Optimization of the alkali-silane treatment of agave lechuguilla fibers (ixtle) for potential reinforcement in polymeric composites

NOEMI JARDON MAXIMINO MARIAMNE DEHONOR GOMEZ Rolando Villa Moreno MARIA DOLORES BAEZA ALVARADO Luis Edmundo Lugo Uribe (2023, [Artículo])

Reinforced polymeric composites with natural fibers have garnered significant interest in recent years due to the need for biomass utilization and the requirements of various industries, such as automotive and construction. Among these natural fibers, Agave lechuguilla fiber, commonly known as ixtle (FIx) or Tampico fiber, exhibits important characteristics such as length, high strength, and durability. However, there is limited literature on its conditioning, functionalization, and utilization as a reinforcing material in polymeric composites (CP). This study presents the optimization of the alkali-silane treatment of FIx, identifying the most suitable reaction conditions to enhance their thermal stability, tensile strength, and silane coupling agent (ACSi) grafting on the fiber surface. The chemical treatment with ACSi proved highly effective, resulting in a significant grafting content, which was confirmed through FTIR and SEM–EDS analyses. The high level of functionalization did not compromise the mechanical performance of the fibers, suggesting that functionalized FIx holds great potential as a reinforcing material in CP. These findings open new paths for the sustainable use of Agave lechuguilla fibers, contributing to the development of environmentally friendly and high-performance polymeric composites in various industrial applications.

This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Fibers for Advanced Materials: Addressing Challenges).

Supplementary materials: The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/fib11100086/s1, Figure S1: Optical microscope image of ixtle fibers at a magnification of 50 (a) untreated and (b) alkaline treated (FIx-5); Table S1: FTIR signal assignment for alkaline treated FIx; Table S2: FTIR Signal assignment for silane treated FIx.

Author contributions: Conceptualization, N.J.-M. and L.E.L.U.; methodology, N.J.-M., M.D.G., R.V.M., M.D.B.-A. and L.E.L.U.; validation, N.J.-M. and L.E.L.U.; formal analysis, N.J.-M., M.D.G. and L.E.L.U.; investigation, N.J.-M. and L.E.L.U.; data curation, N.J.-M., M.D.G., R.V.M. and M.D.B.-A.; writing—original draft preparation, N.J.-M. and L.E.L.U.; writing—review and editing, N.J.-M., M.D.G., R.V.M., M.D.B.-A. and L.E.L.U.; visualization, N.J.-M., M.D.G. and L.E.L.U.; supervision, L.E.L.U.; project administration, N.J.-M. and L.E.L.U.; funding acquisition, N.J.-M. and L.E.L.U. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding: This research was funded by CONAHCYT, “Estancias postdoctorales por México”, grant umber CVU425480.

Data availability statement: Data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and upon request from the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments: The authors express their gratitude towards Rene Diaz Rebollar and Jazmin Gomez Sara for their technical assistance in conducting the chemical reactions presented in this current study. Additionally, the assistance provided by Luis Alberto Caceres Diaz in the execution of XRD analyses is also acknowledged. Furthermore, N.J.M. extends sincere recognition to CIATEQ A.C. for their provision of essential resources and infrastructure crucial to the advancement of this research. The support rendered by CONAHCYT through the “Estancias postdoctorales por México” program is also gratefully acknowledged, as it has contributed financial backing to the project. Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Agave lechuguilla Natural fiber Silane coupling agent INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS OTRAS ESPECIALIDADES TECNOLÓGICAS OTRAS OTRAS

Variabilidad estacional de la productividad primaria y su relación con la estratificación vertical en la bahía de La Paz, BCS

Seasonal variability of primary productivity and its relation to the vertical stratification in La Paz, BCS

RAFAEL CERVANTES DUARTE RUBEN ANTELMO MORALES PEREZ JOSE EDUARDO VALDEZ HOLGUIN (2003, [Artículo])

Se estimó la productividad primaria (pp) vía fluorescencia natural en la bahía de La Paz durante octubre de 1996, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, septiembre, noviembre de 1997, y enero de 1998. simultáneamente a los registros de pp se realizaron perfiles verticales de temperatura (CTD) para determinar la estructura de la columna de agua, y de los cuales se estimó el índice de estratificación (_) de 0 a 100 m de profundidad. Durante primavera se observaron los valores promedio más altos de pp (16 mg C m-3 h-1) y valores bajos de _ (50 J m-3) que corresponden a una columna de agua casi homogénea. En contraste, en las subsecuentes estaciones (verano y otoño), la pp decreció a valores mínimos (2 y 5 mg C m-3 h-1), mientras que _ se incrementó significativamente (249 y 347 J m-3). Los resultados indican que existe una dependencia lineal de la pp y la mezcla en la columna de agua (r2 = 0.62, p<0.05) durante los meses de verano. Periodos con una alta estratificación tienden posiblemente a inhibir la fertilización de la capa superficial, mientras que una columna de agua bien mezclada facilita el proceso de fertilización. Por lo tanto, es evidente que en la Bahía de La Paz la estratificación asume un papel importante como mecanismo que controla la pp y explica parcialmente la variabilidad estacional observada en la bahía.

Materia orgánica Producción primaria La Paz Fluorescencia natural BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA

Análisis de los escurrimientos de la cuenca del río Verde

MARIA DE LOS ANGELES SUAREZ MEDINA ERNESTO AGUILAR GARDUÑO (2016, [Libro])

México se compone de 37 regiones hidrológicas que, a su vez, se dividen en 731 cuencas. El escurrimiento disponible en una cuenca hidrológica se calcula con base en el principio de continuidad. El escurrimiento natural por cuenca propia es el componente hidrológico más importante que determina el potencial del escurrimiento generado en una cuenca determinada. Este volumen se calcula con base en los métodos señalados en la NOM-011-Conagua-2015: uno es el “método directo”, basado en el volumen aforado y, el otro, es el “método indirecto”, el más usado cuando no se tiene escurrimiento medido (relación lluvia-escurrimiento). En este libro se presenta el análisis de los escurrimientos de la cuenca del río Verde, la cual se ubica en porciones territoriales de los estados de Zacatecas, Aguascalientes y Jalisco.

Escurrimiento natural Cuencas CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA

Forest proximity positively affects natural enemy mediated control of fall armyworm in Southern Africa

Frédéric Baudron Terence Sunderland (2022, [Artículo])

Insectivorous Birds Bat Predation Maize Cultivation CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA FALL ARMYWORMS BIOLOGICAL PEST CONTROL INSECTIVOROUS ANIMALS MAIZE PREDATOR PREY RELATIONS

Estevia, una alternativa dulce y saludable

MONICA GUADALUPE LOZANO CONTRERAS GENOVEVO RAMIREZ JARAMILLO (2022, [Artículo])

Actualmente la industria alimentaria y farmacéutica ha mostrado gran interés en Stevia rebaudiana, debido a que los edulcorantes que contiene no aportan calorías, además de ejercer efectos beneficiosos sobre la salud humana. El intenso y marcado sabor dulce de la estevia se debe principalmente a compuestos químicos denominados de forma genérica como glucósidos de esteviol, compuestos pertenecientes a la familia de los terpenos, que son 250 a 300 veces más dulces que la sacarosa. Este cultivo es una gran oportunidad para los productores de la península de Yucatán. Este ensayo contribuye a enriquecer el conocimiento sobre la estevia.

ASTERACEAE CONSUMO EDULCORANTE NATURAL GLUCOSIDOS BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL

Gestión de riesgo de desastres, género y cambio climático: percepciones sociales en Yucatán, México

Disaster risk management, gender and climate chage: social perceptions in Yucatan, Mexico

DENISE SOARES DANIEL MURILLO LICEA (2013, [Artículo])

El objetivo del presente trabajo es abonar a la reflexión de la articulación entre la gestión de riesgo de desastres y la equidad de género. Se presenta un estudio de caso en cuatro localidades del estado de Yucatán, México, sobre percepciones respecto al cambio climático y capacidades institucionales sobre gestión de riesgos. Para conocer las percepciones sociales locales se han utilizado los métodos de encuestas y entrevistas a informantes clave, y los resultados encontrados dan cuenta de la existencia de severos problemas en la institucionalidad municipal encargada tanto de la gestión de riesgo de desastres como de la promoción de procesos de mayor igualdad de género; además de esto, se registró un escaso conocimiento sobre los factores que provocan el cambio climático.

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the reflection on the link between disaster risk management and gender equity. It is presented a case study on perceptions about climate change and institutional abilities regarding risk management in four locations of the state of Yucatan, Mexico. In order to know the local social perceptions, surveys and interviews were administered to key informants, and the results account for the existence of serious problems in municipal institutions in charge of both disaster risk management and the promotion of processes to generate greater gender equality. Additionally, a lack of knowledge about the factors that cause climate change was recorded.

Cambio climático Desastres naturales Género Yucatán CIENCIAS SOCIALES

Atlas para el manejo de riesgos en grandes obras hidráulicas por efecto de eventos meteorológicos extremos: primera etapa

ISAAC BONOLA ALONSO José Alfredo González Verdugo JOSE RAUL FLORES BERRONES JAVIER AVILES LOPEZ XIANGYUE LI LIU (2011, [Documento de trabajo])

Tabla de contenido: Introducción – Búsqueda y análisis de información – Objetivo del análisis multiespectral – Justificación – Introducción al análisis multiespectral – Metodología – Análisis analógico multiespectral de las imágenes de satélite empleadas – Estructuras volcánicas – Estructuras sedimentarias – Estructuras geomorfológicas sedimentarias – Reología – Reología de la sustancia actuante – Los índices estructurales genéticos de las rocas sedimentarias – Porosidad de las rocas carbonatadas – Deslizamiento de paredes montañosas y de tierras – Conclusiones y recomendaciones – Información relevante recopilada.

Introducción – Búsqueda y análisis de información – Objetivo del análisis multiespectral – Justificación – Introducción al análisis multiespectral – Metodología – Análisis analógico multiespectral de las imágenes de satélite empleadas – Estructuras volcánicas – Estructuras sedimentarias – Estructuras geomorfológicas sedimentarias – Reología – Reología de la sustancia actuante – Los índices estructurales genéticos de las rocas sedimentarias – Porosidad de las rocas carbonatadas – Deslizamiento de paredes montañosas y de tierras – Conclusiones y recomendaciones – Información relevante recopilada.

Construcciones hidráulicas Reología Desastres naturales Factores meteorológicos Informes de proyectos INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA

Influence of conservation agriculture-based production systems on bacterial diversity and soil quality in rice-wheat-greengram cropping system in eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

Anup Das virender kumar Peter Craufurd Andrew Mcdonald Sonam Sherpa (2023, [Artículo])

Introduction: Conservation agriculture (CA) is gaining attention in the South Asia as an environmentally benign and sustainable food production system. The knowledge of the soil bacterial community composition along with other soil properties is essential for evaluating the CA-based management practices for achieving the soil environment sustainability and climate resilience in the rice-wheat-greengram system. The long-term effects of CA-based tillage-cum-crop establishment (TCE) methods on earthworm population, soil parameters as well as microbial diversity have not been well studied. Methods: Seven treatments (or scenarios) were laid down with the various tillage (wet, dry, or zero-tillage), establishment method (direct-or drill-seeding or transplantation) and residue management practices (mixed with the soil or kept on the soil surface). The soil samples were collected after 7 years of experimentation and analyzed for the soil quality and bacterial diversity to examine the effect of tillage-cum-crop establishment methods. Results and Discussion: Earthworm population (3.6 times), soil organic carbon (11.94%), macro (NPK) (14.50–23.57%) and micronutrients (Mn, and Cu) (13.25 and 29.57%) contents were appreciably higher under CA-based TCE methods than tillage-intensive farming practices. Significantly higher number of OTUs (1,192 ± 50) and Chao1 (1415.65 ± 14.34) values were observed in partial CA-based production system (p ≤ 0.05). Forty-two (42) bacterial phyla were identified across the scenarios, and Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes were the most dominant in all the scenarios. The CA-based scenarios harbor a high abundance of Proteobacteria (2–13%), whereas the conventional tillage-based scenarios were dominated by the bacterial phyla Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi and found statistically differed among the scenarios (p ≤ 0.05). Composition of the major phyla, i.e., Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes were associated differently with either CA or farmers-based tillage management practices. Overall, the present study indicates the importance of CA-based tillage-cum-crop establishment methods in shaping the bacterial diversity, earthworms population, soil organic carbon, and plant nutrient availability, which are crucial for sustainable agricultural production and resilience in agro-ecosystem.

Metagenomics Bacterial Diversity Rice-Wheat-Greengram CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE DNA SEQUENCES EARTHWORMS METAGENOMICS SOIL QUALITY AGROECOSYSTEMS

Climate-smart agricultural practices influence the fungal communities and soil properties under major agri-food systems

madhu choudhary ML JAT Parbodh Chander Sharma (2022, [Artículo])

Fungal communities in agricultural soils are assumed to be affected by climate, weather, and anthropogenic activities, and magnitude of their effect depends on the agricultural activities. Therefore, a study was conducted to investigate the impact of the portfolio of management practices on fungal communities and soil physical–chemical properties. The study comprised different climate-smart agriculture (CSA)-based management scenarios (Sc) established on the principles of conservation agriculture (CA), namely, ScI is conventional tillage-based rice–wheat rotation, ScII is partial CA-based rice–wheat–mungbean, ScIII is partial CSA-based rice–wheat–mungbean, ScIV is partial CSA-based maize–wheat–mungbean, and ScV and ScVI are CSA-based scenarios and similar to ScIII and ScIV, respectively, except for fertigation method. All the scenarios were flood irrigated except the ScV and ScVI where water and nitrogen were given through subsurface drip irrigation. Soils of these scenarios were collected from 0 to 15 cm depth and analyzed by Illumina paired-end sequencing of Internal Transcribed Spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) for the study of fungal community composition. Analysis of 5 million processed sequences showed a higher Shannon diversity index of 1.47 times and a Simpson index of 1.12 times in maize-based CSA scenarios (ScIV and ScVI) compared with rice-based CSA scenarios (ScIII and ScV). Seven phyla were present in all the scenarios, where Ascomycota was the most abundant phyla and it was followed by Basidiomycota and Zygomycota. Ascomycota was found more abundant in rice-based CSA scenarios as compared to maize-based CSA scenarios. Soil organic carbon and nitrogen were found to be 1.62 and 1.25 times higher in CSA scenarios compared with other scenarios. Bulk density was found highest in farmers' practice (Sc1); however, mean weight diameter and water-stable aggregates were found lowest in ScI. Soil physical, chemical, and biological properties were found better under CSA-based practices, which also increased the wheat grain yield by 12.5% and system yield by 18.8%. These results indicate that bundling/layering of smart agricultural practices over farmers' practices has tremendous effects on soil properties, and hence play an important role in sustaining soil quality/health.

Agriculture Management Fungal Community Diversity Indices Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURE TILLAGE CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SOIL ORGANIC CARBON

The input reduction principle of agroecology is wrong when it comes to mineral fertilizer use in sub-Saharan Africa

Gatien Falconnier Marc Corbeels Frédéric Baudron Antoine Couëdel leonard rusinamhodzi bernard vanlauwe Ken Giller (2023, [Artículo])

Can farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) boost crop yields and improve food availability without using more mineral fertilizer? This question has been at the center of lively debates among the civil society, policy-makers, and in academic editorials. Proponents of the “yes” answer have put forward the “input reduction” principle of agroecology, i.e. by relying on agrobiodiversity, recycling and better efficiency, agroecological practices such as the use of legumes and manure can increase crop productivity without the need for more mineral fertilizer. We reviewed decades of scientific literature on nutrient balances in SSA, biological nitrogen fixation of tropical legumes, manure production and use in smallholder farming systems, and the environmental impact of mineral fertilizer. Our analyses show that more mineral fertilizer is needed in SSA for five reasons: (i) the starting point in SSA is that agricultural production is “agroecological” by default, that is, very low mineral fertilizer use, widespread mixed crop-livestock systems and large crop diversity including legumes, but leading to poor soil fertility as a result of widespread soil nutrient mining, (ii) the nitrogen needs of crops cannot be adequately met solely through biological nitrogen fixation by legumes and recycling of animal manure, (iii) other nutrients like phosphorus and potassium need to be replaced continuously, (iv) mineral fertilizers, if used appropriately, cause little harm to the environment, and (v) reducing the use of mineral fertilizers would hamper productivity gains and contribute indirectly to agricultural expansion and to deforestation. Yet, the agroecological principles directly related to soil fertility—recycling, efficiency, diversity—remain key in improving soil health and nutrient-use efficiency, and are critical to sustaining crop productivity in the long run. We argue for a nuanced position that acknowledges the critical need for more mineral fertilizers in SSA, in combination with the use of agroecological practices and adequate policy support.

Manure Crop Yields Smallholder Farming Systems Environmental Hazards CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA BIOLOGICAL NITROGEN FIXATION LEGUMES NUTRIENT BALANCE SOIL FERTILITY AGROECOLOGY YIELD INCREASES LITERATURE REVIEWS