Variation in leaf structure of the invasive Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia, Basellaceae) at different light levels

Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis) is a climber in the angiosperm family Basellaceae. It is native to South America and has naturalised in Australia. It is regarded as a serious environmental weed because of the structural damage it causes to native vegetation. The present study, for the first time, documents anatomical and morphological traits of the leaves of A. cordifolia and considers their implications for its ecology and physiology. Plants were grown under three different light levels, and anatomical and morphological leaf characters were compared among light levels, among cohorts, and with documented traits of the related species, Basella alba L. Stomata were present on both the adaxial and abaxial sides of the leaf, with significantly more stomata on the abaxial side and under high light. This may account for the ability of this species to fix large amounts of carbon and rapidly respond to light gaps. The leaves had very narrow veins and no sclerenchyma, suggesting a low construction cost that is associated with invasive plants. There was no significant difference in any of the traits among different cohorts, which agrees with the claim that A. cordifolia primarily propagates vegetatively. The anatomy and morphology of A. cordifolia was similar to that of B. alba.

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EFFECTS OF CARBON DIOXIDE ENRICHMENT AND IRRADIANCE ON EX VITRO ROOTING, ACCLIMATIZATION AND SUBSEQUENT GROWTH OF MICROPROPAGATED APPLE AND BLUEBERRY.

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.28.4.254a ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 254A-254

Author(s):

Marvin Pritts ◽

Dorcas Isuta

Keyword(s):

Survival Rate ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Great Sensitivity ◽

High Light ◽

Low Light ◽

Light Levels ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Vigorous Growth ◽

Set Up

Previous findings reveal that rooting and acclimatization of apple and blueberry plants is often difficult, inconsistent and inefficient. This experiment was set up in a fog chamber lo investigate the effects of CO2 enrichment (CDE) and irradiance on unrooted stage II microshoots. Two CO2 and 3 light levels tested were: 1350 +/- 150 (+ CDE), and 450 +/- 50 (- CDE) ppm; 30 +/- 5 (low), 55 + 10 (medium), and 100 + 20 (high) umolm-2s-1 respectively. Cultivars assessed were Berkeley and Northsky for blueberry. G65 and NY30 for apple. Blueberry microshoots acclimatized successfully and gave between 90 to 100% rooting and survival rate. Apple microshoots acclimatized and rooted slowly, exhibited great sensitivity to in vivo conditions and gave between 40 to 100% rooting and survival rate. High light induced photo-inhibition which disappeared after complete acclimatization. There was a significant difference between low light and the other two light levels. The effect of CDE was dependent on cultivar. In most cases, high light (-) CDE gave the most vigorous growth (highest plant dry weight and leaf area). There was a significant difference between (+) CDE and (-) CDE at low and medium light, but none at high light. Low light (-) CDE and medium light (+) CDE were superior over low light (+) CDE and medium light (-) CDE. respectively. Stalling out in apple microshoots was corrected by GA sprays.

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Change of color appearance due to extremely high light level: corresponding colors under 100 and 3000 cd/m2

Color and Imaging Conference ◽

10.2352/issn.2169-2629.2019.27.58 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 (1) ◽

pp. 320-325 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wenyu Bao ◽

Minchen Wei

Keyword(s):

Light Level ◽

Limited Range ◽

High Light ◽

Color Preference ◽

Color Appearance ◽

Appearance Model ◽

Color Matching ◽

Light Levels ◽

Appearance Models ◽

Psychophysical Study

Great efforts have been made to develop color appearance models to predict color appearance of stimuli under various viewing conditions. CIECAM02, the most widely used color appearance model, and many other color appearance models were all developed based on corresponding color datasets, including LUTCHI data. Though the effect of adapting light level on color appearance, which is known as "Hunt Effect", is well known, most of the corresponding color datasets were collected within a limited range of light levels (i.e., below 700 cd/m2), which was much lower than that under daylight. A recent study investigating color preference of an artwork under various light levels from 20 to 15000 lx suggested that the existing color appearance models may not accurately characterize the color appearance of stimuli under extremely high light levels, based on the assumption that the same preference judgements were due to the same color appearance. This article reports a psychophysical study, which was designed to directly collect corresponding colors under two light levels— 100 and 3000 cd/m2 (i.e., ≈ 314 and 9420 lx). Human observers completed haploscopic color matching for four color stimuli (i.e., red, green, blue, and yellow) under the two light levels at 2700 or 6500 K. Though the Hunt Effect was supported by the results, CIECAM02 was found to have large errors under the extremely high light levels, especially when the CCT was low.

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Molecular Detection and Phylogeny of Anaplasmaphagocytophilum and Related Variants in Small Ruminants from Turkey

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11030814 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 814

Author(s):

Münir Aktaş ◽

Sezayi Özübek ◽

Mehmet Can Uluçeşme

Keyword(s):

16S Rrna ◽

Small Ruminants ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Infection Rates ◽

Sheep And Goats ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Pcr Rflp ◽

First Time ◽

Japan And China ◽

Apparently Healthy

Anaplasma phagocytophilum causes tick-borne fever in small ruminants. Recently, novel Anaplasma variants related to A. phagocytophilum have been reported in ruminants from Tunisia, Italy, South Korea, Japan, and China. Based on 16S rRNA and groEL genes and sequencing, we screened the frequency of A. phagocytophilum and related variants in 433 apparently healthy small ruminants in Turkey. Anaplasma spp. overall infection rates were 27.9% (121/433 analyzed samples). The frequency of A. phagocytophilum and A. phagocytophilum-like 1 infections was 1.4% and 26.5%, respectively. No A. phagocytophilum-like 2 was detected in the tested animals. The prevalence of Anaplasma spp. was comparable in species, and no significant difference was detected between sheep and goats, whereas the prevalence significantly increased with tick infestation. Sequencing confirmed PCR-RFLP data and showed the presence of A. phagocytophilum and A. phagocytophilum-like-1 variant in the sampled animals. Phylogeny-based on 16S rRNA gene revealed the A. phagocytophilum-like 1 in a separate clade together with the previous isolates detected in small ruminants and ticks. In this work, A. phagocytophilum-like 1 has been detected for the first time in sheep and goats from Turkey. This finding revealed that the variant should be considered in the diagnosis of caprine and ovine anaplasmosis.

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Patients Who Attend Alone at a First Memory Consultation: Are They a Specific Population,or Is It an Instance of Confounding Bias?

European Neurology ◽

10.1159/000500483 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 81 (1-2) ◽

pp. 81-86

Author(s):

Pierre Koskas ◽

Mouna Romdhani ◽

Olivier Drunat

Keyword(s):

Selection Bias ◽

Confounding Bias ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Comparison Groups ◽

Methodological Problems ◽

Group 2 ◽

The Impact ◽

First Time ◽

State Examination ◽

Group 1

As commonly happens in epidemiological research, none of the reported studies were totally free of methodological problems. Studies have considered the influence of social relationships on dementia, but the mechanisms underlying these associations are not perfectly understood. We look at the possible impact of selection bias. For their first memory consultation, patients may come alone or accompanied by a relative. Our objective is to better understand the impact of this factor by retrospective follow-up of geriatric memory outpatients over several years. All patients over 70 who were referred to Bretonneau Memory Clinic for the first time, between January 2006 and 2018, were included in the study. The patients who came alone formed group 1, the others, whatever type of relative accompanied them, formed group 2. We compared the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores of patients; and for all patients who came twice for consultation with at least a 60-day interval, we compared their first MMSE with the MMSE performed at the second consultation. In total, 2,935 patients were included, aged 79.7 ± 8.4 years. Six hundred and twenty-five formed group 1 and 2,310 group 2. We found a significant difference in MMSE scores between the 2 groups of patients; and upon second consultation in group 2, but that difference was minor in group 1. Our finding of a possible confounding factor underlines the complexity of choosing comparison groups in order to minimize selection bias while maintaining clinical relevance.

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Quality of life in adolescents and young adults with CHD is not reduced: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cardiology in the Young ◽

10.1017/s104795111500181x ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 415-425 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Morten Schrøder ◽

Kirsten A. Boisen ◽

Jesper Reimers ◽

Grete Teilmann ◽

Jesper Brok

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Young Adults ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Adolescents And Young Adults ◽

Analysis Model ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Newcastle Ottawa Scale ◽

First Time

AbstractPurposeWe performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies assessing quality of life in adolescents and young adults born with CHD compared with age-matched controls.MethodsWe carried out a systematic search of the literature published in Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, and the Cochrane Library’s Database (1990–2013); two authors independently extracted data from the included studies. We used the Newcastle–Ottawa scale for quality assessment of studies. A random effects meta-analysis model was used. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2-test.ResultsWe included 18 studies with 1786 patients. The studies were of acceptable-to-good quality. The meta-analysis of six studies on quality of life showed no significant difference – mean difference: −1.31; 95% confidence intervals: −6.51 to +3.89, I2=90.9% – between adolescents and young adults with CHD and controls. Similar results were found in 10 studies not eligible for the meta-analysis. In subdomains, it seems that patients had reduced physical quality of life; however, social functioning was comparable or better compared with controls.ConclusionFor the first time in a meta-analysis, we have shown that quality of life in adolescents and young adults with CHD is not reduced when compared with age-matched controls.

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The stress hyperglycaemia ratio is associated with left ventricular remodelling after first acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

BMC Cardiovascular Disorders ◽

10.1186/s12872-021-01889-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Shuai Meng ◽

Yong Zhu ◽

Kesen Liu ◽

Ruofei Jia ◽

Jing Nan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Myocardial Infarction ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Left Ventricular Ejection ◽

Ventricular Ejection Fraction ◽

St Segment Elevation ◽

Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction ◽

Stress Hyperglycaemia ◽

St Segment ◽

Significant Difference ◽

First Time

Abstract Background Left ventricular negative remodelling after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is considered as the major cause for the poor prognosis. But the predisposing factors and potential mechanisms of left ventricular negative remodelling after STEMI remain not fully understood. The present research mainly assessed the association between the stress hyperglycaemia ratio (SHR) and left ventricular negative remodelling. Methods We recruited 127 first-time, anterior, and acute STEMI patients in the present study. All enrolled patients were divided into 2 subgroups equally according to the median value of SHR level (1.191). Echocardiography was conducted within 24 h after admission and 6 months post-STEMI to measure left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), and left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD). Changes in echocardiography parameters (δLVEF, δLVEDD, δLVESD) were calculated as LVEF, LVEDD, and LVESD at 6 months after infarction minus baseline LVEF, LVEDD and LVESD, respectively. Results In the present study, the mean SHR was 1.22 ± 0.25 and there was significant difference in SHR between the 2 subgroups (1.05 (0.95, 1.11) vs 1.39 (1.28, 1.50), p < 0.0001). The global LVEF at 6 months post-STEMI was significantly higher in the low SHR group than the high SHR group (59.37 ± 7.33 vs 54.03 ± 9.64, p = 0.001). Additionally, the global LVEDD (49.84 ± 5.10 vs 51.81 ± 5.60, p = 0.040) and LVESD (33.27 ± 5.03 vs 35.38 ± 6.05, p = 0.035) at 6 months after STEMI were lower in the low SHR group. Most importantly, after adjusting through multivariable linear regression analysis, SHR remained associated with δLVEF (beta = −9.825, 95% CI −15.168 to −4.481, p < 0.0001), δLVEDD (beta = 4.879, 95% CI 1.725 to 8.069, p = 0.003), and δLVESD (beta = 5.079, 95% CI 1.421 to 8.738, p = 0.007). Conclusions In the present research, we demonstrated for the first time that SHR is significantly correlated with left ventricular negative remodelling after STEMI.

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Comparing Executive Function of Normal Children with ADHD Children

International Journal of Psychological Studies ◽

10.5539/ijps.v8n3p11 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 11

Author(s):

Fereshteh Heydari ◽

Shohreh Farahani

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Measurement Tool ◽

Normal Male ◽

Normal Children ◽

Age And Gender ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Adhd Children ◽

And Gender ◽

First Time

<p>This study was conducted to compare with the executive function of ADHD versus normal male and female children. To obtain this objective, 30 ADHD children referring a private psychological center for the first time who had taken no medication for this disorder, and 30 normal children from one of the schools of District 14 in Tehran were selected randomly who were of the same age and gender of ADHD children. Wisconsin test was used as a measurement tool. Results showed that there is a significant difference between the average scores of the executive function of normal and ADHD children as well as average scores of the executive function of normal boys and ADHD children at the 0.01 level. In addition, there was a significant difference between the average scores of the executive function of normal girls and ADHD girls at the 0.05 level according to which null hypothesis is rejected. Therefore, ADHD children are of lower executive and cognitive function compared to normal children and have extensive cognitive deficits. Therefore, they require medications along with special training and rehabilitation.</p>

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Enalapril attenuates cardiorenal damage in nitric-oxide-deficient spontaneously hypertensive rats

Clinical Science ◽

10.1042/cs20030268 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 106 (3) ◽

pp. 337-343 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Leila M. M. PEREIRA ◽

Daniele G. BEZERRA ◽

Denise L. MACHADO ◽

Carlos A. MANDARIM-DE-LACERDA

Keyword(s):

Nitric Oxide ◽

Body Mass ◽

Structural Damage ◽

Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Hypertensive Rats ◽

Spontaneously Hypertensive ◽

Genetic Hypertension ◽

Lv Mass ◽

Significant Difference

Stereological structural alterations of the heart and kidney were studied in four groups (n=5) of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) treated for 30 days: (i) control, (ii) NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester [L-NAME; nitric oxide (NO) synthesis inhibitor] alone, (iii) enalapril alone and (iv) L-NAME plus enalapril. Blood pressure (BP) was elevated significantly in NO-deficient SHRs (rats receiving L-NAME) or significantly lower in enalapril-treated SHRs. Co-administration of L-NAME and enalapril caused a 20% decrease in BP compared with untreated SHRs. NO-deficient SHRs had a decrease in body mass, but this loss of body mass was prevented efficiently in the enalapril-treated group. Enalapril treatment decreased the left ventricular (LV) mass index in SHRs, even in animals with NO synthesis blocked. NO deficiency in SHRs caused a larger decrease in the number of LV cardiomyocyte nuclei, which had a negative correlation with both LV mass index and BP. The volume-weighted glomerular volume (VWGV) separated the SHRs into two groupings: (i) control and NO-deficient SHRs, and (ii) enalapril- and L-NAME plus enalapril-treated SHRs. There was a significant difference between these two groupings, with VWGV being more than 15% smaller in the latter compared with the former grouping. The present findings reinforce the evidence that enalapril efficiently treats genetic hypertension, and demonstrate that this effect is observed even when NO synthesis is inhibited. Enalapril administration also decreases cardiac and renal structural damage caused by genetic hypertension, as well as by the interaction between genetic hypertension and NO deficiency.

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Virological and Epidemiological Features of Norovirus Infections in Brazil, 2017–2018

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13091724 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 1724

Author(s):

Sylvia Kahwage Sarmento ◽

Juliana da Silva Ribeiro de Andrade ◽

Marize Pereira Miagostovich ◽

Tulio Machado Fumian

Keyword(s):

National Level ◽

Age Groups ◽

Median Viral Load ◽

Molecular Surveillance ◽

Predominant Genotype ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Surveillance Programs ◽

Partial Rdrp ◽

Stool Samples ◽

First Time

Noroviruses are considered an important cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) across all age groups. Here, we investigated the incidence of norovirus, genotypes circulation, and norovirus shedding in AGE stool samples from outpatients in Brazil. During a two-year period, 1546 AGE stool samples from ten Brazilian states were analyzed by RT-qPCR to detect and quantify GI and GII noroviruses. Positive samples were genotyped by dual sequencing using the ORF1/2 junction region. Overall, we detected norovirus in 32.1% of samples, with a massive predominance of GII viruses (89.1%). We also observed a significant difference between the median viral load of norovirus GI (3.4×105 GC/g of stool) and GII (1.9×107 GC/g). The most affected age group was children aged between 6 and 24 m old, and norovirus infection was detected throughout the year without marked seasonality. Phylogenetic analysis of partial RdRp and VP1 regions identified six and 11 genotype combinations of GI and GII, respectively. GII.4 Sydney[P16] was by far the predominant genotype (47.6%), followed by GII.2[P16], GII.4 Sydney[P31], and GII.6[P7]. We detected, for the first time in Brazil, the intergenogroup recombinant genotype GIX.1[GII.P15]. Our study contributes to the knowledge of norovirus genotypes circulation at the national level, reinforcing the importance of molecular surveillance programs for future vaccine designs.

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First evaluation of coral recruitment in Madagascar

Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.4314/wiojms.v20i1.5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 47-62

Author(s):

Gildas G.B. Todinanahary ◽

Nomeniarivelo Hasintantely ◽

Igor Eeckhaut ◽

Thierry Lavitra

Keyword(s):

Larval Density ◽

Average Density ◽

Recruitment Rate ◽

Seasonal Distribution ◽

Coral Recruitment ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Southwest Region ◽

The Mean ◽

First Time ◽

Very High

The distribution of larvae and recruitment of scleractinians in the southwest region of Madagascar were evaluated for the first time between October 2013 and September 2014 at 3 sites. The presence of coral larvae (planulae) was monitored through weekly sampling using a plankton net and the recruitment rate evaluated by monthly sampling of the newly settled corals (<1 year stage) on recruitment tiles and by a monitoring of the recruitment of juveniles (1< Juveniles < 2 years) using the quadrat method. Planulae were present in the plankton for 9 months during the survey. The recorded mean annual density of planula varied from 0.43 ± 0.41 larvae m-3 to 3.23 ± 5.72 larvae m-3 depending on site, with a peak in larval density towards the end of November and the beginning of December. The variability in the occurrence of planula is very high and implied that the density observed in the year does not present a significant difference between the sites (pKW=0.33). The average density of total recruits was 620.13 ± 621.30 recruits m-2, 40.28 ± 50.97 recruits m-2 and 36.34 ± 33.82 recruits m-2, respectively at the sites of Nosy Tafara, Grande Vasque and Rose Garden. Seasonal distribution of coral recruitment was different between the sites. The mean annual density of newly settled recruits (< 1 month stage) was significantly higher at Nosy Tafara with 94.91±101.08 recruits m-2 compared to Grande Vasque and Rose Garden with 18.75±34.32 recruits m-2 and 11.57±18.47 recruits m-2 (pKW<0.001), respectively. The highest density of newly settled recruits was observed between October to December. Higher density of recruits was also observed in March at Nosy Tafara and in May at all three sites. Results of juvenile monitoring showed high rates (> 10 juveniles m-2) compared to other regions and the threshold, but it revealed high mortality among recruits. Coral recruitment in the southwest region of Madagascar was found to be high and could result in increased resilience of the coral reef assemblages.

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