The impact of intensive sheep grazing in the spring on the vegetation of xerothermic grasslands in Stawska Góra nature reserve

The aim of study was to assess the impact of intensive sheep grazing in the spring on the vegetation of xerothermic grasslands in Stawska Góra nature reserve, particularly the Carlina onopordifolia seedling development and preferences concerning the ingestion of specific plant species, including shrubs and tree-understory. In May 2015, 40 specimens of the Świniarka Sheep and Polish Lowland Sheep were grazed in an area of 1.85 ha. Phytosociological relevés were taken using the Braun-Blanquet method. Changes in the plant cover were assessed in July 2015 under grazing and non-grazing conditions. The flowery grassland plants were assigned to the Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati alliance and thicket communities - to the Rhamno-Prunetea class. There was confirmed that community under study is distinguished by a large share of Carlina onopordifolia. The number of Carlina onopordifolia seedlings in the grazed areas was significantly greater than in the non-grazed areas. The sheep ingested all herbaceous plants appearing in the grasslands in May, except for the poisonous Adonis vernalis and most of shrubs. Preliminary research results indicate that grazing in the spring led to a decreased cover-abundance of Brachypodium pinnatum and some shrubs, and also - to smaller share of dead organic matter in the plant cover. It can create favourable conditions for the generative reproduction of xerothermic plants such as Carlina onopordifolia.

Grazing of Native Livestock Breeds as a Method of Grassland Protection in Roztocze National Park, Eastern Poland

The studies were conducted in a forest settlement in Roztocze National Park (eastern Poland). The aim of the study was to evaluate the vegetation of two pastures depending on the type of use in the context of grassland protection, identify the trends of species composition changes, and analyse the yield and nutritional value of the biomass in the context of animal welfare. The studies were conducted on permanent grasslands varying in terms of fertility and location. Both sites were pastures where native breeds of livestock (Polish Lowland sheep of the Uhrusk and Polish Konik) were grazing. The fertile pasture was represented by the developing Lolio-Cynosuretum association, while the poor dry pasture – by a community with Common Bent (Agrostis capillaris L.) and a community with Mouse-Ear Hawkweed (Hieracium pilosella L.). The greatest changes over time were observed in the mowed site in the fertile pasture (increased share of tall grasses) and in the abandoned poor dry pasture (increased share of herbs and weeds). Livestock grazing conducted from 2010 influenced the stabilisation of the species composition. Tree and shrub seedlings were systematically eaten by livestock, which evidences a positive impact of grazing on the preservation of permanent grasslands in Roztocze National Park where forest ecosystems predominate. The assessment of the species composition and yielding indicated that the fertile pasture was characterised by good value while the poor pasture – low or sufficient value. In terms of nutrient yield and content, these pastures were poor or very poor, and their nutritive potential was largely dependent on the meteorological conditions. While the livestock density in the pastures, ranging from 1.1 to 1.5 LSU ha–1 in the years under study, was appropriate, grazing should be limited in the summer months, particularly in periods of drought, by reducing the number of animals or by additional feeding to ensure their welfare

Różnorodność gatunkowa użytków zielonych w Dolinie Środkowego Wieprza (PLH060005) w zależności od typu łąki i częstotliwości koszenia

The studies were conducted on grasslands in the middle Wieprz valley in 2017. The aim of study was to assess the diversity of the species composition of selected grassland, depending on the frequency of mowing. The investigations focused on the meadow vegetation of Molinietalia order, Arrhenatheretalia order, the Molinio-Arrhenatheretea class and Phragmitetea class. The floristic diversity of the grassland communities was determined based on two indices, namely the number of species (SN) and the Shannon-Wiener index H'. In order to detect significant differences between the obtained values of these indexes for the particular grasslands (taking into account the research factors), a variance analysis was carried out, taking into account the Linear Model (LM) for the Shannon-Wiener index and a Generalised Linear Model (GLM) for the number of species on the assumption of the Poisson distribution of this variable. In addition, a Multidimensional principal component analysis (PCA) (Jolliffe 2002) was carried out to detect the variation of the analysed dataset with regard to the values of the ecological indices (Ellenberg et al. 1992). In the grassland under study, the number of species varied depending on the type of meadow and mowing frequency. Meadows with vegetation of the Arrhenatheretalia order had the greatest number of species. Furthermore, the number of species was found to increase with the growing frequency of use. The least numerous communities occurred in rush meadows (Phragmitetea class). A more frequent use of the sward of these communities led to a decreased number of species. Similar trends were observed in the case of the Shannon-Wiener index values. A variance analysis was carried out and its results indicate a significant influence of both research factors (meadow type and cutting frequency) on the floristic diversity of the communities under study. The biggest significant differences were confirmed between meadow vegetation of the Arrhenatheretalia order and Phragmitetea class. The biggest influence of cutting frequency on the increased species diversity occurred in meadows with communities of the Arrhenatheretalia and Molinietalia order. According to a multidimensional principal component analysis (PCA) indications, habitat humidity is the main factor determining the type of meadow community and its species diversity.Badania fitosocjologiczne przeprowadzono w 2017 roku na użytkach zielonych w dolinie środkowego Wieprza. Dolina Środkowego Wieprza (PHL060005) stanowi mozaikę siedlisk o zróżnicowanym uwilgotnieniu, co sprzyja występowaniu różnorodnych zespołów roślinnych. Celem badań była ocena zróżnicowania składu gatunkowego wybranych użytków zielonych, w zależności od częstotliwości koszenia. Przedmiotem badań była szata roślinna łąk rzędu Molinietalia, Arrhenatheretalia, klasy Molinio-Arrhenatheretea i Phragmitetea. Różnorodność florystyczną badanych zbiorowisk roślinnych oceniono za pomocą dwóch wskaźników, jakimi są liczba gatunków (SN) oraz indeks Shannona-Wienera H'. W celu wykrycia istotnych różnic między uzyskanymi wartościami tych wskaźników dla poszczególnych zbiorowisk (z uwzględnieniem czynników badań) wykonano analizę wariancji z uwzględnieniem modelu liniowego (LM) dla indeksu Shannona-Wienera oraz uogólnionego modelu liniowego (GLM) dla liczebności gatunków przy założeniu rozkładu Poissona tej cechy. Dodatkowo wykonano wielowymiarową analizę głównych składowych PCA (Jolliffe 2002) w celu wykrycia zmienności analizowanego zbioru danych, ze względu na wartości wskaźników ekologicznych (Ellenberg et al. 1992). Na badanych użytkach zielonych, wartość tego parametru wykazywała zróżnicowanie w zależności od typu łąki oraz częstotliwości koszenia. Łąki porośnięte roślinnością rzędu Arrhenatheretalia były najbardziej liczne gatunkowo. Stwierdzono ponadto zwiększanie się liczby gatunków w zbiorowisku wraz z rosnącą częstotliwością użytkowania. Najmniej liczne zbiorowiska występowały na łąkach z roślinnością klasy Phragmitetea. Częstsze użytkowanie runi tych zbiorowisk przyczyniało się do zmniejszenia liczby gatunków. Podobne trendy stwierdzono w przypadku wartości indeksu Shannona-Wienera. Wykonano analizę wariancji, której wyniki świadczą o istotnym wpływie obu uwzględnionych czynników (typ łąki oraz częstotliwość koszenia) na zróżnicowanie florystyczne badanych zbiorowisk. Największe istotne różnice potwierdzono między szatą roślinną rzędu Arrhenatheretalia i klasy Phragmitetea. Największy wpływ częstotliwości koszenia na wzrost różnorodności gatunkowej zaznaczył się na łąkach z roślinnością rzędu Arrhenatheretalia i Molinietalia. Wskazaniem wielowymiarowej analizy głównych składowych PCA jest, że wilgotność siedliska jest tu głównym czynnikiem decydującym o typie szaty roślinnej i jego zróżnicowaniu gatunkowym

Schizophrenia risk conferred by rare protein-truncating variants is conserved across diverse human populations

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a chronic mental illness and among the most debilitating conditions encountered in medical practice. A recent landmark SCZ study of the protein-coding regions of the genome identified a causal role for ten genes and a concentration of rare variant signals in evolutionarily constrained genes(1). This recent study-and most other large-scale human genetics studies-was mainly composed of individuals of European (EUR) ancestry, and the generalizability of the findings in non-EUR populations remains unclear. To address this gap, we designed a custom sequencing panel of 161 genes selected based on the current knowledge of SCZ genetics and sequenced a new cohort of 11,580 SCZ cases and 10,555 controls of diverse ancestries. Replicating earlier work, we found that cases carried a significantly higher burden of rare protein-truncating variants (PTVs) among evolutionarily constrained genes (odds ratio = 1.48; P = 5.4 x 10(-6)). In meta-analyses with existing datasets totaling up to 35,828 cases and 107,877 controls, this excess burden was largely consistent across five ancestral populations. Two genes (SRRM2 and AKAP11) were newly implicated as SCZ risk genes, and one gene (PCLO) was identified as shared by individuals with SCZ and those with autism. Overall, our results lend robust support to the rare allelic spectrum of the genetic architecture of SCZ being conserved across diverse human populations.Peer reviewe

The LHCb upgrade I

The LHCb upgrade represents a major change of the experiment. The detectors have been almost completely renewed to allow running at an instantaneous luminosity five times larger than that of the previous running periods. Readout of all detectors into an all-software trigger is central to the new design, facilitating the reconstruction of events at the maximum LHC interaction rate, and their selection in real time. The experiment's tracking system has been completely upgraded with a new pixel vertex detector, a silicon tracker upstream of the dipole magnet and three scintillating fibre tracking stations downstream of the magnet. The whole photon detection system of the RICH detectors has been renewed and the readout electronics of the calorimeter and muon systems have been fully overhauled. The first stage of the all-software trigger is implemented on a GPU farm. The output of the trigger provides a combination of totally reconstructed physics objects, such as tracks and vertices, ready for final analysis, and of entire events which need further offline reprocessing. This scheme required a complete revision of the computing model and rewriting of the experiment's software

The LHCb upgrade I

International audienceThe LHCb upgrade represents a major change of the experiment. The detectors have been almost completely renewed to allow running at an instantaneous luminosity five times larger than that of the previous running periods. Readout of all detectors into an all-software trigger is central to the new design, facilitating the reconstruction of events at the maximum LHC interaction rate, and their selection in real time. The experiment's tracking system has been completely upgraded with a new pixel vertex detector, a silicon tracker upstream of the dipole magnet and three scintillating fibre tracking stations downstream of the magnet. The whole photon detection system of the RICH detectors has been renewed and the readout electronics of the calorimeter and muon systems have been fully overhauled. The first stage of the all-software trigger is implemented on a GPU farm. The output of the trigger provides a combination of totally reconstructed physics objects, such as tracks and vertices, ready for final analysis, and of entire events which need further offline reprocessing. This scheme required a complete revision of the computing model and rewriting of the experiment's software

The LHCb upgrade I

International audienceThe LHCb upgrade represents a major change of the experiment. The detectors have been almost completely renewed to allow running at an instantaneous luminosity five times larger than that of the previous running periods. Readout of all detectors into an all-software trigger is central to the new design, facilitating the reconstruction of events at the maximum LHC interaction rate, and their selection in real time. The experiment's tracking system has been completely upgraded with a new pixel vertex detector, a silicon tracker upstream of the dipole magnet and three scintillating fibre tracking stations downstream of the magnet. The whole photon detection system of the RICH detectors has been renewed and the readout electronics of the calorimeter and muon systems have been fully overhauled. The first stage of the all-software trigger is implemented on a GPU farm. The output of the trigger provides a combination of totally reconstructed physics objects, such as tracks and vertices, ready for final analysis, and of entire events which need further offline reprocessing. This scheme required a complete revision of the computing model and rewriting of the experiment's software

The LHCb upgrade I

International audienceThe LHCb upgrade represents a major change of the experiment. The detectors have been almost completely renewed to allow running at an instantaneous luminosity five times larger than that of the previous running periods. Readout of all detectors into an all-software trigger is central to the new design, facilitating the reconstruction of events at the maximum LHC interaction rate, and their selection in real time. The experiment's tracking system has been completely upgraded with a new pixel vertex detector, a silicon tracker upstream of the dipole magnet and three scintillating fibre tracking stations downstream of the magnet. The whole photon detection system of the RICH detectors has been renewed and the readout electronics of the calorimeter and muon systems have been fully overhauled. The first stage of the all-software trigger is implemented on a GPU farm. The output of the trigger provides a combination of totally reconstructed physics objects, such as tracks and vertices, ready for final analysis, and of entire events which need further offline reprocessing. This scheme required a complete revision of the computing model and rewriting of the experiment's software

The LHCb upgrade I

International audienceThe LHCb upgrade represents a major change of the experiment. The detectors have been almost completely renewed to allow running at an instantaneous luminosity five times larger than that of the previous running periods. Readout of all detectors into an all-software trigger is central to the new design, facilitating the reconstruction of events at the maximum LHC interaction rate, and their selection in real time. The experiment's tracking system has been completely upgraded with a new pixel vertex detector, a silicon tracker upstream of the dipole magnet and three scintillating fibre tracking stations downstream of the magnet. The whole photon detection system of the RICH detectors has been renewed and the readout electronics of the calorimeter and muon systems have been fully overhauled. The first stage of the all-software trigger is implemented on a GPU farm. The output of the trigger provides a combination of totally reconstructed physics objects, such as tracks and vertices, ready for final analysis, and of entire events which need further offline reprocessing. This scheme required a complete revision of the computing model and rewriting of the experiment's software

The LHCb upgrade I

International audienceThe LHCb upgrade represents a major change of the experiment. The detectors have been almost completely renewed to allow running at an instantaneous luminosity five times larger than that of the previous running periods. Readout of all detectors into an all-software trigger is central to the new design, facilitating the reconstruction of events at the maximum LHC interaction rate, and their selection in real time. The experiment's tracking system has been completely upgraded with a new pixel vertex detector, a silicon tracker upstream of the dipole magnet and three scintillating fibre tracking stations downstream of the magnet. The whole photon detection system of the RICH detectors has been renewed and the readout electronics of the calorimeter and muon systems have been fully overhauled. The first stage of the all-software trigger is implemented on a GPU farm. The output of the trigger provides a combination of totally reconstructed physics objects, such as tracks and vertices, ready for final analysis, and of entire events which need further offline reprocessing. This scheme required a complete revision of the computing model and rewriting of the experiment's software