Litterfall decomposition of coffee shaded with Tectona grandis or in full sun

ABSTRACT Litterfall is an important source of soil nutrients, but its decomposition can be affected by the crop system used. The objective of this study was to evaluate litterfall decomposition and macronutrient stocks in coffee crop systems in shaded (SHCS) environments and those in full sun (FSCS). The experiment was conducted on a rural property in Cacoal, state of Rondônia, Brazil, in a 2 × 6 factorial scheme with two crop systems (SHCS and FSCS), and six litterfall decomposition evaluation times (0, 30, 60, 180, 300, and 360 days after the litterfall was returned to the soil (DAL)), with seven replicates. The constant of decomposition (k), half-life time (t1/2) at 360 DAL, and phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), and nitrogen (N) concentrations of the remaining litterfall were determined at each evaluation time. The litterfall in the SHCS had a greater weight loss and constant of decomposition and a lower half-life time at the last evaluation, and the weight loss increased as a function of decomposition time. The litterfall stocks of macronutrients N, P, K, Ca, and Mg showed a linear decrease throughout the decomposition time, and increases in sulfur stock were found at the last evaluation.

Clinical relevance of the relationship between Trabecular Bone Score and metabolic syndrome

The Trabecular Bone Score (TBS) is an indirect measurement of bone quality, and studies have shown that TBS is an independent predictor of fracture risk. This cross-sectional investigation aimed to explore the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and TBS using data from the 2005–2006 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The association between individual MetS components and TBS was examined. There was a significant linear decrease in TBS with an increase in the number of MetS components. The β coefficients of TBS among participants with 3 and ≥4 MetS components were −0.015 and −0.041 (p=0.006 and p<0.001, respectively). Among participants with MetS, high systolic blood pressure, abdominal obesity, and high serum levels of triglycerides and glucose were significantly associated with lower TBS in fully adjusted models (p<0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant linear decrease in TBS with an increase in the number of MetS components in both sexes. TBS significantly decreased with an increasing number of MetS components in a US population. The components of MetS, including systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and serum levels of triglyceride and glucose, exhibited a negative association with TBS.

Response in Growth Performance, Physico-chemical Properties, and Fatty acid Composition of Broiler Meat to Different Levels of Mucuna Pruriens Seed Meal

The study was conducted to determine the response in growth performance, physicochemical properties and fatty acid composition of broiler meat fed incremental levels of M. pruriens seed meal. A total of 112 Cobb 500, seven days old, unsexed broiler chicks with body weight of 150 ± 5.47 g/bird (mean ±SD) were used. Chicks were allotted to pens in a completely randomized design hence assigned to four experimental diets containing 0, 10, 15, and 20% of MPSM, respectively. Each diet was offered ad libitum with clean water to 28 broilers in each treatment. There was a linear decrease in average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG) and final body weight (FBW) with incremental levels of MPSM (P < 0.05). Feed conversion ratio (FCR) increased linearly with increasing MPSM levels while Final Body Wight (FBW) decreased linearly with increasing levels of MPSM (P < 0.05). Meat pH24 and colour parameters showed no relationship with increasing levels of MPSM (P > 0.05). Thawing loss, carcass weight and cooking loss showed a linear increase with increasing levels of MPSM (P < 0.05). However, shear force showed a linear decrease with increasing levels of MPSM (P > 0.05). Muscle fat, fat free dry matter (FFDM) and moisture, mono-unsaturated fatty acids and margaric acid showed no relationship with increasing levels of MPSM (P > 0.05), however, a linear decrease (P < 0.05) on myristic acid and palmitic acid with incremental levels of MPSM was observed. Arachidic acid, and α-Linolenic acid increased linearly with inclusion level of MPSM (P < 0.05). Other poly-unsaturated fatty acids, fatty acid ratios and health lipid indices indicators showed no relationship with increasing levels of MPSM (P > 0.05). Increasing inclusion levels of MPSM impairs growth performance of broilers and may also improve broiler quality and fatty acid some fatty acids.

Barometric formula for non-isothermal atmosphere

A new barometric formula is derived for a non-isothermal atmosphere. It takes into account the dependence of the acceleration of gravity and gas temperature on the height z above the Earth’s surface. When deriving this formula, it was assumed that the dependence of the gas temperature on altitude is due to the heating of the Earth’s surface by the Sun and the subsequent heat transfer of energy from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere. The proposed formula coincides with the classical barometric formula for an isothermal atmosphere at low altitudes z, takes into account the experimental linear decrease in the temperature of the atmosphere in its lower layers with increasing altitude z and gives a physically correct asymptotics for the pressure (and for concentration) of the gas as z -> oo, namely, the pressure (and concentration) of gas tends to zero faster than exponentially as z -> oo, which ensures the localization of a finite amount of gas near the Earth.

PSVI-9 Effects of dietary boron supplementation on growth performance, fasting and postprandial serum insulin, and glucose concentration of pigs

A 49-d experiment evaluated the effects of supplemental boron (B) on growth, and serum insulin and glucose concentration of pigs. Crossbred pigs [n = 48; initial body weight (BW) 19.18 ± 0.29 kg] were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 diets based on BW and sex. Diets were corn-SBM-based, formulated to meet NRC (2012) nutrient requirement estimates, and were supplemented with 0, 25, 50, or 100 mg B/kg diet as sodium tetraborate decahydrate. On d 20 and 41, blood samples were collected. Fasting samples were collected following an overnight fast; then a postprandial sample was taken approximately 50 minutes after the pigs had 10 minutes of ad libitum access to feed. Samples were processed and serum analyzed for insulin and glucose concentration. Increasing B levels resulted in a linear decrease for overall ADG (0.87, 0.86, 0.85, and 0.82 kg, P = 0.02). On d 20, supplemental B resulted in a quadratic response on fasting serum glucose concentration (5.25, 4.80, 4.65, and 5.01, P = 0.03) and a linear decrease in postprandial serum insulin concentration (29.1, 25.5, 18.2, and 18.1 µU/mL, P = 0.02). Furthermore, there was a tendency for a linear decrease in fasting insulin:glucose ratio (0.85, 0.84, 0.42, and 0.59, P = 0.08), which became more noticeable during the postprandial state (3.96, 3.63, 2.63, and 2.73, P = 0.02). Again on d 41, there was a quadratic response on fasting serum glucose concentration (4.32, 4.07, 3.91, and 4.68, P = 0.01) with supplemental B. Results suggest that supplemental boron may impact serum insulin and glucose concentrations by reducing the amount of insulin needed to maintain glucose concentrations. However, higher levels of supplemental boron did result in suppressed growth performance. Thus, additional research is warranted to determine the optimum level of supplemental B.

Perceived Pain during Rapid Maxillary Expansion (RME): Trends, Anatomical Distinctions, and Age and Gender Correlations

Objectives. To investigate pain trends and characteristics of different facial districts in patients undergoing rapid maxillary expansion (RME) and its possible correlations with age and gender. Materials and Methods. 85 subjects (45 males and 40 females) undergoing RME were selected and analyzed during first two weeks of treatment. Patients rated daily two types of pain perception: the general perceived pain (GPP), i.e., the pain overall perceived in the face, and the local perceived pain (LPP), i.e., the pain perceived locally in the following anatomical areas: anterior palate (APA), posterior palate (PPA), nasal (NA), joint (JA), and zygomatic (ZA). Patients were provided the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and Wong–Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale (FPS) to correctly assess their GPP and LPP. Pearson correlation coefficient and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were, respectively, used to define the linear relationship between all the variables considered and to verify whether the response variables (gender and age) were significantly different (α < 0.05). Results. Sample’s mean age was 10.11 years. Average pain values of GPP and LPP progressively rise from day 1 to days 2-3 (pain peak) and tended to decrease until day 14, with a linear decrease for GPP and a not linear decrease for LPP. PPA and APA resulted the most painful areas, followed, respectively, by JA, ZA, and NA. Statistically significant differences resulted in average pain values according to patients’ age and gender, both in GPP and LPP. Conclusion. RME causes perception of pain in several maxillofacial areas. Pain reported during RME resulted positively correlated with age and gender of patients.

Characteristics of carcass and non-carcass components of lambs fed wet brewery waste as a roughage feed

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of including wet brewery waste (WBW) as the exclusive dietary roughage source on the characteristics of carcass and non-carcass components of feedlot-finished lambs. Thirty-two non-castrated male lambs weaned at 50 days of age, resulting from the cross between the Texel and Ile de France breeds, were used. The diet was constituted by roughage (WBW) and a concentrate composed of crushed maize, soybean meal, limestone and common salt. Treatments consisted of four levels of WBW as the roughage source in the diet (% dry matter), namely, 31, 44, 57 and 70%. Lambs were slaughtered upon reaching 34 kg live weight. The treatments resulted in a linear decrease in hot and cold carcass weights and yields, carcass compactness index, conformation, degree of fatness and rib-eye area. Among the primal cuts, the absolute weights of pallet, ribs and legs decreased as the WBW level was increased. As to the non-carcass components, only the total gastrointestinal content increased linearly with WBW. The increasing levels of WBW led to greater fasting losses and reduced carcass weights and yields. There was also a reduction in the degree of fatness, carcass compactness, carcass conformation index and rib-eye area Wet brewery waste at the concentration of 31% as the roughage source in the diet of finishing lambs in the feedlot provides better carcass traits.

Short- and long-term variations in groundwater temperature caused by changes in vegetation cover

Several comparative studies of the earth's surface provide evidence that vegetation and other bio-physical processes at the earth's surface can directly affect the atmospheric boundary layer, leading to changes in temperature and precipitation patterns. In this study, we demonstrate how vegetation cover can be responsible for the subsurface temperature variation as well as how this temperature variation can be related to past events. A linear decrease of 0.0407 K/year was estimated, and a decrease of 2 mK was observed in subsurface temperature when the surface temperature exceeded 9 oC. This diurnal temperature variation occurs during the phenological growing season of the vegetation. The transient temperature shows an annual cycle at a depth of 40 m. Model calculation applying a linear decrease in surface temperature of 2 K as a boundary condition was simulated. Comparing the results with the trend it is realistic to assume that when an apparent thermal diffusivity of 1.8*10-6 m²/s is applied an event starting between 10 and 20 years ago is responsible for the detected decrease in temperature. However, with this thermal diffusivity the conductive annual temperature variation reaches an amplitude of 1.1 mK instead of the measured 5.4 mK at 40 m. In conclusion, beside the vegetation causing additional convective heat transport triggered by the annual surface temperature, the influence of reduced solar incoming heat radiation reaching the ground caused by the increased shadowing effect of vegetation cover might be responsible for a continuous decrease in local temperature of 2 K being active approximately 20 years after plantation.

Effects of Increasing Doses of Condensed Tannins Extract from Cistus ladanifer L. on In Vitro Ruminal Fermentation and Biohydrogenation

Cistus ladanifer (rockrose) is a perennial shrub quite abundant in the Mediterranean region, and it is a rich source in secondary compounds such as condensed tannins (CTs). Condensed tannins from C. ladanifer were able to change the ruminal biohydrogenation (BH), increasing the t11–18:1 and c9,t11–18:2 production. However, the adequate conditions of the C. ladanifer CTs used to optimize the production of t11–18:1 and c9,t11–18:2 is not yet known. Thus, we tested the effect of increasing the doses of C. ladanifer CT extract (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 g/kg dry matter (DM)) on in vitro rumen BH. Five in vitro batch incubations replicates were conducted using an oil supplemented high-concentrate substrate, incubated for 24 h with 6 mL of buffered ruminal fluid. Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and long chain fatty acids (FA) were analyzed at 0 h and 24 h, and BH of c9–18:1, c9, c12–18:2 and c9, c12, c15–18:3, and BH products yield were computed. Increasing doses of C. ladanifer CTs led to a moderate linear decrease (p < 0.001) of the VFA production (a reduction of 27% with the highest dose compared to control). The disappearance of c9–18:1 and c9,c12–18:2 as well as the production of t11–18:1 and c9, t11:18:2 was not affected by increasing doses of C. ladanifer CTs, and only the disappearance of c9, c12, c15–18:3 suffered a mild linear decrease (a reduction of 24% with the highest dose compared to control). Nevertheless, increasing the C. ladanifer CT dose led to a strong depression of microbial odd and branched fatty acids and of dimethyl acetals production (less than 65% with the highest dose compared to control), which indicates that microbial growth was more inhibited than fermentative and biohydrogenation activities, in a possible adaptative response of microbial population to stress induced to CTs and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The ability of C. ladanifer to modulate the ruminal BH was not verified in the current in vitro experimental conditions, emphasizing the inconsistent BH response to CTs and highlighting the need to continue seeking the optimal conditions for using CTs to improve the fatty acid profile of ruminant fat.

Beet production using vermiculite incorporated with Dystrophic Red Latosol (Oxisol)

Vermiculite is an expansive material that can be used for crop production. However, information about the use of vermiculite in vegetable production is scarce. Thus, this study's objective was to evaluate the effects of vermiculite levels incorporated into the soil (Red Latosol Dystrophic) for beet (Beta vulgaris L.) crop production. The experiment was performed during spring using the beet cultivar 'Early Wonder Tall Top' and 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 t∙ha-1 of vermiculite incorporated into the soil before seedling planting. The increase of the vermiculite doses caused a linear decrease of the fresh root and leaf weight. The yield reductions were due to the great water holding capacity of the vermiculite and the consequent high incidence of cercosporiosis (Cercospora beticola Saac).