Humic Acid Mitigates the Negative Effects of High Rates of Biochar Application on Microbial Activity

Objective: Biochar and a commercial humic acid-rich product, Humac (modified leonardite), represent soil amendments with the broad and beneficial effects on various soil properties. Their combination has been scarcely tested so far, although the positive impact of their interaction might be desirable. Materials and Methods: The dehydrogenase activity (DHA), microbial biomass carbon (Cmic), soil respiration (basal and substrate-induced), enzyme activities, total carbon (Ctot), and both shoot and root biomass yield were measured and compared in the short-term pot experiment with the lettuce seedlings. The following treatments were tested: the unamended soil (control), the Humac-amended soil (0.8 g·kg−1), the biochar-amended soil (low biochar 32 g·kg−1, high biochar 80 g·kg−1), and the soil-amended with biochar + Humac. Results: The effect of both amendments on the soil pH was insignificant. The highest average values of Ctot and Cmic were detected in high biochar treatment and the highest average values of basal and substrate-induced respiration (glucose, glucosamine, alanine) were detected in the low biochar treatment. The phosphatase activity and fresh and dry lettuce aboveground biomass were the highest in the low biochar + Humac treatment. Conclusions: Even though the combination of both biochar + Humac decreased the microbial activities in the amended soil (Cmic, DHA, enzymes, substrate-induced respiration) at the low biochar dose, they mitigated the detrimental effect of the high biochar dose on respiration (all the types) and the enzyme (phosphatase, arylsulphatase) activities. In contrast to the previously published research in this issue, the effects could not be attributed to the change of the soil pH.

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Diabetes and Heart Failure: Is it Hyperglycemia or Hyperinsulinemia?

Current Vascular Pharmacology ◽

10.2174/1570161117666190408164326 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 148-157 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Triantafyllos Didangelos ◽

Konstantinos Kantartzis

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Insulin Treatment ◽

Close Association ◽

Adverse Outcomes ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Appropriate Treatment ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Treatment Of Diabetes

The cardiac effects of exogenously administered insulin for the treatment of diabetes (DM) have recently attracted much attention. In particular, it has been questioned whether insulin is the appropriate treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and heart failure. While several old and some new studies suggested that insulin treatment has beneficial effects on the heart, recent observational studies indicate associations of insulin treatment with an increased risk of developing or worsening of pre-existing heart failure and higher mortality rates. However, there is actually little evidence that the associations of insulin administration with any adverse outcomes are causal. On the other hand, insulin clearly causes weight gain and may also cause serious episodes of hypoglycemia. Moreover, excess of insulin (hyperinsulinemia), as often seen with the use of injected insulin, seems to predispose to inflammation, hypertension, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, heart failure, and arrhythmias. Nevertheless, it should be stressed that most of the data concerning the effects of insulin on cardiac function derive from in vitro studies with isolated animal hearts. Therefore, the relevance of the findings of such studies for humans should be considered with caution. In the present review, we summarize the existing data about the potential positive and negative effects of insulin on the heart and attempt to answer the question whether any adverse effects of insulin or the consequences of hyperglycemia are more important and may provide a better explanation of the close association of DM with heart failure.

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Reproduction and biomarker responses of Eisenia fetida after exposure to imidacloprid in biochar-amended soil

Biochar ◽

10.1007/s42773-021-00103-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ngitheni Winnie-Kate Nyoka ◽

Ozekeke Ogbeide ◽

Patricks Voua Otomo

Keyword(s):

Eisenia Fetida ◽

Field Studies ◽

Application Rate ◽

Land Application ◽

Acetylcholinesterase Inhibition ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Pesticide Pollution ◽

The One ◽

The Impact ◽

Amended Soil

AbstractTerrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are increasingly threatened by pesticide pollution resulting from extensive use of pesticides, and due to the lack of regulatory measures in the developing world, there is a need for affordable means to lessen environmental effects. This study aimed to investigate the impact of biochar amendment on the toxicity of imidacloprid to life-cycle parameters and biomarker responses of the earthworm Eisenia fetida. E. fetida was exposed to 10% biochar-amended and non-amended OECD artificial soils spiked with 0, 0.75, 1.5, 2.25 and 3 mg imidacloprid/kg for 28 days. An LC50 of 2.7 mg/kg was only computed in the non-amended soil but not in the biochar-amended soil due to insignificant mortality. The EC50 calculated in the non-amended soil (0.92 mg/kg) for reproduction (fertility) was lower than the one computed in the biochar amended (0.98 mg/kg), indicating a decrease in toxicity in the biochar-amended substrate. Significant weight loss was observed at the two highest imidacloprid treatments in the non-amended soil and only at the highest treatment in the biochar-amended substrate, further highlighting the beneficial effects of biochar. Catalase activity decreased significantly at the two highest concentrations of non-amended soil. Yet, in the amended soil, the activity remained high, especially in the highest concentration, where it was significantly higher than the controls. This indicated more severe oxidative stress in the absence of biochar. In all non-amended treatments, there was a significant acetylcholinesterase inhibition, while lower inhibition percentages were observed in the biochar-amended soil. In most endpoints, the addition of biochar alleviated the toxic effects of imidacloprid, which shows that biochar has the potential to be useful in soil remediation. However, there is still a need for field studies to identify the most effective application rate of biochar for land application.

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Can Ultrasound Therapy Be an Environmental-Friendly Alternative to Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Knee Osteoarthritis Treatment?

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14112715 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (11) ◽

pp. 2715

Author(s):

Rodica Ana Ungur ◽

Viorela Mihaela Ciortea ◽

Laszlo Irsay ◽

Alina Deniza Ciubean ◽

Bogdana Adriana Năsui ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ultrasound Therapy ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Knee Oa ◽

Environmental Friendly ◽

Chemical Pollutants ◽

Osteoarthritis Treatment ◽

Inflammatory Drugs ◽

Anti Inflammatory ◽

And Function

The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most used drugs in knee OA (osteoarthritis) treatment. Despite their efficiency in pain and inflammation alleviation, NSAIDs accumulate in the environment as chemical pollutants and have numerous genetic, morphologic, and functional negative effects on plants and animals. Ultrasound (US) therapy can improve pain, inflammation, and function in knee OA, without impact on environment, and with supplementary metabolic beneficial effects on cartilage compared to NSAIDs. These features recommend US therapy as alternative for NSAIDs use in knee OA treatment.

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CeO2 Nanoparticle-Containing Polymers for Biomedical Applications: A Review

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym13060924 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 924

Author(s):

Alexander B. Shcherbakov ◽

Vladimir V. Reukov ◽

Alexander V. Yakimansky ◽

Elena L. Krasnopeeva ◽

Olga S. Ivanova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biomedical Applications ◽

Metal Oxide Nanoparticles ◽

Polymeric Materials ◽

Negative Effects ◽

New Horizons ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Advanced Composite ◽

Unique Material ◽

Biomedical Polymers ◽

Biomedical Potential

The development of advanced composite biomaterials combining the versatility and biodegradability of polymers and the unique characteristics of metal oxide nanoparticles unveils new horizons in emerging biomedical applications, including tissue regeneration, drug delivery and gene therapy, theranostics and medical imaging. Nanocrystalline cerium(IV) oxide, or nanoceria, stands out from a crowd of other metal oxides as being a truly unique material, showing great potential in biomedicine due to its low systemic toxicity and numerous beneficial effects on living systems. The combination of nanoceria with new generations of biomedical polymers, such as PolyHEMA (poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-based hydrogels, electrospun nanofibrous polycaprolactone or natural-based chitosan or cellulose, helps to expand the prospective area of applications by facilitating their bioavailability and averting potential negative effects. This review describes recent advances in biomedical polymeric material practices, highlights up-to-the-minute cerium oxide nanoparticle applications, as well as polymer-nanoceria composites, and aims to address the question: how can nanoceria enhance the biomedical potential of modern polymeric materials?

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Beyond the Pandemic: COVID-19 Pandemic Changed the Face of Life

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18115645 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 5645

Author(s):

Shaden A. M. Khalifa ◽

Mahmoud M. Swilam ◽

Aida A. Abd El-Wahed ◽

Ming Du ◽

Haged H. R. El-Seedi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Activities ◽

Social Life ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Mental Wellbeing ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Population Movements ◽

Social Distancing ◽

The Face ◽

The Impact ◽

Positive Impacts

The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious challenge for societies around the globe as entire populations have fallen victim to the infectious spread and have taken up social distancing. In many countries, people have had to self-isolate and to be confined to their homes for several weeks to months to prevent the spread of the virus. Social distancing measures have had both negative and positive impacts on various aspects of economies, lifestyles, education, transportation, food supply, health, social life, and mental wellbeing. On other hands, due to reduced population movements and the decline in human activities, gas emissions decreased and the ozone layer improved; this had a positive impact on Earth’s weather and environment. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic has negative effects on human activities and positive impacts on nature. This study discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different life aspects including the economy, social life, health, education, and the environment.

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Effects of coworker's idiosyncratic deals on witness's creative process engagement: roles of responsibility for change and perceived exploitative leadership

Journal of Management & Organization ◽

10.1017/jmo.2021.21 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

Jie Huang ◽

Chunyong Tang

Keyword(s):

Creative Process ◽

Psychological Contract ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Idiosyncratic Deals ◽

Psychological Contract Violation ◽

Activation Theory ◽

Trait Activation ◽

Time Lagged ◽

Contract Violation

Abstract Emerging research in the idiosyncratic deals literature is to examine its negative effects. Thus far, much remains unknown about how and when idiosyncratic deals are associated with employee creative process engagement. Invoking fairness heuristic theory and trait activation theory, we propose and test a model that coworker's idiosyncratic deals have a negative association with witness's creative process engagement through psychological contract violation. Furthermore, we theorize and test the combination of the responsibility for change and perceived exploitative leadership as important boundary conditions, associate interact with coworker's idiosyncratic deals to strengthen the positive impact on psychological contract violation, thereby reducing witness's creative process engagement. We use two time-lagged studies to provide support for these mediation and moderation effects, and also discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

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Welfare Use in Japan: Trends and Determinants

Journal of Income Distribution ◽

10.25071/1874-6322.7232 ◽

2007 ◽

pp. 88

Author(s):

Wataru Suzuki ◽

Yanfei Zhou

Keyword(s):

Time Series ◽

Longitudinal Data ◽

Time Series Data ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Series Data ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Long Time ◽

Welfare Use ◽

The Impact

This article represents the first step in filling a large gap in knowledge concerning why Public Assistance (PA) use recently rose so fast in Japan. Specifically, we try to address this problem not only by performing a Blanchard and Quah decomposition on long-term monthly time series data (1960:04-2006:10), but also by estimating prefecturelevel longitudinal data. Two interesting findings emerge from the time series analysis. The first is that permanent shock imposes a continuously positive impact on the PA rate and is the main driving factor behind the recent increase in welfare use. The second finding is that the impact of temporary shock will last for a long time. The rate of the use of welfare is quite rigid because even if the PA rate rises due to temporary shocks, it takes about 8 or 9 years for it to regain its normal level. On the other hand, estimations of prefecture-level longitudinal data indicate that the Financial Capability Index (FCI) of the local government2 and minimum wage both impose negative effects on the PA rate. We also find that the rapid aging of Japan's population presents a permanent shock in practice, which makes it the most prominent contribution to surging welfare use.

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Beneficial Effects of Humic Acid on Micronutrient Availability to Wheat

Soil Science Society of America Journal ◽

10.2136/sssaj2001.1744 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 65 (6) ◽

pp. 1744-1750 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

C. L. Mackowiak ◽

P. R. Grossl ◽

B. G. Bugbee

Keyword(s):

Humic Acid ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Micronutrient Availability

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Effect of 12 Months of Exercise with Stachys Lavandulifolia Consumption on anxiety, Metabolic Syndrome Profiles and Antioxidant Defense and Lipid Peroxidation in Women with Syndrome Metabolic

10.21203/rs.3.rs-129277/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ali osali ◽

Alireza Rostami

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Lipid Peroxidation ◽

Aerobic Exercise ◽

Antioxidant Defense ◽

Training Group ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Control Group ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Before And After

Abstract BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 12 months of aerobic exercise combining stachys lavandulifolia (S. lavandulifolia) consumption on anxiety, Metabolic Syndrome profiles and antioxidant defense (Glutathione) and lipid peroxidation (Malondialdehyde) in 50-65 years old women with syndrome metabolic.Methods48 women with syndrome Metabolic were randomly divided into four groups: exercise (n=12), exercise+S. lavandulifolia (n=12), S. lavandulifolia (n=12) and control group (n=12). S. lavandulifolia groups consumed 3 g aerial parts of S. lavandulifolia daily. Training groups performed an exercise protocol of aerobic exercise for 12 months (three sessions per week). Blood samples were obtained before and after training period for antioxidant indicators and lipid degradation measurement. Also, Beck anxiety questionnaire used for evaluating levels of anxiety. T-test and one-way analysis of variance were used for the evaluation of within-group and between-group differences, respectively.ResultsA significant increase was observed in serum levels of Malondialdehyde (P =0.004), Catalase indexes (Pvalue= 0.01), and Glutathione (P=0.001) in the training group and S. lavandulifolia groups after 12 months. Body weight, BMI, and SBP and Anexiety was decreased significantly greater in exercise +S. lavandulifolia group compared to control, exercise and S. lavandulifolia groups (P=0.001)ConclusionAnxiolytic effect and Anti-Oxidative Stress Activity was seen, so taking S. lavandulifolia along with exercises may have beneficial effects on reinforcement the antioxidant system and prevention of anxiety and The negative effects of indicators related to cardiovascular disease in women with metabolic syndrome.

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FRACTIONATION OF THE HUMUS OF SOME CHERNOZEMIC SOILS OF SOUTHERN ALBERTA

Canadian Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.4141/cjss64-033 ◽

1964 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 232-236 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

J. F. Dormaar

Keyword(s):

Humic Acid ◽

Carbon Content ◽

Black Soil ◽

Parent Material ◽

Glacial Till ◽

Total Carbon ◽

Total Carbon Content ◽

Parent Materials ◽

Southern Alberta ◽

Alcohol Benzene

Two orthic profiles, widely separated geographically, of each of four parent materials—lacustrine, alluvial–lacustrine, glacial till, and Aeolian—were selected at undisturbed sites within each of the Brown, Dark Brown, and Thin Black soil zones. Material from the Ah and Bm horizons was subjected to solvent extraction, and for each sample the total organic carbon of seven different fractions was determined.The efficiency of the procedure in extracting humus carbon decreased as the total carbon content of the soil increased. Total organic matter, the first humic acid fraction, and the combined total of the three humic acid fractions showed significant differences between soil zones. The only significant separation between all four parent materials was made by the alcohol-benzene fraction. Other parent material separations were possible only following the summation of data of several fractions, such as the three humic acid fractions or the two fulvic acid fractions. A simplification of the procedure in case of soils of one Order and a modification to overcome the impeding effect of increased carbon content are requisite.

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