No abstract

Deficit irrigation (DI) strategies using moderately saline waters save water, but may enhance soil salinization.Based on data gathered during years 2007-2012 in three drip-irrigated grapevine, peach and nectarine crops subject to several irrigation and soil mulching treatments, we assessed trends in root-zone soil salinity (saturation extract electrical conductivity, ECe), related the changes in soil salinity (ΔECe) to field-wide leaching fraction (LF), evaluated management strategies for soil salinity control, and examined the sustainability of DI strategies under present and expected climate change scenarios in the Middle Ebro River Basin (ERB, Spain). ECe increased in 82% of the irrigation seasons and decreased in 75% of the nonirrigation seasons examined. Soil salinization trends were not apparent during the study years due to these annual salt accumulation-salt leaching cycles. ECe increases were higher in the more severe DI treatments and in the geotextile-mulched soil, and lower in the full and less severe irrigation treatments and in the organic-mulched soil. As expected, ΔECe and LF were linearly and negatively correlated (P < 0.01), indicating that soil salinization increased with decreasing LF. These linear relationships provided a way to evaluate best management strategies (increased irrigation, rainfall harvesting and soil mulching) for soil salinity control. These strategies decreased soil salinization, but did not guarantee the sustainability of severe deficit irrigations in the study area. The application of these relationships to the climate change precipitation and crop evapotranspiration projections in the ERB shows that the examined DI strategies will be unsustainable due to soil salinization.

Irrigation with moderately saline waters may provoke soil salinization and sodification. The objectives of this three-year study were (1) to quantify these processes in two seedless table grapevines (Vitis vinifera cvs. Autumn Royal and Crimson) subject to a full irrigation and two regulated deficit irrigations (RDI, irrigated at 80% and 60% of net irrigation requirements from post-veraison till harvest) with 1.7 dS m−1 electrical conductivity irrigation waters, and (2) to assess the impact of soil salinization on grapevine's response. Soil samples were taken three times along each irrigation season and soil solution samples were extracted weekly by suction cups. Soil saturation extract electrical conductivity (ECe) and sodium adsorption ratio (SARe) were high in Autumn Royal (4.4 dS m−1 and 6.1 (mmol l−1)0.5) and very high in Crimson (7.0 dS m−1 and 8.6 (mmol l−1)0.5) due to relatively low leaching fractions (LF) (0.20 in Autumn Royal and 0.13 in Crimson). Soil solution salinity and sodicity were generally higher in the more severe RDI than in the full irrigation treatment. Soil salinity and sodicity generally increased along the irrigation seasons and decreased along the non-irrigation seasons. Salt accumulation or leaching and LF were significantly correlated, so that LF estimates could anticipate the required irrigation depths for soil salinity control. Grapevine yield declined with increases in soil salinity. Leaf Na concentrations were very low (<0.1%), but leaf Cl concentrations were higher and the maximum value of 0.61% measured in the more severe Crimson RDI treatment was within the interval reported as toxic in grapevine. Despite the water saving benefits of drip irrigation in combination with deficit irrigation strategies, its implementation in low-precipitation semiarid areas must be cautiously assessed and monitored because soil salinization and sodification may threaten the sustainability and profitability of these grapevine orchards irrigated with moderately saline water

Soil mulching is a sensible strategy to reduce evaporation, accelerate crop development, reduce erosion and assist in weed control, but its efficiency for soil salinity control is not as well documented. The benefits of inorganic (plastic) and organic (grapevine pruning residues) mulching for soil salinity and sodicity control were quantified in a grapevine orchard (cultivars ‘Autumn’ Royal and ‘Crimson’) drip-irrigated with moderately saline waters. Soil samples were taken at the beginning and end of the 2008 and 2009 irrigation seasons in six vines of each cultivar and mulching treatment. Soil saturation extract electrical conductivity (ECe), chloride (Cle) and sodium adsorption ratio (SARe) values increased in all treatments of both grapevines along the irrigation seasons, but the increases were much lower in the mulched than in the bare soils due to reduced evaporation losses and concomitant decreases in salt evapo-concentration. The absolute salinity and sodicity daily increases in ‘Autumn’ and ‘Crimson’ 2008 and in ‘Crimson’ 2009 were on the average 44% lower in the plastic and 76% lower in the organic mulched soils than in the bare soil. The greater efficiency of the organic than the plastic mulch in ‘Crimson’ 2009 was attributed to the leaching of salts by a precipitation of 104 mm that infiltrated the organic mulch but was intercepted by the plastic mulch. Although further work is needed to substantiate these results, the conclusion is that the plastic mulch and, particularly, the organic mulch were more efficient than the bare soil for soil salinity and sodicity control.

BackgroundChagas disease (CD) is endemic in countries of continental Latin America. Congenital transmission is a major concern worldwide. In 2010, the Public Health Agency of Catalonia (ASPCAT) launched a screening protocol for Trypanosoma cruzi infection in pregnant women and their newborns. In 2012, ASPCAT detected appropriate follow-up of pregnant women but incomplete information about their offspring.MethodsThe PROSICS community health team carried out active surveillance and community health action in target populations. These activities included active case searches, group awareness workshops and visualization campaigns as well as investigation of all lost children born from pregnant women with CD and their families.ResultsOverall, 42/179 (23.5%) cases were included in the study: 35/42 (83.3%) children were born in Hospitalet de Llobregat (Catalonia, Spain); 4/42 (16.7%) were born in Latin America; two were miscarried and one was stillborn. The mean age of pregnant women was 31.3 years (SD 5.52; range: 21–44): 90.5% were Bolivian, of whom 74% were diagnosed with CD during pregnancy. Of the 35 newborns, 31 were recovered by community health action; 12/31 were correctly controlled at Hospitalet de Llobregat and 19/31 were controlled at a primary health centre. Of these 19 (73.7%) cases, 14 were not tested for CD by family paediatricians and were recovered by the PROSICS community health team. Finally, two (6.9%) of the 29 newborns tested with serology were positive.ConclusionsIt is essential to implement active surveillance, education and information activities at paediatric primary care and community levels to avoid the loss of CD-infected mothers and their newborns. Training sessions addressed to paediatricians and other involved health professionals would consolidate surveillance and care reference circuits, improving the control of congenital CD.

No abstract

No abstract

The usage of recycled polymers for industrial purposes arises as one of the most promising methods of reducing environmental impact and costs associated with scrapping parts. This paper presents a systematic study of the dimensional stability of a raw and 100% recycled polypropylene subjected to realistic environmental conditions occurring along its working life. The component studied is an internal part of an induction hob assembly. Industrial samples manufactured with both materials, in the same mold, and in the same injection machine, are subjected to ejection conditions, storage conditions (50 °C), and extreme performance conditions (80 °C). Induced dimensional changes are registered and analyzed using a coordinate measuring machine, and a tactile sensing probe. To verify the process capability of the samples manufacturing, Cp and Cpk values are calculated to evaluate the suitability of the recycled material as an alternative. Results conclude that, although the use of recycled material implies slight differences in terms of dimensional stability due to the changes induced in the polymer structure, these differences are not significant enough to affect the injection process capability. Therefore, recycling arises as one effective method to reduce both overruns associated with the consumption of raw polypropylene material and its environmental impact.