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Here, we investigated the effects of biogas digestate application on flow pathways and soil properties in a sandy soil aiming at unraveling phosphorus accumulation and depletion processes in fertilized soils. Dye tracer experiments were conducted to visualize and distinguish between various flow pathways, while X-ray tomography was utilized to characterize the soil structure. The dye tracer experiments revealed differences between the control and the digestate-treated group of soil profiles in the top-soils although no statistical verification was possible amid a single plot per treatment. The stained soil profiles in both treatments indicate extensive areas of homogeneous and heterogeneous matrix flow. However, the digestate-treated group showed a decrease in homogeneous matrix flow and a notable presence of preferential flow with low interaction. The application of biogas digestate impacted various soil properties, including organic carbon content, water drop penetration time, and pH levels. Accordingly, the topsoil experienced an increase in soil organic carbon, water repellency, and a decrease in pH levels. The fraction of macropores also increased in the topsoil of the digestate-treated group, accompanied by an increase in tortuosity. Double lactate-extractable phosphorus (DL-P) distribution varied across the different flow pathways, with higher concentrations detected in matrix flow and a depletion observed in preferential flow regions in both treatments. These findings confirm the close relationship between the type of flow pathway and phosphorus distribution in soils. Additionally, a significant correlation was observed between pH levels and DL-P in the digestate-treated group, indicating potential implications for phosphorus availability. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the long-term application of biogas digestate is likely to improve soil properties as related to soil organic matter content, particularly in the topsoil of sandy soils. The

Similar to a normal wave, a shock wave travels as energy through matter but it causes an abrupt rise of pressure, temperature and density. In this study, the influence of shock waves on wood structure were investigated in the light of possible future industrial utilization e.g. timber impregnating treatment. The constructed autoclave is capable of creating shock waves either by an electrical pulse breakdown of a spark gap arrangement or by electromagnetic actuators. The penetration depths of the fir wood test samples were measured using light microscopy, SEM and micro-computed tomography. Our results showed that by varying the intensity of the incident shock wave, the distance between the shock wave generating device and the test sample, and/or the orientation of test sample in relation to the shockwave, the wood tissue structure had been heavily disintegrated or hardly affected at all. An improvement on impregnation could not be found., Similar to a normal wave, a shock wave travels as energy through matter but it causes an abrupt rise of pressure, temperature and density. In this study, the influence of shock waves on wood structure were investigated in the light of possible future industrial utilization e.g. timber impregnating treatment. The constructed autoclave is capable of creating shock waves either by an electrical pulse breakdown of a spark gap arrangement or by electromagnetic actuators. The penetration depths of the fir wood test samples were measured using light microscopy, SEM and micro-computed tomography. Our results showed that by varying the intensity of the incident shock wave, the distance between the shock wave generating device and the test sample, and/or the orientation of test sample in relation to the shockwave, the wood tissue structure had been heavily disintegrated or hardly affected at all. An improvement on impregnation could not be found.

Summary Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent chronic joint disease that affects a large proportion of the elderly population. Chondrogenic progenitor cells (CPCs) reside in late-stage OA cartilage tissue, producing a fibrocartilaginous extracellular matrix; these cells can be manipulated in vitro to deposit proteins of healthy articular cartilage. CPCs are under the control of SOX9 and RUNX2. In our earlier studies, we showed that a knockdown of RUNX2 enhanced the chondrogenic potential of CPCs. Here we demonstrate that CPCs carrying a knockout of RAB5C, a protein involved in endosomal trafficking, exhibited elevated expression of multiple chondrogenic markers, including the SOX trio, and increased COL2 deposition, whereas no changes in COL1 deposition were observed. We report RAB5C as an attractive target for future therapeutic approaches designed to increase the COL2 content in the diseased joint.

INTRODUCTION We describe a case in which femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) was identified as the cause of non-union of a femoral neck fracture and the subsequent treatment strategy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Retrospective review of a 35-year-old patient, without any risk factors for non-union, who sustained a femoral neck fracture. Pre-existing FAI was identified as the cause for the non-union of the femoral neck fracture, with successful treatment of the non-union according to established arthroscopic treatment of the hip. RESULTS After treatment of the FAI, the non-union healed uneventfully within 3 months. CONCLUSIONS FAI may be a less common but potential cause of delayed union or non-union in the setting of femoral neck fracture in the young.