Interaction with Physical Environmental Factors

The major function of cutin is to serve as the structural component of the outer barrier of plants. As the major component of the cuticle it plays a major role in the interaction of the plant with its environment. Development of the cuticle is thought to be responsible for the ability of plants to move onto land where the cuticle limits diffusion of moisture and thus prevents desiccation [141]. The plant cuticle controls the exchange of matter between leaf and atmosphere. The transport properties of the cuticle strongly influences the loss of water and solutes fi om the leaf interior as well as uptake of nonvolatile chemicals from the atmosphere to the leaf surface. In the absence of stomata the cuticle controls gas exchange. The cuticle as a transport-limiting barrier is important in its physiological and ecological functions. The diffusion across plant cuticle follows basic laws of passive diffusion across lipophylic membranes [142]. Isolated cuticular membranes have been used to study this permeability and the results obtained appear to be valid 

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More than 200,000 infants are born with physical or mental damage each year. About 20% of all birth defects are believed strictly the result of environmental factors such as drugs, chemicals, or radiation, and another 60% are believed to be the result of an interaction of environmental and hereditary factors. 

The holistic approach uses the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In medicine it is the consideration of the complete person in the treatment of disease. The link between the body and the mind (the psychosomatic) and its significance to health are indisputable. A holistic healer considers all aspects of the patient s physical, mental, environmental and lifestyle factors as well as any pathological malfunction. When using an essential oil, the remedy relies on the complete oil rather than its individual components. This needs to be linked with the method of application and the skills of aromatherapists in interacting with their clients. 

Very little information was located regarding interactions of DNOC with other chemicals, but the toxicity of DNOC is influenced by several physical and environmental factors. 

Detrital processing can be thought of as a continuum from fresh litter to stabilized SOM (Agren and Bosatta, 2002). At different stages in this continuum, the relative importance of each of these environmental and biological factors that have been identified as controlhng decomposition dynamics will likely vary. The initial stages of mass loss are characteristically most affected by climate, resource quality, and, when abundant, soil macrofauna. The physical soil environment also needs to be considered as an important control on the turnover of more humified SOM in the mineral horizons. It is also evident from this literature review that observed correlations between decay rates and decomposition factors are often attributable to both the direct effects of that factor on microbial metabolism and to the indirect interactions with other factors. 

Theoretical models of the stress process (Appley Trumbull, 1986 Frankenhaeuser, Lundberg, Augustson, et al., 1989 Kahn Byosiere, 1992) emphasize the imbalance between the individual s perception of the demands from the environment and his or her perceived resources to meet these demands. In terms of health impacts, a multifactorial etiology is assumed. In the development of the major health problems in postindustrial societies, work-related stress seems to play an important role, interacting with other psychosocial and physical environmental conditions, genetic factors, personality, and hfestyle in its influence on bodily functions. 

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