Vivianite (ferrous phosphate) alleviates iron chlorosis in grapevine

Synthetic vivianite [Fe3(PO4)2·8H2O] has been reported to alleviate iron (Fe) chlorosis in crops growing on calcareous soils. To test the effectiveness of vivianite in grapevine we carried out three-year (2003 to 2005) experiments in vineyards located in six different areas of Spain with Denomination of Origin (Rioja, Ribera del Duero, La Mancha, Montilla-Moriles, Condado de Huelva, and Jerez), which differed in grapevine rootstock/variety, climate, and soil properties. In all cases there was at least one treatment in which a suspension of vivianite was injected into the soil at the beginning of the experiment in spring, one control (“–Fe”, no Fe fertilizer added) treatment, and one or more treatments with Fe chelate (FeEDDHA) or an Fe(II) salt applied yearly. The concentration of chlorophyll per unit leaf area was estimated with a portable chlorophyll meter (readings in SPAD units). The SPAD value and the trunk perimeter increment of the vines fertilized with vivianite were significantly higher than those of the control (-Fe) vines through the three years in all fields except the Jerez one. Vivianite was not significantly more effective than Fe-sulfate (in Rioja field) or Fe chelate (in La Mancha field). Our results suggest in summary that vivianite is effective in improving the Fe nutrition of vine and has a significant long-lasting effect of at least three years. This is ascribed to vivianite being incongruently dissolved to produce a poorly crystalline Fe oxide phase (lepidocrocite), which is considered to be a good source of Fe to plant. Vivianite is effective, readily prepared in the field, not easily leached from the soil, cheap, and environmentally safe, constituting thus an adequate Fe fertilizer for grapevine.

Arthropod biodiversity associated to Europen sheep production systems

The rural territories linked to European sheep systems still cover wide areas and provide multiple ecosystems services although the current situation of the associated biodiversity is not fully understood. In this study the foliage arthropods (including pollinators), the vegetation cover and height, the number of flowers and plant species richness were evaluated in 9 sheep grazed lands from 5 EU countries with different livestock management strategies and dominant vegetation. The total abundance of arthropods, the abundance of Diptera and Heteroptera, sward height and plant species richness were higher in more extensive than in more intensively managed farms. The total abundance and the abundance of most of the orders were highest in mountain areas (MP) and lowest in improved pastures (IMP) whereas the total arthropod richness showed no differences and the richness of pollinators was lower in IMP than in MP (p < 0.01) and semi-natural pastures (SN, p < 0.01). The grass cover was higher in IMP than in the rest of the areas whereas forb cover was higher in SN than in IMP (p < 0.01). The plant species richness peaked in MP whereas the number of flowers showed no significant differences. Sward height correlated positively with forb cover, plant species richness, the richness of the whole arthropod community, the abundance of several orders like Araneae, Diptera or Homoptera, as well as with the richness of the pollinator community. The community composition of the total arthropod fauna (p < 0.01) and the pollinators in particular (p < 0.05) differed between management strategies and more diverse groups were linked to the areas under more extensive management. Both communities (total and pollinators) also differed in composition between the types of vegetation (p < 0.01) and less diverse assemblages with low abundant taxa were associated to IMP and SN whereas more diverse groups were linked to MP and grassland-forest (WP) in both cases. A better understanding of the flora-fauna dynamics in sheep grazed pasturelands is essential for the proper conservation of the biodiversity and other ecosystem services, as well as for the maintenance of sustainable sheep systems relying on the natural resources

Ferrihidrita ferrimagnética: una historia de serendipia y radiación de sincrotón

II Encuentro sobre nanociencia y nanotecnología de investigadores y tecnólogos de la Universidad de Córdoba. NANOUC

Potencial de interferencia microbiana de probióticos sobre <i>Giardia lamblia</i>

La giardiasis es una enfermedad causada por el parásito Giardia lamblia, el cual causa problemas graves de salud que van desde una diarrea, hasta mala absorción de nutrientes y ocasionalmente causa la muerte; afecta principalmente a niños y adultos mayores. En México y países subdesarrollados representa un problema de salud importante llegando a ocasionar la muerte. El tratamiento de elección para la gardiasis es el metronidazol y sus derivados imidazólicos, sin embargo estos presentan efectos secundarios adversos en los pacientes. Entre los mecanismos de defensa del huésped se encuentra la flora natural del intestino, entre los cuales se encuentran las bacterias consideradas como probióticos.Universidad Nacional de La Plat

Potencial de interferencia microbiana de probióticos sobre <i>Giardia lamblia</i>

La giardiasis es una enfermedad causada por el parásito Giardia lamblia, el cual causa problemas graves de salud que van desde una diarrea, hasta mala absorción de nutrientes y ocasionalmente causa la muerte; afecta principalmente a niños y adultos mayores. En México y países subdesarrollados representa un problema de salud importante llegando a ocasionar la muerte. El tratamiento de elección para la gardiasis es el metronidazol y sus derivados imidazólicos, sin embargo estos presentan efectos secundarios adversos en los pacientes. Entre los mecanismos de defensa del huésped se encuentra la flora natural del intestino, entre los cuales se encuentran las bacterias consideradas como probióticos.Universidad Nacional de La Plat

Potencial de interferencia microbiana de probióticos sobre <i>Giardia lamblia</i>

La giardiasis es una enfermedad causada por el parásito Giardia lamblia, el cual causa problemas graves de salud que van desde una diarrea, hasta mala absorción de nutrientes y ocasionalmente causa la muerte; afecta principalmente a niños y adultos mayores. En México y países subdesarrollados representa un problema de salud importante llegando a ocasionar la muerte. El tratamiento de elección para la gardiasis es el metronidazol y sus derivados imidazólicos, sin embargo estos presentan efectos secundarios adversos en los pacientes. Entre los mecanismos de defensa del huésped se encuentra la flora natural del intestino, entre los cuales se encuentran las bacterias consideradas como probióticos.Universidad Nacional de La Plat

Thermoluminescence of Novel Zinc Oxide Nanophosphors Obtained by Glycine-Based Solution Combustion Synthesis

High-dose thermoluminescence dosimetry properties of novel zinc oxide nanophosphors synthesized by a solution combustion method in a glycine-nitrate process are presented for the very first time in this work. Sintered particles with sizes ranging between ~500 nm and ~2 μm were obtained by annealing the synthesized ZnO at 900°C during 2 h in air. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate the presence of the ZnO hexagonal phase, without any remaining nitrate peaks observed. Thermoluminescence glow curves of ZnO obtained after being exposed to beta radiation consists of two maxima: one located at ~149°C and another at ~308°C, the latter being the dosimetric component of the curve. The integrated TL fading displays an asymptotic behavior for times longer than 16 h between irradiation and the corresponding TL readout, as well as a linear behaviour of the dose response without saturation in the studied dose interval (from 12.5 up to 400 Gy). Such features place synthesized ZnO as a promising material for high-dose radiation dosimetry applications

Neutron Beta Decay Studies with Nab

Precision measurements in neutron beta decay serve to determine the coupling constants of beta decay and allow for several stringent tests of the standard model. This paper discusses the design and the expected performance of the Nab spectrometer.Comment: Submitted to Proceedings of the Conference CIPANP12, St.Petersburg, Florida, May 201