Ammonia volatilization, nitrogen in soil, and growth of barley after application of peat manure and pig slurry

Peat is added to manure, because its low pH and capacity to adsorb ammonia (NH3) give it potential to reduce nitrogen (N) loss. Peat manure was prepared by mixing pig slurry with moderately humified Sphagnum peat. Less than 1% of applied ammoniacal N was volatilized as NH3 from peat manure and pig slurry within 8 h of surface application on clay loam soil according to JTI method. Incorporated manures showed even smaller N loss. The low volatilization was due to the adsorption of manure ammoniacal N by peat, and the infiltration of slurry into harrowed, moist clay soil. In another experiment, peat manure was applied on polypropylene fabric without soil contact. Within the first 3 days there was only 9% reduction in the ammoniacal N of peat manure, but the major part of it was lost during several weeks of dry and warm weather. Peat manure did not cause any major improvements on the growth and N uptake of spring barley in spring and early summer as compared with slurry. Moisture deficit limited the availability of ammoniacal N of manures. As compared with surface application, incorporation of manures increased nitrification of ammonium in the soil, and dry matter mass (19–73%) and N uptake of barley. Supplementing manures with inorganic NPK fertilizer increased both dry matter mass (40–98%) and N concentration of barley stand

Spring barley yield and nitrogen recovery after application of peat manure and pig slurry

The effectiveness of peat manure, manufactured of pig slurry and moderately humified Sphagnum peat (slurry:peat ca. 1:1.5 v/v), as nitrogen (N) source for spring barley was investigated in a four.year field experiment on a clay loam soil in south-western Finland. Pig slurry, NPK fertilizer and plain peat were used as references. Manures were incorporated before sowing or surface-applied after sowing in spring at an ammoniacal N rate of.54.106 kg.ha-1 with or without supplementary NPK fertilizer (40.kg N.ha-1). Soil moisture conditions were varied by different irrigation treatments. Peat manure produced 5.15% higher grain yields than pig slurry, with the largest difference after surface application. Incorporation was more important for slurry than for peat manure in increasing N uptake and yield. Soil moisture deficit in spring and early summer limited the availability of manure N. Part of the manure N that was not available in the early growing period was apparently taken up by the crop later. Consequently, N concentration tended to be higher with lower yields, and differences in the recovery of manure N were smaller than the differences in grain yield. Supplementation of manures with inorganic fertilizer N increased yield by 37%, on average, and improved the N recovery

Nitrogen losses from grass ley after slurry application - surface broadcasting vs. injection

As the livestock numbers on Finnish dairy farms have increased and most fields on dairy farms are under grass, it has become common to spread cattle slurry over grasslands. To estimate environmental effects of recurrent slurry applications, a 5-year field study was performed to compare nitrogen (N) losses to water and ammonia losses to air by volatilization, when cattle slurry was either surface broadcast or injected into clay soil after grass cuttings. Slurry was spread on the grass in summer (1996–1997) or both in summer and autumn (1998–2000). Biomass N uptake before grass harvesting and amount of soil mineral N in spring and autumn were measured and field N balances were calculated. Despite cool weather, up to one third of the ammonium N of broadcast slurries was lost through ammonia volatilization after application in autumn, but injection effectively prevented losses. The mean surface runoff losses of total N were negligible (0.3–4.6 kg ha-1 yr-1) with the highest loss of 13 kg ha-1 yr-1 measured after slurry broadcasting to wet soil in autumn and followed with heavy rains. A substantial part (24–55%) of the applied mineral N was not recovered by the foregoing measurements

The incidence of pelvic fractures and related surgery in the Finnish adult population: a nationwide study of 33,469 patients between 1997 and 2014

Background and purpose - Information on the epidemiological trends of pelvic fractures and fracture surgery in the general population is limited. We therefore determined the incidence of pelvic fractures in the Finnish adult population between 1997 and 2014 and assessed the incidence and trends of fracture surgery.Patients and methods - We used data from the Finnish National Discharge Register (NHDR) to calculate the incidence of pelvic fractures and fracture surgery. All patients 18 years of age or older were included in the study. The NHDR covers the whole Finnish population and gives information on health care services and the surgical procedures performed.Results and interpretation - We found that in Finnish adults the overall incidence of hospitalization for a pelvic fracture increased from 34 to 56/100,000 person-years between 1997 and 2014. This increase was most apparent for the low-energy fragility fractures of the elderly female population. The ageing of the population is likely therefore to partly explain this increase. The annual number and incidence of pelvic fracture surgery also rose between 1997 and 2014, from 118 (number) and 3.0 (incidence) in 1997 to 187 and 4.3 in 2014, respectively. The increasing number and incidence of pelvic fractures in the elderly population will increase the need for social and healthcare services. The main focus should be on fracture prevention.Peer reviewe

Molecular Mechanisms of Membrane Deformation by I-BAR Domain Proteins

SummaryBackgroundGeneration of membrane curvature is critical for the formation of plasma membrane protrusions and invaginations and for shaping intracellular organelles. Among the central regulators of membrane dynamics are the BAR superfamily domains, which deform membranes into tubular structures. In contrast to the relatively well characterized BAR and F-BAR domains that promote the formation of plasma membrane invaginations, I-BAR domains induce plasma membrane protrusions through a poorly understood mechanism.ResultsWe show that I-BAR domains induce strong PI(4,5)P2 clustering upon membrane binding, bend the membrane through electrostatic interactions, and remain dynamically associated with the inner leaflet of membrane tubules. Thus, I-BAR domains induce the formation of dynamic membrane protrusions to the opposite direction than do BAR and F-BAR domains. Strikingly, comparison of different I-BAR domains revealed that they deform PI(4,5)P2-rich membranes through distinct mechanisms. IRSp53 and IRTKS I-BARs bind membranes mainly through electrostatic interactions, whereas MIM and ABBA I-BARs additionally insert an amphipathic helix into the membrane bilayer, resulting in larger tubule diameter in vitro and more efficient filopodia formation in vivo. Furthermore, FRAP analysis revealed that whereas the mammalian I-BAR domains display dynamic association with filopodia, the C. elegans I-BAR domain forms relatively stable structures inside the plasma membrane protrusions.ConclusionsThese data define I-BAR domain as a functional member of the BAR domain superfamily and unravel the mechanisms by which I-BAR domains deform membranes to induce filopodia in cells. Furthermore, our work reveals unexpected divergence in the mechanisms by which evolutionarily distinct groups of I-BAR domains interact with PI(4,5)P2-rich membranes

Effect of treatment and application technique of cattle slurry on its utilization by ley: I. Slurry properties and ammonia volatilization

v2003okmkfmp

Nitrogen losses from grass ley after slurry application surface broadcasting vs. injection

Kun lypsykarjatilan lehmäluku kasvaa ja pellot ovat pääasiassa nurmiviljelyssä, naudan lietelantaa joudutaan yhä useammin levittämään nurmelle. Yleisin levitysmenetelmä on lietelannan pintalevitys nurmen sänkeen ensimmäisen niiton jälkeen. Lietelannan sijoitus maahan muutaman senttimetrien syvyyteen ei ole yhtä suosittua kuin pintalevitys levitysongelmien ja suurempien levityskustannusten takia. Maahan sijoitetusta lietelannasta saattaisi kuitenkin olla vähemmän haittaa ympäristölle kuin nurmen pintaan levitetystä. Savimaalla tehdyssä kokeessa tutkittiin naudan lietelannan pintalevityksestä ja sijoittamisesta aiheutuvaa typpikuormaa veteen sekä ammoniakin haihtumisesta ilmaan. Lietelanta levitettiin säilörehunurmelle ensimmäisen niiton jälkeen kesällä 1996-1997 (koe I) ja ensimmäisen sekä toisen niiton jälkeen kesällä ja syksyllä 1998-2000 (koe II). Pellolle levitettiin lannoitteen ja lietelannan mukana liukoista typpeä keskimäärin 160 kg ha-1 kokeessa I ja 220 kg ha-1 kokeessa II. Pellon typpitaseet laskettiin vähentämällä nurmelle annetun NPK-lannoitteen ja lietelannan kokonaistyppimääristä korjatun nurmisadon typpi, ilmaan haihtunut typpi sekä pintavalunnan mukana huuhtoutunut typpi. Typen huuhtoutumisriskiä arvioitiin määrittämällä mineraalitypen määrä 60 cm:n syvyisestä maakerroksesta. Pintalevityksessä ammoniumtypestä haihtui syksyllä jopa kolmasosa. Lietelannan sijoittaminen maahan esti ammoniakin haihtumisen lähes kokonaan. Pintavalunnan mukana kulkeutuneet typpimäärät (0.3-4.6 kg ha-1 v-1) olivat pieniä. Poikkeuksena oli syksyllä 1998 märissä olosuhteissa nurmen pintaan tehty lietelannan levitys, jonka jälkeen pintavalunnan kokonaistyppikuorma oli 13 kg ha-1 v-1. Keväällä ja syksyllä ennen lietelannan levitystä mitatut ammoniumtypen (7-44 kg ha-1) ja nitraattitypen (1-9 kg ha-1) määrät maassa olivat yleensä kohtuullisia eivätkä siten ennakoineet erityisen suuria typpihuuhtoumia. Typpitaseet kasvoivat suuriksi, kun lietelantaa levitettiin sekä kesällä että syksyllä. Vuosittain levitetystä liukoisen typen määrästä kaikkiaan 50-140 kg ha-1 ei havaittu korjatuissa kasvisadoissa, ammoniakkihävikkeinä ja typen pintavalumassa. Oletettavasti osa annetusta typestä oli denitrifioitunut ja haihtunut ilmaan, huuhtoutunut, sitoutunut kasvin juuriin tai varastoitunut orgaanisessa muodossa maahan. Vaikka typen kulkeutuminen veteen olikin kohtuullista tässä savimaalla tehdyssä kokeessa, niin karkeammilla mailla vesistökuormitus voi olla suurempi. Lietelannan sijoittaminen pienensi merkittävästi ammoniakin haihtumista ja jonkin verran typen kulkeutumista pintavalunnan mukana. Sen sijaan typen huuhtoutuminen syvemmälle maahan saattoi olla hieman suurempaa, kun lietelanta sijoitettiin maahan. Parhaiten typen päästöjä ilmaan ja veteen heinämaalta voitiin vähentää levittämällä kohtuullisia lietelantamääriä ensimmäisen niiton jälkeen ja sijoittamalla lietelanta pintalevityksen sijaan.As the livestock numbers on Finnish dairy farms have increased and most fields on dairy farms are under grass, it has become common to spread cattle slurry over grasslands. To estimate environmental effects of recurrent slurry applications, a 5-year field study was performed to compare nitrogen (N) losses to water and ammonia losses to air by volatilization, when cattle slurry was either surface broadcast or injected into clay soil after grass cuttings. Slurry was spread on the grass in summer (1996 1997) or both in summer and autumn (1998 2000). Biomass N uptake before grass harvesting and amount of soil mineral N in spring and autumn were measured and field N balances were calculated. Despite cool weather, up to one third of the ammonium N of broadcast slurries was lost through ammonia volatilization after application in autumn, but injection effectively prevented losses. The mean surface runoff losses of total N were negligible (0.3 4.6 kg ha-1 yr-1) with the highest loss of 13 kg ha-1 yr-1 measured after slurry broadcasting to wet soil in autumn and followed with heavy rains. A substantial part (24 55%) of the applied mineral N was not recovered by the foregoing measurements.v2010o

Effect of treatment and application technique of cattle slurry on its utilization by ley: II. Recovery of nitrogen and composition of herbage yield

v2003okmk

Data from: Flight-induced changes in gene expression in the Glanville fritillary butterfly

Insect flight is one of the most energetically demanding activities in the animal kingdom, yet for many insects flight is necessary for reproduction and foraging. Moreover, dispersal by flight is essential for the viability of species living in fragmented landscapes. Here, working on the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia), we use transcriptome sequencing to investigate gene expression changes caused by 15 min of flight in two contrasting populations and the two sexes. Male butterflies and individuals from a large metapopulation had significantly higher peak flight metabolic rate (FMR) than female butterflies and those from a small inbred population. In the pooled data, FMR was significantly positively correlated with genome-wide heterozygosity, a surrogate of individual inbreeding. The flight experiment changed the expression level of 1513 genes, including genes related to major energy metabolism pathways, ribosome biogenesis and RNA processing, and stress and immune responses. Males and butterflies from the population with high FMR had higher basal expression of genes related to energy metabolism, whereas females and butterflies from the small population with low FMR had higher expression of genes related to ribosome/RNA processing and immune response. Following the flight treatment, genes related to energy metabolism were generally down-regulated, while genes related to ribosome/RNA processing and immune response were up-regulated. These results suggest that common molecular mechanisms respond to flight and can influence differences in flight metabolic capacity between populations and sexes