ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Sustainability concerns as well as recent increases in fertilizer prices exacerbates the need to optimise the use of biowastes as fertilizers. For this reason, we investigated how different pretreatments affect the P dynamics when biofertilizers are placed in the soil. METHODS: Sewage sludge (SS), sewage sludge ash (SS-ash), meat and bone meal (MBM), and the solid fraction of biogas digestate (BGF) were pretreated with H2SO4, NaOH, and Ca(OH)2 and incubated for 2 and 12 days, respectively, in a one-dimensional reaction system for detailed studies of the interactions in the biomaterial-soil interface and the soil adjacent to the placement zone. RESULTS: Our results showed that acidification and treatment with NaOH increased the P solubility of the biomaterials. The P loss from the biomaterial layer to the soil was correlated with water-extractable P in the biomaterials (0.659) and water-extractable P in the soil (0.809). Acidification significantly increased the total amount of P depleted from the biomaterial to the soil whereas NaOH pre-treatment did not. However, for NaOH-treated SS and SS-ash, the apparent recoveries were significantly higher compared to the acidification due to a decrease in soil P sorption capacity as the soil pH increased due to residual alkalinity in the biomaterials. CONCLUSIONS: Acidification showed promising results by increasing the P solubility of all the biomaterials, and the alkalinization of SS and SS-ash with NaOH by increasing the apparent recovery in the soil. However, further studies are needed to assess the effects of these treatments on plant growth and P uptake.
Subject(s)
Sewage , Soil , Solubility , Coal Ash , Sodium Hydroxide , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Fertilizers/analysisABSTRACT
Being able to recognize and treat a dermatologic emergency is extremely important to the primary care physician. This ability is very rewarding for the patient and gratifying to the physician. In this article, some of the more commonly encountered emergencies are discussed.
Subject(s)
Skin Diseases/diagnosis , Angioedema/genetics , Bacterial Infections/diagnosis , Bites and Stings/diagnosis , Burns/diagnosis , Dermatitis, Contact/diagnosis , Dermatitis, Exfoliative/diagnosis , Drug Eruptions/diagnosis , Emergencies , Erythema Multiforme/diagnosis , Erythema Nodosum/diagnosis , Family Practice , Herpes Simplex/diagnosis , Humans , Lice Infestations/diagnosis , Photosensitivity Disorders/diagnosis , Pityriasis/diagnosis , Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever/diagnosis , Scabies/diagnosis , Serum Sickness/diagnosis , Skin Diseases, Infectious/diagnosis , Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/diagnosis , Sunburn/diagnosis , Urticaria/diagnosisABSTRACT
Disseminate cutaneous and osseous sporotrichosis is reported in a patient who failed to respond to 6 months of iodide therapy. Although the patient showed improvement on a 2-month course of amphotericin B, he experienced a fulminant relapse 12 days after the amphotericin B was stopped. Cure was achieved after 6 months of 5-fluorocytosine (8 gm/day) in conjunction with amphotericin B (total, 4.8 gm). The fluorocytosine was continued for an entire year. Two years after all treatment was discontinued the patient remained in good health. The only complication was a marked photosensitivity associated with the 5-fluorocytosine therapy. This is the second case of such photosensitivity in the literature.
