Modified divergence theorem for analysis and optimization of wall reflecting cylindrical UV reactor

In this paper, the modified divergence theorem (MDT), known in earlier literature as the Gauss-Ostrogradsky theorem, was formulated and proposed as a general approach to electromagnetic (EM) radiation, especially ultraviolet (UV) radiation reactor modeling. A formulated mathematical model, based on MDT, for a multilamp UV reactor was applied to all sources in a reactor in order to obtain intensity profiles at chosen surfaces inside the reactor. Applied modification of MDT means that intensity at a real opaque or transparent surface or through a virtual surface, opened or closed, from different sides of the surface are added and not subtracted as in some other areas of physics. The derived model is applied to an example of the multiple UV sources reactor, where sources are arranged inside a cylindrical reactor at the coaxial virtual cylinder, having the radius smaller than the radius of the reactor. In this work, optimization of a reactor means maximum transfer of EM energy sources into the fluid for given fluid absorbance and fluid flow-dose product. The obtained results, for water quality known in advance, give a unique solution for an optimized model of a multilamp reactor geometry. As everyone can easily verify, MDT is a very good starting point for every reactor modeling and analysis

Silicon modifies leaf nutriome and improves growth of oak seedlings exposed to phosphorus deficiency and Phytophthora plurivora infection

Beneficial effects of silicon (Si) on plants have primarily been studied in crop species under single stress. Moreover, nutrient acquisition-based responses to combination of biotic and abiotic stresses (a common situation in natural habitats) have rarely been reported, in particular in conjunction with soil amendments with Si. Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.), one of the ecologically and economically most important tree species in Europe, is facing a severe decline due to combined stresses, but also problems in assisted regeneration in nurseries. Here, we studied the effect of Si supply on the leaf nutriome, root traits and overall growth of 12-weeks-old oak seedlings exposed to abiotic stress [low phosphorus (P) supply], biotic stress (Phytophthora plurivora root infection), and their combination. The application of Si had the strongest ameliorative effect on growth, root health and root phenome under the most severe stress conditions (i.e., combination of P deficiency and P. plurivora root infection), where it differentially affected the uptake and leaf accumulation in 11 out of 13 analysed nutrients. Silicon supply tended to reverse the pattern of change of some, but not all, leaf nutrients affected by stresses: P, boron (B) and magnesium (Mg) under P deficiency, and P, B and sulphur (S) under pathogen attack, but also nickel (Ni) and molybdenum (Mo) under all three stresses. Surprisingly, Si affected some nutrients that were not changed by a particular stress itself and decreased leaf Mg levels under all the stresses. On the other hand, pathogen attack increased leaf accumulation of Si. This exploratory work presents the complexity of nutrient crosstalk under three stresses, and opens more questions about genetic networks that control plant physiological responses. Practically, we show a potential of Si application to improve P status and root health in oak seedlings, particularly in nurseries

Silicon modulates root phenomics and leaf ionomics in oak under Phytophthora infection and low phosphorus conditions

Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) is the most abundant deciduous tree species in Europe with high economical and ecological importance. Different species of Phytophthora are considered as one of the most important factors responsible for deterioration of oak forest, causing serious root damage not only in the forest trees, but also in the nurseries. Oak seedlings were grown in plastic pots with extremely low phosphorus (P) soil (1.5 mg kg-1 total P; no available Olsen-P detected). Silicon (Si) and P were supplied as Na2SiO3 (300 mg Si kg-1 dry soil) and KH2PO4 (180 mg P kg-1 dry soil), respectively. Four treatments (-P/-Si, -P+/Si, +P/-Si, and +P/+Si) were used in the experiment. After two months of experiment, a half of the plants in each treatment were root-inoculated with Phytophthora plurivora. After further four weeks, the first symptoms of P. plurivora infection appeared in leaves (e.g., leaf necrosis and wilting). Plants were then carefully removed from the pots, divided into roots and shoots, and the roots were scanned and analyzed by the WinRHIZO® software. Foliar concentrations of Si, P, K, Ca, Mg, B, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn were determined by ICP-OES, while the concentrations of N and S were determined by CHNS Analyzer. The addition of Si obviously improved root health status (e.g., decreasing de number of lesions and necrosis intensity) in the infected plants grown under -P conditions, which was followed by an increased foliar P concentration. The Si supply significantly increased the root variables (e.g., total root volume, root length, and area of thin roots) in both -P and +P plants inoculated with P. plurivora. Therefore, P. plurivora infection and supply of P and Si modulated the nutrient uptake and thereby changed the leaf ionomics, especially for infected -P plants supplied with Si (e.g., significantly increased B, Cu, and Si foliar concentrations and decreased Fe, Mn, Ca, Mg, K, and S foliar concentrations). Furthermore, Si fertilization significantly declined loses in plant dry biomass caused by P. plurivora infection and/or P deficiency, showing biomass comparable to non-infected +P plants

Antifeedant activity of the plant products derived from the neem and linalool on the spongy moth larvae

With the significant loss of biodiversity in the 20th and 21st century, pollution of air, soil, and water, alternatives to chemical pesticides are needed to preserve nature. One of the alternatives is the usage of plant components as pest insect control. They are an appropriate alternative to chemical pesticides as they are cost-effective, easy, and safe to use, do not affect the environment or beneficial insects negatively, and are still an effective measure against pest insects. The biggest challenge with plant components is that they are biologically unstable. That is why further insight into the effectiveness of different extracts and oils against different pest insects is needed. We tested the antifeedant activity of plant products derived from neem (Azadirachta indica A.Juss.), and linalool on the Spongy moth (Lymantria dispar L, 1758) larvae. To test the efficiency of these compounds, we conducted choice tests in laboratory conditions. Two disks (treatment and control) cut from red oak (Quercus rubra L.) leaves were presented to the second instar spongy moth larvae in Petri dishes for the testing. Twenty-five Petri dishes were used for each of the tested compounds at four concentrations (200 in total). The tested compounds showed the most significant effect at higher concentrations

Significant increase in natural disturbance impacts on European forests since 1950

Over the last decades, the natural disturbance is increasingly putting pressure on European forests. Shifts in disturbance regimes may compromise forest functioning and the continuous provisioning of ecosystem services to society, including their climate change mitigation potential. Although forests are central to many European policies, we lack the long-term empirical data needed for thoroughly understanding disturbance dynamics, modeling them, and developing adaptive management strategies. Here, we present a unique database of >170,000 records of ground-based natural disturbance observations in European forests from 1950 to 2019. Reported data confirm a significant increase in forest disturbance in 34 European countries, causing on an average of 43.8 million m3 of disturbed timber volume per year over the 70-year study period. This value is likely a conservative estimate due to under-reporting, especially of small-scale disturbances. We used machine learning techniques for assessing the magnitude of unreported disturbances, which are estimated to be between 8.6 and 18.3 million m3/year. In the last 20 years, disturbances on average accounted for 16% of the mean annual harvest in Europe. Wind was the most important disturbance agent over the study period (46% of total damage), followed by fire (24%) and bark beetles (17%). Bark beetle disturbance doubled its share of the total damage in the last 20 years. Forest disturbances can profoundly impact ecosystem services (e.g., climate change mitigation), affect regional forest resource provisioning and consequently disrupt long-term management planning objectives and timber markets. We conclude that adaptation to changing disturbance regimes must be placed at the core of the European forest management and policy debate. Furthermore, a coherent and homogeneous monitoring system of natural disturbances is urgently needed in Europe, to better observe and respond to the ongoing changes in forest disturbance regimes

Herbivory on the pedunculate oak along an urbanization gradient in Europe : Effects of impervious surface, local tree cover, and insect feeding guild

Urbanization is an important driver of the diversity and abundance of tree-associated insect herbivores, but its consequences for insect herbivory are poorly understood. A likely source of variability among studies is the insufficient consideration of intra-urban variability in forest cover. With the help of citizen scientists, we investigated the independent and interactive effects of local canopy cover and percentage of impervious surface on insect herbivory in the pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) throughout most of its geographic range in Europe. We found that the damage caused by chewing insect herbivores as well as the incidence of leaf-mining and gall-inducing herbivores consistently decreased with increasing impervious surface around focal oaks. Herbivory by chewing herbivores increased with increasing forest cover, regardless of impervious surface. In contrast, an increase in local canopy cover buffered the negative effect of impervious surface on leaf miners and strengthened its effect on gall inducers. These results show that-just like in non-urban areas-plant-herbivore interactions in cities are structured by a complex set of interacting factors. This highlights that local habitat characteristics within cities have the potential to attenuate or modify the effect of impervious surfaces on biotic interactions.Peer reviewe

Preference and performance of the gypsy moth cater­pillars on sweet chestnut and some oak species

In the establishment of mixed plantations, it is necessary to examine previously the relations of the principal and the admixed species and the most significant pests. This paper presents the results of the study of the gypsy moth caterpillar preference and performance on sweet chestnut and four oak species. Preference index is the highest for Hungarian oak (0.83) and Turkey oak (0.77), for sessile oak it is significantly lower (0.33), and for common oak it is equal to 0. In combination with sweet chestnut, the gypsy moth second-instar caterpillars prefer Hungarian oak, i.e. Turkey oak leaves. In combination with sessile oak or common oak, the gypsy moth caterpillars prefer sweet chestnut leaves. The analyzed parameters which characterise the performance of the gypsy moth fourth-instar caterpillars are lower for all study oak species compared to sweet chestnut, except in the case of Turkey oak. Based on the study results and the adopted principle that the mixture should be composed of the most favourable species, which will serve as the 'trap plant' during the gypsy moth outbreak, it can be concluded that Turkey oak is more favourable for the mixture with sweet chestnut than the other analyzed oak species

Muscle strength testing: evaluation of tests of explosive force production

The purpose of the study was to evaluate four tests of explosive force production (EFP). Specifically, the main aims of the study were to assess the reliability of different EFP tests, to examine their relationship with maximum muscle strength, and to explore the relationship between EFP tests and functional movement performance. After an extensive preliminary familiarization with the tasks, subjects (n=26) were tested on maximum explosive strength of the elbow extensor and flexor muscle, as well as on rapid elbow extension and flexion movements performed in both an oscillatory and a discrete fashion. In addition to maximum force (F-max), four different EFP tests were assessed from the recorded force-time curves: the time interval elapsed between achieving 30% and 70% of F-max (F30-70%), the maximum rate of force development (RFD), the same value normalized with respect to F-max (RFD/F-max), and the force exerted 100 ms after the contraction initiation (F-100 ms). Excluding F30--70%, all remaining EFP tests revealed either good or fair reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients being within 0.8-1 and 0.6-0.8 intervals, respectively) which was also comparable with the reliability of F-max. RFD and F-100 ms demonstrated a positive relationship with F-max, but not T30-70% and RFD/F-max. Stronger elbow flexor muscles also demonstrated higher values of RFD and F-100 ms than weaker elbow extensor muscles, while no difference was observed between either T30-70% or RFD/F-max recorded from two muscles. Despite the simplicity of the tested movement tasks, the relationship observed between the EFP tests and the peak movement velocity remained moderate and partly insignificant. It was concluded that most of the EFP tests could be reliable for assessing neuromuscular function in their muscle-force- (or, indirectly, muscle size) dependent (such as RFD and F-100 ms), or muscle-force-independent (T30-70% and RFD/ F-max) forms. However, their "external validity" when applied to assess the ability to perform rapid movements could be questioned