196,186 research outputs found
Monteverdia multicostata Cornejo & Biral 2021, sp. nov.
No full textMonteverdia multicostata Cornejo & Biral, sp. nov. (Figs. 1 and 2) Type:— ECUADOR. Manabí: La Esperanza, secondary wet forest, 0°22´30.2¨ S 79 ° 36´19.2¨ W, 200 m, 21 February 2020, Cornejo & Loor 9320 (holotype GUAY, isotype QCA). Species insignis ab omnibus speciebus notis generis fructibus grandioribus et seminibus multicostatus differt. Tree, 8–30 m tall, to 80 cm in diameter at breast height, glabrous; inner bark red, outer bark richly lenticellate, gray with irregular white spots; old twigs cylindrical, blackened (dry); young twigs slightly flattened, grayish (dry), densely lenticellate, lenticels whitish and prominent. Leaves alternate, distichous; stipules not seen, early caducous; petiole ca. 5 mm long, slightly flattened, drying black; blades 7–14 × 4–6 cm, elliptic to obovate, chartaceous, base cuneate to obtuse, margin entire, flat, apex acute to obtuse, acuminate, glabrous, drying brown on both faces; venation brochidodromous, primary vein plane on the adaxial face, slightly prominent at the base, raised slightly on the abaxial face, secondary veins 7–9 pairs, darker on the adaxial face, slightly raised or impressed on the abaxial face. Inflorescences fasciculate, simple, axillary, multi-flowered; pedicels ca. 7–8 mm long, cylindrical; bracteoles acute, 2 mm long, margin irregular. Flowers 5-merous, prefloration imbricate, in one row with the margins of one petal overlapping two other petals, three petals with one margin external and the other internal, and one petal with both margins completely internal; calyx gamosepalous at base, lobes ca. 1 × 0.8 mm, green, ovate to deltoid, margin sparsely ciliate, blackened; corolla dialypetalous; petals 2–3 × 1 mm, light-green, ovate, broadly divergent to subpatent at anthesis, apex obtuse to rounded, margin membranous, hyaline, slightly undulate; stamens 5, alternate with petals, 1–1.5 mm long, filaments flattened, broadened at base, attenuate at apex, inserted on the margin of the disk, erect and becoming reflexive at anthesis; anthers ovoid, brown when mature, dorsifixed, dehiscing longitudinally; disk intrastaminal, 2 mm in diam., pentagonal, green, blackened when dry, margin slightly undulate; gynoecium 2-carpellate, ovary fused to disk, style evident, stigma simple. Fruit a loculicidal capsule, 25–35 × 18–25 mm, obovoid to narrowly-obovoid or ovate, base cuneate to narrowly-cuneate, apex rounded, style not persistent, pericarp coriaceous, ca. 0.8–1.2 mm thick, green when unripe, light-green to yellowish when ripe and brown when dry, opening by 2 valves; seeds 1–2(–3), 1.8–2.5 × 1.0– 1.5 mm, oblong to ellipsoid, ridged, with 6–14 conspicuous ridges, evenly arranged in the longitudinal, completely surrounded by a sweet white aril, maturing brown to black, glossy when dry. Phenology. Flowering in February; fruiting in February to May. Etymology. The specific epithet of this species is a reference to the uncommon morphology of the seeds, with multiple longitudinal ridges, a unique feature among the known species of the genus. Distribution and habitat. Monteverdia multicostata occurs in the lowland wet forests of Manabí and Esmeraldas provinces, in northwestern Ecuador from 200 to 600 m in elevation. Vernacular name: Carne de pardis (tinamou) (Clark 4848) Biological interactions and uses. The sweet aril is eaten by: humans, howler monkeys, Alouatta palliata; spider monkeys, Ateles fusciceps; machín, Cebus capuchinus; cusumbo, Potos flavus; and large birds such as toucans (Rhamphastidae) from the type locality (Anelio Loor pers. comm.). The recorded vernacular name (op. cit.) suggests that the aril of fruits is also eaten by tinamou (Tinamus sp.). Conservation status. The conservation status of Endangered is recommended for Monteverdia multicostata, based on the IUCN (2012) criteria (EN B 1ab[iii]). Ongoing deforestation in northwestern Ecuador is leading to fragmentation and degradation of habitat with small forest patches becoming extinct. Monteverdia multicostata has not been recorded within the National System of Protected Areas of the country (PANE). Notes. The new species is easily characterized by the multi-ridged seeds. This feature is unique within all known species of Monteverdia, with all other known species possessing smooth to slightly rugose seeds. The large fruits are also distinct. Only one other species in the genus, M. fugax (Biral & Lombardi 2016: 99) Biral in Biral et al. (2017: 688), has fruits of similarly large dimensions, however, M. fugax is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest and produces reduced cymes, rather than the fasciculate inflorescences found in most Monteverdia species. Additional specimens examined (paratypes): ECUADOR. Esmeraldas: Quinindé. Bilsa Biological Station. Mache mountains, 35 km W of Quinindé, 5 km W of Santa Isabel. Forest along Dogala trail, 2 April 1995, Clark & Troya 568 (MO, QCNE, US [two sheets]); Ibidem, 5 km W of Santa Isabel. Third lot W of Station following road towards Piedrita, 13 May 1995, Clark & C. Watt (F, MO, QCNE, US [two sheets]); Ibid., 35 km W of Quinindé, 20 March 1998, Clark & Pallis 4848 (MO, QCNE, US).Published as part of Biral, Leonardo & Cornejo, Xavier, 2021, Two new species of Monteverdia (Celastraceae) from Ecuador, pp. 183-190 in Phytotaxa 479 (2) on page 184, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.479.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/541383
“To centralize or to decentralize? An optimization model supporting the design of distributed cogeneration, district heating and cooling systems
No full textNew synonyms and lectotypifications in the genus Maytenus (Celastroideae, Celastraceae) and a new name for the illegitimate Maytenus nemorosa from Brazil
No full textResulting from our taxonomic study of the genus Maytenus, we were faced with the necessity to synonymize three species: M. lagoensis with M. gonoclada; M. andicola with M. apurimacensis; and M. longipes with M. sieberiana. Lectotypes are elected when appropriate for these species and comments about the synonyms and lectotypifications are provided. We also propose a new name—Maytenus fugax—for M. nemorosa Biral & Lombardi, later homonym of M. nemorosa (Ecklon & Zeyher) Marais.</jats:p
Loss of Dystrophin and Some Dystrophin-Associated Proteins with Concomitant Signs of Apoptosis in Rat Leg Muscle Overworked in Extension
No full textActa Neuropathol. 2000 Dec;100(6):618-26.
Loss of dystrophin and some dystrophin-associated proteins with concomitant signs of apoptosis in rat leg muscle overworked in extension.
Biral D, Jakubiec-Puka A, Ciechomska I, Sandri M, Rossini K, Carraro U, Betto R.
Source
C.N.R. Unit for Muscle Biology and Physiopathology, Padova, Italy.
Abstract
This study investigated the basis for the high severity of damage to skeletal muscle due to eccentric exercise, i.e., to muscles generating force while lengthened. Fast and slow rat leg muscles maintained in an extended position were examined after 2-24 h of continuous stimulation. The treatment caused the injury to some regions of both muscles. Within the better preserved parts of the muscles, i.e., those without signs of necrotic processes, dystrophin, spectrin, and some of the dystrophin-associated proteins (beta-dystroglycan, alpha-sarcoglycan, and gamma-sarcoglycan) disappeared from sarcolemma of many fibers. The reduction or loss of dystrophin from the sarcolemma was more evident than that of other proteins examined, with sarcoglycans apparently being the most preserved. Several muscle fibers devoid of dystrophin contained apoptotic nuclei. Simultaneously, Bax, Bcl-2 and caspase-3 proteins appeared in many fibers. Our results indicate that a normal muscle overworking in an extended position undergoes the loss of several membrane skeletal proteins because of the excessive stress to the membrane cytoskeleton, which can lead to fiber death by either apoptosis or necrosis. This experimental model may represent a good model for mimicking the pathogenetic events in several muscular dystrophies.
PMID:
11078213
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE
An intelligent curve warning system for powered two wheel vehicles
No full textThis article illustrates a novel Curve Warning system for motorcycles which has been developed in the SAFERIDER project (www.?saferider-eu.?org) of the 7th EU FP, among other Advanced Rider Assistance Systems. The Curve Warning function (CW) described here follows a holistic approach, which combines road geometry, motorcycle dynamics, rider input and riding styles. The warning strategy is based on the correction of longitudinal dynamics derived from a previewed ideal manoeuvre (reference manoeuvre) continuously computed from the actual state of the vehicle. Under normal driving conditions the reference manoeuvre matches the rider’s and no correction is needed and no warning is given. But if large differences between actual and ideal accelerations are found the rider is warned to decelerate or brake. As soon as the correct value of deceleration is achieved the warning disappears, improving system acceptability. Warnings are given to the rider via an HMI, which uses a haptic accelerator throttle, a vibrating glove and helmet, and a visual display
Home-based Functional Electrical Stimulation rescues permanently denervated muscles in paraplegic patients with complete lower motor neuron lesion.
No full textNeurorehabil Neural Repair. 2010 Oct;24(8):709-21. Epub 2010 May 11.
Home-based functional electrical stimulation rescues permanently denervated muscles in paraplegic patients with complete lower motor neuron lesion.
Kern H, Carraro U, Adami N, Biral D, Hofer C, Forstner C, Mödlin M, Vogelauer M, Pond A, Boncompagni S, Paolini C, Mayr W, Protasi F, Zampieri S.
Source
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Electrostimulation and Physical Rehabilitation, Vienna, Austria.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Spinal cord injury causes muscle wasting and loss of function, which are especially severe after complete and permanent damage to lower motor neurons. In a previous cross-sectional study, long-standing denervated muscles were rescued by home-based functional electrical stimulation (h-bFES) training.
OBJECTIVE:
To confirm results by a 2-year longitudinal prospective study of 25 patients with complete conus/cauda equina lesions.
METHODS:
Denervated leg muscles were stimulated by h-bFES using a custom-designed stimulator and large surface electrodes. Muscle mass, force, and structure were determined before and after 2 years of h-bFES using computed tomography, measurements of knee torque during stimulation, and muscle biopsies analyzed by histology and electron microscopy.
RESULTS:
Twenty of 25 patients completed the 2-year h-bFES program, which resulted in (a) a 35% cross-sectional increase in area of the quadriceps muscle from 28.2 ± 8.1 to 38.1 ± 12.7 cm(2) (P < .001), a 75% increase in mean diameter of muscle fibers from 16.6 ± 14.3 to 29.1 ± 23.3 μm (P < .001), and improvements of the ultrastructural organization of contractile material; and (b) a 1187% increase in force output during electrical stimulation from 0.8 ± 1.3 to 10.3 ± 8.1 N m (P < .001). The recovery of quadriceps force was sufficient to allow 25% of the subjects to perform FES-assisted stand-up exercises.
CONCLUSIONS:
Home-based FES of denervated muscle is an effective home therapy that results in rescue of muscle mass and tetanic contractility. Important immediate benefits for the patients are the improved cosmetic appearance of lower extremities and the enhanced cushioning effect for seating.
PMID:
20460493
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE
Introducing purely hydrodynamic networking mechanisms in microfluidic systems
No full textMicrofluidic is a multidisciplinary field with prac- tical applications to the design of systems, called Lab-on-a- Chip (LoC), where tiny volumes of fluids are circulated through channels with millimeter size and driven into structures where precise chemical/physical processes take place. One subcategory of microfluidic is droplet-based microfluidic, which disperse discrete volumes of fluids into a continuous stream of another immiscible fluid, which act as droplet carrier. Droplets can then be moved, merged, split, or processed in many other ways by suitably managing the hydrodynamic parameters of the LoC. A very interesting research challenge consists in developing basic microfluidic structures able to interconnect specialized LoCs by means of a flexible and modular microfluidic network. The aim of this paper is to exploit the properties of droplet- based microfluidics to realize purely hydrodynamic microfluidic elements that provide basic networking functionalities, such as addressing and switching. We define some simple mathematical models that capture the macroscopic behavior of droplets in microfluidic networks and use such models to design and analyze a simple microfluidic network system with bus topology
Autonomic and central nervous responses to faces with different emotional expression: a multiple recording approach.
No full textStimuli as those represented by facial expressions of different emotional content elicit psychological and physiological responses. Several studies have pointed out modifications in heart rate, respiratory frequency, skin response and pupillary diameter. Other investigations have focused on evoked potentials, blink frequency, reaction times and ocular scanning. In all cases it was found that the face presentation is followed by a variable degree of alteration of the parameter examined. However, analysis of a single parameter and in only one domain (related to the autonomic or central nervous system) does not allow the overall complexity of the responses to be assessed and might overlook the strict dependence of autonomic effects on brain functioning. As a consequence, even if variation of a given parameter was considered a suitable index for measuring emotional state, it would not be exhaustive.Our aim attempts to overcome such inherent deficiencies. We acquired multiple recordings of four autonomic functions (heart rate, arterial pressure, skin response and pupillary area) with the simultaneous measurement of brain activity assessed by ocular scanning of the stimulus and mapping of event related potentials (ERP).A face, chosen among the six canonical emotional expressions, is randomly displayed on a monitor placed 1 m in front of the subject for 200 ms or 10 s. ECG, pletysmography, skin conductance response, ERP, ocular movements and pupil area are recorded simultaneously. Eye movements are obtained through IROG technique and pupil area from an AVI movie, taken at 12 frames/s. The ERP maps are related to 10-20 EEG standard recording positions.Preliminary results suggest that it seems possible to obtain for each subject and for every presented face a set of data which corresponds to a specific picture of the subjective emotional state
Subclinical myopathy in patients affected with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer at clinical onset of disease: evidence from skeletal muscle biopsies.
No full textNeurol Res. 2010 Feb;32(1):20-5. Epub 2009 Nov 26.
Subclinical myopathy in patients affected with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer at clinical onset of disease: evidence from skeletal muscle biopsies.
Zampieri S, Doria A, Adami N, Biral D, Vecchiato M, Savastano S, Corbianco S, Carraro U, Merigliano S.
Source
Laboratory of Translational Myology, Interdepartmental Research Center of Myology, c/o, Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy. [email protected]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate skeletal muscle biopsy from asymptomatic patients affected with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer and to identify pathological features which may be indicative of tumor-associated muscle disorders, potentially leading to cachexia.
METHODS:
Patients affected with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer at clinical onset of disease underwent biopsy of the rectus abdominis muscle during elective laparoscopic tumor resection, before chemotherapeutic treatment. Morphometric analyses, ATPase histochemistry and immunohistochemical studies using antibodies directed to N-CAM and to MHC-emb, two sound makers of muscle denervation and injury-induced muscle regeneration, were performed on intraoperative muscle biopsies from ten patients. Muscle biopsies from rectus abdominis of seven subjects affected with non-neoplastic condition, which underwent laparoscopic surgery, were used as controls.
RESULTS:
In patients' biopsies, we observed a surprisingly high percentage of myofibers with internalized or central nuclei compared to controls (9.15 +/- 8.9 versus 0.6 +/- 0.9, p<0.0003). In addition, in the 30% of patients, small myofibers expressing the MHC-emb have been identified (0.4 +/- 0.5 positive fibers/mm(2)), while in 50% of patients, larger fibers positive for N-CAM have also been detected (0.7 +/- 1.1 positive fibers/mm(2)), suggesting that investigated muscle biopsies exhibit other evidence of muscle fiber injury/regeneration and/or denervation. Among the 10,000 analysed myofibers in control biopsies, no MHC-emb and N-CAM-positive muscle fibers have been detected. Thus, patients affected with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer at clinical onset of disease display early signs of a subclinical myopathy.
DISCUSSION:
Factors and mechanisms of this cancer-associated myopathy are yet unknown. The facts that the great majority of the abnormally nucleated myofibers are of the fast type and that regenerating myofibers are present, suggest a myogenic response to the colorectal cancer and not to the laparoscopic modalities of the biopsy harvesting. Follow-up of the patients will elucidate the clinical relevance of our observation, and further studies investigating the molecular mechanism underlying this early cancer-associated myopathy will hopefully provide some pathogenetic clues leading to the identification of potential specific targets for therapeutic intervention to prevent tumor cachexia.
PMID:
19941733
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE
- …
