Estudo da evolução da fertilidade do solo em pomares de pessegueiros - situação inicial

A região da Beira Interior é a principal região de produção de pêssegos do país. Esta cultura, pelo carácter plurianual, pode ter uma ação positiva ou negativa na melhoria do teor em matéria orgânica e da fertilidade do solo, de acordo com as técnicas utilizadas na manutenção do solo e gestão da sua fertilidade. No âmbito da manutenção do solo, a técnica de enrelvamento da entrelinha e a técnica de destroçamento da lenha de poda, são consideradas como positivas no aumento do teor em matéria orgânica do solo o que se reflete na melhoria da sua fertilidade. Contudo, esse efeito será sempre a longo prazo, não estando disponível informação sobre a evolução dos parâmetros de fertilidade do solo em pomares de pessegueiros, para as condições de Portugal em geral e especificamente para a Beira Interior. Para monitorizar o efeito da gestão inerente a um pomar nas características de fertilidade do solo foram estabelecidas unidades de observação em 26 pomares de pessegueiros instalados na Beira Interior entre janeiro e março de 2018. Cada unidade de observação, correspondente a um pomar, compreende a marcação de 10 plantas, distribuídas em três blocos, num total de 20 pontos de amostragem de terra, sendo 10 pontos na linha de plantação e 10 pontos correspondentes à entrelinha. Todos os pontos de amostragem foram georreferenciados. Os resultados referentes à fertilidade do solo dos pomares de pessegueiros após a instalação indicam uma média global do teor de matéria orgânica de 2,8% não havendo diferenças significativas entre linha e entrelinha. A média do pH foi de 6,3 na linha e 6,1 na entrelinha. A média do teor de K2O foi de 404 mg.kg-1 na linha e 242 mg.kg-1 na entrelinha e a média do teor de P2O5 mg.kg-1 foi de 201 mg.kg-1 na linha e 114 mg.kg-1 na entrelinha, indicando uma prática de fertilização de fundo localizada na linha de plantação. Estes resultados correspondem à situação inicial dos pomares, prevendo-se a recolha de amostras no mesmo local com uma periodicidade de 4 anos, de modo a realizar a monitorização da fertilidade do solo ao longo da vida útil do pomar, minimizando a variabilidade inerente à heterogeneidade dos solos uma vez que os pontos de recolha estão georreferenciados.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Testing the proficiency to distinguish locations with elevated plantar pressure within and between professional groups of foot therapists

BACKGROUND: Identification of locations with elevated plantar pressures is important in daily foot care for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, metatarsalgia and diabetes. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the proficiency of podiatrists, pedorthists and orthotists, to distinguish locations with elevated plantar pressure in patients with metatarsalgia. METHODS: Ten podiatrists, ten pedorthists and ten orthotists working in The Netherlands were asked to identify locations with excessively high plantar pressure in three patients with forefoot complaints. Therapists were instructed to examine the patients according to the methods used in their everyday clinical practice. Regions could be marked through hatching an illustration of a plantar aspect. A pressure sensitive platform was used to quantify the dynamic bare foot plantar pressures and was considered as 'Gold Standard' (GS). A pressure higher than 700 kPa was used as cut-off criterion for categorizing peak pressure into elevated or non-elevated pressure. This was done for both patient's feet and six separate forefoot regions: big toe and metatarsal one to five. Data were analysed by a mixed-model ANOVA and Generalizability Theory. RESULTS: The proportions elevated/non-elevated pressure regions, based on clinical ratings of the therapists, show important discrepancies with the criterion values obtained through quantitative plantar pressure measurement. In general, plantar pressures in the big toe region were underrated and those in the metatarsal regions were overrated. The estimated method agreement on clinical judgement of plantar pressures with the GS was below an acceptable level: i.e. all intraclass correlation coefficient's equal or smaller than .60. The inter-observer agreement for each discipline demonstrated worrisome results: all below .18. The estimated mutual agreements showed that there was virtually no mutual agreement between the professional groups studied. CONCLUSION: Identification of elevated plantar pressure through clinical evaluation is difficult, insufficient and may be potentially harmful. The process of clinical plantar pressure screening has to be re-evaluated. The results of this study point towards the merit of quantitative plantar pressure measurement for clinical practice

Nondairy ice cream based on fermented yam (Dioscorea sp.)

Abstract Background The demand for industrialized foods that contribute to health and well‐being has characterized the new generation of consumers. Yam (Dioscorea sp.) is a nutritious food; however, it is not used very much in industrial food processes. The objective of this study was to develop and to characterize a truly dairy‐free low‐fat ice cream prepared from unfermented and fermented with yam dough. Results The fermentation was conducted by Leuconostoc lactic CCMA 0415 remained viable (107 CFU/g) during 90 days of storage. The fermentation process reduced the starch concentration from 26.82% to 22.35% and the protein concentration from 4.68% to 3.99% and increased the concentration of some minerals (K, S, Cu, Mn, Zn, and Fe). The total phenolic contents for fermented and unfermented ice creams were 51 and 54 mg, respectively. The radical scavenging activity were 18% and 10% with the 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl method and 44% and 26% with the 2,2’‐azino‐bis (3 ethylbenzo‐thiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) method for the unfermented and fermented samples, respectively. The fermented and unfermented ice creams were both characterized as non‐Newtonian fluids exhibiting pseudoplastic behaviors. Conclusions These results indicated that yam is a suitable substitute for milk, thus making it an option to produce edible lactose‐free ice cream with low fat