scholarly journals Development of an In Vivo Sensor to Monitor the Effects of Vapour Pressure Deficit (VPD) Changes to Improve Water Productivity in Agriculture

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (21) ◽  
pp. 4667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Vurro ◽  
Michela Janni ◽  
Nicola Coppedè ◽  
Francesco Gentile ◽  
Riccardo Manfredi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Vapour Pressure ◽  
Vascular System ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Vapour Pressure Deficit ◽  
Sensor Response ◽  
Physiological Changes ◽  
Food Security And Nutrition

Environment, biodiversity and ecosystem services are essential to ensure food security and nutrition. Managing natural resources and mainstreaming biodiversity across agriculture sectors are keys towards a sustainable agriculture focused on resource efficiency. Vapour Pressure Deficit (VPD) is considered the main driving force of water movements in the plant vascular system, however the tools available to monitor this parameter are usually based on environmental monitoring. The driving motif of this paper is the development of an in-vivo sensor to monitor the effects of VPD changes in the plant. We have used an in vivo sensor, termed “bioristor”, to continuously monitor the changes occurring in the sap ion’s status when plants experience different VPD conditions and we observed a specific R (sensor response) trend in response to VPD. The possibility to directly monitor the physiological changes occurring in the plant in different VPD conditions, can be used to increase efficiency of the water management in controlled conditions thus achieving a more sustainable use of natural resources.

scholarly journals Oxidized LDLs as Signaling Molecules

Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1184
Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Zingg ◽  
Adelina Vlad ◽  
Roberta Ricciarelli
Keyword(s):  
Free Radicals ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
Vascular System ◽  
Signaling Molecules ◽  
Scavenger Receptors ◽  
Physiological Relevance ◽  
Reactive Radicals ◽  
Accumulation Of Lipids

Levels of oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDLs) are usually low in vivo but can increase whenever the balance between formation and scavenging of free radicals is impaired. Under normal conditions, uptake and degradation represent the physiological cellular response to oxLDL exposure. The uptake of oxLDLs is mediated by cell surface scavenger receptors that may also act as signaling molecules. Under conditions of atherosclerosis, monocytes/macrophages and vascular smooth muscle cells highly exposed to oxLDLs tend to convert to foam cells due to the intracellular accumulation of lipids. Moreover, the atherogenic process is accelerated by the increased expression of the scavenger receptors CD36, SR-BI, LOX-1, and SRA in response to high levels of oxLDL and oxidized lipids. In some respects, the effects of oxLDLs, involving cell proliferation, inflammation, apoptosis, adhesion, migration, senescence, and gene expression, can be seen as an adaptive response to the rise of free radicals in the vascular system. Unlike highly reactive radicals, circulating oxLDLs may signal to cells at more distant sites and possibly trigger a systemic antioxidant defense, thus elevating the role of oxLDLs to that of signaling molecules with physiological relevance.

scholarly journals Farmers’ and Herders’ Perceptions on Rangeland Management in Two Agroecological Zones of Benin

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 425
Author(s):  
Rodrigue Vivien Cao Diogo ◽  
Luc Hippolyte Dossa ◽  
Sèyi Fridaïus Ulrich Vanvanhossou ◽  
Badirou Dine Abdoulaye ◽  
Kossi Hélliot Dosseh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Rangeland Management ◽  
Mineral Fertilization ◽  
The North ◽  
Unused Land ◽  
Agroecological Zones ◽  
Sound Management

The sustainable use of rangelands in pastoral areas requires the inclusion of all stakeholders to develop sound management strategies. However, the role of these actors in the sustainable management of natural resources is still poorly understood. The present study aims to (i) assess the perception of farmers and herders of the risks and opportunities of transhumance on rangeland resource use and management, and to (ii) generate useful knowledge for the design and implementation of policies that favor the coexistence of these actors and reduce competition over rangeland resources use in Benin. To this end, interviews were conducted with 240 crop farmers and herders using a semi-structured questionnaire in two contrasting agroecological zones in the northern (Kandi) and the southern (Kétou) part of the country. Among the respondents, 64% of farmers in the North were agro-pastoralists (owning 10.6 ha of land and 10.7 cattle) and 36% were herders (keeping 45.8 cattle and cultivating about 3.7 ha of land). They perceived that communal rangelands were entirely degraded. In the South, 36% of respondents were agro-pastoralists (with 0.3 cattle and farming 4 ha of land) and 64% cattle herders (raising 45.3 cattle and farming 0.9 ha of land only). Of the herders, 50% kept cattle for more than 20 years, while agro-pastoralists had no previous experience in cattle herding. Cultivation practices among crop farmers, such as high use of mineral fertilization (23.8%) and bush fires for land clearing (22.5%), were reported in Kandi (North) and Kétou (South) as factors that might contribute to land degradation. However, these farmers perceived transhumance as a threat to the sustainable use of natural resources. In contrast, herders perceived transhumance as an opportunity to valorize unused land and increase the availability of manure to cropland. The prevalent negative attitude of crop farmers regarding transhumant herders increases the vulnerability of cattle herding in both regions. There is an urgent need of raising awareness concerning the mutual benefits provided by the coexistence of crop farmers with herders to promote participative rangeland management strategies. This may contribute towards coping with the current challenges of food insecurity and increasing climate variability as well as to reducing recurrent conflicts in the region.

scholarly journals Pilot Study: Quantitative Photoacoustic Evaluation of Peripheral Vascular Dynamics Induced by Carfilzomib In Vivo

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 836
Author(s):  
Thi Thao Mai ◽  
Manh-Cuong Vo ◽  
Tan-Huy Chu ◽  
Jin Young Kim ◽  
Chulhong Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Cardiovascular Events ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Vascular System ◽  
Maximum Amplitude ◽  
Peripheral Vascular ◽  
Peripheral Vasculature ◽  
Mouse Ear

Carfilzomib is mainly used to treat multiple myeloma. Several side effects have been reported in patients treated with carfilzomib, especially those associated with cardiovascular events, such as hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease. However, the side effects, especially the manifestation of cardiovascular events through capillaries, have not been fully investigated. Here, we performed a pilot experiment to monitor peripheral vascular dynamics in a mouse ear under the effects of carfilzomib using a quantitative photoacoustic vascular evaluation method. Before and after injecting the carfilzomib, bortezomib, and PBS solutions, we acquired high-resolution three-dimensional PAM data of the peripheral vasculature of the mouse ear during each experiment for 10 h. Then, the PAM maximum amplitude projection (MAP) images and five quantitative vascular parameters, i.e., photoacoustic (PA) signal, diameter, density, length fraction, and fractal dimension, were estimated. Quantitative results showed that carfilzomib induces a strong effect on the peripheral vascular system through a significant increase in all vascular parameters up to 50%, especially during the first 30 min after injection. Meanwhile, bortezomib and PBS do not have much impact on the peripheral vascular system. This pilot study verified PAM as a comprehensive method to investigate peripheral vasculature, along with the effects of carfilzomib. Therefore, we expect that PAM may be useful to predict cardiovascular events caused by carfilzomib.

High vapour pressure deficit and low soil water availability enhance shoot growth responses of a C4 grass (Panicum coloratum cv. Bambatsi) to CO2 enrichment

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saman P. Seneweera ◽  
Oula Ghannoum ◽  
Jann Conroy
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Elevated Co2 ◽  
Vapour Pressure ◽  
Shoot Growth ◽  
Vapour Pressure Deficit ◽  
C4 Grasses ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
High Co2 ◽  
C4 Grass ◽  
Shoot Mass

The hypothesis that shoot growth responses of C4 grasses to elevated CO2 are dependent on shoot water relations was tested using a C4 grass, Panicum coloratum (NAD-ME subtype). Plants were grown for 35 days at CO2 concentrations of 350 or 1000 µL CO2 L-1. Shoot water relations were altered by growing plants in soil which was brought daily to 65, 80 or 100% field capacity (FC) and by maintaining the vapour pressure deficit (VPD) at 0.9 or 2.1 kPa. At 350 µL CO2 L-1, high VPD and lower soil water content depressed shoot dry mass, which declined in parallel at each VPD with decreasing soil water content. The growth depression at high VPD was associated with increased shoot transpiration, whereas at low soil water, leaf water potential was reduced. Elevated CO2 ameliorated the impact of both stresses by decreasing transpiration rates and raising leaf water potential. Consequently, high CO2 approximately doubled shoot mass and leaf length at a VPD of 2.1 kPa and soil water contents of 65 and 80% FC but had no effect on unstressed plants. Water use efficiency was enhanced by elevated CO2 under conditions of stress but this was primarily due to increases in shoot mass. High CO2 had a greater effect on leaf growth parameters than on stem mass. Elevated CO2 increased specific leaf area and leaf area ratio, the latter at high VPD only. We conclude that high CO2 increases shoot growth of C4 grasses by ameliorating the effects of stress induced by either high VPD or low soil moisture. Since these factors limit growth of field-grown C4 grasses, it is likely that their biomass will be enhanced by rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

scholarly journals From the Orchard to the Full Bottle: One of the Geostories of the Nature & Geopark Styrian Eisenwurzen

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-155
Author(s):  
Oliver Gulas ◽  
Eva Maria Vorwagner ◽  
Martina Pásková
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Life Style ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Local People ◽  
Participatory Management ◽  
Landscape Conservation ◽  
Local Production

Abstract A geopark mission does not consists just of presenting and interpreting the geological phenomena and processes, but it also includes conservation and sustainable use of the natural resources as well as understanding and supporting the local people and their culture. For sure, the geology of the area determinates the local flora and fauna as well as the local life style. On different examples, this case study presents how the Nature and Geopark Styrian Eisenwurzen is involving local people to protect the local geoheritage and natural resources as well as to raise its visibility and touristic attraction. It shows that the traditional local production can contribute both to the landscape conservation and geoheritage interpretation, and that the application of participatory management and ABC interpretive concept can affect all that in a synergic way.

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