Greenhouse gas emissions from an irrigated cropping rotation with dairy manure utilization in a semiarid climate

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data from irrigated cropping systems utilizing dairy manure are needed in semiarid western regions. The objectives of this field study were to (i) determine the effect of synthetic N fertilizer (urea), enhanced-efficiency synthetic fertilizer (SuperU), composted dairy manure, dairy manure applications (fall and spring applied), and a control (no fertilizer or manure) on GHG losses over the growing season and overall global warming potential (GWP) and (ii) evaluate the influence of irrigation and field/crop management practices on GHG fluxes. The treatments were not applied to alfalfa (2017) but were applied to corn (2018; except SuperU) and barley (2019). Cumulative N2O-N losses over the 3-year rotation ranged from 2.8 to 5.2 kg/ha, with the fall and spring manure losing the greatest amounts of N2O-N. Emission factors indicated that -1.5 to 0.79% of the total N applied was lost as N2O-N during the growing seasons. Cumulative losses of CO2-C and CH4-C over the rotation were on average 12,170 and -0.77 kg/ha, respectively, with no significant differences among the treatments. Major N2O-N pulses were associated with early-season irrigation events and incorporation of fertilizer and manure, but overall fluxes tended to increase during the summer months when soil temperatures were highest. When accounting for increases in soil organic carbon (SOC) over the three growing seasons, the net GWPs were determined to be negative for the compost (-35.4), fall manure (-130.4), and spring manure (-48.9) treatments. As a result, these manure treatments should be considered as an alternative to synthetic N fertilizer use in southern Idaho due to their ability to increase SOC and help reduce agricultural climate impacts, while maintaining high crop yields

Phenotyping progenies for complex architectural traits: a strategy for 1-year-old apple trees (Malus x domestica Borkh.)

International audienceThe aim of this study was to define a methodology for describing architectural traits in a quantitative way on tree descendants. Our strategy was to collect traits related to both tree structural organization, resulting from growth and branching, and tree form and then to select among these traits relevant descriptors on the basis of their genetic parameters. Because the complexity of tree architecture increases with tree age, we chose to describe the trees in the early stages of development. The study was carried out on a 1-year-old apple progeny derived from two parent cultivars with contrasted architecture. A large number of variables were collected at different positions and scales within the trees. Broad-sense heritability and genetic correlations were estimated and the within tree variability was analyzed for variables measured on long sylleptic axillary shoots (LSAS). These results were combined to select heritable and not correlated variables. Finally, the selection of variables proposed combines topological with geometric traits measured on both trunks and LSAS: (1) on the trunk, mean internode length, and number of sylleptic axillary shoots; (2) on axillary shoots, conicity, bending, and number of sylleptic axillary shoots born at order 3. The trees of the progeny were partitioned on the basis of these variables. The putative agronomic interest of the selected variables with respect to the subsequent tree development is discussed

Identification of symptom and functional domains that fibromyalgia patients would like to see improved: a cluster analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to determine whether some of the clinical features of fibromyalgia (FM) that patients would like to see improved aggregate into definable clusters.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seven hundred and eighty-eight patients with clinically confirmed FM and baseline pain ≥40 mm on a 100 mm visual analogue scale ranked 5 FM clinical features that the subjects would most like to see improved after treatment (one for each priority quintile) from a list of 20 developed during focus groups. For each subject, clinical features were transformed into vectors with rankings assigned values 1-5 (lowest to highest ranking). Logistic analysis was used to create a distance matrix and hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to identify cluster structure. The frequency of cluster selection was determined, and cluster importance was ranked using cluster scores derived from rankings of the clinical features. Multidimensional scaling was used to visualize and conceptualize cluster relationships.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Six clinical features clusters were identified and named based on their key characteristics. In order of selection frequency, the clusters were Pain (90%; 4 clinical features), Fatigue (89%; 4 clinical features), Domestic (42%; 4 clinical features), Impairment (29%; 3 functions), Affective (21%; 3 clinical features), and Social (9%; 2 functional). The "Pain Cluster" was ranked of greatest importance by 54% of subjects, followed by Fatigue, which was given the highest ranking by 28% of subjects. Multidimensional scaling mapped these clusters to two dimensions: Status (bounded by Physical and Emotional domains), and Setting (bounded by Individual and Group interactions).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Common clinical features of FM could be grouped into 6 clusters (Pain, Fatigue, Domestic, Impairment, Affective, and Social) based on patient perception of relevance to treatment. Furthermore, these 6 clusters could be charted in the 2 dimensions of Status and Setting, thus providing a unique perspective for interpretation of FM symptomatology.</p

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)