SPARSE 1.0: a template for databases of species inventories, with an open example of Czech birds.

Here, we introduce SPARSE (acronym for "SPecies AcRoss ScalEs"), a simple and portable template for databases that can store data on species composition derived from ecological inventories, surveys and checklists, with emphasis on metadata describing sampling effort and methods. SPARSE can accommodate resurveys and time series and data from different spatial scales, as well as complex sampling designs. SPARSE focuses on inventories that report multiple species for a given site, together with sampling methods and effort, which can be used in statistical models of true probability of occurrence of species.

Resazurin assay for assessment of antimicrobial properties of electrospun nanofiber filtration membranes.

We developed a simple and fast microplate assay for evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of electrospun nanofiber filtration membranes or similar porous materials for water treatment technologies. Resazurin (alamarBlue) was used as an indicator of the amount of viable experimental microorganisms Gram-negative Escherichia coli, Gram-positive Enterococcus faecalis, and natural wastewater treatment plant effluent bacteria. A bacterial inoculum of concentration 1-3 × 10 CFU mL was pipetted onto the surface of assessed both functionalized and respective control membranes and incubated in 12-well plates for 4 h at 37 °C.

[Concise information on the structure and function of intraglomerular mesangia].

The area between glomerular capillaries is filled with special cellular structure-mesangium. Intraglomerular mesangium is composed from mononuclear stellar cells embedded into an amorphous extracellular matrix. It has several functions: firm and compliant structural sustenance of capillaries, regulation of the ultrafiltration coefficient by means of the capillary surface area control, phagocytosis and removal of macromolecules and immune complexes, hormone secretion and production of bioactive substances (endothelin, prostaglandins, renin, cytokines, immunomodulatory peptides, components of the extracellular matrix etc.