Macro- and microscale gaseous diffusion in a Stagnic Luvisol as affected by compaction and reduced tillage

Intensification of mechanical agriculture has increased the risk for soil compaction and deformation. Simultaneously, reduced tillage practices have become popular due to energy saving and environmental concerns, as they may strengthen and improve the functioning of structured soil pore system. Soil aeration is affected by both compaction and reduced tillage through changes in soil structure and in the distribution of easily decomposable organic matter. We investigated whether a single wheeling by a 35 000 kg sugar-beet harvester in a Stagnic Luvisol derived from loess near Göttingen, Germany, influenced the gas transport properties (air permeability, gaseous macro- and microdiffusivities, oxygen diffusion rate) in the topsoil and subsoil samples, and whether the effects were different between long-term reduced tillage and mouldboard ploughing. Poor structure in the topsoil resulted in slow macro- and microscale gas transport at moisture contents near field capacity. The macrodiffusivities in the topsoil under conventional tillage were slower compared with those under conservation treatment, and soil compaction reduced the diffusivities by about half at the soil depths studied. This shows that even one pass with heavy machinery near field capacity impairs soil structure deep into the profile, and supports the view that reduced tillage improves soil structure and aeration compared with ploughing, especially in the topsoil

A 2012-es év a húszéves hazai felnőttszív-transzplantáció sikeréve - és ami mögötte van

The Hungarian adult heart transplant program, which started in 1992, has changed gradually in the past 20 years. After the early enthusiasm of the first cases it changed significantly and it became an organized programme. However, low donation activity and moderate referral numbers to the national transplant waiting list slowed down the process therefore, heart transplant numbers did not fulfill expectations in the early years. After a moderate increase in 2007 transplant numbers have dropped again until recently when Hungary partially joined Eurotransplant network. Excess fundamental resources allocated to cardiac transplantation by health care professionals and reorganizing transplant coordination as well as logistics forced dramatic changes in clinical management. In 2011 and 2012 major structural changes had been made at Semmelweis University. The newly established transplant intensive care unit and the initiation of mechanical circulatory support and assist device programme increased transplant numbers by 131% compared to previous years, as well as it resulted an 86.63% 30-day survival rate, hence last year was the most successful year of cardiac transplantation ever. Orv. Hetil., 2013, 154, 863-867