BACKGROUND To invade target cells, Trypanosoma cruzi metacyclic forms engage distinct sets of surface and secreted molecules that interact with host components. Serine-, alanine-, and proline-rich proteins (SAP) comprise a multigene family constituted of molecules with a high serine, alanine and proline residue content. SAP proteins have a central domain (SAP-CD) responsible for interaction wit...

Sieve plates have an enormous impact on the efficiency of the phloem vascular system of plants, responsible for the distribution of photosynthetic products. These thin plates, which separate neighboring phloem cells, are perforated by a large number of tiny sieve pores and are believed to play a crucial role in protecting the phloem sap from intruding animals by blocking flow when the phloem ce...

We investigated changes in the pattern of stand water use in a chronosequence of four even-aged maritime pine stands, differing in age (10-, 32-, 54and 91-year old) and growing under similar environmental conditions. Extensive sap flow measurements were carried out during a period of 2 years (2001–2002), using thermal dissipation sensors located 1 m below the live crown and corrected for the ra...

BACKGROUND Hhigh mortality of the severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is caused by the damage of intestinal mucosal barrier. Glutamine (Gln) has been used to protect the intestinal mucosal barrier in the treatments of many severe diseases. AIM To explore the impact of glutamine on the apoptosis of intestinal mucosa and Bax expression in rats with SAP. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty male SD rats w...

Nocturnal fluxes may be a significant factor in the annual water budget of forested ecosystems. Here, we assessed sap flow in two co-occurring evergreen species (Eucalyptus parramattensis and Angophora bakeri) in a temperate woodland for 2 years in order to quantify the magnitude of seasonal nocturnal sap flow (E(n)) under different environmental conditions. The two species showed different diu...

1. Antisera were produced, separately, in rabbits to normal sap from healthy Turkish tobacco plants and to irus-sap from tobacco plants, affected with mosaic disease. 2. The immunologic reactions of the antisera were studied by means of: (a) Alexin-fixation tests. (b) Precipitation experiments, including: Precipitin-absorption tests with the same tobacco virus multiplied in tobacco, tomato, pep...

Whole vine (K(plant)) and individual root (K(root)) hydraulic conductances were measured in kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis Planch. var. chinensis 'Hort16A') vines to observe hydraulic responses following partial root system excision. Heat dissipation and compensation heat pulse techniques were used to measure sap flow in trunks and individual roots, respectively. Sap flux and measurements of xy...