Growth Temperature Research Articles

Growth, Morphology and Respiratory Cost Responses to Salinity in the Mangrove Plant Rhizophora Stylosa Depend on Growth Temperature.

Mangrove plants, which have evolved to inhabit tidal flats, may adjust their physiological and morphological traits to optimize their growth in saline habitats. Furthermore, the confined distribution of mangroves within warm regions suggests that warm temperature is advantageous to their growth in saline environments. We analyzed growth, morphology and respiratory responses to moderate salinity and temperature in a mangrove species, Rhizophora stylosa. The growth of R. stylosa was accelerated in moderate salinity compared with its growth in fresh water. Under warm conditions, the increased growth is accompanied by increased specific leaf area (SLA) and specific root length. Low temperature resulted in a low relative growth rate due to a low leaf area ratio and small SLA, regardless of salinity. Salinity lowered the ratio of the amounts of alternative oxidase to cytochrome c oxidase in the mitochondrial respiratory chain in leaves. Salinity enhanced the leaf respiration rate for maintenance, but under warm conditions this enhancement was compensated by a low leaf respiration rate for growth. In contrast, salinity enhanced overall leaf respiration rates at low temperature. Our results indicate that under moderate saline conditions R. stylosa leaves require warm temperatures to grow with a high rate of resource acquisition without enhancing respiratory cost.

An Amorphous-to-Anatase Phase Transition Study of TiO2 Nanotubes by Temperature-Dependent Synchrotron-Based In Situ X-ray Diffraction.

TiO2 nanotubes (NTs) with amorphous and crystalline structures have attracted interest due to their wide range of applications, particularly black TiO2, which addresses the limitations of conventional TiO2 (a wide band gap of 3.0-3.2 eV). Understanding the amorphous-to-anatase phase transition is crucial for phase control of crystalline TiO2. This study investigates the size-dependent phase transition behavior of TiO2 and black TiO2 NTs using temperature-dependent synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction. Thermal treatments reveal that phase transitions occur in the ranges of 210-240 °C for normal NTs and 270-300 °C for black NTs. The onset temperature and crystallization growth are dependent on size, especially NT length, at least in the system under investigation. We observe anisotropic crystallization in quantum confinement, with the unit cell undergoing compression in the a-axis and expansion in the c-axis during crystallization. The longest black NTs (BV50T4) show a significant difference in the c/a ratio. Defects, such as oxygen vacancies, localize on specific NT planes.

Growth of single crystals of crowningshieldite (α-NiS) by chemical-vapour transport

Single crystals of crowningshieldite (α-NiS) were synthesized in three runs via chemical-vapour transport (CVT) over a 20 cm horizontal gradient of 700 → 600 °C (No. 1) and 800 → 700 °C (No. 2 & 3) in evacuated fused silica capsules using natural millerite from Coleman mine in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada with the composition (Ni0.976Fe0.013Co0.003)Σ0.992S and I2 as a transport reagent. Products were characterized via PXRD and SEM methods. Resultant crystals are euhedral, 10 to 400 μm in diameter, and occur as three distinct populations: 1) platy crystals exhibiting dominant pinacoid {0001} and minor dipyramid {101¯1}; 2) equant crystals with equal development of both the pinacoid {0001} and dipyramid {101¯1}; and 3) blocky crystals showing only the dipyramid {101¯1}. The largest crystals were produced at higher temperatures, but experiments lasting longer than 12 days did not result in significant additional crystal growth. In addition to euhedral crystals, anhedral droplets were observed to form during run No. 2 & 3 suggesting deposition as a liquid as opposed to solid crystals. Synthesis of crystals from a pure NiS compound as opposed to that of natural composition may improve the quality of the resulting crystals and better constrain the ideal growth temperature.

Charging of an Air–Rock Bed Thermal Energy Storage under Natural and Forced Convection

An air-rock bed thermal storage system was designed for small-scale powered generation and analyzed with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) using ANSYS-Fluent simulation. An experimental system was constructed to compare and validate the simulation model results. The storage unit is a cylindrical steel container with granite rock pebbles as a storage medium. The CFD simulation used a porous flow model. Transient-state simulations were performed on a 2D axisymmetric model using a pressure-based solver. During charging, heat input that keeps the bottom temperature at 550 °C was applied to raise the storage temperature. Performance analysis was conducted under various porosities, considering natural and forced convection. The natural convection analysis showed insignificant convection contribution after 10 h of charging, as observed in both average air velocity and the temperature profile plots. The temperature distribution profiles at various positions for both convection modes showed good agreement between the simulation and experimental results. Additionally, both cases exhibited similar temperature growth trends, further validating the models. Forced convection reduced the charging time from 60 h to 5 h to store 70 MJ of energy at a porosity of 0.4, compared to natural convection, which stored only 50 MJ in the same time. This extended charging period was attributed to poor natural convective heat transfer, indicating that relying solely on natural convection for thermal energy storage under the given conditions is not practical. Using a small fan to enhance heat transfer, forced convection is a more practical method for charging the system, making it suitable for power generation applications.

Modulating effects of temperature on CO2-inhibited isoprene emissions in Eucalyptus urophylla

Terrestrial vegetation emits substantial amounts of highly reactive isoprene, significantly impacting atmospheric chemistry and climate change. Both atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and temperature can influence plant isoprene emissions; however, whether these factors have a synergistic effect remains unclear, particularly for tropical/subtropical plants. In this study, we conducted in-situ controlled experiments on Eucalyptus urophylla, a representative tropical/subtropical species, to investigate the seasonal variation in the response of isoprene emissions to CO2 concentrations (ISOP-CO2 response) and to identify potential controlling factors. The results showed that high CO2 exerts a nearly linear inhibitory effect on isoprene emissions, as indicated by the slope of the ISOP-CO2 response curve. This inhibitory effect exhibited evident seasonal changes, with stronger suppression during cooler seasons and weaker suppression during warmer seasons. This finding contrasts with the default ISOP-CO2 response in the MEGAN model, which ignored seasonal variation. Further analysis showed a significant correlation between the slope of the ISOP-CO2 response curve and growth temperature from the past 10 days, indicating that these metrics are effective indicators for predicting seasonal changes. Our findings reveal a synergistic mechanism between temperature and CO2 concentration effects on isoprene emissions. By coupling the effects of growth temperature with the ISOP-CO2 response, this mechanism can be integrated into models to provide more accurate predictions of future isoprene emissions, reducing prediction biases, especially during cooler seasons.

Tuft Dynamics and the Reproductive Phenology of Zostera caespitosa on the Southern Coast of Korea

The aim of study is to determine which environmental factors could influence the biological traits of Z. caespitosa, a unique tuft-forming seagrass. This study examined the dynamics of tufts and the growth of Z. caespitosa, along with the environmental factors. The reproductive traits were also examined to estimate the potential importance of sexual reproduction in population persistence. The density of tufts remained constant, and no new tufts produced through seedling recruitment were observed throughout the sampling period. On the other hand, the tuft size and growth exhibited clear seasonal manners and strong correlations with the water temperature, indicating that water temperature regulates the tuft dynamics and growth. The optimal growth temperature for Z. caespitosa at the study site was approximately ~22.5 °C during early summer, with growth severely inhibited during periods of high-water temperatures. Z. caespitosa was characterized by a low flowering percentage and fewer inflorescences, resulting in extremely low potential seed production. Z. caespitosa maintained its populations through clonal tuft growth with low sexual reproduction and restricted growth at high water temperatures. Hence, this seagrass species may be vulnerable to disturbances, exhibiting low resilience and facing a high risk of becoming a threatened species in coastal waters.

Role of growth temperature on microstructural and electronic properties of rapid thermally grown MoTe2 thin film for infrared detection

In the field of electronic and optoelectronic applications, two-dimensional materials are found to be promising candidates for futuristic devices. For the detection of infrared (IR) light, MoTe2possesses an appropriate bandgap for which p-MoTe2/n-Si heterojunctions are well suited for photodetectors. In this study, a rapid thermal technique is used to grow MoTe2thin films on silicon (Si) substrates. Molybdenum (Mo) thin films are deposited using a sputtering system on the Si substrate and tellurium (Te) film is deposited on the Mo film by a thermal evaporation technique. The substrates with Mo/Te thin films are kept in a face-to-face manner inside the rapid thermal-processing furnace. The growth is carried out at a base pressure of 2 torr with a flow of 160 sccm of argon gas at different temperatures ranging from 400 °C to 700 °C. The x-ray diffraction peaks appear around 2θ= 12.8°, 25.5°, 39.2°, and 53.2° corresponding to (002), (004), (006), and (008) orientation of a hexagonal 2H-MoTe2structure. The characteristic Raman peaks of MoTe2, observed at ∼119 cm-1and ∼172 cm-1, correspond to the in-plane E1gand out-of-plane A1gmodes of MoTe2, whereas the prominent peaks of the in-plane E12gmode at ∼234 cm-1and the out-of-plane B12gmode at ∼289 cm-1are also observed. Root mean square (RMS) roughness is found to increase with increasing growth temperature. The bandgap of MoTe2is calculated using a Tauc plot and is found to be 0.90 eV. Electrical characterizations are carried out using current-voltage and current-time measurement, where the maximum responsivity and detectivity are found to be 127.37 mA W-1and 85.21 × 107Jones for a growth temperature of 600 °C and an IR wavelength illumination of 1060 nm.

Phase-selective growth of κ- vs β-Ga2O3 and (InxGa1−x)2O3 by In-mediated metal exchange catalysis in plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Its large intrinsic polarization makes the metastable κ-Ga2O3 polymorph appealing for multiple applications, and the In-incorporation into both κ and β-Ga2O3 allows us to engineer their bandgap on the low-end side. In this work, we provide practical guidelines to grow thin films of single phase κ-, β-Ga2O3 as well as their (InxGa1−x)2O3 alloys up to x = 0.14 and x = 0.17, respectively, using In-mediated metal exchange catalysis in plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MEXCAT-MBE). The role of substrate temperature, oxidizing power, growth rate, and choice of substrate on phase formation and In-incorporation is investigated. As a result, the κ phase can be stabilized in a narrow deposition window irrespective of the choice of substrate [(i) α-Al2O3 (0001), (ii) 20 nm of (2̄01) β-Ga2O3 on α-Al2O3 (0001), and (iii) (2̄01) β-Ga2O3 single crystal]. Low growth rates/metal fluxes as well as growth temperatures above 700 °C tend to stabilize the β-phase independently. Lower growth temperatures and/or O-richer deposition atmospheres allow to increase the In-incorporation in both polymorphs. Finally, we also demonstrate the possibility to grow (2̄01) β-Ga2O3 on top of α-Al2O3 (0001) at temperatures at least 100 °C above those achievable with conventional non-catalyzed MBE, opening the road for better crystal quality in heteroepitaxy.

Assessment of Growth and Yield Characteristics of a Greenhouse Hybrid and a Dual-Purpose Tomato Cultivar under Different Microclimatic Conditions

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L., family Solanaceae) represents one of the most cultivated horticultural crops worldwide. It contains various nutrients, providing health benefits. For better crop management strategies, especially with global warming, it is crucial to investigate how varieties or cultivars bred for different purposes respond to the changing macro or microenvironmental conditions. This research aimed to assess the growth, reproductive development and selected quality parameters of two tomato varieties, ‘Sylviana’ (a greenhouse hybrid) and ‘Bolseno’ (a dual-purpose variety), under a greenhouse environment. The study was conducted in the mid-country wet zone of Sri Lanka where the intensive-control greenhouse (T1) maintained a favourable air temperature (<33°C) for crop growth compared to high daytime temperatures of semi-intensive (T2) and less-intensive (T3) greenhouses (up to 36°C). In ‘Bolseno’, vegetative growth parameters were significantly affected (P<0.05) by different environments but not in ‘Sylviana’ (P>0.05). T1 resulted in the highest mean fruit weight and mean fruit diameter in both varieties. Since ‘Sylviana’ performed well in all three growing environments, the fruit quality was assessed by measuring the antioxidant activity (AOX) and total phenolic content (TPC) using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay and Folin–Ciocalteu method, respectively. Significantly higher AOX (P<0.05) was reported in T1 while T2 had a higher TPC. The results revealed that different tomato genotypes respond differently to changes in micro environmental conditions in terms of growth and some reproductive traits, and the same variety grown in different conditions had different TPC and AOX.

Microalgae bio-reactive façade: A model coupling weather, illumination, temperature, and cell growth over the year

This article presents the development of a numerical model coupling the thermal and biological behaviors of a microalgae biofaçade. Heat fluxes and illumination are modulated by actual weather data, and the system response is evaluated in terms of biomass and pigment production. First, the effect of the different model refinements are screened. Then, the model is applied to an illustrative case: the city of Marseille over the year 2023. The results illustrate the model’s capabilities, such as assessing the building/biofaçade thermal synergy or the summer/winter operational differences. The numerical behavior of the model is also analyzed: local and global sensitivity analyses assess the impact of uncertain parameters. The parameter inducing the highest amount of uncertainty is the microalgae photoconversion efficiency, highlighting the need to ascertain its value before designing a system. Despite this uncertainty, even under conservative assumptions, the predictions of the model are 10 % accurate.

Relationship between temperature gradient and growth rate during CZ silicon crystal growth

Temperature distribution in the growing crystal is the most important parameter that determines the grown-in-defects, growth rate, etc. There is a discussion either higher growth rate leads to larger thermal gradient or smaller thermal gradient. In this study, in order to make clear the reason of this discrepancy, the effects of growth rate on the shape of melt/crystal interface, and temperature distribution in growing crystal were investigated by numerical modeling. Firstly, as increasing the growth rate, the shape of melt/crystal interface becomes more concave. And temperature gradient along center axis on growing crystal increases as increasing the growth rate. On the other hand, temperature gradient along surface of growing crystal decreases as increasing the growth rate. To obtain higher growth rate, heat transfer should be enhanced. Along the center axis, heat transfer in vertical direction by heat conduction is dominant. Then concave interface shape and larger thermal gradient along center axis were obtained. In the periphery of grown crystal near the triple points, because of concave interface shape, heat transfer in radial direction, and radiative heat transfer from growing crystal become more important than heat transfer in vertical direction. Then smaller thermal gradient along the growing crystal surface was obtained. This surface temperature profile agrees well with Abe’s measurement results. It is cleared that higher growth rate leads to the higher heat transfer, and melt/crystal interface shape, and temperature distribution in growing crystal are determined by the balance of growth rate and heat transfer between heat conduction in vertical direction and heat conduction in radial direction combined with radiation heat transfer from crystal surface.

Epitaxial RuO2 and IrO2 films by pulsed laser deposition on TiO2(110)

We present a systematic growth study of epitaxial RuO2(110) and IrO2(110) on TiO2(110) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. We describe the main challenges encountered in the growth process, such as a deteriorating material flux due to laser-induced target metallization or the delicate balance of under- vs over-oxidation of the “stubborn” Ru and Ir metals. We identify growth temperatures and oxygen partial pressures of 700 K, 1 × 10−3 mbar for RuO2 and 770 K, 5 × 10−4 mbar for IrO2 to optimally balance between metal oxidation and particle mobility during nucleation. In contrast to IrO2, RuO2 exhibits layer-by-layer growth up to 5 unit cells if grown at high deposition rates. At low deposition rates, the large lattice mismatch between film and substrate fosters initial 3D island growth and cluster formation. In analogy to reports for RuO2 based on physical vapor deposition [He et al., J. Phys. Chem. C 119, 2692 (2015)], we find these islands to eventually merge and grow to continue in a step flow mode, resulting in highly crystalline, flat, stoichiometric films of RuO2(110) (up to 30 nm thickness) and IrO2(110) (up to 13 nm thickness) with well-defined line defects.

Modification of Copper-based chalcogenide nanocrystals' interconnections for efficient hole transportation in perovskite solar cell

Cu-based chalcogenide p-type semiconductors in the form of nanocrystals can be used to deposit low-temperature and stable hole-transport layers (HTL) for n-i-p perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this study, the synthesis parameters are modified to improve the hole-extraction of CuIn0.75Ga0.25S2 (CIGS) layer. By optimizing the amount of oleylamine as the capping agent, the internal series resistance of PSCs decreases significantly while preventing aggregation of CIGS nanocrystals. Increasing the growth temperature from 220°C to 275°C leads to an increase in the size of CIGS nanocrystals. This results in an improvement in the open-circuit voltage of PSCs with FTO/c-TiO2/m-TiO2/Cs0.05(MA0.17FA0.83)0.95Pb(I0.83Br0.17)3/CIGS/Au structure from 0.941 to1.092 V, and Fill Factor from 60 to 73 on average. Finally, a nanocomposite of CIGS and a small amount of doped Spiro-OMeTAD is applied in PSCs with ITO/SnO2/(FA,MA)Pb(I,Cl,Br)3/HTL/Au structure. The achieved efficiency of 18.72% is comparable to that of PSCs with highly doped Spiro OMeTAD (18.5%).

Gold Nanoparticles Decoration of Zinc Oxide Nanowalls on Flexible Substrates

Metal oxide nanostructures decorated with noble metal nanoparticles are hybrid structures with a special interface that combines the unique properties of those two materials. Noble metal nanoparticles exhibit useful catalytic properties, and they can be functionalized with biomaterials. In this work, we use gold nanoparticles that can be functionalized using thiolated molecules bound to the metal surface. Zinc oxide nano-walls (NWs) are a high surface-to-volume ratio wide-bandgap semiconductor nanostructures that, due to their biocompatibility and non-toxicity characteristics, can be used in biosensing applications that involve contact with tissues and cells. ZnO nano-walls can be deposited from aqueous solutions at low temperatures, both on rigid and flexible substrates, using a simple and low-cost process that can be upscaled to high-volume production. In this work, we study the nucleation and growth of the ZnO nano-walls and we describe the gold nanoparticles decoration at three different schemes of surface functionalization. Among these schemes, we found that the process where ZnO nano-walls were deposited on polyimide substrates followed by activation using a self-assembled monolayer, resulted in a decoration with uniform size and distribution of gold nano-particles. That process was studied as a function of the growth temperature, solution concentration, and time. The morphology of the ZnO nano-walls was studied by Scanning Electron microscope imaging and the crystal structure was studied by X-ray diffraction.

Land snail Δ47 thermometry using cultured and European natural populations of Clausilia pumila, Succinella oblonga and Trochulus hispidus

Clumped isotope composition (Δ47) of aragonitic shells of terrestrial molluscs allow the quantitative reconstructions of continental paleotemperatures from loess-paleosol records of the last 2.5 million years, but it needs testing the method under controlled laboratory conditions and using natural populations. In this study the stable carbon, oxygen and clumped isotope compositions of cultured individuals and field-collected specimens of three species (Clausilia pumila, Succinella oblonga and Trochulus hispidus), widespread in Quaternary loess deposits in Europe, were measured in the Debrecen (ATOMKI) and ETH Zürich laboratories. Our data of cultured snails demonstrate that shells of the three species record Δ47 signatures close to equilibrium conditions with mostly positive (C. pumila), both positive/negative (T. hispidus), and mostly negative (S. oblonga) offsets on the order of 0.0158 ± 0.0105 ‰ (mean offset±1 SD) compared to the Anderson et al. (2021) unified calibration. Calcification temperatures (TΔ47) derived from C. pumila shells were found to be in excellent agreement with chamber temperatures of 12, 18 and 24 °C, especially in the ATOMKI laboratory (mean T offset: 2.1 ± 2.2 °C, 1 SD), while the other two species exhibited larger discrepancies on the order of 5–8 °C (mean offset). Single shell-based mean TΔ47 values of field-collected molluscs indicated growth temperatures spanning values from the frost-free period to summer season, or even above summer maxima. The sites of natural populations, characterized by different climate conditions, could be grouped using the aridity index (AI) with values of 0.96–1.06 representing mean temperature of the frost-free period (TFFP), and AI ranging either from 0.85 to 0.91 or 1.14 to 1.51 reflecting mean summer season or July temperatures (TJJA/TJ). Multi-shell TΔ47, obtained by homogenizing the material of 3–5 shells of C. pumila and T. hispidus, reflect TJJA in most cases. We observed a dependence of the shell oxygen isotope compositions of the three species on oceanity/continentality with more negative/positive values characteristic for more continental/oceanic sites, likely due to moisture source distance and depletion of rainfall in 18O towards the continental interior. In addition, deviation of body fluid δ18O values (derived from δ18Oshell and Δ47shell) from seasonal precipitation δ18O is also controlled by an additional temperature effect, being independent of the climate zone of the collection site, but co-varying with the site-specific difference between single shell TΔ47 and TJJA.

Enhanced cross-interfacial growth by thickening transition layers and tailoring grain size of columnar nanotwinned Cu films

Electrodeposited <111>-oriented nanotwinned Cu (NT-Cu) films consist of micron-scale columnar grains and they are thermally stable up to 400 °C. By adding nanoscale equiaxed Cu grains at the bottom of the NT-Cu films, anisotropic large grain growth could be triggered below 200 °C. The grains grew over 50 μm in bonded Cu–Cu films with 5.7 μm thick. Two main factors are identified for the low thermal stability and large grain growth behavior. The grain refining and transition layer thickening are effective to lower the thermal stability of the NT-Cu and reduce the required temperature for recrystallization and grain growth in the NT-Cu film. By increasing the fine-grained layer and refining the grain size of the columnar twinned grains, anisotropic grain growth can occur at 150 °C. The low thermal stability NT-Cu can be employed to completely eliminate the bonding interface at low temperatures in Cu–Cu joints. However, when the fine-grained layer is thicker than a threshold value, normal grain takes place and the bonding interface remains. The mechanism of anisotropic large grain growth was also proposed.

Probiotic Potential of Bacillus Strains Isolated from Traditional Cassava Ferments (Manihot esculenta Crantz)

ABSTRACT: Probiotic potentials of Bacillus strains isolated from traditional cassava ferments, notably their growth at different pH, bile salts, temperatures, NaCl and antibiotics, their inhibition of pathogenic bacteria, non-production of hemolytic enzymes as well as the formation of biofilm were studied. These different probiotic parameters were determined according to the referenced methods. The results obtained showed that all Bacillus strains resisted acidic pH with the highest growths (7.29± 1.40) × 108 CFU/mL and (5.14±0.15) × 108 CFU /mL obtained with Bacillus toyonensis respectively at pH 2 for 24 hours and at pH 3 for 4 hours. All Bacillus strains grow well at 37°C and 44°C, despite their optimum growth temperature of 30°C. They also showed good growth at different bile salt concentrations and were multi-resistance to antibiotics Ciprofloxacin (100%), as was B. subtilis to Rifampicin (100%) but they were multi-sensitive (100%) to Amoxicillin, Imipenem, Gentamycin, Penicillin, Vancomycin, Chloramphenicol and Rifampicin except B. pumilus and B. methylotrophicus which were sensitive to Rifampicin (77%). Bacillus strains inhibited more than half of the pathogens (80.27% with S. aureus and 65.09% with E. coli). No strain showed hemolytic activity but rather a good capacity to form a biofilm (optical density ranging from 0.663 ± 00 to 3.15 ± 02 nm).

In pursuit of change: Divergent temporal shifts in climate sensitivity of Norway spruce along an elevational and continentality gradient in the Carpathians

Across much of Europe, climate change has caused a major dieback of Norway spruce (Picea abies L.), an economically important tree species. However, the southeasternmost fringe of this tree species – the Eastern Carpathians – has not yet suffered large-scale dieback. Studying temporal shifts of climate sensitivity (TSCS) over time may elucidate the degree to which Norway spruce may be vulnerable to climate-change induced decline in upcoming decades. Under this framework, we analyzed a regional tree-ring network comprising >3000 trees, with the aim of quantifying TSCS since 1950. We mathematically defined TSCS as the slope parameter of the regression of climate sensitivity (the correlation coefficient) over time. Given the often-observed contrasting shift of climate sensitivity at low versus high elevations, we were particularly interested in studying potentially divergent TSCS along elevational and spatial gradients. Our analyses revealed several indications of TSCS for Norway spruce in the Eastern Carpathians. First, at high elevations (>1100 m a.s.l.), we found that the positive link between summer temperature and spruce growth decreased significantly over the study period. In turn, these trees, over time, featured an increasing positive relationship with late winter temperatures. At low elevations (<800 m a.s.l.), the signal of positive summer Standardised Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) correlation became more frequent among sites towards 2021, while the strength of the positive winter SPEI correlation from the previous growing season weakened. Our results revealed that TSCS was driven significantly by an elevational climate gradient and a longitudinal continentality gradient. Overall, our findings indicate that Norway spruce is increasingly affected by water limitations under climate change at low elevations, highlighting a potentially rising risk of decline of this species in the Eastern Carpathians.

Temporal dynamics of leaf area index and land surface temperature correlation using Sentinel-2 and Landsat OLI data

BackgroundUnderstanding the complex relationship between vegetation dynamics and land surface temperature (LST) is crucial for comprehending ecosystem functioning, climate change impacts, and sustainable land management. Hence, this study conducts a temporal analysis of leaf area index (LAI) and LST data derived from Sentinel-2 and Landsat Operational Land Imagery (OLI) in the Mille River Basin, a tropical region in Ethiopia. LAI data were generated using Sentinel-2 imagery processed with the Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) toolbox, an open-access earth observation analysis tool, while Landsat OLI collection 2 level 2 data were utilized for precise LST retrieval. The Mann–Kendall test was used to detect trends in the time series data.ResultsThe trends in the mean LAI were statistically significant at P values of 0.05 and 0.10 for the annual and seasonal trends, respectively. The mean LST trends were insignificant throughout the study period except for the summer season, for which the P value was 0.07. The correlation between the LAI and LST was weak (R2 = 0.36) during the crop-growing seasons (summer and spring) but moderate in winter (R2 = 0.46) and autumn (R2 = 0.41).ConclusionThe findings of this research clarify the complex relationships between variations in surface temperature and vegetation growth patterns, providing insight into the environmental mechanisms driving the dynamics of localized ecosystems. The study underscores the implications of these findings for informed decision-making in sustainable land management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation strategies.

Genomic characterization of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis with observed shifts in optimal temperature.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment pose significant public health concerns and are influenced by conditions like temperature changes. We previously observed that resistance evolution to gentamicin and colistin affects optimal growth temperatures in Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates. Despite significant phenotype observations, the genetic basis remains unclear. We aim to identify the genetic changes linked to antibiotic resistance evolution that alter optimal growth temperature. Using whole-genome sequencing, we sequenced the genomes of gentamicin-resistant (GEN-1, GEN-2) and colistin-resistant (COL-4, COL-6) S. epidermidis isolates. Variant analysis with the BV-BRC bioinformatics tool identified genes involved in antibiotic resistance and temperature response. We found 12 genetic variants, including two unique to GEN-2 and one in COL-4. One shared mutation was observed in GEN-1 and GEN-2, and another in COL-4 and COL-6. Five mutations were shared among all isolates related to mobile gene elements, including a transposase IS4 family, two putative transposases, and two transposase-like insertion elements. Our findings indicate that the same genes involved in gentamicin and colistin resistance, especially those related to mobile genetic elements, may also play a crucial role in temperature response.