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New insights into municipal biowaste derived products as promoters of seed germination and potential antifungal compounds for sustainable agriculture
Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture volume 9, Article number: 69 (2022)
Municipal biowaste management may generate a negative impact on the environment; therefore, their biomasses could be valorised as an alternative feedstock to fossils to produce high performance compounds useful for agricultural applications. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential agricultural applications of bioproducts (BPs) obtained by alkaline hydrolysis of the solid anaerobic digestate of municipal biowastes (ADMBW) and of one oxidized (ozonized) product (ADMBW BP OX). Both products were chemically characterized and used for agricultural in vitro assays.
BP preparations were tested for their potential effect as enhancers of seed germination process using five concentrations (1, 10, 100, 1000, and 5000 mg L−1) and three different species: cress (Lepidium sativum), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). At this aim several germination indices were calculated to establish the priming effect of these substances on the selected seeds. Moreover, the potential in vitro antifungal effects of BPs at three concentrations (100, 1000, and 5000 mg L−1) on many dangerous fungal phytopathogens of economically important cultivated crops were evaluated and compared to Benzothiadiazole, one of the most-used plant disease suppressants. Results show that these ADMBW derived BPs exert a seed specie-specific positive effect on germination process, inducing better performances in the several calculated indices at all the concentration tested, except for the ADMBW BP OX 5000 mg L−1, which showed at the highest concentration a strong phytotoxic effect on tomato seeds.
The fungicidal potency of ADMBW BP OX was for the first time clearly demonstrated on multiple targets as Botrytis cinerea, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Monilia sp., Sclerotium rolfsii, and Phytophthora nicotianae, by calculating their relative EC50 and, when it was possible, also EC95 and MIC values. These results are of great impact in the actual historical moment, as from a biowaste as DMBW, which is worldwide constantly produced, may be possible to obtain agrochemicals and fertilizers without the usual feedstocks, which are more and more expensive.
Currently, much research is being carried out to valorise biomass from different sources as alternative to fossil feedstock for the production of fuel, chemicals, and materials. Cultivation of dedicated plants is pursued to provide a relatively low entropy source of bioproducts to use in different sectors, where synthetic products are currently used. This practice raises social moral concern, due to the subtraction of soil to food production in a world, where 690 million people suffer starvation . From this point of view, valorisation of biowastes from municipal, agriculture and agro-industrial source is unanimously accepted. Indeed, using biowaste as feedstock to produce valued added chemicals and materials will also decrease the amount of landfilled biowastes. In this context, municipal biowaste (MBW) is potentially the most sustainable renewable feedstock. It is readily available in every urban settlement in the world and is a negative cost feedstock, since its collection costs are already paid off by citizens’ taxes [2,3,4]. Under these circumstances, turning a MBW treatment plant into a biorefinery producing biofuel and biobased value added chemical specialities is an attracting perspective. A typical MBW treatment plant is the ACEA Pinerolese Industriale S.p.A., located in Pinerolo (Turin, Italy). It processes MBW by fermentation and produces biogas and compost. Over the past 20 years, the University of Turin group has developed chemical hydrolysis and oxidation processes to obtain new value-added soluble bioproducts (BPs), either from the ACEA anaerobic digestate and compost , and from exhausted food plants. The BPs have been demonstrated competitive with fossil sourced commercial chemicals for use in several sectors of agriculture and the chemical industry .
The present work reports the isolation process and the outstanding antifungal properties of a new BP. The product contains a wide range of organic molecules belonging to the class of oximes. Oximes are starting reagents for the synthesis of several functionalised organic N compounds . They are also biologically active as antimicrobial agents, insecticides and antifungals [8, 9]. Moreover, new herbicides, such as cyclohexanedione oximes have been developed as they are effective at low doses and easily decomposable, to reduce herbicide impact in the environment .
Plant fungi lower crop production and quality . The current population is expected to grow by 30% in 2050. Consequently, higher food production will be necessary. At the same time, the concern for more consumption of current commercial pesticides is increasing, due to their negative effects on human health and environment. Moreover, they induced arising of pathogen resistance phenomena to synthetic fungicides. The development of efficient eco-friendly antifungal compounds is a critical urgent objective to achieve to protect agricultural crops from disease.
The depicted scenario gives the feeling of the level of the economic, environmental, and social issues addressed by the present work. Comparing the performances of the new BPs and Benzothiadiazole (BTH) allows assessing the potential market value of the BP, considering that the global pesticide market is estimated 4 M tons/yr . BTH is one of the most-used plant disease suppressants , and its market price is up to 820 USD kg−1 .
The general aim of the present study was to increase the added value of biobased products obtained from the digestate of municipal waste, by applicating these substances in the agricultural field. Based on the above considerations, the specific objectives of this paper were i) the production of high performance biobased products (BPs) from municipal biowaste; ii) testing the effect of BPs on seed germination process of three different species cress (Lepidium sativum), Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.); iii) to detect the multiple fungicidal potentiality of BPs derived from the anaerobic digestate of municipal biowaste (ADMBW) versus many threatening fungal pathogens of cultivated crops and eventually to compare their in vitro performances with a standard product as BTH.
Materials and methods
The BP was obtained from the solid ADMBW sampled from the Acea plant. The digestate was hydrolysed in water at pH 13 and 60 °C according to a previously reported process . In essence, the liquid hydrolysate was separated from the insoluble residue by sedimentation, followed by centrifugation and ultrafiltration though 5 kDa cutoff polysulphone membrane. The membrane retentate was dried at 60 °C to yield the solid ADMBW BP. This product was dissolved in pH 10 water and oxidised by bubbling a 4% ozone–oxygen stream through the aqueous solution for 64 h . During this time, the solution pH 10 was maintained by KOH addition. The final alkaline solution was filtered through a 0.2 kDa polysulphone membrane to separate the membrane permeate. This was dried at 60 °C to obtain the solid ADMBW BP OX. All the analytical methods applied for the products compositional characterization have been previously reported [13, 14].
Experimental conditions for BPs performance on seed germination
Different species of seeds were evaluated: (i) cress, which represents the most sensitive species to many toxic compounds, and have been commonly used in germination test , (ii) tomato and (iii) lettuce, as they represent host plant species for some of the isolated pathogens used in this study.
In detail, the plant material used in these trials were cress (Lepidium sativum cultivar Dadas), Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cultivar Missouri) and Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cultivar Romana) seeds, provided by a local nursery located in Catania, Sicily (Italy).
The seeds were rinsed with sterilized water and maintained moistened in distilled water for 1 h. BP solutions (ADMBW BP and ADMBW BP OX) were prepared by dissolving the powder in distilled water at the final concentration of 5000 mg L−1. Different amounts of 5000 mg L−1 BP solutions were diluted in distilled water to yield solutions at different concentrations. These were used to moisten the filter papers (Whatman 3 MM) in the trials. For both BPs, hydrolized and ozonized, five different concentrations were tested (1, 10, 100, 1000, and 5000 mg L−1) yielding 10 treatments. Tests were conducted using 90 mm plastic Petri dishes and three layers of filter papers. Then, seeds (20 seeds per Petri dish) were placed on the filter papers previously moistened with the BP solutions (5 mL). Controls in distilled water moistened paper were routinely performed.
Germination was carried out in a growth chamber at 25 ± 1 °C in the dark. Seeds were considered germinated when a radicle of at least 2 mm emerged. The germinated seeds were counted and monitored daily until no further seed germinated (48 h for cress, 96 h for lettuce, 144 h for tomato). Radicle lengths were measured using a digital caliper to the nearest 0.01 mm. The experimental trial was repeated twice in a complete randomized block design, and for each treatment three replicates were tested, according to methods of the Association of Official Seed Analysts .
Seed germination indices
To evaluate the positive or phytotoxic effects of BP treatments on seeds, several germination indices were calculated as detailed below :
The Germination Index (GI) was calculated to assess the overall response variability between treatments :
GI = (Nt × Lt/Nc × Lc) × 100
where Nt and Nc are the medium number of germinated seeds in treated (t) and control (c) conditions, respectively, and Lt and Lc are the average radicle lengths of germinated seeds in treated (t) and control (c) conditions, respectively.
The Germination Percentage (GP) was calculated for each treatment and for each seed species as percentage of total germinated seeds from sowing:
GP = (number of germinated seeds/number of total seeds for bioassay) × 100
The Mean Daily Germination (MDG), representing the mean number of germinated seeds per day, was calculated at 24 and 48 h for cress, at 48, 72, and 96 h for lettuce, and at 48, 72, 96, and 144 h for tomato :
MDG = GP∕t
where GP is the germination percentage at time t, which is the number of days after the sowing.
The Seedling Vigor Index (SVI) was calculated at 24 and 48 h for cress, at 48, 72, and 96 h for lettuce, and at 48, 72, 96, and 144 h for tomato :
SVI = GP × L
where GP is the germination percentage and L is the seedling length of germinated seeds at each monitoring time.
The Mean Germination Rate (MGR), also known as rate of Maguire :
MGR = [number of germinated seeds/days of first count] + …………. + [number of germinated seeds/days of final count]
The Mean Germination Time (MGT) was calculated at the last day of germination process for each species, according to Ruan et al.  as follows:
MGT = ∑(n,t)/∑n
where n is the number of newly germinated seeds at time t.
The Germination Energy (GE) was calculated according to Ruan et al.  as follows:
GE = (Percentage of germinated seeds at the starting day of germination/Total number of seeds sets for bioassay) × 100
The Speed of Emergence (SE), was calculated according to Soltani et al.  as follows:
SE = (Number of germinated seeds at the starting day of germination/Number of germinated seeds at the final days of measurement) × 100
The Coefficient of the Rate of Germination (CRG) was calculated as reported in Chiapusio et al.  as follows:
CRG = [(N1 + N2 + ….. Nn)/(N1 × T1) + (N2 × T2) + ….. + (Nn × Tn)] × 100
where N1, N2, … Nn are the number of germinated seeds on time in days T1, T2, …. Tn.
The Time required for 50% germination (T50), was calculated according to Coolbear et al.  as follows:
T50 = ti + [((N/2)−ni) × (ti−tj)]/(ni – nj)
where N is the final number of germinated seeds, ni and nj the cumulative numbers of seeds germinated by adjacent counts at times ti and tj.
In vitro BP performances against phytopathogenic fungi
The effects of ADMBW BP and ADMBW BP OX in reducing/inhibiting mycelial growth of 9 fungal pathogens affecting vegetables, fruit and ornamental crops (Table 1) were assessed according to amended media technique and using potato dextrose agar (PDA, Lickson, Vicari, Italy) as basic substrate. Acibenzolar-S-methyl [syn. benzothiadazole, (BTH), Bion® 50% active ingredient, water granules, Syngenta Italia S.p.A. Milano MI, Italy] was also included and served as standard active ingredient of reference . The molecule was chosen, since it has been reported both as fungicide and plant resistance activator on a several commercial crops including lettuce and tomato, and as having multi-target effects against several classes of plant pathogens. In detail, BPs were tested at 0, 100, 1000 and 5000 mg L−1, whereas BTH was tested at a single concentration, 3000 mg L−1, to compare its performance with that achieved by the highest rate of BPs (Table 1). The BTH concentration of 3000 mg L−1 was chosen, since it is reported in literature as the discriminatory and most effective one for in vitro mycelial reduction of phytopathogenic fungi and in vivo for disease control [26, 27].
For the BPs–BTH comparison, stock solutions of ADMBW BPs and BTH were preliminarily dissolved in sterilised distilled water (SDW), vortexed and sterilised by passing through by 0.45 μm pore size membrane filter (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA). Afterward, the solutions were added to media cooled at about 45–50 °C. Autoclaved media were amended with appropriate volumes of stock solutions containing the active ingredients to reach the above fixed concentrations. No fungicide was added to the control dishes.
Following the media preparation, the mycelial plugs of each fungal pathogen were cut from the edge of an actively growing culture on agar media and placed upside down on the centre of each fungicide-amended or control dish. Dishes were incubated at 21 ± 2 °C in darkness for about 5 days. For each concentration, three dishes were used, and colony diameter was measured in two perpendicular directions for the calculated value. Triplicate assays were performed. Radial growth on each dish was measured as average and the raw data from three replicates used to calculate growth reduction (GR) = [1−(radius in amended plates/radius of control dishes)] × 100.
Determination of EC50, EC95 and MIC versus target fungi to evaluate BP potentiality
Dose–response curves of single isolates for each fungicide were generated by plotting all raw growth reduction data against compound concentration and the effective BP’s concentration to inhibit 50% and 95% of mycelial growth (EC50 and EC95) was calculated for each isolate by linear regressions (by determining coefficient of determination R2) of the mycelial growth reductions versus the active ingredient concentrations [28, 29]. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC i.e., lowest concentration of compound that inhibit the mycelial growth) was also calculated when possible (i.e., when falling within the concentration range).
Statistical treatment of data collected from each experiment was performed using the Statistics package software (version 10; Statsoft Inc., Tulsa, OK, USA). The analysis of the variance was performed on raw data considering all the single replicates. Since the laboratory assays were performed three times, F and P values were calculated to evaluate whether the effects of single factor as treatment, concentration and assay were significant. In post-hoc analyses, the means were always separated by the Fisher’s least significance difference test (α = 0.05).
Results and discussion
BP production processes
The BP production process was designed and realised in a pilot production facility to represent a model chemical plant to be integrated in a conventional anaerobic MBW treatment plant . To this purpose, the Acea Pinerolese MBW treatment plant was taken as case study. This plant is a typical example of the most advanced European plants performing anaerobic fermentation of unsorted food wastes from separate collection source to produce biogas and digestate, followed by aerobic composting of the digestate mixed with green residues. The pilot facility applied conventional chemical hydrolysis and oxidation reactions to the anaerobic digestate and composts of different mixes with the intent to produce water soluble biobased chemical specialities for use in different sectors of agriculture and the chemical industry.
The pilot facility comprised a 500 L reactor, a product separation unit, and a drying oven. The product separation section included a sedimentation vessel to separate the insoluble residue from the liquid hydrolysate, a centrifuge to separate residual fine solid particles from the liquid hydrolysate and a tangential flow filtration unit. This unit was suitable to accommodate a series of membrane with different cutoffs from 750 to 0.2 kDa to be operated in sequential flow mode, where the permeate through the higher cut off membrane was the feed to the lower cut off membrane. In this fashion, several fractions were separated according to their molecular weight ranges: i.e., ≥ 750 kDa, 750–150, 150–100, 100–50, 50–30, 30–20, 20–5, 5–0.2 and ≤ 0.2 kDa. The alkali reagent was recovered in the final permeate through the 0.2 kDa cut off membrane and recirculated as such to the hydrolysis reactor. As the insoluble hydrolysate residue and the soluble molecular fractions were proven valued added products in different sectors of agriculture and the chemical industry, the process did not produce secondary products and excess unreacted alkali needing further disposal treatment [5, 13, 14].
The same pilot facility was suitable to perform both the hydrolysis and oxidation process. MBW hydrolysis at pH 13 and 60 °C allowed producing the above BP fractions. These are complex mixes of different molecules with molecular weight ranging from 0.2 to above 750 kDa, which contain different aliphatic and aromatic C types substituted by a variety of acid and basic functional groups bonding mineral ions inherited from the pristine native biopolymers. Thanks to their water solubility and chemical composition features, the BPs exhibited, in field tests, useful properties as soil fertilisers, plant growth biostimulants, animal feed supplements, sequestering agents for the remediation of polluted soil and industrial waters containing trace metals and organics, emulsifiers, photo sensitizers and reagents for the production of composite plastic articles, biosurfactants, bioplastics.
The ozonisation of the crude BP hydrolysate obtained from the Acea ADMBW was found to change the pristine molecular weight and functional groups distribution . The oxidized product (BP OX) had lower molecular weight and higher content of carboxylic functional groups. The ozonisation reaction yielded 30% biopolymers with molecular weight from 100 to over 750 kDa exhibiting remarkable surfactant properties, and 70% of small molecules with molecular weight ≤ 0.2 kDa. On the contrary, ADMBW contained 95% of the high molecular weight biopolymers and less than 5% molecules with molecular weight ≤ 0.2 kDa. The remarkable surfactant properties of the oxidised biopolymers prospect high market value for these products, which can compensate largely their production cost. The high yield of the molecules with molecular weight ≤ 0.2 kDa was contrary to the design thinking of the authors and expectations from the room temperature oxidation of ADMBW BP. Surprisingly, the here in after reported results of the present work demonstrate that the oxidised ADMBW BP OX fraction with low molecular weight has far higher potential market value, compared to the high performance polymeric biosurfactants.
Characterization of ADMBW BP and ADMBW BP OX
According to LC–MS/MS studies, ADMBW BP OX contained a mix of compounds with 2–7 C atoms, such as mono, di and tri carboxylic acids, hydroxy- and keto-carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, and oxymes . The 13C spectra of ADMBW BP OX showed the presence of aliphatic, oxime and carboxylic acid C atoms resonating at δ 17–53, 162 and 173–176 ppm in the relative ratios 2.5/1/4, respectively. The content of aromatic C was negligible. For ADMBW BP OX, the virtual structure HC(COOH)2–[CH(COOH)]2–C(H) = N–OH with empirical formula C8H9NO9 and 245.31 g mass was consistent with the 13C spectra data, the measured C/N 7 ratio and the 0.2 kDa cutoff of membrane through which the product permeated during the separation from the mix of higher molecular weight ozonized products. These results suggest that ADMBW BP OX is mainly a mix of aliphatic polycarboxylic acids and oxymes. By comparison, ADMBW BP had C/N 5.7 and molecular weight in the 5–750 kDa range. The 13C spectra of ADMBW BP showed that the organic C was distributed over 43% aliphatic, 10% ammine, 4% methoxy, 10% alkoxy, 3% anomeric, 13% aromatic, 7% carboxylic C, 9% amide C, 1% ketone C . For the higher number of functional groups and molecular weight, the ADMBW BP composition is much more complex than that for ADMBW BP OX.
BP performance on seed germination
Germination indices of seeds subjected to the experimental trials were calculated to evaluate the performance of the treatments and their concentration effect, using five different amounts of BPs and BPs OX.
The germination indices (GI) of seeds are reported in Fig. 1. The ADMBW BP treatment on cress and lettuce at all the tested concentrations did not negatively affect the germination process. Interestingly, data in Fig. 1A show also a beneficial effect on germination GI (GI > 100%) at concentrations ranging from 1 to 1000 mg L−1 on the cress, and at concentrations of 1000 and 5000 mg L−1 on lettuce (Fig. 1A). These results are validated by Alvarenga et al.  findings for other biodegradable organic residues, such as sewage sludge from municipal wastewater treatment, compost from the organic fraction of unsorted municipal solid waste, and garden waste compost which confirmed that cress was a very sensitive indicator of compost toxicity. For tomato, Fig. 1A shows GI quite lower than 100%, with values being constant at all concentrations. The ADMBW BP OX data (Fig. 1B) show no significant differences (p < 0.05) between concentration ranging from 1 mg L−1 to 1000 mg L−1 for each species. However, at the highest BP OX applied concentration (5000 mg L−1), a phytotoxic effect was observed for all species. Tomato, exhibiting the lowest GI values, appear as the most sensitive species.
The presence of both BPs during cress seed germination did not affect the GP values at any concentration (Fig. 2). Moreover, in lettuce seeds treated with ADMBW BPs, an increase in GP values with respect to the control was observed at all concentrations, suggesting a promoting effect on seed germination process (Fig. 2A). By comparison, ADMBW BP OX, at all concentrations, did not exhibit significant effects on lettuce seeds (Fig. 2B). As regard tomato, a slight reduction of GP value was recorded only using 5000 mg L−1 of ADMBW BP OX (Fig. 2B). These results suggest that as regard cress and lettuce, BP OX 5000 did not show any phytotoxic effect, as the reduction in GI values was mostly related to the length of the radicle produced during the germination process than related to the number of germinated seeds.
As regard to the number of germinated treated seeds per day (MDG), in cress no significant effect was proven at all monitoring times, and with all the tested BP concentrations (Fig. 3A, B). For lettuce no significant effect at all concentrations and monitoring times was detected, except using 5000 mg L−1 ADMBW OX BP, for which a slightly reduced value of MDG was detected after 48 h, although at the end of the germination process the MDG value was similar to that calculated for the control (Fig. 3C, D). The most sensitive species resulted to be once again tomato, as already observed for previous indices. In particular, ADMBW BP did not affect MDG values after 72 h until the end of the germination process (Fig. 3E), whereas ADMBW OX BP reduced the MDG values with respect to the control at the highest concentration of 5000 mg L−1 at all the monitoring times (Fig. 3F).
The Seedling Vigor Index (SVI) (Fig. 4) showed that a different effect was exerted by each BP concentration on each seed species. For cress seeds, after 48 h, all concentrations except 5000 mg L−1 showed an improved effect on SVI values. The highest value was attained from BP 100 mg L−1 (1.4-fold increase with respect to the control) (Fig. 4A). The ADMBW BP OX (Fig. 4B) exerted, after 48 h, a positive effect with respect to the control at the concentrations 1, 10 and 100 mg L−1, whereas BP OX 1000 mg L−1 and 5000 mg L−1 drastically decreased SVI values (13 and 19 times lower than the control, respectively). Lettuce seeds, at the beginning of the germination process (48 h), treated with ADMBW BP at all applied concentrations, did not show significant differences (Fig. 4C), whereas after 72 h and at the end of the germination process, BP1000 and BP5000 significantly increased the SVI values. ADMBW BP OX after 48 h increased SVI values at 1 mg L−1 (1.5-fold higher than the control), whereas concentrations up to 1000 mg L−1 did not affect the indices. Interestingly, after 72 and 96 h, an increase of SVI values at all concentrations was observed up to 1000 mg L−1, while the highest concentration provoked a decrease in SVI values at all times (Fig. 4D).
On tomato seeds, ADMBW BP did not determine a significant effect at all concentrations and at all monitoring times (Fig. 4E). Conversely, ADMBW OX BP determined at each time a strong negative effect at 5000 mg L−1, showing at the end of the germination process a value of SVI around eightfold lower than the control. However, after 48 h from sowing no effect was detected (Fig. 4F).
Islam et al.  reported that in different species, among which cress and lettuce, higher SVI values than in the control corresponds to positive biostimulant effects on seed germination. Accordingly, the ADMBW BP results would prove this product as germination inducers for cress and lettuce. For tomato seeds, ADMBW BP did not affect the germination process. Its effect was not evident at the early stage of germination. The positive effect was relevant at the end of the process (in cress after 48 h and in lettuce after 96 h). A different behaviour was proven for ADMBW BP OX. In cress, which is an annual weed, concentrations ranging from 1 to 100 mg L−1 showed a promoting effect, whereas 1000 and 5000 mg L−1 resulted phytotoxic. These results suggest a potential use of BP OX at these concentrations as a possible herbicide, according to Sevilla-Moran et al. . Putatively, the presence of oxime in BP OX may be associated to the phytotoxic effect at high concentrations. Sandin-Espana et al.  found that oxime-based herbicides, such as cyclohexanedione oxime, determine a rapid reduction of growth followed by the destruction of shoot meristems in susceptible species. This could explain the negative effect of BP OX at high concentrations, which occurred mostly on the length of the radicle rather than on seed germination process. These herbicides seem to inhibit the fatty acid biosynthesis in isolated chloroplasts, cell cultures, or leaves showing a greater susceptibility for some species, such as corn, wheat, and wild oats [34, 35]. However, other plants, such as soybean, spinach, and sugar beet, have been reported to be more tolerant to oxime .
Table 2 report the Mean Germination Rate (MGR), the Germination Energy (GE), the Speed of Emergence (SE), the Coefficient of the Rate of Germination (CRG), the Mean Germination Time (MGT), and the Time required for 50% germination (T50) of seeds treated with different concentrations of BPs. Islam et al.  showed that in cress (Lepidium sativum), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), and other different species MGR, GE, SE and CRG values are positively correlated with the stimulant effect on seed germination. On the contrary, MGT and T50 values are negatively correlated. In the present work, MGR and GE values showed that OX BP at 5000 mg L−1 was phytotoxic for all the tested seeds. However, tomato seeds showed GE values lower than the control at all BP concentrations, except at 10 mg L−1 (Table 2).
SE values appeared to depend on the species and the BP concentration. Tomato seeds were the most sensitive species to both tested BP and BP OX, especially at the highest concentrations. The results showed also that cress and tomato SE values were similar or higher than the control using BP. The BP OX treatment did not exert any significant effect on cress at all concentrations while showing reduced SE values on lettuce at the highest concentration (Table 2). The MGT, CRG and T50 were not significantly modified by all the tested BPs (Table 2).
The overall analyses of these germination indices suggest that only BP OX 5000 may induce a phytotoxic effect on germination, in particular in tomato seeds, which results the most sensitive species. This treatment negatively affected the radicle emerging rather than the seed germination process sensu strictu. By comparison, the analysis proves BP as inducer of the germination process at the tested concentrations, in particular on lettuce and cress.
Effects of BP, BP OX and BTH in reducing mycelial growth of phytopathogenic fungi
In laboratory assays, no significant effect was found for the 4 tested pathogens (A. alternata, Fusarium sp., F. oxysporum f.sp. radicis-lycopersici, C. gloeosporioides) for each factor (data not reported), whereas a significant effect of ozone (oxidation) treatment and BP concentration was detected on fungal growth reduction of B. cinerea, Monilia sp., S. sclerotiorum, S. rolfsii and P. nicotianae (Table 3). The significance of the ozonization treatment may be probably related to a greater accumulation of oximes in OX BPs than BPs. Although the putative effects of these compounds against these pathogens should be definitively demonstrated, it can be assumed that higher amounts of oximes have played an important role for the expressed anti-fungal activity as well as it was widely reported in literature [8, 9]. As regards to BP rate effects, our findings are in perfect agreement to the expected ones, with an increasing effect with the concentration. Diversely, for the same targets, no significant effect of the assay was detected on mycelial reduction (Table 3), underlining the data reproducibility. Consequently, data of the three assays were combined and analyzed to calculate parameters of BP fungicidal potency based on mycelial growth reductions (Table 4).
Values of EC50, EC95 and MIC of BPs not ozonizated were not found for almost all of tested targets except for Monilia sp., of which only EC50 was determined (Table 4). Otherwise, in BPs OX amended media EC50 values were determined for 5 pathogens (B. cinerea, S. sclerotiorum, Monilia sp., S. rolfsii, and P. nicotianae), EC95 for 3 pathogens (S. sclerotiorum, Monilia sp., S. rolfsii) and, only for S. rolfsii MIC value was also intercepted. For Fusaria, A. alternata and C. gloeosporioides, BP OX, although supplemented at the highest concentration, was not effective and no fungal growth parameter was detected. Comprehensively, noteworthy were the antifungal potentialities of BP OX against basidiomycete S. rolfsii, followed by those found for ascomycetes S. sclerotiorum and Monilia sp. Although to a lesser extent, also BP OX performances versus B. cinerea and the oomycete P. nicotianae are encouraging. Based on our preliminary data, we may hypothesize for these sustainable compounds a wide spectrum of activity versus key fungal pathogens of important commercial crops that should be verified in future in in vivo experiments.
Figure 5 visually shows the in vitro potentiality of BP, BP OX and BTH against fungal targets. Relating to the fungal pathogens previously found sensitive to the BP OX treatments (Table 3, Fig. 5), Fig. 6 shows the compared effects of BP OX at 5000 mg L−1 and BTH at 3000 mg L−1 in reducing fungal growth of each target. In detail, it may be observed that the performances in reducing fungal growth of BTH at 3000 mg L−1 are significantly higher than those achieved with BP OX at 5000 mg L−1, for B. cinerea, Monilia sp. and P. nicotianae but significantly lower for S. rolfsii and similar (data not significant) in the case of S. sclerotiorum.
Comprehensively, our data from repeated bioassays represent very remarkable and promising findings, since EC50, EC95 and MIC are considered as the most important basic parameters to express antifungal properties and compare preliminary potencies among antifungal compounds . The BP antifungal properties were previously reported only for Leptosphaeria maculans, causal agent of blackleg of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) . For this past report, ADMBW BP revealed good performances, although to a lesser extent than BTH, in reducing leaf necrosis. Our findings, although should be confirmed by in planta assays, clearly showed as BPs OX could presumably exert a fungicide activity versus a wide spectrum of key phytopathogenic fungi including ascomycetes, basidiomycetes and oomycetes representing heavy threats for vegetable, fruit and ornamental crops worldwide. Unlike to previous data , further remarkable aspects of this research are that the antifungal properties of BP OX depend on the target and, surprisingly, this compound could exhibit in some cases similar or superior performances than BTH. The collected data obtained in the present work with the BP and BPox encourage to implement further R&D work to assess whether the use of BPs from other biowastes of urban and agriculture sources will produce similar or better results.
The present work provides further insights into the BP biostimulant properties reported in previous studies performed on the cultivation of several food and ornamental plants. Specifically, it points out that, depending on the cultivated plant species and the applied doses, BPs may induce increased plant growth or phytotoxic effects. The detailed analyses of germination indices suggest that the effect of BPs depends on the species to which is applied and BP concentration. The ADMBW BP proves to act as inducer of the germination process, at all the concentrations tested on cress and lettuce, exerting no effect on tomato seeds. ADMBW BP OX showed a different behaviour, as it resulted a positive effector on cress and lettuce at low concentrations, but phytotoxic at the highest one, in particular in tomato seeds, which was the most sensitive species. Moreover, to the best of authors’ knowledge, this paper shows for the first time the multiple high potentiality of oxidized biowaste compound to be used simultaneously against several key phytopathogenic fungi. Likewise, the oxidation of BPs obtained from other biowaste materials may yield products inhibiting the mycelial growth of other specific pathogens that threaten different vegetable and ornamental crops. Although these results need an in vivo confirmation, this paper opens the way to a further sustainable exploitation of biowaste materials through which it might contribute for a more circular economy, aiming to a multiuse purpose of BPs as biostimulant, herbicide, and antifungal compounds, depending on their concentration and species. Comprehensively, the results of the herein reported work prospect a feasible development of new BPs-based farming practices for a more sustainable agriculture. These findings constitute a further case demonstrating how the application of low temperature chemical reactions to biowaste might yield high value products. On the other hand, they allow estimating the economic contribution of the new BP to support the implementation of the rising biobased chemical industry, with specific reference to new MBW fed biorefineries integrating chemical and biochemical processes. Moreover, in the actual historical moment, these results are very interesting, because from a biowaste as ADMBW, which is worldwide constantly produced, may be possible to obtain agrochemicals and fertilizers without the usual feedstocks, which are more and more expensive.
Availability of data and materials
The data used during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Anaerobic digestate of municipal biowastes
- ADMBW OX:
Oxidized anaerobic digestate of municipal biowastes
Minimum inhibitory concentration
Mean Daily Germination
Seedling Vigor Index
Mean Germination Rate
Mean Germination Time
Speed of Emergence
Coefficient of the Rate of Germination
Time required for 50% germination
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Fragalà, F., Castello, I., Puglisi, I. et al. New insights into municipal biowaste derived products as promoters of seed germination and potential antifungal compounds for sustainable agriculture. Chem. Biol. Technol. Agric. 9, 69 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40538-022-00333-z
- Fungicidal potentiality
- Germination indices
- Botrytis cinerea
- Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
- Monilia sp.
- Sclerotium rolfsii


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Epilimnetic Phytoplankton and Zooplankton Biomass and Species Composition In Lake Ontario, 1986 to 1992.
|Makarewicz, Joseph C.
|Lewis, Theodore W.
|DISCLAIMER: This report has been reviewed by the Great Lakes National Program Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
|Results of the Food Web Workshop II (Hartig et al. 1991) indicated that Lake Ontario may be the next Great Lake after Lake Michigan to demonstrate the effects of changing nutrient levels and food web controls. Total phosphorus loads into the lake declined by 80% since 1972 and have approached the target loading set by the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreements between the United States and Canada. Spring total phosphorus levels declined from 25 to 14 IlglL between 1971 and the late 1980s and are currently below 10 Ilg/L. Although declines in chlorophyll-a were relatively low and transparency has not changed appreciably, there is some evidence that algal biomass has declined. Besides changes in nutrient concentrations, changes in fish abundance has occurred as alewife, slimy sculpin and smelt biomass have decreased, while stocking of coho and chinook salmon increased from 40,000 to 5.4 million from 1968 to 1984 (Hartig et al.. 1991). In 1993, the rate of salmonine stocking was reduced (Luckey 1994). These changes in nutrient status and in the food web of the lake, and the potential for further appreciable change in the biota of Lake Ontario, have directed attention to the long-term data sets of phytoplankton and zooplankton collected by the Great Lakes National Program Office of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency as indicators of quantitative and compositional changes in plankton community structure. Phytoplankton, which have short carbon turnover rates, are sensitive to water quality conditions and to grazing by zooplankton and thus respond rapidly to perturbations of the lake ecosystem. The determination of phytoplankton abundance and species composition is one method to trace long-term changes in lakes (Munawar and Munawar 1982, Makarewicz 1993, Makarewicz and Bertram 1991). Similarly, whether aquatic ecosystems are perturbed by changes in the top predator fish that 2 cascade down the food web or by nutrients or by other stressors that are expressed from the first trophic level upward, the zooplankton are sensitive integrators of such changes (McNaught and Buzzard 1973). They have also proved useful for complementing phytoplankton data to assess the effects of water quality (Gannon and Sternberger 1978) and fish populations on biota (e.g. Brooks and Dodson 1965). The phytoplankton and zooplankton data sets collected by EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office provide such information and support the International J oint Commission's call for more and better information through monitoring and research on components of the Lake Ontario food web (Hartig et al. 1991). In this study, data about the 1986-92 spring and summer phytoplankton and zooplankton assemblages make it possible to examine the historical, geographic, and seasonal relationships prevailing in Lake Ontario and to compare them, where possible, to previous studies.
|Phytoplankton And Zooplankton Biomass And Abundance
|Food Web Changes.
|Epilimnetic Phytoplankton and Zooplankton Biomass and Species Composition In Lake Ontario, 1986 to 1992.
|Technical Reports (Water Resources)
|The College at Brockport
|U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

domain: geography


text:
Blizzard Mt was a DLC for crazy people. All it did was make the game
harder. There are patches of ice that make you slip, and snow every
where. In some races blizzards randomly happen.
The map is quite smaller than the original, and a
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Because this is an eating pattern – not a structured diet – you're on your own to figure out how many calories you should eat to lose or maintain your weight, what you'll do to stay active and how you'll shape your Mediterranean menu. The Mediterranean diet pyramid should help get you started. The pyramid emphasizes eating fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts, legumes, olive oil, and flavorful herbs and spices; fish and seafood at least a couple of times a week; and poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt in moderation, while saving sweets and red meat for special occasions. Top it off with a splash of red wine (if you want), remember to stay physically active and you're set.
Cyclical keto diet: The Bulletproof Diet falls into this category. You eat high fat, low carb (less than 50 grams of net carbs a day) five to six days of the week. On day seven, you up your carb intake to roughly 150 grams, during what’s called a carb refeed day. Carb cycling this way helps you avoid the negative effects some people experience when they restrict carbs long term, like thyroid issues, fatigue and dry eyes. Learn more here about how carb cycling works.
These affect your brain and spine, as well as the nerves that link them together. Epilepsy is one, but others may be helped by a ketogenic diet as well, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and sleep disorders. Scientists aren’t sure why, but it may be that the ketones your body makes when it breaks down fat for energy help protect your brain cells from damage.
Dr. O’Brien proclaimed that the benefits of the Mediterranean diet as a push away from using animals as a protein source, introducing more fruits and vegetables in meals, while also cutting out butter in favor of using oils cooking. It seemed simple which made me skeptical. I know that in dieting nothing good is easy. When I got back to office I started my research and was surprised to learn that the Mediterranean diet was endorsed by the American Heart Association and Mayo Clinic.
The benefits above are the most common ones. But there are others that are potentially even more surprising and – at least for some people – life changing. Did you know that a keto diet can help treat high blood pressure, may result in less acne, may help control migraine, might help with certain mental health issues and could have a few other potential benefits?

domain: food


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domain: design


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More than 5,000 flu infections across state so far this year, while 13,654 new Covid cases reported on Tuesday
Victoria has recorded more cases of the flu so far this year than the whole of 2020 and 2021 combined, with experts calling for the voluntary wearing of masks in settings where there is a high chance of spreading influenza and Covid.
At a time Covid-19 infections remain stubbornly high, the latest data from the Victorian health department shows there have been 5,023 reported cases of the flu in the state since the start of 2022. This is compared to 110 in 2021 and 4,792 in 2020, when international borders were closed and Covid restrictions were in place.
Read the original article at The Guardian

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Biography Creating Flannery O'Connor Daniel Moran Moran considers how O'Connor attained the status of the "great American Catholic writer" and how she herself felt about it, examining O'Connor's evolving career and Robert Giroux's role in shaping her literary identity by examining the development of her literary reputation from the perspectives of critics, publishers, agents, and contemporary readers.
It might be a new hat or clean hogs or, for Hazel Motes, hero of Wise Bloodan automobile. Heideger was a definite influence on O'Connor, and ideas such as this, as well as his concept that essential truth is a mystery that pervades the whole of human existence, dovetail perfectly with the larger theological interpretation of reality seen in her writing.
The Solicitors Regulation Board was said to be looking into the activities of the Lawyers involved. The report says they failed to act despite having proof of the cover-up and kept this to themselves in the hope it might not ever be dredged up again.
Fragments exist of an unfinished novel tentatively titled Why Do the Heathen Rage. There is in O'Connor what I would term an exquisite gelidity, an icy quality that I cannot help but attribute in part to her awareness of her own encroaching mortality.
Although the case was referred to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the firm was not rebuked over the matter and was not publicly named.
The Police did nothing and the Lawyers sat back in their cosy departments oblivious to what their inaction had caused. After ruining his life and putting him through hell, the case was suddenly discontinued because the man who accused him was well known to the police already.
This would also apply to ' performing functions corruptly' in that the agent's conduct was motivated by the hope of a corrupt rewardwhether or not there was any agreement to that effect. Everyday in a Crown Court prosecutors who barely know the facts of a case will open a trial with a standard off-the-peg reading from the file of documents because they fail to observe the case in real terms thus leading to the missing of obvious points and cross-examinations that are completely ludicrous and time-wasting.
Frederick Bullock — mayor of Adelaide from to John Coffey ' I cannot believe this case went ahead on the advice of counsel as responsible as you are ' He condemned the waste of taxpayers money spent on the two day case. His diary as a year-old passenger survives.
She attended parochial schools in Savannah and public high school in Milledgeville, where the family moved after her father developed disseminated lupus, the degenerative disease that later struck O'Connor. The Bar Council was notified by his department. Flannery O'Connor's Short Fiction by Patrick Galloway Introduction To the uninitiated, the writing of Flannery O'Connor can seem at once cold and dispassionate, as well as almost absurdly stark and violent.
Despite witness testimony, they came to the opinion that they would not proceed on the legal grounds 'it would be too hard on the witnesses' Huxtable transferred money out of his client's account and claim it was costs. They are stripped bare and flogged by the Truth, much like O.
He was first investigated by the Thames Valley Police who started the ball rolling he hints. He and his firm were charged with conspiracy to defraud. Private Investigator John Barrymore found other complaints against the Lawyer when he made enquiries.
The Museum began to receive government support but it was conditional on no government funds being spent on the vessel. Workshop director Paul Engle was the first to read and comment on the initial drafts of what would become Wise Blood.
The Dark Side of the Cross: Flannery O'Connor's Short Fiction by Patrick Galloway.
Introduction. To the uninitiated, the writing of Flannery O'Connor can seem at once cold and dispassionate, as well as almost absurdly stark and violent.
The best opinions, comments and analysis from The Telegraph. Elements of Fiction in Flannery O'Connor: Religion, Humor, and the Grotesque Humor plays a major role in the fiction of O'Connor and is often closely connected with the grotesque. O'Connor plays the violence of the grotesque text; the work centers around.
Flannery O'Connor: Flannery O’Connor (–64) was an American novelist and short-story writer whose darkly comic works, usually set in the rural American South, concern the individual’s relationship to God. Her short-story collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and Other Stories () showed her to be a master of the form.
The EDSITEment LaunchPad, Flannery O'Connor: Journey through the South, and the various crops that made rows of green lace-work on the ground. The trees were full of silver-white sunlight and the meanest of them sparkled.
The plot of "A Good Man is Hard to Find" ultimately is about being saved, literally and figuratively, along a rural. Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, – August 3, ) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and thirty-two short stories, as well as a Born: Mary Flannery O'Connor, March 25,Savannah, Georgia, US.Role of the south in the work of flannery oconnor

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There are both political and social challenges when working in the field of peace and reconciliation in Palestine. Political obstacles include the illegal Israeli settlements, the status of Jerusalem, security concerns, the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees, issues over water resources and much more. These issues are very complicated and usually discussed at the governmental level. Churches and civil society organizations can’t have much influence on these issues.
The other obstacles to peace and reconciliation are related to the increase in extremism, hatred, and discrimination. The conflict in the past was between two governments, even while most Palestinians and Israel people had good relationships, friendships, and even established businesses together. However, after Israel built the Separation Wall, erected checkpoints, classified the Palestinian neighborhoods as high-risk zones for the Israelis, and stopped granting permits to Palestinians to access the land within 1967 borders Palestinians and Israelis began to live much more separate lives, which eventually led the Israelis to dehumanize the Palestinians and portray them as terrorists. Alternatively, the only interaction Palestinians have with the Israelis is at checkpoints. Palestinians started seeing the Israelis only when interacting with soldiers who humiliate them, demolish their homes, raid their villages and towns, and kill their children. As a result, hatred increased between the two peoples and the conflict has been shifted from the government level to the level of the people. Keeping this hatred alive between the people serves the interest of the politicians who manage to control their people using fear.
Most Palestinians have lost hope in finding a political solution. Palestinians and Israelis have been in negotiation for more than 30 years without reaching any acceptable solution that would meet the basic ambitions of Palestinians. People have lost hope in having a ‘two-state solution’ where both Israel and Palestine would exist as separate states. Israel’s allowance of illegal settlements on the Palestinian lands made this option extremely difficult to achieve. The other option available is the ‘one-state solution’. This could come in the form of a bi-national state encompassing Palestine where Israelis and Palestinians share the same political rights. In theory, this option would largely resolve the issues behind the conflict. However, Israel will never accept such a solution as this will kill the Israeli right-wing religious-political ambitions to have a pure Jewish state that is only for Jews. So, the only political solution is the no-state solution where Israel will continue the occupation of Palestine while no agreement between Israel and Palestine is reached. This is essentially the continuation of the status-quo.
Under such a gloomy image and with no hope on the political horizon, where do we as Christian leaders and advocates for peace get hope from or try to give hope to people? As I mentioned above, since we don’t have control over the political issues, we try through the programs implemented by the Upper Room Mission (URM), which is a non-profit Christian ecumenical institution that promotes entrepreneurship among Christian youth; and through the work of Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, my church, to bring people together, have interfaith dialogue, promote peaceful coexistence, empower the youth and women to become peace advocates, and help Palestinians and Israelis to see the humanity in each other. We also try to give a glimpse of hope for people by providing improved education, better access to health care, improved employment opportunities, stronger leadership, and a greater recognition within the international community. Both the URM and the ELCJHL remain a Christian presence in these demanding times, providing leadership in ecumenical efforts and offering both spiritual and social services to meet the daily needs of the people and give them hope.

domain: sociology


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Ed Sheeran is announced as Glastonbury’s final closing performance on Sunday, June 25th.
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Following her dance-filled return to the limelight with “Green Light,” Lorde quickly follows it up with yet another new tune, “Liability.” Her forthcoming sophomore album Melodrama will be 11-tracks deep, and is due out June 16th. Get both songs instantly when you pre-order now. Pre-order: Lorde – Melodrama (Album) Follow @MishaInTheAir
New Music Friday Ft. Ed Sheeran, Gryffin, Lorde, Lil Uzi Vert, Deadmau5, Cash Cash, Coldplay, Louis The Child
Happy Friday! We’ve got over an hour of music for you today, spanning just about every genre you can think of. You’ll hear some cuts off Ed Sheeran’s catchy af new album, a stunning collaboration between Gryffin, Illenium & Daya, Lorde’s comeback single, the first track from the Fast & Furious soundtrack, some new Deadmau5, Cash Cash & ROZES, Baauer’s remix of Kodak Black, new Coldplay song and so much more. Enjoy over 1000 songs and counting with our our massive 60+ hour collection of chunes on Spotify and stream the latest additions below. Follow @MishaInTheAir
Lorde fans rejoice, the New Zealand artist’s long-awaited return is finally here with feel-good original, ‘Green Light’. Fans have been somewhat left in the dark ever since the songwriter’s addition to the third Hunger Games soundtrack in “Yellow Flicker Beat,” but now the Lorde comeback is firmly upon us. This latest original is co-written with fellow New Zealanders Broods. Riding on […]
The post Lorde’s 2017 Comeback Single “Green Light” Is Finally Here appeared first on Run The Trap: The Best EDM, Hip Hop & Trap Music.
Yesterday, Lorde broke the internet by announcing her first single in 3 years with “Green Light.” And it looks like fans didn’t have to wait long as we have the track and the awesome music video. So check out the video above and grab the download below. Download: Lorde – Green Light Follow @heyitsburnout
Lorde releases her new song “Green Light.”
It’s always obvious when an artist is about to make a comeback – you start hearing some of their old tunes on the radio, and the blogs and social media explode. This is exactly what’s happening now, as Lorde‘s return single “Green Light” is just a day away, due out Mar. 2nd. Lorde herself is excited to bring you music you can dance to, and she’s uploaded a teaser here. It looks like she’s also hinted at an album title, and it’ll look something like M*******A. THIRD AND FINAL TEASER UP NOW! https://t.co/fsSN1KxI7h — Lorde (@lorde) March 1, 2017 i […]
Lorde may have just teased new music in a cryptic New Zealand commercial. Whatever the artist is announcing will arrive Thursday, March 2 in the US.
Free Press Summer Fest (FPSF) is an annual two-day music festival held in Houston, Texas. They will be returning for their 2017 festival June 3rd-4th and today, they announced their massive lineup.
And with names like Lorde, Flume, G-Eazy, Cage The El…
EDEN, a 20 year old musician from Ireland, received an unprompted shoutout from the pop star on Facebook.
Disclosure brings out Lorde, Sam Smith, and Alunageorge for cameo appearances during Coachella set.
In today’s celebrity gossip, it appears that the Kiwi singer Lorde is dating the American DJ and producer Diplo. In a picture taken on the way to the BRIT Awards afterparty, it appears that both Diplo and Lorde were holding hands. Diplo and Lorde put their feud behind them. They were seen hanging out after the #BRITs last night. pic.twitter.com/WfaUpCB4ws — Shady Music Facts (@musicnews_shade) February 25, 2016 This comes to us as quite a surprise due to Lorde’s comments about Diplo back in 2014. When Diplo said that Taylor Swift needs a bigger booty, Lorde replied by saying “@diplo
The post There’s A Rumor That Diplo Is Dating Lorde [Pictures] appeared first on EDM Sauce.
Oshi has been impressing us for a while now. For example, his fantastic drum work and overall great vibes on his redo of Gallant‘s “Weight In Gold” or the time that he became the youngest ever musician to perform on the legendary Boiler Room series. It’s clear that this young U.K. producer is on the rise. […]
The post Lorde Loves Oshi And So Should You appeared first on Trap Music Blog – Run The Trap: The Best Hip Hop, EDM & Club.
“Shout out universal for whitelisting me
Disclosure has stoked listeners’ anticipation for the remix EP to their massively successful Lorde collaboration over the last several weeks by releasing a number of ‘Magnets’ remixes individually. We’ve already discussed Disclosure’s own deep house VIP, A-Trak’s upbeat spin on the track, and Jon Hopkins’ awe-inspiring reimagination. Now, the six track EP is fully available to stream and download.
Earlier this month, Disclosure released their own rework of their original track, “Magnets,” featuring Lorde. Just recently, they dropped several remixes of their remix, which featured flips from A-Trak, Loco … Continue reading →
A-Trak turns Disclosure and Lorde’s ‘Magnets’ into his own dance floor primed hit.
A-Trak recently hopped on a song with British producer Jamie Lidell to create the magical track ”We All Fall Down.” Now A-Trak has turned his sights towards Disclosure’s massive hit with Lorde titled ”Magnets.” Disclosure themselves remixed the song not too long ago and now A-Trak has stepped up to offer his own take on the track. Morphing the song into an electro-house […]
Was not expecting this type of remix from A-Trak and honestly think it’s the best one of the Lorde x Disclosure collab yet. I guess A-Trak is changing from scratching … Continue reading →
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, a 2007 graduate of Boise State University with a degree in history, was the 2011 winner of Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest, and 2013 Christian Retailing's Best award for First-Time Author. Peter and his family live in Boise, Idaho. For entertainment, he reads historical books, where he finds ideas for new novels. For relaxation, he writes westerns. Whenever he has a chance, he takes his wife and two homeschooled children on crazy but fun research trips. Learn more about Peter's books, research, and family adventures at www.peterleavell.com.
Your historical fiction manuscript sits on a knife’s edge. Falling to one side awaits epic historical fiction. The other side? Epic historical failure.
Historical fiction owns an element that comes with significant responsibility. It’s time to get serious.
Historical fiction shapes views of the past.
For good or for bad, historical fiction forges images and impressions of the past into minds. When the American gold rush is mentioned, many minds reference Francine Rivers’ Redeeming Love. American Civil War? Gone with the Wind or Killer Angels. Many feel they know medieval history because they’ve read Pillars of the Earth.
Use history wisely.
Because in historical fiction, history is the flour of bread. If the wrong ingredient is added, is the recipe ruined? For some, no—they like salt instead of baking powder. But historical fiction readers are usually informed. They know what the pudding should taste like. And if you use skim milk instead of whole milk, they’ll know.
Raise the history standard in your manuscript. That means reading.
And more reading. Until you don’t tell your friends how many books read. Until you pretend you watch TV, so you can fit in. Until, embarrassed and ashamed of your dirty little reading secret, you have three Goodreads accounts with fictitious names just to keep track of your books.
Reading history leaves an impression on you.
When at long last you sit and write, after reading your fill, history dominates your head. Nothing specific, maybe—just history. You can’t help but write history. Sweeping themes of humanity. Struggles of what it was to live in another time.
Graduate yourself from knowing about history to living history. Breathing it. Loving it. Writing the past.
Leave the reader an impression of what the past was really like.
“Mr. Leavell, where do I begin studying history? How do I get my historical fiction game face on?”
You’re serious? Good.
A great overview of world history is Susan Wise Bauer’s The History of the Ancient World, followed by The History of the Medieval World, and just out is The History of the Renaissance World.
In the back of her books are notes and bibliographies. These are trusted sources. If a time period interests you, read the books she lists. Those books list sources. It’s okay to find those books and read them. And then read the primary sources listed. You can find gold mines in the bibliography of any historical books.
Then contact your local college history professor and ask what she’s reading. Read those books, along with the ones she’s written. And finally, subscribe to periodicals and journals, such as the American Historical Review. Sure, they’ve got some bias, like taking down Christianity, but it’s the latest in historical thought. And someday, you might be in a position to combat bias.
Keep reading until this hobby of loving history has gone terribly wrong, taking over your life. When your manuscript falls off the knife edge and on the side of epic historical fiction, keep reading history.
What's your favorite historical fiction novel? Author? Time period?
Gideon's Call is an unprecedented tale of tragedy and triumph amid the backdrop of the Civil War through the story of Tad, a very clever slave boy who comes of age as America’s war reaches the sea islands of South Carolina. Tad’s desire to better himself is obstructed by the color of his skin, until Northern soldiers force the evacuation of white plantation owners, setting 10,000 slaves free in a single day. These circumstances seem like a dream, except that the newly freed slaves have no money, no education, and little hope for the future—unless someone rises up to lead them. Based on true events, Gideon’s Call is the dramatic tale of a young man who battles the shame of his past and faces the horrors of war and unimaginable prejudice to become the deliverer of thousands of freed slaves.

domain: history


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Peter Vardy In Africa
In 2016, Peter Vardy made the phenomenal commitment to vastly improve the lives of 800 children in East Africa by sponsoring them in collaboration with Fields Of Life. As a result, a select few Peter Vardy Partners were lucky enough to experience Ugandan culture and hospitality, and to witness first-hand the impact this sponsorship makes to the children's lives.
A first-hand account, by Jamie and Sam, Two of the Ten Peter Vardy Partners who visited Uganda in October.
‘After a full day of travelling to the capital city, Kampala, followed by another day of travelling by bus across the beautiful nation of Uganda, we reached our destination – Nyakabale School, high up in the hills in the Rwenzori National Park region.
Waiting to greet our bus, around a mile away from the school, were around 400 schoolchildren. As if this wasn't enough of a welcome, no sooner had we all stepped off the bus than all 400 children began to sing in perfect harmony the anthem of the school, “The Lamb of God”, and march with us up the hill to the school. This was quite simply the most breath taking and humbling experience of all of our lives, there wasn't a dry eye in the team.
Immediately, it was clear to us what abject poverty these incredible children had to deal with in their lives, with a large number of the group walking barefoot, or in torn and worn-out school uniforms. This did nothing to dampen their spirits, which shone through as they belted out the songs to accompany us all the way to the school itself, where another phenomenal welcome and much of the local community (including the local MP and spiritual leaders) had turned out to greet us.
After speeches by the school leaders, year by year the Primary age children took turns to perform for us, and we were truly treated like celebrities.
Splitting into groups, we returned the cultural favour – the children had been so keen to show off the local culture, so we decided a cultural tour of Scotland was in order. Working our way through each class, we brought our tiny corner of the world to Uganda, and the kids really seemed to be keen to learn.
Some of the questions the children asked had us taken aback – one child asked if we also cooked our meals on a fire outside, which was something of a reality check for us all. Our National Dress was also the subject of much hilarity, as we invited a volunteer from each class to get the Kilt and “See You Jimmy” hat on and model it for their classmates – I don' think they could believe that the men wear skirts!
While the Scottish Culture presentation was taking place two members of the group ran P.E. lessons introducing the children to sport from other countries, given that classes sizes ranged from 70 – 130 children this was no mean feat.
The whole team then joined back together to perform arts and crafts with the younger children. It was lovely to see their drawings of what Scotland looked like and of stick figures wearing kilts. One memorable moment occurred when a curious girl having never encountered white skin before cautiously touched the arm of one of group. When he beckoned that it was okay he suddenly had a class of 90 children all huddling round to touch his arm, each one giggling hysterically.
Some of the most rewarding time spent at Nyakabale School was with the Nursery children, who are blessed with the most enormous smiles and a real passion for life. The classes are currently taking place in a Church building, while the very impressive new Nursery building is finishing construction – a building entirely funded by donations through Fields Of Life, proving just how crucial charitable donations are to the education of children in East Africa.
After yet another incredible greeting from the children, we joined in a very colourful parachute game with them, which by adding a football, they developed into their very own game of teamwork, skill and precision.
The next morning, we decide to repay our hosts by helping them with one of the most arduous daily task, fetching water from the stream. As the team descended the mile of rough terrain to the stream we became increasingly aware that the return trip would be an incredibly steep uphill hike. Also, seeing the sediment in the water ensured that no member of the group would ever take their tap water for granted again. To prove their machismo, the men offered to carry the tankers back up the hill, one ‘attempting’ the traditional method of balancing it on his head – As our group tired, and were overtaken by a group of older local ladies not breaking a sweat, we quickly realised we were unprepared for the gruelling nature of African life
In partnership with Fields Of Life we were able to distribute new clothing, stationary, toys and sports equipment to the children. They all lined up patiently with the team members taking it in turns to entertain the crowd with party pieces and audience participation, there were smiles all round with everyone desperate to try on their new clothes and strike a pose for the camera.
The teachers and children were so excited to use their new equipment that they shut the school early on Friday to have a fun day at the local park, which culminated in a local football tournament. We were all keen to watch the games but our hosts insisted we participate as the locals wanted to see how the ‘muzungu’ (white man) played football. So, with Scottish pride at stake we laced up our shoes and begin to stretch, much to the amusement of the children (their mile sprint to the pitch would suffice as a warm up). Everyone had a fantastic time and two members of our group even managed to score! There were plenty of tears when it was time to say goodbye, mostly from the Peter Vardy team.
The final leg of our journey saw us visit the Garden Care School in Kamwenge, where Peter Vardy’s sponsorship was helping vulnerable children attend school. Just like at Nyakabale School we were greeted with a warm welcome and paraded to the school in a chorus of pitch perfect singing.
At the school, Fields Of Life representative, Ruth Makanda, gave a heartfelt speech to the parents on the value of an education. She spoke of her own modest background, how education had allowed her to better her life and how their children could do the same. The head teacher then informed us that the parents having seen how others had helped heir community set up their own fund, wealthier parents in the village could then help subsidise education for those children who could not afford to attend school.
Before we left the parents of the children we sponsored gave us kind gifts to say thank you. The gifts mostly consisted of food grown by the parents and two of our party were presented with live chickens, which certainly made for an interesting bus ride home.
Humbled and once again in tears we begin to make the, 13 hour bus ride and 8 hour flight, journey back to Scotland. These actions really brought home just how big an impact a donation can make to the lives of others. For the price of a trip to the cinema we could send a child to school for a month, where they can gain an education and are guaranteed a hot meal, which in a lot of cases can sometimes be their only meal of the day.'
Find out more about the amazing work Fields Of Life do, and discovery all the giving back work The Peter Vardy Foundation and all our dealerships partake in.


NNPC Remits N1.26tn to Federation Account in 2018
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it met its financial obligations to the Federation Account in 2018 by remitting N1.26 trillion as against the N1.22 trillion projected in the 2018 budget, recording a surplus of N41billion.Managing Director of NNPC Capital,
Mr. Godwin Okonkwo, made this submission when he represented the Group Managing Director,
Dr. Maikanti Baru during a presentation to the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on the Investigation of the Non-Remittances of Funds to the Federation Account by the corporation between July 2017 and December 2018 at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.A release by the Group General Manager,
Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, on Tuesday quoted the GMD as saying that though 2.3million barrels per day (mbpd) was proposed in the 2018 budget, national daily production for the period under review oscillated between 1.9mbpd to 1.89mbpd.Dr. Baru listed the two sources of inflows into the Federation Account from the NNPC to include equity crude oil sales less cost of recovery from the Joint Venture cash call arrears and domestic crude less cost recovery, adding that the JV cash call arrears were being efficiently managed now to ensure steady inflows to the Federation Account.
“The current management of NNPC ensures that it contributes to the cost of the production of crude oil and gas in the upstream sector to avoid a repeat of the mistakes of the past. If we had made cash call payments in the past, the arrears that we are liquidating now would not have arisen. The current situation creates a win-win scenario for the country. The NNPC is strategically saving for the rainy day to make a better future for all of us by liquidating the arrears”,
Mr. Okonkwo posited.He noted that the corporation on a regular and sustained basis balanced up with the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and the JV cash calls in order to make sure that the future generations do not suffer from the legacy debt.
The NNPC Capital MD dismissed the allegations by Commissioners of Finance of under remittances by the Corporation, adding that the NNPC was a going business concern that met financial obligations to its various stakeholders. Dr. Baru stated that investment in the Oil and Gas Industry took time to mature, adding that if the NNPC failed in its obligation to invest in the sector, there would be nothing to share by the various tiers of government. Responding to a question on whether the NNPC 2018 audited account was ready, Dr. Baru stated that the 2018 audited account would be ready next month, adding that NNPC had cleared its backlog of unaudited account. He attributed the delay to some Joint Venture partners that were being awaited to turn in their budget performance for the 2018 budget circle to be completed.In his remarks, the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, Hon. Chukwuka Onyema Wilfred, praised the NNPC for responding to all the issues raised, stressing that the interface would go a long way to putting to rest allegations of non-remittances of funds against the NNPC.
Ndu UghamaduGroup General Manager


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As Vice President of Product Strategy at Limelight Networks, Steve Miller-Jones focuses on driving the long term product roadmap for the company with a focus on delivering the highest quality online experiences. In this Q&A, Steve explores the cyber threats brought into focus by online gaming.
Just a few short months ago, having the option to work from home was considered little more than a perk of the job. Who could have predicted that it would soon become a question of public health and safety?
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a baptism of fire for businesses, many of them thrust into a remote working situation without the chance to acclimatise or get the necessary tools in place. Even the most cloud-friendly, digitally mature companies will surely have struggled to keep their productivity levels up during such a turbulent shift. But what if the opposite is true?
We are in unprecedented times when reliable and trusted communication has never been more essential in saving lives and preserving livelihoods. To say that the world was not prepared for COVID-19 is a massive understatement. Whilst some countries declared lock-downs early, others were slower to respond. It is still too early to comment on what was the best approach, since there was a sensitive balance to be struck between the threat to life and the threat to national economies. What is clear, however, is that in most countries across the world, we are now dealing with soaring infection rates and immense pressure on national health systems.
Separating this pandemic from predecessors is that information technology is firmly on our side. In the absence of sport, Netflix is keeping families entertained. FaceTime or Zoom are connecting us safely from a distance while ordinary socialising presents a risk. And a plethora of cloud-based workplace tools are channelling business productivity from newly-distributed workforces.
Nobody doubted our dependency on connectivity before coronavirus, but the degree to which the thread of the internet holding the fabric of society together during the crisis is striking. While restaurants, pubs, cinemas, cafes and more turned off their lights, data centres, network operations centres and internet exchanges geared up for an unprecedented rise in traffic.
Getting end-user experience right is an ever-growing concern for enterprises – and for good reason. 90 percent of users would stop using an app due to poor performance, while 88 percent of consumers are less likely to return to a website after a bad experience.
Think about Netflix, Uber or Facebook, if the app is slow to respond, customers won’t even think twice before taking their business to Amazon Prime, Bolt, Instagram – and that’s major revenue lost. Even if you aren’t the likes of Amazon, performance issues that aren’t resolved have the potential to wreak havoc on a brands revenue and reputation. In fact, 98 percent of organisations say that a single hour of downtime could cost them over £80,000.
Content delivery networks (CDNs), geographically distributed networks of servers working together to deliver fast internet content delivery, provide a dependable content distribution system for many websites and applications, including webpages, video, games, downloadable objects, streamable media, and even software updates.
CDNs are extremely popular among brands and website owners who need to deliver their content fast to a global audience. Indeed, according to data from BuiltWith, over 80% of the top 10,000 websites are using a CDN, with the global market predicted to grow from $10.9 billion in 2018 to $24.9 billion by 2025.
It’s Rugby World Cup time in Japan, with the first round of rugby union’s most elite competition kicking off over the weekend. During the next few weeks, thousands of fans will travel far and wide across the country to soak up the action. In addition to bringing bundles of optimism about their teams’ prospects, die-hard supporters will arrive armed with a legion of connected devices.
Within the next two years, the amount of smartphone users will reach over 2.87 billion, from 2.57 billion users today. The majority of these users have always-on internet connectivity, providing them the ability to control devices from the palm of their hand, but how does this functionality connect to devices at home or at work?
When your individual devices are secure, the main point of entry into your IoT is going to be through your main network. There are many different methods that you can use to secure your networks against potential threats, but here are a few of the most effective:


Before I proceed, a disclaimer: if you’re planning on eating meat, like, well, ever…you might want to skip ahead to the politics portion of our evening. In a Gary Tuchman piece, we learn that Dr. Dean Wyatt of Food Safety Inspection Services testified before Congress today that he witnessed clear violations of food safety regulations and his report fell on deaf ears.
We’re shown horrific video of a slaughterhouse in Vermont, which Dr. Wyatt tried to get closed down three times. He indicates that the slaughterhouse owners would often intimidate the supervisors who in turn didn’t want to deal with the hassle. Dr. Wyatt was actually told to transfer or lose his job.
Included in the piece is David Kirby, author of “Animal Factory,” explaining just how dangerous slaughtering a “downed cow” can be, something Dr. Wyatt saw. Mad cow disease anyone? The Vermont slaughterhouse was closed when that video came out, but you know there are others like that. Disgusting, and actually pretty scary.
From here we go to an interview with filmmaker Robert Kenner of “Food, Inc” fame. Normally I am very pro-being informed, but I’ll admit I’ve been avoiding this film because I don’t plan on going vegetarian any time soon. We’re show a clip that’s about how manure gets into the meat and…gross. Robert tells us that there are fewer inspectors today. He also thinks stronger regulations are needed.
A disturbing little tidbit is that previously the meat in your burger would have come from the same cow. Now there could me as many as 10,000 cows in a single burger, and they could be coming from anywhere. Kinda throws the notion of safety and tracking out the window, huh? Also, only four companies control 80 percent of the beef in this country. Big Beef, apparently.
Robert suggests that consumers buy less processed food and get things locally, but Anderson Cooper points out doing so can be expensive. Unfortunately, Robert skirts this inconvenient truth, and again just emphasizes that people need to be more conscious with their purchasing choices. He makes a good point about the government subsidizing corn and soybeans though.
Continuing with our theme, Anderson goes to Tom Colicchio ‘s kitchen to talk with the “Top Chef” star. They first touch on E. coli and Tom advises to avoid frozen beef patties. Anderson again hits on how expensive it can be to eat right. I gotta give him props for this because too many times the point goes unmentioned. Tom addresses this more directly than Robert, explaining that you can get protein from legumes, fish,…it doesn’t all have to be about burgers.