The water-soluble organic fraction and its relationships to the degree of maturity of organic matter during composting

The evolution of different components of the water-soluble organic matter, water soluble carbon (COW), carbohydrates and phenols were studied during the composting of six different mixtures of organic wastes prepared with sweet sorghum bagasse, cotton waste, sewage sludge, municipal solid waste, urea, pine bark and brewery sludge. The COW, carbohydrate and phenol concentrations decreased in the six composting mixtures as a consequence of the organic matter degradation carried out by the microbial activity. The intensity of this organic matter degradation and the evolution of the water-soluble compounds depended on the kind of material used in the starting mixtures. Therefore, these parameters were not considered suitable to be used as the basis for a general organic matter stabilisation index. The changes in the water-soluble organic carbon to water-soluble organic nitrogen ratio (COW/NOW) and the water-soluble organic carbon to total organic nitrogen ratio (COW/NOT) were considered to be suitable as general stabilisation indices since these ratios did not depend on the material used. The evolution of these two ratios showed a similar pattern during the composting of the six mixtures studied. All mature composts reached values for these ratios which were in agreement with the ranges proposed by other authors with other type of materials. These maturity indices were also compared with Lepidium Sativum L. germination assays and no phytotoxic effects were found in materials with COW/NOW and COW/NOT ratios values between the limits established for mature composts (COW/OW between the range 5-6, and COW/NOT < 0.40).The authors wish to thank the Spanish CICYT for the support of the PETRI project N ref: 95-0234-OP-02-02 under which has financed this work.Peer reviewe

Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron Has Minimum Toxicological Risk on the Germination and Early Growth of Two Grass Species with Potential for Phytostabilization

Two Poaceae species, Agrostis capillaris and Festuca rubra, were selected for their potential as phytostabilizing plants in multicontaminated soils. These species are resistant to contamination and maintain high concentrations of contaminants at the root level. Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) is an engineered nanomaterial with the ability to stabilize metal(loid)s in soils; its potential toxicological effects in the selected species were studied in a germination test using: (i) control variant without soil; (ii) soil contaminated with Pb and Zn; and (iii) contaminated soil amended with 1% nZVI, as well as in an hydroponic experiment with the addition of nZVI 0, 25, 50 and 100 mg L−1. nZVI had no negative effects on seed germination or seedling growth, but was associated with an increase in shoot growth and reduction of the elongation inhibition rate (root-dependent) of F. rubra seedlings. However, applications of nZVI in the hydroponic solution had no effects on F. rubra but A. capillaris developed longer roots and more biomass. Increasing nZVI concentrations in the growing solution increased Mg and Fe uptake and reduced the Fe translocation factor. Our results indicate that nZVI has few toxic effects on the studied species

Effectiveness of an intervention for improving drug prescription in primary care patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy:Study protocol of a cluster randomized clinical trial (Multi-PAP project)

This study was funded by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias ISCIII (Grant Numbers PI15/00276, PI15/00572, PI15/00996), REDISSEC (Project Numbers RD12/0001/0012, RD16/0001/0005), and the European Regional Development Fund ("A way to build Europe").Background: Multimorbidity is associated with negative effects both on people's health and on healthcare systems. A key problem linked to multimorbidity is polypharmacy, which in turn is associated with increased risk of partly preventable adverse effects, including mortality. The Ariadne principles describe a model of care based on a thorough assessment of diseases, treatments (and potential interactions), clinical status, context and preferences of patients with multimorbidity, with the aim of prioritizing and sharing realistic treatment goals that guide an individualized management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a complex intervention that implements the Ariadne principles in a population of young-old patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. The intervention seeks to improve the appropriateness of prescribing in primary care (PC), as measured by the medication appropriateness index (MAI) score at 6 and 12months, as compared with usual care. Methods/Design: Design:pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial. Unit of randomization: family physician (FP). Unit of analysis: patient. Scope: PC health centres in three autonomous communities: Aragon, Madrid, and Andalusia (Spain). Population: patients aged 65-74years with multimorbidity (≥3 chronic diseases) and polypharmacy (≥5 drugs prescribed in ≥3months). Sample size: n=400 (200 per study arm). Intervention: complex intervention based on the implementation of the Ariadne principles with two components: (1) FP training and (2) FP-patient interview. Outcomes: MAI score, health services use, quality of life (Euroqol 5D-5L), pharmacotherapy and adherence to treatment (Morisky-Green, Haynes-Sackett), and clinical and socio-demographic variables. Statistical analysis: primary outcome is the difference in MAI score between T0 and T1 and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Adjustment for confounding factors will be performed by multilevel analysis. All analyses will be carried out in accordance with the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: It is essential to provide evidence concerning interventions on PC patients with polypharmacy and multimorbidity, conducted in the context of routine clinical practice, and involving young-old patients with significant potential for preventing negative health outcomes. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02866799Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

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The influence of pig slurry fertilisation on the mineral content of horticultural crops grownin calcareous soils

The influence of pig slurry applications on the nutrient composition of three horticultural crops (pepper, tomato and lettuce) grown on two calcareous soils under irrigated conditions was studied. The optimum dose of pig slurry for nitrogen nutrition of the crops was found to be 100 m3 ha−1 and was independent of the number of previous applications. Soil characteristics had a great influence on the amount of phosphorus taken up by the plants. This is due to the large amount of phosphorus added in the slurry which remained in the soil in a plant-available form. As the number of applications increased, the amount of slurry required to satisfy the phosphorus requirement of the crops decreased. Amounts of slurry within 100-150 m3 ha−1 were required for adequate potassium plant nutrition. However, soil characteristics, particularly the amount of clay and thus its exchange capacity, had a significant influence on the plant potassium uptake.Peer reviewe

Guest Editorial

2 pages.-- [Article on the 10th International Conference on RAMIRAN]This special issue of Bioresource Technology results from RAMIRAN 02 (The 10th International Conference on Recycling of Agricultural,Municipal and Industrial Residues in Agriculture) that was held in Strbské Pleso, High Tatras (Slovak Republic) on May 14–18, 2002.Peer reviewe

Nitrogen transformations in calcareous soils amended with pig slurry under aerobic incubation

The mineralization and nitrification processes in pig slurry were investigated in Spain in 1990 in three calcareous soils, differing mainly in content and type of clay, two classified as Typic Calciorthids and one as a Xerollic Calciorthid. Two different amounts of slurry were mixed with the soils, one equivalent to 273 mg N/kg soil and the other equivalent to 546 mg N/kg soil. The mixtures of soil and slurry were aerobically incubated for 16 weeks at 28 °C. A mean initial immobilization of 22·19% of the total-N added was detected in soils treated with the lower rate of slurry. The amount of mineralized N after 112 days of incubation was between 36 and 47% of the total-N added with the lower slurry application to the three soils. The net amount of N mineralized throughout the experiment was therefore within the range 14–23% of the total-N added. The nitrification of the NH4-N added to the soil began after 7 days of incubation, and followed a first-order kinetic model. The mean values of potential nitrate formation were 61 and 51% of the total-N added in soils amended with 273 and 546 mg N as pig slurry per kg soil respectively. The rate constants were higher in the treatments with the lower slurry application (0·043–0·083 per day). Therefore, in these treatments, the nitrification process was faster and total nitrate levels were higher than in soils receiving double that amount of slurry. The NO3-N evolution was parallel to the total-N evolution from the 14th day of incubation onwards. The N-mineralization process was limited by the transformation of the organic-N into ammonium (ammonification).Peer reviewe

Fractionation of heavy metals and distribution of organic carbon in two contaminated soils amended with humic acids

10 pages, 3 figures, 5 tables.The effects of humic acids (HAs) extracted from two different organic materials on the distribution of heavy metals and on organic-C mineralisation in two contaminated soils were studied in incubation experiments. Humic acids isolated from a mature compost (HAC) and a commercial Spaghnum peat (HAP) were added to an acid soil (pH 3.4; 966 mg kg−1 Zn and 9229 mg kg−1 Pb as main contaminants) and to a calcareous soil (pH 7.7; 2602 mg kg−1 Zn and 1572 mg kg−1 Pb as main contaminants) at a rate of 1.1 g organic-C added per 100 g soil. The mineralisation of organic-C was determined by the CO2 released during the experiment. After 2, 8 and 28 weeks of incubation the heavy metals of the soils were fractionated by a sequential extraction procedure. After 28 weeks of incubation, the mineralisation of the organic-C added was rather low in the soils studied (<8% of TOC in the acid soil; <10% of TOC in the calcareous soil). Both humic acids caused significant Zn and Pb immobilisation (increased proportion of the residual fraction, extractable only with aqua regia) in the acid soil, while Cu and Fe were slightly mobilised (increased concentrations extractable with 0.1 M CaCl2 and/or 0.5 M NaOH). In the calcareous soil there were lesser effects, and at the end of the experiment only the fraction mainly related to carbonates (EDTA-extractable) was significantly increased for Zn and decreased for Fe in the humic acids treated samples. However, HA–metal interactions provoked the flocculation of these substances, as suggested by the association of the humic acids with the sand fraction of the soil. These results indicate that humic acid-rich materials can be useful amendments for soil remediation involving stabilisation, although a concomitant slight mobilisation of Zn, Pb and Cu can be provoked in acid soils.This work was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (REN2001-1113-C02-02) and by the Fundación Séneca of the Comunidad Autónoma de Murcia (ref: 00730/CV/99).Peer reviewe