Abstract. Variations in precipitation and atmospheric N deposition affect water availability desert thus may have significant effects on ecosystems. Haloxylon ammodendron is a dominant plant Asian desert, addressing its physiological acclimatization to the changes can provide insight into how plants adapt extreme environments by adjustment. Carbon isotope ratio (?13C) has been suggested as sens...

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are hollow, long cylinders with extremely large aspect ratios, made of one atomic sheet of carbon atoms in a honeycomb lattice. They possess extraordinary thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties and are considered as one of the most promising nanomaterials for applications and basic research. This chapter describes the structural, electronic, vibra...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Rheum, a highly diversified genus with about 60 species, is mainly confined to the mountainous and desert regions of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and adjacent areas. This genus represents a good example of the extensive diversification of the temperate genera in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, in which the forces to drive diversification remain unknown. To date, the infrageneric...

Celastrus and Tripterygium species, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine, have attracted much attention due to their anti-tumor promoting and neuroprotective activities, in addition to their applications in autoimmune disorders. However, systematic relationships between them and among species are unclear, and it may disturb their further medicinal utilization. In the present study, th...

The field of rehabilitation robotics develops robotic systems that assist persons who have a disability with necessary activities, or that provide therapy for persons seeking to improve physical or cognitive function. This chapter will discuss both of these domains and provide descriptions of the major achievements of the field over its short history. Specifically, after providing background in...

PURPOSE Iodinated contrast media (CM) and iron in the liver are known to hinder an accurate quantification of liver fat content (LFC) with single-energy computed tomography (SECT). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of dual-energy CT (DECT) for ex vivo quantification of LFC, in the presence of iron and CM, compared with SECT. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixteen p...

One of the long-standing mysteries in genomic evolution is the observation that much of the genome is composed of repetitive DNA, resulting in inter- and intraspecific variation in nuclear DNA content. Our discovery of a negative correlation between nuclear DNA content and flower size in Silene latifolia has been supported by our subsequent investigation of changes in DNA content as a correlate...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE DECT offers additional image datasets with potential benefits, but its use for H&N imaging is not justified unless image quality is preserved without increased radiation dose. The aim of this work was to compare image quality and radiation dose between a DE-derived WA image dataset and a standard SECT acquisition of the H&N. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-two patients und...

Specimens belonging to the genus Carex sect. Ammoglochin from W Azarbaijan province (W Iran) were studied and Carex iraqensis and C. disticha are reported for the first time from Iran. These species are characterised and illustrated and a determination key for species of sect. Ammoglochin is presented. Taxonomic relationships and distributions are discussed in the Persian text which is also sum...