We aimed to evaluate potential new treatments for knee osteoarthritis (OA). The National Institute of Health ClinicalTrials.gov database was searched for “Osteoarthritis, Knee”. We found 565 ongoing interventional studies with a total planned enrollment of 111,276 subjects. Ongoing studies for knee OA represent a very small fraction of the registered clinical trials, but they are over a quarter of all knee trials and over two thirds of all OA studies. The most researched topic was arthroplasty, with aspects such as implant design changes, cementless fixation, robotic guidance, pain management, and fast track recovery. Intraarticular injections focused on cell therapies with mesenchymal stem cells sourced from adipose tissue, bone marrow, or umbilical cord. We could see the introduction of the first disease modifying drugs with an impact on knee OA, as well as new procedures such as geniculate artery embolization and geniculate nerve ablation.

In this paper, sowing rate optimization of grassland drills consisted in finding an optimum combination between the seed flow of the seed metering device and the drill working speed, in order to achieve the sowing rates required by agro-technique for herbs seeds. It was developed a mathematical model that describes the seed flow variation depending on the working speed of the grassland drill and the active length of the groove cylinders. The experimental research was conducted using a grassland drill with eight metering devices and an automated installation, which simulates the working speed of the drill, collects and weighs seeds from each individual metering device. By using MathCad 14.0, it have been drawn the variation diagram of seed flow depending on active length of the groove and working speed. The comparative study of the variation diagrams based on experimental data and the variation diagrams obtained from mathematical modelling highlighted that the downward trend of the seed flow was observed in 66,67% of the results. Based on the mathematical model presented in this paper, it might be developed an algorithm enabling for fast obtain the optimal combination between the adjustment parameters, in order to apply a desired sowing rate.

Fruit tree culture is of particular importance as food source, from socioeconomic and environmental point of view. The fruits of fruit-bearing trees and shrubs are one of the healthiest foods that are indispensable in making an optimal food ration for the human body. Through the cultivation of trees, the best use is made of hilly areas, inclined terrains in the lowland area, as well as sandy soils in Oltenia, NorthWestern Transylvania and Southern Moldavia. Fruit growing is the livelihood of a significant part of Romania's population. Orchards balance the composition of the atmosphere by CO 2 consumption and oxygen release, attenuate thermal extremes, increase air relative humidity, reduce wind speed. Moreover, orchards have an important anti-erosion role. As a result, the fruit growing development programs in our Country include priority measures and actions, among which the promotion of organic tree cultivation technologies. Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union, establishes a framework to achieve a sustainable use of pesticides by reducing the effects of pesticide use on human health and the environment and promoting the use of integrated pest management (IPM-Integrated Pest Management) and of alternative approaches or techniques such as non-chemical alternatives to pesticides, all of which are part of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Currently, low and ultra-low consumption technologies are being promoted when applying phytosanitary treatments. A way to reduce the consumption of a plant protection products is the punctual application of spraying, a component of the "precision agriculture" system. In the case of the punctual spraying application system, the command of sprayers opening or stopping is controlled, depending on the plant mass within the range of the machine. The purpose of the paper is to study technological solutions for punctual application of spraying in fruit plantations. Cuvinte cheie: plantaţii pomicole, tratamente fitosanitare, agricultură de precizie, normă variabilă

The paper presents an analysis of the innovative technologies that are currently implementing spraying treatments with the reduction of specific consumption of pesticides, fuel, labour and especially the reduction of environmental pollution. They are presented for the administration of insecticides-fungicides and liquid fertilizers with machines for spraying vines and orchards of the carried type with a tank of 300-600 litres and of the trailed type with a tank of 600-2000 litres, which have standard fans or a tower with controlled spraying, 600-800 mm propellers with adjustable pitch, hot-dip galvanized metal parts, bronze nozzle holder, cardan shaft, etc. The work concludes with the recommendation of using an innovative spraying machine that allows significant savings of active substance, depending on the vegetative phase of the plantation at the time of spraying compared to conventional treatment.

Considerating that the energy resources can be found in limited quantities and are not renewable, the most efficient and technically sustainable for heating the soil in early spring or late autumn in a greenhouse for vegetables is to use the solar energy. A heated greenhouse for vegetables is useful because the vegetation process can start more early or can continue later for can obtain several crops throughout the year. The paper presents theoretical researches accomplished for development an system of ecological heating in a greenhouse covered with a tough polyethylene wrap with triple layer. The heating system contains solar panels with heat-pipe vacuum tubes and an installation for heating the interior of the solarium using hot water hot air heaters, which adds more heat.