Aims
We evaluated the effect of
Azospirillum brasilense
strain HM053 inoculation on maize seeds, a spontaneous mutant that excrete ammonium and fix nitrogen constitutively.
Methods
Maize was grown ...with different nitrogen (urea) concentration and inoculated with
A. brasilense
Ab-V5 (Brazilian commercial strain) or HM053 strain in four field experiments, in three regions of Parana State, Southern Brazil. We evaluated yield components, nutrient content on leaves and grains and productivity during the crop cycle.
Results
Inoculation with
A. brasilense
strain Ab-V5 and HM053 associated with base fertilization (30 kg ha
−1
N) improved crop yield in all trials. Ab-V5 increased production between 2.2 to 10.4%, or 178.0 to 759.9 kg ha
−1
, respectively. HM053, by itself, increased production between 4.7 to 29%, or 460.5 to 1769.3 kg ha
−1
, respectively.
Conclusion
The new strain HM053 showed to be a great biofertilizer for maize seeds and a new alternative for a more sustainable agriculture.
We present the results of prompt optical follow-up of the electromagnetic counterpart of the gravitational-wave event GW170817 by the Transient Optical Robotic Observatory of the South Collaboration. ...We detected highly significant dimming in the light curves of the counterpart ( mag, mag, mag) over the course of only 80 minutes of observations obtained ∼35 hr after the trigger with the T80-South telescope. A second epoch of observations, obtained ∼59 hr after the event with the EABA 1.5 m telescope, confirms the fast fading nature of the transient. The observed colors of the counterpart suggest that this event was a "blue kilonova" relatively free of lanthanides.
The conversion of renewable feedstocks into new added-value products is a current hot topic that includes the biodiesel industry. When converting vegetable oils into biodiesel, approximately 10% of ...glycerol byproduct is produced. Glycerol can be envisaged as a chemical platform due to its chemical versatility, as a scaffold or building block, in producing a wide range of added-value chemicals. Thus, the development of sustainable routes to obtain glycerol-based products is crucial and urgent. This certainly encompasses the use of raw carbonaceous materials from biomass as heterogeneous acid catalysts. Moreover, the integration of surface functional groups, such as sulfonic acid, in carbon-based solid materials, makes them low cost, exhibiting high catalytic activity with concomitant stability. This review summarizes the work developed by the scientific community, during the last 10 years, on the use of biochar catalysts for glycerol transformation.
We report on fully quantum electronic-nuclear dynamics following sudden ionization from the neutral in the three lowest electronic states of the CH4 + and CD4 + cations. There is a strong Jahn–Teller ...effect in the Franck–Condon region, and we employ two nuclear degrees of freedom that span the internal coordinates involved in the Jahn–Teller coupling. The initial state results from tunneling ionization by a strong IR field which coherently pumps the three lowest states of the cation, D0, D1, and D2. The quantum dynamical simulations show that a strong isotope effect occurs when the ionization significantly accesses the D2 state of the cation in the Franck–Condon region. The computed isotope effect is larger than expected on the basis of the effective mass ratio. The strong effect is due to fast oscillations of the electronic coherences between the D2 and the D1 and D0 electronic states and their modulation by the nonadiabatic couplings before a significant onset of nuclear motion. The magnitude of the effect is similar to the one that we previously reported for a sudden photoionization process. A strong isotope effect has been observed in high harmonic spectroscopy studies of the very short time dynamics Jahn–Teller structural rearrangement of the methane cation upon sudden ionization.
ABSTRACT
In this paper we present a thorough discussion about the photometric redshift (photo-z) performance of the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS). This survey combines a seven ...narrow +5 broad passband filter system, with a typical photometric-depth of r ∼ 21 AB. For this exercise, we utilize the Data Release 1 (DR1), corresponding to 336 deg2 from the Stripe-82 region. We rely on the BPZ2 code to compute our estimates, using a new library of SED models, which includes additional templates for quiescent galaxies. When compared to a spectroscopic redshift control sample of ∼100 k galaxies, we find a precision of σz <0.8 per cent, <2.0 per cent, or <3.0 per cent for galaxies with magnitudes r < 17, <19, and <21, respectively. A precision of 0.6 per cent is attained for galaxies with the highest Odds values. These estimates have a negligible bias and a fraction of catastrophic outliers inferior to 1 per cent. We identify a redshift window (i.e. 0.26 < z < 0.32) where our estimates double their precision, due to the simultaneous detection of two emission lines in two distinct narrow bands; representing a window opportunity to conduct statistical studies such as luminosity functions. We forecast a total of ∼2 M, ∼16 M and ∼32 M galaxies in the S-PLUS survey with a photo-z precision of σz <1.0 per cent, <2.0 per cent, and <2.5 per cent after observing 8000 deg2. We also derive redshift probability density functions, proving their reliability encoding redshift uncertainties and their potential recovering the n(z) of galaxies at z < 0.4, with an unprecedented precision for a photometric survey in the Southern hemisphere.
The Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS ) is an ongoing 12-band photometric optical survey, observing thousands of square degrees of the Northern Hemisphere from the dedicated ...JAST/T80 telescope at the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ). The T80Cam is a camera with a field of view of 2 deg2 mounted on a telescope with a diameter of 83 cm, and is equipped with a unique system of filters spanning the entire optical range (3500–10 000 Å). This filter system is a combination of broad-, medium-, and narrow-band filters, optimally designed to extract the rest-frame spectral features (the 3700–4000 Å Balmer break region, Hδ, Ca H+K, the G band, and the Mg b and Ca triplets) that are key to characterizing stellar types and delivering a low-resolution photospectrum for each pixel of the observed sky. With a typical depth of AB ∼21.25 mag per band, this filter set thus allows for an unbiased and accurate characterization of the stellar population in our Galaxy, it provides an unprecedented 2D photospectral information for all resolved galaxies in the local Universe, as well as accurate photo-z estimates (at the δ z/(1 + z)∼0.005–0.03 precision level) for moderately bright (up to r ∼ 20 mag) extragalactic sources. While some narrow-band filters are designed for the study of particular emission features (O II/λ3727, Hα/λ6563) up to z < 0.017, they also provide well-defined windows for the analysis of other emission lines at higher redshifts. As a result, J-PLUS has the potential to contribute to a wide range of fields in Astrophysics, both in the nearby Universe (Milky Way structure, globular clusters, 2D IFU-like studies, stellar populations of nearby and moderate-redshift galaxies, clusters of galaxies) and at high redshifts (emission-line galaxies at z ≈ 0.77, 2.2, and 4.4, quasi-stellar objects, etc.). With this paper, we release the first ∼1000 deg2 of J-PLUS data, containing about 4.3 million stars and 3.0 million galaxies at r < 21 mag. With a goal of 8500 deg2 for the total J-PLUS footprint, these numbers are expected to rise to about 35 million stars and 24 million galaxies by the end of the survey.
Abell 14 is a poorly studied object despite being considered a born-again planetary nebula. We performed a detailed study of its 3D morphology and ionization structure using the shape and mocassin ...codes. We found that Abell 14 is a highly evolved, bipolar nebula with a kinematical age of ∼19 400 yr for a distance of 4 kpc. The high He abundance, and N/O ratio indicate a progenitor of 5 M⊙ that has experienced the third dredge-up and hot bottom burning phases. The stellar parameters of the central source reveal a star at a highly evolved stage near to the white dwarf cooling track, being inconsistent with the born-again scenario. The nebula shows unexpectedly strong N i λ5200 and O i λ6300 emission lines indicating possible shock interactions. Abell 14 appears to be a member of a small group of highly evolved, extreme type-I planetary nebulae (PNe). The members of this group lie at the lower-left corner of the PNe regime on the N ii/Hα versus S ii/Hα diagnostic diagram, where shock-excited regions/objects are also placed. The low luminosity of their central stars, in conjunction with the large physical size of the nebulae, result in a very low photoionization rate, which can make any contribution of shock interaction easily perceptible, even for small velocities.
Helicobacter pylori, a significant human gastric pathogen, has been demonstrating increased antibiotic resistance, causing difficulties in infection treatment. It is therefore important to develop ...alternatives or complementary approaches to antibiotics to tackle H. pylori infections, and (bacterio)phages have proven to be effective antibacterial agents. In this work, prophage isolation was attempted using H. pylori strains and UV radiation. One phage was isolated and further characterized to assess potential phage-inspired therapeutic alternatives to H. pylori infections. HPy1R is a new podovirus prophage with a genome length of 31,162 bp, 37.1% GC, encoding 36 predicted proteins, of which 17 were identified as structural. Phage particles remained stable at 37 °C, from pH 3 to 11, for 24 h in standard assays. Moreover, when submitted to an in vitro gastric digestion model, only a small decrease was observed in the gastric phase, suggesting that it is adapted to the gastric tract environment. Together with its other characteristics, its capability to suppress H. pylori population levels for up to 24 h post-infection at multiplicities of infection of 0.01, 0.1, and 1 suggests that this newly isolated phage is a potential candidate for phage therapy in the absence of strictly lytic phages.
The present study is focused on the synthesis and characterization of nitric oxide (NO)-releasing superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 NPs), and their incorporation in Pluronic F127 ...hydrogel with great potential for topical applications. Magnetite nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 NPs) were synthesized by thermal decomposition of acetylacetonate iron (Fe(acac) 3 ), and coated with the thiol containing molecule mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA), leading to Fe 3 O 4 -MSA NPs. The obtained NPs were characterized using different techniques. The results showed that the Fe 3 O 4 -MSA NPs have a mean diameter of 11 nm, in the solid state, and superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. Fe 3 O 4 -MSA NPs have an average hydrodynamic size of (78.0 ± 0.9) nm, average size distribution (PDI) of 0.302 ± 0.04, and zeta potential of (−22.10 ± 0.55) mV. Free thiol groups on the Fe 3 O 4 -MSA NP surface were nitrosated by the addition of sodium nitrite, yielding S -nitrosated magnetic nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 - S -nitroso-MSA NPs), which act as spontaneous NO donors upon S–N bond cleavage. The amount of (86.4 ± 4.7) μmol of NO was released per gram of Fe 3 O 4 - S -nitroso-MSA NPs. In order to enhance NP dispersion, Fe 3 O 4 -MSA NPs were incorporated in Pluronic F127 hydrogel (3.4% w/w), and characterized using different techniques. Rheological measurements suggest a potential use for Fe 3 O 4 -MSA NPs dispersed in Pluronic hydrogel for topical applications. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the NPs are embedded within the Pluronic film while the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum of the Fe 3 O 4 -MSA NPs samples revealed the presence of iron, oxygen, carbon and sulfur, confirming the presence of MSA molecules on the NP surface.
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