Soil-root plate dimensions and structural root architecture were examined on 46-year-old Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) trees that had been mechanically uprooted. Rooting depth was restricted by a water table, and root system morphology had adapted to resist the wind movement associated with shallow rooting. The spread of the root system and the ratio of root mass to shoot mass (...

OBJECTIVES To assess the effect of chronic, repetitive increases and decreases in blood flow on an artery. MATERIALS AND METHODS Arteriovenous fistulae were created in Japanese male rabbits between the left common carotid artery and the corresponding external jugular vein. Animals were placed into either control groups or one of six cycle groups consisting of flow variations (0.5 cycles, 1.0 ...

'Fibrosing alveolitis' refers to a broad general category of disease characterized by an inflammatory process in the lung beyond the terminal bronchiole having as its essential features (1) cellular thickening of the alveolar walls with a strong tendency to fibrosis, and (2) the presence of large mononuclear cells, presumably of alveolar origin, within the alveolar spaces. Sixteen cases in whic...

Coronary arterial inflow is impeded and venous outflow is increased as a result of the decrease in coronary vascular volume due to cardiac contraction. We evaluated whether cardiac contraction is influenced by interfering with the changes of the coronary vascular volume over the heart cycle. Length-tension relationships were determined in Tyrode-perfused rat papillary muscle and when coronary v...

Important cardiac manifestations in the idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome include mitral regurgitation and peripheral embolization. To determine the anatomic basis of these abnormalities, real-time, wide-angle, two-dimensional echocardiography (2-D echo) was performed in 21 patients with the hypereosinophilic syndrome. Nine patients (43%) had clinical evidence of mitral regurgitation, and e...

W1 Thickening of small bowel folds (> 3 mm) can be caused by any process that increases the volume of fluid or cells in the submucosal or mucosal region (Table 1). The critical diagnostic observation is whether the general pattern of the thickening is regular or irregular. Regular thickening of small bowel folds, which are perpendicular to the bowel lumen and parallel to neighboring folds, is u...

Recent results support the notion that macromolecular 'crowding' enhances protein aggregation, at the expense of correct folding. The results can be rationalised in terms of kinetic competition between distinct processes, taking into account the relative influence of crowding on each process.

BACKGROUND The clinical features of asbestos-related diffuse pleural thickening (DPT) remain unclear. OBJECTIVES To clarify the association between radiological findings of DPT and respiratory function. METHODS Medical data from patients with asbestos-related DPT were collected, including their history of occupational or neighborhood asbestos exposure, initial symptoms, modified Medical Res...

Anther formation and dehiscence are complex pivotal processes in reproductive development. The secondary wall thickening in endothecial cells of the anther is a known prerequisite for successful anther dehiscence. However, many gaps remain in our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying anther dehiscence in planta, including a possible role for jasmonic acid (JA) and H(2)O(2) in se...