In steep soil-mantled landscapes, the initiation of shallow landslides is strongly controlled by the distribution of vegetation, whose roots reinforce the soil. The magnitude of root reinforcement depends on the number, diameter distribution, orientation and the mechanical properties of roots that cross potential failure planes. Understanding how these properties vary in space and time in fores...

introduction: an ideal intracanal medicament should be able to eliminate any remaining intracanal microorganism. the aim of this study was to compare the antimicrobial effects of bioglass 45s5 with calcium hydroxide on enterococcus ( e ) faecalis in-vitro . materials & methods: direct exposure test (det) was used to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of bioglass 45s5, calcium hydroxide and norma...

Growth of temperate lettuce (Lactuca sativa) plants aeroponically in tropical greenhouses under ambient root-zone temperatures (A-RZTs) exposes roots to temperatures of up to 40 degrees C during the middle of the day, and severely limits root and shoot growth. The role of ethylene in inhibiting growth was investigated with just-germinated (24-h-old) seedlings in vitro, and 10-d-old plants grown...

Plant roots typically vary along a dominant ecological axis, the root economics spectrum, depicting a tradeoff between resource acquisition and conservation. For absorptive roots, which are mainly responsible for resource acquisition, we hypothesized that root economic strategies differ with increasing root diameter. To test this hypothesis, we used seven plant species (a fern, a conifer, and f...

AIMS In women with Marfan syndrome pregnancy presents an increased risk of dilatation, dissection, and rupture of the aorta. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of pregnancy on growth of the aortic root. METHODS AND RESULTS Between 1993 and 2004 127 women with Marfan syndrome were prospectively followed; 61 women had one or more children; in 23 women, 33 pregnancies could b...

BACKGROUND Genome-wide association studies have identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for subclinical cardiovascular outcomes in adults. We examined the influence of these variants on the same outcomes in childhood. METHODS AND RESULTS In a population-based prospective cohort study among 4137 children, we examined the associations of SNPs, individually and incorporated in genetic ...

The microbial decomposition respiration of plant litter generates a major CO2 efflux from terrestrial ecosystems that plays a critical role in the regulation of carbon cycling on regional and global scales. However, the respiration from root litter decomposition and its sensitivity to temperature changes are unclear in current models of carbon turnover in forest soils. Thus, we examined seasona...