450 research outputs found
AGROKEMIJSKA SVOJSTVA MELIORIRANIH KRŠKIH TALA ZA UZGOJ VINOVE LOZE
Radi povećanja proizvodnih površina, u nedostatku obradivih poljoprivrednih površina
u obalnom dijelu RH, sve više su se počeli krški tereni modificirati (melioracijom i
kultivacijom) u poljoprivredna obradiva tla za intenzivne uzgoje. Tema ovog rada je analiza
agrokemijskih svojstava melioriranih krških tala za uzgoj vinove loze. U istraživanju su bile
uključene četiri lokacije na kojima se provela melioracija krškog tla te provele analize. Tla koja
su se analizirala su na području Istre odnosno Rovinja, Zadarske županije odnosno Zadra te
Splitske županije odnosno na otoku Braču. Pomoću analiza možemo zaključiti da svakom tlu
treba pristupiti posebno te uz pomoć analiza primjeniti potrebne zahvate za poboljšanje istog
Agrochemical properties of ameliorate karst soils for vine growing
U priobalnom i otočnom dijelu Republike Hrvatske značajne površine krša obrasle su degradiranom makijom i slabom šumskom vegetacijom. Takva tla predstavljaju potencijal za kultivaciju i melioraciju, kako bi se mogli zasaditi novi nasadi vinove loze. Kultivacija krša podrazumijeva zahtjevne zahvate za pripremu tla pogodnog za uzgoj poljoprivrednih kultura, kao što su čišćenje i uklanjanje nadzemne vegetacije, niveliranje terena, ripanje ili pikamiranje, rigolanje, te mljevenje i usitnjavanje kamena. Krško tlo je tlo u kojem prevladavaju sedimentne stijene – uglavnom vapnenci i rjeđe dolomiti, soli te gips – koje su podložne mehaničkoj i kemijskoj eroziji. Za potrebe proučavanja agrokemijskih svojstava melioriranih krških tala, uzeti su uzorci tla u proizvodnim vinogradima (lokacije na kojima su u periodu 2008-2009. provedene melioracije), na tri različite lokacije; Istarska županija (lokacija okolica Rovinja), Zadarska županija (lokacija Ravni kotari) i Splitsko-dalmatinska županija (lokacija otok Brač). Na svakoj lokaciji uzeta su dva prosječna uzorka tla, sa dubine od 0-30 cm i 30-60 cm, oko 1,0-1,5 kg tla i usitnjene kamene frakcije (nakon što je iz pojedinačnih uzoraka tla izdvojen kamen i kamena frakcija veća od 25 mm). Najveći problem koji se može uočiti nakon 10-tak godina provođenja melioracije krških tala je pojava visoke količine karbonata (CaCO3), povišene pH vrijednosti (pH>7,0) i vrlo niske količine biljci pristupačnog fosfora i željeza u tlu. Sa stajališta gnojidbe vinove loze, i ostalih drvenastih kultura na melioriranim krškim tlima, potrebno je naći učinkovita i primjenjiva rješenja za navedene probleme koji negativno utječu na plodnost tla.In the coastal and island parts of the Republic of Croatia, significant karst surfaces are covered with degraded macaque and poor forest vegetation. Such soils represent potential for cultivation and amelioration, in order to plant vineyards. Karst cultivation implies demanding procedures for the preparation of soil suitable for the cultivation of agricultural crops, such as cleaning and removing forest vegetation, leveling, ripening or squeezing, grinding, milling and grinding of stone. Karst soil is a soil dominated by sedimentary rocks - mostly limestone and less frequent dolomites, salts and gypsum - which are subject to mechanical and chemical erosion. For the purposes of studying the agrochemical properties of ameliorated karst soils, soil samples were taken from production vineyards (locations where amelioration was carried out in 2008- 2009), in three different locations; Istria County (location near Rovinj), Zadar County (location Ravni kotari) and Split-Dalmatia County (location on island Brač). Two average soil samples were taken at each site on two depths, 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm, about 1.0-1.5 kg of soil and milling stone fraction (after separating the stone fraction with diameter of 25 mm or more, from the individual soil samples). The biggest problem that can be noticed after 10 years after amelioration is the evident high levels of carbonate (CaCO3), elevated pH values (pH>7.0) and very low levels of available phosphorus and iron in the soil. From the point of view of fertilization of grapevine, and other fruit cultures in ameliorated karst soils, it is necessary to find effective and applicable solutions to these problems which negatively affect soil fertility
Contamination of a high-cell-density continuous bioreactor
Continuous fermentations were carried out
with a recombinant flocculent Saccharomyces cerevisiae
strain in an airlift bioreactor. Once operating under
steady state at a dilution rate of 0.45 h−1, the bioreactor
was contaminated with Escherichia coli cells. The faster
growing E. coli strain was washed out of the bioreactor
and the recombinant, slower growing flocculating S. cerevisiae
strain remained as the only species detected in
the bioreactor. Flocculation, besides allowing for the realization
of high-cell-density systems with corresponding
unusual high productivity, may be used as a selective
property for controlling some contamination problems
associated with prolonged continuous operation.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia -PRAXIS XXI/BD/11306/97
A human neuronal model of Niemann Pick C disease developed from stem cells isolated from patient's skin.
Niemann Pick C (NPC) disease is a neurovisceral lysosomal storage disorder due to mutations in NPC1 or NPC2 genes, characterized by the accumulation of endocytosed unesterified cholesterol, gangliosides and other lipids within the lysosomes/late endosomes. Even if the neurodegeneration is the main feature of the disease, the analysis of the molecular pathways linking the lipid accumulation and cellular damage in the brain has been challenging due to the limited availability of human neuronal models.The aim of this study was to develop a human neuronal model of NPC disease by inducing neuronal differentiation of multipotent adult stem cells (MASC) isolated from NPC patients.Stem cells were isolated from 3 NPC patients and 3 controls both from skin biopsies and previously established skin fibroblast cultures. Cells were induced to differentiate along a neuronal fate adapting methods previously described by Beltrami et al, 2007. The surface immunophenotype of stem cells was analyzed by FACS. Stem cell and neuronal markers expression were evaluated by immunofluorescence. Intracellular accumulation of cholesterol and gangliosides were assessed by filipin staining and immunofluorescence, respectively. A morphometric analysis was performed using a Neurite outgrowth image program.After 3 passages in selective medium, MASC isolated either from skin biopsies or previously established skin fibroblast cultures displayed an antigenic pattern characteristic of mesenchymal stem cells and expressed the stem cell markers Oct-4, Nanog, Sox-2 and nestin. A massive lysosomal accumulation of cholesterol was observed only in cells isolated from NPC patients. After the induction of neural differentiation, remarkable morphologic changes were observed and cells became positive to markers of the neuronal lineage NeuN and MAP2. Differentiated cells from NPC patients displayed characteristic features of NPC disease, they showed intracellular accumulation of unesterified cholesterol and GM2 ganglioside and presented morphological differences with respect to cells derived from healthy donors.In conclusion, we generated a human neuronal model of NPC disease through the induction of differentiation of stem cells obtained from patient's easily accessible sources. The strategy described here may be applied to easily generate human neuronal models of other neurodegenerative diseases
Growth and performance of polycrystalline -Sexi-thiophene thin films deposited by Supersonic Molecular Beam Deposition
Conjugated small molecules are very interesting both as a model to study the growth model of crystalline organic films and as a very good performance organic material. Vacuum deposition is the most suitable technique to obtain high purity and order films. Nevertheless, the high anisotropy of organics makes easy the formation of different polymorphs or/and orientations that strongly limit the quality of the films. The innovative supersonic molecular beam deposition (SuMBD) technique, developed at the IFN-Lab, allows a wider control on the growth. The kinetic energy (EK) of the impinging molecules is the key factor that affects the growth modifying the assembling processes of molecules and their surface mobility. We report on the alfa-sexithiophene sub-monolayer growth, investigating the influence of energetic state of the impinging molecules, surface energy and substrate temperature. Each growth parameter affects the morphology of the molecular film in terms of coverage and fractality of the sub-monolayer islands. Optimizing the different parameters, we obtain larger and smoother islands and low density of grain-boundaries. The best conditions, including high kinetic energy of the beam, give rise to organic thin film transistors (OFETs) with a field effect mobility value of 1.5.10-1 V∙cm-1∙s-1, twice higher than the best values in literature. This work was financially supported by Provincia Autonoma di Trento Project Nanosmart and the Fondazione CARITRO Project ODINO
Terminology - glossary including acronyms and quotations in use for the conservative spinal deformities treatment: 8th SOSORT consensus paper
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This report is the SOSORT Consensus Paper on Terminology for use in the treatment of conservative spinal deformities. Figures are provided and relevant literature is cited where appropriate.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Delphi method was used to reach a preliminary consensus before the meeting, where the terms that still needed further clarification were discussed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A final agreement was found for all the terms, which now constitute the base of this glossary. New terms will be added after being discussed and accepted.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>When only one set of terms is used for communication in a place or among a group of people, then everyone can clearly and efficiently communicate. This principle applies for any professional group. Until now, no common set of terms was available in the field of the conservative treatment of scoliosis and spinal deformities. This glossary gives a common base language to draw from to discuss data, findings and treatment.</p
Free and open source software underpinning the european forest data centre
Excerpt:
Worldwide, governments are growingly focusing on free and open source software (FOSS) as a move toward transparency and the freedom to run, copy, study, change and improve the software. The European Commission (EC) is also supporting the development of FOSS [...]. In addition to the financial savings, FOSS contributes to scientific knowledge freedom in computational science (CS) and is increasingly rewarded in the science-policy interface within the emerging paradigm of open science. Since complex computational science applications may be affected by software uncertainty, FOSS may help to mitigate part of the impact of software errors by CS community- driven open review, correction and evolution of scientific code. The continental scale of EC science-based policy support implies wide networks of scientific collaboration. Thematic information systems also may benefit from this approach within reproducible integrated modelling. This is supported by the EC strategy on FOSS: "for the development of new information systems, where deployment is foreseen by parties outside of the EC infrastructure, [F]OSS will be the preferred choice and in any case used whenever possible". The aim of this contribution is to highlight how a continental scale information system may exploit and integrate FOSS technologies within the transdisciplinary research underpinning such a complex system. A European example is discussed where FOSS innervates both the structure of the information system itself and the inherent transdisciplinary research for modelling the data and information which constitute the system content. [...
Free and open source software underpinning the european forest data centre
Excerpt:
Worldwide, governments are growingly focusing on free and open source software (FOSS) as a move toward transparency and the freedom to run, copy, study, change and improve the software. The European Commission (EC) is also supporting the development of FOSS [...]. In addition to the financial savings, FOSS contributes to scientific knowledge freedom in computational science (CS) and is increasingly rewarded in the science-policy interface within the emerging paradigm of open science. Since complex computational science applications may be affected by software uncertainty, FOSS may help to mitigate part of the impact of software errors by CS community- driven open review, correction and evolution of scientific code. The continental scale of EC science-based policy support implies wide networks of scientific collaboration. Thematic information systems also may benefit from this approach within reproducible integrated modelling. This is supported by the EC strategy on FOSS: "for the development of new information systems, where deployment is foreseen by parties outside of the EC infrastructure, [F]OSS will be the preferred choice and in any case used whenever possible". The aim of this contribution is to highlight how a continental scale information system may exploit and integrate FOSS technologies within the transdisciplinary research underpinning such a complex system. A European example is discussed where FOSS innervates both the structure of the information system itself and the inherent transdisciplinary research for modelling the data and information which constitute the system content. [...
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