Measuring dimensions: the regulation of size and shape

Development ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 127 (14) ◽  
pp. 2977-2987 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.J. Day ◽  
P.A. Lawrence

Over many years evidence has accumulated that plants and animals can regulate growth with reference to overall size rather than cell number. Thus, organs and organisms grow until they reach their characteristic size and shape and then they stop - they can even compensate for experimental manipulations that change, over several fold, cell number or average cell size. If the cell size is altered, the organism responds with a change in cell number and vice versa. We look at the Drosophila wing in more detail: here, both extracellular and intracellular regulators have been identified that link cell growth, division and cell survival to final organ size. We discuss a hypothesis that the local steepness of a morphogen gradient is a measure of length in one axis, a measure that is used to determine whether there will be net growth or not.

HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 1008B-1008 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Olmstead ◽  
Amy F. Iezzoni ◽  
Matthew D. Whiting

Although maximizing fruit size is critical for profitable sweet cherry (Prunusavium L.) production, little is known about the cellular differences among and between cultivars that contribute to fruit size differences. A wide range of fruit size exists among sweet cherries, and, due to cultural and environmental differences, significant variation exists among genetically identical fruit from the same cultivar. To determine the relative contributions of flesh cell number and cell size to final fruit size in sweet cherry, equatorial sections of three cultivars with a wide range in final average fruit size [`New York 54' (NY54; 1.4 g fresh weight, 11.8 mm diameter), `Emperor Francis' (EF; 6.1 g, 21.0 mm), and `Selah' (12.8 g, 25.5 mm)] were created from mature fruit. Cells intersecting a transverse line were counted and average cell length was calculated. The average cell numbers were significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) between `NY54', `EF', and `Selah' (26.7, 47.4, and 83.2, respectively), indicating that flesh cell number is the major contributor to differences in fruit size between cultivars. Flesh cell numbers of `NY54', `EF', and `Selah' were similar at bloom and increased rapidly for a short duration after fertilization, suggesting a key developmental period for fruit size differences. To determine the contribution of cell number differences to variation in fruit size within a cultivar, fruit from `Bing' and `Regina' trees exhibiting a range of size due to cultural and environmental differences were measured. In both cases, average cell number was not significantly different (P = 0.9, P = 0.3, respectively), while average cell size was (P ≤ 0.05), further indicating fruit flesh cell number is a genetically controlled trait.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026248932110068
Author(s):  
Youming Chen ◽  
Raj Das ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Mark Battley

In this study, the microstructure of a SAN foam was imaged using a micro-CT scanner. Through image processing and analysis, variations in density, cell wall thickness and cell size in the foam were quantitatively explored. It is found that cells in the foam are not elongated in the thickness (or rise) direction of foam sheets, but rather equiaxed. Cell walls in the foam are significantly straight. Density, cell size and cell wall thickness all vary along the thickness direction of foam sheets. The low density in the vicinity of one face of foam sheets leads to low compressive stiffness and strength, resulting in the strain localization observed in our previous compressive tests. For M80, large open cells on the top face of foam sheets are likely to buckle in compressive tests, therefore being another potential contributor to the strain localization as well. The average cell wall thickness measured from 2D slice images is around 1.4 times that measured from 3D images, and the average cell size measured from 2D slice images is about 13.8% smaller than that measured from 3D images. The dispersions of cell wall thickness measured from 2D slice images are 1.16–1.20 times those measured from 3D images. The dispersions of cell size measured from 2D slice images are 1.12–1.36 times those measured from 3D images.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0021955X2098715
Author(s):  
Cosimo Brondi ◽  
Ernesto Di Maio ◽  
Luigi Bertucelli ◽  
Vanni Parenti ◽  
Thomas Mosciatti

This study investigates the effect of liquid-type organofluorine additives (OFAs) on the morphology, thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of rigid polyurethane (PU) and polyisocyanurate (PIR) foams. Foams were characterized in terms of their morphology (density, average cell size, anisotropy ratio, open cell content), thermal conductivity and compressive as well as flexural properties. Based on the results, we observed that OFAs efficiently reduced the average cell size of both PU and PIR foams, leading to improved thermal insulating and mechanical properties.


1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Prakash ◽  
Liv Skoglund ◽  
Britt Rystad ◽  
Arne Jensen

An extended exponential growth phase and a higher maximum population characterized growth of planktonic algae in a dialysis system compared with that in a batch system. Algal cells grown in a dialysis culture had higher chlorophyll content and a larger average cell size than those grown in a batch culture. In both types of culture, changes in cell-size distribution were related to the phases of the growth cycle with maximum cell-size during the stationary phase. Various interactions of the component reactions of photosynthesis leading to changes in growth pattern and cell-size distribution are discussed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 584-586 ◽  
pp. 293-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcello Cabibbo

Microstructure evolution with equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) using route Bc, that is a 90° axial rotation of the billet between passes, up to 8 passes, was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The study has been focused on the induced development of boundary misorientation and spacing toward microstructure refinement. Cell (low-angle) and grain (high-angle) misorientation and spacing were determined from about 250 boundaries per pass of ECAP, systematically using whether Kikuchi patterns or Moiré fringes, these latter where possible. The average cell size and misorientation saturate within the first two passes. Misorientation and spacing of high-angle boundaries decrease with the number of passes. After 8 passes, mean cell size is ≈ 1.3 µm and the fraction of high-angle boundaries is ≈ 0.7. Differences in rate of grain structure evolution per pass are linked to differences in ability of dislocations introduced in new passes to recombine with the existing ones. As ECAP strain rises, the misorientation distribution develops strong deviations from the MacKenzie distribution for statistical grain orientation. This is interpreted as a result of the tendency to form equiaxed grains in a textured grain structure.


2011 ◽  
Vol 471-472 ◽  
pp. 751-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Zandi ◽  
M. Rezaei ◽  
A. Kasiri

Novel noncross-linked low density polyethylene (LDPE) foams were produced by extrusion process. In this study the effects of Organophilic Montmorillonite (OMMT) nanoclay (DK1) on thermal conductivity, flame retardancy, morphological and mechanical properties of LDPE foams have been investigated. Nanoclay dispersion in LDPE foam structure was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), microstructure was observed by an optical microscope and analyzed by Bel View image analyzer, thermal conductivity was studied by a simple transient method, mechanical properties was investigated using a tensile-compression Zwick-Roell machine as well as the flame retardancy of the samples was examined by flammability test. The optimum nanoclay content was determined by comparison of the properties in nanocomposite and neat LDPE foams. Due to the presence of nanoclay in the foam and decreasing the cell nucleation energy around the nanoclay, the average cell size was decreased as well as the cell density and microstructure uniformity was increased. In XRD patterns of LDPE nanocomposite foams, OMMT (DK1) characteristic peak was not observed as evidence of nanoclay intercalation-exfoliation in the polymer matrix, which led to the production of foams with homogenous microstructure. Furthermore, this nanocomposites showed lower thermal conductivity compared to neat LDPE foam, which can be attributed to the cell size reduction as well as narrow cell size distribution in nanocomposite foams. Compression test results demonstrated that LDPE nanocomposite foams with proper clay contents have improved mechanical properties (Young’s modulus, compressive strength). Furthermore due to the presence of DK1 nanoclay, LDPE foam showed a good char formation as an evidence of their flame retardancy.


MRS Bulletin ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 41-43

The previous sections of this article described the synthesis, morphologies, and properties of a variety of low-density microcellular materials. This section discusses several of the analytical methods used and developed at the DOE laboratories to characterize these state-of-the-art materials.In some LDMM applications, quantitative measurements of the material's average cell size and cell size distribution are desired. Indeed, the term “microcellular” has little meaning without such information. As seen throughout this article, however, most LDMMs do not have a readily defined cellular character. The more general problem is to quantify the spatial scale(s) of the foam. For this purpose it is necessary to define one or more “measures” of the spatial scale. The possibilities are many and include not only single numbers (e.g., cell size and cell size standard deviation, where “cell size” is meaningful) but also functional descriptions (e.g., correlation functions).SEM provides direct images and, therefore, is the most popular technique for examining LDMM morphology. SEM, however, suffers from at least three limitations: (1) SEM examines only a very small volume of material, and thus is impractical for obtaining average morphological properties; (2) SEM requires that nonconductive LDMMs be coated, a process step that can alter the structure and introduce artifacts (particularly with delicate structures); and (3) SEM images are only two-dimensional projections of real three-dimensional structures.


1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 684-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Spain ◽  
L. O. Wosu ◽  
N. Kalant

The effects of serum low-density lipoproteins (LDL) were studied in cultures of human skin fibroblasts grown in medium supplemented with human serum deficient in lipoproteins and in platelet factor. The LDL led to a temporary increase in the rate of cell replication, to increases in the cell content of protein and cholesterol, to an increase in average cell size, and to an increased secretion of glycosaminoglycans. The increases in cholesterol and protein were proportional to the increase in cell size, suggesting that the additional protein and cholesterol were of a structural, rather than a storage, nature. The increase in cell protein during the first few days of exposure to LDL was due to a decrease in the rate of protein degradation. Ultrafiltration of the serum to remove substances of molecular weight < 30 000 did not reduce the basal rate of cell proliferation but did prevent the stimulation of proliferation by LDL; it did not alter the effect of LDL on cell protein and cholesterol, indicating that the latter responses are independent of the mitogenic action. The response of cells from diabetic donors did not differ from that of normal cells.


1993 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 1566-1570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelino T. Suzuki ◽  
Evelyn B. Sherr ◽  
Barry F. Sherr

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