Assessing the energy trap of industrial agriculture in North America and Europe: 82 balances from 1830 to 2012.

Unlabelled: Early energy analyses of agriculture revealed that behind higher labor and land productivity of industrial farming, there was a decrease in energy returns on energy (EROI) invested, in comparison to more traditional organic agricultural systems. Studies on recent trends show that efficiency gains in production and use of inputs have again somewhat improved energy returns. However, most of these agricultural energy studies have focused only on external inputs at the crop level, concealing the important role of internal biomass flows that livestock and forestry recirculate within agroecosystems.

Protection of newborn organism against effect of oxidative stress.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate influence of oxidative stress on newborn organism, in terms of the dynamics of malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration changes and of the activities of selected antioxidants in asphyxial newborns on the 1st and 5th day of life.

Method: In the group of 62 preterm and term asphyxial newborns, characterized by the presence of asphyxial criteria and admitted within 24 hours of life, the plasma concentration of MDA and level of total antioxidant status (TAS) were followed.

Results: Dynamic changes of MDA signalized active process of lipoperoxidation (LP) and values of TAS were decreased in comparison with the capacity of adult patients.

Filamentous soil fungi and unidentified bacteria in drinking water from wells and water mains near Bratislava.

The occurrence of filamentous fungi in 294 samples of drinking water taken from wells and taps near Bratislava was studied. Fungal contaminants were found in 192 samples (44%). 39 genera and 64 species of soil filamentous fungi were identified by routine isolation and cultivation methods.