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High-pressure inactivation data were obtained for model working suspensions of Enterococcus faecium in saline solutions in pH range from 5.5 to 6.8, at water activity 0.99 (corresponding to the saline solution). The data were predicted for the pressure range of 450 MPa to 550 MPa, at the initial model suspension temperature 6-7°C prior to pressurising. The results indicate that E. faecium is a highly resistant organism under physiological pH values. With decreasing the substrate pH, the tolerance to the inactivation effects of high pressure decreased. The high-pressure inactivation proved ineffective for the above organism in the range of physiological pH values. The values for high-pressure inactivation model were specified and the calculated parameters of high-pressure inactivation were compared to the experimental data for the working suspensions of E. faecium in cow and human milks. As to cow milk, the predicted data showed some deviation from the model experimental results, while with human milk the model failed completely. High-pressure inactivation of E. faecium in human milk proved to be significantly more effective than that predicted by a model based on the saline solution.

Forest soils near industrial zones can be endangered by acid deposition and by dust deposition containing potentially toxic elements (PTEs). Soils of the study area are acidified and the surface enrichment with Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn reflects anthropogenic contamination. Two forms of all PTEs were evaluated: potentially mobilized (2M nitric acid extraction) and mobile (0.01M CaCl₂ extraction) - the most toxic form. Negligible amounts of Cu and Pb were found in the mobile form. Pb mobilization is decreased by co-emitted bases and Cu mobilization is mainly controlled by soil reaction. These elements represent just a potential risk for the ecosystem. The mobile forms of Cd, Zn, and Mn account for approximately 30% of potentially mobilized forms in organic horizons. These elements could pose a problem to ecosystem vitality. Cd is toxic at small concentration and its content in mobilized form approaches the critical load. Cd can be considered the most dangerous element in the study area. Zn concentration is not reaching the limit value. Mobilization of Zn and Pb is mainly controlled by Ca and Mg content. The highest concentrations of Mn were found in the mineral horizons. It predicates a geogenic origin. The lowest percentage of the mobile form is in mineral horizon and its mobilization is controlled mainly by pH. Based on these results, a direct damage of forest by PTE contamination in the Silesian Beskids can be excluded. Lower contamination level along with acid condition and P deficiency could act as a permanent stress factor. Stressed forest is more predisposed e.g. to frost or insect damage.

Wild boar is a native species in the fauna of the Czech Republic. It is becoming a problematic game species both in the Czech Republic and in other European countries due to its harmful impacts. So far no suitable method of its sustainable management has been devised. Yet, a correct abundance estimate is essential for proper management, field crop damage prevention and proper hunting planning. This paper employed faecal pellet group count to estimate the wild boar density in a forest environment. The research was conducted in a study area covering 12.83 km², which is surrounded by farmland. The count was done under ideal conditions in early spring, after snow had melted. The study area was organised into several differing environments in which different dung densities were expected. The presence of feeding sites, where wild boars concentrated, was taken into account. The conducted count confirmed differences in the utilization of different habitats within the study area. The resulting wild boar abundance was estimated at 64.3 (± 8.9; 95% CI) indd.km^-2.

The study concerns the measurement of the technical efficiency of agriculture in the 27 European Union (EU) countries in 2010. The studies were conducted based on the result-oriented DEA method assuming variable advantages of scale. Moreover, in the study, the factors affecting technical efficiency were identified, and the econometric modelling of their impact was performed with the use of the Tobit model. The studies indicate that across the 27 EU Member States, the level of the technical efficiency of agriculture is diverse, and the difference between the states with the highest and the lowest efficiencies is 40%. Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy and Malta were identified as the countries with the thoroughly technically efficient agriculture. In turn, the least technically efficient agriculture is observed for the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia and Slovakia. Taking into account the factors determining the technical agriculture efficiency, it should be noted that the stimulants have proven to be such factors as: the soil quality, the age of the head of the household and the surcharges for investments. In turn, the size of the farm appeared to be irrelevant from the viewpoint of the technical efficiency of the agricultural sector.

The Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) methodology is well-known. A great variety of studies in the field of manufacturing and production process use it, but there are few applications of this methodology in the area of the supply chain management. In the paper, the philosophy of the SMED methodology is applied to the part of the supply chain that includes the spare parts and fixtures in the food sector. This involves studying the relationship with the supplier of the installation of spare parts and fixture on the machine. The study shows how the spare parts management has several phases: the coordination and purchase of the spare parts to the supplier, the storage of these spare parts, the coordination of these spare parts and the scheduled maintenance, and the installation of these spare parts on the machine. The implantation of the developed working methodology has obtained a relevant improvement in the coordination and management of the spare parts. In such a way, that storage time has been reduced (inside the company's storages) and the performance has been increased, focusing on and detailing the maintenance task and scheduling the available resources.

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.

Nitrogen and carbohydrate (soluble sugars and starch) reserves were analysed in twig samples of 'Red Beaut' and 'Showtime' Japanese plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) cultivars cultivated in two similar experimental orchards under organic and conventional management. 'Red Beaut' is a vigorous cultivar while 'Showtime' is a middle to low vigorous cultivar. Both cultivars exhibited delayed flowering and premature defoliation under organic management. In general, there were no differences in the concentration of reserves between the two types of management for either of the two plum cultivars, and, likewise, no differences were observed between cultivars, regardless of their vigor. Additionally, reserves were also analysed in plantlets of 'Mariana 2624' rootstock (Prunus cerasifera Ehrh × Prunus munsoniana W. Wight & Hedrick) grown in a growth chamber that simulated conditions of spring and autumn periods and subjected to organic or mineral fertilisation. Plants subjected to organic fertilisation were smaller and defoliated earlier, but the sizes of carbohydrate and nitrogen reserves were similar to that of plants grown with mineral fertilisation.

A 2.7 kg, 11-year-old, castrated male Maltese dog was presented for evaluation of a 2-year history of intractable coughing, dyspnoea and cyanosis. A diagnosis of tracheal collapse with myxomatous mitral valve disease was made on the basis of inspiratory and expiratory thoracic radiographs, fluoroscopy and echocardiography. Measurement for stent size selection was performed on thoracic radiographs. A 10 mm (diameter) × 70 mm (length) self-expanding double-wire woven uncovered nitinol stent was used for intratracheal implantation and was deployed under fluoroscopic guidance. On thoracic radiography seven days after surgery, the position of the stent remained unchanged. On presentation six months after surgery, the owner reported that the dog was doing well without medical management. Although studies of various intraluminal stents have been reported in dogs, to the authors' knowledge, use of a double-wire woven uncovered nitinol stent has not been reported previously for the management of a dog with tracheal collapse. Since this particular type of stent with unfixed individual cells provided proper airway patency without stent fracture in the dog in this report, this stent might be used as an alternative to other commercially available nitinol stents in cases of thoracic inlet collapse.

In the past decade, next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms have changed the impact of sequencing on our knowledge of crop genomes and gene regulation. These techniques are today acquiring a great potential in metagenomic and agrigenomic research while showing prospects for their utilization in plant breeding. We can now obtain new and beneficial information about gene regulation on the cellular as well as whole-plant level through RNA-sequencing and subsequent expression analyses of genes participating in plant defence reactions to pathogens and in abiotic stress tolerance. NGS has facilitated the development of methods to genotype very large numbers of single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Genotyping- by-sequencing and whole-genome resequencing can lead to the development of molecular markers suited to studies of genetic relationships among breeding materials, creation of detailed genetic mapping of targeted genes and genome-wide association studies. Plant genotyping can benefit plant breeding through selection of individuals resistant to climatic stress and to pathogens causing substantial losses in agriculture.

Miscanthus × giganteus (Greef et Deu) is an agro-energy crop of the second generation cultivated in purpose to obtain annually renewable bio-fuel produced from the aboveground biomass. Cultivation is preferred on marginal lands to avoid occupation of arable lands. Influence of fertilization and soil type Gleysol, Planosol and Technosol (open pit coal mine overburden) on yield and biomass traits of miscanthus were investigated during five years' field experiment. Among biometric characteristics: stem height, length and width of leaves, the number of leaves (dry and green) per stem and number of stems per rhizome, only the last one has a strong positive correlation with yield. Fertilization increased yield during fourth and fifth year of development on Gleysol and Technosol. The highest yield on Gleysol was 23.12 t/ha in 2014, on Planosol 10.16 t/ha, and 4.77 t/ha in 2015 on Technosol. The yield of miscanthus, beside fertilization, depends on weather conditions and weeds. Cultivation of miscanthus is possible on marginal soils with minimum application of agricultural measures only in the year of establishment. Gleysol is a type of soil that can be recommended for miscanthus cultivation.

The protection of wild animals from mutilation or being killed during haymaking is still a serious problem connected with high working speeds and widths of modern harvesting machines. That is why the main aim of this study was to test low-cost, high-speed and low-noise infrared array sensor Melexis MLX90621 for the application of wildlife detection with the potential to be used in front of the mower equipment. The tests with two different crops with or without a hidden dog were made. Results showed that the sensor is able to detect an animal hidden in the crop with very high probability. Nevertheless, direct sunlight conditions can cause the problems when using infrared technology. A simultaneous use of other sensors working on different principle than infrared technology can be thus recommended.

The influences of six different tillage treatments and five different crops on soil losses by water erosion were studied during a twenty-year period (1995-2014) on Stagnosol in central lowland Croatia. The aim of the study was to determine how the quantity of soil sediment, different tillage treatments and crops influence the particle size distribution (PSD) of soil sediment. During the studied period, total number of non-eroded soil samples was 60 and total number of soil sediments samples was 445. Significantly lower amounts of fine sand and higher amounts of clay and silt were determined in sediments compared to the non-eroded soil regardless of cover crop and tillage treatment, with the exception of bare cultivated soil. Generally, when quantities of soil sediments were higher, textural differences between non-eroded and eroded soil were lower. Very week negative correlation was determined between the quantity of soil sediment and the content of clay (r = -0.25) as well as the content of silt (r = -0.23). A very weak positive correlation (r = 0.23) was determined between the content of fine sand and the quantity of soil sediment, while non correlation (r = -0.02) was determined between the content of coarse sand and the quantity of soil sediment.

Farming is treated as one of the riskiest businesses. Political decisions, especially these related to the agricultural sector, may be treated as of a great importance. As a consequence, farm owners seek to diversify their sources of income and run other strategies aiming to stabilize their earnings i.e. by off-farm activities. The paper selected key groups of the determinants of the off-farm income with the aim to evaluate the current state and to propose further steps of the detailed analysis. The authors identified the mechanisms how the particular instruments influence farmers' decisions on generating the off-farm income. It may be concluded that the significance of direct payments is still very high. Subsidies generally discourage farmers from the non-agriculture employment. The influence of socio-demographic characteristics is significant, however, the strength of this impact is determined by the additional factors like the situation in the labour market. In case of environmental determinants, it should be noted that there is a limited group of factors that may be out of control by the farm operators. The value added of the article is an attempt to identify the mechanisms how the particular instruments may influence farmers' decisions on generating the off-farm income. The article finishes with the authors' recommendations for further empirical studies.

The strong market competition forces forest owners to find innovative approaches to forest management, and business models are becoming integral parts of successful innovations and business strategies. This paper deals with the applicability of a business model (as an innovation tool) for small forest owners. The main objectives were to design a business model applicable in the forestry sector and to find the innovative business alternatives for the small-scale forest owner reflecting the local situation (in a case study in the Czech Republic). The extended business model CANVAS was used. The embedded data was evaluated on the software developed at the Savonia University in Finland where business opportunity and competitive advantage were the main evaluation criteria. As a result, a proposed strategy was advised to be followed. The biggest added value of the extended CANVAS model is giving an objective and unbiased evaluation of the situation of small forest owners. The business model design proved a usable and applicable tool to be used in forest management, for the research has shown that the quantitative data should be complemented by qualitative research in order to get the complex view.

The effect of cold storage of testes and epididymides at 4 °C for 12 h on the cryopreservation capacity of epididymal feline sperm was evaluated. Ten domestic cats were castrated, and testes and epididymides collected. Specimens were randomly assigned to two groups: in Group A, epididymal samples were immediately processed and frozen in 0.25-ml straws; in Group B, both testes and epididymides were maintained in saline at 4 °C for 12 h and sperm was then processed and frozen. Motility, morphology, acrosome status, sperm viability and DNA integrity were assessed in epididymal sperm samples before freezing (baseline), at thawing (0 h) and 6 h post-thawing (6 h). Although values were lower in Group B, no significant intergroup difference was observed for any of the parameters tested either at baseline or at 0 h. However, significantly higher values (P < 0.05) were observed in Group A at 6 h for total sperm motility (29.0 ± 2.4% vs 13.0 ± 4.3%), sperm viability (35.2 ± 5.4% vs 15.4 ± 1.4%) and normal morphology (47.6 ± 0.8% vs 40.0 ± 2.1%). It was observed that motility and acrosome status of epididymal sperm are the most sensitive parameters when both types of sperm samples (from fresh epididymis or from 12 h cold-stored epididymis) are frozen-thawed. When sperm quality was assessed 6 h after thawing, spermatozoa precooled in the epididymides showed significantly lower values for motility, viability and morphology than spermatozoa from fresh epididymal samples.

The paper is an attempt to address the advantages and risks connected with the wave of financial globalisation, with a focus on its impact on financial policy in European agriculture. The aim of the paper is to identify the basic conditions of the functioning and change of the financial system of agriculture under the conditions of the globalisation of financial markets. Financial globalisation, also referred to as financial integration or openness, is understood as an increase in global ties and interdependences caused by capital flows. Potentially, globalisation can bring a lot of benefits, which are manifested in an acceleration of economic growth and decreased fluctuation in consumption, which should further improve the level of overall prosperity. On the other hand, however, internationalisation of financial flows entails a range of threats, including the possibility of crisis.

Key scale insects that have long been considered as having high economic importance in Tunisia and for which several research studies and pest management programs have been undertaken include the mealybug species Planococcus ficus (Signoret) and Planococcus citri Risso, the soft scale Saissetia oleae (Olivier) and the armoured scale Parlatoria ziziphi (Lucas). The host plants, bio-ecological aspects, auxiliary fauna of each of the aforementioned species as well as the related economic losses and pest management strategies adopted are explored and discussed. Among these species, P. ficus is considered herein as the most economically important in Tunisia. Still, the present contribution constitutes the first review article on key scale insects infesting plants in the South Mediterranean Maghreb area.

This article deals with comparison of composts and manure use from the viewpoint of handling, transport and application on agricultural land. The published values were established by measurements under working conditions and afterwards converted on the basis of the content of nutrients defined in laboratory. Compost contained a greater share of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and had higher dry matter content and lower volume weight. Direct consumed energy expressed by recalculation of the consumed diesel fuel in case of composts moved from 5.12 MJ/kg (potassium) up to 16.19 MJ/kg (phosphorus). In case of manure it was higher and moved from 10.49 MJ/kg (nitrogen) up to 29.79 MJ/kg (phosphorus). The greatest share in energy consumption occupies transport, which was considered uniformly at the distance of 5 km. The study confirmed the feasibility of use of compost in agriculture as a partial substitute of conventional organic fertilizers; for its handling, transport and application the standard mechanization used for manure may be utilized.

The goal of the paper was to define recommendations of a suitable business strategy for SMEs in the area of primary agricultural production. First, the external environment was analysed to define suitable recommendations for the industry, and also to discover opportunities and threats through fitting strategic analyses, that affect the aforementioned businesses. Secondly, it was necessary to get familiar with the internal environment and functioning of specific businesses in the industry (namely those that operate in the Western region of Prostějov at the foot of the Drahanska Highlands) and to evaluate their efficiency to define their strengths and weaknesses. The paper demonstrates that there is a wide range of means that can be taken advantage of when defining fitting strategies for agricultural businesses, e.g. the Porter's Five Forces Model, the IFE and the IE Matrix, the SWOT Matrix as well as the general strategies by Ansoff. Among the most important recommendations for increasing the competitiveness of SMEs in the agricultural industry, there belong: taking advantage of all the suitable agricultural subsidies, taking advantage of accredited agricultural advisors, making sure that the legal requirements of governmental bodies are met, increasing revenues for arable farming (through a good quality seed stock, chemicals and fertilizers, the foundation of suitable storage facilities in order to postpone the sales of the grain after the harvest season), creating sales cooperatives/associations to balance the competing force of buyers, rejuvenating the workforce, solidifying the ownership structure in the businesses, entrepreneurial diversification (electrical energy production), increasing quality in animal farming.

Dimethyl sulphoxide has a variety of biological effects that have made it the subject of numerous pharmacological studies. The first dimethyl sulphoxide therapeutic indication approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1978 was for intravesical instillation in cases of interstitial cystitis. Since then, due to its distinctive properties, it has been the subject of studies in several areas. This review describes indications, adverse effects and contraindications, as takes a critical approach to the main articles addressing the clinical use of dimethyl sulphoxide.

Agricultural land represents a country's natural heritage. Therefore, land protection is an issue that is the subject of various legislative measures, also including those that affect land fragmentation. Land fragmentation is a problem that hinders the effective use of land. In 1995, Slovak lawmakers adopted Law 180/1995 Coll., which prevents the fragmentation of land under a minimum size. The aim of this paper was to determine whether Slovak legislation concerning land fragmentation is effective and prevents this phenomenon. We compare the Slovak legislation with the legislations of other countries, and, further, we describe the existing situation with respect to land fragmentation in the individual regions of the country according to the requirements of Slovak legal regulations. The results include proposals for the potential amendment of the legal regulation to ensure the effective prevention of land fragmentation.

The different materials and methods used to develop biopesticides with entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) still limit the quality of the final product, reducing field efficacy and complicating application strategies. Therefore, the objective of this review is to identify priority areas to improve the EPN formulation process based on the scientific and technological research developed so far. The results show great progress in the EPN survival time, from 7 days to 180 days, through two types of formulations: water dispersible granules and calcium alginate capsules. Also, EPNs formulated and applied as insect cadavers showed higher efficacy for the pest control than the EPNs applied in an aqueous solution. We consider that the priority areas of research are: automated massive formulation and exploration of new additives with better properties that may lead to increase the infectivity in the field. It is concluded that the study of these aspects requires a systemic approach with greater involvement of the invertebrate physiology and systems modelling disciplines.

The study concerned the determination of nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions under conventional and reduced tillage conditions. In the reduced cultivation, a soil cultivating seed drill was used for simultaneous sowing of seeds and subsurface application of fertilizer. The emission levels of the gas tested were dependent on the year of the study and the method of soil tillage, and were subject to considerable changes during the growing season. The use of reduced soil tillage significantly limited emissions of the analysed gas into the atmosphere. Depending on the year of the study, N₂O emission in the reduced tillage system was from 15% to 40% lower than in the conventional system. Low levels of easily mineralized components in soil could have been the cause of the reduction in N₂O emissions to the atmosphere.

In the agricultural industry, many brokers exploit the benefits between farmers and customers and decrease the farmers' income. As the technology has developed, the internet has become the best advertising medium for many industries. In light of this, this study based on the Google Earth has designed an on-line Agricultural Products Navigation System operated by mobile devices which can easily exclude brokers, and build the bridge between farmers and customers in order to increase the farmers income and customer benefits. Moreover, based on the IS success model of DeLone and McLean, by using the qualitative methodology, it is expected that this model will be able to provide system developers with the knowledge to improve the success of their systems.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a plant typical mainly for temperate climate and develops best at about 20°C. Heat stress due to increased temperatures is an agricultural problem in many areas in the world. The aim of our work was to assess the response of selected new potato cultivars to heat and drought stress during the subsequent stages of plant growth starting from buds forming. The pot experiment was carried out over the course of two years with the following early cultivars: Lord, Miłek, Gwiazda, Hubal, Oberon and Tetyda. The impact of heat (38°C/25°C) and drought stress on potato plants was tested in four periods of two weeks. In these periods half of the plants were watered to a level close to optimal while the other half remained without irrigation. Our studies demonstrated that tested potato cultivars' response to heat stress depends on the growth stage, in which the temperature acts on the plants and on the soil moisture. Besides the decrease in yield and tubers' diminution, the biggest problem was the presence of tubers with physiological defects, particularly of immature tubers. The response of cultivars was differentiated.

In the experiment, a group of 10 dairy cows was housed in a pen bedded with various amounts of wheat straw (5.2-13 kg/cow per day). The resulting mixture of feces, urine and bedding was stored in cubic containers with a volume of 1.5 m³. At regular intervals, the containers containing manure were weighed and manure leachate production was assessed. Daily changes in individual monitored variables over time in accordance with the amount of bedding per livestock unit per day (1 livestock unit = 500 kg live weight) were modelled using nonlinear mixed regression models. It was determined that manure weight changes and daily production of manure leachate released from manure stored in containers were related to storage duration and bedding amount in a statically significant manner. The results support the hypothesis that the amount of bedding has a statistically significant effect on the properties of manure stored in a manure pile.

The paper investigates the innovation process in the Hungarian agri-food sector using the concept of open innovation. The empirical analysis is based on the data from a 2011 survey of more than 200 small and medium size agricultural producers, food processors and retailers. There is determined the impact of open innovation and a company's absorptive capacity on the innovation performance employing two stage approaches. First, a cluster analysis is applied to categorise companies based on their open innovation absorptive capacity, firm and managerial characteristics. Second, using semi-non parametric probit models, there is found that open innovation positively influences the innovation performance for the product and market innovation. Estimations indicate that the absorptive capacity has positive impacts on the technological- and organisational innovation and on innovation propensity. The results suggest that there exists a considerable heterogeneity both within and between the supply chain segments regarding to the innovation performance.

The present study has been done to evaluate the impact of pure ash stand and mixed stand with beech on the herb layer biodiversity and soil properties in the forests of Noor city. There is a unique stand of ash in the forests of Noor city and at 1,900-2,100 m a.s.l., which is rarely seen like that in the northern forests of Iran. Shannon-Wiener diversity indices (H'), Simpson index of dominance (D), Margalef richness (R₁) and Pielou's evenness were used to analyse biodiversity. Sampling was also conducted to investigate physical and chemical properties of soil (bulk density, acidity, electrical conductivity, soil moisture, soil lime, nitrogen and organic carbon) in each sample plot and at two depths (10 and 20 cm). The total number of 26 soil samples (13 soil samples at either depth) in pure ash stand and 24 soil samples (12 soil samples at either depth) from this type of stand mixed with beech were taken. The results of plant species biodiversity showed that between the pure ash stand and the stand mixed with beech there is a significant difference at the 99% probability level in Shannon-Wiener diversity, Margalef richness, and Simpson dominance. There is also a significant difference at the 95% probability level between the two stands under study in Pielou's evenness index. The results of soil factors also showed that at the depth of 10-20 cm acidity factor showed a significant difference from its adjacent stand at the 99% probability level. There is also a significant difference at the 99% probability level in acidity (0-10 cm) and soil moisture at the depth of 10-20 cm between the two areas, but there is not any significant difference between the areas under study in electrical conductivity and lime factors at the two depths and also in moisture content at the depth of 0-10 cm. It should be noted that between the stand and soil nitrogen, organic carbon and bulk density parameters at both depths (0-10 and 10-20 cm) a significant difference at the 95% confidence level is shown.

The aim of this paper was to verify the effect of the Z'fix (PRP Technologies, France) activator of biological transformation of manure from the viewpoint of the cowshed conditions parameters, produced manure quality, manure application effect on crop yields, and overall economics. Concerning manure production, the application of the Z'fix agent enhanced quality, structure and nutrient content (N total by 23%, P₂O₅ by 42%, K₂O by 17%) in the manure from deep litter housing. Compared to the untreated control, differences in the nutrient content of N total and K₂O were statistically significant, NH₃ emissions dropped significantly by almost 35%. The economic benefit of manure production with the use of the Z'fix agent demonstrated overall savings at the level of 1,369 CZK/LU/year. The influence of manure produced combined with the PRP Sol application was tested in terms of a boost of crop yield potential of silage maize and of winter wheat. Compared to the control, both crops reached yields higher by 0.7% to 9.8%.

Polyphenols, flavonoids, triterpenoids, and vitamin C from Clinacanthus nutans were extracted by an ultrasonic microwave-assisted method. The optimal extraction conditions were established in distilled water, solid-liquid ratio 1 : 55 g/ml, irradiation power 90 W, and extraction cycle with 75 seconds. Results revealed that the solid-liquid ratio exerted a significant effect on polyphenols, whereas the irradiation power played a key role in the extraction of flavonoids, triterpenoids, and vitamin C. Under these conditions the extraction yield of each component was: polyphenols 8.893, flavonoids 25 936, triterpenoids 16 789, and vitamin C 0.166 mg/g. These results showed that the ultrasonic microwave-assisted extraction was an efficient technology to extract bioactive substances from Clinacanthus nutans and Clinacanthus nutans could potentially be a source of natural antioxidants.