A New Calcium Vectoring Technology: Concentration and Distribution of Ca and Agronomic Efficiency in Pepper Plants

This work was supported by the PAI program (Plan Andaluz de Investigacion, Grupo de Investigacion AGR282). The funders had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.Calcium (Ca) is an important macronutrient for plants, although its low mobility through the phloem makes more difficult the translocation to growing tissues, including fruits. The blossom end rot (BER) physiopathy occurs mainly in fruits and is associated with water stress, and especially with low Ca levels, which has a very negative effect on the production of many crops. Currently, through the vectoring process, it is possible to increase the transport of immobile elements to the fruits. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of BRANDT® MANNI-PLEX® Ca, which contains Ca with a vector (polyalcohols), provided by the company BRANDT EUROPE S.L. (Carmona, Spain), on Ca accumulation and the production and quality of pepper fruits, both at harvest and post-harvest stage. Pepper plants were grown in a shaded greenhouse and supplied with BRANDT® MANNI-PLEX® Ca and parameters related to biomass, production, and fruit quality were analyzed. The results showed that the product increased shoot biomass, photosynthesis performance, Ca accumulation and quality of pepper fruits both at harvest and post-harvest, while reducing the incidence of Ca physiopathies by 70%. Therefore, this study proves the BRANDT® MANNI-PLEX® Ca efficacy in a crop with a high incidence of Ca physiopathies, such as pepper.PAI program (Plan Andaluz de Investigacion, Grupo de Investigacion) AGR28

A Proposal for Brand Analysis with Opinion Mining

The popularity of e‐commerce sites has increased the availability of product reviews, most of which are overlooked by customers because of their large number. Opinion mining, a discipline that aims to extract people\u27s opinions regarding some topic from reviews, was developed to address this situation. However, the individual interpretation of the reviews is not enough to take advantage of the massive datasets available on the web; a meaningful summary of the set of opinions is necessary to give users an overall insight into the opinions. We propose a system to extract information from Amazon product reviews, which focuses on a time‐varying comparison among different brands in a given Amazon product department. In this system, the results are summarized so that users can get a representative and detailed overview of the opinions of (possibly) hundreds of other users regarding the strong and weak points of several brands. This information can be used by customers who want to find high‐quality products, or by the enterprises themselves, which could find the aspects with a higher impact in the public perception

Basalt Fiber Composites with Reduced Thermal Expansion for Additive Manufacturing

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is gaining attention as an efficient way to create parts and replacements on demand using thermoplastics. This technology requires the development of new materials with a reliable printability that satisfies the requirement of final parts. In this context, a series of composites based on acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) reinforced with basalt fiber (BF) are reported in this work. First, several surface modification treatments are applied onto the BF to increase their compatibility with the ASA matrix. Then, once the best treatment is identified, the mechanical properties, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and warping distortion of the different specimens designed and prepared by FFF are studied. It was found that the silanized BF is appropriate for an adequate printing, obtaining composites with higher stiffness, tensile strength, low CTE and a significant reduction in part distortion. These composites are of potential interest in the design and manufacturing of final products by FFF, as they show much lower CTE values than pure ASA, which is essential to successfully fabricate large objects using this technique

Characterizations of a Banach Space through the Strong Lacunary and the Lacunary Statistical Summabilities

In this manuscript we characterize the completeness of a normed space through the strong lacunary (N-theta) and lacunary statistical convergence (S-theta) of series. A new characterization of weakly unconditionally Cauchy series through N-theta and S-theta is obtained. We also relate the summability spaces associated with these summabilities with the strong p-Cesaro convergence summability space

Evaluation of Physiological and Quality Parameters of Green Asparagus Spears Subjected to Three Treatments against the Decline Syndrome

Green asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a widely grown and consumed crop which provides high-level nutritional interest. In recent years, the decline syndrome in asparagus plantations has been rapidly augmenting. This syndrome causes the early death of whole plants, also negatively affecting the new replanting. Decline causes notable economic losses in the sector. The objective of this work was to verify the effect of different treatments against asparagus decline syndrome on the physiological parameters and nutritional quality of the spears. To meet the objective, four different treatments were applied to asparagus plots strongly affected by decline syndrome: (T1) untreated control soil, (T2) biofumigation with Brassica pellets, (T3) biofumigation with chicken manure pellets, and (T4) disinfestation of the soil with Dazomet. The cumulative yield and physiological and quality parameters of green asparagus spears were studied. Thus, malondialdehyde (MDA), photosynthetic pigments, glutathione (GSH), ascorbate (AsA), total phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanin, antioxidant test, mineral nutrients, and the amino acid profile were measured on asparagus spears. The results showed that the Brassica pellets and Dazomet treatments were the most effective against the damage caused by the decline syndrome. However, it would be necessary to monitor the evolution in the following years.INIA and ERDF 2014-2020Project RTA2015-00008-C02,State Training Subprogram of the State Program for the Promotion of Talent and its Employability, at the IFAPA. Grant number [BES-2017-080123].ES

CAX1a TILLING Mutations Modify the Hormonal Balance Controlling Growth and Ion Homeostasis in Brassica rapa Plants Subjected to Salinity

Salinity is a serious issue for crops, as it causes remarkable yield losses. The accumulation of Na+ a ects plant physiology and produces nutrient imbalances. Plants trigger signaling cascades in response to stresses in which phytohormones and Ca2+ are key components. Cation/H+ exchangers (CAXs) transporters are involved in Ca2+ fluxes in cells. Thus, enhanced CAX activity could improve tolerance to salinity stress. Using the TILLING (targeting induced local lesions in genomes) technique, three Brassica rapa mutants were generated through a single amino acidic modification in the CAX1a transporter. We hypothesized that BraA.cax1a mutations could modify the hormonal balance, leading to improved salinity tolerance. To test this hypothesis, the mutants and the parental line R-o-18 were grown under saline conditions (150 mM NaCl), and leaf and root biomass, ion concentrations, and phytohormone profile were analyzed. Under saline conditions, BraA.cax1a-4 mutant plants increased growth compared to the parental line, which was associated with reduced Na+ accumulation. Further, it increased K+ concentration and changed the hormonal balance. Specifically, our results show that higher indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and gibberellin (GA) concentrations in mutant plants could promote growth under saline conditions, while abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene, and jasmonic acid (JA) led to better signaling stress responses and water use e ciency. Therefore, CAX1 mutations directly influence the hormonal balance of the plant controlling growth and ion homeostasis under salinity. Thus, Ca2+ signaling manipulation can be used as a strategy to improve salinity tolerance in breeding programs.PAI program (Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Grupo de Investigación) AGR282National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia German Research Foundation (DFG) FPU14/0185

Aplicación De Un Modelo Basado En La Gestión Del Conocimiento Para Mejorar El Nivel De Aprovechamiento De Las Tic. Estudio De Caso En Una Pyme Mexicana

A very dynamic environment and constant technological advances are surrounding small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their commercial activities. The business context is becoming increasingly complex, as there are continually numerous aspects related to the application of knowledge, both financial, legal, organizacional and technological. In relation to the application of information and communication technologies (ICT), SMEs need to acquire and apply knowledge correctly to obtain the best use of these technologies in their business processes. Taking this scenario into account, the objective of this paper is to present the case study on the application of a conceptual model based on knowledge management (KM) to improve the level of use of ICT in the business processes of mexican SMEs. The model was applied in an SME of the commercial sector. The results obtained are exposed, as well as the conclusions and future perspectives of the work developed

MODELO DE INTERVENCIÓN PARA LA PROTECCIÓN DE INVENCIONES EN INSTITUCIONES DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR MEXICANAS

The patent is the means of protecting an invention; you can get the inventor and gives exclusive right to the use thereof. Institutions of higher education are the main sources of research, innovation and technological development in Mexico, who must develop strategies or made or proposed to support the generation and protection of inventions arising within institutions. The Intervention Model for the Protection of Inventions in Mexican Higher Education Institutions (MIPI in AIMS) is a proposal that aim to create a culture of industrial protection of inventions arising within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), which meet the requirements established by the Industrial Property Law (LPI) and the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI)

Coronavirus fear of contagion and compliance with social distancing measures: evidence for a sample of a Spanish university community

Background. Social distancing measures have been one of the core pillars of the strategy against COVID-19 in all the countries. This study aims at understanding what motivates behaviours and compliance with social distancing measures among students and workers from a Spanish public university. Methods. We carry out two logistics models considering two different dependent variables: not maintaining social relation with non-cohabiting people and not to leave home except for emergencies (n = 507, sample is formed by students and workers from the University of Cantabria in the North of Spain). Results. Being very concerned about getting ill suggests higher risk of not maintaining social relation with non-cohabiting people. Getting older increase the probability of not leaving home except for emergencies as happens with those who are very concerned about getting ill. Young people often living with vulnerable older relatives may affect students' behaviour. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that compliance with social distancing measures depends on several factors related to age, the number or kind of cohabiting people and level of concern about getting ill. Policies should address all these factors through a multidisciplinary perspective

Synthesis and Characterisation of ASA-PEEK Composites for Fused Filament Fabrication

In this paper, a series of polymer composites made from acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA) and poly (ether ether ketone) (PEEK) were manufactured. ASA acts as a polymer matrix while PEEK is loaded in the form of micro-particles that act as a reinforcing filler. The composites were compounded by single screw extrusion and then, different specimens were manufactured either via injection moulding (IM) or fused filament fabrication (FFF). Two different types of PEEK (commercial and reused) in different concentrations (3 and 6 wt.%) were tested and their influence in the mechanical, structural, and thermal properties were studied. It was observed that reused PEEK enhanced the stiffness and tensile strength and thermal stability of the composites both, for injected and printed specimens. This evidences the suitability of these composites as potential candidates as novel materials with enhanced properties following an approach of circular economy