Agricultural use of three organic residues: effect on orange production and on properties of a soil of the ‘Comarca Costa de Huelva’ (SW Spain)

Disposal of urban, agricultural and industrial organic residues impliesan increasing problem because of all the economic and environmentalrepercussions involved. One of the most adequate ways of managing this problemis the agricultural use of these wastes as organic amendments. Three organicresidues (AC, olive mill waste water sludge compost; MWC, municipal solid wastecompost; and PS, paper mill sludge) were used in a 3-year field experimentinvolving orange production. The effect of their application on crop productionand on soil quality was investigated. Soil samples (0–20 cm depth)collected 11 months after the last soil amendment were analysed for: pH and EC,Kjeldahl-N, available-P, available-K, total organic carbon, humic substances,dehydrogenase, phosphatase, -glucosidase, urease andbenzoyl-argininamidehydrolysing protease (BAA-protease) activities. Generally, the application of the MWC and PSincreased orange yield when compared to control. Moreover, total organic carbonand humic substances significantly increased in soils treated with all theorganic amendments. Organic fertilisation increased the Kjeldahl-N andavailable-P contents of the soil. The application of the organic residues also causedsignificant increases in dehydrogenase, -glucosidase, urease andBAA-protease activities of the soil. Significant positive correlations (p <0.01) between these enzymatic activities and total organic carbon were foundforall treatments. Significant positive correlation between dehydrogenase, urease,-glucosidase, and BAA-protease and orange yield was also found. However,a clear inhibition of phosphatase activity was observed in soils treated withPS. The results indicate that the repeated application to the soil of moderateamounts of organic amendments has positive effects on the chemical andbiochemical properties of the soil, as well as on the orange yield.     

Chattering-Free Sliding Mode Altitude Control for a Quad-Rotor Aircraft: Real-Time Application

Nowadays, the chattering problem in sliding mode control is one of the most important points to consider in real-time applications. To address this problem, a real-time robust altitude control scheme is proposed for the efficient performance of a Quad-rotor aircraft system using a continuous sliding mode control. The sensing of altitude measurement sensing is performed by a pressure sensor in order to obtain a robust altitude control of the vehicle in hovering mode both indoor and outdoor. The altitude measurement has the advantage of introducing this state information directly in the closed loop control which should be very useful for achieving robust stabilization of the altitude control. Accordingly, we propose a sliding mode control strategy without chattering. The sliding mode control proposed removes the chattering phenomenon by replacing a sign function with a high-slope saturation function. The control algorithm is derived from the Lyapunov stability theorem. Moreover, we have assumed that the actuators are able to respond quickly and accurately and we have not enforced limits on the control signals for a real-time application. Finally, to verify the satisfactory performance of proposed nonlinear control law, several simulations and experimental results of the Chattering-free sliding mode control for the Quad-rotor aircraft in the presence of bounded disturbances are presented.     

Silphinene Sesquiterpenes as Model Insect Antifeedants

Silphinene sesquiterpenes are established chrysomelid antifeedants. In this work, nine silphinene analogs, 11-acetoxy-5-angeloyloxysilphinen-3-one (1), 11-acetoxy-5-tigloyloxysilphinen-3-one (2), 11-acetoxy-5-iso- butyryloxysilphinen-3-one (3), 11-hydroxy-5-angeloyloxysilphinen-3-one (4), 11,5-dihydroxysilphinen-3-one (5), 11,5-diacetoxysilphinen-3-one (6), 5,11-diisobutyryloxysilphinen-3-one (7), silphinen-3,5,11-trione (8), and O-methyl-5-epicantabrenolic acid methyl ester (10), and a presilphiperfolane sesquiterpene (9) were tested against several divergent insect species, including the lepidopteran Spodoptera littoralis, the chrysomelid Leptinotarsa decemlineata, and five aphid species, and their antifeedant effects were compared with those of picrotoxinin, a GABA-antagonist, and thymol, an allosteric modulator for insect GABA receptors. All insects tested responded to at least one silphinene analog and/or GABA antagonist. Compound 3 and thymol were effective antifeedants against all species tested except S. littoralis, with varying potencies according to their feeding ecologies. The toxicity of these compounds was species-dependent and did not correlate with their antifeedant effect.     

Calmodulin Supports TRPA1 Channel Association with Opioid Receptors and Glutamate NMDA Receptors in the Nervous Tissue

Transient receptor potential ankyrin member 1 (TRPA1) belongs to the family of thermo TRP cation channels that detect harmful temperatures, acids and numerous chemical pollutants. TRPA1 is expressed in nervous tissue, where it participates in the genesis of nociceptive signals in response to noxious stimuli and mediates mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia associated with different neuropathies. The glutamate N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), which plays a relevant role in allodynia to mechanical stimuli, is connected via histidine triad nucleotide-binding protein 1 (HINT1) and type 1 sigma receptor (σ1R) to mu-opioid receptors (MORs), which mediate the most potent pain relief. Notably, neuropathic pain causes a reduction in MOR antinociceptive efficacy, which can be reversed by blocking spinal NMDARs and TRPA1 channels. Thus, we studied whether TRPA1 channels form complexes with MORs and NMDARs that may be implicated in the aforementioned nociceptive signals. Our data suggest that TRPA1 channels functionally associate with MORs, delta opioid receptors and NMDARs in the dorsal root ganglia, the spinal cord and brain areas. These associations were altered in response to pharmacological interventions and the induction of inflammatory and also neuropathic pain. The MOR-TRPA1 and NMDAR-TRPA1 associations do not require HINT1 or σ1R but appear to be mediated by calcium-activated calmodulin. Thus, TRPA1 channels may associate with NMDARs to promote ascending acute and chronic pain signals and to control MOR antinociception.     

Mechanical properties of epoxy networks based on DGEBA and aliphatic amines

The mechanical properties of epoxy networks based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin cured with various linear aliphatic amines, such as ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, triethylenetetramine, tetraethylenepentamine, and cyclic amines such as 1‐(2‐aminoethyl)piperazine and isophorone diamine, were studied. General characteristics such as T_g, density, and packing density, were determined and related to the structure and funcionality of the curing agent. Dynamic mechanical spectra were used to study both the α and β relaxations. Tensile and the flexural tests were used to determine the Young's and flexural modulus, and fracture strength all in the glassy state. Furthermore, linear elastic fracture mechanics was used to determine K_IC. As a rule, isophorone diamine network presented the higher tensile and flexure modulus while 1‐(2‐aminoethyl)piperazine gave the highest toughness properties. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Eicosapentaenoic acid (20∶5n-3) from the marine microalgaPhaeodactylum tricornutum

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20∶5n-3) was obtained from the marine microalgaePhaeodactylum tricornutum by a three-step process: fatty acid extraction by direct saponification of biomass, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) concentration by formation of urea inclusion compounds, and EPA isolation by semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Alternatively, EPA was obtained by a similar two-step process without the PUFA concentration step by the urea method. Direct saponification of biomass was carried out with two solvents that contained KOH for lipid saponification. An increase in yield was obtained because the problems associated with emulsion formation were avoided by separating the biomass from the soap solution before adding hexane for extraction of insaponifiables. The most efficient solvent, ethanol (96%) at 60°C for 1 h, extracted 98.3% of EPA. PUFA were concentrated by the urea method with a urea/fatty acid ratio of 4∶1 at a crystallization temperature of 28°C and by using methanol and ethanol as urea solvents. An EPA concentration ratio of 1.73 (55.2∶31.9) and a recover yield of 78.6% were obtained with methanol as the urea solvent. This PUFA concentrate was used to obtain 93.4% pure EPA by semipreparative HPLC with a reverse-phase, C₁₈, 10 mm i.d.×25-cm column and methanol/water (1% acetic acid), 80∶20 w/w, as the mobile phase. Eighty-five percent of EPA loaded was recovered, and 65.7% of EPA present inP. tricornutum biomass was recovered in highly pure form by this three-step downstream process. Alternatively, 93.6% pure EPA was isolated from the fatty acid extract (without the PUFA concentration step) with 100% EPA recovery yield. This two-step process increases the overall EPA yield to 98.3%, but it is only possible to obtain 20% as much EPA as that obtained by three-step downstream processing.     

Somein situ STM contributions to the characterization of electrochemical systems

We present a critical review on the use of STM as anin situ technique to characterize electrochemical systems based on the work performed in our laboratory. Contributions ofin situ STM studies include: (i) atomic resolution of electrodeposited lead on graphite; (ii) imaging of modifications on metallic electrode surfaces induced by electrochemical oxidation-reduction processes; (iii) imaging of corrosion process on aluminium and Al-Ta alloy electrodes in NaCl solution; (iv) characterization of semiconductor-solution interfaces. These studies allowed: (a) establishment of STM as a technique which, for some systems, yields atomic resolution of metallic surfaces in air and in solution; (b) establishment of a mechanism for the electrochemical growth of oxide films on metal electrodes; (c) establishment of a corresponding mechanism for the reduction of those electrochemically grown oxide films; (d) direct monitoring of corrosion processes on a scale of nm to m; and (e) determination of the presence of surface states and their energy position at the semiconductor-solution interfaces.This paper is dedicated to Professor Brian E. Conway on the occasion of his 65th birthday and in recognition of his outstanding contribution to electrochemistry.     

Effect of low‐temperature plasma and chitosan treatment on wool dyeing with Acid Red 27

This study examines in detail the influence of low‐temperature plasma and biopolymer chitosan treatments on wool dyeability. Wool knitted fabrics were treated and characterized by whiteness and shrink‐resistance measurements. Surface modification was assessed by contact‐angle measurements of human hair fibers, which were used as a model to study the wetting properties of the treated wool knitted fabrics. The dyeing behavior was assessed from the diffusion mechanism point of view. The dyeing kinetics were measured at two different pHs (4.2 and 6.5) and three different temperatures (60, 85, and 100°C) to gain information about the contribution of the surface modification treatment to the dyeing mechanism. The exhaustion and reflectance data were compared, and the apparent diffusion coefficients were calculated. On the basis of the obtained results, a model for the dyeing mechanism of the chitosan treated wool was proposed. When treated with chitosan, the polymer sheath spread on the surface of the fibers acted as a predominant dyeing site in very short dyeing times, thus interacting with the dye and in later stages imparting the dye to the wool fiber. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 2204–2214, 2005     

Preconditioning the solution of the time-dependent neutron diffusion equation by recycling Krylov subspaces

Spectral preconditioners are based on the fact that the convergence rate of the Krylov subspace methods is improved if the eigenvalues of the smallest magnitude of the system matrix are ‘removed’. In this paper, two preconditioning strategies are studied to solve a set of linear systems associated with the numerical integration of the time-dependent neutron diffusion equation. Both strategies can be implemented using the matrix–vector product as the main operation and succeed at reducing the total number of iterations needed to solve the set of systems.     

New thermosets obtained by cationic copolymerization of DGEBA with γ‐caprolactone with improvement in the shrinkage. II. Time–temperature–transformation (TTT) cure diagram

Mixtures of diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) with different proportions of γ‐caprolactone (γ‐CL) were cured with ytterbium triflate as initiator. The curing was studied with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo mechanical analysis (TMA). The results are presented in the form of a time–temperature–transformation diagram. The kinetic analysis was performed by means of the isoconversional integral procedure and the kinetic model was also determined using the Coats–Redfern method. Gelation was determined by means of combined experiences of DSC and TMA. The relationship between the glass transition temperature (T_g) and the degree of conversion α was determined by DSC. Using the isoconversional lines and the T_g‐α relationship, the vitrificacion curve was obtained. The methodology developed makes it possible to obtain the TTT diagram using only no‐isothermal experiments with equivalent results to those using classical isothermal procedures. The addition of γ‐CL accelerates the curing and reduces the shrinkage after gelation and consequently the internal stresses in the material. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007