Evaluation of Citriculture Mechanisation Level in Valencia Region (Spain): Poll Results

[EN] The increase of the technology level of citrus production operations is required to improve production profitability and reduce production costs. In the framework of the project CITRUSTECH ("Technological advances for modernisation and sustainability in citrus production"), three different poll questionnaires were developed and conducted in the Valencia region to assess the citriculture mechanisation level. In total, 142 questionaries for small and medium-size plantations, 32 for cooperative technicians and 16 for large-size plantations were conducted. From a socioeconomic point of view, clear age and sex inequalities were found. From the technological point of view, relevant differences were found between plantation sizes. The role of the cooperative mechanisation services (custom cost) and other customer services was revealed, with a higher percentage of the area under cultivation at the expense of the small-size plantations. The use of some manual tools was confirmed in pruning, even in large-size orchards. In small-size orchards, the use of backpack sprayers was verified. Regarding farm machinery, besides tractors, hydro-pneumatic sprayers and agricultural shredders were employed. No farm machinery was used during harvesting operations, apart from transport equipment, due to the reduced plantation frames.This research has been funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and cofounded by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentacion (project GO "Avances tecnologicos para la modernizacion y la sostenibilidad en la produccion de citricos CITRUSTECH").Ortiz Sánchez, MC.; Torregrosa, A.; Martínez, JM. (2022). Evaluation of Citriculture Mechanisation Level in Valencia Region (Spain): Poll Results. Agronomy. 12(6):1-6. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy120613661612

Graviton-photon oscillation in a cosmic background for a general theory of gravity

Graviton-photon oscillation is the conversion of gravitational waves to electromagnetic waves and vice versa in the presence of a background electromagnetic field. We investigate this phenomenon in a cosmological scenario considering a background cosmic magnetic field and assuming different gravitational frameworks. We obtain the damping term that characterizes the attenuation of the conversion probability in cosmological backgrounds. This is a general feature that is present even for standard General Relativity. Furthermore, we show that the effects of decoherence, which are due to the interaction with the cosmological expansion and with the additional degrees of freedom of alternative theories of gravity, can be relevant to the phenomenon of graviton-photon mixing.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

The course of posterior antebrachial cutaneous nerve: Anatomical and sonographic study with a clinical implication

The course of the posterior antebrachial cutaneous nerve (PACN) was studied via ultrasound (US) and dissection. The aim of this study was to reveal the anatomical relationships of PACN with the surrounding structures along its pathway to identify possible critical points of compression. Nineteen cryopreserved cadaver body donor upper extremities were explored via US and further dissected. During US exploration, two reference points, in relation with the compression of the nerve, were marked using dye injection: (1) the point where the RN pierces the lateral intermuscular septum (LIMS) and (2) the point where the PACN pierces the deep fascia. Anatomical measurements referred to the lateral epicondyle (LE) were taken at these two points. Dissection confirmed the correct site of US-guided dye injection at 100% of points where the RN crossed the LIMS (10.5 cm from the LE) and was correctly injected at 74% of points where the PACN pierce the deep fascia (7.4 cm from the LE). There were variations in the course of the PACN, but it always divided from the RN as an only branch. Either ran close and parallel to the LIMS until the RN crossed the LIMS (84%) or clearly separated from the RN, 1 cm before it crossed the LIMS (16%). In 21% of cases, the PACN crossed the LIMS with the RN, while in the rest of the cases it always followed in the posterior compartment. A close relationship between PACN and LIMS, as well as triceps brachii muscle and deep fascia was observed. The US and anatomical study showed that the course of PACN maintains a close relationship with the LIMS and other connective tissues (such as the fascia and subcutaneous tissue) to be present in its pathology and treatment

Aportaciones de las universidades españolas a la investigación sobre menores y medios de comunicación

L'interès acadèmic espanyol per la relació dels nens i joves amb els mitjans de comunicació s'ha incrementat al llarg d'aquests últims anys, fins al punt que constitueix una línia d'investigació destacada en moltes universitats. Assistim a una proliferació de grups d'investigació, observatoris, laboratoris, instituts… a través dels quals s'aconsegueixen fer passos importants. D'aquests treballs de recerca s'extreuen fruits que augmenten exponencialment quan aquests estudis es duen a terme en xarxes que permeten posar en contacte a centres fins fa poc desconnectats entre si, de manera que puguin compartir informació. Si partim d'aquest punt fort que suposa la interacció entre els diferents grups, aquest treball tracta d'oferir un mapa de l'estat actual de la investigació que es desenvolupa des de les universitats espanyoles sobre menors i mitjans de comunicació. Pretenem mostrar les principals línies d'actuació impulsades des dels centres educatius, algunes de les conclusions obtingudes arran d'aquests treballs, així com les tendències i perspectives futures d'aquest interessant i, alhora, ambiciosos camp d'estudi. D'altra banda, el dèficit major que trobem és que les nostres investigacions emmalalteixen d'escàs component internacional. No tant perquè no s'aborda la situació d'altres països, sinó més aviat perquè haurien de ser més nombrosos els investigadors que formin part de consorcis que, a més, permetin la solvència suficient com per establir comparatives i fulls de ruta per als mitjans i normatives aplicables per institucions supranacionals com a la Unió Europea.El interés académico español por la relación de los niños y jóvenes con los medios de comunicación se ha incrementado a lo largo de estos últimos años hasta tal punto que constituye una línea de investigación destacada en muchas universidades. Asistimos a una proliferación de grupos de investigación, observatorios, laboratorios, institutos… a través de los cuales se logran dar pasos importantes. De estos trabajos de investigación se extraen frutos que aumentan exponencialmente cuando esos estudios se llevan a cabo en redes que permiten poner en contacto a centros hasta hace poco desconectados entre sí, de modo que puedan compartir información. Si partimos de este punto fuerte que supone la interacción entre los distintos grupos, este trabajo trata de ofrecer un mapa del estado actual de la investigación que se desarrolla desde las universidades españolas sobre menores y medios de comunicación. Pretendemos mostrar las principales líneas de actuación impulsadas desde los centros educativos, algunas de las conclusiones obtenidas a raíz de estos trabajos, así como las tendencias y perspectivas futuras de este interesante y, a la vez, ambiciosos campo de estudio. Por otro lado, el déficit mayor que encontramos es que nuestras investigaciones adolecen de escaso componente internacional. No tanto porque no se aborde la situación de otros países, sino más bien porque deberían ser más numerosos los investigadores que formen parte de consorcios que, además, permitan la solvencia suficiente como para establecer comparativas y hojas de ruta para los medios y normativas aplicables por instituciones supranacionales como la Unión Europea.In the last years, the Spanish educational interest for the relationship between children and media has increased up to the point that this topic constitutes one of the main research lines of the universities in our territory. We find a development of the groups, observatories, laboratories and institutes from which works are obtained results that increase exponentially when those investigations are carried out in networks that allow organizations, until recently with no connection, to bring in contact with each other as well as share information with each other. Assuming how strong the interaction between the groups is, this work intends to offer a map of the research current status on children and the media at the Spanish universities, aiming to establish which are the main research lines of the centres, conclusions they have been reaching through their works and the trends and future perspectives of this interesting and wide field of study. Among the weak points, we conclude that Spanish studies still suffer from a lack of international dimension, which is not due to the fact that researchers don't investigate about the situation of other countries, but because few of them take part in consortiums that allow to count on enough solvency to establish comparatives and roadmaps for the media and applicable regulations from supranational institutions, as European Union

Highly size-controlled synthesis of Au/Pd nanoparticles by inert-gas condensation

Gold/Palladium nanoparticles were fabricated by inert-gas condensation on a sputtering reactor. With this method, by controlling both the atmosphere on the condensation chamber and the magnetron power, it was possible to produce nanoparticles with a high degree of monodispersity in size. The structure and size of the Au/Pd nanoparticles were determined by mass spectroscopy, and confirmed by atomic force microscopy and electron transmission microscopy measurements. The chemical composition was analyzed by X-ray microanalysis. From these measurements we confirmed that with the sputtering technique we are able to produce particles of 1, 3, and 5 nm on size, depending on the choice of the synthesis conditions. From TEM measurements made both in the regular HREM, as well as in STEM-HAADF mode, we found that the particles are icosahedral in shape, and the micrographs show no evidence of a core-shell structure, in contrast to what is observed in the case of nanoparticles prepared by chemical synthesis

Selective isolation of mouse glial nuclei optimized for reliable downstream omics analyses

Background: Isolation of cell types of interest from the brain for molecular applications presents several challenges, including cellular damage during tissue dissociation or enrichment procedures, and low cell number in the tissue in some cases. Techniques have been developed to enrich distinct cell populations using immunopanning or fluorescence activated cell/nuclei sorting. However, these techniques often involve fixation, immunolabeling and DNA staining steps, which could potentially influence downstream omics applications. New method: Taking advantage of readily available genetically modified mice with fluorescent-tagged nuclei, we describe a technique for the purification of cell-type specific brain nuclei, optimized to decrease sample preparation time and to limit potential artefacts for downstream omics applications. We demonstrate the applicability of this approach for the purification of glial cell nuclei and show that the resulting cell-type specific nuclei obtained can be used effectively for omics applications, including ATAC-seq and RNA-seq. Results: We demonstrate excellent enrichment of fluorescently-tagged glial nuclei, yielding high quality RNA and chromatin. We identify several critical steps during nuclei isolation that help limit nuclei rupture and clumping, including quick homogenization, dilution before filtration and loosening of the pellet before resuspension, thus improving yield. Sorting of fluorescent nuclei can be achieved without fixation, antibody labelling, or DAPI staining, reducing potential artifactual results in RNA-seq and ATAC-seq analyses. We show that reproducible glial cell type-specific profiles can be obtained in transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility assays using this rapid protocol. Comparison with existing methods: Our method allows for rapid enrichment of glial nuclei populations from the mouse brain with minimal processing steps, while still providing high quality RNA and chromatin required for reliable omics analyses. Conclusions: We provide a reproducible method to obtain nucleic material from glial cells in the mouse brain with a quick and limited sample preparation