Arenas eólicas y sus suelos del humedal reserva de la biosfera: Las tablas de daimiel

Three soil profiles were characterized from a sandy area situated in a transitional zone in the “Tablas de Daimiel” UNESCO wetland biosphere reserve (TDNP) in the Mancha Plain (Central Spain). The original thickness of the soil layer in this area was as much as 100 cm, but the combined effect of unbalanced cultivation (including irrigation) and an increasingly dry climate has partially eroded their natural properties, almost leading to a desertification process. The main properties of these soils, classified as Xeropsamments (Soil Survey Staff 2006) or Arenosols (IUSS Working Group WRB 2006), are the dominance of sand in the soil matrix, its basic character, and low soil organic matter and carbonate contents. Scanning electron microscopy of the quartz grain surfaces indicated that the superficial textures were commonly well preserved and characteristic of specific conditions of Aeolian formation. Exoscopy revealed a mixture of sub-angular and rounded quartz morphotypes with wellpreserved mechanical impacts on the grain surfaces. These percussion effects are characteristic of aeolian processes and confirmed that mechanical actions were more significant than chemical processes in their pedogenesis. This micromorphological study of the textural sands in the transitional zone of the TDNP revealed that the (red) sands were transported to this area by wind, probably from material of degraded red soils, and deposited on soil horizons previously developed over marls and limestones. The relict character of these materials and specially their susceptibility to degradation should be considered as a priority argument to preserve this area and introduce management measurements to avoid soil erosio

Agroecological analysis of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) crops in orchards in a Mediterranean environment

If adaptability is defined as the ability of a crop (or variety) to respond positively to changes in agricultural conditions, the purpose of this study was to explore the adaptability and relative influence of environmental factors on Cucumber Sativus L. to a specific Mediterranean environmental and agroecological site: Huete (Cuenca, Central Spain). Cucumber requires high temperatures and soil moisture for a satisfactory yield and maintaining an optimum level of humidity is very favorable, which is easy to achieve for farmers in Huete. Abundant sunshine is needed and this is another reason to cultivate during the summer period; it is estimated that there were between 2700 and 2800 hours of sunshine in the Huete area. The study described here revealed that the soils are poorly developed and evolved, with a simple Ap-C or Ap-Bw-C morphology. The soils are friable, slightly adherent and somewhat dry and hard. A significant feature is the presence of good drainage and appreciable effective depth. Like other crops, cucumber plants are preferably grown on loose, well-drained soils, such as the soils studied here. Huete cucumber seems able to tolerate certain levels of soil salinity when compared to other species. The cucumbers are irrigated with water with moderate electrical conductivity without an appreciable decrease in yield. Small doses of salinity may be one of the factors that leads to the characteristics associated with Huete cucumber, an aspect that would need to be investigated more deeply. Substrate nutrients and moisture management are two major concerns regarding Cucumber Sativus L. crops in Huete. Elemental chemical analysis revealed that strontium abounds and this is attributed to the presence of this element in the gypsums. The results of this study open a new horizon in the study of the aptitude of the land and represent a useful step towards the specific site and, consequently, the sustainable management of land under cucumber cultivation. Further research into a wider range of soils, fertilizer compositions and release rates is require

Biological control of soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi through onion waste composting: implications for circular economy perspective

The production of onion waste derived mainly from bulbs affected by fungal diseases, during onion classification and storage presents an important agro-environmental issue in onion production regions. Composting is an environmentally friendly strategy to recycle agricultural waste and produce organic fertilizers. Modifications of the microbial community in soil can affect the ability of pathogen propagules to survive, germinate and infect plant roots. Hence, the main objective of this work was to exploring the mechanisms involved on the presence of three soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi during the composting process of onion waste under the hypothesis if that the resulting compost effectively prevents or minimizes the dispersion of phytopathogenic fungi. To this end, three composting piles of 60 tonnes each were built by layering onion waste affected by phytopathogenic fungi and cow dung at 1:1 ratio. Temperature, moisture, pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp. and Fusarium sp. growth were monitored for 100 days. During the first 28 days of composting, the presence of phytopathogenic fungi increased significantly showing thereafter a downward trend. Final estimations of fungal populations densities indicated a predominance of A. niger and an effective reduction in the abundance of Fusarium sp. This pilot-scale work demonstrates the feasibility of composting onion waste contaminated with phytopathogenic fungi and highlights the positive environmental impact associated with this practice. Therefore, the composting of onion waste and cow dung is a feasible and sustainable procedure to recycle onion waste and to promote circular economy in onion production regions.Fil: Chorolque, A.. Universidad Nacional del Comahue; ArgentinaFil: Pellejero, G.. Universidad Nacional del Comahue; ArgentinaFil: Sosa, María Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Confluencia. Centro de Investigaciones en Toxicología Ambiental y Agrobiotecnología del Comahue. Instituto de Biotecnología Agropecuaria del Comahue | Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Centro de Investigaciones en Toxicología Ambiental y Agrobiotecnología del Comahue. Instituto de Biotecnología Agropecuaria del Comahue; ArgentinaFil: Palacios, J.. Universidad Nacional del Comahue; ArgentinaFil: Aschkar, Gabriela Marisa. Universidad Nacional del Comahue; ArgentinaFil: García Delgado, C.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; EspañaFil: Jiménez Ballesta, R. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Españ

Niveles de fondo geoquímico e influencia del marco geológico en las concentraciones edafogeoquímicas de base de suelos seleccionados de Castilla-La Mancha

Geochemical baselines are needed for environmental legislation and political decision-making, especially in the assessment of contaminated soil. Although the term «geochemical baseline» appears in the international geochemical studies and programs, probably it has never been well defined. A geochemical baseline for an element refers to its natural variations in concentration in the superficial environment. In order to answer questions such as «what is the natural concentration of trace elements in rocks and soils of Castilla-La Mancha region?» this work seeks to establish the geochemical background, baseline pedo-geochemical concentrations and reference values for the Castilla-La Mancha region. Trace element concentrations in the study area were similar to those analysed in other areas of Spain and the world. Their baseline concentrations depend mainly on the geochemical characteristics of the bed rocks.La determinación de las concentraciones geoquímicas de base es necesaria para la legislación ambiental y toma de decisiones, especialmente en la evaluación de suelos contaminados. Aunque la terminología sobre concentraciones geoquímicas (variaciones naturales en la concentración en el medio ambiente de superficie), aparece en los estudios geoquímicos y programas internacionales, probablemente, nunca ha sido bien definida. Para contestar a cuestiones como ¿cuál es la concentración natural de una serie de elementos traza en suelos y rocas de Castilla-La Mancha?, se determinan el fondo geoquímico y las concentraciones edafogeoquímicas de base, a la vez que se calculan los valores umbrales de los mismos. Todos los elementos traza muestran concentraciones promedio similares con los valores de referencia para los suelos de otras zonas de España (Galicia, Andalucía, Madrid, etc.), la Unión Europea y el mundo. Los patrones de distribución de las concentraciones de los elementos son principalmente influenciados por la naturaleza geoquímica de la roca

Soil and leaf mineral element contents in mediterranean vineyards: bioaccumulation and potential soil pollution

The study reported here concerns the geochemical distributions of macro- and trace elements (including potentially toxic elements, PTEs) in the vineyard soils of Alcubillas, which is one of the oldest, albeit not world-renowned, wine-growing areas in La Mancha (Central Spain). Soil and leaf samples were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to ascertain the levels of various elements in the soil and the plant. The potential toxicity of the elements was assessed with regard to the development of the vineyard. Despite the fact that fertilizers and pesticides are employed in the vineyards in this area, the results showed that the levels of trace elements in the soil samples did not exceed the reference values according the pedogeochemical values for the region and Spain. This finding suggests that the study area is not polluted, and therefore, there are hardly any traces of anthropogenic contamination. The Biological Absorption Coefficient (BAC) was calculated to assess the assimilation of various elements from the soil to the leaves, and differences were found in the element absorption capacity of the vines. Some elements were not taken up by Vitis vinifera despite elements like Zr and Rb being present in relatively high concentrations in the soil. The production in these soils does not represent a threat to human health or the ecosystem, because the farmers in this area are extremely careful to preserve the environment and they only farm to achieve moderate yields of grapes per hectar

Geochemical influence of soil on leaf and grape (Vitis vinifera L. 'Cencibel') composition in La Mancha region (Spain)

The main purpose of the study was to evaluate major and trace elements contained in topsoil from representative plots of vineyards located in La Mancha, Spain, to obtain an elemental fingerprint of vines. The samples evaluated were obtained from topsoil in six different plots, belonging to the region of La Mancha, characterized by the cultivation of vineyards (near 189.127 ha). Twenty different vines from each plot were chosen to take samples from grapes, petioles and leaves. Analyses were carried out by X-ray Fluorescence applied on soils and dried vegetal matter. Biological Absorption Coefficient (BAC) was calculated to assess the uptake of minerals by vines as a function of their specific content in soil. The BAC in leaves and grapes was very similar for all studied elements. High contents of Ca, Sr, Ni and rare earth elements (La, Ce and Nd) were found along with low contents in Al, Zr, Ba, Cu, Zn and Pb, and normal contents in the rest of the elements. BAC in grapes was lower for the majority of the studied elements but it is interesting to underline the contents of Cs, K, Nb, Ce, Zn and Sr as possible markers of soil fingerprinting in the resulting wines.

A new seipin-associated neurodegenerative syndrome

Background: Seipin/BSCL2 mutations can cause type 2 congenital generalised lipodystrophy (BSCL) or dominant motor neurone diseases. Type 2 BSCL is frequently associated with some degree of intellectual impairment, but not to fatal neurodegeneration. In order to unveil the aetiology and pathogenetic mechanisms of a new neurodegenerative syndrome associated with a novel BSCL2 mutation, six children, four of them showing the BSCL features, were studied. Methods: Mutational and splicing analyses of BSCL2 were performed. The brain of two of these children was examined postmortem. Relative expression of BSCL2 transcripts was analysed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in different tissues of the index case and controls. Overexpressed mutated seipin in HeLa cells was analysed by immunofluorescence and western blotting. Results: Two patients carried a novel homozygous c.985C>T mutation, which appeared in the other four patients in compound heterozygosity. Splicing analysis showed that the c.985C>T mutation causes an aberrant splicing site leading to skipping of exon 7. Expression of exon 7-skipping transcripts was very high with respect to that of the non-skipped transcripts in all the analysed tissues of the index case. Neuropathological studies showed severe neurone loss, astrogliosis and intranuclear ubiquitin(+) aggregates in neurones from multiple cortical regions and in the caudate nucleus. Conclusions: Our results suggest that exon 7 skipping in the BSCL2 gene due to the c.985C>T mutation is responsible for a novel early onset, fatal neurodegenerative syndrome involving cerebral cortex and basal ganglia.Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant number PI 10/02873) and European Regional Development Fund, FEDER (grant number 10PXIB208013PR) and Consellería de Industria, Xunta de Galicia.S

The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Two temperate Earth-mass planet candidates around Teegarden’s Star

Context.Teegarden’s Star is the brightest and one of the nearest ultra-cool dwarfs in the solar neighbourhood. For its late spectral type (M7.0 V),the star shows relatively little activity and is a prime target for near-infrared radial velocity surveys such as CARMENES.Aims.As part of the CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs, we obtained more than 200 radial-velocity measurements of Teegarden’sStar and analysed them for planetary signals.Methods.We find periodic variability in the radial velocities of Teegarden’s Star. We also studied photometric measurements to rule out stellarbrightness variations mimicking planetary signals.Results.We find evidence for two planet candidates, each with 1.1M⊕minimum mass, orbiting at periods of 4.91 and 11.4 d, respectively. Noevidence for planetary transits could be found in archival and follow-up photometry. Small photometric variability is suggestive of slow rotationand old age.Conclusions.The two planets are among the lowest-mass planets discovered so far, and they are the first Earth-mass planets around an ultra-cooldwarf for which the masses have been determined using radial velocities.We thank the referee Rodrigo Díaz for a careful review andhelpful comments. M.Z. acknowledges support from the Deutsche Forschungs-gemeinschaft under DFG RE 1664/12-1 and Research Unit FOR2544 “BluePlanets around Red Stars”, project no. RE 1664/14-1. CARMENES isan instrument for the Centro Astronómico Hispano-Alemán de Calar Alto(CAHA, Almería, Spain). CARMENES is funded by the German Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG), the Spanish Consejo Superior de InvestigacionesCientíficas (CSIC), the European Union through FEDER/ERF FICTS-2011-02 funds, and the members of the CARMENES Consortium (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, LandessternwarteKönigstuhl, Institut de Ciències de l’Espai, Institut für Astrophysik Göttingen,Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg,Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Hamburger Sternwarte, Centro de Astro-biología and Centro Astronómico Hispano-Alemán), with additional contribu-tions by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, the German Science Foundationthrough the Major Research Instrumentation Programme and DFG ResearchUnit FOR2544 “Blue Planets around Red Stars”, the Klaus Tschira Stiftung, thestates of Baden-Württemberg and Niedersachsen, and by the Junta de Andalucía.Based on data from the CARMENES data archive at CAB (INTA-CSIC). Thisarticle is based on observations made with the MuSCAT2 instrument, devel-oped by ABC, at Telescopio Carlos Sánchez operated on the island of Tener-ife by the IAC in the Spanish Observatorio del Teide. Data were partly col-lected with the 150-cm and 90-cm telescopes at the Sierra Nevada Observa-tory (SNO) operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC).Data were partly obtained with the MONET/South telescope of the MOnitoringNEtwork of Telescopes, funded by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und HalbachFoundation, Essen, and operated by the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen,the McDonald Observatory of the University of Texas at Austin, and the SouthAfrican Astronomical Observatory. We acknowledge financial support from theSpanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Ministerio de Ciencia, Inno-vación y Universidades and the European FEDER/ERF funds through projectsAYA2015-69350-C3-2-P, AYA2016-79425-C3-1/2/3-P, AYA2018-84089, BES-2017-080769, BES-2017-082610, ESP2015-65712-C5-5-R, ESP2016-80435-C2-1/2-R, ESP2017-87143-R, ESP2017-87676-2-2, ESP2017-87676-C5-1/2/5-R, FPU15/01476, RYC-2012-09913, the Centre of Excellence ”Severo Ochoa”and ”María de Maeztu” awards to the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (SEV-2015-0548), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (SEV-2017-0709), and Cen-tro de Astrobiología (MDM-2017-0737), the Generalitat de Catalunya throughCERCA programme”, the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt throughgrants 50OW0204 and 50OO1501, the European Research Council through grant694513, the Italian Ministero dell’instruzione, dell’università de della ricerca andUniversità degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata through FFABR 2017 and “Mis-sion: Sustainability 2016”, the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council through grant ST/P000592/1, the Israel Science Foundation through grant848/16, the Chilean CONICYT-FONDECYT through grant 3180405, the Mexi-can CONACYT through grant CVU 448248, the JSPS KAKENHI through grantsJP18H01265 and 18H05439, and the JST PRESTO through grant JPMJPR1775

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio