Coffee Productivity and Water Use in Open vs Shaded Systems along an Altitudinal Gradient at Mt. Elgon, Uganda

Coffee is one of the most important agricultural products worldwide. It provides the livelihood of 25 million farmers in tropical countries and of approximately 125 million people along the production chain. Furthermore, coffee demand has steadily increased in the last decades; a trend that is projected to continue in the coming years. Although coffee production is a crucial source of income for several million people, it also contributes to the current environmental crisis. Coffee cultivation and boom and bust cycles lead to deforestation, negatively affecting carbon and water cycles and biodiversity. On the other hand, coffee, as a shade tolerant species, can be intercropped with shade trees in agroforestry systems (AGF). And if appropriately managed, AGF can provide several ecosystem services, such as climate protection, microclimate regulation, biodiversity conservation, soil protection, and income diversification among others. At the smallholder coffee farmers’ scale, the intercropping of coffee and shade trees can generate a range of benefits (i.e. more biodiversity, improved pest control and income diversification) as well as trade-offs such as competition for water and nutrients between coffee and shade trees. The degree to which these benefits and trade-offs develop depends on the specific environmental conditions, management practices and cropping systems. This study aimed to understand the functioning of three coffee cropping systems on the slopes of Mt. Elgon Uganda, in particular to gain insights on how these cropping systems affected coffee productivity, water use and microclimate regulation at different altitudes – ranging beween 1100 and 2100 m.a.s.l. The cropping systems studied were coffee open (i.e. shade cover < 20 %, CO), coffee intercropped with bananas (CB) and coffee intercropped with shade trees (CT). The data collection consisted of two main components: (i) a field experiment on water use, and (ii) a coffee tree inventory and monitoring of reproductive and vegetative growth. The results were structured in three research articles as presented below. Coffee yield (kg ha-1) and coffee yield component performance in different coffee cropping systems along an altitudinal gradient and shade cover gradient was evaluated in the first article: “Effect of cropping system, shade cover along and altitudinal gradient on coffee yield components at Mt. Elgon, Uganda”. Fruit load per branch, productive nodes per branch and number of productive branches per stem were monitored on 810 coffee stems distributed over 27 plots (9 belonging to each cropping system). Additionally, coffee cherry weight, productive stems per ha and shade cover was monitored in each plot for two harvest seasons (2015 and 2016). CB system had higher yields per ha (1086 ± 736 kg green beans) than CO (670 ± 457 kg green beans) and CT (428 ± 259 kg green beans). Fruit load per branch and number of productive branches per stem were the most important yield components. Both decreased with shade cover above 30 % and were negatively correlated with the number of stems per coffee tree. Overall, we did not find differences in cherry weight or productive stems per ha across cultivation systems, nor did altitude show a clear effect on yield components. In the second article, “Water use of Coffea arabica in open versus shaded systems under smallholder’s farm conditions in Eastern Uganda” we explored the water relationships of the three previously mentioned cropping systems (CO, CB and CC). We found that (i) coffee water use rates did not differ across systems, (ii) coffee trees benefited from the microclimate provided by shade trees (banana and C. africana), and (iii) CB is an attractive system for smallholder farmers, as it also provides food. Soil water content was reduced in shaded systems (CB and CC) compared to CO), especially in coffee intercropped with C. africana. This suggested that under harsher conditions (hotter and dryer) than the ones recorded in our study, water competition between coffee and shade trees could become a problem. In the third article, “Disentangling effects of altitude and shade cover on coffee fruit dynamics and vegetative growth in smallholder coffee systems”, we investigated coffee fruit development (from fruit initiation to harvest) and vegetative growth during two production cycles (2015 and 2016) in 810 coffee stems distributed over 27 coffee plots. Additionally, microclimate and soil water content were monitored (in 18 plots and 16 plots respectively). Shaded systems buffered microclimate. Fruit set was not limited by temperature but reduced by increases in shade cover. Whilst fruit drop was similar along the shade gradient and was positively related to initial fruit set. Finally, leaf set was the most important variable to ensure vegetative and reproductive growth along several production cycles. Coffee cultivation systems at the slopes of Mt. Elgon are not intensively managed and mostly have low yields; but as such they fall within the average range of conditions faced by smallholders in Eastern African. There is scope to improve yields by reducing the number of stems per coffee tree (pruning) and increasing coffee tree density. Furthermore, a certain level of shade should be maintained to protect coffee from increased maximum temperatures and avoid high temperature amplitudes, regardless of the system type. Coffee intercropped with bananas showed an optimal balance between microclimate regulations, fruit set, fruit drop and yields, and provide staple food and an extra source of income

Alianzas sociales y tendencias políticas en tiempos de agudización de las luchas sociales : una aproximación al análisis de la interacción entre política e interés sectoriales. El caso de Salta entre 1972 y 1976

Fil: Soler Carmona, Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Secretaría de Posgrado; Argentina.El objetivo general de esta investigación es indagar en la complejidad del proceso político - social que transitaba la sociedad salteña en los años setenta. En particular, situamos el foco en las tendencias políticas que se delinearon, coaligaron y confrontaron durante el período y su relación con las alianzas de clases y fracciones que se enfrentaron. Como objetivos particulares nos planteamos: 1- Identificar las tendencias políticas que se configuraron, coaligaron y entraron en conflicto en el proceso político salteño de 1972 a 1976, desde la designación de Miguel Ragone como candidato a gobernador por el Partido Justicialista, hasta el golpe de estado de 1976. 2- Desentrañar tanto orientaciones ideológicas como intereses materiales concretos con los que aquellas tendencias políticas pueden tener relación. 3- Reconstruir el cambiante proceso de alianzas, coaliciones y rupturas a través del análisis de los enfrentamientos sociales del período. 4- Analizar los acontecimientos/enfrentamientos/confrontaciones que marcaron hitos, en el sentido de que sus resultados impactaron en las coaliciones establecidas. 5- A partir de aquellos hitos, ensayar una periodización del proceso histórico de 1973 hasta el golpe de estado de 1976. La hipótesis general que guía esta tesis es que, luego de un período de ascenso de las luchas sociales (1969) y formación de una amplia alianza/fuerza social en donde coexistían tendencias políticas reformistas y revolucionarias, entre 1973 y 1976 en Salta se inició un período de descenso de las luchas sociales de carácter político, y de descomposición de aquella fuerza social. Este período se caracterizó por la volatilidad e inestabilidad de las alianzas que se articularon, por el predominio de tendencias liberales conservadoras, reaccionarias, y por la existencia de fuerzas centrífugas entre las que pueden señalarse la crisis económica y social desde fines de 1973 en adelante, además de los alicientes cada vez más represivos del gobierno peronista nacional. La crisis política de 1975/76 fue particularmente importante ya que en Salta los partidos perdieron toda representatividad, y amplias fracciones y capas de la burguesía de la provincia organizada en sus corporaciones (entre ellas Cámara de Comercio e Industria, Sociedad Rural) conformaron una fuerza social liberal conservadora reaccionaria en ascenso, que mediante la acción directa, tomó el control del proceso social y alentó el golpe de estado. El esquema de la tesis consta de una primera parte (capítulos 1 y 2) que aporta una propuesta de estudio de las tendencias políticas y partidos en Salta de 1972 a partir de indicadores construidos para tal fin, pero también del proceso histórico anterior (años cincuenta y sesenta). dedicada a la investigación de las tendencias de movimiento de la estructura social de Salta de los años sesenta a ochenta. El capítulo 3 muestra los instrumentos teórico y resultados de la investigación sobre la estructura económico social de Salta de los años sesenta al ochenta. El capítulo 4 al 7 es una ensayo de periodización en cuatro etapas construidas a partir de la situación de las coaliciones y alianzas sociales entre fracciones de clases sociales y relación con el proceso político-institucional y nacional.Fil: Soler Carmona, Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Secretaría de Posgrado; Argentina

La arquitectura como medio para el desarrollo integral de la primera infancia. Jardín Infantil Sierra Morena

Artículo de investigaciónSe desarrolla un proyecto a nivel multiescalar en la Mesa Territorial Bolonia, ubicada en Usme, donde se evidencia segregación socio espacial y desequilibrio territorial. Por ello, desde la arquitectura se plantean actuaciones que ayuden a mejorar la calidad de vida de los habitantes, siendo una de estas el diseño de un Jardín Infantil donde se generan condiciones físico espaciales que permitan el desarrollo integral de los niños.1. Introducción 2. Metodología 3. Resultados 4. Discusión 5. Conclusiones Referencias AnexosPregradoArquitect

Cuadro de Mando ODUN: una Herramienta en Software Libre para la Gestión Empresarial

Debido al desarrollo de nuevos modelos de gestión, que han aumentado el número de objetivos e indicadores,en pos del control y de una efectiva toma de decisiones, los Cuadros de Mando se han convertido,en los últimos años, en herramientas necesarias para el desarrollo exitoso de la gestión empresarial.En medio de la implementación del Balanced Scorecard, en seis Escuelas y una Facultad de la EscuelaSuperior Politécnica de Chimborazo (ESPOCH), se ha creado una nueva herramienta informática denominadaODUN, que es un Cuadro de Mando que está programado con herramientas y librerías, libresde tecnología web y bajo Licencia Pública General de GNU (GPL), que permite su libre distribución yuso. Este artículo expone las bondades del Cuadro de Mando ODUN.Palabras Clave: Cuadro de Mando, Balanced Scorecard, Software Libre

Effect of temperature on the gas-phase photocatalytic H2 generation using microreactors under UVA and sunlight irradiation

The effect of temperature on the photocatalytic hydrogen generation from a gaseous water-ethanol mixture has been tested in a silicone microreactor containing nine microchannels of 500 µm (width) × 1 mm (depth) × 47 mm (length) coated with Au/TiO2photocatalyst under UVA irradiation. Kinetic analyses have indicated that the hydrogen production rate follows the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. The effect of temperature from 298 to 348 K has been determined by thermodynamic parameters, such as enthalpy (¿H¿), entropy (¿S¿) and Gibbs free energy (¿G¿) of activation, using the transition state theory (TST). The apparent rate constants (kapp) are higher by increasing the temperature, and the activation energy has been determined to be 24 ± 1 kJ·mol-1. In order to evaluate if solar concentration could be used to enhance the photoproduction of hydrogen, the reaction has also been conducted under direct sunlight using a solar concentrator of about 1 m in diameter. Finally, the microreactor has been scaled out by a factor of ca. 10 to a device containing thirty-two microchannels of 500 µm (width) × 1 mm (depth) × 117.5 mm (length). The specific (i.e. per irradiated area of catalyst) hydrogen production rates of both microreactors using sunlight are very similar suggesting that this technology could lead to viable solar hydrogen production.Postprint (author's final draft

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm matrix and cells are drastically impacted by gas discharge plasma treatment: A comprehensive model explaining plasma-mediated biofilm eradication

Biofilms are microbial communities encased in a protective matrix composed of exopolymeric substances including exopolysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and extracellular DNA. Biofilms cause undesirable effects such as biofouling, equipment damage, prostheses colonization, and disease. Biofilms are also more resilient than free-living cells to regular decontamination methods and therefore, alternative methods are needed to eradicate them. The use of non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasmas is a good alternative as plasmas contain reactive species, free radicals, and UV photons well-known for their decontamination potential against free microorganisms. Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms colonize catheters, indwelling devices, and prostheses. Plasma effects on cell viability have been previously documented for P. aeruginosa biofilms. Nonetheless, the effect of plasma on the biofilm matrix has received less attention and there is little evidence regarding the changes the matrix undergoes. The aim of this work was to study the effect plasma exerts mostly on the P. aeruginosa biofilm matrix and to expand the existing knowledge about its effect on sessile cells in order to achieve a better understanding of the mechanism/s underlying plasma-mediated biofilm inactivation. We report a reduction in the amount of the biofilm matrix, the loss of its tridimensional structure, and morphological changes in sessile cells at long exposure times. We show chemical and structural changes on the biofilm matrix (mostly on carbohydrates and eDNA) and cells (mostly on proteins and lipids) that are more profound with longer plasma exposure times. We also demonstrate the presence of lipid oxidation products confirming cell membrane lipid peroxidation as plasma exposure time increases. To our knowledge this is the first report providing detailed evidence of the variety of chemical and structural changes that occur mostly on the biofilm matrix and sessile cells as a consequence of the plasma treatment. Based on our results, we propose a comprehensive model explaining plasma-mediated biofilm inactivation.Fil: Soler Arango, Juliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; ArgentinaFil: Fígoli, Cecilia Beatríz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; ArgentinaFil: Muraca, Giuliana Sabrina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; ArgentinaFil: Bosch, María Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; ArgentinaFil: Brelles Mariño, Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; Argentin

Estimated Covid-19 burden in Spain: ARCH underreported non-stationary time series

Background The problem of dealing with misreported data is very common in a wide range of contexts for different reasons. The current situation caused by the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic is a clear example, where the data provided by official sources were not always reliable due to data collection issues and to the high proportion of asymptomatic cases. In this work, a flexible framework is proposed, with the objective of quantifying the severity of misreporting in a time series and reconstructing the most likely evolution of the process. Methods The performance of Bayesian Synthetic Likelihood to estimate the parameters of a model based on AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroskedastic time series capable of dealing with misreported information and to reconstruct the most likely evolution of the phenomenon is assessed through a comprehensive simulation study and illustrated by reconstructing the weekly Covid-19 incidence in each Spanish Autonomous Community. Results Only around 51% of the Covid-19 cases in the period 2020/02/23–2022/02/27 were reported in Spain, showing relevant differences in the severity of underreporting across the regions. Conclusions The proposed methodology provides public health decision-makers with a valuable tool in order to improve the assessment of a disease evolution under different scenarios.Research funded by Fundación MAPFRE. This work was partially supported by grant RTI2018-096072-B-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and by the Spanish State Research Agency, through the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu Program for Centers and Units of Excellence in R&D (CEX2020–001084-M). A.F-F acknowledges Agencia Estatal de Investigación for the financial support IJC2020-045188I/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. AC was partially financed by PID2021-123733NB-I00 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain). AC and AA were partially supported by Project “EcoDep” CY-AAP2020-0000000013 (“Investissements d’Avenir” ANR-16-IDEX-0008, France).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

PROTO-COL. La experiencia de una red interuniversitaria para la formación en protocolo y eventos (2010-2014)

En este proyecto de innovación docente denominado “Proto-col: red interuniversitaria de trabajo colaborativo en protocolo y gestión de eventos” se ha realizado durante los cursos académicos 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013 y 2013-2014 un ejercicio de reflexión, en primer término, sobre la idoneidad del perfil de los estudiantes en protocolo y gestión de eventos, a partir de los nuevos Grados en Publicidad y Relaciones Públicas ofertados por la Universidad de Alicante y la Universitat Jaume I de Castellón; en segundo término, sobre la metodología didáctica aplicada en las asignaturas optativas vinculadas a dicho ámbito formativo, e integradas en las nuevas propuestas educativas, así como diferentes investigaciones exploratorias sobre la presencia de materias vinculadas a la gestión de eventos, el protocolo y las relaciones institucionales en las universidades españolas. Todas estas aportaciones, junto con la dirección de TFGs, TFMs y direcciones de tesis doctorales reflejan el trabajo en red de un grupo de profesores especializados en esta materia y justifica la pertinencia de este proyecto interuniversitario que se ha traducido en diversas contribuciones académicas y experiencias docentes