FIBRE FLAX BREEDING FOR HIGH FIBRE QUALITY

The objective of flax breeding at the Upyte Research Station of LIA is to develop new varieties with a high yielding capacity, satisfactory resistance to lodging and diseases, as well of adequate quality to meet the demands of the textile industry. Two high yielding varieties with a good fibre quality ‘Vega 2’ and № 1547-11-7 have been developed at the Upyte Research Station of LIA recently. In the present paper we have provided a description of the origin of those 2 varieties, main yielding characteristics and fibre quality parameters. The variety ‘Vega 2’ produced 20 % higher stem yield, 18.3 % higher seed and 47 % higher long fibre yield than the standard variety ‘Orshanskij 2’. Long fibre quality of the variety ‘Vega 2’ is good: fibre is firm, flexible, fine and meets the demands of the textile industry. Stem yield of the variety № 1547-11-7 was similar to that of ‘Orshanskij 2’ and ‘Belinka’. Seed yield was 0.13 t/ha higher than that of the variety ‘Orshanskij 2’ and equal to the seed yield of ‘Belinka’. Long fibre quality of № 1547-11-7 is good and also meets the demands of the textile industry. The variety ‘Vega 2’ has been registered in Lithuania since 1997, in Latvia since 2001. The seed samples of the variety № 1547-11-7 have been transferred to the Genebank

CONCENTRATIONS OF THE MAIN NUTRIENTS (N, P, K, B, ZN) IN FLAX SEED, STEMS AND CHAFF

During 1996-1998 experiments were carried out at the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture’s Upyte Research Station to measure the contents of the main nutrients (N, P, K, B, Zn) accumulated in flax plants (seeds, stems and chaff) at harvesting on the following backgrounds: not fertilized, fertilized with P20 and N15P20K60; applied with ZnSO4 at the rates from 0,35 to 4,0 kg ha-1. It was determined that fibre flax seeds accumulated 3.30–4.06 % of N, 0.55–0.78 % of P, 0.69–1.15 % of K, 39.5–68.5 mg kg-1 of Zn, 10.00–27.00 mg kg-1 of B, the stems – 0.32–0.88 % of N, 0.04–0.15 % of P, 0.38–1.45 % of K, 5.0–18.0 mg kg-1 of Zn, 5.16–30.84 mg kg-1 of B, the chaff – 0.94–2.34 % of N, 0.20–0.38 % of P, 0.18– 1.40 % of K, 14.5–57.0 mg kg-1 of Zn, 8.55–38.19 mg kg-1 of B. The obtained data could be used for calculating the amount of main nutrients removed from the soil with flax yield as well as for fixing fertilizer rates more precisely

The contribution of biogeotextiles to sustainable development and soil conservation in European countries: The BORASSUS Project

Field and laboratory experiments has shown that geotextile mats made from palm leaves are an effective, sustainable and economically-viable soil conservation method, with huge global potential. The EU-funded BORASSUS Project (2005-09; Contract Number INCO-CT-2005-510745) is evaluating the long-term effectiveness of biogeotextiles in controlling soil erosion and assessing their sustainability and economic viability. These experiments are in progress in 10 countries, both in the ‘industrial north’ (in Europe) and in the ‘developing south’ (Africa, South America and South-East Asia). This paper discusses the significance of geotextile palm mats in European countries (Belgium, Hungary, Lithuania and the UK). Geotextile mats were effective in reducing splash erosion, runoff and soil erosion on arable sloping land in Shropshire, UK. The use of Borassus-mats on bare soil reduced soil splash height by ~31% and splash erosion by ~42%. The application of Borassus-mats as complete cover on bare soil reduced runoff by ~49% and soil erosion by ~75%. Borassus and Buriti mats as 1 m buffer strips reduced runoff by ~56 and 34%, respectively, and soil erosion by ~83 and 77%, respectively. Results from selected types of vineyards in Hungary suggest that the geotextile mats are effective in reducing soil erosion, particularly erosive rainfall. The geotextiles mats are also helpful in maintaining moisture and temperature conditions in the surface soil at levels particularly conducive to the establishment and growth of young plants. Experiments in Lithuania show that geotextile mats are effective in encouraging the establishment and growth of natural vegetation, thereby reducing erosion on roadside slopes. Simulated experiments in controlled laboratory conditions in Belgium suggest that palm-leaf geotextiles are effective in increasing infiltration rates and reducing interrill runoff and erosion rates on medium (i.e. 15%) and steep (i.e. 45%) slope gradients. The effectiveness of geotextile mats when used as technical materials for the construction industry in ground strengthening was investigated. Generally, the tensile strength of the Buriti mats was approximately twice that of the Borassus mats. The tensile strength of the palm-leaf geotextile mats is influenced by the mat strip formation pattern. Research and development activities of the BORASSUS Project have improved our knowledge on the effect of palm geotextile mats on the micro- and macro- soil environments and at larger scales through controlled laboratory and field experiments in diverse environments

Assessment and Analysis of Health Care Institutions Service Accessibility and Acceptability

Sveikatos priežiūros kokybė, jos valdymas ir pritaikymas tampa vienu iš svarbiausių sveikatos priežiūros prioritetų tiek Lietuvoje, tiek ir kitose Europos bei pasaulio šalyse. Sveikatos priežiūros įstaigos teikia sveikatos priežiūros paslaugas, vykdo užtikrindamos ligų prevenciją, gyventojų sveikatos kokybę, visos visuomenės gerovę. Remiantis teorinės ir metodologinės literatūros apibendrinimais bei autorių atliktos pacientų apklausos rezultatais, teikiamos išvados apie paslaugų kokybės gerinimą paslaugų prieinamumo ir priimtinumo aspektais. Sveikatos teisinio reglamentavimo sistemą sudaro Europos, taip pat Lietuvos standartai, tarptautiniai ir nacionaliniai teisiniai aktai, produktų ar paslaugų kokybės laidavimas ir organizacijos veiklos kokybės sertifikavimas bei visuomenės reikalavimai. Visuomenės nuomonė apie sveikatos priežiūros paslaugų kokybę yra vienas iš daugelio sveikatos priežiūros paslaugų kokybės rodiklių. Paslaugų kokybės kompleksinis ir sisteminis vertinimas turėtų būti atliekamas kokybės vadybos sistemos požiūriu, atsižvelgiant į pacientų suvokiamą kokybę, vidaus kontrolės dokumentus, metinius veiklos planus, darbo reglamentus, kokybės valdymo sistemos procedūrų aprašus. Svarbus veiksnys yra neatitikčių rodikliams registravimas, jų periodinė analizė ir analizės rezultatais pagrįstų pakeitimų sveikatos priežiūros paslaugų kokybės gerinimo procesams įgyvendinimas. Šie veiksniai padeda gydymo įstaigoms kryptingai tobulinti teikiamų paslaugų kokybę.Quality of health care, management and customization is becoming one of the most important health care priorities in Lithuania and in other European countries and worldwide. Objektive. To summarizes the improvement measures of health care service access and acceptability and estimate and analyze the Vilnius patients opinion about health care services. Health care institutions provide health care services, make the prevention of illness to ensure quality and welfare of all population. Based on the theoretical and methodological literature summaries and results of patient satisfaction surveys are providing conclusions about improvement of quality service in the availability and acceptability aspects. Public opinion on health care services is one of the many health care quality indicators. Quality service in an integrated and systematic assessment should be carried out in terms of the quality management system according to the patients perceived quality, documents of internal quality, annual work plans and regulations, quality management system procedures descriptions. An important factor is a registration of incongruity indicators, their periodical analysis and health care quality improvement based on the results of analysis. These factors helps for health care institutions targeted to improve quality of service