Suchergebnisse

Trabajo presentado en la Interdisciplinary Approaches in Fish Skeletal Biology Proceedings of the Second Conference, celebrada en Tavira (Portugal) del 26 al 28 de abril de 2011. ; Several studies have shown that the disruption of normal skeletogenesis leads to skeletal deformities, which involve a decrease in larval performance and quality, being one of the major problems in teleost cultured species. ; This work was funded by Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICIIN) of the spanish government (projects AGL2005-02478 and AGL2008-03897-C04-04). IF was supported by a predoctoral MEC fellowship. ; Peer Reviewed

Garcia-Alonso acknowledges the financial support provided by the Government of Spain (Project Number MTM2014-54199-P). Del Rosal acknowledges financial support from the Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deporte del Principado de Asturias.

How family firms adopt a certain corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach remains a relatively unexplored matter in family firm and firm ethics research. Hence, we study how and why the CSR approach (broad vs. narrow; benefits vs. costs) differs within family firms, addressing the influence of the socio-emotional wealth (SEW) dimensions, individually or combined. We used empirical evidence gathered through 13 case studies of firms from the Andalusia region and we used the interpretative approach of the grounded theory based on case study data. Results of our analyses lead to propose that family firms with a higher identification and more positive than negative valence with regard to emotional attachment and family enrichment dimensions will be more likely to exhibit a broad approach of CSR. Likewise, those family firms adopting CSR actions with stakeholders due to instrumental use of image and reputation dimension will more probably display a benefits approach.JEL CLASSIFICATION: L26; M14

Plant diseases and pests cause a large loss of world agricultural production. Downy mildew is a major disease in grapevine. Conventional techniques for plant diseases evaluations are time-consuming and require expert personnel. This work investigates novel sensing technologies and artificial intelligence applications for assessing downy mildew in grapevine under laboratory conditions. In our methodology, machine vision is applied to assess downy mildew sporulation, while hyperspectral imaging is used to explore its potential capability towards early detection of this disease. Image analysis applied to RGB leaf disc images is used to estimate downy mildew (Plamopara viticola) severity in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv Tempranillo). A determination coefficient (R ) of 0.76 ** and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 20.53% are observed in the correlation between downy mildew severity by computer vision and expert's visual assessment. Furthermore, an accuracy of 81% is achieved to detect downy mildew early using hyperspectral images. These results indicate that non-invasive sensing technologies and computer vision can be applied for assessing and quantify sporulation of downy mildew in grapevine leaves. The severity of this key disease is evaluated in grapevine under laboratory conditions. In conclusion, computer vision, hyperspectral imaging and machine learning could be applied for important disease detection in grapevine. ; This work has been developed as part of the project NoPest (Novel Pesticides for a Sustainable Agriculture), which received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 FET Open program under Grant agreement ID 828940.

La Convención del Aire ONU-CEPE es el principal foro internacional de negociación para la limitar las emisiones de contaminantes atmosféricos con el fin de reducir sus efectos nocivos, y constituye un ejemplo de cooperación intergubernamental en defensa de la calidad del aire a escala global. Sus grupos técnicos de trabajo, como el ICP Vegetation, son también un ejemplo de colaboración internacional científico-técnica para la definición de indicadores ambientales de riesgo (niveles críticos); en concreto, los de riesgo por ozono para cultivos y ecosistemas.En su seno, se desarrollan grupos de trabajo para implementar estas metodologías para los agrosistemas mediterráneos, que sería interesante extender hacia los países del sur de la cuenca mediterránea; algo actualmente en exploración a través de la colaboración entre grupos de investigación de España y Túnez.

Trabajo presentado en el Aquaculture Europe "Mediterranean Aquaculture 2020", celebrado en Rodes (Grecia) del 18 al 21 de octubre de 2011. ; The Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) is a high-flatfish species whose aquaculture is rapidly increasing in southern Europe. However, there still exist several bottlenecks that compromise the intensive culture of this flatfish, such as the disruption of normal skeletogenesis (appearance of skeletal deformities) that decrease larval performance and quality. ; This work was funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) of the Spanish Government (project AGL2005-02478). I. F. was supported by a pre-doctoral MEC fellowship. I. Fernández assistance to EA 2011 was financed by Larvanet Cost action FA0801. ; Peer Reviewed

Several nutritional studies have found a direct effect of several vitamins in chondrogenic and osteogenic development during early life stages of marine fish species. In the present study, the effect of vitamin A (VA) in gilthead sea bream skeletogenesis was evaluated by means of four different dietary regimes (enriched rotifers) containing increasing levels of total VA (75, 109, 188 and 723 ng total VA mg− 1 DW). Dietary treatments were offered to larvae during the rotifer-feeding phase (4–20 days after hatching), while later all groups were fed with Artemia nauplii and weaned onto the same inert diet. Different dietary doses of VA affected gilthead sea bream larval growth, survival, performance (maturation of the digestive system) and quality (incidence of skeletal deformities). Higher levels of dietary VA than those included in the commercial emulsion for rotifer enrichment led to different levels and typologies of skeletal deformities, indicating that gilthead sea bream larvae were very sensitive to small increases in dietary VA. The degree of ossification was affected by the level of VA in enriched rotifers: the higher amount of VA in the diet, the higher number of skeletal pieces ossified (R = 0.585, P = 0.04). Dietary VA affected the normal process of bone formation and skeletogenesis, the skeletal structures mostly affected by high amounts of dietary VA were those from the cranial skeleton (splanchnocranium), vertebral centrums and caudal fin complex. The premaxilla, maxilla and dentary bones were the cranial structures affected by dietary VA levels, resulting in a large incidence of animals with compressed snout. Dietary VA also affected the normal development of the opercular complex, and a dose–response dependant effect was observed in relation to the incidence of specimens with incomplete operculum. Body shape was also affected by the level of dietary VA, increasing the incidence of specimens with lordosis, kyphosis and/or scoliosis with the dose of VA, being the prehaemal and caudal vertebrae the most affected regions of the vertebral column with this kind of abnormalities. The caudal fin complex was the most affected region of the skeleton affected by dietary treatments as seen by the high incidence of skeletal deformities in fish fed different doses of dietary VA. Deformities affected all skeletal elements composing the caudal fin, although the most affected ones were, in order of importance, the epurals, hypurals, parahypural, neural arch and uroneurals. Differences in sensitivity to dietary VA amongst caudal fin skeletal elements might be due to their differential ontogenetic development and differences in the exposure time to VA. An excess of dietary VA also accelerated the intramembranous ossification process of vertebral centrums leading to one or two supranumerary vertebrae, and a high incidence of fused and compressed vertebral centrums. The sensibility of the developing skeletal structures to dietary VA levels should incline us to test lower doses of VA in live preys enrichments during early larval stages and higher doses afterwards. ; This work was funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) of the Spanish Government (project AGL2005-02478). The collaboration with Y.K. (HMCR, Greece) was established thanks to the HG2004-0018 grant (MEC, Spain). I.F was supported by a predoctoral MEC fellowship and E.G. by the Programa Ramón y Cajal (MEC, Spain). ; Peer reviewed

Vitamin A (VA) and retinoid derivatives are known morphogens controlling vertebrate development. Despite the research effort conducted during the last decade, the precise mechanism of how VA induces post-natal bone changes, and particularly those operating through crosstalk with the thyroid hormones (THs) remain to be fully understood. Since effects and mechanisms seem to be dose and time-dependent, flatfish are an interesting study model as they undergo a characteristic process of metamorphosis driven by THs that can be followed by external appearance. Here, we studied the effects of VA imbalance that might determine Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) skeletogenetic phenotype through development of thyroid follicles, THs homeostasis and signaling when a dietary VA excess was specifically provided during pre-, pro- or post-metamorphic stages using enriched rotifers and Artemia as carriers. The increased VA content in enriched live prey was associated to a higher VA content in fish at all developmental stages. Dietary VA content clearly affected thyroid follicle development, T3 and T4 immunoreactive staining, skeletogenesis and mineralization in a dose and time-dependent fashion. Gene expression analysis showed that VA levels modified the mRNA abundance of VA- and TH-specific nuclear receptors at specific developmental stages. Present results provide new and key knowledge to better understand how VA and TH pathways interact at tissue, cellular and nuclear level at different developmental periods in Senegalese sole, unveiling how dietary modulation might determine juvenile phenotype and physiology. ; This work was funded by grant AGL2005-02478 from the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) of the Spanish Government. IF was supported by a Portuguese post-doctoral fellowship (SFRH/BPD/82049/2011). ; Peer reviewed

16 páginas, 12 figuras, 4 tablas. ; The effects of different levels of vitamin A (VA) in Senegalese sole larval performance and development were evaluated by means of a dietary dose–response experiment using enriched Artemia metanauplii as a carrier of this micronutrient. Larvae were fed from 6 to 27 days post hatch (dph) with enriched Artemia containing graded levels of total VA (1.3, 2.1, 4.5 and 12.9 µg VA mg− 1 DW). The content of VA in live prey directly affected its accumulation in larvae and early juveniles. Retinyl palmitate accumulated during larval ontogeny, whereas retinol showed the opposite trend, decreasing from hatching until 41 dph and then remaining constant until the end of the study. In metamorphic larvae (10 and 15 dph), VA did not affect the number of thyroid follicles or the intensity of the immunoreactive staining of T3 and T4. However, at older stages of development (post-metamorphic larvae: 20, 30, 41 and 48 dph), VA decreased the number of thyroid follicles but increased their mean size and enhanced T3 and T4 immunoreactive staining. A dietary excess of VA did not affect either larval performance in terms of growth and survival or the maturation of the digestive system. However, the most remarkable impact of this morphogenetic nutrient was detected during skeletal morphogenesis. Dietary VA accelerated the intramembranous ossification of vertebral centrums, which led to the formation of a supranumerary haemal vertebra and a high incidence of fused and compressed vertebrae in fish fed 2.1, 4.5 and 12.9 mg VA mg− 1 DW. In addition, VA also affected those structures from vertebrae and caudal fin formed by chondral ossification, leading to defects in their shape and fusions with adjacent skeletal elements. In particular, the caudal fin was the region most affected by the dietary treatments. In order of importance, the bones with more developmental anomalies were the modified neural and haemal spines, epural, hypurals and parahypural. The impact of systemic factors such as thyroidal hormones in skeletogenesis should not be neglected since present results revealed that an excess of dietary VA affected the levels of T3 and T4, which might have affected bone formation and remodelling, leading to skeletal deformities. ; This work was funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) of the Spanish Government (project AGL2005-02478). ; Peer reviewed

There is a growing need to provide support and applicable tools to farmers and the agroindustry in order to move from their traditional water status monitoring and high-water-demand cropping and irrigation practices to modern, more precise, reduced-demand systems and technologies. In precision viticulture, very few approaches with ground robots have served as moving platforms for carrying non-invasive sensors to deliver field maps that help growers in decision making. The goal of this work is to demonstrate the capability of the VineScout (developed in the context of a H2020 EU project), a ground robot designed to assess and map vineyard water status using thermal infrared radiometry in commercial vineyards. The trials were carried out in Douro Superior (Portugal) under different irrigation treatments during seasons 2019 and 2020. Grapevines of Vitis vinifera L. Touriga Nacional were monitored at different timings of the day using leaf water potential (Ψ ) as reference indicators of plant water status. Grapevines' canopy temperature (T ) values, recorded with an infrared radiometer, as well as data acquired with an environmental sensor (T, RH, and AP) and NDVI measurements collected with a multispectral sensor were automatically saved in the computer of the autonomous robot to assess and map the spatial variability of a commercial vineyard water status. Calibration and prediction models were performed using Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression. The best prediction models for grapevine water status yielded a determination coefficient of cross-validation (r cv) of 0.57 in the morning time and a r cv of 0.42 in the midday. The root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSE) was 0.191 MPa and 0.139 MPa at morning and midday, respectively. Spatial–temporal variation maps were developed at two different times of the day to illustrate the capability to monitor the grapevine water status in order to reduce the consumption of water, implementing appropriate irrigation strategies and increase the efficiency in the real time vineyard management. The promising outcomes gathered with the VineScout using different sensors based on thermography, multispectral imaging and environmental data disclose the need for further studies considering new variables related with the plant water status, and more grapevine cultivars, seasons and locations to improve the accuracy, robustness and reliability of the predictive models, in the context of precision and sustainable viticulture. ; This research was funded by the European Union under grant agreement number 737669 (Vinescout project).