Beworteling van grasland - een literatuurstudie: Nutriëntenopname in relatie tot bewortelingsdiepte en - intensiteit; factoren en potentiële maatregelen die de beworteling beïnvloeden

Ondanks dat gras van nature een uitgebreid wortelstelsel heeft blijkt uit de bestudeerde literatuur dat ook bij grassen een diepere beworteling en verhoogde wortelintensiteit bijdraagt aan een betere nutriëntenbenutting. De wortelgroei en -morfologie van grasland zijn zeer gevoelig voor omgeving- en managementfactoren. Interacties tussen die factoren en verschillen in reactie tussen grassoorten en -rassen maken dat in de literatuur niet altijd eenduidige verbanden zijn gevonden. Binnen de kaders die de bodem fysiek aan de beworteling stelt lijkt het mogelijk om grasland dieper en intensiever te laten bewortelen door managementmaatregelen. Maatregelen bij de inzaai, aangepaste bemesting, maai- en beweidingstrategieën zijn de belangrijkste instrumenten hiervoor

Organizational metrics of interchromatin speckle factor domains: integrative classifier for stem cell adhesion & lineage signaling.

Stem cell fates on biomaterials are influenced by the complex confluence of microenvironmental cues emanating from soluble growth factors, cell-to-cell contacts, and biomaterial properties. Cell-microenvironment interactions influence the cell fate by initiating a series of outside-in signaling events that traverse from the focal adhesions to the nucleus via the cytoskeleton and modulate the sub-nuclear protein organization and gene expression. Here, we report a novel imaging-based framework that highlights the spatial organization of sub-nuclear proteins, specifically the splicing factor SC-35 in the nucleoplasm, as an integrative marker to distinguish between minute differences of stem cell lineage pathways in response to stimulatory soluble factors, surface topologies, and microscale topographies. This framework involves the high resolution image acquisition of SC-35 domains and imaging-based feature extraction to obtain quantitative nuclear metrics in tandem with machine learning approaches to generate a predictive cell state classification model. The acquired SC-35 metrics led to \u3e 90% correct classification of emergent human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) phenotypes in populations of hMSCs exposed for merely 3 days to basal, adipogenic, or osteogenic soluble cues, as well as varying levels of dexamethasone-induced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) expression. Early osteogenic cellular responses across a series of surface patterns, fibrous scaffolds, and micropillars were also detected and classified using this imaging-based methodology. Complex cell states resulting from inhibition of RhoGTPase, β-catenin, and FAK could be classified with \u3e 90% sensitivity on the basis of differences in the SC-35 organizational metrics. This indicates that SC-35 organization is sensitively impacted by adhesion-related signaling molecules that regulate osteogenic differentiation. Our results show that diverse microenvironment cues affect different attributes of the SC-35 organizational metrics and lead to distinct emergent organizational patterns. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that the early organization of SC-35 domains could serve as a “fingerprint” of the intracellular mechanotransductive signaling that governs growth factor- and topography-responsive stem cell states

Proenkephalin and risk of developing chronic kidney disease:The Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-stage Disease study

BACKGROUND: Proenkephalin (pro-ENK) was recently found to be associated with low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The association of pro-ENK with urinary albumin excretion (UAE), another marker for chronic kidney disease (CKD), has not been investigated. We examined the association of pro-ENK with eGFR and UAE as markers of CKD. METHODS: We included 4375 subjects of the Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-Stage Disease (PREVEND) study. CKDeGFR was defined as development of eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 and CKDUAE as albuminuria >30 mg/24 h. RESULTS: Baseline median pro-ENK was 52.2 (IQR: 44.9-60.5) pmol/L. After a median follow-up of 8.4 (IQR: 7.9-8.9) years, 183 subjects developed CKDeGFR and 371 developed CKDUAE. The association of pro-ENK with CKDeGFR was modified by sex (Pinteraction < 0.1), in such a way that after adjustment, the association only remained significant in men (adjusted hazard ratio per SD increase in 10log-transformed pro-ENK, 1.65; 95% CI: 1.15-2.36) and not in women (0.83; 0.58-1.20). No significant association was observed between pro-ENK and CKDUAE risk (0.83; 0.58-1.20). CONCLUSIONS: High pro-ENK is associated with increased risk of CKDeGFR in men, but not in women. No association of pro-ENK with CKDUAE was observed. These results should be interpreted with caution, since residual confounding and potential overfitting of models could have influenced the results

Towards molecular electronics with large-area molecular junctions

Electronic transport through single molecules has been studied extensively by academic(1-8) and industrial(9,10) research groups. Discrete tunnel junctions, or molecular diodes, have been reported using scanning probes(11,12), break junctions(13,14), metallic crossbars(6) and nanopores(8,15). For technological applications, molecular tunnel junctions must be reliable, stable and reproducible. The conductance per molecule, however, typically varies by many orders of magnitude(5). Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) may offer a promising route to the fabrication of reliable devices, and charge transport through SAMs of alkanethiols within nanopores is well understood, with non-resonant tunnelling dominating the transport mechanism(8). Unfortunately, electrical shorts in SAMs are often formed upon vapour deposition of the top electrode(16-18), which limits the diameter of the nanopore diodes to about 45 nm. Here we demonstrate a method to manufacture molecular junctions with diameters up to 100 mu m with high yields (>95 per cent). The junctions show excellent stability and reproducibility, and the conductance per unit area is similar to that obtained for benchmark nanopore diodes. Our technique involves processing the molecular junctions in the holes of a lithographically patterned photoresist, and then inserting a conducting polymer interlayer between the SAM and the metal top electrode. This simple approach is potentially low-cost and could pave the way for practical molecular electronics

Ubicación y peso de Micelio de Sclerotinia sclerotiorum para producir infeccion en lechuga (Lactuca sativa)

p.85-88El objetivo del presente trabajo es evaluar la distancia crítica para la inoculación del micelio de Sclerotinia sclerotiorum al cuello de la planta de lechuga (Lactuca sativa) y el peso del mismo para producir infección y caída de las plántulas en cámara de cultivo. La mayor cantidad de plantas caídas se obtuvo con 0,7 y 2,8 grs de inoculo (masa miceliar) ubicado junto al cuello de la planta. Estos resultados pueden ser de utilidad para estudios acerca del control cultural, químico o biológico de la podredumbre ocasionada por S. sclerotiorum en lechuga

Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma: Patterns of Care and Survival in the Netherlands: A Population-Based Study

Background. Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive disease. Recently, focus has shifted toward a more aggressive and multimodal treatment approach. This study aimed to assess the patterns of care and survival for MPM patients in the Netherlands on a nationwide basis. Methods. The records of patients with a diagnosis of MPM from 1993 to 2016 were retrieved from the Dutch Cancer Registry. Data regarding diagnosis, staging, treatment, and survival were extracted. Cox regression analyses and Kaplan–Meier survival curves were used to study overall survival. Results. Between 1993 and 2016, MPM was diagnosed for 566 patients. Overall, the prognosis was very poor (24% 1-year survival). The most common morphologic subtype was the epithelioid subtype (88%), follo

Hemoglobin A1c and Arterial and Ventricular Stiffness in Older Adults

Objective: Arterial and ventricular stiffening are characteristics of diabetes and aging which confer significant morbidity and mortality; advanced glycation endproducts (AGE) are implicated in this stiffening pathophysiology. We examined the association between HbA1c, an AGE, with arterial and ventricular stiffness measures in older individuals without diabetes. Research Design & Methods: Baseline HbA1c was measured in 830 participants free of diabetes defined by fasting glucose or medication use in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a population-based cohort study of adults aged ≥65 years. We performed cross-sectional analyses using baseline exam data including echocardiography, ankle and brachial blood pressure measurement, and carotid ultrasonography. We examined the adjusted associations between HbA1c and multiple arterial and ventricular stiffness measures by linear regression models and compared these results to the association of fasting glucose (FG) with like measures. Results: HbA1c was correlated with fasting and 2-hour postload glucose levels (r = 0.21; p<0.001 for both) and positively associated with greater body-mass index and black race. In adjusted models, HbA1c was not associated with any measure of arterial or ventricular stiffness, including pulse pressure (PP), carotid intima-media thickness, ankle-brachial index, end-arterial elastance, or left ventricular mass (LVM). FG levels were positively associated with systolic, diastolic and PP and LVM. Conclusions: In this sample of older adults without diabetes, HbA1c was not associated with arterial or ventricular stiffness measures, whereas FG levels were. The role of AGE in arterial and ventricular stiffness in older adults may be better assessed using alternate AGE markers