Introducción: reyes inmediatos

En la época moderna el sistema de gobierno por excelencia en Europa era la monarquía. Un poder, encarnado en la cúspide por el rey, que abarcaba territorios más o menos extensos y diversos y que tenía bajo su dominio, en ocasiones, no uno sino varios pueblo

Development of organic fertilizers from food market waste and urban gardening by composting in Ecuador

Currently, the management of urban waste streams in developing countries is not optimized yet, and in many cases these wastes are disposed untreated in open dumps. This fact causes serious environmental and health problems due to the presence of contaminants and pathogens. Frequently, the use of specific low-cost strategies reduces the total amount of wastes. These strategies are mainly associated to the identification, separate collection and composting of specific organic waste streams, such as vegetable and fruit refuses from food markets and urban gardening activities. Concretely, in the Chimborazo Region (Ecuador), more than 80% of municipal solid waste is dumped into environment due to the lack of an efficient waste management strategy. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a demonstration project at field scale in this region to evaluate the feasibility of implanting the composting technology not only for the management of the organic waste fluxes from food market and gardening activities to be scaled-up in other developing regions, but also to obtain an end-product with a commercial value as organic fertilizer. Three co-composting mixtures were prepared using market wastes mixed with pruning of trees and ornamental palms as bulking agents. Two piles were created using different proportions of market waste and prunings of trees and ornamental palms: pile 1 (50:33:17) with a C/N ratio 25; pile 2: (60:30:10) with C/N ratio 24 and pile 3 (75:0:25) with C/N ratio 33), prepared with market waste and prunings of ornamental palm. Throughout the process, the temperature of the mixtures was monitored and organic matter evolution was determined using thermogravimetric and chemical techniques. Additionally, physico-chemical, chemical and agronomic parameters were determined to evaluate compost quality. The results obtained indicated that all the piles showed a suitable development of the composting process, with a significant organic matter decomposition, reached in a shorter period of time in pile 3. At the end of the process, all the composts showed absence of phytotoxicity and suitable agronomic properties for their use as organic fertilizers. This reflects the viability of the proposed alternative to be scaled-up in developing areas, not only to manage and recycle urban waste fluxes, but also to obtain organic fertilizers, including added value in economic terms related to nutrient contents.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Caracterización estructural y funcional del complejo formado por DnaK y GrpE de E. coli

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología Molecular. Fecha de lectura: 12-03-201

Micellization and antimicrobial properties of surface active ionic liquids containing cleavable carbonate linkages

Imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) containing cleavable carbonate linkages, 1-alkyloxycarbonyloxyethyl-3-methylimidazolium chlorides with alkyl chains of 10, 12, and 14 carbon atoms, were synthesized, and their self-assembly behavior and antimicrobial activity were investigated. Differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy studies reveal that carbonate-functionalized ILs form stable thermotropic smectic liquid-crystalline phases over a wide range of temperature. The surface activity and aggregation behavior of these new ILs were investigated by tensiometry, conductometry, potentiometry, and spectrofluorimetry. The size of aggregates was examined by dynamic light scattering (DLS). Carbonate-functionalized ILs display a higher adsorption efficiency and a lower critical micelle concentration (cmc) than simple alkyl-chain-substituted ILs. The insertion of a carbonate ester moiety in the alkyl side chain favors adsorption at the air-water interface and micellization in the bulk solution when compared to nonfunctionalized ILs. DLS measurements show that small micellelike aggregates are spontaneously formed above the cmc. Furthermore, carbonate-functionalized ILs were examined for their antimicrobial activity against a panel of clinically relevant microorganisms. Biological activity was found to increase with hydrophobicity. The presence of a carbonate ester moiety significantly enhances the antimicrobial efficiency as compared to nonfunctionalized ILs, with the susceptibility of Staphylococcus sp. toward the action of these compounds being particularly remarkable. It has been demonstrated that the functionalization of the alkyl side chain of the imidazolium salts can not only modify the aggregation behavior but also lead to differences in both efficiency and the spectrum of antimicrobial activity of amphiphilic ILs

Separation of phthalates by cyclodextrin modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Quantitation in perfumes.

A new CE method has been developed for the simultaneous separation of a group of parent phthalates. Due to the neutral character of these compounds, the addition of several bile salts as surfactants (sodium cholate (SC), sodium deoxycholate (SDC), sodium taurodeoxycholate (STDC), sodium taurocholate (STC)) to the separation buffer was explored showing the high potential of SDC as pseudostationary phase. However, the resolution of all the phthalates was not achieved when employing only this bile salt as additive, being necessary the addition of neutral cyclodextrins (CD) and organic modifiers to the separation media. The optimized cyclodextrin modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CD-MEKC) method consisted of the employ of a background electrolyte (BGE) containing 25 mM beta-CD-100 mM SDC in a 100 mM borate buffer (pH 8.5) with a 10% (v/v) of acetonitrile, employing a voltage of 30 kV and a temperature of 25 degrees C. This separation medium enabled the total resolution of eight compounds and the partial resolution of two of the analytes, di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP) and diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) (Rs similar to 0.8), in only 12 min. The analytical characteristics of the developed method were studied showing their suitability for the determination of these compounds in commercial perfumes. In all the analyzed perfumes the most common phthalate was diethyl phthalate (DEP) that appeared in ten of the fifteen analyzed products. Also dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diallyl phthalate (DAP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCP), and di-n-pentyl phthalate (DNPP) were found in some of the analyzed samples. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Groundcovers in olive groves in semiarid climates: Are they always beneficial?

Olive groves on the Mediterranean Basin are usually managed by continuous tillage and low organic matter inputs, leading to several soil degradation processes. Groundcovers (GCs) have come out as an alternative soil management strategy to improve soil's fertility, soil's organic matter quantity, and the sustainability of agro-ecosystems. Nevertheless, farmers are still unwilling to implement GCs or reduce tilling frequency while there are still some uncertainties and lack of global analyses. The purpose of this study was to perform an assessment of the effects of using GC on the soil parameters microbiological biomass, crop yield, and olive oil quality. A field trial was performed on a gypsiferous soil in central Spain with three different GCs: permanent GC of Brachypodium distachyon (BRA); permanent GC of spontaneous vegetation (SVE), and annual GC of Vicia ervilia (BIT) to be compared with conventional tillage (TIL). After three years, numbers of nematodes, fungi, and bacteria were higher on plant roots regardless of GC composition. BRA was the treatment with the biggest impact on soil and yield parameters. BRA increased soil organic carbon 1.03 Mg ha-1 yr-1 at 0-10 cm depth but reduced significantly olive yield because of nitrogen competition. The BIT treatment improved soil organic carbon stocks and soil structure, and did not reduce olive yield significantly regarding TIL. The BIT treatment was considered the best soil management strategy in semiarid conditionsThis research was funded by regional and national funding projects AGRISOST-CM (S2013/ABI-2717); FP12-CVO; ACCION Project, GO-LEÑOSOST

Calidad de vida y sintomatología depresiva en esclerosis múltiple: un estudio transversal entre EE.UU. y España

Antecedentes: en los ensayos clínicos multinacionales en esclerosis múltiple (EM) es fundamental identificar diferencias entre países en calidad de vida (CV) para comprender la variabilidad de respuesta entre pacientes. Ningún estudio comparó la CV en EM entre España y EE. UU. Los objetivos de este estudio son: 1) comparar la CV y sintomatología depresiva entre pacientes españoles y estadounidenses, frente a datos normativos; 2) comparar la interrelación de tales constructos entre países; y 3) comparar predictores sociodemográficos y clínicos. Método: 114 participantes con EM fueron emparejados por género, discapacidad y educación. SF-36 y BDIFastScreen (BDI-FS) fueron las variables criterio. ANCOVA, correlaciones parciales y análisis de regresión múltiple fueron comparados entre países. Resultados: los españoles muestran peor sintomatología depresiva, CV y deterioro clínicamente significativo en todas las dimensiones, mientras que los estadounidenses presentan deterioro clínicamente significativo en dominios físicos. En España, más Dolor corporal se asoció con peor Funcionamiento social y Vitalidad; y peor Vitalidad se relacionó con peor Funcionamiento social. Además, Funcionamiento físico predijo BDI-FS mucho más entre los estadounidenses; pero en España, la discapacidad y Rol emocional predijeron mucho más BDI-FS y Salud mental, respectivamente. Conclusiones: los españoles muestran peor CV y sintomatología depresiva con mayor deterioro clínicamente significativo.Background: For multinational clinical trials in multiple sclerosis (MS), identifying cross-country differences on quality of life (QoL) is important for understanding patients’ response variability. No study has compared QoL between Spanish and American MS samples. This study aims to: 1) compare QoL and depressive symptomatology between Spanish and American patients, and against normative data; 2) compare the interrelationship between such constructs between countries; and 3) compare sociodemographic and clinical predictors on these outcomes. Method: 114 participants with MS were included and matched for gender, disability and education. The SF-36 Health Survey and BDI-FastScreen (BDI-FS) were the outcomes. ANCOVA, partial-correlations and multiple regression analyses were compared between countries. Results: Spaniards reported worse depressive symptomatology and QoL, and clinically significant impairment in all QoL dimensions, while Americans showed clinically significant impairment only in physical domains. Among Spaniards, more Bodily pain was more related to worse Social functioning and Vitality, and worse Vitality was more related to worse Social functioning than among Americans. From the regression models, Physical functioning predicted BDI-FS greater among Americans. Conversely, disability and Role-emotional predicted BDI-FS and Mental health, respectively, significantly stronger in Spain. Conclusions: Spaniards show worse QoL and depressive symptomatology and greater clinically significant impairment than the Americans