Critical range of soil organic carbon in southern Europe lands under desertification risk

Soil quality is fundamental for ecosystem long term functionality, productivity and resilience to current climatic changes. Despite its importance, soil is lost and degraded at dramatic rates worldwide. In Europe, the Mediterranean areas are a hotspot for soil erosion and land degradation due to a combination of climatic conditions, soils, geomorphology and anthropic pressure. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is considered a key indicator of soil quality as it relates to other fundamental soil functions supporting crucial ecosystem services. In the present study, the functional relationships among SOC and other important soil properties were investigated in the topsoil of 38 sites under different land cover and management, distributed over three Mediterranean regions under strong desertification risk, with the final aim to define critical SOC ranges for fast loss of important soil functionalities. The study sites belonged to private and public landowners seeking to adopt sustainable land management practices to support ecosystem sustainability and productivity of their land. Data showed a very clear relationship between SOC concentrations and the other analyzed soil properties: total nitrogen, bulk density, cation exchange capacity, available water capacity, microbial biomass, C fractions associated to particulate organic matter and to the mineral soil component and indirectly with net N mineralization. Below 20 g SOC kg−1, additional changes of SOC concentrations resulted in a steep variation of all the analyzed soil indicators, an order of magnitude higher than the changes occurring between 50 and 100 g SOC kg−1 and 3–4 times the changes observed at 20–50 g SOC kg−1. About half of the study sites showed average SOC concentration of the topsoil centimetres <20 g SOC kg−1. For these areas the level of SOC might hence be considered critical and immediate and effective recovery management plans are needed to avoid complete land degradation in the next future

Racial discrepancies in the association between paternal vs. maternal educational level and risk of low birthweight in Washington State

BACKGROUND: The role of paternal factors in determining the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes has received less attention than maternal factors. Similarly, the interaction between the effects of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on pregnancy outcomes is not well known. Our objective was to assess the relative importance of paternal vs. maternal education in relation to risk of low birth weight (LBW) across different racial groups. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study using Washington state birth certificate data from 1992 to 1996 (n = 264,789). We assessed the associations between maternal or paternal education and LBW, adjusting for demographic variables, health services factors, and maternal behavioral and obstetrical factors. RESULTS: Paternal educational level was independently associated with LBW after adjustment for race, maternal education, demographic characteristics, health services factors; and other maternal factors. We found an interaction between the race and maternal education on risk of LBW. In whites, maternal education was independently associated with LBW. However, in the remainder of the sample, maternal education had a minimal effect on LBW. CONCLUSIONS: The degree of association between maternal education and LBW delivery was different in whites than in members of other racial groups. Paternal education was associated with LBW in both whites and non-whites. Further studies are needed to understand why maternal education may impact pregnancy outcomes differently depending on race and why paternal education may play a more important role than maternal education in some racial categories

Coronary Artery By-Pass Grafting in Patient With Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (Case Report)

Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) is a clonal haematopoietic stem cell disease that presents with haemolytic anaemia, thrombosis and bone marrow failure. We report a case of a 51-year-old male with a history of PNH in treatment with Eculizumab admitted to our Hospital for acute chest pain and dyspnoea. The diagnosis was a triple vessel disease and patient was scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. To balance the risk between thrombosis and bleeding in this particular clinical setting, we decided to use thromboelastography (TEG) as point of care solution and we used the R parameter as the target of our anticoagulant therapy. The R parameter between 11 and 14 sec can be used as a target value to balance the risk; in addition, there was no evidence of acute hemolysis during the surgery and supplemental dose of Eculizumab was administered in order to minimize any potential exacerbation of intravascular hemolysis

Аортокоронарное шунтирование у пациента с пароксизмальной ночной гемоглобинурией (клиническое наблюдение)

Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) is a clonal haematopoietic stem cell disease that presents with haemolytic anaemia, thrombosis and bone marrow failure. We report a case of a 51-year-old male with a history of PNH in treatment with Eculizumab admitted to our Hospital for acute chest pain and dyspnoea. The diagnosis was a triple vessel disease and patient was scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. To balance the risk between thrombosis and bleeding in this particular clinical setting, we decided to use thromboelastography (TEG) as point of care solution and we used the R parameter as the target of our anticoagulant therapy. The R parameter between 11 and 14 sec can be used as a target value to balance the risk; in addition, there was no evidence of acute hemolysis during the surgery and supplemental dose of Eculizumab was administered in order to minimize any potential exacerbation of intravascular hemolysis.Пароксизмальная ночная гемоглобинурия (ПНГ) — клональное заболевание гемопоэтических стволовых клеток, которое проявляется гемолитической анемией, тромбозами и недостаточностью функции костного мозга. Пациент мужского пола 51 года с ПНГ в анамнезе, по поводу которой он получал лечение экулизумабом, поступил в больницу с жалобами на острую боль в грудной клетке и одышку. Поставили диагноз трехсосудистого поражения коронарного русла, по поводу чего запланировали проведение аортокоронарного шунтирования. Для того, чтобы избежать развития как тромбоза, так и кровотечения, в данном сложном клиническом случае, решили провести пациенту тромбоэластографическое исследование и использовать параметр R в качестве целевого при проведении антикоагулянтной терапии. При поддержании значений данного параметра в рамках 11-14 сек можно достичь оптимального баланса между риском тромбоза и кровотечения. Кроме того, во время оперативного вмешательства не наблюдали острого гемолиза, а для уменьшения риска развития внутрисосудистого гемолиза дополнительно назначили экулизумаб

Design and methodology of the screening for CKD among older patients across Europe (SCOPE) study: A multicenter cohort observational study

Background: Decline of renal function is common in older persons and the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is rising with ageing. CKD affects different outcomes relevant to older persons, additionally to morbidity and mortality which makes CKD a relevant health burden in this population. Still, accurate laboratory measurement of kidney function is under debate, since current creatinine-based equations have a certain degree of inaccuracy when used in the older population. The aims of the study are as follows: to assess kidney function in a cohort of 75+ older persons using existing methodologies for CKD screening; to investigate existing and innovative biomarkers of CKD in this cohort, and to align

Soil quality in a Mediterranean area of Southern Italy as related to different land use types

The impact of different land use types on soil quality was evaluated by measuring several soil properties that are sensitive to stress or disturbance and by using two synthetic approaches, i.e. a numerical quality index and multivariate analysis. A Minimum Data Set of soil indicators was selected including physical (texture, bulk density and water holding capacity), chemical (pH, cation exchange capacity, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, total and mineral nitrogen, available K, Ca, Mg, P contents and total Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn contents) and biological (microbial biomass, fungal mycelium, soil potential respiration and potentially mineralizable nitrogen) parameters. These parameters were assayed on soil samples collected with seasonal frequency (except for physical parameters, determined only in autumn) in an area of Southern Italy under different land use types (i.e. permanent crops, grazing lands, shrublands, coniferous and mixed forests). Moreover, for most of the land use types, a further distinction on the basis of topographic position (hill, middle-hill and plain) was carried out. Annual means of the data (except for texture) were used to calculate a soil quality index (SQI) and elaborated by multivariate analyses (Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis, PCA) in order to distinguish among different soil quality classes. Data indicated a clear difference in soil quality among the studied areas: low soil quality (SQI 0.70) in mixed forests. Results suggested that the permanent crop management had generally a strong negative impact on soil quality, while the moderate grazing activity and the crop management that leaves an herb cover on the soil had a lower negative impact. Nevertheless, the abandonment of cultivated lands, with consequent development of shrublands, produced an improvement of soil quality suggesting a good recovery capacity in the studied soil. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Soil microbial metabolism and nutrient status in a Mediterranean area as affected by plant cover

The Mediterranean area of Southern Italy is characterized by different natural plant covers that mainly reflect different successional stages (i.e. low maquis, high maquis, Quercus ilex wood) and managed areas with introduced plant species (such as Pinus species). Soil properties could be affected by plant cover types as well as by plant species. Our objective was to determine the relationships of plant cover types and plant species with the chemical and biological characteristics of the soil. In four neighbouring areas with different plant cover types (low maquis, pure high maquis, high maquis with pines and pinewood, with pines planted by foresters in both cases), soil samples were collected under different plant species in order to evaluate the effect of plant cover types and plant species on soil properties. Soil samples were analyzed for nutrient content, microbial biomass, soil potential respiration and enzymatic activity (phosphatase, arylsulphatase, β-glucosidase and hydrolase activities) as well as for pH, water holding capacity (WHC) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Application of cluster analysis and principal component analysis to the data revealed that the plant cover type was the key factor influencing soil properties more than plant species. In fact, the largest differences were observed between pure high maquis soils and all other soils, with pure high maquis soils generally showing the highest values of WHC, CEC, nutrient content, organic and microbial C, soil respiration, phosphatase, arylsulphatase and β-glucosidase activities. The significantly lower values of these variables in the low maquis relative to the pure high maquis probably reflect the effect of ecological succession on soil. The high maquis with pine, differing from the pure high maquis only for the presence or absence of pine, showed values of soil physical, chemical and biological characteristics similar to those found in the low maquis, thus suggesting that the presence of pine retards soil development. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Soil microbial community as affected by heavy metal pollution in a mediterranean area of southern Italy

The relationship between pollution by heavy metals and soil microbial community was investigated in an area of Southern Italy mainly used for agriculture but also affected by industrial and extractive activities as well as vehicular traffic. Soil samples were seasonally collected in permanent crop fields (i.e. citrus and peach orchards, olive groves and vineyard) and uncultivated areas (coniferous and mixed forests, shrublands, grazing lands). Soil samples were analysed for chemical (water content, pH, cation exchange capacity, organic C, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd contents) and biological properties (microbial biomass, fungal mycelium, soil respiration, potentially mineralizable nitrogen, metabolic quotient and carbon mineralization rate). The results showed that heavy metal contents in the studied soils generally fell within the limit values after Italian law, with the exception of soil from vineyard that generally exceeded the limit value for Cu, probably because of the large use of copper-containing fungicides. The soil Pb content was always above the values reported for typical unpolluted soils and sometimes the same was also observed for Cd and Cu. The data suggest that Cr, Cu and Zn mainly derive from agricultural activity, whereas Pb and Cd were mainly introduced by cement industry associated with extractive activity. The soil microbial community was negatively affected by increased Cr, Cu and Zn contents, but not by Pb and Cd. Among the heavy metals considered, Cr and Zn had the highest negative effect on soil microbial community. © by PSP