Community structure of epigeic arthropods in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) soils

Aim of study: The study of epigeic arthropods provides information on how ecosystems respond to different management practices. Changes in the structure of epigeic groups reflect changes in the ecological status of habitats. We assessed the influence of semi-natural habitats and environmental variables on the dispersion of the epigeic groups. Area of study: Southwestern part of Slovakia Material and methods: Between 2018 and 2020, six barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) fields were selected each year. Five pitfall traps were placed on each field and environmental variables (soil pH and moisture, light conditions, soil N, P, K) were analysed. We collected 8,730 individuals belonging to 14 taxonomic groups. The variables of the study sites (habitat, locality name, cadastral area, altitude, coordinates of localities) were also analysed. Main results: We observed a decrease in the average number of individuals in the direction from pitfall traps 1 (semi-natural areas) to 5 (barley crop) between July and August. The number of individuals was similar in May and June. The dispersion of epigeic arthropods was affected by soil moisture, pH soil, phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen. In the beetles model group, which was represented by the highest number of individuals, we confirmed an increasing number of individuals with increasing values of K, P, N and soil moisture. The neutral pH of the soil was optimal for beetles. Research highlights: The ecotone rule does not apply during all months, so we have contributed new information about the ecotone rule. Agricultural intensification affects soil arthropods, a taxonomic group with an important role in the functioning of agricultural ecosystems

Influence of ecological farming on the community structure of epigeic arthropods in crops Triticum aestivum and T. spelta

Soil is an irreplaceable natural resource that enables the production of food and raw materials, forms agricultural and forest landscapes, filters and maintains water, ensures the cycle of substances in the ecosystem and contributes to maintaining biodiversity. Agricultural intensification is one of the most important factors for biodiversity loss. Spatial dispersion of epigeic arthropods reflects the ecological status of habitats and points to its quality. The aim of our research was to point out the differences in epigeic arthropod diversity in the examined crops Triticum aestivum, T. spelta and the influence of their ecotones on epigeic arthropods. Between the years 2019 to 2021 an investigation using the pitfall trap method recorded 5,232 individuals belonging to 13 taxonomic groups. The crop T. aestivum was represented by 2493 individuals and 13 taxa while in T. spelta we recorded 2739 individuals and 11 taxa. We observed significantly more taxa in the crop T. aestivum than in the crop T. spelta. We also confirmed the ecotone rule only for the T. aestivum crop. We confirmed the significant influence of crops and environmental variables (pH, potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen) on the spatial dispersion of individuals around pitfall traps. On the basis of our results, both ecological farming and their ecotone systems are important for epigeic arthropods and with topical and trophic conditions, which is important for the production of biomass and also affects crop. In any anthropogenic activity, it is important to give priority to less invasive procedures with non-toxic effects on organisms and to use effective technologies in land management

Morphometric variation of Abax parallelepipedus (Piller & Mitterpacher, 1783), (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in rural – urban areas

Article Details: Received: 2020-10-14 | Accepted: 2020-02-20 | Available online: 2021-03-31https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2021.24.01.87-93In the 2015 - 2017 period, we evaluated the morphometric variation of traits and Ellipsoid biovolume (EV) in 478 individuals (226 ♂, 252 ♀) of Abax parallelepipedus (Piller and Mitterpacher, 1783) in forest habitats and riparian stands. We confirmed, lower average of EV values in the rural compared to the urban areas (Kruskal-Wallis test – p = 0.037). The Friedman test showed a shortening of the morphometric features length (p = 0.030), height (p = 0.016), width (p = 0.011) and EV (p = 0.01) in the urban-rural direction. Spatial modeling of dispersion confirmed a significant change between 2016–2017. These changes may be affected by the food supply.Key words: ground beetles, morphometrics, population variability, SlovakiReferencesAngilletta, J. and Dunham, A. E. (2003). 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A sensorless initial rotor position's estimation for permanent magnet synchronous machines

Permanent magnet synchronous motors for the effective start require information about the initial position of a rotor. In this regard, most systems use position sensors, which substantially increase entirely a cost of an electrical drive [1-3]. The aim of this article is to develop a new method, allowing determining the absolute angular position of the permanent magnet synchronous motors' rotor [4,5]. With a certain voltage pulses applied to the motor, its stator is magnetized by currents leakage in the windings. This allows using a special algorithm to calculate the absolute position of the rotor without using any motor parameters [6]. Simulation results prove the simplicity and efficiency of this method for determining an initial position of the permanent magnet synchronous motors' rotor. Thus, this method can be widely used in the electrical industry

The influence of relief morphometric characteristics upon the occurrence of the species Cordulegaster bidentata in the particular conditions of the Western Carpathians

The study concerns a monitoring survey of Cordulegaster bidentata Selys, 1843 (Odonata, Cordulegastridae), which is considered near threatened in the European Red List of Dragonflies, in order to show its habitat preferences and clarify the influence of slope and orientation of slopes on the occurrence of the species. Investigations of water habitats were carried out during the period from 2019 to 2020 in the Kysuce Region in northwest Slovakia. The protocol consists of looking for larvae and characterizing larval micro-habitat of C. bidentata so as to show their habitat preferences and clarify the influence of slope and orientation of slopes on the occurrence of the species. We sampled 32 watercourses (epicrenal, hypocrenal, rheocren, heleocren, epirhithral, metarhithral) at altitudes 420–950 m above sea level. A total of 79 larvae and 10 imagines (7♂ 3♀) of C. bidentata were found at 12 streams. In the present study, C. bidentata clearly preferred first-order stream sections, the slopes were steep and the proportion of small sediment grain sizes was high. The results show that the number of C. bidentata larvae grew with the increasing percentage of forests around streams. We also confirmed the trend for the number of C. bidentata larvae to increase with increasing values of slope and altitude of watercourses. Most of the individuals were recorded at the south and southwest oriented streams; we did not record larvae on the north and northwest oriented slopes. We assume that more suitable conditions for development of population exist in the streams on the south and southwest oriented slopes. The preference for watercourses oriented south and southwest ensures optimal conditions for the development of the population of this dragonfly species. The finding of larvae at the stages of instars shows the permanent occurrence of the species in the Kysuce Region

The electric drive control system of corner reflectors of the spacecraft interferometer

This paper presents the electric drive control system of corner reflectors of the infrared Fourier transform spectrometer for meteorological satellite. Limited-swing brushless DC motor with a torsional bearing is used as a drive motor. Stringent requirements are imposed to the drive control system for stabilization of moving speed of the reflectors while obtaining the interferogram and for limitation of the reverse time. Research of influence of torsion on steady-state error of speed and ways of its compensation is conducted. The obtained results are consistent with the simulation results of the drive. It is shown that the developed drive is operable in a spacecraft system

The electric drive control system of corner reflectors of the spacecraft interferometer

This paper presents the electric drive control system of corner reflectors of the infrared Fourier transform spectrometer for meteorological satellite. Limited-swing brushless DC motor with a torsional bearing is used as a drive motor. Stringent requirements are imposed to the drive control system for stabilization of moving speed of the reflectors while obtaining the interferogram and for limitation of the reverse time. Research of influence of torsion on steady-state error of speed and ways of its compensation is conducted. The obtained results are consistent with the simulation results of the drive. It is shown that the developed drive is operable in a spacecraft system

Assessment of soil quality in agroecosystems based on soil fauna

Soil arthropods respond sensitively to land management practices and correlate with beneficial soil functions. The aim of this research was to determine soil quality using the QBS index in different types of crops and influence of soil variables (pH soil, soil moisture, potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen) on soil arthropods. Between the years 2018 and 2020, we studied different types of crops (Brassica napus, Pisum sativum, Triticum aestivum, T. spelta, Zea mays, Grass mixture and Hordeum vulgare) and recorded 14 taxa. Our results suggest a higher QBS index value in crops grass mixture, Pisum sativum, Triticum aestivum, T. spelta. The EMI value grew with increasing values of soil moisture, soil pH, phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen; indicating the presence of soil arthropods occurring in higher quality soil. Our results suggest that agricultural intensification affects soil arthropods, which are important for the production of biomass, which also affects crop yields

Reply to Sopek Merkaš, I.; Lakušić, N. Comment on “von Känel et al. Early Trauma-Focused Counseling for the Prevention of Acute Coronary Syndrome-Induced Posttraumatic Stress: Social and Health Care Resources Matter. J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 1993”

We thank Merkaš and Lakušić for commenting on our recently published paper; in the paper, we suggested that resources in a patient’s social environment may moderate the benefit of one single-session trauma-focused counseling in the prevention of acute coronary syndrome (ACS)-induced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms [1]. Their comment gives a comprehensive summary on the topic of ACS-induced PTSD and its treatment [2]. We agree with the authors that guidelines and standards regarding the identification and treatment of patients at high risk for developing PTSD after ACS remain lacking. We designed the MI-SPRINT study to test whether trauma-focused psychological counseling is more effective than stress-focused counseling in preventing PTSD symptoms after acute ACS [3]. Our study showed no beneficial effect of trauma-focused counseling on PTSD symptoms; after 3 and 12 months, we found no difference in the severity of PTSD symptoms between patients with early trauma-focused counseling and those with stress-focused counseling in the total sample. However, our results suggested that psychological counseling in general might help distressed patients to prevent posttraumatic psychological responses compared with no intervention [4,5]. Importantly, PTSD symptoms that had developed after 3 months were shown to have been persistent up to 12 months after ACS, despite the delivery of one session of early psychological counseling [6]. Furthermore, as alluded to above, we showed that social support and cardiac rehabilitation act as moderators of the intervention; specifically, trauma-focused counseling was associated with fewer PTSD symptoms compared with stress-focused counseling in patients with high social support and with longer participation in cardiac rehabilitation [1]. Moreover, the data of MI-SPRINT showed that several factors contribute to identifying patients at risk for ACS-induced PTSD symptoms, such as high perceived distress during ACS [6], perception of higher harmful consequences of the illness [7], perception of a hectic hospital environment [8], sleep problems [9], and low trait resilience [10]. Screening for risk factors or specific symptoms—e.g., in the cardiac rehabilitation setting, as indicated by the Merkaš and Lakušić [1]—is important. However, we believe that screening alone may have little clinical benefit. It will be much more crucial to offer effective treatment to patients identified at high risk of developing PTSD or patients with established PTSD symptoms. In summary, further studies are needed to develop a standardized approach for the screening of patients at risk of clinically relevant, ACS-induced PTSD symptoms and to establish efficacious interventions that can be applied in a clinical setting. For instance, multisession early counseling could be elaborated and tested based on our findings to prevent the development of PTSD symptoms in patients at risk

Reply to Sopek Merkaš, I.; Lakušić, N. Comment on "von Känel et al. Early Trauma-Focused Counseling for the Prevention of Acute Coronary Syndrome-Induced Posttraumatic Stress: Social and Health Care Resources Matter. J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 1993".

We thank Merkaš and Lakušić for commenting on our recently published paper; in the paper, we suggested that resources in a patient's social environment may moderate the benefit of one single-session trauma-focused counseling in the prevention of acute coronary syndrome (ACS)-induced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms [...]