PoCHL P expression pattern in Posidonia oceanica is related to critical light conditions

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A comparison of Power Doppler with conventional sonographic imaging for the evaluation of renal artery stenosis

Percutaneous coronary intervention can be associated with distal embolization of thrombotic material causing myocardial necrosis and infarction. We discuss the role of intravascular imaging to guide the use of a distal protection device by describing the outcome of a young woman presenting with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography demonstrated an isolated minor stenosis in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery with slight haziness beyond the lesion. Intravascular ultrasound confirmed an extensive thrombus overlying a bulky atherosclerotic plaque. A distal filter wire was therefore successfully used to reduce the risk of distal embolization. The use of intravascular ultrasound in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome may reveal large thrombi that are difficult to image using conventional angiographic techniques. Intravascular ultrasound can therefore be used as a tool to select lesions requiring distal protection

Faster N release, but not C loss, from leaf litter of invasives compared to native species in mediterranean ecosystems

Plant invasions can have relevant impacts on biogeochemical cycles, whose extent, in Mediterranean ecosystems, have not yet been systematically assessed comparing litter carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics between invasive plants and native communities. We carried out a 1-year litterbag experiment in 4 different plant communities (grassland, sand dune, riparian and mixed forests) on 8 invasives and 24 autochthonous plant species, used as control. Plant litter was characterized for mass loss, N release, proximate lignin and litter chemistry by 13C CPMAS NMR. Native and invasive species showed significant differences in litter chemical traits, with invaders generally showing higher N concentration and lower lignin/N ratio. Mass loss data revealed no consistent differences between native and invasive species, although some woody and vine invaders showed exceptionally high decomposition rate. In contrast, N release rate from litter was faster for invasive plants compared to native species. N concentration, lignin content and relative abundance of methoxyl and N-alkyl C region from 13C CPMAS NMR spectra were the parameters that better explained mass loss and N mineralization rates. Our findings demonstrate that during litter decomposition invasive species litter has no different decomposition rates but greater N release rate compared to natives. Accordingly, invasives are expected to affect N cycle in Mediterranean plant communities, possibly promoting a shift of plant assemblages

Thermally stable external cavity laser based on silicon nitride periodic nanostructures

In this paper we demonstrate a thermally stable silicon nitride external cavity (SiN EC) laser based on a 250 μm sized Reflective Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (RSOA) butt-coupled to a series of Si 3 N 4 Bragg gratings acting as wavelength selective reflectors. The laser shows power outputs over 3 mW, a very low lasing threshold of 12 mA and with a typical Side-Mode Suppression Ratio of 45 dB. In this configuration a mode-hop free lasing regime over a range of 47 mA has been achieved (from 15 mA to 62 mA). Thermal stability of the lasing wavelength at temperatures up to 80°C is demonstrated. Further on, experimental results on a passive chip based on new 1D photonic crystal cavities are shown to have higher Q-Factors. This paves the way to avoiding thermal wavelength drifts and unlocks the possibility for these devices to be integrated in Dense WDM and optical-interconnect technologies, where transceivers must operate over a wide temperature range without active cooling

Spatial analysis of phylogenetic community structure: New version of a classical method

The increasing availability of phylogenetic information facilitates the use of evolutionary methods in community ecology to reveal the importance of evolution in the species assembly process. However, while several methods have been applied to a wide range of communities across different spatial scales with the purpose of detecting non-random phylogenetic patterns, the spatial aspects of phylogenetic community structure have received far less attention. Accordingly, the question for this study is: can point pattern analysis be used for revealing the phylogenetic structure of multi-species assemblages? We introduce a new individual-centered procedure for analyzing the scale-dependent phylogenetic structure of multi-species point patterns based on digitized field data. The method uses nested circular plots with increasing radii drawn around each individual plant and calculates the mean phylogenetic distance between the focal individual and all individuals located in the circular ring delimited by two successive radii. This scale-dependent value is then averaged over all individuals of the same species and the observed mean is compared to a null expectation with permutation procedures. The method detects particular radius values at which the point pattern of a single species exhibits maximum deviation from the expectation towards either phylogenetic aggregation or segregation. Its performance is illustrated using data from a grassland community in Hungary and simulated point patterns. The proposed method can be extended to virtually any distance function for species pairs, such as functional distances

Fire-smart solutions for sustainable wildfire risk prevention: Bottom-up initiatives meet top-down policies under EU green deal

Fuel management for wildfire risk prevention generally lacks economic sustainability. In marginal areas of southern Europe, this limits fuel treatment programs from reaching the critical mass of required treated area to modify landscape flammability, the fire regime and its impacts. This study investigates key fuel management initiatives for wildfire risk prevention in southern EU countries. We compared local approaches through a bottom-up selection of 38 initiatives, which we analyzed systematically through a set of fire-smart criteria: sustainability, cost-benefit ratio, synergies and inter-sectoral cooperation, integration between strategic prevention planning and multiple land governance goals (e.g., rural development, biodiversity conservation, energy supply), innovation and knowledge transfer, and adaptive management. We summarized lessons learned from the most innovative initiatives, by identifying solutions and functional approaches for building sustainable fuel management at the landscape scale, under fire-smart management principles. These make synergistic use of private, public and European resources to activate value chains that valorize the products, by-products and services generated by fuel management activities and their positive externalities on ecosystem services. The multiple mechanisms include fire-marketing, Payment for Ecosystem Services schemes, specific taxes, or environmental compensatory measures. These mechanisms catalyze the interest of multiple stakeholders (economic actors, private owners, land and fire management agencies) improving the cost-efficiency of landscape fuel management. We contend that the EU Green Deal offers the political backing and framework (mainstreaming of EU strategies and funding opportunities) to enable the replication of documented fire-smart models and functional approaches to wildfire risk prevention

Smart-Solutions for Wildfire Risk Prevention: Bottom-Up Initiatives Meet Top-Down Policies Under EU Green Deal

Wildfire risk prevention through fuel management generally lack of economic sustainability. In marginal areas of southern Europe, this limits fire prevention programs to reach the critical mass of interventions required to modify landscape flammability, the fire regime and its impacts.This study investigates key fuel management initiatives for wildfire risk prevention in southern EU countries. We compared local approaches through bottom-up selection of 38 initiatives, which we analysed systematically through a set of criteria: sustainability, cost-benefit ratio, synergies and inter-sectoral cooperation, integration between strategic prevention planning and multiple land governance goals (e.g. civil protection, biodiversity conservation), innovation and knowledge transfer, and adaptive approach.We summarized lessons learned from the most innovative initiatives, by identifying solutions and models for building sustainable fuel management at the landscape scale, under integrated wildfire management principles. We came to define “smart-solutions” for wildfire prevention. These make a synergistic use of private, public and European resources to activate value chains that valorise the products, and take advantage of by-products and services generated by fuel management activities and their positive externalities on ecosystem services. These mechanisms catalyse the interest of multiple stakeholders (economic actors, private consortium, land and fire management agencies) improving the cost-efficiency of landscape fuel management.We contend that the EU Green Deal offers the political backing and enabling framework (mainstreaming of EU strategies and funding opportunities) to boost the replication of the smart-solution model for wildfire risk prevention, but multi-actor and cross-sectoral cooperation between stakeholders will be a critical asset for the local implementation

Energy, forest, and indoor air pollution models for Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal

This paper presents the results of management-oriented research on energy, forest, and human health issues in a remote mountain area, the Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone (SNPBZ), Nepal. The research was based on a broader, integrated participatory framework ultimately intended for use in adaptive management. The present study focused on the application of a participatory modeling framework to address problems related to energy demand and consumption, forest condition, and indoor air pollution, which were defined by the stakeholders as important issues to be addressed. The models were developed using a generalizing design that allows for user-friendly adaptation to other contexts (free download at http://hkkhpartnership.org). Moreover, we simulated management scenarios in collaboration with all modeling actors with the aim of building consensus on the understanding of the system as well as supporting decision-makers' capacity not only to respond to changes, but also to anticipate them. Importantly, the system dynamics assessment found that the SNPBZ forests are affected by an increasing demand for fuelwood (occurring due to tourism growth), as one of the main sources of energy. Selected forests show an average reduction of 38 in forest biomass from 1992 to 2008. This shows that the business-as-usual scenario is unlikely to result in the preservation of the current forest status; in fact, such preservation would require 75 of fuelwood to be replaced with alternative energy sources. At the same time, a 75 reduction of fuelwood use (and an 80 reduction of dung use) would reduce indoor carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations to the standard limits for CO exposure set by the World Health Organization