Background: The early postnatal period is a dangerous time for both mother and baby where morbidity and mortality are highly prevalent if proper care is not done. Post natal care (PNC) knowledge has significant role in reducing such complications. In this study, the knowledge of postpartum mothers on PNC and its determinants were determined. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in postpartum mothers (PpM) who attended all maternal delivery services in Asmara. Data was collected by a structured questionnaire. All (n = 250) PpM who gave birth in December, 2017 were included in the study. Independent samples t-test and one way ANOVA were used to compare the scores in knowledge across categories of background characteristics using SPSS. Bonferroni post-hoc test was performed for variables that were found to be significant while using ANOVA tool. P-values less than 0.05 were considered as significant. Results: The percentage of PpM who cited vaginal bleeding, as a maternal danger sign, and fever, as a baby danger sign, were 83.2 and 58.8%, respectively. The majority (96%) of PpM responded the correct answer on where to go if they note any danger signs. In addition, more than nine tenth of PpM correctly identified injectable contraceptives (92.7%) and oral contraceptive (91.5%). The percentages of knowledge in recognizing the necessary nutrients ranged from 87.6% for carbohydrates to 46% for minerals. The percentages of correct knowledge regarding first baby bath, frequency of breast feeding, umbilical care, duration of exclusive breast feeding, need and purpose of vaccine were 40.1, 81.9, 77.4, 94.8, and 99.2% respectively. The mean PNC knowledge score was 24.89/60. The score of knowledge on postnatal care was found to significantly differ across the categories of residence (p < 0.001) and ethnicity (p = 0.015). An increasing trend of knowledge score was observed with increase in age group (p < 0.001), educational level (p = 0.021), gravida (p < 0.001) and para (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Considerable gaps in knowledge regarding postnatal care among postpartum mothers were evident. Special attention should be laid on rural residents, single/living together, junior/below in educational level, primigravida/para, non-Tigrigna ethnicity, and 17 to 25 years old mothers.

Nitrogen fertiliser application represents the largest anthropogenic source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, and the magnitude of these emissions is dependent on the type of fertilisers applied in the agroecosystems. Despite N-P-K compound fertilisers being commonly used in agricultural soils, a lack of information exists regarding their effects on N2O emissions. This study aims at examining the effects of different commonly used N-P-K compound fertiliser formulations with contrasting nitrate to ammonium ratios (0.05 to 0.88) on N2O emissions, yield, and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in temperate grassland and to compare these variables with common straight N fertilisers. Compound fertilisers with varying NPK inclusion rates (18-6-12, 10-10-20, 24-2.2-4.5, and 27-2.5-5), and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) and urea + N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) were applied at 80 kg N ha−1 to experimental plots in managed grassland on two occasions in a growing season. Fluxes of N2O during the experiment period, yield and NUE following two harvests were measured. The cumulative N2O emission from urea + NBPT, 18-6-12, 10-10-20, and 24-2.2-4.5 treatments were significantly reduced by 44%, 43%, 37%, and 31% compared with CAN treatment under conducive soil moisture condition. Under the same soil condition, 18-6-12 and 10-10-20 treatments showed higher yield, N uptake, and NUE although did not significantly differ from the other fertiliser treatments. Our results suggest that ammonium-based compound fertilisers have a potential to reduce N2O emissions while maintaining yields. Further long-term study is needed to capture the full magnitude of variations in N2O emissions, including ammonia (NH3) volatilization from nitrate and ammonium-based compound fertiliser applications from multiple soil types and under different climatic conditions.

Abstract. Given their increasing trend in Europe, an understanding of the role that flooding events play in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be important for improved assessments of local and regional GHG budgets. This study presents the results of an analysis of the CO 2 and N 2 O fluxes from a coastal grassland ecosystem affected by episodic flooding that was of either a relatively short (SFS) or long (LFS) duration. Compared to the SFS, the annual CO 2 and N 2 O emissions were 1.4 and 1.3 times higher at the LFS, respectively. Mean CO 2 emissions during the period of standing water were 144 ± 18.18 and 111 ± 9.51 mg CO 2 -C m −2 h −1 , respectively, for the LFS and SFS sites. During the growing season, when there was no standing water, the CO 2 emissions were significantly larger from the LFS (244 ± 24.88 mg CO 2 -C m −2 h −1 ) than the SFS (183 ± 14.90 mg CO 2 -C m −2 h −1 ). Fluxes of N 2 O ranged from −0.37 to 0.65 mg N 2 O-N m −2 h −1 at the LFS and from −0.50 to 0.55 mg N 2 O-N m −2 h −1 at the SFS, with the larger emissions associated with the presence of standing water at the LFS but during the growing season at the SFS. Overall, soil temperature and moisture were identified as the main drivers of the seasonal changes in CO 2 fluxes, but neither adequately explained the variations in N 2 O fluxes. Analysis of total C, N, microbial biomass and Q 10 values indicated that the higher CO 2 emissions from the LFS were linked to the flooding-associated influx of nutrients and alterations in soil microbial populations. These results demonstrate that annual CO 2 and N 2 O emissions can be higher in longer-term flooded sites that receive significant amounts of nutrients, although this may depend on the restriction of diffusional limitations due to the presence of standing water to periods of the year when the potential for gaseous emissions are low.

Agricultural practices such as repeated fertilization impact carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycling and their relationships in the plant–soil continuum, which could have important implications for the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions. However, little is known about the effect of C and N additions under contrasting soil P availability status on nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In this study, we conducted a field-based experiment that investigated the impact of long-term (23 years) P management (no (P0, 0 kg P ha−1), low (P15, 15 kg P ha−1) and high (P45, 45 kg P ha−1) P inputs) on N2O and CO2 emissions following two C + N application events in two managed grassland ecosystems with loam and sandy loam soils. The magnitude of fluxes varied between the soil P availability levels. Cumulative N2O emission was significantly higher in P0 soils (1.08 ± 0.09 g N2O-N m−2) than P45 soils (0.63 ± 0.03 g N2O-N m−2), with the loam soil (1.04 ± 0.04 g N2O-N m−2) producing significantly higher emissions than the sandy loam soil (0.88 ± 0.05 g N2O-N m−2). We conclude that P-limitation stimulates N2O emissions, whereas P-enrichment promotes soil respiration in these temperate grassland sites. Our findings inform effective nutrient management strategies underpinning optimized use of N and P inputs to agricultural soils as mitigation measures for both food security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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