Geophysical and geochemical anomalies may have a mutagenic effect on plants growing in active fault zones being the factors of evolutionary transformation of plant populations. To test this assumption we evaluated the mutation activity of a Lonicera caerulea natural population in one of the active fault zones in the Altai Mountains. We derived principal cytogenetic indices (i.e., mitotic, proph...

Early Palaeoproterozoic (2.5-2.0 billion years ago) was a critical phase in Earth's history, characterized by multiple severe glaciations and a rise in atmospheric O(2) (the Great Oxidation Event). Although glaciations occurred at the time of O(2) increase, the relationship between climatic and atmospheric transitions remains poorly understood. Here we report high concentrations of the redox-se...

Previous studies show that anurans feed in at least three different ways. Basal frogs have a broad tongue that shortens during protraction and emerges only a short distance from the mouth. Some frogs have long, narrow tongues that elongate dramatically due primarily to inertia from mouth opening, which is transferred to the tongue. A few species have a hydrostatic mechanism that produces tongue...

Chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), is a widespread disease of amphibians responsible for population declines and extinctions. Some bacteria from amphibians' skins produce antimicrobial substances active against Bd. Supplementing populations of these cutaneous antifungal bacteria might help manage chytridiomycosis in wild amphibians. However, the activity...

Calluna vulgaris, Molinia caerulea and Pteridium aquilinum are three forest understorey species that compete with tree seedlings for environmental resources. Forest managers therefore seek to control their growth, which is driven in part by the light available in the forest understorey. An experiment was set up in a nursery in which the three understorey species C. vulgaris, M. caerulea and P. ...

In a prospective study, nine patients with phlegmasia caerulea dolens (PCD) related to iliac occlusive thrombosis were treated with intravenous thrombolysis. After thrombolysis, despite no significant improvement in the Marder score value, progression to venous gangrene, major hemorrhage or death was not observed and no amputation was needed. Intravenous thrombolysis should be seriously conside...