Genome size is strongly linked to carbohydrate storage and weakly linked to root sprouting ability in herbs.

Background And Aims: Several lines of evidence indicate that carbohydrate storage in plant below-ground organs might be positively related to genome size because both these plant properties represent resource sinks and can affect cell size, cell cycle time, water-use efficiency and plant growth. However, plants adapted to disturbance, such as root sprouters, could be an exception because their strategy would require higher carbohydrate reserves to fuel biomass production but small genomes to complete their cell cycles faster.

Methods: We used data from a field survey to test the relationship between genome size and the probability of root sprouting ability in 172 Central European herbaceous species.

Herbs are not just small plants: What biomass allocation to rhizomes tells us about differences between trees and herbs.

Premise: Biomass accumulation over years in vertical stems of trees leads to hypoallometric scaling between stem and leaf biomass within this growth form, while for herbaceous species, biomass allocation between these organ types typically exhibits isometry. However, biomass accumulation in herbs can occur in belowground perennating organs (e.g.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and working conditions of nurses and its implications for policies: a cross-sectional study in Slovakia.

Background: Increased workload and of the health workforce (HW) strained the capacity to maintain essential health services (EHS) during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, while putting them at increased risk of COVID-19 and other consequences to their health. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the health, wellbeing, and working conditions of nurses in Slovakia and to identify gaps in policies to be addressed to increase preparedness of the HW for future emergencies.

Methods: A nation-wide cross-sectional study was conducted among nurses during November-December 2021, referring to the period of January 2021 to November 2021.

What determines root-sprouting ability: Injury or phytohormones?

Premise: Root-sprouting (RS) is an evolutionarily independent alternative to axillary stem branching for a plant to attain its architecture. Root-sprouting plants are better adapted to disturbance than non-RS plants, and their vigor is frequently boosted by biomass removal. Nevertheless, RS plants are rarer than plants that are not root-sprouters, possibly because they must overcome developmental barriers such as intrinsic phytohormonal balance or because RS ability is conditioned by injury to the plant body.

Incorporating clonality into the plant ecology research agenda.

A longstanding research divide exists in plant ecology: either focusing on plant clonality, with no ambition to address nonclonal plants, or focusing on all plants, ignoring that many ecological processes can be affected by the fact that some plants are clonal while others are not. This gap cascades into a lack of distinction and knowledge about the similarities and differences between clonal and nonclonal plants. Here we aim to bridge this gap by identifying areas that would benefit from the incorporation of clonal growth into one integrated research platform: namely, response to productivity and disturbance, biotic interactions, and population dynamics.

Strong impact of management regimes on rhizome biomass across Central European temperate grasslands.

Grassland ecosystems account for approximately 40% of terrestrial biomes globally. These communities are characterized by a large allocation to belowground biomass, often exceeding its aboveground counterpart. However, this biomass investment cannot be entirely attributed to the acquisitive function of roots.

Young clonal and non-clonal herbs differ in growth strategy but not in aboveground biomass compensation after disturbance.

Clonal plants have more traits enabling individual persistence (larger belowground storage of buds and assimilates), whereas non-clonal plants have more traits enabling population persistence (a higher reliance on regeneration from seeds). This difference presumably makes those groups respond differently to disturbance. We asked whether this difference is already expressed in the first year of the plant's life.

On Plant Modularity Traits: Functions and Challenges.

On-spot persistence, space occupancy, and recovery after damage are key plant functions largely understudied. Traits relevant to these functions are difficult to assess because of their relationships to plant modularity. We suggest that developing collection protocols for these traits is feasible and could facilitate their inclusion in global syntheses.

The effect of injury on whole-plant senescence: an experiment with two root-sprouting Barbarea species.

Background And Aims: Senescence is the process of losing fitness when growing old, and is shaped by the trade-off between maintenance and reproduction that makes reproduction more unsure and maintenance more costly with age. In repeatedly reproducing plants, reductions in growth and fertility are signs of senescence. Disturbance, however, provides an opportunity to reset the ageing clock and consequently potentially ameliorate senescence.

Enforced Clonality Confers a Fitness Advantage.

In largely clonal plants, splitting of a maternal plant into potentially independent plants (ramets) is usually spontaneous; however, such fragmentation also occurs in otherwise non-clonal species due to application of external force. This process might play an important yet largely overlooked role for otherwise non-clonal plants by providing a mechanism to regenerate after disturbance. Here, in a 5-year garden experiment on two short-lived, otherwise non-clonal species, Barbarea vulgaris and Barbarea stricta, we compared the fitness of plants fragmented by simulated disturbance ("enforced ramets") both with plants that contemporaneously originate in seed and with individuals unscathed by the disturbance event.

Pain in Parkinson's Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study of Its Prevalence, Types, and Relationship to Depression and Quality of Life.

Pain is an important and distressing symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD). Our aim was to determine the prevalence of pain, its various types and characteristics, as well as its impact on depression and quality of life (QoL) in patients with PD. How pain differs in early- and advanced-stage PD and male and female PD patients was of special interest.

Nonmotor symptoms in early- and advanced-stage Parkinson's disease patients on dopaminergic therapy: how do they correlate with quality of life?

To determine the impact of nonmotor symptoms (NMS) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) we examined 100 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients on dopaminergic medications. An "early-stage" (ES) and an "advanced-stage" (AS) groups were formed. HRQoL was established by the questionnaire PDQ-8, number of NMS by NMSQuest, and severity and frequency of NMS by the assessment scale NMSS.

Impulse control disorders associated with dopaminergic medication in patients with pituitary adenomas.

Objective: Impulse control disorders (ICDs) such as pathological gambling, compulsive shopping, compulsive eating, and hypersexuality are a matter of growing interest, especially in patients with Parkinson disease who are on dopamine replacement therapy. It was recently reported that ICDs are associated with other disorders also treated with dopaminergic drugs (dopamine agonists) such as restless legs syndrome, multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy, and fibromyalgia. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ICDs in patients with pituitary adenomas who take dopamine agonists (DAs).

Sweat: a potential marker of clinical activity in panic disorder.

Objective: Panic disorder (PD) is a paroxysmal neuropsychiatric disorder with unclear etiology and obscure pathophysiology. Despite the frequency of its occurrence, PD still has no reliable laboratory markers. The sweat is a neglected human secrete reacting immediately to various neurovegetative challenges including psychic imupulses.

Shade avoidance in Trifolium repens: costs and benefits of plasticity in petiole length and leaf size.

We tested whether the degree of shade-induced plasticity in petiole length and leaf area is related to the mean trait value expressed under high-light conditions, and to what extent trait values expressed under high-light and shaded conditions affect plant performance. Thirty-four Trifolium repens genotypes were used with a wide range of petiole lengths and leaf areas. Plants were subjected to a high-light environment and two shading regimes: homogeneous shading and a vertical light gradient.