Industrial and urban organic wastes increase soil microbial activity and biomass

Microbial processes have been used as indicators of soil quality, due to the high sensitivity to small changes in management to evaluate, e.g., the impact of applying organic residues to the soil. In an experiment in a completely randomized factorial design 6 x 13 + 4, (pot without soil and residue or absolute control) the effect of following organic wastes was evaluated: pulp mill sludge, petrochemical complex sludge, municipal sewage sludge, dairy factory sewage sludge, waste from pulp industry and control (soil without organic waste) after 2, 4, 6, 12, 14, 20, 28, 36, 44, 60, 74, 86, and 98 days of incubation on some soil microbial properties, with four replications. The soil microbial activity was highly sensitive to the carbon/nitrogen ratio of the organic wastes. The amount of mineralized carbon was proportional to the quantity of soil-applied carbon. The average carbon dioxide emanating from the soil with pulp mill sludge, corresponding to soil basal respiration, was 0.141 mg C-CO2 100 g-1 soil h-1. This value is 6.4 times higher than in the control, resulting in a significant increase in the metabolic quotient from 0.005 in the control to 0.025 mg C-CO2 g-1 Cmic h-1 in the soil with pulp mill sludge. The metabolic quotient in the other treatments did not differ from the control (p < 0.01), demonstrating that these organic wastes cause no disturbance in the microbial community.

Eight years experience from a skeletal dysplasia referral center in a tertiary hospital in Southern India: A model for the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases in a developing country.

We report on a series of 514 consecutive diagnoses of skeletal dysplasia made over an 8-year period at a tertiary hospital in Kerala, India. The most common diagnostic groups were dysostosis multiplex group (n = 73) followed by FGFR3 (n = 49) and osteogenesis imperfecta and decreased bone density group (n = 41). Molecular confirmation was obtained in 109 cases. Clinical and radiographic evaluation was obtained in close diagnostic collaboration with expert groups abroad through Internet communication for difficult cases. This has allowed for targeted biochemical and molecular studies leading to the correct identification of rare or novel conditions, which has not only helped affected families by allowing for improved genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis but also resulted in several scientific contributions. We conclude that (1) the spectrum of genetic bone disease in Kerala, India, is similar to that of other parts of the world, but recessive entities may be more frequent because of widespread consanguinity; (2) prenatal detection of skeletal dysplasias remains relatively rare because of limited access to expert prenatal ultrasound facilities; (3) because of the low accessibility to molecular tests, precise clinical-radiographic phenotyping remains the mainstay of diagnosis and counseling and of gatekeeping to efficient laboratory testing; (4) good phenotyping allows, a significant contribution to the recognition and characterization of novel entities. We suggest that the tight collaboration between a local reference center with dedicated personnel and expert diagnostic networks may be a proficient model to bring current diagnostics to developing countries. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A multi-center study: intra-scan and inter-scan variability of diffusion spectrum imaging.

The objective of this study was to investigate whether it is possible to pool together diffusion spectrum imaging data from four different scanners, located at three different sites. Two of the scanners had identical configuration whereas two did not. To measure the variability, we extracted three scalar maps (ADC, FA and GFA) from the DSI and utilized a region and a tract-based analysis. Additionally, a phantom study was performed to rule out some potential factors arising from the scanner performance in case some systematic bias occurred in the subject study. This work was split into three experiments: intra-scanner reproducibility, reproducibility with twin-scanner settings and reproducibility with other configurations. Overall for the intra-scanner and twin-scanner experiments, the region-based analysis coefficient of variation (CV) was in a range of 1%-4.2% and below 3% for almost every bundle for the tract-based analysis. The uncinate fasciculus showed the worst reproducibility, especially for FA and GFA values (CV 3.7-6%). For the GFA and FA maps, an ICC value of 0.7 and above is observed in almost all the regions/tracts. Looking at the last experiment, it was found that there is a very high similarity of the outcomes from the two scanners with identical setting. However, this was not the case for the two other imagers. Given the fact that the overall variation in our study is low for the imagers with identical settings, our findings support the feasibility of cross-site pooling of DSI data from identical scanners.

Changes in a Rhodic Hapludox under no-tillage and urban waste compost in the northwest of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The use of urban waste compost as nutrient source in agriculture has been a subject of investigation in Brazil and elsewhere, although the effects on soil physical and chemical properties and processes are still poorly known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of application of urban waste compost and mineral fertilizer on soil aggregate stability and organic carbon and total nitrogen content of a Rhodic Hapludox under no-tillage in the northwestern region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 growing seasons. The experiment was arranged in a 2 × 6 (seasons and fertilization) factorial in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The factor time consisted of two growing seasons (sunflower in 2009/10 and maize in 2010/11) and the factor fertilization of five rates of urban waste compost (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 m³ ha-1), and mineral fertilizer. Soil samples were collected from the 0.0-0.10 m layer to determine aggregate stability (mean weight and geometric diameter), soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN). Rates of up to 75 m³ ha-1 of urban waste compost, after two years of application to no-tillage maize and sunflower, improved aggregation compared to mineral fertilization in a Rhodic Hapludox. After the second crop, the SOC and TN contents increased linearly with the levels of urban waste compost.

Psychiatric co-morbidities and cardiovascular risk factors in people with lifetime history of epilepsy of an urban community.

OBJECTIVES: Depression has been consistently reported in people with epilepsy. Several studies also suggest a higher burden of cardiovascular diseases. We therefore analysed psychosocial co-morbidity and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with a lifetime history of epilepsy in the PsyCoLaus study, a Swiss urban population-based assessment of mental health and cardiovascular risk factors in adults aged between 35 and 66 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Among 3719 participants in the PsyCoLaus study, we retrospectively identified those reporting at least 2 unprovoked seizures, defined as epilepsy. These subjects were compared to all others regarding psychiatric, social, and cardiovascular risk factors data using uni- and multivariable assessments. RESULTS: A significant higher need for social help (p<0.001) represented the only independent difference between 43 subjects with a history of epilepsy and 3676 controls, while a higher prevalence of psychiatric co-morbidities (p=0.015) and a lower prevalent marital status (p=0.01) were only significant on univariate analyses. Depression and cardio-vascular risk factors, as well as educational level and employment, were similar among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis confirms an increased prevalence of psychosocial burden in subjects with a lifetime history of epilepsy; conversely, we did not find a higher cardiovascular risk. The specific urban and geographical location of our cohort and the age span of the studied population may account for the differences from previous studies.

Centre de la prostate: une approche multidisciplinaire pour une prise en charge globale du patient [Prostate cancer center: a multidisciplinary approach to accurately manage patients with prostate cancer]

The prostate cancer is a complex pathology involving oncological, functional and psychosocial items. The prostate's center of CHUV harmonize the know-how of urologists, oncologist, radiotherapists and clinical nurses to offer a global management to patients attempts by prostate cancer, from diagnosis to therapy and follow-up.

Report on the Iowa Department of Human Services – Central Distribution Center for the year ended June 30, 2011

Report on the Iowa Department of Human Services – Central Distribution Center for the year ended June 30, 2011

Utilization of Remote Traffic Monitoring Devices for Urban Freeway Work Zone Assessment Final Report, January 2012

The objective of this project was to promote and facilitate analysis and evaluation of the impacts of road construction activities in Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiative (SWZDI) states. The two primary objectives of this project were to assess urban freeway work-zone impacts through use of remote monitoring devices, such as radar-based traffic sensors, traffic cameras, and traffic signal loop detectors, and evaluate the effectiveness of using these devices for such a purpose. Two high-volume suburban freeway work zones, located on Interstate 35/80 (I-35/I-80) through the Des Moines, Iowa metropolitan area, were evaluated at the request of the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT).

Multi-sided Böhm-Bawerk assignment markets: the nucleolus and the core-center

En aquest treball mostrem que, a diferència del cas bilateral, per als mercats multilaterals d'assignació coneguts amb el nom de Böhm-Bawerk assignment games, el nucleolus i el core-center, i. e. el centre de masses del core, no coincideixen en general. Per demostrar-ho provem que donant un m-sided Böhm-Bawerk assignment game les dues solucions anteriors poden obtenir-se respectivament del nucleolus i el core-center d'un joc convex definit en el conjunt format pels m sectors. Encara més, provem que per calcular el nucleolus d'aquest últim joc només les coalicions formades per un jugador o m-1 jugadors són importants. Aquests resultats simplifiquen el càlcul del nucleolus d'un multi-sided ¿¿ohm-Bawerk assignment market amb un número molt elevat d'agents.

Audit report on the Muscatine Agricultural Learning Center for the year ended December 31, 2011 and the six months ended December 31, 2010

Audit report on the Muscatine Agricultural Learning Center for the year ended December 31, 2011 and the six months ended December 31, 2010

Chagas Disease among the Latin American Adult population attending in a primary care center in Barcelona, Spain

Background/Aims: The epidemiology of Chagas disease, until recently confined to areas of continental Latin America, has undergone considerable changes in recent decades due to migration to other parts of the world, including Spain. We studied the prevalence of Chagas disease in Latin American patients treated at a health center in Barcelona and evaluated its clinical phase. We make some recommendations for screening for the disease. Methodology/Principal Findings: We performed an observational, cross-sectional prevalence study by means of an immunochromatographic test screening of all continental Latin American patients over the age of 14 years visiting the health centre from October 2007 to October 2009. The diagnosis was confirmed by serological methods: conventional in-house ELISA (cELISA), a commercial kit (rELISA) and ELISA using T cruzi lysate (Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics) (oELISA). Of 766 patients studied, 22 were diagnosed with T. cruzi infection, showing a prevalence of 2.87% (95% CI, 1.6-4.12%). Of the infected patients, 45.45% men and 54.55% women, 21 were from Bolivia, showing a prevalence in the Bolivian subgroup (n = 127) of 16.53% (95% CI, 9.6-23.39%). All the infected patients were in a chronic phase of Chagas disease: 81% with the indeterminate form, 9.5% with the cardiac form and 9.5% with the cardiodigestive form. All patients infected with T. cruzi had heard of Chagas disease in their country of origin, 82% knew someone affected, and 77% had a significant history of living in adobe houses in rural areas. Conclusions: We found a high prevalence of T. cruzi infection in immigrants from Bolivia. Detection of T. cruzi¿infected persons by screening programs in non-endemic countries would control non-vectorial transmission and would benefit the persons affected, public health and national health systems.