decreasing the species dominance. EN represents a strong disturbance that affects species interactions that rule the species assembling processes in shallow-water, sea-bottom environments