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A three-year pot experiment carried out in the vegetation hall in 2014-2016 included studying the enzymatic activity of soil, into which various amounts of copper: (100, 200 and 300 mg Cu/kg soil) and organic materials (cattle manure, chicken manure, post-mushroom substrate) were introduced, used separately, at a soil-introduction dose of 2 g C_org/kg. Copper and organic materials were used once, only in the first year of the study, before sowing test plant orchard grass. In soil collected after the last (fourth) swath of grass in each year of the study, the activity of urease, dehydrogenases, acid, and alkaline phosphatase was determined. Applications of copper to the soil, regardless of its dose, resulted in a decrease in urease, dehydrogenases and alkaline phosphatase and an increase in acid phosphatase activity. The inactivating effect of this metal on the activity of urease, dehydrogenases and alkaline phosphatase increased with the increase of its dose. Organic fertilisation generally increased the enzymatic activity of the analysed soil. In subsequent years of the study, urease and alkaline phosphatase activity decreased, while acid phosphatase activity increased. Dehydrogenase activity did not change significantly in subsequent years of the study.

The Songnen Plain is an important agricultural base in China and one of the important areas of distribution of saline-alkaline soils in the cold region. Saline-alkaline soils severely restrict maize growth. This study was to potentially promote the soil nutrient in the maize rhizosphere, microbes diversity, and maize yield by Trichoderma asperellum in saline-alkaline soil of the cold region. In the present study, we applied different amounts of T. asperellum in field experiments for three consecutive years. High-throughput sequencing was used to analyse the impact of Trichoderma on microbes diversity in maize rhizosphere soils. Changes in crop yield and soil nutrients were also monitored. T. asperellum treatment significantly increased the relative abundance of beneficial microbes genera. In the control treatment, the pathogenic microbes were the dominant genera. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that changes in the soil microbial community composition were closely related to soil nutrients and were highly correlated with T. asperellum treatment concentration. Further, T. asperellum treatment increased crop yield by 4.87-20.26%. These findings suggest that T. asperellum treatment optimised the microenvironment of the maize rhizosphere soil, alleviated microbial community degeneration in cold region saline-alkaline soil, and promoted maize growth.

Individual companies need to know their financial condition. They have a wide range of methods and procedures to create a system of the financial and economic analysis of a company. The analysis is focused on the evaluation of a specific group of methods for predicting the financial health of a business entity. Evaluations of the financial situation of a company are divided into point methods, mathematical and statistical methods and neural networks. The individual methods differ from each other in difficulty, in the extent of the analyzed areas and possibilities of application. The aim of this work is to assess the possibilities of using selected methods of comprehensive evaluation of companies as a tool for an analysis of the position of each company in the branch. The suitability and feasibility of each method are tested on a selected group of companies. Quick Test, Tamari Model, Beaver Model are included in this work. Based on the results, improvements and recommendations for the practical use were suggested. The results showed that the best predictive methods are Quick Test and Tamari Model, because they are quick and unequivocal when assessing the analyzed companies. An inappropriate prediction method is the Beaver model, which uses only two financial indicators to evaluate companies.

The objective of this work was to investigate, before and after chemical treatment, the interrelationships of the physiological quality tests in wheat grains. Following the chemical treatments with (i) carboxin thiram; (ii) carboxin thiram + thiamethoxam; (iii) carboxin thiram + thiamethoxam + bio-stimulant; (iv) pyraclostrobin + methyl thiophanate + fipronil, and (v) pyraclostrobin + methyl thiophanate + fipronil + bio-stimulant, subsequently the grains were assessed for their physiological potential. The physiological potential of the grains could be differentiated based on the electrical conductivity, seedling growth, and emergence in sand tests. In conclusion, the use of the active ingredients changed the correlation between laboratory tests with crop emergence in the sand as well as altered the relevance of the tests for sorting the treated grains into different physiological potential. But, the seedling growth tests and the electrical conductivity were, together, the parameters most relevant for explaining the data variability.

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.

One of the important issues both in the political discussion about climate change and in forest ecosystem research is carbon sequestration. In this paper, we estimated soil carbon sequestration (SCS) in two Persian oak forest stands of different origin (seed and coppice). Soil samples were taken at two soil depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm) and locations (under the tree crown and open area) in each oak stand. Results showed that surface layers (0-15 cm) had the highest soil carbon sequestration ranging from 41.2 t.ha-1 to 47.9 t.ha-1 for both oak forests. The total SCS was higher (between 79.5 and 89.07 t.ha-1) in open areas of the two forest stands than under the crowns of oak trees. Finally, the amount of total SCS in seed originated forest (SOF) (86.52 t.ha-1) was significantly greater (P < 0.05) than in coppice forest (CF) (77.70 t.ha-1). The results indicate that a relatively large proportion of C loss in CF is due to overgrazing, forest degradation and conversion to coppice forests in the study area.

Biomass nutrient loss and retention were studied at nutrient-poor forest site dominated by Scots pine where two methods of logging residues handling after clear-cutting were compared. The experiment was conducted on nutrient-poor pine-oak forest site on deep sandy-gravel unconsolidated sediments at the altitude of 255 m. There were three treatments established such as (i) control - no harvesting, (ii) whole-tree harvesting with ca. 10% of the slash retained unintentionally on site as processing residues and (iii) stem-only harvesting when small-diameter wood and slash were left on site. The third treatment was found to retain much larger amounts of nutrients in logging residues representing 16% of total above-ground dry mass which accounted for 58% of N, 32% of P, 56% of K, 22% of Ca and 28% of Mg left on site.

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.

In vitro meristem cultures have been used for the production of hop (Humulus lupulus L.) virus-free rootstocks worldwide, because multipropagation is considered to preserve the genetic stability of the produced plantlet. Nevertheless, in vitro tissue cultures can cause genetic and epigenetic changes. Therefore, we studied the genetic and epigenetic variability of Saaz Osvald's clones, Sládek and Premiant cultivars on the DNA methylation level by methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP). In vitro propagated plants, acclimatised glasshouse rootstocks as well as derived mericlones and control plants under field conditions were used for the analyses. A total of 346 clearly and highly reproducible amplified products were detected in the MSAP analyses within the studied hop plants. We found 16 polymorphic products (4.6% of products) and 64 products with methylation changes (18.5% of products) in the analyses. The demethylation events were comparable to the de novo methylation events. Most demethylation changes were found in the in vitro plants, but only a few of them were found in the derived mericlones under field conditions. In contrast, the de novo methylation changes persisted in the acclimatised plants under glasshouse or field conditions. A hierarchical cluster analysis was used for the evaluation of the molecular genetic variability within the individual samples. The dendrogram showed that the individual samples of the same variety, more or less, clustered together. Because the methylation status varied during the virus-free rootstock production process, we suppose that de/methylation process is a natural tool of epigenetics and evolution in vegetatively propagated plants.

DNA methylation undergoes dynamic changes and is a crucial part of the epigenetic regulation during mammalian early development. To determine the DNA methylation levels in bovine embryos, we applied a bisulfite sequencing based method aimed at repetitive sequences including three retrotransposons (L1_BT, BovB, and ERV1-1-I_BT) and Satellite I. A more accurate estimate of the global DNA methylation level compared to previous methods using only one repeat sequence, like Alu, could be made by calculation of the weighted arithmetic mean of multiple repetitive sequences, considering the copy number of each repetitive sequence. Satellite I and L1_BT showed significant methylation reduction at the blastocyst stage, while BovB and ERV1-1-I_BT showed no difference. The mean methylation level of the repetitive sequences during preimplantation development was the lowest at the blastocyst stage. No methylation difference was found between embryos cultured in 5% and 20% O₂. Because mutations of CpGs negatively influence the calculation accuracy, we checked the mutation rate of the sequenced CpG sites. Satellite I and L1_BT showed a relatively low mutation rate (1.92 and 3.72% respectively) while that of ERV1-1-I_BT and BovB was higher (11.95 and 24% respectively). Therefore we suggest using a combination of repeats with low mutation rate, taking into account the proportion of each sequence, as a relatively quick marker for the global DNA methylation status of preimplantation stages and possibly also for other cell types.

The effect of infrared radiation and microwave radiation on the moisture and thermal diffusivity characteristics of lentil seeds during infrared and microwave drying was investigated. Using mathematical equations, values and curves, moisture and thermal diffusivity were obtained. This study was to determine the moisture and thermal diffusivity of seed lentil with and without shrinkage at input temperatures 40°C and 60°C, infrared powers 1,000 W and 2,000 W and microwave power 270 W and 450 W, when the moisture content was reduced from 60 to 9% (d.b.). Drying rate was increased with increased air temperature, infrared radiation and microwave powers. Also drying rate decreased continuously with decreasing moisture content. The calculated values of moisture diffusivity by considering shrinkage were smaller than the values of moisture diffusivity without considering shrinkage. Moisture diffusivity with and without shrinkage decreased with decrease in moisture content of lentil seeds and thermal diffusivity with and without shrinkage decreased with increased moisture content. Both moisture and thermal diffusivity values decreased with increase in temperature.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a method of constructing density distribution charts in roundwood log based on the density values obtained with a resistograph. The problem of improving the performance properties of structures made of wood and wood-based composite materials and laminated products is particularly relevant for construction in the northern regions. The experience of building in Yakutia shows sufficient reliability and durability of structures made of larch wood, despite the fact that their use is associated with technological challenges: larch planks warp and crack during the drying process; rigidity of wood increases. These disadvantages are caused by the structural features of the wood material; the degree of their intensity is proportional to the index of wood density. This paper presents the methods and results of qualitative research on wood indices obtained in laboratory and field conditions, as well as the authors' methods of graphical representation of density distribution in the cross and axial sections of a tree trunk, which are based on measurements taken via the method of oriented drilling. In the experimental studies, we performed a comparative analysis of the two-dimensional charts of density distribution with the charts of velocity distribution of acoustic pulses produced by a sonic tomograph "Arbotom". The elaborated method of evaluating the quality indicators of forest resources contributes to the expansion of the boundaries of wood-based material utilization, reduces their cost and improves the quality of construction of wooden structures and buildings.

In recent decades, due to rapid human population increases and in its results, destructive effects of anthropogenic activities on natural resources have become a great challenge. Land use and vegetation are important factors in soil erosion and runoff generation. This study was performed to assess the effects of different amounts of forest cover on the control of runoff and soil loss in the Talar basin, which is located in Mazandaran province, using a runoffrainfall model, geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) to determine the hydrologic effects of deforestation on the Talar watershed (north of Iran). A runoff-rainfall model has been presented using GIS (HECGeoHMS) and hydrologic model (HEC-HMS). Land use changes (deforestation) and anthropogenic activities (roads and impervious surfaces development) were evaluated using RS techniques and satellite images. We used the Soil Conservation Service and Curve Number methods for hydrograph simulation and runoff estimation, respectively. First, a model was performed and optimized. Afterward, the optimized model was evaluated by other six events of floods (model validation). According to the obtained results, the runoff generation potential has been increased in the Talar watershed due to deforestation during the last forty years. Land use changes cause an increase in runoff volume and flood peak discharge.

Surfactant deficiency, poor development of the lung structure and fibrosis as a result of inflammation are thought to play an important role in the development of respiratory distress syndrome in premature calves. Nebulised steroid (fluticasone), bronchodilator (salbutamol) and diuretics (furosemide) can be used in combination alongside standard treatment procedures for premature calves, and might improve viability as observed in infants, foals and horses with pulmonary disorders. Twenty-five premature calves with respiratory distress syndrome were used in this study. Oxygen and supportive treatment were administered to all groups. The first group was used as a control group (Group 1). The nebulised drug combinations were as follows: Group 2: fluticasone + salbutamol, Group 3: salbutamol + furosemide, Group 4: fluticasone + furosemide and Group 5: fluticasone + salbutamol + furosemide. During the 72-h time period of the study, fluticasone (15 µg/kg/12 h), salbutamol (0.025 mg/kg/6 h) and furosemide (1 mg/kg/12h) were applied for 5 min. Arterial blood samples were collected from the auricular artery at 0 h and at 1, 24, 48 and 72 h for blood gas analysis. Significant (P < 0.05) increases in arterial partial oxygen, oxygen saturation and peripheral oxygen saturation and decreases in arterial partial carbon dioxide, lactate and respiration rate were observed in all the nebulised treatment groups, while a statistical difference was observed only for arterial partial carbon dioxide in control group. When comparing the treated groups with the control, it may be concluded that nebulised drugs are highly effective in the therapy of premature calves with respiratory distress syndrome, while the different nebulised groups exhibited similar efficacies.

Individual types of retinal dysplasia - folds, geographic and detached, have different impacts on vision ability. The purpose of this study was to undertake a qualitative and comparative evaluation of retinal activity in the individual types of the retinal dysplasia - folds, geographic and detached. Dogs (n = 24) with an ophthalmoscopic diagnosis of retinal dysplasia (rd) underwent vision testing, ophthalmologic examination and electroretinography. A three-degree scale (mild, moderate and severe) was used to describe the severity of ophthalmoscopic lesions in the rd folds and rd geographic forms. Our findings indicate that retinal folds of mild and moderate severity, and the mild geographic type of the rd, have similar effects on ERG responses, while severe retinal folds give lower ERG responses than moderately advanced geographical rd. This study confirms that electroretinography may generate a more comprehensive view of an altered retinal activity in the course of rd, which is helpful in making decisions on qualifying or excluding a given individual from the breeding program.

The susceptibility of field and laboratory strains against all instars larvae of S. littoralis to spinosad pesticide after a 24- and 48-h exposure and under laboratory conditions was investigated. As a result against 1^st instar larvae, the LC₅₀ values after 24 h were 12 and 0.275 µg/ml for laboratory and field strain, respectively. In addition, the resistance ratio (RR) of 1^st instar was 43.64-fold. In this interim, the 48 h LC₅₀ values were 8.7 and 0.18 µg/ml for laboratory and field strain, respectively and the RR was 48.33-fold, which revealed the field strain was more susceptible to spinosad than the laboratory strain. Distinctly similar trend was shown for later instar larvae stages. For instance, in 6^th instar larvae, the LC₅₀ values after a 24-h exposure to spinosad were 1100 and 105 µg/ml for the laboratory and field strain, respectively, and the RR value was 10.48-fold. Furthermore, after a 48-h exposure, the LC₅₀ values for laboratory and field strains were 500 and 42 µg/ml, respectively, with RR value being 11.90-fold. On the other hand, according to relative tolerance values, the 6^th instar larvae were the most tolerant instar of all the instars tested. The susceptibility of 6^th, 5^th, and 4^th instar larvae was comparable and significantly lower than that of 3^rd, 2^nd, and 1^st instar larvae. However, the 1^st instar was the least tolerant. The results implied that spinosad may play a potential role in the control of S. littoralis and, therefore, it is considered a promising tool in integrated pest management program to control Cotton leafworm which is becoming resistant to conventional pesticides in Egypt.

The effects of heat stress on HSP90B1 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in the hypothalamus of chicken were investigated and HSP90B1 variations were detected. Females of two Chinese chicken breeds (Huainan and Wenchang) were used for the experiments. At 64 days of age, the ambient temperature (24 ± 1°C) was increased to 35 ± 1°C for 24 h (heat stress), then decreased to 24 ± 1°C for 24 h (recovery). Hypothalamus samples were collected at 0, 12, and 24 h during heat stress, as well as 12 and 24 h during recovery. The HSP90B1 mRNA expression increased significantly during heat stress and significantly decreased during recovery being higher in Huainan chickens. Fifteen primer pairs were designed to amplify the exons of HSP90B1 by a polymerase chain reaction, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected by Sanger sequencing. In Huainan chickens, we identified a SNP (NC_006088.3:g.6798G>A) in exon 14 of HSP90B1 which did not cause amino acid variation but caused a codon for glutamic acid change from GAG to GAA. The frequencies for genotypes AA, GA, and GG were 0.49, 0.27, and 0.24, respectively. Individuals with the GG genotype survived heat stress at 42°C for a longer time (248.2 ± 39.3 min) than individuals with GA and AA genotypes, which survived for 227.2 ± 44.5 min and 179.3 ± 36.5 min, respectively. The results suggested that the increased heat tolerance was associated with the higher expression of HSP90B1, and genotype GG could be used as a potential marker for heat resistance in chickens.

The aim of this study was to evaluate intravenous anaesthesia with alfaxalone for tracheal tube insertion in three species of agamid lizards. Alfaxalone, at a dose rate of 5 mg/kg, was administered intravenously to 80 inland bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps), 10 Rankin's dragons (Pogona henrylawsoni) and 10 Chinese water dragons (Physignathus cocincinus) following 24 h of fasting. The righting reflex in inland bearded dragons, Rankin's dragons and Chinese water dragons was lost within 12-45 s (17.52 ± 8.80 s), 15-40 s (24.60 ± 9.61 s) and 12-40 s (21.70 ± 9.53 s), respectively. The mean tracheal tube insertion time for inland bearded dragons, Rankin's dragons and Chinese water dragons was 23.61 ± 10.91 s, 35.30 ± 14.71 s and 32.00 ± 14.32 s, respectively. Intravenous use of alfaxalone proved to be a suitable method for safe tracheal tube insertion and induction to inhalation anaesthesia in agamid lizards.

In this study, the presence of Arcobacter spp. was investigated in the faeces of cattle, sheep, goats, dogs and cloacal swab samples of chickens using the 16S rDNA-RFLP method. The prevalence of Arcobacter in these species was found to be 13%, 12%, 16%, 4% and 33%, respectively. On the other hand, Arcobacter spp. could not be isolated from rabbit faeces. A total of 78 (13%) Arcobacter spp. isolates were obtained from the 500 faecal samples and 100 cloacal swab samples examined in this study. From these 78 Arcobacter isolates, 24 (30.8%), 20 (25.6%), 11 (14.1%), 8 (10.7%), 4 (5.1%), 3 (3.9%) and 2 (2.6%) were identified by 16S rDNA-RLFP as A. cryaerophilus, A. butz- leri, A. skirrowii, A. cloacae, A. cibarius, A. halophilus, and A. nitrofigilis, respectively. All A. cryaerophilus (n = 24) isolates were found to be resistant to cloxacillin; all A. butzleri (n = 20) and A. skirrowii isolates were found to be resistant to penicillin/novobiocin, cefoperazone, tetracycline and cloxacillin. It was determined in this study that clinically healthy cattle, sheep, goats, dogs and chickens are reservoirs of Arcobacter spp.

Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Enterococcus cultures are increasingly used as probiotics for humans and pigs. The aim of this study was to investigate if co-cultivation of porcine and human neutrophils with probiotics can lead to increased apoptosis in vitro. Ten adult Large white pigs and 10 healthy human donors were used in this study. Neutrophils were isolated by dextran sedimentation and cultivated with and without the lactic acid bacteria Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Enterococcus faecium for 2, 4, 24 and 48 h. Early and late apoptosis was measured using flow cytometry, and cell lysis was detected based on lactate dehydrogenase activity (LDH). A significant (P < 0.05; P < 0.01) increase in apoptotic neutrophils and LDH was observed at 24 h and 48 h in vitro. All probiotics exerted their greatest effects on the early apoptosis of porcine neutrophils, while the effects of L. rhamnosus were most pronounced on late apoptosis and those of B. bifidum on LDH release of human neutrophils. The increased neutrophil apoptosis caused by probiotic bacteria can be beneficial for more efficient efferocytosis and faster resolution of inflammation and tissue regeneration. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that the interaction of B. bifidum, L. rhamnosus, and E. faecium with human and porcine neutrophils leads to their apoptosis.

Assessment of carbon storage build-up in tree stems is a difficult task due to the lack of information on their carbon sequestration potential and allocation in different components. Similarly, high cost and complex methodology for accurate belowground biomass estimation make it in particular problematic. To this end, 18 Persian oak (Quercus brantii Lindley) trees from two growth forms in western Iran were destructively sampled to develop biomass and carbon mass prediction. Sampling covered a range of ages (40-145-year-old), sizes (DBH 7-38 cm) and mean crown diameter (1.9-8.55 m). We examined biomass proportion and carbon sequestration quantity at individual tree and growth form levels, which were: coppice and high forest. One-way ANOVA was used to test the significant differences in carbon concentration, biomass and carbon pools between the components of the two growth forms. Results showed that there was a difference in average biomass and carbon sequestration of trees from the two growth forms. The biomass distribution pattern was similar in the two growth forms. Amounts of stored biomass in trunk, stump, branch, twig and foliage were 24.79, 6.01, 63.82, 2.53 and 2.93% of aboveground components for high forest and 16.4, 10.12, 65.83, 4.23 and 3.46% for corresponding coppice trees. The average biomass of the root-shoot ratio in high-forest and coppice trees was determined 0.72 and 0.88, respectively. A general decline in these proportions was detected as the size of trees increased. We recommend a root-shoot ratio of 0.80 to be adopted for Persian oak.

Resistant starch (RS), which is inaccessible to human digestive enzymes, is fermented in the colon, producing short-chain fatty acids which have beneficial effects on the human health. Both laboratory-prepared acetylated starch (AS) (degree of substitution 0.82) and Hi-maize commercial starch were tested as additives to bread formulations (recipes). The quality of composites prepared from commercial wheat flour and 5-25% of the added starch was identified by an RVA analyser and the Mixolab rheological test. The bread volume, stiffness (durability), and sensory parameters were evaluated. The addition of 15% Hi-maize^® caused a worse appearance, lower volume, and a light colour of the crust. On the other hand, it increased RS content to 5%. The substitution of 5% wheat flour with AS proved to be the most suitable, as the bread was highly appraised by consumers, the retrogradation of starch decreased, and RS content was 2.4%, approximately twice that of the bread without any starch addition.

In order to deliver essential information related to flexible cultivar recommendations, the cultivars which have been released have to be evaluated under different crop management treatments across agro-ecosystems using two-factorial post-registration multi-environment trials. The objective of this study was to evaluate the yield adaptive patterns of 24 winter wheat cultivars tested across 20 trial locations and three consecutive cropping seasons. The evaluated winter wheat cultivars from many Western European countries and Poland showed different adaptive responses to the Polish agro-ecosystems under each of the crop management intensities. Under the high-input management, the cultivars Rapsodia, (UK) Bogatka and Nadobna (Poland) showed a wide adaptation. The cultivars Alcazar (France), Anthus (Germany), Batuta (Poland) and Boomer (UK) were the best adapted to lower-productive environments and poorly adapted to highly productive conditions under both management treatments.

Three-year strict experiments with winter rapeseed were conducted in three experimental stations. In the research, winter rape fertilization with elemental sulphur (S) in the doses: 20, 40 and 60 kg S/ha, boron (B) - in the dose of 2 kg B/ha and copper (Cu) - 5 kg Cu/ha were applied. Microelements were introduced separately, in treatments B and Cu, as well as in combination B + Cu. The experimental soils featured low content of sulphate sulphur SO₄^2--S and boron, medium and low copper content. Rapeseed fertilization with sulphur, boron and copper resulted in their increased concentration in plants. Sulphur at 40 and 60 kg S/ha doses affected the increase in oilseed rape grain yield by 11-12% compared to the not fertilized treatment. The dose of 20 kg S/ha did not show any significant influence on yield. The yield increased by more than 10% in the comparison to the treatment without B and Cu, was obtained due to boron, as well as combination of boron and copper fertilization. A significant increase in fat content, in relation to not fertilized treatment, ranking from 1.0-1.4% dry matter, was recorded after fertilization with the highest sulphur dose - 60 kg S/ha, as well as after application of boron and copper fertilization.

The North China Plain (NCP) serves as China's second most important maize production region. Rotary tillage, a popular method used in winter wheat/summer maize systems in the region, has adverse effects on maize production. The current study was conducted to determine whether rotary tillage after subsoiling in the winter wheat season (RS) improves the grain-filling rate and yield of summer maize by decreasing soil bulk density, when compared with rotary tillage (R), in the NCP. The RS treatment decreased soil bulk density and increased soil moisture in the summer maize season when compared with the R treatment. Root number under the RS treatment at 8 collar and silking stages was 22.4-35.3% and 8.0-11.7% greater than under the R treatment, respectively. The RS treatment significantly enhanced the grain-filling rate and grain weight as compared to the R treatment. Yield, thousand grain weight, biomass, and harvest index under the RS treatment were 7.7, 7.2, 2.3 and 5.3% higher than under the R treatment. Thousands grain weight was correlated with soil bulk density and soil moisture after silking. Consequently, the increase in grain weight and yield of summer maize resulted from the decrease in soil bulk density and a consequent increase in soil moisture, root number and grain-filling rate.

The effects of water restriction on rectal temperature, respiratory rate and selected blood variables in intensively reared Lacaune ewes were evaluated. The tests were carried out over the course of 28 days in spring on 30 lactating sheep divided into three groups of 10 animals each, matched by lactation status and body weight and allocated into individual boxes. The animal groups were as follows: control group W100 with drinking water for the whole day (24 h/24 h), while the two experimental groups each received 80% (W80 group) and 60% (W60 group) of the water ration of the control group, respectively. The feed, in according with physiological and production needs of the animals, was administered in three daily meals (08:00, 14:00 and 20:00 h). Water intake was recorded three times per day (at 08:00, 14:00 and 20:00 h) and the daily feed intake at 08:00 h, while the rectal temperature, respiratory rate were measured and blood samplings were carried out on Day 0, Day 14 and Day 28. In water-restriction groups (W80 and W60) a lower (P < 0.01) feed intake of meadow hay, and a lower ingestion of alfalfa hay pellet in the W60 group compared to W100 group were observed. In addition, the water restriction regimen resulted in a significant decrease of respiratory rate (P < 0.05) and an increase in serum total protein, urea, creatinine, sodium, chlorine, reactive oxygen metabolites, cortisol, haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (P < 0.05), red blood cell counts, and haematocrit (P < 0.01). These results show the important role of water, as limiting factor for animal breeding in low-water availability environments. Where possible, the management of low-dairy breeds should be well adapted to support the productive performance.

Taxonomical bias for the intensity of research in natural sciences is well documented but less data exists for crop protection, weed and phytopathology sciences. Here we test a hypothesis predicting a positive relationship between the number of pests recorded in various taxa ("pest-taxa") in the Czech Republic, their economic importance and numbers of persons engaged in research of crop protection, weed, and phytopathology. In contrast, we established an imbalance in the distribution of manpower and the number of pest species. The most counterintuitive result of this study was that the number of scientists was weakly inversely related to the average economic importance of particular taxa.

Inter-rows in vineyards are commonly tilled in order to control weeds and/or to conserve water. While impacts of tillage on earthworms are well studied in arable systems, very little is known from vineyards. In an experimental vineyard, the impact of four reduced tillage methods on earthworms was examined: rotary hoeing, rotary harrowing, grubbing and no tillage. According to an erosion prevention programme, tillage was applied every other inter-row only while alternating rows retained vegetated. Earthworms were extracted from the treated inter-rows 10, 36, 162 and 188 days after tillage. Across dates, tillage methods had no effect on overall earthworm densities or biomass. Considering each sampling date separately, earthworm densities were affected only at day 36 after tillage leading to lower densities under rotary hoeing (150.7 ± 42.5 worms/m²) and no tillage (117.3 ± 24.8 worms/m²) than under rotary harrowing (340.0 ± 87.4 worms/m²) and grubbing (242.7 ± 43.9 worms/m²). Time since tillage significantly increased earthworm densities or biomass, and affected soil moisture and temperature. Across sampling dates, earthworm densities correlated positively with soil moisture and negatively with soil temperature; individual earthworm mass increased with increasing time since tillage. It was concluded that reduced tillage in vineyards has little impact on earthworms when applied in spring under dry soil conditions.

The objective of this study was to explore how retinoic acid (RA) attenuates oxidative injury induced by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMEC). Subconfluence BMEC were randomly divided into four groups with six replicates: the control group (incubated in serum-free medium without RA or H₂O₂ for 30 h), H₂O₂ group (pre-incubated for 24 h without RA, then for another 6 h with 600 μM H₂O₂), RA group (incubated with 1 mg/ml RA for 30 h without H₂O₂), and RA + H₂O₂ group (RA prevention group, pre-incubated with 1 mg/ml RA for 24 h and then for another 6 h with 600 mM H₂O₂). The results showed that the H₂O₂ treatment significantly decreased several measured traits, including the cell viability, glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and thioredoxin reductase (TRXR) activities, selenoprotein P (SELP) content, catalase and superoxide dismutase activities, total antioxidant capacity, and GPX1, TRXR1, and SELP gene expression, as well as GPX1 and TRXR1 protein expression. H₂O₂ treatment also increased the malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species contents and induced a marked increase of several measured traits, including the arachidonic acid (ARA) concentration, cytosolic phospholipase A2 and 5-lipoxygenase gene expression and activity, and 15-hydroxy twenty-four arachidonic acid and hydroxy peroxide tetracosenic arachidonic acid contents. RA pre-treatment prevented corresponding increases in parameters related to ARA metabolism and increased the activity of TRXR. Moreover, RA pre-treatment attenuated the phosphorylation levels of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase and effectively decreased the ARA content. These results suggest that RA protected BMEC from oxidative stress by elevating TRXR activity, which inhibited the MAPK signaling pathway and led to a decreased concentration of ARA.