Reducing Tillage Affects Long-Term Yields but Not Grain Quality of Maize, Soybeans, Oats, and Wheat Produced in Three Contrasting Farming Systems

Reducing tillage has been widely promoted to reduce soil erosion, maintain soil health, and sustain long-term food production. The effects of reducing tillage on crop nutritional quality in organic and conventional systems, however, has not been widely explored. One possible driver of crop nutritional quality might be the changing soil nitrogen (N) availability associated with reduced tillage in various management systems. To test how reducing tillage affects crop nutritional quality under contrasting conventional and organic farming systems with varied N inputs, we measured nutritional quality (protein, fat, starch, ash, net energy, total digestible nutrients, and concentrations of Ca, K, Mg, P, and S) of maize, wheat, oats, and soybeans harvested from a long-term trial comprised of three farming systems under two tillage regimes: a conventional grain system (CNV); a low-input organic grain system (LEG); and an organic, manure-based grain + forage system (MNR) under conventional full-tillage (FT) and reduced-till (RT) management. Although maize and wheat yields were 10–13% lower under RT management, grain quality metrics including protein, fat, starch, energy, and mineral concentrations were not significantly affected by reducing tillage. Differences in nutrient quality were more marked between farming systems: protein levels in maize were highest in the MNR system (8.1%); protein levels in soybeans were highest in the LEG system (40.4%); levels of protein (12.9%), ash (2.0%), and sulfur (1430 ppm) in wheat were highest in the CNV system, and oat quality was largely consistent between the LEG and MNR systems. As grain quality did not significantly respond to reducing tillage, other management decisions that affect nutrient availability appear to have a greater effect on nutrient quality.

Solid-State Hydrolysis (SSH) Improves the Nutritional Value of Plant Ingredients in the Diet of Mugil cephalus

The possibility of improving the nutritional quality of plant byproducts (brewers’ spent grain and rice bran) through an enzyme treatment was tested in a formulated feed for grey mullet (Mugil cephalus). The enzyme treatment was carried out by Solid-State Hydrolysis (SSH) using a commercial preparation including carbohydrases and phytase. A feed prepared without the treatment and a commercial feed for carp were used as controls. In a preliminary short-term trial carried out at laboratory facilities, fish receiving the enzyme-treated feed showed significant improvement in both FCR and SGR when compared to those obtained with the untreated diet, although both experimental diets presented worse values than those obtained with the commercial feed. Different metabolic indicators including higher values of muscle glycogen and plasmatic triglycerides supported the positive effect of the enzyme treatment on the nutritional condition of the fish over those fed on the diet containing non-treated ingredients. Results of growth and feed efficiency that were obtained in a second long-term trial developed for 148 days under real production conditions evidenced the equivalence among the experimental and commercial diets and confirmed that enzyme pretreatment of plant ingredients by SSH may be a useful procedure to improve the nutritive value of high fiber plant byproducts when included in practical diets for this species and others with similar nutritional features.

Non-Chemical Soil Fumigation for Sustainable Strawberry Production in Southern Italy

In intensive strawberry production, monoculture is a common practice worldwide; however, prolonged replanting can cause plant disorders and jeopardize profitable cultivation of this highly valuable crop. To mitigate replanting problems, the strawberry industry is still highly dependent on chemical fumigation. Given the increasing regulatory restrictions and concerns about human and environmental risks from fumigants use, there is a growing interest in the adoption of effective, non-chemical alternatives. Two non-chemical soil fumigation practices, i.e., anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) and bio-fumigation with biocide plants (BIOFUM), were tested against chemical fumigation by chloropicrin + 1,3-dichloropropene mixture (STANDARD) and untreated (UNTREAT) control in a 2-year trial established in a commercial strawberry farm in Southern Italy (40°25’ N, 16°42′ E). Overall, the alternative practices provided consistently better results than UNTREAT; whereas, compared to STANDARD, their performance was significantly different in the two years: in 2018/19 season the alternative practices registered a 20% (ASD) and 39% (BIOFUM) marketable yield loss compared to STANDARD, while in the 2019/20 season yield differences were not significant. Although both practices appear promising as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical fumigation, in this short-term trial ASD performed better than BIOFUM both in terms of yield and fruit size, resulting in a more advanced stage for practical adoption.

Feldspathic and Lithium Disilicate Onlays with a 2-Year Follow-Up: Split-Mouth Randomized Clinical Trial

The present study was a prospective, controlled, randomized, clinical short-term trial aiming to evaluate the clinical performance of adhesively luted, lithium disilicate and feldspathic glass-ceramics onlays over a period up to 2 years. A total of 11 patients (7 female, 4 male; age range: 18-60 years, mean age: 39 years) were selected for this study. Each patient received a maximum of two restorations per group in a split-mouth-design. LD: Eleven onlays, performed with lithium disilicate-based ceramic (IPS e.max CAD, Ivoclar Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein), and FP: Eleven onlays, performed with feldspathic ceramic (Vita Mark II, Vita Zanhfabrik, Bad Säckingen). Recalls were performed at 2 weeks (baseline = R1), 1 year (R2) and 2 years (R3) after the cementation by three calibrated blinded independent investigators using mirrors, magnifying eyeglasses, probes and bitewing radiographs. The postoperative sensitivity, secondary caries, marginal integrity, marginal discoloration, color match, surface roughness, tooth integrity, and restoration integrity were evaluated. The Friedman test was used to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in time-to-time comparison of the parameters in the ceramics restorations. A total of 95.4% of the restorations were clinically acceptable at the 2-year recall, without a difference for any evaluation parameter for both ceramic materials. Based on the 2-year data, the CAD-CAM onlays manufactured with feldspathic and lithium-disilicate based ceramics showed similar clinical performance.

A bicentric approach evaluating the combination of a hemispheric cup with a novel ceramic head in total hip arthroplasty

Medical ceramics are frequently used biomaterials as a liner in total hip arthroplasty. Strong efforts have been made to improve material properties over the last decades. Alumina toughened zirconia ceramics seem to be promising alternatives to further reduce fracture rates and squeaking phenomena. To answer the question if alumina toughened zirconia ceramic liners in combination with a cementless, hemispheric cup are able to reduce squeaking phenomena and fracture rates, we initiated a bicentric, mid-term trial. Noise phenomena will be recorded using MONA Score (Melbourne Orthopaedic Noise Assessment). Functional outcome (Harris Hip Score, University of California-Los Angeles, Forgotten Joint Score, EQ-5D Score, Visual Analogue Scale) and radiographic parameters will serve as secondary parameters. The study has been set up for 5 years, with follow-ups after 6-14 weeks, 12, 24 and 60 months.

Expectations about motion direction affect perception and anticipatory smooth pursuit differently

We show that expectations about motion direction that are based on long-term trial history affect perception and anticipatory pursuit differently. Whereas anticipatory pursuit direction was coherent with the expected motion direction (attraction bias), perception was biased opposite to the expected direction (repulsion bias). These opposite biases potentially reveal different ways in which perception and action utilize prior information and support the idea of different information processing for perception and pursuit.