BASAL STERILITY OF WHEAT EARS - INDEX OF SENSITIVITY TO DELAYED SPRING FROZEN AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH YIELD AND PRODUCTIVITY ELEMENTS, IN THE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF 2020 YEAR AT ARDS CARACAL

The special climatic conditions manifested in the spring of 2020 at ARDS Caracal by the appearance of frosts delayed for 2 consecutive days, brought changes in the architecture of the wheat ear by the appearance of the phenomenon of basal sterility. For 200 wheat varieties of different origins (Romanian, French, Austrian, German, Swiss, mixed, hybrid wheat germplasm) the basal sterility manifested was determined at maturity. Ten ears of each variety / replication constituted the analyzed sample. Mixed germplasm (52 wheat varieties from all over Europe) had an basal sterility average rate of 11.4% - the lowest in the experiment. At the opposite pole was the German germplasm with an average percentage of 17.1%. The lowest amplitudes between the maximum and minimum valuesof basal sterility were recorded in hybrid wheat and Romanian germplasm (13.5-13.6%). The highest amplitude was recorded in the French germplasm – 19,1 %. The correlations performed highlighted the distinctly significant negative relationship between the basal sterility and the yield obtained; the significant positive relationship between yield and the note reflecting frost resistance; the significant negative relationship between the test weight and the days from 01.01 to heading date

CuxCeMgAlO mixed oxide catalysts derived from multicationic LDH precursors for methane total oxidation

International audienc

The importance of life quality questionnaire in patients with prostate cancer, pre- and post-radical prostatectomy

This study analyzes the satisfaction of the patients with radical prostatectomy according to the signs and symptoms included in the EORTC QLQ – C30 and EORTC QLQ – PR25 questionnaires, including their relation with the health state that influences the pre and postoperative life quality. Fifty patients with prostate cancer in a localized stage were studied and analyzed in a prospective manner and for a period of 12 months, before and 6 months after the radical prostatectomy. In choosing the patients, the common denominator was the use of the same postoperative plan and the lack of postoperative complications, as well as the lack of chronic diseases. Erectile dysfunction, urine incontinence were quite frequent after radical prostatectomy, while the urinary obstruction and the weak urinary stream were less frequent. In this regard, people noticed a significant decrease of life quality. Although the study addressed a small group of patients, the results are similar to those belonging to other clinical studies. Even if the aspect of life quality is more rarely taken into account, the questionnaires regarding the life quality are specific, useful and quite cheap in evaluating different therapies

Highly Active Transition Metal-Promoted CuCeMgAlO Mixed Oxide Catalysts Obtained from Multicationic LDH Precursors for the Total Oxidation of Methane

To improve the catalytic performance of an active layered double hydroxide (LDH)-derived CuCeMgAlO mixed oxide catalyst in the total oxidation of methane, it was promoted with different transition-metal cations. Thus, two series of multicationic mixed oxides were prepared by the thermal decomposition at 750 °C of their corresponding LDH precursors synthesized by coprecipitation at constant pH of 10 under ambient atmosphere. The first series of catalysts consisted of four M(3)CuCeMgAlO mixed oxides containing 3 at.% M (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni), 15 at.% Cu, 10 at.% Ce (at.% with respect to cations), and with Mg/Al atomic ratio fixed to 3. The second series consisted of four Co(x)CuCeMgAlO mixed oxides with x = 1, 3, 6, and 9 at.% Co, while keeping constant the Cu and Ce contents and the Mg/Al atomic ratio. All the mixed oxides were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with X-ray energy dispersion analysis (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), nitrogen adsorption-desorption at −196 °C, temperature-programmed reduction under hydrogen (H2-TPR), and diffuse reflectance UV-VIS spectroscopy (DR UV-VIS), while thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses (TG-DTG-DTA) together with XRD were used for the LDH precursors. The catalysts were evaluated in the total oxidation of methane, a test reaction for volatile organic compounds (VOC) abatement. Their catalytic performance was explained in correlation with their physicochemical properties and was compared with that of a reference Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. Among the mixed oxides studied, Co(3)CuCeMgAlO was found to be the most active catalyst, with a temperature corresponding to 50% methane conversion (T50) of 438 °C, which was only 19 °C higher than that of a reference Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. On the other hand, this T50 value was ca. 25 °C lower than that observed for the unpromoted CuCeMgAlO system, accounting for the improved performance of the Co-promoted catalyst, which also showed a good stability on stream