Weed infestation of a cereal-legume mixture depending on its concentration and position in a crop rotation

A field study was carried out in the period 2000-2006 at the Experimental Station in Tomaszkowo belonging to the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. Its aim was to compare weed infestation of a mixture of spring barley and field pea grown in a four crop rotation with different crop selection and sequence. Each year during tillering of spring barley and before the harvest of the mixture, weed species composition and density were evaluated, while additionally weed biomass was also estimated before the harvest. These results were used to determine species constancy, Simpson’s dominance index, the Shannon-Wiener diversity and evenness indices as well as the community similarity index based on floristic richness, numbers and biomass of particular weed species. The cropping frequency and the position of the mixture in the crop rotation did not differentiate the species composition and total biomass of weed communities in the cereal-legume mixture crops. The crop rotation in which the mixture constituted 50% and was grown after itself had a reducing effect on weed numbers. Growing field pea in the 4-year crop rotation promoted weed infestation of the mixture and the dominance of weed communities. Capsella bursa-pastoris, Chenopodium album, Echinochloa crus-galli, Elymus repens, Polygonum convolvulus, and Sonchus arvensis were constant components of the agrophytocenoses. The weed communities were more similar in terms of their floristic composition than in terms of weed density and air-dry weight of weeds

Influence of crop rotation and meteorological conditons on density and biomass of weeds in spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

The paper presents the analysis of changes in weed infestation in spring barley cultivated in the years 1990-2004 in crop rotation with a 25% proportion of this cereal (potato - spring barley - sowing peas - winter triticale), when it was grown after potato, and in crop rotation with its 75% proportion (potato - spring barley - spring barley - spring barley), when it was grown once or twice after spring barley. In the experiment, no weed control was applied. Every year in the spring (at full emergence of the cereal) and before the harvest, the composition of weed species and weed density of particular weed species were determined, and before the harvest also their biomass. Weed density increased linearly on all plots during the 15-year period. The average values confirm the increase in weed biomass in the case when spring barley was grown once or twice after this crop; however, those differences were influenced by the previous situation only during some seasons. Weed density and biomass showed high year-to-year variability and a positive correlation with the amount of precipitation and a negative correlation with temperature during the period of the study. A negative correlation between the yield of barley and weed biomass was shown

Impact of cocoa on the human health

Humans have consumed foods made from beans from the Theobroma cacao tree for centuries. Already Aztec warriors supported the cocoa powder drink before the battle. In modern society, chocolate has been known for its good taste. Earlier, chocolate used to be criticized for its fat content and its consumption was a sin rather than a remedy, associated with acne, caries, obesity, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and diabetes.  However, the recent discovery of biologically active phenolic compounds in cocoa has changed this perception[14]. Flavonoids, including catechin, epicatechin, and procyanidins predominate in antioxidant activity.  Nowadays, in many studies discuss the recent progresses on potential health benefits of cocoa, with a focus on the areas that have been paid little attention so far, such as the role of cocoa in immune regulation, inflammation, neuroprotection, oxidative stress, obesity, and diabetes control[12]. The purpose of this review is to interpret research done in the last decade on the benefits of chocolate consumption

The pregorexia - anorexia during the pregnancy

Introduction and purpose: Eating disorders are a serious problem in the developing world. The media are flooding the public images of thinness promoting it as a healthy, fashionable and perfect. This contributes to the increasing prevalence of eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, anorexia nervosa or atypical bulimia nervosa. The frequency of appearance of these diseases is unknown. It is suspected that it occurs in the range of a few percent. Description of the state of knowledge: Pregorexia has a very similar symptoms to other eating disorders. The patients are trying to alleviate the impact of pregnancy on the body. Women try to control their weight by reducing calories intake, exercising, taking laxatives or diuretics. Low mother’s body weight could cause hypotrophy malformations due to micronutrient deficiency - eg. neural tube defects, cognitive disorders, premature birth or even miscarriage. The placenta develops slowly, there is a risk of placenta abruption. Pregorexia can cause maternal anemia, impaired bone mineralization or postnatal depression. Women which are suffering from pregorexia often give birth girls, which can be associated to the lower resistance of boys maternal malnutrition and loss of the pregnancy. Conclusions: Pregorexia is not a phenomenon that is occurring very often, but it is a big risk to the fetus. Increasingly, young mothers have a problem with acceptance of changes in their bodies during pregnancy. The role of a doctor in an interview with a pregnant woman is to ask about nutrition and weight gain as factors directly affecting the child. Pregnant women with eating disorders should be under a special psychological care, during pregnancy and after birth

The pregorexia - anorexia during the pregnancy

Mandera Amanda, Pawlikowska Anna, Szuster Ewa Magdalena, Całkosiński Aleksander, Kostrzewska Paulina, Majewski Maciej. The pregorexia - anorexia during the pregnancy. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2019;9(5):137-144. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2718477 http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/6900 https://pbn.nauka.gov.pl/sedno-webapp/works/913181 The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part B item 1223 (26/01/2017). 1223 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eISSN 2391-8306 7 © The Authors 2019; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 28.04.2019. Revised: 28.04.2019. Accepted: 09.05.2019. The pregorexia - anorexia during the pregnancy Name Amanda Mandera ORCID iD http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7658-5429 Affiliation Wroclaw Medical University Country Poland Bio Statement — Name Anna Pawlikowska ORCID iD http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7725-2220 Affiliation Wroclaw Medical University Country Poland Bio Statement — Name Ewa Magdalena Szuster ORCID iD http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1154-1606 Affiliation Wroclaw Medical University Country Poland Bio Statement — Principal contact for editorial correspondence. Name Aleksander Całkoksiński ORCID iD http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4521-0565 Affiliation Wroclaw Medical University Country Poland Bio Statement — Name Paulina Kostrzewska ORCID iD http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7804-4535 Affiliation Wroclaw Medical University Country Poland Bio Statement — Name Maciej Majewski ORCID iD http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4559-2770 Affiliation Wroclaw Medical University Country Poland Bio Statement — Abstract Introduction and purpose: Eating disorders are a serious problem in the developing world. The media are flooding the public images of thinness promoting it as a healthy, fashionable and perfect. This contributes to the increasing prevalence of eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, anorexia nervosa or atypical bulimia nervosa. The frequency of appearance of these diseases is unknown. It is suspected that it occurs in the range of a few percent. Description of the state of knowledge: Pregorexia has a very similar symptoms to other eating disorders. The patients are trying to alleviate the impact of pregnancy on the body. Women try to control their weight by reducing calories intake, exercising, taking laxatives or diuretics. Low mother’s body weight could cause hypotrophy malformations due to micronutrient deficiency - eg. neural tube defects, cognitive disorders, premature birth or even miscarriage. The placenta develops slowly, there is a risk of placenta abruption. Pregorexia can cause maternal anemia, impaired bone mineralization or postnatal depression. Women which are suffering from pregorexia often give birth girls, which can be associated to the lower resistance of boys maternal malnutrition and loss of the pregnancy. Conclusions: Pregorexia is not a phenomenon that is occurring very often, but it is a big risk to the fetus. Increasingly, young mothers have a problem with acceptance of changes in their bodies during pregnancy. The role of a doctor in an interview with a pregnant woman is to ask about nutrition and weight gain as factors directly affecting the child. Pregnant women with eating disorders should be under a special psychological care, during pregnancy and after birth. Key words: anorexia; pregnancy; psychology; gynaecology; obstetric

Diversity of segetal weeds in pea (Pisum sativum L.) depending on crops chosen for a crop rotation system

This study, lasting from 1999 to 2006, was conducted at the Research Station in Tomaszkowo, which belongs to the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. The experiment was set up on brown rusty soil classified as good rye complex 5 in the Polish soil valuation system. The analysis comprised weeds in fields sown with pea cultivated in two four-field crop rotation systems with a different first crop: A. potato – spring barley – pea – spring barley; B. mixture of spring barley with pea – spring barley – pea – spring barley. Every year, at the 2–3 true leaf stage of pea, the species composition and density of individual weed species were determined; in addition, before harvesting the main crop, the dry matter of weeds was weighed. The results were used to analyze the constancy of weed taxa, species diversity, and the evenness and dominance indices, to determine the relationships between all biological indicators analyzed and weather conditions, and to calculate the indices of similarity, in terms of species composition, density and biomass of weeds, between the crop rotations compared.The species richness, density and biomass of weeds in fields with field pea were not differentiated by the choice of the initial crop in a given rotation system. In the spring, the total number of identified taxa was 28 and it increased to 36 before the harvest of pea plants. Chenopodium album and Echinochloa crus-galli were the most numerous. Chenopodium album, Echinochloa crus-galli, Sonchus arvensis, Fallopia convolvulus and Viola arvensis were constant in all treatments, regardless of what the first crop in rotation was or when the observations were made.The species diversity and the evenness and species dominance indices varied significantly between years and dates of observations. Species diversity calculated on the basis of the density of weed species was higher in the rotation with a mixture of cereals and legumes, while that calculated on the basis of weed biomass was higher in the system with potato. The similarity indices, which express the convergence of floristic composition as well as of the density and biomass of weeds growing in pea fields in the two crop rotation systems compared, were within a broad range (42–86%). The biodiversity of weed communities was more closely correlated to total precipitation than to air temperature

The effect of interspecies interactions and water deficit on spring barley and red clover biomass accumulation at successive growth stages

A pot experiment was conducted in a greenhouse in Olsztyn, Poland, in the period 2010–2012. The aim of the study was to examine whether soil water deficit would change biomass volume and distribution of pure sown spring barley and red clover as well as growth rate during their joint vegetation and mutual interactions. The interactions between spring barley and red clover were of a competitive character, and the cereal was the stronger crop. The strength of this competition increased in time with the growing season. Through most of the growing season, the competition was poorer in water deficit conditions.The impact of clover on barley before the heading stage showed facilitation symptoms. Interspecific competition reduced the rate of barley biomass accumulation and decreased stem and leaf biomass towards the end of the growing season. Intensified translocation of assimilates from the vegetative parts to grain minimized the decrease in spike biomass.Water deficit stress had a more inhibitory effect on the biomass and growth rate of barley than competition, and competition did not exacerbate the adverse influence of water deficit stress on barley. Competition from barley significantly reduced the biomass and biomass accumulation rate of clover. Water deficit stress did not exacerbate barley’s competitive effect on clover, but it strongly inhibited the growth of aboveground biomass in pure-sown clover

Prognostic significance of the methylation of Wnt pathway antagonists-CXXC4, DACT2, and the inhibitors of sonic hedgehog signaling-ZIC1, ZIC4, and HHIP in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Aberrations in Wnt and Shh signaling pathways are related to the pathogenesis of head and neck carcinomas, and their activation frequently results from epigenetic alterations. This study aimed to assess the frequency of methylation of negative regulators of Wnt signaling: CXXC4, DACT2, HDPR1, and FBXW11 and Shh signaling: HHIP, PTCH1, SUFU, ZIC1, and ZIC4 and correlate it with clinicopathological features in this group of patients.Methylation-specific PCR was used to detect gene promoter methylation, and real-time PCR was used to assess gene expression level.The analysis of the occurrence of gene promoter methylation in head and neck carcinoma cell lines indicated that CXXC4, DACT2, HHIP, ZIC1, and ZIC4 are methylated in these tumors. These genes were further analyzed in tumor sections from oral and laryngeal cancer patients. Gene methylation rate was higher in laryngeal tumors. The methylation index in tumor samples correlated with the overall survival in a subgroup of oral cancer patients who died of the disease. Moreover, ZIC4 methylation correlated with lymph node involvement in oral cancer patients.Our findings corroborate that the activation of Wnt signaling in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is related to epigenetic silencing of its negative regulators. Moreover, the results indicate that the same mechanism of activation may operate in the case of Shh signaling.The methylation of ZIC4 may be considered a new prognostic marker in oral cavity and oropharyngeal tumors. Further investigations should determine the diagnostic significance of methylation of ZIC4, HHIP, and DACT2 in head and neck carcinomas

Assessing Various Control Samples for Microarray Gene Expression Profiling of Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Selection of optimal control samples is crucial in expression profiling tumor samples. To address this issue, we performed microarray expression profiling of control samples routinely used in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma studies: human bronchial and tracheal epithelial cells, squamous cells obtained by laser uvulopalatoplasty and tumor surgical margins. We compared the results using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical clustering versus tumor samples and laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma cell lines. A general observation from our study is that the analyzed cohorts separated according to two dominant factors: "malignancy", which separated controls from malignant samples and "cell culture-microenvironment" which reflected the differences between cultured and non-cultured samples. In conclusion, we advocate the use of cultured epithelial cells as controls for gene expression profiling of cancer cell lines. In contrast, comparisons of gene expression profiles of cancer cell lines versus surgical margin controls should be treated with caution, whereas fresh frozen surgical margins seem to be appropriate for gene expression profiling of tumor samples.</p