[The place of invasive approaches to the treatment of low back pain].

The prevalence of chronic low back pain is high and rising. Chronic low back pain is «non-specific» in approximately 90 % of cases. In addition to age, risk factors include smoking, obesity, physical and psychological stress, as well as demographic factors.

Hydraulic Properties of a Rock-Soil-Root System: Insights From Fraxinus ornus L. Saplings Growing on Different Carbonate Rocks.

Drought impacts trees in varied temporal and spatial patterns, suggesting that heterogeneity of below-ground water stores influences the fate of trees under water stress. Karst ecosystems rely on shallow soil overlying bedrock that can store available water in primary pores. A contribution of rock moisture to tree water status has been previously demonstrated, but actual mechanisms and rates of rock-to-root water delivery remain unknown.

Better safe than sorry: the unexpected drought tolerance of a wetland plant (Cyperus alternifolius L.).

A common assumption of plant hydraulic physiology is that high hydraulic efficiency must come at the cost of hydraulic safety, generating a trade-off that raises doubts about the possibility of selecting both productive and drought-tolerant herbaceous crops. Wetland plants typically display high productivity, which requires high hydraulic efficiency to sustain transpiration rates coupled to CO uptake. Previous studies have suggested high vulnerability to xylem embolism of different wetland plants, in line with expected trade-offs.

EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY OF PLATELET-RICH PLASMA INJECTIONS FOR INTERVERTEBRAL DISCOPATHY: A PILOT STUDY.

Objective: This longitudinal pilot study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, safety and potential benefits of Platelet-Rich Plasma injections into the lumbar intervertebral discs in patients with low back pain and degenerative intervertebral monodiscopathy, assessing potential efficacy on disability.

Design: Longitudinal pilot study.

Methods: Six participants with chronic low back pain and lumbar degenerative intervertebral disc (monodiscopathy) disease underwent 1 Platelet-Rich Plasma injection, with a 1-year follow-up.

Water relations and photosystem II efficiency of the intertidal macroalga Fucus virsoides.

Intertidal macroalgae are sessile poikilohydric organisms exposed to desiccation stress during emersion. Water relations parameters are useful tools to evaluate an organism's capacity to withstand water scarcity conditions, but such information on marine intertidal macroalgae is scarce. We assessed the water relations of the intertidal relict Fucus virsoides, the unique Fucus species endemic to the Mediterranean.