Maize nitrogen use efficiency is affected by pig slurry composting and anaerobic digestion.

ABSTRACT: We assessed the nitrogen use efficiency of maize amended with mineral and organic N sources in a Nitisol from Southern Brazil under contrasting soil tillage systems: conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT). The tested N sources were: 140 kg N ha-1 (total N input) either as mineral fertilizer (urea; MIN), pig slurry (PS), anaerobically digested pig slurry (ADS) and composted pig slurry (CS), besides a control without fertilization (CTR). The N-based application of PS and ADS supplied less than 74% of the maize requirements for P2O5 (115 kg ha-1 ), while CS exceeded P2O5 demand by up to 109%. PS and ADS promoted maize N uptake, biomass production and grain yield similar or higher than maize receiving mineral fertilizer (urea). However, CS promoted significantly lower N agronomic efficiency (AEN) and recovery efficiency (REN) than other fertilizers. CS should be primarily used as a source of P and K or as an amendment to recover SOM stocks in degraded soils

Soil organic carbon pools as affected by tillage systems and organic nitrogen sources.

ABSTRACT: We assessed the impact of organic N sources on total organic carbon (TOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) pools in a Nitisol from Southern Brazil under contrasting soil tillage systems. The tillage systems were conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT). The tested N sources were: 140 kg N ha-1 (total N input) either as mineral fertilizer (urea; MIN), pig slurry (PS), anaerobically digested pig slurry (ADS) and composted pig slurry (CS), besides a control without fertilization (CTR). TOC stocks decreased by 1.0 and 5.1 Mg C ha-1 after two years of CT in both 0-5 and 0-30 cm soil layers, respectively. NT increased TOC stocks by 2.3 Mg C ha-1 at the soil surface and decrease by 1.7 Mg C ha-1 at the 0-30 cm soil layer. NT had higher POC and MAOC stocks than the CT soil. POC was a more sensitive pool than MAOC in response to soil tillage and fertilization practices. Long-term and continuous assessment of SOC pools is needed for evaluation of the impact of organic N sources for C sequestration in NT soil

The social determinants of polymorphous prejudice against lesbian and gay individuals: the case of Portugal

In the present article, we analyze polymorphous prejudice against lesbians and gays according to a sample of Portuguese heterosexual individuals. We tested the differential importance of demographic-, ideological-, and psychological-level variables to predicting this phenomenon. Our results show that male, Catholic, right-wing respondents with fewer lesbian and gay (LG) friends prove the group exhibiting the highest levels of polymorphous prejudice. Furthermore, the introduction of psychological-level variables into the regression models increased the explained variance in polymorphous prejudice, above and beyond the remaining predictors. Additionally, we report different patterns of results when deploying regression analyses at the level of the sub-scales of polymorphous prejudice. We discuss our results within the light of contemporary sexual prejudice frameworks before reviewing the utility of results to interventions targeting discriminated LG individuals.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Prevention and Treatment of Sarcopenic Obesity in Women

Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is referred to as the combination of obesity with low skeletal muscle mass and function. However, its definition and diagnosis is debated. SO represents a sizable risk factor for the development of disability, possibly with a worse prognosis in women. The present narrative review summarizes the current evidence on pharmacological, nutrition and exercise strategies on the prevention and/or treatment of SO in middle-aged and older-aged women. A literature search was carried out in Medline and Google Scholar between 29th January and 14th March 2019. Only controlled intervention studies on mid-age and older women whose focus was on the prevention and/or treatment of sarcopenia associated with obesity were included. Resistance training (RT) appears effective in the prevention of all components of SO in women, resulting in significant improvements in muscular mass, strength, and functional capacity plus loss of fat mass, especially when coupled with hypocaloric diets containing at least 0.8 g/kg body weight protein. Correction of vitamin D deficit has a favorable effect on muscle mass. Treatment of SO already established is yet unsatisfactory, although intense and prolonged RT, diets with higher (1.2 g/kg body weight) protein content, and soy isoflavones all look promising. However, further confirmatory research and trials combining different approaches are required