Publicatii USAMV Cluj-Napoca (University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine / Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară din Cluj-Napoca)
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Evaluating Plant Biodiversity in Natural and Semi‑Natural Areas with the Help of Aerial Drones
Get PDFIn the era of abundant information, wisdom has become a scarce resource. Exploration and measurement of biodiversity yield copious amounts of information fragmented into numerous categories and types, following the pattern of life itself. We aim to review the potential of charting the plant diversity of woodlands, grasslands, marshlands, and other natural and semi-natural areas relevant to conservation by using low-altitude, low-cost, Earth Observation technology, such as small aerial drones, that captures images which can be mapped and analyzed. As this technology is new and quickly evolving, we limited the search to published research between 2012-2019. We have found applications for forestry, agro-forestry, horticulture, grasslands, ecological restoration, and other areas. In terms of technological progress, new hardware components and cameras and new software tools leverage drones’ power to deliver a greater quantity and quality of information. There are promising efforts to develop low-cost drone technology that facilitate better biodiversity conservation results. For analysis, software tools are also improving to take advantage of increases in computing power and artificial intelligence programming. Our findings serve as an introduction to low-cost teledetection for biodiversity conservation, with drones providing an advantage in monitoring habitats by increasing information quantity, accuracy, and ease of analysis with the aid of automation
Application of the Biolog® Identification System for Aflatoxin-Producing Fungi Associated with Maize (Zea mays L.) Contamination in Romania
Get PDFCereals are very susceptible to fungal attacks. Fungi have a unique biochemical pathway to assimilate a vast array of available substrates and produce toxic secondary metabolites, such as mycotoxins, which represent a clear public health concern. In this context, a maize survey was conducted in order to assess the diversity of mycotoxin-producing fungi. Low levels of total aflatoxins, acceptable by the European Union, were detected in maize samples. A semi-automated Biolog® Microbial Identification System was used for the identification of the fungal strains. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for the quantification of total aflatoxins. The results indicated that Fusarium udum and Rhizopus oryzae were the prevalent fungi for the assessed maize samples, while both control and treated samples showed low levels of total aflatoxins, which did not exceed 1.5 μg kg-1. The registered total aflatoxin concentrations were consistent with the European regulations
EVALUATION OF PLANT BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS WITH POTENTIAL BENEFICIAL EFFECTS IN SKIN CONDITIONS
Get PDFDermatitis caused by stress has come to play an important place in the incidence of pathologies that increasingly affect a large part of the population. Plants and their role in ameliorating, treating and stopping skin conditions are one of real significance. Food supplements are products specifically designed to improve and reduce certain human health problems. They are easily accessible, the side effects are diminished, they have high tolerance and efficacy, their cost is low and they are also a promising alternative to synthetic drugs. So, plants such as Aloe Vera, Nettle, Chamomile and Pomegranate extract are evaluated, with a high content of Resveratrol, which through the bioactive compounds in its composition have therapeutic effects on skin diseases
Principal Components and Classification Analysis of Manganese Content in Spring of Perennial Grassland Forage from Microecosystems of Banat Hills
Get PDFThe purpose of this research was to monitor the manganese (Mn) content of forage from perennial grassland microecosystems situated in the west part of Romania. Mineral and organic fertilization, since 2003, influenced the microecosystems conditions. It was used fermented sheep manure as organic fertilizer. Calamagrostis epigejos, Festuca rupicola and Trifolium repens represented mainly the Poaceae and Fabaceae families of grassland floristic matrix. It was determined the spring Mn content in the middle and at the end of May by ContrAA300 High-Resolution Continuum Source spectrometer of Analytik Jena. It was selected a number of 17 variables to compute the PC&CA model. The first three components described around 75% of total variance. The correlation coefficients for spring Mn contents of forage and mineral fertilization data were high, in 0.6 – 0.9 range. The correlation coefficients between fermented sheep manure data and spring Mn contents of forage were negatively
The Effect of CAP Policy Incentives for the Environmental and Economic Performance of Cereal Farms in South-Central Bulgaria
Get PDFThis paper aims to assess the effects of three mechanisms of the Common Agricultural Policy incentivizing environmentally friendly farming practices, on a model cereal farm’s environmental and economic performance. Based on linear goal programming method and input data on the farm’s size, production system, crop yield and gross margin per crop, the model optimizes the farm’s production structure. The results indicate that the availability of support is essential for the economic results of cereal farms in South-Central Bulgaria. Generally, higher gross margin corresponds to higher greenhouse gas emissions and vice versa. Nevertheless, the addition of policy support decreases the degree of this dependency by improving the profitability of some less GHG-intensive crops. This allows farmers to consider more environmentally-friendly crops and production practices without having to cut profits. An optimal balance between farms’ environmental and economic performance is crucial in order for agriculture to continue to support vital ecosystem services
THE IMPORTANCE OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE COMPOUNDS OF HOP (HUMULUS LUPULUS) IN PHARMACEUTICAL USE INCREASE IMPACT OF HOP INDUSTRY IN THE PERFORMANCES OF US ECONOMY
Get PDFThis article is focusing on numerous health-promoting effects of hop raging from antioxidative, sedative, and anti-inflammatory potentials, over anticarcinogenic features to estrogenic activity. Because of the greatly differences in the structure and properties of the hop natural compounds, there have been developed a wide range of methods for their isolation and chemical analysis, as well as for determining their antioxidative, antimicrobial and antigenotoxic potentials. Even if hop remain the principal ingredient for providing the taste, stability and antimicrobial protection of beer, researchers found applications in the pharmaceutical and other food industries as well, therefore, hop should be more exploited for healing and prevention of several diseases, as the population is more demanding for natural cures with less side effects.The increase of pharmaceutical demands over hop production is impacting US hop industry. As is well known, hop industry is playing an important role in the US economy. We analyze the production of hop in US during the period 1947-2018
Assessment of the Distribution and Characteristics of the Oldest Forest Stand from the Romanian’s Western Plain
Get PDFThe present study analysed the stand of the main forest formations from West Plain based on their composition, age classes, diameters, heights, and the spatial distribution. The stands’ analysis did not limit to the study of the distribution of forest species, but also covers aspects regarding the flora, climate and soil. In short, the study presents both the forest station as well as the forest type. The analysed stands belong to the period 1995-2008, from 121608 ha located in the West Plain. The stands are managed by 13 Forests Districts and contain 151 stand elements older than 120 years
THE PHYTOCANNABINOIDES FROM CANNABIS SATIVA L. AN OVERVIEW
Get PDFCannabis sativa is among the first cultivated plants for producing fibres from the stalks and consumption of the seeds. Later, the medicinal properties were discovered. The oldest written record of using cannabis for the medicinal and recreational purposes is from China. Over the time many experimental researches were carried out that emphasize the importance of cannabinoids for human health. The present paper focused to present an overview of the main cannabinoids synthetized in cannabis plant and their medicinal and therapeutic effects. Cannabis has a complex chemical composition including besides cannabinoids (over 100), also terpenoids, sugars, alkaloids, quinones and stilbenoids. Of major importance are two compounds tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Over the time different researches pointed out the beneficial effect of cannabinoids on a wide range of diseases such as epilepsy, neurological diseases, mental conditions like anxiety and depression, chronic pains and certain forms of cancer. In addition to the important advantages it must be also paid attention to the psychoactive action of the certain cannabinoids that may produce cognitive disturbances, attention disorders, sever panic, can affect the short-term memory, and slow the reaction time. This deficits induced usually by THC can be moderate by using CBD which reduce the psychoactive effect. Considering the similar profile of cannabinoids to other medication, care must be taken to interaction with other drugs and medical conditions
GELLED CONFECTIONERY PRODUCT SUPPLEMENTED WITH GUARANA (PAULLINIA CUPANA KUNTH) POWDER. DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION
Get PDFThe main components of Paullinia cupana Kunth which are relevant for food and pharmaceutical industry are procyanidin, caffeic acid and its derivatives. Hence, the enrichment the most consumed foods matrix with phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity revealed by natural plants extract, is a clear and precise way to provide bioactive compounds to consumers. Admitting the fact that food can also be a vehicle that transports substances with a bioactive role in the human body, confectionery products, more precisely a gelled confectionery product, fit perfectly, due to consumption at all ages. This work aims to develop and characterize new functional herbal jelly incorporated with natural ingredients containing guarana powder antioxidants. This preliminary study shows a new functional herbal jelly, fortified with natural ingredients that contain antioxidants from guarana powder
Wild Herbivore Forage Preferences in Semi-Natural Mountain Hay-Meadows
Get PDFIn the context of increasing grassland abandonment we observed wild herbivore impact on the vegetation in order to understand their influence. To quantify semi-natural grassland usage by wild herbivores, we determined grazing intake in semi-natural hay-meadows surrounded by forest vegetation. Grazing exclusion cages were placed at three locations in the Valea Mare village area situated in Bistriţa-Năsăud County, Romania, from 1 April 2014 – 5 October 2014. Sampling took place at two times during this period, first shortly before the hay meadows were mowed and second at the end of the vegetation growing season. Herbage air dry matter yield was measured using two types of observation plots (cage protected plots and unprotected plots). Plant composition on the studied hay-meadows was analyzed using PC-ORD (in order to explain the preference of herbivores for each location. Although herbage production did not vary significantly between locations, the herbage intake of total dry matter production did vary between locations. Wild animals grazed through the entire growing season and based upon the floristic composition analyses we explained differences in herbage intake based on plant species preference. The management of these meadows maintains an offer of good quality forage throughout summer, and the forest surrounding grasslands provides cover when needed. In order to inhibit woody vegetation and to conserve species-rich open landscape further observation need to be made about the optimal deer species densities