THE ESTABLISHMENT OF INTENSIVE APPLE ORCHARDS IN SERBIA

Serbia at the present time grows apple on an area of 25.917 ha with an average production of 412.000 tons per year. This production is almost 2.5 fold higher than in the period of 2001-2005., which is associated with establishment of new intensive orchards, starting from 2006.Apple production was moving from the locations, typically used for traditional apple production to the regions, mostly located in the different valleys, that poses enough quantity of fresh water for drip irrigation. The new established orchards are equipped with anti-hail net preventingfruit damagesagainst hail or intensive sunlight. The most dominant cultivars are different clones of Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala and Red Delicious, which are mostly grafted on M9 rootstock. Spacing between the rows is the same as in the past (3.0-3.5 m), while  distance withinthe rows is significantly reduced and now is 0,5-0,9 m, which provide 3,200-6,250 trees ha-1. Tree height reaches 2.20-3.0 m. Large and well feathered nursery trees are used for planting, which provide fast returns of high investment. “Knip” nursery trees  as 2-year-old trees with one-year old crown are preferred for establishing new orchards. After planting, light pruning is usually applied. Only lateral shoots at the tip which are too steep and too vigorous lateral shoots along the leader are removed in its base. This type of pruning, which promotes fruit bud production and early cropping, reduces vegetative growth of the tree. In the case of good development of the trees after planting ,  they can be loaded up to 40 fruits in the second growing year, providing a yield of more than 30 tons per hectare. Production in the third leaf can achieve 40-50 t ha-1 and full production, which usually started in the fourth leaf, more than 60 t ha-1can be expected depends on cultivar and growing conditions. Pruning of the mature trees means cutting of the strong watersprouts, the upright shoots and the strong terminal shoots at the top of the tree at their base, remaining only weak fruit-bearing wood. The fruit thinning is regularly applied in modern apple orchards, starting from the second growing year, in order to achieve regular yield and uniform fruit quality.. For this purpose plant growth regulators such as auxins [naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) or naphthalene acetamide (NAAm)] and cytokinin [6 - benzyladenine (BA)] are used. Recently, herbicide metamitron, as a new chemical thinners that at a low dosage reduces photosynthesis and consequently enhances fruit drop are also used. Metamitron exhibited thinning activity when applied to apple fruitlets at the 6 to 15 mm in diameter, or even later, at 20 mm. It can be applied once or twice, depend on the weather conditions in the day of application and three days after

Relative and absolute chronologies of Belovode and Pločnik

The chronology of the sites of Belovode and Pločnik has been discussed several times in the past two decades since excavations were renewed at each site (Arsenijević and Živković 1998; Šljivar 1996; Šljivar and Jacanović 1996a; Šljivar and Kuzmanović Cvetković 1997a), though not in detail and rarely integrating the relative and the absolute chronological sequences. Chronologies from both sites have been published (Whittle et al. 2016), drawing upon eight radiocarbon dates from the two trenches then existing for Belovode (Trenches 7 and 8) and nine radiocarbon dates from three trenches for Pločnik (Trenches 14, 15 and 16). These dates were allegedly focussing on the dating of metallurgical finds, however, the nature of those finds was not known at the time, so the best guess was to date materials from the spits, which only adds to the doubt on the chronological precision achieved. The seriation and ceramic sequences of both sites resulting from this project are discussed in detail elsewhere in this volume (see Chapters 12, 13, 27 and 28) and in this chapter will be used only to illustrate relative chronology compared to other chronologies used for Vinča culture (see Chapter 4). The identical spit and context excavation methodology employed on both sites enables us to compare chronologically sensitive pottery forms to other relevant sites of the period. This chapter presents 29 new radiocarbon dates from throughout the excavated sequences: 17 from Trench 18 at Belovode and 12 from Trench 24 at Pločnik. The systematic excavations, relative ceramic sequences and the intensity of radiocarbon dating enables a far more precise modelling of dates for the identifiable activity horizons at both sites

Possibilities of more efficient usage of genetic potential of broilers breeders

During the last ten years, poultry production in the world and particularly, EU has been specific due to new trends, whereby special attention is focused on regulations and procedures that are adopted by European Union (EU), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the World Trade Organization. Legal regulations in EU (standards, directions) are focused on all species and categories of poultry. Based on this, breeding of broiler (meat-type line strains) and production of hatching eggs and day old chickens (incubation) as well as other issues are the focus of this review. This paper presented results of studies carried out using different technological procedures in the breeding of broiler and production of one day old chickens. These showed a full expression of genetic potential of strains, along with preservation of poultry welfare

The influence of population density and duration of breeding on broiler chickens productivity and profitability

Fattening of broiler chickens is a very specific production process characterized by intensive production principles, rapid increase in broilers, small consumption of food/kg of gain (feed conversion ratio) and a large production of broilers’ meat per square meter of surface. In order to increase the profitability of this production, the intention of farmers is to reduce the duration of production as well as to increase population density, with the aim of increasing the production of broiler chickens’ meat,calculated per unit of surface (m2). However, most of the countries in the world, in order to protect and preserve the welfare of poultry, limit the maximum of broilers’ meat production by regulations and standards. These researches aim to determine the optimal density and duration of fattening in a way to achieve the best production results and the profitability of fattening the broiler chickens hybrids Cobb 500 in temperate continental climate, while preserving the welfare of poultry. From six different population densities (16.84, 16.33, 14.29, 12.75, 14.80 and 15.46 birds per m2) and fattening period between 37 and 40 days, the best production and economic performance showed that a group ofchickens that was fattened in a period of 40 days had a population density of about 16 birds per m2. This group of broilers produced the most meat per m2 (about 33 kg), the welfare of poultry is maintained and the standard was not exceeded, so we can say that the best economy and profitability of fattening broiler chickens in the concerned region is achieved. In other groups of chickens, profitability could be more advantageous if the increased population density goes up to 16 birds perm2; or the duration of fattening could be extended up to 40 days and by this way the welfare of poultry would not be violated

Exploration of trade-offs between steady-state and dynamic properties in signaling cycles

In the intracellular signaling networks that regulate important cell processes, the base pattern comprises the cycle of reversible phosphorylation of a protein, catalyzed by kinases and opposing phosphatases. Mathematical modeling and analysis have been used for gaining a better understanding of their functions and to capture the rules governing system behavior. Since biochemical parameters in signaling pathways are not easily accessible experimentally, it is necessary to explore possibilities for both steady-state and dynamic responses in these systems. While a number of studies have focused on analyzing these properties separately, it is necessary to take into account both of these responses simultaneously in order to be able to interpret a broader range of phenotypes. This paper investigates the trade-offs between optimal characteristics of both steady-state and dynamic responses. Following an inverse sensitivity analysis approach, we use systematic optimization methods to find the biochemical and biophysical parameters that simultaneously achieve optimal steady-state and dynamic performance. Remarkably, we find that even a single covalent modification cycle can simultaneously and robustly achieve high ultrasensitivity, high amplification and rapid signal transduction. We also find that the response rise and decay times can be modulated independently by varying the activating- and deactivating-enzyme-to-interconvertible-protein ratios

Repealing the Çatalhöyük extractive metallurgy: The green, the fire and the ‘slag’

The scholarly quest for the origins of metallurgy has focused on a broad region from the Balkans to Central Asia, with different scholars advocating a single origin and multiple origins, respectively. One particular find has been controversially discussed as the potentially earliest known example of copper smelting in western Eurasia, a copper ‘slag’ piece from the Late Neolithic to Chalcolithic site of Çatalhöyük in central Turkey. Here we present a new assessment of metal making at Çatalhöyük based on the re-analysis of minerals, mineral artefacts and high-temperature materials excavated in the 1960s by J. Mellaart and first analysed by Neuninger, Pittioni and Siegl in 1964. This paper focuses on copper-based minerals, the alleged piece of metallurgical slag, and copper metal beads, and their contextual relationship to each other. It is based on new microstructural, compositional and isotopic analyses, and a careful re-examination of the fieldwork documentation and analytical data related to the c. 8500 years old high-temperature debris at Çatalhöyük. We re-interpret the sample identified earlier as metallurgical slag as incidentally fired green pigment, which was originally deposited in a burial and later affected by a destructive fire that also charred the bones of the interred body. We also re-confirm the contemporary metal beads as made from native metal. Our results provide a new and conclusive explanation of the previously contentious find, and reposition Çatalhöyük in a new narrative of the multiple origins of metallurgy in the Old World.Qatar Foundation enabled the new study of this material through its generous funding of UCL Qatar as a joint centre of excellence for Museology, Conservation and Archaeolog

BayFlux: A Bayesian Method to Quantify Metabolic Fluxes and their Uncertainty at the Genome Scale.

Metabolic fluxes, the number of metabolites traversing each biochemical reaction in a cell per unit time, are crucial for assessing and understanding cell function. 13C Metabolic Flux Analysis (13C MFA) is considered to be the gold standard for measuring metabolic fluxes. 13C MFA typically works by leveraging extracellular exchange fluxes as well as data from 13C labeling experiments to calculate the flux profile which best fit the data for a small, central carbon, metabolic model. However, the nonlinear nature of the 13C MFA fitting procedure means that several flux profiles fit the experimental data within the experimental error, and traditional optimization methods offer only a partial or skewed picture, especially in “non-gaussian” situations where multiple very distinct flux regions fit the data equally well. Here, we present a method for flux space sampling through Bayesian inference (BayFlux), that identifies the full distribution of fluxes compatible with experimental data for a comprehensive genome-scale model. This Bayesian approach allows us to accurately quantify uncertainty in calculated fluxes. We also find that, surprisingly, the genome-scale model of metabolism produces narrower flux distributions (reduced uncertainty) than the small core metabolic models traditionally used in 13C MFA. The different results for some reactions when using genome-scale models vs core metabolic models advise caution in assuming strong inferences from 13C MFA since the results may depend significantly on the completeness of the model used. Based on BayFlux, we developed and evaluated novel methods (P-13C MOMA and P-13C ROOM) to predict the biological results of a gene knockout, that improve on the traditional MOMA and ROOM methods by quantifying prediction uncertainty

Molecular Analysis of Ring Y Chromosome in a 10-Year-Old Boy with Mixed Gonadal Dysgenesis and Growth Hormone Deficiency

Ring Y chromosome is a very rare chromosomal aberration. The published mixed gonadal dysgenesis (MGD) patients with a ring Y chromosome are short in stature, but are not growth hormone (GH) deficient. We present the molecular cytogenetic and molecular characterization of ring Y chromosome mosaicism in a 10-year-old boy with MGD whose short stature could be explained by the high percentage of cells monosomic for the X-chromosome, but also by the presence of severe GH deficiency. The ring Y chromosome in our patient is a de novo structural aberration. The fathers karyotype was normal

Impact of renal impairment on atrial fibrillation: ESC-EHRA EORP-AF Long-Term General Registry

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and renal impairment share a bidirectional relationship with important pathophysiological interactions. We evaluated the impact of renal impairment in a contemporary cohort of patients with AF. Methods: We utilised the ESC-EHRA EORP-AF Long-Term General Registry. Outcomes were analysed according to renal function by CKD-EPI equation. The primary endpoint was a composite of thromboembolism, major bleeding, acute coronary syndrome and all-cause death. Secondary endpoints were each of these separately including ischaemic stroke, haemorrhagic event, intracranial haemorrhage, cardiovascular death and hospital admission. Results: A total of 9306 patients were included. The distribution of patients with no, mild, moderate and severe renal impairment at baseline were 16.9%, 49.3%, 30% and 3.8%, respectively. AF patients with impaired renal function were older, more likely to be females, had worse cardiac imaging parameters and multiple comorbidities. Among patients with an indication for anticoagulation, prescription of these agents was reduced in those with severe renal impairment, p <.001. Over 24 months, impaired renal function was associated with significantly greater incidence of the primary composite outcome and all secondary outcomes. Multivariable Cox regression analysis demonstrated an inverse relationship between eGFR and the primary outcome (HR 1.07 [95% CI, 1.01–1.14] per 10 ml/min/1.73 m2 decrease), that was most notable in patients with eGFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m2 (HR 2.21 [95% CI, 1.23–3.99] compared to eGFR ≥90 ml/min/1.73 m2). Conclusion: A significant proportion of patients with AF suffer from concomitant renal impairment which impacts their overall management. Furthermore, renal impairment is an independent predictor of major adverse events including thromboembolism, major bleeding, acute coronary syndrome and all-cause death in patients with AF