Changes In Growth Patterns Research Articles

Carbon productivity and economic growth patterns in China

This article discusses the changes in carbon productivity and economic growth patterns in China. We calculated carbon productivity using panel data from BRICS and G7 countries between 2001 and 2019 and developed a methodology to estimate economic growth patterns by combining carbon productivity and economic growth. As the world’s top carbon emitter, China can combat global climate change by increasing carbon productivity. We show that (i) China has a high growth rate of carbon productivity; however, the carbon productivity level only accounts for about 20% of developed countries. (ii) When determining economic growth patterns from a low-carbon perspective, China has transitioned from high-carbon type II to low-carbon type III. However, low-carbon economic growth is common in developed countries, and (iii) it can improve carbon productivity by reducing energy-averaged carbon emission factors. It assists the government in determining how to implement low-carbon economic development policies by examining economic growth from a low-carbon perspective.

Spatial analysis of soil water depletion and biomass production in the transition zone between a Eucalyptus camaldulensis stand and a maize field in Ethiopia

Growth depressions in crops grown adjacent to Eucalyptus stands are often reported. The reasons for this observation range from competition for the resources light, nutrients and water to allelopathic effects. We investigated the effect of a Eucalyptus camaldulensis stand on soil water relations of an adjacent field of Zea mays. We used a geostatistical network spanning the Eucalyptus camaldulensis stand and the maize field. We measured changes in soil water storage in high spatial resolution (356 sample points over 3700 m²) in weekly to monthly intervals. In addition, an intensive root inventory of the Eucalyptus, covering a depth of 3.1 m, as well as aboveground biomass inventories in both land use forms were carried out. The majority of the fine root biomass of the Eucalyptus (70.5%) was found in the first 60 cm soil depth, which corresponded to the depth of the soil moisture measurements. Soil water depletion in the maize field was greatest up to 20 m from the forest edge, which coincided with the zone of least maize biomass production. In contrast, the water depletion across the first 6 m into the forest was 34% lower than in the border zone on the field side. Growth of the Eucalyptus was greatest at the forest edge, and the increased biomass production of the Eucalyptus balanced the decrease in maize production found in the first 20 m of the field. These changes in spatial growth patterns are explained by intense competition for soil water between the Eucalyptus and the maize.

E-Cigarette Aerosol Exposure Favors the Growth and Colonization of Oral Streptococcus mutans Compared to Commensal Streptococci.

ABSTRACTE-cigarettes (e-cigs) have drastically increased in popularity during the last decade, especially among teenagers. While recent studies have started to explore the effect of e-cigs in the oral cavity, little is known about their effects on the oral microbiota and how they could affect oral health and potentially lead to disease, including periodontitis and head and neck cancers. To explore the impact of e-cigs on oral bacteria, we selected members of the genus Streptococcus, which are abundant in the oral cavity. We exposed the commensals Streptococcus sanguinis and Streptococcus gordonii and the opportunistic pathogen Streptococcus mutans, best known for causing dental caries, to e-liquids and e-cig aerosols with and without nicotine and with and without menthol flavoring and measured changes in growth patterns and biofilm formation. Our results demonstrate that e-cig aerosols hindered the growth of S. sanguinis and S. gordonii, while they did not affect the growth of S. mutans. We also show that e-cig aerosols significantly increased biofilm formation by S. mutans but did not affect the biofilm formation of the two commensals. We found that S. mutans exhibits higher hydrophobicity and coaggregation abilities along with higher attachment to OKF6 cells than S. sanguinis and S. gordonii. Therefore, our data suggest that e-cig aerosols have the potential to dysregulate oral bacterial homeostasis by suppressing the growth of commensals while enhancing the biofilm formation of the opportunistic pathogen S. mutans. This study highlights the importance of understanding the consequences of e-cig aerosol exposure on selected commensals and pathogenic species. Future studies modeling more complex communities will provide more insight into how e-cig aerosols and vaping affect the oral microbiota.IMPORTANCE Our study shows that e-cigarette aerosol exposure of selected bacteria known to be residents of the oral cavity hinders the growth of two streptococcal commensals while enhancing biofilm formation, hydrophobicity, and attachment for the pathogen S. mutans. These results indicate that e-cigarette vaping could open a niche for opportunistic bacteria such as S. mutans to colonize the oral cavity and affect oral health.

Factors regulating growth pattern and condition factor of an amphibious fish Periophthalmus gracilis living in the Mekong Delta.

Growth pattern and condition factor (CF) are essential to fish resource assessment but limited to Periophthalmus gracilis—an amphibious fish living in the mudflats along the Indo-Pacific regions, including the Mekong Delta (MD), Vietnam. This study lasted from April 2020 to March 2021 to verify if their growth pattern and CF change with sex, size, season, month and site. The total length and weight of 486 individuals (236 females and 250 males) were 2.9–5.9 cm and 0.13–1.66 g, respectively. The mudskipper displayed negative allometry as the slope value (b = 2.69 ± 0.06) obtained from length and weight (LWR) was significantly less than 3 (p < 0.01), indicating that most fish specimens were caught in the immature stage. The fish growth pattern did not change with sex as both males and females displayed negative allometry but varied by size since the mudskipper showed negative allometry in the immature group and isometry in the mature group. Likewise, growth type changed with season since fish showed negative allometry in the dry season but isometry in the wet season. As the slope value (b) varied by site and month, the mudskipper displayed spatiotemporal growth patterns, ranging from negative to positive allometry. The CF was impacted by sex as this value of females (1.09 ± 0.02) was higher than that of males (0.96 ± 0.01, p < 0.01). Besides, CF was regulated by fish length since this value was higher in the mature group (1.12 ± 0.03) than in the immature group (1.01 ± 0.01, p < 0.01). Likewise, CF was affected by season as this value was higher in the wet season (1.05 ± 0.02) than in the dry season (0.99 ± 0.01, p < 0.01). Although the CF varied with site and month variables (p < 0.01), this value (1.02 ± 0.01) was generally higher than 1, showing fish adapted well to their habitat. The fish length at first capture should be increased to exploit this species sustainably.

Habitat and climate shape growth patterns in a mountain ungulate.

Uptake and use of energy are of key importance for animals living in temperate environments that undergo strong seasonal changes in forage quality and quantity. In ungulates, energy intake strongly affects body mass gain, an important component of individual fitness. Energy allocation among life‐history traits can be affected by internal and external factors. Here, we investigate large‐scale variation in body growth patterns of Alpine chamois Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra, in relation to sex, age, temperature, and habitat variations across 31 (sub)populations in the Central European Alps. Taking advantage of an exceptionally large dataset (n = 178,175) of chamois hunted over 27 consecutive years between 1993 and 2019 in mountain ranges with different proportions of forest cover, we found that (i) patterns of body mass growth differ between mountain ranges, with lower body mass but faster mass growth with increasing proportion of forest cover and that (ii) the effect of spring and summer temperatures on changes in body growth patterns are larger in mountain ranges with lower forest cover compared to mountain ranges with higher forest cover. Our results show that patterns of body mass growth within a species are more plastic than expected and depend on environmental and climatic conditions. The recent decline in body mass observed in Alpine chamois populations may have greater impacts on populations living above the treeline than in forests, which may buffer against the effects of increasing temperatures on life‐history traits.

Locating New Urbanism Developments in the U.S.: Which Cities Have New Urbanism and Why?

This article aims to examine the characteristics of cities where New Urbanism (NU) developments are located as of 2019. We first develop a set of hypotheses to explore why some cities are welcoming NU developments more than other cities and how the cities differ in terms of general real estate development determinants, fiscal capacity and regulatory authority, advocacy group support, and cultural diversity. We then employ a Negative Binomial Regression to test the relationship between concentrations of NU developments and a variety of city characteristics by using a data set of 6923 urban cities. The results suggest that NU developments are advocated by cities with a higher level of environmental awareness, better fiscal and regulatory status, and better cultural diversity. The research results highlight the importance of continuously gaining support from environmental groups and the general public for effective expansion of New Urbanist developments within the U.S. These findings also indicate that for noteworthy changes in growth patterns to arise at a large scale across the U.S., there must be changes in values and preferences, and institutional capacity in updating land-use regulations that allow for sustainable growth.

Molecular insights into sensing, regulation and improving of heat tolerance in plants.

Climate-change-mediated increase in temperature extremes has become a threat to plant productivity. Heat stress-induced changes in growth pattern, sensitivity to pests, plant phonologies, flowering, shrinkage of maturity period, grain filling, and increased senescence result in significant yield losses. Heat stress triggers multitude of cellular, physiological and molecular responses in plants beginning from the early sensing followed by signal transduction, osmolyte synthesis, antioxidant defense, and heat stress-associated gene expression. Several genes and metabolites involved in heat perception and in the adaptation response have been isolated and characterized in plants. Heat stress responses are alsoregulated by the heat stress transcription factors (HSFs), miRNAs and transcriptional factors which together form another layer of regulatory circuit. With the availability of functionally validated candidate genes, transgenic approaches have been applied for developing heat-tolerant transgenic maize, tobacco and sweet potato. In this review, we present an account of molecular mechanisms of heat tolerance and discuss the current developments in genetic manipulation for heat tolerant crops for future sustainable agriculture.

Analysis of the urban growth pattern through spatial metrics; Ankara City

Analysis of the urban growth pattern through spatial metrics; Ankara City

Evaluation of Economic Linkage between Urban Built-Up Areas in a Mid-Sized City of Uyo (Nigeria)

Urban growth has transformed many mid-sized cities into metropolitan areas. One of the effects of this growth is a change in urban growth patterns, which are directly linked with household income. Hence, this paper aims to assess the effect of different economic variables that trigger urban built-up patterns, using economic indicators such as city administrative taxes, a socio-economic survey of living standards, household income and satellite data. The regression model was used and adapted, and a case study is presented for the mid-sized city of Uyo in southeastern Nigeria. The result shows sparse built-up growth patterns with numerous adverse effects. Although, there is awareness of the impact of unregulated sparse built-up growth patterns in the literature, little attention has been given to this growth pattern in Africa. The results also show that increases in federal allocation (27%), investment tax (22%), direct tax (52%) and indirect tax (26%) have led to urban expansion into vegetative land and have a causal correlation with different built-up areas. Hence, medium and high-income earners migrate to suburban areas for bigger living space and a lack of basic social amenities affects the land value in suburban areas. They also assist in the provision of social amenities in the neighborhood.

Secular trend in skeletal growth among urban Japanese during the Edo period (1603–1867)

ObjectiveThe present study aims to investigate whether any secular change in growth occurred among the urban populations during the Edo period (1603–1867). During this time, the preconditions for industrialization were established through rapid urbanization, population increase, and economic development. MaterialsNinety subadult and 189 adult skeletal remains were recovered from eight Edo-period burial sites in Tokyo were examined. MethodsMaximum femoral lengths were measured and compared between the early and late Edo periods. ResultsWhile subadults of the late Edo period—especially of higher status—tended to have longer femoral lengths, the adult males tended to have slightly shorter femoral lengths. No clear difference was found among adult females. ConclusionsThere was no clear or consistent secular change in growth patterns or in adult stature. The impact of social and economic transformations in 17th-century Japan on growth and on general health status remains unclear. SignificanceThis is the first study to examine the impact of social changes on growth immediately before the industrialization of Japan. It will be helpfull to understand the complex relationship between human growth and social changes. LimitationsChanges in growth patterns may have been obscured by the small sample size, errors in estimating age and femoral lengths, temporary changes in growth in the late Edo period, or catch-up growth. Suggestions for Further ResearchRe-examining with a larger sample, introducing more precise dating of burials and more precise age estimation methods, and examining multiple physiological stress indicators are necessary.

Plasmodiophora brassicae-Triggered Cell Enlargement and Loss of Cellular Integrity in Root Systems Are Mediated by Pectin Demethylation.

Gall formation on the belowground parts of plants infected with Plasmodiophora brassicae is the result of extensive host cellular reprogramming. The development of these structures is a consequence of increased cell proliferation followed by massive enlargement of cells colonized with the pathogen. Drastic changes in cellular growth patterns create local deformities in the roots and hypocotyl giving rise to mechanical tensions within the tissue of these organs. Host cell wall extensibility and recomposition accompany the growth of the gall and influence pathogen spread and also pathogen life cycle progression. Demethylation of pectin within the extracellular matrix may play an important role in P. brassicae-driven hypertrophy of host underground organs. Through proteomic analysis of the cell wall, we identified proteins accumulating in the galls developing on the underground parts of Arabidopsis thaliana plants infected with P. brassicae. One of the key proteins identified was the pectin methylesterase (PME18); we further characterized its expression and conducted functional and anatomic studies in the knockout mutant and used Raman spectroscopy to study the status of pectin in P. brassicae-infected galls. We found that late stages of gall formation are accompanied with increased levels of PME18. We have also shown that the massive enlargement of cells colonized with P. brassicae coincides with decreases in pectin methylation. In pme18-2 knockout mutants, P. brassicae could still induce demethylation; however, the galls in this line were smaller and cellular expansion was less pronounced. Alteration in pectin demethylation in the host resulted in changes in pathogen distribution and slowed down disease progression. To conclude, P. brassicae-driven host organ hypertrophy observed during clubroot disease is accompanied by pectin demethylation in the extracellular matrix. The pathogen hijacks endogenous host mechanisms involved in cell wall loosening to create an optimal cellular environment for completion of its life cycle and eventual release of resting spores facilitated by degradation of demethylated pectin polymers.

BIOCHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CHANGES DUE TO DROUGHT STRESS IN WHEAT (Triticum aestivum L.)

Wheat is the major staple cereal crop of the world population. In developing countries like Nepal, cultivation of wheat is dependent upon the monsoon and the irregular monsoon gives way to the drought condition. The studies and researches of recent years have found pronounced effect of drought on the wheat production. The drought stress in crop leads to several changes in the physiological, morphological and biochemical traits leading to the economic losses. The morphological changes can be viewed through two ways as change in shoot and root system such as effect on plant height, leaf senescence, flowering and so on. Similarly, physiological changes involve change in cell growth pattern, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis disturbance and biochemical changes occur in concentration of different chemicals and activity of different enzymes, hence resulting alteration in the natural processes in different phenological stages of wheat. To reduce the effect of drought stress, various approaches have been made but the more focus has been given in the identification of traits that yields high rather than introducing those traits which show better responses towards environmental irregularities. This review study is done to assess the various changes in characters of wheat due to drought and their effect on the crop yield and productivity.

Growth prediction methods: A review

Growth prediction is an estimation of the amount of growth to be expected. In orthodontics the term refers to the estimation of amount and direction of growth of the bones of the craniofacial skeletal and overlying soft tissues. Successful prediction requires specifying both the amount and the direction of growth, in relation to the reference point. Estimation of dentofacial growth must consider the increments, vectors, area, duration and timing of growth accessions. All these are subjected to the changes in growth pattern

Normal sonographic liver and spleen dimensions in a central European pediatric population

BackgroundOrgan size is influenced by a number of factors. Age, height, weight, and ethnicity are known influencing factors. Pediatric populations have changed over time, puberty beginning earlier resulting in a changing growth pattern of their organs. Hence, contemporary charts using local data are considered the most appropriate for a given population. Sonographic charts for liver size for a predominantly Caucasian population are limited, which has implications for clinical practice. The aim of this study was to define a contemporary normative range of liver and spleen sizes for a healthy, predominantly Caucasian population and for all pediatric age groups (0–18 years) and to investigate whether there is a size difference between genders and ethnicities.MethodsRetrospective study including children with normal sonographic findings and no evidence of liver or splenic disease clinically. Craniocaudal and anteroposterior dimensions are measured for the right and left lobe of the liver, and craniocaudal dimension for the spleen. Relationship of the liver and spleen dimensions with age, body length, body surface area, weight, and gender were investigated. Charts of normal values were established. Values were compared to studies involving other ethnicities and to one study carried out in 1983 involving the same ethnicity.ResultsSeven hundred thirty-six children (371 boys, 365 girls) aged 1 day - 18.4 years were included. From the second year of life, the craniocaudal dimension of the right lobe of the liver is 1–2 cm larger in the Central European population compared with non-Caucasian populations at a given age. Liver size of Central European children in 2020 is greater compared to a similar population almost 40 years ago. The craniocaudal dimension of the spleen of Central European, US-American and Turkish children is similar. The difference between genders is statistically significant for both the liver and the spleen, being larger in boys.ConclusionContemporary and ethnically appropriate reference charts for liver and spleen measurements should be used, especially for liver size. The effect of ethnicity is reduced if patient height rather than age is referenced.

Assessing the effect of herbicide diuron on river biofilm: A statistical model

River biofilm communities are the first ones to be exposed to all toxic discharges received via run off from agricultural fields. Hence, changes in river biofilm community structure and growth pattern are considered as indicator of overall health of lotic ecosystem. Toxicants have effect on biofilm biomass, photosynthetic efficiency and chlorophyll a concentrations. Mathematical models may be applied to estimate the overall vigor of riverine ecosystems considering biofilms as indicators. Herein, previous empirical data of Ricart et al. (2009) on long term effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of diuron on biofilm communities of the River Llobregat, Spain was considered as our model inputs. Our objective is to understand the influence of diuron, chlorophyll a concentrations and photosynthetic efficiency on biovolume using a statistical model. The non-linear relationships between biovolume (dependent variable) and diuron, chlorophyll a concentrations and photosynthetic efficiency (independent variables) were represented by constructing three separate basis functions based on day 8 empirical data. Biovolume, due to nonlinear influence as yielded by the basis functions were used in a multiple linear regression model to estimate the net biovolume. Model validation was done based on day 29 empirical data. The experimentally determined biovolume and our model estimated biovolume showed similar trends. Also, diuron and photosynthetic efficiency had significant (p < 0.05) influence on biovolume. Since, the predominance of diatoms as biofilms within periphytic layers is very common in lotic systems, estimation of changes in diatom biovolume will be significant to assess the effect of herbicides. Diatom biovolume of any day (for example day 22) mentioned in the experimental study may be determined by this model, without the requirement of tedious manual biovolume calculation. Our model will be useful in numerous other studies undertaken on the toxic effect of pollutants on biofilms to quickly and accurately estimate the biofilm biovolume.

Annual phenotypic and genetic change of growth pattern for body measurements traits in Holstein females

ホルスタイン雌牛の体型測尺形質を使用し発育様相の年次変化を調査した．2004年から2015年に誕生した3,215から3,485頭の雌牛の体重，体高，腰角幅，尻長および胸囲に非線形の発育モデルを個体ごとに適用し発育パラメータと12，24，36，48，60ヵ月の発育値を推定した．次に発育パラメータと各推定発育値の育種価をアニマルモデルで推定した．成熟値の表型的および遺伝的な年次変化量は，体重で各々7.40kg/年と1.99kg/年，体高で0.29cm/年と0.19cm/年，尻長で0.13cm/年と0.06cm/年および胸囲で0.79cm/年と0.27cm/年と有意であったが，腰角幅は遺伝的のみ有意な変化量（0.11cm/年）が推定された．同様の傾向は各月齢の発育値でもみられ，集団の大型化が示唆された．体重と胸囲は表型的および遺伝的に90%成熟月齢が有意に遅く，晩熟化であることが推察された．

A Hybrid Modeling Technique of Epidemic Outbreaks with Application to COVID-19 Dynamics in West Africa.

Simple SummaryThe intrinsic dynamics of the propagation of a disease changes along an epidemic course, especially for long lasting epidemics such as the COVID-19. Indeed, the natural evolution of the pathogen and countermeasures such as quarantining, lockdown, social distancing and vaccination modify the transmission dynamics of the disease. With a view to match these theoretical changes to potential changes in observed epidemiological data, we designed a hybrid modeling framework where we integrated: (1) two growth curves for daily reported positive cases, differentiating the early epidemic phase and a second phase with a potentially different dynamics; (2) two logistic regression models for daily recoveries and deaths; and (3) a SIQR (Susceptible, Infective, Quarantined, Recovered) mechanistic model to provide an overview of the dynamics of the disease in the target population. This joint modeling approach allows explicit analytical expressions for the different compartments of the SIQR model, circumventing common identifiability issues in such models. The changes in the disease transmission pattern can be subjected to countermeasures so as to assess their effectiveness along time. For illustrative purposes, we applied the approach to COVID-19 data from West Africa. It turned out that the first imported COVID-19 case(s) in West Africa likely entered the region between 28 January and 7 February 2020. Moreover, the first measures implemented by West African authorities impacted the dynamics of the disease one month after the outbreak.The widely used logistic model for epidemic case reporting data may be either restrictive or unrealistic in presence of containment measures when implemented after an epidemic outbreak. For flexibility in epidemic case reporting data modeling, we combined an exponential growth curve for the early epidemic phase with a flexible growth curve to account for the potential change in growth pattern after implementation of containment measures. We also fitted logistic regression models to recoveries and deaths from the confirmed positive cases. In addition, the growth curves were integrated into a SIQR (Susceptible, Infective, Quarantined, Recovered) model framework to provide an overview on the modeled epidemic wave. We focused on the estimation of: (1) the delay between the appearance of the first infectious case in the population and the outbreak (“epidemic latency period”); (2) the duration of the exponential growth phase; (3) the basic and the time-varying reproduction numbers; and (4) the peaks (time and size) in confirmed positive cases, active cases and new infections. The application of this approach to COVID-19 data from West Africa allowed discussion on the effectiveness of some containment measures implemented across the region.

The intraspecific and spatio-temporal changes in growth pattern and condition factor of Glossogobius aureus inhabiting in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

The intraspecific and spatio-temporal changes in growth pattern and condition factor of Glossogobius aureus inhabiting in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

In Vivo Phytotherapy in BALB/c Athymic Nude Mice: Hair Growth Promotion using &lt;i&gt;Ficus religiosa&lt;/i&gt; L. and &lt;i&gt;Morus alba&lt;/i&gt; L.

&lt;em&gt;Ficus religiosa&lt;/em&gt; L. (FR) and &lt;em&gt;Morus alba&lt;/em&gt; L. (ML) belonging to the family Moraceae have been tested as novel herbal agents for hair growth promotion and Hair Follicles (HFs) regeneration in BALB/c athymic nude mouse model. Current study tested different mixtures of 5% aqueous fractions: Test 1 (ML2+ML3+ML4+FR4), Test 2 (FR1+FR2+FR4), or Test 3 (ML2+ML3+ML4+FR1+FR2+FR4) from leaves of both plants including standard of care 2% minoxidil. Control mice were untreated. Animals were treated for 33 days by topical application on the back skin and changes in hair growth patterns were evaluated. Histology was performed to assess the HFs morphology, and modulation of hair cycle phases. Gene expression analysis was performed to understand potential mechanisms of action. All treatment groups had significantly higher anagen phase HFs compared with untreated control group based on histology analysis. Also, expressions of CD34, CD200R and Oct4 genes were upregulated in all treatment groups compared with untreated control. Present study demonstrated that a combinatorial therapy using either fractions of FR or FR and ML promoted hair growth and HFs regeneration through induction of anagen phase in conjunction with stem cells associated genes upregulation in BALB/c athymic nude mouse model of hair loss.

De novo transcriptome assembly of transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum NC89) with early senescence characteristic.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-021-00953-z.