Alien Registration- Sileika, Walter (Rumford, Oxford County)

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An Adaptation of the Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Model to Lithuania

The Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution (AGNPS) model was developed by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Soil Conservation Service. As part of a project to model the effects of land management alternatives in the polders of the Nemunas River Delta of Lithuania, the AGNPS model input parameters are modified here to reflect Lithuanian conditions

The Effect of Agriculture Nitrogen on Water Quality in Lithuanian Rivers

Nitrogen concentration time trends from Lithuanian rivers were analyzed to provide information on the amount, sources, and causes of nitrate runoff to the Baltic Sea from Lithuania. This investigation focused on the impact of large-scale agricultural production on nitrate concentration in the rivers. Long-term water quality changes were determined using the national monitoring data from the Lithuanian Ministry of Environmental Protection

Land Management Alternatives for the Nemunas River Polder Region

In order to design a land management plan that provides a good balance between agricultural production and natural values in the polders, a land management alternatives analysis was conducted for the region. The analysis was based on an integrated database assembled for the polder area and the AGNPS, which was adapted to Lithuanian conditions using modeling techniques. Six polders on Rusne Island were used to represent both summer and winter polder conditions in the model

Vocational Training Reform: Roads and Pathroads

Paper analyses the recent trends and developments of the VET system in Lithuania related to the attempts of integration of the initial VET schools and the training centres of unemployed without a wide range of preparatory works in layout nature. Author critically analyses the political centralised approaches of such integration providing the overview of the current institutional, socio-economic and educational preconditions and factors. Article concludes that such integration could not help to increase the economic effectiveness, attractiveness of VET and quality of continuing vocational training in Lithuania and even would create new problems and difficulties for the youth, adult learners, unemployed persons and training institutions

An alginate lyase functional coating catalysis-independent to prevent P. aeruginosa adhesion

Bacterial colonisation of indwelling devices remains a serious threat in clinical field as it is commonly associated to persistent infections, called biomaterial-associated infections (BAI). Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common gram-negative bacillus associated with BAI and its emergence as a nosocomial pathogen is a growing concern. This opportunistic pathogen can produce a capsule-like polysaccharide called alginate that contributes to mucoid biofilm structure and persistent nature of infections. Given alginate's contribution to bacterial virulence, it has long been considered as a promising target for interventional therapies. Alginate lyase, an enzyme able to degrade alginate, has been shown to detach mucoid biofilms from abiotic surfaces and increase their antibiotic susceptibility. In this work, a new approach for alginate lyase was explored. Instead of using this enzyme for the treatment of pre-established mucoid biofilms, the ability of alginate lyase to prevent P. aeruginosa adhesion to a surface was investigated. For that purpose, a polydopamine (pDA) dip-coating strategy was applied for functionalization of biomaterials with alginate lyase. Polycarbonate (PC) substrates were immersed in an alkaline solution of dopamine to form a thin layer of pDA and then transferred into a solution of alginate lyase. Surface characterization was performed with XPS, contact angle measurement and SEM. Two reference strains of P. aeruginosa, a mucoid strain (ATCC 39324) and a non-mucoid (27853) as well as four clinical isolates, were used to assess the anti-adhesive properties of the functional coatings. Surface characterization confirmed the successful and efficient grafting of alginate lyase onto pDA-coated PC substrates. Untreated PC substrates allowed the adhesion of both reference strains and most of bacteria were found alive on these surfaces. Polydopamine-coated substrates had no significant effect on bacterial adhesion compared to the unmodified substrates. Substrates functionalized with alginate lyase exhibited anti-adhesive properties, causing a significant inhibition of the mucoid strain adhesion. Interestingly, substrates immobilized with this enzyme also proved to inhibit the adhesion of the non-mucoid strain and pDA-coated PC substrates immobilized with heat-inactivated enzyme also prevented the attachment of both bacterial strains. These results suggested that alginate lyase immobilized on pDA-coated substrates was able to impair P. aeruginosa adhesion regardless its mucoid phenotype and therefore it could be applied in a different context than cystic fibrosis. For instance, this enzyme could be used to develop functional coatings able to prevent P. aeruginosa infections associated to biomaterials. To confirm this hypothesis, the attachment of 4 clinical strains of P. aeruginosa, isolated from peritoneal dialysis catheters, on alginate lyase functional coatings were also evaluated. Alginate lyase immobilized on the substrates impaired the attachment of the clinical strains with the exception of one as its adhesion to the unmodified PC was already low. In this work, the versatile chemistry of polydopamine was successfully exploited to functionalize biomaterial surfaces with alginate lyase to impart them with anti-adhesive properties. The antibacterial performance of these alginate functional coatings was catalysis-independent which highlights the importance of further studies to better understand its mechanism of action against P. aeruginosa strains

The Lithuanian Karst Zone Management Plan: A Case Study in the Management of Agro-environmental Issues in Lithuania

he context, development, and implementation of Lithuania\u27s Karst Region Management Program is described here. The first part of the report explores the physical setting of Lithuania, the condition of the agricultural sector, and its impacts on the environment. The authors then focus on the special conditions of the Karst region, detail the evolution and mechanics of the Karst Area Management Program, and describe the issues associated with its implementation

Historical Methodological Aspect of Labour Market Conception

What is the commodity in the labour market – labour force, labour or labour services? What is the labour market? What is the difference between labour force market and labour resources market? Rather frequent confusion of these conceptions (even in scientific literature) shows that these conceptions are not clearly conceptually determined. The article indicates that not labour force but labour – functional status of labour force – is purchased in the market. Namely labour is the main object of labour demand and supply. All relations with labour market subjects focus on hiring relations and these become the main conditioning element. Thus when designing the measures of labour market policy and looking for their improvement, it is important to remember that driving forces as well as "short" places of essential factors determining the working of economic mechanism focus namely on hiring relations

Polydopamine-mediated immobilization of alginate lyase to prevent P. aeruginosa adhesion

Given alginate’s contribution to Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence, it has long been considered a promising target for interventional therapies, which have been performed by using the enzyme alginate lyase. In this work, instead of treating pre-established mucoid biofi lms, alginate lyase is immobilized onto a surface as a preventive measure against P. aeruginosa adhesion. A polydopamine dip-coating strategy is employed for functionalization of polycarbonate surfaces. Enzyme immobilization is confi rmed by surface characterization. Surfaces functionalized with alginate lyase exhibit anti-adhesive properties, inhibiting the attachment of the mucoid strain. Moreover, surfaces modifi ed with this enzyme also inhibit the adhesion of the tested non-mucoid strain. Unexpectedly, treatment with heat-inactivated enzyme also inhibits the attachment of mucoid and non-mucoid P. aeruginosa strains. These fi ndings suggest that the antibacterial performance of alginate lyase functional coatings is catalysis-independent, highlighting the importance of further studies to better understand its mechanism of action against P. aeruginosa strains.T he authors acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684). This study was also supported by FCT and the European Community fund FEDER, through Program COMPETE, under the scope of the Projects “PTDC/SAU-SAP/113196/2009” (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-016012) and “RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012” (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462). The authors also acknowledge Dr. Margarida Martins from 3B’s Research Group – Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (AvePark, 4806-909 Taipas/Guimarãe s, Portugal) for kindly providing the isolated strains which were obtained under the scope of the project “Insights into peritoneal dialysis catheter associated biofi lms” funded by the Portuguese Society of Nephrology to Dr. Anabela Rodrigues. The authors also acknowledge the Ph.D. Grant of Diana Alves (SFRH/BD/78063/2011). T.S.S. was funded by a National Science Foundation graduate fellowship (Grant No. GRFP 2011124091), the Ryan Fellowship of Northwestern University, and NIH grant R37 DE014193 to P.B.M

Drivers of cropland abandonment in mountainous areas: A household decision model on farming scale and a case study of Southwest China

Cropland abandonment has emerged as a prevalent phenomenon in the mountainous areas of China.While there is a general understanding that this new trend is driven by the rising opportunity cost of rural labor, rigorous theoretical and empirical analyses are largely absent. This paper first develops a theoretical model to investigate household decisions on farming scale when off-farm labor market is accessible and there is heterogeneity of farmland productivity and distribution. The model is capable of explaining the hidden reasons of cropland abandonment in sloping and agriculturally less-favored locations. The model also unveils the impacts of heterogeneity of household labor on fallow decisions and the efficiency loss due to an imperfect labor market. The model is empirically tested by applying the Probit and Logit estimators to a unique household and land-plot survey dataset which contains 5258 plots of599 rural households in Chongqing, a provincial level municipality, in Southwest China. The survey shows that more than 30% of the sample plots have been abandoned, mainly since 1992. The econometric results are consistent with our theoretical expectations. This work would help policy-makers and stakeholders to identify areas with a high probability of land abandonment and farming practice which is less sustainable in the mountainous areas