Soil Microbial Communities and Enzyme Activities after Long-Term Application of Inorganic and Organic Fertilizers at Different Depths of the Soil Profile

Fertilization is a key factor for sustaining productivity in agroecosystems. A long-term experiment in cambisol following periodical application of several types of fertilization has been running at the experimental site since 1954. In this study, we determined the impact of applied inorganic and/or organic fertilizers on the activity of soil enzymes and on the structure of microorganisms at depths of 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm. Single-factor comparison showed that use of inorganic and/or organic fertilizer had an insignificant e_ect on the activities of soil enzymes (at depths 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm) and also on the structure of microbial communities at both depths studied. Only soil respirations exhibited stimulation by combined fertilization. The results, irrespective of sampling depth (0-60 cm), showed that application of combined organic and inorganic fertilization stimulated the activity of glucosidases and use of inorganic fertilizer inhibited the activity of arylsulphatases. Respirations were stimulated by application of organic fertilizer and combined fertilization. Nevertheless, principal component analyses, which calculate with multidimensional data, revealed di_erences in samples treated by sole mineral fertilizer compared to other variants, especially in the lower layer. In general, our results indicate that use of combined fertilization may improve biological characteristics in deeper parts of soil profile and possibly increase biological activity in agroecosystems.O

Preliminary results on growing second generation biofuel crop miscanthus X Giganteus at the polluted military site in Ukraine

Citation: Pidlisnyuk, V., Trögl, J., Stefanovska, T., Shapoval, P., & Erickson, L. (2016). Preliminary results on growing second generation biofuel crop miscanthus X Giganteus at the polluted military site in Ukraine. Nova Biotechnologica et Chimica, 15(1), 77-84. doi:10.1515/nbec-2016-0008The semi-field research on using second-generation biofuel crop Miscanthus x giganteus for restoration of former military site in Kamenetz-Podilsky, Ukraine was carried out during two vegetation seasons. Despite high metal pollution of soil, in particular, by Fe, Mn, Ti, and Zr, no growth inhibition was observed. The concentrations followed pattern soil > roots > stems > leaves. Accumulation of particular metals in roots was different: Fe, Mn and Ti were accumulated rather palpably after the first vegetation season and less tangible after the second one. Cu, Pb and Zn were less accumulative in both vegetation seasons, and for As and Pb the accumulative concentrations were very small. Accumulations in the aboveground parts of the plant in comparison to roots were significantly lower in case of Fe, Ti, Mn, Cu, Zn, Sr and even statistically comparable to zero in case of As, Pb and Zr. Calculated translocation ratio of metals in the plant's parts preferably indicated lack of metals' hyper accumulation. Generally, no correlations were observed between concentrations of metals in the soil and in the upper plant's parts. The research confirmed the ability of Miscanthus x giganteus to grow on the military soils predominantly contaminated by metals. © by Josef Trögl 2016

Whole Cell Imprinting in Sol-Gel Thin Films for Bacterial Recognition in Liquids: Macromolecular Fingerprinting

Thin films of organically modified silica (ORMOSILS) produced by a sol-gel method were imprinted with whole cells of a variety of microorganisms in order to develop an easy and specific probe to concentrate and specifically identify these microorganisms in liquids (e.g., water). Microorganisms with various morphology and outer surface components were imprinted into thin sol-gel films. Adsorption of target microorganism onto imprinted films was facilitated by these macromolecular fingerprints as revealed by various microscopical examinations (SEM, AFM, HSEM and CLSM). The imprinted films showed high selectivity toward each of test microorganisms with high adsorption affinity making them excellent candidates for rapid detection of microorganisms from liquids

Biodegradation of High Concentrations of Aliphatic Hydrocarbons in Soil from a Petroleum Refinery: Implications for Applicability of New Actinobacterial Strains

At present, there is great demand for new resistant and metabolically active strains of biodegrading bacteria capable of degrading high concentrations of petroleum pollutants. In this study, we undertook a series of pot-based biodegradation experiments on soil from a petroleum refinery lagoon heavily polluted with aliphatic hydrocarbons (81.6 ± 2.5 g·kg−1 dry weight) and metals. Periodical bioaugmentation with either a mixture of isolated degraders identified as Bacillus sp. and Ochrobactrum sp. or biostimulation with nutrient medium, singly or in combination, did not produce any significant decrease in hydrocarbons, even after 455 days. Inoculation with Gordonia rubripertincta CWB2 and Rhodococcus erythropolis S43 in iron-limited media, however, resulted in a significant decrease in hydrocarbons 45 days after bioaugmentation. These actinobacterial strains, therefore, show significant potential for bioremediation of such highly polluted soils

Solgel Immobilization of Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44

This paper described solgel immobilization of Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44

Evaluative choices in hard news reports and user comments

Diese Studie soll als Gelegenheit dienen um die Art und Weise wie Sprache in Nachrichtenberichten und Onlinekommentaren zur Bewertung benutzt wird besser zu verstehen. Ziel war es herauszufinden ob die Art und Weise wie Journalisten in den von ihnen verfassten Zeitungsberichten politische Entscheidungen bewerten, Einfluss auf die Art und Weise wie Leser in Onlinekommentaren diese politischen Entscheidungen bewerten hat. Dafür wurde das Appraisal framework von Martin und White (2005) – eine Erweiterung der sprachwissenschaftlichen Theorien von M.A.K. Halliday und seinen ArbeitskollegInnen – angewendet, welches eine wohldurchdachte Struktur für die detaillierte Analyse von Evaluierung in englischer Sprache bietet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen deutlich, dass die Bewertung in Onlinekommentaren nur zum Teil mit der Bewertung in Zeitungsberichten in Verbindung gebracht werden kann. Folglich wird nahegelegt, dass der Einfluss den Journalisten auf die Bewertung politischer Entscheidungen in Onlinekommentaren haben sehr begrenzt ist.In recent years, researchers have become increasingly interested in the way language is used in the context of news. However, less attention has been paid to the possible effects evaluative language in news articles could have on assessments made in responding user comments. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the way journalists evaluate political decisions in news reports affects the way readers assess these actions online. To approach this issue, Martin and White’s (2005) Appraisal framework, an extension of the linguistic theories of M.A.K. Halliday and his colleagues, has been applied which provides an elaborate structure for the in-depth analysis of evaluation in English. Results show that evaluative choices in user comments could be related to evaluative choices in hard news reports regarding the categories of Judgement (i.e. the reasons for Judgement), but not with respect to the polarity of Judgement (i.e. positive or negative Judgement). Further, the results reveal that the expected trend of negativity in online comments could be confirmed, and an extreme amount of US related negativity could be detected in comments responding to the news reports. Moreover, the results provide strong support for Jullian’s (2011) notion of the power of quotations as attributions could be identified as indirect means of Appraisal for the journalists who produced the reports. Based on the findings of this research, it is suggested that the influence journalists have on the positive or negative assessment of political actions in responding user comments is rather limited

The forced labour camp Dolní Jiřetín

The Forced Labour Camps were one of the first forms of mass extra - judicial persecution in Czechoslovakia after the assumption by the communists in February 1948. The law which officia1ly caused their establishment was carried on 25th October 1948 and it started to operate on 17th November 1948. The first camps were prepared before the law started to operate but their function started only by the end of 1948. The first camp started to operate in Kladno - Dříň and the second one was opened in Dolní Jiřetín and it is the theme of this work. The Forced Labour Camp in Dolní Jiřetín was established by the ministerial order from 7th December 1948. By this time there was a commander and eleven guards started to work. The location was prepared several weeks ago by the employees of SHD (the Mine - company in the north Bohemia). The first people were sent there by the end of December 1948 but only a small number. Many more people came after the camp moved from the place nb. 43 to place nb. 24 at the end of January 1949. Both these camps arose during the second world war and their technical state wasn't very good. The intemees started to work for SHD. They were gradually sent to the mines Quido, Centrum, Zdeněk Nejedlý, Prezident Beneš and workshops in Komořany. Beside Quido and workshops in Komořany they were..