The National University of Mar del Plata (Spanish: Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, UNMdP) is an Argentine national university in the city of Mar del Plata, on the Atlantic coast.The institution was established in 1962 as the Universidad de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (University of the Province of Buenos Aires). The university acquired its current name in 1975, when under the auspices of the Taquini Plan the Argentine government took over its administration and merged it with the Universidad Católica Stella Maris (Catholic University Stella Maris).The UNMdP currently includes nine faculties (Architecture, Urbanism and Design, Agricultural Sciences, Economics and Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Health Sciences and Social Work, Law, Humanities, Engineering and Psychology) and one school (School of Medicine). It offers 50 graduate programmes, 11 pre-graduate programmes, and 48 post-graduate programmes.
The Brazilian industrial sector is among the country's largest energy consumers and plays a strategic role in national decarbonization efforts. This study assesses the technical suitability of solar thermal energy for industrial processes (Solar Heat for Industrial Processes - SHIP) and provides an indicative techno-economic screening within the Brazilian energy and industrial context. The analysis combines official energy statistics from the Energy Research Company (EPE) and its Useful Energy Balance for Selected Industrial Segments (BEU), spatially resolved solar irradiation data from the Brazilian Solar Energy Atlas (INPE), and an explicit four-step calculation chain linking sectoral useful-heat demand to process-temperature bands and a declared technical-integrability factor. Across the four priority sectors assessed (food and beverages, textile, pulp and paper, and chemicals), useful process-heat demand at or below 200 °C ranges from 570 to 1350 PJ/year (central estimate: 620 PJ/year), with food and beverages and pulp and paper together accounting for more than 95% of this SHIP-compatible potential. Meeting this demand would displace an estimated 764 PJ/year of fossil final energy in the central scenario. Indicative cost benchmarks from the dedicated international SHIP literature place the levelized cost of heat at 30–70 €/MWh, with reported payback periods generally exceeding three years. Figures are presented as an order-of-magnitude screening rather than a Brazil-calibrated feasibility estimate. Regions in the Northeast, Southeast, South, and Center-West combine above-average solar resource availability with the states hosting the largest concentrations of priority-sector industrial activity. Despite this favorable technical and spatial alignment, adoption remains limited. The barriers are economic, institutional, and informational, not technical. Capital costs remain above prevailing benchmarks. Brazil also lacks a dedicated regulatory or financing framework comparable to net metering for photovoltaic generation. Temperature-resolved industrial heat data remain scarce. No fundamental technical constraint stands in the way. By providing a sectoral and spatially explicit, quantitatively grounded assessment of SHIP applicability, this study helps bridge a critical gap in industrial decarbonization strategies, positioning renewable heat as a complementary pathway to electrification in emerging economies and offering a reproducible basis for future techno-economic and policy analysis.
Despite similar complex I reduction, γCA2 disruption in tomato, unlike in arabidopsis, triggers hormonal and developmental changes, challenging assumptions of conserved mitochondrial responses across plant species. NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase [complex I (CI)] is the main entry point of electrons to OXPHOS being essential for metabolism and redox balance. In most organisms, except animals and fungi, CI contains an additional domain composed of gamma carbonic anhydrase (γCA) subunits, termed the CA module. In Arabidopsis thaliana, this module includes AtɣCA1/3, AtɣCA2, and AtɣCAL1/2. AtɣCA2 is critical for CI biogenesis, yet its role in other species remains unclear. In tomato, the γCA family comprises SlɣCA1a, SlɣCA1b, SlɣCA2, and SlɣCAL. Here, we report the inactivation of the tomato SlɣCA2 using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. As in arabidopsis, SlɣCA2-KO tomato plants show comparable reduction in CI levels and activity and a similar decrease in oxygen consumption, yet display increased ATP levels in seeds. However, unlike arabidopsis, mutant tomato plants exhibit delayed seed germination and retarded growth and development. Our results further suggest that abscisic acid and gibberellin homeostasis is altered in SlɣCA2-KO plants. Together, these findings support a connection between mitochondrial respiration and hormonal regulation, by which plants adjust developmental processes to mitochondrial electron transport chain functionality, thereby preventing energy depletion during early growth stages.
Arsenic contamination in natural water sources is a well-known worldwide problem due to its severe health and environmental implications. In this study, Fe-enriched soil, an abundant and low-cost natural material, was investigated as an environmentally friendly adsorbent for arsenic removal from contaminated water. The main objective was to evaluate its adsorption performance and to assess the viability of reusing the spent material as a raw component in ceramic bricks, thereby promoting a safe immobilization of arsenic and a sustainable management of the waste. The Fe-enriched soil has been fully characterized and tested for arsenic removal in synthetic aqueous solutions. The adsorption process followed a pseudo-second-order model and was well described by a Freundlich isotherm, achieving an adsorption capacity of > 0.5 mg g⁻¹ and a removal efficiency of 60 Laterite soil is an effective accessible alternative for groundwater arsenic removal. Laterite soil exhibits high and fast adsorption capacity for arsenate ions. The generated waste is effectively immobilized within ceramic bricks. Ceramic bricks retain over 85
Nitrogen (N) fertilization can cause environmental losses through ammonia (NH3) volatilization, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, and nitrate leaching. Urease (UI) and nitrification (NI) inhibitors, together with improved fertilization strategies, have been proposed to mitigate these losses. Under controlled conditions, this study evaluated the effects of UI and NI on N losses: (i) under contrasting water regimes, and (ii) different fertilization strategies. Two experiments were conducted using soil columns (0–20 cm) to quantify NH3 volatilization, N2O emissions, nitrate leaching, and soil residual N after fertilization. Treatments included urea, urea with a UI (Urea + UI), urea with a NI (Urea + NI), and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), evaluated under contrasting water regimes (dry and wet) and fertilization strategies (single-rate vs. split). NH3 losses reached up to 9.5
This study evaluated the effects of three salting methods—brining, mixed salting and dry salting—and subsequent desalting on the quality of Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi) fillets. Salt loss and water gain kinetics were analysed together with physicochemical parameters (pH, total volatile basic nitrogen and lipid oxidation index), colour attributes (L*, a*, b*), texture profile analysis and rheological behaviour. Desalting kinetics differed among treatments: dry-salted fillets reached salt–water equilibrium faster, whereas brined samples showed slower salt diffusion, consistent with deeper salt penetration and stronger ionic interactions with muscle proteins. Salting method exerted a greater influence than desalting time on lipid oxidation, volatile basic nitrogen formation, colour and textural properties. Dry salting resulted in higher lipid oxidation, increased yellowness and firmer texture, while brining limited volatile nitrogen accumulation and yielded softer rehydrated fillets. Desalting time mainly promoted pH recovery, increased lightness and progressive softening associated with water uptake. Rheological and thermomechanical analyses revealed irreversible salt-induced modifications of myofibrillar proteins, as desalted samples did not fully recover the behaviour of fresh muscle. Overall, processing history determined quality recovery during desalting, with brining emerging as the most suitable strategy to obtain rehydrated products with improved physicochemical, structural and visual attributes.
