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Not AvailableAn investigation was undertaken to analyse the influence of microbial inoculants on growth and enzyme activities elicited, and soil microbiome of two varieties of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat, which were grown under protected mode of cultivation. Rhizosphere soil sampling at 45 and 90 DAT (days after transplanting of cuttings) revealed up to four- to five-fold enhancement in the activity of defence-, and pathogenesis-related, and antioxidant enzymes, relative to the uninoculated control. Plant growth and soil microbial parameters, especially soil microbial biomass carbon and potential nitrification exhibited significant increases over control. Available soil nitrogen concentrations showed 40%–44% increment in inoculated treatments. Scanning electron microscopy of the root tissues revealed biofilm-like aggregates and individual short bits of cyanobacterial filaments. Analyses of DGGE profiles of archaeal and bacterial communities did not show temporal variations (between 45 and 90 DAT). However, distinct influences on the number and abundance of phylotypes due to microbial inoculants were recorded. The inoculants — Cyanobacterial consortium (BF1- 4) and Anabaena sp.–Trichoderma sp. biofilm (An-Tr) were particularly promising in terms of the plant and soil related parameters, and remained distinct in the DGGE profiles generated. The effect of Trichoderma viride–Azotobacter biofilm on soil bacterial and archaeal communities was unique and distinct as a separate cluster. This study highlights that microbial inoculants exert positive effects, which are specific even to the rhizosphere soil microbiome of chrysanthemum varieties tested. Such inoculants can serve as soil fertility enhancing options in protected floriculture.Not Availabl

Assessing (e-)Democratic Innovations: “Democratic Goods” and Downing Street E-Petitions

In response to a perceived crisis of democracy, governments have trialed a variety of democratic innovations. How to measure the impact of such innovations is both difficult and hotly disputed. This article tests Smith's (2009) broad-based democratic goods analytical framework on what is often perceived to be a highly successful democratic innovation: Downing Street e-petitions. It accepted 33,058 petitions receiving 12,384,616 signatures. Downing Street made 3,258 official replies. Given that it is arguably the most prominent e-democratic innovation in the world to date, the lack of empirical research is very surprising—and worrying—because the perceived success has led to the wider adoption of e-petitions. This article will fulfill three principal aims: to test the veracity of the democratic goods approach for case study research, with a view to streamlining it for future work; provide the first detailed, theoretically informed analysis of Downing Street e-petitions; and make recommendations for the application of such systems more broadly