The effect of Intercropping on the Deep Root Development and Nutrient Uptake in a Sugar Beet – Chicory Mixture.

Sustaining an increasing human population with decreasing soil resources is a great challenge of the 21st century. Suboptimal availability of water and N are primary limitations to plant growth in the low-input agroecosystems in developing nations, whereas intensive fertilization at the cost of substantial environmental pollution is a problem in rich countries. The development of crops with greater rooting depth addresses these challenges. Deeper rooting improves water and nutrient uptake, which in turn reduces the need of application of external resources. In our study, we investigate the effect of intercropping on the deep root development and nutrient uptake in sugar beet – chicory mixture. The crops were chosen due to their deep roots and similar growing periods. We hypothesize that in the intercropping system one of the component crops develops roots below the root surface of the other crop, which results in deeper nutrient uptake in comparison to crops growing in pure stands. Crops will be grown in the field as monocultures and in mixture. Root growth will be monitored with minirhizotron method up to 4 m depth. Nutrient uptake will be studied using stable isotopes and ingrowth core methods. Additionally, root biomass estimation through DNA extraction from soil will be investigated. We expect that the results will help to answer the questions of whether the intercropping enhances deeper root growth and nutrient uptake in comparison to sole crops. With this knowledge, exploitation of the subsoil resources by deep roots would contribute to enhanced food production in a sustainable way. The study will start in spring 2018 and preliminary results will be presented

Is new spread of the European beaver in Pannonian basin an evidence of the species recovery?

Abstract: During fieldwork from 6 June to 20 July 2016, the first records of the European beaver (Castor fiber) in south-eastern Slovakia were made. Beavers are mainly nocturnal animals, and as such, they are rarely observed; therefore, our observations were based on searching for beaver presence signs: damaged trees, dams, signs of food consumption (chewed/felled trees) and footprints in the mud. The southern part of the Košická kotlina basin, from the city of Košice down to the state border and the surrounding villages in Hungary, was checked. We found two beaver locations via feeding signs in the vicinity of the Slovakia–Hungary state border, at the villages of Milhosť (Miglécnémeti) and Buzica (Buzita), in Slovakia. According to our calculations, the present total beaver population in Hungary is between 4,000 and 5,000 and 14,600–18,300 beavers with potential support. For Slovakia, we estimated the potential population size to be 7,700–9,600. Our findings in northern Pannonian lowland (Slovakia–Hungary border) are an important evidence of beaver expansion. Although we don’t know the exact origin of investigated population, these new records indicate the possibility of merging the populations of different origin, which could enable gene flow and increase the genetic diversity. This could lead to improved recovery of species and its stabilisation in nature. However, it is necessary to carry out a detailed investigation of the presence of beaver in these regions in future

Quantitative estimation of sampling uncertainties for mycotoxins in cereal shipments

Many countries receive shipments of bulk cereals from primary producers. There is a volume of work that is ongoing that seeks to arrive at appropriate standards for the quality of the shipments and the means to assess the shipments as they are out-loaded. Of concern are mycotoxin and heavy metal levels, pesticide and herbicide residue levels, and contamination by genetically modified organisms (GMOs). As the ability to quantify these contaminants improves through improved analytical techniques, the sampling methodologies applied to the shipments must also keep pace to ensure that the uncertainties attached to the sampling procedures do not overwhelm the analytical uncertainties. There is a need to understand and quantify sampling uncertainties under varying conditions of contamination. The analysis required is statistical and is challenging as the nature of the distribution of contaminants within a shipment is not well understood; very limited data exist. Limited work has been undertaken to quantify the variability of the contaminant concentrations in the flow of grain coming from a ship and the impact that this has on the variance of sampling. Relatively recent work by Paoletti et al. in 2006 [Paoletti C, Heissenberger A, Mazzara M, Larcher S, Grazioli E, Corbisier P, Hess N, Berben G, Lubeck PS, De Loose M, et al. 2006. Kernel lot distribution assessment (KeLDA): a study on the distribution of GMO in large soybean shipments. Eur Food Res Tech. 224:129–139] provides some insight into the variation in GMO concentrations in soybeans on cargo out-turn. Paoletti et al. analysed the data using correlogram analysis with the objective of quantifying the sampling uncertainty (variance) that attaches to the final cargo analysis, but this is only one possible means of quantifying sampling uncertainty. It is possible that in many cases the levels of contamination passing the sampler on out-loading are essentially random, negating the value of variographic quantitation of the sampling variance. GMOs and mycotoxins appear to have a highly heterogeneous distribution in a cargo depending on how the ship was loaded (the grain may have come from more than one terminal and set of storage silos) and mycotoxin growth may have occurred in transit. This paper examines a statistical model based on random contamination that can be used to calculate the sampling uncertainty arising from primary sampling of a cargo; it deals with what is thought to be a worst-case scenario. The determination of the sampling variance is treated both analytically and by Monte Carlo simulation. The latter approach provides the entire sampling distribution and not just the sampling variance. The sampling procedure is based on rules provided by the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) and the levels of contamination considered are those relating to allowable levels of ochratoxin A (OTA) in wheat. The results of the calculations indicate that at a loading rate of 1000 tonnes h-1, primary sample increment masses of 10.6 kg, a 2000-tonne lot and a primary composite sample mass of 1900 kg, the relative standard deviation (RSD) is about 1.05 (105%) and the distribution of the mycotoxin (MT) level in the primary composite samples is highly skewed. This result applies to a mean MT level of 2 ng g-1. The rate of false-negative results under these conditions is estimated to be 16.2%. The corresponding contamination is based on initial average concentrations of MT of 4000 ng g-1 within average spherical volumes of 0.3m diameter, which are then diluted by a factor of 2 each time they pass through a handling stage; four stages of handling are assumed. The Monte Carlo calculations allow for variation in the initial volume of the MT-bearing grain, the average concentration and the dilution factor. The Monte Carlo studies seek to show the effect of variation in the sampling frequency while maintaining a primary composite sample mass of 1900 kg. The overall results are presented in terms of operational characteristic curves that relate only to the sampling uncertainties in the primary sampling of the grain. It is concluded that cross-stream sampling is intrinsically unsuited to sampling for mycotoxins and that better sampling methods and equipment are needed to control sampling uncertainties. At the same time, it is shown that some combination of crosscutting sampling conditions may, for a given shipment mass and MT content, yield acceptable sampling performance

Analiza występowania nowotworów złośliwych u chorych z cukrzycą typu 2

Background. The aim of this study was to evaluatethe incidence of cancer occurrence in patients withtype 2 diabetes staying under care of RegionalDiabetes Outpatient in Bialystok.Material and methods. We retrospectively analyzedthe medical records of patients with type 2 diabetes,identifying a patients diagnosed with cancer duringthe treatment of type 2 diabetes. We analyzed factorssuch as age, gender, family history and body weight(expressed as BMI — body mass index), smoking. Theduration of diabetes, the medical treatment andmetabolic control were carefully evaluated. Inpatients treated with insulin, insulin doses, averagenumber of units per kilogram of body weight perday (units/kg/day) were analyzed.Results. There are differences in the incidence ofvarious types of cancer in patients with diabetescompared with the general population. In our studygroup the most frequent were cancers of kidney,colon, breast and uterus. In men with type 2 diabetescancer of the kidney and colon were most commonlydiagnosed, in female subgroup the most commonwere breast cancer and colon cancer. Most of thepatients were obese patients.Conclusions. In the study group of patients with type 2diabetes, cancer was diagnosed in 5.9%. The mostcommon malignancies were renal cancer in men andbreast cancer in women. 80% of patients with type 2diabetes who were diagnosed with cancer wereoverweight or obese.Wstęp. Celem pracy była ocena częstości występowania nowotworów złośliwych u pacjentów z cukrzycą typu 2, będących podopiecznymi Wojewódzkiej Poradni Diabetologicznej w Białymstoku.Materiał i metody. Retrospektywnej analizie poddano historie chorób pacjentów z cukrzycą typu 2, wyodrębniając grupę osób , u których w trakcie leczenia cukrzycy typu 2 rozpoznano nowotwór złośliwy. Analizowano czynniki ryzyka rozwoju nowotworów takie, jak wiek, płeć, wywiad rodzinny oraz masa ciała wyrażona wskaźnikiem masy ciała BMI (body mass index), palenie papierosów. Dokładnej ocenie poddano ponadto czas trwania cukrzycy, stosowane leczenie oraz wyrównanie metaboliczne, które oceniano na podstawie średniej wartości hemoglobiny glikowanej (HbA1c) z okresu od rozpoznania cukrzycy do zdiagnozowania nowotworu. W grupie pacjentów leczonych insuliną analizowano stosowane dawki insuliny oraz obliczano średnią ilość jednostek/kg masy ciała na dobę. Wyniki poddano analizie statystycznej. Wyniki. Istnieją różnice w częstości występowania poszczególnych rodzajów nowotworów u pacjentów z cukrzycą w porównaniu z populacją ogólną. W badanej przez nas grupie najczęściej występowały nowotwory nerki, jelita grubego, sutka i macicy. W grupie mężczyzn z cukrzycą typu 2 najczęściej rozpoznawano raka nerki i jelita grubego, u kobiet raka sutka i jelita grubego. Większość pacjentów stanowili chorzy otyli. Wnioski. Istnieje związek między obecnością cukrzycy, a ryzykiem rozwoju nowotworów, jednakowo w grupie kobiet i mężczyzn. Jednym z głównych czynników zwiększających ryzyko rozwoju nowotworów złośliwych w cukrzycy typu 2 jest otyłość. Leczenie metforminą w obecności innych czynników ryzyka nie chroni przed zachorowaniem na nowotwór złośliwy

Overview of Polkadot and its Design Considerations

In this paper we describe the design components of the heterogenous multi-chain protocol Polkadot and explain how these components help Polkadot address some of the existing shortcomings of blockchain technologies. At present, a vast number of blockchain projects have been introduced and employed with various features that are not necessarily designed to work with each other. This makes it difficult for users to utilise a large number of applications on different blockchain projects. Moreover, with the increase in number of projects the security that each one is providing individually becomes weaker. Polkadot aims to provide a scalable and interoperable framework for multiple chains with pooled security that is achieved by the collection of components described in this paper