Presence of Mycoplasma Spp.in Patients with Asthma or Allergic Rhinitis

Objective: To compare the presence of Mycoplasma spp. in pharyngeal swabs of patients with asthma, allergic rhinitis and controls, also to compare the reactivity to allergens in the three groups. Material and Methods: Throat swabs of 120 patients with asthma, 211 allergic rhinitis patients and 171 healthy persons were cultured in E media. Positive cultures were identified by PCR. Susceptibility of patients positive for isolation of Mycoplasma spp. to indoor, forest and undergrowth allergens were determined. Results: Mycoplasma spp. was isolated in 26.6% of samples from asthmatic patients, 36% in patients with allergic rhinitis and 2.9% in the group of healthy persons. Positive patients for Mycoplasma with asthma and allergic rhinitis showed susceptibility tomite, grass and thunder mainly. Conclusion: There is a higher incidence of Mycoplasma spp. in asthmatic and allergic rhinitis patients than healthy persons. Only patients with asthma or allergic rhinitis showed reactivity to environmental allergens.

Application of Nejayote as a Foliar and Edaphic Fertiliser to Native Blue Maize (Zea mays L.) Crops

Raw and treated “nejayote” were assessed as foliar and edaphic fertilisers for native blue maize (Zea mays L.) crops in the municipality of Amozoc de Mota, Puebla, Mexico, during the 2015 agricultural cycle. Treated nejayote refers to raw nejayote subjected to a coagulation-flocculation process. Two states of nejayote were established (raw and treated nejayote) with different physicochemical properties. Foliar bio-fertilisers were prepared from raw and treated nejayote and mixed with organic matter (OM) to promote a fermentation process. The foliar treatments used were: BNC5, BNC15, BNC30 (raw nejayote-based bio-fertiliser at 5%, 15%, and 30%), BNCQ5, and NCQ30 (nejayote treated by chemical coagulation at 5% and 30%), with BT as a control (traditional bio-fertiliser). The edaphic treatments used were: NC50, NC75, and NC100 (raw nejayote at 50%, 75%, 100%), with AP as a control (drinking water), thus giving rise to 10 treatments in terms of content of raw or treated nejayote. Foliar and edaphic field treatments applied to native blue maize crops were statistically assessed using the following response variables: plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, and grain yield. The experiment was laid out in a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with five replications of each treatment. The results obtained showed, that foliar or edaphic application at the different stages of development did not produce statistically significant differences, at P ≤ 0.05, in terms of response variables. The most significant effects occurred at the early stage of plant development and were mainly reflected in the stem diameter with foliar treatment NCQ30 and in the number of leaves with foliar treatment BNC5. At the final stage of crop development, the highest yield (0.639 ± 0.121 t·ha-1) was obtained with treatment BNC5, which produced a statistically significant difference (b) in relation to the rest of the foliar and edaphic treatments (Tukey P ≤ 0.05).

Evaluation of Three Dynamic Models for Aerated Facultative Lagoons

In this research, three existing dynamic mathematical models for aerated lagoons were applied to an aerated facultative lagoon (AFL) plant for municipal wastewater treatment. The models’ ability to describe the behavior of the primary lagoon was evaluated, and the advantages and limitations of the three models were compared. For this purpose, 7-year operational data from the municipal WWTP were collected and processed;other necessary data—like dynamic temperature values— were estimated. A 2-year period was used for model calibration, while the remaining 5 years served as validation period. One of the models showed poor calibration fit values in the effluent concentration description (R2 of 0.242 and RMSE of 16.8 mg/L);however, with some modifications the adjust was enhanced (R2 of 0.409 and RMSE of 14.0 mg/L);a second model displayed a poor to moderate adjust (0.489 and 13.0 mg/L, respectively), and the third model achieved a moderate fit (0.528 and 11.9 mg/L), though it provided an overestimation of effluent concentration, especially in periods of heavy and frequent rain;this model with some adaptations the adjust was enhanced (R2 of 0.575 and RMSE of 11.4 mg/L). The validation fits are even lower, illustrating the inability of these models to properly describe the AFL behavior. The possible causes of the models’ inadequacy are discussed. Finally, it is established that in terms of AFL behavior description more research and model development are needed.