1,720,966 research outputs found
Sustainable Fertilizer from slaughterhouse digested sludge
No full textThis dataset contains data related to the evaluation of the fertilizing potential of a dried anaerobic digestate produced from slaughterhouse residues, generated in the framework of the “Sustainable fertilizers” EIT FOOD project. The fertilizing potential was assessed through a short-term (42 days) soil incubation experiment using two different soils, Clay-Loam cambisol soil (CC) and Fulvic cambisol soil (FC). The effect of the dried anaerobic digestate (DD) application was compared with other fertilizers: i) diammonium phosphate (MIN); ii) digested manure (DM); iii) cattle manure (CM), and a negative control as unfertilized soil (CTR). Each fertilizer was added to each soil in a dose of 100 mgN/kg of dry soil. During the incubation period, ammonium-nitrogen, nitrate/nitrite-nitrogen and phosphorus release were monitored. At the end of the incubation, biochemical (extractable carbon and nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon, enzyme activities) and chemical (pH, electric conductivity, exchangeable Mg, K and Ca) were assessed. Moreover, community level physiological profiling (CLPP) analysis was performed through Biolog® with ECO-plates
Organic fertilizers obtained from metal-free and chromium tanned leather: Evaluation of nitrogen release and the effects on the soil microbiome
Full text linkTannery industry generates over 4 million tonnes of waste annually, with 600,000 tonnes containing 2.5-6 % chromium (Cr). Tannery wastes can be employed as fertilizers due to their N and organic matter content. However, their use raises concerns about Cr and trace element contamination. Metal-free tanning processes (wet white, WW) offer an environmentally friendly alternative to Cr-based tanning (wet blue, WB), however 90 % of leather production still relies on WB tanning. The fertilizing potential of WW tanning residues has been little investigated, while this knowledge will be essential for a rational reuse of these materials in sustainable agriculture. This study evaluates fertilizers produced from hydrolysed leather residues (WW and WB) by assessing: i) N release dynamics; ii) effects on key soil fertility indicators; iii) microbial community physiological profiling; iv) Cr and trace element bioavailability to plants. Physicochemical characterization was first performed, afterwards, a soil incubation experiment was conducted. Both fertilizers released N fitting a first-order kinetics model, releasing 40-45 % of their total N after 42 days. DTPA-extractable Cr increased but remained low (31 mu g kg-1) in WB-treated soils. Biochemical indicators were positively affected by WW and WB fertilizers, and microbial community profiles were influenced by their composition but not by the presence of Cr in WB. Overall, WW and WB fertilizers effectively supplied N and enhanced microbial activity, without adversely impacting soil fertility indicators. Rhizotest suggested that Cr was not bioavailable for tomato plants in both fertilizers, even though total Cr reached about 60 mu g kg-1 in WB-fertilized soils
Early transcriptomic changes in cucumber and maize roots in response to FePO4 nanoparticles as a source of P and Fe
Full text linkAbstract The use of nanoparticles as an alternative to traditional fertilizers, aiming at a more efficient use of nutrients, is a recently developed concept that requires a thorough understanding of the processes occurring in the soil-plant system. A crucial aspect in this framework is to decipher the plant responses to the unique characteristics of these materials. In this work, we aim at decoding the transcriptional responses of cucumber and maize roots to FePO4 nanoparticles applied as P and Fe sources, respectively. The results demonstrate that P and Fe supplied as nanoscale salts support plant nutrition with an efficiency comparable to that of ionic forms of the nutrients. This supposition is confirmed by transcriptomic profiles that show no significant upregulation of transcripts typically induced by deficiencies in P and Fe in cucumber and maize plants in which these nutrients were provided by FePO4 nanoparticles. The analysis further revealed that nanoparticles alter the expression of genes involved in root development and stress responses, effect that appeared to be independent on the nutritional status of the plants. Our data further underline the challenge to identify generalizable elements of the impact of nanomaterials on plant species, as responses are intimately linked to the type of nanomaterials and differ among plant species
A novel FePO4 nanosized fertilizer is as effective as triple superphosphate in sustaining the growth of cucumber plants
No full textThe behaviour of nanofertilizers (NFs) in plant-soil systems can differ from that of conventional chemical fertilizers due to their peculiar chemical-physical properties. Their effectiveness is still poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the P fertilization potential of a novel nanosized FePO4 NF (FePNF) in a plant-soil microcosm in a pot experiment. The efficacies of FePNF and a conventional P fertilizer (triple superphosphate, TSP) in sustaining the growth of cucumber plants were evaluated. Plants were grown for 28 d on a P-deficient soil and determinations were made, including plant growth parameters, mineral nutrient concentrations in plant tissues, P availability in soil, activities of enzymes involved in C, N, P, and S mineralization, and soil microbial community structure. No significant differences were found in plant dry weight, leaf area, chlorophyll content, or root growth between the FePNF and TSP treatments. Conversely, P availability in soil and P concentration in plant tissues at the end of the plant growth period were significantly higher after TSP fertilization compared to FePNF fertilization, whereas no significant differences were observed for other nutrients. Among the measured soil enzyme activities, there were no significant differences in the activities of soil acid phosphatase, β-glucosidase, and arylsulfatase between the FePNF and TSP treatments, while soil alkaline phosphatase activity was higher in the TSP treatment than in the FePNF treatment, and the protease activity was higher in the FePNF treatment than in the TSP treatment. The FePNF and TSP treatments showed significant differences in soil archaeal, bacterial, and fungal community structures, although the microbial community profiles generally clustered closer to each other in two treatments. We concluded that FePNF can be an efficient alternative to the conventional P fertilizer TSP
Dried Anaerobic Digestate from Slaughterhouse By-products: Emerging Cues for a Bio-Based Fertilization
Full text linkThe slaughterhouse and meat industry are worldwide rapidly growing and produce billions of tonnes of organic wastes annually. These materials can be used to produce biogas through anaerobic digestion and the resulting digestate represents a potential source of organic carbon and nutrients that could be applied to the soil as organic fertilizer. The present work aims to assess the fertilizing potential of a dried anaerobic digestate (DD) produced from beef slaughtering waste. DD was characterized at the physic-chemical level, particularly focusing on macro- and micronutrient contents, potentially toxic element and organic contaminants. Then, a short-term soil incubation experiment was performed on two different soils. After the incubation, DD released 10-26% of their total nitrogen (N) and 13-16% of total phosphorus (P), depending on the soils that had different characteristics and responded differently to the treatments. However, DD had positive effects on the principal soil fertility indicators, such as chitinase and phosphatases, stimulating the microbial activity and therefore exploiting a fertilizing potential as well as the other organic fertilizers tested. Moreover, DD had minor effects on soil extractable carbon (Cext) suggesting the presence of recalcitrant C forms in spite of soluble C, indicating a higher stability of slaughterhouse by-products after anaerobic digestion in respect to the other organic fertilizers. The results obtained in this work raise the concrete possibility use DD as a bio-based fertilizer
Assessing the Fertilizing Potential of Two Tannery Bio-Wastes Through Short-Term Soil Incubation and Plant Rhizosphere Bioassay
No full textThe tannery industry is a significant global manufacturing sector, producing over 4 million tons of tannery bio-wastes (TBWs) annually, and to reintegrate TBWs into the productive cycle offers a significant alternative to landfill disposal. Despite TBWs are rich in organic matter, nitrogen (N), and carbon (C) they pose important environmental risks, such as the presence of heavy metals like chromium (Cr) that can be released into the environment. This study aimed at evaluating the fertilizing potential of two TBWs-based fertilizers through a complementary laboratory-scale approach by using a short-term soil incubation experiment and the Rhizotest (ISO16198: 2015) bioassay. Two TBWs-based fertilizers, Tannery Sludge (TS) and Integrated Leather Meal (ILM), were subjected to 42 days of soil incubation and to Rhizotest bioassay. Nitrogen release, chemical and biochemical indicators were assayed after the soil incubation. Tomato plants uptake of heavy metals and rhizosphere enzyme activities were assayed after Rhizotest. TS and ILM released 11% and 35% of their total N content respectively, with TS acting more as a slow-release fertilizer. Heavy metal contamination was negligible, except for Cr, which however remained in the soil in its trivalent form and was not absorbed by plants. Rhizotest allowed to highlight that TS and ILM stimulated broad and specific enzyme activities in the rhizosphere soil. This complementary approach enabled rapid, reproducible, and sensitive characterization of organic fertilizers produced from TBWs, which have the potential to be employed as organic fertilizers safely
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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