BACKGROUND AND AIMS Miscanthus is a perennial C4 grass that is a leading potential feedstock crop for the emerging bioenergy industry in North America, Europe and China. However, only a single, sterile genotype of M. × giganteus (M×g), a nothospecies derived from diploid M. sinensis (Msi) and tetraploid M. sacchariflorus (Msa), is currently available to farmers for biomass production. To facili...

OBJECTIVE To assess the prediction of stone clearance and complications of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) using the 'STONE' nephrolithometry score, assessing stone size, tract length (skin-to-stone distance), degree of obstruction, number of calyces involved and stone essence (density). PATIENTS AND METHODS This was a prospective study of patients undergoing single-tract PCNL while prone...

BACKGROUND Poorly regulated international trade in ornamental fishes poses risks to both biodiversity and economic activity via invasive alien species and exotic pathogens. Border security officials need robust tools to confirm identifications, often requiring hard-to-obtain taxonomic literature and expertise. DNA barcoding offers a potentially attractive tool for quarantine inspection, but has...

Most patients with first-time kidney stones undergo limited evaluations, and few receive preventive therapy. A prediction tool for the risk of a second kidney stone episode is needed to optimize treatment strategies. We identified adult first-time symptomatic stone formers residing in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1984 to 2003 and manually reviewed their linked comprehensive medical records t...

Purpose This study aims to assess the predictive factors and treatment outcomes of Steinstrasse formation following shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) for ureter stone. Materials and Methods The medical records of 1,418 ureter stone patients who underwent one-session SWL from November 2005 to May 2013 at our medical institute were retrospectively reviewed. Finally, 551 patients met inclusion criter...

PURPOSE The aim of our study was to evaluate the association of several factors with spontaneous stone expulsion, including ureteral stone characteristics (size, location, hydronephrosis, perinephric stranding), types of medications prescribed (α-blocker, low-dose steroid), and other possible demographic and health-history factors (gender, age, serum creatinine, underlying diabetes mellitus [DM...

A new conodont species, Icriodus marieae, is described from pelagic limestone beds of the Carnic Alps (Austria). Specimens are obtained from the upper part of the Valentin Formation (Central Carnic Alps) and range from the latest Eifelian to middle Givetian. Significantly differing from other icriodontid conodonts is that the icriodontan element of the new species develops only three denticles ...

plants are the most common bioindicatorsused in air quality biomonitoring studies because they are immobile and they have more sensitive to the most prevalent air pollutants than humans and animals. to identify the concentrations and sources of heavy metals in ornamental plants of isfahan landscape, samples of leaves and soil around pinuseldarica and nerium oleander were collected at different ...

Perennial grasses are promising candidates for bioenergy crops, but species that can escape cultivation and establish self-sustaining naturalized populations (feral) may have the potential to become invasive. Fertile Miscanthus × giganteus, known as "PowerCane," is a new potential biofuel crop. Its parent species are ornamental, non-native Miscanthus species that establish feral populations and...

Induced mutagenesis is well recognized as one of the most important technology for the development of new varieties through genetic manipulations. Mutation techniques, using physical and chemical mutagens, have successfully produced quite a large number of new promising varieties in different ornamental plants. This technique has been most successful in ornamental plants due to some additional ...