Productivity of fodder crops and their mixed planting depending on fertilizers and soil treatments

Relevance. The problem associated with the continuing decline in the yield of the main crops and soil fertility in most of the arable lands leads to the need of developing comprehensive measures, including the optimal selection of crops and methods of tillage and planting in order to increase the collection of plant protein and preserve soil fertility.Method. The work devoted to the study of the influence of tillage methods, mineral fertilizers and biological products on the productivity of forage crops and their mixed planting was carried out on the experimental fields of the Chechen Research Institute in 2019–2020 in the forest-steppe climatic zone. The experiment was multifactorial. Mineral fertilizers were used for crop rotation with a view to the planned yield. The biopreparation V417, created at the Institute of Agricultural Microbiology on the basis of the Bacillus subtilis strain, was used in the processing of seed material and crops during the period of intensive plant growth.Results. As a result of the research, it was revealed that each of the studied methods of tillage should correspond to the cultivated crop and the technology used. The introduction of mineral fertilizers provided an increase in the productivity of forage plants in their pure and mixed planting by 11–44%. The treatment of crops with biopreparation V417 reflected in the best way: an increase in yield was from 24 to 52%. At the same time, the highest yield of the green mass of 42.6 t/ha was obtained in a three-component mixture (wheat, peas, oats) in the variants where disking and chiseling were carried out. Mixed planting is a serious reserve for increasing the quantity and quality of plant products. It's feed productivity in the collection of dry matter and feed units was not inferior to pure planting of cereals, and in terms of the provision of 1 feed unit with digestible protein exceeded it by 3–14%.

АЛГОРИТМ ПРОЕКТУВАННЯ АВТОМАТИЗОВАНИХ ЗМІШУВАЛЬНИХ КОМПЛЕКСІВ БЕЗПЕРЕРВНОЇ ДІЇ ДЛЯ СИПКИХ МАТЕРІАЛІВ

Purpose. Creation of design algorithm of continuous action mixing complexes that will allow defining parameters of the equipment proceeding from requirements to quality, productivity and the set compounding of mixture.Methodology. The method of discrete elements, classical mechanics positions, theory of solids contact interaction, method of mathematical modeling are used in the work.Findings. The paper proposes a generalized algorithm for designing a continuous mixing complex for bulk materials. The procedure for designing a centrifugal mixer, the flow shapers, plate feeders and conical-cylindrical hoppers are presented. Calculations of design and technological parameters are carried out on the basis of information about the physical and mechanical properties of bulk components particles, requirements for equipment performance and the mixture homogeneity. The results of calculations of the mixing complex for the three-component mixture used for the production of polyethylene film are presented. To test the proposed algorithm, a mathematical model based on the discrete elements method is created. The mixing process is modeled and the coefficients of inhomogeneity of each of the components in the finished mixture are determined. The obtained results confirmed that the proposed algorithm allows to determine the parameters of the mixing complex, which ensure compliance with the specified requirements for the quality and the equipment performance.Originality. Mathematical models of bulk motion dynamics in mixing complexes are improved, which include bunker devices, plate feeders, flow shapers and continuous centrifugal mixer, taking into account the bulk motion discrete nature.Practical value. The obtained results allow calculating the design and technological parameters of the equipment that is a part of the continuous mixing complex according to the set productivity, recipe and requirements to the mixture homogeneity.

Synthesis and In Vitro Study of Antiviral Activity of Glycyrrhizin Nicotinate Derivatives against HIV-1 Pseudoviruses and SARS-CoV-2 Viruses

When developing drugs against SARS-CoV-2, it is important to consider the characteristics of patients with different co-morbidities. People infected with HIV-1 are a particularly vulnerable group, as they may be at a higher risk than the general population of contracting COVID-19 with clinical complications. For such patients, drugs with a broad spectrum of antiviral activity are of paramount importance. Glycyrrhizinic acid (Glyc) and its derivatives are promising biologically active compounds for the development of such broad-spectrum antiviral agents. In this work, derivatives of Glyc obtained by acylation with nicotinic acid were investigated. The resulting preparation, Glycyvir, is a multi-component mixture containing mainly mono-, di-, tri- and tetranicotinates. The composition of Glycyvir was characterized by HPLC-MS/MS and its toxicity assessed in cell culture. Antiviral activity against three strains of SARS-CoV-2 was tested in vitro on Vero E6 cells by MTT assay. Glycyvir was shown to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro (IC502–8 μM) with an antiviral activity comparable to the control drug Remdesivir. In addition, Glycyvir exhibited marked inhibitory activity against HIV pseudoviruses of subtypes B, A6 and the recombinant form CRF63_02A (IC50 range 3.9–27.5 µM). The time-dependence of Glycyvir inhibitory activity on HIV pseudovirus infection of TZM-bl cells suggested that the compound interfered with virus entry into the target cell. Glycyvir is a promising candidate as an agent with low toxicity and a broad spectrum of antiviral action.

Thermal Stability of Calcium Oxalates from CO2 Sequestration for Storage Purposes: An In-Situ HT-XRPD and TGA Combined Study

Calcium oxalates are naturally occurring biominerals and can be found as a byproduct of some industrial processes. Recently, a new and green method for carbon capture and sequestration in stable calcium oxalate from oxalic acid produced by carbon dioxide reduction was proposed. The reaction resulted in high-quality weddellite crystals. Assessing the stability of these weddellite crystals is crucial to forecast their reuse as solid-state reservoir of pure CO2 and CaO in a circular economy perspective or, eventually, their disposal. The thermal decomposition of weddellite obtained from the new method of carbon capture and storage was studied by coupling in-situ high-temperature X-ray powder diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis, in order to evaluate the dehydration, decarbonation, and the possible production of unwanted volatile species during heating. At low temperature (119–255 °C), structural water release was superimposed to an early CO2 feeble evolution, resulting in a water-carbon dioxide mixture that should be separated for reuse. Furthermore, the storage temperature limit must be considered bearing in mind this CO2 release low-temperature event. In the range 390–550 °C, a two-component mixture of carbon monoxide and dioxide is evolved, requiring oxidation of the former or gas separation to reuse pure gases. Finally, the last decarbonation reaction produced pure CO2 starting from 550 °C.

The Process of Separating Buckwheat and Wheat Grain in a Pneumatic Cone Separator in the Context of Sustainable Agriculture

In machines and devices used for separating and cleaning seed mixtures, the components of such mixtures can be separated in a stream of air. The efficiency of separation of a two-component (model) mixture containing wheat kernels and buckwheat nutlets was investigated. The main crop seeds and other crop seeds imitating impurities accounted for 80% and 20% (w/w), respectively. The experiment involved a pneumatic cleaning device with an immobile conical surface, designed by the authors, where mixture components are separated in a stream of air. The seed mixture was separated in a separator with the shape of an inverted cone, where the seeds were set into motion by a stream of air. The separation efficiency of the analyzed two-component mixture in the designed separator exceeded 78%. Regression equations describing the separation efficiency index of the entire seed mixture (ε) and the separation efficiency of the main crop seeds (ηp) and seeds imitating impurities (ηz) were derived. The coefficient of determination (R2) for the above regression equations describing the separation efficiency of the mixture components (main crop seeds and seeds imitating impurities) and the separation efficiency index of the entire seed mixture ranged from 0.81 to 0.94. This result indicates that the developed equations were characterized by satisfactory and highly satisfactory fit to empirical data, and that they can be applied to accurately predict the quality of the seed separation process in the cleaning device designed by the authors. The developed equations can be effectively used to model and automatically control separation processes in the proposed separator.

Characterizing Stand and Biomass Tables from Diameter Distribution Models: A Case Study for Mixed-Hardwood Forests in Eastern Tennessee, USA

Accurately assessing forest structure and productivity is critical to making timely management decisions and monitoring plant communities. This study aims to evaluate the prediction accuracy of site-level stand and biomass tables from the diameter distribution models. The efficacy of the single Weibull function and two finite mixture models was compared for six species groups on three mixed-hardwood sites in eastern Tennessee, USA. To evaluate model performance, two types of stand/biomass tables were generated. The first type was constructed from all species on a given site (site-specific), whereas the second type was built for a single species from all sites (species-specific). Results indicate that both types of stand and biomass tables were consistently well quantified by the two-component mixture model in terms of goodness of fit, parsimony and robustness. The two-component mixture model better characterized the complex, multimodal diameter distributions than the single Weibull model, which underpredicted the upper portion of the distributions. The three-component model tends to overfit the data, which results in lower prediction accuracy. Among the three models examined, the two-Weibull mixture model is suggested to construct site-level stand/biomass tables, which provides more reliable and accurate predictions to assess forest structure and product class. Study Implications Compared to pine monocultures, diameter distribution models for upland mixed-hardwood forests in the Southeastern United States have not been widely explored. Mixed-hardwood forests not only supply high-quality timber for domestic and international uses, but also provide various ecosystem services and essential habitats for wildlife. The finite mixture model has been proposed for characterizing the irregular forms of diameter distribution curves, but the reliability of this method has not been explicitly examined for a wide variety of species. This study provided insights for natural resources managers to select appropriate models when modeling stand and biomass tables for mixed-hardwood forests.

Study on the Joint Toxicity of Multi-component Mixtures of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

Pollutants generally exist as mixtures in the environment. Their cumulative toxicity and toxicity interactions are potential risks. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the variation of joint toxicity of a multi-component mixture system, which consisted of six common quaternary ammonium salt surfactants in the environment, on Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67 (Q67). Vibrio qinghaiensis sp. -Q67 (Vqin-Q67) is a freshwater luminescent bacterium that continuously emits blue-green light (485 nm). The bacterium has been widely used for detecting toxic contaminants. In the mixture system, the luminescent toxicity of each component of the mixture to Q67 was determined by the microplate toxicity analysis method, and the toxicity interaction of the mixture was determined by the toxicity unit method (TU). The combined toxicity of the mixture system was investigated from four aspects, including the number of components, key components, concentration (toxicity) ratio, and exposure time. The results showed that the combined toxic effect of the same mixture system tends to be an additive effect with the increase of the number of components. The combined toxicity of the mixture system was close to that of the key components. Antagonism was presented in the equal toxicity mixture, while synergism was presented in the non-equal toxicity mixture. The combined toxic effect of the multi-component mixture system was not only related to the concentration of the pollutant but also related to the exposure time of the pollutant.

Combining the strengths of inverse-variance weighting and Egger regression in Mendelian randomization using a mixture of regressions model

With the increasing availability of large-scale GWAS summary data on various traits, Mendelian randomization (MR) has become commonly used to infer causality between a pair of traits, an exposure and an outcome. It depends on using genetic variants, typically SNPs, as instrumental variables (IVs). The inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method (with a fixed-effect meta-analysis model) is most powerful when all IVs are valid; however, when horizontal pleiotropy is present, it may lead to biased inference. On the other hand, Egger regression is one of the most widely used methods robust to (uncorrelated) pleiotropy, but it suffers from loss of power. We propose a two-component mixture of regressions to combine and thus take advantage of both IVW and Egger regression; it is often both more efficient (i.e. higher powered) and more robust to pleiotropy (i.e. controlling type I error) than either IVW or Egger regression alone by accounting for both valid and invalid IVs respectively. We propose a model averaging approach and a novel data perturbation scheme to account for uncertainties in model/IV selection, leading to more robust statistical inference for finite samples. Through extensive simulations and applications to the GWAS summary data of 48 risk factor-disease pairs and 63 genetically uncorrelated trait pairs, we showcase that our proposed methods could often control type I error better while achieving much higher power than IVW and Egger regression (and sometimes than several other new/popular MR methods). We expect that our proposed methods will be a useful addition to the toolbox of Mendelian randomization for causal inference.

Optimization of a Low Volume Extraction Method to Determine Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Aerosol Samples

This work describes the optimization of an extraction method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their nitro- and oxy-PAH derivatives in atmospheric particulate matter (PM) samples, and demonstrates that this method is also effective for the determination of levoglucosan. The optimization of the extraction solvents was performed using a three-component mixture design with the solvents dichloromethane, methanol, and acetonitrile. The number of extractions, volume of solvent, and duration of extraction in an ultrasonic bath were optimized using a full factorial design followed by a central composite design. The analyses were performed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The optimized conditions of the method were three extractions using 4.0 ml of acetonitrile, with ultrasonication for 34 min. The proposed method presented good linearity (r > 0.990) and acceptable precision for low (100 ng ml−1, RSD: 1–16%), medium (300 ng ml−1, RSD: 1–19%), and high (500 ng ml−1, RSD: 2–16%) concentrations of PAHs. The limits of quantification for different PAHs ranged from 10 to 50 ng ml−1, which were suitable for atmospheric PM. Assessment of the method using sample matrix spiking/recovery assays, as well as use of a reference method, showed good recoveries for levoglucosan and for most of the PAHs and their derivatives, except for the most volatile compounds, which were lost during the evaporation of the solvent. The results for PM samples extracted by the optimized method and the reference method were in good agreement. The proposed method required 97% less solvent than the reference method, shortened the analysis time by 85%, and proved to be accurate and precise for the determination of at least 27 PAHs and their derivatives present in PM samples collected with a low-volume sampler.

PROSPECTS OF PREPARATION OF DISHES WITH PREVENTIVE PROPERTIES BY INTRODUCTION OF NON-TRADITIONAL RAW MATERIALS

The use of non-traditional and including wild raw materials for introduction into restaurant dishes is relevant because it improves the biological effect of dishes on the human body, improves taste, aroma and other properties. Nowadays the effect of biologically active substances of plant origin for the creation of dishes remains insufficiently studied. The purpose of this work is to search for non-traditional raw materials with a significant content of biologically active substances among the plants of the Carpathian region and to develop the technology of their introduction into restaurant dishes. The paper presents an analysis of the introduction of non-traditional raw materials into dishes and proposes innovative approaches to improve the technology of creating preventive dishes with the addition of wild raw materials of the Carpathian region. The properties of non-traditional raw materials of local origin are considered and the priority directions of its use in the development of dishes with health-improving properties for restaurants are proposed. Additional substantiation of introduction of non-traditional raw materials into restaurant dishes is carried out; changes in technology of production of restaurant dishes with use of the modern restaurant equipment are offered. The article proposes the use of technology for making a multi-component mixture of wild raw materials in the form of puree for introduction into restaurant dishes. The introduction of plant mixtures to prevent disease, create consumer immunity, draw attention to the updated range of dishes, the acquisition of new original flavors of dishes is an urgent task for modern restaurateurs. That is why an example of developing typical dishes from the collection of recipes for updating their range with health and preventive effect is shown.