EFFECTS OF FERTILIZATION AND IRRIGATION LEVELS ON PHYTOREMEDIATIONPROPERTIES OF PERENNIAL RYEGRASS

The experiment was set up in the greenhouse of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade with the aim of investigating potential of perennial ryegrass (Loliumperennial L.) to grow on substrates of exceptionally unfavorable characteristics. Tailings, characterized by very poor physical and chemical properties and deficiency in nutrients were used as substrate. The research examined effects of three different fertilizers and two irrigation levels on plant growth and assimilation of Cu and Cd. There were statistically highly significant differences in plant height between plants treated with different fertilizers. Plants treated with organic fertilizer were tallest at 45.8 cm, while the plants treated with mineral fertilizer were shortest at 22.5 cm. Amounts of the assimilated metals varied between different type of fertilizers. The highest content of Cu, about 75 mg kg-1 was recorded in plants treated with mineral fertilizer and irrigated moderately while the lowest concentrations of about 30 mg kg-1were measured in the same plants after the first cutting. There were no differences among plants treated with organic fertilizers in Cu amounts,under two irrigation levels. The second cutting showed a small increase in the assimilated amounts of Cu. Highest Cd concentration of 2.7 mg kg-1 was recorded in the plants treated with combination of both organic and mineral fertilizers

Smoking habits, knowledge about and attitudes toward smoking among employees in health institutions in Serbia

Background/Aim. According to the number of active smokers, Serbia occupies a high position in Europe, as well as worldwide. More than 47% of adults are smokers according to WHO data, and 33.6% according to the National Health Survey Serbia in 2006. Smoking physicians are setting a bad example to patients, they are uncritical to this habit, rarely ask patients whether they smoke and rarely advise them not to smoke. These facts contribute to the battle for reducing the number of medical workers who smoke, as well as the number of smokers among general population. The aim of the study was to determine the smoking behavior, knowledge and attitudes and cessation advice given to patients by healthcare professionals in Serbia. Methods. A stratified random cluster sample of 1,383 participants included all types of health institutions in Serbia excluding Kosovo. The self administrated questionnaire was used to collect data about smoking habits, knowledge, attitudes and cessation advice to patients given by health professionals in Serbia. Results. Out of 1,383 participants, 45.60% were smokers, of whom 34.13% were physicians and 51.87% nurses. There were 46.4% male and 45.4% female smokers. The differences in agreement with the statements related to the responsibilities of health care professionals and smoking policy are significant between the “ever” and “never” smokers, and also between physicians and nurses. Twenty-five percent of nurses and 22% of doctors claimed they had received formal training. However, only 35.7% of the healthcare professionals felt very prepared to counsel patients, while 52.7% felt somewhat prepared and 11.6% were not prepared at all. Conclusions. According to the result of this survey, there are needs for more aggressive nationwide non-smoking campaigns for physicians and medical students. Experiences from countries where physicians smoke less and more effectively carry out smoking cessation practices need to be shared with Serbian physicians in order to improve their smoking behavior and smoking cessation practices. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 43012

Genetički resursi višegodišnjih krmnih trava u Srbiji - trenutno stanje, proširenje i evaluacija

Due to historical BACKGROUND: of vegetation development, geographical position, climate and relief, Serbia represents one of the 158 world biodiversity centres, based upon the number of plant species and territory size (biodiversity index 0.72). Large areas in Serbia are under natural grasslands and pastures, composed of forage grass species, and important as source of natural plant genetic diversity and germplasm for breeding. These eco-systems represent basic prerequisites for sustainable forage production, but very low potential of them is utilized and genetic resources are not protected. Family Poaceae is present in Serbia flora with 70 genera and among them from the aspect of forage production and quality, the most important are perennial Festuca, Lolium, Dactylis, Phleum, Bromus, Arrhenatherum, Poa and Agrostis species. Most of these grasses have been bred in Serbia and lot of cultivars were released. These cultivars contain autochthonous Serbian material and represent great and important resource of genetic variability. Therefore, collecting of new samples which are acclimatised to local eco-geographical conditions and including them in plant ex situ gene bank is of exceptional importance for further utilization in different plant breeding programmes as well as genetic resources protection. These autochthonous populations have natural variability and very often have satisfactory yielding performance in comparison with introduced cultivars, which referred them for direct phenotypic selection for cultivars release. Broadening of forage grasses genotypes collection is permanent objective of Serbian scientists. Collected accessions are being characterized and evaluated for important phenological, morphological and agronomical traits. In this paper genetic resources of forage grass species, their diversity and potentials, state of the grasses gene banks, as well as possibility for breeding of new cultivars has been analysed.Zahvaljujući svojoj geografskoj poziciji, klimi i reljefu, Srbija po broju biljnih vrsta i veličini teritorije (indeks biodiverziteta 0,72), predstavlja jedan od 158 svetskih centara biodiverziteta. Prirodne livade i pašnjaci zauzimaju značajne površine u Srbiji, veoma su bogate krmnim travnim vrstama i predstavljaju važan izvor germplazme za proces oplemenjivanja. Ovi ekosistemi predstavljaju osnovu za održivu stočarsku proizvodnju, pa iako se relativno male površine intenzivno koriste, javlja se potreba za očuvanjem postojećih, izuzetno bogatih, genetičkih resursa. Familija Poaceae je zastupljena u flori Srbije sa 70 rodova, a među njima, sa aspekta proizvodnje kvalitetne stočne hrane, najvažnije su vrste rodova Festuca, Lolium, Dactylis, Phleum, Bromus, Arrhenatherum, Poa i Agrostis. Veliki broj vrsta navedenih rodova je uključen u proces oplemenjivanja, a početni material za brojne registrovane sorte su bile uglavnom autohtone populacije, koje se odlikuju visokom varijabilnošću za mnoge osobine. Prikupljanje novih uzoraka, koji su tolerantni na lokalne eko-geografske uslove i njihovo uključivanje u biljnu banku gena, je od velikog značaja za dalje iskorišćavanje u različitim oplemenjivačkim programima, pa je stalno proširenje postojeće kolekcije krmnih trava permanentna aktivnost oplemenjivača u Srbiji. Prirodne populacije imaju visoku varijabilnost i veoma često zadovoljavajuće komponente prinosa u odnosu na postojeće sorte, što ih nakon karakterizacije i evaluacije važnih fenoloških, morfoloških i agronomskih osobina, preporučuje za direktno uključivanje u process selekcije. U ovom radu su predstavljeni genetički resursi krmnih trava, njihova divergentnost i potencijal, stanje u banci gena, kao i mogućnost kreiranja novih sorti

Proučavanje morfoloških osobina, prinosa i kvaliteta suve materije autohtonih populacija Lolium perenne poreklom iz Srbije multivarijacionim analizama

Due to specific climatic conditions, perennial ryegrass breeding in Serbia is focused on resistance or tolerance to abiotic stress factors, especially to drought and high temperatures. These traits should be associated with high dry matter yield and quality. Therefore, most frequently used initial material is autochthonous populations and ecotypes adapted to local agro-ecological conditions, but knowledge about their variability of important traits for breeding is missing. Pre-selection evaluation of ten populations of perennial ryegrass originating from Serbia is presented in this paper. Twenty five traits were investigated during the two-year period and processed using analysis of variance and multivariate statistical methods (cluster and principal components analysis). The goal was to determine diversity and genetic distances of investigated populations by phenotyping and to define traits considerably affecting the variability and discrimination of populations. On cluster diagram two groups of population are observed, but geographic origin of populations (lowland, hilly, mountainous habitat) was not influence to clustering of collection. Factor analysis has clarified that first seven principal components (PC) described almost 95%. The traits which show high correlation coefficients with first principal component were plant height in first cut, leaf length and width, DM of generative tillers, spike and spikelet length and 1000 seed weight, and with second principal component time of heading, terminal internode length, DM of vegetative tillers, spikelet number and FSU. It can be concluded that variability between populations was high and that differences of population were mainly affected by most important traits for breeding, such as components of dry matter production and some seed yield components.Usled specifičnih klimatskih uslova, oplemenjivanje engleskog ljulja u Srbiji je fokusirano na toleranciju abiotičkih faktora stresa, posebno na sušu i visoke temperature. Stoga se kao početni materijal u oplemenjivanju najčešće upotrebljavaju autohtone populacije i ecotipovi prilagođeni lokalnim agro-ekološkim uslovima. Međutim saznanja o varijabilnosti najvažnijih osobina kod autohtonih populacija su vrlo ćesto oskudna. U ovom radu su predstavljena proučavanja varijabilnosti osobina deset populacija engleskog ljulja poreklom iz Srbija. Dvadeset pet osobina je ispitivano tokom dve godine, a podaci su obrađeni analizom varijanse i multivarijacionim statističkim metodama (PCA i klaster analiza). Cilj je bio da se utvrdi raznovrsnost i genetička udaljenosti ispitivanih populacija fenotajpingom i da se definišu osobine koje značajno utiču na varijabilnost i grupisanje populacija. Klaster analizom utvrđene su dve grupe populacija, ali geografsko poreklo populacija (ravničarska, brdska i planinska staništa) nije uticalo na pomenuto grupisanje. Faktorska analiza je pokazala da prvih sedam glavnih komponenti (PC) opisuje 95% varijabilnosti. Osobine koje pokazuju visok koeficijent korelacije sa prvom glavnom komponentom su visina biljaka u prvom otkosu, dužina i širina lista, suva materija generativnih izdanaka, dušina klasa i klasića i težina 1000 semena. Utvrđena je visoka varijabilnost između populacija koja uglavnom potiču od oplemenjivački najvažnijih osobine, kao što su komponente prinosa suve materije i neke komponente prinosa semena

[The impact of climate change on the water requirement of grasslands in serbia] [Uticaj klimatskih promena na potrebe prirodnih travnjaka za vodom u Srbiji]

Due to the air temperature increase, longer growing seasons and erratic rainfalls in the last two decades, natural grasslands like meadows or pastures grow in unfavourable climatic conditions that disable the regeneration. The aim of this work is to assess the impact of climate changes on the water requirement of grasslands in Serbia. The results of ensembles of nine regional climate models from the EURO-CORDEX database were used to analyse future climatic conditions. As the most probable value, the median of scores obtained for each ensemble member was considered. The period of 1986–2005 was used as the reference. The time slices in future periods are: 2016–2035 (the near future), 2046–2065 (the mid-century) and 2081–2100 (the end of the century). Analyses were conducted for two scenarios of GHG emissions: RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. Permanent grasslands will be more prone to drought risks in the future. Water shortage could be expected at the end of May when the water stored in the soil will be depleted by the duration of drought until September heavy rains. According to both scenarios, an increment of water requirement of 7% could be expected in the near future. The RCP4.5 scenario projects an increase in the water requirement in the range of 10.7–24.2% from the mid to the end of the century. The less favourable but more realistic RCP8.5 scenario projects a water need increment in the range from 4% to 14 % in the mid-century and 28.4–41.9% toward the end of the century. Recent research indicates that drought resistance will be developed through natural diversity and the spread of species resistant to high temperatures and water scarcity

Kvalitet semena italijanskog ljulja različite ploidnosti

Three cultivars (domestic K-13 diploid and K-29 tetraploid, and introduced Tetraflorum tetraploid) were investigated in two years' trials, with and without spring Pi-fertilizing. The results of this investigation showed that the high quality of Italian ryegrass seed could be achieved with two cuttings in the first production year. Spring M-application did not influence TSW (thousand seed weight), germination rate and total germination. The produced seed from the first harvest cut was of an excellent quality, with high germination rate (K-13 - 79%, K-29 - 88% and Tetraflorum - 87%) and total germination (K-13 - 91%, K-29 - 96% and Tetraflorum - 93%). The difference in TSW was obtained between diploid and tetraploids (in the average 2,81 gr in proportion to 4,56 and 4,84 gr). The seed produced from the second harvest cut had lower germination and TSW.Ispitivane su tri sorte italijanskog ljulja, domaći diploid K-13 i tetraploid K-29, kao i uvozni tetraploid Tetraflorum, preko kvaliteta semena prve proizvodne godine iz dva žetvena otkosa. Prihrana azotom od 50 kg ha-1 nije uticala na masu 1000 semena, energiju klijanja i ukupnu klijavost. U prvom otkosu je dobijeno seme visoke energije klijanja i ukupne klijavosti (K-13 sa 79% energije klijanja i 91% ukupnom klijavošću, K-29 sa 88 i 96% i Tetraflorum sa 87 i 93%), a razlike u masi su ustanovljene između diploidnih i tetraploidnih sorti (prosečno 2,81 gr prema 4,56 i 4,84 gr), što je očekivano. Seme dobijeno drugom žetvom pokazalo je manju klijavost i masu 1000 semena

The transcriptomic signature of fasting murine liver

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The contribution of individual organs to the whole-body adaptive response to fasting has not been established. Hence, gene-expression profiling, pathway, network and gene-set enrichment analysis and immunohistochemistry were carried out on mouse liver after 0, 12, 24 and 72 hours of fasting.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Liver wet weight had declined ~44, ~5, ~11 and ~10% per day after 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours of fasting, respectively. Liver structure and metabolic zonation were preserved. Supervised hierarchical clustering showed separation between the fed, 12–24 h-fasted and 72 h-fasted conditions. Expression profiling and pathway analysis revealed that genes involved in amino-acid, lipid, carbohydrate and energy metabolism responded most significantly to fasting, that the response peaked at 24 hours, and had largely abated by 72 hours. The strong induction of the urea cycle, in combination with increased expression of enzymes of the tricarboxylic-acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, indicated a strong stimulation of amino-acid oxidation peaking at 24 hours. At this time point, fatty-acid oxidation and ketone-body formation were also induced. The induction of genes involved in the unfolded-protein response underscored the cell stress due to enhanced energy metabolism. The continuous high expression of enzymes of the urea cycle, malate-aspartate shuttle, and the gluconeogenic enzyme Pepck and the re-appearance of glycogen in the pericentral hepatocytes indicate that amino-acid oxidation yields to glucose and glycogen synthesis during prolonged fasting.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The changes in liver gene expression during fasting indicate that, in the mouse, energy production predominates during early fasting and that glucose production and glycogen synthesis become predominant during prolonged fasting.</p

Fasting induces a biphasic adaptive metabolic response in murine small intestine

BACKGROUND: The gut is a major energy consumer, but a comprehensive overview of the adaptive response to fasting is lacking. Gene-expression profiling, pathway analysis, and immunohistochemistry were therefore carried out on mouse small intestine after 0, 12, 24, and 72 hours of fasting. RESULTS: Intestinal weight declined to 50% of control, but this loss of tissue mass was distributed proportionally among the gut's structural components, so that the microarrays' tissue base remained unaffected. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of the microarrays revealed that the successive time points separated into distinct branches. Pathway analysis depicted a pronounced, but transient early response that peaked at 12 hours, and a late response that became progressively more pronounced with continued fasting. Early changes in gene expression were compatible with a cellular deficiency in glutamine, and metabolic adaptations directed at glutamine conservation, inhibition of pyruvate oxidation, stimulation of glutamate catabolism via aspartate and phosphoenolpyruvate to lactate, and enhanced fatty-acid oxidation and ketone-body synthesis. In addition, the expression of key genes involved in cell cycling and apoptosis was suppressed. At 24 hours of fasting, many of the early adaptive changes abated. Major changes upon continued fasting implied the production of glucose rather than lactate from carbohydrate backbones, a downregulation of fatty-acid oxidation and a very strong downregulation of the electron-transport chain. Cell cycling and apoptosis remained suppressed. CONCLUSION: The changes in gene expression indicate that the small intestine rapidly looses mass during fasting to generate lactate or glucose and ketone bodies. Meanwhile, intestinal architecture is maintained by downregulation of cell turnove

Uticaj prihrane azotom na kvalitet suve materije italijanskog ljulja gajenog na različitom vegetacionom prostoru

The Italian ryegrass forage quality was investigated by means of crude protein and fibre content. The Italian ryegrass was produced at the first cut of the first production year. Interrow spacing did not have any statistical significance for protein and fibre content. The protein content decreased by increasing seeding rate from 5 to 20 kg ha-1, in average from 159,8 to 144,5 g kg-1, and increased by increasing amount of N fertilizer from control to 150 kg ha-1 in average 133 - 169 g kg"1. Fibre content did not have statistical significance, i.e. it had lower variation. There is a negative correlation between the protein and fibre content (P lt 0,05), but lower correspondence r= -0,23. Earlier cutting of Italian ryegrass had more important influence on fibre content, because when heading starts, crude fibre content is increased.Ispitivana je krmna vrednost italijanskog ljulja proizvedenog u prvoj godini i prvom otkosu, preko količine sirovih proteina i celuloze. Vegetacioni prostor je formiran različitim kombinacijama međurednog rastojanja i količine semena, uz prihranu azotom u proleće. Hemijskim analizama prosečnih uzoraka je utvrđeno da je količina proteina opadala sa povećanjem setvene norme od 5 do 20 kg ha-1 u proseku od 159,8 do 144,5 g kg-1, a rasla sa povećanjem količine N od kontrole do 150 kg ha-1 u proseku 133 do 169 g kg-1. Za sirovu celulozu nije uočena statistička značajnost razlika, tj. uočavao se suprotan efekat količine semena i N nego kod proteina, ali sa manjim variranjem. Između količine proteina i celuloze postoji negativna zavisnost, ali sa malom korelativnom povezanošću (r= -0,23)

Genetički resursi i oplemenjivanje krmnih biljaka u Srbiji i Crnoj Gori

Review and results of research focusing on genetic resources and improvement of forage plants in Serbia and Montenegro (SMN) are presented in this paper. SMN is extremely rich on natural (native/autochthonous) genetic resources of different forage species. Great number of cultivars of perennial grass and leguminous plants as well as annual forage plants were created in SMN as a result of research work carried out over several decades. Domestic cultivars of forage plants have first of all high productive potential for yield of forage and quality of dry matter.U ovom radu dat je pregled i rezultati istraživanja na genetičkim resursima i oplemenjivanju krmnih biljaka u Srbiji i Crnoj Gori (SCG). SCG predstavlja izuzetno bogat izvor prirodnih (autohtonih) genetičkih resursa naročito vrsta krmnih biljaka. Veći broj gajenih sorti krmnih biljaka za stočnu hranu ima svoje srodnike u prirodnim livadskim zajednicama. U više decenijskom radu na oplemenjivanju krmnih biljaka stvoren je veliki broj sorti višegodišnjih trava i leguminoza i jednogodišnjih krmnih kultura sa visokim proizvodnim potencijalom za prinos krme vrlo dobrog kvaliteta suve materije