70 research outputs found
Recurrent pericardial effusion after cardiac surgery: the use of colchicine after recalcitrant conventional therapy
Pericardial effusion represents a common postoperative complication in cardiac surgery. Nonetheless, it can be resistant to conventional therapy leading to prolonged in-hospital stay and worsening of clinical conditions
A Descriptive Morphology of the Ant Genus Procryptocerus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Morphology is the most direct approach biologists have to recognize uniqueness of insect species as compared to close relatives. Ants of the genus Procryptocerus possess important morphologic characters yet have not been explored for use in a taxonomic revision. The genus is characterized by the protrusion of the clypeus forming a broad nasus and antennal scrobes over the eyes. The toruli are located right posterior to the flanks of the nasus opposite to each other. The vertex is deflexed posteriorly in most species. An in-group comparison of the external morphology is presented focusing on the workers. A general morphology for gynes and males is also presented. Previously mentioned characters as well as new ones are presented, and their character states in different species are clarified. For the metasoma a new system of ant metasomal somite nomenclature is presented that is applicable to Aculeata in general. Finally, a Glossary of morphological terms is offered for the genus (available online). Most of the terminology can be used in other members of the Formicidae and Aculeata
Methyl-ÎČ-Cyclodextrins Preferentially Remove Cholesterol from the Liquid Disordered Phase in Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
Methyl-ÎČ-cyclodextrins (MÎČCDs) are molecules that are extensively used to remove and to load cholesterol (Chol) from artificial and natural membranes; however, the mechanism of Chol extraction by MÎČCD from pure lipids or from complex mixtures is not fully understood. One of the outstanding questions in this field is the capability of MÎČCD to remove Chol from lipid domains having different packing. Here, we investigated the specificity of MÎČCD to remove Chol from coexisting macrodomains with different lipid packing. We used giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) made of 1,2-dioleoylphosphatidylcholine:1,2-dipalmitoylphatidylcholine:free cholesterol, 1:1:1 molar ratio at 27°C. Under these conditions, individual GUVs present Chol distributed into lo and ld phases. The two phases can be distinguished and visualized using Laurdan generalized polarization and two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy. Our data indicate that MÎČCD removes Chol preferentially from the more disordered phase. The process of selective Chol removal is dependent on the MÎČCD concentration. At high concentrations, MÎČCD also removes phospholipids
Transcriptome profile analysis of cell proliferation molecular processes during multicellular trichome formation induced by tomato Wo v gene in tobacco
Tree diversity and species identity effects on soil fungi, protists and animals are context dependent
Plant species richness and the presence of certain influential species (sampling effect) drive the stability and functionality of ecosystems as well as primary production and biomass of consumers. However, little is known about these floristic effects on richness and community composition of soil biota in forest habitats owing to methodological constraints. We developed a DNA metabarcoding approach to identify the major eukaryote groups directly from soil with roughly species-level resolution. Using this method, we examined the effects of tree diversity and individual tree species on soil microbial biomass and taxonomic richness of soil biota in two experimental study systems in Finland and Estonia and accounted for edaphic variables and spatial autocorrelation. Our analyses revealed that the effects of tree diversity and individual species on soil biota are largely context dependent. Multiple regression and structural equation modelling suggested that biomass, soil pH, nutrients and tree species directly affect richness of different taxonomic groups. The community composition of most soil organisms was strongly correlated due to similar response to environmental predictors rather than causal relationships. On a local scale, soil resources and tree species have stronger effect on diversity of soil biota than tree species richness per se
Varying constants, Gravitation and Cosmology
Fundamental constants are a cornerstone of our physical laws. Any constant
varying in space and/or time would reflect the existence of an almost massless
field that couples to matter. This will induce a violation of the universality
of free fall. It is thus of utmost importance for our understanding of gravity
and of the domain of validity of general relativity to test for their
constancy. We thus detail the relations between the constants, the tests of the
local position invariance and of the universality of free fall. We then review
the main experimental and observational constraints that have been obtained
from atomic clocks, the Oklo phenomenon, Solar system observations, meteorites
dating, quasar absorption spectra, stellar physics, pulsar timing, the cosmic
microwave background and big bang nucleosynthesis. At each step we describe the
basics of each system, its dependence with respect to the constants, the known
systematic effects and the most recent constraints that have been obtained. We
then describe the main theoretical frameworks in which the low-energy constants
may actually be varying and we focus on the unification mechanisms and the
relations between the variation of different constants. To finish, we discuss
the more speculative possibility of understanding their numerical values and
the apparent fine-tuning that they confront us with.Comment: 145 pages, 10 figures, Review for Living Reviews in Relativit
Stimuli with identical contextual functions taught independently become functionally equivalent
Myocyte membrane and microdomain modifications in diabetes: determinants of ischemic tolerance and cardioprotection
The development of type VI glandular trichomes in the cultivated tomato Solanum lycopersicum and a related wild species S. habrochaites
Echeandia novogaliciana and E. crudeniana (Anthericaceae): Two new species from western Mexico
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