Hierarchical modelling of variance components makes analysis of resolvable incomplete block designs more efficient.

The standard approach to variance component estimation in linear mixed models for alpha designs is the residual maximum likelihood (REML) method. One drawback of the REML method in the context of incomplete block designs is that the block variance may be estimated as zero, which can compromise the recovery of inter-block information and hence reduce the accuracy of treatment effects estimation. Due to the development of statistical and computational methods, there is an increasing interest in adopting hierarchical approaches to analysis. In order to increase the precision of the analysis of individual trials laid out as alpha designs, we here make a proposal to create an objectively informed prior distribution for variance components for replicates, blocks and plots, based on the results of previous (historical) trials. We propose different modelling approaches for the prior distributions and evaluate the effectiveness of the hierarchical approach compared to the REML method, which is classically used for analysing individual trials in two-stage approaches for multi-environment trials.

Assessment of Physicochemical Properties and Quality of the Breads Made from Organically Grown Wheat and Legumes.

This study aimed to explore the feasibility of substituting wheat flour with varying levels (10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%) of flour derived from field bean, chickpea, lentil, and pea seeds. The investigation focused on assessing the physical properties of wheat dough and the physicochemical characteristics of bread samples. The addition of legume seed flours significantly influenced the dough's development time, particularly with chickpea flour causing a notable increase in this parameter. While dough stability was generally shorter for mixtures containing wheat flour and legume seed flour, chickpea flour was an exception, significantly prolonging dough stability time. Furthermore, the inclusion of legume flours resulted in increased protein, ash, fiber, fat, and phenolic contents in the enriched bread, while the carbohydrate content decreased. Additionally, the crumb exhibited increased redness and yellowness and decreased lightness due to the enrichment of the bread. Notably, the antioxidant activity of bread containing legume flour also increased, with the most significant increase observed when pea flour was utilized. Conversely, negative effects on bread volume, crumb density, and texture parameters were noted with the incorporation of legume additives. Taking into consideration the results of both physicochemical analyses and sensory evaluation, it is recommended that the incorporation of the specified legume flours should not exceed 15% in relation to the quantity of wheat flour used.

Preliminary Studies on the Predation of the Mite Blattisocius mali (Acari: Blattisociidae) on Various Life Stages of Spider Mite, Thrips and Fruit Fly.

Research in recent years has shown that some species of predatory mites, considered to be typically associated with soil and litter, can also be found on plants. Such species include Blattisocius mali, which is an effective predator of acarid mites, nematodes and the eggs of moths and which can disperse by means of drosophilid fruit flies. Apart from soil and litter or storage, it has also been recorded on the bark of apple trees and the leaves of strawberries, thus suggesting its possible predation of/feeding on herbivorous mites and insects. Our goal was to examine whether B. mali could consume different development stages of two polyphagous herbivores, the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, and the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, as well as the drosophilid fruit fly Drosophila hydei. In 24 h cage tests, single, starved B. mali females consumed all types of prey offered, i.e., the eggs, males and females of spider mites; the first-instar larvae and prepupae of thrips; and the eggs and first-instar larvae of fruit flies. The potential for B. mali to prey upon these insects and mites was confirmed. However, to estimate whether it can also effectively reduce their population, additional tests on the predator's survival, fecundity and prey preference are needed.

Yield and Grain Quality of Common Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Depending on the Different Farming Systems (Organic vs. Integrated vs. Conventional).

Genotype (cultivar), soil and climatic conditions, the agrotechnology used, and the interaction of the factors mentioned play a key role in the yield and quality of wheat grain. Currently, the European Union recommends the balanced use of mineral fertilisers and plant protection products in agricultural production (integrated production) or the use of only natural production methods (organic production). The aim of the study was to compare the yield and grain quality of four spring common wheat cultivars Harenda, Kandela, Mandaryna, and Serenada, grown under three farming systems: organic (ORG), integrated (INT), and conventional (CONV). A three-year field experiment was conducted between 2019 and 2021 at the Osiny Experimental Station (Poland, 51°27' N; 22°2' E). The results showed that significantly the highest wheat grain yield (GY) was obtained at INT, while the lowest was obtained at ORG. The physicochemical and rheological characteristics of the grain were significantly influenced by the cultivar factor and, with the exception of 1000 grain weight (TGW) and ash content (AC), by the farming system. There were also numerous interactions between the cultivar and farming systems, which suggests different performances of cultivars and, in fact, that some cultivars are better or worse suited to different production systems. The exceptions were protein content (PC) and falling number (FN), which were significantly highest in grain with CONV and lowest in grain with ORG farming systems.

Ectoparasitism of the Flightless Drosophila melanogaster and D. hydei by the Mite Blattisocius mali (Acari: Blattisociidae).

Predatory mites dispersing by means of insects are often ectoparasites and may use various tactics to get onto the host, counteract its defenses, and diminish its survival. Blattisocius mali is a promising biological control agent which has been reported as transported by several drosophilid species. Our goal was to determine the type of relationship between this mite and fruit flies. We used flightless females of Drosophila melanogaster and D. hydei, which were commercially raised as live pet food. The predatory females mostly attacked the tarsi of the flies and then preferentially moved to the cervix or close to coxa III, where they eventually drilled their chelicerae and started feeding. Although both fly species used similar defensive tactics, more B. mali females did not attack D. hydei or did so with a delay, and a higher percentage of mites fell off the D. hydei tarsi during the first hour of observation. After 24 h, we noted the increased mortality of flies exposed to the presence of mites. Our study indicates the ectoparasitic relationship of B. mali with drosophilids. However, further research is needed to confirm the transport of this mite on wild D. hydei and D. melanogaster, both in the laboratory and under natural conditions.

Effect of Production Technology Intensity on the Grain Yield, Protein Content and Amino Acid Profile in Common and Durum Wheat Grain.

Products derived from wheat grains are an important source of protein in the daily diet of people in many parts of the world. The biological value of protein is determined by its amino acid composition and the proportions of the individual amino acids. Synthesis of these compounds in wheat grains is influenced by genetic factors, as well as habitat conditions and the agrotechnology applied in cultivation. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of production technology (integrated, intensive) on the grain yield and the content amino acid profile of protein in common and durum wheat grain. Field research was conducted at the Experimental Station IUNG-PIB in Osiny (Poland) in two growing seasons. It was found that grain yield significantly depended on the weather conditions in the years of harvesting and genotype, but did not depend on the production technology. On the other hand, the protein content and their amino acid composition depended significantly on the production technology and genotype. A significantly higher content of protein substances was found in durum wheat grain. Increasing the intensity of production technology had a positive effect on the total protein content and the content of individual amino acids, both exogenous and endogenous. The amino acid limiting the biological value of protein contained in grains of both wheat species was lysine, and the deficiency of this amino acid was significantly lower in grain protein from intensive than integrated cultivation technology.

Prevalence, Etiology, and Types of Dental Trauma in Self-Assessment of 18-Year-Olds in Poland.

The aim of the study is to determine the occurrence and etiology of traumatic dental injuries of permanent teeth and to evaluate the relationship between diagnosed injuries and selected socio-economic indicators. In total, 1741 students aged 18 years, representing all the regions of Poland, took part in the survey. Questionnaires for monitoring studies were prepared in accordance with the criteria of the World Health Organization. Among the respondents, tooth trauma was reported by 18% of adolescents. The most common trauma occurred during other activities (e.g., playing) (64%). The most common direct cause of injury was a fall (43%) or a collision with an object or another person (36%). Risk of injury was increased by a low level of parents' education and poor financial situation of the family. Playing sports is important in the etiology of injuries. The incidence of injuries was highest in school, demonstrating the need for school education in injury prevention and first aid. Occurrence of injuries, their causes, therapy, and post-traumatic complications were similar in respondents of both genders, which can be explained by secularization trends. Risk of injury was increased by parents' low level of education and poor economic status. The research demonstrates the need for universal education on treatment of dental injuries.

Young adults' perspective of global environmental risks: A study on Polish university students.

This article presents the results of a study conducted on Polish university students to verify how they assess the probability of environmental risks and their potential impact on the socio-economic situation in Poland. To this end, 703 students of public universities in Warsaw were asked to complete risk assessment questionnaires. According to the respondents, of all identified types of threats, technological risks were found to be the most probable, with the environmental ones carrying the most significant social and economic impact. Among those risks, climate change was recognised as the most probable, while environmental contamination was perceived as having the strongest potential impact on Poland. No statistically significant differences were found in the views of women and men on the probability of environmental risks and their impact on the country's socio-economic situation. Compared with students of technical and economic faculties, students of natural sciences, education, and nursing assessed the probability of environmental risks and the strength of their potential impact in Poland as much higher. The results of the study can be used to develop a communication strategy dedicated to young people in the education of environmental risks.

What Could Arrest an Eriophyoid Mite on a Plant? The Case of Aculops allotrichus from the Black Locust Tree.

Aculops allotrichus is a vagrant eriophyoid that lives gregariously on the leaves of the black locust tree. This study demonstrated that conspecifics can have a significant impact on A. allotrichus females on unprofitable, old black locust leaves and can arrest them on those leaves. The effect was more pronounced in females that were exposed to artificially injured individuals than to intact ones. They not only prolonged their sojourn on leaf discs with pierced conspecifics, but also preferred the leaf disc halves with damaged individuals to clean ones. Aculops allotrichus is the first described herbivore in which artificially injured conspecifics, instead of causing alarm, keep the foraging individuals within a risky patch. Other objects, such as artificially injured or intact heterospecifics, pollen or sand, were irrelevant to the eriophyoid females on old leaf patches. In tests with old leaves of maple, magnolia and hard kiwi vine, the females postponed their movement from non-host leaf discs, which suggests that they may need more time to recognise and evaluate unfamiliar plants than familiar ones.

Post-fire dynamics of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest of Poland.

BACKGROUND: Global warming and drying have markedly enhanced in most forests the risk of fires across the world, which can affect the taxonomic and functional composition of key tree-associated organisms such as ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. The present study was conducted to characterise the alterations in the extent of root ECM colonisation, the ECM fungal communities, and their exploration types (i.e., indicator of ECM soil foraging strategies) in regenerated pines within a burned site as compared with an unburned site (five years after the fire event) in the Forest District Myszyniec, Poland. METHODS: To assess the ECM fungal communities of burned and control sites, soil soil-root monoliths were collected from the study sites in September 2019. A total of 96 soil subsamples were collected for soil analysis and mycorrhizal assessment (6 trees × 2 sites × 4 study plots × 2 microsites (north and south) = 96 subsamples). RESULTS: The percentage of root ECM colonisation was significantly lower in the burned site in comparison with the unburned (control) site. However, the ECM species richness did not differ between the control and burned sites. The identified ECM species in both sites were Imleria badia, Thelephora terrestris, Russula paludosa, R. badia, R. turci, R. vesca, Lactarius plumbeus, Phialocephala fortinii, and Hyaloscypha variabilis. The most frequent species in the burned and control sites were I. badia and T. terrestris, respectively. The relative abundances of contact, medium-distance smooth and long-distance exploration types in the burned site were significantly different from the control site, dominated by the medium-distance exploration type in both sites. The abundance of the long-distance exploration type in the burned site was markedly greater (27%) than that of the control site (14%), suggesting that the fire event had favoured this ECM foraging strategy. The results demonstrated that the fire led to reduced ECM colonisation of Scots pine trees in the burned site whereas the species richness was not affected, which can be attributed to degrees of fire-resistance in the ECM species, survival of ECM propagules in deeper soil layers, and/or continuous entry of spores/propagules of the ECM fungi from the adjacent forests via wind, water run-off or animals.

Diet as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease / Dieta jako czynnik ryzyka choroby Alzheimera.

Chronic exposure to an unhealthy diet is one of the causes of civilization diseases and significantly affects the average longevity. The impact of diet on health is extremely complicated due to the chemical diversity of its composition. The diet provides over 26,000 biochemicals and even more of their metabolites. Among this diversity, three macronutrients: proteins, carbohydrates and fats can be identified that provide energy, and in addition providing their metabolites. According to the latest concepts of the impact of macronutrients in diet on human health, their mutual proportions and not solely absolute quantities are of great importance. In our article we present a short discussion of our own research on this problem in relation to the incidence of Alzheimer's disease against the background of contemporary biochemical and epidemiological literature.

The short-term effects of air pollution on respiratory disease hospitalizations in 5 cities in Poland: comparison of time-series and case-crossover analyses.

Very few publications have compared different study designs investigating the short-term effects of air pollutants on healthcare visits and hospitalizations for respiratory tract diseases. This study describes, using two different study designs (a case-crossover design and a time-series analysis), the association of air pollutants and respiratory disease hospitalizations. The study has been conducted on 5 cities in Poland on a timeline of almost 4 years. DLNM and regression models were both used for the assessment of the short-term effects of air pollution peaks on respiratory hospitalizations. Both case-crossover and time-series studies equally revealed a positive association between air pollution peaks and hospitalization occurrences. Results were provided in the form of percentage increase of a respiratory visit/hospitalization, for each 10-µg/m3 increment in single pollutant level for both study designs. The most significant estimated % increases of hospitalizations linked to increase of 10 µg/m3 of pollutant have been recorded in general with particulate matter, with highest values for 24 h PM2.5 in Warsaw (6.4%, case-crossover; 4.5%, time series, respectively) and in Bialystok (5.6%, case-crossover; 4.5%, time series, respectively). The case-crossover analysis results have shown a larger CI in comparison to the results of the time-series analysis, while the lag days were easier to identify with the case-crossover design. The trends and the overlap of the results occurring from both methods are good and show applicability of both study designs to air pollution effects on short-term hospitalizations.

Proportions of macronutrients, including specific dietary fats, in prospective anti-Alzheimer's diet.

Here we present a novel life-long whole-population study, which enabled us to predict a diet that, in terms of macronutrient proportions, may be prophylactic against Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The method is based on the existence of oscillations in the correlation between historical per capita personal income (PCPI) and age-adjusted death rates (AADR) for AD for each state of the USA in 2005. These oscillations can be explained by changing proportions of macronutrients in the average American diet between 1929 and 2005. We assumed that reducing future correlation of PCPI with AADR will reduce the population's susceptibility to AD. Based on the results of fitting macronutrient availabilities to the variability of Roriginal, using Generalized Additive Models (GAM) analysis, we constructed four "Calculator" equations. The Calculator allowed for prediction of an optimal diet characterized by low correlation of PCPI with AADR (Rpredicted) and minimum energy difference from the historical average macronutrient consumption for each corresponding period of life. We predict that protein consumption should be reduced by half in early middle age and late middle age, whereas in late age it should increase. Our predictions are in line with results on humans and simpler organisms in the context of prolonging life.

Oviposition by the vagrant eriophyoid mite Aculops allotrichus on leaves of black locust tree, Robinia pseudoacacia.

Leaf-dwelling mites often prefer to feed on young leaves and also are more likely to inhabit the abaxial leaf side. The aim of our study was to examine whether leaf age may affect production and distribution of eggs on black locust leaves by females of Aculops allotrichus. The eriophyoids were tested for 2.5 days on 'trimmed' compound leaves (with only two opposite leaflets left), which were maintained in vials filled with water. For the experiments we used leaves of three categories: (1) the 'youngest', in which both halves of the adaxial side of leaflets still adhered to each other (and usually remained folded for the next few hours), (2) 'young' with already unfolded leaflets, and (3) 'mature' with fully expanded leaflets. The tested females laid significantly more eggs on developing leaves than on 'mature' ones, although they deposited the highest number of eggs on the 'young' leaves. The distribution of eggs on adaxial or abaxial leaf sides also depended on leaf age. On the 'youngest' leaves, eriophyoids placed similar numbers of eggs on both sides of a blade. However, the older the leaf, the more willingly females deposited eggs on the abaxial side. Our biochemical and morphometrical analyses of black locust leaves indicated significant changes in the contents of nutrients and phenols within leaf tissue, and in the density of trichomes and thickness of the outer epidermal cell walls, correlated with leaf age. Their possible effects on the production and distribution of eggs on leaves by A. allotrichus are discussed.

Correction: The Calculator of Anti-Alzheimer's Diet. Macronutrients.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168385.].

The Calculator of Anti-Alzheimer's Diet. Macronutrients.

The opinions about optimal proportions of macronutrients in a healthy diet have changed significantly over the last century. At the same time nutritional sciences failed to provide strong evidence backing up any of the variety of views on macronutrient proportions. Herein we present an idea how these proportions can be calculated to find an optimal balance of macronutrients with respect to prevention of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and dementia. These calculations are based on our published observation that per capita personal income (PCPI) in the USA correlates with age-adjusted death rates for AD (AADR). We have previously reported that PCPI through the period 1925-2005 correlated with AADR in 2005 in a remarkable, statistically significant oscillatory manner, as shown by changes in the correlation coefficient R (Roriginal). A question thus arises what caused the oscillatory behavior of Roriginal? What historical events in the life of 2005 AD victims had shaped their future with AD? Looking for the answers we found that, considering changes in the per capita availability of macronutrients in the USA in the period 1929-2005, we can mathematically explain the variability of Roriginal for each quarter of a human life. On the basis of multiple regression of Roriginal with regard to the availability of three macronutrients: carbohydrates, total fat, and protein, with or without alcohol, we propose seven equations (referred to as "the calculator" throughout the text) which allow calculating optimal changes in the proportions of macronutrients to reduce the risk of AD for each age group: youth, early middle age, late middle age and late age. The results obtained with the use of "the calculator" are grouped in a table (Table 4) of macronutrient proportions optimal for reducing the risk of AD in each age group through minimizing Rpredicted-i.e., minimizing the strength of correlation between PCPI and future AADR.

Validation of Individual-Based Markov-Like Stochastic Process Model of Insect Behavior and a "Virtual Farm" Concept for Enhancement of Site-Specific IPM.

The paper reports application of a Markov-like stochastic process agent-based model and a "virtual farm" concept for enhancement of site-specific Integrated Pest Management. Conceptually, the model represents a "bottom-up ethological" approach and emulates behavior of the "primary IPM actors"-large cohorts of individual insects-within seasonally changing mosaics of spatiotemporally complex faming landscape, under the challenge of the local IPM actions. Algorithms of the proprietary PESTonFARM model were adjusted to reflect behavior and ecology of R. cerasi. Model parametrization was based on compiled published information about R. cerasi and the results of auxiliary on-farm experiments. The experiments were conducted on sweet cherry farms located in Austria, Germany, and Belgium. For each farm, a customized model-module was prepared, reflecting its spatiotemporal features. Historical data about pest monitoring, IPM treatments and fruit infestation were used to specify the model assumptions and calibrate it further. Finally, for each of the farms, virtual IPM experiments were simulated and the model-generated results were compared with the results of the real experiments conducted on the same farms. Implications of the findings for broader applicability of the model and the "virtual farm" approach-were discussed.

Endophytic Detection in Selected European Herbal Plants.

A total of 181 cultivable endophytic bacterial isolates were collected from stems of 13 species of herbs inhabiting Europe (Poland): Chelidonium majus L., Elymus repens L., Erigeron annuus L., Euphrasia rostkoviana Hayne, Foeniculum vulgare L., Geranium pratense L., Humulus lupulus L., Matricaria chamomilla L., Mentha arvensis L., Papaver rhoeas L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Solidago gigantea L. and Vinca minor L. The isolates were screened for their antifungal activity and fifty three were found to inhibit fungal growth. Of these, five had strong antifungal properties. These selected isolates were identified as: Pseudomonas azotoformans, P. cedrina, Bacillus subtilis group and Erwinia persicina.

Correlation of Alzheimer's disease death rates with historical per capita personal income in the USA.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive degenerating disease of complex etiology. A variety of risk factors contribute to the chance of developing AD. Lifestyle factors, such as physical, mental and social activity, education, and diet all affect the susceptibility to developing AD. These factors are in turn related to the level of personal income. Lower income usually coincides with lower level of education, lesser mental, leisure-social and physical activity, and poorer diet. In the present paper, we have analyzed the correlation of historical (1929-2011) per capita personal income (PCPI) for all states of the USA with corresponding age-adjusted AD death rates (AADR) for years 2000, 2005 and 2008. We found negative correlations in all cases, the highest one (R ≈ -0.65) for the PCPIs in the year 1970 correlated against the AADRs in 2005. From 1929 to 2005 the R value varies in an oscillatory manner, with the strongest correlations in 1929, 1970, 1990 and the weakest in 1950, 1980, 1998. Further analysis indicated that this oscillatory behavior of R is not artificially related to the economic factors but rather to delayed biological consequences associated with personal income. We conclude that the influence of the income level on the AD mortality in 2005 was the highest in the early years of life of the AD victims. Overall, the income had a significant, lifelong, albeit constantly decreasing, influence on the risk of developing AD. We postulate that the susceptibility of a population to late-onset AD (LOAD) is determined to a large extent by the history of income-related modifiable lifestyle risk factors. Among these risk factors, inappropriate diet has a significant contribution.

The effects of age and past and present behavioral specialization on behavior of workers of the red wood ant Formica polyctena Först. during nestmate reunion tests.

Social insect workers usually participate first in intranidal tasks and then switch to extranidal ones. However, foragers may switch again to intranidal brood care. This process is called the behavioral reversion. We applied dyadic nestmate reunion tests to explore behavioral differences between five groups of workers of the red wood ant Formica polyctena: callows (newly eclosed workers), nurses, reverted nurses (foragers that switched back to intranidal brood care in response to exposure to brood in absence of nurses), and two groups of foragers. Inter-group differences between the tested ants were related both to age and past and present behavioral specialization. Callows were the least active and their behavior was characterized by the lowest tempo. Nurses usually behaved in a way intermediate in respect to behavior of callows and the ants that had already passed the transition to extranidal tasks. The behavior of reverted nurses showed both similarities and differences with respect to behavior of foragers. Some traits of behavior of reverted nurses were similar as in the case of nurses, or intermediate in respect to both nurses and foragers. Behavioral reversion of workers of F. polyctena has thus other behavioral correlates besides the reappearance of intranidal brood care.