Barriers and opportunities of soil knowledge to address soil challenges: Stakeholders? perspectives across Europe

Climate-smart sustainable management of agricultural soil is critical to improve soil health, enhance food and water security, contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity preservation, and improve human health and wellbeing. The European Joint Programme for Soil (EJP SOIL) started in 2020 with the aim to significantly improve soil management knowledge and create a sustainable and integrated European soil research system. EJP SOIL involves more than 350 scientists across 24 Countries and has been addressing multiple aspects associated with soil management across different European agroecosystems. This study summarizes the key findings of stakeholder consultations conducted at the national level across 20 countries with the aim to identify important barriers and challenges currently affecting soil knowledge but also assess opportunities to overcome these obstacles. Our findings demonstrate that there is significant room for improvement in terms of knowledge production, dissemination and adoption. Among the most important barriers identified by consulted stakeholders are technical, political, social and economic obstacles, which strongly limit the development and full exploitation of the outcomes of soil research. The main soil challenge across consulted member states remains to improve soil organic matter and peat soil conservation while soil water storage capacity is a key challenge in Southern Europe. Findings from this study clearly suggest that going forward climate-smart sustainable soil management will benefit from (1) increases in research funding, (2) the maintenance and valorisation of long-term (field) ex-periments, (3) the creation of knowledge sharing networks and interlinked national and European in-frastructures, and (4) the development of regionally-tailored soil management strategies. All the above -mentioned interventions can contribute to the creation of healthy, resilient and sustainable soil ecosystems across Europe

FERTILISATION STRATEGIES ACROSS EUROPE: CURRENT SITUATION, POTENTIAL AND LIMITS FOR A HARMONISED APPROACH

Peer reviewe

Effect of operating parameters on synthesis of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) particles in near- and super-critical water

WOS: 000405879400013Hydrothermal synthesis of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) particles in near- and super-critical water was investigated in a batch reactor system. The phase identification and morphology of synthesized LiFePO4 particles were performed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The effect of operating parameters including temperature (400-450 degrees C), pressure (200, 275 and 350 bar) and reaction time (10 and 60 min) were examined on particle size, size distribution, purity, crystalline structure, morphology, and electrochemical performance of the synthesized LiFePO4 in the presence of sodium sulphite (Na2SO3) as reducing agent. Highly crystalline LiFePO4 particles were synthesized at near-critical conditions (400 degrees C, 200 bar and 60 min) with initial discharge capacity of 87 mA h g(-1) at 0.1 C-rate.Ege University, National Research Project Grants-BAP [14MUH041]I gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by Ege University, National Research Project Grants-BAP (Project No: 14MUH041). Thanks go to Mr. Gursel Serin for the mechanical work during the hydrothermal studies. I acknowledge Erciyes Technology Transfer Office - ETTO (Kayseri/Turkey) for electrochemical performance tests and IYTE-MAM (Izmir/Turkey) for SEM-EDX and XRD analysis

ANTINOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF PROPOFOL ON SOMATIC AND VISCERAL PAIN IN SUBHYPNOTIC DOSES

In this study we examined the effect of propofol on somatic and visceral pain in mice. A thermal method (tail immersion) and a chemical method (acetic-acid-induced writhing) were used to determine the antinociceptive effect of propofol. First we determined the dose-response relationships of propofol with a preliminary study. Then propofol was administered according to the results of the preliminary experiment. We used the subhypnotic and nonsedative doses of propofol in the experiments. This dose was lower than 10 mg/kg for mice according to our findings, and ED50 sedation for propofol was 33 mg/kg. Propofol retarded tail withdrawal latencies and decreased writhing numbers of mice in a dose-dependent manner in dosages of 10 and 5 mg/kg (P 0.05). These results suggest that propofol has an antinociceptive effect on visceral as well as on somatic pain when given in subhypnotic doses

Sedation for outpatient endometrial biopsy: Comparison of remifentanil-propofol and Alfentanil-propofol

The purpose of the study was to compare the clinical activity of remifentanil or alfentanil. under propofol sedation with regard to respiratory rate, sedation and recovery rate when used for outpatient endometrial. biopsy. Patients were randomized to receive intravenously either bolus remifentanil 0.4 mug/kg and propofol 1 mg/kg in the remifentanil group (n = 30), or bolus alfentanil 20 mug/kg and propofol 1 mg/kg in the alfentanil group (n = 30). Patients were monitored for heart rate, systolic and diastolic arterial pressure, peripheral O-2 saturation (SpO(2)), respiration rate, and Aldrete sedation score. Pulse oximetry was used to monitor heart rate and SpO(2) during endometrial biopsy. Apnoea was observed in five patients from the remifentanil group, and in three patients from the alfentanil group. The groups did not differ with regard to apnoea incidences. Times were recorded for orientation and Aldrete score > 8, and were similar between the two groups (13.20 +/- 3.64 min and 14.0 +/- 3.87 min in the remifentanil. group, 14.7 +/- 3.64 min and 15.9 +/- 3.15 min in the alfentanil group, respectively). The sedative and analgesic combination of remifentanil-propofol does not offer any advantages compared with a combination of alfentanil-propofol with regards to respiration and recovery during sedation for outpatient endometrial biopsy

Expectations of Intensive Care Unit Nurses in Turkey

Objective: This study was conducted as a descriptive study to investigate the problems and expectations of intensive care unit nurses in Turkey

Early recovery properties of sevoflurane and desflurane in patients undergoing total hip replacement surgery

Background. The pharmacokinetic properties of sevoflurane and desflurane differ from those of other volatile anesthetics. For example, both agents allow more rapid emergence than traditional volatile anesthetics. However, few direct comparisons of the 2 agents have been made

Efficacy of different doses of lidocaine in the prevention of pain due to propofol injection: A randomized, open-label trial in 120 patients

Background. The incidence of pain due to propofol injection is high, but the most efficacious method of preventing this pain has not been identified

A Comparison of 1 Minimum Alveolar Concentration Desflurane and 1 Minimum Alveolar Concentration Isoflurane Anesthesia in Patients Undergoing Craniotomy for Supratentorial Lesions

AbstractBackgroundA critical point in craniotomy is during opening of the dura and the subsequent potential for cerebral edema. Use of desflurane in neurosurgery may be beneficial because it facilitates early postoperative neurologic evaluation; however, data on the effect of desflurane on intracranial pressure in humans are limited. Isoflurane has been used extensively in neurosurgical patients.ObjectiveThis study compared 1 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) desflurane with 1 MAC isoflurane in facilitating hemodynamic stability, brain relaxation, and postoperative recovery characteristics in patients who underwent craniotomy for supratentorial lesions.MethodsA total of 70 patients (aged 18–65 years), with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) 1 or 2 physical status, who underwent craniotomy for supratentorial lesions, were enrolled in the study. For induction of anesthesia, fentanyl (2 μg/kg IV) and propofol (2 mg/kg IV) were administered. Endotracheal intubation was performed after administration of vecuronium (0.1 mg/kg IV) for total muscle relaxation. Before insertion of the skull pins, additional fentanyl (2 μg/kg IV) was administered. Patients were randomly allocated to 1 of 2 anesthetic regimens. For maintenance of anesthesia, 35 patients received 1 MAC of desflurane (group 1) and 35 patients received 1 MAC of isoflurane (group 2) within 50% oxygen in nitrous oxide. Intraoperatively, heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured and recorded before induction and 1 minute after induction, after endotracheal intubation, before skull pin insertion and 1 minute after skull pin insertion, before incision and 1 minute after incision, and before extubation and 1 minute after extubation. Also, HR and MAP were recorded at 30-minute intervals. Postoperatively, extubation time, eye opening time to verbal stimuli, orientation time, and time to reach an Aldrete postanesthetic recovery score of ≥8 were recorded. In addition, opioid consumption was calculated and recorded. Brain relaxation was evaluated according to a 4-step brain relaxation scoring scale. All outcomes of the study were assessed and recorded by an anesthesiologist blinded to the volatile anesthetic gases studied.ResultsNo significant difference in HR was observed between the 2 groups. Intraoperative MAP values in group 1 were higher than in group 2 (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found between these groups in brain relaxation and opioid consumption. Extubation time, eye opening time to verbal stimuli, and time to reach an Aldrete score of ≥8 were found to be significantly shorter in patients in group 1 compared with patients in group 2 (P < 0.05).ConclusionsIn patients who underwent craniotomy for supratentorial lesions, patients who received 1 MAC desflurane–based anesthesia had earlier postoperative cognitive recovery and postoperative neurologic examination compared with patients who received 1 MAC isoflurane–based anesthesia. The observed benefits of early recovery from anesthesia, however, should be considered with risks such as higher MAP in patients administered 1 MAC desflurane