How Can Litter Modify the Fluxes of CO2 and CH4 from Forest Soils? A Mini-Review

Forests contribute strongly to global carbon (C) sequestration and the exchange of greenhouse gases (GHG) between the soil and the atmosphere. Whilst the microbial activity of forest soils is a major determinant of net GHG exchange, this may be modified by the presence of litter through a range of mechanisms. Litter may act as a physical barrier modifying gas exchange, water movement/retention and temperature/irradiance fluctuations; provide a source of nutrients for microbes; enhance any priming effects, and facilitate macro-aggregate formation. Moreover, any effects are influenced by litter quality and regulated by tree species, climatic conditions (rainfall, temperature), and forest management (clear-cutting, fertilization, extensive deforestation). Based on climate change projections, the importance of the litter layer is likely to increase due to an litter increase and changes in quality. Future studies will therefore have to take into account the effects of litter on soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes for various types of forests globally, including the impact of climate change, insect infestation, and shifts in tree species composition, as well as a better understanding of its role in monoterpene production, which requires the integration of microbiological studies conducted on soils in different climatic zones.Polish National Centre for Research and Developmen

Variations in Soil Properties and CO2 Emissions of a Temperate Forest Gully Soil along a Topographical Gradient

Although forest soils play an important role in the carbon cycle, the influence of topography has received little attention. Since the topographical gradient may affect CO2 emissions and C sequestration, the aims of the study were: (1) to identify the basic physicochemical and microbial parameters of the top, mid-slope, and bottom of a forest gully; (2) to carry out a quantitative assessment of CO2 emission from these soils incubated at different moisture conditions (9% and 12% v/v) and controlled temperature (25 °C); and (3) to evaluate the interdependence between the examined parameters. We analyzed the physicochemical (content of total N, organic C, pH, clay, silt, and sand) and microbial (enzymatic activity, basal respiration, and soil microbial biomass) parameters of the gully upper, mid-slope, and bottom soil. The Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) method was used to measure CO2 emitted from soils. The position in the forest gully had a significant effect on all soil variables with the gully bottom having the highest pH, C, N concentration, microbial biomass, catalase activity, and CO2 emissions. The sand content decreased as follows: top > bottom > mid-slope and the upper area had significantly lower clay content. Dehydrogenase activity was the lowest in the mid-slope, probably due to the lower pH values. All samples showed higher CO2 emissions at higher moisture conditions, and this decreased as follows: bottom > top > mid-slope. There was a positive correlation between soil CO2 emissions and soil microbial biomass, pH, C, and N concentration, and a positive relationship with catalase activity, suggesting that the activity of aerobic microorganisms was the main driver of soil respiration. Whilst the general applicability of these results to other gully systems is uncertain, the identification of the slope-related movement of water and inorganic/organic materials as a significant driver of location-dependent differences in soil respiration, may result in some commonality in the changes observed across different gully systems.Department of Agriculture, Food and the MarinePolish National Centre for Research and Developmen

Interaction of biochar with hemical, green and biological nitrogen fertilizers on nitrogen use efficiency indices

Chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizers are regarded as one of the environmental contaminants in addition to the necessity for fossil sources for their production. Conversely, it is impossible to neglect the supply of nitrogen needed as one of the essential ingredients for plant function. For organic agriculture, it is crucial to use alternative fertilizer management to reduce the harmful impacts and production costs of chemical fertilizers. In a one-year pot experiment, nitrate (NO− 3 ) leaching and nitrogen efficiency of wheat were examined in relation to biochar (B) mixed with urea (U), legume residues (L), and azocompost (A), which represent chemical, green, and biological sources of Nfertilizers, respectively. Control (no biochar, no fertilizer), U (46 kg ha−1 ), A (5 t ha−1 ), L (5 t ha−1 ), B (10 t ha−1 ), UB, AB, and LB were the experimental treatments. Grain yield of wheat was enhanced by 337% and 312% with UB and UL, respectively. The LB produced the highest grain N yield, with a rise of 8.8 times over the control. L had the highest N-use efficiency, with an increase of 149% over the control. The highest N-harvest index and N-recovery efficiency were obtained by using LB, with values of 91 and 70 %, respectively. Nitrate leaching occurred in the following order: U > Control ≥ A ≥ L > UB > AB ≥ LB > B. Nitrogen is retained for the plant in the extensive specific surface of biochar when N-fertilizers are used in conjunction with them. This not only improves N-efficiency but also minimizes nitrogen loss through leaching. Additionally, the soil can benefit from the addition of leguminous organic fertilizer in a similar way as to urea fertilizer in terms of increasing wheat grain yield, particularly when combined with biochar

Chiral expression at the nanoscale origin and recognition of chirality

Chirality, familiar to all chemists, is usually applied to molecules or assemblies of molecules and plays an important role in both animate and inanimate systems. It is commonly the case that chirality of a system arises from a chiral building block yet chiral systems can also emerge from achiral units. The objective of this research was to investigate the origin and recognition of chirality at the nanoscale level. To do this, self assembled monolayers made of chirally and achirally tailed molecules were used because such structures are known to form uniform surfaces, which can act as either a source of nucleation or the probing surfaces in chiral recognition. The strategy adopted in the first part of this study was to use chirally modified self assembled monolayers as a source of nucleation for crystallization of achiral compounds that can form either left or right tended forms in chiral crystallization. Such compounds, widely reviewed by Matsura, form chiral crystals even though their building blocks lack a chiral centre. This study presents experiments of induction of chirality in sodium chlorate, hippuric acid and 2,6-ditertbutyl-4-methylphenol crystals. Chiral crystallization of chosen compounds was conducted on D and L cysteine surfaces assembled on gold. The chirality of crystals grown on these surfaces was determined using polarised light microscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy and NSOM. The small enantiomeric excess achieved in experiments was explained by the limits of chirality determination methods. It was found that crystals formed in enantiomeric excess were of opposite chirality to the SAM they were grown on. This confirms previous results presented by Mastai on crystallization of histidine on cysteine surfaces. The second part of this study presents studies of chiral recognition use of AFM technique-Force Distance Spectroscopy. Chirally and achirally modified SAMs were formed via the Cu-AAC reaction commonly called 'click Chemistry'. This project investigated how the surface preparation influences chiral recognition and if the presence of the second chiral centre affects probing ability. For surface preparation, three types of linkers were used. To functionalize them two complementary compounds equipped with AlaAlaDL and AlaAlaLL dipeptide tail were used. Additional studies were carried out with hippuric acid and glutamic acid-modified SAMs. These studies showed that the way the surface is prepared plays an important role in chiral recognition. In the final recognition experiments it was found that use of molecules possessing either peptide groups or amino acid groups generates additional forces between interacting surfaces, which can be equilibrated by conducting measurements in pH close to their isoelectric point. An influence of the second chiral centre was found for the loosely packed surfaces where the molecules can freely coil

How Can Litter Modify the Fluxes of CO2 and CH4 from Forest Soils? A Mini-Review

Forests contribute strongly to global carbon (C) sequestration and the exchange of greenhouse gases (GHG) between the soil and the atmosphere. Whilst the microbial activity of forest soils is a major determinant of net GHG exchange, this may be modified by the presence of litter through a range of mechanisms. Litter may act as a physical barrier modifying gas exchange, water movement/retention and temperature/irradiance fluctuations; provide a source of nutrients for microbes; enhance any priming effects, and facilitate macro-aggregate formation. Moreover, any effects are influenced by litter quality and regulated by tree species, climatic conditions (rainfall, temperature), and forest management (clear-cutting, fertilization, extensive deforestation). Based on climate change projections, the importance of the litter layer is likely to increase due to an litter increase and changes in quality. Future studies will therefore have to take into account the effects of litter on soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes for various types of forests globally, including the impact of climate change, insect infestation, and shifts in tree species composition, as well as a better understanding of its role in monoterpene production, which requires the integration of microbiological studies conducted on soils in different climatic zones

HISTORY OF THE TOWN-PLANNING DEVELOPMENT OF BIALOGARD. PRINCIPLES OF CULTURAL HERITAGE PROTECTION

Bialogard is a small town in the central part of the voivodeship of Western Pomerania. It boasts of a centuries-old history, dating back to the Middle Ages, a well-defined town planning layout evolving from the early fourteenth century to the present day, and a complex and diversified development originating in the nineteenth and twentieth century; the two considerably older objects are the Gothic parish church and fragments of Gothic defensive walls, including the 'Wysoka' (Tall) Gate. During the Middle Ages, Bialogard was a ducal town with a castle erected on the spot of a Slavonic castle-town, rebuilt during the modern era for the purposes of an administrative seat. Only a few relics of the oldest buildings on Castle Hill have remained, as in the case of the burgher residences. The houses, destroyed by fires and wartime hostilities, were replaced upon numerous occasions, but the town-planning layout of the Old Town and the two suburbs: Karlinskie and Koszalinskie, has been retained. The traditional layout in Bialogard was expanded and partially transformed from the second half of the nineteenth century to the 1930s. The suburbs and new areas introduced into the city boundaries were filled with imposing town houses, villas, public utility objects, as well as industrial and non-residential buildings, frequently representing a high artistic rank, equal to that of the largest towns in Pomerania. The majority survived to our times, while the resources of historical residential development, demolished and transformed, continuously diminished. The appreciation shown for the value of cultural heritage by the present-day municipal authorities allows us to hope that the afore-mentioned adverse process will be halted. The town commissioned the Regional Centre for Monument Studies and Documentation in Szczecin to prepare a town-planning study focused on spatial development. Apart from an historical outline showing changes in the composition of the plan and buildings from the fourteenth to the twentieth century, the study in question characterised selected town-planning units, and proposed assorted principles of protecting town-planning premises, development complexes, individual buildings, and archaeological sites

Adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, and professional burnout among medical laboratory scientists

Background The goal of this paper is to verify the correlations between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism and the selected demographic and job characteristics vs. professional burnout among medical laboratory scientists in Poland. Material and Methods The study group consisted of 166 laboratory scientists. The Polish Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism Questionnaire (Szczucka) was used for testing perfectionism. The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory was used for examining burnout syndrome. Results Adaptive perfectionism was positively and maladaptive perfectionism was negatively correlated with both aspects of professional burnout: the disengagement from work and exhaustion. What is more, maladaptive perfectionism was correlated negatively with age and work experience. People in relationships have a higher level of disengagement and a higher level of exhaustion than single ones. The results of hierarchical regression analyses have revealed, after having controlled selected demographic and job factors, that a significant predictor of disengagement is the high level of adaptive perfectionism and low level of maladaptive perfectionism. In addition, a significant predictor of high level of exhaustion is the low level of maladaptive perfectionism. Conclusions Professional burnout among medical laboratory scientists is of a specific nature. The “healthier” perfectionism they reveal, the higher level of burnout they present. In this profession, lower risk of burnout is represented by those who are characterized by the lack of confidence in the quality of their actions and a negative reaction to their own imperfections associated with imposed social obligation to be perfect. The individuals pursuing their internal high standards experience burnout faster. Med Pr 2018;69(3):253–26

Mieszana choroba tkanki łącznej – 40 lat historii

Historia mieszanej choroby tkanki łącznej rozpoczęła się przed 40laty jako wynik wieloletniej obserwacji chorych z objawami przypominającymitoczeń rumieniowaty układowy, twardzinę orazzapalenie wielomięśniowe i skórno-mięśniowe. U chorych tychstwierdzono ponadto wysokie miano przeciwciał przeciwko rozpuszczalnymantygenom jądrowym (anty-ENA). W pracy przedstawionokształtowanie się poglądów na obraz kliniczny choroby,rozwój metod diagnostycznych umożliwiających identyfikacjęantygenów zaangażowanych w rozwój procesu chorobowego,a także zastosowanie nowoczesnych metod badawczych do okreś -lenia mechanizmów patogenetycznych MCTD (tab. I). Obserwującrozwój wiedzy na temat MCTD, można prześledzić 40 lat rozwojumedycyny