conclusions there is clinical utility in knowing the relative deflection of various needle tips. when a procedure requires a needle to be steered around obstacles, or along non-collinear targets, the predictable and large amount of deflection obtained through use of a beveled spinal needle may prove beneficial. materials and methods six needles commonly used in spinal procedures (quincke, short...

This work develops methods to account for shoot structure in models of coniferous canopy radiative transfer. Shoot structure, as it varies along the light gradient inside canopy, affects the efficiency of light interception per unit needle area, foliage biomass, or foliage nitrogen. The clumping of needles in the shoot volume also causes a notable amount of multiple scattering of light within c...

introduction: needle stick injuries (nsi) are major occupational hazards for health care workers. objectives: this study aimed to determine the epidemiology of needle sticks and sharp injuries among nurses of an iranian teaching hospital. materials and methods: this descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2009 on 328 nurses in a health center in tehran. stratified random samples were...

Moderate-resolution satellite imagery is essential to detect conifer tree decline on a regional scale and address the threat caused by pinewood nematode (PWN), (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. This quarantine organism responsible for pine wilt disease (PWD), which has substantial ecological economic losses in maritime (Pinus pinaster) forests of Portugal. study describes first instance pre-operatio...

The clumping of coniferous needles into shoots is widely acknowledged as a structural feature that cannot be ignored in radiation regime models forests. However, higher level clumping, i.e. the aggregation leaves and tree crowns forest stands, still rarely accounted for models. Clumping reduces light interception increases penetration depth plant stand. To improve with respect to this parameter...

To explore the importance of soil microbial community composition on explaining the difference in heterotrophic soil respiration (R(h)) across forests, a field investigation was conducted on Rh and soil physiochemical and microbial properties in four subtropical forests in southern China. We observed that Rh differed significantly among forests, being 2.48 ± 0.23, 2.31 ± 0.21, 1.83 ± 0.08 and 1...

Field symptoms typical of ozone injury have been observed on several conifer species in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and tropospheric ozone levels in the Park can be high, suggesting that ozone may be causing growth impairment of these plants. The objective of this research was to test the ozone sensitivity of selected conifer species under controlled exposure conditions. Seedlings of t...

Conventionally used spectrometric techniques of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and (ICP-MS) usually involve time-consuming sample preparation procedure a dissolution which requires the usage aggressive toxic chemicals. The need for suitable sustainable analytical methods direct multi-elemental analysis plant samples has been increased in recent years. Spectro...

Constitutive and induced terpenoids are important defense compounds for many plants against potential herbivores and pathogens. In Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst), treatment with methyl jasmonate induces complex chemical and biochemical terpenoid defense responses associated with traumatic resin duct development in stems and volatile terpenoid emissions in needles. The cloning of (+)-3-car...

A detailed 3D structural model of a conifer forest canopy was developed in order to simulate the reflectance (optical) and backscatter (microwave) signals measured remotely. We show it is feasible to model forest canopy scattering using detailed 3D models of tree structure including the location and orientation of individual needles. An existing structural growth model of Scots pine (Pinus sylv...