The impact of agricultural management on selected soil properties in citrus orchards in Eastern Spain: A comparison between conventional and organic citrus orchards with drip and flood irrigation. , 581, 153-160.

The agricultural management of citrus orchards is changing from flood irrigated managed orchards to drip irrigated organic managed orchards. Eastern Spain is the oldest and largest European producer of citrus, and is representative of the environmental changes triggered by innovations in orchard management. In order to determine the impact of land management on different soil quality parameters, twelve citrus orchards sites were selectedwith different land and irrigation management techniques. Soil samples were taken at two depths, 0-2 cmand 5-10 cm for studying soil quality parameters under the different treatments. Half of the studied orchardswere organicallymanaged and the other sixwere conventionally managed, and for each of these six study sites three fields were flood irrigated plots and the other three drip irrigated systems. The outcome of the studied parameters was that soil organic matter (SOM) and aggregate stability were higher for organic farms. Bulk density and pH were only significantly different for organic farms when drip irrigation was applied in comparison with flooded plots. C/N ratio did not vary significantly for the four treatments. Although there are some points of discussion, this research shows that a combination of different management decisions leads to improvement of a couple of soil quality parameters. Organic management practiceswere found to be beneficial for soil quality, compared to conventional management for soils with comparable textures and applied irrigation water

Overview of farmers expected benefits of diversification. Report on national stakeholder involvement.

Seven different European countries are participating in a transnational project SUREVEG (Strip-cropping and recycling of waste for biodiverse and resoURce-Efficient intensive VEGetable production). SUREVEG focuses on developing and implementing new diversified, intensive organic cropping systems using strip-cropping and fertility strategies from plant-based fertilizers for improved resilience, system sustainability, local nutrient recycling and soil carbon storage. This study focuses on providing references concerning benefits and drawbacks of strip-cropping and plant residues for soil fertility in field vegetable production at medium sized organic farms. Specifically to identify local stakeholders’ knowledge and develop ideas in an iterative approach on benefits of diversification in space, time and genes, and plant-based fertilizers. Activities included workshops with stakeholder involvement, to increase awareness and dialogue on strip-cropping and identify local technical and practical knowledge on organic systems. A survey was developed as a tool for having a more systematic discussion with the stakeholders in the workshops. With a selection of questions to analysis the performance criteria of strip-cropping in farmers perspective a transnational comparison of the findings is presented,. The workshops and surveys were executed in six different European countries. In total approximately 140 farmers and other stakeholders were participating in the workshops and 38 farmers filled out the survey. The outcome of the survey and workshops in the different countries suggests that most farmers think fairly equally about the added values of strip-cropping. Higher resistance of crops against plagues and diseases is ranked high in all countries. This is followed by soil quality and benefits from increased agroecosystem biodiversity. Only Belgian farmers mentioned higher yield as an important added value, however certain individual farmers in different counties have ranked it high as well. Divers answers were given on the question on the most suitable width of the cropping-strips. For farmers this depends mostly on the machinery farmers have available for their daily practices. For the importance of crop traits, the efficient use of nutrients and resilience against diseases and plagues scored high throughout all countries investigated. Only Italian farmers mentioned nitrogen-fixing capacity as an important trait. The farmers in all countries thought the same about expected bottlenecks for implementing strip-cropping system: harvesting, weed control and technical problems. The information obtained by the survey and workshops in the different countries is input for the experimental design of field trials in each country. Some countries changed their set-up for following years. To conclude, in the participating countries, the use of strip-cropping is still limited. The farmers participating, consider strip-cropping a promising innovation. However, a lot of basic questions about strip-cropping still need to be answered for farmers before implementing strip-cropping. Farmers in every country will benefit from a database of best crops combinations. In Finland, the farmers explicitly mentioned the need of good companion crops for Brassicaceae and Apiaceae vegetables (suitable trap crops)

Duloxetine Inhibits Effects of MDMA (“Ecstasy") In Vitro and in Humans in a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Laboratory Study

This study assessed the effects of the serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) transporter inhibitor duloxetine on the effects of 3,4–methylenedioxy­methamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) in vitro and in 16 healthy subjects. The clinical study used a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, four-session, crossover design. In vitro, duloxetine blocked the release of both 5-HT and NE by MDMA or by its metabolite 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine from transmitter-loaded human cells expressing the 5-HT or NE transporter. In humans, duloxetine inhibited the effects of MDMA including elevations in circulating NE, increases in blood pressure and heart rate, and the subjective drug effects. Duloxetine inhibited the pharmacodynamic response to MDMA despite an increase in duloxetine-associated elevations in plasma MDMA levels. The findings confirm the important role of MDMA-induced 5-HT and NE release in the psychotropic effects of MDMA. Duloxetine may be useful in the treatment of psychostimulant dependence

Effect of the first wave of COVID-19 on Poison Control Centre activities in 21 European countries : an EAPCCT initiative

Peer reviewe

Pharmacology of MDMA- and Amphetamine-Like New Psychoactive Substances

New psychoactive substances (NPS) with amphetamine-, aminoindan-, and benzofuran basic chemical structures have recently emerged for recreational drug use. Detailed information about their psychotropic effects and health risks is often limited. At the same time, it emerged that the pharmacological profiles of these NPS resemble those of amphetamine or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Amphetamine-like NPS induce psychostimulation and euphoria mediated predominantly by norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) transporter (NET and DAT) inhibition and transporter-mediated release of NE and DA, thus showing a more catecholamine-selective profile. MDMA-like NPS frequently induce well-being, empathy, and prosocial effects and have only moderate psychostimulant properties. These MDMA-like substances primarily act by inhibiting the serotonin (5-HT) transporter (SERT) and NET, also inducing 5-HT and NE release. Monoamine receptor interactions vary considerably among amphetamine- and MDMA-like NPS. Clinically, amphetamine- and MDMA-like NPS can induce sympathomimetic toxicity. The aim of this chapter is to review the state of knowledge regarding these substances with a focus on the description of the in vitro pharmacology of selected amphetamine- and MDMA-like NPS. In addition, it is aimed to provide links between pharmacological profiles and in vivo effects and toxicity, which leads to the conclusion that abuse liability for amphetamine-like NPS may be higher than for MDMA-like NPS, but that the risk for developing the life-threatening serotonin syndrome may be increased for MDMA-like NPS

Neuropharmacological characterization of the new psychoactive substance methoxetamine

The use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) is steadily increasing. One commonly used NPS is methoxetamine (MXE), a ketamine analogue. Several adverse effects have been reported following MXE exposure, while only limited data are available on its neuropharmacological modes of action. We investigated the effects of MXE and ketamine on several endpoints using multiple in vitro models. These included rat primary cortical cells, human SH-SY5Y cells, human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived iCell® Neurons, DopaNeurons and astrocyte co-cultures, and human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells. We investigated effects on several neurotransmitter receptors using single cell intracellular calcium [Ca2+]i imaging, effects on neuronal activity using micro-electrode array (MEA) recordings and effects on human monoamine transporters using a fluorescence-based plate reader assay. In rat primary cortical cells, 10 μM MXE increased the glutamate-evoked increase in [Ca2+]i, whereas 10 μM ketamine was without effect. MXE and ketamine did not affect voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs), but inhibited spontaneous neuronal activity (IC50 0.5 μM and 1.2 μM respectively). In human SH-SY5Y cells, 10 μM MXE slightly inhibited the K+- and acetylcholine-evoked increase in [Ca2+]i. In hiPSC-derived iCell®(Dopa)Neurons, only the ATP-evoked increase in [Ca2+]i was slightly reduced. Additionally, MXE inhibited spontaneous neuronal activity (IC50 between 10 and 100 μM). Finally, MXE potently inhibits uptake via monoamine transporters (DAT, NET and SERT), with IC50 values in the low micromolar range (33, 20, 2 μM respectively). Our combined in vitro data provide an urgently needed first insight into the multiple modes of action of MXE. The use of different models and different (neuronal) endpoints can be complementary in pharmacological profiling. Rapid in vitro screening methods as those presented here, could be of utmost importance for gaining a first mechanistic insight to aid the risk assessment of emerging NPS