Although the application of organic amendments is considered a suitable tool for improving soil fertility, few studies have been conducted in semiarid climates to evaluate the joint effect of such ...practice on the structure and function of the soil's microbial community. The aim of this work therefore was to make a comparative study of the effect of organic materials of differing degrees of stabilization (a sewage sludge and a compost made from the same) on the size, activity and structure of the microbial community in a semiarid soil. In samples taken in spring, summer and autumn over a 2-year period we analysed parameters that indicate the size of the microbial community microbial biomass C (MBC), its general activity (ATP and respiration) and specific activity related to the N, P and C cycles in the soil (urease, phosphatase and β-glucosidase, respectively). Two years after the organic amendment, the structure of the microbial community was studied by analysing phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs). At the end of the experiment, the MBC of the compost and sludge-treated soils was 489 and 463
mg
C
mic
kg
−1, respectively, while the MBC of the control soils was 247
mg
C
mic
kg
−1. Over the 2-year period, the higher β-glucosidase, urease and alkaline phosphatase activities of compost and sludge-treated soils reflected higher substrate availability in these plots compared to the control plots. Indeed, plant abundance increased by about 25% with organic amendments. Whereas the bacterial to fungal ratio of signature PLFAs did not change, the ratio of monounsaturated/saturated and the ratio of Gram
+/Gram
− of the different treatments indicated that a different bacterial community developed 2 years after amendment with compost and sludge. Thus, factor analysis via PLFAs showed a change in microbial community structure in amended soils versus control soil. It can be concluded that microbial biomass and activity of degraded semiarid soils can be improved by the addition of organic materials of differing degrees of stabilization (compost and sewage sludge). Compost-amended soils showed the highest carbon contents, while in general no differences in activity or microbial biomass where found between compost or sludge treatments. Although phytotoxic substances in sewage sludge might negatively affect plant development, the similar density of plant cover developed in sludge and compost-treated soils suggests that any phytotoxic substances had been degraded.
Distribution of power in Indonesian constitutional system not only occur amongst state organs but also within Indonesian judicial system. The Supreme Court and Constitutional Court share their power ...to review several regulations. The 1945 Constitution delivers power to review act against constitution for Constitutional Court and to review regulations below an act for the Supreme Court. However, this distribution of power is vulnerable to contradicting each other, with the possibility of having clash of judgment. There is no guarantee that the Supreme Court will fully obey the Constitutional Court judgment. So, the research question needs to be solved such as judicial Review pre-the Amendment of the 1945 Constitution process, and judicial Review Post the Amendment of the Constitution implement, that will be main points of research purposes. Furthermore, the main problem is the distribution power between Constitutional Court and Supreme Court, whether have distributed fairly or not. Another problem after amendment is about disagreement amongst judges. Before amendment, judges were forbidden to show their disagreement clearly in the verdict, but now allowed. This fact has led to public distrust. They have questioned the legitimacy of the verdict having disagreement, whether should be obeyed or be denied.
In this perspective-altering new book, George P. Fletcher asserts that the Civil War was the most significant event in American legal history, an event that not only abolished slavery and changed the ...laws of the land but also created a new set of principles that continues to guide our thinking today. Much as historians and lawmakers strive to maintain a continuity with the Constitution of 1787, Fletcher shows that the Civil War presented a rupture not only between North and South but between two visions of the United States. The first Constitution was based on the principles of peoplehood as a voluntary association, individual freedom, and republican elitism. The government chosen by We the People sought, above all, to protect the rights of individuals and to limit the leadership of the nation to a select few. It was a Constitution, moreover, that accommodated the most undemocratic institution imaginable: slavery. The second Constitution, forged on the killing fields of Vicksburg and Antietam, articulated in Lincoln's visionary Gettysburg Address, and enacted in the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, reinvented the United States according to the principles of organic nationhood, equality of all persons, and popular democracy. Fletcher shows how these higher principles, though suppressed for decades, shape our sensibilities today in our efforts to expand the range of those protected as equal under the law, to promote equality in the workplace, to safeguard the interests of those who are at a competitive disadvantage, to rethink the limits of free speech and of religious liberty, and to amend the Constitution in the spirit of popular democracy. Written with passion, clarity, and sweeping historical knowledge, Our Secret Constitution will fundamentally change the way we view our past and bring new clarity to the issues we confront today.
Introduction Cohen, Elizabeth F
European journal of political theory,
07/2022, Letnik:
21, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Ayelet Shachar's lead essay in The Shifting Border draws out dramatic transformations of bordering practices currently taking place worldwide. These have yielded spatial relocations for bordering, a ...privatization of enforcement, and legal innovations that tie the border to individual people as they move, among many other changes. Shachar argues in favor of a form of reciprocity, in which states that shape shift their borders are also compelled to recognize rights for people who require humanitarian assistance. In response, Shachar's interlocutors offer an array of reflections and friendly amendments.
The emission of nutrients and pesticides from agricultural soils endangers natural habitats. Here, we review to which extent carbon-rich organic amendments help to retain nutrients and pesticides in ...agricultural soils and to reduce the contamination of surrounding areas and groundwater. We compare straw, compost, and biochar to see whether biochar outperforms the other two more traditional and cheaper materials. We present a list of criteria to evaluate the suitability of organic materials to be used as soil amendments and discuss differences in elemental compositions of straw, compost, and biochar to understand, how soil microorganisms utilize those materials. We review their effects on physical and chemical soil characteristics, soil microbial communities, as well as effects on the transformation and retention of nutrients and pesticides in detail.
It becomes clear that for all three amendments their effects can vary greatly depending on numerous aspects, such as the type of soil, application rate, and production procedure of the organic material. Biochar is most effective in increasing the sorption capacity of soils but does not outperform straw and compost with regards to the other aspects investigated. Nevertheless, the possibility to design biochar properties makes it a very promising material. Finally, we provide critical comments about how to make studies about organic amendments more comparable (comprehensive provision of material properties), how to improve concepts of future work (meta-analysis, long-term field studies, use of deep-insight microbial DNA sequencing), and what needs to be further investigated (the link between structural and functional microbial parameters, the impact of biochar on pesticide efficiency).
Display omitted
•Organic amendments have multiple beneficial effects in soils structure and function.•Biochar outperforms straw and compost only with regards to sorption.•Comparability criteria for experimental studies are recommended (C, N, H, pH, etc.).•Constant laboratory conditions often mask amendment effects in soils.•DNA sequencing methods are needed to better understand microbial communities.
Richard Albert poses a question of when is a constitutional amendment an amendment in name alone at the very start of Constitutional Amendments: Making, Breaking and Changing Constitutions in which ...he convincingly demonstrates that this long neglected topic is an essential aspect of constitutional law and constitutionalism. Albert meticulously unpacks the many facets of his opening inquiry throughout the book to reveal amendment procedure as a kind of koan for constitutional law. The topic is koan-like not in the sense of a concept beyond the ken of rational thinking, although Albert's paradoxically phrased opening question certainly bears some similarities to the Buddhist practice.
► Direct spreading of olive mill wastewater (OMW) seems in general to exert a positive effect on soil structure. ► Polyphenol content is the main limiting factor in spreading OMW on soil. ► OMW could ...be an important source of water and organic matter in the Mediterranean basin. ► OMW has beneficial effects on soil fertility and yield of some important crops.
The disposal of olive mill wastewaters (OMWs) is a major problem that affects soil and groundwater. Different papers have discussed the effects of OMW discharge on soil characteristics, plant production and phytotoxicity. In this work, a holistic approach is proposed and the main research studies regarding the effects of OMWs on crops and soils are reviewed. Generally, direct application of OMWs exerts a temporary positive effect on soil physical properties. However, in clay soils, the accumulation of salts from these wastewaters could lead to the disintegration of the soil structure. Deterioration of soil structure would decrease the soil hydraulic conductivity, which is a key parameter for determining the volume of OMW that can be spread on a soil. Organic matter (OM) makes up approximately 65% of the OMW dry weight. Among the soil chemical characteristics, the soil pH remains almost constant following OMW applications. Polyphenols are the most limiting factor for spreading OMWs on soils because of their antimicrobial and phytotoxic effects. Nevertheless, these polyphenols are rapidly degraded depending on environmental conditions. Due to the highly variable chemical composition of the OMWs, these effluents provide variable macronutrient inputs (especially potassium and phosphorus), which potentially reduce necessary fertilizer inputs. Regarding soil microflora, the OMWs exert the following two contrasting actions: stimulating microflora development by temporarily enriching soil carbon and inhibiting certain microorganisms and phytopathogenic agents by adding antimicrobial substances to the soil. For many crops, spreading OMWs benefits crop yield. However, the application of OMWs may also damage germination. Thus, the application of OMWs should adequately precede sowing. The beneficial effects of OMWs on crop yields indicate that these wastewaters may become very important sources of OM and nutrients in agriculture soils and positively impact soil fertility. However, to improve their effectiveness, some use restrictions based on soil characteristics were outlined.
Purpose
This article examines rule amendments issued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2020, as part of the SEC’s ongoing “disclosure effectiveness initiative”, that revise in ...significant respects the requirements for financial disclosures presented in SEC filings as Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Design/methodology/approach
This article provides an in-depth analysis of the rule amendments in the context of contrasting perspectives expressed by the SEC, individual SEC Commissioners who dissented from adoption of the amendments, and market participants regarding the merits of the SEC’s movement away from prescriptive disclosure requirements towards a more principles-based approach to disclosure.
Findings
Although the SEC’s rules have long reflected a mix of principles-based and prescriptive disclosure elements, the principles-based emphasis in this latest stage of the SEC’s disclosure modernization project accords the managements of filing companies greater latitude to determine whether financial information is material to investors and how such information should be presented.
Originality/value
This article provides expert guidance on a major new SEC disclosure development from an experienced securities lawyer.
On one of the most important and controversial matters in Canada—the drafting of an amending clause to the British North America Act. A forceful, lucid discussion of past amendments, conflicting ...views, and a possible solution.
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