Migration routes and adult survival of the critically endangered yellow-breasted bunting Emberiza aureola.

Migratory animals rely on multiple sites during their annual cycles. Deteriorating conditions at any site can have population-level consequences, with long-distance migrants seen as especially susceptible to such changes. Reduced adult survival caused by persecution at non-breeding sites has been suggested a major reason for the catastrophic decline of a formerly abundant, long-distance migratory songbird, the Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola.

A novel modular device for 3-D bone cell culture and non-destructive cell analysis.

Synthetic materials have emerged as bone substitutes for filling bone defects of critical sizes. Because bone healing requires a mechanically resistant matrix (scaffold) attractive to osteogenic cells and must allow revascularization for nutrient and oxygen supply, scaffold-based strategies focus on the further development of chemical and physical qualities of the material. Cellular ingrowth towards the scaffold center is critical; therefore selective information from inner regions, in particular from the central part, is essential.

Induction of apoptosis by the calcium antagonist mibefradil correlates with depolarization of the membrane potential and decreased integrin expression in human lens epithelial cells.

Background: Posterior capsule opacification is still the major complication in cataract surgery and is caused by migration and proliferation of residual lens epithelial cells. The challenge of a suitable therapy to inhibit capsule opacification is to specifically interfere with cellular mechanisms. Our approach using the T-calcium channel antagonist mibefradil is based on the hypothesis that this drug inhibits the signaling pathways mediated by cell adhesion.