An examination of the design for a prefabricated housing unit in Cyprus in terms of energy, daylighting and cost.

Housing prefabrication emerged as an energy and cost-saving solution, which can also be linked to the reduction of environmental impacts, as well as to the development of green construction practices. In the first part of this study, a comprehensive literature review of the prefabricated assembly methods and their inherent potential, in terms of both design and construction are presented. Design strategies that incorporate the integration of environmental systems are also considered.

An Ethnobotanical Investigation into the Traditional Uses of Mediterranean Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: The Case of Troodos Mountains in Cyprus.

The Troodos mountains in Cyprus are a hotspot of plant diversity and cultural heritage. However, the traditional uses of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), a significant aspect of local culture, have not been thoroughly studied. The aim of this research was to document and analyze the traditional uses of MAPs in Troodos.

Challenging the water stress index concept: Thermographic assessment of Arabidopsis transpiration.

Water stress may greatly limit plant functionality and growth. Stomatal closure and consequently reduced transpiration are considered as early and sensitive plant responses to drought and salinity stress. An important consequence of stomatal closure under water stress is the rise of leaf temperature (T ), yet T is not only fluctuating with stomatal closure.

Two Inexpensive and Non-destructive Techniques to Correct for Smaller-Than-Gasket Leaf Area in Gas Exchange Measurements.

The development of technology, like the widely-used off-the-shelf portable photosynthesis systems, for the quantification of leaf gas exchange rates and chlorophyll fluorescence offered photosynthesis research a massive boost. Gas exchange parameters in such photosynthesis systems are calculated as gas exchange rates per unit leaf area. In small chambers (<10 cm), the leaf area used by the system for these calculations is actually the internal gasket area (A), provided that the leaf covers the entire A.

Impact of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on Arundo donax L. response to salt stress.

AM symbiosis did not strongly affect Arundo donax performances under salt stress, although differences in the plants inoculated with two different fungi were recorded. The mechanisms at the basis of the improved tolerance to abiotic stresses by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have been investigated mainly focusing on food crops. In this work, the potential impact of AM symbiosis on the performance of a bioenergy crop, Arundo donax, under saline conditions was considered.

Spectrophotometric Quantification of Reactive Oxygen, Nitrogen and Sulfur Species in Plant Samples.

Reactive oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur species are key signalling molecules involved in multiple physiological processes that can be examined in qualitative and quantitative manners. Here, we describe simple spectrophotometric assays that allow the quantification of hydrogen peroxide, nitrite-derived nitric oxide and hydrogen sulphide from plant tissues.

Phenotypic plasticity to altered apical bud temperature in Cucumis sativus: more leaves-smaller leaves and vice versa.

Many studies investigated temperature effects on leaf initiation and expansion by relating these processes to air temperature or the temperature of a specific organ (e.g. leaf temperature).

Unravelling chemical priming machinery in plants: the role of reactive oxygen-nitrogen-sulfur species in abiotic stress tolerance enhancement.

Abiotic stresses severely limit crop yield and their detrimental effects are aggravated by climate change. Chemical priming is an emerging field in crop stress management. The exogenous application of specific chemical agents before stress events results in tolerance enhancement and reduction of stress impacts on plant physiology and growth.

A unique approach to demonstrating that apical bud temperature specifically determines leaf initiation rate in the dicot Cucumis sativus.

Leaf initiation rate is largely determined by the apical bud temperature even when apical bud temperature largely deviates from the temperature of other plant organs. We have long known that the rate of leaf initiation (LIR) is highly sensitive to temperature, but previous studies in dicots have not rigorously demonstrated that apical bud temperature controls LIR independent of other plant organs temperature. Many models assume that apical bud and leaf temperature are the same.

Chemical Priming of Plants Against Multiple Abiotic Stresses: Mission Possible?

Crop plants are subjected to multiple abiotic stresses during their lifespan that greatly reduce productivity and threaten global food security. Recent research suggests that plants can be primed by chemical compounds to better tolerate different abiotic stresses. Chemical priming is a promising field in plant stress physiology and crop stress management.

Impact of light on leaf initiation: a matter of photosynthate availability in the apical bud?

Radiation substantially affects leaf initiation rate (LIR), a key variable for plant growth, by influencing the heat budget and therefore the temperature of the shoot apical meristem. The photosynthetically active component of solar radiation (photosynthetic photon flux density; PPFD) is critical for plant growth and when at shade to moderate levels may also influence LIR via limited photosynthate availability. Cucumber and tomato plants were subjected to different PPFDs (2.

Meristem temperature substantially deviates from air temperature even in moderate environments: is the magnitude of this deviation species-specific?

Meristem temperature (Tmeristem ) drives plant development but is hardly ever quantified. Instead, air temperature (Tair ) is usually used as its approximation. Meristems are enclosed within apical buds.

Co-ordination of hydraulic and stomatal conductances across light qualities in cucumber leaves.

Long-term effects of light quality on leaf hydraulic conductance (K(leaf)) and stomatal conductance (g(s)) were studied in cucumber, and their joint impact on leaf photosynthesis in response to osmotic-induced water stress was assessed. Plants were grown under low intensity monochromatic red (R, 640 nm), blue (B, 420 nm) or combined red and blue (R:B, 70:30) light. K(leaf) and g(s) were much lower in leaves that developed without blue light.