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Epidural fibrosis is an extradural scar tissue formed after a laminectomy procedure. It is associated with persistent pain after spinal surgery and an increased risk of complications during revision surgery. The aim of this study was to determine the preventive effects of local application of an omental free graft in minimising spinal epidural fibrosis in a rabbit laminectomy model. Twenty two rabbits were randomly divided in two groups, a control group of seven and an experimental group of 15 animals. A dorsal laminectomy at levels L₁ to L₃ was performed on each rabbit of both groups. Prior to the laminectomy procedure, the animals from the experimental group were submitted to a laparotomy in order to obtain the free omental graft. The graft was then applied to the same animal at the dural deffect. All rabbits were euthanised six weeks after surgery and spine segments L₁ to L₃ were removed. Histological sections were evaluated for fibrosis intensity at the laminectomy level, the adhesion degree between dura mater and fibrous tissue and the presence of the foreign body reaction. A statistically significant correlation was established for the foreign body reaction presence and belonging to the group, which can be explained by the omental effects on inflammation reduction and healing promotion. The degree of adhesion between the dura mater and fibrous tissue and the intensity of the fibrous tissue at the laminectomy level were lower in the experimental group although the differences were not statistically significant. The use of free omental grafts is thus a promising technique in epidural fibrosis prevention.

The objective of this study was to determine the suitability of carprofen, flunixin meglumine and meloxicam for use in emergency contraception. Forty-eight pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were used as material. Five groups were subjected to treatments while one group served as a control. The numbers of animals in each group were equal (n = 8). Treatment groups were administered carprofen (10 mg/kg, single or double dose, s.c.), flunixin meglumine (5 mg/kg, single or double dose, i.m.) and meloxicam (2 mg/kg, a single dose, s.c.) on the third day after mating. The control group received saline. The rats were sacrificed on Day 7 of gestation. Luteal spots and implantation sites were recorded. Pre-implantation loss was calculated by subtracting the number of luteal spots from the number of implantation sites. Compared with the control, the administration of flunixin meglumine (double dose), carprofen (double dose) and meloxicam highly significantly decreased the implantation rate (P < 0.001). Single dose administration of flunixin meglumine and carprofen led to significant decreases (P < 0.01). In conclusion, this study indicates that carprofen, flunixin meglumine and meloxicam treatment cause a decline in implantation rate in rats.

Mexican agricultural production has been characterised by a lack of dynamism in recent years and is losing ground in terms of GDP. This may reflect the lack of funding from commercial and development banks. This research aims at studying the dynamics of the agriculture sector through econometric analysis using Vector Autoregressive (VAR) and Vector Error Correction (VEC) models in order to examine the short- and long-run relationships among agricultural production, terms of trade (ratio of agricultural prices and general price level), agricultural exports and lending from commercial and development banks. The main empirical findings, contrary to what was expected, is that even though there was a precarious level of funding from the banking sector, credit from commercial banking was higher than that from development banking in the last decades. Further, relative prices were found to have a negative relationship with agricultural exports, showing the importance of the external sector in agriculture.

The paper analyses the structure and level of international cooperation among African states in the area of agriculture and rural development. It focuses on the AU and its eight Regional Economic Communities. The international cooperation schemes between the World Bank, EU, FAO and African countries in agricultural policy are reviewed. The paper concludes that, despite numerous cross-border initiatives, governance of agricultural policies in the pan-African context remains fragmented. Policy-making and cooperation schemes need to be stepped up to address continent-wide challenges in the sector. There is an urgent need for the AU and the EU to intensify their cooperation in agricultural policies and development. The AU in collaboration with its regional bodies should establish a common agricultural policy for the continent. Such initiatives need to be Africa-driven and adapted to African needs. The EU should only provide technical know-how and institutional support if welcomed by African partners. Collective action towards rural areas via greater coordination of African agricultural policies and actions would help to develop the missing institutional framework needed for agricultural development in the continent. Fostering economic growth through agricultural development and reforms may also lead to a reduction of migration as witnessed by the EU in the sixties.

In Catalonia, agroecological cooperativism is part of a set of alternatives that appeared as a response to the current hegemonic food consumption model, controlled by large commercial establishments. It is defined by its promotion of short food supply chains (SFSCs), operates under the values of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) and holds a strong political commitment. This article, on the one hand, studies the setup of agroecological cooperativism understood as the outcome of a network of producers, intermediaries and consumers and, on the other hand, examines the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the development of this consumption model. The data has been obtained through on-site interviews and online research on the 56 consumer groups and cooperatives present in Barcelona. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis have been used to study them. The results prove the salient role that ICT has as a facilitator in the relational network established between the agents that take part in it, thus becoming a key characteristic element of the new agroecological consumer cooperativism.

Land redistributive policies can be viewed as effective tools for reducing rural poverty mainly because agriculture continues to be a major source of rural livelihood and a contributor to rural economic growth. For the structural changes and economy-wide impacts, including behavioural changes of rural land distribution, to be assessed and captured through time, a South African Social Accounting Matrix can be used as a database to construct a dynamic computable general equilibrium simulation model to simulate the potential impact on household welfare in South Africa. This study seeks to assess how government redistributive policies may affect household welfare in short- and long-run, focusing on poverty and income distribution in South Africa by applying a dynamic computable general equilibrium microsimulation model. The results showed that rural land distribution increases poor household income through an increase in factor by an average of 0.828. However, for most macroeconomic variables, the impact is negative in the short-run with a gradual increase in the long-run. The results support the claim that rural land distribution coupled with agriculture investment and government support can be effective in improving household welfare.

The causes of food price spikes are complex, and their impact on different countries varies depending on production levels and the varied policies in place. Countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) region have implemented a wide range of reforms that vary in form and speed. The existing scientific literature reports about the consequences of price spikes in CAC; however, to date, a comparison of impact between those countries has not been made in terms of the entire supply chain perspective. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of the price spikes on the entire wheat supply chain for the first time in CAC and discusses the role of policies. Another contribution of this study is an evidence-based analysis of the role of policy reformation in maintaining food security under price shocks. Our results indicate a very limited effect of price interventions and trade restrictions on dampening wheat prices in all countries. We find that only trade diversification policy had a positive effect on reducing the level of price spikes, and thus it might be a suitable policy measure for maintaining food security.

This article analyses the competitiveness of dairy farms in Poland in relation to selected EU countries. The competitive advantage of dairy farms was evaluated and compared based on remuneration for family labour. Two variants of the above indicator were calculated: (1) Remuneration for family labour (FL1) as the relationship between farm net income and the farmer's unpaid labour input, and (2) Remuneration for family labour (FL2) as the relationship between farm net income minus the opportunity costs of own land and capital to the farmer's unpaid labour input. The calculations were performed based on EU FADN (European Union Farm Accountancy Data Network) data for an average dairy farm in 2005, 2010 and 2016. The study revealed the highest average remuneration for family labour (FL1) in Irish and German dairy farms. The value of the second indicator (FL2) was also highest in Germany, followed by France. The analysis produced interesting results regarding dairy farms in Denmark and the Netherlands which were characterised by the highest scale of production in the evaluated period (high net value added), but very low farm incomes and remuneration for family labour. The study revealed that Polish dairy farms were characterised by average competitiveness relative.

The paper aims to investigate family farm income volatility by decomposing disposable farm income (DFI) into the on-farm income, income from production support and off-farm income (OFI) over time. The research is focused on the OFI, assessing its role in achieving DFI above reference level based on the average net earnings. Three main indicators consistent with Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) were indicated. The research results revealed the significance of OFI. In 2017, 76% of the family farms were engaged in off-farm activities indicating, on one hand that such approaches as part-time farming or lifestyle farming are becoming more attractive to Lithuanian family farmers. On the other hand, research disclosed that farms mostly engaged in off-farm activities yield the lowest on-farm income levels. Moreover, the OFI tends to produce a stabilizing effect on quite a number of farmers as the majority of family farms cannot rely upon the on-farm income as their only income source. Thus, the agricultural and rural development policy makers, aimed at supporting viable farm income and strengthening farm resilience, have to answer the part-time farmers' needs.

This paper quantifies the correlation between U.S. season average prices for hops with U.S. hop stocks and U.S. hop hectarage. The Hop Equilibrium Ratio, a measure of the supply/demand relationship for U.S. hops, was introduced. Through the Bayesian inference method, the authors used these data to calculate the effect an incremental change to one metric had on the probability of directional changes of future U.S. season average prices (SAP). Between 2010 and 2020, the dominance of proprietary varieties created unprecedented cartel-like powers offering opportunities for supply- and price-management. Research results will enable more accurate forecasting and greater price stability in the hop industry.

Spoilage bacteria were isolated from spoiled fruit-flavoured bottled water with a visual defect in the form of floating flocks. The bacteria were identified as Asaia lannensis using the PCR technique. The efficacy of five chemical agents commonly used in the beverage industry and of power ultrasound (PUS) on Asaia biofilms was studied. A static cultivation procedure on stainless steel plates was used and the efficacy of the chemical agents was tested in two stages. First, only the chemical agents were used. Second, the effect of the application of PUS for 1 min prior to the application of the chemical agents was tested. The most effective chemical agent was the one based on peracetic acid. Its use without PUS proved to be more effective than a combination of any of the other chemical agents with PUS. The least effective methods included the physical sanitation by PUS, the chemical agent based on a 10% solution of sodium hypochlorite and sodium hydroxide, and the chemical agent containing a 0.3% solution of chlorine dioxide.

The aim of the study was to elaborate a universal calibration for the near infrared (NIR) spectrophotometer to determine the moisture of various kinds of vegetable seeds. The research was conducted on the seeds of 5 types of vegetables - carrot, parsley, lettuce, radish and beetroot. For the spectra correlation with moisture values, the method of partial least squares regression (PLS) was used. The resulting qualitative indicators of a calibration model (R = 0.9968, Q = 0.8904) confirmed an excellent fit of the obtained calibration to the experimental data. As a result of the study, the possibilities of creating a calibration model for NIR spectrophotometer for non-destructive moisture analysis of various kinds of vegetable seeds was confirmed.

Contents of eight biogenic amines (putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, spermine, histamine, tyramine, tryptamine and phenylethylamine) were determined in vacuum-packed fillets of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Fish flesh was treated using a solution of chitosan (2%, w/v) or monoacylglycerols (monocaprylin C8, monocaprin C10, 5%, w/v). The control and treated packs were stored at 3.5 °C for up to 25 days. Samples of good quality did not contain more than 30 mg kg-1 of either putrescine or cadaverine. Exceeding this limit was usually followed by a worsening of the sensory properties of samples. Chitosan was found to be the most potent additive, prolonging the storage time of fillets by approximately four times, compared to control samples. Histamine was not found in any sample treated with chitosan. of the monoacylglycerols, C8 was more efficient compared to C10. All additives are easily applicable to the surface of fish flesh.

The study aimed to demonstrate how irradiation affects the chemical composition and amino acids of Spunta potato flour, and the sensory evaluation of biscuit samples partially composed of irradiated potato flour. The potato flour was irradiated with 50 and 150 Gy. Protein, fat, total dietary fibre, ash, carbohydrates, ascorbic acid, and amino acids were analysed. Sensory evaluation of biscuits was conducted after adding potato flour as a partial replacement for wheat flour at ratios of 5, 10, and 15%. The results showed that potato flour contained ascorbic acid, which was absent in wheat flour. Potato flour had less total protein and carbohydrate and more ash and fibres than wheat flour. Total essential amino acids appeared at the highest percentage, particularly lysine at 8.29 ± 0.02, compared with non-essential amino acids in the samples irradiated at a dose of 150 Gy. The biscuits were prepared with different ratios of the irradiated potato flour at dose 150 Gy to white flour. Sensory evaluation for biscuits with 10% of potato flour scored 8.61 ± 0.01, 8.33 ± 0.02, 8.77 ± 0.02, and 8.38 ± 0.00 for overall acceptance, colour, texture and appearance, respectively. This study recommends using 10% of irradiated potato flour at 150 Gy blended with wheat flour to produce biscuits.

The designation of traditional varieties of grapevine is usually based on verbal information or very dated records. Old rare cultivars found in the Czech Republic were identified by Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) analysis, a generally accepted method for cultivar identification. These cultivars are primarily maintained in a national collection of genetic resources. Finally a total of 102 candidate genotypes was selected where 49 traditional varieties were identified on the base of nine SSR loci compared with the European Vitis Database. Thirty-six items were registered under the correct designation. The remaining genotypes included four clones, and two genotypes could be described as synonyms. Seven genotypes were found to be incorrectly marked. For three of them, the correct name was found in the database under their SSR profile and four items were considered to be unique as no identical profile was found.

To study the impact of parent-inbred lines on the heterosis expression of the agronomic characteristics in sunflower hybrids, 24 sunflower hybrids along with the parent lines were evaluated for their agronomic characteristics as a randomised complete block design with three replications in the 2018-2019 growing seasons in Karaj, Iran. According to the results, the hybrids R29 × A346, R19 × A346, R29 × A40 had the highest achene yield (4 159, 4 143 and 4 108 kg/ha, respectively), but the highest heterosis was observed in R29 × A212 and R19 × A212 (182 and 181%, respectively) suggesting that the incidence of heterosis is related to the relative performance of both the parents and hybrids. The results confirmed the heterosis expression for most of the agronomic traits. The heterosis for the days to flowering and maturity were negative. All the mid-parent heterosis (MPH) for the plant height, head diameter, stem diameter and achene number were positive, while only the plant height was positive for the best parent heterosis (BPH). Almost all the MPH and BPH of the crosses for the achene and oil yield were positive, which indicates a considerable heterosis for the achene and oil yield. The results showed that the relative impact of the restorer (R)-lines was higher than the cytoplasmic mail sterile (CMS)-lines on the heterosis expression for the days to maturity, stem diameter, achene number per head and achene and oil yield. The CMS-lines had more of an impact on the heterosis expression for the plant height and the relative impact of the R-lines and CMS-lines were almost similar for the days to flowering, head diameter, achene weight and oil content. Due to the higher relative impact of the paternal lines on the heterosis expression for half of the studied characteristics in this study, choosing suitable parental lines will have a crucial role in breeding the sunflowers for a desired trait.

The concentration (c) of free fatty acids (FFAs) in milk is an indicator of dairy cow nutrition, milk straining, its bacterial contamination and storage quality. High FFA concentrations (cs) caused by lipolysis can damage the quality properties of milk products. Therefore the FFA content is introduced thanks to an increase in the efficiency of modern analytical methods as a milk quality indicator and as an indicator for its price as well. The goal of this paper was to analyse the FFA relations to the other milk quality indicators. The data set (n = 11 586) was evaluated by regression methods. In November and December the respective FFA means were 0.614 ± 0.458 and 0.835 ± 0.491 mmol/100 g with a relatively high variability of 74.6 and 58.8%. The frequency of unsatisfactory FFA values (> 1.3) was 7.51 and 13.93%. Casein content (r = -0.17; P < 0.01) and crude protein content (r = -0.12; P < 0.01) were related more closely with FFA c. The FFAs can increase by 0.066 mmol/100 g with casein decrease by 0.10%. The FFAs in milk fat can slightly increase by the supply of energy to dairy cows (protein and casein decrease) and rise with the deteriorating health state of mammary gland (lactose, r = -0.14; P < 0.01) as well. The somatic cell count correlated with FFAs more weakly (r = 0.07; P < 0.05), similarly like the total mesophilic bacteria count (r = 0.11; P < 0.01), relatively more closely the psychrotrophic bacteria count (r = 0.27; P < 0.05). The deterioration of almost all hygienic indicators signified an FFA c increase. The urea content correlated with FFAs weakly (r = -0.08; P < 0.05) and the fat content imperceptibly as a component of similar substance like FFAs. The mechanical milk stress led to FFA liberation from fat esters proportionally to the intervention intensity (P < 0.001). Even a relatively small mechanical stress caused by mixing comparable to the current milking technology, milk transport and storage increased the FFA c of milk fat from 1.11 ± 0.19 to 1.80 ± 0.40 mmol/100 g (P < 0.05). The highest experimental stress up to 6.88 ± 0.55 mmol/100 g (P < 0.001).

Twelve adult Slovak warmblood sport horses were used to study the effect of dried grape pomace (DGP) on health through blood serum biochemical indicators, and on apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF). The digestibility analysis was carried out by two in vivo methods, total faeces collection (TFC) and using lignin as a marker (ADL). Animals were divided into 3 groups: control group (C, without supplementation), experimental group 1 (E1, feed rations + 200 g of DGP) and experimental group 2 (E2, feed rations + 400 g of DGP). In animals, no health problems were detected during the trial. Of the blood serum indicators, only the concentrations of potassium (increase in E2 group compared to C group) and alanine aminotransferase (decrease in E2 group in comparison with E1 and C group) were affected (P < 0.05). The ADL method resulted in underestimated digestibility coefficients due to low recovery rates of lignin (less than 90%) in C group and E1 group. According to TFC, in E1 group higher digestibility coefficients were detected for DM, OM and CP (P > 0.05) compared to C group. However, in E2 group lower digestibility of all the studied nutrients was found (P > 0.05) in comparison with C group and E1 group. These results suggest that DGP could be used in horse diets up to 200 g without negative effect on their health and for a possible digestibility improvement of some nutrients.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of crossing Mecklenburger Schecke (MS) males with the maternal commercial line of HYLA rabbits on the growth performance, mortality and body and carcass components of fattened rabbits under intensive farming conditions. The control (C) group consisted of albino crossbred rabbits of the HYLA combination AB sires × CD dams. The tested (T) group (MS sires × HYLA CD dams) consisted of rabbit crosses between the MS sires and the same dam line as in the C group. Rabbits of both groups were raised and fattened under identical nutritional and management conditions. The crossing of MS males with the maternal line of HYLA rabbits led to the acceptable growth performance of rabbits in the T group. The higher slaughter weight of rabbits in the T group as compared to rabbits in the C group (P < 0.01) as associated with the higher weight of hot carcass and higher proportions of fore and intermediate parts of carcass (P < 0.01). On the contrary, HYLA rabbits had a higher proportion of the hind part of carcass (P < 0.001); yields of hind leg meat and musculus longissimus thoracis et lumborum were not influenced by the genotype. However, since higher mortality was found in rabbits of the T group during fattening, it is not possible to recommend the MS breed as a common sire line used under conditions of intensive farming at this moment. Regarding the rabbit sex, slaughtered females showed a higher proportion of liver and a lower dressing percentage associated with the worse carcass compactness compared to males.

Apricot latent virus (ApLV) is a definitive species of the Foveavirus genus, the Betaflexiviridae family. Although the virus is not highly prevalent, it was identified in several European and Mediterranean countries thus far. Biological experiments demonstrated that, in addition to the only known natural host, Prunus armeniaca, ApLV can be experimentally graft-transmitted to several Prunus species. Therefore, the eradication of the viral pathogen largely depends on the use of virus-free propagating materials and rootstocks, which should be seriously considered when designing and implementing stone fruit certification schemes. Although ApLV is not present on the list of viruses and other pathogens that require testing in the EPPO certification schemes for the production of healthy stone fruit trees for planting, Peach asteroid spot disease (PAS) causing agent whose occurrence was often justly correlated with ApLV, is included on the list. This review summarises the current available knowledge of ApLV on the biological, morphological, physicochemical and molecular levels and includes the contemporary management approaches.

This review is designed to address various alternative weed-control practices and their possibilities in the fruit orchard in terms of sustainability. Correct weed management and maintenance of adequate orchard biodiversity are crucial for sustainable orchard soil management. The key is to practice an alternative weed-management approach (single or integrated) rather than to use possibly harmful chemicals only. Integration of modern equipment with a shallow tillage system can provide effective weed control in tree rows, including optimised tree performance and soil biodiversity. Living mulch suppresses weeds and enhances orchard biodiversity, while selection of less competitive and less pest-attracting species is crucial. Plastic covers offer long-term weed control, but additional nutrient amendments are required to maintain the balanced fertility of the soil. Wood chip mulch is suggested where the materials are available on or near the farm, and where there is lower incidence of perennial weeds. High pressure water and robotic systems are still in their infancy for fruit orchards, and required more research to confirm their efficiency.

The history of a site includes not only preserved historical buildings, but also areas with an assortment of plants, which have been preserved for many years. Rural settlements make up 80% of all the municipalities in the Czech Republic, with greenery covering 50-70% of their area. There are dominant trees and shrubs and an herb layer. The herb layer has high species diversity and species typical of the area, but at the same time, its long-term survival is in jeopardy. The continuity of rural settlements has been disturbed since the second half of the 20th century. Rural spaces often become uniform and impersonal, without links to the surrounding countryside, traditions, and history. This study included a total of 124 perennial families within three studied regions.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were used for the spring greenhouse cultivation of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) 'Milar F1' and tomato (S. lycopersicon L.) 'Benito F1' transplants. Seedlings were grown under natural light conditions with the supplemental LED light. A 16-h photoperiod provided plants with a DLI of 12.6 (eggplant) and 9.6 (tomato) mol m2/day. Four supplemental light spectra were tested: L1 (90% red + 10% blue); L2 (80% red + 20% blue); L3 (43% red + 42% blue+15% green) and L4 (56% red + 26% blue + 15% green + 3% UV-A). The PPFD in each LED light treatment was 150 ± 20 µmol/m2.s. Compared to the control plants (without LED lighting), the eggplant transplants had about a 25% larger leaf area and a higher level of total phenol content as well as a higher antiradical scavenging activity under the L1 spectrum. The favourable spectrum for the tomato transplants consisted of red to blue in a ratio of 1 : 1 mixed with a green light (L3) - the leaves were characterised by a higher content of dry matter, soluble sugars, photosynthetic pigments and total phenols; also the radical scavenging activity increased in comparison to the control group. It was shown that the supplemental irradiation of transplants was economically acceptable.

Experiments were carried out to study the consequences of inoculating Rhododendron 'Nova Zembla' and 'Alfred' microcuttings and young plants with Serendipita indica (formerly Piriformospora indica), an endophytic fungus. The inoculation at the in vitro rooting stage decreased the in vitro root and shoot quality, but after planting microplants in a greenhouse in a non-fertilised peat substrate, the plants grew 33% taller, with 10% more leaves and with more abundant roots in comparison with the non-inoculated microplants. The young plants rooted in vitro, acclimated in a greenhouse in a peat substrate and inoculated with S. indica at the time of the transplantation to the pots displayed, after 15 months, an increase in the shoot lengths by 35% and 13%, depending on the cultivar, in the leaf number by 47% and in the chlorophyll content by 31% when compared with the non-inoculated plants. The beneficial effect of S. indica on the young Rhododendron plants indicates the possibility of its practical use in the nursery production of this plant.