Effect of strip shelterwood-cuts on the crown morphology plasticity of natural regenerated Pinus tabuliformis saplings in northeastern China

The study analysed the effect of shelterwood-cut strips on the outermost crown profiles and crown characteristics of naturally regenerated Pinus tabuliformis saplings in northeastern China. A total of 49 regenerated saplings from shelterwood-cut strips and 30 from uncut strips were collected. Nonlinear quantile regression was used to develop the outermost crown profile model for the saplings from the shelterwood-cut and uncut strips. The quantile value suitable for describing the outermost crown profiles of the two types of strips was selected using nonparametric boundary regression. The difference in crown morphologies between the shelterwood-cut strips and uncut strips was compared. The results showed that with the same diameter at breast height, the crown radii of the uncut strip saplings were larger than those of the shelterwood-cut strip saplings within the range of 0.2–1.0 for the relative depth into the crown. The largest crown radius of the saplings from the uncut strips was larger than that of the saplings from the shelterwood-cut strips. The inflection points of the shelterwood-cut strip sapling crowns were larger than those of the uncut strip sapling crowns. The crown volume of the small uncut strip saplings was larger than that of the shelterwood-cut strip saplings, and the difference in crown volume decreased with increasing sapling size. The saplings in the early stage of the uncut strips showed a greater growth rate than those of the shelterwood-cut strips, but their growth rate slowed over the long term according to branch-length annual growth. The present study provides a reference for forest management strategy decision making in promoting natural regeneration.

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Phase Formation and Growth Kinetics of an Interface Layer in Ni/SiC

Materials Science Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.600-603.631 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 600-603 ◽

pp. 631-634

Author(s):

Kenichiro Terui ◽

Atsuko Sekiguchi ◽

Hiroshi Yoshizaki ◽

Junichi Koike

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Late Stage ◽

Growth Kinetic ◽

Early Stage ◽

Interface Reaction ◽

Interface Layer ◽

Nickel Silicide ◽

Composition And Structure ◽

The Difference ◽

Kinetics Of

The reaction behavior and growth kinetic of reaction layer were investigated in the Ni contact to n-type 6H-SiC. Annealing was performed at temperature in the range between 800 and 1000 °C for 1 to 240 minutes in Ar atmosphere. The interface reaction of Ni/SiC starts with Ni diffusion into SiC. Ni3Si is initially precipitated and subsequently forms the continuous layer of d-Ni2Si. Kirkendall voids are formed at the reaction front. Carbon is segregated in the interface layer of nickel silicide. The growth rate of the interface layer follows a parabolic law, meaning that the growth rate is controlled by diffusion. The growth occurs in two steps at all examined temperatures: a fast growth is followed by a slow growth. In addition, in the late stage, the growth rate changes dramatically below and above 850°C. The observed growth kinetic can be explained by the difference of Ni diffusivity and the required concentration change for phase transition depending on the phase composition and structure. The d-Ni2Si is formed in the early stage, while the e-Ni3Si2 and q-Ni2Si are formed in the late stage below and above 850°C, respectively.

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Pattern Formation in Thin Polymer Films: A New Morphology

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-629-ff1.2 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 629 ◽

Author(s):

Jean-Loup Masson ◽

Peter F. Green

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Pattern Formation ◽

Early Stage ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Distinct Form ◽

Thin Polymer Films ◽

Intermediate Morphology ◽

Thin Polymer ◽

Nonwetting Liquid ◽

Cylindrical Holes

ABSTRACTResearchers have shown that thin, nonwetting, liquid homopolymer films dewet substrates, forming patterns that reflect fluctuations in the local film thickness. These patterns have been shown to be either discrete cylindrical holes or bicontinuous “spinodal-like” patterns. In this paper we show the existence of a new morphology. During the early stage of dewetting, discrete highly asymmetric holes appear spontaneously throughout the film. The nucleation rate of these holes is faster than their growth rate. The morphology of the late stage of evolution, after 18 days, is characterized by a bicontinuous pattern, distinct form conventional spinodal dewetting patterns. This morphology has been observed for a range of film thicknesses between 7.5 and 21nm. The structural evolution of this intermediate morphology is discussed.

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Public Compliance With Social Distancing Measures and SARS-CoV-2 Spread

Public Health Reports ◽

10.1177/00333549211011254 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 003335492110112

Author(s):

Hongjie Liu ◽

Chang Chen ◽

Raul Cruz-Cano ◽

Jennifer L. Guida ◽

Minha Lee

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Reproduction Number ◽

Early Stage ◽

Human Mobility ◽

The United States ◽

Density Change ◽

Regression Coefficients ◽

Daily Growth Rate ◽

Daily Growth ◽

Social Distancing

Objective We quantified the association between public compliance with social distancing measures and the spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the first wave of the epidemic (March–May 2020) in 5 states that accounted for half of the total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States. Methods We used data on mobility and number of COVID-19 cases to longitudinally estimate associations between public compliance, as measured by human mobility, and the daily reproduction number and daily growth rate during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. Results The 5 states mandated social distancing directives during March 19-24, 2020, and public compliance with mandates started to decrease in mid-April 2020. As of May 31, 2020, the daily reproduction number decreased from 2.41-5.21 to 0.72-1.19, and the daily growth rate decreased from 0.22-0.77 to –0.04 to 0.05 in the 5 states. The level of public compliance, as measured by the social distancing index (SDI) and daily encounter-density change, was high at the early stage of implementation but decreased in the 5 states. The SDI was negatively associated with the daily reproduction number (regression coefficients range, –0.04 to –0.01) and the daily growth rate (from –0.009 to –0.01). The daily encounter-density change was positively associated with the daily reproduction number (regression coefficients range, 0.24 to 1.02) and the daily growth rate (from 0.05 to 0.26). Conclusions Social distancing is an effective strategy to reduce the incidence of COVID-19 and illustrates the role of public compliance with social distancing measures to achieve public health benefits.

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Differences in physical symptoms between those with and without kidney disease: a comparative study across disease stages in a UK population

BMC Nephrology ◽

10.1186/s12882-021-02355-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Thomas J. Wilkinson ◽

Daniel G. D. Nixon ◽

Jared Palmer ◽

Courtney J. Lightfoot ◽

Alice C. Smith

Keyword(s):

Kidney Disease ◽

Early Stage ◽

Symptom Burden ◽

Final Analysis ◽

Physical Symptoms ◽

Disease Trajectory ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Comparative Group ◽

The Difference ◽

Disease Stages

Abstract Background Those living with kidney disease (KD) report extensive symptom burden. However, research into how symptoms change across stages is limited. The aims of this study were to 1) describe symptom burden across disease trajectory, and 2) to explore whether symptom burden is unique to KD when compared to a non-KD population. Methods Participants aged > 18 years with a known diagnosis of KD (including haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD)) and with a kidney transplant) completed the Leicester Kidney Symptom Questionnaire (KSQ). A non-KD group was recruited as a comparative group. Multinominal logistic regression modelling was used to test the difference in likelihood of those with KD reporting each symptom. Results In total, 2279 participants were included in the final analysis (age 56.0 (17.8) years, 48% male). The main findings can be summarised as: 1) the number of symptoms increases as KD severity progresses; 2) those with early stage KD have a comparable number of symptoms to those without KD; 3) apart from those receiving PD, the most frequently reported symptom across every other group, including the non-KD group, was ‘feeling tired’; and 4) being female independently increased the likelihood of reporting more symptoms. Conclusions Our findings have important implications for patients with KD. We have shown that high symptom burden is prevalent across the spectrum of disease, and present novel data on symptoms experienced in those without KD. Symptoms requiring the most immediate attention given their high prevalence may include pain and fatigue. Trial registration The study was registered prospectively as ISRCTN11596292.

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A Model of Wheat Grain Growth and Its Applications to Different Temperature and Carbon Dioxide Levels

Functional Plant Biology ◽

10.1071/pp9950843 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 22 (5) ◽

pp. 843 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

YP Wang ◽

RM Gifford

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Grain Growth ◽

Temperature Response ◽

Rate Sensitivity ◽

Temperature Sensitive ◽

Potential Growth ◽

Carbon Supply ◽

The Difference ◽

Carbon Dioxide Levels ◽

Kernel Growth

Kernel growth after anthesis is simulated as a function of the potential kernel growth rate, current photosynthate production and mobilisation of stored reserves. The potential growth rate of the kernel is simulated as two temperature-sensitive processes, cell production and cell growth. The difference between the potential and actual growth rates of the kernel depends on the carbon supply to the free space of the kernel endosperm, while the carbon supply is itself affected by the actual kernel growth rate. Sensitivity analysis showed that the growth rate of the grain per plant is most sensitive to the potential growth rate of the kernel and number of kernels per plant. This model is able to simulate the observed rates of grain growth and leaf senescence from anthesis to physiological maturity for wheat plants grown in two CO2 concentrations. The simulated temperature response of grain growth agrees well with the experimenal observations.

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Direct Nucleation of Crystalline SiGe on Substrates by Reactive Thermal CVD with Si2H6 and GeF4

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-467-349 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 467 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Fumio Yoshizawa ◽

Kunihiro Shiota ◽

Daisuke Inoue ◽

Jun-ichi Hanna

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Gas Phase ◽

Heterogeneous Nucleation ◽

Homogeneous Nucleation ◽

Film Growth ◽

Early Stage ◽

Gaseous Mixture ◽

The Other ◽

Thermal Cvd ◽

Initial Deposition

ABSTRACTPolycrystalline SiGe (poly-SiGe) film growth by reactive thermal CVD with a gaseous mixture of Si2H6 and GeF4 was investigated on various substrates such as Al,Cr, Pt, Si, ITO, ZnO and thermally grown SiO2.In Ge-rich film growth, SEM observation in the early stage of the film growth revealed that direct nucleation of crystallites took place on the substrates. The nucleation was governed by two different mechanisms: one was a heterogeneous nucleation on the surface and the other was a homogeneous nucleation in the gas phase. In the former case, the selective nucleation was observed at temperatures lower than 400°C on metal substrates and Si, where the activation of adsorbed GeF4 on the surface played a major role for the nuclei formation, leading to the selective film growth.On the other hand, the direct nucleation did not always take place in Si-rich film growth irrespective of the substrates and depended on the growth rate. In a growth rate of 3.6nm/min, the high crystallinity of poly-Si0.95Ge0.05in a 220nm-thick film was achieved at 450°C due to the no initial deposition of amorphous tissue on SiO2 substrates.

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Variable Parameter Processes of Micro-Arc Oxidation for Aluminium Alloy

Materials Science Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.704-705.1273 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 704-705 ◽

pp. 1273-1278

Author(s):

Cheng Gao ◽

Jin Yong Xu ◽

Xuan Yi Shi ◽

Ya Juan Liu ◽

Jing Chun Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Wear Rate ◽

Ceramic Coating ◽

Early Stage ◽

Variable Parameter ◽

Ceramic Coatings ◽

Constant Current ◽

Constant Voltage ◽

Micro Arc Oxidation ◽

The Way

In micro-arc oxidation process, ceramic coating had a rapid growth all along by the way of constant current oxidation, and ceramic coating had a low roughness by the way of constant voltage oxidation. But few research focus on the mixed control process of constant current oxidation and constant voltage oxidation. In this paper we propose a variable parameter process that can combine the advantages of constant current and constant voltage oxidation for the first time. The growth kinetics of different technics was analyzed according to the change law of current and voltage. Surface topographs of ceramic coating were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The friction tests were carried out using a self-made friction tester. The results show that ceramic coating has an upper growth rate and a low roughness by the process of constant current+constant voltage oxidation. The ceramic coating has a high growth rate by process of constant voltage+constant current oxidation. The results of friction test indicate that the wear rate and roughness of ceramic coating are positive correlation at early stage of friction. While the ceramic coatings treated by different technics have the close wear rate at stable friction stage, which embodies the inner layer of ceramic coating has a well antiwear behavior.

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P300 and Decision Making under Risk and Ambiguity

Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience ◽

10.1155/2015/108417 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Lei Wang ◽

Jiehui Zheng ◽

Shenwei Huang ◽

Haoye Sun

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Early Stage ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Underlying Mechanism ◽

P300 Amplitude ◽

Early Assessment ◽

Decision Making Under Risk ◽

Related Potentials ◽

The Difference ◽

Ambiguous Condition

Our study aims to contrast the neural temporal features of early stage of decision making in the context of risk and ambiguity. In monetary gambles under ambiguous or risky conditions, 12 participants were asked to make a decision to bet or not, with the event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded meantime. The proportion of choosing to bet in ambiguous condition was significantly lower than that in risky condition. An ERP component identified as P300 was found. The P300 amplitude elicited in risky condition was significantly larger than that in ambiguous condition. The lower bet rate in ambiguous condition and the smaller P300 amplitude elicited by ambiguous stimuli revealed that people showed much more aversion in the ambiguous condition than in the risky condition. The ERP results may suggest that decision making under ambiguity occupies higher working memory and recalls more past experience while decision making under risk mainly mobilizes attentional resources to calculate current information. These findings extended the current understanding of underlying mechanism for early assessment stage of decision making and explored the difference between the decision making under risk and ambiguity.

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The identification of type I MADS box genes as the upstream activators of an endosperm-specific invertase inhibitor in Arabidopsis

BMC Plant Biology ◽

10.1186/s12870-021-03399-3 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Tobias Hoffmann ◽

Xiuling Shi ◽

Chuan-Yu Hsu ◽

Aakilah Brown ◽

Quintera Knight ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Early Stage ◽

Expression System ◽

Endosperm Development ◽

Common Mechanism ◽

Type I ◽

Mads Box ◽

Mads Box Genes ◽

Promoter Deletion ◽

Enhancer Region

Abstract Background Nuclear endosperm development is a common mechanism among Angiosperms, including Arabidopsis. During nuclear development, the endosperm nuclei divide rapidly after fertilization without cytokinesis to enter the syncytial phase, which is then followed by the cellularized phase. The endosperm can be divided into three spatial domains with distinct functions: the micropylar, peripheral, and chalazal domains. Previously, we identified two putative small invertase inhibitors, InvINH1 and InvINH2, that are specifically expressed in the micropylar region of the syncytial endosperm. In addition, ectopically expressing InvINH1 in the cellularized endosperm led to a reduction in embryo growth rate. However, it is not clear what are the upstream regulators responsible for the specific expression of InvINHs in the syncytial endosperm. Results Using protoplast transient expression system, we discovered that a group of type I MADS box transcription factors can form dimers to activate InvINH1 promoter. Promoter deletion assays carried out in the protoplast system revealed the presence of an enhancer region in InvINH1 promoter, which contains several consensus cis-elements for the MADS box proteins. Using promoter deletion assay in planta, we further demonstrated that this enhancer region is required for InvINH1 expression in the syncytial endosperm. One of the MADS box genes, AGL62, is a key transcription factor required for syncytial endosperm development. Using promoter-GFP reporter assay, we demonstrated that InvINH1 and InvINH2 are not expressed in agl62 mutant seeds. Collectively, our data supports the role of AGL62 and other type I MADS box genes as the upstream activators of InvINHs expression in the syncytial endosperm. Conclusions Our findings revealed several type I MADS box genes that are responsible for activating InvINH1 in the syncytial endosperm, which in turn regulates embryo growth rate during early stage of seed development.

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Serum CYR61 As A Potential Biomarker for The Diagnosis of Esophagogastric Junction Tumor

Bioscience Reports ◽

10.1042/bsr20204117 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ling-Yu Chu ◽

Jian-Yuan Zhou ◽

Yi-Xuan Zhao ◽

Yan-Ting Ou ◽

Tian Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Stage ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Operating Characteristics ◽

Tumor Patients ◽

Chi Square ◽

Potential Biomarker ◽

The Difference ◽

Normal Controls

Background：Esophagogastric junction tumor (EGJ) is a rare but fatal disease with a rapid rising incidence worldwide in the late 20 years, and it lacks a convenient and safe method for diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of serum CYR61 as a biomarker for the diagnosis of EGJ tumor. Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to estimate CYR61 levels in sera of 152 EGJ tumor patients and 137 normal controls. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) was carried out to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy. The Mann–Whitney’s U test was used to compare the difference of serum levels of CYR61 between groups. And chi-square tests were employed to estimate the correlation of the positive rate of serum CYR61 between/among subgroups. Results: Serum CYR61 levels were statistically lower in EGJ tumor and early-stage EGJ tumor patients than those in normal controls (P<0.0001). The sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve (AUC) of this biomarker in EGJ tumor were 88.2%, 43.8% and 0.691, respectively, and those for early stage of EGJ tumor were 80.0%, 66.4% and 0.722, respectively. Analyses showed that there was no correlation between the clinical data and the levels of CYR61 (P>0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that CYR61 might be a potential biomarker to assist the diagnosis of EGJ tumor.

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