Effect of NPK fertilization on production and leaf nutrient content of eucalyptus minicuttings in nutrient solution

Adequate nutrient levels in plants vary according to the species or clone, age and management practice. Therefore, adjustments of the nutrient solution are often necessary according to the plant material for multiplication. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of NPK fertilization on production and leaf nutrient contents of eucalyptus cuttings in nutrient solution. The study was conducted from November 2008 to January 2009 in a greenhouse. The experimental design was completely randomized fractional factorial (4 x 4 x 4)½, with a total of 32 treatments with three replications. The treatments consisted of four doses of N (50, 100, 200 and 400 mg L-1) as urea, P (7.5, 15, 30 and 60 mg L-1) in the form of phosphoric acid and K (50, 100, 200 and 400 mg L-1) in the form of potassium chloride in the nutrient solution. Only the effect of N alone was significant for the number and dry weight of minicuttings per ministump, with a linear decreasing effect with increasing N levels. The highest number of cuttings was obtained at a dose of 50, 7.5 and 50 mg L-1 of N, P and K, respectively.

Different PTH response to oral peptone load and oral calcium load in patients with normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism, primary hyperparathyroidism, and healthy subjects.

BACKGROUND: Normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT-N) is a condition that may have similar long-term implications to primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT); however, differential diagnosis and treatment for parathyroid disorders are not clearly defined. We investigated the effect of an oral peptone and an oral calcium load on calcium-regulating hormones in PHPT-N compared with PHPT and healthy controls to provide a new potential diagnostic tool. DESIGN: Case-control study. METHODS: We evaluated serum gastrin, PTH, ionized calcium, and phosphate responses to oral calcium (1 g) and peptone (10 g) load in 22 PHPT and 20 PHPT-N patients matched for PTH serum values. Moreover, 30 healthy subjects were enrolled as controls. In 12 patients for each group, we also performed the oral peptone test adding aluminum hydroxide (AH) to suppress phosphate absorption. RESULTS: In PHPT patients, PTH increased significantly 30 min after the oral peptone load, while no significant increase was found in PHPT-N and controls. After oral calcium load, PTH remained stable in PHPT while it decreased dramatically in PHPT-N patients, and ionized calcium increased significantly in each of the three groups. Peptones plus AH induced a blunted PTH increase in the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the marked difference in PTH response elicited by peptones in PHPT compared with PHPT-N, we suggest that the oral peptone test could be added to the diagnostic evaluation of PHPT patients. In case of absent response to peptones, patients should have their serum calcium levels assessed twice a year in accordance with recent guidelines.

Oral pregabalin as an add-on treatment for status epilepticus.

Oral antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) represent possible add-on options in refractory status epilepticus (SE). In this setting, pregabalin (PGB) has not been reported before. Over the last 42 months, we identified 11 SE episodes (10 patients) treated with PGB in our hospital. Its use was prompted by the favorable pharmacokinetic profile, devoid of drug-drug interactions. The patients mostly had refractory, partial SE. Only two patients were managed in the intensive care unit (ICU). We found a definite electroclinical response in 5 of 11, already evident 24 h after PGB introduction, and a possible response (concomitantly with other AEDs) in 3 of 11 of the episodes; 3/11 did not respond. The treatment was well tolerated. Partial SE appeared to better respond than generalized convulsive SE. PGB appears to be an interesting option as add-on treatment in refractory partial SE.

Zenith angle distributions at Super-Kamiokande and SNO and the solution of the solar neutrino problem

We have performed a detailed study of the zenith angle dependence of the regeneration factor and distributions of events at SNO and SK for different solutions of the solar neutrino problem. In particular, we discuss the oscillatory behavior and the synchronization effect in the distribution for the LMA solution, the parametric peak for the LOW solution, etc. A physical interpretation of the effects is given. We suggest a new binning of events which emphasizes the distinctive features of the zenith angle distributions for the different solutions. We also find the correlations between the integrated day-night asymmetry and the rates of events in different zenith angle bins. The study of these correlations strengthens the identification power of the analysis.

Deficiency symptoms and uptake of micronutrients by castor bean grown in nutrient solution

Castor bean is a nutrient-demanding species, but there is still little information on its micronutrient requirements. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of levels of B (2.5, 12.5 and 25.0 µmol L-1), Cu (0.05, 0.25 and 0.50 µmol L-1), Mn (0.2, 1.0 and 2.0 µmol L-1) and Zn (0.2, 1.0 and 2.0 µmol L-1) in a nutrient solution on plant B, Cu, Mn and Zn concentrations and uptake, vegetative growth and fruit yield of castor bean "Iris", grown in greenhouse. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized block design with three replicates. The first deficiency symptoms were observed for B, followed by Zn, Cu and Mn. The main changes in the cell ultrastructure due to lack of B were thickening of the cell walls and middle lamellae, distorted chloroplasts and tightly stacked thylakoids, besides the absence of starch grains. The Mn, Zn and Cu deficiencies led to disruption of chloroplasts, disintegration of thylakoids and absence of amyloplasts. The concentration and uptake of B, Cu, Mn, and Zn in castor bean plants increased with micronutrient supply in the solution. Fruit yield was drastically reduced by B and Mn deficiencies. On the other hand, the dry matter yield of the shoot and root of castor bean plants was not. In the treatment with full nutrient solution, the leaves accumulated 56 and 48 % of the total B and Mn taken up by the plants, respectively, and the seeds and roots 85 and 61 % of the total Cu and Zn taken up, respectively. This shows the high demand of castor bean Iris for B and Mn for fruit yield.

Dynamics of ammonium and pH in the solution of soils with different salinity levels, growing irrigated rice

Rice in Rio Grande do Sul State is grown mostly under flooding, which induces a series of chemical, physical and biological changes in the root environment. These changes, combined with the presence of rice plants, affect the availability of exchangeable ammonium (NH4+) and pH of soil solution, whereas the dynamics of both variables can be influenced by soil salinity, a common problem in the coastal region. This study was conducted to evaluate the dynamics of exchangeable NH4+ and pH in the soil solution, and their relation in the solution of Albaqualf soils with different salinity levels, under rice. Four field experiments were conducted with soils with exchangeable Na percentage (ESP) of 5.6, 9.0, 21.2, and 32.7 %. Prior to flooding, soil solution collectors were installed at depths of 5, 10 and 20 cm. The soil solution was collected weekly, from 7 to 91 days after flooding (DAF), to analyze exchangeable NH4+ and pH in the samples. Plant tissue was sampled 77 DAF, to determine N uptake and estimate the contribution of other N forms to rice nutrition. The content of exchangeable NH4+ decreased over time at all sites and depths, with a more pronounced reduction in soils with lower salinity levels, reaching values close to zero. A possible contribution of non-exchangeable NH4+ forms and N from soil organic matter to rice nutrition was observed. Soil pH decreased with time in soils with ESP 5.6 and 9.0 %, being positively correlated with the decreasing NH4+ levels at these sites.

Can one or two high doses of oral vitamin D3 correct insufficiency in a non-supplemented rheumatologic population?

We evaluated the effectiveness of supplementation with high dose of oral vitamin D3 to correct vitamin D insufficiency. We have shown that one or two oral bolus of 300,000 IU of vitamin D3 can correct vitamin D insufficiency in 50% of patients and that the patients who benefited more from supplementation were those with the lowest baseline levels. INTRODUCTION: Adherence with daily oral supplements of vitamin D3 is suboptimal. We evaluated the effectiveness of a single high dose of oral vitamin D3 (300,000 IU) to correct vitamin D insufficiency in a rheumatologic population. METHODS: Over 1 month, 292 patients had levels of 25-OH vitamin D determined. Results were classified as: deficiency <10 ng/ml, insufficiency ≥10 to 30 ng/ml, and normal ≥30 ng/ml. We added a category using the IOM recommended cut-off of 20 ng/ml. Patients with deficient or normal levels were excluded, as well as patients already supplemented with vitamin D3. Selected patients (141) with vitamin D insufficiency (18.5 ng/ml (10.2-29.1) received a prescription for 300,000 IU of oral vitamin D3 and were asked to return after 3 (M3) and 6 months (M6). Patients still insufficient at M3 received a second prescription for 300,000 IU of oral vitamin D3. Relation between changes in 25-OH vitamin D between M3 and M0 and baseline values were assessed. RESULTS: Patients (124) had a blood test at M3. Two (2%) had deficiency (8.1 ng/ml (7.5-8.7)) and 50 (40%) normal results (36.7 ng/ml (30.5-5.5)). Seventy-two (58%) were insufficient (23.6 ng/ml (13.8-29.8)) and received a second prescription for 300,000 IU of oral vitamin D3. Of the 50/124 patients who had normal results at M3 and did not receive a second prescription, 36 (72%) had a test at M6. Seventeen (47%) had normal results (34.8 ng/ml (30.3-42.8)) and 19 (53%) were insufficient (25.6 ng/ml (15.2-29.9)). Of the 72/124 patients who receive a second prescription, 54 (75%) had a test at M6. Twenty-eight (52%) had insufficiency (23.2 ng/ml (12.8-28.7)) and 26 (48%) had normal results (33.8 ng/ml (30.0-43.7)). At M3, 84% patients achieved a 25-OH vitamin D level >20 ng/ml. The lowest the baseline value, the highest the change after 3 months (negative relation with a correlation coefficient r = -0.3, p = 0.0007). CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that one or two oral bolus of 300,000 IU of vitamin D3 can correct vitamin D insufficiency in 50% of patients.

Nutrition, dry matter accumulation and partitioning and phosphorus use efficiency of potato grown at different phosphorus levels in nutrient solution

High rates of phosphate fertilizers are applied to potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), which may cause antagonistic interactions with other nutrients and limit crop yields when over-supplied. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of phosphorus (P) levels in nutrient solution on P use efficiency, nutritional status and dry matter (DM) accumulation and partitioning of potato plants cv. Ágata. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse, arranged in a completely randomized block design with four replications. Treatments consisted of seven P levels in nutrient solution (0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 31, and 48 mg L-1). Plants were harvested after 28 days of growth in nutrient solution, and separated in roots, stems and leaves for evaluations. The treatment effects were analyzed by regression analysis. Phosphorus levels of up to 8 mg L-1 increased the root and shoot DM accumulation, but drastically decreased the root/shoot ratio of potato cv. Ágata. Higher P availability increased P concentration, accumulation and absorption efficiency, but decreased P use efficiency. Higher P levels increased the N, P, Mg, Fe, and Mn concentrations in roots considerably and decreased K, S, Cu, and Zn concentrations. In shoot biomass, N, P, K, and Ca concentrations were significantly increased by P applied in solution, unlike Mg and Cu concentrations. Although higher P levels (> 8 mg L-1) in nutrient solution increased P concentration, accumulation and absorption efficiency, the DM accumulation and partitioning of potato cv. Ágata were not affected.

A Rotating black ring solution in five dimensions

The vacuum Einstein equations in five dimensions are shown to admit a solution describing a stationary asymptotically flat spacetime regular on and outside an event horizon of topology S1S2. It describes a rotating black ring. This is the first example of a stationary asymptotically flat vacuum solution with an event horizon of nonspherical topology. The existence of this solution implies that the uniqueness theorems valid in four dimensions do not have simple five-dimensional generalizations. It is suggested that increasing the spin of a spherical black hole beyond a critical value results in a transition to a black ring, which can have an arbitrarily large angular momentum for a given mass.

Exact solution to the mean exit time problem for free inertial processes driven by Gaussian white noise

We obtain the exact analytical expression, up to a quadrature, for the mean exit time, T(x,v), of a free inertial process driven by Gaussian white noise from a region (0,L) in space. We obtain a completely explicit expression for T(x,0) and discuss the dependence of T(x,v) as a function of the size L of the region. We develop a new method that may be used to solve other exit time problems.

Prevalence of patients' difficulties in swallowing solid oral dosage forms

Introduction Swallowing difficulties, or dysphagia, can occur in anyage group, although it is most common among elderly people. It canaffect patients' ability to take solid oral dosage forms, thus compromisingmedication adherence. Although literature is poor, availabledata show that prevalence in the general population ranges from 25 to60%. Prevalence in community pharmacies needs to be explored.Materials & Methods Community pharmacies were recruited from arandom selection in three Swiss states: Basel-Stadt (BS), Basel-Landschaft (BL) and Lausanne (LA). Patients' ability to swallowsolid oral medications was enquired with a semi-structured interview;the interviewer spent 4 h in each included pharmacy. Each consecutivepatient (18 years and older) entering the pharmacy with aprescription for at least 3 different solid oral forms was enrolled.Study was approved by the Lausanne ethics committee.Results Sixty pharmacies took part in the study (20 in BS, 10 in BL,30 in LA) between March and May 2010. Patient inclusion rate was77.8% (410/527). Prevalence of swallowing disorders was 22.4% (92/410). Patients with swallowing disorders were older (mean age: 67.5± 16 years vs. 63.0 ± 14 years, range 19-96; p = 0.03) and moreoften women (69.6% vs. 59.1%; Chi2 = 3.3, p = 0.04) than patientswithout swallowing disorders. They had on average 4.6 ± 2.7 drugswith a mean number of 5.5 ± 3.3 tablets or capsules to take daily,which didn't differ from the number of drugs taken by patientswithout swallowing difficulties (4.9 ± 2.5 drugs and 5.9 ± 3.5 tablets;n.s.). The difficulty was mainly related to the big size (63%) orthe quality of pill coating (rough, sticky, 14%). Twenty-one patients(37.5%) stated that their swallowing disorders resulted in nonadherence, rated as rarely (12 patients), sometimes (6 patients), veryoften (1 patient) or always (2 patients). According to patients, nopharmacist and only 2 physicians enquired about patients' swallowingissue.Discussion & Conclusion Swallowing difficulties are frequent amongpatients in community pharmacies in Switzerland with an estimatedprevalence of 22%. The problem resulted in non adherence or partialadherence in at least 35% of these patients. However, pharmacists andphysicians did not routinely inquire about the disorder. Guidelinesshould be developed for promoting systematic approaches of patientsin community pharmacies.

Continued fraction solution for the radiative transfer equation in three dimensions

Starting from the radiative transfer equation, we obtain an analytical solution for both the free propagator along one of the axes and an arbitrary phase function in the Fourier-Laplace domain. We also find the effective absorption parameter, which turns out to be very different from the one provided by the diffusion approximation. We finally present an analytical approximation procedure and obtain a differential equation that accurately reproduces the transport process. We test our approximations by means of simulations that use the Henyey-Greenstein phase function with very satisfactory results.