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

Trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad y potenciales evocados cognitivos. Proyecto de investigación

Quartes Jornades de Foment de la Investigació de la FCHS (Any 1998-1999

Paso a paso: el tratamiento de los bienes arqueológicos en las leyes de patrimonio de Valencia y Madrid

Sin resume

El patrimonio arqueológico en la normativa internacional

Sin resume

Petrograhic features and physical properties of certain travertine building stones

Depto. de Mineralogía y PetrologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEMinisterio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC)pu

Stand Delineation of Pinus sylvestris L. Plantations Suffering Decline Processes Based on Biophysical Tree Crown Variables: A Necessary Tool for Adaptive Silviculture

Many planted Pinus forests are severely affected by defoliation and mortality processes caused by pests and droughts. The mapping of forest tree crown variables (e.g., leaf area index and pigments) is particularly useful in stand delineation for the management of declining forests. This work explores the potential of integrating multispectral WorldView-2 (WV-2) and Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data for stand delineation based on selected tree crown variables in Pinus sylvestris plantations in southern Spain. Needle pigments (chlorophyll and carotenes) and leaf area index (LAI) were quantified. Eight vegetation indices and ALS-derived metrics were produced, and seven predictors were selected to estimate and map tree crown variables using a Random Forest method and Gini index. Chlorophylls a and b (Chla and Chlb) were significantly higher in the non-defoliated and moderately defoliated trees than in severely defoliated trees (F = 14.02, p < 0.001 for Chla; F = 13.09, p < 0.001 for Chlb). A similar response was observed for carotenoids (Car) (F = 14.13, p < 0.001). The LAI also showed significant differences among the defoliation levels (F = 26.5, p < 0.001). The model for the chlorophyll a pigment used two vegetation indices, Plant Senescence Reflectance Index (PSRI) and Carotenoid Reflectance Index (CRI); three WV-2 band metrics, and three ALS metrics. The model built to describe the tree Chlb content used similar variables. The defoliation classification model was established with a single vegetation index, Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI); two metrics of the blue band, and two ALS metrics. The pigment contents models provided R2 values of 0.87 (Chla, RMSE = 12.98%), 0.74 (Chlb, RMSE = 10.39%), and 0.88 (Car, RMSE = 10.05%). The cross-validated confusion matrix achieved a high overall classification accuracy (84.05%) and Kappa index (0.76). Defoliation and Chla showed the validation values for segmentations and, therefore, in the generation of the stand delineation. A total of 104 stands were delineated, ranging from 6.96 to 54.62 ha (average stand area = 16.26 ha). The distribution map of the predicted severity values in the P. sylvestris plantations showed a mosaic of severity patterns at the stand and individual tree scales. Overall, the findings of this work underscore the potential of WV-2 and ALS data integration for the assessment of stand delineation based on tree health status. The derived cartography is a relevant tool for developing adaptive silvicultural practices to reduce Pinus sylvestris mortality in planted forests at risk due to climate change

Redes de transmisión inteligente. Beneficios y riesgos

ResumenActualmente los sistemas eléctricos operan cada vez más cercanos a sus límites de estabilidad, es por ello que se hace necesaria y primordial la transición hacia nuevos sistemas de transmisión que garanticen la eficiente entrega de la energía eléctrica, evitando con ello cortes de energía que generan importantes pérdidas en la economía de cualquier país del mundo. En este documento se realiza un análisis de los elementos necesarios para una sana y eficiente transición de una red de transmisión eléctrica verticalmente, integrada hacia una red de transmisión inteligente. Se presenta un análisis comparativo entre dos de los marcos de referencia más importantes, el de la UE y el de EUA, en el modelo, desarrollo, beneficios y riesgos en la implementación de estos sistemas.AbstractNowadays the Power Systems are working near their stability limits, for this reason it is necessary and essential a transition to new transmission systems that ensure efficient delivery of electrical energy, with the objective to prevent “blackouts” that cause significant losses in the economy of any country in the world. This paper analyzes important elements to consider having a healthy and efficient transition from a power grid vertically integrated into a smart transmission grid. A comparative analysis in the model, development, benefits and risks of the implementation of these systems, between two of the main marc of references of smart grids, the EU and the USA is presented

Innovación en la acción tutorial: análisis de caso en la universidad de Alicante

La entrada de los estudiantes a la universidad espa&ntilde;ola ha venido unida a la creencia de que la transici&oacute;n de la educaci&oacute;n secundaria a la educaci&oacute;n universitaria debe suponer la capacidad de aprender por s&iacute; mismo. Se ha tenido la concepci&oacute;n de que el estudiante asume una autonom&iacute;a absoluta al entrar en la universidad, que inscrib&iacute;a que el profesor no deb&iacute;a intervenir en su proceso de aprendizaje. Esta realidad que hemos vivido en Espa&ntilde;a durante a&ntilde;os, es contraria a lo que viven los centros universitarios con mayor reconocimiento a nivel mundial, como son Oxford y Cambridge, donde la tutor&iacute;a asume un papel principal. Por tanto, en nuestro pa&iacute;s era necesaria una reexaminaci&oacute;n del verdadero significado de la tutor&iacute;a universitaria y esta es la gran oportunidad que nos ofrece el espacio europeo de educaci&oacute;n superior a la universidad espa&ntilde;ola. La reformulaci&oacute;n de la educaci&oacute;n universitaria pasa por una transformaci&oacute;n en las relaciones profesor-alumno haciendo especial &eacute;nfasis en el di&aacute;logo socr&aacute;tico que, consideramos es n&uacute;cleo de la relaci&oacute;n tutorial y que debe compatibilizarse con la autoridad profesional del tutor para lograr un equilibrio en dicha relaci&oacute;n. Hoy d&iacute;a, se considera que el educador universitario efectivo es un tutor que ayuda a sus alumnos a identificar sus intereses y perspectivas, los acompa&ntilde;a y gu&iacute;a para que logren sus metas y aspiraciones acad&eacute;micas y les ayuda a desarrollar competencias que, como seres sociales, necesitan para sentirse parte activa del grupo y del contexto universitario. En este marco tiene lugar la presente investigaci&oacute;n, cuyo objetivo ha sido analizar y valorar, sobre la base de las percepciones, opiniones y valoraciones de los tutores, el desempe&ntilde;o y la realidad de la acci&oacute;n tutorial colaborativa en la Universidad de Alicante, desarrollada en el marco del Programa de Acci&oacute;n Tutorial, durante el curso acad&eacute;mico 2006-2007 y de cuyos resultados se desprenden conclusiones que vienen a considerar la acci&oacute;n tutorial como un factor de socializaci&oacute;n que sustenta y nutre al alumno en su trayectoria universitaria.&nbsp;Students&rsquo; entry into university in Spain has traditionally been linked to the belief that the transition from secondary education to university education necessarily implies the ability to learn on one&rsquo;s own. There was a widely accepted conception according to which students assumed a kind of absolute autonomy when they started their university studies, which meant that the teaching staff should not intervene in their learning process. This reality that we have experienced in Spain for many years is opposed to what is experienced at the university centres with the highest recognition and prestige worldwide, namely Oxford and Cambridge, where tutorship plays an essential role. It was consequently necessary to re-examine the true meaning of university tutorship in Spain and this is the great opportunity that the European Higher Education Area can offer to Spanish Universities. The reformulation of university education must include a transformation in teacher-student relationships, placing a particular emphasis on the Socratic dialogue which, in our view, is the core of the tutorial relationship and needs to be made compatible with the tutor&rsquo;s professional authority with a view to achieve the right balance in that relationship. At present, university educators are considered to be effective if they help their students to identify their interests and prospects, accompanying them and guiding them so that they can achieve their academic aspirations and goals, and making it easier for them to develop competences which they are going to need as social beings in order to see themselves as an active part both in the group and in the university context as a whole. This is the framework in which the present research work has been carried out. Taking as a reference the perceptions, opinions and appraisals of tutors, our research had as its aim to analyse and assess the performance and reality of collaborative tutorial action at the University of Alicante, developed within the framework of the Tutorial Action Programme during the 2006-2007 academic year, the results of which lead to a clear conclusion: tutorial action represents a socialisation factor that supports and nourishes students throughout their academic experience at university.&nbsp