Status of Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) in Sicily.

La poblaci\uf3n del buitre Neophron percnopterus en Sicilia se encuentra restringida a los sectores central y oeste de la isla. La poblaci\uf3n alcanz\uf3 cerca de 30 parejas durante el periodo entre 1970 y 1980, auque durante nuestro periodo de estudio (1990\u20132007), la poblaci\uf3n tuvo un tama\uf1o promedio de s\uf3lo 7 \ub1 2 parejas m\ue1s 2 \ub1 1 individuos no emparejados, con fluctuaciones considerables en los n\ufameros. Las tasas reproductivas durante nuestro periodo de estudio (juvenil por pareja reproductiva y juvenil por nido exitoso) fueron t\uedpicas para una poblaci\uf3n europea, aunque la tasa de \ue9xito de los nidos disminuy\uf3 y el abandono de nidos durante el per\uedodo 2000\u20132007 fue el doble del registrado durante el per\uedodo 1990\u20141999. La reducci\uf3n en la cantidad de ganado muerto y en la disponibilidad de alimento, como tambi\ue9n el aumento de la perturbaci\uf3n humana cerca de los sitios de anidaci\uf3n, probablemente alteraron la cualidad de los territorios de cr\ueda, y son probablemente la causa de la disminuci\uf3n del \ue9xito de anidaci\uf3n. Neophron percnopterus es una de las aves rapaces m\ue1s amenazadas de Europa, por lo que recomendamos el desarrollo r\ue1pido y la implementaci\uf3n del Plan de Acci\uf3n de Especies

EuropEan Journal of paEdiatric dEntistry vol. 15/2-2014 163 Eruption Guidance Appliance: a review

abstract Aim Eruption guidance appliance (Occlus-o-Guid

Infrared microspectroscopy of live cells in microfluidic devices (MD-IRMS): Toward a powerful label-free cell-based assay

Until nowadays most infrared microspectroscopy (IRMS) experiments on biological specimens (i.e., tissues or cells) have been routinely carried out on fixed or dried samples in order to circumvent water absorption problems. In this paper, we demonstrate the possibility to widen the range of in-vitro IRMS experiments to vibrational analysis of live cellular samples, thanks to the development of novel biocompatible IR-visible transparent microfluidic devices (MD). In order to highlight the biological relevance of IRMS in MD (MD-IRMS), we performed a systematic exploration of the biochemical alterations induced by different fixation protocols, ethanol 70% and formaldehyde solution 4%, as well as air-drying on U937 leukemic monocytes by comparing their IR vibrational features with the live U937 counterpart. Both fixation and air-drying procedures affected lipid composition and order as well as protein structure at a different extent while they both induced structural alterations in nucleic acids. Therefore, only IRMS of live cells can provide reliable information on both DNA and RNA structure and on their cellular dynamic. In summary, we show that MD-IRMS of live cells is feasible, reliable, and biologically relevant to be recognized as a label-free cell-based assay

Synchrotron radiation infrared microspectroscopy of single living cells in microfluidic devices: Advantages, disadvantages and future perspectives

The possibility to fully exploit the diagnostic capabilities of SR-IRMS for studying single living cells under physiological conditions is limited by several constrains. First of all, the technology for manufacturing materials transparent to both IR and visible light is quite immature, limiting the design of fluidic devices to simple demountable liquid cells. In addition, the water spectral features become prominent in the Mid IR, hiding several cellular bands and therefore limiting the diagnostic capabilities of SR-IRMS. The overcoming of the so called "water absorption barrier" requires the improvement of the protocols for the compensation of buffer spectral contributions, a goal that can be achieved also advancing the quality of IR-suitable fluidic devices. In this paper, the technical solutions employed for microfabricating completely sealed IR-visible transparent fluidic devices for living cell analysis will be presented. Several examples of the results obtained in the study of living U937 monocytes subjected to different stimuli will be selected for highlighting both the advantages and the disadvantages offered by our approach for cellular biologyThe possibility to fully exploit the diagnostic capabilities of SR-IRMS for studying single living cells under physiological conditions is limited by several constrains. First of all, the technology for manufacturing materials transparent to both IR and visible light is quite immature, limiting the design of fluidic devices to simple demountable liquid cells. In addition, the water spectral features become prominent in the Mid IR, hiding several cellular bands and therefore limiting the diagnostic capabilities of SR-IRMS. The overcoming of the so called "water absorption barrier" requires the improvement of the protocols for the compensation of buffer spectral contributions, a goal that can be achieved also advancing the quality of IR-suitable fluidic devices. In this paper, the technical solutions employed for microfabricating completely sealed IR-visible transparent fluidic devices for living cell analysis will be presented. Several examples of the results obtained in the study of living U937 monocytes subjected to different stimuli will be selected for highlighting both the advantages and the disadvantages offered by our approach for cellular biolog

Surface pinning of catalyst nanoparticles for enhanced size and position control of 1D nanostructures growth

10.1016/j.mee.2013.02.048Microelectronic Engineering110335-339MIEN