EFFECTS OF SURFACTANT AND AMELIORANT ON EFECTIVENESS OF P FERTILIZER ON HYDROPHOBIC PEAT FROM CENTRAL KALIMANTAN

Abstract In its natural state, peat is hydrophilic and able to absorb large quantities of water. On exposure to the sun, peat becomes slightly like coffee grotlnds,and is showing hydrophobicproperties. which is difficult to re-wet It has unattractive physical and chemical properties and become slightly susceptible to erosion. In addition, peat has been known to have low P availabilityand Pretension capacity Peat soils occupy a vast area in Indonesia which is approximately account for half of the world\u27s tropicalpeat Further, in some areas, the peat indicated hydrophobic in nature may be due to the unproper management e.g. slash and burning, exessive drainage. Problems related to hydrophobic properties of peat may be partially solved by applying surfactant and soil ameliorant, however very few research have been conducted in Indonesia on this topic. The aim of this research is to study the influence of three kinds of surfactants (nonionic, anionic and cationic) and three ameliorants (lime, manure and fertilizers) to increase the Pretention and to restore hydrophilicityof peat A randomized design with four factors was replicated three times in a greenhouse experiment at the GadjahMada University, Yogyakarta. The first factor was\u27the kind of peat (degraded and non-degraded peat). The second factor was the kind of surfactant Three surfactants were usee/.,i.e. anionic surfactants (laurel sulphate), nonionic surfactant (tween 80) and cationic surfactants (detergent solution). The third factor was the addition of ameliorants which were added to the pots of non-degraded peat and to the pots of degraded peat with and without surfactants. The fourth factor was phosphate addition which was added to the pots of non-degraded peat and to the pots of degraded peat with and without surfactants. The results showed that hydrophobic peat is more acidic, has a lower CEC,higher total acidity and a greater number of carboxyl and phenolic-OH groups than hydrophilic peat Addition of surfactants and ameliorant significantly increased availabilityand effectiveness of P fertilizer on restored peat. There was a significant and positive effect of the rates of P applicationand types of surfactants on effectiveness of P fertilizer. Keywords: hydrophobic peat, surfactants, ameliorants, phosphate retention, P fertilizer effectivenes

A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production

Human land use threatens global biodiversity and compromises multiple ecosystem functions critical to food production. Whether crop yield-related ecosystem services can be maintained by a few dominant species or rely on high richness remains unclear. Using a global database from 89 studies (with 1475 locations), we partition the relative importance of species richness, abundance, and dominance for pollination; biological pest control; and final yields in the context of ongoing land-use change. Pollinator and enemy richness directly supported ecosystem services in addition to and independent of abundance and dominance. Up to 50% of the negative effects of landscape simplification on ecosystem services was due to richness losses of service-providing organisms, with negative consequences for crop yields. Maintaining the biodiversity of ecosystem service providers is therefore vital to sustain the flow of key agroecosystem benefits to society. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).

Does living by the coast improve health and wellbeing?

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Health and Place. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Health and Place,vol. 18 (5)(2012) DOI:0.1016/j.healthplace.2012.06.015It is often assumed that spending time by the coast leads to better health and wellbeing, but there is strikingly little evidence regarding specific effects or mechanisms to support such a view. We analysed small-area census data for the population of England, which indicate that good health is more prevalent the closer one lives to the coast. We also found that, consistent with similar analyses of greenspace accessibility, the positive effects of coastal proximity may be greater amongst more socio-economically deprived communities. We hypothesise that these effects may be due to opportunities for stress reduction and increased physical activity

Energy expenditure on recreational visits to different natural environments.

Physical inactivity poses a significant challenge to physical and mental health. Environmental approaches to tackle physical inactivity have identified natural environments as potentially important public health resources. Despite this, little is known about characteristics of the activity involved when individuals visit different types of natural environment. Using Natural England's Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment Survey, we examined 71,603 English respondents' recreational visits to natural environments in the past week. Specifically, we examined the intensity of the activities they undertook on the visits (METs), the duration of their visit, and the associated total energy expenditure (MET minutes). Visits to countryside and urban greenspace environments were associated with more intense activities than visits to coastal environments. However, visits to coastal environments were associated with the most energy expenditure overall due to their relatively long duration. Results differed by the urbanity or rurality of the respondent's residence and also how far respondents travelled to their destination. Knowledge of what types of natural environment afford the highest volumes and intensities of physical activity could inform landscape architecture and exercise prescriptions. Isolating activity-supporting characteristics of natural environments that can be translated into urban design is important in providing physical activity opportunities for those less able to access expansive environments

A post-mortem survey on end-of-life decisions using a representative sample of death certificates in Flanders, Belgium: research protocol

Background: Reliable studies of the incidence and characteristics of medical end-of-life decisions with a certain or possible life shortening effect (ELDs) are indispensable for an evidence-based medical and societal debate on this issue. This article presents the protocol drafted for the 2007 ELD Study in Flanders, Belgium, and outlines how the main aims and challenges of the study (i.e. making reliable incidence estimates of end-of-life decisions, even rare ones, and describing their characteristics; allowing comparability with past ELD studies; guaranteeing strict anonymity given the sensitive nature of the research topic; and attaining a sufficient response rate) are addressed in a post-mortem survey using a representative sample of death certificates. Study design: Reliable incidence estimates are achievable by using large at random samples of death certificates of deceased persons in Flanders (aged one year or older). This entails the cooperation of the appropriate administrative authorities. To further ensure the reliability of the estimates and descriptions, especially of less prevalent end-of-life decisions (e.g. euthanasia), a stratified sample is drawn. A questionnaire is sent out to the certifying physician of each death sampled. The questionnaire, tested thoroughly and avoiding emotionally charged terms is based largely on questions that have been validated in previous national and European ELD studies. Anonymity of both patient and physician is guaranteed through a rigorous procedure, involving a lawyer as intermediary between responding physicians and researchers. To increase response we follow the Total Design Method (TDM) with a maximum of three follow-up mailings. Also, a non-response survey is conducted to gain insight into the reasons for lack of response. Discussion: The protocol of the 2007 ELD Study in Flanders, Belgium, is appropriate for achieving the objectives of the study; as past studies in Belgium, the Netherlands, and other European countries have shown, strictly anonymous and thorough surveys among physicians using a large, stratified, and representative death certificate sample are most suitable in nationwide studies of incidence and characteristics of end-of-life decisions. There are however also some limitations to the study design

Single-spin Azimuthal Asymmetries in Electroproduction of Neutral Pions in Semi-inclusive Deep-inelastic Scattering

A single-spin asymmetry in the azimuthal distribution of neutral pions relative to the lepton scattering plane has been measured for the first time in deep-inelastic scattering of positrons off longitudinally polarized protons. The analysing power in the sin(phi) moment of the cross section is 0.019 +/- 0.007(stat.) +/- 0.003(syst.). This result is compared to single-spin asymmetries for charged pion production measured in the same kinematic range. The pi^0 asymmetry is of the same size as the pi^+ asymmetry and shows a similar dependence on the relevant kinematic variables. The asymmetry is described by a phenomenological calculation based on a fragmentation function that represents sensitivity to the transverse polarization of the struck quark.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, replaced to correct eprint author field, 2nd replacement to correct figure; upper limit of model predictions are corrected. No correction to data or conclusion

Parenthood and factors that influence outdoor recreational physical activity from a gender perspective

Background: A physically active life promotes both physical and mental health, increasing well-being and quality of life. Physical activity (PA) performed outdoors has been found to be particularly good for promoting well-being. However, participation in PA can change during the course of a lifetime. Parenthood has been found to be a life event associated with decreased PA, especially among women, although studies in the field are sparse. The aim of this study was to investigate participation in outdoor recreational PA, and factors influencing participation among parents-to-be, with and without previous children, from a gender perspective. Methods: This study included baseline data from parents-to-be, 224 women and 208 men, from the municipality of Karlskrona in south-east Sweden. Data collection was carried out during 2008-2009. We measured the self-reported amount of outdoor recreational PA undertaken during the last year and analysed the probability of participating in this PA using 25 variables covering individual and socioeconomic factors. Results: Seventy-six per cent of the women and 65% of the men had participated in outdoor recreational PA, varying from several times per month to every day, over a 12-month period prior to one month before pregnancy. Participation in PA indoors and owning a dog or a horse emerged as the most important factors associated with the probability of participation in outdoor recreational PA. Men were affected by a greater number of factors than women, for example men who had a family situation that permitted outdoor recreational PA participated in activities to a greater extent than men without such a family situation. The physical aspect, i.e. improved physical condition, staying power and vigour, also played a significant role with regard to participation among men. Conclusions: Becoming a parent is a life-changing event that affects participation in PA. By offering family-oriented PA choices that involve both parents and children, midwives and health promoters can encourage parents to be active and to support each other. The promotion of outdoor recreational PA, which also has restorative effects on well-being, needs to focus on activities which are attractive and affordable for the majority of both women and men

Physical activity as a possible mechanism behind the relationship between green space and health: A multilevel analysis

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether physical activity (in general, and more specifically, walking and cycling during leisure time and for commuting purposes, sports and gardening) is an underlying mechanism in the relationship between the amount of green space in people's direct living environment and self-perceived health. To study this, we first investigated whether the amount of green space in the living environment is related to the level of physical activity. When an association between green space and physical activity was found, we analysed whether this could explain the relationship between green space and health. Methods: The study includes 4.899 Dutch people who were interviewed about physical activity, self-perceived health and demographic and socioeconomic background. The amount of green space within a one-kilometre and a three-kilometre radius around the postal code coordinates was calculated for each individual. Multivariate multilevel analyses and multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed at two levels and with controls for socio-demographic characteristics and urbanicity. Results: No relationship was found between the amount of green space in the living environment and whether or not people meet the Dutch public health recommendations for physical activity, sports and walking for commuting purposes. People with more green space in their living environment walked and cycled less often and fewer minutes during leisure time; people with more green space garden more often and spend more time on gardening. Furthermore, if people cycle for commuting purposes they spend more time on this if they live in a greener living environment. Whether or not people garden, the time spent on gardening and time spent on cycling for commuting purposes did not explain the relationship between green space and health. Conclusion: Our study indicates that the amount of green space in the living environment is scarcely related to the level of physical activity. Furthermore, the amount of physical activity undertaken in greener living environments does not explain the relationship between green space and health.

The Relationship Between Therapist Effects and Therapy Delivery Factors: Therapy Modality, Dosage, and Non-completion.

To consider the relationships between, therapist variability, therapy modality, therapeutic dose and therapy ending type and assess their effects on the variability of patient outcomes. Multilevel modeling was used to analyse a large sample of routinely collected data. Model residuals identified more and less effective therapists, controlling for case-mix. After controlling for case mix, 5.8 % of the variance in outcome was due to therapists. More sessions generally improved outcomes, by about half a point on the PHQ-9 for each additional session, while non-completion of therapy reduced the amount of pre-post change by six points. Therapy modality had little effect on outcome. Patient and service outcomes may be improved by greater focus on the variability between therapists and in keeping patients in therapy to completion

Biodiversity, cultural pathways, and human health: a framework.

This is a freely-available open access publication. Please cite the published version which is available via the DOI link in this record.Direct contact with biodiversity is culturally important in a range of contexts. Many people even join conservation organisations to protect biodiversity that they will never encounter first-hand. Despite this, we have little idea how biodiversity affects people's well-being and health through these cultural pathways. Human health is sensitive to apparently trivial psychological stimuli, negatively affected by the risk of environmental degradation, and positively affected by contact with natural spaces. This suggests that well-being and health should be affected by biodiversity change, but few studies have begun to explore these relationships. Here, we develop a framework for linking biodiversity change with human cultural values, well-being, and health. We argue that better understanding these relations might be profoundly important for biodiversity conservation and public health.Natural Environment Research CouncilEuropean Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013European Social Fund Convergence Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly