there have already been cases of insertion of swing needles in the skull through the fontanell for the purpose of murdering or hurting infants and babies. however no such cases of suicide were ever reported. the present study reports the case of a 25 year old single woman, suffering from mild mental retardation and major depression, who attempted suicide by inserting two sewing needles in her s...

Water relations of Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) trees growing at an elevation of 3230 m on Mt. Evans, Colorado, USA, were studied during the winters of 1995-1996 and 1996-1997. During both winters, current-year and 1-year-old shoots were collected weekly and their relative water contents (RWC) determined. Measured meteorological p...

BACKGROUND The extent to which a fear of needles influences health decisions remains largely unexplored. This study investigated the prevalence of fear of needles in a southeast Queensland community, described associated symptoms, and highlighted health care avoidance tendencies of affected individuals. METHODS One hundred and seventy-seven participants attending an outer urban general practi...

Acid rain (AR), a serious environmental issue, severely affects plant growth and development. As the gymnosperms of conifer woody plants, Pinus massoniana (AR-sensitive) and Taxus wallichiana var. mairei (AR-resistant) are widely distributed in southern China. Under AR stress, significant necrosis and collapsed lesions were found in P. massoniana needles with remarkable yellowing and wilting ti...

Bark beetle outbreaks are widespread in western North American forests, reducing primary productivity and transpiration, leading to forest mortality across large areas and altering ecosystem carbon cycling. Here the carbon isotope composition (δ(13) C) of soil respiration (δJ ) was monitored in the decade after disturbance for forests affected naturally by mountain pine beetle infestation and a...

Thermal inactivation of peroxidase (POD) in an extract of Picea omorika (Pancić) Purkyne needles initiated by heat treatment was studied. This is the first study of this kind on a conifer species. Non-linear regression analysis was applied on the inactivation rate data, combining Mitscherlich and Arrhenius equations, treating time and temperature simultaneously as explaining variables. We deter...

The New Zealand conifers (20 species of trees and shrubs in the Araucariaceae, Podocarpaceae, and Cupressaceae) are often regarded as ancient Gondwanan elements, but mostly originated much later. Often thought of as tall trees of humid, warm forests, they are present throughout in alpine shrublands, tree lines, bogs, swamps, and in dry, frost-prone regions. The tall conifers rarely form purely ...