Variable spatial magnetic field influences peripheral nerves regeneration in rats

Generator of spatial magnetic field is one of most recent achievements among the magnetostimulators. This apparatus allows to obtain the rotating magnetic field. This new method may be more effective than other widely used techniques of magnetostimulation and magnetotherapy. We investigated the influence of alternating, spatial magnetic field on the regeneration of the crushed rat sciatic nerves. Functional and morphological evaluations were used. After crush injury of the right sciatic nerve, Wistar C rats (n?=?80) were randomly divided into four groups (control and three experimental). The experimental groups (A, B, C) were exposed (20?min/day, 5?d/week, 4 weeks) to alternating spatial magnetic field of three different intensities. Sciatic Functional Index (SFI) and tensometric assessments were performed every week after nerve crush. Forty-eight hours before the sacrificing of animals, DiI (1,1’-di-octadecyl-3,3,3’,3’-tetramethyloindocarbocyanine perchlorate) was applied 5?mm distally to the crush site. Collected nerves and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were subjected to histological and immunohistochemical staining. The survival rate of DRG neurons was estimated. Regrowth and myelination of the nerves was examined. The results of SFI and tensometric assessment showed improvement in all experimental groups as compared to control, with best outcome observed in group C, exposed to the strongest magnetic field. In addition, DRG survival rate and nerve regeneration intensity were significantly higher in the C group. Above results indicate that strong spatial alternating magnetic field exerts positive effect on peripheral nerve regeneration and its application could be taken under consideration in the therapy of injured peripheral nerves.     

Analysis of Pesticides in Soil Using Dispersive Solid Phase Extraction Coupled to GC-MS

A multi-residue method using dispersive solid phase extraction and gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection has been developed for determination of trace levels of 103 pesticides, including organophosphate, organochlorine, carbamate, and pyrethroid compounds in agricultural soil. Dispersive solid phase extraction using 10 mL of acetonitrile for 3 min of extraction time showed satisfactory extraction efficiency. Recoveries of pesticides from fortified agricultural soil samples ranged from 65% to 117% for three different fortified levels of 50, 100, and 500 μg/kg and relative standard deviations of the recoveries are below 19%. Detection and quantification limits ranged from 1 to 13 μg/kg and from 3 to 38 μg/kg, respectively. The proposed method was less time-consuming, safer, and easy to use for routine analysis.     

The impact of forest encroachment after agricultural land abandonment on passerine bird communities: The case of Greece

Agricultural land abandonment is one of the main drivers of land use change, leading to various responses of farmland ecological communities. In an effort to better understand the effect of agricultural land abandonment on passerine bird communities, we sampled 20 randomly selected sites [1 km × 1 km] in remote Greek mountains, reflecting an abandonment gradient, in terms of forest encroachment. We sampled 169 plots using the point count method of fixed distance (47 passerine species), and we investigated bird diversity and community structure turnover along the gradient. We found that grazing intensity has a beneficial effect hampering forest encroachment that follows progressively land abandonment. Habitat composition changes gradually with forests developing at the expense of open meadows and heterogeneous grasslands. Forest encroachment has a significant negative effect on bird diversity and species richness, affecting in particular typical farmland and Mediterranean shrubland species. Birds form five distinct ecological clusters after land abandonment: species mostly found in pinewoods and cavity-dwelling species; species that prefer open forests forest edges or ecotones; species that prefer shrubland or open habitats with scattered woody vegetation; Mediterranean farmland birds that prefer semi-open habitats with hedges and/or woodlots; and, generalist forest-dwelling or shrubland species. We extracted a set of 22 species to represent the above ecological communities, as a new monitoring tool for agricultural land use change and conservation. We suggest that the maintenance of rural mosaics should be included in the priorities of agricultural policy for farmland bird diversity conservation.     

Phosphorus retention in lab and field-scale subsurface-flow wetlands treating plant nursery runoff

Constructed wetland systems built to handle nutrient contaminants are often efficient at removing nitrogen, but ineffective at reducing phosphorus (P) loads. Incorporating a clay-based substrate can enhance P removal in subsurface-flow constructed wetland systems. We evaluated the potential of crushed brick, a recycled building product, and two particle sizes of a palygorskite–bentonite industrial mineral aggregate (calcined clay) to sorb P from simulated nutrient-rich plant nursery effluent. The three substrates were screened for P sorbing behavior using sorption, desorption, and equilibration experiments. We selected one substrate to evaluate in an 8-month field trial to compare field sorption capacity with laboratory sorption capacity. In the laboratory, coarse calcined clay average sorption capacity was 497 mg kg⁻¹ and it sorbed the highest percentage of P supplied (76%), except at exposure concentrations >100 mg L⁻¹ where the increased surface area of fine calcined clay augmented its P sorption capacity. Subsurface-flow mesocosms were filled with coarse calcined clay and exposed to a four and seven day hydraulic retention time treatment. Phosphorus export was reduced by 60 to 74% for both treatments until substrate P-binding sites began to saturate during month seven. During the eight month experiment, the four and seven day treatments fixed 1273 ± 22 mg kg⁻¹ P and 937 ± 16 mg kg⁻¹ P, respectively. Sequential extractions of the P saturated clay indicated that P could desorb slowly over time from various pools within the calcined clay; thus, if the calcined clay were recycled as a soil amendment, most P released would be slowly available for plant uptake and use. This study demonstrated the viability of using coarse calcined clay as a root bed substrate in subsurface-flow treatment wetlands remediating phosphorus from plant nursery runoff.     

Pulsed electromagnetic fields promote repair of focal articular cartilage defects with engineered osteochondral constructs

Articular cartilage injuries are a common source of joint pain and dysfunction. We hypothesized that pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) would improve growth and healing of tissue-engineered cartilage grafts in a direction-dependent manner. PEMF stimulation of engineered cartilage constructs was first evaluated in vitro using passaged adult canine chondrocytes embedded in an agarose hydrogel scaffold. PEMF coils oriented parallel to the articular surface induced superior repair stiffness compared to both perpendicular PEMF (p = .026) and control (p = .012). This was correlated with increased glycosaminoglycan deposition in both parallel and perpendicular PEMF orientations compared to control (p = .010 and .028, respectively). Following in vitro optimization, the potential clinical translation of PEMF was evaluated in a preliminary in vivo preclinical adult canine model. Engineered osteochondral constructs (∅ 6 mm × 6 mm thick, devitalized bone base) were cultured to maturity and implanted into focal defects created in the stifle (knee) joint. To assess expedited early repair, animals were assessed after a 3-month recovery period, with microfracture repairs serving as an additional clinical control. In vivo, PEMF led to a greater likelihood of normal chondrocyte (odds ratio [OR]: 2.5, p = .051) and proteoglycan (OR: 5.0, p = .013) histological scores in engineered constructs. Interestingly, engineered constructs outperformed microfracture in clinical scoring, regardless of PEMF treatment (p < .05). Overall, the studies provided evidence that PEMF stimulation enhanced engineered cartilage growth and repair, demonstrating a potential low-cost, low-risk, noninvasive treatment modality for expediting early cartilage repair.     

麦田肥料减施下深耕对麦叶爪螨和麦岩螨种群发生的影响

为探究不同耕作方式和肥料水平对两种麦田害螨(麦叶爪螨Pentfaleus major和麦岩螨Petrobia latens)种群发生的影响,2019-2020年研究了浅耕(耕深13 cm)和深耕(耕深25cm)下标准施肥(600 kg/hm2)和肥料减施(375 kg/hm2)麦田两种害螨的若虫、成虫和种群发生动态.结果表明:相同肥料和耕作处理中麦叶爪螨发生量都明显高于麦岩螨发生量,麦叶爪螨是麦田主要害螨.与标准肥处理相比,肥料减施显著降低了 2019年浅耕和深耕下麦岩螨若虫发生量,以及2020年深耕麦田麦岩螨种群发生量.另一方面,与浅耕处理相比,深耕显著降低了 2019年标准肥麦田麦岩螨若虫发生量,并显著降低了 2019年和2020年标准肥麦田麦叶爪螨成虫发生量,以及2019年和2020年标准肥麦田麦叶爪螨和麦岩螨种群发生量.可见,肥料减施和深耕处理都可降低麦田麦叶爪螨和麦岩螨种群发生量,有利于实现麦田害螨生态防控.     

还田秸秆分解与氮素释放的动态模拟

还田秸秆的分解与氮素释放动态是作物养分管理的重要依据。建立了秸秆分解氮素释放动态的“整吞”式动态模拟模型。模型由秸秆有机质分解和残余有机质含氮率动态模拟两部分组成,有机质分解的温度效应用指数函数描述,水分效应用分段线性函数描述,用“标准天”反映温度与水分的综合影响,残余有机质含氮率动态变化用“标准天”为变量的函数模拟,初始秸秆含氮量与残余秸秆含氮量之差即为秸秆分解的氮素净释放。“整吞”式较之“吃馅饼”式建模构思,所需参数少且易通过实验获得,增加了模型的可用性,利用在淮北滨海地区小麦的试验资料对模型的有效性进行了验证。     

21世纪初农业生态系统健康研究方向

农业生态系统健康是指农业生态系统免受发生“失调综合症”,处理胁迫的状态和满足持续生产农产品的能力,目前,农业生态系统健康研究范围主要涉及农业生态系统健康评价方法,土壤质量和水质与农业生态系统健康的联系,农业生态系统健康与人类健康的关系,害虫生态管理对农业生态系统健康的贡献,杂草综合管理在农业生态系统健康中的作用,从生态病理学到农业生态系统健康,线虫群落作为农业生态系统健康指示生物的研究,转基因作物对农业生态系统健康的生态影响评价,农业投入政策对农业生态系统健康的影响,景观生态学在农业生态系统健康评价中的应用,农业生态系统健康与绿色食品开发等,首先论述了农业生态系统健康研究的现状,介绍了农业生态系统健康研究实例-土壤健康的生物指标,最后提出了今后农业生态系统健康的研究方向,为保障农产品安全和增进人类健康提供依据。     

环境因子对农业土壤有机碳分解的影响

为研究环境因子对有机C在农业土壤中分解的影响 ,在不同温度、水分及土壤质地下进行小麦和水稻秸秆及其根培养实验 ,结果表明 ,在同样的水热条件下 ,秸秆有机C的分解量大于根的分解量 .在温度较低情况下 ,升高温度促进了有机C的分解 ;而在温度较高的情况下 ,升高温度对有机C分解的促进作用降低 .在非淹水条件下 ,温度对有机C分解的影响随着时间的延长而逐步减小 .淹水条件下培养一周后 ,温度对有机C分解的影响不随时间而变化 .当含水量为 30 0 g·kg-1和 5 0 0 g·kg-1时 ,有机C分解较快 ,而在 2 0 0 g·kg-1和淹水条件下则分解较慢 ,空白对照培养结果的趋势是分解速率随水分含量的增加而加快 .培养实验的第一个月内 ,小麦秸秆有机C的分解量与土壤粘粒含量呈负相关