Winter frost resistance of grapevine varieties belonging to different ecological and geographical groups

The influence of frost temperatures on survival of the buds was investigated in situ during 3 winters. The behavior of 375 grapevine varieties belonging to different ecological-geographical groups was studied at 3 locations. The rate of buds killed by frost ranged from 5.4 to 100%. The varieties of the group convar. occiclentalis exhibited the greatest frost resistance of buds during 3 winters with very low temperatures. In this group the percentage of killed buds was significantly lower than in the group convar. pontica and much less than in the group convar. orientalis

Anatomical considerations relevant to implant procedures in the mandible

The authors review anatomical facts significant for preoperative planning of implant procedures in the mandible. This planning includes the precise evaluation of distinct anatomical factors, such as the position of the mandibular canal, the width of the mandibular cortical plates and the degree of involutive changes of the inferior dental artery.The mandibular canal is usually situated centrally in the mandibular corpus, slightly closer to the lingual cortex in its distal parts; towards the front, it approaches the vestibular cortical layer. Mesially from the mental foramen, a clearly defined incisive canal is present in only one third of the edentate mandibles.Mandibular corpus of the edentate mandibles consists of cancellous bone enclosed by a shell of compact cortical bone. Cortical layers demonstrate significant variations in width; nervertheless, the widths of lateral cortical layers, generally, enable safe placement of endosseal implants.Finally, in patient’s preoperative assessment, involutive changes of the inferior dental artery should also be considered. During the involution of the mandibular alveolar process, it shows changes of direction and calibre, changes in arborization and, sometimes, complete occlusion of the main trunk. The degree of these involutive changes points out the mandibular vascular supply and the regenerative capacity of the tissues needed for the success of the implant procedure.Les auteurs passent en revue les faits anatomiques importants qu’il convient d’avoir à l’esprit en établissant le programme préopératoire pour la mise en place d’implants dans la mandibule.Ce programme inclut l’évaluation précise des différents facteurs anatomiques tels que la position du canal mandibulaire, la largeur de la corticale mandibulaire et le degré des changements involutifs de l’artère dentaire inférieure.Le canal mandibulaire est habituellement situé au centre du corps mandibulaire, très proche du cortex ventral dans ses portions distales; vers l’avant» il s’approche de la corticale vestibulaire. Mésialement par rapport au foramen mentonnier, un canal incisif bien défini est présent uniquement dans seulement un tiers des mandibules édentées.Le corps mandibulaire des mandibules édentées consiste en un os réduit entouré par un os cortical de type compact. Les couches corticales démontrent des variations de largeur significatives; néanmoins, les largeurs des couches corticales latérales, permettent généralement le placement d’implants endo-osseux en toute sécurité.Enfin, au cours de l’établissement du programme préopératoire du patient, les changements involutifs de l’artère dentaire inférieure devraient également être prises en considération. Au cours de l’involution du processus alvéolaire de la mandibule, cette artère montre des changements de direction et de calibre, des changements de l’arborisation et quelquefois, une complète oblitération de son tronc principal. L’importance de ces changements involutifs, met l’accent sur la suppléance vasculaire de la mandibule et la capacité régénérative des tissus nécessaires pour le succès de la mise en place des implants

Preemptive analgesic effect of intrathecal applications of neuroactive steroids in a rodent model of post-surgical pain: Evidence for the role of T-type calcium channels

Preemptive management of post-incisional pain remains challenging. Here, we examined the role of preemptive use of neuroactive steroids with activity on low-voltage activated T-type C

Morphometric analysis of mandibular canal: clinical aspects

Results of morphometric analysis of the mandibular canal (MC), carried out on 105 conserved mandibles, 70 being dentate and 35 edentate, was performed. The analysis was carried out on consecutive sections, at mutual intervals of 0.5 cm. In the mandibular ramus sections were carried out obliquely, approximately in the frontal plane, and horizontally, from mandibular foramen to the lowest region of the vertical part of the MC (all together two sections). In the mandibular corpus, consecutive transversal sections were carried out between existing teeth, or at mutual intervals of 0.5 cm in edentate regions.The obtained results pointed out the very close relationship between the MC and lingual cortical plate of the mandibular ramus. In its horizontal part, the average diameter of the MC was 2.6 mm. It was situated more lingually in the molar region; towards the front, it approached the vestibular cortical plate, being closest to it in the region of the second premolar. Similar relationships of the MC and both cortical plates existed in edentate jaws. Relationships of the MC and tooth root apices varied; however, the MC was closest to the apices of the third molar. Mesially from the mental foramen, a clearly defined incisive canal was present in 92% of the dentale mandibles, but only in 31% of the edentate ones. The nearest to the incisive canal was the apex of the first premolar.The authors point out the importance of presented results in everyday practice, especially in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Having in mind the existing relationship between the MC and neighbouring structures, it is possible to avoid the injury of its content during several oral surgical procedures in mandibular ramus and corpus.L’analyse morphométrique du canal mandibulaire (CM) a été faite sur 105 mandibules conservées. Parmices mandibules, 70 étaient partiellement édentées et 35 totalement édentées. Les distances du CM de la couche compacte osseuse de la mandibule et des apex des racines dentaires ont été mesurées sur les coupes successives pratiquées à une distance de 0,5 cm. Dans la région de la branche montante mandibulaire les coupes successives ont été pratiquées suivant le plan horizontal, de l'orifice postérieur du canal mandibulaire à la terminaison de la partie verticale du CM. La région du corps mandibulaire a été traitée par des coupes verticales. Ces sections ont été faites successivement à travers l’espace entre chaque deux dents ou à une distance de 0,5 cm dans les régions édentées.Les résultats obtenus montrent que le CM se dirige obliquement de haut en bas et en avant, très proche de la lame osseuse linguale. Dans la partie horizontale son diamètre est de 2,6 mm en moyenne. Dans la région des dents molaires le CM est très proche de la lame osseuse linguale; en cheminant en avant, le CM s’approche de la lame osseuse buccale dont il est le plus proche dans la région de la P2. Dans les mandibules édentées, le CM a des rapports semblables.La distance du CM des apex des racines dentaires est variable, pourtant il est le plus proche des apex des racines de la M3. Mésialement du trou mentonnier, le canal incisif était clairement individualisé dans 92% des mandibules avec la denture conservée, et dans 31% des mandibules édentées. La première prémolaire était la plus proche du canal incisif.Les auteurs montrent l’importance des résultats présentés pour la stomatologie clinique, surtout pour la chirurgie orale et maxillofaciale. Compte tenu des rapports du CM avec les structures voisines on peut éviter des lésions de son contenu au cours de certaines interventions chirurgicales sur la branche montante et sur le corps de la mandibule

WO3 nanoparticles probes for direct electron transfer of proteins

Poster presented at the 4th International Conference on Bio-Sensing Technology, 10-13 May 2015, Lisbon

Neurosteroids in Pain Management: A New Perspective on an Old Player

Since the discovery of the nervous system’s ability to produce steroid hormones, numerous studies have demonstrated their importance in modulating neuronal excitability. These central effects are mostly mediated through different ligand-gated receptor systems such as GABAA and NMDA, as well as voltage-dependent Ca2+ or K+ channels. Because these targets are also implicated in transmission of sensory information, it is not surprising that numerous studies have shown the analgesic properties of neurosteroids in various pain models. Physiological (nociceptive) pain has protective value for an organism by promoting survival in life-threatening conditions. However, more prolonged pain that results from dysfunction of nerves (neuropathic pain), and persists even after tissue injury has resolved, is one of the main reasons that patients seek medical attention. This review will focus mostly on the analgesic perspective of neurosteroids and their synthetic 5α and 5β analogs in nociceptive and neuropathic pain conditions

Mutational and structural analysis of an ancestral fungal dye decolorizing peroxidase

Dye-decolorizing peroxidases (DyPs) constitute a superfamily of heme-containing peroxidases that are related neither to animal nor to plant peroxidase families. These are divided into four classes (types A, B, C, and D) based on sequence features. The active site of DyPs contains two highly conserved distal ligands, an aspartate and an arginine, the roles of which are still controversial. These ligands have mainly been studied in class A-C bacterial DyPs, largely because no effective recombinant expression systems have been developed for the fungal (D-type) DyPs. In this work, we employ ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) to resurrect a D-type DyP ancestor, AncDyPD-b1. Expression of AncDyPD-b1 in Escherichia coli results in large amounts of a heme-containing soluble protein and allows for the first mutagenesis study on the two distal ligands of a fungal DyP. UV-Vis and resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopic analyses, in combination with steady-state kinetics and the crystal structure, reveal fine pH-dependent details about the heme active site structure and show that both the aspartate (D222) and the arginine (R390) are crucial for hydrogen peroxide reduction. Moreover, the data indicate that these two residues play important but mechanistically different roles on the intraprotein long-range electron transfer process. Database: Structural data are available in the PDB database under the accession number 7ANV.</p

Understanding Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Contrast Mechanisms on Metal Oxides: A Case Study

Cataloged from PDF version of article.A comprehensive analysis of contrast formation mechanisms in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments on a metal oxide surface is presented with the oxygen-induced (2√2 √2)R45 missing row reconstruction of the Cu(100) surface as a model system. Density functional theory and electronic transport calculations were combined to simulate the STM imaging behavior of pure and oxygen-contaminated metal tips with structurally and chemically different apexes while systematically varying bias voltage and tip sample distance. The resulting multiparameter database of computed images was used to conduct an extensive comparison with experimental data. Excellent agreement was attained for a large number of cases, suggesting that the assumed model tips reproduce most of the commonly encountered contrast-determining effects. Specifically, we find that depending on the bias voltage polarity, copper-terminated tips allow selective imaging of two structurally distinct surface Cu sites, while oxygenterminated tips show complex contrasts with pronounced asymmetry and tip sample distance dependence. Considering the structural and chemical stability of the tips reveals that the copper-terminated apexes tend to react with surface oxygen at small tip sample distances. In contrast, oxygenterminated tips are considerably more stable, allowing exclusive surface oxygen imaging at small tip sample distances. Our results provide a conclusive understanding of fundamental STM imaging mechanisms, thereby providing guidelines for experimentalists to achieve chemically selective imaging by properly selecting imaging parameters

Alkali activation of dif ferent type of ash as a production of combustion process

Presented study deals with the final struc ture and radiological properties of different fly-ash based geopolymers. Lig nite fly-ash (lignite Kolubara – Ser bia) and wood fly ash were obtained in combustion process together with commercial fly-ash. Synthesis of the geopolymers was con ducted by mixing fly-ash, sodium silicate solution, NaOH and water. The sam ples were strength ened 60 °C for 48 hours af ter stay ing at room temperature in covering mold for 24 hours. The X-ray dif frac tion, Fou rier trans form in fra red and SAM mea sure ments were conducted on the sam ples af ter 28 days of geopolymerization pro cess. The X-ray dif frac tion measurements of lignite fly-ash sam ples show anhydrite as the main constituent, while wood fly-ash samples consist of cal cite, albite and gypsum minerals. Besides determination of physicochemical properties, the aim of this study was radiological characterization of lignite fly-ash, wood fly-ash and the obtained geopolymer products. Ac tiv ity con cen tra tion of 40 K and radionuclides from the 238 U and 232 Th decay series, in ash sam ples and fly-ash based geopolymers, were determined by means of gamma-ray spectrometry, and the absorbed dose rate, D, and the annual effective dose rate, E, were calcu lated in accordance with the UNSCEAR 2000 report