Initial agronomic benefits of enhanced weathering using basalt: A study of spring oat in a temperate climate.

Addressing soil nutrient degradation and global warming requires novel solutions. Enhanced weathering using crushed basalt rock is a promising dual-action strategy that can enhance soil health and sequester carbon dioxide. This study examines the short-term effects of basalt amendment on spring oat (Avena sativa L.) during the 2022 growing season in NE England. The experimental design consisted of four blocks with control and basalt-amended plots, and two cultivation types within each treatment, laid out in a split plot design. Basalt (18.86 tonnes ha-1) was incorporated into the soil during seeding. Tissue, grain and soil samples were collected for yield, nutrient, and pH analysis. Basalt amendment led to significantly higher yields, averaging 20.5% and 9.3% increases in direct drill and ploughed plots, respectively. Soil pH was significantly higher 256 days after rock application across cultivation types (direct drill: on average 6.47 vs. 6.76 and ploughed: on average 6.69 vs. 6.89, for control and basalt-amended plots, respectively), likely due to rapidly dissolving minerals in the applied basalt, such as calcite. Indications of growing season differences in soil pH are observed through direct measurement of lower manganese and iron uptake in plants grown on basalt-amended soil. Higher grain and tissue potassium, and tissue calcium uptake were observed in basalt-treated crops. Notably, no accumulation of potentially toxic elements (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel) was detected in the grain, indicating that crops grown using this basaltic feedstock are safe for consumption. This study indicates that basalt amendments can improve agronomic performance in sandy clay-loam agricultural soil under temperate climate conditions. These findings offer valuable insights for producers in temperate regions who are considering using such amendments, demonstrating the potential for improved crop yields and environmental benefits while ensuring crop safety.

The utility of commercially available endografts in the treatment of contained ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm with hemodynamic stability.

PURPOSE: Food and Drug Administration-approved endografts are suitable for the elective repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) with favorable aneurysm anatomy. Our aim is to illustrate the feasibility and versatility of commercially available endografts for emergency AAA repair in hemodynamically stable AAA rupture. METHODS: From June 2001 to July 2002, five patients presented with severe abdominal pain and were diagnosed with contained rupture of an infrarenal AAA. In all cases, patients were deemed unfit to withstand conventional open repair by both the referring outside medical center as well as our center's team. All patients were hemodynamically stable on arrival at our medical center. Measurement and selection of endovascular devices were based on computed tomography (CT) scans performed emergently at the outside referring center. The required emergently procured endografts were obtained within 2 to 4.5 hours (mean, 3.1 hours) of presentation. Complex anatomy at the proximal and distal fixation zones or difficult access was present in every case. RESULTS: All patients survived endograft repair and had successful exclusion of their aneurysm sac on the basis of intraoperative arteriography and postoperative CT surveillance. All were discharged to home at baseline function within a mean of 6.8 days (range, 2-13 days). There were no deaths. There was one postoperative pulmonary embolism, one myocardial infarct, and one type 2 endoleak. Mean operative time and blood loss were 4.67 hours and 217 mL, respectively. At a mean follow-up of 18 months, CT scans showed stable or shrinking aneurysm sacs. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with contained ruptured AAAs who present with hemodynamic stability and comorbidities that preclude open surgery, commercially available endografts are a versatile treatment option even in the face of complicated aneurysm anatomy.