Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) is an ANCA-associated vasculitis that affects small vessels, especially renal glomeruli. We recently demonstrated that the abnormal formation and impaired degradation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) may be crucially involved in the generation of myeloperoxidase (MPO)-ANCA and subsequent development of MPA. This study assessed the formation and regulation ...

To investigate the role of nitrogen (N) metabolism in the adaptation of photosynthesis to water stress in rice, a hydroponic experiment supplying with low N (0.72 mM), moderate N (2.86 mM), and high N (7.15 mM) followed by 150 g⋅L-1 PEG-6000 induced water stress was conducted in a rainout shelter. Water stress induced stomatal limitation to photosynthesis at low N, but no significant effect was...

PURPOSE To evaluate the role of corneal epithelium in riboflavin/ultraviolet-A (UVA) mediated corneal collagen cross-linking treatment. METHODS Fifty New Zealand rabbits were divided into 5 groups: UVA treatment with or without corneal epithelium, UVA+riboflavin treatment with or without corneal epithelium, and control without any treatment. All rabbits were sacrificed after irradiation and s...

Animals, including humans, use olfaction to assess potential social and sexual partners. Although hormones modulate olfactory cues, we know little about whether contraception affects semiochemical signals and, ultimately, mate choice. We examined the effects of a common contraceptive, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), on the olfactory cues of female ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), and the be...

We have characterized the growth responses of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings to water deficit. To manipulate the water potential, we developed a method whereby the nutrient-agar medium could be supplemented with polyethylene glycol (PEG 8000); PEG was introduced into gelled media by diffusion, which produced media with water potential as low as -1.6 MPa. For dark-grown plants, hypocotyl growth ...

Based on 19 y of visual census data from the Medes Islands MPA (NW Mediterranean), this study analyzes the carrying capacity (K) and population recovery time of six species of fish strongly affected by harvesting pressure along the Mediterranean coast. Three of these species (Epinephelus marginatus, Diplodus cervinus and Dicentrachus labrax) have practically reached carrying capacity in the Med...

UNLABELLED Marginal integrity is one of the most crucial aspects involved in the clinical longevity of resin composite restorations. OBJECTIVE To analyze the marginal integrity of restorations produced with a model composite based on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS). MATERIAL AND METHODS A base composite (B) was produced with an organic matrix with UDMA/TEGDMA and 70 wt.% of bari...

investigating the role of drought stress conditions on physiological characteristics of plant may provide means to understand basic drought resistance. differences in leaf emergence rate, leaf relative water content (rwc), membrane stability index (msi), leaf mass area (lma), net photosynthesis (anet), stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration rate (e), intercellular co2 concentration (ci), ...

Biochemical leaf photosynthesis models are evaluated by laboratory results andhave been widely used at field scale for quantification of plant production,biochemical cycles and land surface processes. It is a key issue to search forappropriate model structure and parameterization, which determine modeluncertainty. A leaf photosynthesis model that couples the Farquhar-vonCaemmerer-Berry (FvCB) f...