Cobertura do solo proporcionada pelo cultivo consorciado de milho com leguminosas e espécies espontâneas.

Os consórcios entre leguminosas e gramíneas são bastante comuns, proporcionando grande preservação do solo e maiores retornos econômicos ao agricultor. As espécies vegetais que emergem espontaneamente na lavoura, conhecidas pelo seu efeito prejudicial, são fundamentais para a melhoria da cobertura do solo, colaborando para a manutenção da camada superficial do solo e de seus nutrientes. No intuito de estudar a cobertura proporcionada ao solo por sistemas de cultivo, avaliou-se a cobertura proporcionada na consorciação de milho + espontâneas com feijão de porco, feijão bravo do ceará, mucuna preta, lablab e guandu. Na implantação dos tratamentos, incorporaram-se as espécies espontâneas e leguminosas do experimento anterior, semeando-se o milho e as leguminosas aos 64 dias. O milho foi colhido aos 120 dias, e as leguminosas aos 144 dias. O consórcio milho + espontâneas + mucuna-preta foi o que acumulou mais matéria seca e nutrientes. A mucuna preta e o feijão-de-porco foram as leguminosas que apresentaram as maiores coberturas do solo. Todos os componentes do consórcio exerceram efeitos de cobertura, contribuindo no acúmulo de matéria seca e na reciclagem de nutrientes, e assim, na sustentabilidade do sistema

Soil coverage, phytomass production and, nutrient accumulation in maize and legumes intercropping system.

The maize intercropped with legume cover crops are used at low technological agriculture, due it?s potential to suppress weeds, recycle nutrients, and cover the soil. Weeds suppression it is important due to its competition effect on the commercial crops. The nutrient recycling it is important due to the low fertilizer use on low technological agriculture. The soil cover it is important to prevent the erosion and reduce the nutrients leaching. All those positive effects can be influenced due to the cultivated species on the consortium. This study aimed to evaluate the soil coverage, the phytomass production and, the accumulation of nutrients by plants in a maize and legume cover crops intercropping system. The experiment consisted of rustic maize ?Caiano de Sobrália? variety, intercropped with Brazilian velvet bean, black mucuna, lablab-bean and pigeon pea; a control treatment (sole maize culture) was added. The maize was sown on the experiment; 64 DAE, the legumes were sowed. The soil cover rates were evaluated at 0, 64, 84, 120, and 144 DAE. The corn grains were harvested at 120 DAE, resulting in the corn grain yields. The remaining portion of maize and entire legume cover crop plants were sampled at 144 DAE, when the accumulation of dry mass and nutrient were measured. The consortium system did not affect the corn grains yield and, the soil cover rate provided by maize plants. The black mucuna had the greatest weeds suppression and, nutrient accumulation among the legumes cover crops evaluated

The global burden attributable to low bone mineral density

Introduction: The Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 estimated the worldwide health burden of 291 diseases and injuries and 67 risk factors by calculating disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Osteoporosis was not considered as a disease, and bone mineral density (BMD) was analysed as a risk factor for fractures, which formed part of the health burden due to falls. Objectives: To calculate (1) the global distribution of BMD, (2) its population attributable fraction (PAF) for fractures and subsequently for falls, and (3) the number of DALYs due to BMD. Methods: A systematic review was performed seeking population-based studies in which BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the femoral neck in people aged 50 years and over. Age- and sex-specific mean ± SD BMD values (g/cm2) were extracted from eligible studies. Comparative risk assessment methodology was used to calculate PAFs of BMD for fractures. The theoretical minimum risk exposure distribution was estimated as the age- and sex-specific 90th centile from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Relative risks of fractures were obtained from a previous meta-analysis. Hospital data were used to calculate the fraction of the health burden of falls that was due to fractures. Results: Global deaths and DALYs attributable to low BMD increased from 103 000 and 3 125 000 in 1990 to 188 000 and 5 216 000 in 2010, respectively. The percentage of low BMD in the total global burden almost doubled from 1990 (0.12%) to 2010 (0.21%). Around one-third of falls-related deaths were attributable to low BMD. Conclusions: Low BMD is responsible for a growing global health burden, only partially representative of the real burden of osteoporosis

Early changes in biochemical markers of bone formation during teriparatide therapy correlate with improvements in vertebral strength in men with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis

Summary: Changes of the bone formation marker PINP correlated positively with improvements in vertebral strength in men with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIO) who received 18-month treatment with teriparatide, but not with risedronate. These results support the use of PINP as a surrogate marker of bone strength in GIO patients treated with teriparatide. Introduction: To investigate the correlations between biochemical markers of bone turnover and vertebral strength estimated by finite element analysis (FEA) in men with GIO. Methods: A total of 92 men with GIO were included in an 18-month, randomized, open-label trial of teriparatide (20 μg/day, n = 45) and risedronate (35 mg/week, n = 47). High-resolution quantitative computed tomography images of the 12th thoracic vertebra obtained at baseline, 6 and 18 months were converted into digital nonlinear FE models and subjected to anterior bending, axial compression and torsion. Stiffness and strength were computed for each model and loading mode. Serum biochemical markers of bone formation (amino-terminal-propeptide of type I collagen [PINP]) and bone resorption (type I collagen cross-linked C-telopeptide degradation fragments [CTx]) were measured at baseline, 3 months, 6 months and 18 months. A mixed-model of repeated measures analysed changes from baseline and between-group differences. Spearman correlations assessed the relationship between changes from baseline of bone markers with FEA variables. Results: PINP and CTx levels increased in the teriparatide group and decreased in the risedronate group. FEA-derived parameters increased in both groups, but were significantly higher at 18 months in the teriparatide group. Significant positive correlations were found between changes from baseline of PINP at 3, 6 and 18 months with changes in FE strength in the teriparatide-treated group, but not in the risedronate group. Conclusions: Positive correlations between changes in a biochemical marker of bone formation and improvement of biomechanical properties support the use of PINP as a surrogate marker of bone strength in teriparatide-treated GIO patients