Alterations and Contaminations in Ceramics Deposited in Underwater Environments: An Experimental Approach

Ancient ceramics recovered after a long burial period have probably undergone several alterations and contaminations, introducing a chemical variability, affecting the ceramic’s natural variability. That is, the chemical and the mineralogical compositions of the ceramic pastes after their deposition will not be the same as they originally were. Therefore, it is known that the alteration and contamination processes, and the discrimination of some elements, should be considered when studying the ceramics to avoid incorrect interpretations about their provenance, technology and the use of the artefact, as well as its proper preservation. In the present work, the authors performed an experimental approach in order to study the alterations and contaminations that occurred in 60 ceramic cylinders buried in two different underwater environments. Once the pieces were taken out from the water environments, they were characterized by a multi-analytical approach. For this purpose, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS) and Raman spectroscopy were used. Newly formed minerals of different forms have been identified, with different crystallization grades. Some examples are the needles, flakes, sponges and long and short prisms composed of several elements such as Ca, F, S and O.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the European Regional Development Fund (MINECO/AEI/ERDF, UE), grant number CERANOR-2 (HAR2017-84219-P)

The strong backreaction regime in axion inflation

We study the nonlinear dynamics of axion inflation, capturing for the first time the inhomogeneity and full dynamical range during strong backreaction, till the end of inflation. Accounting for inhomogeneous effects leads to a number of new relevant results, compared to spatially homogeneous studies: (i) the number of extra efoldings beyond slow-roll inflation increases very rapidly with the coupling, (ii) oscillations of the inflaton velocity are attenuated, (iii) the tachyonic gauge field helicity spectrum is smoothed out (i.e., the spectral oscillatory features disappear), broadened, and shifted to smaller scales, and (iv) the nontachyonic helicity is excited, reducing the chiral asymmetry, now scale dependent. Our results are expected to impact strongly on the phenomenology and observability of axion inflation, including gravitational wave generation and primordial black hole production.D. G. F. is supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract with Ref. No. RYC-2017- 23493 and by EUR2022-134028. This work was supported by Generalitat Valenciana Grant No. PROMETEO/2021/ 083, and by Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación Grant No. PID2020–113644 GB-I00. J. L., A. U., and J. U. acknowledge support from Eusko Jaurlaritza (IT1628-22) and by the PID2021-123703NB-C21 grant funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF, “A way of making Europe.” In particular, A. U. gratefully acknowledges the support from the University of the Basque Country Grant No. PIF20/151

Pearl millet growth and biochemical alterations determined by mycorrhizal inoculation, water availability and atmospheric CO2 concentration

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is an important fodder and is a potential feedstock for fuel ethanol production in dry areas. Our objectives were to assess the effect of elevated CO2 and/or reduced irrigation on biomass production and levels of sugars and proteins in leaves of pearl millet and to test whether mycorrhizal inoculation could modulate the effects of these abiotic factors on growth and metabolism. Results showed that mycorrhizal inoculation and water regime most influenced biomass of shoots and roots; however, their individual effects were dependent on the atmospheric CO2 concentration. At ambient CO2, mycorrhizal inoculation helped to alleviate effects of water deficit on pearl millet without significant decreases in biomass production, which contrasted with the low biomass of mycorrhizal plants under restricted irrigation and elevated CO2. Mycorrhizal inoculation enhanced water content in shoots, whereas reduced irrigation decreased water content in roots. The triple interaction between CO2, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and water regime significantly affected the total amount of soluble sugars and determined the predominant soluble sugars in leaves. Under optimal irrigation, elevated CO2 increased the proportion of hexoses in pearl millet that was not inoculated with AMF, thus improving the quality of this plant material for bioethanol production. By contrast, elevated CO2 decreased the levels of proteins in leaves, thus limiting the quality of pearl millet as fodder and primary source for cattle feed.This study has been supported by the ‘Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación’ and ‘Gobierno de Aragón’ (Spain) (BFU2011-26989, Group A-44). Eliseu Geraldo dos Santos Fabbrin received a grant from CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) from the Brazilian Government

Connectivity, neutral theories and the assessment of species vulnerability to global change in temperate estuaries

One of the main adaptation strategies to global change scenarios, aiming to preserve ecosystem functioning and biodiversity, is to maximise ecosystem resilience. The resilience of a species metapopulation can be improved by facilitating connectivity between local populations, which will prevent demographic stochasticity and inbreeding. The objective of this investigation is to estimate the degree of connectivity among estuarine species along the north-eastern Iberian coast, in order to assess community vulnerability to global change scenarios. To address this objective, two connectivity proxy types have been used based upon genetic and ecological drift processes: 1) DNA markers for the bivalve cockle (Cerastoderma edule) and seagrass Zostera noltei, and 2) the decrease in the number of species shared between two sites with geographic distance; neutral biodiversity theory predicts that dispersal limitation modulates this decrease, and this has been explored in estuarine plants and macroinvertebrates. Results indicate dispersal limitation for both saltmarsh plants and seagrass beds community and Z. noltei populations; this suggests they are especially vulnerable to expected climate changes on their habitats. In contrast, unstructured spatial pattern found in macroinvertebrate communities and in C. edule genetic populations in the area suggests that estuarine soft-bottom macroinvertebrates with planktonic larval dispersal strategies may have a high resilience capacity to moderate changes within their habitats. Our findings can help environmental managers to prioritise the most vulnerable species and habitats to be restored

Effect of trampling and digging from shell shing on Zostera noltei (Zosteraceae) intertidal seagrass beds

Seagrass beds are among the most valuable ecosystems in the world but they are also among the ones most affected by human activities, and they have decreased significantly in recent decades. In many areas, such as in the Basque Country (northern Spain), seagrass beds occupy areas that are also of interest for human activities such as recreation and shellfishing. They may therefore face a number of pressures that cause damage or irreversible states. Taking into account the limited distribution of seagrass beds in the Basque Country and the interest in their conservation, an eight-month field experiment focusing on the Zostera noltei growing season was carried out to evaluate the effect of shellfish gathering. We used generalized linear models to assess different intensities of trampling and digging, as the most important pressures of shellfishing applied to Zostera noltei beds. The results indicated that shoot density of Z. noltei was negatively altered by trampling treatments and positively affected (as a recovery) by digging treatments. This finding suggests that shellfishing adversely affects seagrass abundance and is potentially responsible for its low density in the Oka estuary. Our findings are important for management and should be taken into account in seagrass conservation and restoration programmes

Pearl millet growth and biochemical alterations determined by mycorrhizal inoculation, water availability and atmospheric CO2 concentration

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is an important fodder and is a potential feedstock for fuel ethanol production in dry areas. Our objectives were to assess the effect of elevated CO2 and/or reduced irrigation on biomass production and levels of sugars and proteins in leaves of pearl millet and to test whether mycorrhizal inoculation could modulate the effects of these abiotic factors on growth and metabolism. Results showed that mycorrhizal inoculation and water regime most influenced biomass of shoots and roots; however, their individual effects were dependent on the atmospheric CO2 concentration. At ambient CO2, mycorrhizal inoculation helped to alleviate effects of water deficit on pearl millet without significant decreases in biomass production, which contrasted with the low biomass of mycorrhizal plants under restricted irrigation and elevated CO2. Mycorrhizal inoculation enhanced water content in shoots, whereas reduced irrigation decreased water content in roots. The triple interaction between CO2, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and water regime significantly affected the total amount of soluble sugars and determined the predominant soluble sugars in leaves. Under optimal irrigation, elevated CO2 increased the proportion of hexoses in pearl millet that was not inoculated with AMF, thus improving the quality of this plant material for bioethanol production. By contrast, elevated CO2 decreased the levels of proteins in leaves, thus limiting the quality of pearl millet as fodder and primary source for cattle feed

Evolutionary Trends in the Mitochondrial Genome of Archaeplastida: How Does the GC Bias Affect the Transition from Water to Land?

[EN] Among the most intriguing mysteries in the evolutionary biology of photosynthetic organisms are the genesis and consequences of the dramatic increase in the mitochondrial and nuclear genome sizes, together with the concomitant evolution of the three genetic compartments, particularly during the transition from water to land. To clarify the evolutionary trends in the mitochondrial genome of Archaeplastida, we analyzed the sequences from 37 complete genomes. Therefore, we utilized mitochondrial, plastidial and nuclear ribosomal DNA molecular markers on 100 species of Streptophyta for each subunit. Hierarchical models of sequence evolution were fitted to test the heterogeneity in the base composition. The best resulting phylogenies were used for reconstructing the ancestral Guanine-Cytosine (GC) content and equilibrium GC frequency (GC*) using non-homogeneous and non-stationary models fitted with a maximum likelihood approach. The mitochondrial genome length was strongly related to repetitive sequences across Archaeplastida evolution; however, the length seemed not to be linked to the other studied variables, as different lineages showed diverse evolutionary patterns. In contrast, Streptophyta exhibited a powerful positive relationship between the GC content, non-coding DNA, and repetitive sequences, while the evolution of Chlorophyta reflected a strong positive linear relationship between the genome length and the number of genes.This research was funded by the European Commission (Environment - LIFE Programme) project for the Comunidad Valenciana (Spain), LIFE05 NAT/E/000060.Pedrola-Monfort, J.; Lázaro-Gimeno, D.; Boluda, CG.; Pedrola, L.; Garmendia, A.; Soler, C.; Soriano, JM. (2020). Evolutionary Trends in the Mitochondrial Genome of Archaeplastida: How Does the GC Bias Affect the Transition from Water to Land?. Plants. 9(3):1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9030358S1159

Example-based generation of graphical modelling environments

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42061-5_7Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) present numerous benefits like powerful domain-specific primitives, an intuitive syntax for domain experts, and the possibility of advanced code generation for narrow domains. While a graphical syntax is sometimes desired for a DSL, constructing graphical modelling environments is a costly and highly technical task. This relegates domain experts to play a passive role in their development and hinders a wider adoption of graphical DSLs. Targeting a simpler DSL construction process, we propose an example based technique for the automatic generation of modelling environments for graphical DSLs. This way, starting from examples of the DSL likely provided by domain experts using drawing tools like yED, our system is able to synthesize a graphical modelling environment that mimics the syntax of the provided examples. This includes a meta-model for the abstract syntax of the DSL, and a graphical concrete syntax supporting spatial relationships like containment or attachment. The system is implemented as an Eclipse plugin, and we demonstrate its usage on a running example in the home networking domain.Work supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (TIN2014-52129-R), the Madrid Region (S2013/ICE-3006), and the EU Commission (FP7-ICT-2013-10, #611125)

Biorefinery of lemon peel waste using cold adapted yeasts from Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic regions

Cold adapted yeasts from soil samples from King George Island and Tierra del Fuego province were evaluated for their potential to produce extracellular pectinases. Pectinolytic yeasts were previously identified by 26S rDNA (D1/D2 domain) sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. Among 103 isolates, only eight showed pectinolytic activity at 20ºC, and only four -strains e9.2, 4.6, 5.9 and 8E- were capable to produce pectinolytic activity at 8ºC. Strain 8E identified as Guehomyces pullulans and the strains e9.2 and 5.9 identified as Cystofilobasidium infirmominiatum and Cryptoccocus adeliensis were selected for enzyme production under submerged fermentation. All the strains were capable to grow in presence of lemon peel. C. adeliensis 5.9 produced the highest enzyme activity at 24 h (4.8 U/ml) while C. infirmominiatum e9.2 and G. pullulans 8E showed considerable activity at 45 h (3.9 U/ml and 2.83 U/ml, respectively). It could be seen that at 10ºC enzyme/s remained active. Besides polygalacturonase (PGase), presence of other pectin-degrading enzymes in the culture supernatants was investigated. None of the strains produce neither pectin or pectate lyase activity nor rhamnogalacturonan hydrolase activity. Regarding pectin esterase activity, it was only produced by G. pullulans (0.022 U/ml). All the strains produced enzymatic pools that showed higher activity against highly esterified pectin than against pectin with 63% methoxyl. This behavior could be attributed to the presence of polymethylgalacturonase activity (PMGase) in its supernatant. β- glucosidase activity was detected in all supernatants. This is the first report on the capacity of these species to produce pectinases. Inulinase activity was detected in G. pullulans and C. infirmominiatum supernatants, while xylanase and cellulase activities were only detected in G. pullulans supernatants.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriale

Biorefinery of lemon peel waste using cold adapted yeasts from Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic regions

Cold adapted yeasts from soil samples from King George Island and Tierra del Fuego province were evaluated for their potential to produce extracellular pectinases. Pectinolytic yeasts were previously identified by 26S rDNA (D1/D2 domain) sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. Among 103 isolates, only eight showed pectinolytic activity at 20ºC, and only four -strains e9.2, 4.6, 5.9 and 8E- were capable to produce pectinolytic activity at 8ºC. Strain 8E identified as Guehomyces pullulans and the strains e9.2 and 5.9 identified as Cystofilobasidium infirmominiatum and Cryptoccocus adeliensis were selected for enzyme production under submerged fermentation. All the strains were capable to grow in presence of lemon peel. C. adeliensis 5.9 produced the highest enzyme activity at 24 h (4.8 U/ml) while C. infirmominiatum e9.2 and G. pullulans 8E showed considerable activity at 45 h (3.9 U/ml and 2.83 U/ml, respectively). It could be seen that at 10ºC enzyme/s remained active. Besides polygalacturonase (PGase), presence of other pectin-degrading enzymes in the culture supernatants was investigated. None of the strains produce neither pectin or pectate lyase activity nor rhamnogalacturonan hydrolase activity. Regarding pectin esterase activity, it was only produced by G. pullulans (0.022 U/ml). All the strains produced enzymatic pools that showed higher activity against highly esterified pectin than against pectin with 63% methoxyl. This behavior could be attributed to the presence of polymethylgalacturonase activity (PMGase) in its supernatant. β- glucosidase activity was detected in all supernatants. This is the first report on the capacity of these species to produce pectinases. Inulinase activity was detected in G. pullulans and C. infirmominiatum supernatants, while xylanase and cellulase activities were only detected in G. pullulans supernatants.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriale