2023.12.04
Nature Research Centre announces a competition for Additional Admission to state-funded full-time doctoral studies in the fields of Biology, Ecology and Environmental science, Physical Geography, Geology, Zoology
▶️ Submission of applications: till 7th of December, 2023
▶️ All the information and Doctoral research topics for candidates to doctoral studies admission 2023 and documents:
https://gamtostyrimai.lt/en/admission-to-studies/
2023.11.08
The bacterial contamination of meat is a global concern, especially for the risk of Salmonella infection that can lead to health issues. Artificial antibacterial compounds used to preserve fresh meat can have negative health effects. We investigated the potential of natural essential oils (EOs), namely Mentha arvensis (mint) and Cinnamomum cassia (cinnamon) EOs, to prevent contamination of the food pathogen, Salmonella enterica, in vitro and on chicken skin. The gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique was used to determine the compositions of mint EO (MEO) and cinnamon EO (CEO). The antibacterial activity of MEO and CEO were examined in vapor and direct contact with bacteria. The exploration of CEO and MEO employment for the inhibition of Salmonella bacteria at different temperatures and conditions expands the possibilities of developing more environment- and consumer-friendly antibacterial protection for raw meat.
2023.11.07
2023.10.27
A very interesting Nordic stakeholder workshop on Long-term Conservation and Access to Nordic Crop Wild Relatives took place 23-24 October 2023 in Helsinki, Finland.
It was quite intensive sharing of knowledge with presentations and discussions in separate subgroups on the following topics:
-Discussing aspects of long-term robustness of different protected area (PA) categories. Are all PAs equally suitable for CWR conservation? If not, what would the preferable model look like?
-MAWP (Most Appropriate Wild Population) is an adopted concept to help prioritizing CWR populations. Discuss whether we should apply the concept in our region and, if yes, how would we proceed?
-The availability of genetic resources – in our case a CWR – very likely depends upon the category of PA where the taxon grows. Could you envisage the development of a simplified procedure that would facilitate access? Discuss pros and cons.
In conclusion, it could be observed is that the regional approach (or subregional if viewed from the context of Europe as a region itself) is going to be more and more promising as there are at least several common things joining partner-countries including similar climatic conditions, species composition of the national floras, peoples‘ attitudes towards CWR and wild food species conservation, etc. What we need to do is to develop a common approach to CWR conservation planning which has been already started by the five Nordic countries, but should include the three Baltic states as well. A common information system on crop wild relatives for the region would also be a significant achievement in strengthening the regional cooperation.
Credits should be given to the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) which provides support through its representatives in all Baltic states to promote the regional collaboration. Total 41 participants including 6 from the Baltics, also from Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, took part in the workshop.
2023.10.20
Dr. Md. Reazuddin Repon, a scientific worker at the Plant Physiology Laboratory of Nature Research Centre, recently attended the 30th International Baltic Conference on Materials Engineering and Modern Manufacturing 2023. The conference took place on October 19 at Victoria Hotel in Kaunas, Lithuania, and brought together scientists and industry experts in materials engineering from the Baltics and other countries to exchange knowledge.
During the conference, Dr. Reazuddin presented his research titled “Cotton coloration using bio-waste extracts: A greener approach.” The coauthors of this work included Daiva Mikučionienė from Kaunas University of Technology, Sigita Jurkonienė from Nature Research Centre, and Tarikul Islam from the University of Georgia.
The investigation conducted by Dr. Reazuddin aimed to address the challenges of color fastness properties and limited color variety when applying natural dyes to textile coloration. In this study, cotton fabric was pre-mordanted with metallic salts to enhance dye fiber binding through a coordination bond formed between the fiber, metal, and dye.
All color fastness properties, except for light fastness, were greatly satisfied. However, the extent of color variety was not achieved to a high degree. In order to analyze the environmental hazards, the metals loading from the residual mordanting bath and dyeing wastewater were calculated. The amounts of residual metal ions in the mordant bath exceeded the acceptable limit set by environmental standards. However, the levels of trace metals found in the finished fabric were deemed not harmful to human health. Therefore, Dr. Reazuddin suggested further exploration to develop new methods of achieving a wider range of colors while ensuring improved color fastness and reducing the future use of metal salts.
2023.10.18
The 5th Congress of Baltic Microbiologists (CBM 2023), organised by the Lithuanian Microbiology Society, took place in Vilnius (Lithuania) from 11–13 October, 2023. Scientists from the Nature Research Centre contributed to the organisation of this event.
The Congress included oral and poster sessions on environmental, food and medical microbiology, biotechnological and medical applications of yeasts, genetic, biochemical and physiological studies of microorganisms and viruses.
Two poster presentations were given by scientists and students from the Laboratory of Genetics at the Nature Research Centre:
Eglė Malachovskienė, a junior researcher at the Laboratory of Biodeterioration Research, presented a poster presentation:
Scientists from the Laboratory of Plant Pathology presented:
Link to the conference website: https://cbm2023.com/
2023.10.16
The Nature Research Centre hosted an event organised by scientists from the Laboratory of Plant Pathology under the COST Action CA20132 „Urban Tree Guard – Safeguarding European urban trees and forests through improved biosecurity“ (UB3Guard) on 10-11 October, 2023. Representatives of the Nature Conservation Policy Group of the Ministry of the Environment of the Republic of Lithuania, the Urban Environment Division of Vilnius City Municipality, the Landscape and Plantation Expert Group, and other interested institutions were invited to the event and participated in the discussions. Invited presentations on the maintenance and management of the city’s trees and plantations were given by Ramunė Baniulienė and Giedrė Čeponytė, specialists of the Landscape Architecture Subdivision of the Urban Environment Division of the Vilnius City Municipality („Newly planted trees in Vilnius – statistics, maintenance, challenges”), and Renaldas Žilinskas, an expert of the Landscape and Plantation Expert Group, professional arborist, Director of UAB Arbovita ir Ko („Maintenance of veteran and ancient trees”). During a practical study tour to Vilnius Verkių Park, Lukiškių Square and Bernardinai Gardens, discussions were held on the state of the city’s green spaces and measures to improve it.
2023.10.06
The Horizon Europe Brokerage Event and Information Days for Cluster 6 (Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment) took place in Brussels, Belgium, from 26 to 28 September 2023. During the event, Nature Research Centre’s scientists Dr Elžbieta Jankovska-Bortkevič, Dr Daiva Burokienė, Dr Justas Dainys, Dr Elena Servienė and Dr Eglė Šidagytė-Copilas presented NTC activities, participated in the meetings with scientists and business representatives from different European countries, and obtained up-to-date information on the requirements of Cluster 6 calls for proposals for 2024.
Links to events:
https://he-2024-cluster6.b2match.io/
https://research-innovation-community.ec.europa.eu/events/7qZr4Q2zmCYzGZKQLCwz3H/overview
2023.09.25
A Nordic stakeholder workshop Long-term Conservation and Access to Nordic Crop Wild Relatives to be held at the Meeting Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Helsinki, Finland, 23-24 October 2023
It will focus on conservation of crop wild relatives in their natural environments, but also on use and access to these genetic resources. Lectures on examples from the Nordic region and beyond will be combined with discussions on issues relevant for conservation and access to crop wild relatives.
Sea kale (Crambe maritima), Tulliniemi, Finland, 2021.
Nature Research Centre is to be represented by Juozas Labokas (Laboratory of Economic Botany) with support from the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) through the Nordic Scholarship Scheme for the Baltic Countries administered by the NCM Office in Lithuania (https://www.norden.lt/en/programmes/nordic-organisations-and-institutions-mobility-programme-noim/).
2023.09.21
On the 17-19th of September, NRC HEEL researchers Dr L. Butrimavičienė and Dr A. Rybakovas attended the meeting in Estonian University of Life Sciences, during which discuss a perspectives of joint project application about the lake restoration. These activities were scheduled to be carried out as the part of the „LakeRest“ (Preparation of a joint project application on lake restoration in the Baltic states Nr. EEZ/BPP/LZP/2023/1) project.
The aim of the current project is to involve researchers from all partner institutions in preparing a joint application on the overreaching topic of lake restoration planning and practical testing.
During the meeting possible funding sources, calls, research perspectives and the aspects of future application as well as additional partners were discussed. The frame of application topics and objects were formulated.
