Nutrient quality of vertebrate dung as a diet for dung beetles.

At the basis of a trophic web, coprophagous animals like dung beetles (Scarabaeoidea) utilize resources that may have advantages (easy gain and handling) as well as drawbacks (formerly processed food). Several studies have characterized the nutrients, e.g.

Tree Species Composition and Harvest Intensity Affect Herbivore Density and Leaf Damage on Beech, Fagus sylvatica, in Different Landscape Contexts.

Most forests are exposed to anthropogenic management activities that affect tree species composition and natural ecosystem processes. Changes in ecosystem processes such as herbivory depend on management intensity, and on regional environmental conditions and species pools. Whereas influences of specific forest management measures have already been addressed for different herbivore taxa on a local scale, studies considering effects of different aspects of forest management across different regions are rare.

A new nanosecond UV laser at 355 nm: early results of corneal flap cutting in a rabbit model.

Purpose: A new 355 nm UV laser was used for corneal flap cutting in an animal model and tested for clinical and morphologic alterations.

Methods: Corneal flaps were created (Chinchilla Bastards; n = 25) with an UV nanosecond laser at 355 nm (150 kHz, pulse duration 850 ps, spot-size 1 μm, spot spacing 6 × 6 μm, side cut Δz 1 μm; cutting depth 130 μm) and pulse energies of 2.2 or 2.

Biomimetically- and hydrothermally-grown HAp nanoparticles as reinforcing fillers for dental adhesives.

Purpose: Differently prepared hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles were incorporated into the adhesive solution of a commercial adhesive system in order to evaluate the effect on microtensile bond strength to dentin.

Materials And Methods: HAp nanoparticles (20 to 70 nm) were prepared by different processes (biomimetic and hydrothermal) and incorporated into the adhesive of the Adper Scotchbond Multi-Purpose (SBMP) system at various concentrations. Control (unfilled) and experimental groups (filled) were applied onto flat mid-coronal human dentin.

Zirconia nanoparticles prepared by laser vaporization as fillers for dental adhesives.

Zirconia nanoparticles prepared by laser vaporization were incorporated into the primer or into the adhesive of a commercial adhesive system in order to evaluate its effect on bond strength to dentin. Zirconia nanoparticles (20-50nm) were prepared using a particular laser vaporization technique and incorporated into the primer (P) or into the adhesive (A) of the Adper Scotchbond Multi-Purpose (SBMP) system at 5, 10, 15 and 20wt.% by means of mechanical mixing (stirring) and ultrasonication.

Food wrapping with the postpharyngeal gland secretion by females of the European beewolf Philanthus triangulum.

Ground-nesting animals share their habitat with countless microorganisms that can play important roles as pathogens or competitors for food resources. Thus, species that store food in the soil, either for themselves or for their progeny, must protect these resources against microbial degradation. Females of the European beewolf, Philanthus triangulum, hunt honeybees as provisions for their brood and store the paralyzed prey in their subterranean nests.

Nutrient availability and indirect (biotic) defence in a Malaysian ant-plant.

Tropical plants of different genera defend themselves via symbiotic ant colonies, which are housed and often nourished by their host plant. Many studies deal with the defensive effects of the ants, but none has linked the plants' investment in this type of defence to the size and defensive efficacy of the symbiotic ant colony. We show here that ant-food production by the obligate myrmecophyte, Macaranga triloba, is limited by nutrient supply.

Ion distribution in relation to leaf age in Leptochloa fusca (L.) Kunth* (Kallar grass) II. Anions*.

Using Leptochloa fusca (L.) Kunth (Kallar grass) plants, the distribution of Cl , NO , H PO , SO and malate between leaves of various ages has been studied. Plants grown in a reclaimed, salt-affected field, in solution culture and in soil at 10, 100 and 125 mM NaCl have been analyzed.

Ion distribution in relation to leaf age in Leptochloa fusca (L.) Kunth (Kallar grass): I. K, Na, Ca and Mg.

Using Leptochloa fusca (Kallar grass) plants, the distribution of K, Na, Mg and Ca between leaves of various ages has been studied. Plants grown in a salt-affected, reclaimed field, in a solution culture and in soil in pots at 10, 100 and 125 mM NaCl have been analyzed. Despite the presence of salt-secreting glands on Leptochloa fusca leaves, Na concentrations increased strongly with leaf age, while K concentrations were highest in young leaves and decreased with increasing leaf age.