Plant height and hydraulic vulnerability to drought and cold

Understanding how plants survive drought and cold is increasingly important as plants worldwide experience dieback with drought in moist places and grow taller with warming in cold ones. Crucial in plant climate adaptation are the diameters of water-transporting conduits. Sampling 537 species across climate zones dominated by angiosperms, we find that plant size is unambiguously the main driver of conduit diameter variation. And because taller plants have wider conduits, and wider conduits within species are more vulnerable to conduction-blocking embolisms, taller conspecifics should be more vulnerable than shorter ones, a prediction we confirm with a plantation experiment. As a result, maximum plant size should be short under drought and cold, which cause embolism, or increase if these pressures relax. That conduit diameter and embolism vulnerability are inseparably related to plant size helps explain why factors that interact with conduit diameter, such as drought or warming, are altering plant heights worldwide

The effects of nisin-producing Lactococcus lactis strain used as probiotic on Gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) growth, gut microbiota, and transcriptional response.

The present research tested the effects of dietary nisin-producing Lactococcus lactis on growth performance, feed utilization, intestinal morphology, transcriptional response, and microbiota in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). A feeding trial was conducted with fish weighting 70-90 g. Fish were tagged with passive, integrated transponders and distributed in nine 500-L tanks with 40 fish each. Fish were fed for 12 weeks with either a control (diet A) or experimental diets (diets B and C) in triplicate (3 tanks/diet). Extruded pellets of diets B and C were supplemented with a low (2 x 109 CFU/kg) and a high (5 x 109 CFU/kg) dose of probiotic, respectively. No significant differences were found between groups for the feed conversion ratio or specific growth rates. However, the final body weight of fish fed diet C was significantly higher than the control group with intermediate values for fish fed diet B. Histological analysis conducted using a semi-quantitative scoring system showed that probiotic did not alter the morphology of the intestine and did not trigger inflammation. With regard to the transcriptomic response, a customized PCR array layout was designed to simultaneously profile a panel of 44 selected genes. Significant differences in the expression of key genes involved in innate and acquired immunity were detected between fish fed probiotic and control diets. To analyze the microbiota associated to the feeds and the gut autochthonous microbial communities, we used the Illumina MiSeq platform for sequencing the 16S rRNA gene and a metagenomics pipeline based on VSEARCH and RDP databases. The analysis of gut microbiota revealed a lack of colonization of the probiotic in the host\u2019s intestinal mucosa. However, probiotic did modulate the fish gut microbiota, confirming that colonization is not always necessary to induce host modification. In fact, diets B and C were enriched with Actinomycetales, as compared to diet A, which instead showed a higher percentage of Pseudomonas, Sphyngomonas, and Lactobacillus genera. These results were confirmed by the clear separation of gut bacterial community of fish fed with the probiotic from the bacterial community of control fish group in the beta-diversity and PLS-DA (supervised partial least-squares discriminant analysis) analyses

Schwartz - Zippelov teorem i neke njegove primjene

U ovom radu izložen je rezultat poznat pod nazivom Schwartz - Zippelova lema ili Schwartz - Zippelov teorem. Tema rada pripada pretežno algebri, ali ima značajne primjene u drugim matematičkim područjima kao što je na primjer teorija algoritama, te kombinatorika. Rad se sastoji od tri poglavlja. U uvodu je ukratko opisana tema i cilj rada. Prvo poglavlje sadrži kratku povijest nastanka teorema, različite oblike rezultata pojedinih autora, te kratki opis pojmova korištenih u samom radu. Drugo poglavlje sastoji se od iskaza i dokaza Schwartz - Zippelovog teorema, a u trećem poglavlju izložene su neke primjene tog teorema na probleme koji se mogu svesti na testiranje jednakosti polinoma. Takvi su, primjerice, problem postojanja savršenog sparivanja u grafu i ispitivanje svojstva asocijativnosti u grupoidu. Uz svaku primjenu navedeni su i prikladni primjeri.In this diploma thesis we present the result usually called the Schwartz-Zippel lemma or the Schwartz-Zippel theorem. The nature of this theorem is basically algebraic, but it has significant applications in other areas of mathematics, such as the theory of algorithms and combinatorial theory. The thesis consists of three chapters. The main theme and objective are briefly described in the introduction. The first chapter contains a short history of the theorem’s origins, various forms of the main results by different authors and some comments of basic concepts related to this topic. The statement and a proof of the Schwartz-Zippel theorem are given in the second chapter, together with the general outline of its applications. The third and final chapter consists of some applications to problems which can be reduced to polynomial identity testing, including the existence of a perfect matching in a graph and testing of the associativity property in a groupoi

A Robust and Biocompatible Bismuth Ellagate MOF Synthesized Under Green Ambient Conditions

The first bioinspired microporous metal-organic framework (MOF) synthesized using ellagic acid, a common natural antioxidant and polyphenol building unit, is presented. Bi2O(H2O)2(C14H2O8)\ub7nH2O (SU-101) was inspired by bismuth phenolate metallodrugs, and could be synthesized entirely from nonhazardous or edible reagents under ambient aqueous conditions, enabling simple scale-up. Reagent-grade and affordable dietary supplement-grade ellagic acid was sourced from tree bark and pomegranate hulls, respectively. Biocompatibility and colloidal stability were confirmed by in vitro assays. The material exhibits remarkable chemical stability for a bioinspired MOF (pH = 2-14, hydrothermal conditions, heated organic solvents, biological media, SO2 and H2S), attributed to the strongly chelating phenolates. A total H2S uptake of 15.95 mmol g-1 was recorded, representing one of the highest H2S capacities for a MOF, where polysulfides are formed inside the pores of the material. Phenolic phytochemicals remain largely unexplored as linkers for MOF synthesis, opening new avenues to design stable, eco-friendly, scalable, and low-cost MOFs for diverse applications, including drug delivery

Ionize Hard: Interstellar PO+ Detection

We report the first detection of the phosphorus monoxide ion (PO+) in the interstellar medium. Our unbiased and very sensitive spectral survey toward the G+0.693–0.027 molecular cloud covers four different rotational transitions of this molecule, two of which (J = 1–0 and J = 2–1) appear free of contamination from other species. The fit performed, assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions, yields a column density of N=(6.0 \ub1 0.7) 7 1011\ua0cm−2. The resulting molecular abundance with respect to molecular hydrogen is 4.5 7 10–12. The column density of PO+ normalized by the cosmic abundance of P is larger than those of NO+ and SO+, normalized by N and S, by factors of 3.6 and 2.3, respectively. The N(PO+)/N(PO) ratio is 0.12 \ub1 0.03, more than one order of magnitude higher than that of N(SO+)/N(SO) and N(NO+)/N(NO). These results indicate that P is more efficiently ionized than N and S in the ISM. We have performed new chemical models that confirm that the PO+ abundance is strongly enhanced in shocked regions with high values of cosmic-ray ionization rates (10–15 − 10–14 s−1), as occurring in the G+0.693–0.027 molecular cloud. The shocks sputter the interstellar icy grain mantles, releasing into the gas phase most of their P content, mainly in the form of PH3, which is converted into atomic P, and then ionized efficiently by cosmic rays, forming P+. Further reactions with O2 and OH produces PO+. The cosmic-ray ionization of PO might also contribute significantly, which would explain the high N(PO+)/N(PO) ratio observed. The relatively high gas-phase abundance of PO+ with respect to other P-bearing species stresses the relevance of this species in the interstellar chemistry of P

Geographical variation in therapy for bloodstream infections due to multidrug-resistant enterobacteriaceae: a post hoc analysis of the INCREMENT study

We aimed to describe regional differences in therapy for bloodstream infection (BSI) caused by extended-spectrum ?-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) or carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE). 1,482 patients in 12 countries were included from an observational study of BSI caused by ESBL-E or CPE. Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for the influence of country of recruitment on empirical use of ?-lactam/?-lactamase inhibitors (BLBLI) or carbapenems, targeted use of BLBLI for ESBL-E and use of targeted combination therapy for CPE. The use of BLBLI for empirical therapy was least likely in sites from Israel (aOR 0.34, 95% CI 0.14-0.81), Greece (aOR 0.49, 95% CI 0.26-0.94) and Canada (aOR 0.31, 95% CI 0.11-0.88) but more likely in Italy (aOR 1.58, 95% CI 1.11-2.2) and Turkey (aOR 2.09, 95% CI 1.14-3.81), compared to Spain as a reference. Empirical carbapenems were more likely to be used in sites from Taiwan (aOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.03-2.92) and USA (aOR 1.89; 95% CI 1.05-3.39), and less likely in Italy (aOR 0.44, 95% CI 0.28-0.69) and Canada (aOR 0.10, 95% CI 0.01-0.74). Targeted BLBLI for ESBL-E was more likely in sites from Italy. Treatment at sites within Israel, Taiwan, Turkey and Brazil was associated with less combination therapy for CPE. Although this study does not provide precise data on the relative prevalence of ESBL-E or CPE, significant variation in therapy exists across countries even after adjustment for patient factors. A better understanding of what influences therapeutic choices for these infections will aid antimicrobial stewardship efforts.PH is supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award from the University of Queensland. The study was funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III - co-financed by European Development Regional Fund "A way to achieve Europe" ERDF, Spanish Network for the Research in Infectious Diseases (REIPI RD12/0015). BGG, JRB, APH and YC also received funds from the COMBACTE-CARE project (grant agreement 115620), Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and in-kind contributions from EFPIA companies

Observation and Mass Measurement of the Baryon Ξb−\Xi^-_b

We report the observation and measurement of the mass of the bottom, strange baryon $\Xi^-_b$ through the decay chain $\Xi^-_b \to J/\psi \Xi^-$, where $J/\psi \to \mu^+ \mu^-$, $\Xi^- \to \Lambda \pi^-$, and $\Lambda \to p \pi^-$. Evidence for observation is based on a signal whose probability of arising from the estimated background is 6.6 x 10^{-15}, or 7.7 Gaussian standard deviations. The $\Xi^-_b$ mass is measured to be $5792.9\pm 2.5$ (stat.) $\pm 1.7$ (syst.) MeV/$c^2$.Comment: Minor text changes for the second version. Accepted by Phys. Rev. Let

Search for New Particles Leading to Z+jets Final States in ppˉp\bar{p} Collisions at s=1.96\sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

We present the results of a search for new particles that lead to a \Z boson plus jets in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96$ TeV using the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF II). A data sample with a luminosity of 1.06 \ifb\ collected using \Z boson decays to $ee$ and $\mu\mu$ is used. We describe a completely data-based method to predict the dominant background from standard-model \Z+jet events. This method can be similarly applied to other analyses requiring background predictions in multi-jet environments, as shown when validating the method by predicting the background from $W$+jets in \ttbar production. No significant excess above the background prediction is observed, and a limit is set using a fourth generation quark model to quantify the acceptance. Assuming $BR(b' \to b\Z) = 100$ and using a leading-order calculation of the $b'$ cross section, $b'$ quark masses below 268 \gev/c^2 are excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: To be submitted to PR

Polarizations of J/psi and psi(2S) Mesons Produced in ppbar Collisions at 1.96 TeV

We have measured the polarizations of \jpsi and \psiprime mesons as functions of their transverse momentum \pt when they are produced promptly in the rapidity range $|y|<0.6$ with \pt \geq 5 \pgev. The analysis is performed using a data sample with an integrated luminosity of about 800 \ipb collected by the CDF II detector. For both vector mesons, we find that the polarizations become increasingly longitudinal as \pt increases from 5 to 30 \pgev. These results are compared to the predictions of nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics and other contemporary models. The effective polarizations of \jpsi and \psiprime mesons from $B$-hadron decays are also reported.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, published in Physical Review Letter

First Measurement of the W Boson Mass in Run II of the Tevatron

We present a measurement of the W boson mass using 200/pb of data collected in pbar p collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV by the CDF II detector at Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron. With a sample of 63964 W -> e nu candidates and 51128 W -> mu nu candidates, we measure M_W = (80413 +- 34 (stat) +- 34 (syst) = 80413 +- 48) MeV/c^2. This is the most precise single measurement of the W boson mass to date.Comment: published version in PR