Functional analysis in public sector

The main aim of the paper is to explore the theoretical aspects of functional analysis on purpose to identify the essence of functional analysis in public sector. This objective was chosen in reference to relevant problem of modern-day, i.e. inefficiency and ineffectiveness of public sector activities. The article contains functional analysis goals, tasks formed by different sources of literature; also, interpretations of the process of functional analysis are introduced. The conclusions were made that the main goal of functional analysis is to suggest an optimal set of functions that have to be performed in order to assure high quality of public services and minimal possible costs throughout all the hierarchical levels of government. Funkcinė analizė viešajame sektoriuje Straipsnio kalba: Lietuvių

Endophytic bacteria in cbold plasma treated sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seeds

Endophytic microorganisms are adapted to grow within plant tissues without causing apparent symptoms of plant disease but some of them can promote plant growth by production of plant hormones, modulation of hormone production in plants, increasing nutrient availability or suppressing plant pathogens. Treatment with cold plasma (CP) can inhibit growth of various bacteria, therefore it is applied for food decontamination. Short term seed treatment with CP was reported to improve agronomical crop performance, however the mechanism of such effects is unknown. Possible outcomes of seed CP treatment to some extent may be dependent on changes in composition of endophytic microflora. The aim of our study was to characterize microflora diversity and plant growth promoting properties of endophytic bacteria in control and CP treated sunflower seeds. Seeds of sunflower were treated with CP for 9 and 12 minutes (CP9 and CP12). After treatment the surface of affected and control seeds was sterilized, sunflower kernels were separated from hulls and homogenized. Fresh nutrient medium was added to samples and after vigorous shaking for 30 min samples were inoculated on plates with nutrient medium. Bacterial isolates were characterized by the number of morphological and biochemical properties, including – catalase, oxidase activity, gram staining, secretion of amylolytic and DNA degrading enzymes, ability to reduce nitrate, growth on selective XLD and MSA media. Bacteria isolates were also screened for traits specifically associated with direct and indirect plant growth promotion – auxin production, nitrogen fixation, siderophore production. Gram-positive bacteria dominated in all samples, both cocci and bacilli were present.[...]Biochemijos katedraGamtos mokslų fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta