CHANGES IN SOIL CONTAMINATION BY SELECTED HERBICIDES USED IN PROTECTION OF CEREALS

The aim of the studies was to evaluate the herbicidal contaminations in soil. Monitoring tests were carried out in two periods: 2002–2008 and 2010–2013, on cereal plantations located in south-western Poland. The samples of soil were collected at harvest time. The determination of 2,4-D, MCPA, diflufenican, dicamba, chlortoluron, fluroxypyr, isoproturon, clopyralid residues were conducted using the chromatography GC/ECD and HPLC/UV. Comparing the research results from both periods, a decrease of several percent in the number of the samples with residues was observed. In the years 2010–2013, the average residues of herbicide determined in 27% of samples ranged from 0.0012 to 0.0052 mg kg-1.

The role of the growth stage of weeds in their response to reduced herbicide doses

The influence of weed growth stage on the efficacy of selected herbicides applied at reduced doses was investigated under pot experiments at the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation - State Research Institute in Wrocław. Three weed species were used as tested plants: Anthemis arvensis L., Chenopodium album L. and Stellaria media L., which were sprayed at different growth stages: 2-4, 6-8, and 10-12 leaves. The experiment included the following herbicides: tribenuron-methyl, iodosulfuron methyl sodium + amidosulfuron, and metribuzin + amidosulfuron, used at full doses and reduced by 25 and 50%. Three weeks after treatment, fresh weight of weeds was determined. Weed control was significantly related to weed species, growth stage, type of herbicide and its dose. Among the tested weed species, S. media showed the weakest reaction to the herbicides used and it was only slightly affected by herbicide rate and growth stage. Later herbicide treatments, when the weeds reached the stage of 6-8 and 10-12 leaves, resulted in diversification at the level of herbicide effects and doses

The influence of selected spraying parameters on two formulation of sulfonylurea herbicides effect

The objective of this study was the evaluation of spray volume and nozzle type effect on different formulation (water dispersible granules - WG and oil dispersion - OD) of two sulfonylurea herbicides: the mixture iodosulfuron methyl sodium + amidosulfuron and iodosulfuron methyl sodium + mesosulfuron methyl efficacy. There were investigated three levels of spray volume (125 l*ha-1, 250 l*ha-1 and 350 l*ha-1) and two types of nozzle (extended range flat nozzle TeeJet XR 11003-VS and drift guard flat nozzle TeeJet DG 11003-VS). Each herbicide was used at recommended dose and reduced by half. Spray volume and nozzle type did not affect activity of the mixture iodosulfuron methyl sodium + amidosulfuron, but differentiated the efficacy of OD formulation of iodosulfuron methyl sodium + mesosulfuron methyl, when it was applied at lowered dose. As spray volume rose, herbicide efficacy decreased. Nozzle type influenced OD formulation of the mixture iodosulfuron methyl sodium + mesosulfuron methyl, independently on dose. Significantly weaker efficacy was obtained when drift guard nozzle was used

Memristors: a short review on fundamentals, structures, materials and applications

The paper contains a short literature review on the subject of special type of thin film structures with resistive-switching memory effect. In the literature, such structures are commonly labeled as "memristors". The word "memristor" originates from two words: "memory" and "resistor". For the first time, the memristor was theoretically described in 1971 by Leon Chua as the 4th fundamental passive electronics element with a non-linear current-voltage behavior. The reported area of potential usage of memristor is enormous. It is predicted that the memristor could find application, for example in the domain of nonvolatile random access memory, flash memory, neuromorphic systems and so forth. However, in spite of the fact that plenty of papers have been published in the subject literature to date, the memristor still behaves as a "mysterious" electronic element. It seems that, one of the important reasons that such structures are not yet in practical use, is unsufficient knowledge of physical phenomena determining occurrence of the switching effect. The present paper contains a literature review of available descriptions of theoretical basis of the memristor structures, used materials, structure configurations and discussion about future prospects and limitations

Amino acid content and biomass productivity of selected weed species as an indicator of their response to herbicide stress

Biomass reduction and amino acid content in plants of Papaver rhoeas L. and Stellaria media L. were investigated to evaluate response of these species to herbicide stress under various temperature (25/16 and 8/2 oC) and relative humidity (50 and 75%) regimes. Weeds were treated with tribenuron methyl (15 g × ha-1), a mixture of 2.4-D with florasulam (180 + 3.75 g × ha-1), and a mixture of 2.4-D with dicamba (1252.5 + 97.5 g × ha-1). The fresh weight of weeds and the content of free branched-chain amino acids (valine, leucine and isoleucine) in plant tissue were recorded. Tribenuron methyl was the herbicide that most limited biomass productivity, regardless of weed species and climate conditions. S. media was more sensitive to herbicides than P. rhoeas. Weed response to herbicides was dependent on temperature, but not on relative humidity. Tribenuron methyl applied to both weed species under various temperature regimes caused significant amino acid deficiency. The reduction in amino acid content in plants of P. rhoeas was greater at warm temperature compared to the cold regime due to stronger reaction to tribenuron methyl applied under these conditions. In most of cases, the mixture of 2.4-D + dicamba induced overproduction of amino acids

Ocena zdolności kiełkowania nasion oraz wybranych parametrów biometrycznych (długość oraz sucha masa korzeni i koleoptyla) słonecznika zwyczajnego (Helianthus annuus) po zastosowaniu preparatów zawierających efektywne mikroorganizmy (EM)

Seed germination and early growth microbiotest PhytotoxkitTM was used in the experiment, which consisted of 3 independent laboratory experimental series with one month intervals each and 3 replications. The aim of this study was to evaluate germination dynamics and capacity as well as selected biometric parameters after seed treatment with two preparations containing effective microorganisms: EM Farma (EMF) and EM Farma Plus (EMFP). Sunflower seeds (H. annuus) were chosen as the experimental material. Seeds soaked in distilled water were control objects (K) in these experiment. Apart from control (K), reference material was prepared in the form of two biostimulants: Kelpak SL (KSL) and gibberellic acid (GA3). The effect of the two biopreparations EM Farma (EMF) and EM Farma Plus (EMFP) was beneficial related to germination capacity and biometric parameters of sunflower (H. annuus).Doświadczenie przeprowadzono z użyciem mikrobiotestu kiełkowania i wczesnego wzrostu roślin – PhytotoxkitTM. Testy obejmowały 3 niezależne serie doświadczeń laboratoryjnych w odstępach miesięcznych po 3 powtórzenia. Celem doświadczenia była ocena dynamiki i zdolności kiełkowania oraz wybranych parametrów biometrycznych nasion po zastosowaniu dwóch preparatów zawierających efektywne mikroorganizmy: EM Farma (EMF) oraz EM Farma Plus (EMFP). Materiałem do badań były nasiona słonecznika zwyczajnego (H. annuus). Obiekt kontrolny (K) stanowiły nasiona, moczone jedynie w wodzie destylowanej. W doświadczeniu oprócz kontroli absolutnej (K), zastosowano również jako obiekty porównawcze dwa biostymulatory: Kelpak SL (KSL) oraz kw. giberelinowy (GA3). W przeprowadzonym doświadczeniu stwierdzono korzystny wpływ zastosowanych biopreparatów EM Farma (EMF) i EM Farma Plus (EMFP), związany z polepszeniem dynamiki kiełkowania oraz wybranych parametrów biometrycznych słonecznika zwyczajnego (H. annuus)

Assessment of allelopathic potential of Solidago gigantea Aiton on dry weight of Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. and Amaranthus retroflexus L.

Laboratory analyses using the 1st generation bioassay were conducted in the years 2013-2014 to investigate the allelopathic potential of wateralcoholic and aqueous extracts from dry weight of rhizomes and roots as well as stems and leaves of Solidago gigantea. Analysed acceptors were two weed species, i.e. monocotyledonous Echinochloa crus-galli and dicotyledonous Amaranthus retroflexus. When the acceptors (E. crus-galli and A. retroflexus) reached the 2-leaf stage (BBCH 12) they were sprayed with wateralcoholic and aqueous extracts (at concentrations of 12.5%, 10%, 5% and 2.5%) obtained from the donor, i.e. S. gigantea. Results indicate an inhibitory effect of wateralcoholic extracts from aboveground parts (leaves and stems) of S. gigantea in relation to dry weight of E. crus-galli and A. retroflexus. The volume of dry weight reduction in acceptors was dependent on the concentration of extracts produced from the donor plant S. gigantea. Dry weight of E. crus-galli and A. retroflexus was reduced most effectively by two concentrations: 12.5% and 10%. In turn, aqueous extracts from rhizomes and roots of S. gigantea, irrespective of the applied concentration, caused an increase in dry weight of E. crus-galli and A. retroflexus. Only aqueous extracts produced from leaves and stems of S. gigantea, irrespective of their concentration, reduced dry weight in only E. crus-galli

State-of-the-art of transcatheter treatment of aortic valve stenosis and the overview of the InFlow project aiming at developing the first Polish TAVI system

Initial experience of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) or replacement (TAVR) has ap-peared as a promising minimally invasive technology for patients disqualified from surgical treatment (SAVR). Safety and efficacy of TAVI has been analyzed and assessed through numerous registries and trials. Furthermore, results obtained from comparative TAVI vs. SAVR trials proved that both treat¬ments can be considered equal in terms of post-procedural mortality and morbidity in high-risk, as well as lower risk patients. However, there are still some issues that have to be addressed, such as higher chance of paravalvular leakage, vascular injuries, conduction disturbances, malpositioning and the yet unmet problem of insufficient biological valves durability. Recent technological developments along with the learning curve of operators prove a great potential for improvement of TAVI and a chance of surpassing SAVR in various groups of patients in the near future. In pursuit of finding new solutions, the CardValve Consortium consisting of leading scientific and research institutions in Poland has been created. Under the name of InFlow and financial support from the National Center for Research and Development, they have started a project with the aim to design, create and implement into clinical practice the first, Polish, low-profile TAVI valve system, utilizing not only biological but also artificial, polymeric-based prosthesis. This review focuses on current developments in TAVI technologies including the InFlow project

Selective in vitro and in silico butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of diterpenes and rosmarinic acid isolated from Perovskia atriplicifolia Benth. and Salvia glutinosa L.

Cholinesterase inhibition is one of the most treatment strategies against Alzheimer's disease (AD) where metal accumulation is also strongly associated with pathology of the disease. In the current study, we assessed inhibitory effect against acetyl- (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and metal-chelating capacity of twelve diterpenes: arucadiol, miltirone, tanshinone IIa, 1-oxomiltirone, cryptotanshinone, 1,2-didehydromiltirone, 1,2-didehydrotanshinone IIa, 1b-hydroxycryptotanshinone, 15,16- dihydrotanshinone, tanshinone I, isotanshinone II, 1(S)-hydroxytanshinone IIa, and rosmarinic acid, isolated from Perovskia atriplicifolia and Salvia glutinosa. The compounds were tested at 10 µg/mL using ELISA microtiter assays against AChE and BChE. QSAR and molecular docking studies have been also performed on the active compounds. All of the compounds showed higher [e.g., IC50 = 1.12 ± 0.07 µg/mL for 1,2-didehydromiltirone, IC50 = 1.15 ± 0.07 µg/mL for cryptotanshinone, IC50 = 1.20 ± 0.03 µg/mL for arucadiol, etc.)] or closer [1,2-didehydrotanshinone IIa (IC50 = 5.98 ± 0.49 µg/mL) and 1(S)-hydroxytanshinone IIa (IC50 = 5.71 ± 0.27 µg/mL)] inhibition against BChE as compared to that of galanthamine (IC50 = 12.56 ± 0.37 µg/mL), whereas only 15,16-dihydrotanshinone moderately inhibited AChE (65.17 ± 1.39%). 1,2-Didehydrotanshinone IIa (48.94 ± 0.26%) and 1(S)-hydroxytanshinone IIa (47.18 ± 5.10%) possessed the highest metal-chelation capacity. The present study affords an evidence for the fact that selective BChE inhibitors should be further investigated as promising candidate molecules for AD therapy.Ciencias AmbientalesCiencias de la AlimentaciónFarmaciaIngeniería, Industria y ConstrucciónMedicin

Long-term bio-functional performance of a novel, self-positioning balloon expandable transcatheter biological aortic valve system in the ovine aortic banding model

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate bio-functionality of a novel, proprietary balloon-expandable biological transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system (InFlow, CardValve Consortium, Poland) in an ovine model of aortic banding. Methods: Surgical ascending aorta banding was created in 21 sheep. Two weeks later, 18 biological valves were implanted within the model using 15–16 F InFlow TAVI systems and carotid cut-down approach. Follow-up transthoracic echocardiography was performed at 30, 90, and 180-day. At designated time, animals were euthanized and valves harvested for analysis. Results: All sheep survived the banding procedure. There were 4 (22%) procedure related deaths within a 7-day period. During the observation an additional 2 sheep died. In one, the valve dislocated after the procedure — the animal was excluded. Two animals completed 30-day follow up, five 90-day follow-up and four terminal follow-up of 180 days. Valves examined via transesophageal echocardiography showed proper hemodynamic parameters without evidence of structural valve deterioration. The maximum and average flow gradients at 180 days were 31.4 (23.3–37.7) and 17.5 (13.1–20.2) mmHg, respectively. There was one case of moderate insufficiency and no case of perivalvular leaks. By histopathology, there were no inflammation, thrombosis, nor calcifications in any tested valves at long-term follow-up. Neointimal coverage of stent struts increased with time from basal part in “early” groups to nearly 3/4 of stent length in the 180-day group. The pannus tissue showed maturation that increased with time with no stenotic “collar” visible in orthotopically implanted valves. Conclusions: The study showed good hemodynamic performance, durability and biocompatibility of the novel biological THV