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This paper focuses on pragmatic competence development in second or foreign language learners. In particular, it attempts to fill the significant research gap in measuring change in pragmatic competence and capturing pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic development over time. The paper proposes an innovative approach by applying a logistic model with multinomial distribution for measuring change in InterLanguage Pragmatics Research (ILP). Applied in the field of pragmatics, this statistical tool offers a comprehensive and flexible approach to modelling relations between independent and dependent variables in ILP research. The model is tested in a longitudinal study of Polish undergraduate students learning English, and specifically in the way they formulate requests by means of requestive directness strategies. The paper concludes that, regardless of time elapsing, the factors P (power distance) and D (social distance) have a highly significant influence on the use of requestive directness strategies by Poles learning EFL. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that the pragmatic output of Poles learning EFL is dependent on one more independent variable: the estimation of future social distance (F). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological diversity within a mixture field allows for better use of habitat and agro-technical conditions by the mixtures, which can be seen by higher and more stable yields than varieties sown separately. Our studies were conducted in the growing seasons 2011/2012-2014/2015 as field experiments with four winter barley varieties (Bombaj, Gil, Gregor, Bażant) and three, two- and three-component mixtures (Bombaj/Gil, Bombaj/Gregor, Gil/Gregor/Bażant). Seven different chemical treatments with fungicides were applied. The aim of this study was to compare the different varieties of winter barley with their mixtures for resistance to powdery mildew infection. To achieve this aim the logistic model for the analysis of data was used. Of the varieties under consideration, the best and the most resistant variety was Gregor, while the weakest and the most susceptible to diseases (powdery mildew) was Gil. This variety was also significantly weaker than any of the other mixtures taken into account. Moreover, it was so weak that when it was included in mixtures with other varieties, it weakened these mixtures as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays the role of organic amendments is increasing as a valuable source of nutrients. Organic fertilisation improves general soil fertility but concomitantly slow nutrient release and the risk of low efficiency of nutrient utilisation by crops is underlined. Thus the study investigates the influence of soil amendment with mineral, organic and mineral–organic fertilisation on macronutrient uptake by plants: camelina (Camelina sativa L.), white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivated on light soils. A three-year pot experiment was conducted in PVC pots. The individual fertilisers were applied at 70 and 170 kg N ha−1. The study clearly demonstrated that independently of the fertilisation type, their doses equivalent to 170 kg N ha−1 caused significantly higher uptake of all analysed nutrients by plants in comparison to those grown in the soil enriched with fertilisers with lower doses of nitrogen. The performed statistical analysis (a multi-factorial analysis of variance and the Principal Component Analysis) confirmed genetic variance in macronutrient accumulation by plants cultivated in crop rotation, whereas on average white mustard absorbed the highest amounts of nutrients except for Mg. In addition, the application of the PCA analysis facilitated the determination of the interrelationships between nutrients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many human activities lead to soil contamination by heavy metals and polluted areas must undergo the remediation process. Among various techniques, immobilisation with organic amendments is gaining popularity, as it reduces the bioavailability of heavy metal. The main aim of this study has been to evaluate the applicability of compost as stabilisation material to reduce metal bioavailability. Another goal has been to determine practical applicability of developed factors as a reliable and helpful indicator of metal-soil-plant interactions. The transfer of metals in environment was described by the bioconcentration factors (BCFT, BCFA) and the contamination level coefficient (CCL). Bioconcentration factors were calculated on the basis of total and bioavailable amounts of heavy metals. The investigations were carried out under greenhouse conditions with two soils (light and medium) with and without biowaste compost amendment and two test plants (winter barley and white mustard) at a simulated contamination with Cu (doses of 25 and 50 mg kg-1) and Zn (doses of 100 and 200 mg kg-1). It was demonstrated that the proposed BCFT, BCFA and CCL are reliable and helpful indicators of phytotoxicity. Regardless of the experimental factors, BCFT ranged from 0.1 to 1.5, BCFA from 0.5 to 8.8 and CCL from 1.0 to 4.0. Additionally, the presented threshold of toxicity, determined on the basis of the above indicators, facilitates the interpretation of metal-soil-plant interactions. The results proved that compost is a valuable organic amendment, which can significantly reduce metal bioavailability. Moreover, the proposed bioconcentration factor (BCFT, BCFA) and the contamination level coefficient (CCL) seem to be useful tools to assess soil contamination in relation to environment phytotoxicity. The two-sided F-Snedecor test and Student's t-test were applied as statistical tools for calculation and interpretation of the results. The visualisation of data was achieved via violin plots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The application of organic fertilisers to replenish soil organic matter and improve soil fertility and productivity has become common agricultural practice. Aim of the study: This research deals with the effects of soil amendment with sewage sludge compost (SSC) on organic carbon, nitrogen total, nitrogen mineral and available P, K, S and Mg mineralisation in two contrasting soils. The various statistical tools used in this study have allowed us to present another conceptualisation of nutrient increments or losses as an effect of SSC applied. In order to distinguish groups of nutrients which are similar, a cluster analysis was used. A two-way analysis of variance was applied to compare the increments of the content of nutrients in the soils. Material and Methods: A 3-year pot experiment was conducted, employing a randomised, factorial design with two soils (light and medium) and one amendment treatment as a compost at a rate equivalent to 6 Mg ha−1. The following parameters of chemical soil properties were determined: contents of organic carbon (Corg), total nitrogen (Ntot), amounts of available P, K, Mg, S and mineral nitrogen (Nmin). Results: The SSC showed a similar influence on the fertility of both soils. It was affirmed that application of SSC results in a statistically significant increase in the contents of soil organic carbon. The amounts of total and mineral N, as well as available P and S were subjected to different patterns of quantity changes expressed by both increase and loss. Moreover, a statistically significant loss of available K amounts was observed in both soils. Conclusions: The findings of the study indicated that mature SSC becomes a long lasting fertiliser, slowly subjected to decomposition processes. Therefore, it may influence small increases in nutrient amounts in soils, in relation to the contents obtained for the control soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In breeding experiments conducted prior to tests connected with the registration of new breeding lines of crops, pre-preliminary and preliminary trials are carried out. In this study a comparison was made among some models of analysis of variance, in relation to the selection of new breeding lines of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The aim is to determine whether the choice of model of analysis of variance may influence the choice of tested breeding lines. The trait considered was the yield in two years of trials. A more comprehensive analysis of variance model was found to be superior. It was also found that the results of analyses performed using average measurements for lines significantly differ from those obtained on the basis of all measurements. It was concluded that the type of ANOVA model used may have an impact on inferences about breeding lines. Moreover, a lack of stability in the yields of tested lines was revealed, implying the necessity of several years of trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the years 2002–2005, special trials concerning the level of infection of pea varieties by downy mildew were performed in Poland. In these trials, the large number of varieties were tested in many locations (environments), separately on reach and light soils. Obtained trial data are unique because of the large scale of the performed investigations and also for the fact that all the observations were made by the same observer. In a paper, two methods of statistical analysis of such (ordered) data are compared. Several models have been proposed for the statistical interpretation of ordinal data. One of the most popular is the cumulative-type fixed logistic model. In the present work, using two field pea data sets, we considered whether adding random effects to the simple logistic model can improve inference. It was investigated whether there is any difference between the decisions concerning varieties resulting from the simple logistic model and the proposed mixed logistic model. The two models were also compared in terms of goodness of fit. According to two applied goodness-of-fit statistics, the mixed model performed better in all the cases. Statistical analysis (what is important for practical agriculture) enabled identification of the most resistant and the most susceptible variety from the analyzed set of cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]