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A 12-year-old castrated male miniature pinscher dog presented with right forelimb lameness. An expansile osteolytic lesion of the right humerus was conspicuous on right forelimb radiographs. Thoracic and abdominal radiographs showed multiple lytic bone lesions on the right scapula, ribs, vertebrae, femurs and pelvis. Additionally, an expansile osteolytic lesion was observed in two thoracic vertebrae and two ribs. Many plasma cells were identified on fine-needle aspiration of the right humerus expansile osteolytic lesion, and monoclonal gammopathy consistent with multiple myeloma was confirmed on serum protein electrophoresis. The expansile osteolytic lesion, an extraordinary radiographic feature of multiple myeloma in dogs, should be considered as a possible radiographic finding of multiple myeloma.

This study was aimed at estimating restrainer exposure to scatter radiation in veterinary radiography using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) in different positions, and at different anatomic regions. A prospective study was conducted to measure exposure dose of two restrainers: A (cathode side) and B (anode side), and an observer C (at a 1-meter distance from the X-ray table) over two months. Protective devices included panorama mask, thyroid shield and arm shield. TLDs were placed on the inside and outside of the protective gear at five different anatomic sites (eye, thyroid, breast, gonad and arm). The study data consisted of 778 exposures, 82 patients (78 dogs, four cats), a mean kVp of 58.7 and a mean mAs of 11.4. The doses (outside the shield/inside the shield, in mSv) measured by restrainers A, B and C were eye (3.04/0.42), (2.29/0.17), (0.55/0.01), thyroid (2.93/0.01), (1.97/0.01), (0.19/0.01), breast (1.01/0.04), (0.73/0.01), (0.32/0.01), gonad (0.07/0.01), (0.01/0.01), (0.16/0.01) and arm (2.81/1.43), (1.17/0.01), (0.08/0.01), respectively. This study describes the extent of occupational radiation exposure in small animal radiography. The exposure dose for eyes outside lead protection showed the highest value in all participants. With lead protection, the reduction in the exposure dose of eyes was significant (A: 86%, B: 93%, C: 98%), and the highest reduction was 99% in the thyroid region. These results suggest the necessity of radiation shields in manual restraint, particularly for eye protection.

Monitoring of grassland dry matter yield (DMY) is important for the economy and ecosystem management, but it is a time-consuming process. Calculating the correlation between compressed height (CH) and DMY is a faster way to estimate DMY. The aim of our study was to use CH in order to predict DMY for a meadow with different fertilization management and plant species composition. Four fertilization treatments and one unfertilized control were established in a mesophilic meadow in the Czech Republic. Using a rising plate meter (RPM), CH was measured before the first and second cuts. In addition, the cover of individual vascular plant species was estimated. Significant correlations between CH and DMY were ranging from 0.41 to 0.79 for treatments without nitrogen fertilization in the first and second cuts; for treatments with nitrogen fertilization there was a significant correlation only in the second cut. According to our results, the RPM method seems to be suitable for a rough DMY estimate for meadows with coverage of about 60% grasses, 10% legumes and 30% forbs. However, considerable changes in the cover of tall forbs (e.g. Urtica dioica L.) or tall grasses (e.g. Dactylis glomerata L.) could be the main sources of DMY estimation inaccuracy.

Soils of forest ecosystems can release or consume methane (CH₄) depending on their specific hydrological regime. Our study reported the consumption of CH₄ by soil in a lowland broadleaf mixed temperate forest in the Czech Republic (Central Europe). The motivation of our study was to determine the importance of CH₄ fluxes in context of carbon dioxide (CO₂) fluxes of a broadleaf mixed forest. CH₄ and CO₂ emissions from the soil were measured during the 2016 vegetation season on a long transect applying the chamber technique. The average daily consumption of atmospheric CH₄ by the forest soil ranged from 0.83 to 1.15 mg CH₄-C/m²/day. This consumption of CH₄ during summer and autumn periods was not significantly affected by soil temperature and soil moisture. However, during spring period the consumption of CH₄ was positively significantly affected by soil temperature and moisture. Estimated amount of carbon (CH₄-C) consumed by the forest soil makes up a very small part of carbon (CO₂-C) participated in the ecosystem carbon cycle.

Hens of the laying hybrid ISA Brown were used in the study with the objective to evaluate eggshell quality, microbial contamination of eggshells, and penetration of microorganisms into the egg content in different housing systems (enriched cage: 60 hens, 10 hens per cage, 750 cm² per hen vs free range: 60 hens, 9 hens per m²) and at different hen ages (26 vs 51 weeks) during storage time (0, 2, 7, 14, and 21 days). A significant interaction between the housing system and age was observed in egg weight and most of eggshell quality measurements. However, microbial contamination and penetration were affected mostly by the housing system and storage time. The numbers of Escherichia coli (P < 0.001, 4.51 vs 2.75 log cfu/eggshell) and Enterococcus (P < 0.001, 2.56 vs 1.11 log cfu/eggshell), and the total number of microorganisms (P < 0.001, 5.04 vs. 3.65 log cfu/eggshell) were higher in free range eggs compared to enriched cage eggs, respectively. The counts of Escherichia coli (P < 0.001, 4.23 vs 2.91 log cfu/eggshell) and Enterococcus (P < 0.001, 2.31 vs 1.27 log cfu/eggshell) decreased with storage time. A positive correlation between the total number of pores and penetration of Escherichia coli in both housing systems was observed in the albumen. It can be concluded that the housing system and age of laying hens significantly affected eggshell quality. Microbial contamination presumably affects the penetration of microorganisms. The correlation between the number of pores and penetration is assumed to be affected by the microbial species.

This study was conducted in the period 2010-2015 to assess the influence of rootstocks on the growth and fruiting of apple trees of the 'Golden Delicious Reinders' cultivar. The experiment was conducted in an experimental orchard in Dąbrowice, Poland. The experimental material consisted of the Polish rootstocks P 66, P 67, P 68 and P 16, and the following American rootstocks of the Cornell Geneva series resistant to fire blight: CG.11, CG.41, CG.013 and CG.202. The rootstocks M.9T337, M.26, P 14 and P 60 were used as the control combination. The best-yielding trees were those from the CG.11 rootstock, while those from P 14 and P 67 were the lowest-yielding. Trees from the latter rootstocks grew most vigorously and had the lowest productivity index.

This paper describes the process of digitizing Montenegro's legacy soil data, and an initial attempt to use it for digital soil mapping (DSM) purposes. The handwritten legacy numerical records of physical and chemical properties for more than 10 000 soil profiles and semi-profiles covering whole Montenegro have been digitized, and, out of those, more than 3000 have been georeferenced. Problems and challenges of digitization addressed in the paper are: processing of non-uniform handwritten numerical records, parsing a complex textual representation of those records, georeferencing the records using digitized (scanned) legacy soil maps, creating a single computer database containing all digitized records, transforming, cleaning and validating the data. For an initial assessment of the suitability of these data for mapping purposes, inverse distance weighting (IDW), ordinary kriging (OK), multiple linear regression (LR), and regression-kriging (RK) interpolation models were applied to create thematic maps of soil phosphorus. The area chosen for mapping is a 400 km² area near the city of Cetinje, containing 125 data points. LR and RK models were developed using publicly available digital elevation model (DEM) data and satellite global land survey (GLS) data as predictor variables. The digitized phosphorus quantities were normalized and scaled. The predictor variables were scaled, and principal component analysis was performed. For the best performing RK model an R² value of 0.23 was obtained.

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is the causal agent of white mould, stem, and fruit rot diseases on a wide variety of crop plants including cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) in field and storage. Control of this pathogen by using commercial disease management methods is extremely difficult. Therefore, this study was performed to develop an alternative and effective control method for the diseases by using biocontrol bacteria - Bacillus subtilis (strains TV-6F, TV-17C, TV-12H, BA-140 and EK-7), Bacillus megaterium (strains TV-103B), and Bacillus pumilus (strains RK-103) on Petri plate assays and on red cabbage in pot assays. On Petri plates, all of the tested bacterial strains showed the zone of inhibition against the pathogen fungus ranging 15.00-26.50 mm. Their percentage inhibition rates and lesion length ranged 42.64-79.41% and 0.02-4.50 cm in pot assays, respectively. Consequently, our results indicated that especially B. subtilis strains TV-17C, TV-12H, and TV-6F can be used as bio control agent of S. sclerotiorum in red cabbage production.

The Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Y1 strain was evaluated for its effects on soil properties, pepper seedling growth, rhizosphere bacterial flora and soil enzyme activities. Y1 solubilised insoluble phosphate, produced chitinase, and released siderophores in plate detection assay. In order to evaluate the plant growth promotion potential in vivo, strain Y1 was grown in media containing chitin powder and complex fertiliser. The pot experiment was conducted by treating pepper seedlings with C1/1 (Y1 culture, 50 ml), C2/3 (Y1 culture, 33 ml), C1/2 (Y1 culture, 25 ml), F1/1 (complex fertiliser, 50 ml), F1/2 (complex fertiliser, 25 ml), and W (water) at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 days after transplantation (DAT). Plants receiving Y1 had 52% (C1/2) and 68% (C1/1) more root and shoot biomass than W, and 14% (C1/1) and 18% (C2/3) more compared to F1/1 at 80 DAT. Total numbers of flowers per plant at 80 DAT were found significantly higher with the application of Y1 having 34 (C1/1), 35 (C2/3), and 22 (C1/2) compared to 4 (W), 12 (F1/1) and 10 (F1/2). In addition, chlorophyll content in pepper leaves was found to improve with the application of Y1. Furthermore, Y1 has significantly improved nutritional assimilation of total NPK, population of total culturable bacteria and chitinase producing bacteria and activities of chitinase and dehydrogenase in soil. At 60 and 80 DAT, the number of B. amyloliquefaciens at C1/1, C2/3, and C1/2 ranged from 2.3 × 10⁴ to 4.6 × 10⁴ CFU/g of soil. Our results concluded that B. amyloliquefaciens Y1 has positive effects on soil properties and can be suggested as a bio-fertiliser to minimise fertiliser application in modern agriculture.

The effect of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP 1 - 80% O₂ + 20% CO₂ and MAP 2 - 90% CO₂ + 10% N₂) on selected chemical and sensory parameters of common carp steaks stored at 3 ± 0.5°C, and determination of the shelf life of the products was studied in this research. Samples were analysed on day 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17. An increase in TVB-N values in carp steaks followed the order: MAP 2 < control < MAP 1. From day 9 of storage FFA concentrations were higher (P < 0.01) in MAP 2 samples compared to control and MAP 1 samples. The presence of oxygen (MAP 1 and control) resulted in an increase in TBA values in comparison with samples packaged in the absence of oxygen. According to sensory evaluation, it was concluded that carp steaks packaged in modified atmosphere with 80% O₂ + 20% CO₂ remained acceptable up to 15 days of storage, whereas samples packaged under 90% CO₂ + 10% N₂ as well as samples kept on flaked ice remained unchanged until the end of the experiment.

The aim of this study was to describe the influence of pelvis rotation on the projected radiographic position of the femoral head in relationship to the acetabulum in the standard ventrodorsal hip extended view, i.e. Norberg angle, pelvic thickness at the level of the cranial effective acetabular rim, femoral head subluxation index, femoral head subluxation category and femoral head-acetabular distance. Twelve adult dogs of large and giant breeds were radiographed in standard hip extended view and with 2°, 4° and 6° of rotation on the right and left sides. Norberg angle, pelvic thickness, subluxation index, subluxation category and femoral head-acetabular distance were measured on radiographs and analysed comparing a normal position with positions of different degrees of rotation for the dependent and non-dependent side. All the studied parameters showed adequate repeatability. Norberg angle and femoral head-acetabular distance did not show significant mean differences in all degrees of rotated pelvis (P > 0.05). The pelvic thickness showed an increase with the degree of rotation on the dependent side (P < 0.05) and a slight decrease on the non-dependent side (P > 0.05). The subluxation index and subluxation category showed an increase with the degree of rotation on the dependent side and a decrease on the non-dependent side (P < 0.05). As the subluxation index and subluxation category are parameters used in the classification of the main international hip dysplasia scoring systems, pelvic rotation can impair the final hip score, especially in scoring systems that are based on the worst joint.

This paper provides a comparative analysis of the legal content of animal protection legislation in the Slovak Republic with that of Italian legislation. Firstly, we compare the legal systems in the Slovak Republic and Italy with respect to the animal protection laws, especially criminal law in both countries. This comparison of the two different legislations allows detection of identical or different characteristics in the area of animal protection, which could be used later as an inspiration for lawmakers in both countries.

This study mainly estimates the effect of grazing on plant diversity and soil storages on the northern Loess Plateau of China. Four grazing intensities of ungrazed (UG), light (LG), moderate (MG), and heavy (HG) grassland were selected according to the vegetation utilization across the study area, in which plant diversity, heights, above- and belowground biomass, and soil carbon (C) stock were investigated. The results showed that overgrazing negatively affected plant growth and soil C stock. Plant cover, height, litter, above- and belowground productivity, as well as soil C stock significantly decreased with the increasing grazing intensity. Meanwhile, the UG and LG had higher grasses biomass together with lower forbs (P < 0.01) compared with MG and HG. The abundance of dominating grasses species, such as Stipa bungeana and S. grandis were decreased through long-term grazing as grasses species are palatable for herbivores, and the dominating forbs species, such as Artemisia capillaries and Thymus mongolicus were significantly increased with increasing grazing intensities. The results indicated that grazing exclusion or light grazing had positive effects on the sustainable development of grassland ecosystems. Therefore, a balanced use and a long-term efficient management of grasslands were better measures to counteract their local degradations.

Several sets of soil samples were chosen to demonstrate the applicability of the Mehlich 3 extractant for the determination of sulphur (S) in soils. Archived samples from 139 basal soil monitoring plots (BSMS) sampled in 1995 and 2013, samples from eleven long-term field trials sampled in 1981 and 2017, 1167 soil samples from the areas vulnerable to S losses and 720 samples from the non-vulnerable areas sampled in 2010 were chosen for the experiments. Mehlich 3 clearly showed a statistically highly significant decrease in the soil S content caused by reduction of SO₂ emissions in the long-term field experiments from 33 mg/kg in 1981 to 8 mg/kg in 2017 for the median of the untreated controls. Similar results were obtained for BSMS samples, where an average decrease from 26 mg/kg in 1995 to 17 mg/kg in 2013 was found. Mehlich 3 also showed that more than 52% of samples from the areas vulnerable to S losses were in a very low content category in contrast to only 3% of soils from the other areas. Mehlich 3 clearly proved the capacity to distinguish changes in the content of soil S in all studied cases.

The placenta is the central foetal organ that ensures a sufficient exchange of nutrients and metabolites for adequate foetal growth. Specific data profiles for placental characteristics from modern pig lines with high fertility and today's genetics are not currently available. This study focuses on describing the placental weight and size of German Landrace pigs and any subsequent relationship to litter number and important fertility parameters for these sows. As a basis for data collection, 55 litters from primi- and multiparous German Landrace sows with a total of 832 piglets were used. From these births, 766 placentas were recovered and weighed, with their lengths measured and the placental efficiency per litter also calculated. Mean placental weights ranged from 179 ± 60 to 422 ± 96 g between litters, and the mean length was between 61 ± 12 and 145 ± 19 cm. The placental efficiency was at a level of 5.1 ± 0.7. The investigated parameters were only slightly affected by the litter number (r = 0.3), and the means did not significantly differ between different litter numbers. With increasing litter size, the piglet weights and placental lengths were significantly decreased (r = -0.4 and r = -0.3), possibly due to limited uterine space. However, litter size had a strong positive correlation with the total litter placental weight (r = 0.7); therefore, in this study, the placental efficiency was not affected by a higher number of piglets per sow. Higher means for placental weights (r = 0.7) and lengths (r = 0.7) in a particular litter significantly improved the piglet birth weights. The reported variability in placental characteristics between litters suggests that there is an opportunity to selectively breed for improved piglet weight and homogeneity and thus improved piglet health and survival.

The influence of the cultivation of a single crop (potato or winter rye) on mite assemblages was evaluated. Both crops were cultivated in a long-term monoculture (90 years). The response of mites to fertilisation treatment (mineral with manure or mineral alone) was also studied. It was hypothesised that the density of mites as a community and the density of particular mite groups are higher in winter rye crop in comparison with potato. Secondly, the fertilisation with manure is more beneficial for mites than the use of mineral fertilisers alone, both in winter rye and potato crops. Results showed significantly higher mite abundance in potato, mainly due to Prostigmata dominance. Oribatida and Gamasida groups were significantly more numerous in winter rye. The fertilisation type, except for the suborder Astigmata, had no significant influence on the mite community.

Germinated seeds are rich in various nutrients but are vulnerable to fungal contamination which favours micromycete formation on the sprouts. The main aim of this work was an investigation of strategies to reduce the contamination of sprouted seed foods. Over the course of 96 hours of sprouting, seeds of organic spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), naked oat (Avena nuda L.), triticale (xTriticosecale) and rye (Secale cereale L.) were irrigated in water filtered using the Pazdroid Med-1500 filtration device with and without 4% ethyl alcohol. Germinated seeds were stored at 18°C for one, three and seven days and the levels of Mucor spp., Penicillium spp., Alternaria spp., Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp. and Bipolaris spp were determined. Micromycete numbers were greater in sprouted winter wheat and rye but were reduced when these were soaked and irrigated with filtered water and filtered water containing 4% ethyl alcohol. Filtered water led to greater reductions in micromycete numbers in sprouted winter and spring wheat than in other seeds.

Excessive nitrogen (N) and water input, which are threatening the sustainability of conventional agriculture in the North China Plain (NCP), can lead to serious leaching of nitrate-N (NO₃^--N). This study evaluates grain yield, N and water consumption, NO₃^--N accumulation and leaching in conventional and two optimized winter wheat-summer maize double-cropping systems and an organic alfalfa-winter wheat cropping system. The results showed that compared to the conventional cropping system, the optimized systems could reduce N, water consumption and NO₃^--N leaching by 33, 35 and 67-74%, respectively, while producing nearly identical grain yields. In optimized systems, soil NO₃^--N accumulation within the root zone was about 80 kg N/ha most of the time. In the organic system, N input, water consumption and NO₃^--N leaching was reduced even more (by 71, 43 and 92%, respectively, compared to the conventional system). However, grain yield also declined by 46%. In the organic system, NO₃^--N accumulation within the root zone was generally less than 30 kg N/ha. The optimized systems showed a considerable potential to reduce N and water consumption and NO₃^--N leaching while maintaining high grain yields, and thus should be considered for sustainable agricultural development in the NCP.

Soil bacteria are critical to maintain soil fertility. In this study, soil chemical properties, enzyme activities and soil bacterial community from a long-term fertilizer experiment (37 years) were analysed to elaborate the effects of long-term mineral fertilizer application on soil enzyme activities and bacterial community composition. Compared with control treatment, bacterial community richness was reduced in low nitrogen (N) fertilizer and high N fertilizer treatments and increased in high N fertilizer and phosphorus (P), high N fertilizer and potassium (K) (N2K), and high N fertilizer, P and K (N2PK) treatments. The distribution of each phylum and genera was obviously changed and the range of the dominant phyla was not affected in all fertilization treatments. Principal component analysis showed that soil bacterial community in the N2K treatment was clearly different than in the N2PK treatment. The N2PK treatment had much higher available P, total organic carbon, invertase, urease and phosphatase activities than the N2K treatment, which might change soil bacterial community composition. In conclusion, fertilization with combined application of P, K and N in appropriate proportions is an optimum approach for improving soil quality and soil bacterial community abundance in non-calcareous fluro-aquic soils in the North China Plain.

Apple trees which grafted on M.M. 106 stocks were planted at the beginning of spring 2014 in pots at the Research Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice, Poland. The used treatments in the experiment were: NPK fertilization and bioproducts: Fertigo (Manure), Micosat, Humus UP, Humus Active + Aktywit PM, BioFeed Quality, BioFeed Amin, Vinassa, Florovit Natura and Florovit Eko. In the spring, these treatments were applied to apple trees alone or enriched with Pantoea sp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, Klebsiella oxytoca and Rhizobium sp. bacterial strains. Growth, yield and fruit quality parameters were evaluated. The results revealed that photosynthetic rate was greatly improved by the addition of bacteria to Fertigo (Manure), Micosat, Humus UP and Humus Active + Aktywit PM as compared to NPK. Tree trunk thickness was significantly enhanced with Vinassa, Florovit Natura and Florovit Eko enriched with bacteria. The application of bacterial strains increased the effectiveness of Fertigo (Manure), Humus UP, Humus Active + Aktywit PM, Biofeed Amin and Yeast in increasing significantly number and weight of fruits as compared to NPK.

This review focuses on Czech implementation of standards for soil and water protection called Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC), with linkage to the European Union (EU) level. I investigate different elements of adaptive institutional economics: (i) summarise current knowledge regarding the social reasons for introducing GAEC; (ii) assess the evidence linked to GAEC to better understand the potential as well as boundaries of formalizing cause-effect links; (iii) clarify the pertinence of producers' claims on costs accruing from GAEC implementation. These three points highlight the thesis of this paper: implementation in farmers' practices of the theoretical concept of sustainability in terms of bridging together economics, society and the environment. The economic reasoning for GAEC introduction within adaptive institutional economics stems from the relational positioning of the knowledge of the costs of the impact of agricultural land use on other characteristic rural land uses. GAEC are needed, albeit the size of support obtained by producers surpasses the costs of complying; therefore, the result pays off for farms. We have learned that GAEC implementation is important from regional to EU levels and that its role is more related to economic institutional adaptation than to regulation. Adaptation of institutional economics is therefore feasible, making it possible to understand GAEC as a network which manages and enables knowledge transfer linked directly to regulation. Institutional economics can link sustainability with farmers' practices and accounts for the behaviour of the farmers. In this review, I find that, for society, it is necessary to require measurement of agri-environmental outcomes for water resources, soil and biodiversity through GAEC at appropriate scales. These scales are likely to be relevant to adaptive institutional economy localities perceived by the rural public.

According to the Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan released in May 2016, the soil quality of 666 666.7 ha of agricultural soil requires remediation before 2020. Despite the survey on the environmental quality of soil in China released in 2014, detailed data on current pollutant concentrations remain unavailable. To date, reports on soil environmental quality on the national scale are few. The current research aimed to gain a detailed understanding of soil pollution in China through literature study and data analysis. Data for eight potentially toxic elements (i.e., arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb)) and two organic pollutants (i.e., hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs)) were collected from 367 areas involving 163 prefecture-level cities. Principal component analysis and clustering analysis were conducted to understand the relationships among pollutants. Results indicated that organic pollution was less severe than inorganic pollution. In terms of land-use types, garden soil showed the heaviest pollution, followed by arable land and woodland. Regarding geographic distribution, the south central and southwest areas displayed heavy pollution. Principal component and clustering analyses revealed that As, Hg, HCH, and DDTs were mainly contributed by anthropogenic sources; Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn were primarily caused by natural background; and Cd and Pb were contributed by both sources. The soil pollution status varied among land-use types and geographic areas. The implementation of proper remediation strategies requires detailed investigations on soil environmental quality.

The virulence of the Isaria fumosorosea strain (Ifu13a) against different plant sap-sucking insects such as Jacobiasca formosana Paoli (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae), Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), and Stephanitis nashi Esaki et Takeya (Hemiptera: Tingidae) in laboratory condition at 21 ± 1°C temperature and 78 ± 5% relative humidity was determined. We found that the Ifu13a strain had excellent potential to control the target insects. The mortality of the tested insect species ranged from 81 to 100% in the concentration of 1 × 10⁸ conidia/ml. However, the lowest mortality of 33% was observed in the concentration of 1 × 10⁵ conidia/ml against the S. nashi population. Median lethal times (LT₅₀) were obtained from a regression-probit value which indicated 4.1, 4.1, 4.8, and 7.3 days at a concentration of 1 × 10⁸ conidia/ml, whereas, median lethal concentration dosages (LC₅₀) were calculated as 3.9 × 10³, 6.8 × 10⁴, 3.0 × 10⁴, and 6.9 × 10⁵ conidia/ml against J. formosana, A. gossypii, B. tabaci, and S. nashi, respectively. The present study showed that the Ifu13a fungal strain is highly pathogenic to the target insects, and it can be used as a biocontrol agent against plant sap-sucking insect species under favourable weather conditions.

The epidemiological situation regarding the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) population in Europe as well as the presence of predominant IBV strains is well described. The aim of this epidemiological study was to describe the real field situation in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as no data are available for the last ten years. The study was also focused on differentiation between field IBV strains and vaccine/vaccine origin IBV strains in different poultry segments including backyard flocks. Between July 2013 and July 2016, cloacal, tracheal and/or visceral swab samples were collected from 145 Czech and Slovak chicken broiler, breeder and layer flocks. The majority of flocks was kept for production purposes, but to enable a more complete picture of the situation in the field backyard flocks with more than 50 birds were also included. As in other cases which were reported worldwide and based on collaboration with x-Ovo laboratories, samples were analysed using the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to detect the presence of the RNA of IBV. When positive, approximately 400 base pairs encoding the hypervariable region of the IBV S1 protein were sequenced. Sequencing results, cycle threshold values and vaccination history were used as criteria to try and distinguish vaccine strains from field strains. A significant percentage of all flocks presented clinical signs suggestive of IBV infection. From the total number of samples examined, 16.5% were negative. In 12.4% of the samples that did contain RNA from IBV, the genotype could not be determined. In most cases, this was due to the recovery of RNA quantities below the lower limit of detection of the sequencing PCR. The remaining positive samples predominantly contained RNA from IBV strains that belonged to the 4/91 - 793B - CR88 (44.7%), Massachusetts (30%), D274 - D207 (11.6%) and D388 - QX (8.7%) genotypes. Estimations indicated that approximately 23.9%, 48.4%, 58.3% and 0% of these detections, respectively, were vaccine strains. Infections with types UKR/27/2011, CK/CH/Guandong/Xindadi/0903 and K33/09 were observed sporadically. The results confirm that IBV infections are highly prevalent in Czech and Slovak chickens and that at least seven different IBV types were circulating during the monitored period. This underlines the necessity of providing flocks with a strong and broad protective immunity against IBV.

The Mongolian squirrel is a murine rodent widely used as an experimental model and kept as a pet. With respect to the significance of the brachial plexus, we aimed to describe the origin and the nerves that constitute it, providing new information about the neuroanatomy of this species. Twenty adult animals were used, which were fixed in a 10% formaldehyde solution at the Applied Animal Morphophysiology Laboratory of the Brazilian Federal University of the Semi-Arid Region (UFERSA). The animals were medially incised with an opening of the thoracic cavity, and then bilateral dissection was carried out. Once the nerves were identified, cotton wool soaked with a 2% hydrogen peroxide solution was added for bleaching and better visualisation of structures. The gerbil brachial plexus derived from ventral roots of the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cervical nerves (C₄-C₈) and the first thoracic root (T₁). The suprascapular nerve was formed from the nerve roots C₄ and C₅; the subscapular and cranial pectoral nerves from C₅ and C₆; the musculocutaneous and axillary nerves from C₅, C₆ and C₇; and the caudal pectoral, radial, median, ulnar, thoracodorsal, lateral thoracic and long thoracic nerves from C₇, C₈ and T₁. This resembles what is described in other rodents, such as the rat and capybara. The gerbil has a pre-fixed plexus conformation.

The objective of the present work was to determine changes in total sugars, reducing sugars and sucrose content in potato tubers under conditions involving an application of biostimulants and herbicides. Research material included table potato tubers obtained in a three-year field experiment. The experiment was a split-plot design with three replicates. The factors were as follows: factor I - three table potato cultivars (Bartek, Gawin and Honorata), factor II - five methods of biostimulant and herbicide application (1. control - without biostimulants or herbicides; 2. Harrier 295 ZC (linuron + chlomazon); 3. Harrier 295 ZC (linuron + chlomazon) and growth regulator Kelpak^®SL; 4. Sencor 70 WG (metribuzin); 5. Sencor 70 WG (metribuzin) and growth regulator Asahi^®SL. Variance analysis demonstrated that total sugars, reducing sugars and sucrose content were affected by the biostimulants and herbicides applied as well as cultivars and weather conditions. Compared with control, a significant increase in total sugars followed an application of Sencor 70 WG as well as Sencor 70 WG and the growth regulator Asahi^®SL whereas reducing sugars and sucrose content significantly increased after Sencor 70 WG and the growth regulator Asahi^®SL were applied.

This 12-year study was conducted to evaluate the performance of new plum cultivars from the Czech Republic. A new cultivar, 'Stáňa', was the most productive, followed by 'Kamir' and the standard cultivar 'Stanley'. The new plum cultivar 'Stáňa' also had the highest mean yield per cubic meter of tree canopy. Next in order of production efficiency were 'Stanley', 'Amátka', 'Kamir' and 'Čačanska lepotica'. According to canopy volume, the most vigorous cultivar was 'Kamir' followed by 'Samera' and 'Stáňa'. The least vigorous was 'Dwarf', having a canopy volume distinctly smaller than 'Amátka', which was next in the order. The shape of tree canopies ranged from 'Dwarf', which had the most upright canopy, to 'Simona' with a more distinctly overhanging canopy at the opposite extreme. The highest percentages of fruiting on first and second year wood were observed on trees of 'Simona' and 'Čačanska lepotica'.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) emphasizes the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food in its Rome Declaration. This article suggests how this noble FAO goal can be achieved. We suggest that a first step could be the introduction of a global meat tax, where the size of the negative externalities from meat production could be calculated based on foresight and big data. Applying the tool of a global meat tax will lead to a "double dividend" as negative externalities are reduced and at the same time huge tax revenues will be generated which could be used to make further steps in the direction of achieving the stated FAO goal in the Rome Declaration.

The host resistance level of pure line materials was assessed in the genepool for the purpose of breeding. The highest resistance to the pathogen was observed in bell-type pepper. Moreover, genetic diversity of pure lines was investigated using selected inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers. Generally, genetic markers showed genetic diversity, so that long-type pure lines were separated from the other accessions. This is the first report on host reactions of Turkish pure lines as breeding material. These results provide significant information for future pepper breeding programs.

Changes in mango fruit quality, malondialdehyde content, and enzymatic activities in response to pathogen Alternaria alternata infection were studied. A. alternata significantly affected the appearance of mango fruit at 5 and 7 days after treatment (DAT). The quality of pathogen-infected fruit first showed a significant decrease in titratable acidity and vitamin C content and a significant increase in pH since 3 DAT. The malondialdehyde content was higher than that in the untreated controls at 3 and 7 DAT. The enzyme activities of ascorbate peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase showed significant increases since 3 DAT. Significant increases in l-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and superoxide dismutase activities were observed at 7 DAT. These results indicate that A. alternata infection first significantly affects some biochemical constituents and enzyme activities in mango fruit since 3 DAT and that there was no significant effect on appearance until 5 DAT.