How Bees Respond Differently to Field Margins of Shrubby and Herbaceous Plants in Intensive Agricultural Crops of the Mediterranean Area

(1) Intensive agriculture has a high impact on pollinating insects, and conservation strategies targeting agricultural landscapes may greatly contribute to their maintenance. The aim of this work was to quantify the effect that the vegetation of crop margins, with either herbaceous or shrubby plants, had on the abundance and diversity of bees in comparison to non-restored margins. (2) The work was carried out in an area of intensive agriculture in southern Spain. Bees were monitored visually and using pan traps, and floral resources were quantified in crop margins for two years. (3) An increase in the abundance and diversity of wild bees in restored margins was registered, compared to non-restored margins. Significant differences in the structure of bee communities were found between shrubby and herbaceous margins. Apis mellifera and mining bees were found to be more polylectic than wild Apidae and Megachilidae. The abundance of A. mellifera and mining bees was correlated to the total floral resources, in particular, to those offered by the Boraginaceae and Brassicaceae; wild Apidae and Megachilidae were associated with the Lamiaceae. (4) This work emphasises the importance of floral diversity and shrubby plants for the maintenance of rich bee communities in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes

The use of blogs as social media tools of political communication : citizen journalism and public opinion 2.0

In recent years, the political arena has been transformed into a space of public debate, a phenomenon which is both evident, yet hitherto unparalleled. A new range of digital social communication tools framed within the Web 2.0 era, with the blog often proving the tool of choice, has displaced the traditional pre-eminence of the communication scenario, as previously used by the mass media, thanks to a series of more interactive, diverse and credible dynamics which place the user at the very heart of the political discussion process and facilitates processes of social mobilization and collective civic action. This study takes the above situation as its point of departure and guiding principle to propose and define political blogs as a new means of creating information and opinion, and communicating and occasioning effective influence in public agenda-setting. This theoretical work undertakes a detailed critical analysis of the potential of these tools and explains the extent to which they should be considered appropriate platforms for the communication and discussion of public issues. Moreover, it will also consider their engagement in a new, more open form of citizen journalism, free of the bias and pressures exerted by large media corporations, thus creating a digital public sphere with far greater capacity and agency for change

An Analysis of Global Research Trends on Greenhouse Technology: Towards a Sustainable Agriculture

Greenhouse farming is an agricultural management system that has demonstrated its efficiency in intensifying food production. These systems constitute a feasible alternative for ensuring food supply, which is one of the greatest challenges faced by humankind in the twenty-first century. Technology has been able to meet the challenges related to greenhouse farming in both contributing to overcoming its limitations, correcting adverse impacts and ensuring system sustainability. The objective of this article is to analyse the global research trends in greenhouse technology over the last two decades, in order to identify the main driving agents, the most outstanding research lines and possible gaps in the literature. Different methodologies have been used for the analysis; both quantitative and qualitative. The principal results show that there are different relevant lines of research related to different aspects of greenhouse farming: the use of water for irrigation, the design of the optimum structure of the greenhouse, conserving the soil in the best growing conditions, energy consumption of the system as a whole, climate control within the facility and pest control. The research is characterized by the being composed largely of ad hoc studies, which hinders the international collaboration between researchers and institutions. The research approach has shifted from being focused on increasing production and cost savings to aspects related to resource conservation and sustainability

Systemic risk measures: the simpler the better.

We compute six different sets of systemic risk measures for a sample of the 20 biggest European and 13 biggest US banks from January 2004 to November 2009. The six measures are based on i) Principal components of the bank’s Credit Default Swaps (CDSs), ii) Interbank interest rate spreads, iii) Structural credit risk models, iv) Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) indexes and their tranches, v) Multivariate densities computed from CDS spreads and vi) Co-Risk measures. We then rank the measures using three different criteria: i) Causality tests, ii) Price discovery tests and iii) their correlation with an index of systemic events. For the European and US markets, the best indicators are the first Principal Component of the single-name CDSs and the LIBOR-OIS or LIBOR-TBILL spreads, respectively, whereas the least reliable indicators are the Co-Risk measures and the systemic spreads extracted from the CDO indexes and their tranches.Systemic risk; CDS; Libor spreads; CoVaR;

Tripod-shaped penta (p-phenylene)s for the functionalization of silicon surfaces

In order to obtain nanostructured thin films to be used in biosensor devices, several chemical functionalization methods have been developed, such as Click chemistry or Suzuki carbon-carbon coupling reactions on surfaces.1 With the aim to control the orientation and spacing between grafted functional groups on a surface, tripodal oligo (p-phenylene)s have become the ideal anisotropic adsorbates due to their shape-persistent and self-standing characteristics.2 Here we report the synthesis and characterization of several tripod-shaped oligo(p-phenylene)s molecules with legs composed of five phenylene units, compounds 1, 2 and 3. In these structures, each leg is end-capped with an NH-Boc, NH2 and N3 group, respectively. The functional arm contains an acetylene group. The presented synthesis has as key step the Pd-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. In particular, a iodine derivative from the silicon core molecule reacts with the appropriate tetra(p-phenylene) boron derivative, thus generating the final tripod-shaped structure. The azide end-capped leg in 3 is specifically designed for its covalent incorporation on alkynyl terminated silicon surfaces by an easy and reproducible way. As a preliminary study, we present the alkynyl-functionalized silicon wafers nanostructuration with tripod 3 through the cooper catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) click reaction.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Chitosan and Kappa-Carrageenan Vaginal Acyclovir Formulations for Prevention of Genital Herpes. In Vitro and Ex Vivo Evaluation

Vaginal formulations for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections are currently gaining importance in drug development. Polysaccharides, such as chitosan and carrageenan, which have good binding capacity with mucosal tissues, are now included in vaginal delivery systems. Marine polymer-based vaginal mucoadhesive solid formulations have been developed for the controlled release of acyclovir, which may prevent the sexual transmission of the herpes simplex virus. Drug release studies were carried out in two media: simulated vaginal fluid and simulated vaginal fluid/simulated seminal fluid mixture. The bioadhesive capacity and permanence time of the bioadhesion, the prepared compacts, and compacted granules were determined ex vivo using bovine vaginal mucosa as substrate. Swelling processes were quantified to confirm the release data. Biocompatibility was evaluated through in vitro cellular toxicity assays, and the results showed that acyclovir and the rest of the materials had no cytotoxicity at the maximum concentration tested. The mixture of hydroxyl-propyl-methyl-cellulose with chitosan- or kappa-carrageenan-originated mucoadhesive systems that presented a complete and sustained release of acyclovir for a period of 8-9 days in both media. Swelling data revealed the formation of optimal mixed chitosan/hydroxyl-propyl-methyl-cellulose gels which could be appropriated for the prevention of sexual transmission of HSV. © 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MAT2012-34552). We acknowledge support by the CSIC Open Access Publication Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI).Peer Reviewe

A practical floating-gate Muller-C element using vMOS threshold gates

This paper presents the rationale for vMOS-based realizations of digital circuits when logic design techniques based on threshold logic gates are used. Some practical problems in the vMOS implementation of threshold gates have been identified and solved. The feasibility and versatility of the proposed technique as well as its potential as a low-cost design technique for CMOS technologies have been shown by experimental results from a multiple-input Muller C-element. The proposed new realization exhibits better performance related to delay and area and power consumption than the traditional logic implementation

La expulsión de los jesuitas del Reino de Nápoles: algo más que una obsesión.

Sin resume

Potencial de economia de água potável por meio do uso de águas pluviais em habitações de interesse social em Viçosa-Brasil

[Objective] The main objective of this research was to evaluate the potential for saving drinking water by using rainwater as a source of supply for non-potable purposes in two neighborhoods with social housing in the municipality of Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. [Methodology] The consumption statistics for each month of 2020 were used for each of the homes comprising the Benjamin José Cardoso and Sol Nascente Housing Complexes, and the fraction of drinking water that is destined in homes for non-potable purposes was estimated. The information corresponding to the monthly rainfall records of the last 50 years was analyzed and the monthly volume of rainwater that could be harvested in each house was calculated. [Results] The average monthly volume of rainwater that could be captured through the roof area of each dwelling is 3.39 m3. During the rainy months of the year, it would be feasible to save a higher percentage of water than that allocated for non-potable purposes. Sizing a rainwater reservoir that exceeds the monthly needs for non-potable purposes would allow the surplus of collected water to supply the liquid during the dry season. [Conclusions] Since the average percentage of savings in drinking water for both neighborhoods exceeded 53%, the saving of the monthly consumption can contribute to the reduction of payments for the drinking water service and the consumption of the liquid in the municipality, particularly during drought months.[Objetivo] El principal objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar el potencial de ahorro de agua potable, mediante el empleo de la pluvial como una fuente de abastecimiento para usos no potables, en dos barrios con viviendas de interés social del municipio de Viçosa (Minas Gerais, Brasil). [Metodología] Se utilizaron las estadísticas de consumo correspondientes a cada mes del 2020, para cada una de las casas que conforman los complejos habitacionales Benjamin José Cardoso y Sol Nascente, así como se estimó la fracción de agua potable destinada en los hogares para usos no potables. Se analizó la información correspondiente a los registros de lluvias mensuales de los últimos 50 años y se calculó el volumen mensual de agua de lluvia que podría colectarse en cada casa. [Resultados] El volumen promedio mensual de agua pluvial que podría captarse en el área de tejado de cada hogar es 3,39 m3. Durante los meses lluviosos del año, podría almacenarse un porcentaje de agua mayor al destinado para usos no potables; el dimensionamiento de un reservorio de agua de lluvia que supere las necesidades por mes del líquido para dichos propósitos podría viabilizar un excedente de agua colectada que garantice el recurso a lo largo de la temporada seca. [Conclusiones] Ya que el porcentaje promedio de ahorro de agua potable para ambos barrios supera el 53 %, el ahorro de consumo mensual puede contribuir a la reducción en el pago del servicio del agua potable y el consumo del líquido del municipio, principalmente en los meses de sequía.[Objetivo] O principal objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar o potencial de economia de água potável por meio do uso da água pluvial como fonte de abastecimento para usos não potáveis em dois bairros com habitações de interesse social no município de Viçosa (Minas Gerais-Brasil). [Metodologia] Foram utilizadas estatísticas de consumo de cada mês do ano de 2020 para cada uma das casas que compõem os conjuntos habitacionais Benjamin José Cardoso e Sol Nascente, e foi estimada a fração de água potável utilizada nas residências para usos não potáveis. Foram analisados os registros mensais de precipitação dos últimos 50 anos e calculado o volume mensal de águas pluviais que poderia ser coletado de cada residência. [Resultados] O volume médio mensal de águas pluviais que poderia ser coletado da área do telhado de cada residência é de 3,39 m3. Durante os meses chuvosos do ano, poderia ser armazenada uma porcentagem maior de água do que aquela destinada a usos não potáveis; o dimensionamento de um reservatório de águas pluviais que ultrapassem as necessidades mensais do líquido para esses fins poderia viabilizar um excedente de água coletada para garantir o líquido durante a estação seca. [Conclusões] Como a porcentagem média de economia de água potável para ambos os bairros é superior a 53%, a economia no consumo mensal pode contribuir para a redução do pagamento do serviço de água potável do município e do consumo do líquido, principalmente nos meses de seca