Selenium uptake by edible plants from enriched peat.

As a constituent of selenoproteins, selenium (Se) is considered an essential element for human health.The main way that Se enters the body is via the consumption of vegetables, whose concentration of thiselement depends on soil Se content. We grew cabbage, lettuce, chard and parsley, in peat enriched in Seby means of the additive Selcote Ultra®and Na2SeO3and Na2SeO4. Total Se in plants was determinedby acidic digestion and Se speciation by an enzymatic extraction. Both were measured by ICP/MS. Theconcentration ranges were between 0.1 mg Se kg−1and 30 mg Se kg−1for plants grown in Selcote Ultra®media, and between 0.4 mg Se kg−1and 1606 mg Se kg−1for those grown in peat enriched with Se sodiumsalts. We found Se (IV), Se (VI) and SeMet in all the extracts. Peat fortified with Selcote Ultra®gave slightlyhigher Se concentration than natural content values. For plants grown with selenium sodium salts, Secontent increases with the Se added and part of the inorganic Se was converted mainly to SeMet. A highSe fortification can damage or inhibit plant growth. Cabbage showed the greatest tolerance to Se.

Combining phospholipases and a liquid lipase for one-step biodiesel production using crude oils

Background Enzymatic biodiesel is becoming an increasingly popular topic in bioenergy literature because of its potential to overcome the problems posed by chemical processes. However, the high cost of the enzymatic process still remains the main drawback for its industrial application, mostly because of the high price of refined oils. Unfortunately, low cost substrates, such as crude soybean oil, often release a product that hardly accomplishes the final required biodiesel specifications and need an additional pretreatment for gums removal. In order to reduce costs and to make the enzymatic process more efficient, we developed an innovative system for enzymatic biodiesel production involving a combination of a lipase and two phospholipases. This allows performing the enzymatic degumming and transesterification in a single step, using crude soybean oil as feedstock, and converting part of the phospholipids into biodiesel. Since the two processes have never been studied together, an accurate analysis of the different reaction components and conditions was carried out. Results Crude soybean oil, used as low cost feedstock, is characterized by a high content of phospholipids (900 ppm of phosphorus). However, after the combined activity of different phospholipases and liquid lipase Callera Trans L, a complete transformation into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs >95%) and a good reduction of phosphorus (P <5 ppm) was achieved. The combination of enzymes allowed avoidance of the acid treatment required for gums removal, the consequent caustic neutralization, and the high temperature commonly used in degumming systems, making the overall process more eco-friendly and with higher yield. Once the conditions were established, the process was also tested with different vegetable oils with variable phosphorus contents. Conclusions Use of liquid lipase Callera Trans L in biodiesel production can provide numerous and sustainable benefits. Besides reducing the costs derived from enzyme immobilization, the lipase can be used in combination with other enzymes such as phospholipases for gums removal, thus allowing the use of much cheaper, non-refined oils. The possibility to perform degumming and transesterification in a single tank involves a great efficiency increase in the new era of enzymatic biodiesel production at industrial scale.

Efficiency of informational transfer in regular and complex networks

We analyze the process of informational exchange through complex networks by measuring network efficiencies. Aiming to study nonclustered systems, we propose a modification of this measure on the local level. We apply this method to an extension of the class of small worlds that includes declustered networks and show that they are locally quite efficient, although their clustering coefficient is practically zero. Unweighted systems with small-world and scale-free topologies are shown to be both globally and locally efficient. Our method is also applied to characterize weighted networks. In particular we examine the properties of underground transportation systems of Madrid and Barcelona and reinterpret the results obtained for the Boston subway network.

TRPM5-mediated calcium uptake regulates mucin secretion from human colon goblet cells

Mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) is secreted by goblet cells of the respiratory tract and, surprisingly, also expressed de novo in mucus secreting cancer lines. siRNA-mediated knockdown of 7343 human gene products in a human colonic cancer goblet cell line (HT29-18N2) revealed new proteins, including a Ca(2+)-activated channel TRPM5, for MUC5AC secretion. TRPM5 was required for PMA and ATP-induced secretion of MUC5AC from the post-Golgi secretory granules. Stable knockdown of TRPM5 reduced a TRPM5-like current and ATP-mediated Ca(2+) signal. ATP-induced MUC5AC secretion depended strongly on Ca(2+) influx, which was markedly reduced in TRPM5 knockdown cells. The difference in ATP-induced Ca(2+) entry between control and TRPM5 knockdown cells was abrogated in the absence of extracellular Ca(2+) and by inhibition of the Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX). Accordingly, MUC5AC secretion was reduced by inhibition of NCX. Thus TRPM5 activation by ATP couples TRPM5-mediated Na(+) entry to promote Ca(2+) uptake via an NCX to trigger MUC5AC secretion

Response of wheat to additional nitrogen fertilizer application after pig slurry on over-fertilized soils

Pig slurry is a valuable nutrient resource but constitutes a waste disposal problem in areas of high animal density. In the semiarid area of Pla d’Urgell, in the Ebro Valley, North-East Spain, irrigated crops receive large amounts of nutrients in the form of manure and mineral fertilizers. We studied the effect of pig slurry and additional side-dress mineral fertilizers on irrigated wheat, Triticum aestivum L., on a coarse loam soil, with high soil P and K levels. Yields increased by 62.3% when using pig slurry. The application of ammonium sulfate nitrate sidedress did not significantly increase wheat production. The average apparent recoveries were higher for potassium (88.7%) than for nitrogen (51.3%) and phosphorus (36.3%). Greater amounts of soil NO3-N were measured over the four growing seasons, which was consistent with the amount of N applied. Macronutrient and micronutrient uptake was significant higher for pig slurry treatments, but only small differences were found between the pig slurry and pig slurry plus ammonium sulfate nitrate treatments. The unfertilized treatment showed significantly lower soil P, K, Cu and Zn content than pig slurry treatments; 34%, 21%, 34%, and 26% respectively. These findings could be used to develop a nutrient management plan based on knowledge of soil test results and crop nutrient removal. This could help to improve the use of pig slurry and mineral fertilizers on limited available land areas and prevent the accumulation of potentially toxic elements in soils and the export of nutrients through agricultural drainage.

Ownership change and banking efficiency in the new EU members

The aim of this study is to analyze how European integration and, especially, changes in ownership, has affected banking efficiency in Central and Eastern European countries which have recently experimented this process more intensely. Using a stochastic frontier approach (SFA) applied to panel data, we have estimated bank efficiency levels in a sample of 189 banks from 12 countries during the period 2000 to 2008 and we have analyzed the influence of some bank characteristics on these efficiency levels. The results show that European integration has significantly improved the cost efficiency of banks in these countries but profit efficiency has significantly decreased. We have found very small differences between different ownership types and only a very small impact of foreign ownership on cost efficiency, showing that the entry of foreign ownership is not enough to explain the significant variations in banking efficiency after the accession.

Applying precision feeding techniques in growing-finishing pig operations

The high cost of feed ingredients, the use of non-renewable sources of phosphate and the dramatic increase in the environmental load resulting from the excessive land application of manure are major challenges for the livestock industry. Precision feeding is proposed as an essential approach to improve the utilization of dietary nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients and thus reduce feeding costs and nutrient excretion. Precision feeding requires accurate knowledge of the nutritional value of feedstuffs and animal nutrient requirements, the formulation of diets in accordance with environmental constraints, and the gradual adjustment of the dietary nutrient supply to match the requirements of the animals. After the nutritional potential of feed ingredients has been precisely determined and has been improved by the addition of enzymes (e.g. phytases) or feed treatments, the addition of environmental objectives to the traditional feed formulation algorithms can promote the sustainability of the swine industry by reducing nutrient excretion in swine operations with small increases in feeding costs. Increasing the number of feeding phases can also contribute to significant reductions in nutrient excretion and feeding costs. However, the use of precision feeding techniques in which pigs are fed individually with daily tailored diets can further improve the efficiency with which pigs utilize dietary nutrients. Precision feeding involves the use of feeding techniques that allow the provision of the right amount of feed with the right composition at the right time to each pig in the herd. Using this approach, it has been estimated that feeding costs can be reduced by more than 4.6%, and nitrogen and phosphorus excretion can both be reduced by more than 38%. Moreover, the integration of precision feeding techniques into large-group production systems can provide real-time off-farm monitoring of feed and animals for optimal slaughter and production strategies, thus improving the environmental sustainability of pork production, animal well-being and meat-product quality.

Effects of CPAP on oxidative stress and nitrate efficiency in sleep apnoea: a randomised trial.

Background: Previous studies have presented contradictory data concerning obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS), lipid oxidation and nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. This study was undertaken to (1) compare the concentration of 8-isoprostane and total nitrate and nitrite (NOx) in plasma of middle-aged men with OSAS and no other known co-morbidity and healthy controls of the same age, gender and body mass index; and (2) test the hypothesis that nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy attenuates oxidative stress and nitrate deficiency. Methods: A prospective, randomised, placebo controlled, double-blind, crossover study was performed in 31 consecutive middle-aged men with newly diagnosed OSAS and 15 healthy control subjects. Patients with OSAS were randomised to receive sham CPAP or effective CPAP for 12 weeks. Blood pressure, urinary catecholamine levels and plasma 8-isoprostane and NOx concentrations were obtained before and after both treatment modalities. Results: Patients with OSAS had significantly higher 8-isoprostane levels (median (IQR) 42.5 (29.2-78.2) vs 20.0 (12.5-52.5) pg/ml, p = 0.041, Mann-Whitney test) and lower NOx levels (264 (165-650) vs 590 (251- 1465) mmol/l, p = 0.022) than healthy subjects. Body mass index, blood pressure and urinary catecholamines were unchanged by CPAP therapy, but 8-isoprostane concentrations decreased (38.5 (24.2-58.7) pg/ml at baseline vs 22.5 (16.2-35.3) pg/ml on CPAP, p = 0.0001) and NOx levels increased (280 (177-707) vs 1373 (981-1517) mmol/l, p = 0.0001) after CPAP. Conclusions: OSAS is associated with an increase in oxidative stress and a decrease in NOx that is normalised

Correlation of the EPR properties of perchlorotriphenylmethyl radical and their efficiency as DNP polarizers

Water soluble perchlorinated trityl (PTM) radicals were found to be effective 95 GHz DNP (dynamic nuclear polarization) polarizers in ex situ (dissolution) 13C DNP (Gabellieri et al., Angew Chem., Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 3360). The degree of the nuclear polarization obtained was reported to be dependent on the position of the chlorine substituents on the trityl skeleton. In addition, on the basis of the DNP frequency sweeps it was suggested that the 13C NMR signal enhancement is mediated by the Cl nuclei. To understand the DNP mechanism of the PTM radicals we have explored the 95 GHz EPR characteristics of these radicals that are relevant to their performance as DNP polarizers. The EPR spectra of the radicals revealed axially symmetric g-tensors. A comparison of the spectra with the 13C DNP frequency sweeps showed that although the solid effect mechanism is operational the DNP frequency sweeps reveal some extra width suggesting that contributions from EPR forbidden transitions involving 35,37Cl nuclear flips are likely. This was substantiated experimentally by ELDOR (electron-electron double resonance) detected NMR measurements, which map the EPR forbidden transitions, and ELDOR experiments that follow the depolarization of the electron spin upon irradiation of the forbidden EPR transitions. DFT (density functional theory) calculations helped to assign the observed transitions and provided the relevant spin Hamiltonian parameters. These results show that the 35,37Cl hyperfine and nuclear quadrupolar interactions cause a considerable nuclear state mixing at 95 GHz thus facilitating the polarization of the Cl nuclei upon microwave irradiation. Overlap of Cl nuclear frequencies and the 13C Larmor frequency further facilitates the polarization of the 13C nuclei by spin diffusion. Calculation of the 13C DNP frequency sweep based on the Cl nuclear polarization showed that it does lead to an increase in the width of the spectra, improving the agreement with the experimental sweeps, thus supporting the existence of a new heteronuclear assisted DNP mechanism.

Bacterial adhesion efficiency on implant abutments: a comparative study

The attachment of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 28213 onto six different materials used to manufacture dental implant abutments was quantitatively determined after 2 and 24 h of contact between the materials and the bacterial cultures. The materials were topographically characterized and their wettability determined, with both parameters subsequently related to bacterial adhesion. Atomic force microscopy, interferometry, and contact angle measurement were used to characterize the materials" surfaces. The results showed that neither roughness nor nano-roughness greatly influenced bacterial attachment whereas wettability strongly correlated with adhesion. After 2 h the degree of E. coli attachment markedly differed depending on the material whereas similar differences were not observed for S. aureus, which yielded consistently higher counts of adhered cells. Nevertheless, after 24 h the adhesion of the two species to the different test materials no longer significantly differed, although on all surfaces the numbers of finally adhered E. coli were higher than those of S. aureus

The efficiency of indicator groups for the conservation of amphibians in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

The adequate selection of indicator groups of biodiversity is an important aspect of the systematic conservation planning. However, these assessments differ in the spatial scale, in the methods used and in the groups considered to accomplish this task, which generally produces contradictory results. The quantification of the spatial congruence between species richness and complementarity among different taxonomic groups is a fundamental step to identify potential indicator groups. Using a constructive approach, the main purposes of this study were to evaluate the performance and efficiency of eight potential indicator groups representing amphibian diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Data on the geographic range of amphibian species that occur in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest was overlapped to the full geographic extent of the biome, which was divided into a regular equal-area grid. Optimization routines based on the concept of complementarily were applied to verify the performance of each indicator group selected in relation to the representativeness of the amphibians in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest as a whole, which were solved by the algorithm"simulated annealing", through the use of the software MARXAN. Some indicator groups were substantially more effective than others in regards to the representation of the taxonomic groups assessed, which was confirmed by the high significance of data (F = 312.76; p < 0.01). Leiuperidae was considered as the best indicator group among the families analyzed, as it showed a good performance, representing 71% of amphibian species in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (i.e. 290 species), which may be associated with the diffuse geographic distribution of its species. This study promotes understanding of how the diversity standards of amphibians can be informative for systematic conservation planning on a regional scale.

Effects of heparin on the uptake of lipoprotein lipase in rat liver

BACKGROUND: Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is anchored at the vascular endothelium through interaction with heparan sulfate. It is not known how this enzyme is turned over but it has been suggested that it is slowly released into blood and then taken up and degraded in the liver. Heparin releases the enzyme into the circulating blood. Several lines of evidence indicate that this leads to accelerated flux of LPL to the liver and a temporary depletion of the enzyme in peripheral tissues. RESULTS: Rat livers were found to contain substantial amounts of LPL, most of which was catalytically inactive. After injection of heparin, LPL mass in liver increased for at least an hour. LPL activity also increased, but not in proportion to mass, indicating that the lipase soon lost its activity after being bound/taken up in the liver. To further study the uptake, bovine LPL was labeled with 125I and injected. Already two min after injection about 33 % of the injected lipase was in the liver where it initially located along sinusoids. With time the immunostaining shifted to the hepatocytes, became granular and then faded, indicating internalization and degradation. When heparin was injected before the lipase, the initial immunostaining along sinusoids was weaker, whereas staining over Kupffer cells was enhanced. When the lipase was converted to inactive before injection, the fraction taken up in the liver increased and the lipase located mainly to the Kupffer cells. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that there are heparin-insensitive binding sites for LPL on both hepatocytes and Kupffer cells. The latter may be the same sites as those that mediate uptake of inactive LPL. The results support the hypothesis that turnover of endothelial LPL occurs in part by transport to and degradation in the liver, and that this transport is accelerated after injection of heparin.

Efficiency and reliability enhancement of silicon nanocrystal field-effect luminescence from nitride-oxide gate stacks

We report on a field-effect light emitting device based on silicon nanocrystals in silicon oxide deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The device shows high power efficiency and long lifetime. The power efficiency is enhanced up to 0.1 %25 by the presence of a silicon nitride control layer. The leakage current reduction induced by this nitride buffer effectively increases the power efficiency two orders of magnitude with regard to similarly processed devices with solely oxide. In addition, the nitride cools down the electrons that reach the polycrystalline silicon gate lowering the formation of defects, which significantly reduces the device degradation.

Uptake and factors that influence the use of ‘sit less, move more’ occupational intervention strategies in Spanish office employees

Background Little is known about the types of ‘sit less, move more’ strategies that appeal to office employees, or what factors influence their use. This study assessed the uptake of strategies in Spanish university office employees engaged in an intervention, and those factors that enabled or limited strategy uptake. Methods The study used a mixed method design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with academics and administrators (n = 12; 44 ± 12 mean SD age; 6 women) at three points across the five-month intervention, and data used to identify factors that influenced the uptake of strategies. Employees who finished the intervention then completed a survey rating (n = 88; 42 ± 8 mean SD age; 51 women) the extent to which strategies were used [never (1) to usually (4)]; additional survey items (generated from interviewee data) rated the impact of factors that enabled or limited strategy uptake [no influence (1) to very strong influence (4)]. Survey score distributions and averages were calculated and findings triangulated with interview data. Results Relative to baseline, 67% of the sample increased step counts post intervention (n = 59); 60% decreased occupational sitting (n = 53). ‘Active work tasks’ and ‘increases in walking intensity’ were the strategies most frequently used by employees (89% and 94% sometimes or usually utilised these strategies); ‘walk-talk meetings’ and ‘lunchtime walking groups’ were the least used (80% and 96% hardly ever or never utilised these strategies). ‘Sitting time and step count logging’ was the most important enabler of behaviour change (mean survey score of 3.1 ± 0.8); interviewees highlighted the motivational value of being able to view logged data through visual graphics in a dedicated website, and gain feedback on progress against set goals. ‘Screen based work’ (mean survey score of 3.2 ± 0.8) was the most significant barrier limiting the uptake of strategies. Inherent time pressures and cultural norms that dictated sedentary work practices limited the adoption of ‘walk-talk meetings’ and ‘lunch time walking groups’. Conclusions The findings provide practical insights into which strategies and influences practitioners need to target to maximise the impact of ‘sit less, move more’ occupational intervention strategies.

Energy efficiency determinants: An empirical analysis of Spanish innovative firms

This paper examines the extent to which innovative Spanish firms pursue improvements in energy efficiency (EE) as an objective of innovation. The increase in energy consumption and its impact on greenhouse gas emissions justifies the greater attention being paid to energy efficiency and especially to industrial EE. The ability of manufacturing companies to innovate and improve their EE has a substantial influence on attaining objectives regarding climate change mitigation. Despite the effort to design more efficient energy policies, the EE determinants in manufacturing firms have been little studied in the empirical literature. From an exhaustive sample of Spanish manufacturing firms and using a logit model, we examine the energy efficiency determinants for those firms that have innovated. To carry out the econometric analysis, we use panel data from the Community Innovation Survey for the period 2008‐2011. Our empirical results underline the role of size among the characteristics of firms that facilitate energy efficiency innovation. Regarding company behaviour, firms that consider the reduction of environmental impacts to be an important objective of innovation and that have introduced organisational innovations are more likely to innovate with the objective of increasing energy efficiency. Keywords: energy efficiency, corporate targets, innovation, Community Innovation Survey. JEL Classification: Q40, Q55, O31