Search results for "CROP"

Inflammatory cytokines shape a changing DNA methylome in monocytes mirroring disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

2019

Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease that mainly targets joints. Monocytes and macrophages are critical in RA pathogenesis and contribute to inflammatory lesions. These extremely plastic cells respond to extracellular signals which cause epigenomic changes that define their pathogenic phenotype. Here, we interrogated how DNA methylation alterations in RA monocytes are determined by extracellular signals. Methods: High-throughput DNA methylation analyses of patients with RA and controls and in vitro cytokine stimulation were used to investigate the underlying mechanisms behind DNA methylation alterations in RA as well as their relationship with clinic…

Analysis of the main critical points in protected crops on risk prevention in Sicily

2010

Is it possible to understand a book missing a quarter of the letters? Unveiling the belowground species richness of grasslands

2022

Abstract Knowledge of species richness patterns in plant communities is biased toward its hidden belowground part and is derived only from the part visible aboveground. Studies on the relationship of the above- to belowground parts of plant communities suffer from the lack of a consistent and uniform approach to assess their taxonomic composition, particularly in species-rich ecosystems. This study described the proportion between above- and belowground parts of vegetation in three grassland types along with the environmental factors that affect them, using eDNA metabarcoding and an observer survey. The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region was used to analyze the total plant richness…

Fosildiagénesis del anélido Rotularia spirulaea (Lamarck, 1818) (Polychaeta, Serpulidae) en el Eoceno del dominio pirenaico occidental

2018

The presence of the fossil polychaete Rotularia spirulaea (Lamarck, 1818) in Eocene deposits (middle Lutecian – upper Bartonian and (?) Priabonian) belonging to the western Pyrenean Domain is verified. In this paper, a fossildiagenetic study has been carried out. Fossils from three areas, corresponding to diff erent depositional settings, have been analysed. In area 1, sediments of the Ardanatz Sandstone and Ilundain Marls formations [Pamplona Basin and adjoining areas (Navarre)], were sampled. Here, the specimens of R. spirulaea  were not substantially affected by taphonomic reworking and the original microstructure of the carbonate tube is preserved. The test consists of a thick external …

Production and energetic performance of Carthamus tinctorius L. in the Mediterranean environment

2012

One of the most important aspects when managing an agro-energy crop is the energy gain factor, that is, the surplus in energy which remains following an appraisal of the relevant inputs and outputs. This aspect is of fundamental importance when choosing a species in a particular growth environment as it gives crucial information on the economic and energetic feasibility of a species and allows us to evaluate potential costs in order to obtain a given production and energy performance. In the agro-energy sector, this indicator is not always included in the evaluation process, making the agronomic and energy results obtained often incomplete. In the Mediterranean area, one potential crop for …

Spatial data fusion and analysis for soil characterization: a case study in a coastal basin of south-western Sicily (southern Italy)

2012

Salinization is one of the most serious problems confronting sustainable agriculture in semi-arid and arid regions. Accurate mapping of soil salinization and the associated risk represent a fundamental step in planning agricultural and remediation activities. Geostatistical analysis is very useful for soil quality assessment because it makes it possible to determine the spatial relationships between selected variables and to produce synthetic maps of spatial variation. The main objective of this paper was to map the soil salinization risk in the Delia-Nivolelli alluvial basin (south-western Sicily, southern Italy), using multivariate geostatistical techniques and a set of topographical, phy…

Assessing HYDRUS-2D model to simulate water content and salt accumulation in a soil irrigated with a subsurface drip system: Application in a semiari…

2015

In this paper, the suitability of HYDRUS-2D model to predict the average soil water content in the root zone of potato crop irrigated with subsurface drip irrigation plant, is initially assessed on the basis of a field study. Then, the model is tested to predict the salt distribution around a buried emitter, when two different water qualities (i.e. electrical conductivity of 1.0 dS m-1 and 4.0 dS m-1), are used during the growing season (treatments T1 and T2). Finally, the soil volume in which salts accumulates, as well as the effects on crop yield is recognized for both the considered treatments.The results evidenced that predicted values of average soil water content in the root zone were…

Nitrogen Availability Drives Mycorrhizal Effects on Wheat Growth, Nitrogen Uptake and Recovery under Salt Stress

2022

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is generally considered effective in improving salt tolerance in plants; however, the advantages it offers can vary greatly depending on the context in which it occurs; furthermore, the mechanisms underlying these responses are still unclear. A study was conducted to investigate the role of nitrogen (N) availability on the effectiveness of AM symbiosis in durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) plants grown under salt stress. Plants were grown in pots in the absence or in presence of salt stress (soil electrical conductivity of 1.50 and 13.00 dS m−1, respectively), with or without AM fungi inoculation (Rhizophagus irregularis and Funneliformis mosseae), …

Le potenzialità delle colture in vitro nella conservazione e diffusione di germoplasma di Morus spp.

2009

Gaussian processes retrieval of crop traits in Google Earth Engine based on Sentinel-2 top-of-atmosphere data.

2022

The unprecedented availability of optical satellite data in cloud-based computing platforms, such as Google Earth Engine (GEE), opens new possibilities to develop crop trait retrieval models from the local to the planetary scale. Hybrid retrieval models are of interest to run in these platforms as they combine the advantages of physically-based radiative transfer models (RTM) with the flexibility of machine learning regression algorithms. Previous research with GEE primarily relied on processing bottom-of-atmosphere (BOA) reflectance data, which requires atmospheric correction. In the present study, we implemented hybrid models directly into GEE for processing Sentinel-2 (S2) Level-1C (L1C)…