Meat bone meal as nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer

Meat bone meal (MBM) contains considerable amount of nutrients (~8 % N, ~ 5 % P and ~ 10 Ca). To quantify and qualify MBM use as an N and P fertilizers, two field experiments were done on spring barley and oat in 2000 and 2001

Comparison of energy and greenhouse gas balances of biogas with other transport biofuel options based on domestic agricultural biomass in Finland

Biofuels have been promoted as a way to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but it is questionable whether they indeed do so. The study compared energy and GHG balances of transport biofuels produced in Finnish conditions. Energy and GHG balances were calculated from a life cycle perspective for biogas when timothy-clover and reed canary grass silages and green manure of an organic farm were used as a raw material. The results were compared with published data on barley-based ethanol, rape methyl ester (biodiesel) and biowaste-based biogas. The energy input for biogas was 22–37% of the output depending on the raw material. The GHG emissions from field-based biogas were 21–36% of emissions from fossil-based fuels. The largest energy input was used in the processing of the biofuels while most of the greenhouse gases were emitted during farming. The GHG emissions of the field-based biogas were emitted mainly from fuels of farming machinery, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions of the soil and the production of ensiling additives. The energy efficiency was most sensitive to the methane yield, and GHG emissions to the N2O emissions. Biogas had clearly lower energy input and GHG emissions per unit energy output than domestic barley-based ethanol and biodiesel

Preemptive Pregabalin in Children and Adolescents Undergoing Posterior Instrumented Spinal Fusion A Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Pregabalin as part of a multimodal pain-management regimen has been shown to reduce opioid consumption after spinal surgery in adults but it is unclear whether this is also true in adolescents. Pregabalin has been found to have neuroprotective effects and therefore could have a positive impact on pain after spinal deformity surgery. We conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial of adolescent patients undergoing spinal fusion to evaluate the short-term effects of pregabalin on postoperative pain and opioid consumption. Methods: Adolescents with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, Scheuermann kyphosis, or spondylolisthesis who were scheduled for posterior spinal fusion with all-pedicle-screw instrumentation were randomized to receive either pregabalin (2 mg/kg twice daily) or placebo preoperatively and for 5 days after surgery. The patients ranged from 10 to 21 years of age. The primary outcome was total opioid consumption as measured with use of patient-controlled analgesia. Postoperative pain scores and opioid-related adverse effects were evaluated. Results: Sixty-three of 77 eligible patients were included and analyzed. Cumulative oxycodone consumption per kilogram did not differ between the study groups during the first 48 hours postoperatively, with a median of 1.44 mg/kg (95% confidence interval [CI],1.32 to 1.67 mg/kg) in the pregabalin group and 1.50 mg/kg (95% CI, 1.39 to 1.79 mg/kg) in the placebo group (p = 0.433). A subgroup analysis of 51 patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis showed the same result, with a mean of 1.45 mg/kg (95% CI, 1.24 to 1.65 mg/kg) in the pregabalin group and 1.59 mg/kg (95% CI, 1.37 to 1.82 mg/kg) in the placebo group (p = 0.289). Total oxycodone consumption per hour (mg/kg/hr) was not different between the groups over the time points (p = 0.752). The postoperative pain scores did not differ significantly between the groups (p = 0.196). Conclusions: The use of perioperative pregabalin does not reduce the postoperative opioid consumption or pain scores in adolescents after posterior spinal fusion surgery.Peer reviewe

Learning how to understand complexity and deal with sustainability challenges : A framework for a comprehensive approach and its application in university education

Sustainability challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty and rapid urbanization are complex and strongly interrelated. In order to successfully deal with these challenges, we need comprehensive approaches that integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines and perspectives and emphasize interconnections. In short, they aid in observing matters in a wider perspective without losing an understanding of the details. In order to teach and learn a comprehensive approach, we need to better understand what comprehensive thinking actually is. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework for a comprehensive approach, termed the GHH framework. The framework comprises three dimensions: generalism, holism, and holarchism. It contributes to the academic community's understanding of comprehensive thinking and it can be used for integrating comprehensive thinking into education. Also, practical examples of the application of the framework in university teaching are presented. We argue that an ideal approach to sustainability challenges and complexity in general is a balanced, dialectical combination of comprehensive and differentiative approaches. The current dominance of specialization, or the differentiative approach, in university education calls for a stronger emphasis on comprehensive thinking skills. Comprehensiveness should not be considered as a flawed approach, but should instead be considered as important an aspect in education as specialized and differentiative skills. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction and atopy in Tunisian athletes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study is a cross sectional analysis, aiming to evaluate if atopy is as a risk factor for exercise induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) among Tunisian athletes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Atopy was defined by a skin prick test result and EIB was defined as a decrease of at least 15% in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) after 8-min running at 80–85% HRmaxTheo. The study population was composed of 326 athletes (age: 20.8 ± 2.7 yrs – mean ± SD; 138 women and 188 men) of whom 107 were elite athletes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Atopy was found in 26.9% (88/326) of the athletes. Post exercise spirometry revealed the presence of EIB in 9.8% of the athletes including 13% of the elite athletes. Frequency of atopy in athletes with EIB was significantly higher than in athletes without EIB [62.5% vs 23.1%, respectively].</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study showed that atopic Tunisian athletes presented a higher risk of developing exercise induced bronchoconstriction than non-atopic athletes.</p

Rab7 Associates with Early Endosomes to Mediate Sorting and Transport of Semliki Forest Virus to Late Endosomes

Semliki forest virus (SFV) is internalized by clathrin-mediated endocytosis, and transported via early endosomes to late endosomes and lysosomes. The intracellular pathway taken by individual fluorescently labeled SFV particles was followed using immunofluorescence in untransfected cells, and by video-enhanced, triple-color fluorescence microscopy in live cells transfected with GFP- and RFP-tagged Rab5, Rab7, Rab4, and Arf1. The viruses progressed from Rab5-positive early endosomes to a population of early endosomes (about 10% of total) that contained both Rab5 and Rab7. SFV were sequestered in the Rab7 domains, and they were sorted away from the early endosomes when these domains detached as separate transport carriers devoid of Rab5, Rab4, EEA1, Arf1, and transferrin. The process was independent of Arf1 and the acidic pH in early endosomes. Nocodazole treatment showed that the release of transport carriers was assisted by microtubules. Expression of constitutively inactive Rab7T22N resulted in accumulation of SFV in early endosomes. We concluded that Rab7 is recruited to early endosomes, where it forms distinct domains that mediate cargo sorting as well as the formation of late-endosome-targeted transport vesicles

Variants in the fetal genome near pro-inflammatory cytokine genes on 2q13 associate with gestational duration

The duration of pregnancy is influenced by fetal and maternal genetic and non-genetic factors. Here we report a fetal genome-wide association meta-analysis of gestational duration, and early preterm, preterm, and postterm birth in 84,689 infants. One locus on chromosome 2q13 is associated with gestational duration; the association is replicated in 9,291 additional infants (combined P = 3.96 × 10−14). Analysis of 15,588 mother-child pairs shows that the association is driven by fetal rather than maternal genotype. Functional experiments show that the lead SNP, rs7594852, alters the binding of the HIC1 transcriptional repressor. Genes at the locus include several interleukin 1 family members with roles in proinflammatory pathways that are central to the process of parturition. Further understanding of the underlying mechanisms will be of great public health importance, since giving birth either before or after the window of term gestation is associated with increased morbidity and mortalit