The atmospheric conditions above Dome A, a currently unmanned location at the highest point on the Antarctic plateau, are uniquely suited to astronomy. For certain types of astronomy Dome A is likely to be the best location on the planet, and this has motivated the development of the Plateau Observatory (PLATO). PLATO was deployed to Dome A in early 2008. It houses a suite of purpose-built site...

BACKGROUND The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is home to the vast grassland in China. The QTP grassland ecosystem has been seriously degraded by human land use practices and climate change. Fertilization is used in this region to increase vegetation yields for grazers. The impact of long-term fertilization on plant and microbial communities has been studied extensively. However, the influence of s...

Subtropical China harbours the world's most diverse temperate flora, but little is known about the roles of geographical and eco-climatic factors underlying the region's exceptionally high levels of species diversity and endemism. Here we address this key question by investigating the spatio-temporal and ecological processes of divergence within the Dysosma versipellis-pleiantha species complex...

Knee trauma and effusion are common Emergency Department presentations. This article outlines the clinician's sonographic approach to knee effusion detection and localisation. A case where lipohaemarthrosis was detected with ultrasound is demonstrated, and the characteristic appearance of this pathology discussed. The sonographic detection of the associated tibial fracture is also demonstrated.

RATIONALE The knee joint is an important weight-bearing joint, tibial plateau fractures affect knee function and stability. High-energy intra-articular fractures involving the tibial plateau can cause management-related problems such as wound dehiscence; severe comminution leading to malalignment; and delayed complications such as varus collapse, implant failure, and arthritis of the knee joint...

Despite recognition that nearly one-third of the 6300 amphibian species are threatened with extinction, our understanding of the general ecology and population status of many amphibians is relatively poor. A widely-used method for monitoring amphibians involves injecting captured individuals with unique combinations of colored visible implant elastomer (VIE). We compared VIE identification to a...

Groundwater plays a key role in maintaining the ecology and environment in the hyperarid Qaidam Basin (QB). Indirect evidence and data from sparse observation wells suggest that groundwater in the QB is increasing but there has been no regional assessment of the groundwater conditions in the entire basin because of its remoteness and the severity of the arid environment. Here we report changes ...

OBJECTIVES The first aim of this study was to examine whether or not variations concerning the conformational characteristics of the proximal surface of the tibial plateau exist among six different dog breeds as well as within the same breed. The second aim of this study was to determine the coordinates of the cruciate ligaments. METHODS One hundred and four tibias of 52 mature dogs from six ...

Tibial plateau fractures are common injuries that occur in a bimodal age distribution. While there are various treatment options for displaced tibial plateau fractures, the standard of care is open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF). In physiologically young patients with higher demand and better bone quality, ORIF is the preferred method of treating these fractures. However, future total k...

BACKGROUND Meniscus extrusion or hypertrophy may occur in knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, currently no data are available on the position and size of the meniscus in asymptomatic men and women with normal meniscus integrity. METHODS Three-dimensional coronal DESSwe MRIs were used to segment and quantitatively measure the size and position of the medial and lateral menisci, and their correl...