Spectroscopic and Physicochemical Characterization of Poultry Waste-Based Composts and Charcoal–Compost Mixtures for the Prediction of Dry Matter Yield of Giant of Italy Parsley

Plant growing substrates obtained by composting agro-industrial waste can serve as organic soil amendments. However, it is crucial to determine the maturity and quality of organic amendments before their application to soil. This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of compost obtained from poultry wastes combined with five different vegetal residues (tree trimmings, sugarcane bagasse, sawdust, cotton residues, and Napier grass) as growth media for container-grown Giant of Italy parsley. Fourier-transform infrared and laser-induced fluorescence spectra were used to characterize the humification extent in composts before and after the addition of charcoal at five inclusion rates (0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60%, weight basis). Spectroscopic measurements identified absorption bands between 1625 and 1448 cm−1 specific to each of the 25 organic amendments evaluated. The most suitable amendments (composts made from sawdust and sugarcane bagasse) were associated with O–H stretching of phenols and aromatic rings. Charcoal addition to composts changed some of their physical characteristics, leading to increased nutrient availability in some cases. Experimental and calculated dry matter yield were compared via multiple linear regression and simple non-linear regression as a function of the spectroscopic and physicochemical (N, P, K, pH, EC, C, HLIF, C:N, CEC, HA:HA) properties of the organic amendments. Regression models accurately assigned high yields to the sawdust- and bagasse-based composts and low yields to the Napier grass- and cotton-based composts. Electrical conductivity (EC) was the main factor limiting potted-parsley productivity, an indication that efficient management of charcoal rate and compost EC levels can aid in predicting parsley yield

Tendências da mortalidade neonatal em São Luís, Maranhão, Brasil, de 1979 a 1996 Neonatal mortality trends in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil, from 1979 to 1996

O propósito do presente trabalho é avaliar a evolução da mortalidade neonatal em São Luís nos últimos 18 anos, classificá-la de acordo com os dias de vida e pelo critério de evitabilidade de óbitos da Fundação SEADE, a partir de dados do IBGE e do Ministério da Saúde. Detectou-se aumento da mortalidade neonatal, às custas de aumento expressivo do seu componente precoce, especialmente pelas causas reduzíveis por diagnóstico e tratamento precoce, e parcialmente reduzíveis por adequado controle da gravidez. A mortalidade infantil, desse modo, manteve-se inalterada, apesar do decréscimo do seu componente pós-neonatal. O aumento expressivo no coeficiente de mortalidade neonatal a partir de 1995 aponta para a queda na qualidade da assistência obstétrica e neonatal, talvez motivada pelo elevado percentual de cesáreas e pela superlotação dos berçários. A tendência de estabilidade ou aumento da mortalidade neonatal é semelhante à observada recentemente no Brasil como um todo e difere da observada em outras cidades brasileiras, nas quais foi descrita queda lenta, mas persistente, da mortalidade neonatal, em oposição a uma redução mais dramática em países desenvolvidos.<br>This study examined neonatal mortality trends in São Luís in the last 18 years. The early and late components were assessed and causes were classified according to SEADE Foundation criteria based on reducibility of deaths and timing of prevention (during prenatal care, childbirth, or neonatal care). Data were derived from official live birth and death records. We detected an unexpected increase in the neonatal mortality rate, due primarily to a steep rise in early neonatal deaths. Causes reducible by early diagnosis and treatment (other specific infections and other neonatal respiratory causes) and those partially reducible by adequate monitoring of pregnancy (preterm births, low birth weight, and respiratory distress syndrome) showed the largest increase. Conversely, the post-neonatal mortality rate fell. The infant mortality rate remained the same, reflecting these antagonistic trends. The important rise in the neonatal mortality rate from 1995 onwards suggests a deterioration in the quality of obstetric and neonatal services. The high cesarean rate and overcrowded neonatal services (i.e., unable to cope with increasing demands foe specialized neonatal care) indicate the urgent need for restructuring the mother and child health care system

Obesidad y pobreza: marco conceptual para su análisis en latinoamérica Obesity and poverty: conceptual references for its analysis in Latin America

La obesidad tiene una etiología multifactorial en la que los factores de mayor fuerza se relacionan con los estilos de vida. El incremento tan abrupto de la obesidad y su gran extensión obedecen principalmente a cambios importantes en la alimentación de la población, al patrón de actividad física y a otros factores de índole sociocultural, todo lo cual se ha manifestado en un proceso de transición nutricional. Las tendencias de aumento y de las diferencias sociales en la obesidad, hacen que las minorías y aquellos estratos de la población con menor nivel educativo y socioeconómico puedan ser los más afectados. En los pobres la obesidad se asocia, entre otros, a episodios de desnutrición en la edad temprana, incluso durante la vida intrauterina, a factores alimentarios, socioculturales y de género. La relación entre la obesidad y la condición socioeconómica es muy variable y compleja, ya que la asociación es diferente en contextos socioeconómicos distintos y puede quedar disimulada por varios factores (ejercicio físico, dieta, factores psicológicos, herencia, factores socioculturales) que influyen en la asociación. Tanto el nivel socioeconómico podría condicionar la presencia de obesidad, como la obesidad podría tener consecuencias sociales en el individuo (si la movilidad social es el factor más relevante, es la obesidad la que condicionaría la posición social del individuo). Los argumentos tratados son suficientes para justificar la importancia del problema en Latinoamérica. De esta manera, debe representar un desafío, principalmente para investigadores y aquellos que toman decisiones, traducible en priorizar la obesidad en condiciones de pobreza.<br>Obesity has a multifactorial etiology in which the most important factors are related to lifestyle. High prevalence of obesity is basically caused by important changes in nourishment, in the pattern of physical activity and by other sociocultural factors, which have produced a nutritional transition process. Due to the trends of increase and of social differences in obesity, the minorities and populations with lower educational and socioeconomic level can be the most affected groups. In poor people, obesity is associated, among others, with malnutrition episodes in childhood, even during intrauterine life, and also with alimentary, sociocultural and gender factors. The relationship between obesity and socioeconomic condition is very changeable and complex, since the association is different in distinct socioeconomic contexts and it may remain hidden by several factors (physical exercise, diet, psychological factors, heredity, sociocultural factors) that influence the association. The socioeconomic level might determine the presence of obesity, and obesity, in turn, might cause social consequences to the individual (if social mobility is the most relevant factor, obesity is the one that would determine the individual's social position). The arguments proposed here are sufficient to justify the importance of the problem in Latin America. Thus, it must represent a challenge, principally for researchers and decision makers, translatable in prioritizing obesity in poverty conditions