Biomass allocation and plant morphology explain the difference in shrub species abundance in a temperate forest.

In forested ecosystems, shrubs must succeed in persisting in low-light environments, while simultaneously having the ability to rapidly expand and occupy newly created canopy openings, yet little is known about the traits that make this possible. We hypothesize that shrub species that are abundant in the understory exhibit a specific set of functional traits that define their ability to persist during unfavorable periods and to rapidly exploit newly created habitats. We tested this by comparing field-measured functional traits such as biomass allocation, leaf display, crown morphology, and leaf traits, across individual size classes and two gap-forest environments of five shrub species.

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited.

Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19.

Design, Setting, And Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin.

Mechanism and molecular basis for the sodium channel subtype specificity of µ-conopeptide CnIIIC.

Background And Purpose: Voltage-gated sodium channels (Na(V) channels) are key players in the generation and propagation of action potentials, and selective blockade of these channels is a promising strategy for clinically useful suppression of electrical activity. The conotoxin µ-CnIIIC from the cone snail Conus consors exhibits myorelaxing activity in rodents through specific blockade of skeletal muscle (Na(V) 1.4) Na(V) channels.

A novel µ-conopeptide, CnIIIC, exerts potent and preferential inhibition of NaV1.2/1.4 channels and blocks neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

Background And Purpose: The µ-conopeptide family is defined by its ability to block voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs), a property that can be used for the development of myorelaxants and analgesics. We characterized the pharmacology of a new µ-conopeptide (µ-CnIIIC) on a range of preparations and molecular targets to assess its potential as a myorelaxant.

Experimental Approach: µ-CnIIIC was sequenced, synthesized and characterized by its direct block of elicited twitch tension in mouse skeletal muscle and action potentials in mouse sciatic and pike olfactory nerves.

Expression of the voltage- and Ca2+-dependent BK potassium channel subunits BKβ1 and BKβ4 in rodent astrocytes.

Large-conductance Ca(2+) -activated (BK) potassium channels are centrally involved in neurovascular coupling, immunity, and neural transmission. The ability to be synergistically activated by membrane depolarization, different ligands and intracellular Ca(2+) links intracellular signaling and membrane excitability. The diverse physiological functions of BK channels crucially depend on regulatory β subunits.

Molecular determinants for the subtype specificity of μ-conotoxin SIIIA targeting neuronal voltage-gated sodium channels.

Voltage-gated sodium channels (Na(V) channels) play a pivotal role in neuronal excitability; they are specifically targeted by μ-conotoxins from the venom of marine cone snails. These peptide toxins bind to the outer vestibule of the channel pore thereby blocking ion conduction through Na(V) channels. μ-Conotoxin SIIIA from Conus striatus was shown to be a potent inhibitor of neuronal sodium channels and to display analgesic effects in mice, albeit the molecular targets are not unambiguously known.

Nitric oxide donors inhibit the coxsackievirus B3 proteinases 2A and 3C in vitro, virus production in cells, and signs of myocarditis in virus-infected mice.

The antiviral effect of nitric oxide (NO)-releasing compounds was investigated. Using bacterially expressed and purified proteinases 2A and 3C of coxsackievirus B3, in vitro assays demonstrated the inhibition of the 2A proteinase activity in the presence of S-nitroso- N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP), 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), 4-phenyl-3-furoxancarbonitrile (PFC), glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), and isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN). Sodium nitroprusside (SNP), which releases NO after metabolization, had no effect.

[Continuous single-layer technique in turnable and nonturnable gastrointestinal anastomoses. A prospective observational study of emergency and elective operations].

First reports about the continuous single-layer technique for gastrointestinal anastomosis have shown advantages regarding shorter time for construction and lower costs without a higher complication rate. This prospective observational study was conducted to prove the safety of routine use of the continuous single-layer technique for gastrointestinal anastomosis. All consecutive patients operated upon in the abdomino-surgical department of a community hospital in a period of 5 years with resections of the stomach, small and large bowel or upper third of the rectum were included in this study.

Performance of the score systems Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and III at an interdisciplinary intensive care unit, after customization.

Background: Mortality predictions calculated using scoring scales are often not accurate in populations other than those in which the scales were developed because of differences in case-mix. The present study investigates the effect of first-level customization, using a logistic regression technique, on discrimination and calibration of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and III scales.

Method: Probabilities of hospital death for patients were estimated by applying APACHE II and III and comparing these with observed outcomes.

Comparison of acute physiology and chronic health evaluations II and III and simplified acute physiology score II: a prospective cohort study evaluating these methods to predict outcome in a German interdisciplinary intensive care unit.

Objective: To evaluate the ability of three scoring systems to predict hospital mortality in adult patients of an interdisciplinary intensive care unit in Germany.

Design: A prospective cohort study.

Setting: A mixed medical and surgical intensive care unit at a teaching hospital in Germany.

[Intensive care medicine for elderly patients: how applicable are the APACHE III and III score systems?].

Objective: Scores like APACHE (Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation) were evaluated for unselected intensive care unit (ICU) admissions. Can they also be used for risk stratification and quality assurance in selected subgroups like elderly patients?

Methods: Over a 3-year period data of all admissions of a 12 bed interdisciplinary ICU were collected. APACHE II and III scores and probabilities of hospital deaths were compared with observed outcomes.

[Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the aorta].

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding occurred in a 64-year-old woman who was being treated with 1,000 mg acetylsalicylic acid and three times 5,000 IU heparin daily previous to a planned embolectomy because of occlusion of a lower leg artery. Radiology demonstrated multiple areas of osteolysis of the left thorax which were interpreted as recurrence of carcinoma of the breast, treated by mastectomy and radiotherapy 15 years previously. Acute renal failure, recurring severe back and abdominal pain, paraplegia of both legs and finally death from circulatory failure were explained as having been caused by multiple embolisation in the course of arteriosclerosis or a paraneoplastic increase in clotting activity.