Characteristcs chemical and soil salinization in the Irrigated District of California, SE, Brazil

O manejo inadequado da irrigação pode resultar no acúmulo de sais no solo, cuja intensidade depende da qualidade da água utilizada na irrigação, da fração de lixiviação adotada e da demanda evapotranspirativa da região. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os atributos físicos e químicos dos solos do perímetro irrigado Califórnia, localizado no extremo noroeste do Estado de Sergipe. Para tal, foram realizadas amostragens em 42 lotes, correspondendo a 16,4% dos lotes deste perímetro. As maiores concentrações de sais e de sódio ocorreram na camada superficial (0–0,2m) do solo, o que evidenciou a falta de um manejo da irrigação adequado visando ao controle da salinidade. O aumento do pH do solo foi correlacionado significativamente com a porcentagem de sódio trocável, atingindo valores acima de 9,5. Correlações positivas significativas foram observadas entre a condutividade elétrica e os teores de Ca e Mg, indicando que sais desses íons podem estar se acumulando no solo pela ascensão do lençol freático, associado à ausência de lixiviação e drenagem. _________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT: The improper irrigation management may result in the accumulation of salts in the soil profile, which intensity depends on the irrigation water quality, the leaching fraction adopted and on the evapotranspiration demand of the region. The objective of the present study was to study the physical and chemical characteristics of the soils in the irrigated district of California, located in the northwest of the State of Sergipe. Thus, soil sampling were made in 54 lots, corresponding to 16.4% of the lots of this district. The highest salt and sodium concentrations occurred in the shallowest soil layer (0–0.2m), evidencing the lack of an appropriate irrigation management in order to control the salinity build up. The increasing of the soil pH was significantly correlated to the exchangeable sodium percentage, reaching values over 9.5. Significant positive correlations were observed between the electrical conductivity and the Ca and Mg content, indicating that salts of both ions could be accumulating in soil by the capillary rise of the water table, associated to the lack of leaching and drainage

The genetics of the mood disorder spectrum:genome-wide association analyses of over 185,000 cases and 439,000 controls

Background Mood disorders (including major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder) affect 10-20% of the population. They range from brief, mild episodes to severe, incapacitating conditions that markedly impact lives. Despite their diagnostic distinction, multiple approaches have shown considerable sharing of risk factors across the mood disorders. Methods To clarify their shared molecular genetic basis, and to highlight disorder-specific associations, we meta-analysed data from the latest Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) genome-wide association studies of major depression (including data from 23andMe) and bipolar disorder, and an additional major depressive disorder cohort from UK Biobank (total: 185,285 cases, 439,741 controls; non-overlapping N = 609,424). Results Seventy-three loci reached genome-wide significance in the meta-analysis, including 15 that are novel for mood disorders. More genome-wide significant loci from the PGC analysis of major depression than bipolar disorder reached genome-wide significance. Genetic correlations revealed that type 2 bipolar disorder correlates strongly with recurrent and single episode major depressive disorder. Systems biology analyses highlight both similarities and differences between the mood disorders, particularly in the mouse brain cell-types implicated by the expression patterns of associated genes. The mood disorders also differ in their genetic correlation with educational attainment – positive in bipolar disorder but negative in major depressive disorder. Conclusions The mood disorders share several genetic associations, and can be combined effectively to increase variant discovery. However, we demonstrate several differences between these disorders. Analysing subtypes of major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder provides evidence for a genetic mood disorders spectrum

Chronic excitotoxic lesion of the dorsal raphe nucleus induces sodium appetite

We determined if the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) exerts tonic control of basal and stimulated sodium and water intake. Male Wistar rats weighing 300-350 g were microinjected with phosphate buffer (PB-DRN, N = 11) or 1 µg/0.2 µl, in a single dose, ibotenic acid (IBO-DRN, N = 9 to 10) through a guide cannula into the DRN and were observed for 21 days in order to measure basal sodium appetite and water intake and in the following situations: furosemide-induced sodium depletion (20 mg/kg, sc, 24 h before the experiment) and a low dose of dietary captopril (1 mg/g chow). From the 6th day after ibotenic acid injection IBO-DRN rats showed an increase in sodium appetite (12.0 ± 2.3 to 22.3 ± 4.6 ml 0.3 M NaCl intake) whereas PB-DRN did not exceed 2 ml (P < 0.001). Water intake was comparable in both groups. In addition to a higher dipsogenic response, sodium-depleted IBO-DRN animals displayed an increase of 0.3 M NaCl intake compared to PB-DRN (37.4 ± 3.8 vs 21.6 ± 3.9 ml 300 min after fluid offer, P < 0.001). Captopril added to chow caused an increase of 0.3 M NaCl intake during the first 2 days (IBO-DRN, 33.8 ± 4.3 and 32.5 ± 3.4 ml on day 1 and day 2, respectively, vs 20.2 ± 2.8 ml on day 0, P < 0.001). These data support the view that DRN, probably via ascending serotonergic system, tonically modulates sodium appetite under basal and sodium depletion conditions and/or after an increase in peripheral or brain angiotensin II