Tetrodotoxin- and resiniferatoxin-induced changes in paracervical ganglion ChAT- and nNOS-IR neurons supplying the urinary bladder in female pigs

The aim of the present study was to establish the effect of intravesical administration of resiniferatoxin (RTX) and tetrodotoxin (TTX) on the chemical coding of paracervical ganglion (PCG) neurons supplying the urinary bladder in the pig. In order to identify the PCG neurons innervating the bladder, retrograde tracer Fast Blue was injected into the bladder wall prior to intravesical RTX or TTX administration. Consequent application of immunocytochemical methods revealed that in the control group 76.82% of Fast Blue positive PCG neurons contain nitric oxide synthetase (nNOS), and 66.92% contain acetylcholine transferase (ChAT). Intravesical infusion of RTX resulted in a reduction of the nNOS-IR neurons to 57.74% and ChAT-IR to 57.05%. Alternative administration of TTX induced an increase of nNOS-IR neurons up to 79.29% and a reduction of the ChAT-IR population down to 3.73% of the Fast Blue positive PCG cells. Our data show that both neurotoxins affect the chemical coding of PCG cells supplying the porcine urinary bladder, but the effects of their action are different. Moreover, these results shed light on the possible involvement of NO-ergic and cholinergic neurons in the mechanisms of therapeutic action exerted by RTX and TTX in curing the overactive bladder disorder.     

Impact of controlled redox conditions on nickel in a serpentine soil

Purpose  

Serpentine soils exist in many regions around the world; they are naturally enriched with nickel (Ni). An adequate understanding of soil processes determining Ni solubility is a special need particularly since less research has been addressed to Ni behavior under dynamic and controlled redox conditions. Our aim was (1) to characterize the properties of a serpentine soil and (2) to determine the impact of predefined redox windows on the mobility and dynamics of Ni in a serpentine soil.     

Dynamics of Atmospheric Aerosol Number Size Distributions in the Eastern Mediterranean During the ��SUB-AERO�� Project

Measurements of number size distributions of submicron aerosols have been performed at the Eastern part of Mediterranean as part of an extensive measurement campaign to study photo-oxidants and aerosols (SUB-AERO Project). The measurements were made at the Finokalia station on the island of Crete (Greece) and onboard the research vessel ??Aegaeon??. Two campaigns were performed during July 2000 and January 2001 using two scanning mobility particle sizers. The particle distributions measured in the range between 7.8 < d _p < 327 nm during the summer measurements and between 7.5 < d _p < 316 nm during the winter measurements, where d _p is the mobility particle diameter. The concentration of ultrafine particles (7.5 < d _p < 30 nm) was higher during the winter period and varied mainly between 5 × 10¹ and 2 × 10³?cm^?3 with concentration peak values for this mode exceeding 1 × 10⁴?cm^?3. During the summer campaign, an average number concentration of 1 × 10²?cm^?3 at Finokalia and about 5 × 10¹?cm^?3 aboard the ??Aegaeon?? vessel was measured. An average concentration of 1 × 10³?cm^?3 was measured for the particles in the size range between 30 and 100 nm, whereas in the size range 100?C300 nm, the measured concentration ranged between 1 × 10² and 5 × 10³?cm^?3. Diurnal patterns in number concentrations were observed in connection with the transport of air masses and local sources. During the winter period, three nucleation events were observed in connection with the appearance of a particle mode at 20 nm.     

Manure application followed by biochar application increases plant production regardless of soil dehydrogenase activity

Biochar is obtained by the pyrolysis of biomass, and contains abundant carbon and minerals. Biochar supplementation of soils can greatly improve soil health and quality, but these beneficial effects typically develop slowly over time. Depending on the quality of the biochar and the soil to which it is applied, it may take years before positive effects are apparent. This is because organic substances are slowly sorbed onto the biochar over time, and the biochar eventually becomes part of the sorption complex of the soil. It is therefore advisable to apply biochar together with some organic material. We examined the effect of co-application of different doses of biochar with manure on soil dehydrogenase activity (DHA), soil oxidizable carbon (COX), cumulative soil respiration, soil buffering capacity, the soil exchange reaction (pH/KCl) and the production yield of winter rape seeds. We also determined seed production when artificial granular fertilizers were added to biochar and manure. The results showed that the application of biochar and manure significantly increased grain yield, DHA, the soil exchange reaction and cumulative respiration. Thus, application of biochar with organic material can increase seed yield and some properties of agricultural soils. However, the positive effect of biochar on seed yield was not directly proportional to biochar dose, in that the seed yield was lower for a biochar dose of 45 t/ha than 30 t/ha.     

Long-term effects of straw and farmyard manure on crop yields and soil properties

The effect of cereal straw with added mineral N fertilization on crop yields, N uptake, total organic C content and hot water soluble C content in topsoil and on the relationships between organic C content in topsoil and organic matter balance was evaluated in a long-term field experiment established in 1966. The effect of straw plus mineral N fertilization was similar to the effect of farmyard manure (FYM) in the dry matter yields and also in the N uptake by plants. The effect of straw and mineral N fertilization on the organic C accumulation in soil was inferior to the effect of farmyard manure. Relationships between organic matter balance and total organic C content in the topsoil was positive and statistically significant. A favourable effect of mineral NPK fertilization on the C sequestration to soil was related to the effect of FYM fertilization.     

Fate of humic acids isolated from natural humic substances

Composition of humic acids (HA) is a function of plant-derived inputs, degradation processes regulated by microorganisms, organo-mineral interactions and age. Characterization of different origin humic substances is important for evaluation of their contribution to stabile and labile carbon pool in the environment. The relative abundance of chemical components in HA isolated from soils, compost, commercial lignohumates, alginite, acadiane and lignite was studied with aim to quantify content of important biomarkers such as amino acid, lipids and polyphenols. HA were considered as a heterogeneous complex and high concentration of peptides, polyphenols and lipids was determined in acadian-HA to compare with soil-HA. Compost-HA contained much more amino acids to compare with soil-HA samples. Alginite-HA and lignite-HA were similar in biomarkers content to soil-HA. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed that chemical composition and functional groups content differs with the origin, humification degree and the age of studied samples. Soil-HA are typically composed of a variety of ?OH, COOH?, C–O, C–H₂, (aliphatic and aromatic) groups, quinines, lignin fragments, polysaccharide, monosaccharide and proteins fragments, which are linked together by ?O?, ?NH?, ?H=, >C=O, metal ions and –S? groups. ¹³C NMR spectroscopy showed that aromatic carbon content was the highest in lignite-HA and soil-HA.     

Der Einfluss einer unterschiedlichen Düngung auf den Gehalt an Zitronensäure in Kartoffelknollen

Zusammenfassung Es wurde der Einfluss unterschiedlicher Düngergaben auf den Gehalt an Zitronens?ure in Knollen der Sorte ‘Radka’ geprüft, wobei die Probennahmen in den Phasen Vollblüte, im Abblühen und der Reife erfolgten. In reifen Knollen wurde ein relativ hoher Gehalt an Zitronens?ure bei einer Düngung von 120 kg N, 355 kg Ca und 30 kg Mg ha festgestellt. ?hnliche Ergebnisse wurden auch bei der Variante ohne Magnesium gefunden. Relativ hohe Gehalte an Zitronens?ure zeigte die Variante mit 60 kg Mg und 120 kg N ha-ohne Kalzium. Stark verminderte Gehalte an Zitronens?ure in reifen Knollen wurden dagegen bei den Varianten gefunden, die kein Calzium oder Magnesium erhalten hatten.     

Einfluss der Düngung auf die Entnahme und den Gehalt an Nährstoffen in Kartoffelknollen

Zusammenfassung Es wurde festgestellt, dass der Einfluss der Vegetationsjahre auf den N?hrstoffgehalt von Kartoffelknollen statistisch positiv gesichert erscheint. Zwischen den einzelnen Vegetationsphasen wurden deutliche Unterschiede gefunden. Dagegen liess sich der Einfluss der Düngung auf den N?hrstoffgehalt der Knollen statistisch nicht absichern. Wird der N?hrstoffentzug auf Knollen einer Pflanze bezogen, so ist zu beobachten, dass N?hrstoffentnahmen durch Knollen einer Pflanze neben den Gehalten an N?hrstoffen in der Knolle auch durch die Knollenmasse beeinflusst wird. Die Vegetationsjahre zeigen auch in diesem Falle einen wesentlichen Einfluss. Die h?chste durchschnittliche Entnahme an Stickstoff, Phosphor und Kalium wurde bei reifenden Knollen beobachtet.     

Antioxidant Enzymes in Barley Green Biomass

Green biomass of young barley plants exhibited statistically significant higher activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) at sampling I (in the phase of plant development DC 29) compared to the later sampling II (DC 31). Significant effects of varieties, years and interactions of the studied factors on the activity of the studied antioxidants were determined. During the experiment period (2005–2007), the variety Sebastian provided statistically significant higher average SOD activity (486 U.g-1) versus the variety Malz (416 U.g-1 dry matter) and line KM1910 (418 U.g-1 dry matter). No statistically significant difference was recorded between the latter two varieties. Average catalase activity of the varieties did not show any significant difference. Significantly higher CAT activity in the sampling I was recorded on average of years and locations in the variety Sebastian and hull-less line KM1910 (935 and 907 U.g-1) compared to the variety Malz (675 U.g-1). We can state that green biomass of young spring barley plants taken during the growth phase DC 29 was a significant source of enzymes catalase and superoxide dismutase in the course of the experiment (2005–2007).