Intervessel pits act as safety valves that prevent the spread of xylem embolism. Pectin-calcium crosslinks within the pit membrane have been proposed to affect xylem vulnerability to cavitation. However, as the chemical composition of pit membranes is poorly understood, this hypothesis has not been verified. Using electron microscopy, immunolabeling, an antimonate precipitation technique, and r...

Cavitation resistance is a key parameter to understand tree drought tolerance but little is known about the mechanisms of air entry into xylem conduits. For conifers three mechanisms have been proposed: (1) a rupture of pit margo microfibrils, (2) a displacement of the pit torus from its normal sealing position over the pit aperture, and (3) a rupture of an air-water menisci in a pore of the pi...

With the recent advent of RNA-seq technology the proteomics community has begun to generate sample-specific protein databases for peptide and protein identification, an approach we call proteomics informed by transcriptomics (PIT). This approach has gained a lot of interest, particularly among researchers who work with nonmodel organisms or with particularly dynamic proteomes such as those obse...

BACKGROUND Because pit pattern classification of colorectal lesions is clinically useful in determining treatment options for colorectal tumors but requires extensive training, we developed a computerized system to automatically quantify and thus classify pit patterns depicted on magnifying endoscopy images. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the utility and limitations of our automated pit pattern classi...

A total of 1,159 Tiris half-duplex passive injectable transponders (PIT) of 32-mm length were used to study the electronic identification of 618 fattening lambs of two breeds used for different production purposes (Ripollesa, meat breed, n = 271, and Manchega, dairy breed, n = 347). The lambs were s.c. injected in the armpit and the retro-auricular positions at 2, 15, and 30 d of age. All lambs...

Nutrient pollution and associated eutrophication of freshwaters threaten the ecological integrity and the services provided to humans by lakes. We examined how human residential development influenced the level of lake eutrophication in the Seattle, WA, USA, region. We surveyed 30 lakes and measured 3 indicators of eutrophication: concentrations of chlorophyll-a and phosphorus, and the proporti...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Various correlations have been identified between anatomical features of bordered pits in angiosperm xylem and vulnerability to cavitation, suggesting that the mechanical behaviour of the pits may play a role. Theoretical modelling of the membrane behaviour has been undertaken, but it requires input of parameters at the nanoscale level. However, to date, no experimental data...

Development of the anterior pituitary gland involves proliferation and differentiation of ectodermal cells in Rathke's pouch to generate five distinct cell types that are defined by the trophic hormones they produce. A detailed ontogenetic analysis of specific gene expression has revealed novel aspects of organogenesis in this model system. The expression of transcripts encoding the alpha-subun...

Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT), a promising cancer therapy utilizing an antibody-photoabsorber conjugate (APC) and NIR light, which induces rapid necrotic cell death only in APC-bound cells. Effective NIR-PIT in mouse models has been achieved using superficial light illumination (SLI) with light emitting diodes (LEDs) or lasers, but in the clinical setting, fiber optic diffusers hav...