Effects of the interaction between slurry, soil conditioners, and mineral NPK fertilizers on selected nutritional parameters of Festulolium braunii (K. Richt.) A. Camus

The research was aimed at assessing the biomass yield of Festulolium braunii and its content of raw protein and crude ash after application of slurry, both on its own and together with soil conditioners (UGmax and Humus Active), and mineral fertilizers. The studies were conducted on the basis of a two-year field experiment. The interaction between slurry and soil conditioners and between slurry and mineral fertilizers was studied on the Sulino variety of Festulolium braunii, a hybrid between Lolium multiflorum and Festuca pratensis. Compared with plants treated with liquid manure on its own, slurry applied with soil conditioners and mineral fertilizer did not significantly increase the biomass yield of the grass. However, there was higher protein content in Festulolium braunii, even if statistically insignificant, as a response to slurry supplemented with mineral fertilizer than in plants treated with slurry only. Various forms of treatment did not differentiate crude ash content in plant dry matter in a statistically significant way

Carotenoid-membrane interactions in liposomes : effect of dipolar, monopolar, and nonpolar carotenoids

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin-labeling methods were used to study the effects of carotenoids on the physical properties of saturated phosphatidylcholine (PC) membranes to evaluate the contribution of the terminal hydroxyl groups of xanthophyll molecules to the carotenoid-membrane interaction. Effects of the dipolar, terminally dihydroxylated carotenoid lutein on membrane phase transition, fluidity, order, and polarity were compared with those of monopolar (β-cryptoxanthin) and nonpolar (β-carotene) carotenoids. These effects were monitored at the membrane center as a function of the amount of the carotenoid added to the sample and as a function of temperature for fluid-phase membranes. PC membranes with different thickness (from 12 to 22 carbons in alkyl chains) were used. Carotenoids shifted to lower temperatures and broadened the main phase transition of PC membranes. They decreased the membrane fluidity and increased the order of alkyl chains. Carotenoids also increased the hydrophobicity of the membrane interior. These effects were the strongest for lutein, significantly weaker for β-cryptoxanthin, and negligible for β-carotene. They decreased with the increase of the membrane thickness. Presented results suggest that anchoring of carotenoid molecules at the opposite membrane surfaces by polar hydroxyl groups is significant in enhancing their effects on membrane properties. This manuscript also shows the ability of EPR spin-labeling methods to monitor different membrane properties that can be applied in biotechnological studies with the use of liposomes

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of Polish version of Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire (NPQ-PL) and its comparisons with different questionnaires

Aim of the study. The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Polish version of the Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire (NPQ-PL), and to compare it to other diagnostic tools. Clinical rationale for the study. Neuropathic pain is a burdensome condition, of which the exact prevalence is difficult to estimate. During initial screening, pain questionnaires are helpful in alerting clinicians about the need for further evaluation. Material and methods. The NPQ-PL has been developed following the guidelines for translation and cultural adaptation. A total of 140 patients with chronic pain (ChP), 90 with neuropathic pain (NP), and 50 with nociceptive pain (NoP), were enrolled into this study. Results. The study group consisted of 60.71% women and 39.29% men; the mean age of patients (standard deviation, SD) was 53.22 years (15.81), and the average NPQ-PL score (SD) was 0.49 (1.27). Statistically significant relationships were found between higher age distribution and greater pain intensity in the NP group compared to the NoP group. There were also significant differences in pain levels between people of different ages, with the predominance in the elderly. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the whole questionnaire was 0.85 and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for test-retest reliability was 0.635. Using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.97 and the best cut-off value was 0.002, which resulted in the highest sensitivity (93.3%) and specificity (96.0%). Conclusions and clinical implications. The NPQ-PL is a valid tool for discriminating between neuropathic and nociceptive pain. It can be used by physicians of various disciplines when assessing patients with ChP of various origins

The use of spa and phage typing for characterization of clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the University Clinical Center in Gdańsk, Poland

The emergence of spa types and spa–clonal complexes (CC) among clinical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates collected from the University Clinical Center in Gdańsk between 2008 and 2009 were investigated. Phage typing was used as the initial screening in the study. The basic set of phages and the additional set of phages were used. Most of the isolates (56 %) belonged to the phage group III. With the additional set of phages, eight types were found, with predominant one MR8 (50 %). Sixteen distinct spa types were observed. The most frequent were t003 (22 %), t151 (16 %), and t008 (12 %). The spa types were clustered into two spa-CC and eight singletons. The predominant CC010 (50 %) consisted of six types, with the most common t003 (36.7 %) and t151(26.7 %), and in 80 % was identified as staphylococcal chromosomal casette mec (SCCmec) type II. The second cluster has no founder (12 %) with only two spa types: t037 belonging to SCCmec type III and t029. In the most frequent singleton, spa type t008 alone was clustered in 12 % of the isolates. All singletons correspond to SCCmec type IV. The CC010 was distributed in most of the hospital wards, corresponded to Multilocus sequence typing type ST5/ST225 and was constantly present throughout the observed period. The isolates of CC010 generally belonged to the phage group III, and most of them (53.3 %) were resistant to erythromycin, clindamycin, and ciprofloxacin. The concordance between spa-clone and phage type was very high, but the same phage type MR8 was observed within different spa types of the predominant clone

Development of High Technologies as an Indicator of Modern Industry in the Eu

The article tries to classify the EU states in terms of the advancement of structural changes in their industries on the basis of the increase in the share of advanced technologies in total industrial production, labour, added value, and surplus. In the times of the knowledge-based economy the ability to produce high-tech goods, the demand for which is growing much faster than for traditional goods, indicates the level of modernity of industry. The dynamic growth of the demand for knowledge-based high-tech goods results from the evolution of consumer habits, which are predominantly driven by educated and rich societies who demand that their sophisticated needs met. An important role in stimulating this demand is played by modern media as they instantly deliver information on the latest technical developments and are very efficient in transferring patterns of consumerism. The ability to adapt the structure of production to the needs of the market is crucial in defining a state's position in the international exchange of goods. This is due to the fact that the national technology is tightly interwoven with export abilities

Common variants of ZNF750, RPTOR and TRAF3IP2 genes and psoriasis risk

Psoriasis vulgaris is a genetically heterogenous disease with unclear molecular background. We assessed the association of psoriasis and its main clinical phenotypes with common variants of three potential psoriasis susceptibility genes: ZNF750, RPTOR and TRAF31P2. We genotyped 10 common variants in a cohort of 1,034 case–control individuals using Taqman genotyping assays and sequencing. Minor alleles of all four TRAF3IP2 variants were more frequent among cases. The strongest, significant association was observed for rs33980500 (OR = 2.5, p = 0.01790). Minor allele of this SNP was always present in two haplotypes found to be associated with increased psoriasis risk: rs13196377_G + rs13190932_G + rs33980500_T + rs13210247_A (OR = 2.7, p = 0.0054) and rs13196377_A + rs13190932_A + rs33980500_T + rs13210247_G (OR = 1.8, p = 0.0008). Analyses of clinically relevant phenotypes revealed association of rs33980500 with pustular psoriasis (OR = 1.2, p = 0.0109). We observed significant connection of severity of cutaneous disease with variation at rs13190932 and suggestive with three remaining TRAF3IP2 SNPs. Another positive associations were found between age of onset and familial aggregation of disease: smoking and younger age of onset, smoking and occurrence of pustular psoriasis, nail involvement and arthropatic psoriasis, nail involvement and more severe course of psoriasis. We found no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of the examined variants of RPTOR and ZNF750 genes among our cases and controls. We have replicated the association of TRAF3IP2-_rs33980500 variant with the susceptibility to psoriasis. We have found new associations with clinically relevant subphenotypes such as pustular psoriasis or moderate-to-severe cases. We ascertain no connection of RPTOR and ZNF750 variants with psoriasis or its subphenotypes. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00403-013-1407-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Influence of Solution pH on Stability of Fumed Silica–Polyacrylic Acid Systems

The influence of polyacrlic acid (PAA) adsorption on fumed silica (SiO2) surface on suspension stability has been studied. Сhanges in the suspension stability were monitored using a Turbiscan LabExpert with a TLAb Cooler cooling module at 25oC. PAA is an anionic polymer containing carboxyl groups; therefore all the measurements were carried out at different pH 3, 6 and 9. Analysis of obtained transmission and backscattering curves and Turbiscan Stability Indexes (TSI) allowed determination of the most probable mechanism of the system stability.Вивчено вплив адсорбції поліакрилової кислоти (ПAК) на поверхні високодисперсного кремнезему (SiO2) на стабільність суспензії. Зміни стабільності суспензії спостерігались за допомогою приладу Turbiscan LabExpert із охолоджуючим модулем TLAb Cooler при 25oC. ПAК є аніонним полімером, що містить карбоксильні групи, тому всі вимірювання проводились при різних рН (3, 6 та 9). Аналіз одержаних кривих перенесення та зворотнього розсіяння, а також індексів стабільності (Turbiscan Stability Indexes (TSI)) дозволив визначити найбільш вірогідний механізм стабілізації вивчених систем.Изучено влияние адсорбции полиакриловой кислоты (ПAA) на поверхности высокодисперсного кремнезема (SiO2) на стабильность суспензии. Изменения стабильности суспензии наблюдались с помощью прибора Turbiscan LabExpert с охлаждающим модулем TLAb Cooler при 25oC. PAA является анионным полимером, содержащим карбоксильные группы, поэтому все измерения проводились при различных рН (3, 6 и 9). Анализ полученных кривых переноса и обратного рассеяния, а также индексов стабильности (Turbiscan Stability Indexes (TSI)) позволил определить наиболее вероятный механизм стабилизации изученных систем

A Dynamic Linkage between Financial Development, Energy Consumption and Economic Growth: Evidence from an Asymmetric and Nonlinear ARDL Model

Developing countries, including Pakistan, need a considerable effort to withstand economic growth; however, these countries have to cope with greenhouse gases emission and other environmental concerns. Financial advancement gives rise to modern, sometimes even innovative and energy-efficient technologies and, thus, contributes to a decline in energy usage among market entities: organizations and households. The current study explores the nonlinear asymmetric relationship between economic growth (Y) and the selected exogenous variables in Pakistan by incorporating time series data spanning from 1971 to 2016. Economic growth was considered as a target variable, while energy consumption (EC), electric power consumption (EPC), financial development (FD), and energy imports (EM) were considered independent variables. To investigate cointegration among the given variables, a nonlinear ARDL bound testing approach was employed. BDS independence test was used to check the nonlinearity, and a structural break unit root test was used for testing data stationarity. The findings confirm the presence of co-integration in the selected variables. A symmetric unidirectional significant causality exists running from EPC to Y, while a bidirectional symmetric causality was found between FD and Y. In contrast, any negative shocks in EPC, FD, and EM were found to have a positive asymmetric effect on Y. Meanwhile, a neutral effect was found between EC and Y. The outcomes of this study can provide guidelines for future re-searchers and policymakers. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland