Fertilisation with ash from wood and with sewage sludge versus contents of macro- and microelements in the soil following cultivation of Helianthus tuberosus L.

The present study investigated the effects produced in the soil by municipal sewage sludge and wood ash applied during the cultivation of Jerusalem artichoke. The impact of the presence of applied the fertilizer materials on changes in soil and a macro- and microelements contents were investigated. The comparative analyses took into account 3 factors; the first factor - 4 levels of wood ash – 0; I–4.28; II–8.57; III–12.85 t ha-1, the second factor – 2 levels of sewage sludge – 0; 1 – 30.3 t ha-1, the third factor – 2 varieties of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) – Gigant, Albik. Application of the fertilisers did not resulted in significant change in the total contents of phosphorus, potassium and magnesium in soil examined after Jerusalem artichoke was harvested. Application of ash from coniferous trees, with high levels of calcium, resulted in increased total contents of calcium in the soil. Fertilisation of the soil with ash from coniferous trees or with sewage sludge, as well as cultivation of two varieties of Jerusalem artichoke, resulted in a significant increase in the concentrations of cadmium and lead, and produced no effects in the levels of nickel, zinc and copper identified in soil. The above findings, and in particular the fact that the limit values were not exceeded, indicate the possibility of using both sludge and biomass ash for fertilizing Jerusalem artichoke

Biomass ash as a potential raw material for the production of mineral fertilisers

Received: September 10th, 2021 ; Accepted: November 5th, 2021 ; Published: November 19th, 2021 ; Correspondence: [email protected] obtained from biomass combustion could be a valuable product for fertilisation of soil or/and plant. It is connected with high reaction and potassium, calcium, magnesium content as well as low content of heavy metals. The analysed phyto-ash was obtained from Szczecin Power Plant Poland (12.2018–12.2019). The samples of phyto-ash, in the number of 24, were collected on subsequent dates at two-week intervals to determine the total content of the analysed elements (P, K, Mg, Ca, As, Cd, Ni, Cr, Pb, Hg). The differentiated percentage share of macroelements both in total form as well as available form in ash from wood biomass and Agro-biomass is described as: calcium > potassium > magnesium > phosphorus. Phosphorus is characterised by a very low (10%) and highly variable availability. Ash from biomass is characterised by alkali pH (13.0). Biomass ash can be treated as a mineral fertiliser used for soil deacidification and as a substitute for calcium fertilisers. Biomass ash has a high content of potassium and magnesium, which could qualify this by-product as a source for fertiliser. Mean contents of heavy metals: lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury in ash do not exceed the limit values for the mineral fertilisers. The variable percentage share of Agro-biomass did not result in significant changes in the amount of available form of macro-elements in ash. The obtained results indicate the pronounced variability, depending on the season in a year, of the content of available macroelements in biomass ash

Effect of multi-component fertilizers on seeds yield, yield components and physiological parameters of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.)

ArticleSubject of the discussed studies was an analysis of the impact of mineral multicomponent fertilizers, from Polish and foreign producers, on the yield and yield components of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus var. oleifera). Two field experiments were carried out in 2015–2017 in Lipnik. The experimental crop was winter oilseed rape, hybrid cultivar DK EXPLICIT. Two factors were studied in the experiment A: 4 multi-component mineral fertilizers - two Belarusian (1 i 2), one Russian and one Polish (Polifoska 6) and 4 doses of fertilization (250, 500 and 750 kg ha-1 ). In the experiment (B) were compared two factors: 3 multi-component mineral fertilizers - Belarusian, Russian and Polish production - Polifoska 8 and 4 doses of fertilization (200, 400 and 600 kg ha-1 ). The fertilizers applied in the experiments, manufactured in Belarus, Russia and Poland, did not show variations in the amount of yield of winter rape. The number of winter rapeseed plants on the area unit (in autumn and spring) was independent of the type of fertilizers. In the experiment B, higher number of rapeseed siliques was obtained after application of Polifoska 8, than other fertilizers. Rapeseed grown on soil with the fertilizers manufactured in Belarus showed a lower value of greenness index (SPAD) and leaf area index (LAI). As a result of the application of multi-component fertilizers, manufactured in Belarus, Russia and Poland, the recorded differences in the winter rapeseed yield, yield components and physiological parameters did not exceed 10%

Geographical and seasonal barriers to mammography services and breast cancer stage at diagnosis

Introduction: Routine mammography screening and early detection are important prognostic indicators for breast cancer. Geographical and seasonal barriers to mammography services and relationship to breast cancer stage at diagnosis were examined. Methods: Travel time to mammography center, seasonal distribution of mammogram use, mammography frequency, and stage of cancer were retrospectively examined in 1428 female patients diagnosed with primary breast cancer at a tertiary care clinic system in Wisconsin, USA, from 2002 to 2008. Results: Women with no missed mammograms before diagnosis lived a median of 15 minutes from the nearest facility, while those who missed five of their past five annual mammograms lived nearly twice as far, with a median travel time of 27 minutes (p<0.0001). There was a direct relationship between travel time to nearest mammogram facility and stage of breast cancer at diagnosis, with travel time increasing from 17 to 24 minutes for stage 0 and stage 4 breast cancers, respectively (p=0.0586). Women were less likely to undergo mammography screening during the winter months (p<0.0001), especially women with greater than 30 mi (48.3 km) to travel to the nearest mammogram facility (p=0.0448). Conclusions: In the studied service area, travel time to nearest mammogram center appears inversely related to regular mammography screening and breast cancer stage at diagnosis. Mammograms are less common in the winter, especially in women with further to travel. This is the first study to demonstrate that inclement winter weather may impact on screening behaviors in rural areas and demonstrates the importance of considering climate as part of geographical access to preventative care

THE EFFECT OF SULPHUR FERTILISATION ON FIELD AND GRAIN QUALITY OF WINTER WHEAT

Польовий експеримент із озимою пшеницею проведено протягом вегетаційного сезону 2013/2014 на ґрунті комплексу хороший житній. Порівняно два варіанти: 0 – контроль, S – S (AgroSupra 42 кг S / га). Застосування сірковмісного добрива AgroSupra S спричинило значне збільшення врожаю зерна порівняно із контрольним варіантом. Збільшення врожайності залежало від кількості колосів на квадратному метрі, кількості зерен у колосі та ваги 1000 зерен. Удобрення AgroSupra S позитивно вплинуло на якість зерна пшениці шляхом збільшення вмісту білка і клейковини, часу стабільності тіста порівняно із контрольним варіантом.Field experiment with winter wheat was conducted in 2013/2014 vegetative season on good rye complex soil. Two variants were compared: 0 – control, S- AgroSupra S (42 kg S/ha). The application of AgroSupra S, as sulphur fertilizer caused significant increase of grain yield as compared with control variant. Yield increase was the effect of greater ear density, number of grains per ear and higher 1000 grains weight. AgroSupra fertilization influenced positively on grain quality by increasing protein and gluten content and stability time of dough

Chromosomal inversion polymorphisms are widespread across the species ranges of rough periwinkles (Littorina saxatilis and L. arcana)

Inversions are thought to play a key role in adaptation and speciation, suppressing recombination between diverging populations. Genes influencing adaptive traits cluster in inversions, and changes in inversion frequencies are associated with environmental differences. However, in many organisms, it is unclear if inversions are geographically and taxonomically widespread. The intertidal snail, Littorina saxatilis, is one such example. Strong associations between putative polymorphic inversions and phenotypic differences have been demonstrated between two ecotypes of L. saxatilis in Sweden and inferred elsewhere, but no direct evidence for inversion polymorphism currently exists across the species range. Using whole genome data from 107 snails, most inversion polymorphisms were found to be widespread across the species range. The frequencies of some inversion arrangements were significantly different among ecotypes, suggesting a parallel adaptive role. Many inversions were also polymorphic in the sister species, L. arcana, hinting at an ancient origin

A comparison of transgenic rodent mutation and in vivo comet assay responses for 91 chemicals.

A database of 91 chemicals with published data from both transgenic rodent mutation (TGR) and rodent comet assays has been compiled. The objective was to compare the sensitivity of the two assays for detecting genotoxicity. Critical aspects of study design and results were tabulated for each dataset. There were fewer datasets from rats than mice, particularly for the TGR assay, and therefore, results from both species were combined for further analysis. TGR and comet responses were compared in liver and bone marrow (the most commonly studied tissues), and in stomach and colon evaluated either separately or in combination with other GI tract segments. Overall positive, negative, or equivocal test results were assessed for each chemical across the tissues examined in the TGR and comet assays using two approaches: 1) overall calls based on weight of evidence (WoE) and expert judgement, and 2) curation of the data based on a priori acceptability criteria prior to deriving final tissue specific calls. Since the database contains a high prevalence of positive results, overall agreement between the assays was determined using statistics adjusted for prevalence (using AC1 and PABAK). These coefficients showed fair or moderate to good agreement for liver and the GI tract (predominantly stomach and colon data) using WoE, reduced agreement for stomach and colon evaluated separately using data curation, and poor or no agreement for bone marrow using both the WoE and data curation approaches. Confidence in these results is higher for liver than for the other tissues, for which there were less data. Our analysis finds that comet and TGR generally identify the same compounds (mainly potent mutagens) as genotoxic in liver, stomach and colon, but not in bone marrow. However, the current database content precluded drawing assay concordance conclusions for weak mutagens and non-DNA reactive chemicals

Overexpression of Parkinson's Disease-Associated Mutation LRRK2 G2019S in Mouse Forebrain Induces Behavioral Deficits and alpha-Synuclein Pathology

Citation: Xiong, Y. L., Neifert, S., Karuppagounder, S. S., Stankowski, J. N., Lee, B. D., Grima, J. C., . . . Dawson, V. L. (2017). Overexpression of Parkinson's Disease-Associated Mutation LRRK2 G2019S in Mouse Forebrain Induces Behavioral Deficits and alpha-Synuclein Pathology. Eneuro, 4(2), 10. https://doi.org/10.1523/eneuro.0004-17.2017Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene have been identified as an unambiguous cause of late-onset, autosomal-dominant familial Parkinson's disease (PD) and LRRK2 mutations are the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic PD known to date. A number of transgenic mice expressing wild-type or mutant LRRK2 have been described with varying degrees of LRRK2-related abnormalities and modest pathologies. None of these studies directly addressed the role of the kinase domain in the changes observed and none of the mice present with robust features of the human disease. In an attempt to address these issues, we created a conditional LRRK2 G2019S (LRRK2 GS) mutant and a functionally negative control, LRRK2 G2019S/D1994A (LRRK2 GS/DA). Expression of LRRK2 GS or LRRK2 GS/DA was conditionally controlled using the tet-off system in which the presence of tetracycline-transactivator protein (tTA) with a CAMKII alpha promoter (CAMKII alpha-tTA) induced expression of TetP-LRRK2 GS or TetP-LRRK2 GS/DA in the mouse forebrain. Overexpression of LRRK2 GS in mouse forebrain induced behavioral deficits and alpha-synuclein pathology in a kinase-dependent manner. Similar to other genetically engineered LRRK2 GS mice, there was no significant loss of dopaminergic neurons. These mice provide an important new tool to study neurobiological changes associated with the increased kinase activity from the LRRK2 G2019S mutation, which may ultimately lead to a better understanding of not only the physiologic actions of LRRK2, but also potential pathologic actions that underlie LRRK2 GS-associated PD

Coupling of twelve putative chromosomal inversions maintains a strong barrier to gene flow between snail ecotypes

Chromosomal rearrangements can lead to the coupling of reproductive barriers, but whether and how they contribute to the completion of speciation remains unclear. Marine snails of the genus Littorina repeatedly form hybrid zones between populations segregating for multiple inversion arrangements, providing opportunities to study their barrier effects. Here, we analyzed 2 adjacent transects across hybrid zones between 2 ecotypes of Littorina fabalis (“large” and “dwarf”) adapted to different wave exposure conditions on a Swedish island. Applying whole-genome sequencing, we found 12 putative inversions on 9 of 17 chromosomes. Nine of the putative inversions reached near differential fixation between the 2 ecotypes, and all were in strong linkage disequilibrium. These inversions cover 20% of the genome and carry 93% of divergent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Bimodal hybrid zones in both transects indicated that the 2 ecotypes of Littorina fabalis maintain their genetic and phenotypic integrity following contact. The bimodality reflects the strong coupling between inversion clines and the extension of the barrier effect across the whole genome. Demographic inference suggests that coupling arose during a period of allopatry and has been maintained for > 1,000 generations after secondary contact. Overall, this study shows that the coupling of multiple chromosomal inversions contributes to strong reproductive isolation. Notably, 2 of the putative inversions overlap with inverted genomic regions associated with ecotype differences in a closely related species (Littorina saxatilis), suggesting the same regions, with similar structural variants, repeatedly contribute to ecotype evolution in distinct species