Reducing Nitrogen Dosage in Triticum durum Plants with Urea-Doped Nanofertilizers

Nanotechnology is emerging as a very promising tool towards more efficient and sustainable practices in agriculture. In this work, we propose the use of non-toxic calcium phosphate nanoparticles doped with urea (U-ACP) for the fertilization of Triticum durum plants. U-ACP nanoparticles present very similar morphology, structure, and composition than the amorphous precursor of bone mineral, but contain a considerable amount of nitrogen as adsorbed urea (up to ca. 6 wt % urea). Tests on Triticum durum plants indicated that yields and quality of the crops treated with the nanoparticles at reduced nitrogen dosages (by 40%) were unaltered in comparison to positive control plants, which were given the minimum N dosages to obtain the highest values of yield and quality in fields. In addition, optical microscopy inspections showed that Alizarin Red S stained nanoparticles were able to penetrate through the epidermis of the roots or the stomata of the leaves. We observed that the uptake through the roots occurs much faster than through the leaves (1 h vs. 2 days, respectively). Our results highlight the potential of engineering nanoparticles to provide a considerable efficiency of nitrogen uptake by durum wheat and open the door to design more sustainable practices for the fertilization of wheat in fields.This research was funded by Fondazione CARIPLO (project no. 2016-0648: Romancing the stone: size-controlled HYdroxyaPATItes for sustainable Agriculture–HYPATIA) and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU/AEI/FEDER) with the Projects NanoSmart (RYC-2016-21042) and NanoVIT (RTI-2018-095794-A-C22). GBRR also acknowledges the Spanish MICINN for her postdoctoral contract within the Juan de la Cierva Program (JdC-2017)

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase&nbsp;1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation&nbsp;disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age&nbsp; 6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score&nbsp; 652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc&nbsp;= 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N&nbsp;= 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in&nbsp;Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in&nbsp;Asia&nbsp;and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Perfeccionamiento del modelo ADOMA mediante la inclusi\uf3n de la ambig\ufcedad en algunos de sus par\ue1metros

In this work the Administration System of Agricultural Machinery Model (ADOMA) was improved, by including the economic losses due to tardiness in the operations execution, in addition, the uncertainty associated to economic losses was incorporated by using fuzzy logic. To this end, a decision support system was developed that performs the operation scheduling based on fuzzy logic. This system is called the Fuzzy Logic Decision Support System (FLDSS). The information about economic losses for tardiness of four common crops in the VIII Region of Chile was compiled. The values of losses were converted to fuzzy values and represented by fuzzy trapezoidal numbers. Subsequently, the fuzzy numbers were ranked in order to assess the priority in the execution of the operations and the assignment of machines. To validate the model, a stage was elaborated with crops for which information related to economic losses were available and with two crops without this type of information. The data were introduced in both models ADOMA and ADOMA FLDSS models. The results indicated that the obtained scheduling adjusts better to the requests of a stage with multiple crops, privileging those crops of greater economic importance to the farmer, in addition, the operations schedule was programmed within the established dates.En la presente investigaci\uf3n se perfeccion\uf3 el Modelo Sistema de Administraci\uf3n de Maquinaria Agr\uedcola (ADOMA), mediante la inclusi\uf3n de las p\ue9rdidas econ\uf3micas por retraso en la ejecuci\uf3n de las labores, adem\ue1s se incorpor\uf3 la incertidumbre asociada a estas p\ue9rdidas utilizando l\uf3gica difusa. Para tal fin se elabor\uf3 un sistema de soporte de toma de decisiones que apoya la programaci\uf3n de las labores basado en l\uf3gica difusa, llamado Sistema de Soporte de Decisi\uf3n con L\uf3gica Difusa (FLDSS). Se recopil\uf3 informaci\uf3n de p\ue9rdidas por retraso de cuatro cultivos frecuentes en la VIII Regi\uf3n de Chile. Los valores de p\ue9rdida fueron convertidos en valores difusos y representados por n\ufameros difusos trapezoidales. Posteriormente los n\ufameros difusos fueron ordenados para establecer la prioridad en la ejecuci\uf3n de las labores y la asignaci\uf3n de las m\ue1quinas. Para validar el modelo se elabor\uf3 un escenario con cuatro cultivos con informaci\uf3n de p\ue9rdida econ\uf3mica y dos cultivos sin informaci\uf3n; los datos se introdujeron en el modelo ADOMA y en el modelo ADOMA con FLDSS. Los resultados indican que se logra una programaci\uf3n que se ajusta mejor a los requerimientos de un escenario con cultivos m\ufaltiples, privilegiando aquellos cultivos de mayor inter\ue9s econ\uf3mico para el agricultor; adem\ue1s, las labores son programadas dentro de las fechas establecidas