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Detailed mast cell classification is reported in humans and rats, however such classification is not available in porcine common hepatic duct. It is interesting to find out whether mast cells in common hepatic duct are able to produce ghrelin, which is involved in a series of biological functions includ-ing regulation of food intake, body weight, gastrointestinal motility, hormone secretion, glucose re-lease, cardiovascular functions, enzyme release, cell proliferation and reproduction in pigs. Because the determination of the cellular mechanisms responsible for normal and pathological biliary tract motility is difficult in humans, swine appears to be one of the most suitable animal model for physio-logical and morphological studies related to ghrelin peptide. The lack of information about the distri-bution of mast cells in the wall of common hepatic duct (Ductus hepaticus communis) in domestic swine motivated us to undertake this study in order to gain a better understanding of ghrelin peptide. The aim of this study was to define the localisation and number of tryptase-, ghrelin- and toluidine blue positive mast cells in the layers of porcine common hepatic duct. In this respect, the immunohis-tochemical staining for detection of tryptase and ghrelin expression was performed. The toluidine blue staining allowed the visualisation of metachromatic mast cells. The comparative study showed that tryptase positive cells were more numerous than metachromatic cells in all layers of the studied organ but the density of ghrelin positive cells was the highest. Tryptase immunohistochemistry al-lowed distinguishing ghrelin expressing mast cells from all ghrelin positive cells. The highest number of ghrelin positive cells indicated that not only mast cells but other cells also express ghrelin. The results allowed concluding that studied mast cell types had different density in the three main layers of common hepatic duct. The highest density of mast cells in the muscular layer and the possibility of mast cells to express ghrelin define its role in regulation of common hepatic duct motility and glandular secretion.

Контраст-индуцираната енцефалопатия (КИЕ) е рядко наблюдавано усложнение на контраст-медиираните ендоваскуларни терапевтични и диагностични процедури, протичащо с възвратими, разнородни и неспецифични неврологични симптоми. По литературни данни честотата на КИЕ варира между 0,3% и 2%, а рискът за възникване зависи от типа на процедурата, придружаващите заболявания на пациента и вида на използваната контрастна материя. Към момента не е дефинирана точната доза на контраста, която закономерно да води до неврологичните усложнения, но повечето проучвания приемат 200 мл. като максимално безопасна доза за избягване на невротоксичност. Клинично КИЕ се представя с хетерогенни неврологични симп томи, остро началото обикновено и пълно възстановяване до 72 ч. след началото на симптомите. Диагнозата на КИЕ обаче често е предизвикателство, а провеждането на компютърна томография на главен мозък (КТ на ГМ) не винаги е достатъчно информативно, тъй като при част от пациентите не се откриват абнормности при компютър-томографско изследване. Представяме клиничен случай на 81-годишна полиморбидна пациентка с придружаваща дългогодишна артериална хипертония и бъбречно увреждане, при която 12 часа след проведена коро нарография, клинично се наблюдава пароксизмално състояние, а проведеният КТ е с данни за екстравазация на контрастна материя.

Компютър-томографската пепфузия (КТП) на мозъчния паренхим е достъпен и информативен невроизобразяващ метод, който позволява да се разшири обхвата на пациенти – индицирани за провеждане на интравенозна тромболиза (ИВТ) при остър исхемичен инсулт. Бързата и прецизна идентификация с КТП на пенумбрата е от ключово значение за по-нататъшното терапевтично поведение. Представяме три клинични случая на пациенти с остър исхемичен инсулт, представящи различни аспекти от нашата рутинна практика, при които би било невъзможно провеждането на успешна тромболитична терапия без перфузионно изследване на мозъчния паренхим.

Транскраниалната магнитна стимулация (TМС) е утвърден неврофизиологичен инструмент за изследване целостта на кортикомускулния път при широк спектър от заболявания, свързани с двигателна дисфункция. Това включва, но не се ограничава само до пациенти с множествена склероза, болест на двигателния неврон, Болест на Паркинсон, инсулт и увреди на краниалните нерви. В последните 20 г. нарастна научният интерес и броят на приложимите в клиничната диагностика електрофизиологични изследвания, свързани с доказани абнормности в кортикалните функции при индивиди, засегнати от деменция. ТМС показа висока специфичност при повечето деменции, свързани с паркинсонoви симптоми. Такава специфичност се намира и в някои проучвания с ТМС на пациенти с леко когнитивно нарушение (ЛКН) – за диференциране на неговите разновидности. В литературата вече има данни за разграничаване с ТМС на лицата с ЛКН, предхождaщо Болестта на Алцхаймер (БА). Други показатели, определящи ГАМК-ергичната и глутаматергична трансмисия намират абнормности при пациенти с подлежаща патология от типа на фронтотемпоралната деменция (ФТД). Доказано повишено е нивото на кортикалната възбудимост при БА и при съдовата деменция (СД). Късолатентната аферентна инхибиция (SAI), като функционален показател за състоянието на централните холинергични пътища е нормална при СД и при ФТД, но е потисната при БА. Не се наблюдава промяна в кортикалната възбудимост при ФТД, при Паркинсонова деменция и при Деменция с телца на Леви. При повечето деменции, свързани с паркинсонoви симптоми два показателя на ТМС за ГАМК-ергично кортикално инхибиране са абнормни. Това са късоинтервалното интракортикално инхибиране и контралатералният период на мълчание. Ипсилатералният период на мълчание (показател за целостта на corpus callosum) e абнормен при БА. Сравнително евтините, неинвазивни и лесно приложими техники на ТМС, позволяват използването им като допълнителен маркер за диагнозата ЛКН. Те могат да станат особено актуални за когнитивната наука с възможностите, които предлагат за скрининг на застрашени от деменция рискови групи.

Цел: Целта на изследването е да се установи влиянието на някои съдови рискови фактори (СРФ) върху когнитивното функциониране при клинично здрави индивиди в средна възраст и да се оцени разликата в резултатите от когнитивни тестове (CANTAB) в зависимост от наличието/отсъствието на асимптомни находки за мозъчносъдова болест (МСБ) от доплерова сонография на мозъчни съдове (ДСГ) и магнитнорезонансна томография на мозъка (МРТ). Контингент и мeтоди: В проучването са включени по избрани критерии 98 здрави възрастни между 45 и 55 год. с нормално ежедневно функциониране. След неврологичен преглед, кръвни изследвания, ДСГ и МРТ, участниците бяха тествани с компютърната невропсихологична батерия CANTAB. От нея са използвани субтестовете SWM, SOC и IED. С цел установяване на асоциации между СРФ и показателите от CANTAB се приложи множествен линеен регресионен анализ. Резултати: Ние установихме: 1) значимо негативно влияние на наличните СРФ върху няколко показателя, оценяващи представянето в субтестовете SOC и SWM, както и върху общия резултат от CANTAB; 2) участниците без абнормни находки от ДСГ показват по-добър резултат от тези с находки от ДСГ по отношение на един показател от субтест SOС; тези без асимптомни мозъчни инфаркти (АМИ) се справят по-добре по други три показателя от субтестове SOC и SWM от групата изследвани с МРТ. заключение: При индивиди на средна възраст с нормално ежедневно функциониране, настоящото проучване установи влошена успеваемост при изследване с CANTAB в зависимост от наличието на СРФ. Следователно при изследваните съществува риск от възникване на ранни когнитивни нарушения (КН), които предполагат по-късно развитие на по-тежки демент ни състояния. Отчетените и анализирани показатели от субтестовете SOC и SWM на CANTAB „посочват“ наличие на асимптомни находки за МСБ от изследване с ДСГ и МРТ на главен мозък. Тяхната предиктивна способност подчертава значимостта на невропсихологичните методи за скрининг на ранното когнитивно увреждане в средна възраст и необходимоста от контролирана профилактика на СРФ.

To decipher the mediator role of the grape Abscisic acid, Stress, Ripening (ASR) protein, VvMSA, in the pathways of glucose signaling through the regulation of its target, the promoter of hexose transporter VvHT1, we overexpressed and repressed VvMSA in embryogenic and non-embryogenic grapevine cells. The embryogenic cells with organized cell proliferation were chosen as an appropriate model for high sensitivity to the glucose signal, due to their very low intracellular glucose content and low glycolysis flux. In contrast, the non-embryogenic cells displaying anarchic cell proliferation, supported by high glycolysis flux and a partial switch to fermentation, appeared particularly sensitive to inhibitors of glucose metabolism. By using different glucose analogs to discriminate between distinct pathways of glucose signal transduction, we revealed VvMSA positioning as a transcriptional regulator of the glucose transporter gene VvHT1 in glycolysis-dependent glucose signaling. The effects of both the overexpression and repression of VvMSA on glucose transport and metabolism via glycolysis were analyzed, and the results demonstrated its role as a mediator in the interplay of glucose metabolism, transport and signaling. The overexpression of VvMSA in the Arabidopsis mutant abi8 provided evidence for its partial functional complementation by improving glucose absorption activity.

Biochar is widely used as a soil amendment to improve soil properties and as a tool to absorb net carbon from the atmosphere. In this study we determined the signatures of organic molecular markers in soil following the incorporation of 5 and 10 t/ha biochar in a Fluvisol, cultivated with maize at the experimental field of the ISSAPP “N. Poushkarov” institute in Bulgaria. The n-alkane distribution in the biochar treated soils was uni- or bimodal maximizing at n-C17 alkane, n-C18 or C18 branched alkanes, i.e. there was an imprint of biomass burning, e.g. from the biochar due to predominance of short chain (< C20) homologues and increased microbial activity (presence of branched alkanes). This is also confirmed by the values for the average chain length (ACL) of n-alkanes which indicated prevalence of homologues of shorter chain (20–21 C atoms) in the variants of longer biochar residence time. There was evidence of trans-13-docosenamide, which originated from biochar. Fatty acids and fatty alcohols distributions also implicate microbial contribution to soil organic matter (SOM), supporting the suggestion that biochar addition can improve soil microbiological status.

A three-year field experiment with maize was carried out on fluvisol. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of biochar on maize yield at different levels of water stress and its effect on the amount of soil microorganisms. The following variants were studied: control with no biochar addition, and variants with biochar. Biochar was applied in 2 t/ha in 2016, produced by pyrolysis of rice straw, then in 3 t/ha in 2017 and 10 t/ha in 2018, both obtained by pyrolysis of oak bark. These variants were divided into three more depending on the irrigation regime: i.e. non-irrigated, irrigation at dT>0 °C, and irrigation at dT

A field study with spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was conducted on the area of long-term balance experiment in Tsalapitsa village near Plovdiv (Bulgaria), on alluvial-meadow soil. Mineral fertilization was not applied to this crop in order to equalize the area regarding nutrient content. The crop grown before barley was maize with 4 variants of fertilization and one control variant: N0P0, N100Р50, N150Р100, N200Р150, and N250P200. The present study aimed to evaluate the productivity, content and uptake of macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) with the biomass of barley, grown as aftereffect. Due to the fertilization of the previous crop, different residual amounts of nutrients in soil lead to significant variability in barley yields. The highest grain yield was obtained in variant N250P200 - 3978.8 kg/ha, approximately four times higher than the yield in the control. Nitrogen content in the grain of barley is also influenced by the variants, being the lowest in the control - 1.25%, and the highest in variants N250P200 and N200P150 - 2.13% and 2.09%, respectively. The variability of P, K, Ca and Mg contents by variants is lower. With the total biomass of barley, depending on the variants of the experiment, between 23.2 - 132.7 kg N/ha; 26.6 - 146.3 kg K/ha and 9.3 - 36.5 kg P/ha were exported from the field. A good regression relationship was found between barley grain yield and nitrogen export with the total biomass (R2 = 0.859, P≤0.001).

Introduction: The testis is an immune privileged organ that provides a specific environment for germ cell development. Various factors responsible for inflammatory changes can lead to deterioration of the immune tolerant model found in the testis. As a result, the thickness of the proper membrane of seminiferous tubules changes and the process of spermatogenesis is disturbed. Aim: The purpose of the present study was to find the connection between the changes in the level of testis-specific isoform of angiotensin-converting enzyme (tACE) expression and the morphological changes of the seminiferous tubule wall of the testis in patients with infertility.Materials and methods: The study included 24 infertile men who underwent a testicular biopsy. Routine histological techniques, immunohistochemical reactions for tACE, α-smooth muscle actin, and morphometric analysis were performed to examine the biopsy preparations.Results: By using testicular biopsy to diagnose patients with infertility, a stage-specific pattern of the processes associated with thickened proper membrane of seminiferous tubules was established and a decreased or absent spermatogenic activity was observed.Conclusions: A significant increase in the proper membrane thickness of the seminiferous tubules in the testis was found in patients with infertility. This finding shows that the processes take place gradually over time, correlating with the degree of pathology, and that changes do not depend on the factors causing them. We also found that the degree of proper membrane thickening correlated with disturbances of spermatogenesis, using tACE expression as a marker for spermatogenic epithelium differentiation.

In 2020 L. Atanassova has been introduced the new operation Δ over intuitionistic fuzzy sets and over intuitionistic fuzzy pairs. Some of its properties have been studied in 2021 from L. Atanassova and P. Dworniczak. In 2021 L. Atanassova and P. Dworniczak generated an intuitionistic fuzzy implication by the operation Δ, and it has been introduced and some of its basic properties have been described. Here, eight modal type of intuitionistic fuzzy implications are generated by the first one and some of their properties are discussed.

This study presents five graves discovered east of the Palace Centre in Pliska (fig. 1). They represent individual burials located in the inter-dwelling area (fig. 2). The graves’ contexts were studied interdisciplinarily. The archaeological study provided data on the stratigraphy of the graves and detailed documentation of the burial pits and skeletal remains. The anthropological study provided information about the sex, age and height of the buried individuals, also their anatomical and anthropological features, disease (pathologies), traumas and medical manipulations that left traces on the bone remains. Stratigraphically, the graves date to the last phase of habitation of the medieval city (between the 30s/40s of the 11th c. and the 60s of the 11th c.). The newly studied graves can be placed in the context of the other intramural graves in the Inner City of Pliska, which makes it possible to clarify and summarize a wide range of issues related to the stratigraphy and chronology of the intramural graves and their connection with the demographic and ethnic cultural changes in the medieval city.

The study aims to assess the expression of serum miRNA-142_3p and miRNA-142_5p in IBD patients and its correlation with disease extent, activity and severity. It was performed on 35 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 35 patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and 30 healthy controls. Serum miRNA142 expression was assessed using reverse transcriptase quantitative real time PCR (RT-qPCR), and then correlated with that of a group of 30 healthy subjects. It was also correlated with disease extent and disease activity and severity indices (CDAI, Montreal classification, Partial Mayo score). The patients’ group showed mean serum miR-142_3p expression of 2.69±1.96 for CD, 1.66±0.90 for UC and 1.25±0.91 for the control group and serum miR-142_5p expression of 2.42±2.08 for CD, 1.61±1.12 for UC and 1.21±0.78 for the control group with a significant difference between groups. Conclusion: The expression of miR-142_3p and miR-142_5p was significantly higher in patients with CD compared to patients with UC and the control group.

Agricultural sustainability encompasses environmental, social, and economic aspects, all of which are continually shifting due changing environmental pressures and societal expectations. A range of strategies are required to address these challenges, and these include the use of innovation and adoption of the best available practices and technologies. Advances in biotechnologies, including genome editing, and their application in plant breeding and research are expected to provide a range of benefits that contribute to all aspects of agricultural sustainability. However, adoption of these technologies needs to be supported by proportionate, coherent, forward-looking, and adaptable policies and regulatory approaches. In this Perspective, we reflect on the regulatory challenges associated with commercialising a transgenic crop, and developments thus far in providing regulatory clarity for genome edited crops. We aim to demonstrate that much remains to be done to shift towards a more proportionate and enabling approach before the potential benefits of genome edited crops can be realised. The implications of precautionary and disproportionate regulation are also discussed.

The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019).

Abstract. The purpose of the study was to test near infrared soil spectra as an extra method for three soil types (Fluvisols, Vertisols and Solonchaks) discrimination from different regions of South Bulgaria. The diffuse reflectance spectra of 177 soil samples (from the 0-20cm layers): 50 samples of Fluvisols soil type, 78 samples of Vertisols soil type and 48 samples of Solonchaks soil type were obtained using a Spectrum NIRQuest (OceanOptics, Inc.) working within the range from 900 to 1700 nm. Soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) was performed to classify samples according to their taxonomic classes. The results obtained showed that the soil samples are separated accurately according to their soil type based on their spectral information. All this could be used in the future studies related to the application of the NIRS method as a qualitative or quantitative method for soil analysis and also for the purposes of precision farming.

Data on microbiology of water repellent (hydrophobic) soils in Bulgaria are scarce. This work aimed to find out relations between microbiological indicators, hydrophobicity level and other soil properties in a Spolic Technosol. Samples from 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm soil depth of a fly ash reclaimed soil covered with tuft vegetation and located near Obruchiste area were collected. Main microbiological (basal respiration - BR, microbial biomass carbon content -Cmic, amount of main microbial groups –CFU), chemical (organic carbon, available N, P and K contents) and physical (hydrophobicity level, moisture, sand and clay contents) properties were determined. It was found that the Technosol was hydrophobic in most of the monitoring points. Half of the samples were severely or extremely hydrophobic (assessed by water-drop-penetration time) and the hydrophobicity level was higher in the subsurface layer. The Spolic Techosol under tuft vegetation was characterized with low numbers of heterotrophic bacteria, actinomycetes and oligotrophic microorganisms (1-40 x 102 CFU/g) at 0-20 cm depth. As a whole, low BR rate (0.51-5.43 mg CO2/g/ 24h) and low Cmic values (2.37-18.18 mg C/100g) were established for both layers. Weak relationships of microbial parameters with organic carbon, humic acid, fulvic acid and clay contents were noticed in this soil. Significant correlations of the amount of fungi and actinomycetes with available nutrient and moisture contents were found. In general, a trend of positive relationships of fungi, actinomycetes and cellulolytic microorganisms with soil hydrophobicity was established. The relative parts of fungi and actinomycetes increased in the hydrophobic samples comparing to non-hydrophobic ones. Microbial biomass carbon tended to increase with increasing the hydrophobicity level. Data pointed on close positive relationships of microbial parameters studied with the hydrophobicity in this Technosol. Our results add new information to the monitoring study of hydrophobic Technosols from Maritsa-Iztok coal-mining region (Bulgaria).

Psychopathy is a multifaceted personality construct entailing interpersonal-affective disturbances, antisocial traits, and a tendency to lead an erratic lifestyle. Elevated levels of psychopathic traits have been linked to having an altered experience of pain, reduced responsivity to distress in others, and making poor moral choices that bring harm to others. In the context of moral decision-making, it is possible that the capacity to estimate the distress felt by others is linked to a limitation in the first-hand experience of distress, as the presence of psychopathic traits increases. We employed a model-based approach in a non-offender sample (n = 174) to investigate whether pain-related distress mediated the links between facets of psychopathy and estimates of the pain distress potentially experienced by others. Participants judged the permissibility of moral dilemmas and rated how much pain distress they would experience while making such judgements, as well as how much pain distress they believed the “victims” would feel as a result of the moral choice made by the participant. We found that ratings of own pain distress predicted beliefs about the distress others may experience, and elevated scores on the lifestyle facet of psychopathy uniquely predicted lower estimates of own pain distress. Furthermore, own pain distress mediated the relationship between the lifestyle facet and beliefs about others’ distress. Finally, exploratory zero-order correlation analyses revealed that ratings of own pain distress decreased as the scores on multiple psychopathic traits increased. Only the lifestyle facet correlated in the negative direction with beliefs about others’ distress. Taken together, our findings suggest that beliefs about how much pain distress others may experience is indeed mediated by own pain distress, and that the tendency to lead an erratic lifestyle is linked to alterations in this mechanism.

Biomass is defined as organic matter from living organisms represented in all kingdoms. It is recognized to be an excellent source of proteins, polysaccharides and lipids and, as such, embodies a tailored feedstock for new products and processes to apply in green industries. The industrial processes focused on the valorization of terrestrial biomass are well established, but marine sources still represent an untapped resource. Oceans and seas occupy over 70% of the Earth’s surface and are used intensively in worldwide economies through the fishery industry, as logistical routes, for mining ores and exploitation of fossil fuels, among others. All these activities produce waste. The other source of unused biomass derives from the beach wrack or washed-ashore organic material, especially in highly eutrophicated marine ecosystems. The development of high-added-value products from these side streams has been given priority in recent years due to the detection of a broad range of biopolymers, multiple nutrients and functional compounds that could find applications for human consumption or use in livestock/pet food, pharmaceutical and other industries. This review comprises a broad thematic approach in marine waste valorization, addressing the main achievements in marine biotechnology for advancing the circular economy, ranging from bioremediation applications for pollution treatment to energy and valorization for biomedical applications. It also includes a broad overview of the valorization of side streams in three selected case study areas: Norway, Scotland, and the Baltic Sea.

Carbon management by plants involves the activity of many sugar transporters, which play roles in sugar subcellular partitioning and reallocation at the whole organism scale. Among these transporters, the early response to dehydration six-like (ESL) monosaccharide transporters (MSTs) are still poorly characterized although they represent one of the largest sugar transporter subfamilies. In this study, we used an evolutionary genomic approach to infer the evolutionary history of this multigenic family. No ESL could be identified in the genomes of rhodophytes, chlorophytes, and the brown algae Ectocarpus siliculosus, whereas one ESL was identified in the genome of Klebsormidium nitens providing evidence for the early emergence of these transporters in Streptophytes. A phylogenetic analysis using the 519 putative ESL proteins identified in the genomes of 47 Embryophyta species and being representative of the plant kingdom has revealed that ESL protein sequences can be divided into three major groups. The first and second groups originated in the common ancestor of all spermaphytes [ζ: 340 million years ago (MYA)] and of angiosperms (ε: 170–235 MYA), respectively, and the third group originated before the divergence of rosids and asterids (γ/1R: 117 MYA). In some eudicots (Vitales, Malpighiales, Myrtales, Sapindales, Brassicales, Malvales, and Solanales), the ESL family presents remarkable expansions of gene copies associated with tandem duplications. The analysis of non-synonymous and synonymous substitutions for the dN/dS ratio of the ESL copies of the genus Arabidopsis has revealed that ESL genes are evolved under a purifying selection even though the progressive increase of dN/dS ratios in the three groups suggests subdiversification phenomena. To further explore the possible acquisition of novel functions by ESL MSTs, we identified the gene structure and promoter cis-acting elements for Arabidopsis thaliana ESL genes. The expression profiling of Arabidopsis ESL unraveled some gene copies that are almost constitutively expressed, whereas other gene copies display organ-preferential expression patterns. This study provides an evolving framework to better understand the roles of ESL transporters in plant development and response to environmental constraints.

A survey of the experimental equilibrium constants in solution for the mixed complexes of 4f ions with acidic (chelating) and O-donor organophosphorus ligands published in the period between 1954 and 2022 is presented. These data are widely used in both analytical and solvent extraction chemistry. Important data evaluation criteria involved the specification of the essential reactions, process conditions and the correctness of techniques and calculations used, as well as appropriate equilibrium analysis of experimental data. Higher-quality data have been evaluated, compiled and presented herein, providing a synoptic view of the unifying theme in this area of research, i.e., synergism.

This study highlights the decomposing role through the hydrolytic activities of fungi isolated from natural environments represented by brackish and hypersaline lakes in Romania. Novel strains belonging to the Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Emericellopsis genera were isolated and screened for the ability to produce extracellular hydrolytic enzymes, i.e., proteases, lipases, amylases, cellulases, xylanases, and pectinases. According to salt requirements, they were classified as moderate halophilic and halotolerant strains. Agar plate-based assays with Tween 80, slide cultures with organic deposits, and quantitative evaluation allowed the selection of Aspergillus sp. BSL 2-2, Penicillium sp. BSL 3-2, and Emericellopsis sp. MM2 as potentially good decomposers of organic matter not only in lakes but also on deposits covering the mural paintings. Experiments performed on painted experimental models revealed that only Penicillium sp. BSL 3-2 decomposed Paraloid B72, transparent dispersion of casein, beeswax, sunflower oil, and soot. Moreover, using microscopic, spectroscopic, and imaging methods, it was proved the efficiency of Penicillium sp. BSL 3-2 for decomposition of organic deposits artificially applied on frescoes fragments.

Drought is one of the main abiotic stresses, which affects plant growth, development, and crop yield. Plant response to drought implies carbon allocation to sink organs and sugar partitioning between different cell compartments, and thereby requires the involvement of sugar transporters (SUTs). Among them, the early response to dehydration six-like (ESL), with 19 members in Arabidopsis thaliana, form the largest subfamily of monosaccharide transporters (MSTs) still poorly characterized. A common feature of these genes is their involvement in plant response to abiotic stresses, including water deficit. In this context, we carried out morphological and physiological phenotyping of A. thaliana plants grown under well-watered (WW) and water-deprived (WD) conditions, together with the expression profiling of 17 AtESL genes in rosette leaves. The drought responsiveness of 12 ESL genes, 4 upregulated and 8 downregulated, was correlated to different water statuses of rosette leaves. The differential expression of each of the tandem duplicated AtESL genes in response to water stress is in favor of their plausible functional diversity. Furthermore, transfer DNA (T-DNA) insertional mutants for each of the four upregulated ESLs in response to water deprivation were identified and characterized under WW and WD conditions. To gain insights into global sugar exchanges between vacuole and cytosol under water deficit, the gene expression of other vacuolar SUTs and invertases (AtTMT, AtSUC, AtSWEET, and AtβFRUCT) was analyzed and discussed.

Changes in climate, land use, and land management impact the occurrence and severity of wildland fires in many parts of the world. This is particularly evident in Europe, where ongoing changes in land use have strongly modified fire patterns over the last decades. Although satellite data by the European Forest Fire Information System provide large-scale wildland fire statistics across European countries, there is still a crucial need to collect and summarize in-depth local analysis and understanding of the wildland fire condition and associated challenges across Europe. This article aims to provide a general overview of the current wildland fire patterns and challenges as perceived by national representatives, supplemented by national fire statistics (2009–2018) across Europe. For each of the 31 countries included, we present a perspective authored by scientists or practitioners from each respective country, representing a wide range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The authors were selected from members of the COST Action “Fire and the Earth System: Science & Society” funded by the European Commission with the aim to share knowledge and improve communication about wildland fire. Where relevant, a brief overview of key studies, particular wildland fire challenges a country is facing, and an overview of notable recent fire events are also presented. Key perceived challenges included (1) the lack of consistent and detailed records for wildland fire events, within and across countries, (2) an increase in wildland fires that pose a risk to properties and human life due to high population densities and sprawl into forested regions, and (3) the view that, irrespective of changes in management, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of wildland fires in the coming decades. Addressing challenge (1) will not only be valuable in advancing national and pan-European wildland fire management strategies, but also in evaluating perceptions (2) and (3) against more robust quantitative evidence.