Doxorubicin (DOX), a widely used anthracycline in cancer therapy, is associated with significant cardiovascular toxicity. While its cardiotoxic effects are well documented, the mechanisms and prevention of DOX-induced vascular toxicity remain insufficiently explored. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), such as perindopril (PER), are commonly used in cardiovascular disease management and may offer vascular protect...

Apple production is among the most pesticide-intensive cultures. Recently, plastic rain shields and pest exclusion netting have emerged as potential measures to reduce the heavy reliance on chemical pesticides in apple, due to their inhibitory effect on pathogen and pest infestations. In a field trial, we compared yields, pest, and pathogen abundance in an orchard consisting of four plots, where two plots were covered with ant...

The special issue summarises and highlights key findings of the research unit DASIM funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) on the process of denitrification. Progress was made in several areas including the development of new and advanced methods to quantify N 2 fluxes such as a new 15 N gas flux method, enhanced Raman spectroscopy and a new incubation system to study plant-soil interactions in He-O 2 atmosphere. Under...

In 1925, the American entomologist Walter Sidney Abbott proposed an equation for assessing efficacy, and it is still widely used today for analysing controlled experiments in crop protection and phytomedicine. Typically, this equation is applied to each experimental unit and the efficacy estimates thus obtained are then used in analysis of variance and least squares regression procedures. However, particularly regarding the co...

In sugarcane cropping systems, high rates of N fertiliser are typically applied as sub-surface bands creating localised zones of high mineral N concentrations. This in combination with high levels of crop residue (trash) retention and a warm and humid climate creates conditions that are known to promote soil denitrification, resulting in high emissions of the potent greenhouse gas N 2 O. These losses illustrate inefficient use...

Irrigated cotton in Australia is mainly grown on heavy textured soils which are prone to waterlogging, resulting in significant losses of nitrogen (N) via denitrification and surface run-off. This study investigated fertiliser nitrogen use efficiency (fNUE) over three seasons on five commercial cotton farms using the 15 N tracer technique. Fertiliser NUE was consistently low across all fertilised treatments, with on average 47...

Aims High nitrogen (N) fertiliser inputs in intensive sugarcane systems drive productivity but also significant emissions of nitrous oxide (N 2 O), a potent greenhouse gas. Fertiliser and soil N availability for both plant N uptake and N 2 O emissions across different N rates remain unknown, hindering efficient N management. This study investigated the contribution of fertiliser and soil N and their interaction to plant N upta...

This study investigated the effects of irrigation frequency on N 2 and N 2 O emissions from an intensively managed pasture in the subtropics. Irrigation volumes were estimated to replace evapotranspiration and were applied either once (low frequency) or split into four applications (high frequency). To test for legacy effects, a large rainfall event was simulated at the end of the experiment. Over 15 days, 7.9 ± 2.7 kg N 2 + N...

DNA methylation is a crucial, abundant mechanism of gene regulation in vertebrates. It is less prevalent in many other metazoan organisms and completely absent in some key model species, such as Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans . We report here a comprehensive study of the presence and absence of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) in 138 Ecdysozoa, covering Arthropoda, Nematoda, Priapulida, Onychophora, and Tardi...

More than 10% of Australia's 49 M ha of grassland is considered degraded, prompting widespread interest in the management of these ecosystems to increase soil carbon (C) sequestration—with an emphasis on long‐lived C storage. We know that management practices that increase plant biomass also increase C inputs to the soil, but we lack a quantitative understanding of the fate of soil C inputs into different soil organic carbon (...

Improving fertiliser nitrogen (N) use efficiency is essential to increase productivity and avoid environmental damage. Using a 15 N mass balance approach, we investigated the effects of five N fertiliser management strategies to test the hypothesis that increasing uptake of applied N by wheat improves productivity and reduces loss of N in a semi-arid environment. Three experiments were conducted between 2012 and 2014. Treatmen...

Increasing population densities and urban sprawl are causing rapid land use change from natural and agricultural ecosystems into smaller, urban residential properties. However, there is still great uncertainty about the effect that urbanization will have on biogeochemical C and N cycles and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) budgets. We aimed to evaluate how typical urbanization related land use change in subtropical Australia af...