Fertilization and cover crop effects on soil nitrogen and plant nutrition in a young guarana plantation

Fruit tree production is gaining an increasing importance in the central Amazon and elsewhere in the humid tropics, but very little is known about the nutrient dynamics in the soil-plant system. The present study quantified the effects of fertilization and cover cropping with a legume (Pueraria phaseoloides (Roxb.) Benth.) on soil nitrogen (N) dynamics and plant nutrition in a young guarana plantation (Paullinia cupana Kunth. (H.B. and K.) var. sorbilis (Mart.) Ducke) on a highly weathered Xanthic Ferralsol. Large subsoil nitrate (NO3-) accumulation at 0.3-3 m below the guarana plantation indicated N leaching from the topsoil. The NO3- contents to a depth of 2 m were 2.4 times greater between the trees than underneath unfertilized trees (P<0.05). The legume cover crop between the trees increased soil N availability as shown by elevated aerobic N mineralization and lower N immobilization in microbial biomass. The guarana N nutrition and yield did not benefit from the N input by biological fixation of atmospheric N2 by the legume cover (P>0.05). Even without a legume intercrop, large amounts of NO3- were found in the subsoil between unfertilized trees. Subsoil NO3- between the trees could be utilized, however, by fertilized guarana. This can be explained by a more vigorous growth of fertilized trees which had a larger nutrient demand and exploited a larger soil volume. With a legume cover crop, however, more mineral N was available at the topsoil which was leached into the subsoil and consequently accumulated at 0.3-3 m depth. Fertilizer additions of P and K were needed to increase subsoil NO3- use between trees.

Eating habits and psychopathology: translation, adaptation, reliability of the Nutrition Behavior Inventory to Portuguese and relation to psychopathology

Objective: The Nutrition-Behavior Inventory (NBI) is a self-administered instrument that allows eating habits to be correlated with psychopathological symptoms. The objective was to translate and adapt the NBI to Portuguese, and test the Portuguese NBI’s reliability. The second aim was to verify its sensitivity for identification of risk factors in terms of behavior/eating habits in children and adolescents. Methods: The NBI was translated, adapted, and back-translated. The Portuguese version of the NBI was then applied (N = 96; 9-12 years). In order to verify the internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha was used. The psychopathological indicators of the participants were accessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The mean CBCL scores were analyzed in relation to the NBI data (cutoff point: ≥ 30 with indicators, and < 30 without). Results: Internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89) for the NBI. The CBCL scores correlated significantly with NBI (> 30) on the following: anxiety and depression (p = 0.041), social difficulties (p = 0.028), attention problems (p = 0.001), aggressive behavior (p = 0.015); ADHD (p < 0.001), and conduct problems (p = 0.032). Conclusion: The present results indicate that the NBI is a reliable instrument. The NBI can be useful for evaluating psychopathological symptoms related to the eating habits and behaviors of children and adolescents.

Optimization of low-cost nutritional supplementation for lignocellulosic ethanol fermentation

[Excerpt] Bioethanol from lignocellulosic materials (LCM), also called second generation bioethanol, is considered a promising alternative to first generation bioethanol. An efficient production process of lignocellulosic bioethanol involves an effective pretreatment of LCM to improve the accessibility of cellulose and thus enhance the enzymatic saccharification. One interesting approach is to use the whole slurry from treatment, since allows economical and industrial benefits: washing steps are avoided, water consumption is lower and the sugars from liquid phase can be used, increasing ethanol concentration [1]. However, during the pretreatment step some compounds (such as furans, phenolic compounds and weak acids) are produced. These compounds have an inhibitory effect on the microorganisms used for hydrolysate fermentation [2]. To overcome this, the use of a robust industrial strain together with agro-industrial by-products as nutritional supplementation was proposed to increase the ethanol productivities and yields. (...)

Lipid profile of nutrition students and its association with cardiovascular disease risk factors

OBJECTIVE: To describe the lipid profile and to verify its relationship with cardiovascular disease risk factors in students at a public university in São Paulo. METHODS: After obtaining clinical, anthropomorphic, and lipid profile data from 118 students, variables of the lipid profile were related to other risk factors. RESULTS: The mean age of the students was 20.3 years (SD=1.5). The risk of cardiovascular disease was characterized by a positive family history of ischemic heart disease in 38.9%; sedentariness in 35.6%; limiting and increased total and LDL-C cholesterol levels in 17.7% and 10.2%, respectively; decreased HDL-C levels in 11.1%; increased triglyceride levels in 11.1%; body mass index >25 in 8.5%, and smoking in 6.7% of the subjects. Students' diet was found to be inadequate regarding protein, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, and fiber contents. A statistically significant association between cholesterol and contraceptive use, between HDL-C and contraceptive use, age and percent body fat, and triglycerides and percent lean weight was observed. CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of some risk factors of cardiovascular disease as well as the association between these factors with altered lipid profiles was observed in the young population studied.

Regent advances in the study of the mineral nutrition of cotton in Brazil

Due to the great economic importance of the cotton crop to Brazil, a systematic series of research work has been carried out in recent years dealing with its mineral nutrition an fertilization. A summary of recent finding is given in the following sections.

Studies on the mineral nutrition and fertilization of the passion fruit plant (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa): II - placement of fertilizer phosphorus

A localização do superfosfato (marcado com P32) no maracujá em produção foi estudada em condições de plantação comercial. Verificou-se que as aplicações em sulcos circulares ou faixas superficiais ao redor da planta tem eficiência equivalente sendo esses métodos três vezes superiores à localização do adubo em furos no solo. A pulverização foliar, por sua vez, mostrou-se 20 vezes mais eficiente que a aplicação no solo de acordo com os dois primeiros métodos.

Studies on the mineral nutrition and fertilization of the passion fruit plant (Passiflora edulis F. flavicarpa): II. placement of fertilizer phosphorus

1. Tagged superphosphate was applied to 2.5 year old passion fruit plants from a commercial plantation established in a sandy loam. 2. 100 grams of the fertilizer were distributed in the following ways: in a circular furrow 20 cm around the plant 40 cm from the stems; in a circular strip 10 cm wide, 40 cm from the stems; in six holes around the plants, 40 cm from the stems 20 cm deep, 2.5 cm in diameter. 3. 10 grams of the fertilizer in 11 of water were sprayed to the leaves. 4. Three weeks after the treatments were made, leaf samples were taken for analysis. 5. Determinations of specific activities both in the leaves and in the fertilizer used have shown that R in the plant was derived from the superphosphate in the following relative proportions (by making the first treatment equal to 100): circular furrow = 100; circular strip = 120; holes = 30; foliar spray = 230.

Perinatal choline supplementation reveals a dissociation between two types of spatial strategies.

Choline supplementation improving memory functions in rodents is assumed to increase the synthesis and release of acetylcholine in the brain. We have found that a combined pre- and postnatal supplementation results in long-lasting facilitation of spatial memory in juvenile rats when training was conducted in presence of a local salient cue. The present work was aimed at analysing the effects of peri- and postnatal choline supplementation on spatial abilities of naive adult rats. Rats given a perinatal choline supplementation were trained in various cued procedures of the Morris navigation task when aged 5 months. The treatment had a specific effect of reducing the escape latency of the rats when the platform was at a fixed position in space and surrounded by a suspended cue. This effect was associated with an increased spatial bias when the cue and platform were removed. In this condition, the control rats showed impaired spatial discrimination following the removal of the target cue, most likely due to an overshadowing of the distant environmental cues. This impairment was not observed in the treated rats. Further training with the suspended cue at unpredictable places in the pool revealed longer escape latencies in the control than in the treated rats suggesting that this procedure induced a selective perturbation of the normal but not of the treated rats. A special probe trial with the cue at an irrelevant position and no escape platform revealed a significant bias of the control rats toward the cue and of the treated rats toward the uncued spatial escape position. This behavioural dissociation suggests that a salient cue associated with the target induces an alternative "non spatial" guidance strategy in normal rats, with the risk of overshadowing of the more distant spatial cues. In this condition, the choline supplementation facilities a spatial reliance on the cue, that is an overall facilitation of learning a set of spatial relations between several visual cues. As a consequence, the improved escape in presence of the cue is associated with a stronger memory of the spatial position following disappearance of the cue. This and previous observations suggest that a specific spatial attention process relies on the buffering of highly salient visual cues.to facilitate integration of their relative position in the environment.

Development and current use of parenteral nutrition in critical care - an opinion paper.

Critically ill patients depend on artificial nutrition for the maintenance of their metabolic functions and lean body mass, as well as for limiting underfeeding-related complications. Current guidelines recommend enteral nutrition (EN), possibly within the first 48 hours, as the best way to provide the nutrients and prevent infections. EN may be difficult to realize or may be contraindicated in some patients, such as those presenting anatomic intestinal continuity problems or splanchnic ischemia. A series of contradictory trials regarding the best route and timing for feeding have left the medical community with great uncertainty regarding the place of parenteral nutrition (PN) in critically ill patients. Many of the deleterious effects attributed to PN result from inadequate indications, or from overfeeding. The latter is due firstly to the easier delivery of nutrients by PN compared with EN increasing the risk of overfeeding, and secondly to the use of approximate energy targets, generally based on predictive equations: these equations are static and inaccurate in about 70% of patients. Such high uncertainty about requirements compromises attempts at conducting nutrition trials without indirect calorimetry support because the results cannot be trusted; indeed, both underfeeding and overfeeding are equally deleterious. An individualized therapy is required. A pragmatic approach to feeding is proposed: at first to attempt EN whenever and as early as possible, then to use indirect calorimetry if available, and to monitor delivery and response to feeding, and finally to consider the option of combining EN with PN in case of insufficient EN from day 4 onwards.

Enteral versus parenteral nutrition: comparison of energy metabolism in healthy subjects.

Continuous respiratory exchange measurements were performed on 10 healthy young women for 1 h before, 3 h during, and 3 h after either parenteral (iv) or intragastric (ig) administration of a nutrient mixture (52% glucose, 18% amino acid, and 30% lipid energy) infused at twice the postabsorptive resting energy expenditure (REE). REE rose from 0.98 +/- 0.02 (iv) and 0.99 +/- 0.02 kcal/min (ig) postabsorptively to 1.13 +/- 0.03 (iv) and 1.13 +/- 0.02 kcal/min (ig), resulting in nutrient-induced thermogenesis of 10 +/- 0.6 and 9.3 +/- 0.9%, respectively, when related to the metabolizable energy. The respiratory quotient rose from preinfusion values of 0.81 +/- 0.02 (iv) and 0.80 +/- 0.01 (ig) to 0.86 +/- 0.01 (iv) and 0.85 +/- 0.01 (ig). After nutrient administration the respiratory quotient fell significantly to below the preinfusion values. Plasma glucose and insulin concentrations rose during nutrient administration but were higher during the intravenous route. It is concluded that, although the response time to intragastric administration was delayed, the thermic effects and overall substrate oxidations were comparable during intravenous or intragastric administration, albeit, at lower plasma glucose and insulin concentrations via the intragastric route.