Agronomic and greenhouse gas assessment of land applied anaerobically digested swine manure

Non-Peer ReviewedManagement of animal wastes from intensive livestock operations (ILO) must be economically feasible, environmentally friendly and socially acceptable. Anaerobic digestion is a promising technology that could provide an option for managing animal waste that may reduce greenhouse gas emissions by utilizing the biogas produced during digestion to displace fossil-fuels and by reducing emissions during lagoon storage. A three-year study was conducted at two locations, Swift Current and Melfort, to compare the agronomic performance and gaseous N loss of land-applied anaerobically digested swine manure (ADSM) to conventionally treated swine manure (CTSM). Treatments included spring and fall applications of CTSM and ADSM at a 1x rate (10,000 and 7,150 L ha-1 respectively) applied each year, and a 3x rate (30,000 and 21,450 L ha-1 respectively) applied once at the beginning of the study. A treatment receiving commercial fertilizer (UAN) and a check (no N) were also included. Nitrogen use efficiency for single applications of ADSM or CTSM at the 3x rate were lower than three annual applications at the 1x rate, while UAN was intermediate. Nitrogen use efficiency of ADSM and CTSM applied in the fall was equal to spring when applied at 1x rate and, in general, agronomic performance of ADSM was similar or better than CTSM. Ammonia loss from ADSM was similar to CTSM, except for CTSM at the 3x rate applied in the fall at Melfort and in the spring at Swift Current, which had significantly higher losses than all other treatments. The percentage of applied N lost as N2O measured at the Melfort site was generally higher for treatments receiving CTSM compared to ADSM or UAN, and losses from ADSM and UAN were similar. The results from this study suggest that ADSM is equal or better than CTSM in terms of agronomic performance, but has lower environmental impact with respect to gaseous N loss

Influence of tillage, crop residue, controlled-release N fertilizer, and liquid swine manure management on greenhouse gas emissions in Saskatchewan, Canada

Non-Peer Reviewe

Cationic double K-hole pre-edge states of CS2 and SF6

Recent advances in X-ray instrumentation have made it possible to measure the spectra of an essentially unexplored class of electronic states associated with double inner-shell vacancies. Using the technique of single electron spectroscopy, spectra of states in CS2 and SF6 with a double hole in the K-shell and one electron exited to a normally unoccupied orbital have been obtained. The spectra are interpreted with the aid of a high-level theoretical model giving excellent agreement with the experiment. The results shed new light on the important distinction between direct and conjugate shake-up in a molecular context. In particular, systematic similarities and differences between pre-edge states near single core holes investigated in X-ray absorption spectra and the corresponding states near double core holes studied here are brought out

Prevalence of post-traumatic neuropathic pain after digital nerve repair and finger amputation

Introduction: Post-traumatic neuropathic pain is a major factor affecting the quality of life after finger trauma and is reported with considerable variance in the literature. This can partially be attributed to the different methods of determining neuropathic pain. The Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) has been validated to be a reliable and non-invasive tool to assess the presence of neuropathic pain. This study investigated the prevalence of neuropathic pain after finger amputation or digital nerve repair using the DN4 questionnaire. Methods: Patients with finger amputation or digital nerve repair were identified between 2011 and 2018 at our institution. After a minimal follow-up of 12 months, the short form DN4 (S-DN4) was used to assess neuropathic pain. Results: A total of 120 patients were included: 50 patients with 91 digital amputations and 70 patients with 87 fingers with digital nerve repair. In the amputation group, 32% of the patients had pain, and 18% had neuropathic pain. In the digital nerve repair group, 38% of the patients had pain, and 14% had neuropathic pain. Secondly, of patient-, trauma-, and treatment-specific factors, only the time between trauma and surgery had a significant negative influence on the prevalence of neuropathic pain in patients with digital nerve repair. Conclusion: This study shows that persistent pain and neuropathic pain are common after finger trauma with nerve damage. One of the significant prognostic factors in developing neuropathic pain is treatment delay between trauma and time of digital nerve repair, which is of major clinical relevance for surgical planning of these injuries.</p

Trematodes de algunos ofidios del nordeste argentino

Se presentan hallazgos de Trematodes en algunos ofidios provenientes de necropsias en 50 ejemplares de diferentes géneros y especies de ofidios capturados en las provincias de Corrientes, Misiones y Chaco y enviados al Servicio de Identificación de Animales Ponzoñosos y No Ponzoñosos anexo a la Cátedra de Zoología y Recursos Faunicos, de la Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias-UNNE. Una vez extraidos los trematodes. se fijaron en solución Raillet-Henry y se colorearon con la técnica del carmín clorhídrico acético para su clasificación. Se identificaron 7 especies de trematodes ya descriptos (Travtrema stenocotyle; Telorchis clava; Glossidiella ornata; Microderma luhei; Opisthogonimus lecithonothus e Infidum infidum) y nuevos hospedadores (Hydrodynastes gigas; Bothrops jararaca; Bothrops moojeni; Thammodynastes strigatus y Bothrops neuwedii diporus). siendo los lugares más afectados los del aparato digestivo, especialmente la boca e intestino grueso.Asociación Herpetológica Argentin

Trematodes de algunos ofidios del nordeste argentino

Se presentan hallazgos de Trematodes en algunos ofidios provenientes de necropsias en 50 ejemplares de diferentes géneros y especies de ofidios capturados en las provincias de Corrientes, Misiones y Chaco y enviados al Servicio de Identificación de Animales Ponzoñosos y No Ponzoñosos anexo a la Cátedra de Zoología y Recursos Faunicos, de la Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias-UNNE. Una vez extraidos los trematodes. se fijaron en solución Raillet-Henry y se colorearon con la técnica del carmín clorhídrico acético para su clasificación. Se identificaron 7 especies de trematodes ya descriptos (Travtrema stenocotyle; Telorchis clava; Glossidiella ornata; Microderma luhei; Opisthogonimus lecithonothus e Infidum infidum) y nuevos hospedadores (Hydrodynastes gigas; Bothrops jararaca; Bothrops moojeni; Thammodynastes strigatus y Bothrops neuwedii diporus). siendo los lugares más afectados los del aparato digestivo, especialmente la boca e intestino grueso.Asociación Herpetológica Argentin

No effect of anodal tDCS on motor cortical excitability and no evidence for responders in a large double-blind placebo-controlled trial

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has emerged as a non-invasive brain stimulation technique. Most studies show that anodal tDCS increases cortical excitability. However, this effect has been found to be highly variable. Objective: To test the effect of anodal tDCS on cortical excitability and the interaction effect of two participant-specific factors that may explain individual differences in sensitivity to anodal tDCS: the Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor Val66Met polymorphism (BDNF genotype) and the latency difference between anterior-posterior and lateromedial TMS pulses (APLM latency). Methods: In 62 healthy participants, cortical excitability over the left motor cortex was measured before and after anodal tDCS at 2 mA for 20 min in a pre-registered, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with repeated measures. Results: We did not find a main effect of anodal tDCS, nor an interaction effect of the participant-specific predictors. Moreover, further analyses did not provide evidence for the existence of responders and non-responders. Conclusion: This study indicates that anodal tDCS at 2 mA for 20 min may not reliably affect cortical excitability

Response to Conservative Treatment for Thumb Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis Is Associated With Conversion to Surgery: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background. The current guidelines for treatment of carpometacarpal osteoarthritis recommend starting with conservative treatment before a surgical procedure is considered. Objective. The objective was to investigate how response to conservative treatment, in terms of pain and hand function, influences the hazard that patients convert to surgical treatment. Design. This was a multicenter, prospective cohort study. Methods. Participants comprised 701 patients who received 3 months of hand therapy and an orthosis. Pain and function were measured with the Michigan Hand Questionnaire (MHQ) at baseline and at 6 weeks and 3 months follow-up. Conversion to surgical treatment was recorded from clinical records. Joint modeling (a statistical method of combining prediction models) was used to perform the analysis and to calculate hazard ratios (HRs). Results. The joint analytical model showed that both MHQ pain score at a certain point (HR = 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.92–0.94) and change in MHQ pain score (HR = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.06–1.09) during conservative treatment was significantly associated with conversion to surgical treatment. The joint analytical model between functional outcome and conversion to surgical treatment showed only a significant association between MHQ function at a certain point (HR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.95–0.99), and no significant association between the change in MHQ score for function (HR = 1.0; 95% CI = 1.0–1.0) and conversion to surgical treatment. Limitations. Missing data might have resulted in biased estimates. Conclusions. Self-reported pain and function, as well as change in self-reported pain during treatment, were associated with the hazard of conversion to surgical treatment, whereas change in self-reported functioning was not associated with conversion. Because a reduction in pain during conservative treatment appears to decrease the rate of conversion to surgical treatment, it is advised to structurally monitor pain levels during treatment