Arbuscular mycorrhizal association regulates global root-seed coordination.

Terrestrial plants exhibit immense variation in their form and function among species. Coordination between resource acquisition by roots and reproduction through seeds could promote the fitness of plant populations. How root and seed traits covary has remained unclear until our analysis of the largest-ever compiled joint global dataset of root traits and seed mass.

An aspirational approach to planetary futures.

Prevailing frameworks to address planetary environmental challenges tend to focus on setting goals, targets, or boundaries to limit human harm to ecosystems or species. Here we propose an aspirational approach aimed at empowering people to shape a better future for all of life on Earth. We do this by building on the human development approach and its supporting metrics, especially the Human Development Index (HDI), a broadly influential framework that has contributed to decades of human progress by measuring and promoting people's capabilities to lead the lives that they value.

Human-specific evolutionary genetic loss of addition of a single oxygen atom from sialic acids increases hydrophobicity of cells and proteins.

Humans, unlike all old world primates studied to date, lack N-glycolyl neuraminic acid (Neu5Gc: Gc) due to the evolutionary genomic loss of CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase (CMAH), leading to accumulation of the N-acetyl neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac: Ac). Given the high sialic acid density on cell surfaces, we hypothesized that the ratio of Ac/Gc could influence hydrophobicity. Herein, we employed surface wetting experiments and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate the hydrophobicity of Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc at the surface, protein, and cellular levels.

Quality of care in Colombian women with early-onset breast cancer in two time periods: findings from a nationwide administrative registry cohort.

Background: Early-onset breast cancer (EOBC) refers to breast cancer diagnosed in women aged 18-45 years, being in many cases associated with hereditary breast cancer syndromes, diagnosed at more advanced stages and worse prognosis. In this paper, we sought to describe the main characteristics of EOBC and quality of care within the framework of the national health system in Colombia.

Methods: Cross-sectional study.

Tropical forests in the Americas are changing too slowly to track climate change.

Understanding the capacity of forests to adapt to climate change is of pivotal importance for conservation science, yet this is still widely unknown. This knowledge gap is particularly acute in high-biodiversity tropical forests. Here, we examined how tropical forests of the Americas have shifted community trait composition in recent decades as a response to changes in climate.

Association between the correct use of intranasal aerosols and symptom improvement in allergic rhinitis.

Objective: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is highly prevalent worldwide. Good patient adherence ensures successful treatment. This study aimed to identify the association between the intranasal aerosol technique and symptom improvement.

Establishing the degree of control in patients with atopic dermatitis with the atopic dermatitis control tool (ADCT).

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a disease of multifactorial etiology that affects the quality of life of those afflicted.

Objective: The degree of control of patients with AD over 12 years of age was determined with the Atopic Dermatitis Control Instrument (ADCT).

Material And Methods: This observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study included patients with AD who were evaluated with a self-administered instrument, the ADCT.

Self-assembly of cyclic peptide monolayers by hydrophobic supramolecular hinges.

Supramolecular polymerisation of two-dimensional (2D) materials requires monomers with non-covalent binding motifs that can control the directionality of both dimensions of growth. A tug of war between these propagation forces can bias polymerisation in either direction, ultimately determining the structure and properties of the final 2D ensemble. Deconvolution of the assembly dynamics of 2D supramolecular systems has been widely overlooked, making monomer design largely empirical.

Efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange in a case of severe, generalised canine pemphigus foliaceus.

Successful treatment of pemphigus foliaceus (PF) often requires a multimodal therapeutic approach. The dog described herein underwent four therapeutic plasma exchange treatments for severe, refractory PF, resulting in a 50% reduction of lesional body surface area. This treatment option should be considered for the management of canine PF.

Assembly of functional diversity in an oceanic island flora.

Oceanic island floras are well known for their morphological peculiarities and exhibit striking examples of trait evolution. These morphological shifts are commonly attributed to insularity and are thought to be shaped by the biogeographical processes and evolutionary histories of oceanic islands. However, the mechanisms through which biogeography and evolution have shaped the distribution and diversity of plant functional traits remain unclear.

DTI assessment of the maturing growth plate of the knee in adolescents and young adults.

Purpose: To assess the growth plates of the knee in a healthy population of young adults and adolescents using DTI, and to correlate the findings with chronological age and skeletal maturation.

Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study to assess the tibial and femoral growth plates with DTI in 155 healthy volunteers aged between 14.0 and 21 years old.

Biocultural vulnerability exposes threats of culturally important species.

There are growing calls for conservation frameworks that, rather than breaking the relations between people and other parts of nature, capture place-based relationships that have supported social-ecological systems over the long term. Biocultural approaches propose actions based on biological conservation priorities and cultural values aligned with local priorities, but mechanisms that allow their global uptake are missing. We propose a framework to globally assess the biocultural status of specific components of nature that matter to people and apply it to culturally important species (CIS).

Intranasal dexmedetomidine sedation for paediatric MRI by radiology personnel: A retrospective observational study.

Background: MRI often requires sedation or anaesthesia to ensure good image quality in paediatric patients. Access to paediatric anaesthesia services is, however, a limiting factor for effective paediatric MRI service, and alternative sedation methods are, therefore, warranted.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of an intranasal dexmedetomidine sedation program for paediatric MRI, without immediate presence of anaesthesia personnel.

Clinical techniques in veterinary dermatology: Dermoscopy.

Dermoscopy is a noninvasive, painless, easy-to-perform technique used in human and veterinary medicine for rapid and magnified in vivo observation of dermatological lesions and disease. Dermoscopy can lead to a swifter diagnosis and may eliminate the need to perform more invasive diagnostic testing such as skin biopsies. To perform dermoscopy, the clinician needs a dermoscope and a software program equipped with image capture for pattern identification.

Magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor imaging of the adolescent rabbit growth plate of the knee.

Purpose: To assess the ability of MRI-DTI to evaluate growth plate morphology and activity compared with that of histomorphometry and micro-CT in rabbits.

Methods: The hind limbs of female rabbits aged 16, 20, and 24 wk (n = 4 per age group) were studied using a 9.4T MRI scanner with a multi-gradient echo 3D sequence and DTI in 14 directions (b-value = 984 s/mm ).