The survival, morphological, and growth responses of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) seedlings to different light intensities, from full sunlight to heavy shade, were studied over two growing seasons in a shadehouse experiment. Although shade treatments significantly affected seedling growth, they did not influence seedling survival. Both growth and biomass increased as light intensity increased. Diameter growth of oak seedlings was higher than that of beech. Beech and oak seedlings showed typical acclimation to shade, including greater specific leaf area and height to diameter ratios, and lower leaf thickness and root:shoot ratios with increasing shade. Beech seedlings exhibited greater specific leaf area, and lower leaf thickness and root:shoot ratios than oak seedlings. In spite of the greater growth at full sunlight, the results from this study suggest that beech and oak seedlings would have high survival rates and would acclimate well if underplanted below overstories that reduce the available light to as low as 28% of full light.

RationalePoor adherence to inhaler use can be due to poor temporal and/or technique adherence. Up until now there has been no way of reliably tracking both these factors in everyday inhaler use.ObjectivesThis paper introduces a device developed to create time stamped acoustic recordings of an individual's inhaler use, in which empirical evidence of temporal and technique adherence in inhaler use can be monitored over time. The correlation between clinical outcomes and adherence, as determined by this device, was compared for temporal adherence alone and combined temporal and technique adherence.FindingsThe technology was validated by showing that the doses taken matched the number of audio recordings (r2 = 0.94, p<0.01). To demonstrate that audio analysis of inhaler use gives objective information, in vitro studies were performed. These showed that acoustic profiles of inhalations correlated with the peak inspiratory flow rate (r2 = 0.97, p<0.01), and that the acoustic energy of exhalations into the inhaler was related to the amount of drug removed. Despite training, 16% of participants exhaled into the mouthpiece after priming, in >20% of their inhaler events. Repeated training reduced this to 7% of participants (p = 0.03). When time of use was considered, there was no evidence of a relationship between adherence and changes in AQLQ (r2 = 0.2) or PEFR (r2 = 0.2). Combining time and technique the rate of adherence was related to changes in AQLQ (r2 = 0.53, p = 0.01) and PEFR (r2 = 0.29, p = 0.01).ConclusionsThis study presents a novel method to objectively assess how errors in both time and technique of inhaler use impact on clinical outcomes.Trial Registration EudraCT 2011-004149-42

In Arabidopsis thaliana we demonstrate that dying root hairs provide an easy and rapid in vivo model for the morphological identification of apoptotic-like programmed cell death (AL-PCD) in plants. The model described here is transferable between species, can be used to investigate rates of AL-PCD in response to various treatments and to identify modulation of AL-PCD rates in mutant/transgenic plant lines facilitating rapid screening of mutant populations in order to identify genes involved in AL-PCD regulation.

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In Ireland, most structural timber from Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis[Bong.] Carr.) is machine graded into C16 strength class. However, timber from early thinnings is mostly used for non-structural applications. There is an increased demand for structural timber, and timber from young trees could contribute to wood supply. However, this timber has lower mechanical properties than mature timber. In order to pre-sort the resource for structural application of wood from thinning, the possibilities of acoustic and density (D) measurements on young trees and logs have been investigated. The stress wave velocity (SWV) and pin penetration depth (PD) were measured on standing trees, which were then felled and cut into 10-m-long logs and subsequently into 3-m-long logs. Fundamental frequency was measured on logs. Finally, the logs were processed into boards, which were tested in accordance with EN 408 to obtain modulus of elasticity (MOE) in bending, bending strength (BStr) and D. The results showed good relationships between timber properties and acoustic and D measurements. Models for predicting grade properties of timber from thinnings are presented. Pre-sorting of young Sitka spruce trees and logs helped obtain higher C16 yields.

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-The physiological condition of three-year-old Douglas fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] was periodically assessed from October to May 1998/1999 during propagation of seedlings in an Irish nursery. Seedling physiological status was evaluated in situ using determinations of chlorophyll fluorescence and plant water status. Pre-and post-cold stored (either -2 o C or +0.5 o C) plant vitality was examined using determinations of root growth potential (RGP), root electrolyte leakage (REL), shoot water content and chlorophyll fluorescence. Data obtained from freshly lifted and cold stored stock showed that chlorophyll fluorescence provides a reliable (non-destructive) method of evaluating a seedlings potential field performance in both pre-lift (direct planting) and post-storage (outplanting) situations. Variations in survival and an index of plant health were paralleled by inverse changes in the effective quantum yield of photosystem II (Φ PSII) from November to April. Significant positive non-linear relationships were found between RGP and Φ PSII, though they were of limited predictive ability in terms of outplanting performance. Post-storage fluorescence assessments indicated down-regulation and/or damage of the plants photosynthetic light-harvesting complex, which depended on storage temperature and duration. Ann. For. Sci. 58 (2001) [225][226][227][228][229][230][231][232][233][234][235] 225