Morphometry of the coronary artery and heart microcirculation in infants

Knowledge of morphometric quantities of coronary arteries in infants is an increasingly vital component in managing congenital and acquired heart disease. Because of considerable heterogeneity of coronary vasculature, what is considered atypical and aberrant or insignificant anatomy is often unclear. The purpose of our present study is to define normal infant anatomy. This was done by focusing on the segment analysis of coronary arteries in infants. Segment analysis was used to define an accurate definition of the length and diameter of the coronary network. The lengths, widths, and numbers of collateral branches of the coronary arteries were measured. The coronary vessels of 40 infant hearts were visualised postmortem by injection of the coronary arteries with X-ray opaque dye for the imaging study. Also, black ink cast and silver impregnation specimens were studied. The longest segment of the circumflex branches of left coronary arteries was the second; the lengths were 9066.6 ± ± 1828 μm. The length of I, III, and IV were 7366 ± 378.7 μm, 7536.6 ± ± 1533.8 μm, 4476.6 ± 690.9 μm, respectively. The lengths of the circumflex branch of the coronary artery were longer than that of the others; it is joined with the anterior interventricular branch of the coronary artery in the dorsal wall of the left ventricle. Rates of branching and ramification were low, and the number of lateral branches was low

Speleothems Reveal 500,000-year History of Siberian Permafrost

Soils in permafrost regions contain twice as much carbon as the atmosphere, and permafrost has an important influence on the natural and built environment at high northern latitudes. The response of permafrost to warming climate is uncertain and occurs on time scales longer than those assessed by direct observation. We dated periods of speleothem growth in a north-south transect of caves in Siberia to reconstruct the history of permafrost in past climate states. Speleothem growth is restricted to full interglacial conditions in all studied caves. In the northernmost cave (at 60°N), no growth has occurred since Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 11. Growth at that time indicates that global climates only slightly warmer than today are sufficient to thaw extensive regions of permafrost

Morphological apsects of the coronary artery in the neonates

Knowledge of the morphometric quantities of the coronary arteries in neonates is an increasingly vital component in the management of congenital and acquired heart disease. Because of the considerable heterogeneity of coronary vasculature, what is considered atypical and aberrant or insignificant anatomy is often unclear. The purpose of our present study is to define the normal anatomy of neonates. This was done by focusing on segment analysis of the coronary arteries, which was used to obtain accurate definitions of the length and diameter of the coronary network. The lengths, widths and numbers of collateral branches of the coronary arteries of neonates were measured. The coronary vessels of 50 neonate hearts were visualised post mortem by injection of the coronary arteries with opaque X-ray dye for the imaging study. Black ink cast and silver impregnation specimens were also studied. The longest segment of the circumflex branches of the left coronary arteries was the first, the lengths measuring 7188.5 ± 839.6 μm and the diameters 850 ± 90.8 μm. The lengths of segments II, III and IV were 5780 ± 1182.7 μm, 5397.5 ± 2070.2 μm and 6932.8 ± 2236.5 μm and the diameters were 680 ± 90.8 μm, 510 ± 90.8 μm and 408 ± 77.58 μm respectively. The longest segment of the anterior interventricular branches of the left coronary arteries was the first, with lengths of 10151.4 ± 1298.6 μm and diameters of 1141.9 ± 82.1 μm. The lengths of segments II, III and IV were 8208.5 ± 1222.3 μm, 3278.5 ± 602.4 μm and 5370 ± 1657.6 μm and the diameters were 971 ± 82.1 μm, 801.42 ± 82.1 μm and 631.4 ± 82.1 μm respectively. The lateral branches were increased in number in the fourth segment. Its diameters ranged from 157.8 ± 31.7 μm to 655.7 ± 99.7 μm. The main branch of the right coronary artery was short at the base of the heart. In the newborn the lateral branches of the right coronary artery were short, scattered and curved. Analysis of the data suggests a new anatomical system for classifying the vasculature of the coronary arteries in neonates

Afforestation of Mongolian steppe: patterns of biomass partitioning in Populus sibirica and Ulmus pumila trees in response to management supporting measures

Climate challenges impose the need for successful afforestation strategies which will increase the amount of carbon sequestered from the atmosphere. In practice, this means evaluation of suitable plant species and management practices for the long-term effects to prove beneficial. In the present study we employed a clasmometric approach to look into biomass partitioning in two tree species, Populus sibirica and Ulmus pumila, which have been included in the formation of the Green Belt project in Asia. Comparing the total biomass comprised of the above ground (AG) and below ground (BG) biomass of trees grown in different irrigation and fertilization regimes, we aim to better understand where the two species invest more biomass as a tool to deal with the environmental challenges. The results suggest that these two tree species prioritize different aspects of development when faced with various challenges. U. pumilia tends to be more resistant to drought making it favorable for the semi-arid and arid regions. P. sibirica is more sensitive to the lack of water but shows greater potential in terms of biomass production (especially AG biomass) and, therefore, overall higher C-sequestration. The fertilization treatments made no significant impact on tree development on Mongolian steppe soil