Microbiological and chemical attributes of a Hapludalf soil with swine manure fertilization

The objective of this work was to evaluate the microbiological and chemical attributes of a soil with a seven‑year history of urea and swine manure application. In the period from October 2008 to October 2009, soil samples were collected in the 0-10 cm layer and were subjected to the treatments: control, without application of urea or manure; and with the application of urea, pig slurry, and deep pig litter in two doses, in order to supply one or two times the recommended N doses for the maize (Zea mays)/black oat (Avena strigosa) crop succession. The carbon of the microbial biomass (MB‑C) and the basal respiration (C‑CO2) were analyzed, and the metabolic (qCO2) and microbial quotient (qmic) were calculated with the obtained data. Organic matter, pH in water, available P and K, and exchangeable Ca and Mg were also determined. The application of twice the dose of deep pig litter increases the MB‑C and C‑CO2 values. The qmic and qCO2 are little affected by the application of swine manure. The application of twice the dose of deep pig litter increases the values of pH in water and the contents of available P and of exchangeable Ca and Mg in the soil

Composição florística de pastagem natural afetada por fontes de fósforo, calagem e introdução de espécies forrageiras de estação fria Botanical composition of natural pasture as afected by phosphorus sources, lime and introduction of winter forage species

Uma das características das pastagens naturais do Rio Grande do Sul é a baixa produtividade de forragem no período do outono-inverno. Uma das alternativas para melhorar os sistemas de produção baseados nessas pastagens é a introdução de espécies forrageiras de crescimento inverno-primaveril e a fertilização e correção da acidez do solo. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar o efeito de fontes de fósforo, calcário e introdução de espécies forrageiras de inverno na dinâmica das espécies de uma pastagem natural. Os tratamentos testados foram: T1 - superfosfato simples + calcário + introdução de espécies; T2 - superfosfato triplo + calcário + introdução de espécies; T3 - superfosfato triplo + introdução de espécies; T4 - hiperfosfato de Gafsa + introdução de espécies; T5 - introdução de espécies sem fósforo ou calagem; T6 - testemunha com pastagem natural. Para a avaliação da composição florística da pastagem foram realizados levantamentos botânicos periódicos, durante vinte e dois meses, utilizando-se o método BOTANAL. Os resultados mostraram que os tratamentos testados não provocaram mudanças na composição botânica das espécies nativas no período de tempo avaliado.<br>Natural pastures of Rio Grande do Sul State, South of Brazil, have low forage productivity in the autumn-winter. An alternative to improve systems based on these pastures is introduction of winter forage species, fertilization and liming of soil. The present work had the objective of evaluating the effect of phosphorus sources, lime and introduction of winter forage species in the pasture botanical composition dynamics. The treatments used were: T1 - simple superphosphate + lime + winter forage species introduction; T2 - triple superphosphate + lime + winter forage species introduction; T3 - triple superphosphate + winter forage species introduction; T4 - Gafsa rock phosphate + winter forage species introduction; T5 - winter forage species introduction without phosphorus and lime; T6 - reference only with natural pasture. To evaluate the botanical composition dynamics, periodic botanical evaluations were done during twenty two months, using BOTANAL method. The results showed that treatments did not modify the botanical composition of natural pasture during the evaluation period

Abnormal brown adipose tissue mitochondrial structure and function in IL10 deficiency

Inflammation is the most relevant mechanism linking obesity with insulin-resistance and metabolic disease. It impacts the structure and function of tissues and organs involved in metabolism, such as the liver, pancreatic islets and the hypothalamus. Brown adipose tissue has emerged as an important component of whole body energy homeostasis, controlling caloric expenditure through the regulation of non-shivering thermogenesis. However, little is known about the impact of systemic inflammation on the structure and function of brown adipose tissue. The relations between IL10 and mitochondria structure/function and also with thermogenesis were evaluated by bioinformatics using human and rodent data. Real-time PCR, immunoblot, fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy were employed to determine the effect of IL10 in the brown adipose tissue of wild type and IL10 knockout mice. IL10 knockout mice, a model of systemic inflammation, present severe structural abnormalities of brown adipose tissue mitochondria, which are round-shaped with loss of cristae structure and increased fragmentation. IL10 deficiency leads to newborn cold intolerance and impaired UCP1-dependent brown adipose tissue mitochondrial respiration. The reduction of systemic inflammation with an anti-TNFα monoclonal antibody partially rescued the structural but not the functional abnormalities of brown adipose tissue mitochondria. Using bioinformatics analyses we show that in both humans and mice, IL10 transcripts correlate with mitochondrial lipid metabolism and caspase gene expression. IL10 and systemic inflammation play a central role in the regulation of brown adipose tissue by controlling mitochondrial structure and function39436447ObesityThe authors thank Erika Roman, Gerson Ferraz and Marcio Cruz for technical collaboration in the study. Joseane Morari for assistance in RNA extraction from whole blood. Rodrigo Carraro for assistance in one experiment involving animal treatment. Barbara J. Amorim for PET/CT evaluation. We thank the staff of the Life Sciences Core Facility (LaCTAD) from State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), for the Cell Biology analysi