Search results for "growth"
showing 10 items of 5134 documents
WIN55,212-2-induced expression of Mir-29b1 favours the suppression of osteosarcoma cell migration in a SPARC-independent manner
2019
WIN55,212-2 (WIN) is a synthetic agonist of cannabinoid receptors that displays promising antitumour properties. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that WIN is able to block the migratory ability of osteosarcoma cells and characterize the mechanisms involved. Using wound healing assay and zymography, we showed that WIN affects cell migration and reduces the activity of the metalloproteases MMP2 and MMP9. This effect seemed to be independent of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), a matricellular protein involved in tissue remodeling and extracellular matrix deposition. SPARC release was indeed prevented by WIN, and SPARC silencing by RNA interference did not influence …
Short-term response of the Ca cycle of a montane forest in Ecuador to low experimental CaCl2 additions
2013
The tropical montane forests of the E Andean cordillera in Ecuador receive episodic Sahara-dust inputs particularly increasing Ca deposition. We added CaCl2 to isolate the effect of Ca deposition by Sahara dust to tropical montane forest from the simultaneously occurring pH effect. We examined components of the Ca cycle at four control plots and four plots with added Ca (2 x 5kg ha(-1) Ca annually as CaCl2) in a random arrangement. Between August 2007 and December 2009 (four applications of Ca), we determined Ca concentrations and fluxes in litter leachate, mineral soil solution (0.15 and 0.30 m depths), throughfall, and fine litterfall and Al concentrations and speciation in soil solutions…
Development of a Sensor for Continuous and Accurate Monitoring of Air Flow for Open-System Whole Canopy Gas-Exchange Measurements
2007
The research describes the development and set-up of a simple and accurate solid-state device for continuous monitoring of airflow forced into an open-flow gas-exchange chamber for whole-canopy transpiration and photosynthesis measurements. The ventilation system was formed by a centrifugal fan powered by an electric motor and a PVC pipe (0.193 m inner diameter). To damp airflow turbulence, 50 cm of the main pipe was filled with a bundle of smaller PVC pipes (3 cm inner diameter). The measurement principle of the sensor is the thermal balance of an electrically heated copper plate compared to an unheated one. Calibration of the sensor was performed by two independent methods: gas dilution (…
Vegetative and productive responses of ‘Conference’ and ‘Williams’ pear trees planted at different in-row spacings
2006
Abstract The effect of in-row spacing on the vegetative and productive performance of 4-year-old ‘Conference’ (CON) and ‘Williams’ (WIL) pear trees was studied. Analysis of digital images was used to estimate canopy growth and conformation. Fruit quality was determined by measuring fruit weight, flesh firmness, peel color, soluble solid content, and titratable acidity. WIL produced more and more efficiently than CON, especially at closer spacings. WIL canopies were generally bigger than CON canopies, and reduced spacing penalized stem growth and influenced canopy conformation. Root growth and conformation was similar for both cultivars, whereas decreasing in-row spacing reduced root dry wei…
Effects of partial rootzone drying and rootstock vigour on dry matter partitioning of apple trees (Malus domesticacvar Pink Lady)
2011
SUMMARYThe effects of partial rootzone drying (PRD) and rootstock vigour on dry matter accumulation and partitioning among leaves, shoots, fruits, frame and roots of apple trees (Malus domesticaBorkh. cvar Pink Lady) were investigated in 2005 near Caltavuturo, in Sicily. In a first field trial, trees on MM.106 rootstock were subjected to: conventional irrigation (CI), maintaining soil moisture above 0·80 of field capacity; PRD irrigation, where alternating sides of the rootzone received 0·50 of the CI irrigation water; and continuous deficit irrigation (DI), where 0·50 of the CI water was equally applied to both sides of the rootzone. In a second trial, trees on M.9 or MM.106 were subjected…
The effect of soil volume on the growth of roots and canopy of Opuntia ficus-indica
2019
The influence of soil volume on root development and canopy growth rates of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) was studied at Palermo University, Italy, in 2014-2016. In November 2014, 60 1-year-old O. ficus-indica cladodes were planted in pots containing five different soil volumes, 50, 33, 18, 9 or 5 L, in a complete randomized design with three replications. Root dry mass, total number of cladodes and canopy dry mass were measured after 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. The results revealed a significant effect of soil volume and sampling time and their interaction (P<0.01) on root dry mass, total number of cladodes and canopy dry mass. Root dry mass ranged between 23 and 206 g, with the highe…
Spatial Gradients of Intensity and Persistence of Soil Water Repellency Under Different Forest Types in Central Mexico
2016
Organic residues release hydrophobic compounds to the soil that may induce soil water repellency (WR), which may inhibit infiltration and increase runoff and soil loss rates. Although there are many studies on soil WR through the world, very few investigations have been conducted in Mexican areas. This paper studies the natural background of soil WR in soils from central Mexico under representative forest types, analyzing the spatial distribution of soil WR in relation with tree canopy, vegetation cover and main soil chemical (pH, CaCO3, organic C content and exchangeable cations) and physical properties (texture). The water drop penetration time and the ethanol tests were used to assess pe…
Dry matter accumulation and seasonal partitioning in mature Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. fruiting trees
2014
Aim of this study was to understand the allocation of biomass into different canopy and root components and to measure the stem area index and its partitioning by cladode functionality (age), for fruiting Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) Gialla trees, spaced 6x5 m apart and trained to a globe. The net primary productivity (NPP), calculated taking into account dry weight gain for above-ground vegetative components of OFI trees was 3.6 t C ha –1 . Including the fruit component and 1 st flush current-year cladodes, NPP of above-ground components becomes 12 t ha –1 , equivalent to 5.4 t C ha –1 . Current-year cladodes were the highest C sink (49% of total annual C fixed in the canopy), secondary grow…
Computer simulation studies of finite-size broadening of solid–liquid interfaces: from hard spheres to nickel
2009
Using Molecular Dynamics (MD) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations interfacial properties of crystal-fluid interfaces are investigated for the hard sphere system and the one-component metallic system Ni (the latter modeled by a potential of the embedded atom type). Different local order parameters are considered to obtain order parameter profiles for systems where the crystal phase is in coexistence with the fluid phase, separated by interfaces with (100) orientation of the crystal. From these profiles, the mean-squared interfacial width w^2 is extracted as a function of system size. We rationalize the prediction of capillary wave theory that w^2 diverges logarithmically with the lateral size o…
Structural change in a Ricardian world economy: The role of extensive rent
2019
Abstract We study an implication of the Ricardian theory of differential extensive rent in a free trade regime. To this effect we develop a Ricardian two country two commodity open economy model. We assume that, unlike labour, land is heterogeneous both within and across countries and that the ratio of high to low quality land is different among the trading countries. By means of a numerical example we show that as the process of worldwide capital accumulation (and population growth) proceeds an industrial country may find it convenient to increase its domestic corn production and even reverse completely the pattern of its imports and exports.