Pre-Soil Techniques

Rescuing biochar: Pre - application techniques to enhance plant responses to biochar additions: Nigel Gale, U of Toronto A growing body of literature indicates variable responses of different plant species to biochar, including positive, neutral, and negative, suggesting that it is important to investigate the nature and mechanism of species-specific responses to biochar additions. Neutral or negative plant responses to additions of biochars have commonly been reported in prior studies, and are likely the result of a combination of changes in soil properties (e.g. pH, surface area, and nutrient and water retention) and the production of volatile organic compounds from pyrolysis. In a series of greenhouse studies in Toronto, Ontario, we tested the effects of: dosage (0, 5, 10, 20, 50 t/ha); biochar type (Maple batch and Spruce batch 475°C, Maple flow-through 575°C); and application method (complete mixing vs. top dressing) on the growth and performance of two temperate species commonly used as forage crops and for erosion control: Lolium multiflorum, and Trifolium repens. Freshly produced biochars generally resulted in neutral or negative biomass and leaf area responses regardless of the dosage, biochar type, or application method. Pyrolysis typically produces biochars that contain significant amounts of volatile organic compounds that may have substantial inhibitory effects on plant growth. We subsequently tested methods to ameliorate effects of toxic compounds sorbed by biochars during production, using washing (with water and oil) and convection heating (50-150°C) techniques prior to biochar application. Preliminary results demonstrated that heating biochars at 100-150°C for 24 hours reduced toxic effects exhibited in leaf area by 20% for Lolium grown in mixed biochars applications. Similarly, Lolium grown in water-washed biochars showed a 17% increase in leaf area relative to non-washed controls in soils where biochar was applied as a top dressing. Our results suggest that pre-application heating and/or washing treatments may substantially enhance plant responses to biochar, in some cases reversing negative effects. Intuitive Inoculation: Doug Clayton, Dale Hendricks Pre-treating biochar by incorporating it into the composting process has become standard practice for many gardeners, small farmers and permaculturists. Doug and Dale have not only been layering biochar into their compost piles but also pre-soaking their biochars in liquid fish and seaweed fertilizers, molasses, fermented teas, human urine, etc. We are suggesting that incorporating biochar into a comprehensive combination of “composting” processes (hot, cold, vermi-, ferments, etc.), using all of nature’s avenues for breaking down organic matter, may provide a superior biochar treatment. There may be no better inoculation of biochar than that achieved by passing it through a worm’s gut. Both “red wigglers” and “night crawlers” make this an easy process to achieve. Worms thrive in finely ground, urine soaked biochar. Biochar can assist with the efficient and safe recycling of urine, maintaining the fertility of hundreds of square feet of garden plot, giving those who already have fertile soil, and seemingly lack a problem for biochar to fix, an avenue of beneficial use. We will show compost nutrient level test results and pictures of our processes and plant trials

Importance of dispersion in density functional calculations of cesium chloride and its related halides

The ionic compound cesium chloride adopts a cubic crystal structure bearing the same name. However, ab initio electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory methods using generalized gradient approximation functionals do not predict that cesium chloride adopts this phase. In this paper we apply semiempirical methods (density functional theory plus a pairwise dispersion correction) to account for missing van der Waals interactions within cesium chloride. The C6 and R0 dispersion parameters for cesium are established within Grimme's DFT+D2 formalism. Inclusion of the dispersion corrections is found not only to improve the quality of structures in comparison to experiment for all cesium halides, but also leads to the correct prediction of the ground-state phase under ambient conditions

Towards the Right Care for Children : Orientations for Reforming Alternative Care Systems - Africa, Asia, Latin America

In order to increase its knowledge on the possible issue of de-institutionalisation in developing countries and how it could be addressed, the European Commission Directorate- General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) commissioned SOS Children’s Villages International to conduct the present study. Its general objective was to “conduct a research on the possible issue of institutionalisation in six South and Central American, Asian and African countries in order to strengthen the knowledge of the European Commission on the nature, the extent and scope of institutionalisation and feasibility of de-institutionalisation (alternative care for children). On the basis of its results, the research would give recommendations for future possible initiatives (pilot programmes, social protection system reforms, for example) to be supported by the EU in developing countries.” The present synthesis report, Towards the Right Care for Children, presents the findings of the study as well as recommendations for EU external action

Electronic structure of phosphorus and arsenic d-doped germanium

Density functional theory in the LDA+U approximation is used to calculate the electronic structure ofgermanium d doped with phosphorus and arsenic. We characterize the principal band minima of the twodimensional electron gas created by d doping and their dependence on the dopant concentration. Populated first at low concentrations is a set of band minima at the perpendicular projection of the bulk conduction band minima at L into the (kx ,ky ) plane. At higher concentrations, band minima at and become involved. Valley splittings and effective masses are computed using an explicit-atom approach, taking into account the effects of disorder in the arrangement of dopant atoms in the d plane

Perinatal outcomes after admission with COVID-19 in pregnancy:a UK national cohort study

There are few population-based studies of sufficient size and follow-up duration to have reliably assessed perinatal outcomes for pregnant women hospitalised with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The United Kingdom Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS) covers all 194 consultant-led UK maternity units and included all pregnant women admitted to hospital with an ongoing SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here we show that in this large national cohort comprising two years’ active surveillance over four SARS-CoV-2 variant periods and with near complete follow-up of pregnancy outcomes for 16,627 included women, severe perinatal outcomes were more common in women with moderate to severe COVID-19, during the delta dominant period and among unvaccinated women. We provide strong evidence to recommend continuous surveillance of pregnancy outcomes in future pandemics and to continue to recommend SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in pregnancy to protect both mothers and babies

Perinatal outcomes after admission with COVID-19 in pregnancy: a UK national cohort study

There are few population-based studies of sufficient size and follow-up duration to have reliably assessed perinatal outcomes for pregnant women hospitalised with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The United Kingdom Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS) covers all 194 consultant-led UK maternity units and included all pregnant women admitted to hospital with an ongoing SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here we show that in this large national cohort comprising two years’ active surveillance over four SARS-CoV-2 variant periods and with near complete follow-up of pregnancy outcomes for 16,627 included women, severe perinatal outcomes were more common in women with moderate to severe COVID-19, during the delta dominant period and among unvaccinated women. We provide strong evidence to recommend continuous surveillance of pregnancy outcomes in future pandemics and to continue to recommend SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in pregnancy to protect both mothers and babies

A randomized assessment of adding the kinase inhibitor lestaurtinib to first-line chemotherapy for FLT3-mutated AML

The clinical benefit of adding FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3)-directed small molecule therapy to standard first-line treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has not yet been established. As part of the UK AML15 and AML17 trials, patients with previously untreated AML and confirmed FLT3-activating mutations, mostly younger than 60 years, were randomly assigned either to receive oral lestaurtinib (CEP701) or not after each of 4 cycles of induction and consolidation chemotherapy. Lestaurtinib was commenced 2 days after completing chemotherapy and administered in cycles of up to 28 days. The trials ran consecutively. Primary endpoints were overall survival in AML15 and relapse-free survival in AML17; outcome data were meta-analyzed. Five hundred patients were randomly assigned between lestaurtinib and control: 74% had FLT3-internal tandem duplication mutations, 23% FLT3–tyrosine kinase domain point mutations, and 2% both types. No significant differences were seen in either 5-year overall survival (lestaurtinib 46% vs control 45%; hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% CI 0.70-1.15; P = .3) or 5-year relapse-free survival (40% vs 36%; hazard ratio, 0.88; 95% CI 0.69-1.12; P = .3). Exploratory subgroup analysis suggested survival benefit with lestaurtinib in patients receiving concomitant azole antifungal prophylaxis and gemtuzumab ozogamicin with the first course of chemotherapy. Correlative studies included analysis of in vivo FLT3 inhibition by plasma inhibitory activity assay and indicated improved overall survival and significantly reduced rates of relapse in lestaurtinib-treated patients who achieved sustained greater than 85% FLT3 inhibition. In conclusion, combining lestaurtinib with intensive chemotherapy proved feasible in younger patients with newly diagnosed FLT3-mutated AML, but yielded no overall clinical benefit. The improved clinical outcomes seen in patients achieving sustained FLT3 inhibition encourage continued evaluation of FLT3-directed therapy alongside front-line AML treatment. The UK AML15 and AML17 trials are registered at www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN17161961 and www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN55675535 respectively

Epidemiology and outcomes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in England

Introduction This study reports the epidemiology and outcomes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in England during 2014. Methods Prospective observational study from the national OHCA registry. The incidence, demographic and outcomes of patients who were treated for an OHCA between 1st January 2014 and 31st December 2014 in 10 English ambulance service (EMS) regions, serving a population of almost 54 million, are reported in accordance with Utstein recommendations. Results 28,729 OHCA cases of EMS treated cardiac arrests were reported (53 per 100,000 of resident population). The mean age was 68.6 (SD = 19.6) years and 41.3% were female. Most (83%) occurred in a place of residence, 52.7% were witnessed by either the EMS or a bystander. In non-EMS witnessed cases, 55.2% received bystander CPR whilst public access defibrillation was used rarely (2.3%). Cardiac aetiology was the leading cause of cardiac arrest (60.9%). The initial rhythm was asystole in 42.4% of all cases and was shockable (VF or pVT) in 20.6%. Return of spontaneous circulation at hospital transfer was evident in 25.8% (n = 6302) and survival to hospital discharge was 7.9%. Conclusion Cardiac arrest is an important cause of death in England. With less than one in ten patients surviving, there is scope to improve outcomes. Survival rates were highest amongst those who received bystander CPR and public access defibrillation